Though the deputy postmaster general was fortunate enough to have the support of the legislature in his contention with the publishers, his position was by no means free from criticism. Indeed, there were certain features in his case, which were peculiarly exasperating to the publishers.
Howe was not only deputy postmaster general, but was king's printer, and had in his hands the whole of the provincial printing. He was also interested either directly or through his family in most of the newspapers published in Nova Scotia.
_The Nova Scotian_, _The Journal_, _The Acadian_ and _The Royal Gazette_, were all controlled by the Howe family, and it appeared in the examination that all these newspapers were distributed by the post office free of postage. There were two other newspapers published in Halifax--_The Acadian Recorder_ and _The Free Press_--and the publishers felt, not unnaturally, that in being compelled to pay two shillings and sixpence for each copy transmitted by post, while their rivals had the benefit of distribution by the post office free of charge, they were being subjected to an unjust and injurious discrimination.
The publishers of _The Recorder_ and of _The Free Press_ presented a petition to the king, asking that they, also, might be relieved from the burden of paying postage on their newspapers.[240] Just as their claim appeared to be, it had no support from the authorities in the colony.
The lieutenant governor in sending the petition to the colonial office, took occasion to speak of the high character of Howe and of his father, the preceding deputy postmaster general, and to express his opinion that the small fee collected on newspapers could not be regarded as an extravagant compensation for the trouble the deputy postmaster general had in the matter.
The case of the publishers came before the postmaster general in 1834.
Freeling, the secretary, then reminded him that there was no urgency in the matter, as they were engaged at the time in adjusting the relations between the colonial governments and the post office, and if the provincial legislatures accepted the settlement proposed by the home government, the question of newspaper postage would be satisfactorily disposed of.
In the meantime, the petition was easily answered. The practice, argued the secretary, was not illegal as it was founded on an act of parliament empowering the postmaster general to give to certain of his officers the right to distribute newspapers by post. This right had been in existence since the first establishment of a post office and of a newspaper in the colony. Consequently the petitioners, in entering upon the business of publishing a newspaper, must have been aware of the charges to which the publishers would be liable.
The imperial bill of 1834, together with the draft bill prepared by the post office for the acceptance of the provinces reached the lieutenant governors of the provinces in January 1835. The object of the plans, it will be remembered, was in effect to have the stamp of legality placed on the existing arrangements, by obtaining for them the sanction of the several provincial legislatures.
On the adoption by the legislatures of the several bills, which were identical in form, the postmaster general would relinquish the powers he had until that time exercised over the revenues of the provincial system, and allow the surplus, if any should arise, to be distributed among the provinces, leaving it also with them to make up the deficit in case the expenditure exceeded the revenue.
The proposals of the postmaster general were received characteristically by the different provinces. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had no fault to find with the existing arrangements. So far from objecting to the irregular emoluments of the deputy postmaster general for the Maritime provinces, they recommended, when the question arose, that his emoluments be increased. Whenever the lieutenant governor or the legislature of either of the provinces desired the extension of the postal system into sparsely settled and unremunerative districts, the local governments without demur took the deficiencies on themselves, and did not ask why the profits from the more populous districts were not devoted to meeting these shortages.
When the imperial scheme for settling the difficulties of the colonial postal system was laid before the legislatures of the Maritime provinces, it found them quite unprepared to discuss it. Until then, they had apparently not realized that any such difficulties existed. The thirteen years controversy between the British post office and the assemblies in Upper and Lower Canada appears to have excited no attention in the lower provinces. When the proposition from the British post office was submitted to the assembly in New Brunswick, it was put aside until the following session, and then, as it appeared not to suit the views of the assembly, it was dropped.
In Nova Scotia, the subject received more consideration. The draft bill was referred to a committee of the legislature, which went thoroughly into its merits. The committee were of opinion[241] that, if modified in certain respects, the bill would be well adapted to accomplish the object in view. In their view the bill should not be a permanent one, but should be renewable every three years, in order that any defects, which experience might disclose, could be remedied.
It also seemed advisable to the committee that the chief administrative officer in the province should be selected, not by the postmaster general, but by the governor of the province, who would be more conversant with the character and abilities of persons qualified to discharge the duties of the office.
As the legislatures of Canada and New Brunswick had declined to adopt the bill, the committee would not recommend that any bill should be adopted that session. The only point to which they invited the attention of His Majesty's government was the salary of the deputy postmaster general, which was not only inadequate, but would not bear comparison with the emoluments of the deputy in the other provinces.
The Nova Scotian assembly did not, however, rest at this point. Though they had acquiesced quite contentedly in the arrangements made by Howe, the deputy postmaster general, and had shown no disposition to join the Canadas in their agitation, the implied admission of the home government that the surplus post office revenues belonged of right to the colonies, put a different face on the subject.
The post office committee called the deputy postmaster general before them, and on going over the accounts with his assistance, they discovered that there was a considerable amount remitted annually to England, as profit from their inland posts, and satisfied themselves that if this amount were retained by the deputy postmaster general, and devoted to paying for the unremunerative services, the sum contributed by the province for the maintenance of these services would be much reduced, if not wiped out altogether.
The legislature, thereupon, with a boldness which seemed to betoken ignorance of the course of events in Canada, resolved to take over the control of the provincial post office. A bill for that purpose was adopted in 1838,[242] and received the assent of the lieutenant governor. By it, the deputy postmaster general was directed to pay into the provincial treasury any surplus revenue, and the legislature on its part undertook to make good any deficiency, if such should arise.
