The result of this Act was eminently satisfactory. In the first eighteen months or so the postage on letters for India and the Cape of Good Hope amounted to £11,658, while the amount paid for the conveyance by private ship was only £1,250; although it should be explained that expense was incurred for less than half the number of despatches, the remainder being conveyed by his Majesty's ships, or by ships of the East India Company which were placed at the disposal of the Post Office free of charge. Other minor changes were made in subsequent years. In 1836 a postal treaty was arranged with France, under which certain rates--in general, rates slightly lower than those previously in force--were agreed for all letters passing through France. The rates for colonial letters were revised when uniform postage was introduced in the inland service. They were made chargeable according to weight, and for transmission to any port in the colonies were fixed generally at 1s. the 1/2 ounce. In 1850, on political grounds, the Postmaster-General[693] proposed the establishment of a general 1s. rate for all colonial letters. The proposal was not immediately adopted, but a few years later a rate of 6d. the 1/2 ounce was established for all parts of the Empire except India, the Cape, Mauritius, and Tasmania. This rate was extended to all the colonies in 1857, and to the United States in 1868. In 1869 the rate for letters to the United States, Canada, and Prince Edward Island was reduced to 3d. In 1875 the Universal Postal Union rate of 2-1/2d. came into operation. The next great advance was the result mainly of the efforts of Sir J. Henniker Heaton, who for many years advocated the facilitation of postal intercourse, especially within the Empire. In 1898 penny postage was established between the United Kingdom and all the chief colonies except Australia, the Cape, and Natal. In 1905 these colonies joined, and were followed by Egypt and the Sudan. In 1907 a special rate of 1d. a pound was established for magazines and trade journals posted in the United Kingdom, for Canada. The rate did not cover the cost of service, and its justification is to be sought in political considerations. In order to secure the low rate Canada undertook to defray the whole cost of ocean transport. Difficulties in regard to the financial arrangements arose subsequently, and on the 1st January 1915 the rate was altered to the following, viz. 1d. for the first 6 ounces, 1-1/2d. for 1-1/2 pounds, 2-1/2d. for 2-1/2 pounds, and so on.