Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/606

Rh POST-OFFICE [POSTAL UNION. reduction of the transit tariff; l (4) an improved regulation as to the choice of routes of transit for letters addressed to remote parts of the world ; and (5) great improvements in the international money -order system, and in the postal transmission of articles of special value. 2 Thus a basis was practically laid for the treaty of Bern of 1874. What was achieved in 1874 and extended in 1878 had also been largely promoted by the proceedings and example of several local conferences on postal affairs held at various dates in Germany. Certain intermediate international conferences, more or less largely constituted, also helped to prepare the way for the great results of 1874. Though here necessarily limited to brief notices of the treaty of Bern and of the congress at Paris (four years later), a word or two must be afforded to a curious anticipation by an enterprising Swiss of a social reform destined to be realized at a distance of almost two centuries. Amongst the many political schemes which the dread of the advance of France towards a pre dominating sway in Europe gave rise in the 17th century was that of Beatus Fischer, who strove zealously to seat at Bern a postal union representing Austria, the empire, the electorate of Brandenburg, Great Britain, the Nether lands, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland which should organize and administer a great network of postal routes, independ ently of France. 3 But France was still too strong, and the incidental difficulties too great. The attempt, however, led to minor postal reforms in various places. Treaty At Bern in 1874 postal delegates of twenty -two states of Bern, assembled, representing an aggregate population of 350 millions. An eminent Frenchman had given a great im pulse to the initiatory movement in 1863 ; a Belgian (M. Yinchent) and a Prussian (Dr Stephan) were the principal leaders of its development in 1874. 4 Both had already rendered distinguished service to their respective countries. A half-ounce unit of weight for ordinary letters ; a uniform charge, wholly irrespective of distance, of 2^d. for a letter from any one country within the Union to any other ; uniform rates for newspapers (Id. for 4 oz.) and for book-parcels, law-papers, mercantile samples (Id. for every 2 oz.) ; a transit rate greatly reduced ; a regulation (very fruitful in good results) that &quot; each post-office shall retain its own collections, and that payments due for transit shall be estimated only from accounts taken twice in each year,&quot; were among the chief improvements effected. M. Vinchent (17th September 1S74) 5 suggested the creation of an international board ; and the proposal met with the zealous support of Dr Stephan, of Dr William Giinther (whose death in December 1882 was a great loss to the post-office of Germany), and of other leaders of the conference. The office so established is supported by contributions, graduated roughly not merely according to extent of postal traffic but in part according to national rank from the several administrations. There are six classes of such contribu- tories. Each country in the first class contributes 25 parts of the total expense, each of the second class 20 parts, of the third 15, of the fourth 10, of the fifth 5, and of the sixth 3 parts. It is covenanted that the total 1 All the envoys, the Italian envoy excepted, advocated such a tariff as should leave some surplus, by way of reserve fund, for improve ments in the services. And in 1863 adherence to a distance-scale, albeit a liberal one, obtained favour universally. 2 Various contemporary reports in periodicals; Schmid, &quot;Der deutsche Briefporto-Tarif, &quot; &c., in Jahrbiicher, ii. 187-205. 3 The details are given in L Union Postale (of August 1883), viii. 190. 4 Full and able reports of the proceedings will be found in the pre liminary numbers of L Union Postale, October to December 1875, and additional particulars in later numbers. A good summary is given by M. Bonnaud, &quot;Le Congres Postal,&quot; &c., in Journaldes Econo- mistes, ser. 4, ii. 419 sq. 6 Treaty of Bern, 9th October 1874 (Sessional Papers of House of Commons, &quot;presented by command&quot;). expense shall not exceed 3000 a year. No rule was laid down as to the composition of the board. But the persons entrusted wisely determined that &quot; it should be inter national in composition as in attributions.&quot; All its pro ceedings are reported in its official organ, L Union Postale, which is trilingual (German, French, English) and appears monthly. Dr Stephan did not err by over -enthusiasm when he said at the close of the proceedings, &quot; You enter upon one of the most important fields of action in the intercourse of nations;. . . you are promoting an eminent work for their peace and their prosperity.&quot; The work so successfully begun at Bern was extended at Paris, when from representing twenty-two states the Union came to represent thirty-three, and the 350 millions of (in a certain sense) its &quot;constituents&quot; had grown to 653 millions. The Avork before the convention at Paris in June 187SConvei consisted mainly in the application of four years experi- tion _ at ence, in the postal administrations of the constituent states,, H!? 1 to the improvement of details. It made improved regula tions with respect to tra-nsit between countries within the Union and those which still remained outside of it. It guaranteed rights of transit throughout the entire Union. It extended stipulations, made at Bern, to postal exchanges between members of the Union and extraneous countries, in cases wherein the postal service of two at least of the contracting countries were employed. It provided that ex penses of transit should be borne by the country of origin. In some cases it slightly enhanced the unit of charge whilst considerably extending the unit of weight. It made valu able improvements in the regulations concerning compensa tions for loss during transit. Finally, it made provision for a postal congress to revise and to improve all pending rules and matters at least once in every five years. The last congress was held at Lisbon in February 1885. OneCongn of the matters which claimed its attention calls impera- nt Lis tively for some notice here. Whilst the growing action ^ of the Postal Union tends constantly to simplification and identity of postal systems, there still exists great diversity of national practice and of national law on the important point of the ownership of a letter whilst in transit. In Great Britain it lies, for the time being, in the queen, as represented by her postmaster -general and her secretary of state. Neither sender nor addressee can claim to inter fere with a letter whilst in the post-office. Only the war rant of a secretary of state can stay its delivery. In Her Majesty s Indian empire, however, the sender has virtually a property in the letter until delivery, and may (under regulations) recall it. So is it in Belgium, in Austria and Hungary, in Portugal, in Russia, and in the Scandinavian states, whilst in Canada the letter belongs to its addressee as soon as it is posted. In the Netherlands there is no precise law, but the sender may claim return prior to actual postal despatch ; the case is virtually similar in France. In Italy, in Spain, and in Greece the addressee (as in Canada) has an absolute property in the letter when once posted. 7 A very recent decision of the French council of state extends the French provision, 8 practically, in favour of the sender up to actual delivery, leaving it to the postal administration to regulate the forms. Subjoined is a tabular view (Table XXIII.) of postal statistics of the principal countries comprised within the Postal Union for the year 1883. 6 Convention of Paris (Commons Papers of 1;S79, No. 2309) ; Bon naud, &quot;Le CongTes Postal,&quot; iu Journal des Uconomistes, ser. 4, ii. 418 sq. 7 &quot;Das Eigenthumsrecht an die Postsendungen,&quot; in Archiv fur Post und Telegraphic, 1882, p. 239 517. 8 &quot; Bulletin mensuel des Postes,&quot; August 1884, in L Union Poslak, September 1884 (ix. 208).