124 . 
suffrages of the independent electors of 
a certain borough, than his intended 
rival can aflord, if it be only for the 
privilege of franking !!/ 
All the several items of receipt and 
expenditure are stated, with sufficient 
distinctness and detail, in the statis- 
tical elucidation previously referred to, 
to render any further amplification un- 
necessary. 
It will be seen, that, notwithstanding 
the reiterated assertions of the unprece- 
_ dented prosperity of the country, which 
have been made, both in and out of 
Parliament, during the two last sessions, 
that the revenue-of the Post-office indi- 
cates a decrease, rather than an in- 
crease; and, by reference to the state- 
ment of the income and expenditure of 
the Goverament of Great Britain, in 
each year since 1792, inserted at p. 96 
of the 57th volume of your miscellany, 
it will be seen, that, if the increased 
rate of postage since 1805 be taken into 
account, that the number of letters 
transmitted through the Post-office has 
not materially, if at all, increased since 
that date,—a period of twenty years: 
the year 1815 being the maximum of 
total gross receipt. 
On comparing the amounts of the 
total gross receipt, in the following 
statement, with those in the statement 
just adverted to, it will be proper to 
bear in mind, that, in the following 
statement, the totals are for the united 
kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; 
whilst those in the preceding statement 
are for Great Britain only: but, that 
the latter includes the balances in the 
hands of the Receiver-General and the 
Deputy Postmasters at the beginning of 
each year, A little attention to the 
principle on which the two accounts are 
respectively made up, will account for 
the discrepancies which, otherwise, will 
appear. Your readers may rely on the 
correctness of both, conformably to the 
official and authentic accounts presented 
to Parliament. 
An attention tothe receipt in Ireland, 
separately, in each of the last fifteen to 
twenty years, like every thing else con- 
nected with that interesting, yet un 
happy, ill-fated and, it may-be. added, 
apparently still further ill-destined coun- 
try, indicates a considerable decline. 
From the high numbers marked on 
some of the mail-coaches (I think I have 
noticed upwards of 160), very exagge- 
rated notions are entertained, by some, 
both in country and in town, with re- 
spect to the number of coaches actually 
Post-Office Establishment. 
{Mar.1, 
engaged in the conveyance of letters. I 
have heard it broadly asserted in the 
country, that 100 coaches draw up to 
the Post-office in London, every evening, 
to receive their respective loads of let- 
ters.——Of the actual number of coaches 
employed, I am not informed; but there 
are twenty-one only employed to con- 
vey the letters in and out of London. 
Of these, five leave London at Hyde- 
park Corner, viz. Southampton and 
Poole; Exeter and Falmouth; Bath, 
Exeter and Plymouth; Bristol; Glou- 
cester: —two by Oxford-street, viz. 
Worcester and Ludlow; Warwick and 
Birmingham. These seven do not draw 
up to the Post-office; but the letters 
are conveyed, by carts, to the inns or 
offices from whence they respectively 
depart. All the rest draw up to the 
_ Post-office, ten to fifteen minutes before 
eight o’clock every evening, except 
Sunday, and are all despatched within 
twenty minutes,—six leaving London 
by Islington, viz. Holyhead, through 
Birmingham and Shrewsbury; Holyhead, 
by Chester; Liverpool; Manchester, on 
to Carlisle; Leeds; Glasgow :—three 
by Shoreditch, viz. Edinburgh ; Lincoln 
and Hull; Norwich, by Newmarket :— 
one by Whitechapel, viz. Norwich, by 
Ipswich ;—and four over London-bridge, 
viz. Dover; Hastings; Brighton; Ports- 
mouth. 
From the lines of road traversed by 
these coaches, divergencés of conveyance 
take place, at distances of ten, fifteen, 
or twenty miles, sometimes on horse- 
back, and sometimes by foot-carriers ; 
and, in the midland counties, Oxford, 
Worcester, Birmingham, Litchfield, Der- 
by, Nottingham; in the western coun- 
ties, Exeter, Bristol, Gloucester; and 
in the northern counties, Manchester, 
Carlisle, Leeds and York,—form great 
points of intersection, so timed, as to 
afford an admirable facility of imter- 
course, and interchange of epistolary 
correspondence, not only with London, 
but to and from and with, every part of 
the country reciprocally. 
Taking the conveyance of the letters 
from London, to and from Liverpool, 
as an example, from which to draw some 
general conclusions, as to the aggregate 
number of coaches and horses employed 
in the conveyance of letters, the result 
will be as follows, viz. The conveyance 
to and from Liverpool requires. four 
coaches and twenty relays of horses; 
which, averaging five horses at eacli 
station, makes a total of 100 horses: 
and, proceeding in the same order of 
calculation, 
