Page:The Post Office of India and its story.djvu/147

Rh, but this was refused in accordance with the policy that Conventions were undesirable as only tending to perpetuate the many diversities which Government were anxious to abolish. The position at present is that out of 652 States, 637, including Faridkote which voluntarily abandoned its Convention in 1904, have cast in their lot with the Imperial Post Office. The number of outstanding States is thus fifteen, of which only Hyderabad, Gwalior, Jaipur, Patiala and Travancore are of much importance.

The policy of the Government of India has been clearly laid down in the correspondence dealing with the unification of the Hyderabad Posts with the Imperial Post Office. The Government is unwilling to take over the postal system of any State without the full consent of the Durbar or State Council, but it exercises the right of opening an Imperial post office or placing a letter-box anywhere in a State if Imperial interests require it. As a rule such offices are opened at railway stations or military cantonments, but they may be opened elsewhere in cases of real necessity. The aim of the Government is towards complete unification of the Post Office all over the country. The inconvenience of separate systems is keenly felt, and the inequality of Conventions on mutual terms between a great Empire and a small State is obvious. The principle upon which each country of the Postal Union retains its own postage on foreign correspondence is based on the theory that for every letter sent a letter is received, and that the transit charges are fairly apportioned, and in many cases the difference is slight when spread over a long period. When the principle is applied to a small State in a big country like India, the burden of handling