Some of the presents and civilities were, however, of a less questionable character. From Beccles he receives a red-painted box containing a turkey; from Shrewsbury, a cheese; from Newcastle, a salmon; and he sends his humble thanks to the gentlemen of Amsterdam for their kind present. To Captain Langley, the agent at Harwich, Whitley writes: "I have received a single barrel of oysters by a Colchester waggon, for which I thank you." The carriage of the barrel is stated to have been 9d. At another time he acknowledges to have received from Harwich ten lobsters; and to the agent at Edinburgh he writes: "I thank you heartily for your kind present of herring. I will send to look after them, and they shall be disposed of as you desire." To the postmaster of Colchester, Mr Hollister, the following request is made:--"I desire you to send me every week two barrels of Oysters, and keep an account of them, and you shall be allowed for them in your account. But let them be the best; or when you cannot get the best, send none." The best were not always forthcoming; for some months later, 20th March 1677, Mr Hollister is informed that: "The last oysters you sent me were so bad they could not be eaten, and one of the last was but half full; if you cannot help me with better, and better ordered, I desire to have no more; but if you could get such as are very good, and contrive some way to seal the barrels, that they may not be abused, you would oblige me to send me 4 barrels a week for a month to come." To the postmaster of Hull, Mr Mawson, Colonel Whitley makes the following request:--"I pray do me the kindness to bespeak two barrels of Ale (as good as you can get), and send it with as much speed as you can to Monsieur Muilman, at the Post Office in Amsterdam. Let it be sent by an honest, careful (_man_), that will not suffer it to be wronged by the way, and presented from me to him. Pray take care that it be excellent, and speedily sent, and let me know the cost; I will remit the money." The sums due to the country postmasters for conveying expresses on His Majesty's special service were claimed every six months by the deputies, whose accounts under this head had to be accompanied by an affidavit sworn before a Master in Chancery or other Magistrate. The amounts were afterwards obtained from the Exchequer; but it is mentioned that the claims for 1674 were only paid shortly before January 1677, while those for 1675 were still outstanding at that period (1677). Whitley's correspondence in 1677 discloses a very curious fact, and one that has been entirely overlooked or forgotten, namely, that the Duke of York, afterwards James II., had at one time the Post Office in his own hands; and he has a claim, therefore, to be ranked as one of the early Postmasters-General. On the 12th April of that year, Whitley wrote the following circular-letter to 155 postmasters, probably the whole number of postmasters at the time:--