The Sun.
London, England, 1837-10-20 00:00:00

POST-HORSE DUTIES. CON VEY-
ANCE OF MAILS ON CROSS ROADS.

The following letter from Mr. Gillon is well-deserving of
public attention. We have had the report on Toternal Com-
munication lying before us for many weeks, and incant to
present a general view of its contents to our readers, bull
have never been able to find time. The Committee We I
moved for by Mr. Gillon, and we believe he chiefly con-
ducted the investigation. The results are of no small com-
mercial importance. They show how the facilities for com-
munication might be multiplied in this country by a modi-
fication of certain taxes, which would take only a very
trifling sum from the revenue.
"TO THE EDITOR OF THE SCOTSMAN.'

" Stet,—l observe in the Scotsman of Saturday last a
letter from Mr. Wallace, on the subject of the Post-office
generally, and especially on the constant refusal of that de-
partment. to permit the mail bags to be carried by stage-
coaches, although running upon roads where no regular
mails exist ; and although, by such an arrangement, supe-
rior economy might be combined with vast additional ac-
commodation to the public. The last report of the Post-
office Commissioners more than bears out all that is ad-
duced by Mr. Wallace, and brings to light an obstinate
adherence to old rules and forms, contrary alike to ezpe-
diency and common sense, such as would scarcely be credi-
ble were it not vouched for by such high authority. Near
the beginning of his letter, Mr. Wallace alludes ts, persons
resident in localities not intersected by great lines of road
having mail-coaches travelling on them, and such as require
more frequent opportunities of correspondence." It is to
these localities that I wish more especially to call your at-
tention and that of the public, and to the ready means
which present themselves of removing many of the inconve-
niences which a remote situation necessarily implies. In
the Committee which I moved for and obtained in the last
Session of Parliament on Internal Communication Taxa-
tion, we had the benefit of the evidence of Sir Edward

Lees, whose views on these subjects were most liberal and
enlarged. He called our attention to the great extent of
cross and mountainous roads in Scotland which are altoge-
ther unprovided with public conveyances, and where the
posts are conveyed either on horseback, or by foot-runners
as they are termed, involving great expense, much delay,
and a total absence of all security for the safe delivery of
the bags. The charge of conveying the horse-posts amounts
to about 3d. per single mile per day ; whereas Sir Edward
is of opinion that, by a better arrangement, affording many
facilities of travelling to the public which do not now exist,
the posts might be conveyed more rapidly and more securely
for Id. per mile.

