What was Dockwra's reward for the boon which he had conferred? He himself says that it had been undertaken at his sole charge and had cost him £10,000. It had not paid for the first few months, and the friends who had associated themselves with him fell away.[140] As long as it produced no surplus, Dockwra was left to do as he pleased, for the General Post was gaining indirectly from it. As soon as it began to pay, the Duke of York cast his eye on it. In 1683 an action was brought against Dockwra for infringing upon the prerogative of His Royal Highness, and the Duke won the case. The Penny Post was incorporated in the General Post soon after.[141] After William and Mary had come to the throne, Dockwra was given a pension of £500 a year for seven years. At the end of that time he was appointed manager of the Penny Post Department of the General Post and his pension was continued for three years longer. In 1700 he was dismissed, charged with "forbidding the taking in of band-boxes (unless very small) and all parcels above one pound in weight, with stopping parcels, and opening and detaining letters."[142] Such was Dockwra's reward and such had been Witherings'. He who would reform the Post Office must be prepared to take his official life in his hands. [140] _Cal. B. P._, 1697-1702, xliv, 56. [141] Two men living in Limerick and Tipperary claimed in 1692 that they had organized a Penny Post in Ireland (_Cal. S. P. D._, 1691-92, p. 449). In 1704 the Countess Dowager of Thanet petitioned to be allowed to establish a Penny Post in Dublin, but nothing was done (_Cal. T. P._, 1702-07, lxxxix, 305). [142] _Cal. T. P._, 1697-1702, lxxi, 40; Charles Knight, _London_, 1842, iii, p. 282. The transition between two reigns was usually a period of unrest and disquietude, and the Revolution which resulted in the expulsion of James was naturally accompanied by internal disorder. For a time the posts suffered quite severely. The Irish and Scotch mails were robbed several times and not even the "Black Box" escaped. This was the box in which were carried the despatches between Scotland and the Secretaries of State, the use of which was not discontinued until after the accession of the new King and Queen. After 1693 each Secretary was to send and receive his own despatches separately and all expenses were to be met from the proceeds of the London-Berwick post.[143] Major Wildman had been appointed to the oversight of the Post Office, but held office for a few months only, being succeeded in 1691 by Cotton and Frankland. The Postmasters-General were henceforth to act under the Lords of the Treasury.[144] [143] Hist. MSS. Com., _Rep._, 12, app., pt. 7, p. 262; _Cal. S. P. D._, 1690-91, p. 50; Hist. MSS. Com., _Rep._,15, app., pt. 9, pp. 144, 180; _Cal. T. P._, 1557-1696, p. 284. [144] _Cal. S. P. D._, 1689-90, pp. 59, 74; _Cal. T. P._, 1557-1696, p. 203.