In 1813 the London to Bristol mail coach was robbed of the Bankers' parcel, value £2,000 or upwards. This was made known in the form of a
warning to the mail guards who travelled in charge of the Post Office bags. When in 1813-14 the great frost occurred, the Bristol mail coaches were obstructed by the heavy snowdrifts on the roads, and they came in day after day drawn by six horses each when they could struggle into the City.
The literature of the period yields nothing of interest again for some time.
The "Bristol Guide" in 1815 stated that—"Bristow is the richest city of almost all the cities of this country, receiving merchandize from neighbouring and foreign places with the ships under sail." And again, "Bristow is full of ships from Ireland, Norway and every part of Europe, which brought hither great commerce and large foreign wealth." There was no mention of their carrying mails.
The year 1818 is memorable in postal annals as that in which John Palmer died. His decease took place at Brighton, but not before he had lived long enough to see mail coaches splendidly turned out. Palmer, on the conclusion of his connection with the Post Office, was awarded a pension of £3,000 a year, equal to his full salary, which sum he
declared did not represent the amount of his salary and emoluments. Further difficulties ensued, and his son, Colonel Palmer, fought his father's battles right manfully in the House, and eventually, in 1813, the Government gave John Palmer a sum of £50,000.
In recognition of Palmer's great invention, the Chamber of Commerce of Glasgow not only made him an honorary member, but voted him fifty guineas for a piece of plate. The fifty guineas was spent on a silver cup, which bore the following inscription:—
TO
JOHN PALMER, Esq.,
SURVEYOR AND COMPTROLLER-GENERAL
OF THE POSTS OF GREAT BRITAIN,
FROM
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
AND MANUFACTURERS
IN THE CITY OF GLASGOW,
AS AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT
OF THE BENEFITS
RESULTING FROM HIS PLAN
TO THE
TRADE AND COMMERCE
OF THIS KINGDOM,
1789.
To John Palmer, Esq., Surveyor and Comptroller-General of the Post Office this Plate of the Mail Coach is respectfully inscribed by his obedient humble servant, James Fittler.