For
instance, they asked him to compete for carrying the post between
Limerick and Tralee, then carried by a mail-coach. Before
tendering, Bianconi called on the contractor, to induce him to
give in to the requirements of the Post Office, because he knew
that the postal authorities only desired to make use of him to
fight the coach proprietors. But having been informed that it
was the intention of the Post Office to discontinue the
mail-coach whether Bianconi took the contract or not, he at
length sent in his tender, and obtained the contract.
He succeeded in performing the service, and delivered the mail
much earlier than it had been done before. But the former
contractor, finding that he had made a mistake, got up a movement
in favour of re-establishing the mail-coach upon that line of
road; and he eventually induced the postage authorities to take
the mail contract out of the hands of Bianconi, and give it back
to himself, as formerly. Bianconi, however, continued to keep
his cars upon the road. He had before stated to the contractor,
that if he once started his cars, he would not leave it, even
though the contract were taken from him. Both coach and car
therefore ran for years upon the road, each losing thousands of
pounds. "But," said Bianconi, when asked about the matter by the
Committee on Postage in 1838, "I kept my word: I must either
lose character by breaking my word, or lose money.
Pages:
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313