--------------------------------------------------------------- | For a | | |Single |Double | Per |Letter.|Letter.| ounce. ---------------------------------------+-------+-------+------- | d. | d. | d. To Leghorn, Genoa, Florence, Lyons, | | | Marseilles, Aleppo, Constantinople | 12 | 24 | 45 To St. Malo, Morlaix, Nieuhaven | 6 | 12 | 18 To Bordeaux, Rochelle, Nantes, Bayonne,| | | Cadiz, Madrid | 9 | 18 | 24 To Hamburg, Frankfort, Cologne | 8 | 16 | 24 To Dantzic, Leipsic, Lübeck, Stockholm,| | | Copenhagen, Elsinore, Königsberg | 12 | 24 | 48 ---------------------------------------+-------+-------+------- No rates were fixed for letters passing outside Europe. These rates were not substantially altered by the Act of 1660, although in some cases a variation according to the route followed was introduced. For example, a letter sent to the North of Italy via Lyons was charged 3d. more than a letter sent direct. Under James II rates of postage (6d. a single letter, 1s. a double letter, and 2s. the ounce) were fixed for letters to and from Jamaica, although no service to and from the island was provided by the Crown. In 1686 regular mail services were established under contract between Dover and Calais and between Dover and Ostend, and in 1687 a service between England and Holland. It is probable that packets were sailing between Dover and Calais before that time,[680] but in general the cross-Channel services had previously been conducted by boats hired casually for the conveyance of particular mails. For the Calais service a sum of £1,170 a year was paid, and for the Dutch service a sum of £900 a year.[681]