The Life of Sir Rowland Hill, Vol. II (of 2) - and the History of Penny Postage

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Title: The Life of Sir Rowland Hill, Vol. II (of 2) - and the History of Penny Postage
Author: Hill, Rowland, Hill, George Birkbeck Norman
Language: English
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THE LIFE
OF
SIR ROWLAND HILL
K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., ETC.
AND THE
HISTORY OF PENNY POSTAGE.

BY
SIR ROWLAND HILL
AND
HIS NEPHEW
GEORGE BIRKBECK HILL, D.C.L.

AUTHOR OF
"DR. JOHNSON: HIS FRIENDS AND HIS CRITICS," ETC.

_IN TWO VOLUMES._

VOL. II.

LONDON:
THOS. DE LA RUE & CO.
110, BUNHILL ROW.

1880

(_The right of Translation and Reproduction is reserved._)

PRINTED BY
THOMAS DE LA RUE AND CO., BUNHILL ROW,
LONDON.

CONTENTS OF SECOND VOLUME.

BOOK II. (_Continued._)

CHAPTER XII.

COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY (1843).

"State and Prospects of Penny Postage," 1--Examined before the
Committee, 2--The "Fallacious Return," 4--Charge for the Packet
Service, 5--Treaty with France, 6--Colonel Maberly's Evidence,
7--Dockwra, Allen, and Palmer, 9--Australian Letters and India,
10--Committee's Report, 12--Spain and Russia, 13--Letters from
Sydney Smith and Miss Martineau, 14.

CHAPTER XIII.

RAILWAY DIRECTION (1843-6).

Director and then Chairman of the Brighton Railway Company,
16--Examination of Railway Officers, 18--Enforcement of Penalties,
19--Three Codes of Signals. Safety of the Line, 20--Excursion and
Express Trains, 21--Postal facilities for Brighton, 22--Value
of Shares. Resignation of Chairmanship, 23--Offer from the
South-Western Company, 24--Parliament and the Railways, 25.

CHAPTER XIV.

NATIONAL TESTIMONIAL (1844-6).

United States, 27--Mazzini and Sir James Graham, 28--"A Penny
Post," by John Hill, 29--Subscriptions to the Testimonial,
29--Income Tax Commissioners, 30--Mr. Cobden and the Anti-Corn Law
League, 31--Presentation of Testimonial, 32.

CHAPTER XV.

APPOINTMENT TO POST OFFICE (1846).

The New Ministry, 37--Lord Clanricarde Postmaster-General, 38--Mr.
Warburton, 39--Appointment offered, 40--Mr. Hawes, 41--A Painful
Dilemma, 42--Letter to Mr. Hawes. Appointment accepted, 43--Promise
of Promotion, 46.

CHAPTER XVI.

JOINT SECRETARYSHIP (1846-8).

The "Edinburgh Review" and Mr. Charles Dickens, 48--Restrictive
Minute, 49--Cabals, 51--Snowed up, 52--The Post Office a vast
Machine, 53--Liverpool Town Council, 54--Lord Clanricarde's
Boldness, 55--Bristol Post Office, 57--Lieutenant Waghorn, 59--A
Bundle of old Clothes by Post, 61--Applications for Increase
of Salary, 63--Statistics, 64--Book Post. Proposed System of
Promotion, 65--Railway Legislation, 66--Money Order Department,
70--Offensive Minute. Mr. Cobden's Advice, 73--Savings in
Stationery, 76--Arrears of Money Orders, 77--Carelessness in
Remittance, 78--Attempted Robbery, 79--Frauds, 80--Esquires in Low
Life, 81--Joseph Ady, 82--Telegraph, 83--Chartists, 84.

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XVI.

General Progress. Letter to Mr. Baring, 85--Number of Letters from
1839 to 1847, 86--Book Post. Professor De Morgan, 87--Evasion of
Postage, 88--Scale of Salaries. The Interpretation of a Fortnight's
Holiday, 89--Letter-boxes, 90--Railway Notices. Sir Erskine May,
91--United States, 92--France, Revolution of 1848, 93--Belgium, 94.

CHAPTER XVII.

EFFORTS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION (1848-9).

Discordant action in the Post Office, 95--Claim for Promotion,
96--Lord John Russell on Penny Postage, 98--The Ministry in Danger,
99--Great Increase of Expenditure, 100--Formal Application for
Promotion, 101--The Chancellor of the Exchequer's unreasonable
Demand, 103--Health again fails, 105.

CHAPTER XVIII.

SUNDAY RELIEF (1849-50).

Sunday Labour in Post Office, 107--Bath Post Office, 108--Closing
of Money Order Offices, 109--Other Measures of Relief. "Forward
Letters," 110--Minute on Reduction of Sunday Labour, 111--Lord's
Day Society, 113--Treachery in the Camp, 115--Bishop of London,
116--City Meeting, 118--Publication of Minute, 121--No Compulsion.
Extracts from Private Journal, 123--Hon. and Rev. Grantham Yorke.
Insubordination, 128--Slanders of Lord's Day Society, 129--The
first Sunday on the new Plan, 131--Anonymous Letters, 134--Lord
John Russell, 135--Further Slanders of the Lord's Day Society,
136--Railway Sorting, 137--Suburban Sunday Delivery, 138--General
Thompson and Dr. Vaughan, 139--Meetings of Surveyors, 140--Further
Sunday relief, 141--Cabals, 143--Demand for total Abolition of
Sunday Labour, 144--Mr. Wallace. Visit to Greenock, 148--Mr.
Matthew Forster, 149--The _Times_, 151--Lord Ashley's Motion,
155--No Sunday Deliveries, 158--Commission on Sunday Labour, 160.

CHAPTER XIX.

PARTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION (1850-1).

The Word of a Minister, 163--Renewed Claim for Promotion, 164--Mr.
Warburton, 165--Mr. Cobden, 166--Mr. Hume, 167--Sir C. Wood,
169--Application for an Assistant-Secretary, 170--Mr. Frederic
Hill--his Services as an Inspector of Prisons, 171--Ministry in
Danger, 173--Increase of Salary, 174--Death of Mr. T. W. Hill. Mr.
Frederic Hill's Appointment, 176--Staff of Clerks, 177.

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIX (1849-51).

Money Order Department, 178--Clerks divided into Classes,
179--Clerks in Charge. Prepayment, 180--Mail Trains _versus_ Mail
Carts, 181--Rural Distribution, 182--Postal Treaties, 183--Salaries
and Promotion, 184; Rectification of Accounts, 185--Mr. Cunard and
the West Indian Mails, 186--United States. India, 187--France.
Revenue, 188--Mail Robbery, 189--Improved Condition of Officials.
Source of Dishonesty, 190--"Household Words" and "Quarterly
Review," 191.

CHAPTER XX.

EFFORTS FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION (1851-2).

The Railway Department, 193--Letter from Mr. Cobden. Visit to the
West Riding, 194--The two Secretaries, 195--Renewed Application
for Promotion, 196--Mr. Cobden, Mr. Hume, and Sir C. Wood, 198--A
Mysterious Allusion in Mr. Cobden's Letter, 199--Resignation of
the Liberal Ministry, 200--Lord Clanricarde's Minute. Statement of
Improvements, 201.

CHAPTER XXI.

LORD HARDWICKE (1852).

Lord Hardwicke Postmaster-General, 203--Two Kings in Brentford,
205--Mr. Warburton, 206--Court Dress. The Latch-key, 207--Chevalier
Bunsen, 208--Who is to be Subordinate? 209--Lord Hardwicke's
peculiar Spelling. An Election Job, 210--Resignation of Tory
Ministry, 211--East Indian Post Office, 212.

CHAPTER XXII.

LORD CANNING (1853-4).

Lord Canning, Postmaster-General, 213--Treaty with France,
214--Large Savings, 215--Letter to Lord Canning, 215--Promotion or
Resignation, 217--Lord Canning's Answer, 218--Dangerous State of
Health, 219--Commission for Revising Salaries, 221--Dinner at Lord
Canning's. Mr. Gladstone, 222--Mortality among Colonels, 223--Sole
Secretary, 224.

CHAPTER XXIII.

PROGRESS OF REFORM FROM THE MIDDLE OF 1851 TO THE END OF 1854.

Railway Legislation, 227--Acceleration of Northern Mails,
231--Limited Mails, 232--A Transformation Scene, 233--Silence
under Misrepresentation. Premiums for Punctuality, 235--Mail-bag
Apparatus, 236--Rectification of Accounts, 237--Packet
Service (Lord Canning's Commission), 238--Colonial Postage,
241--The _Times_, 243--Foreign Book Post. Chevalier Bunsen
and Lord Hardwicke, 244--Salaries and Promotion, 245--Report
of Commissioners for Revising Salaries, 246--Patronage,
248--Competitive Examinations, 249--Telegraphs, 251--Postal Reform
abroad, 252.

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXIII.

Money Orders. Article in "Household Words," 253--Hong-Kong
Post Office, 257--Prepayment. Early Deliveries, 258--Pillar
Letter-boxes. Number of Letters, 259--Increased Honesty, 260--Titus
Oates. Funeral of the Duke of Wellington, 261.

CHAPTER XXIV.

SOLE SECRETARYSHIP--FIRST ANNUAL REPORT, 1854.

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT (1855-9).

Lord Canning, 263--Arrangement of Secretarial Duties, 264--The
Staff of Officers, 266--Annual Reports. Monthly Report of
Improvements in hand, 267--Post Office _versus_ Board of Works,
268--Free Delivery, 270--London District Offices, 271--Scotch
and Irish Mails, 273--Need of Railway Legislation, 276--Sir
G. C. Lewis, 277--Government Loans to Railway Companies,
278--Government Purchase of Railways. Royal Commission on Railways,
283--Arbitration, 284--True Interests of the Companies, 285--Money
Orders. Contract Work, 286--Post Office _versus_ Admiralty. Mr.
Trollope, 288--Panama Route, 290--Indian Mutiny, 292--Acceleration
of News, 294--Revenue and Expenditure, 295--Predictions Fulfilled,
297--Promotion by Merit. Sir W. Hayter, 298--Civil Service
Examination, 300--Letter from Sir C. Trevelyan, 301--Health
of Officers, 302--Life Insurance, 304--Mutual Guarantees,
307--Libraries, 308.

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXIV.

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT (1854).

Soldiers' Letters. Colonial and Foreign Posts, 310--Street
Nomenclature and House Numbering, 311--Early History of the
Post Office, 312--Improvement in Accounts. Number of Offices,
313--Number of Letters. Returned Letters, 314--Registration,
315--Soldiers' Remittances. Extension of Money Order System
to Colonies, 316--Transference of Management of Colonial Post
Offices. Foreign Posts, 317--United States, 318--Mr. Pliny Miles,
319--Treaties made easily Terminable, 320.

CHAPTER XXV.

DISCONTENTS IN THE OFFICE (1855-9).

Demands for higher Wages, 321--"Civil Service Gazette,"
322--Letter-carriers--Eligibility of their Position,
324--Christmas-boxes, 325--Mutinous Meeting, 326--Threats of
Assassination, 327--A familiar Acquaintance, 328.

CHAPTER XXVI.

MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS FROM 1855 TO 1859.

Postal Guide and Postal Official Circular, 329--Date Stamps. Mr.
Pearson Hill's Stamping Machine, 330--Mr. C. W. Sikes and the
Post Office Savings Banks, 331--Salaries, 333--Volunteer Corps,
334--Compulsory Prepayment, 335--Parcels Post. Tubular Conveyance,
336--Inventors, 339--Telegraph Tube Service, 340--Mr. R.
Stephenson, 341--Postage on Newspapers, 342--The _Times_, 344--Mr.
Gladstone, 345--Serious Illness, 346--Plan for distributing
Newspapers, 347--Wreck of the "Violet" Mail-packet, 349--The Bey of
Tunis. Number of Letters posted in Russia and Manchester. The last
Attack on Penny Postage, 350--Government Franking, 351.

CHAPTER XXVII.

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL (1855-60).

Lord Canning, 353--Indian Mutiny. "Edinburgh Review," 354--Duke of
Argyll, 355--Lord Colchester, 356--Lord Elgin, 357--Health failing,
358--Royal Society. K.C.B., 359--Vigorous and harmonious Action
in the Office, 360--Dangerous Illness. Lord Stanley of Alderley,
361--Fourth Cabal. Mr. Gladstone's Support, 362.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

PROGRESS AFTER 1859.

Post Office Savings Banks--their Costliness, 364--Registration,
367--Pattern Post, 368--Packet Service. Transference from
Admiralty. Mr. Frederic Hill's Reforms, 369--Tenders. Surveys
of Mail-packets, 370--Readjustment of Transmarine Rates,
371--Punctuality, 372--Large Expenditure prevented, 373--Reward for
faithful Services, 374--Free-trade and subsidised Mail-packets, 375.

CHAPTER XXIX.

RESIGNATION (1864).

A Blow struck at Promotion by Merit. Appeal to the Treasury,
376--Interviews with Lord Palmerston, 377--Health broken down.
Medical Certificate, 378--Mr. Gladstone's Kindness. Letter of
Resignation, 379--Results of Postal Reform, 380--Number of Letters.
Revenue, 382--Letters from Lord Stanley of Alderley, 384--Lord
Stanley's Speech in the House of Lords, 386--Statue in Birmingham,
387--Mr. Joseph Parkes. "Sir F. Baring's opinion of Rowland Hill,"
388--Pension to Lady Hill. Notice by Lord Palmerston, 390--Treasury
Minute, 391--Authorship of Penny Postage, 393--Lady Hill's Address
to the Queen, 394--Grant from Parliament. Lord Palmerston's Speech,
395--Speeches by Lords Brougham and Clanricarde, 398--Letter to Mr.
Gladstone, 399--Mr. Gladstone's Answer, 400--University of Oxford.
Testimonials. Albert Gold Medal, 400--Happy among Reformers! Postal
Reforms of the Future, 401--Packet Service. Every Department should
be Self-supporting, 402--Contract Work. Female Labour. Parcels
Post, 403--Postal Union. Office of Postmaster-General should
be Permanent, 404--Patronage. Promotion by Merit. Post Office
Monopoly, 405--The Path that lies before Reformers, 406.

BOOK III.

CONCLUSION.

Squandering of Force, 411--Rowland Hill's Character. His
Pride in his Plan, 412--A rare Combination of Enthusiasm and
Practical Power. Never Complained of the World. His perfect
Integrity, 413--His high Standard of public Duty. His Generosity
and Consideration for the feelings of others, 414--Asked too
much of men in general, 415--A Member of the Political Economy
Club, 416--His continued Interest in Postal Affairs. Garibaldi,
417--Effect of Education on the Postal Revenue. Spelling. His Grief
at the Faults committed in the Post Office, 418--Mr. Gladstone's
Description of his Lot. State of his Health, 419--Royal Society
Club, 420--An overwrought Brain. Metropolitan Asylums Board,
421--Regularity of his Household, 422--The Resources of his Old
Age, 423--His Gratitude. Thoughtfulness for others, 424--Death
in the Family Group, 425--Colonel Torrens. His Son's Marriage,
426--Not Forgotten of Men. Statue in Kidderminster. Freedom of the
City of London, 428--Death, 429,--Westminster Abbey, 430.

APPENDICES.

A.--Letter to Postmaster-General Lord Clanricarde (January 3rd,
1849), p. 437.

B.--Letter to Postmaster-General Lord Clanricarde (August 13th,
1849), p. 443.

C.--Lord Clanricarde's Reply (August 23rd, 1849), p. 445.

D.--Minute on the Sunday Duties of the Post Office (February 3rd,
1849), p. 446.

E.--Letter to Postmaster-General deprecating Compulsory Employment
on the Sunday (October 18th, 1849), p. 453.

F.--Anonymous Letter from a Sub-Sorter (October 11th, 1849), p. 455.

G.--Letter to Mr. Warburton (November 16th, 1850), p. 457.

H.--Letter to Postmaster-General Lord Canning (June 18th, 1853), p.
460.

I.--Memorandum by Sir R. Hill on the Net Revenue of the Post Office
(December 18th, 1862), p. 466.

J.--Conveyance of Mails by Railway--Memorandum thereon (January
6th, 1857), p. 474.

K.--Minute relative to Panama Route to Australia (September 27th,
1858), p. 478.

L.--Letter to Lord Canning Governor-General of India (October 24th,
1857), p. 482.

M.--Proposed Reduction in the Postage on Newspapers and other
Printed Matter (June 12th, 1869), p. 484.

N.--Letter to the Lords of the Treasury--Superannuation Grant
(March 17th, 1864), p. 492.

BOOK II.

HISTORY
OF
PENNY POSTAGE.

(_Continued._)

CHAPTER XII.

COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY (1843).

As the Committee was not moved for until so late in the session, it
could not have very long to sit; and, at the end of seven weeks, its
inquiry was brought to a close by the approach of the prorogation.
This abrupt ending was in two ways unfortunate. In the first place, it
cut short the evidence I was giving in a reply to allegations from the
Post Office; and, in the second place, it allowed no time for more than
the briefest Report. To supply these deficiencies, and to present the
whole in readable shape to the public, I drew up a careful statement of
the principal facts given in evidence, with my own comments thereon,
and published it under the title of "State and Prospects of Penny
Postage;"[1] and from this I proceed to abstract or extract, as may
appear most convenient. The pamphlet, I may add, contained, in an
appendix, the whole of the correspondence asked for by Sir Thomas
Wilde; including, therefore, the letters refused by the Treasury, but
which I had afterwards laid before the Committee in the course of my
evidence.

The witnesses before the Committee--first, myself, and afterwards the
Secretary of the Post Office, the Postmaster-General, and three other
functionaries of the department.

