=365. The postal service about 1800.=—Increased facility in sending communications to a distance has attended the improvement of the means of transportation by land and sea. During the early part of the century the postal service was still cramped by old methods and high charges. In England, for instance, in the period after 1827 and before the reform, postage of fourpence (eight cents) was charged for the carriage of a letter any distance not exceeding 15 miles, and the postage increased with the distance: 8 pence for 80 miles, 12 pence for 300, 15 pence for 600, etc. The government charged, in some cases, nearly five hundred times the actual cost. Under these conditions little use, naturally, was made of the post, and it carried, on an annual average, only three letters for each member of the population. Many letters were sent illicitly by private means of conveyance, and the postal revenue remained nearly stationary for many years before 1839, in spite of the growth of the country in population and business activity. Conditions were better in some states of the Continent, notably Germany, but would still be regarded everywhere as backward. =366. Postal reforms and their results.=—A new era in the English postal system dates from the introduction by Rowland Hill of the penny post; after 1840 a letter weighing not over half an ounce could be sent to any place in the United Kingdom if prepaid by a stamp costing one penny. Similar reductions were adopted in other countries; and new facilities were extended for the mailing of cards, printed matter, and periodicals, samples of merchandise, etc. An international Postal Union was established in 1874 among the chief countries of the world, which agreed on common rates of foreign postage, and arranged to cooperate in carrying on the postal service. This Union has improved greatly the means of distant postal communication, and has grown to include practically the whole civilized world, with the exception of China. It is easy to follow the effects of the various reforms and improvements in the increased use of the mails. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the number of letters sent per head of the population has increased as follows: 1839, 3; 1840, 7; 1872, 28; 1882, 35. The post has developed from a luxury into a social and industrial necessity, and the extent to which it is used in any country furnishes a fair index by which to judge of the country’s advancement. The following countries may be taken as examples, the figures showing the number of pieces of mail sent annually about 1900, per head of the population: United States, 100; United Kingdom, 85; Germany, 81; France, 55; Italy, 17; Japan, 13; Spain, 12; Russian Empire, 5.