POSTING, from the French "poste," derived from the Low Latin word " posta " (Ducange, in verbo), is so called from horses being placed at certain stations or poste, where they may be hired by individuals at their pleasure. The application of the words" post " and " postmaster " as well to the transmission of letters and the persons to whom this business is entrusted, as to stations where post-horses are kept, and the persons who own or have the care of them, is the cause of much con fusion : and it frequently cannot be understood in reference to which branch early writers intend these terms to be applied. The ambiguity is not confined to the English language. Post-horses were first esta blished by the governments on the continent of Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries-for the conveyance of despatches ; they were occasion ally employed for the conveyance of persons connected with such governments, and gradually by passengers in general. I'osting con tinues in moat countries to be- carried on by the state, which retains the monopoly of supplying post-horses, and usually of forwarding mails and diligences. The prices are fixed by the governments, as well as the number of horses that must be employed, according to the weight or number of persons to be conveyed, or even by the state of the roads. In the United States and British North America there is at present (1859) no posting, at least in the sense in which the term is commonly used ; that is to say, a person cannot have his carriage con veyed in such a direction as he may wish, and hire fresh horses at convenient stages. He must engage an "extra exclusive" in some principal town, and the same horses must convey him throughout his whole journey, unless another large town should lie on the road. This is the mode of travelling known on the Continent by the name of " vetturino," " voiturier," or " Lohnkntscher." The want of the power of posting is not so inconvenient as might be supposed, for the number of private carriages is not large, and in districts where there is much travelling, communication is usually facilitated by steamboats, railways, and stage-coaches.
Posting is very generally established in England, but is now leas used in consequence of the Introduction of railways. In frequented
and populous districts, change of horses may commonly be procured at intervals of from eight to twelve miles, and in the most remote and thinly inhabited at inns not more than from fifteen to twenty miles apart. The trade is wholly in the hands of private speculators. The rate of travelling with post-horses varies according to the weight of the carriage and the number of horses employed; from eight to nine miles an hour may be stated as the average rate of a it of horsee under ordinary circumstances. The number of horses hired depends solely on the will and discretion of the party hiring, which are controlled by no legal regulation whatsoever. The payment is estimated per mile for each pair of horses, without reference to the number of persona conveyed, and a second pair of horses is charged at the same rate as the first ; the payment to the postmaster does not include the driver, who expects a gratuity of about three-pence a mile. Four horses is the greatest number ever required for one carriage. Sixteen or eighteen pence per mile is the usual price for each pair of horses, and when the payment of postboya and turnpikes is added, a journey will be found to cost about twenty-two pence a mile. If a post-chaise or fly be required as well as post-horses, no additional charge is made on account of the carriage. Post-chaises are now almost things of the past ; but flys with a single horse are to be had at most towns, and all large inns, at about ls. a mile. The price of posting is nearly uniform throughout England, but there is considerable variation in the degree of goodness of the horses and chaises provided. On much-frequented roads, where there is generally competition in the posting trade, the accommodation is very superior to what is found at little-frequented inns, where an inferior description of post-horse is kept, which is often insufficiently fed because it is not frequently employed. A postmaster pays yearly for one horse and carriage, 71. 10s.; for two, 12/. 10s.; increasing with the number, for a licence to let post-horses.