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Contents
Key Events
and Chronology of the Canadian Postal Service - 1788
Interesting Additional Information
Source :
Civilization.ca - A Chronology of the Canadian Postal Service
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Following a trip through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Hugh
Finlay, at the request of Lord Dorchester, Governor of Quebec, reports on
the state of the roads and postal service between Québec and
Halifax. He discovers that the principal impediment to an efficient
service lies in the divided responsibilities between the provinces for the
maintenance of the postal service. The system in one province is
independent of the other; hence Finlay finds that the Deputy Postmasters
General for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia argue constantly over the issue
of responsibility for the deficiencies in the postal service. He concludes
that a successful postal service has to be directed by one person, and
that correspondence between the provinces is not of sufficient volume to
meet expenses. Unless frequent mails are exchanged at Halifax, the service
between Halifax and Québec will have to be discontinued. Dorchester
accepts Finlay’s proposals and forwards them to England. On 5 April
1788, Finlay is rewarded with a new commission appointing him Deputy
Postmaster General of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, and, beginning in March 1788, the General Post Office arranges
for packet boats running between Falmouth, England, and New York to stop
at Halifax.
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