"The main part of my evidence consisted of written statements,
prepared from day to day, and read before the Committee. The
Committee proposed this unusual course, and though I saw that
it would greatly increase the labour of preparation, yet, as it
enabled me to adopt a better arrangement of matter than could have
been secured in an examination altogether _vivâ voce_, I readily
complied with their desire."[2]

The labour, however, was enormous--especially in the collection,
verification, and arrangement of a vast number of facts--and required
for its efficiency all practicable assistance from my family. I believe
nothing but such assistance, and the excitement of the contest, could
have enabled me to support the toil. The amount of matter laid before
the Committee may be judged of when I say that my examination-in-chief
occupies a hundred and thirty-four pages in the folio Blue Book (equal
to two volumes of an ordinary novel), and engaged the whole time of the
Committee at six consecutive sittings. The heaviest part of the work
was in the beginning, as then my time for preparation was briefest,
while, as it fell out, the mass of matter was largest--ninety-five of
the hundred and thirty-four pages being taken up with the proceedings
of the first four days.

After having restated the principal features of my plan, enumerated
the chief improvements already effected, and glanced at the chief
causes then impairing or retarding the beneficial operation of these
improvements, I repeated the statement of their results, as already
mentioned in my petition, adding that the chargeable letters had
increased to nearly threefold, while the increase in Post Office
expenses, though still, in my opinion, excessive, was, when the
accounts were cleared of certain extraneous charges, actually less for
the three years subsequent to the reduction of the rate than for the
three years previous thereto.[3]

I referred to a letter from Messrs. Pickford, by which it appeared that
they estimated the increase in the number of their letters during the
last four years, enclosures being counted in, as from 30,000 to about
720,000.[4]

I compared the results of penny postage, and of the other alterations
consequent upon it (so far as they had then been carried into effect),
with the recorded anticipations of the Post Office and of myself;
referring particularly[5] to illicit conveyance, the safety of postage
stamps, and the exchange of charge by number of enclosures for charge
by weight; on all which points the expectations of the Post Office had
proved erroneous. I also recalled Colonel Maberly's opinion that in
the first year the number of letters would not double, even if every
one were allowed to frank; Mr. Louis's estimate that the adoption of
the penny rate would cause a loss of from sevenpence to eightpence
per letter--that is, somewhat more than the gross revenue of the Post
Office at the time; and Lord Lichfield's statement in Parliament,
that each letter costs the Post Office "within the smallest fraction
of twopence-halfpenny"--a calculation making the expense double the
produce of the penny rate.[6] On the other hand, I had no difficulty in
showing that my calculations had been justified, and my expectations,
with due allowance for time and circumstance, fairly fulfilled.

I afterwards laid before the Committee a general statement of measures
of improvement not yet effected, but which I had recommended while at
the Treasury, several of them essential parts of my original plan.[7]
In addition to these, I mentioned various other measures, suggested by
experience, which I had been quite unable to bring forward for want
of opportunity. I may so far anticipate as to say that nearly all the
measures then spoken of under both headings were, after my return to
office, carried successively into effect, and that their combined
operation is the main cause of the present large amount of public
convenience and fiscal benefit derived from the Post Office. After
such an enumeration of measures, it was almost superfluous to repeat
that "the adoption of my plan was extremely incomplete, its financial
operations most injuriously interfered with, and its public benefits
lamentably cramped."

I next proceeded to examine the parliamentary return already referred
to, more than once, as the "Fallacious Return," by which it was made
to appear that the Post Office, instead of affording, as shown by
the ordinary accounts, a net revenue of £600,000, caused a positive
loss. It may well seem incredible that returns emanating from the
same department should exhibit results so widely different, and the
reader may naturally be curious as to the means by which the difference
was produced. It was mainly this: At the time when penny postage was
established, the packet service was, with little exception, charged to
the Admiralty; whereas in this return the whole amount (£612,850) was
charged against the Post Office.[8] The department on which the expense
ought to fall, or the equitable division of the charge between the two,
might be matter of question; but it is obvious that to make such a
change without notification, and thereby exhibit, by a mere shuffling
of items, results so impaired, was to lead the public into a very false
inference as to the revenue arising from the Post Office under the new
system as compared with the old. Indeed, the delusion so produced not
only misled large numbers at the time, but, as already said, haunts
some minds even to the present day.

This, however, was not all; since the return also made a pretended
division of the postage revenue under two heads, one consisting of the
inland revenue, the other including the foreign and colonial revenue--a
distinction which I showed to be made, not by actual examination of
facts and just inference therefrom, but by mere estimate. I also
showed that in this return the amount of foreign and colonial postage
was greatly swollen at the expense of the inland revenue, the purpose
obviously being to disparage the results of penny postage; and further
that, despite the statements of Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Goulburn,
the net revenue of the department was really £600,000 per annum,[9]
a statement soon confirmed by the following admission of Colonel
Maberly:--

"As I have stated over and over again, looking at it as regards
the Post Office revenue now, as compared with what the Post Office
revenue was before the penny post, the surplus of income over
expenditure is somewhere about £600,000."[10]

After disposing of the "fallacious return"--fallacious to the extent
of £600,000 per annum--I proceeded to the proof of the different
allegations of my petition.

I described a serious error lately made in a treaty with France--an
error the more vexatious as being the result of needless meddling.

Extract from my evidence:--

"The next and last case under this head [Economy] is the new
postal treaty with France, which, however excellent in its general
objects and effects, is, in consequence of important errors in
the details, operating very unfavourably on our portion of the
revenue derived from the united postage, French and English, on
letters between the two countries. Our scale of postage, as the
Committee will bear in mind, ascends by half-ounces up to one
ounce, and then by ounces. The French scale, on the other hand,
ascends by quarter-ounces. Several important results flow from
this distinction. As every letter, in regard to a portion of its
postage, is under the quarter-ounce scale, the great majority
of letters will be just within the quarter-ounce; such letters,
therefore, though liable to a French rate of 20_d._ per ounce,
and a British rate of only 10_d._ per ounce, would be charged
10_d._ each, viz., 5_d._ British and 5_d._ French--the whole being
collected sometimes by the one Post Office, sometimes by the other.
Under the old system each Government would retain its own 5_d._,
and hand over the second 5_d._ to the other Government. The English
Post Office, however, in order to relieve itself of the trouble of
accounting for the letters _numeratim_, proposed a clause by which
each Government would have accounted to the other for the whole
mail at once, according to its weight in bulk. I pointed out to
the Treasury how unfairly towards our own Government the proposed
stipulation would operate, and the proposal of the Post Office
was consequently rejected. It appears, however, by the treaty
that it was subsequently revived, with a slight modification,
which no doubt was thought would obviate the evil, but which only
slightly mitigates it. Under the treaty, we are to pay in respect
of a mail, the postage of which is collected in England, 20_d._
an ounce to the French for their share of the postage; whereas
on a mail the postage of which is to be collected in France, we
are only to receive 12_d._ per ounce. Applying this rule to the
great majority, which, as before said, are just under the quarter
ounce, the ultimate effect is, that of our 5_d._, when the postage
is collected in France, the French hand over to us only 3_d._,
retaining 2_d._ of our 5_d._, in addition to their own 5_d._;
whereas, when we collect the postage, we hand over to the French
the whole of their 5_d._, retaining our own 5_d._ without any
addition. Upon certain small classes of letters the arrangement
would be in favour of the English, but to a very slight extent even
upon such classes; and, on the general balance the disadvantage is
to an annual amount probably of some thousands of pounds."[11]

Upon the importance of additional facilities there was the less need
that I should repeat in my pamphlet what I had advanced before the
Committee, because of the ample recognition given to such importance,
in general terms, by Colonel Maberly, in his evidence:--

"The Post Office has always held the opinion, and I believe they
are right, that facilities judiciously applied will enormously
increase the correspondence; and I have sometimes myself pushed
this doctrine to a length that may be considered almost absurd,
that facilities increase correspondence almost more than reduction
of the rate."[12]

On the question, however, of what had been done towards that increase
of facilities recognised as so important, I dealt with one or two
of the most prominent points. Thus, under the head, "Security
of Correspondence," I referred to my evidence on the subject of
registration; feeling it the more necessary to enlarge upon this point
because of the exaggerated views put forth in his evidence by Colonel
Maberly as to the insecurity then existing--views expressed in such
phrases as "The department has become thoroughly demoralized;"[13]
there has been "enormous plunder and robbery;"[14] "the plunder is
terrific;"[15] and, by way of climax, "a letter posted with money in
it might as well be thrown down in the street as put into the Post
Office."[16]

After I had explained to the Committee the difficulties to be
encountered in the travelling-office--where "how the duty is to be
performed" the Postmaster-General had declared himself "altogether at
a loss to imagine," adding that "if the number of registered letters
should increase largely this office must be abolished"--a return was
ordered by the Committee, in which, when received, the danger to the
public service certainly stood forth in a ludicrous light; since it
appeared that the number of registered letters then to be dealt with in
the travelling-office, during its whole journey from London to Preston,
averaged only six each trip!

For the purpose of refuting my statement, that little or nothing had
yet been done in the way of increased facilities to the public, an
attempt was made to extort from me an admission that there had been a
great number of additional deliveries within the previous twelve months
in different parts of the kingdom. The mode taken was to inquire if I
were aware of large augmentations in particular towns selected by the
querist (Mr. Estcott), who said that he spoke from his own knowledge,
and to lead the Committee to infer, from my inability to reply off-hand
to such questions, that I must be ignorant on the general subject; the
whole was made up of parts, and if I could not speak to these, how
could I be informed as to that?[17] In the interval, however, between
my two interrogations on this subject, I produced evidence flatly
contradicting, so far as related to two out of the three towns named,
the allegations so distinctly implied in the questions of the hon.
member.[18]

Such are a few of the matters selected for my pamphlet, out of the many
dealt with in my evidence relative to past proceedings.

The next point of consideration was the probability of the completion
of my plan. I again quote from my pamphlet, premising that in the
previous passage I had referred to the importance which I had always
attached to the plan as a whole, and to the Duke of Wellington's
emphatic recognition of such importance:--

"As regards probabilities, it is a curious fact that, from the
institution of the Post Office to the present time, no important
improvement has had its origin in that establishment.[19] The
town-posts originated with a Mr. Dockwra,[20] shortly before the
Restoration; the cross-posts with Mr. Allen, about the middle of
last century; and the substitution of mail-coaches for horse and
foot posts was, as is well known, the work of Mr. Palmer some
thirty years later. It is remarkable that the cases of Dockwra and
Palmer bear a considerable resemblance to my own. The opposition
to the introduction, and, what is more extraordinary, to the
working-out and even the continuance of Palmer's plan, is too
well known to be dwelt on here; but both these remarkable men saw
their plans adopted, were themselves engaged to work them out, and
subsequently, on the complaint of the Post Office, were turned
adrift by the Treasury."[21]

I may remark here that though the three reformers--Dockwra, Palmer, and
I--were all alike in the fact of dismissal, a subsequent distinction
must be observed. Mr. Dockwra, I fear, never received any recompense
for his valuable improvement; Mr. Palmer was allowed a pension of
£3,000 per annum, an amount much below that promised him in the case of
success--obtaining, however, after many years delay, a parliamentary
grant of £50,000; I alone was so far favoured as to be recalled to aid
in the completion of my plan.

In dealing with this question of probabilities, I was obliged to dwell
strongly on the notorious hostility of the Post Office, as well as
its incapacity for the task to be performed: to refer, for instance,
to Colonel Maberly's habitual prediction of failure,[22] and Lord
Lowther's declared inability to see anything in my plan save the
introduction of a penny rate, and the establishment of a third delivery
to Hampstead.[23] I had also to show, from the past inaction and
indifference of the Treasury, the hopelessness of looking for efficient
aid in that quarter.

Before concluding the account of my evidence, I extract a passage,
which may perhaps afford some little amusement. The reader will
recollect the circumstances already mentioned relative to a notice
issued by the Post Office, recommending persons corresponding with
the far East by the Overland Mail to appoint agents in India for the
payment of the onward postage.[24] On this subject the following
passages occurred before the Committee:--

"_Chairman._--With regard to Indian letters, an objection was taken
by the East India Company to forwarding letters from Bombay unless
payment was made at Bombay?--I am aware of that.

"That was notified to the Post Office by the East India
Company?--Unquestionably.

"The Post Office gave notice to the public of such detention on the
part of the East India Company?--Yes.

"Did they do anything more than that?--Yes; they advised that every
one wishing to write to places beyond Bombay should appoint an
agent for the payment of the transit postage.

"The Post Office advised that?--Yes.

"Where does such advice appear?--In the notice given by the Post
Office on the occasion.

* * * * *

"Does that contain anything more than an announcement to the public
that the East India Company had made such a regulation?--Yes; it
contains a recommendation to the public to address their letters to
the care of correspondents in India.

* * * * *

"_Mr. Tennent._--The tenor of your former answer would import that
that was a suggestion emanating from the Post Office; are you aware
that that was a recommendation made to the public by the Post
Office in pursuance of direct instructions from the Directors of
the East India Company?--I was not aware till this moment that the
Directors of the East India Company had power to issue instructions
to the Postmaster-General.

* * * * *

"Are you aware of any instruction given by the East India Directors
to the Post Office, that if parties wished their letters to be
forwarded, they must find an agent there to do it?--I have, of
course, no means of knowing the correspondence between the Post
Office and the East India Company.

* * * * *

"But assuming that the facts are as I gather from the questions of
the honourable gentleman, I do not see how those facts can place
the Post Office under the necessity of calling upon the British
public to do that which is quite impracticable.

* * * * *

"_Chairman._--What course has been taken?--The course which appears
to have been taken is this, that the Post Office issued the notice
I have read in the course of the last April, and that it was
withdrawn almost immediately after, in consequence, as it appears
to me, of the ridicule which the proceeding brought upon the Post
Office."[25]

The proceedings of the Committee, as I have already stated, were
brought to a rather abrupt conclusion, so as to prevent, for the
moment, an elaborate Report. Nevertheless the power to say enough to
acquit both the Treasury and Post Office was obviously in the hands of
the majority, had it felt warranted in such a course; or again, if the
inquiry were judged incomplete, nothing could have been easier than to
procure the reappointment of the Committee in the following session,
and so to obtain abundant time for the formal acquittal of both
departments, together with an equally complete condemnation of myself.
Neither course, however, was taken. The Committee merely reported what
it had done, regretted its inability, for want of time, to report
its opinion, but gave the evidence and various correspondence, and
entertained no doubt that both the Treasury and the Post Office would
give my proposals the fullest consideration.[26] The reader must
imagine for himself, if he can, the grounds on which the Committee had
to rest when they expressed such confidence. All I need say here is,
that I can point to but little in subsequent events to relieve his
perplexity.

My pamphlet continued as follows:--

"In conclusion, I must repeat that if in this pamphlet I have
limited my attention to portions only of the late evidence, the
selection is made merely for brevity. It would be impossible,
without extending these remarks to a most tedious length, even to
touch upon all the points in debate. There is not a single one,
however, I most emphatically declare, from the discussion of which
I have the least disposition to shrink; nor, I maintain, _a single
material point on which my positions were shaken by the Post Office
evidence_--all apparent effect of the kind being referable to such
misrepresentation, distortion, or suppression, however unwittingly
employed, as has been exposed in these pages.

"Under these circumstances, what remains for me to do? So long
as there is no opportunity of advancing the public benefit, and
so long as the absence of all power relieves me in justice from
all responsibility, it is my earnest wish to retire from labours
so heavy as those in which I have now for many years been
engaged;--to avoid conflicts which, though I have not shrunk from
them when necessary, have always been repugnant to my feelings and
remote from my habits of life;--and, if possible, to recruit that
health which both these causes have seriously impaired."[27]

The preparation of the pamphlet from which I have drawn the foregoing
account could not, of course, begin until the appearance of the printed
report of the Committee's proceedings, which was not until more than
three months after their close. The interim allowed me a period for
needful rest, and was not quite without features of interest.

On September 7th I received a letter from the Spanish Minister in
London, requesting information desired by his Government, with a view
to the introduction of the postage-stamp into Spain. Such information
I was, of course, most happy to supply; the more so as I felt that the
very use of the stamp must involve a certain amount of uniformity, and,
as a consequence, tend to low rates.

Not long afterwards, the papers announced that the Russian Government
also had adopted the stamp, though for a reason which the Englishman
even of that time would hardly have imagined for himself, and which
certainly I had not set forth among expected advantages. The motive
in each case was understood to be the desire of preventing fraud in
the postmasters; and it is obvious that much peculation, practicable
under the system of money payments, would be prevented by the use of
stamps. It is remarkable, however, that the first countries to adopt
the improvement--Spain and Russia--should be two so far from taking a
general lead in European civilization and liberality.

On November 22nd the Committee's Report was issued, and without loss
of time I fell to such perusal and annotation of the whole evidence
as were necessary preliminaries to the writing of my pamphlet. It was
finished before the end of January, and copies were immediately sent to
the leading journals, to every member of the Postage Committee, to Sir
Robert Peel and Mr. Goulburn, to various other influential persons, and
to a large number of friends and supporters.

Amongst various letters of acknowledgement I received the following:--

"From the Rev. Sydney Smith.

"SIR,--Many thanks for your book, which I will diligently read,
as I know no one who has increased the public happiness and
comfort more than yourself (I do not meddle with the question of
revenue--that is a separate chapter); but it is impossible to
speak too highly of the advantage and satisfaction your plan has
afforded to the country at large; and though it may have diminished
the revenue directly, I think it might easily be that facility of
communication is a great source of wealth and revenue too.

"February 22nd, 1844."

"From Miss Martineau. "February 26th, 1844.

"DEAR MR. HILL,--I write not to trouble you for an answer, about
which I always feel most scrupulous, but to thank you for sending
me your last statement. It is most painfully interesting; and it
seems to be found so by others, for my copy has been passing from
hand to hand, since the day after I had it. At first reading I was,
I own, more discouraged than I ever felt before; but the more I
consider, the more persuaded I am that all will yet end well. Of
one thing I am now fully convinced--that there is _no_ danger of
any one supposing you responsible for 'improvements' superficially
resembling yours, but expensive and ill-managed. From all I can
learn everywhere, it does seem clear that a broad distinct line
is drawn between your propositions and those of the reckless ...
or any one else. I am always _at it_ with my acquaintance in
Parliament; and what I see there is the ground of my hope that you
will get justice at last. I find them all, at first, prone to
the very natural error of supposing the Post Office gentry good
authority on Post Office matters. When they take my reference to
the Report, and find what a figure these same gentry cut there, a
great point is gained, from which, surely, justice must, sooner or
later, ensue."

