The reader will remember that, in 1633, Witherings was for some months suspended from office, and that several claims were made against him, in respect of which he made terms of settlement. One of these claims, not already mentioned, was put forward by Endymion Porter, Groom of the Bedchamber; but this claim was met by Witherings with a flat denial of any indebtedness. What the grounds were does not appear. But by an opinion given by Attorney General Bankes in 1637, it seems that on the 24th September 1635 an indenture of deputation of Stanhope's place was made in favour of Endymion Porter and his son George; which deputation of place, in the Attorney General's opinion, only referred to the post-work incidental to the forwarding of State despatches, and not "the ordering of the carriage of letters by post to be settled within the kingdom, at the charge of particular persons and not of His Majesty." It is to be remarked that the date of Porter's indenture almost coincides with the date upon which Witherings' inland posts were started; and the idea occurs to us, that possibly the Groom of the Bedchamber was brought into the business with the view of providing a channel of access to His Majesty for the furtherance of Stanhope's interests. Be this as it may, Porter, having had a taste of the Post Office, seemed desirous of obtaining Stanhope's place wholly to himself. On the 5th April 1636 he writes a letter to Secretary Windebank, of which the following is the import:—"The Secretary is best acquainted how long Porter followed the business of the Postmaster's place, being one to whom it was referred; and Porter has intimated to His Majesty his former intentions towards Porter in that business, to which he has received so gracious an answer from his sacred mouth as has much lessened Porter's sickness; yet he fears, by something His Majesty said, that he imagines Porter is not willing to have Lord Stanhope's patent made void. Begs the Secretary to let His Majesty know that Porter has no disposition nor thought to be averse to any intention of His Majesty. He hopes His Majesty does it for the good of Porter (his poor servant and creature); and if he be thought worthy of the office, he will make it such for His Majesty's honour and profit as he shall have no cause to think it ill bestowed." "Sacred mouth," and "his poor servant and creature"! Such expressions may have been common at the period under review; but they would be sadly out of place in the present day. The English language is rich enough in figure to convey sentiments of submission, and even veneration, without involving the writer in such wretched abjection. May it not be that the doctrine of divine right is responsible for this tone of servility in a large degree? A better specimen of self-effacement in a petition could not be quoted than that of Denzil Hollis to the king about 1630, found among Secretary Coke's manuscripts. It will be remembered that Hollis was one of the Parliament men who gave serious offence to the king by holding Speaker Finch in the chair. As a punishment for the rash act, he was cast out of the sunshine of royal favour and thrown into prison. From this changed position, Hollis, patriot and Parliament man, penned the following petition:—"Most gracious Sovereign, your Majesty be pleased to vouchsafe leave to your most afflicted suppliant again to cast himself at your royal feet, there still to implore your Majesty's grace and favour, for he is no longer able to bear the weight either of your Majesty's displeasure or of his own grief; and he languisheth under it so much the more by how much he hath been heretofore comforted with the sweet influence of your Majesty's goodness to him, and gracious acceptation of him. His younger years were blessed with his attendances upon your princely person, and it was the height of his ambition to end his days in your service; nor did he ever willingly entertain the least thought which might move your Majesty to cast him down from that pitch into this precipice of your indignation; but in anything he may have failed, it hath been through misfortune, and the error of his judgment. Imitate the Dread Sovereign the God of Heaven, whose image you bear here upon earth, both in yourself in regard to your royal excellencies and in relation to us your loyal and obedient subjects. He is best pleased with the sacrifice of a sorrowful heart, and accepts only that person who mourns because he hath offended Him; and such a sacrifice do I here offer myself unto your Majesty, a heart burdened with the sense of your Majesty's displeasure, prostrate at your royal feet with all humble submission waiting till your Majesty will reach out the golden sceptre of princely compassion to raise me out of this lowest dust, and so, by breathing new life into me, make me able and capable to do your Majesty some acceptable service. And, as I am bound in duty, I shall ever pray for the increase of your Majesty's happiness and the continuance of your glorious reign. This is the humble petition and prayer of your Majesty's most obedient and loyal subject and servant, Denzil Holles."
Hollis was not taken back to bask in the desired sunshine; and biography has left upon record that he was a "man of firm integrity, a lover of his country and of liberty, a man of great courage and of as great pride. He had the soul of a stubborn old Roman in him!"
There are patriots and patriots. A contrast to Hollis is found in a contemporary patriot, Lilburne, of whom it is recorded that, "Whilst he was whipped at the cart, and stood in the pillory, he uttered many bold speeches against tyranny of bishops, etc.; and, when his head was in the hole of the pillory, he scattered sundry copies of pamphlets (said to be seditious) and tossed them among the people, taking them out of his pocket; whereupon, the Court of Star Chamber, then sitting, being informed, immediately ordered Lilburne to be gagged during the residue of the time he was to stand in the pillory, which was done accordingly; and, when he could not speak, he stamped with his feet, thereby intimating to the beholders he would still speak were his mouth at liberty."
