The House of Assembly was in the habit of establishing post routes, and of voting increases in the salaries of existing couriers, the resulting expense of which was to be paid by the Post Office. The action of the Legislature was often taken on the presentation of memorials from persons interested, or on the initiative of a member specially interested in Post Office matters with some axe to grind. The Legislature would vote, say, £10 or £20, for a courier to some remote place, for which the number of letters was negligible--perhaps a dozen in a year, perhaps two a week and a few newspapers. The resolution of the House would then be forwarded to the Postmaster-General, who by virtue of his delegated authority established the route, the cost over and above the amount voted by the House being drawn from Post Office funds. The whole system was permeated with jobbery, and the House used to become more than usually active in these matters as the elections approached. In Cape Breton, in 1841, the expenses of the couriers amounted to some £604, and the revenue, after deducting the commission of the three postmasters in the island, was some £308--the explanation being that the member for the island was one of the leaders in Post Office matters in the Legislature. Internal correspondence was at this time literally nonexistent, many of the couriers conveying only newspapers (which in general went free), and fee letters (that is, letters charged only with the Way Office keeper's fee, and no postage). Except in five towns (Halifax, Yarmouth, and Picton in Nova Scotia; and St. John and Fredericton in New Brunswick) there was no provision for the delivery of letters except at the post office window. In those towns, delivery was made in the first instance at the post office, but all letters which were not called for within a short time after the arrival of the mail, were sent out for delivery throughout the town by letter carrier. An additional charge of 1d. per letter was made by the carrier, and retained by him as his remuneration. In some cases 1d. was charged also for the delivery of newspapers; in others this penny was charged only where the receivers could be induced to pay; and in some cases newspapers were delivered free. At Halifax two letter carriers were employed, and their total weekly earnings were estimated at £4 10s., indicating 1,080 as, approximately, the weekly number of letters and newspapers received. At Fredericton a charge of 1d. was made on letters and on newspapers, but the amount was taken by the postmaster, who paid a weekly wage to the carrier. The postmaster estimated his annual receipt at about £19 10s., corresponding with a weekly average of 90 letters and newspapers delivered in Fredericton. He paid the carrier £14 10s. per annum.