244 THE COACHING AGE. 



communication with the coach -proprietors on it, to 

 ascertain whether they were disposed to join in 

 horsing it. If it was to run out of London, a meeting 

 of the proprietors might be held there with some 

 London proprietors having influence or business con- 

 nections along the proposed road, and thus probably 

 able to bring custom to the new concern. If a large 

 London coach-proprietor could be got at one end, and 

 the principal one in the town at the other end, there 

 would not be much difficulty in their finding middle- 

 ground men to undertake that part, and they would be 

 more likely to accomplish this easily than the Post- 

 Office official, who did not find it all smooth work 

 when trying to establish a new mail, as appeared from 

 a report made by Mr. Akers, for forty years one of 

 the six inspectors of mail-coaches ; he said : 



'After this long experience I found latterly in- 

 creased difficulty in obtaining contracts for the mails, 

 in fact so much so that men would form all sorts of 

 excuses rather than come to the point ; they would 

 say : " I wUl see you again in half an hour," and 

 would perhaps go ofi" to the next market town. . . . 

 I have been down to Cambridge last week, and called 

 on three men there. One said : " I will see you again 

 in an hour's time." I replied, " I wish to be off in an 

 hour's time. I cannot finish this contract in a month 

 if I go on so. I have to account for my time." 



