ii8 THE COACHING AGE. 



out of London, must doubtless have been subject 

 to a good deal of the ' shouldering ' process, or, as he 

 mildly expressed it, the ' peculations ' of his servants. 

 On the subject of the duties being so assessed 

 that proprietors paid on a smaller number of pas- 

 sengers than the mail was capable of carrying, a.nd 

 thus had [a vacant seat ; but if they paid duty 

 on the next rate in the scale, they would pay 

 for more than they could carry, he expressed his 

 opinion that the new mails were generally popular 

 with and approved by the public, were more com- 

 modious and travelled well, but said : ' It would be 

 better for the contractors if the mails were allowed 

 to carry another outside passenger. By the last 

 regulation of the Stamp Office the licenses run 

 very unfortunately for the mails, because they are 

 in gradations. We go from four to six, and six 

 to nine." Now the mail carrying but seven pas- 

 sengers has to pay a penny a mile for the duty, 

 although it can only take the one passenger over 

 the six. "We pay as much as if we took nine, and 

 that compels us to have an idle capital. We are 

 running along the country with four inside and two 

 out ; there is a vacant seat. We cannot reduce the 

 number of horses, nor the wages of the servants, 

 nor any one item in the expense, in proportion to 

 the reduced receipts from that one passenger.' 



