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1
435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
120
[61]
Sir
Walter
Scott
relates
that
a
friend
of
his
remembered
the
London
letter-bag
arriving
in
Edinburgh,
during
the
year
1745,
with
but
one
letter
for
the
British
Linen
Company.
About
the
same
time
the
Edinburgh
mail
is
said
to
have
arrived
in
London,
containing
but
one
letter,
addressed
to
Sir
William
Pulteney,
the
banker.
[62]
In
Ireland,
on
the
contrary,
the
trade
was
in
the
hands
of
two
or
three
large
contractors,
who
charged
heavily
for
work
only
imperfectly
performed.
Until
the
introduction
of
railways,
the
mail
service
of
Ireland,
owing
to
the
absurd
system
adopted,
was
always
worked
at
a
greater
cost,
comparatively,
than
in
England.
In
1829,
the
Irish
service,
of
considerably
less
extent,
cost
four
times
as
much
as
the
entire
mail
establishment
of
England.
Mr.
Charles
Bianconi
has
been
the
Palmer
of
Ireland.
In
the
early
part
of
the
present
century
he
observed
the
want
of
travelling
accommodation
and
formed
plans
for
serving
the
country
by
a
regular
system
of
passenger-cars.
He
succeeded
in
inducing
the
different
postmasters
(who,
up
to
the
year
1830,
had
the
conveyance
of
mails
in
their
own
hands,
getting
certain
allowances
for
the
service
from
Government,
and
then
arranging
for
carriage
in
the
cheapest
way
possible)
to
let
him
carry
their
mails.
This
he
did
at
a
cheap
rate,
stipulating,
however,
that
he
should
not
be
required
to
run
his
cars
at
any
inconvenient
time
for
passenger
traffic.
On
the
amalgamation
of
the
English
and
Irish
Offices
in
1830,
Mr.
Bianconi,
who
had
now
established
a
good
reputation,
entered
into
contracts
with
the
general
authorities
to
continue
the
work,
though
on
a
larger
scale
than
ever,
the
extent
of
which
may
be
judged
by
the
fact
that
in
1848
he
had
1,400
horses
employed.
The
growth
and
extent
of
railway
communication
necessarily
affected
his
establishment,
but,
with
unabated
activity,
Mr.
Bianconi
directed
his
labours
into
new
districts
when
his
old
roads
were
invaded
by
the
steam-engine
and
the
rail.
He
is
described
to
have
been
"ready
at
a
moment's
notice
to
move
his
horses,
cars,
and
men
to
any
district,
however
remote,
where
any
chance
of
business
might
show
itself."
A
year
or
two
ago
this
indefatigable
man
was
still
busy,
and
held
several
postal
contracts;
his
establishment
(1860)
consisting
of
1,000
horses,
and
between
sixty
and
seventy
conveyances,
daily
travelling
3,000
or
4,000
miles
and
traversing
twenty-two
counties.
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