Page "William Mulock" Paragraph 25

He inherited an inefficient bureaucracy that was losing almost a million dollars a year, but he believed that improved service and lower prices would increase revenue and better connect Canada and the British Empire.

He campaigned for lower rates throughout the Empire, and when met by resistance decided to go it alone, announcing that at the end of 1897 Canada would unilaterally lower the letter rate to Britain from five to three cents.

In response, a conference of all British Empire postal authorities was called for the summer of 1898.

Over the objections of the Australian colonies and New Zealand, Mulock succeeded in implementing an Imperial Penny Post.

Mulock also took advantage of this meeting to negotiate the final financial agreement for the transpacific cable first proposed by Sir Sandford Fleming to link Canada to Australia and New Zealand.

The cable was completed on October 31, 1902, finishing the All Red Line.

By 1903, the Post Office was generating a surplus of almost a million dollars a year.