and cured or pensioned. Thus one Edward James had a donation
of 5 pounds, because `a musket shot had grazed the tibia of his left
leg.' What the _tibia_ may be, my young friends, is best known to the
doctors--I have not taken the trouble to inquire!" (Hear, hear, and
applause.) "Then another got 12 pounds `because a shot had divided his
frontal muscles and fractured his skull;' while a third received a
yearly pension of 6 pounds, 13 shillings, 4 pence `on account of a shot
in the hinder part of the head, whereby a large division of scalp was
made.' Observe what significance there is in that fourpence! Don't it
speak eloquently of the strict justice of the Post-Office authorities of
those days? Don't it tell of tender solicitude on their part thus to
gauge the value of gunshot wounds? Might it not be said that the men
were carefully rated when wounded? One Postmaster-General writes to an
agent at Falmouth in regard to rates: `Each arm or leg amputated above
the elbow or knee is 8 pounds per annum; below the knee, 20 nobles.
Loss of sight of one eye, 4 pounds; of pupil of the eye, 5 pounds; of
sight of both eyes, 12 pounds; of pupils of both eyes, 14 pounds.' Our
well-known exactitude began to crop up, you see, even in those days.

"The post-boys--who in many instances were grey-headed men--also gave
the authorities much trouble, many of them being addicted to strong
drink, and not a few to dilatory habits and dishonesty. One of them was
at one time caught in the act of breaking the laws. At that period the
bye-posts were farmed, but the post-boys, regardless of farmers' rights,
often carried letters and brought back answers on their own account--
receiving and keeping the hire, so that neither the Post-Office nor the
farmer got the benefit. The particular boy referred to was convicted
and committed to prison, but as he could not get bail--having neither
friends nor money--he begged to be whipped instead! His petition was
granted, and he was accordingly whipped to his heart's content--or, as
the chronicler has it, he was whipped `to the purpose.'

"Many men of great power and energy contributed to the advance of the
Post-Office in those times. I won't burden your minds with many of
their names however. One of them, William Dockwra, started a penny post
in London for letters and small parcels in 1683. Twenty-three years
later an attempt was made to start a halfpenny post in London, but that
was suppressed.