Note 49 — Chapter V

At page 6 of the Ninth Report of the Postmaster-General, dated 30th April, 1863, signed by Lord Stanley, of Alderley, it is stated, “Postal communication between provincial towns has also, in many instances, been made more frequent. Between Manchester and Liverpool there are not fewer than eight mails in each direction daily.” At page 11 of the Twelfth Report, dated “March, 1866,” and signed also by Lord Stanley, of Alderley, the following words occur:—“The town districts of Liverpool have now six deliveries of letters from Manchester daily, as compared with only three deliveries of such letters in 1863. The improvement in the course of post between ordinary correspondents in Liverpool and ordinary correspondents in Manchester, is at present only partial and one-sided. A scheme is under consideration, however, for the extension of the deliveries and collections in Manchester, and when this plan shall have been carried out, a very marked improvement will be effected in the course of post between these great towns, and will, I doubt not, be followed by a rapid development of their already large correspondence.” The italics in the foregoing extracts are ours. To solve the difficulty, if possible, we obtained the October number of the “Local Postal Guide for Manchester, (published monthly) by command of the Postmaster-General,” and it appears by it there are ten collections for Liverpool at the head office, and three at the receiving offices and pillar posts,—one of which only began on the 4th of October, 1867. There are eight arrivals from Liverpool, and six deliveries.