"Let humble _Allen_, with an awkward shame, Do good by stealth, and blush to find its fame."
On the death of Allen, the cross-posts were brought under the control of the Postmaster-General. An officer, Mr. Ward, was appointed to take charge of the _Bye-letter Office_, as the branch was now called, at the salary of 300_l._ a-year. The success of the amalgamation scheme was so complete, that at the end of the first year, profits to the amount of 20,000_l._ were handed over to the Crown. Afterwards, the proceeds continued to increase even still more rapidly; so much so, that when, in 1799, the "Bye-letter Office" was abolished, and its management transferred to the General Office, they had reached the enormous yearly sum of 200,000_l._!
At the revision of the Post-Office in 1710, the bounds of the penny post were extended, as we have seen, to a district within ten miles of the General Post-Office. This extension was granted on a memorial from several townships in the London district, who volunteered, if such extension were made, that they would pay an extra penny for every letter delivered beyond "the boundaries of the cities of London and Westminster, and the borough of Southwark." Numerous disputes having arisen owing to the _wording_ of the Act, and many inhabitants claiming in consequence to have their letters delivered free within the ten-mile circuit, a supplementary Act was passed in 1727, "_for the obviating and taking away such doubts_," as to what was the proper charge, and directing that the "penny postmen" must not deliver any letters out of the original limits, but may detain or delay such letters or packets, unless an extra penny were paid for each on delivery.
The statute of Queen Anne provided that a weekly payment of 700_l._ should be made to the Exchequer from the Post-Office for a period of thirty-two years. This term having expired in 1743, an Act was passed in that year making the payment _perpetual_, and all clauses, powers, &c. in the Act of 1711 were also made perpetual. In order to keep up this source of revenue, which was too good to relinquish, the rates of postage, instead of being lowered again as stipulated, were kept up, and several times during subsequent years, as we shall see, fresh additions were made to the burdens of letter-writers. While on this subject, we may simply state the clause of Queen Anne's Act relating to the disposal of the _surplus_ revenue. All pensions were to be paid out of it, and the remainder retained by the Queen "for the better support of Her Majesty's household, and for the honour and dignity of the Crown of Great Britain." On the accession of George I. a bill, granting the same rights and privileges during the King's lifetime, was passed in the first session of Parliament. In the first year of the reign of George II. and his grandson George III. the same rights and privileges were obtained under the self-same conditions. Though the conditions of the following Act were, in reality, carried out several years previously, when a salary of 700,000_l._ a-year was granted to the King for the support of his household, section 48 of 27 George III. enacts that, for the King's lifetime, "the entire _net_ revenue of the Post-Office shall be carried to and made part of the fund, to be called 'the Consolidated Fund.'" It is scarcely needful to say that this arrangement has existed from 1787 to the present time.