d of newspapers 44.5 millions; whereas,
in 1865, the numbers of letters had increased to 720 millions, and in
1867 to 775 millions, or more than ten-fold, while the number of
newspapers, books, samples and patterns (a new branch of postal business
began in 1864) had increased, in 1865, to 98.5 millions.

To accommodate this largely-increasing traffic, the bulk of which is
carried by railway, the mileage run by mail trains in the United Kingdom
has increased from 25,000 miles a day in 1854 (the first year of which we
have any return of the mileage run) to 60,000 miles a day in 1867, or an
increase of 240 per cent. The Post Office expenditure on railway service
has also increased, but not in like proportion, having been 364,000
pounds in the former year, and 559,575 pounds in the latter, or an
increase of 154 per cent. The revenue, gross and net, has increased
still more rapidly. In 1841, the first complete year of the Cheap
Postage system, the gross revenue was 1,359,466 pounds and the net
revenue 500,789 pounds; in 1854, the gross revenue was 2,574,407 pounds,
and the net revenue 1,173,723 pounds; and in 1867, the gross revenue was
4,548,129 pounds, and the net revenue 2,127,125 pounds, being an increase
of 420 per cent. compared with 1841, and of 180 per cent. compared with
1854. How much of this net increase might fairly be credited to the
Railway Postal service we shall not pretend to say; but assuredly the
proportion must be very considerable.

One of the great advantages of railways in connection with the postal
service is the greatly increased frequency of communication which they
provide between all the large towns. Thus Liverpool has now six
deliveries of Manchester letters daily; while every large town in the
kingdom has two or more deliveries of London letters daily. In 1863, 393
towns had two mails daily from London; 50 had three mails daily; 7 had
four mails a day _from_ London, and 15 had four mails a day _to_ London;
while 3 towns had five mails a day _from_ London, and 6 had five mails a
day _to_ London.

Another feature of the railway mail train, as of the passenger train, is
its capacity to carry any quantity of letters and post parcels that may
require to be carried. In 1838, the aggregate weight of all the evening
mails despatched from London by twenty-eight mail coaches was 4 tons 6
cwt., or an average of about 3.25 cwt. each, though the maximum contract
weight was 15 cwt. The mails now are