Towns > Glasgow > 1828-1912 - Post-Office annual Glasgow directory > 1849-1850

Post-Office Regulations.
LIMITATION OF SIZE.
A letter to pass by the post, either paid or unpaid, must not exceed the dimen-
sions of twenty-four inches in length, or breadth, or width, or depth. Any letter
above these dimensions may, if fully paid, be detained and opened, or forwarded at
the option of the Postmaster- General. ' Any letter unpaid, or insufficiently, will be
taxed precisely after the scale of charge mentioned in the preceding paragraph as
applicable to unpaid letters exceeding four ounces weight, and thus charged, be either
detained and opened, and returned to the sender, or forwarded at the option of the
Postmaster- General. The only exceptions to the foregoing regulations as to size and
weight are in the case of — 1. Parliamentary proceedings or Addresses to Her Ma-
jesty: 2. Petitions to either Houses of Parliament, forwarded to any Member of
such House: 3. Printed votes or proceedings of Parliament: 4. Letters or packets
to or from public departments or public officers in Her Majesty's service : 5. Let-
ters, &c, to or from places abroad.
All persons sending letters by the post unpaid, which, from any cause whatever,
cannot be delivered to the parties to whom they are addressed, are liable to pay the
postage charged thereon, which may be recovered, with costs, by summary proceed-
ings before a Magistrate.
Printed Votes and proceedings in Parliament are charged at the following rate ,
between places in the United Kingdom, and between the United Kingdom and the
Colonies, when conveyed by packet:—
Not exceeding 4 ounces, . ■ . . , • , Id.
Exceeding 4 ounces, and not exceeding 8 ounces, . . 2d.
Exceeding 8 ounces, and not exceeding 12 ounces, . 3d.
and so on in proportion. Prepayment optional.
Letters of Soldiers and Sailors (except on letters addressed to the United States,
which are charged 3|d.,) remain unaltered, their privilege being restricted to half
an ounce in weight.
Printed Books, Magazines, Reviews, and Pamphlets, (whether British, Colonial,
or Foreign, may he transmitted by Post, within the Uniied Kingdom, at the fol-
lowing rates: —
For each Packet not exceeding 1 lb., 6d. Exceeding 1 lb. and not exceeding 2
lbs., Is. Exceeding 2 lbs. and not exceeding 3 lbs., Is. 6d., and so on. Provided,
however, the following conditions be carefully observed: 1st, Every such Packet
must be sent without a cover, or in a cover open at the ends or sides. 2d, It must
contain a single volume, (whether printed Book, Magazine, Review, or Pamphlet,)
the several sheets or parts thereof, when there are more than one, being sewed, or
bound together. 3rd, It must not exceed two feet in length. 4th, The Postage
must be prepaid in full, by affixing outside the Packet or its cover the proper Stamps,
The name and address of the sender may be written or printed upon it, and any
other writing may be on any leaf of it, or on the binding; but all such last men-
tioned writing must be on one and the self same page or corresponding portion of
the binding. If any of the above conditions be violated, the Packet will be charged
as a Letter.
The following Instructions have been addressed to all Postmasters, and are strictly
acted upon: —
" General Post-Office. — On and after the 1st January, 1845, should any Letter
or Packet be tendered at your Office, which you may ascertain to contain, or which
you have every reason to believe, contains any of the following articles, viz: Any
Glass or Glass Bottle; any Razor, Scissors, Knife, Fork, or other Sharp or Pointed
Instrument; any Leeches, Game, Fish, Flesh, Fruit, Vegetables, or other perishable
substance; any Bladder or other Vessel containing Liquid; or any article, matter, or
thing whatsoever, which might, by pressure or otherwise, be rendered injurious either
to the Officers of the Post-Office, or to the contents of the Mail Bags; you will
refuse to receive such Letter or Packet.
" In the event of any Letter or Packet being taken in by you, and you do not,
until afterwards, discover that it contains any Article as above described, or should
any Such Letter or Packet be deposited in the Letter Box, you will not forward it
on its destination, but you will detain it in your Office, and inform me, by the first
■ Post, of the circumstances, stating the precise Address of the Letter or Packet, and