Declared Accounts: Post Office

Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 28, 1714. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1955.

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'Declared Accounts: Post Office', in Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 28, 1714, (London, 1955) pp. cdxxv-cdxxx. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books/vol28/cdxxv-cdxxx [accessed 25 April 2024]

Post Office

DECLARED ACCOUNTS: POST OFFICE.
PIPE OFFICE: ROLL 2786 [E.351/2786].
AUDIT OFFICE: BUNDLE 1959, ROLL 46 [A.O.1/1959/46].
Stephen Lilly, Receiver General of the General Letter Office and Penny Post Office.
26 March 1713 to 25 March 1714.
Charge. £ s. d. £ s. d.
Arrears: depending on several persons for the balance of their Accompts at Ladyday 1685 2,125 6 0
depending on divers Postmasters and others of the General Letter Office for ditto at Ladyday 1713 67,898 8 11
depending upon several persons of the Penny Post Office; same time 2,147 9 9
and upon several other persons in arrear at that time 671 14 1
72,842 18 9
Receipts: revenue and profits of the General Post Office 25 March 1713 to 25 March 1714:
in the Foreign Office [of the General Post Office]:
the produce of letters brought in by the mails; by months 22,709 19 6
letters to and from Portugal, not included in the mails 2,813 13 8
received of Capt. Philipson for freight of passengers between Holland and England and for old stores sold etc. 631 2 11
received of Joseph Durden for passengers to and from Lisbon, for letters ditto and for stores etc. sold 5,640 7 8
received of Clement Buck for goods, passengers and horses between Dover, Dunkirk and Callis 111 4 9
received of Capt. Justinian Hooper for goods, letters and passengers at Dunkirk 1,988 3 2
received of John Six of Amsterdam by virtue of his contract with the Lords Burgomasters there for goods and passengers between England and Amsterdam 1,200 0 0
total for the Foreign Office 35,094 16 8
in the Inland Office [of the General Post Office]:
received for letters at the Inland Window; by months 990 6 7
received of the Letter Receivers, ditto 561 13 0
the Letter-carriers’ charge for letters sent up from the Country; ditto 57,974 3 6
the Postmasters’ charge for letters sent from London into the Country; ditto 77,894 18 10
way letters taken in at one stage and delivered at another, farmed to divers Postmasters:
John Stukly of Plymouth 230 0 0
Ann Hayman of Dartmouth 20 0 0
James Buckley of Totness 10 0 0
Abraham Hackett of Blandford 3 0 0
Mary Cover of Dorchester 6 0 0
William Waterman of Sarum 4 0 0
Moses Baxter of Portsmouth 7 0 0
Robert Rodham of Berwick 4 0 0
John Bell of Newcastle 30 0 0
Nicholas Paxton of Durham 10 0 0
John Willson of Darlington 5 0 0
Eliza Harker of Northallerton 9 0 0
Barbara Thwaites of Greatabridge 2 0 0
Robert Gowland of Borowbrigs 5 0 0
Catherine Dawson of York 40 0 0
Mary Mould of Hull 50 0 0
Robert Pattison of Beverley 4 0 0
John Herring of Newark 5 0 0
Hannah Petty of Gainsborough 24 0 0
John Sharp of Grantham 5 0 0
Francis Ward of Boston 10 0 0
John Rishton of Spalding 10 0 0
Edward Tinkerson of Peterborough 1 0 0
John Exton of Lynn 20 0 0
total for way-letters 514l.
