POST. 



to London from all parts of the kingdom, 

 regulate their movements so as to arrive 

 by six o'clock each morning, and from 

 that time the sorters at Lombard-street are 

 employed in preparing the letters for the 

 different carriers waiting to receive them, 

 \vho generally complete their delivery by 

 twelve at noon. 



Newspapers are conveyed gratis to all 

 parts of the country, and if frivolous, 

 vexatious, or malicious letters are sent 

 through the medium of the post-office, 

 upon a proper representation the money 

 is returned ; persons are also appointed 

 to open such letters as may be directed 

 to individuals improperly, or who cannot 

 be found, when they are carefully inclosed 

 in an envelope, explaining why the seal 

 has been violated, and returned to the 

 writer. Letters directed to any part of 

 EngUnd, may be sent without paying ; 

 or the receiver will take the postage, and 

 the receipt, or non-payment, is explained 

 to the carriers by marks stamped on the 

 letter ; but all letters sent out of England 

 must be payed for on putting them into 

 the office. Other marks, pointing out 

 the day and hour of putting the letter into 

 the receiver's hands, prevent the possi- 

 bility of neglect without discovery, and 

 so great is the vigilance of the officers, 

 that, though millions of money pass 

 through the post-office, it is a very rare 

 circumstance that dishonesty is disco- 

 vered in the sorters or carriers : when an 

 individual commits a theft of this descrip- 

 tion, he is pursued with unrelenting seve- 

 rity to punishment, and the office makes 

 good the loss. 



The general post-office was originally 

 situated in Cloak-lane, near Dowgate, 

 whence it was afterwards removed to the 

 Black Swan, in Bishopsgate-street, and 

 finally to the mansion of Sir Robert Vyner, 

 in Lombard -street ; and although it has 

 been repeatedly enlarged and improved, 

 and may answer for the purposes required, 

 yet it must be admitted, that such an es- 

 tablishment requires an uniform and su- 

 perb building. 



The penny-post, as it was termed for 

 more than a century, originated from the 

 public spirit of a merchant, named Doc- 

 wra, and a Mr. Murray, who, with much 

 difficulty and great expense, in the reign 

 of Charles II., proceeded so far as to 

 establish it ; but, strange and perverse as 

 it may appear, every species of opposi- 

 tion and misrepresentation attended its 

 progress, both from the public and the 

 government, and, after a trial with the 

 latter in the court of King's Bench, the 



projectors had the mortification to find 

 it adjudged to belong to the Duke of 

 York, as a branch of the general-post- 

 office. 



In an advertisement used by them, in 

 1681, they say, " that undertakers have 

 set up and hitherto carried on the said 

 practice with much pains and industry, 

 and at the expense of a great sum of 

 money, and are as desirous to continue it 

 for the public service of their native place, 

 as to benefit themselves thereby ; yet they 

 have met with much opposition, and many 

 discouragements from the self-interested, 

 the envious, and the ignorant : from the 

 last of which (to pass by the others at pre- 

 sent) there are daily complaints of the 

 delays of letters causelessly charged on. 

 the office, which hath proved very inju- 

 rious to the progress and prosperity of 

 their honest design, and hindering the 

 inhabitants from reaping the advantage 

 and conveniency thereof." Alter some 

 explanations how the delay complained 

 of occurred, through the carelessness of 

 persons not connected with the under- 

 taking, they add, " for some remedy to 

 prevent such unjust reflections for the 

 time to come, and thai any person may 

 discover where the fault lies, if his letter 

 be delayed, the undertakers have pro- 

 vided stamps of the like form in the 

 margin, (similar to those still used) which 

 shall be set on each letter every hour of 

 the day ; (at the time they are given out 

 of their office for delivery) and all per- 

 sons are to expect their letters in an hour 

 (little more or less) after the time stamp- 

 ed, according as the distance is further 

 from, or nearer to, the office from whence 

 they are sent ; and if people will but con- 

 sider, that there must be an hour's time 

 allowed for collecting every round of let- 

 ters, another for sorting and distributing, 

 and a third for delivery, (besides an over- 

 allowance for remote parts) they would 

 not so often mistake in their reckonings, 

 and expect a letter should go -or come as 

 soon as if a special messenger were im- 

 mediately sent away with it, although they 

 hope, that all ingenuous and thinking per. 

 sons do find such dispatches as do an- 

 swer their reasonable expectations." 



An establishment of decided and obvi- 

 ous utility, like that of the penny-post, 

 could not fail of succeeding in time, and 

 accordingly we find it has flourished for 

 more than a hundred years ; but well- 

 founded complaints were sometimes 

 urged against it during that period, which 

 at length induced the government to take 

 it under their immediate inspection, at 



