Lot
351 
[Revolutionary War] The Goddard Constitutional Post, "Portsmouth April 11th 1774" dateline on letter from the Town of Portsmouth Committee of Correspondence to its counterpart in Maryland, it reads, "By Mr. Wm. Goddard we are furnished with your sentiments of the expediency of establishing a post throughout this continent upon a plan, which may render useless the Post Offices now established by an Act of the British Parliament, which Act is so generally allowed to be unconstitutional, that we apprehend it needless to say any thing of the obvious tendency of said act to subvert our Liberties & Privileges - It appears to us, in present view of the matter, that there is no great difficulty in carrying into execution the establishment of a Post upon constitutional principal, in all the Colonies; especially when we take into consideration the progress Mr. Goddard has already made in order to the effectual accomplishment of this plan - A union of all the Colonies upon this Continent, will not only facilitate the undertaking but must be productive in its consequences of the most salutary measures, to render ineffectual every plan of the British Ministry to enslave us --We have had several meetings of the merchants & traders in this town, who in general esteem the undertaking much; & are now subscribing for the purpose of carrying it into execution here. Upon the whole it is our opinion that this town will readily join in the measures taken by our brethren in the other Colonies to establish a continental Post Office.", signed by Sam Cutts on behalf of the committee; some folds and minor paper breaks, Very Fine. Estimate $1,000 - 1,500.
A REMARKABLE AND IMPORTANT LETTER CONCERNING THE GODDARD CONSTITUTIONAL POST.
Just before the outbreak of the American Revolution, William G. Goddard conceived the idea of establishing a purely American postal service. In little more than a year, beginning in February 1774, he set up the system that was taken over by Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster General appoint by the Continental Congress in mid-1775. Goddard himself might have become the Postmaster General, but his fiery temper and abrasive manner made this impossible. By December of that year, the British post gave up any attempt to maintain its inland routes and continued to operate only its packet service.
Goddard referred to his system as "Constitutional" to distinguish it from the Parliamentary post, which was subject to political censorship and was viewed as another attempt to impose a tax without the consent of the people. He worked through local safety and correspondence committees in establishing his post.
Realized: $5,250