In time a system of voluntary distribution was developed, which became known as the "Coffee House Delivery." It was naturally popular and continued for over a century. At first this method of delivery was used by vessels and by people from distant points who left their mail for delivery at some well-known tavern. Here it reposed in a box accessible to all, or it was tacked to the surface of a smooth board with tape or brass-headed nails and placed in a conspicuous part of the tavern. In the year 1710 the postmaster-general of Great Britain designated a "chief letter office" in the City of New York, Philadelphia having been the headquarters of the Colonial organization up to that time. In the following year arrangements were completed for the delivery of Boston mail twice a month, and a foot-post to Albany was proposed. In 1740 a complete road was blazed from Paulus Hook, Jersey City, to Philadelphia, over which the mail was carried on horseback between Philadelphia and New York. Alexander Colden was postmaster here at the time of the Revolution, but when the British troops took possession of New York, the office was abolished by the provost-marshal and for seven years little correspondence not connected with the movement of troops was handled. William Bedloe, after whom Bedloe's Island was named, was the first postmaster after the war, but in 1786 Sebastian Bauman succeeded him. _The New York General Post-office To-day_ The world's greatest post-office to-day is the New York General Post-office, located at Eighth Avenue and West 33d Street, but a short block from the West Side Office of the Manufacturers Trust Company, and we are glad to be able to include in this booklet a message to our readers from Hon. E. M. Morgan, Postmaster, who directs the activities of that great organization. [Illustration] THE NEW YORK GENERAL POST-OFFICE OF THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE BY E. M. MORGAN, POSTMASTER The growth of business transacted by the New York post-office is illustrated by the following statement showing the postal revenues for the years mentioned. It appears that the first account of revenues of the New York post-office was published in the year 1786, and the first city directory was also published in that year, and contained 926 names. Year Amount 1786 . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2,789.84 1873 (estimated) . . . . . 2,500,000.00 1922 . . . . . . . . . . . 54,109,050.61 According to a recent statement by Hon. Hubert Work, Postmaster-General, the postal business now done in New York City alone is equivalent to that of the United States twenty-five years ago, and is double that of the Dominion of Canada.