" The extent of roads in Scotland thus imperfectly sup-
plied with mails amounts to between 2,500 and 3,000 miles.
This state of Scotland, where the roads are so excellent,
contrasts strangely with that of Ireland, nearly all the cross-
roads of which are travelled by light cars, carrying four or
six persons, as the case may be, at the rate of from eight to
nine miles an hour, and conveying at the same time the
mail-bags, which are deposited in a box below the driver's
seat. The reason why these conveyances have been esta-
blished in Ireland, while Scotland is as yet unprovided with
them, is, that in the former country they are untaxed, while
in the latter they are loaded with a heavy taxation—as
mileage duty on the passengers, licence duty on the car-
riages themselves, and assessed taxes upon the servants em-
ployed in conducting them. It is quite obvious that no
greater boon could be conferred on the middle and even
humble classes of society, than rendering travelling as cheap
and easy as possible ; and I hope that, at no distant date,
the state of the public finances will enable the Chancellor
of the Exchequer to remove all the taxes affecting travel-
ling, which now operate in a way so unfair and so unequal.
Common justice demands that, while steam-boats ply for
hire free from all duty, and while the taxation on railway
travelling by steam power is merely illusory, the enormous
pressure of taxation on road travelling by animal power
should be lightened. The Committee to which I have al-
ready referred, have recommended the immediate abolition
of the licence duty on carriages let for hire ; and if it shall
still be necessary to raise a certain amount of revenue by a
tax on travelling, at least a modification of the heavy mile-
age duty paid for passengers.
" But whatever may be effected hereafter in the reduc-
tion of taxation on travelling, it must be obvious to any one
who considers the subject, that to levy a duty on coaches
carrying the mail-bags, as is the case with the mail-coaches
at-present, is no gain, but, on the contrary, a loss to the
revenue. This is made quite clear by Mr. Smith, of the
Stamp and Tax-office in London, in his evidence before the
Committee to which I have alluded. He says,' I consider
that the whole of the duty on mail-coaches might be re-
pealed with gain to the revenue ; the fact being, that the
duty levied by the Stamp-office upon the coach-proprietors,
is repaid by the Post-office in the contract for carrying the
mails ; the only additional circumstance of the collection
being, that whatever portion is collected by the distributors
of stamps pays the poundage which is lost to the public.
Were coaches carrying the mail-bags to run duty free, in-
stead of the Post-office as at present paying a large sum to
the coach-proprietors for carrying the mails, these indivi-
duals would in many instances offer a large premium for
being permitted to take charge of them, and would, of
course, as it was an objecl of advantage,-pay every atten-
tion to their due delivery, so that in all instances the public
would enjoy the benefit of the most direct and the cheapest
conveyance.
" Another advantage arising from this arrangement would
be, the establishing on most of the cross and mountainous
roads, now destitute of public conveyances, of light cars
similar to those in use in Ireland (as soon as it should be
known that in the event of their carrying the mail bags
they would run duty free), in which case, either the corre-
spondence would be conveyed gratis, or a premium would be
offered for permission to carry it, as the circumstances of
the peculiar locality, and the competition of contractors
might bring about, I must quote from the valuable evi-
dence of Sir Edward Lees :—being asked, " As far as
the conveyance of mails is concerned, do you think there
would be any loss to the Government if the tax were taken
off ?" His reply is, " None whatever ; because there are
no such conveyances in existence where I would propose to
send these cars, and therefore there can be nothing to pro-
duce a revenue to the Government at present ?" " Would a
better system enable you to convey posts into districts which
are now altogether destitute ?" " Certainly, great facilities
would be afforded for such extension ; my impression is,
that if it were generally known that a mail-cart carrying
the mail would be exempt from these public taxes, which
prevent their introduction now, we should have offers from
every part of the country for the establishment of them."
The limits of a letter will not permit me to go further. I
can only recommend to the public to peruse the evidence
on this important subject, as I am sure it is such as will
convince them of the propriety of reducing and equalizing
the heavy taxation now pressing on land conveyances, and
of facilitating by every practicable means the transmission
of the mails to every district of the country, especially
seeing that the revenue is not to suffer in the attempt. My
conviction that it is only when these matters are generally
known, and freely canvassed and discussed by the public,
that antiquated and erroneous systems will be abandoned,
and the necessary changes and reforms effected, must be my
apology for troubling you at this time.
" I am, Sir, &c.,

,‘ W. D. GILLON.
" Wallhouse, 10th Oct. 1837."—Scotsman.

Yesterday William Westwood, of the First Life
Guards, who distinguished himself by his extraordinary
bravery in the grand charge at Waterloo, when the Cui-
rassiers, the flower of the French cavalry, were routed,
was buried in St. Margaret's churchyard, Westminster, in
a manner honourable to the deceased soldier. About two
months ago Westwood voluntarily accepted his discharge,
on account of ill health, and retired on his full pension.
When he found his death approaching, he expressed a most
anxious wish to be followed to his grave by his compa-
nions in arms, and to be buried with military honours.
His wishes, however, could not be literally complied with,
as his regiment was on duty at Windsor at the time of his
death ; but the Blues, in a highly honourable spirit, vo-
lunteered their services, and did the proper honours to the
remains of the veteran, with an entire troop, and their full
band playing the " Dead March in ',Saul." The proces-
sion was received at the north gate of the churchyard
by the clergyman, the Reverend Mr. Milman, who pre-
ceded the coffin to the church, reading the funeral service.
The Blues drew up in, double line before the church door,
and the coffin, followed by the widow and children of the
deceased, was carried up the middle. As the widow passed,
the Blues, standing with their arms reversed, gave her the
salute, which mark of respect so much affected her that
she burst into tears, which she had repressed throughout
the previous part of the solemn ceremony. Tb usual
volley was fired over the grave, after which the vast crowd
that had attended the funeral dispersed.

NEW INVENTION.— That veteran in mechanical
and scientific experiments, Mr. John Barton, the inventor
of the improved metallic piston, now almost universally used
in her Majesty's steam-vessels, as well as generally through-
out the kingdom, has just completed a new condensing
engine, boilers, &c., by which one-half the space may be
saved, one-third in weight of engine and fuel, and above
one-third in expense. The construction of the engine is
such that it will be almost impossible for any vessel in which
it is adopted to be lost at sea ; the engines and boilers are
in their formation completely novel, and not less ingenious ;
and they are not only particularly strong, but peculiarly
adapted to obviate the possibility of explosion. The plans
have been submitted to several scientific gentlemen, who
have expressed the warmest approbation of them ; but, al-
though they are not yet entirely completed, and it would
be premature at present to enter into further particulars,
the Inventor has no objection to explain his views to any
gentleman who may feel an interest in the subject.