WHereas there was an Act made in the 12 th . year of this King , Entituled , An Act for the Erecting and Establishing a Post-Office ; Wherein the Postage of LETTERS for His Majesties Dominions is exprest ; And also a Schedule of Rates for Foreign Letters : In which Act there is a Proviso in the words following .

Provided always , That all Merchants Accompts , not exceeding one Sheet of Paper , and all Bills of Exchange , Invoices , ( or Bills of Parcels , ) and Bills of Lading , are , and shall hereby be understood to be allowed without Rate in the Price of the Letters ; And likewise the Covers of Letters , ( not exceeding the fourth part of a sheet of Paper , ) sent to Ma●sielles , Venice or Leogorn , to be sent towards Turky , shall be understood to pass without Rate , or , Payment for the same .

The said Clause or Proviso ( as is humbly conceived , ) ought to be apply'd to the Body of the ACT , and not restrain'd , ( as the Post-master doth , ) to Foreign Letters only , excluding His Majesties Subjects , and the Trade of the Three Kingdoms from the just Right and Claim , or Benefit thereof , by Extorting Rates for every such Account , Bill of Exchange , Invoice , [ or Bill of Parcels , or Patterns of less bulk or weight , ] or Bill of Lading , or Cover of a Letter , as for a Double Letter ; So that in that circumstance , a Letter may go cheaper to Constantinople , than to Bristol , or Place of that Distance , contrary to the express Words and Meaning , the literal Sense or Reason of the said Clause : And for that it cannot be imagined the PARLIAMENT should either so far forget themselves , or the Countrey for which they served , or the necessary and convenient Correspondence , as well as the Trade of His Majesties Dominions , as to put them upon worse and harder tearms than Foreigners , or Foreign Trade , to the Prejudice of the Kingdom , taking more than the Law allows by above Twenty tbousand pounds per annum , whilst the Revenue is said to produce to the Duke of York yearly above forty thousand pounds more than it was valued at the time it was granted .

Complaints have been made hereof a long time , and the Post-master threatned with Indictments , but the charge or Prosecution was too great for any Private Person to wrestle with so great a Power ; And some who were most concern'd , being allow'd to tax their own Letters , to keep them from joyning in the Prosecution , nothing was done therein . A Petition complaining of this Abuse and Extortion , was Presented in the late long Parliament , and referred to a Committee , wherein a Noble Lord had the Chair ; But they very seldom met to effect a Redress : And in the late Parliament the Complaint was again revived ; but before any thing could be done , the House was Dissolv'd .

It is now Humbly Prayed , that this Honourable House will give their Judgement on that Proviso , to the intent the Correspondence and Trade in General , way receive its just Benefit and Encouragement ; And that the Votes and News-Books for the Informtation of the Kingdom , may go free , as heretofore , with what else this Honourable House shall think fit .