CHAPTER XIII.

RAILWAY DIRECTION. (1843 TO 1846.)

In the midst of these transactions I found it necessary, as I have
already said, to think of means for the maintenance of my family.
My choice, however, was limited, for, as I never abandoned the hope
of returning to my occupation under Government, I had to avoid any
engagement which would render this impracticable or even difficult.
I wished, likewise, to find some post which should, if possible,
have some direct relation to that service which was uppermost in my
thoughts--should, even by its nature, tend to give me increased fitness
for those more immediate and more detailed duties which I hoped to be
one day called on to perform.

It happened that at this time the affairs of the Brighton Railway
Company were in an unsatisfactory state, so much so that it was held
desirable to unseat the actual directors and appoint others in their
place. In this project I was invited to take part, and being put in
nomination for the new board, became, by the success of the movement,
one of the directors. The new Chairman was Mr. J. M. Parsons, and
to him, more than to any other individual, are to be attributed the
judicious and energetic measures taken, in the early stages, for the
restoration of the Company's affairs. He afterwards informed me that
he viewed my appointment with considerable alarm, expecting that I
should urge, if not a penny rate, at least some sweeping reduction of
fares, to the ruin of the Company's finances. It will suffice to say
that we became sincere, accordant, and earnest coadjutors, and formed a
friendship which continued warm and unbroken to the day of his death,
some five-and-twenty years afterwards.

The rigorous examination immediately set on foot showed the existence
of practices now too well known in railway management, whereby the
appearance of prosperity is maintained amidst progress towards real
insolvency. Dividends had been paid when there were in fact no profits
to divide, and meantime the resources of the Company were being drained
and narrowed, by waste, mismanagement, and inattention to public
convenience. Distrust and dissatisfaction had gone so far that the
value of the shares, originally £50, had fallen to £35. The directors
soon saw that for the first half-year, at least, no dividend could
justly be made; but, of course, they were not without anxiety as to
the result of such an announcement on the price of shares. To our
gratification, it was so well received by the public that the price
almost immediately began to rise; and I may add that purchasers had no
reason to regret their outlay.

After having continued some time in the direction, I had the
satisfaction to find myself, on the motion of the late Mr. Pascoe
Grenfell, M.P., unanimously appointed Chairman of the Company, and from
this time I gave my undivided attention to its affairs. Fully convinced
of its great capabilities, and having great reliance in my coadjutors,
and (if the truth must be told) in myself, I had invested in its shares
all my own property, and a considerable sum of money borrowed from
the various members of my family and other friends, some of whom also
became shareholders on their own account. In so doing, I did not look
upon myself as rash, but as simply embarking the largest capital that
I could command in a concern of whose soundness I was well assured, in
which I was a leading partner, and from which, if expectations were not
realized, I should have it in my power to withdraw with, at worst, but
moderate loss.

While retrenching useless expenditure and providing for public
convenience, the directors also turned much attention to the important
point of security to the lives and limbs of passengers. On this point,
as well as on some others, I had an opportunity for inspection, of
which I made the most. I had removed to Brighton; in my trips to town,
made three or four times each week, I regularly took my seat in a
_coupé_ facing backwards at the extreme end of the train. By this means
I could, at pleasure, take notice of proceedings and appearances along
the line, and in particular mark how far the signals required after the
passing of a train were duly made. The solicitor to the Company, who
also resided at Brighton, soon became my frequent companion, and now
and then the third place was occupied by one or other of the directors.
This gave convenience for the transaction of business by the way, and
enabled me to enter the board-room thoroughly prepared for rapid and
decisive action.

I believe it was upon the Brighton line that systematic examination
of officers previously to their admission to new duties was first
established, and I took every means to make it as complete as possible.

Generally speaking, I had the hearty co-operation of my brother
directors, and doubtless many of the improvements effected during
my connection with the Board originated with one or other of their
number; but there was one important point on which it was with
difficulty that I got my own way, and I advert to this particularly,
because I am convinced by a variety of circumstances that laxity
thereon is a frequent cause of accident, even to the present day. This
was a strict enforcement of penalties--very moderate ones sufficed--on
every discovered breach of rule. Of course there was ready concurrence
in this whenever the omission resulted in positive accident, but there
was no less disposition to condone at other times. "Why punish the
poor man?--No harm has been done," was a frequent remonstrance; and
when I pointed out that the amount of blame was nowise affected by the
result, my proposition, though admitted in theory, was deemed harsh
in practice; so that, while no objection was raised to the soundness
of the rule, almost every case seemed to be regarded as an exception.
Fortunately, I had enough of support to maintain enforcement, and to
this I attribute much of the benefit which followed.

Another useful practice was to diffuse throughout the Company's force
full information as to the cause of accidents, wherever they might
occur. For this purpose, we arranged with the proprietors of one of the
railway journals, that whenever accounts of accidents were given in
the paper we should be supplied with three or four hundred slip-copies
of the narrative, and these were distributed to every station-master,
engine-driver, guard, and pointsman--in short, to all on whose conduct
the safety of the passengers depended.

Again, by occasionally travelling on the engine I discovered defects in
the arrangements which might otherwise have been concealed till some
catastrophe brought them to light. For instance, the road between
London and Brighton at that time belonged to three several companies,
each with a different code of signals, or rather, each, with certain
exceptions, interpreting the same signals differently. Consequently,
the engine-driver, in reading the signal, had to consider on what part
of the road the train was then running. The danger of such a state of
things was so obvious that I had no great difficulty in establishing
a uniform code. I may remark here, that I know of few things more
interesting or exciting than to travel on an engine running at high
speed, especially on a dark night.

The success of all these precautionary measures was highly
satisfactory. It must, indeed, be admitted that in some respects safety
was easier of attainment then than now, lines being more simple and
the traffic much less. But, on the other hand, experience was then
comparatively short, and much was unknown which is now familiar;
neither was the electric telegraph yet in use. Be all this as it
may, the fact is that during the three years and more that I sat at
the Brighton board the Company was subjected to, I believe, but one
external claim for compensation. This exceptional case was as follows.
It is well known that when a train reaches a terminus it is the duty
of a pointsman to direct it into some portion of the station then free
to receive it. On one occasion the pointsman at Brighton so blundered
that the arriving train struck against a line of carriages, fortunately
empty ones, then occupying the rails on to which it ran. As the train
was of course preparing to stop, and had brought down its speed almost
to a minimum, the collision was slight; and though the alarm was
considerable, and several of the passengers were a little shaken, only
one sustained any injury. This was a young woman who wore one of the
large combs common at the period, and whose scalp was slightly wounded
by its teeth. Of course the compensation was trifling. The pointsman,
being brought before the Board, at once acknowledged his error, and
declared his inability to account for the momentary misapprehension
which produced it, but pleaded in excuse that though he had held his
present post for several years, and had had on the average to perform
the duty in question nearly a hundred times per day, this was his first
mistake in its execution. This statement, which, so far as it could be
tested, was found to be literally true, appeared so satisfactory to the
Board, that, in their judgment, looking at his conduct as a whole, the
man deserved praise rather than blame; though, in deference to public
opinion, he was for a time removed to an inferior post.

Two improvements adopted by the Board, chiefly, I believe, on my
recommendation, are now recognised as established institutions; and by
their extension to other lines, and by increase in the scope of their
operation, have obtained an importance far beyond any expectation
that I could then have formed. These are excursion-trains and
express-trains. Our first excursion-train ran on Sundays only. After a
time the train was run on Mondays also.

The earliest express-train, intended to accommodate residents in
Brighton whose occupation was in London, started from the first at
its present hour, though of necessity it occupied more time in the
trip; as no engine of the day was able to run fifty miles without
stopping to take in water, while no means had yet been devised for
supplying it to an engine in motion. The train, however, travelled at
the rate of thirty-four miles per hour, including a halt at Redhill,
no small achievement at that time. Every one must have remarked how
soon the gratification of one desire gives birth to another--how soon
we complain of imperfection in what would have been regarded but a
few years earlier as unattainable perfection. I happened one day to
travel in an ordinary carriage, and, not being known to its other
occupants, heard some free remarks on the management of the line, to
which I listened for my own edification. Somewhat to my disappointment,
I found the late acceleration complained of as insufficient, one of
the passengers exclaiming, "This is a slow-coach!--a very slow coach!"
Imprudently I asked, "Are you aware, Sir, that the whole distance from
London to Brighton is accomplished in an hour and a-half?" "Oh!" was
the glib reply, "if they can do it in an hour and a-half, they can just
as well do it in an hour!"[28]

By one expedient I sought to combine advantage to my present service
with benefit to my former one. Perceiving that residence at Brighton,
and therefore custom to the railway, would be increased by every
addition to postal facilities between that town and the metropolis,
I induced the directors to make an offer to the Post Office for the
conveyance of a mail by every train without any additional expense to
that department. The result of this offer, which was kept for some time
under consideration at the Post Office, will presently appear.

In the course of 1845 the price of the £50 shares had risen, I think,
to £75, or more than twice their market value at the time when the
new directors were appointed--a price, however, which I knew to be
in excess of their real value, and which was due in part to the
general inflation at the time, for this, it may be remembered, was
the year of the well-known "railway mania." I may observe here that,
pecuniarily speaking, I had been a gainer by my expulsion from the
Treasury; the rise in the value of my railway property, resulting in
great measure from my own efforts and those of my brother directors,
having been so great as to render my previous salary comparatively
insignificant; indeed, in one year, while chairman, my total gain was
as high as £6,000. Why, then, did I resign so advantageous a position,
especially as I could not but foresee a danger, a fear afterwards too
well confirmed, that, in the absence of my own direct supervision and
control, these great profits might be exchanged for yet greater losses?
The answer is to be found in the political circumstances of the day. By
this time Sir Robert Peel's Government was beginning to totter, and the
Liberals to have strong hopes of a speedy return to power. Believing
that their return would be followed by my own recall, and feeling that
my late efforts had drawn considerably on my strength both of body and
mind, I resolved to obtain a long holiday--an indulgence impracticable
while I retained the chairmanship. I gave notice accordingly, as
appears by the following extract from the _Railway Chronicle_, which
will, perhaps, be the more interesting as it announces the result of
the offer to the Post Office already mentioned, and indicates probable
consequences:--

"The Post Office has accepted the liberal offer of the Brighton
Company to carry a bag of letters by every train _gratis_. As the
South-Eastern, following the Brighton's good example, made a
similar proffer, we presume that has been treated in like manner.
We congratulate the Post Office on its wisdom, and we are apt to
think that a large share of public thanks for the arrangement is
due to the new Postmaster-General, the Earl of St. Germans. Coupled
with this intelligence, so honourable to the Brighton Company,
we regret to hear that the chief instigator of the proposition,
the chairman, Mr. Rowland Hill, has intimated to the Board his
intention to resign his post for the sake of his health, which has
been much affected by his laborious attention to business.

"Mr. Hill's retirement will be felt by the Company and the public.
Since he became chairman, the Brighton Railway has increased more
than 50 per cent. in value, and the public accommodation on the
line in all respects--cheapness, speed, punctuality, and a kind
solicitude for the comfort of all passengers, from highest to
lowest--may justly be said to have been raised quite to an equality
with that of the best-managed line in the kingdom."

Some months after the appearance of the paragraph quoted above,
I received an application which gave me much pleasure from the
South-Western Railway Company. I must premise that my intercourse with
this corporation had been hitherto mainly of a hostile character,
its contests with the Brighton Company having been both numerous and
fierce. I was now informed, however, that this Company intended to
appoint a manager at a high salary, then a rather novel measure, and
I was requested to recommend a fit person for the duties. Upon my
inquiring as to the precise amount of salary to be given, and the
specific qualifications required, I was told that the former would be
about £1,500 per annum, and for the latter, said the respondent, "Let
them be as much like your own as possible." The meaning of this could
not be misunderstood, but, of course, under the circumstances, could
not be acted upon. Other eligible offers were made to me, but, with the
Post Office in view, I could accept none.

I had now passed nearly four years in the position of railway
director, and though it was grief and bitterness to me to be so long
kept aloof from my true work, yet, considering the close connection
between railway companies and the Post Office, and the consequent
importance of the knowledge I had been enabled to gain, I could not
regard the time as ill-spent.

Before leaving the subject of railways, however, I must mention one
occurrence, typical, I believe, of many others, the whole forming
one of the great causes of that unfortunate depreciation in railway
property of which the world is now but too well aware. At the time
of my joining the company the town of Hastings enjoyed no railway
communication with any other place. Two projects were started for
connecting it with London--one by the Brighton Company, and the other
by the South-Eastern. In the parliamentary contest that ensued, the
Brighton Company dwelt much on the importance of a coast-line, so
useful in defence against invasion, of which at that time there was
no small apprehension. Of the military advantage of such a line,
strong evidence was given, I think, by the Duke of Wellington. The
South-Eastern Company, on the other hand, whose projected line was in
effect of the same length, based its claim mainly on the fact that
by taking the inland route it would open up a new tract of country
of great agricultural importance. The Committee, naturally desirous
of obtaining both advantages, suggested for the consideration of the
Brighton Company whether it would not be worth while to construct
its coast-line, even though the inland line should also be made. As,
however, the Brighton directors distinctly rejected this proposal,
on the ground that the traffic would not suffice for two lines, the
Committee decided in favour of the coast-line; and the Brighton
Company, regarding a decision made under circumstances so peculiar as
a sufficient security against competition, put the works immediately
in hand. In the next session, however, the South-Eastern Company
returned to the charge with a slight modification of its route, made,
apparently, to save appearances; but again, the modified project being
referred to the Board of Trade, according to a rule recently laid down
by the House of Commons, and being condemned by that authority, on the
ground that the line was in effect the same with that lately rejected
by Parliament, was abandoned by the Company. In the following session,
however--as Parliament meantime had shown little disposition to treat
the recommendations of the Board of Trade with respect--the project was
again renewed. When the Brighton directors attempted opposition, they
were coolly informed by the chairman of the parliamentary committee
that, owing to a change in the Standing Orders of the House, they had
no _locus standi_. In short, the South-Eastern Company gained its
point. Railway companies have been denounced as ruining each other by
competition; if so, where does a large portion of the blame lie?

CHAPTER XIV.

NATIONAL TESTIMONIAL (1844-46).

Of one motive to retirement from more active railway duties I have
not yet spoken: it was supplied by the generosity of the public, as
will appear hereafter. I first return to transactions connected with
the Post Office, from which attention has been withdrawn by the above
narrative. Of such limited progress, however, as was made towards the
adoption of my plans, I shall speak more conveniently when the period
of my exclusion approaches its close.

I had the high gratification to learn that the leading feature of my
plan had been introduced to some extent into the United States, and
that the President had announced to Congress his desire to reduce
the postage throughout the Union; a measure carried into effect
in the spring of 1845, when the postage was fixed at five cents
(twopence-halfpenny) for distances within three hundred miles, and ten
cents between places more remote. At home, however, the Liberal party
wisely judged that the time for further parliamentary action on the
subject of postal reform was not yet come, though occasional motions on
postal affairs showed that the question did not altogether sleep.

Meantime, an occurrence took place which brought postal affairs,
on a point of much importance, repeatedly before Parliament and the
country. This was the opening of letters to and from Signor Mazzini
and other Italian exiles, by authority of the Secretary of State for
Home Affairs, from whose name such practices were for a time termed
"Grahamizing," though, in truth, Sir James Graham was by no means their
originator. The unhappy consequences, however, in this particular
instance, raised so strong a feeling of indignation against the
individual minister, as in great measure to withdraw public attention
from the precedent pleaded in his defence. There were two debates
on the subject in each House in June, 1844, and these were followed
by many further discussions, ending in each House by the grant of a
committee of inquiry, each of which made its Report in the following
August. In that of the Lords alone there is reference, and that I think
somewhat obscure, to what, as I afterwards learned, was a regular
practice at the Post Office, though for it the Post Office authorities
were nowise responsible. Incredible as it may appear to my readers, it
is nevertheless true that so late as 1844 a system, dating from some
far distant time, was in full operation, under which clerks from the
Foreign Office used to attend on the arrival of mails from abroad, to
open the letters addressed to certain ministers resident in England,
and make from them such extracts as they deemed useful for the service
of Government. Happily, the feeling manifested on this occasion led
to the entire abandonment of this most questionable expedient; though
it must be recorded that a motion made by Mr. Duncombe, on April 9th,
1845, to forbid the further opening of letters under any circumstances,
was lost, the House apparently holding that there were circumstances
which might render such an expedient just and necessary. I may remark,
however, that in the ten years during which I had opportunity for
direct knowledge on the subject, it was never resorted to except in
a very few cases relating, so far as I can recollect, exclusively to
burglars, and others of that stamp.

I cannot close this portion of my narrative without mentioning one
small but curious incident. In May, 1845, I received a letter from
my friend Dr. Henderson, informing me that there was a tract in the
British Museum, dated as far back as 1659, and entitled "A Penny Post,"
the author of which bore my own surname. On application to my friend
Dr. Gray, I received, through his kindness, a manuscript copy of the
same, which is still in my possession. The title is as follows:--"A
Penny Post, or a Vindication of the Liberty and Birthright of every
Englishman in Carrying Merchants' and other Men's Letters, against any
Restraint of Farmers of such Employments. By John Hill, 1659."[29]

I now come to a proceeding of no small importance to myself, whether
regarded as an attestation of my services, or as an augmentation of
my means. In March, 1844, the Mercantile Committee, so frequently
mentioned in this narrative, issued an advertisement inviting
subscriptions to a testimonial in my favour. Generally speaking, I
was most properly left uninformed as to details; but in December of
the same year I received a letter from Mr. Estlin, an eminent surgeon
of Bristol, giving an account of proceedings in that important city
anterior to any movement in London; and, in point of fact, I believe
it was in Bristol, and from Mr. Estlin, that the testimonial had its
origin. I may add that, so far as I am aware, the first London paper in
which the measure was advocated was one in which I believe Mr. Estlin
may have had some influence. It was a paper of limited circulation,
called _The Inquirer_, and I was informed that the article in question
was from the pen of the editor, the Rev. William Hincks. Neither of
these gentlemen now survives; but, feeling how much I owe to both, I
cannot omit this small tribute to their memory.

