The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

1851-4] ACCELERATION OF NORTHERN MAILS. 231
Postmaster-General was bound (whether he desired it
or not) to fix the hours for the mail-trains without
reference to the arrangements of the companies. The
Post Office is thus kept in a position quite unintel-
ligible to the public, who cannot understand why
existing trains, obviously capable of employment for
postal service, are not used wherever convenience
requires; the real obstacle being
that the amount of
correspondence in question, though sufficient to justify
the expense of conveyance at a moderate rate a rate,
however, fully remunerative to the company is often
quite insufficient to meet the heavy cost of a regular
mail train.
Amidst these efforts to procure that cheapness of
conveyance which would justify greater frequency of
to obtain for the
despatch, it was clearly of importance
conveyance of the mails the greatest practicable speed,
though the public can be little aware how many diffi-
culties, direct and incidental, attend acceleration. In
the year 1851 we called upon the North Western
Company to accelerate its mail trains, but met with
resistance. In a conference with Captain Huish, the
manager of the line, while explicitly insisting on our
right to require the change, I expressed a wish to
meet the convenience of the company as far as possible,
and proposed a modification, which I hoped
would remove objections. After a week's con-
sideration, the company persisted in its refusal,
disputing our right to require them to carry mails
at a speed exceeding twenty-seven miles an hour,
including stoppages. This view unfortunately was
supported by our solicitor. Meanwhile, however, at
the desire of the Postmaster-General, I made a
compromise with the company until the opinion of
the Crown officers should be obtained. By this, when