The higher places in the Post Office were apparently much sought after, and there must have been a good deal of Court manœuvring on the part of those in possession to remain in, and of suitors who desired possession to get in. Here is the letter of another candidate, William Lake, who gives something of his personal history in his letter. It is addressed to Secretary Windebank from Putney Park, on the 5th August 1637:—
"I enclose copy of my former petition, which the Duke of Lennox presented to His Majesty. I hope you will find my demands such as His Majesty may approve of. He may be possessed that I acquired some very great estate under my master, the late Lord Treasurer, but it was far otherwise. I was always more careful of my honour and my honesty than of increasing my fortune. My main hope was that, by my lord's means, I might have obtained some grant from His Majesty which might have eased me of the trouble of being a suitor. I know that his lordship meant me some good in that place which Witherings how enjoys, whereof I give a little touch in my petition. How I missed it, nescio quid, nec quare. I entreat that, when you move His Majesty on my behalf, you would affirm that all the fortune I got does not amount to above £5000, which is but a small thing to maintain myself, my wife, and six children. Neither will I be so immoderate in my suit as to desire more than what the late king once thought me worthy of: I mean the place for the Latin tongue."
Besides the officers of the Post Office bearing the title of Chief Postmasters or Postmasters-General, there was an officer attached to the Court called the Deputy Postmaster of the Court. What his precise duties were, is not very apparent; but he probably looked after the despatch of letters over short distances from the Court, whereever situated, and arranged for post stages being temporarily set up in places where they did not usually exist, when the Court was on progress. The Court Deputy Postmaster did not, however, enjoy any greater punctuality, as regards payment of wages, than the postmasters of the roads. The following petition of 1637 proves this:—"Petition of John Wytton, Deputy Postmaster of the Court, daily attending your Majesty, to the king. For his wages of 10s. per diem there is due to him about £1400; neither has he allowance of diet, or horsemeat, or any other perquisite, the nonpayment whereof has brought him much into debt. Some of his creditors have petitioned the Lord Chamberlain to have the benefit of the law against him. He has granted the request, unless the petitioner give satisfaction by the middle of Michaelmas term. Prays that the Lord Treasurer may make present payment of what is due to petitioner, and meanwhile that he may have a protection." It appears that Wytton was not the real holder of the place, although by delegation he executed the office; for by a petition laid before Secretary Coke in 1639, he states that in the first year of Charles' reign, Buckbury, the king's Postmaster, assigned to him the execution of the place, and that for his pains he was to receive the third part of Buckbury's wages when they were paid. Wytton was turned out of the place in 1637, when there were for wages eight years and a half due to him, amounting to £530. This would no doubt be one-third of the sum due to Buckbury. "I can make it appear by bills upon oath," says Wytton, "that during the time the debt grew I have disbursed almost £300 out of purse in executing the place. And I do humbly conceive that my own attendance, my keeping of lodgings and horses in town for eight years and a half, may be thought worthy of the remainder of the sum above mentioned."
In July 1637, a warrant was issued to Secretaries Coke and Windebank, Masters and Comptrollers-General of the Posts, for a sum of money to be paid to the postmasters of the roads, up to the 27th September following, as under mentioned:—
These seem at first sight to be small allowances to the postmasters; but we must be under no illusion as to this; and it is proper to remember, what has already been pointed out, that in all cases of money payments at this period, and mentioned in these pages, the figures must be quadrupled in order to estimate their value in relation to the present worth of money. The payments here ordered may have been intended to keep the principal postmasters quiet until a new arrangement, promulgated under His Majesty's directions on the 30th July 1637 (hereafter to be quoted), should come into force. The date fixed for its taking effect was Michaelmas next ensuing. But the payments above authorised did not by any means clear off the indebtedness of the State towards the postmasters; for by a petition of the postmasters to the House of Lords in December 1660, it is set forth that "in the year 1637 they were upwards of £60,000 in arrear of their wages, whereof they have never received one penny." That means that, according to our present value of money, the postmasters were in arrears of pay to the extent of about a quarter of a million sterling.
In looking over the post stages mentioned in the foregoing list, and tracing them upon the map, whether from London to Berwick, London to the stages in Cornwall, or in the other directions, one cannot fail to be struck with the very direct courses which the post routes followed. The lines taken are straight as an arrow; and considering that the roads were not laid out by engineers, but were the product of a mere habit of travel, worked out by packmen with their horses, and travellers making for a preconceived destination, the exact result attained to is very remarkable. On the great North road, the stages are in many cases the same as those which served in the days of mail coaches two centuries later.