In the early part of 1845, after having been requested to take in
advance the contributions of three of the larger towns, I received from
Sir George Larpent a formal copy of the resolutions of the Mercantile
Committee, together with a cheque for £10,000, the final presentation
being deferred until the accounts should be entirely made up.

Of course the main proceeding made its way into the newspapers, and
thus became known to the public in general, and to the Commissioners
of the Income Tax in particular--the consequence being an application
from the Commissioners for Brighton, demanding income-tax upon the
chief amount. Finding that representations to them produced no effect,
I overleaped the next stage, and went at once to Mr. Trevelyan at the
Treasury, who, like the Duke of Wellington on a well known occasion,
exclaimed, "This is too bad!" adding, "It will never do first to
deprive you of your salary, and then to tax the public subscription
made in lieu of it. Leave this to me." I willingly agreed, and a
few days later received a letter from the Income Tax Commissioners,
enclosing an instruction from the chief office for the withdrawal of
the demand.

It would be ungrateful to omit mention here of some indications of
public satisfaction besides those of a pecuniary nature. Thus, I
received the following interesting letter from Mr. Cobden:--

"MY DEAR SIR, "Manchester, 30th May, 1846.

* * * * *

"The League will be virtually dissolved by the passing of Peel's
measure. I shall feel like an emancipated negro--having fulfilled
my seven years' apprenticeship to an agitation which has known no
respite. I feel that _you_ have done not a little to strike the
fetters from my limbs, for without the penny postage we might have
had more years of agitation and anxiety.

"Believe me, faithfully yours,
"RICHARD COBDEN.

"ROWLAND HILL, Esq."

Probably Mr. Cobden, in this letter, referred merely to the great
facility given by cheap postage for the transmission and circulation
of those papers which played so material a part in the Anti-Corn Law
agitation; but it seems not unlikely that other assistance may have
been afforded to his great improvement by the success, so far as then
ascertained, of my measure, as a bold reduction of taxation--a change
much more sudden and decided than had ever before taken place in our
fiscal system. I believe I am safe in assuming that this success has
acted as an encouragement to the many adventurous changes in taxation
which have followed one another in rapid succession even to the present
time.

Among the many minor evidences to the benefit derived from cheap
postage, the following little circumstance was not the least pleasing.
The late Mr. Tremenheere told me that a servant-boy in his father's
house in London, learning that his mother in Somersetshire was
dangerously ill, wrote home for a daily bulletin, which he duly
received until the danger was over, eagerly rushing every morning to
the door at the first sound of the postman's knock. Such an occurrence
would seem trivial now; it was felt then as a striking novelty.

The formal presentation of the Testimonial took place at Blackwall on
June the 17th, 1846, a public dinner being given on the occasion. Of
my own family there were present my father (then in his eighty-fourth
year), all my brothers, my brother-in-law, and my only son. The chair
was taken by Mr. Warburton. A report was read by the secretary of the
Testimonial Committee, from which it appeared that the net amount of
the subscription was upwards of £13,000. The committee expressed its
opinion that the amount would have been larger had not individual
subscriptions been limited at the outset to £10 10s. The report also,
contrasting the testimony from the Treasury to the value of my services
with the fact of my dismissal, urged my recall. The chairman took
occasion in the speech, in which he proposed my health, to point out
that among the subscribers to the Testimonial Fund was to be reckoned
the First Lord of the Treasury, Sir Robert Peel.

In my reply, after expressing my thanks, and speaking of the public
services of those who had assisted in the great work of postal reform,
I proceeded to a short review of the principal results of penny postage
up to that time. I showed that, even with the very limited adoption
of my plan, considerable progress had been made towards the recovery
of the revenue and that large multiplication of letters on which I
had counted; the number of letters delivered within twelve miles of
St Martin's-le-Grand being already equal to that delivered under the
old system throughout the whole United Kingdom. I next touched upon
those yet more important benefits which could not be exhibited in a
statistical form; and upon this point I was happily able to quote from
a recent speech of Mr. Goulburn, made on the bringing-in of his Budget,
the passage being as follows:--

"It would be a fallacy to suppose that the country is only relieved
by a remission of taxation to the amount of the loss experienced
by the Exchequer. Nothing can be more erroneous. When you reduce
a tax you should calculate the amount of relief afforded upon the
increased consumption of that article; you cannot take as a measure
of the relief of the pressure upon the people the amount which you
collect less in the revenue."

Now, by applying this rule to the determination of the amount of relief
afforded by the reduction of the postage rates, even taking such
reduction at only fivepence per letter, it would appear that the total
benefit amounted to the enormous sum of £6,000,000 per annum.[30]

Having thus dealt with the past and present, I proceeded to speak of
the future; and here I turned again to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
as a judge certainly free from all suspicion of undue leaning towards
penny postage, for an opinion as to the results to be expected from
those improvements for which I had so strenuously contended. In the
same speech he anticipated "that the revenue of the Post Office, as
additional facilities are given, will continue to present a large
annual increase;" and further on he estimated the net postal revenue
for the current year at £850,000. I was able, even then, truly to
add--and I may observe in passing, that this remark has since that
time been frequently repeated by others--that there was no branch
of the revenue the increase of which was so steady and rapid as the
revenue of the Post Office. I pointed out that, as education became
more and more extended, a large increase of correspondence, and
consequently of revenue, might be confidently expected; the more
so because, great as the actual amount appeared when viewed in the
aggregate, the average yielded by its division amongst the whole
population was but one letter per month for each person; while if the
time should ever come when the average postage of the country would
equal that given by the domestic correspondence of my own family,
including children and servants, the annual gross revenue of the Post
Office would amount to more than £40,000,000--or twentyfold its actual
sum.

But if the present imperfect arrangements afforded such results as
those which had actually been realized, what would be the effect of
adopting the whole plan? Little had been done towards this during the
last three years, but the Post Office had reluctantly made at least
one valuable move. It had established new deliveries in London to the
extent, if not of six, as recommended by myself, yet to that of three.
The effect was immediately to advance the annual rate of increase in
the number of district letters by 50 per cent. This improvement had
not been followed by that earlier delivery of the general post letters
which I had offered to effect without any material addition to expense,
but such an acceleration the Post Office had declared impossible.

In the department of economy, however, much remained to be effected,
and that not by a reduction of salaries, nor by increasing the labours
of the men, but by simplifying the mechanism of the Post Office. I
added that, seeing how much room there was for further improvement,
and yet how near the results actually obtained approached to those
anticipated from the complete development of the plan, I thought
we were fully justified in assuming that, but for the unfortunate
interruption in the progress of the measure which took place on the
retirement of the Liberal Government, there would ere this have been no
exception whatever to the realization of our anticipations.

I then referred to the good effects of penny postage on the action of
other countries; its adoption by the British Parliament having already
led to reductions in Russia, Prussia, Austria, Spain, and the United
States of America.

I continued as follows:--

"Before I conclude, I must request your kind indulgence while
I lay before you a brief statement of the manner in which the
establishment of penny postage has affected myself. It is notorious
that a reformer must not expect a life of ease and comfort. Judging
from my own experience, he must make up his mind to labour hard,
to encounter much disappointment, and to have his motives and
conduct misunderstood and misrepresented. Still, when I compare my
own with the course of earlier reformers, I cannot but feel that,
independent even of the munificent reward which your kindness has
bestowed upon me, I have in many respects been most fortunate. Sir
Samuel Romilly tried year after year in vain to effect so obvious
an improvement as the abolition of capital punishment for privately
stealing in a shop to the extent of five shillings. This attempt
met with but little support from the people, while it was opposed
by the Government of the day, by Lord Chancellor Eldon, and by
Chief Justice Ellenborough. I, on the contrary, have seen my plan,
however imperfectly, brought into practice; and none but those who
have laboured long and anxiously to effect an important improvement
can form any conception of the gratification which such a result
brings with it. There was, however, one period of my course to
which I cannot even now revert without pain. I allude to that
period when, with my health impaired by six years of incessant
labour and anxiety, I was dismissed from the Treasury, and left to
seek afresh the means of supporting my family. I have on a former
occasion expressed my thanks to Sir Robert Peel for the kind manner
in which he has more than once been pleased to speak of my labours.
I now thank him for the honour he has done me in contributing to
the Testimonial; but had he yielded to my entreaties to be allowed,
at any pecuniary sacrifice to myself, to work out my own plan--to
prove that I had not misled the public as to its results, nor even
adopted those sanguine views which in a projector might perhaps
be forgiven, however erroneous;--had he done this, my gratitude
would have been unbounded. But severe as was the disappointment
which I felt, and still feel, at being unjustly deprived of all
participation in the execution and completion of my own plan--in
seeing it left in the hands of gentlemen who feel no interest
in its success, and who, I must say, have evinced no peculiar
aptitude either for comprehending its principles, or for devising
and executing the necessary details--even at that moment of severe
disappointment, I can truly say that I felt no regret at having
embarked in the great work of Post Office improvement."

I concluded thus:--

"I trust that you, as well as the thousands of my friends and
benefactors who are not now present, will not judge of the strength
of my feelings by the feebleness of their expression, but that you
and all will believe that I, and every member of my family, feel
truly grateful for the princely gift, and for the high honour which
have been conferred upon us."

CHAPTER XV.

APPOINTMENT TO POST OFFICE (1846).

Although I was confident that the return of the Liberals to power was
but a question of time, it followed so rapidly upon the events already
mentioned as almost to take me, and I suppose many others, by surprise.
After holding office somewhat less than five years, Sir Robert Peel
found himself without adequate support in the House which had raised
him to power, and on the 29th of the month in which I received my
testimonial he resigned.

Although I became aware, by repeated conversations which I had had with
my friend Mr. Hawes, who was a member of the new Government, that he
confidently reckoned upon my recall, yet, knowing that he could have no
direct power in the matter, I was desirous of further evidence as to
the intentions of the new administration. Mr. Warburton, who was always
believed to have great influence with Liberals in power as well as out
of power, undertook to communicate with the Government. On July 30th
he wrote word that he had had an interview with the new Chancellor of
the Exchequer (Sir Charles Wood, now Lord Halifax), and would be glad
to see me on the morrow. Of his oral communication I have retained no
record, but according to my recollection the Chancellor had spoken of
difficulties--had thought that the best post for me would be, not at
the Treasury as before, but at the Post Office, into which, however,
he did not yet see how my introduction could be managed without
disturbance to the department. In short, the matter was a problem, and
time would be required for its solution. I resolved, therefore, to make
good use of the interim, and entering on the longest holiday I had ever
known, went abroad for that change of scene and thought which alone
could fit me for the arduous duties in which I expected soon to be
engaged.

Meantime, some events of interest passed at home. On August 22nd
Mr. Duncombe, in the House of Commons, again complained of the
management of the Post Office. In the course of the debate Mr. Parker
(Secretary to the Treasury) stated that the new Postmaster-General
(Lord Clanricarde) had found "the whole establishment in a most
unsatisfactory condition."[31] Mr. Hume, in terms highly complimentary
to me, urged my recall. The Premier (Lord John Russell) admitted
"that he was by no means satisfied with the state of the Post Office,
nor did he think the plans of reform instituted by Mr. Hill had been
sufficiently carried out;[32] and Mr. Warburton, referring to Lord John
Russell's admission, strongly urged my reappointment to office.

My first intimation of this debate was received in a letter from Mr.
Warburton, of which the following is the closing passage:--

"I think it manifest from this statement of Lord John Russell that
a reform in the Post Office is meditated in good earnest.... You
must be within call, if wanted."

On November 2nd, five days after my return from abroad, I received a
letter from Mr. Warburton, of which the following is the substance.
He had just seen Lord Clanricarde (at his request), who said that,
knowing Mr. Warburton's interest in me and in Post Office matters,
he wished to have some conversation with him before negotiating
directly with me. There were difficulties in the way of giving me
any high existing office in the Post Office, and objections thereto.
The office of secretary, for instance, was so loaded with detail,
that if given to me, whose office should be to advise, suggest, and
consider of improvements, my utility would be destroyed. On the other
hand, there were objections to an office of the nature held before,
on account of antagonism with the Post Office. His lordship thought
the fittest appointment would be one constituting me the adviser of
the Postmaster-General. He thought that such an office, which every
day's experience convinced him was necessary, might be constituted
by himself at once. Mr. Warburton informed his lordship that, from
some conversation he had had with me, he knew that I would not accept
any office from the Government which might be regarded as a mode of
putting me on the shelf; but that if an office of permanence and
dignity, connecting me with the Post Office--not placing me under
the secretary--and giving me sufficient weight to carry out my plans
of improvement, were offered, it would be accepted; that the office
suggested by his lordship wanted permanence. I might be dismissed,
as before, by some cabal of the officers of the department. They
would bide their time until a Postmaster-General should be appointed
who would cashier me. If the office were ephemeral, I could be of no
utility; resistance to my proposed measures would be protracted until
they could be defeated by a change of dynasty. He added that, on his
(Mr. W.'s) suggestion, Lord Clanricarde would have an interview with me
on the subject. Mr. Warburton obtained Lord Clanricarde's permission to
repeat to me what had passed.

Having procured an appointment with Lord Clanricarde, I called
upon him two days later; but of my conversation with him on this
occasion, and at a second interview, I have no further record than the
following:--"Saw Lord Clanricarde twice during the negotiation; much
pleased with his straightforward, business-like manner." I remember,
however, that I suggested for his lordship's consideration the revival
of the title assigned to Palmer, viz., Surveyor-General of the Post
Office, and that in consequence of his inquiry as to the circumstances
of Palmer's appointment, I undertook to send him a report on the
subject.

On the following day, I received a letter from his lordship, in which,
after expressing a wish to hear my more considered opinion of the
proposal which he had intimated to me, he continued as follows:--

"I assure you that I am convinced such an appointment as that
I wish you to hold--we will not quarrel about a _name_ for
it--would afford the best possible opportunity (under all existing
circumstances) for carrying out steadily, safely, and constantly,
every possible improvement in the Post Office, in conformity with
your plan and general views."

Objection having arisen to the revival of Palmer's official title, and
my position being, as I well knew, matter of grave importance to my
efficiency in office, I wrote to Mr. Warburton on the 17th, but was
prevented by his illness at the time from receiving that immediate
assistance which in health he was always so ready, I might say so
eager, to give.

Meantime, the negotiation was carried on by Mr. Hawes, who was at once
a member of the Government, and exceedingly zealous for my interests;
but in the course of it a vexatious mistake occurred, which was by no
means without injurious effect. Knowing how difficult it would be for
me, after all that had passed, to co-operate either harmoniously or
successfully with Colonel Maberly, I urged the importance of the step
actually taken eight years later, viz., of removing him to some other
office. To this it was replied that there was no post available for
the purpose, save at lower salary than he was then receiving; and as
the loss involved was said to be £300 a-year, I expressed my perfect
willingness to sacrifice that sum for the purpose of indemnification.
My salary at the Treasury, it may be remembered, was £1,500 a-year
(the same as that of the Secretary to the Post Office); and I now said
that I was ready to accept £1,200, provided only that my position were
such as would enable me to carry out promptly and efficiently the
remaining parts of my plan. Unluckily for me, it came to pass that,
while my offer as to salary was caught at, the accompanying stipulation
was somehow set aside; the definite proposal being that I should
take office as Secretary to the Postmaster-General with a salary of
£1,200 a-year; thus placing me in a lower position than that which I
had previously occupied at the Treasury. When I pointed out this to
Mr. Hawes, he expressed his regret at the perverse form the thing had
taken, but saying that the error could not now be retrieved, gave it as
his earnest advice that I should accept the proposal as it stood. Upon
my objecting to this, he urged that the arrangement was but temporary;
for that as soon as I should have demonstrated my fitness for the
entire control of the department, I should doubtless be placed at the
head. As I still resisted, his urgency increased. He warned me that, if
I now declined, my plans might remain for ever incomplete, for that no
second opportunity was likely to be offered; and he concluded with the
words, "Let me implore you to accept it." To such an exhortation from a
kind and valued friend I could not return an abrupt answer, and though
grievously disconcerted at what had occurred, I promised to consider
the matter.

Here, then, I found myself in a painful dilemma. On the one side I
was called on to accept a lower position than before, and thus to
maintain from inferior ground a contest which had almost worn me out
when the ground was equal; to consent to carry out my plans, if at
all, through wearisome controversy, over factitious obstacles, and by
reluctant hands; perhaps to break down in the trial, and thus leave
my work still undone. On the other hand, could I let slip this, my
sole chance, as it appeared, of at least attempting to complete the
great task on which I had entered? Could I disappoint the friends who
had striven so earnestly on my behalf, and for the promotion of my
great object? Could I forget the noble subscription raised for me by
the public, and seem to show, by my acts, that I preferred emolument
to achievement, or doggedly stood out for unimportant distinctions
of title or position?[33] The question was a very difficult one,
and though, after much consideration, I felt inclined to give way,
I resolved first to consult all such of my brothers as were within
reach. The result in each case was curiously identical, though for some
reason, now forgotten, I had to consult them severally. Each began with
an indignant ejaculation at the terms as they stood, and a declaration
that they could not be accepted; but each, after hearing the matter to
the end, came to the conclusion that, unworthy as was the treatment
to which I was subjected, it would not do to forego what might prove
to be my only opportunity of completing my great work. Since my own
conviction accorded with theirs, I wrote to Mr. Hawes in acceptance of
the offer. As the letter fully sets forth my reasons for this step, I
give it in extenso:--

"Brighton, November 23rd, 1846.

