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1760 |
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Sir Jeffery Amherst, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces,
issues new commissions to the maîtres de poste between
Québec and Montréal, and establishes the rate at which they
should be paid for their services.
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1763 |
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Following the Treaty of Paris of 1763, in which Canada is ceded
to Great Britain, Benjamin Franklin and John Foxcroft, joint Deputy
Postmasters General, appoint Hugh Finlay the first
Postmaster at Québec on 10 June. Arrangements are also made for the
establishment of postal service between Québec,
Trois-Rivières and Montréal and between those cities and New
York.
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The earliest known postmarked cover is dated 26 August and is
sent by Aaron Hart, the Postmaster at Trois Rivières, to a merchant
in Montréal.
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The Post Office establishes a regular postal courier service
between Québec, Montréal and New York. This route becomes
known as the New York Route. The courier
operates twice a month in summer and monthly in winter from 1764 at least.
Service is increased to once a week year-round in 1771.
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1765 |
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One of the first mail vehiclesa calècheis
used in British North America and hails an era of postal service
during the British regime, 1765-1827.
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The British Post Office Act of 1710 is amended (5 Geo.
III, [1765], c.25) to provide for changes in postal rates in British North
America. Henceforth, routes will be measured and the new rates will be
determined by the distance and the number of sheets of paper rather than
by a fixed flat fee for delivery between two points. In addition, cargo on
vessels entering any port in the British colonies may not be removed until
all mail matter has been removed and delivered to the local Postmaster at
that port.
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1774 |
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On 31 January, Benjamin Franklin is dismissed as Deputy
Postmaster General because of his writings and other activities associated
with the American Revolution. Hugh Finlay is appointed in his place to
co-manage, with John Foxcroft, postal affairs in British North
America.
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1775 |
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Beginning in January, a weekly mail service is established
between Québec and New York via Montréal and Lake
George.
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1783 |
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A Post Office is established at Saint John, New Brunswick, and a
service is established between Saint John and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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1784 |
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In England, experiments are undertaken for delivering mail
between London and Bristol. A system of light, horse-drawn vehicles is
used on designated post roads. The system permits speedy delivery, is
secure against threats of highway robbery, and enables vehicles to
transport people and the mail at the same time.
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During the American Revolution, postal service between the new
British colonies and the 13 colonies to the south is at first disrupted
and finally severed. Recognition of American Independence by the Treaty of
Versailles in 1783 does not bring about an immediate resumption of postal
ties. Hugh
Finlay attempts to re-establish former postal routes, and finds that
while the United States is prepared to permit mail from Canada to pass
over its territory to New York, compensation will be taken in the form of
toll charges. The Montréal/Albany/New York route is a natural
postal corridor and couriers can make the journey in about 10 days.
However, the introduction of mail toll charges by the new United States
postal service causes Finlay and others in the British colonies to search
for an alternative route. They decide on a route from Québec to
Halifax via Lake Temiscouata, a distance of about 827 km (627 miles). The
first trip, commencing 11 January, is undertaken by Pierre Durand. He
arrives in Halifax on 29 February and returns to Québec on 24
April. The round trip takes 105 days and, aside from being a very long and
dangerous journey, it is not a financial success, costing about £120
and realizing only £75 in revenue.
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Hugh Finlay is appointed Deputy Postmaster General of the
Province of Canada in North America on 7 July.
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1785 |
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A Post Office is established in Fredericton, New
Brunswick.
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1787 |
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A mail service is established between Saint John and
Fredericton, New Brunswick.
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Hugh Finlay is directed to establish a monthly service from
Québec to Fredericton, New Brunswick.
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In September, the first Post Office in Charlottetown, Prince
Edward Island, is established and a Postmaster is appointed.
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The first official overland mail route between
Halifax and Québec is established, and is commonly known as the
Témiscouta route. This courier service operates every two weeks in
the summer and monthly in winter.
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1788 |
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Following a trip through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Hugh
Finlay, at the request of Lord Dorchester, Governor of Quebec, reports on
the state of the roads and postal service between Québec and
Halifax. He discovers that the principal impediment to an efficient
service lies in the divided responsibilities between the provinces for the
maintenance of the postal service. The system in one province is
independent of the other; hence Finlay finds that the Deputy Postmasters
General for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia argue constantly over the issue
of responsibility for the deficiencies in the postal service. He concludes
that a successful postal service has to be directed by one person, and
that correspondence between the provinces is not of sufficient volume to
meet expenses. Unless frequent mails are exchanged at Halifax, the service
between Halifax and Québec will have to be discontinued. Dorchester
accepts Finlays proposals and forwards them to England. On 5 April
1788, Finlay is rewarded with a new commission appointing him Deputy
Postmaster General of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, and, beginning in March 1788, the General Post Office arranges
for packet boats running between Falmouth, England, and New York to stop
at Halifax.
