47 



at least one visit paid by him to Newmarket, 

 in October 1717, is recorded; nor does the 

 parliamentary history of his brief reign show 

 that much attention was given to the work 

 of improving our horses. 



The science of travel had gone back 

 rather than forward, for in 1715 the post 

 from London to Edinburgh took six days, 

 whereas in 1635 it took three. At this time, 

 and until 1784, the mails were carried by 

 boys on horseback ; and between the 

 badness of the roads, the untrustworthiness 

 of the boys, and the wretched quality of 

 the horses supplied them, the postal service 

 was both slow and uncertain. The Post 

 Office still held the monopoly (first granted 

 in 1603) f furnishing post-horses at a rate 

 of threepence a mile, and its control over 

 its subordinates was of the slightest. 



The only Act of George I.'s reign re- 

 lating to horses was that of 1714 (i 

 George I., c. n), which forbade waggoners, 

 carriers, and others, from drawing any 

 vehicle "with more than four horses in 

 length." 



The omission of reference to oxen in this 

 connection may indicate that for draught 

 purposes on the highways they were going 

 out of use. 