"MY DEAR HAWES,--You will be glad to learn that I have decided
to accept the offer of Government of a permanent appointment as
secretary to the Postmaster-General, at a salary of £1,200 a-year.

"The opinion so strongly expressed by Mr. Warburton and yourself as
to the necessity for so doing, backed as it now is by that of Mr.
Samuel Jones Loyd, has overborne my own objections, though I cannot
say that it has removed them, as I still feel great apprehension
that, notwithstanding the promises of support which I have received
from the Postmaster-General and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I
shall have to encounter that opposition which has hitherto been so
successful in retarding the progress of penny postage, and on some
occasions in resisting the most positive orders of the Treasury.

"You are aware that, with a view to neutralize, or at least
diminish, this formidable opposition, I was willing to sacrifice
a large proportion of my own salary, in order to enable the
Government to offer Colonel Maberly his full salary as a retiring
allowance. It is not for me to discuss the reasons which have
led to Colonel Maberly's retention in office, but it obviously
is my duty carefully to consider how far such retention ought to
influence my own conduct.

"This difficult question has occupied my mind for several days, and
the result, I am sorry to say, is a confirmation of the opinion
which I expressed to you and Mr. Warburton when the offer was first
communicated to me, namely, that, under the circumstances of the
case, to accept office would expose the improvements which remain
to be effected to a serious risk of failure, and thus perhaps
bring discredit on the general plan as well as on myself; and
consequently that I should best consult the public interest and my
own by respectfully declining the offer of Government. I need not
tell you that I am most anxious for an opportunity of completing
my plan, and that throughout these negotiations I have proposed
no conditions, except that I should have the authority requisite
to secure the success of the measure. Much will undoubtedly be
done by making my office permanent, and by placing me in immediate
communication with the Postmaster-General, as well as the Treasury;
but I fear this is not enough. I think Colonel Maberly should
have been induced to resign. I see almost insuperable difficulty
in attempting to collect information and to issue instructions
otherwise than through the general secretary's office, and yet,
judging from past experience, it appears hopeless to look for his
voluntary co-operation, while his position makes him too strong
to be effectually coerced. But assuming that Colonel Maberly must
remain in office, then I think that my appointment should have been
one of at least equal rank with his. This point, as will be seen
by the published correspondence, was fully considered when I went
into the Treasury, and the reasons which then existed, the strength
of which was in effect admitted by Mr. Baring, apply with at least
equal force now.

"These are my own views on the subject, and I think it best to
state them without reserve; but seeing that Mr. Warburton, Mr.
Loyd, and yourself entertain a different opinion, that you all
express a strong conviction to the effect that if this opportunity
of completing my plan be lost no other will be afforded me, that
public opinion would not support me in declining the offer, and
that I may look forward to a probable reorganization of the Post
Office, and, if I show that I possess the requisite administrative
powers, to promotion, at no distant period, to a position of higher
authority--I am naturally led to distrust my own opinions, and to
adopt the safer guidance of my kind and able advisers.

"After an interval of four years, during which my attention has
necessarily been devoted to other matters, I am therefore about
to enter on my arduous task. I shall look forward with as much
hope and as little apprehension as I can; but if improvement in
the mechanism and in the revenue of the Post Office should be less
rapid than I had anticipated under the impression that opposing
influences would be removed, I cannot doubt that Government and
the country will do me the justice to bear in mind the peculiar
difficulties of my position, and to recollect that, whatever
circumstances limit my power, they to the same extent limit my
responsibility also.

"Though the fact does not at all touch the public ground to which,
in considering this question, I have endeavoured to confine my
attention, I may be excused for mentioning that my acceptance of
the appointment, accompanied as it must be by the abandonment of my
present occupation, will be attended with an increase of labour and
a sacrifice of income.

"I am sure you will excuse my troubling you with this letter.
My object is, first, to give you the earliest intimation of my
decision, and, second, to place on record the circumstances of the
case while they are fresh in our memories. To any other member of
the Government than yourself I could not speak in so unreserved a
manner.

"I remain, &c., &c.,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"P.S.--... November 24th.--I have kept back my letter in order that
I may show it to Mr. Warburton, who authorizes me to say that he
approves of it."

Two days afterwards I received a letter from the Postmaster-General,
requesting that I would call upon him on the following Saturday. Having
meantime inquired of Mr. Warburton whether there were any further
information which he thought it important for me to receive before this
interview, I had a letter from him, in which he mentioned that he had
told Lord Clanricarde of my acceptance of the offer made by Government,
accompanying his announcement with the remark that those whom I had
consulted had been in doubt as to the advice they should give, fearing
that Colonel Maberly would be able to thwart me in my exertions. Mr.
Warburton's letter then proceeded as follows:--

"That the objections had been overcome by the promises of support
which had been given both by his lordship and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and by the assurance of the latter that, if you proved
yourself an able administrator, you were to look forward to promotion."

A few days later, having in the meantime called on the
Postmaster-General, I received my formal appointment. As I had again
cast in my lot with the Post Office, I withdrew, of course, from my
previous employments, resigning all my directorships, already three in
number.

I was now in my fifty-second year, and in the tenth from that in which
I first took Post Office reform seriously into my thoughts. I need
not say that the interval had been a period of very hard work, that a
decade in my life was in every sense gone; in short, that I was already
somewhat old for the heavy work of reform that still lay before me.

CHAPTER XVI.

JOINT SECRETARYSHIP. (1846-1848.)

The scene of my labours was henceforth to be in that institution
which had so long been the centre of my thoughts; and though the post
assigned me would, as I knew, give me but limited power for attaining
the ends I had in view, I still hoped by patience and perseverance to
make fair progress. I now resumed the Journal which for four years had
been suspended:--

"_December 5th, 1846._--Called on the Postmaster-General at his
house.... Drove with him to the Post Office in his cab."

As we passed through Newgate Street, there was a little incident of
some amusement. The way being blocked, there arose some of the abusive
language usually heard on such occasions against those who, being
immediately ahead, seem to stop the way; and the Postmaster-General
and his new secretary came in for their full share. Upon looking back
we found that the abuse came from the driver of a mail-cart, who was
thus unconsciously railing at his official superiors. Lord Clanricarde
burst into a hearty laugh; showing, what I have often remarked, that
men under heavy official pressure seem more than commonly pleased with
a little fun.

"On reaching the Post Office, Mr. Cornwall (the
Postmaster-General's private secretary), who had preceded us, told
me that Colonel Maberly wished to see me. We went together to M.'s
room. M. and I shook hands, &c. All three then proceeded to make
the circuit of the Post Office, and I was introduced to all the
heads of departments.... To commence duty on Wednesday, the 9th."

This was at least a satisfactory beginning, but what was to follow?
While I resolved that nothing should be wanting on my part to
maintain harmony, I could not but form, from the past, unsatisfactory
expectations as to the future. How far these misgivings were justified
will appear presently; and yet I should willingly suppress much of the
evidence on this point but for fear of misleading future reformers.
It is important that any one meditating such a course as mine should
know what that course really was; so that before entering on his work
he may count the cost. How soon difficulties are forgotten by mere
bystanders was curiously shown in my case by an article some few years
later in the "Edinburgh Review," on Mr. Charles Dickens's story of
"Little Dorrit." Few periodicals rendered me more important service
than this--in none did it seem less probable that the nature and extent
of my struggles would be underrated; and yet my course was cited as one
notoriously demonstrating the injustice of those attacks on official
jealousy which have rendered "Circumlocution Office" a familiar term.
Mr. Dickens's amusing reply will be found in "Household Words," Vol.
XVI, p. 97, and it may be added that it contains a short, but true and
lively, sketch of my early struggles. Prior, therefore, to describing
the improvements which I was gradually able to introduce, I shall
endeavour to give a specimen of the circumstances which, for years
after my restoration to office, made progress so tardy:--

"_December 9th._--Commenced duties at the Post Office.

"The Postmaster-General has referred to me by minutes the Railway
Report, and several applications for increase of force or of
salary, but there is some demur in supplying the necessary
papers, and the assistant-secretary (Campbell) showed me a minute
(referred to in a note which I received this morning from the
Postmaster-General, who is not at the office to-day), prescribing
the course of proceeding in my department. It appears to be
unnecessarily restrictive; must see the Postmaster-General on the
subject."

To show how much this minute was likely to hamper me, it is only
necessary to state that it forbade me to demand any papers whatever,
or to send for any officer, without first enumerating my wants in a
minute, which was to receive the sanction of the Postmaster-General,
and then be sent to Colonel Maberly for him to give it effect. As
it was impracticable for me, when entering on any investigation, to
foresee what papers or what officers I should require to consult, or
even to know what papers were in existence, it is obvious that by such
a rule my proceedings would be so clogged as to render satisfactory
progress impracticable:--

"_December 10th._--... seem to think that the minute may be
converted into a means of annoyance. Johnson, the chief clerk, has
refused to show Armstrong [my private secretary] the form of the
letter register without a written order to that effect; but the
Postmaster-General learnt the fact, and set the matter right even
before I could see him. On my calling his attention to the minute,
he explained it to be much less restrictive than I had supposed,
and at once wrote a second minute explanatory of the first."

With regard to the supposed necessity for restriction, I soon learnt
that not only the assistant-secretary, but also several of the clerks
in the secretary's office, could obtain necessary papers without the
least difficulty. I must add that, while at the Treasury, I had similar
freedom in relation to the papers there, and even to the officers of
the Post Office, and I can truly aver that, so far from abusing the
opportunities thus given, I had been careful to avoid everything that
could in the least degree infringe the discipline of either department.
Subsequent discoveries, however, led me to understand what strong
reasons there must have been for obtaining from the Postmaster-General
an order rendering access to papers as limited as possible. For, while
I really shunned all knowledge on the subject, I could not avoid
receiving from casual observation ample confirmation of the suspicions
that I entertained three years before as to the extent to which the
Parliamentary Committee of 1843 was misled.[34]

Restriction became the more galling because, in the very nature of
things, the pressure of work was more than enough.

"_December 15th._--Learnt from Stow that a copy of the minutes as
to the course of proceeding in my department (December 9th and
10th) has been sent to the head of each department in the office.
This needless publicity is not, I fear, without an object. The
minutes desire that a copy may be supplied to me, without naming
any other party."

The reader, who has observed how speedily the withdrawal of my friends
from power in 1841 was followed by intrigues to thwart my progress,
undermine my credit, and remove me from my post, will be little
surprised at the manifestations recorded above. At the time of the
first cabal, I was in the weakness of isolation; this, the second, was
formed when I was in the weakness of a novel position; and it will
be found hereafter that other such seasons were chosen as times for
similar proceedings. I felt too truly that a struggle was to come, and
I could not yet foretell how far I should be supported in it by the
Postmaster-General.

I had scarcely got my department into somewhat smoother working, when I
was called upon to deal with applicants of two separate kinds: first,
deputations from letter-carriers and stampers, suggesting improvements
and applying for increase of wages; all of whom, for the sake of
discipline, I declined receiving without the express sanction of the
Postmaster-General; and, secondly, from persons claiming compensation
for inventions or devices already included more or less explicitly
in my published plan. The most remarkable amongst these claimants
was a lady, who informed me by letter that the plan of penny postage
originated with her, and begged that I would be so obliging as to aid
her in obtaining due compensation from Government!

Meantime I went to work with a view to the extension of those
facilities on which I had laid so much stress:--

"_January 30th, 1847._--This week engaged chiefly in completing the
instructions to the surveyors, by means of which I hope to effect
important improvements simultaneously in all the large towns in the
kingdom."

These instructions, when completed, were sanctioned by the
Postmaster-General, who, however, thought it necessary that they
should be issued under the signature of Colonel Maberly. With the
Postmaster-General's consent, the document subsequently appeared in
the newspapers. Of the Reports called for by this circular, about
one-half were received within six months, and these gave information as
to the state of things in about one hundred and twenty of the largest
provincial towns. They showed all sorts of anomalies, though not quite
so much room for improvement as I had expected. I was convinced,
however, that the very issue of the circular had caused considerable
improvements to be at once made. My progress, nevertheless, continued
to be clogged with difficulties:--

"_February 3rd._--The present arrangements do not work well in
some important particulars. I have no ready means of learning what
is being done in Maberly's department, in consequence of which we
sometimes play at cross purposes, and there is much delay.... At
the risk of being considered 'impracticable,' I must try to put
things on a different footing."

"_February 6th._--I feel very uneasy at the slow progress made,
but, circumstanced as I am, it is impossible to go faster."

My moral difficulties found a physical parallel:--

"_February 8th._--Returning to Brighton [where I still continued
to live] by the 5 p.m. express train, was stopped by a sudden
snow-storm. With two engines we were three and a-half hours in
advancing three miles from Three Bridges. We came to a dead stand
near to the Balcombe Tunnel; remained there till 1 a.m., unable
to proceed or return, when, an engine having arrived, and all the
passengers having been crammed into three carriages, we returned
to Three Bridges, leaving the remainder of the train in the snow.
Sat up all night at 'The Fox.' Next morning, the line being open to
London soon after ten, I returned to town. The other passengers, I
found, on my return to Brighton at night, did not complete their
journey till 4 p.m. (having been twenty-three hours on the way)."

A few days later, being invited by the Guardian Society at Liverpool
to a public dinner, I took opportunity, in my speech of thanks, to
explain to a certain extent the duties and powers of the Post Office,
misapprehension as to which led then, and doubtless leads still, to
unprofitable correspondence, withdrawing attention from practical
improvements to futile discussion. I found it particularly necessary
to show why suggestions, however valuable, cannot be suddenly adopted,
since, in so vast and complex a machine as the Post Office, which must
not for one hour be arrested in its motion, it is indispensable to make
such preliminary examination and complete arrangement as will yield
full security that the change will throw nothing out of gear, but work
smoothly from the first. I showed that, while some of the improvements
called for by my Liverpool friends seemed feasible, others could not be
made.

Thus, it had been demanded that letters should no longer be carried
past the office from which they were to be distributed to some office
further on, whence they would have to return, but that the distributing
office should receive them at once. This demand, not then new, nor yet
worn out, I had to meet by showing that the letters for one office were
at such times mixed up with those for other offices, and therefore
could not be dropped in passing, while the delay in sorting could not
be absolutely prevented unless every post town in the United Kingdom
made up a bag for every other post town, which, as there were then
about one thousand post towns in all, would involve the daily despatch,
transmission, and opening of a million of bags in each direction, an
immense majority of which would contain no letters whatever. At the
same time I assured my auditors that I should do my best to render the
Post Office as useful as possible, and that I would carefully inquire
into all the defects in its management which they had brought to my
notice.[35] To this task I addressed myself on the morrow.

Even here, however, I found old impediments to the progress of
improvement; for when I proposed to Mr. Banning, the postmaster
of Liverpool, to keep open the Money Order Office to a later hour
without waiting for instructions from London, my advice was met by the
presentation, though with many apologies, of the Postmaster-General's
restrictive minute, the issue of which had been previously condemned,
but unfortunately not revoked. One consequence was that I refrained,
for the time, from attempting improvements at Manchester, lest I should
encounter another copy of the minute there. On my return I pressed on
the Postmaster-General the importance of reconsidering the arrangements
affecting my position before his leaving town, which he promised to
do, perhaps the more readily because he was much pleased with what I
had effected at Liverpool. The consideration, however, produced no
immediate result.

"_September 28th._--Banning, who called upon me to-day, reports
that the restriction of the Liverpool receiving-houses to stamped
and unpaid letters, accompanied as it is by an extension of time
for posting, is working very satisfactorily; so are the other
improvements which, not requiring Treasury sanction, have been
carried out; but I find that though the Treasury sanction [to
certain further improvements] has been received a month, no steps
whatever have as yet been taken thereon. The reply to the weekly
inquiry made as to matters in arrears has been, that the papers
were with Colonel Maberly, and beyond this nothing could be learnt
till to-day, when, getting impatient at the delay, I set Armstrong
to learn the cause, when it appeared that the papers were not with
Colonel Maberly at all, but in the first clerk's room, where they
had been 'mislaid' as usual."

This transaction, though apparently but of local importance, I
have narrated at some length, because it shows how the progress of
improvement was clogged, and how much my time was occupied in watching
lest that which I had carefully planned should be marred in working.
Other difficulties will appear as I proceed with my narrative:--

"_February 17th._--Requested that he [the Postmaster-General]
would reconsider a minute directing that letters addressed to me
by the subordinates shall pass not only through the heads of the
departments, as I had proposed, but through Maberly's office."

"_February 24th._--Finished a minute calling for copies of many of
the periodic returns made to Maberly, to which I have added several
original ones, with a view of obtaining tolerable statistics. At
present they are lamentably deficient."

"_February 27th._--The Postmaster-General is so much engaged in
his duties as Cabinet Minister that he rarely comes to the office
at present, and I am obliged to defer many points on which it is
necessary to consult him. I am much dissatisfied with the little
progress made."

When, however, the Postmaster-General was more at leisure we sometimes
got on apace:--

_March 5th._--Had a long interview with the Postmaster-General,
and got through much business. I never met with a public man who
is less afraid of a novel and decided course of action ... ; _e.g._,
a proposal of mine to require the postmaster at Manchester to
pay out of his fees the salaries of two new clerks, required on
account of his own inefficiency, has been cordially adopted, in
direct opposition to Maberly and the surveyor; and this is the
more important, inasmuch as my minute is a direct attack on a
claim hitherto treated with great reverence, viz., the right of an
officer to continue receiving fees (unless compensated), however
large in amount and mischievous in their tendency, simply because
he has once enjoyed them.

"Spoke again of the absolute necessity of my being better
informed as to what is going on, and proposed that he [the
Postmaster-General] should direct that all communications to
and from the Treasury should pass through my hands. He at once
concurred in the necessity of the thing, but proposed that, instead
of writing a minute on the subject, he would himself take care that
I saw such papers before they left his own hands. I fear that the
arrangement will frequently be forgotten, but I could not object to
try it. He again expressed a wish that I would not disturb existing
arrangements, at least so far as they appear in writing; but on my
telling him that the rule requiring me to obtain papers through him
caused much inconvenience and delay, he told me in confidence that
he did not desire that I should regard it, but send for any papers
that I wanted."

