POST. 





horse, without a long interval of repose ; 

 and the charges per mile for horses fur- 

 nished from those inns, have occasioned 

 continual discontent, and frequent general 

 meetings of certain classes of the public. 

 Before the establishment of a system 

 for the conveyance of important intelli- 

 gence, and in the earliest state of society, 

 it may be supposed, horses were seized, 

 or, to use a modern term, put into requi- 

 sition, where they were wanted ; though 

 it is still more probable, that men were 

 tutored to run from station to station, as 

 is now the practice in the Eastern na- 

 tions, whose couriers fly their prescribed 

 distance with astonishing, velocity, and 

 delivering their dispatches to fresh per- 

 sons, they are by this means conveyed 

 almost as rapidly as by horses. The Em- 

 peror Trajan appears to have been the 

 first who ordained the keeping of horses 

 for this purpose only, and the example 

 has appeared so rational to succeeding 

 generations, that it is highly probable, 

 posting of every description has now 

 reached its full possible perfection. 



It was customary, in ancient times, to 

 convey information by boats, and in cha- 

 riots, exclusive of on toot and horseback ; 

 nay, even pigeons have been taught to 

 fly from place to place, with letters at- 

 tached to them ; in England, men who 

 conveyed letters were called carriers, 

 which was certainly, in the then state of 

 the roads, a much more appropriate term 

 than the present, implying, in one accep- 

 tation, exceeding swiftness. Louis XI., 

 King of France, established the first re- 

 gular conveyance of this description in 

 the year 1464, for the more speedy and 

 certain information he thought it neces- 

 sary to possess, concerning the state of 

 his extensive dominions ; the utility of 

 the invention was too apparent to escape 

 the observation of the surrounding conti- 

 nental nations, which adopted the idea, 

 and each suited the regulations to their 

 own peculiar circumstances ; England, 

 alone, seems to have preferred her old 

 and tedious system of carriers, till the 

 twelfth year of the reign of Charles II., 

 when Parliament passed an act, which 

 empowered the King to establish a post- 

 office, and to appoint a Post-master Ge- 

 neral ; from that time to the present, nu- 

 merous other acts of the legislature have 

 been made, to improve and amend the 

 system, which, during the time of peace, 

 is carried on by an incredible number of 

 clerks, and officers, and receivers, and 

 letter-carriers, whose regularity and punc- 

 tuality are not to be exceeded in any de- 

 VOL. V. 



partment of the government. In the time 

 of Queen Anne, Sir Thomas Frankland, 

 and John Evelyn, Esquire, held the office 

 of Post-master General jointly, and re- 

 ceived a salary of 20001. per annum, about 

 which time the following notice appear- 

 ed in the London Gazette. " These are to 

 give notice, that by the act of Parliament 

 for establishing a general post-office, all 

 letters and packets directed to, and sent 

 from placesdistant ten miles or above, from 

 the said office in London, which, before 

 the second of this instant, June, were re- 

 ceived and delivered by the officers of 

 the penny-post, are now subjected to the 

 same rates of postage as general post let- 

 ters ; and that for the accommodation of 

 the inhabitants of such places, their let- 

 ters will be conveyed with the same re- 

 gularity and dispatch as formerly, being 

 first taxed with the rates, and stamped 

 with the mark of the general post-office ; 

 and that all parcels will likewise be ta: 

 at the rate of two shillings per ounce, 

 the said act directs." 



Although the value of money has infi- 

 nitely decreased since the above period, 

 such has been the increase in commerce, 

 and trade, and population, that the char- 

 ges for the conveyance of letters is still 

 comparatively moderate, ac a single let- 

 ter is sent one hundred and fifty miles 

 for eight-pence. This may bf; attributed, 

 in a great measure, besides, to the mo- 

 dern invention of mail coaches, for which 

 the public are indebted to Mr. Palmer, 

 who has not, however, reaped that ad- 

 vantage from it originally intended. Those 

 that have travelled in these vehicles need 

 not be informed of their rapid motions, 

 nor of the constant uninterrupted assi- 

 duity of the coachmen, the guards, the 

 officers of the different post-towns, and 

 even of the hostlers, to expedite their 

 progress, and to those who have not, 

 and foreigners, the regulations under 

 which they are placed, must give an ex- 

 alted idea of the commercial character 

 of the British nation. 



At eight o'clock in the evening of every 

 day, the mail coaches depart from Lon- 

 don, freighted with such letters and 

 packets as have been conveyed during 

 the day, either to the office in Lombard- 

 street, or to that place from the various 

 receiving-offices scattered in every direc- 

 tion, by the letter-carriers, who walk 

 through their districts, ringing a bell 

 from five o'clock to six, to collect those 

 letters which have been delayed to that 

 late hour. The coaches, which proceed 

 3L 



