ABSTRACT
The postal monopoly is fortunate to have had several competent studies of its history, by Wayne Fuller, John Haldi, and George L. Priest. The Stuarts used the postal monopoly primarily to discover and suppress treason and sedition through mail inspection. The postal monopoly also enabled Elizabeth and the Stuarts to economize on inspection costs because they did not need to monitor as many carriers. The Neale postal monopoly, which was a government-sanctioned private business, began operating in 1693. The historical facts show that the early postal service was a monopoly enterprise, sometimes privately sometimes publicly owned. In addition to defining the nature of a first class letter, the Postal Service continually harasses both customers and competition with its interpretations of the private express statutes. The private express statutes provide only limited protection for the US Postal Service against the forces of competition for the mails.