Not liking this anomalous state of things, I consulted confidentially
with Mr. Jones Loyd, mentioning also my uneasiness at the slow progress
of improvement, and referring to the expectations held out to me
through him and Mr. Warburton before I entered the Post Office.[36]
These expectations, however, I did not suppose were likely soon to
be fulfilled, as I had just learnt that a large addition was about
to be made to Colonel Maberly's staff. Mr. Loyd, while recognising
the expectations held out to me, advised me temperately to press the
Postmaster-General to assign to me a department, or at least to leave
in my hands till ripe for his own decision all matters connected with
any specific improvement which may be assigned to me. On this advice I
resolved to act as occasions arose. I presently had further evidence
that I was advancing in the confidence of my official superiors. The
Postmaster-General placed the secretarial management of the Money Order
Department in my hands, and directed that all returns to Parliament
should be submitted to me before being sent to the Treasury, with free
leave for me to attack any such as seemed unfair to penny postage,
while the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his place in Parliament,
spoke highly of my services.

At the same time, I felt obliged to remind the Postmaster-General of
our slow progress. I again called his attention to the delay of my
measures after their leaving my hands; showed, in short, that all my
measures were standing still, and told him I was very anxious to bring
some one improvement to a successful issue, a view in which he agreed,
thinking, however, that much had already been effected. As regards
minor matters this was true enough, but my continued anxiety was
justified by the fact that I had now been nearly four months in office
without being able to bring into effect any improvement important
enough to require the sanction of the Treasury.

On April 1st of this year, in accordance with the wish of the
Postmaster-General, I went to Bristol. As what I found there may be
regarded as a specimen, by no means an unfavourable one, of the state
of things at the provincial offices generally, I describe it. The
first delivery of the day, by far the most important of all, was not
completed until twelve o'clock; the letter-carriers, as I was informed,
often staying after departure from the office to take their breakfast
before commencing their rounds. I was able to show how at a small cost
(only £125 a year) it might be completed by nine. The office itself I
found small, badly lighted, and worse ventilated. The day mail thence
to London was nearly useless, its contents for London delivery being
on the morning of my inquiry only sixty-four letters, thirty-seven of
which might have been sent by the previous mail on the mere payment
of the extra penny. The impression regarding this mail, both in and
out of the office, agreed exactly with my evidence in 1843, viz., that
all day mails, to be efficient for their purpose, should start as late
as is consistent with their reaching London in time for their letters
to be forwarded by the evening mails. The satisfaction I felt in such
improvements as I had been able to make on the spot was much enhanced
by my receiving at the termination of my visit the thanks of both
clerks and letter-carriers for the new arrangements.

To return to the subject of obstruction:--

"_April 20th._--A letter from Mr. Lettis, a senior clerk of the
Money Order Office, written on the 12th instant, and forwarded
the same day by Mr. Barth, instead of being sent at once to me,
was forwarded, by Colonel Maberly's own endorsement, to the
Postmaster-General, then in the west of Ireland, in consequence of
which it did not reach me till yesterday, I being all the while
engaged on the subject to which it relates."

The paper thus retarded I soon found was one amongst many, all of them
more or less important to a right understanding of the work on which I
was specially engaged. Application, however, to the Postmaster-General
for the maintenance of direct communication produced no other effect
than an injunction to Colonel Maberly's department against further
delay.

In the midst of these troubles, petty in themselves, but trying to my
health and very injurious in the delay they produced, I saw, for the
first time, a fellow-labourer in the great cause of postal improvement,
who, in establishing the overland route to India, had surmounted
formidable difficulties and rendered invaluable services, without,
I fear, securing either to himself or his family any proportionate
recompense. My record of the interview is very brief:--

"Lieutenant Waghorn called. He is a man of singularly energetic
appearance."

A means of preventing, to a considerable extent, injurious measures in
the Post Office being taken without my knowledge was hit upon almost
accidentally. Upon my mentioning to Mr. Parker, then Secretary to the
Treasury, that many of the applications from the Post Office to his
department were made without my cognizance, and offering, with the
sanction of the Postmaster-General, to go down once a week or so to
the Treasury to assist him in his decisions upon them, the offer was
gladly accepted, the more so as the augmentations recently made in the
Post Office salaries were producing corresponding demands from other
quarters. Yet further confidence was shown when the new practice at the
Treasury started a fresh difficulty, viz., as to what was to be done
when my opinion was against measures which the Postmaster-General had
recommended without consulting me. Upon my applying to Lord Clanricarde
for instructions, he told me that he wished me to have no scruples
as to any measures, but to advise against them unhesitatingly if so
inclined.

Notwithstanding this confidence, however, the anomalous arrangement of
the department remained fruitful in mischief; indeed every practised
man knows that where proceedings are vitiated at their source no
subsequent vigilance suffices for their effectual correction. In
my case, moreover, vigilance on such points was maintained at the
sacrifice of progress in improvement. Parliamentary returns moved for
about this time by members hostile to my plans, and demanded in such
form as to mislead, were accelerated, while one moved for by Mr.
Warburton in such form as to secure a true statement was kept back.
Though, by great effort, I procured from the Postmaster-General an
order for modification in two of the fallacious returns, yet, after
all, one of them actually went forth with all its errors retained.

After many details on this vexatious topic, my Journal proceeds as
follows:--

"I feel ashamed, as well as annoyed, in having to record these
vexations, and I must put an end to them by some means or other. I
would gladly omit these records altogether, but former experience
has shown that it would be unsafe so to do. I am obliged,
therefore, with a view to my own justification hereafter, to
continue them, though I cannot but fear that (should this Journal
ever be read by those who do not know me intimately) such daily
complainings may be considered as evidence of querulousness on my
part."[37]

So long as this twofold authority continued, it was impracticable for
the Postmaster-General, unless endowed with a more exact memory for
details than can be reasonably expected in a Cabinet Minister, to avoid
inconsistency in his own proceedings. Thus after having obtained his
acceptance of an advantageous offer from the Brighton Railway Company,
I learnt to my amazement that the offer had been refused. On inquiring
into the matter, I found out that this was the result of counter advice
of which I knew nothing.

It has been seen that errors thus arising found their way into
Parliamentary returns; they even affected legislative enactment. In
a bill sent up from the Post Office to the Treasury for introduction
into Parliament, I had advised the insertion of clauses authorizing
the Treasury to relax or abolish the rule fixing a maximum to the
weight of a letter, but at the same time establishing restrictions--as,
for instance, prepayment of postage on all heavy letters--to prevent
abuse of the new rule by the public. The solicitor of the Post Office,
however, so drew the bill as to supersede the Treasury exercise of
this power by a clause making the abolition absolute, and at the same
time omitting the proposed safeguards. As the bill was never submitted
to my examination in a complete form, it became law with this defect.
Fortunately, the practical consequences were not very serious, the
public probably remaining for the most part quite unaware of its new
liberty or, rather, licence. Some wag, however, getting hold of the
fact, turned it to account for his amusement, posting in Ireland a
bundle of old clothes, directed to London, which being of course
refused by the addressee, as the postage demanded was no less than
£4. 11_s._, had to be carried back according to rule to the place of
despatch; the double conveyance being necessarily made gratis, as the
sender naturally took care not to be known. I need not say that at the
first opportunity the Act was amended.

A very far more serious evil was reported to me shortly afterwards;
namely, that a clerk in the Money Order Office in Manchester had
been detected in several frauds. My informant attributed the loss of
letters, &c., mainly to the absence of investigation as to character,
arising out of the system of patronage. He added that he pointed out
this as the chief cause of the evil to Lord Lowther soon after his
appointment.

To heedlessness in appointment was unfortunately added laxity in
discipline:--

"_September 30th._--At ---- the postmaster, who gets £15 a year as
compensation for [his loss of] late-letter fees has remitted till
lately only 7_s._ or 8_s._ a year [for such fees]; but on a stir
being made the remittances at once advanced to as much per week:
the explanation given is that he omitted to demand the fee, not
that he fraudulently appropriated it; and on this ground he has
escaped dismissal, I think very improperly; but I have not been
consulted in either case, and know the facts only from conversation
with the Postmaster-General."

About the same time I was engaged in devising means for a partial
introduction of the plan of district offices in the London delivery,
but was led to abandon the attempt, in some measure, by the
inconveniences attending a partial arrangement, and yet more by fear
of serious disorder likely to arise from the imperfect manner in
which I knew, by past experience, the necessary instructions would be
carried into effect, unless I could myself superintend their execution;
and thus it was that several years had to elapse before this great
improvement could be made.

Soon after arriving at this conclusion I attempted to remove a strange
anomaly which was producing a certain amount of trouble in the office,
leading occasionally even to delay in the despatch of the mails.
This was that while letters brought to the chief office after 7 P.M.
were not received for that night's mail without an additional fee of
sixpence, late newspapers were received up to that hour on payment of a
halfpenny:--[38]

"_October 5th._--To-day I consulted Bokenham[39] on the expediency
of advancing the fee [on newspapers] at seven o'clock, but
he strongly advises against it, on the ground of its certain
unpopularity with the press."

So difficult is it to recall concession, however mischievous and
absurd. In the end, however, a compromise was adopted which, while it
greatly relieved the department, proved satisfactory to the newspaper
publishers. I abstain from further narration of mere obstructions,
not for want of matter, but because enough has been done to show the
difficulties, annoyances, and delays ever crossing the path of my
improvements; the like of which must, I fear, be expected by all whose
zeal for reform leads them to intrude amidst men of routine.

A trouble of another kind, however, began now to show itself, which
later on produced serious consequences. Applications for increase of
salary, backed by the recommendation of Colonel Maberly, were referred
to me for consideration, the circumstances being such that, without
unscrupulous disregard of the public interest, I could do nothing
but advise their rejection. I found that in one instance, instead
of the applicants being simply informed of the Postmaster-General's
decision, which was in conformity with my opinion, they had also been
told--contrary to official rule--of our conflicting recommendations.
The consequence was a renewal of the application, accompanied with a
letter of thanks to Colonel Maberly, and an appeal from my judgment as
being opposed to that of "the Secretary." I could not but foresee that
if, without any opportunity of recommending merited concession, I were
to be held up as a bar to concessions recommended by others, I should,
in course of time, find myself in a position very unfavourable alike to
the maintenance of my just authority and the progress of good measures.
After noticing the above facts, my Journal proceeds as follows:--

"_October 16th._--I tried to avoid this collision of opinion,
representing to the Postmaster-General the probable result when
the papers were first referred to me; but his reply was that his
opinion coincided with my own, but that he could not act in direct
opposition to Maberly's earnest advice without support from me,
consequently I had no escape; luckily the Treasury, as well as the
Postmaster-General, take my view of the question."

Accordingly, I wrote a somewhat severe minute on the subject, and this
was approved by the Postmaster-General. I must add that my foreboding
was, on both points, justified by the sequel, the usual course being,
for a long time, that the duty of rejecting such applications fell
almost exclusively upon me, while the popularity that arose when an
application was granted was almost engrossed by Colonel Maberly. The
natural, nay, inevitable result was that great difficulties were raised
in the way of the improvements that I attempted to make.

Under all these circumstances, it is little to be wondered at that,
on looking back on the progress made during the first year since my
appointment at the Post Office, I was much dissatisfied with what I
found, nor could I feel surprised that symptoms of discontent began to
appear in the public, which, knowing nothing of impediments, naturally
expected the fulfilment of those expectations which my admission to
office had raised.

Among the improvements that I effected this year, the following is, I
conceive, of great importance:--

Exorbitant claims having been advanced and admitted for compensation in
respect of abolished fees, perquisites, &c., I made arrangements for
such returns as to the current amount of those irregular emoluments as
would keep these claims thenceforth within due bounds. The efficiency
of this plan will be evident when it is considered that, though at the
period of abolition claimants would naturally seek to make this amount
appear as large as possible, yet, in ordinary times, when the receipt
of large fees might act as a bar to demand for augmented salary, the
interest would lie in the opposite direction. All, therefore, that was
necessary was to get the ordinary estimate on indisputable record. This
had been provided for before I left the Treasury, but, in the interim,
the plan had been abandoned.

Finding that any attempt to establish a parcel post, which I had
formerly suggested, would raise more opposition in the railway
companies than I thought it prudent just then to encounter, I suggested
the establishment of a book post, pointing out how much such a measure
would promote education, and how acceptable it would be to the public.
The Postmaster-General expressed apprehensions of the department being
overloaded on magazine days, and I had to point out the means by which
all such difficulties could be surmounted. Vehement objections came
from the usual quarter, but these were overruled.

Before closing the account of the year, I must mention two attempts at
improvements which have met with no success.

Upon an application from Colonel Maberly's extra clerks for an increase
of salary, I proposed instead a regular system of promotion, whereby
all vacancies in the establishment should be filled by selection
from the extra clerks instead of from without, an arrangement which
would have obtained the collateral advantage of submitting every
candidate for regular clerkship to a probation in the extra corps. The
Postmaster-General seemed favourable to the principle, which, indeed,
had been occasionally recognised in practice, but unfortunately I never
succeeded in obtaining its adoption as a rule, the real obstacle being,
no doubt, that it would have acted as an impediment to patronage.

My second abortive measure I regarded as of great importance, nor
has my opinion of it undergone any change; though how far it may be
applicable to the circumstances of the present day is another question.
Wishing to procure for the Post Office the unrestricted use of all
the railway trains, and that at a moderate fixed rate, I suggested
that Government, as a means of procuring the ready acquiescence of
the railway companies, should include in a bill then preparing for
Parliament a provision in their favour, which seemed to me to be in
strict accordance with justice, and with the true interests of the
public. In my Report[40] on this subject, I first showed that in
order to enable the Post Office effectually to serve the public, it
was necessary that the department should make far greater use of the
railways. Under the existing law, owing to uncertainty as to the rate
of payment, the excessive awards frequently made, and other causes,
this was impracticable. I therefore proposed that an attempt should be
made to obtain an Act empowering the Railway Commissioners, at that
time an organised Board, with the present Lord Belper at its head, to
take the following steps:--

1st. To issue a general tariff of charges for the conveyance of mails,
such tariff to be constructed so as to afford the companies a moderate
profit.

2nd. To decide all questions which might arise between the Post Office
and any railway company.

3rd. To issue a general tariff of maximum fares for passengers and
charges for goods, minerals, &c., to be demanded of the public; and

4th. To revise such general tariffs from time to time.

By way of compensation to the companies, and with a view also to the
advantage of the public, I proposed, "subject to such regulations
as Parliament may impose for securing fairness towards all parties
interested, to adopt a territorial division of the surface of the
kingdom, reserving, as open to new companies, any district in which
the public interests would be served by the construction of new and
independent lines, but assigning to each existing company"--on certain
specified conditions--"so much of the district on each side of its
line as can be most advantageously served by such company; a provision
being made that, if at any time the Railway Commissioners should be of
opinion that the public interests require that a railway of a given
description should be made within such assigned territory, it shall
be competent to the Commissioners to call upon the company to which
the district is so assigned to construct the line, with the consent
of Parliament; and if the company refuse or neglect so to do within a
given time, to offer the line to the public at large."

I further proposed that these arrangements should apply compulsorily to
all companies hereafter to be formed, but that "each existing company
should have the option, within a certain period, to accept the same
conditions, or to continue in its present condition."

The following advantages, among others, would, I expected, result from
the proposed arrangements:--

1. It would secure the cheap conveyance of the mails, and greatly
promote the extension and perfection of the system of Post Office
distribution.

2. It would secure the establishment of moderate fares, without
resorting to competition, which it is now generally admitted would be
as injurious to the public as to the companies.

3. It would secure the completion of the railway system at the least
expenditure of capital, and in a manner most conducive to economy in
working.

4. It would repress rash and unprincipled speculation; and

5. It would relieve Parliament from the drudgery of investigating
hastily-devised and useless projects.

As regards the interests of the companies, I pointed out that--

1. It would relieve them from the ruinous expenditure now necessary to
defend their property from aggression.

2. It would enable them to take advantage of the cheapness of labour
or materials, and abundance of capital, gradually to extend the
ramifications of their lines to all places capable of affording a
remunerative traffic.

And, finally, it would greatly benefit both the public and the
companies, by enabling the directors and other officers to devote their
time and energy (now mainly absorbed in Parliamentary contests) to the
internal management of their affairs, thus conducing to economy, and to
the comfort and safety of their passengers.

All these important results, I was of opinion, would be obtained
without any sacrifice on the part of the public or of the companies.

In a Report, the primary object of which was to facilitate the use of
railways by the Post Office, it may appear out of place to deal with
the questions of charges for passengers and goods, railway extension,
&c., but I found one part of the subject so linked with every other as
to render separate treatment impracticable.

Had this plan been adopted when originally proposed (more than
twenty[41] years ago), the following results, I firmly believe, would
have been obtained:--

1st. The postal system would have been enormously improved.

2nd. The conveyance of passengers and goods would have been
considerably cheapened.

3rd. The railway system would have been far more extended than it now
is.

4th. A vast waste of capital would have been avoided. And,

5th. Railway property, instead of being almost a byword for depression
and insecurity, would, under tolerable management, have been placed on
a firm basis.

Unhappily, the advantage which would have been gained by the adoption
of my plan is now for ever lost. The contests it might have prevented
during the last twenty years have done their disastrous work; but the
future remains, and I believe it still possible to amend our railway
system and even to adopt a plan more comprehensive than the one just
described. My views on the subject appear in a separate Report, which
I made as a member of the Commission on Railways appointed in the year
1865, the substance of which, I may remark, will be found in a summary
appended thereto.[42]

I have now brought the year 1847, the first which I passed at the Post
Office, to a general close. I have yet to speak of proceedings relative
to one improvement, which, however, was not carried into effect until
the following year. I narrate this at some length, not only because
of its importance, but also because it serves well as a specimen of
my course of proceeding during the long period which I passed in the
anomalous position to which I had been appointed.

