From the report of the Postmaster General of Great Britain, as published in Hunt's Merchant's Magazine, we cull the following information :—Since the improvement of the letter delivery system, there has been a free delivery of 300,000 letters per week or about sixteen millions a year. In London alone, the number of places where letters can be po|ted has been increased by the addition of sixty new receiving houses and sixtg^-six letter pillars—cast iron columns set up in the street, from which letters ate collected. From 1840 to the present time, the net annual revenue has increased three and a half times the amount—it is now $7,252,075—while the expenses have only doubled, being for the past year $8,604,075, and the amount of money transmitted through the Post OflSce in the shape of money orders was $60,901,365. All this is due to the energy and genius of one man—Rowland Hill.
This article was originally published with the title "The British Post Office" in Scientific American 13, 41, 328 (June 1858)
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican06191858-328c