money received from Isaac Manley, Manager of the Letter Office in Dublin for letters sent from Chester within the time of this Accompt 653 11 1
ditto, ditto for letters from Dublin to Holyhead 15 10 6
money received for cross-road letters 13 Feb. 1712–13 to 25 Dec. 1713 2,721 12 11
ditto of several persons for the port of expresses 89 15 3
ditto of letter-carriers for letters shorttaxed this year 0 15 10
ditto for expresses sent to London by the several Postmasters 60 12 9
total for the Inland Office 141,477 0 3
in the North British Office [of the General Post Office]:
money arising by the profits of the North British Office:
Midsummer quarter 1713 712 14 2
Michaelmas quarter 1713 761 4 7
Christmas quarter 1713 666 0 0
Ladyday quarter 1714 715 15 5
total for the North British Office of the General Post Office 2,855 14 2
in the Irish Office [of the General Post Office]:
money arising by the profits of the Irish Office:
half year to Michaelmas 1713 5,734 7 4
ditto to Ladyday 1714 6,197 8 11
11,931 16 3
total for the General Post Office 191,359l. 7s. 4d.
interest arising on South Sea Stock 87 5 8
money charged here, being over-allowed in 1712 for the salary of the Postmaster of Pembrooke 10 0 0
Revenue and profits of the Penny Post Office, 25 March 1713 to 25 March 1714:
the produce of 749,197 letters taken in by the Officers of the Penny Post at 1d. per letter 3,121 13 1
the produce of the second 1d. for 65,697 letters taken in by the Letterreceivers in London and directed and delivered to persons in the Country 273 14 9
the produce of 51,379 letters taken in the six several Penny Post Offices at 1d. each 214 1 7
total for the Growing Duty of the Penny Post Office signed and sworn to by Edmund Green, Collector and Nathaniel Golling, Accomptant 3,609 9 5
Overpays remaining at Ladyday 1714, detailed, including 2,633l. 18s. 9d. to Mounsieur Richards of Paris 2,907 0 8
total charge and receipts £270,816 1 10
Discharge. £ s. d. £ s. d.
Abatements out of the General Charge and Revenue of the Post Office:
Country letters brought from foreign parts and from the Deputy Postmasters in England, being first charged at the General Post Office in London and sent as directed to persons in the Country, whereby the growing Duty in those parts is increased, and likewise on the Deputy Postmasters 11,543 3 8
letters charged on several Postmasters and Letter-carriers, returned because the addresses could not be found 2,276 14 7
her Majesty's and Members of Parliament, their letters brought and delivered free 21,866 14 3
foreign letters etc. enclosing bills of exchange etc. excepted by Act of Parliament, errors, abatements and overtaxed letters allowed Postmasters 696 8 10
36,383 1 4
money due to Postmasters and others for the balances of their Accompts 3,836 17 0
salaries: including Sir Thomas Frankland and Sir John Evelyn, bts., PostmastersGeneral, 2,000l.; Thomas Foley, Auditor 260l.; Stephen Lilly, Receiver General 300l.; George Searle, Accomptant 300l.; Arnold Beeby, Comptroller of the Inland Office 200l.; Benjamin Waterhouse, Secretary, 200l.; Richard Swift, Solicitor, 200l.; Ashburnham Frowde, Comptroller of the Foreign Office, 150l.; several Postmasters, detailed at length 14,149l. 3s. 5d. 22,446 6 1
annuities and pensions:
the Dukes of Northumberland and Grafton 4,700 0 0
Henry, Earl of Rochester 4,000 0 0
the Duke of Schonberg 4,000 0 0
the Duke of Marlborough 5,000 0 0
the Executors of the Duke of Leeds in full of his pension of 3,500l. to Midsummer 1712 375 0 0
Simon, Lord Harcourt, Lord Keeper 4,000 0 0
the Professors in the Universities of
Edinburgh and Glasgow 420 0 0
22,495 0 0
Court Post: Henry Andrews for carrying Royal letters etc. between the Court and the first Post Stage 365 0 0
charges of expresses 1,042 0 3
charges of the packet boats:
