The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance — John Shaqi
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and RomanceHyde, James Wilson
History
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
Hyde, James Wilson
Postal service -- Great Britain
"The guards are desired by Mr Hasker to be particularly attentive to
their mail-box. Depredations are committed every night on some
stage-coaches by stealing parcels. I shall relate a few, which I trust
will make you circumspect. The Bristol mail-coach has been robbed within
a week of the bankers' parcel, value £1000 or upwards. The Bristol
mail-coach was robbed of money the 3d instant to a large amount. The
'Expedition' coach has been twice robbed in the last week--the last time
of all the parcels out of the seats. The 'Telegraph' was robbed last
Monday night between Saracen's Head, Aldgate, and Whitechapel Church, of
all the parcels out of the dicky. It was broken open while the guard was
on it, standing up blowing his horn. The York Mail was robbed of parcels
out of the seats to a large amount."
The following account of a stage-coach robbery committed on that, at one
time, notoriously dangerous ground called Hounslow Heath, is taken from
the 'Annals of the Road,' already referred to in this work:--
"In the reign of King George III., a stage coach, driven by one
Williams, and going over Hounslow Heath on the road between Reading and
London, was stopped by a highwayman, who, riding up, demanded money of
the passengers. A lady gave up her watch, a gent his purse, and away
goes the highwayman, followed, however, by Williams (the bold) on one of
the leaders, who 'nailed' and brought him back to the coach, on which he
was placed and taken to Staines. This occurred on a Tuesday; the hearing
before the magistrates took place on Wednesday; on Thursday he was in
Newgate; on Friday he was tried, and sentenced to be hung on Monday.
Williams then got up a memorial, petitioning for a reprieve; and on this
being presented to his Majesty, the sentence was commuted to
transportation for life. The king was so pleased with Williams's daring,
that he presented him with a key of Windsor Park gates, to be used by
him and his descendants so long as they drove a coach from Reading to
London. This royal authority allowed them to pass through the park
instead of going by the turnpike road."
Another very interesting account of a mail-coach robbery is given by Mr
S. C. Hall in his 'Retrospect of a Long Life,' the object of the outrage
being, not apparently plunder for plunder's sake in the ordinary sense,
but to recover some legal documents and money paid as rent by a man in
the neighbourhood who stood high in local favour, but was understood to
have been harshly treated by his landlord. The case occurred in Ireland,
and is characteristic of the way in which the Irish people give vent to
their feelings when they are stirred by affection or sentiment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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