he Road, w^{ch} next unto his Ma^{tie}, belong to y^{e} office
of the s^{d} Lo: Stanhope, and upon determina[=co]n of any of the s^{d}
Posts places, by death or otherwise, the Lo: Stanhope will make as much
of them as hath heretofore bin made by this said advancement of all
theire places.

The Lord Stanhope now enioying what either hee or any of his
Predecesso^{s} hath ever heretofore done to this day.

(Indorsed by Sec. Coke)

"Proposition for Missive Letters."

--_Report from Secret Committee on the Post Office_ (_Commons_), 1844,
Appx., pp. 55-6.

(iv) THE MONOPOLY AND THE GENERAL FARM OF THE POSTS.

No. 1.

"Whereas heretofore sundry wayes have bene devised to redresse the
disorders among the postes of our realme in generall, and particularly
to prevent the inconveniences, both to our owne service and the lawfull
trade of the honest merchants, by prohibiting that no persons whatsoever
should take upon them, publiquely or privately, to procure, gather up,
receive ... any packets or letters to or from the countreys beyond the
seas, except such our ordinarie posts and messengers for those parties,
etc."--royal Proclamation, April 26th 1591.

No. 2.

"There has long been a constant trade betwixt London and Norwich in
sundry sorts of stuffs and stockings made in Norwich and Norfolk, which
trade has always been maintained by the merchants of Norwich employing
their stocks in buying wares of the makers and sending them up weekly in
carts by common carriers to London, whence they are dispersed into all
parts of this kingdom, and also exported to foreign parts, in which
intercourse of trade we always had our letters safely and speedily
carried by our common carrier, by a horseman, not in manner of postage
by change of horses, but as is usual by common carriers, and for little
or no charge to us. Of late Mr. Witherings has intercepted our letters
and molested our carriers, forbidding them to carry any of our letters
otherwise than to go along with their carts, and no faster."--Petition
to Privy Council, 1638; J. W. Hyde, _The Post in Grant and Farm_,
London, 1894, p. 131.

No. 3.

" ... By a Proclamation dated about July 1635 his Majestie did expresse
his pleasure, that _Thomas Witherings_ should have the carriage of the
said letters who would settle it in a better and more speedy course;
thereupon he undertook the said work, and for a long time, after his
said undertaking, it cost him some weeks 20l. 3