Article XVII written by Alexander Gunn was
published in the Northern Ensign on 17 Nov 1881 – Part C
Newspapers
"I referred to the library in connection with
the school, as the only literature we had within our reach. Newspapers in those
days were a rarity in the far north. The John
O’Groat Journal and the Northern Star,
if I remember right came into existence about the time I allude to, the one
published in Wick where it still flourishes, the other, I think, in Thurso.
They were both diminutive sheets, perhaps about 12 inches by 10, so far as I
can recollect. Then the Northern Ensign came
into life, and I need not say still flourishes prosperously. The price of these
papers at the time was 3d, I think, and I believe the postage for one of them
would cost as much as the price of the paper."
Postage
"There was no penny post at that time, and the
rate of the postage was very high. A letter from Helmsdale to Berriedale, or
Badbea, which was only one stage, cost 4 1/2d. A letter from Edinburgh was 1s
1d, and letters to Canada cost 2s 6d. There was this advantage, if advantage it
could be called, there was no rule as to prepayment, and no difference in the
rate whether prepaid or not."
My Comments:
As Alexander Gunn tells us, in the1830s
postal rates in Great Britain were very high. At the time it was usual for the
recipient to pay postage on delivery, charged by the sheet and distance
travelled. In 1837 Sir Rowland Hill proposed an overhaul of the postage system
using a glued stamp to show pre-payment of postage. It was first issued on 1 May
1840 and featured a picture of Queen Victoria. The ‘Penny Black’ allowed
letters of up to ½ ounce to be delivered at the rate of one penny regardless of
distance.
The Grey Hen’s Well was the place Badbea letters
were collected and posted from. I doubt most of the Badbea residents could
afford to post letters but John Badbea Sutherland received some financial gifts
from Christians he corresponded with and over several decades he both wrote and
received many letters. The earliest I have a transcription of is 12 July 1838.
See my blogs on August 18 2014 and July 15
2015 for more on the postal services and John’s letters.
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