Page:The Post Office of Fifty Years Ago.djvu/16

Rh postage on Inland letters carried longer distances was regulated by the following scale:—

Beyond that distance the postage increased at the rate of one penny per "single" letter for every additional 100 miles. One halfpenny was also charged on every letter crossing the Scottish border.

Under this scale the postage on any "single" letter from London to Brighton was 8d.; to Liverpool or Manchester, 11d.; to Edinburgh or Glasgow, 16½d.; and to Cork or Londonderry, 17d.

Only "single" letters, however—i.e., letters written on a single sheet of paper—could pass at these rates. If an envelope or cover were used, or if the letter consisted of two pieces of paper, or contained any enclosure, the postage was at once doubled. Two enclosures involved treble postage. If, however, the letter, with or without enclosures, weighed an ounce, the postage was fourfold, and each additional quarter of an ounce in weight led to an additional rate of postage.