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COLLECTION OF POSTAGE.
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place before the departure of the bringer of the letter, an opportunity would be afforded for supplying any very obvious deficiency.
The objections to this mode of procedure appear to be as follows:
- It might, in rare instances, and in small towns, lead to an objectionable exposure of the parties engaged in mercantile correspondence, as their messengers, in delivering the letters at the Post Office, would be known.
- Frauds, by the messengers pocketing the postage, would perhaps be numerous, unless the plan of taking receipts[1] were generally adopted, which would be attended with some trouble and expense.
- The trouble and confusion arising from the great number of payments to be made at certain hours of the day would be considerable.
- In accounting for the postage of letters, even though both number and weight should enter into the calculation, considerable fluctuations would occur in the Receiver's profit, which it is desirable to avoid. These objections are obviated by the—
Second mode of Collection.—A few years ago, when the expediency of entirely abolishing the newspaper stamp, and allowing newspapers to pass through the Post Office for one penny each, was under consideration, it was suggested by Mr. Charles Knight, that the postage on newspapers might be collected by selling stamped wrappers at one
- ↑ See Appendix, p. 76.
