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435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
94
[44]
At
the
investigation
in
1763
it
was
related
that
"one
man
had,
in
the
course
of
five
months,
counterfeited
1,200
dozens
of
franks
of
different
members
of
Parliament."
[45]
As
an
example
of
the
summary
proceedings
of
those
days,
we
may
here
just
note
the
remarks
which
Mr.
Pitt
made
in
his
place
in
Parliament
when
he
proposed
this
increase,
calculating
that
the
change
would
produce
at
least
120,000l.
additional
revenue
out
of
the
Post-Office.
The
tax
upon
letters,
said
he,
could
be
calculated
with
a
great
degree
of
certainty,
and
the
changes
he
had
to
propose
would
by
no
means
reduce
the
number
sent.
It
was
idle
to
suppose
that
the
public
would
grumble
in
having
to
pay
just
one
penny
additional
for
valuable
letters
safely
and
expeditiously
conveyed.
He
proposed
"to
charge
all
letters
that
went
one
stage
and
which
now
paid
one
penny
in
future
the
sum
of
2d.,
and
this
would
bring
in
the
sum
of
6,230l.
All
that
now
pay
2d.
paying
an
additional
penny
would
yield
8,923l.
Threepenny
letters
paying
another
penny
would
produce
33,963l.
The
increase
of
fourpenny
letters
would
produce
34,248l."
The
cross-roads
he
could
not
speak
of
with
great
certainty,
but
he
thought
they
might
calculate
on
at
least
20,000l.
from
that
source,
and
so
on,
till
the
estimated
sum
was
reached.
[46]
Domestic
Annals
of
Scotland.
By
Mr.
R.
Chambers.
Vol.
ii.
p.
142.
[47]
A
Short
Account
of
Scotland,
published
in
London
in
1702.
[48]
The
wording
of
the
qualifying
clauses
in
the
proclamations
of
stage-coaches,
&c.
are
very
various,
and
sometimes
exceedingly
amusing.
In
England
the
Divine
Hand
was
generally
recognised
in
the
formula
of
"God
willing,"
or,
"If
God
should
permit."
On
the
contrary,
the
human
element
certainly
preponderated--whether
it
was
meant
so
or
not--in
the
announcement
made
by
a
carrying
communication
between
Edinburgh
and
a
northern
burgh,
when
it
was
given
out
that
"a
waggon
would
leave
the
Grass
market
for
Inverness
every
Tuesday,
God
willing,
but
on
Wednesday
whether
or
no."
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