The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

1855-9] IRISH MAILS. 275
their own evidence, demanded at once more time for
the trip and a higher rate of remuneration. I strongly
urged resistance to both demands, and as the Postmaster-General
backed my views, I have little doubt
that, had the negotiations
Office, the quicker and less
been left with the Post
costly service would have
been secured. Unfortunately, the Treasury had taken
the matter into its own hands, and we were overruled ;
so that for insufficient advantages the country has to
pay an annual subsidy of upwards of ,100,000, in
addition to the cost necessary, however, on either
plan of provision for sorting the letters both on the
railway and on board the mail steamers. Unfor-
tunately, too, unpunctuality is not so rare as might
be desired, the appointed penalties having been
suspended on the ground of insufficient pier accommodation
at Holyhead. Still, with every drawback,
the improvement was important, reducing the ordinary
time of the journey to eleven hours and a half, and
obtaining, so far as time was duly kept, all or nearly
all the advantages aimed at advantages extending
even to Irish letters for the continental mails.* The
following extract from the Tenth Annual Report,
exemplifies the benefit of the change :
" Thus the period required for the transmission of a letter from
London to Cork, and for the receipt of a reply, has been shortened
in all cases by half a day, and in the great majority of cases by
more than a day." f
General Contracts.
During this period, also, many additional companies
entered into general contracts, such as have already
been spoken of ; binding themselves, for a fixed sum
* " Seventh Annual Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 7.
+ "Seventh Annual Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 18.
T 2