THE

POST IN GRANT AND FARM

[All Rights Reserved]

THE

EARLY HISTORY OF THE POST

IN GRANT AND FARM

BY

J. WILSON HYDE

CONTROLLER IN THE GENERAL POST-OFFICE, EDINBURGH

AUTHOR OF

"THE ROYAL MAIL: ITS CURIOSITIES AND ROMANCE"
AND "A HUNDRED YEARS BY POST"

LONDON

ADAM & CHARLES BLACK

1894

PREFACE

There has not hitherto been published any detailed account of thefirst establishment, in this country, of the Post Office as a publicinstitution; nor does it appear that anything has been made known ofthe men who were instrumental in building up this useful fabric, in theyears of its infancy, beyond the barren mention of their names. In somecases, moreover, in such bald notices as have been given of the earlyposts, important names are wholly omitted, and in others the names ofmen are associated with events in which they had little concern. Whatis disclosed in the following pages is an attempt not only to givea fairly full and true account of the first forty years' existenceof the Inland Posts in Britain, but to tell something of the men towhom the credit is due of contriving and bringing into working shapethis great machine of public convenience and utility. The facts herenarrated are collected from the Public Records, original documents,and other authentic sources. In the extracts which have been made fromoriginal papers, modern orthography, as being more convenient for thereader, has been generally employed; but in a few cases the tone andflavour of the antique have been retained in the original spelling.

I have to acknowledge with gratitude the very kindly assistance givenme by librarians, not only in Edinburgh but elsewhere, and by othergentlemen in public positions, who have assisted me in clearing uppoints of difficulty.

Edinburgh, 1894.

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