The postmaster general summed the situation up by declaring his conviction that any measure producing a large deficiency in the post office revenue would be tantamount to a surrender of the administration by the postmaster general; and as he was of opinion that the general colonial interests called for a large reduction in the postage rates, he considered that it would be better that the postmaster general should resign his control over the post offices at once. The imperial interests, which had determined the department in the past to retain its control over the arrangements remained in undiminished strength; and in order to safeguard these, it would be necessary to stipulate for certain conditions to which the colonies would be required to agree, before the colonial post offices were relinquished to the colonial legislatures. The first was that correspondence passing between two colonies through the territory of a third, should not be subject to a charge on the part of the latter for transportation. This stipulation ensured that an intermediate colony should not have the power to compel the colonies on either side of it to raise their charges to meet exorbitant rates for transportation. The second condition was that, in the case of correspondence passing between Great Britain and the colonies, the postage on which was one shilling and twopence, the part of this amount, which was for the inland conveyance, viz. twopence, should remain in operation, unless the ordinary inland rate should be less than twopence. In this case the correspondence to and from Great Britain should have the benefit of the lower rate. The third condition was that prepayment or payment on delivery should be optional with respect to correspondence passing from one province to another, and, in order to avoid complicated accounts between the provinces, the practice should be for each province to treat as its own all the postage it collected whether it were on letters paid at the time of posting, or on letters from other provinces, the postage of which, being unpaid at the office of posting was collected at the office of delivery. The postmaster general also suggested, as highly desirable, that a uniform system and rate of postage should be maintained throughout the provinces. As the proposition of the postmaster general provided for the reservation to the treasury of the full amount of the packet postage, part of which had until that time been used in the colonies to defray the expenses of their services, there could be no objection in point of finances to leaving to the colonies the control of their post offices.