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Parliamentary Reports and Returns

This section consists of official reports and returns of documents made by the order of Parliament, either from the Post Office itself or from various commissions of inquiry.

While the reports themselves were typically short, making recommendations as to what should be done, they often contained extensive appendices that dwarfed the report itself, and these are frequently a key source for what was happening in the Post Office of the time. For example, they have verbatim transcripts of interviews with Post Office staff (both senior and junior), and other interested parties, in which the interviewees describe how the mails were handled. There are also extensive statistics on mail volumes, salaries, post offices etc.

"Returns" supplied information/documents requested by members of Parliament.

The Indexes published in 1840 (see below) gave a listing of reports up to that time, so ones mentioned there but not currently available are also listed below.

Later reports and returns are listed where known and included where available – there will be many more of these, so information on missing ones is welcomed!

Parliamentary Reports

Date Title
1735
(16 Apr)

Report from the Committee to whom the Copy of His Majesty's Warrant, whereby Letters are permitted to pass free from the Duty payable upon Post Letters, was referred

Extract from the Journals of the House of Commons

17pp, 3.4MB (link)
1764
(28 Mar)

Report from Committee on the Frauds and Abuses in Relation to the Sending or Receiving of Letters and Parcels free from Postage, &c.

Extract from the Journals of the House of Commons

14pp, 2.0MB (link)
1793
(17 Jun)

10th Report of Commissioners of Enquiry Into Fees, Gratuities, Perquisites, and Emoluments

Appointed to enquire into salaries, Fees, Gratuities, Perquisites, and Emoluments received in Public Offices, examine abuses, and report observations respecting business transacted
Post Office

49pp, 7.9MB (link)
1797
(23 May)

Report from Committee Appointed to Enquire into Certain Abuses in the Post Office

Corruption in payments for appointments and the dismissal of Postmaster General Lord Tankerville after objecting

167pp, 6.5MB (link)
1797
(13 Jul)

Report from Committee Appointed to Consider the Agreement made with Mr. Palmer for the Reform and Improvement of the Post-office

This and subsequent Palmer reports relate to the claims he made for compensation for his improvement in the conveyance of mails (Reprinted 1808)

180pp, 118MB (link)
1797
(19 Jul)

6th Report of Select Committee on Finance

Appointed to examine the total amount of the public debts, and of interest and charges, as of 5th of Jan. 1797, particularizing the receipts and disbursements of mentioned offices
Stamp Office

60pp, 2.7MB (link)
1797
(19 Jul)

7th Report of Select Committee on Finance

Appointed to examine the total amount of the public debts, and of interest and charges, as of 5th of Jan. 1797, particularizing the receipts and disbursements of mentioned offices
Post Office

84pp, 3.9MB (link)
1807
(31 Jul)

Report from the Committee on Mr. Palmer's Petition

1808
(9 Jun)

Report from the Committee on Mr. Palmer's Account of the Percentage due on the Net Revenue of the Post-office beyond £240,000, from the 5th April 1793 to the 5th January 1808, &c

1810
(6 Feb)

9th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into Fees and Emoluments in Public Offices in Ireland

Appointed to enquire into the Fees, Gratuities, Perquisites, and Emoluments received in certain Public Offices in Ireland, and any abuses, and the mode of receiving, collecting, issuing, and accounting for public money in Ireland
General Post Office

31pp, 1.4MB (link)
1813
(3 Jun)

Minutes of Evidence taken before the Committee appointed to consider of the Agreement made with Mr. Palmer for the Reform and Improvement of the Post-office and its Revenue

Examinations of witnesses and accounts relating to the matter

148pp, 41.2MB (link)
1815

Report on plans and papers relating to the new post-office

1820
(17 Jul)

Report from Select Committee on the New GPO

Appointed to consider the report on the petition of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons, of the City of London, praying for an extension of the time, and enlargement of the powers of an Act for providing a site for a New Post-Office between Saint Martin's-le-Grand and Forster Lane

64pp, 6.1MB (link)
1822
(23 Jul)

Report from Committee on the Means of Improving and Maintaining the Foreign Trade of the Country

Evidence relating to the inconvenience for captains of vessels by having to make their declaration respecting ship-letters at the GPO, and ways to improve the situation

1824
(14 Jun)

Report from the Committee on the Foreign Trade of the Country

Evidence relating to the inconvenience caused by the regulation compelling captains of vessels arriving from foreign parts to make a declaration at the GPO before reporting at the Custom-house, and how letters coming from Constantinople are released from quarantine

1829
(20 Mar)

18th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Collection and Management of the Revenue

Appointed to inquire into the collection and management of the Public Revenue in Ireland, and certain departments of the Public Revenue in Great Britain
Post Office Revenue, United Kingdom: Part I

109pp, 4.2MB (link)
1829
(5 Jun)

