FRANKING OF LETTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 144, 19 June 1926, Page 36

FRANKING OF LETTERS.

A MUCH-ABUSED PRIVILEGE, DODGING HIGH POSTAL RATES. (By ALEX. ROBERTSON.) The franking of letters, by which they were sent free of postage, was a privilege first extended to the members of both Houses of Parliament in the reign of Charles IT. The intention was, of course, only to apply this exemption to correspondence from or to the member, but such an abuse was made of the privilege 'by members presenting unlimited numbers of franked covers to their friends that in 1764 it became necessary to define more strictly what was allowable under tbe frank. In 170-4- an Act was passed which made it necessary for the member or peer to write the whole address himself and add his signature, and a few yearlater he had also to add the date a. a further guard against abuse. From 1795 till 1840 no member could send more than 10 or receive more than 15 letters free in any one day. The frank only passed letters weighing one ounce; if over that they were charged postage. On the introduction of postage stamps and penny postage in 1840, the franking privilege was abolished, the only exception made being in favour of the Queen's own letters and those of some Government Departments. Some curious stories are told of some of the articles which were franked by honourable members before any restriction came into force. Two maidservants were franked to an English Ambassador on the Continent, and two bales of stockings were sent post free to our representative at Portugal. The frank was continually used for the carriage'of live and dead game, besides other weighty goods. High Sates of Postage. That the privilege was a substantial one from a monetary point can be judged by the rates of postage as advertised in the contemporary •'Almanacs." In the "British Almanac" for 1833 are published the following rates:— Single sheet letters from any post office in England to any place not exceeding 15 miles from that office 4d, not exceeding 20 miles sd. 30 miles 6d, 80 miles Bd, 300 miles 12d, 400 miles 13d. Letters between England and Ireland pay over and above the common rates: For single sheet letters 3d, double sheet 4d, or ounce weight 9d. Packets of one ounce are charged as four single letters. Foreign letters: To America and West Indies 2/2, Madeira 2/7, Gibraltar 2/10, Malta and the Mediterranean 3/2, South America 3/6, Portugal 2/6, France 1/2. There were no. envelopes in those days as we now know them, but the letter itself was folded and sealed, the address being written dn the outside of the sheet. If the single sheet contained any enclosure, the postage was. doubled; if there were two enclosures, the rate was trebled; and if the letter weighed one ounce, the charge was as for four single letters. So that if a letter weighed an ounce the postage chargeable from London to- Edinburgh would be 4/4s. Any enclosures were discovered in the- dark room of the p«st office by the letters being held up to a. powerful artificial light. Precautions Against Forgery. As may have been anticipated when such pecuniary gain -was possible, the forgery of signatures was common, but the post office showed no mercy to tlieforger when discovered, the - penalty being .death. It is recorded that many persons were executed for this offence in the. 18th century. Another swindle connected with franks was resorted to by some clever, rogues in the period before it became compulsory for the whole of the address and signature to be in the autograph ot the franker. At that-time it was customary for members' of Parliament to distribute to their friends blank sheets of paper,.'bearing merely their signatures, the address being afterwards written by ■ the person who received them. Such a dangerous proceeding-was seized on by unscrupulous persons to convert the blank signature into a promissory note or similar document, and many instances could be quoted where such a fraud was perpetrated. To guard against these frauds, various devices were resorted to in order that the frank should not be used for other purposes.. A common precaution was to write the -signature between two lines with the word ;"Free," but many quite ingenious devices were employed to defeat tbe forgenIn London .and a number of other cities, about the. year 176-5, there were established..penny and twopenny posts for delivery within the city or inside 12 miles from the general post office. By the year 1835 there were about a thousand such' posts throughout the kingdom. It will-be seen that sending letters in those days was a very expensive item to those unfortunate persons who did not enjoy the privilege of franking their letters, or who did no* have • a friend who would so favour them, arid it is not to be wondered, at that abuses were rampant. , • .' Traffic in Privileges. Some honourable members/merely supplied their friends and supporters with lranks, others < sold their privilege, to bankers and business firms, and many accepted payment for letters to be addressed to them although intended for other persons. 'Servants' Wages . Were frequently paid by franks, -which the. servants afterwards disposed '. of .to' tradesmen and others. It is on record that a banking house, having one of.the firm an-ILP., was able to save £700 a year by free, postage. From 1818 to 1837, it was estimated- that £1,400.000 yearly was lost to the Tost' Office through the franking system". In one week in November, 1836, about 94.000 franks passed through the London Post Office alone, and in 1837 there were 7.400.000 franked letters posted. During the early years of the 19th century, the free acquisition of franks was an absorbing question with all classes of the community, as can be judged by..the frequent mention of them in the letters of the period. In my collection of.. autograph letters. I have a npte from SirE- Parry, the Arctic.explorer, asking" a friend to kindly frank two letters for him; in "-another*''W. C. Maeready asks an acquaintance to 1 try and get a frank for the accompanying letter. Qne-gentleman, writing to his sister about their' mother's ■' health, justifiably excuses the long delay on account, of his difficulty of getting, any-, one to frank the letter. This inability, of getting a frank was in those days accepted as a perfectly valid excuse for not writing.: Ladies wishing to make an impression on their less fortunate correspondent, would boast* of the great person to whom they were indebted for the frank on their letter.

One of the most popular hobbies 100 years ago, was the collection of used franks, and everyone of any consequence Had an album for their reception. A collection of franks, was vastly more interesting and sensible than the modern craze for stamp collecting. In the frank there is a real personal interest, as every frank had to be written and signed in the genuine autograph of the privileged person. Frank auctions were held as frequently as stamp auctions are to-day, and there were many dealers in franks. High prices were sometimes given for rare signatures, but nothing like the ridiculous value nowadays placed on rare stamps like the Post Office Mauritius. Some of the old collections of franks. if properly arranged, are of great historical interest. The collections formed by Lady Chatham and Lord Fitzroy, both of which were afterwards secured by Mr. Bailie; contained the frank of practically every peer since<_w union. Franks are not much sought after in these days, though there are usually some specimens to be found in all autograph collections, but they are of much more interest than mere signatures. Collections of franks are frequently listed in the catalogues of English booksellers and are usually priced very low.