Shortly after the service had been put in operation, the continental congress discussed whether it would not be advisable to suppress the king's post office.[94] Those in favour of the measure argued that the ministerial posts were no longer necessary to the people; that they merely subserved the interests of the enemy, and that the postmasters held their offices by an illegal tenure. On the other hand, it was urged that, closely watched as they were, the ministerial posts could not lend themselves to harm, and that they furnished the people with so many more means of communication. The argument which finally prevailed, however, was presented by the opponents of the proposition. They pointed out that this would be an extreme and irretrievable measure, an act of hostility, which would not be warranted by the position in which they stood. All that the colonies desired, they declared, was a return to the conditions which prevailed in 1763, when the conquest of Canada removed the last of the obstacles which impeded their progress, and the relations of the colonies with the mother country seemed permanently and satisfactorily established. Late advices from England indicated that parliament was showing a renewed spirit of conciliation, and any course was to be deprecated which would prevent an easy return to the old conditions. The matter was laid over, but it was settling itself in another way. Great Britain was recognizing the futility of persisting in its efforts to maintain the post office in the colonies. As early as March 1775, the home office advised its deputies in America that all that was to be expected from the postmasters in the colonies was that they should act with discretion to the best of their abilities and judgment.[95] It ceased for the time to give positive directions. Finlay, who, at some personal risk, had gone to New York to make up his accounts, reported that the post office was doing but little business, as the rebels were opening and rifling the mails, and were notifying the loyally disposed that it was unconstitutional to use the king's post office. There was swift punishment visited upon erroneous constitutional views at that time. Finlay foresaw that the post office could not long continue, and he proposed that the work of distributing the mails should be done on one of the war vessels in New York harbour.[96] At last, on Christmas day 1775, the secretary of the post office at New York gave public notice that on account of the interruptions to the couriers in several parts of the country the inland service would cease from that date, and thus was closed an important chapter in the history of the British post office in North America.[97]