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1789 |
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In the years immediately following the American Revolution,
British North America experiences an influx of disbanded soldiers and
others loyal and sympathetic to the British cause. Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, the eastern townships of what is shortly to become Lower
Canada, the eastern counties of the future Upper Canada along the St.
Lawrence River, and the Niagara area are quickly settled. The population
soon petitions for postal services in and to their areas. The
Québec Gazette reports that a post will be dispatched
every four weeks to post offices opened along the St. Lawrence River
at La Chine, Cedars, Coteau du Lac, Charlottenburg, Cornwall, New
Johnstown, Lancaster, Oznaburg, Matilda, Williamsburg, Edwardsburg,
Oswegatché, Augusta, Elizabethtown, and Kingstown. While
regular service ends at Kingston, occasional mail trips are made to
Niagara, Detroit and Michilimackinac.
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A Montréal lawyer, Arthur Davidson, writes to his London
tailor, John Chalmers, asking that he cancel Davidsons subscription
to a London newspaper that has been sent to him previously through the
Post Office by the packet mail via Halifax or New York, depending on the
season. Instead, he hopes that Chalmers will arrange to have a paper sent
to him from time to time via the regular, commercial shipping to Quebec.
His action typifies widespread mail customs and
conventions of the time.
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1791 |
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By the Constitutional Act of 1791 of the British
Parliament (31 Geo.III [1791], c.31), the Province of Quebec is divided
into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. This division continues until 1841,
when the Union Act unites the two provinces as the Province of
Canada.
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1792 |
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On 17 March, Timothy Pickering, Postmaster General of the United
States, proposes to Hugh Finlay the terms for the first postal convention
between the Canadas and the United States. This convention is also
recognized as the first attempt to facilitate the international handling
of mail whereby one country accepts the prepaid correspondence of another.
By the terms of the convention, mail from Great Britain destined for the
colonies will be routed through New York City to Burlington, Vermont, and
then on to Montréal. Conversely, mail from colonies destined for
Great Britain is shipped from New York City. The proposal is accepted and
the agreement continues until 1794. Although its terms remain in force
during subsequent years there is no immediate new agreement.
British mail received at New York for the Canadas is sent in sealed bags
by the New York Postmaster to Burlington, Vermont, where it is met by the
Canadian courier who brings it to Montréal. Service is every 14
days.
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1798 |
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A stagecoach serves Newark
(Niagara) and Chippawa three times a week. The coach transports not only
passengers but mail as well.
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1799 |
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Hugh Finlay is dismissed from the Post Office on 18 October for
accounting irregularities and indebtedness. He is immediately replaced by
George
Heriot as Deputy Postmaster General for the Provinces of Upper
and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in North America and other
dependencies. Heriot assumes office in April 1800. Frustrated by
inflexible postal regulations, Heriot improves and expands service to the
isolated and rapidly expanding southwestern section of Upper Canada.
Beginning in December 1800, Heriot increases winter service to Niagara
from one delivery during the entire season to one delivery per month;
additional couriers are placed on the Montréal-Kingston
route.
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1803 |
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The
Howe family oversees the development of the postal system in the
Maritimes for many years. On 5 July 1803, John Howe succeeds John Brittain
as Deputy Postmaster General for Nova Scotia. His jurisdiction at the time
is not only the province of Nova Scotia, but also New Brunswick, Prince
Edward Island and Cape Breton. He later leaves this office in 1818 in
favour of his son, John Howe Jr., who fills it until 1843.
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1805 |
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The first Post Office in Newfoundland is established at St.
Johns with Simon Solomon as the first Postmaster. The British
General Post Office does not include Newfoundland in the British postal
system, but officials agree informally to forward to St. Johns all
letters addressed to Newfoundland, by the first outgoing vessels.
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1811 |
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Postal service to Upper Canada is such that a courier
between Montréal and Kingston, U.C., is dispatched once a fortnight
throughout the year and a courier between Kingston and York
[Toronto] is dispatched once a fortnight during the close of the
navigation on Lake Ontario.
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1812 |
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In November, arrangements are completed for mail service every
fortnight between Fredericton, New Brunswick, and Québec.
