POSTAL SYSTEM

POSTAL SYSTEM Postal system may be defined as an institution, usually under the control of a governmental or quasi-governmental agency, that makes it possible to send a letter, packet, or parcel to any addressee, in the same country or abroad, with the expectation that it will be received.

The earliest references to postal systems are from Egypt in 2000 BC and the Chou dynasty in China 1,000 years later. China is also believed to have developed the first post house relay system in the world. However, the origin of the development of modem postal system may be traced to the early eighteenth century when a programme to improve the condition of public roads in Great Britain greatly increased the speed at which mail travelled. In 1784, John Palmer introduced mail coaches. The mail was first carried by rail from Liverpool to Manchester in 1830. Another major milestone in postal progress in the nine­teenth century was the idea, first proposed by the British ,educator and tax reformer, Rowland Hill, in 1837, of charging a single uniform rate for delivery based on weight rather than distance and using prepaid adhesive postage stamps. In 1853, Britain introduced the first post boxes. In 1855, it first installed post boxes in London. The Post Office Savings Bank was begun in 1861, and private telegraph services were taken over by the post office in Britain. The introduction of steamships and rail-roads in the nineteenth century also greatly facilitated the delivery of mail between nations.

The two most significant advancements of the twen­tieth century were the development of reliable airmail service and the introduction of automated mail handling. Mail wa's carried unofficially by Claude Grahame White, a British pilot, on a flight from Blackpool to Southport, in England. In 1911, a French pilot, Henri Pequet, carried mail from Allahabad to Naini in India; and a regular airmail service was set up. Mail flights in Britain and the USA also began in 1911. In the USA, a regular trans-continental service was introduced in 1924. Airmail services in Australia began in the 1920s. The first airmail flight between Australia and Britain took place in 1934.
In recent years, post-offices in industrial countries have followed a policy of providing more automation in the handling of mail to provide customers with a better service. There has been an increase in the number of private carriers of circulars, catalogues, magazines and merchandise samples, although private firms are not normally allowed to handle ordinary mail. Private parcel carriers also compete with the post office. The growth of elettronic postal services has been a major development.