The Postmaster-General having requested me to examine the state
of the Money Order Department, with a view to its improvement and
extension, I succeeded in devising a plan which, while it effected many
improvements, provided for a very large extension, and that without
increasing the number of accounts with the chief office. I learnt now
that a plan which I proposed when at the Treasury would have simplified
operations exceedingly, but that its adoption, though earnestly
pressed by Mr. Jackson (then at the head of the department), had been
successfully resisted; and that, though some part of this plan had been
superseded by other improvements, much yet remained which Mr. Jackson
thought would be highly useful.

In my consequent preparations I was impeded frequently for hours,
sometimes for days, by the want of necessary papers, the registration
and arrangement being so defective that, according to the registering
clerk, his death would leave the office in absolute perplexity. When
the papers came they were sometimes exceedingly imperfect, the
omission being in one instance that of a very important report; and
of course fresh delays occurred while these omissions were supplied.
Again, when, in reference to a proposed measure of economy, I called
upon the head of the department and his immediate subordinate to
support my views by expressing in writing opinions which they had given
in conversation, they excused themselves by pleading that they should
thereby incur serious displeasure.

The omitted report was one made some time before by Mr. Jackson,
recommending an improvement calculated to save the department between
£2,000 and £3,000 per annum. Taking up this rejected measure, I was
enabled, after long elaboration, to procure its adoption, and in a few
months more its beneficial results were placed beyond question; the
head of the department reporting that the accounts were more complete
and the checks more efficient, and that the annual saving was even
greater than had been reckoned upon, amounting to nearly £3,500.

In the meantime, however, these various obstructions, combined with the
fact that both in public estimation and by Colonel Maberly's distinct
renunciation I was now solely responsible for the right administration
of this special department, led me to take a decided step. I
accordingly wrote a minute, proposing that all minutes and instructions
regarding the Money Order Department of England and Wales should
proceed exclusively from myself; that all reports from the department
should be addressed to me; in short, that the secretarial control of
that department should thenceforth be entirely in my hands.

In consequence of this, the Postmaster-General wrote a minute on
the subject, which, however, being modified by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer,[43] to whom it was shown in draft, still left things in
an unsatisfactory state. Upon my pointing out the insufficiency of
the measure, Lord Clanricarde proposed that I should myself see the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. While awaiting this interview, which took
place about a fortnight later, I felt so much doubt as to the result,
and consequently as to my ability to retain office, that I deemed it
my duty to explain to my private secretary and my only clerk that they
might have to look out for other appointments.

When at length I saw the Chancellor of the Exchequer difficulties
seemed to vanish. He had no objection to the Money Order Department
being placed under my exclusive management, having merely disapproved
of the mode in which it was proposed that the change should be
effected. He at once recognised the danger of divided responsibility,
and, in short, undertook to arrange the whole matter with the
Postmaster-General. Four days later the Postmaster-General informed
me that he had decided to place the Money Order Department entirely
under my management, but that he wished to consider further as to the
mode. He thought of speaking to Maberly, with a view, if possible, of
doing the thing quietly. My new powers were called into requisition
the same day by a little symptom of insubordination in the Money Order
Department. Confident of authority, I now felt justified in giving
such warning to the offender[44] as produced instant submission, with
abundance of promise for the future.

The difficulty, however, was not yet solved, for I presently found
that the Postmaster-General, instead of himself drawing the minute
transferring the secretarial authority over the Money Order Department
to me, had remitted the task to Colonel Maberly. The result was such
an instrument as would have both crippled my authority and lowered me
in the eyes of each of the some twenty officers to whom the minute
was to be communicated.[45] Unfortunately this minute, without any
opportunity being allowed for objection, had been confirmed, not only
by the Postmaster-General but also by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The course I took was to draw up a new minute, in the name, not of
Colonel Maberly, but of the Postmaster-General himself, substantially
the same as regarded the powers that were given me, but free from all
offensive expression and unnecessary restriction. This I submitted to
the Postmaster-General, urging its adoption; but, though he admitted
the objectionable character of some parts of Colonel Maberly's minute,
I saw that he was disappointed and annoyed at my application.

In my renewed difficulty, I perceived that I must further consider my
ground:--

"_December 17th, 1847._--Called on Mr. Cobden; described my
position at the Post Office, and asked his advice as to the course
I should adopt; more especially seeking his opinion as to whether I
should be justified in public opinion in resigning my appointment,
if circumstances should induce me so to act. He thinks that,
except on some great and simple question, I should not be justified
in resigning, as, though harassed by the obstacles thrown in my way
by Maberly, I have nevertheless been able to introduce important
improvements; his advice, therefore, is patience. He recommends
that I should see other M.P.'s, and represent to them Maberly's
conduct, with a view of forming a party in the House; ... but I
replied that I considered such a course would be justly viewed
as a breach of confidence, though I felt at liberty to consult
my personal friends, among whom I counted himself. He proffered
assistance in any way, and promised to take an opportunity of
speaking to the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to the necessity of
extending my powers."

The same day, having learnt that a circular to postmasters and others,
to give effect to the new money-order arrangements, was in the
printer's hands, I sent my private secretary to apply for a suspension
of proceedings until the Postmaster-General's further pleasure should
be known. This brought the Postmaster-General's private secretary
with a copy of the circular, in which, as I expected, I found an
unnecessary and offensive restriction.[46] All the officers to whom it
was addressed were informed that, while they were to obey me in matters
connected with the Money Order Department, they were not to obey me
on any other subject. My subordinates were thus called on to watch my
proceedings, while a disposition on my part was implied to do that
which, from the first, I had most scrupulously avoided. I also learnt
that copies had already been sent to Dublin and Edinburgh. I insisted
on their recall. Mr. Cornwall, after conferring with Colonel Maberly,
promised the withdrawal of the objectionable clause, hoping that I
would then raise no further obstacle to the issue of the circular. I
was obliged, however, still to object to this, as the circular would
give effect to the minute against which I had protested, and thus
pledge me to duties without awarding me the necessary power.

The result of Mr. Cornwall's application was communicated to me in
a private letter from the Postmaster-General, by which I learnt
that, though he intended to draw a fresh minute in place of Colonel
Maberly's, he had found nothing to object to in the circular, and
consequently had directed its issue without further delay. He added
that his own view was confirmed by that of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, of whose opinion he sent me a memorandum. By this, however,
I perceived that the nature of my objection had been misunderstood,
probably by both.

My Journal proceeds as follows:--

"On inquiry I found that the circular about to be despatched
retained the objectionable clause. It was not, I think, asking too
much to be heard before any irretrievable step was taken."

However, the Postmaster-General's intention was soon fulfilled; and the
new minute (written in his own hand) differed in no material point from
the draft which I had prepared. I had also some little satisfaction in
finding that, though the circular had now been issued, yet, in the new
minute, all authority for the offensive part of it had been removed.
Anxiety as to my true position relative to the Money Order Department
being now sufficiently relieved I advanced in good spirits, and at once
entered on my new duties.

"_December 23rd._--The newspapers are reporting the new
arrangement, each after its own fashion. The _Times_ and
_Chronicle_ have useful notices on the subject; the _Morning Post_
tells the world that I have been _promoted_ to the superintendence
of the Money Order Office, but carefully quotes the circular to
show that my authority is confined thereto."

Unfortunately, in coming for the first time close to any department one
always has to learn abuses:--

"_January 8th, 1848._[47]--It is distressing to find that forgeries
and other frauds connected with money orders are frequent.... I
have already had to deal with six or eight cases of this kind."

The subjoined is a striking instance of the economy that may be
produced in large operations by even a small change. I found that
although the old money-order forms were supplied at a very low rate
(about ten for a penny), yet, by reducing the size, I could save about
£700 per annum; and this notwithstanding an improvement in the form,
which the Comptroller of the Stationery Office alleged would involve an
_additional_ expense of nearly £1500 a-year. To remove this objection,
however, I had to resort to a mechanical device derived from former
experience in constructing my printing machine.[48] This saving was
soon afterwards followed by a larger one, consequent on reduction in
the size of the "letter of advice" and the abolition of what were
called duplicate advices. Both these economical measures had the
collateral advantage of diminishing labour in the chief office, while
the total annual saving in stationery alone, even on the consumption at
that time, was thus raised to about £2500.[49]

Not less important was it to obtain prompt and complete accounts. One
desideratum was a complete registration of papers, the necessity for
which happened to be exemplified in the midst of my arrangements on
the subject by the discovery, in the desk of the late chief clerk at
a town in Yorkshire, of more than forty unanswered letters from the
chief office, some of them already six months old. Money-order accounts
in the London office, too, I found in great disorder; arrears so long
as, in the opinion of the head of the department, would require for
bringing them up a force of thirty-five men for four years; in other
words, an outlay of at least £10,000, with a doubt whether even then
the outstanding money orders could be correctly ascertained. To avoid
so great an outlay, I suggested an Act of Parliament protecting the
department, after due notice, from _legal_ claims on orders issued
before 1847. This course was in the end adopted, though the practice
was still to discharge any claim which appeared to be just; nor do I
remember that the restriction ever led to complaint.

At the same time there was prospect of great economy:--

"_February 16th, 1848._--Jackson now thinks that other improvements
now in progress will enable the Money Order Office to undertake all
the additional work likely to arise in the next two or three years,
including the extension of the system throughout England and Wales,
without any increased force. If so, the effective saving will be
enormous."

It may be added that this expectation was confirmed by the event.

"_March 8th, 1848._--The Postmaster-General, in speaking of the
many improvements which I have effected, remarked the singular
absence of all complaints from the public, though some [of the
improvements] are more or less restrictive."

Among the means formerly taken to account for the existence of a
revenue under what it regarded as the ruinous system of penny postage,
the Post Office had uniformly maintained that a large profit was
obtained in the Money Order Department. A return now made to Parliament
showed that, so far from this being the case, the expenditure of the
previous year, the last before that department came under my control,
exceeded the receipts by about £10,000.

A summary of the improvements effected thus far in this department
will be found in a letter addressed by me to the Postmaster-General on
January 3rd, 1849, which is given in the Appendix.

Some incidents of the years 1847 and 1848, which for convenience I have
hitherto omitted, are yet worthy of record:--

_Carelessness in Remittance._

"_May 27th, 1847._--Mr. Ramsey (missing-letter clerk) brought me
a packet containing whole bank-notes to the amount of £1500, so
carelessly made up that they had all slipped out; and to add to the
carelessness the packet was imperfectly addressed to some country
house in Herefordshire, no post town being named. It had found its
way, after much delay, into the post office at Ross, and had been
sent to London by the postmistress. Instances of such carelessness
are not infrequent."

I may add that, some years afterwards, there was sent to the office for
the book-post a large sum in bank-notes, the ends of the packet being
left open, according to book post rule, so as to expose the contents.
It is much to be wished that all persons inclined to such carelessness
would pause to think how grievous is the temptation to which the
humbler servants of the Post Office are thereby exposed.

_Attempted Robbery._

"_July 7th, 1847._--There was a serious attempt this morning
(fortunately unsuccessful) to rob a letter-carrier who was taking
out a large number of bankers' parcels for delivery. It is said in
the office that they contained nearly half-a-million of money."

The circumstances of this extraordinary proceeding are thus described
in the "Annual Register":--

_From the "Annual Register" for 1847. Chronicle, p. 82._

"July 7. MURDEROUS ATTACK ON A LETTER-CARRIER.

"A most atrocious attack was made upon one of the letter deliverers
employed by the General Post Office, named Bradley. He is one of
those whose particular duty it is to make the early delivery at
the different bankers and merchants in Lombard Street of what
are called the 'registered letters.' He had received his bag of
letters as usual from the chief office, St. Martin's-le-Grand, at
eight o'clock, and was proceeding through Mitre Court, which leads
from Wood Street to Milk Street. After passing through the gate,
which at night closes the entrance to the court in Wood Street,
he noticed two or three men in the passage, one of whom suddenly
locked the gate; and when Bradley had nearly reached the iron posts
in the middle of the court he was struck a violent blow with a
life-preserver, which stunned him for a moment; he nevertheless
called out for assistance, keeping his bag of letters firmly
grasped in his hand and under his arm. The villains, alarmed by
his cries, rapidly made off into Milk Street, leaving behind them
their deadly weapon. Bradley was severely injured about the head,
and being an old man, was, in consideration of his resistance to
this attack, _allowed to retire on full pay_. A reward of £300 was
offered for the detection of the perpetrators; but as Bradley could
give no description of them, and no other person had observed them,
the police did not get any clue to their detection."

I am glad to learn (1867) that this faithful veteran is still living.

_Singular Frauds._

In the early days of money-order transactions, it was the lenient
custom of the office, in cases where an order had been paid to a
forged signature, still to pay it to the right party. This dangerous
indulgence did not fail to become known to the knavish class, who made
profitable use of the opportunity. Thus two persons, perhaps lodging
at the same house, would purposely arrange that an order obtained in
favour of one should fall into the hands of the other; and when the
latter, by forging the signature of the former, had obtained payment,
the former, applying in his own name, and showing that the signature
given was not his, was able to obtain payment a second time. To put
a stop to this systematic fraud, which had become a thing of daily
practice, it became necessary so to modify the existing law as to
provide that when an order had once been paid, even though to the
wrong person, no _legal claim_ should remain against the Post Office.
In accordance with the old practice, the order was still paid where
it appeared that the blame rested with the Post Office itself. This
new rule, though regarded by many as a great stretch of power, not
only put an immediate stop to the fraud against which it was directed,
but produced so little complaint from any quarter as to make it
clear that the previous indulgence had been almost as superfluous
as it was dangerous. Nevertheless the exceptional authority of the
Postmaster-General was soon afterwards put in requisition in the
following case:--

In a large provincial town a person applied in haste at the post
office, stating that on his way thither he seemed to have dropped an
order which he was bringing for payment; at the same time giving in
his name, and begging that no order might be paid to that name until
his return, as he would go back to his house to examine whether he
might perchance have left it there. Some time after his departure,
however, a second person came to the window, saying that Mr. ---- had
recovered the order, having in fact left it at home, and had sent him
with it to obtain payment, he himself being unexpectedly detained.
The clerk, satisfied with this plausible statement, fitting in so
well with antecedent circumstances, delivered the money accordingly,
but was startled a few minutes later by the reappearance of the first
claimant, with the declaration that, as he had not been able to find
the order at home, it must of course have been lost, and a request that
nothing might be done until a new order was obtained. Upon the clerk's
reporting what had meanwhile occurred, and mentioning the new rule, the
applicant, after some remarks not particularly flattering to postal
sagacity, announced his intention to appeal in the highest quarter.
The decision there made was that in so extraordinary a case the strict
rule should not be fully maintained, but that the department must,
nevertheless, be secured from loss. This was thrown in equal shares on
the two parties immediately concerned, each having shown negligence,
the one in losing the order, the other in paying it against injunction.

_Esquires in Low Life._

An angry letter was received at the General Office relative to alleged
misconduct in an officer at the Charing Cross office, who had refused
to pay a money order, because of irregularity in the signature of the
payee. The complainant reported that the ground of objection was that
when he gave his signature he appended the term Esq., adding, "The
silly fellow does not know that in a certain rank of life every one
signs himself Esq."

_Complaints._

It is curious, and would at first sight seem inexplicable, that
acceleration of the mails, though effected solely for the public
benefit, often too at great cost, and always with much trouble, led in
some instances to angry complaint. Perhaps the most whimsical instance
of this was that of a lady in a northern town, at which the night mail
from London had previously arrived somewhat too late for the last
delivery of the day, so that the letters could not be distributed until
the following morning, whereas by this acceleration they were delivered
the same evening. The allegation was that, whereas complainant used
always to get her letters early in the morning, she never received them
now till late at night.

_Joseph Ady._

Among miscellaneous incidents of the year 1848 the following may be
mentioned. The office and the public had long been troubled with a
restless adventurer named Joseph Ady, a man who maintained the language
and dress of a Quaker, but who, I apprehend, was no real member of
the Society of Friends. This person was for ever posting a number
of letters to inform individuals that he knew of something to their
advantage, which, for a stated fee, he was ready to mention. As all
these letters were unpaid, and many consequently rejected, Mr. Ady was
called on to pay no small amount of postage; but, by representations of
his poverty, age, and feeble health, and promises to offend no more, he
had again and again obtained very lenient treatment; while no sooner
was he out of one scrape than, by a return to his former practice, he
plunged into a new one. On one occasion, having been let off lightly
on condition of his entering into a formal written engagement not to
repeat the offence, he showed the inveteracy of his habit by inserting
after his signature words to the following effect:--

"If Mr. Peacock [the solicitor to the Post Office] is any relation
to the Mr. Peacock who, about twenty years ago, lived at [such a
place], I can, on receiving the usual fee of twenty-one shillings,
tell him something to his advantage."

Presently afterwards he resorted to a new device. This was to post his
letters, really unstamped, but each one bearing the mark as of a stamp
removed, so as to furnish ground for an asseveration, of course ready
at hand, that a stamp had really been affixed to each. It is needless
to say that so shallow a pretext was of no avail, and a conviction was
obtained against him which threw him into prison, and though, by his
usual wiles, he soon contrived to obtain release, he seemed at length
to feel himself beaten, gave up his singular trade, and, indeed, soon
afterwards died.

_Communication by Telegraph._

The following entry records as a wonder what would now be regarded as a
very trivial incident:--

"_April 4th, 1848._--The payment of a money order has been
countermanded from Manchester by electric telegraph."[50]

_Chartist Movement._

The Chartist movement of the year 1848 affected the Post Office as well
as other public departments:--

"_April 6th._--Went to the Mansion House to be sworn in a special
constable with all the other officials. Serious apprehensions are
entertained of an attack from the Chartists on Monday next, when
they hold a great meeting on Kennington Common, and intend to
march in procession to the Houses of Parliament to present their
petition. Arms are being provided for the Post Office, which is
being put into a state of defence, in common with other Government
offices."

At Colonel Maberly's suggestion, I placed my own clerks, and those of
the Money Order Office, in all about two hundred and thirty, under his
command; thus making a total force of upwards of thirteen hundred men.