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1816 |
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The mail moves between Québec and Montréal every
day except Sunday; between Québec and Halifax, fortnightly;
Montréal and Kingston, twice weekly; Kingston and York, once a
week; York and Niagara, once a week; and, York, Sandwich and Amherstburgh,
fortnightly.
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The government of Prince Edward Island arranges for a schooner
to run between Charlottetown and Pictou, Nova Scotia.
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George Heriot resigns as Deputy Postmaster General for Upper and
Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and is succeeded by Daniel Sutherland
as Deputy Postmaster on 25 April.
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1817 |
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The mails run between Québec and Montréal every
weekday except Sunday and Friday; between Québec and Halifax once a
fortnight; between Québec and Upper Canada twice a week; between
Kingston and York once a week; between York and Niagara once a week;
between York and Amherstburgh once a fortnight; and, between Québec
and the United States once a week.
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1820 |
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There are 23 offices in Lower Canada, 19 offices in Upper
Canada; 6 in Nova Scotia, 3 in New Brunswick, and 1 in Prince Edward
Island.
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1826 |
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The Governor, Sir Thomas Cochrane, appeals to the Postmaster
General in London to establish a regular post office at St. Johns,
Newfoundland.
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1827 |
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Daniel Sutherland resigns on 19 November and is replaced by his
son-in-law, Thomas Allen Stayner, on 5
April 1828.
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1831 |
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Mail service between Montréal and Niagara, known as the
Grand Route, increases to five times a week, effective 6 January.
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In England, the Liverpool-Manchester railway line is the first
to carry mail.
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1833 |
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The Royal William crosses
the Atlantic and becomes the first ocean-going steamship bearing the
British Ensign to land at an American port.
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1834 |
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An Act of the British Parliament
(4 Wm. IV, c.7) stipulates that surplus revenue will no longer be sent to
London but is to be divided among the provinces.
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Edwin James King is appointed the first accountant of the Post
Office in the Canadas. He resides in Québec.
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1835 |
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Two postal officials, Surveyors (later called Inspectors), are
appointed: William Henry Griffin (later
to become Deputy Postmaster General) for Lower Canada, and Charles Berczy (later
Postmaster for Toronto) for Upper Canada. The population of Upper and
Lower Canada is simply too large for a single surveyor.
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1836 |
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When Canadas first railway line, the Champlain and St.
Lawrence, is inaugurated on 21 July, the Montréal Morning
Courier refers to it as a new and admirable mode of
communication. The inaugural trip between La Prairie on the south
shore of the St. Lawrence River opposite Montréal and St. John
[Saint-Jean] takes about an hour to cover a distance of about 23 km (14.5
miles). The trip is a momentous occasion in Canadian transportation annals
for it heralds a new era in immigration, agriculture and communication,
and especially postal service.
One of the first advantages of the railway for postal service is that the
mail is dispatched more quickly. Within a week of the opening, it is
announced that the time to convey mail between New York and
Montréal has been reduced by about five hours to 64 hours.
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1838 |
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In the United States, Congress declares that railway lines are
postal routes and wherever possible or necessary must carry the
mail.
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1839 |
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In Lord Durhams famous report, Report of the Affairs of
British North America, he writes that the control and revenue of
the Post Office should be given up to the Colony and that the
Post Office is at the present moment under the management of the same
Imperial establishment. If, in compliance with the reasonable demands of
the Colonies, the regulation of a matter so entirely of internal concern
and the revenue derived from it, were placed under the control of the
provincial legislatures, it would still be advisable that the management
of the Post Office throughout the whole of British North America should be
conducted by one general establishment.
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1840 |
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In England, Rowland Hill introduces postal
reforms. The most significant change is that the cost of postage will be
calculated on basis of weight only. A uniform rate of postage will apply
to the entire country. Postage stamps are introduced.
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In England, the worlds first government-stamped envelope
and letter sheet are introduced.
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On 4 July, the first of Samuel Cunards new steamers,
Britannia, sails from Liverpool and arrives at Halifax on 17 July.
In 1839, Cunard had signed a contract for the first steam packet service
between Britain and North America. Cunards company, the British and
North American Royal Mail Steamship Company, later to become the Cunard
Line, provides a service between Liverpool and Halifax and then to Boston.
Although the Britannia was the first steamer to carry mail under
contract, the first steamer to convey mail across the Atlantic was the
Quebec-built Royal William in 1833.
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Newfoundland is officially incorporated into the British
Imperial postal system.
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The postal reform of 1840 leads to the appearance of stamp boxes for
storing the postage stamps now necessary for the posting of mail.
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