There were thus, from 1764, three lines of sailing packets running between England and the North American colonies--one to New York, another to Charlestown, and a third to the West Indies. There was but one defect in these arrangements. They did not provide connections between the several systems except through the mother country. A letter sent from New York to Charlestown or to the West Indies had to travel across to London and back again by the first outward packet to its destination. To connect the two systems on the mainland, a courier travelled from Charlestown northward to Suffolk, Virginia, where he met with the courier from New York. In dealing with the means for establishing communication between the mainland and the West Indies, the treasury were called upon to consider a petition from the merchants who traded to Florida. The termination of the war was followed by the withdrawal of the troops which were stationed at Pensacola, the principal trading settlement in Florida, and the merchants feared the savages would plunder their goods, if succour could not be easily obtained from the sister provinces. The first step taken to meet the difficulty was to run a small forty-five ton vessel from Jamaica to Pensacola and on to Charlestown. This was satisfactory as far as it went, but as it took eighty-three days to cover this route and return to Jamaica, this service had to be doubled before the people concerned were content. FOOTNOTES: [37] Statutes of the United Kingdom, 9 Anne, c. 10. [38] New York did not become the headquarters of the postal system until the reconstruction of 1773. [39] The postal rates as fixed by the act of Queen Anne were as follows: London to Jamaica, Barbadoes, 1_s._ 6_d._; to New York, 1_s._ New York, to West Indies, 4_d._; to New London or Philadelphia, 9_d._; to Boston or Portsmouth, 1_s._; to Williamsburg, Va., or Piscataway, 1_s._ 3_d._; to Charlestown, 1_s._ 6_d._; to within 60 miles, 4_d._; to within 100 miles, 6_d._ These charges were for single letters. [40] G.P.O., _Treasury_, II. 253. [41] Governor Spottswood to the board of trade, June 24, 1718 (_Va. Hist. Coll._, new series, II. 280) [42] _Journal of the House of Burgesses_, May 1718, _passim_. [43] Douglas' _Historical and Political Summary_. [44] G.P.O., _Treasury_, VI. 206-207. [45] _Talcott Papers_, vol. 5. [46] "The Ledger-Book of Benjamin Franklin," in the Boston Public Library. [47] G.P.O., _Treasury Letter-Book_, 1760-1761, p. 96. [48] _Works of Benjamin Franklin_ (Federal ed.), I. 256. [49] Franklin to Todd, January 16, 1764, Smyth, _Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin_, XII. 292. [50] G.P.O., _General Accounts_, 1761-1770. [51] G.P.O., _Treasury_, III. 236. [52] G.P.O., _Treasury_ volume. [53] Cal. Treasury Papers, 1702-1707, p. 267. [54] _Treasury Papers_, CII. 120. [55] G.P.O., _Treasury_, III. 127. [56] _Cal. Treasury Books and Papers_, 1742-1745, p. 707. [57] _C. O._ 5. [58] _C. O._ 5, vol. 15.