Capt. John Philipson, for the Harwich packet boats; the Eagle, Dolphin, Dispatch and Prince packet boats; the Eagle, Dolphin, Dispatch, Prince, Henry and John and Mary hoys; and a fishing boat 2,114 15 8
Joseph Durden, agent at Falmouth, for several packet boats and for his salary 10,707 17 2
John Mead, for the Resolution packet boat 561 13 11
John Mackay, agent at Dover, for his salary and for several packet boats; Clement Buck, ditto, for the same 1,283 14 1
Edward Popley, shipwright, for repairing the Mercury and Queen packet boats for Lisbon, and other tradesmen for necessaries 720 6 0
the assigns of Edmund Dummer for the West India packet boats 3,754 19 0
19,143 5 10
incident charges 4,353 15 5
allowances of various natures:
John Six of Amsterdam, for his moiety of frank letters from Hamburgh and Italy as also for his moiety of the French letters 1,447 10 8
John Camfield of Lisbon, for the exchange and remittance of money 168 7 2
John Duarta de Costa for the exchange of 1,188l. 14s. 0d. at 10l. per cent. 118 17 5
Monsieur Pajot, Comptroller of the French Ports, for arrears due to him under the Treaty of 1698 5,027 15 6
allowed the farmers for collecting the money from the Deputies at 10l. per cent. 1,197 19 10
the owners of the Harley packet boat and Edgley galley for conveying letters to America after Capt. Warren had withdrawn himself 172 11 6
Richard Swift, for his charges as Solicitor for passing the new Post Office Bill through both Houses 200 0 0
the Collectors of the Land Tax, for assessments on Officers’ salaries not exceeding 60l. per an. 716 0 0
Capt. John Hambleton, Postmaster of America, in part of his salary 100 0 0
Capt. Justinian Hooper, Postmaster of Dunkirk, for his salary, charges etc. 573 11 3
9,722 13 4
charges of the North British Office:
George Maine, Deputy Postmaster General of North Britain; salaries etc. 1,177 12 8
Members of Parliament, their letters delivered frank 218 17 0
English takings off or country letters 890 3 8
insolvent letters 66 1 5
the Scots port of insolvent letters returned to London 15 7 8
a year's rent of the Post Office 14 18 10 4/6
stationery wares etc. 161 19 7 2/6
expresses 9 2 0
exchange of money 57 0 0
2,611 2 11
charges of the Irish Office:
Isaac Manley, Deputy Postmaster General of Dublin; salaries 3,320 11 0
State and Members of Parliament letters delivered frank 3,319 13 2
English and Irish takings off or country letters 2,292 11 3
insolvent letters and letters from Dublin through the Kingdom 709 12 2
stationery wares etc. 773 1 4
expresses and ship letters 21 14 6
exchange of money 469 6 8
10,906 10 1
money paid into the Exchequer at several times detailed 63,045 11 11
total payments out of the Revenue of the General Post Office as above 156,131l. 5s. 10d.
charges of the Penny Post Office:
salaries, detailed (Nathaniel Castleton, Comptroller; Nathaniel Golling, Accomptant; Edmund Green, Collector; etc.) 2,118 17 9
rent of the Penny Post Offices (as in previous years) 2,118 17 9
sundry disbursements, detailed 830 13 7
3,067 1 4
total payments and allowances £199,418 5 6
and so remains 71,397 16 4
whereof depending in super:
arrears due at Ladyday 1685, detailed as in previous accompts 2,125 6 0
upon several Postmasters, detailed at length 66,740 5 5
arrears of the Penny Post Office, ditto 1,860 10 10
arrears due from several other persons, as in previous accompts 671 14 1
total Supers £71,397 16 4
and so this accompt of the General and Penny Post Office is even and Quit.
Memorandum.—In pursuance of the Act 20 Car. 2 [19 & 20 Car. II c. 7] the several Receivers and Postmasters abovementioned are chargeable with damages at 12l. per cent. per an. for the respective sums received by them and remaining in their hands and here noted that the same may be charged on them by the Court of Exchequer.
Declared 6 August 1716.
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