---------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | |
| 1808. |Single |Double |Treble | 1 oz. |
| |Letter.|Letter.|Letter.| |
|From any part in Great | | | | |
| Britain to-- +-------+-------+-------+-------+
| | s. d.| s. d.| s. d.| s. d.|
| Madeira, | 1 6 | 3 0 | 4 6 | 6 0 |
| South America, } | | | | |
| Portuguese } | 2 5 | 4 10 | 7 3 | 9 8 |
| Possessions, } | | | | |
| | | | | |
| 1815. | | | | |
| | | | | |
|From any part in Great | | | | |
| Britain to-- | | | | |
| | | | | |
| Cape of Good Hope,}| | | | |
| Mauritius, }| 3 6 | 7 0 | 10 6 | 14 0 |
| East Indies, }| | | | |
| | | | | |
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Over and above these foreign rates, the full inland postage in England
and Scotland, according to the distance the letters had to be conveyed
to the port of despatch, was levied.

Many persons remember how old-fashioned letters were made up--a single
sheet of paper folded first at the top and bottom, then one side slipped
inside the folds of the other, then a wafer or seal applied, and the
address written on the back. That was a _single_ letter. If a cheque,
bank-bill, or other document were enclosed, the letter became a double
letter. Two enclosures made the letter a treble letter. The officers of
the Post Office examined the letters in the interest of the Revenue, the
letters being submitted to the test of a strong light, and the officers,
peeping in at the end, used the feather end of a quill to separate the
folds of the letter for better inspection. Envelopes were not then used.

These high rates of postage gave rise to frequent attempts to defraud
the Revenue, and many plans were adopted to circumvent the Post Office
in this matter. Sometimes a series of