Page:The Post Office of Fifty Years Ago.djvu/72

4 nearly as possible the same influences. The tax upon stage coaches obviously falls under these conditions.

Allowing the great increase in steam navigation as a set-off against the slight diminution in the duty on post-horses, which might be considered as impairing the correctness of this comparison, let us proceed to the consideration of the following table, which shows the net produce of the stage-coach duty for every fifth year, from 1815 to 1835 inclusive; together with the net revenue actually derived from the Post Office during the same time; as also the amount which would have been obtained had the receipts increased at the same rate as the produce of the stage coach duty.