19th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Collection and Management of the Revenue

Appointed to inquire into the collection and management of the Public Revenue in Ireland, and certain departments of the Public Revenue in Great Britain
Post Office Revenue, United Kingdom: Part II – Ireland

Report and Appendices 1-101 492pp, 27.6MB (link)
Appendices 102-201 476pp, 37.6MB (link)
1830
(8 Feb)

20th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Collection and Management of the Revenue

Appointed to inquire into the collection and management of the Public Revenue in Ireland, and certain departments of the Public Revenue in Great Britain
Post Office Revenue, United Kingdom: Part III – Scotland

68pp, 2.8MB (link)
1830
(24 Feb)

21st Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Collection and Management of the Revenue

Appointed to inquire into the collection and management of the Public Revenue in Ireland, and certain departments of the Public Revenue in Great Britain
Post Office Revenue, United Kingdom: Part IV – England, Twopenny Post

72pp, 2.8MB (link)
1830
(25 Jun)

22nd Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Collection and Management of the Revenue

Appointed to inquire into the collection and management of the Public Revenue in Ireland, and certain departments of the Public Revenue in Great Britain
Post Office Revenue, United Kingdom: Part V – Packet Establishments – Home Stations

108pp, 3.7MB (link)
1831

Report from the Select Committee on the Reduction of Salaries of Offices, held during the pleasure of the Crown, by Members of either House of Parliament

1832

Report from the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the Post-office Communication between Great Britain and Ireland

1832

Report of Vice-Admiral Malcolm respecting packet service at Falmouth

Names and rank of officers, freight of specie carried by each packet in 1832, showing sum received by each commander; also passengers conveyed, and sums paid by them

1834
(18 Apr)

23rd Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Collection and Management of the Revenue

Offices which remain to be reported on, also, Letter from the Postmaster-General to the Treasury on the Report, how far recommendations have been carried out

1835
(12 Jun)

1st Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Contracts for supply of mail coaches to be thrown open

1835
(18 Jun)

2nd Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Extension of Mr Vidler's mail coach contract for six months recommended, models and drawings of mail coaches to be invited

1835
(2 Jul)

3rd Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Mr Vidler having declined to extend the mail coach contract, immediate notice for tenders recommended (with Mr Vidler not permitted to tender)

1835
(20 Jul)

Report, with Evidence, and a Memorandum from the French Post-office, sent in to the Treasury by the Commissioners of Post-Office Inquiry, in December 1834

1835
(23 Jul)

4th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Recommendation that the office of Postmaster General be replaced by a Board of Commissioners, with a responsible chief in Parliament

68pp, 6.4MB (link)
1835
(13 Aug)

5th Report (No. 1) of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Tenders for mail coaches

1836
(11 Apr)

5th Report (No. 2) of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Recommendation that Prices Current be allowed to pass at a reduced rate, either of postage or by means of a (revenue) stamp

45pp, 4.2MB (link)
1836
(30 Apr)

6th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Consideration of the Packet Establishments, on account of their extent and importance, and the large annual expenditure which they occasioned

304pp, 28MB (link)
1837
(8 Feb)

7th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Contracts for horsing the mail coaches and other matters relating to stage coaches, consolidation of Acts relating to Post Office recommended

1837
(15 Apr)

8th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Recommendations relating to the Secretary's Office, no officer to derive income from postal fees or official privileges

1837
(7 Jul)

9th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Recommedations relating to the Twopenny Post, including the use of stamped covers and additional despatches

1837

Report from Select Committee appointed to inquire into the best means of establishing a Communication by Steam with India by way of the Red Sea

1838
(Jan)

10th Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Management of the Post Office

Consideration of Registration of Letters and the current practices for money letters and overseas letters, recommending that a cheaply priced registration service be introduced, and that the Money Order Office be brought into public control

38pp, 4.1MB (link)
Transcription 63pp, 492Kb (link)
1838
(28 Mar)

Report from the Committee appointed to consider the present state of the Communications by Railroad

Consideration of how far it affects regularity and convenience of the transmission of letters, on what terms mails are conveyed, and what further measures should be taken

188pp, 18.6MB (link)
1838
(10 May)

1st Report from Select Committee on Postage

Appointed to inquire into the rates and mode of charging postage, with a view to a reduction if without injury to the Revenue; and especially into the mode recommended in Rowland Hill's pamphlet. With testimony from Hill, Wallace etc

529pp, 47MB (link)
1838

2nd Report from Select Committee on Postage

Evidence relating to Penny Postage reforms

1838

3rd Report from Select Committee on Postage

Together with References to the Index to the First and Second Reports of Evidence

1840
(22 Jan)

Indexes to Parliamentary Reports and Papers Relating to the Post Office 1735-1839

Listing of reports, with summaries of contents

497pp, 45.1MB (link)
1842
(27 Jun)

