4 STAGE-COACH AND MAIL IN DA YS OF YORE 



roads, but only to see that the old ones Avere 

 maintained; hut in the case of Glasgow, to 

 whose merchants a direct service meant much, 

 the Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, and 

 individual persons contributed large sums for 

 the improvement of the existing road between 

 that city and Carlisle, and a Turnpike Trust 

 was formed for one especial section, where the 

 road was entirely reconstructed. These districts 

 were wholly outside GlasgoAv's sphere of respon- 

 sibilities, but all this money was expended for 

 the purpose of obtaining a direct mail through 

 Carlisle, instead of the old indirect one through 

 Edinburgh ; and aaIicu obtained, of retaining it 

 in face of the continued threats of the Post Office 

 to take it off unless the road was still further 

 improved. It certainly does not seem to have 

 been a remarkably good road, even after these 

 improvements, for Colonel Hawker, travelling it 

 in 1812, describes it as being mended with large 

 soft quarry-stones, at first like brickbats and 

 afterwards like sand. 



But the subscril)ers who had expended so 

 much were naturally indignant. They pointed 

 out that the district was a wild and difficult one 

 and the Trust poor, in consequence of the sparse 

 traffic. The stage-coaches, they said, had in 

 some instances been withdrawn because they could 

 not hold their own against the competition of 

 the mail, and the Trust losttlu^ tolls in con- 

 sequence ; while the mail, going toll-free and 

 wearing the road down, contributed nothing to 