The position of matters as regards the inland service of Nova Scotia was complicated by the geographical situation of the province with reference to the other provinces. The British packets, by which mails were exchanged between Great Britain and the North American colonies, landed at Halifax, and it was essential that the conveyance of the mails across Nova Scotia between Halifax and the inland provinces should be maintained unimpeded.
The legislature recognized this fact, and agreed to provide for this through service at its own cost, on condition that the British post office should pay the salaries of the deputy postmaster general and his staff at Halifax, from the revenues of the packet service.
The home government disallowed the Nova Scotia bill as being inconsistent with the objects sought to be accomplished by the imperial act of 1834. The aim of that act was to secure a uniform code of laws for the regulation of the posts in British North America. Any partial legislation would be unacceptable, and this was particularly the case with legislation on the part of Nova Scotia, the key to British North America. By obtaining control over the expenditure for the mail service through the province, the legislature of Nova Scotia would have the entire power over the postal communications with the interior, and they might not only object to defray the expense of particular services, but might interdict them altogether, as, in their opinion, unnecessary.
The colonial secretary added another consideration to this argument of the postmaster general. One of the chief advantages which the government hoped to derive from the mission of Lord Durham, who was then in Canada, was that of devising some plan for the regulation of questions, which, like that of post office communications, was the subject of common interest to the colonies collectively.
The assembly showed some resentment at the rejection of their bill. The despatch informing the governor that the measure had been disallowed, also contained notice of the refusal of the home government to sanction several other acts adopted by the Nova Scotia legislature. In the resolution expressing regret that the measures in question had not been allowed to go into operation, the assembly were careful to intimate their confidence in the disposition of Her Majesty to meet the reasonable expectations of the assembly, and attributed the several disallowances to a want of correct information on the part of the home government due to its not going to the proper sources therefor.
In order to remove the misunderstanding which the assembly conceived to exist between themselves and the home government, William Young and Herbert Huntingdon were sent as delegates to confer with the colonial secretary on this and other subjects lying open. In London the delegates were brought into communication with the treasury.[243]
As the chief objection to the Nova Scotia bill for the regulation of the post office was that it would give the government of that province control over the posts to the provinces in the interior, the delegates lost no time in disclaiming any desire to exercise control over any but their own inland service. They were willing that the great through lines should remain within the jurisdiction of the postmaster general of Great Britain, and that the provincial authority should be confined to the management of the side or cross posts. This proposed dual control was, of course, obviously impracticable, as the whole provincial service, with its main lines and cross lines, was so blended together, that any attempt to treat them as under two different administrations could not fail to lead to unfortunate results.
The mission of the delegates was, however, far from fruitless. The fact that the legislature had without complaint paid out considerable sums each year for the maintenance of the service, appeared to the British government to entitle Nova Scotia to liberal treatment, as these payments would not have been demanded if the post office had understood the matter.
The treasury, therefore, decided that so long as the revenue from the inland post office was sufficient to meet the expenditure for the inland communications, no demand for that purpose should be made upon the provincial funds. Should, however, the legislature deem it advisable to add to the lines of communication, the treasury would rely upon the legislature to defray the expenses of such additional communications, so far as these were not covered by the augmented postage receipts.
There was no more than justice in this decision, but the concessions of the treasury did not stop at this point. It also intimated its willingness to allow all the packet or ocean postage collected in the colonies to remain at the disposal of the local government, whenever the imperial act of 1834 should come into operation.
The British government did not desire to force the imperial act upon the colonies, if, as appeared to be the case, there were valid objections to it. It was prepared to consider any amendments which might be proposed to meet those objections. The packet postage, it should be explained, belonged entirely to the British government which provided and paid all the expenses of the packet service, so that the offer to allow the local governments to retain for their own use the packet postage they collected, was a real concession.
FOOTNOTES:
[225] _C. O. Rec._ (_Can. Arch._), N.S., A. 103, p. 134.
[226] See p. 86.
[227] _Quebec Gazette_, December 13, 1787.
[228] _Winslow Papers_, 1776-1826 (printed under the auspices of the New Brunswick Historical Society, 1901).
[229] Heriot to Howe, August 30, 1812 (_Can. Arch._, Br. P.O.
Transcripts, III.).
[230] Howe to Freeling, June 20, 1816 (_Can. Arch._, Br. P.O.
Transcripts, III.).
[231] _Can. Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, April 4, III.
[232] Freeling to postmaster general, August 11, 1823, with enclosures (_Can. Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, III.).
[233] Howe to Freeling, October 18, 1825 (_Can. Arch._, Br. P.O.
Transcripts, II.).
[234] _Quebec Almanac_, 1802, p. 71.
[235] Capt. Im Thurm to Freeling, April 5, 1819 (_Can. Arch._, Br. P.O.
Transcripts, III.).
[236] Kempt to colonial office, March 26, 1821.
[237] _Quebec Almanac_, 1802, p. 71.
[238] _Can. Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, III.
[239] _Journals of Assembly_, Nova Scotia, 1830, p. 717.
[240] Hay to Freeling, January 15, 1834, and accompanying papers (_Can.
Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, IV.).
[241] _Journals of Assembly_, Nova Scotia, 1836, App. 73.
[242] _Journals of Assembly_, Nova Scotia, 1839, App. 8.
[243] Letters from Young and Huntingdon to Baring, June 21, 1839, and accompanying papers (_Can. Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, VIII.)