Report of Select Committee on Post Office Communications with Ireland

Appointed to inquire into Post Office communication between Great Britain and Ireland, to whom the petitions on the subject were referred. Principally inquiring into communication between the southern parts of Britain and Ireland, but also direct line between London and Dublin

437pp, 33.6MB (link)
1843
(14 Aug)

Report from Select Committee on Postage

Appointed to inquire into the measures adopted for the penny rate of postage, and facilitating the conveyance of letters, and the results so far as relate to the revenue and expenditure of the Post Office, and the general convenience of the country. Progress report on Penny Postage, with extensive testimony from Rowland Hill

707pp, 61MB (link)
1844
(5 Aug)

Report from Secret Committee on the Post-Office

Appointed to inquire into the state of the law in respect to detaining and opening letters at the General Post Office, and the mode under which the authority given has been exercised. The report on postal powers to intercept letters in the wake of the Anti-Graham campaign, it also included texts of almost all the extant papers of the English Postal Service from 1252 to the Restoration in 1660

147pp, 10.4MB (link)
1850
(10 Aug)

Report from Commissioners Appointed to Enquire into Sunday Labour in the Post Office

Appointed to inquire "whether the amount of Sunday labour in the Post Office might not be reduced, without completely putting an end to the collection and delivery of letters, &c, on Sundays"

52pp, 3.5MB (link)
1851
(18 Jul)

Report from Select Committee on Newspaper Stamps

Appointed to inquire "into the present State and Operation of the Law relative to Newspaper Stamps; also, into the Law and Regulations relative to the Transmission of Newspapers and other Publications by Post, and to report their Opinion thereupon to The House"

708pp, 37.6MB (link)
Global Philatelic Library
1852
(21 May)

Report from Select Committee on Postage Label Stamps

Appointed to inquire "upon the present mode of Engraving, Printing, and Gumming the POSTAGE LABEL STAMPS, and likewise whether and how the Perforating Machine invented by the Patentee could be applied to the same with Advantage to the Public, to whom a Petition of Charles Maybury Archer was referred"

274pp, 52.5MB (link)
courtesy Ray Simpson
1855
(31 Jul)

Report from Select Committee on Waterford etc Postal Arrangements

Appointed to inquire into the postal arrangements in the City and County of Waterford, and other postal arrangements in Ireland

330pp, 28.7MB (link)
1859
(10 Aug)

Report from Select Committee on Packet and Telegraphic Contracts

Appointed to inquire into the manner in which contracts extending over periods of years have been formed with various Steam Packet Companies, and any arrangements for the purposes of telegraphic communications beyond sea

562pp, 54.2MB (link)
1861
(23 Jul)

Report from Select Committee on the Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Company

Appointed to inquire into the circumstances attending the termination, by the Postmaster General, of the postal contract with the Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Company

389pp, 40.2MB (link)
1866
(3 May)

Report by the Postmaster General to the Treasury upon Complaints as to the Fife Mails

With following correspondence

6pp, 336KB (link)
1869
(23 Mar)

Report from Select Committee on Mail Contracts

Appointed to enquire into the contracts entered into by the Postmaster General with Messrs. Cunard & Co. and Mr. William Inman, for the conveyance of mails from the UK to the United States

262pp, 16.9MB (link)
1869
(22 Jul)

Report from Select Committee on the Telegraph Bill

Examination of the "allegations" of the Bill, and amendments in accordance with the Order of the House

34pp, 2.8MB (link)
1914
(29 Jul)

Fourth Annual Report of the Standing Committee on Boy Labour in the Post Office

Including discussion of the current situation, statistics, and multiple appendixes

33pp, 2.5MB (link)
1914

Report of the Committee appointed by the Postmaster General to consider and report how far and by what methods the State should make provision for Research work in the Science of Wireless Telegraphy

Including a description of the National Research Laboratory

13pp, 816KB (link)

Parliamentary Returns

Date Title
1830
(3 Jun)

Return of Post Towns in Ireland making Extra Charge for Delivery for Letters

2pp, 42Kb (link)
1841
(15 Feb)

Return of Total Net Produce of Post Office Revenue

For Year ended the 5th day of January 1841

2pp, 155KB (link)
1841
(5 Mar)

Return of Payments by the Post Office for the Conveyance of Mails across tbe Firth of Forth

By the Queen's Ferry, and by the Fife and Mid-Lothian Ferries

2pp, 191KB (link)
1841
(11 Mar)

Returns of Post Office Revenue and Balances

Account of Post-Office Revenue for the Year 1840; of Sums received for Postage from Public Departments of the United Kingdom, also for 1838 and 1839; Return of Balances in the hands of the Deputy Postmasters and others

4pp, 262KB (link)
1841
(19 Mar)

Returns showing the manner in which Postmasters in England, Scotland and Ireland are paid etc

