ted to the Common
Council the establishment of a postal system as a means of raising money
for the purpose. The court welcomed the proposal, and promised to forward
any scheme that might be laid before it.(985) A committee was appointed
(25 Sept.) to wait upon the Earl of Warwick, Prideaux, the
attorney-general, and Witheringe, who had the management of the inland
post--a government monopoly recently established--and inform them of the
desire of the court "that the President and Governors for the Poor of the
city of London may use and dispose of the said postage for the good of the
poor, without any obstructions from them in the work."(986) An attempt
(M506) to lay a petition before parliament on Friday, the 16th November,
having failed, the deputation not being admitted, the court appointed a
committee (24 Nov.) to consider the best way of setting the scheme on foot
without delay.(987) The committee had (M507) not proceeded far in the
matter when it was deemed advisable (23 Jan., 1650) to take counsel's
opinion as to whether there might not be some danger of a _Quo Warranto_
against the City before allowing any further steps to be taken.(988) For a
fortnight, therefore, matters were in abeyance, but on the 6th February,
1650, the opinion of counsel having presumably been favourable to the
city's action, the committee received instructions to proceed to settle
stages and other matters connected with a postal system without
delay.(989) Before another six weeks had elapsed the City had established
a postal system with Scotland and other places. Complaint was thereupon
(M508) made to parliament (21 March) "that the Common Council of London
have sent an agent to settle postages, by their authority, on the several
roads; and have employed a natural Scot into the North, who is gone into
Scotland; and hath settled postmasters (other than those for the State) on
all that road."(990) The Common Council, it was said, had "refused to come
to the parliament and to have direction from them in it," but this
statement is not borne out by the City's Records, according to which, as
already narrated, a deputation had at least on one occasion waited on the
House, but had not been admitted. Fortified by the opinion of the (M509)
attorney-general and of the Council of State, the Commons passed a
resolution to the effect "that the offices of postmaster, inland and
foreign, are and ought to be in the sole power and disposal of the
parliament."(