"There are only two instances in the kingdom where more than one letter-carrier is allowed, viz., Portsmouth and Bath. I understand it has been held as a general rule not to allow more than one to any other place, however extensive and populous it may be; in the two exceptions to this rule the inhabitants had been accustomed to pay the deputies a gratuity for delivering the letters, but having refused to continue the payment, these postmasters felt their income considerably reduced, and I believe it was not till after much discussion the rule was broke through." The minute continues as follows:--"Mr Palmer had some ideas respecting such a modification of the rates of postage as might induce the inhabitants of every place in the kingdom to pay _with cheerfulness_ an extra halfpenny or penny over and above the rates; this extra payment to be sanctioned by an Act of Parliament; and then the whole amount of the sums now paid for letter-carriers, being £1927, 8s. per year, would be saved to the Revenue." If this accurately represents Mr Palmer's ideas, Mr Palmer did not quite understand the British public. At the same period to which we refer, there were only three letter-carriers in Manchester, four at Bristol, and three or four at Birmingham; but in each case only one was allowed by the Department, the others being employed as extras, and provided for, no doubt, by a special tax upon the letters delivered. This system of charging extra for delivery would seem to have been open to abuse, for we find that in 1791 the Postmaster-General called for explanation of an exceptional charge at Eton, in a Minute as follows:--"Let the Comptroller-General inquire who serves, and by whose authority, the parts of the country circumjacent to the Eton delivery, as they charge no less a sum than 3d. for each letter, in addition to the postage, for all letters delivered at Upton, which is not above a mile from the College." And the Postmaster-General makes this very wise observation on the practice--"This enormous expense for letters must check and ruin all correspondence, and essentially hurt the revenue." At the end of last century and beginning of this--and indeed it may be said throughout the whole term of the existence of the Post-office--humble petitions were always coming up from postmasters for increase of pay, and from these we know the position in which postmasters then were. The postmaster of Aberdeen showed that in 1763, when the revenue of his office was £717, 19s. 4d., with something for cross post-letters, probably about £400, his salary had been £93, 15s.; while in 1793, with a revenue of over £2500, his whole salary was only £89, 15s., and out of this he had to pay office-rent and to provide assistance, fire, wax, candles, books, and cord.