1825.} ‘ 
calculaticn, the twenty other direct lines 
of road from London may be considered 
as averaging the same number,—making 
a total of about eighty-five coaches and 
2,000 horses, employed in conveying the 
letters to and from London; and the 
cross-road mails may be considered as 
employing about a corresponding num- 
ber; and 500 additional horses, for the 
bye-posts, or divergences from the line 
of road, run by the coaches,—making a 
total of about 170 coaches, and 4,500 
horses, employed by the Post-office of 
- Great Britain. 
It will be proper to understand, how- 
ever, that these numerous coaches and 
horses are not exclusively employed in 
the conveyance of letters ; as each coach 
is allowed to carry four inside and three 
outside passengers, and also light par- 
cels, not connected with the Post-office. 
It is the apposite union of public conve- 
nience with individual adventure, which © 
constitutes the peculiar characteristic of 
the system. The coaches and horses 
are all individual property; but the for- 
mer are all built on the same principle 
of construction, and uniformity of ap- 
pearance, and bear the initials of royalty, 
which leads some, mistakenly, to sup- 
pose that they are national property. 
-They are, however, under the super- 
intendence of a surveyor, appointed by 
the Post-office, to guarantee their con- 
dition and fitness for the service ;—the 
letters being conveyed by agreement 
with the coach-proprietors, subject to 
the conditions and fitness of the coaches 
approved of by the surveyor; and the 
guards are exclusively the servants of 
the Post-office. 
There are 544 deputy post-masters 
in England and Wales,-and 2738 in 
Scotland: several, or most of which, 
have a sub-agent for collateral distri- 
bution; so that, perhaps, but little or 
nothing remains to be done to make 
the order of distribution, in the general 
department, as complete as possible. 
To do more would, perhaps be over- 
doing ; and retard, rather than facilitate, 
the distribution; and all that is now 
required is a strict watch to prevent 
any relaxation of activity and duty, or 
introduction of abuse. 
The General Office, in London, em- 
ploys about 200 superintendants, clerks 
and sorters, and about 220 in deliver- 
ing. The Foreign Department, about 
twenty sorters and clerks, and thirty- 
four in delivering ; and the Two-penny, 
about fifty sorters and clerks. Of the 
number employed in this department, 
Post-Office Establishment. 
125 
in delivering, I am not informed, but 
the total number of persons constantly 
engaged in the distribution of letters 
in all Great Britain, may be considered 
as exceeding 2,600; whilst the total 
charges for salaries and wages is only 
about £140,000, or an average of £56 
each person per annum. But the ag- 
gregate emolument of the persons em- 
ployed, may be considered as amount- 
ing to double what appears on the face 
of the accounts; all the bye posts 
charge 1d. each letter, in addition to 
the legal postage; and ld. per mile for 
delivery at villages, or houses, situate at 
a distance from the post station. The 
General Office in London closes at 
seven o’clock every evening; but letters 
are received up to half-past seven by 
paying sixpence; and, up to the last 
minute of the bags being sealed, by 
paying the postage and sixpence. The 
ofice for receiving newspapers closes 
at six o’clock, but they are received up 
to seven by paying a halfpenny. The 
166 regular distributors are privileged 
to collect letters in all their respective 
districts, receiving a penny with each 
letter. The post-offices all through the 
country, in like manner, have their 
charges for special accommodation, 
some more, some less; and so various 
and general are the charges of this na- 
ture, that it is difficult to form any 
thing like a correct estimate of their 
amount ; but they are probably under 
rated at £150,000 per annum, some of 
which is passed to the account of the 
establishment: but the salaries and 
wages of those employed are all regu- 
lated with reference to the probable 
amount of such incidental emoluments. 
It was my intention to have offered 
some ohservations on the Irish, the 
Two-penny and Foreign Departments ; 
and some suggestions for extending the 
sphere of utility in the two latter, but 
the length to which I have already ex- 
tended this communication, reminds me 
of the limit of your pages. 
I transmit you also a statement re- 
lative to the Land and Assessed Taxes, 
[See Statistical Tables— Supplement, 
vol. 58, p.639] upon which I intended to 
have offered some observations, and to 
have concluded by shewing their impos 
licy and injustice; whilst a sum, corre- 
sponding to their amount, is annually ex- 
pended in forced purchases of 3 per cent. 
stock at 95, which was created in 1812-13, 
at52; but an ensuing number of your 
Magazine will perhaps be better for the 
insertion of what I had intended to 
offer on that subject. A. L. 
