Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
MONEY ORDER
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: MOL-MOS
del.icio.us it!
|
See also:MONEY See also:ORDER See also:DEPARTMENT The money order See also:branch of the See also:post See also:office See also:dates from 1792.1 It was begun with the See also:special See also:object of facilitating the safe Money See also:conveyance of small sums to soldiers and sailors, Orders. the thefts of letters containing money being frequent. Two schemes were put forward, one similar to the See also:present money order See also:system. There were doubts whether the post office had See also:power to adopt the system, and it was not officially taken up. Six See also:officers of the post office, however, called the " clerks of the roads," who were already conducting a large newspaper business with profit to themselves, came forward with a See also:plan, which was encouraged by the postmaster-See also:general, who also See also:bore the cost of advertising it, and even allowed the advices of the money orders to go See also:free by post under the " See also:frank " of the secretary to the post office. In 1798 the clerks of the roads gave up the See also:scheme, and three post office clerks known as " See also:Stow and See also:Company " took it over. The See also:death of Stow in 1836 See also:left one See also:sole proprietor who had a See also:capital of £2000 embarked in the concern. In 1838 the See also:government determined to take over the business and compensated the proprietor with an See also:allowance of over £400 a See also:year. The rates of See also:commission fixed by the government were 1s. 6d. for sums exceeding £2 and under £S, and 6d. for all sums not exceeding £2. In 184o these rates were reduced to 6d. and 3d. respectively. The number 'and aggregate amount of the orders issued (inland, colonial and 1 An See also:historical outline is given in the See also:Forty-Second See also:Report of Postmaster-General (1896), p. 26. Years. Number. Amount. £ I 1839 188,921 313,124 1849 4,248,891 8,152,643 1861–1865 8,055,227 16,624,503 (See also:average) 16,819,874 27,688,255 1875 188o–1881 16,935,005 26,003,582 1885–1886 11,318,380 24,832,4221 1890–1891 10,260,852 27,867,887 1895–1896 10,900,963 29,726,817 1900—1901 13,263,567 39,374,665 1905–1906 13,596,153 44,612,785 £2, 3d.; and so on, an additional See also:penny being charged per £. For sums of Do the See also:rate was Is. It was found, however, that the See also:low rate of id. for small orders did not provide a profit, and the rates were raised on the 1st of See also:January 1878 to: orders not exceeding ios., 2d.; not exceeding £2, 3d. On the ist of See also:September 1886 the rates were altered as follows: orders not exceeding £1, 2d.; not exceeding £2, 3d.; not exceeding £4, 4d.; not exceeding £7, 5 d.; not exceeding £io, 6d. On the 1st of See also:February 1897 new rates were introduced; on orders not exceeding £3, 3d.; over £3 and not exceeding £1o, 4d. The cost of a money order transaction (at least 3d.) is very little affected by the amount of the remittance, and it was thought undesirable to continue the unremunerative business of sending small sums by money order at less than cost See also:price at the expense of the senders of larger orders. The needs of smaller remitters appeared to be sufficiently met by postal orders and the registered See also:letter post. It appeared, however, that the new charges See also:fell with See also:great severity upon mutual benefit See also:societies, like the See also:Hearts of See also:Oak, which sent large See also:numbers of small money orders every See also:week, and on the 1st of May 1897 the 2d. rate was restored for orders not exceeding £1. This society and others now use postal orders instead of money orders. In 1905 the limit for money orders was extended to £4o, and the rates are: sums over £10 and not exceeding £2o, 6d.; sums over £2o and not exceeding £3o, 8d.; sums over £3o and not exceeding £40, See also:rod.
Money orders may be sent to almost any See also:country in the See also:world. The rates are as follows: for sums not exceeding £1, 3d.; Forcignaad £2, 6d.; £4, 9d.; £6, is.; £8, Is. 3d.; £i o, is. 6d.; Corontai and for countries on which orders may be issued for Money higher amounts (limit £4o), 3d. for every additional orders. £2 or fraction of £2.
