Lord Ellenboroughpresented a Petition from persons interested in the trade with the United States, praying for an emendation of the laws relating to the inland postage charged upon letters going from the metropolis through Liverpool and the other out-ports to the United States. The statement of the petitioners was, that they had hitherto enjoyed the privilege of sending such letters otherwise than through the Post-office, but that lately the Postmaster General had enforced the laws on the subject, and done away with the practice. He did not, indeed, see how the noble Duke (the Duke of Richmond) could do otherwise according to the existing laws; but it was most desirable that the utmost facilities should be afforded to the transmission of letters.
§ The Duke of Richmondhad been anxious that a petition of this kind should be presented, that he might have the opportunity of explaining the circumstances and motives which had caused him to pursue the course to which the noble Lord had 712 referred. He must admit that there was no duty more imperative upon the Post-master General than that of giving every possible facility to the mercantile intercourse of the country; but the prayer of these petitioners was that they might be permitted to send letters for the United States through Liverpool or the other out-ports, without going through the Post-office; and he must say, that he thought that compliance with their prayer in this respect would lead to considerable loss to the revenue. If the privilege in question were granted to the merchants of London, there could be no reason why the Man chester and Birmingham merchants, and the merchants in all other parts of the kingdom, should not exercise it also: and the consequence of conceding the principle would be, that of giving up in future of all such postages upon letters going abroad. It was not true that the Post-office had neglected to forward mail bags by the fast-sailing ships. In the last year 4,888 ship letters had been forwarded from London, and from Liverpool 1,220 had been sent. Nor was it true that the privilege of sending letters by other conveyances than those provided by the Post-office had been possessed by the merchants of London during twenty years. The question was whether or not letters should be sent by these merchants by stage-coaches, instead of through the Post-office, and if a Post-office was to exist at all, he (the Duke of Richmond) did not see why these petitioners should be favoured to the exclusion of others. If the House were prepared to say, that a tax upon letters should no longer exist, of course he must bow to their decision; but if taxes were to be reduced at all, other branches of the revenue might be found in which the advantages of reduction would be more considerable. He could not sit down without observing, that attacks had lately been made in another place upon the department at the head of which he was, to which he had not had the opportunity of replying. He had made the most ample inquiries, however, on the subjects to which those attacks referred, and were it not that as a Peer he could not there reply to arguments used in the other House, he was in a situation to contradict and correct statements made by the hon. member for Greenock, respecting which he must say, that he did not think he had been treated by that hon. Member with the candour which one Gentleman had a right to expect from another.