HORSING THE MAILS. 121 



Stage-coaches were of course horsed by them for the 

 entire distance. All these large coach-proprietors, 

 were, in fact, job-masters. 



The Post Office arrangements appear to have been 

 very singular. In order to convey the mails, the Post- 

 master-General paid a fixed sum to certain coach and 

 horse proprietors, such as Horn, Sherman, Chaplin, 

 and Nelson, who contracted for the job. At the 

 same time, the Postmaster-General, owing to previous 

 arrangement with Mr. Vidler, forced the coach and 

 horse proprietors to procure their coaches from him, 

 which they were forced to do, having to pay Mr. Vidler 

 a certain sum for the use of the coach, each proprietor 

 horsing the coach for a certain distance only, and 

 being responsible for a portion only of the sum paid 

 to Vidler ; so that, in fact, the coach was leased by 

 a company of horse proprietors, who were paid by 

 the Postmaster-General for conveying the mails. The 

 guard was the servant of the Post Office ; but, although 

 the coachman went the full distance, or over ground 

 horsed by several proprietors, I am unable to say 

 whose servant he was. The custom adopted now 

 in carrying mails is for the Postmaster-General, under 

 a contract, to pay a railway company, or a company 

 of ship-owners, a certain sum yearly for the convey- 

 ance of the mails. I am unable to say how it is arranged 

 when letters are transmitted to foreign countries ; but 

 it is not necessary to consider this question. Horn 

 horsed the mails from London to Gloucester, Dover 

 and Hastings, for twenty-eight, thirty-six, and fourteen 

 miles respectively. Chaplin horsed the London and 

 Bath, Norwich, Hull, Bristol, Liverpool, Holyhead, 

 Manchester, and Devonport mails, but in no case 

 did he do so for more than forty-eight miles out o 