The money order system is largely used by the See also:British government departments for the See also:payment of See also:pensions, separation allowances, remittance of See also:bankruptcy dividends, &c.; and free orders may be obtained by the public. under certain conditions, for the purpose of remitting their taxes. The cost of management of the money order office was reduced by the substitution, since 1898, of a number of See also:women clerks for men and boys.
On the 2nd of September 1889 the issue of telegraphic money orders between See also:London and seventeen large towns was begun as an experiment, and on the ist of See also: The sender of a telegraph money order may give instructions that, instead of being left at the post office to be called for, it should be delivered at the payee's See also:residence, and that it should be crossed
2 The See also:total sums remitted did not fall off to the same extent, showing that the small orders alone were effected. The average amount for ordinary inland orders is now £2, 19s. 5d.
for payment through a See also:bank. He may also, on paying for the extra words, send a See also:short private See also:message to his correspondent in the telegram of advice.
Telegraph money orders may also be sent to See also:Algeria, See also:Austria, See also:Belgium, See also:Bulgaria, See also:Denmark, See also:Egypt, See also:Faeroe Islands, See also:France, See also:Germany, See also: When the plan was submitted to a See also:committee appointed by the See also:treasury, it was objected that postal orders as remitting See also:media would be less secure than money orders. This was met in See also:part by giving a discretionary power to fill in the name of the post office and also of the payee. Another objection which was urged, namely, that they would prove to be an issue of government small notes under another name, was quickly disproved. See also:Parliament sanctioned the scheme in r880. The first See also:series were: Is., Is. 6d. 2S. 6d., 5s., 7s. 6d. Poundage Id. rd. 10s., 12s. 6d., 15s., 17s. 6d., 20S. Poundage 2d. In 1884 a new series was issued and a See also:provision made that broken amounts might be made up by affixing See also:postage stamps, to the value of 5d., to the orders. Postal orders have become increasingly popular as a means of remitting small amounts, especially since the introduction in 1903 of new denominations, rendering it possible to obtain a postal order for every See also:complete sixpence from 6d. to 21S. From 6d. to 2S. 6d. the poundage is 4d., from 3s. to 15s., rd., from 15s. 6d. up to 21s., rid. Postal orders are also furnished with counterfoils, as a means of keeping a See also:record of the number and amount of each order posted. Orders for amounts of See also:ros. and upwards are printed in red See also:ink. A system of interchange of postal orders between the United Kingdom and See also:India and the British colonies, and also between one See also:colony and another, has been instituted. British postal orders are obtainable also at post offices in See also:Panama, See also:Constantinople, See also:Salonica and See also:Smyrna, and on H.M. See also:ships. The following table shows the number and value of postal orders issued from the beginning to the 31st of March 1907 (000's omitted): Year. Number. Value. £ 1881-1882 4,462 2,006 1883-1884 12,286 5,028 1885-1886 25,790 Io,788 1890-1891 48,841 19,178 1895-1896 64,076 23,896 1900-1901 85,390 29,881 1906—1907 Io1,658 40,484 It remains to be added that the various statutes See also:relating to the post office, except those relating to telegraphs and the See also:carriage of mails, were consolidated by the Post Office See also:Act 1908. The act repealed and superseded 26 acts wholly and ro acts in parts. Sections 1—11 See also:deal with the duties of postage; §§ 12-19 with the conditions of transit of postal packets; §§ 2o-22 with See also:newspapers; §§ 23-25 with money orders; §§ 26-32 with See also:ship letters; §§ 33-44 with the postmaster-general and officers; §§ 45-47 with the holding, &c., of See also:land; §§ 48-49 with the See also:extension of postal facilities and See also:accommodation; §§ 50-69 with post office offences; §§ 70-78 with legal proceedings, and §§ 7994 with regulations, See also:definitions, &c. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] MONEY |
[next] MONFORTE, or MONFORTE DE LEMOS |