Whether by Salary, and how much, or by a Percentage, and at what Rate; Towns in which Post Offices have been entirely or partly built with Public Money, the Authority and Sum Total expended; Return of Towns in which the Letter Carriers receive Uniforms at the Public Expense; Return showing the Number of the Mail-Coach Guards paid entirely with Public Money, and those partly paid by Fees from Passengers, and the Lines of Road travelled over

20pp, 1.3MB (link)
1841
(25 Mar)

Return on Rate of Travelling etc of Certain Irish Mails

For the Years 1839 and 1840, the Rate of Travelling, Mileage paid, Contractor and Contracts, Instances and Causes of Non-arrival

2pp, 211KB (link)
1841
(5 Apr)

Returns of Chargeable Letters since Reduction of Postage, Revenue, and Colonial Postage

Returns of the Number of Chargeable Letters through the London General Post since 5th December 1839; similar Return for Year immediately preceding the Reduction. same for London District Post; Comparative Statements for United Kingdom; Gross and Net Post-Office Revenue 1839-41; amounts paid for transit; amounts of Money Orders issued and paid in London; account of the Net Amount of Post-Office Revenue derived from Foreign and Colonial Postage, in Year ending 5th January 1841

6pp, 390KB (link)
1841
(30 Apr)

Return of the Arrangements for the Conveyance of the Mails between London and Edinburgh

2pp, 202KB (link)
1841
(14 May)

Return showing the whole Amount charged against the Public annually for the Communication by the Mail Packets between Port Patrick and Donaghadee

To the period in each of the Three last Years to which the Accounts have been made up

2pp, 105KB (link)
1841
(7 Jun)

Return of the Cities and Towns in the United Kingdom from which Post Office Revenue is remitted to London or Dublin

Showing Total Amount remitted in the Years ending the 5th day of January 1840 and 1841, and the methods

8pp, 579KB (link)
1841
(7 Jun)

Return showing the Names of the Mail or other Coaches carrying Letters in England and Wales

For the Five Years ending the 1st day of March 1841; showing the Number of Horses by which drawn; the Number of Outside Passengers, and the Price paid per Double Mile to the Horsing Contractors, in each Year respectively

10pp, 555KB (link)
1841
(22 Jun)

Return of the Number of Letters registered in the United Kingdom Since the Introduction of the present mode of Registration

Stating the Date of such mode of Registration, and the Fee charged therefor above the Postage: also, the Date on which the Post Office discontinued the former Practice of gratuitous Registration of Letters containing Coin, and the Reasons for discontinuing the same

2pp, 141KB (link)
1841
(22 Jun)

Returns of the Number, Names and Wages of Mail Guards, employed by the Post-Office

Showing both Mail Guards prohibited from taking fees from the public and those paid partly with public money and partly by fees from passengers, also the Lines of Common Roads and Railroads to which these guards are appointed, and those lines without Mail Guards

20pp, 994KB (link)
1845
(20 Feb)

Return of Names of Persons employed in GPOs London and Dublin

35pp, 45.1MB (link)
1848
(30 Aug)

Return of Rates of Postage charged on Letters conveyed between the UK and British Colonies and Possessions

Including internal rates and the income, expenditure, and net revenue within the British Colonies and Possessions and India

8pp, 1.4MB (link)
Global Philatelic Library
1851
(24 Jul)

Return of Letters regarding the Construction of a Perforating Machine by Henry Archer

Copies of correspondence between the Patentee Henry Archer, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, the Treasury, and the Postmaster-General regarding the construction of perforating machines and a proposal to print the postage labels 1847-51, and the agreements with Messrs. Bacon & Petch

32pp, 9.1MB (link)
Global Philatelic Library
1852
(9 Feb)

Return of Letters regarding the Plan for Perforating Postage Labels

Copies "of a LETTER addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the Patentee of the Plan for PERFORATING POSTAGE LABELS, on the 31st day of December 1851; together with Copies of the LETTERS and PAPERS marked (A.) and (B.) which were forwarded therewith: And, of a LETTER addressed to the Patentee by the Secretary to the Treasury on the 24th day of January 1852; together with a Copy of the Patentee's Reply thereto."

7pp, 2MB (link)
Global Philatelic Library
1852
(15 Mar)

Return of Agreement with Bacon & Petch for producing Postage Labels and Reports on Perforated Labels

Copies "of any AGREEMENT entered into between the Commissioners of Inland Revenue and Messieurs Bacon and Petch, for Engraving, Printing, and Gumming the POSTAGE LABELS, subsequent to the 1st day of May 1851: And, of any REPORT made by the Postmaster-General, or Rowland Hill, Esquire, in December 1851, as to the Utility and Advantage to the Public of the PERFORATED POSTAGE LABELS."

3pp, 947KB (link)
Global Philatelic Library