"_April 8th._--Iron bars are being put to the lower windows, and
special precautions taken against fire. Goldsmiths' Hall, and other
buildings which command the entrances to the Post Office, will be
occupied with our people. These preparations, and the excitement
they produce, are a sad hindrance to business."

"_April 10th._--In coming to the office accompanied the Chartist
procession down Holborn Hill, crossing it without difficulty at the
bottom. The lower windows and doors of the office are defended by
bars of iron and planks. Upwards of thirteen hundred of our people,
a large portion of whom are well armed, are divided into small
parties, each with its officer, and written instructions have been
issued for their guidance. The excitement is too great for much
work to be done. About one o'clock the Postmaster-General told me
that Fergus O'Connor was arrested, but this afterwards proved to be
a mistake. Another report, which for a while received credit, spoke
of the disaffection of the Guards, but about two o'clock certain
information arrived to the effect that the meeting had quietly
dispersed, and that the threatened processions were abandoned. Soon
after four I left, but the clerks and others were detained till
the mails had been despatched. On my return home I noticed much
excitement in the streets, and nearly all the shops were closed."

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XVI.

GENERAL PROGRESS.

Having narrated the transfer of the Money Order Department to my
superintendence, I now proceed to more general transactions, and for
their description give the following letter to Mr. Baring:--

"General Post Office, January 24th, 1848.

"MY DEAR SIR,--I think the enclosed will interest you. You will
not fail to remark the effect of the do-nothing policy of 1842,
and of all, except the latter part, of 1843. The great increase
in subsequent years is owing mainly to the extension of the rural
distribution, which goes on with such rapidity that in the last
year we brought more than one thousand places within the range of
the Post Office system. No one would _now_ question the policy of
the measure which you proposed, except, perhaps, on the ground that
it did not go far enough.

"The increased facilities afforded of late years are proving far
more profitable than even I had anticipated.

"The revenue of the past year will probably be about £2,220,000
gross, and £1,030,000 net. The gross revenue is as large as it
was in 1834, and within 5 per cent. of what it was in 1837. The
current year will probably give an amount equal to 1837, thus
realising my anticipations of gross revenue. The net revenue will
be about £200,000 less than I calculated; but in my opinion the
expenses have been needlessly increased to that extent. The same
gross revenue as in 1837 was, according to my calculation, to be
the result of a five-fold increase of letters; it will have been
brought about by a 4-2/3-fold increase.

"Faithfully yours,
"ROWLAND HILL."

ENCLOSURE.

ESTIMATE of the NUMBER of CHARGEABLE LETTERS delivered in the
UNITED KINGDOM in each year from 1839 to 1847.[51]

+-------+-----------+-------------------------+
| | | Annual Increase |
| | +-----------+-------------+
| | | | Per-centage |
| Year. | Number of | Number of | reckoned on |
| | Letters. | Letters. | the No. for |
| | | | 1839. |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
| | Millions. | Millions. | Per cent. |
| 1839 | 76[52] | ... | ... |
| 1840 | 169 | 93 | 123 |
| 1841 | 196-1/2 | 27-1/2 | 36 |
| 1842 | 208-1/2 | 12 | 16 |
| 1843 | 220-1/2 | 12 | 16 |
| 1844 | 242 | 21-1/2 | 28 |
| 1845 | 271 | 29-1/2 | 39 |
| 1846 | 299-1/2 | 28 | 37 |
| 1847 | 322 | 22-1/2 | 30 |
+-------+-----------+-----------+-------------+

"_January 28th._--Received a very gratifying note from Mr. Baring
in reply to the above, in which, though not quite concurring in my
comparison of net revenue, he says, 'There is still a great store
of undeveloped letter-writing in the country, and I am sanguine
enough to believe your estimate as to number will be wrong by being
much under the mark.' He adds, with characteristic frankness, 'What
has surprised me most is the quiet way in which the people here
take to the prepayment and stamping. I was always much afraid of
that part of the plan, and am glad to find myself wrong.'"

The following are further extracts from Mr. Baring's letter:--

"As I am writing to you I cannot help mentioning what was told
me at Weymouth this year, which shows how, in trifles even, your
scheme has been a benefit.

"I was at Weymouth when I was Chancellor of the Exchequer,
and busy with you about the reduction [of postage], and used,
with my children, to frequent a shell-shop and gossip with the
shopkeeper--a man of some intelligence in his way. I was at
Weymouth again this summer, and having gone to my shell friend,
after a little talk, 'Oh, Sir!' he said, 'I must tell you that the
penny postage that you were busy about when you were here last has
been a great benefit to me in my way, which you did not, I dare
say, expect, and I am sure I did not. I now send my shells all over
the country.'"

The following is a curious instance of a real advantage figuring as the
reverse. While the year's improvement did not equal my expectation,
a return called for by Parliament was so given as to make it appear
less than it really was, the progress in gross revenue being in effect
understated by about £100,000. The following is the explanation of this
anomaly:--By the system of prepayment the number of rejected letters
had been so diminished that the deduction made on their account from
the gross postage had been reduced by that sum, a fact suppressed in
the return.[53] I pointed out the error to the Accountant-General, who
at once admitted it, but explained that a corrective entry which he had
made in the return had been removed thence by order.

BOOK POST.

The following entries relate to the Book Post:--

"_January 28th._--Went to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
endeavour to remove his objections to the book post. He is afraid
apparently of the railway interest, and dislikes the notion of
entering into competition with carriers. I reminded him that we did
not propose to avail ourselves of our monopoly [I should have said
'to extend our monopoly to the conveyance of books'], but merely to
serve the public better than it is now served; that no other system
than that of the Post Office would reach the rural districts; and
pointed out the moral and political importance of enlightening
those districts, &c., &c. We had a stout battle, but in the end he
gave up, suggesting, however, for my consideration, the expediency,
in the first instance at least, of restricting each packet to a
single volume."

This suggestion was adopted. The difficulties being thus removed, the
book post was at length established, the necessary warrant appearing
in the _Gazette_ of February 11th. At first any writing whatsoever
found in a posted book made it subject to letter charge, but this
absolute restriction was soon found to be inconvenient, especially to
collectors of old books. Professor De Morgan, I remember, found it a
little hard that a bar to the use of the book post should arise from
the mere fact that a useful volume contained some such inscription as
the following:--

"Anne price Her Booke
god give her grace therein to Look;"

The rule was accordingly made less stringent; writing, however, being
still restricted to a single page. In the course of years it became
allowable to write anything whatever, save only a letter, and, with the
same restriction, to send any matter, even if written throughout.

I am sorry to remark, however, that meantime advantage was taken of
the new facility for frequent attempt at evasion of postage; letters,
small articles of dress, &c., being slipped in between the leaves of
the books, and, ungallant as the statement may appear, I am bound to
mention that the chief offenders in this way were ladies. Sometimes
the means resorted to evinced no small pains and ingenuity, exercised
for the mere purpose of saving a few pence. Thus, in one instance
which I remember, a hole had been excavated in the thickness of an
old book--leaving not only the binding, but several leaves above and
below, uninjured, and in this hole was concealed a watch. And here I
may remark that, with every desire to give the public all possible
facilities, we were often deterred from so doing by the tricks and
evasions which too frequently followed any relaxation of our rules;
evasions which, even when detected, and when clearly opposed to the
_spirit and intention_ of the regulation, were sometimes defended--and
owing to the unwillingness of Government departments to risk defeat in
a court of justice, successfully defended--on the ground that there
was no infraction of the _letter_ of the regulation. The conscientious
part of the public--happily, so far as my experience shows, the great
majority--is little aware how much it suffers from unscrupulous conduct
such as this.

ECONOMIC MEASURES.

While thus carrying forward extensive and important improvements in
the single department placed under my exclusive superintendence, and
while instituting the book-post system, I found myself, by want of
necessary power, debarred from those more general improvements which
constituted important features in my plan as laid before Parliament. I
had nevertheless abundance of less profitable, though not unprofitable,
occupation in work mostly of a routine character. Here I had steadily
to resist such tendency to unnecessary increase in expenditure as
seemed likely, if unchecked, to render all my economical arrangements
nugatory. I had, at the same time, to seek every opportunity of
retrieving false steps made previously to my appointment;[54] some
of which were still producing serious waste. Of course, many of the
savings effected either way were, individually, of small amount, yet
not only were they important in their total, but also the care thus
exercised tended to introduce that spirit of economy without which no
department can produce its best effects.

_Scales of Salaries._

Sound economy, I need not say, requires that salaries should be
regulated by fixed principles; and as early as January 31st of this
year I had suggested to the Postmaster-General that it would be well
for the Treasury to appoint commissioners who should establish scales
of salaries equally applicable to all the revenue departments, so as at
once to remove mutual jealousy and to prevent unreasonable claims in
one department from arising out of unreasonable concession in another.
Such a Commission was actually appointed about five years afterwards,
and its proceedings will be mentioned in their proper place.

_Former Prodigality._

One past proceeding, strongly exemplifying the necessity for a
regulating principle, is set forth in the following extract from my
Journal. Rectification was an affair of great difficulty:--

"_May 27th._--In preparing for my minute on the mail guards I
have been obliged to read the papers on the subject for the last
eleven years. They show that a scale of wages about two-thirds of
that now in use was proposed by the officers of the department,
and recommended by Colonel Maberly; also that much lower wages
(21_s._ per week) had been paid for seven years to the guards on
the Manchester and Liverpool Railway, and that they were satisfied
therewith; that the Postmaster-General, in opposition to the advice
of his officers, proposed to the Treasury a scale nearly the same,
but slightly higher than that now established, and then appointed
a large number of new guards; that, owing to a blunder of ----'s
[instead of the change being limited to guards on railway, who got
no fees from passengers], the option was offered to all the guards
then in the service to be placed on this scale, as he admits,
without authority from the Treasury; that the Irish guards [who all
worked on mail-coaches], without exception, accepted the offer;
thus adding at once more than £5,000 a year to the expenses; that
an attempt was then made (in effect unsuccessfully) to withdraw
the offer, and that in the course of a few years the expenses in
mail guards were advanced from £10,513 in 1836, to £28,627 in 1841;
that my minute on the subject, written at the Treasury in 1842,
calling for explanations and suspending further advance meanwhile,
was sent to the Postmaster-General in August of that year, and
remained unanswered till September, 1845, and that in the meantime
the Post Office was frequently pressing the Treasury to remove the
suspension.... Towards the end of 1845 the Treasury took off the
suspension, and the arrears (about £2,000) were paid. The Committee
of Investigation, in 1843, called for a copy of my minute, and
of the proceedings consequent thereon, but it was delayed under
various pretexts, and was eventually withheld altogether."

_Letter-Boxes._

One means of economising the time of the letter-carriers, which I
had contemplated from the first, was to induce the public to provide
themselves with letter-boxes to the doors of their houses; and I now
suggested to the Postmaster-General the expediency of addressing a
circular on the subject, in his name, to the inhabitants of London. I
proposed that it should give information as to the cost of change, and
offer Post Office assistance in case of difficulty. At the time the
Postmaster-General concurred in all this, but for some months nothing
was done.

"_March 29th._--The P.M.G. has sent me a private note stating
his apprehension that the circular as to letter-boxes, &c., will
be ridiculed, and proposing to leave out all information as to
prices, &c. As he had previously sanctioned the circular, I suppose
some one must have excited these apprehensions. To me it appears
ridiculous to issue a circular without giving the information which
every one naturally desires; but of course it must be altered."

Letter-boxes, however, have become frequent, though far from being so
general as both economy and public convenience require. Neither the
Postmaster-General nor I imagined that the circular, limited as it was,
could give offence to any one. Nevertheless, it produced some angry
letters,--among others, one from the late Marquis of Londonderry, who
indignantly demanded whether the Postmaster-General actually expected
that he should cut a slit in his mahogany door!

MINOR IMPROVEMENT.

_Railway Notices._

The following minor improvement may perhaps be worth mentioning, as
being, if not particularly beneficial to the department, at least very
economical to that large portion of the public which is interested in
railway extension. Railway notices were at that time served personally
on landholders and occupiers by the solicitors of the companies, at the
rate of one guinea for each notice. The Speaker of the House of Commons
(now Lord Eversley) sent his private secretary, Mr. (now Sir Erskine)
May,[55] to confer with me on the expediency of having the notices
in question served by means of registered letters. To this there was
a very serious obstacle in the fact of the delivery not extending to
every house, so that I had to devise means by which this difficulty
might be overcome. At the end of four months, however, and in fair
time for the notices of the season, a plan which Mr. May and I jointly
concocted having received the sanction of Government, the proposed
regulations were issued; the effect being to reduce the expense of
serving a notice from one guinea to sixpence. I had, in due time, the
satisfaction to learn that the plan, as adopted, worked smoothly,
though it certainly appeared that some solicitors were in no special
haste to avail themselves of the new facility.

"_February 20th, 1849._--Met at my brother Matthew's house, Mr.
Brooks, the Home Missionary at Birmingham, a very intelligent,
active and benevolent man. He tells me that penny postage is
producing excellent effects as regards the poor, inducing large
numbers, even among the adults, to learn to write, and that
their correspondence is increased, he thinks, a hundred-fold.
He thinks requiring prepayment by stamps (the postmasters being
obliged to sell even a single stamp) will not interfere with the
correspondence of the poor, who are rather proud of sticking the
Queen's head on their letters."

FOREIGN EXTENSION.

I must now speak of the progress made during the year in the extension
of postal reform to foreign countries, as also changes in our relations
therewith.

_United States._

"_February 10th, 1848._--The Postmaster-General explained to me
the position of the postal treaty with the United States. Whatever
may have been our conduct at first, I think we are right now, and
the United States Government wrong. Bancroft, the United States
minister, had consented to an arrangement of perfect reciprocity,
viz., on each letter either way twopence to each government for
inland rate, and tenpence to the Government owning the packet, when
the United States Government refused its ratification; and yet,
owing to the absurd secrecy observed on such occasions [by our
official rule], the English, as well as the American papers, throw
all the blame on our Government. Proposed to the Postmaster-General
that I should see Thornley, Brown, and some other M.P.'s interested
in the matter, who had applied to me on the subject, and let them
know how matters stand--to which he assented, and I arranged to
meet them to-morrow morning."

I must observe that such hasty conclusions in the press, and
consequently in the public, are not so infrequent as could be wished;
the Post Office, and perhaps other departments of Government, being
frequently blamed for defects and anomalies which they have no power
to supply or remove. I must confess it has appeared to me that we
Englishmen have a singular disposition, where the question lies between
our neighbours and ourselves, to lay the blame, if possible, on
ourselves.

"_April 15th._--Mr. James Lee of New York came with an introduction
from Mr. Rathbone of Liverpool. Mr. Lee is intimate with the
President, and is anxious to assist in effecting amicable
arrangements as to the postal communication between this country
and the United States. He admits the abstract fairness of our
proposals, but contends that we ought to modify them because,
owing to the angry feeling on the part of the people in the United
States, the Government there cannot concur therein. This struck
me as a strange admission of weakness. I suggested an arrangement
which, though equally favourable to us, would not encounter the
prejudices of the American people; at the same time carefully
guarding myself against its being supposed that I was empowered
to negotiate. He caught eagerly at the suggestion: said that he
should go immediately to the American minister to consult him
thereon, and then see me again. Mr. Lee entirely confirms the
statement of mine, on which much doubt has been thrown, namely,
that the United States Post Office has no provision for the
delivery of letters, and consequently that, notwithstanding their
greater distances, they have no claim to a higher inland rate than
ourselves."

Meantime, progress was making in the United States towards such
measures as, by bringing their home postal system into accordance
with our own, would obviously facilitate international accommodation.
An association was formed at New York apparently for procuring the
adoption of my plan in all its points, and the President (Mr. Polk),
in his message to Congress, recommended that the variable rate,
established about three years before, should be reduced to a uniform
rate of twopence-halfpenny; the same to be prepaid. This I could not
but regard as a very complete acknowledgment of the fairness and
convenience of uniformity, considering the vast extent of the United
States, and that the measure followed a trial of two rates. An entry
in my Journal records that the treaty between the two countries was
settled. The terms, indeed, seemed to me unduly advantageous to
America, but, under all the circumstances, I approved of the concession.

_France._

Good progress was making also in France; the Revolution, so disastrous
in many respects, having at least removed from his office the chief
opponent of postal reform, M. Dubost. On June 21st I learnt from M.
Grasset, my former correspondent, that he had laid before a committee
of the National Assembly, with my friend M. St. Priest as president,
a proposal for a low uniform rate, payable by means of stamps.
Unfortunately he did not propose to make any distinction of charge
between letters prepaid and post-paid. On this modification which he
had made in my plan my correspondent prided himself as the simplest
system in the world. I could not but acknowledge, however, that, even
in spite of his modification, the proposed change would be a vast
improvement on the actual rates. The Report of the committee, drawn up
by "Citizen St. Priest," recommended a considerable reduction in the
charge for postage.

"_August 26th._--The _Times_ of this morning states that the bill
for the establishment of the twopenny rate passed the National
Assembly on the 24th."

By this Act money prepayment was forbidden, but as nothing was gained
by prepayment in stamps, the inducement to use stamps seemed but
weak, so that the economy involved therein was likely to be but small.
Experience showed the error, and the post-paid rate was afterwards
increased, I think, as with us, to a double amount. My friend M. Piron
obligingly sent me a sheet of the new French postage stamps, the
image on which was a female head, symbolical of the French Republic.
The confusion of the revolutionary period seemed to be whimsically
exemplified in the fact that, of the three hundred heads on the sheet,
several were inverted. This packet I received just before the close of
the year. A few days later I have the following entry:--

"_January 13th, 1849._--M. Thayer, the present head of the Post
Office in France, called, as he said, to see the father of their
improved Post Office system; he is new to his duties, and therefore
not very familiar with details, but he seems hopeful. He proposes
to exchange papers connected with the departments. He walked with
crutches, having been shot in the foot in attacking barricades in
June."

M. Thayer, I may remark, informed me that he was of English extraction,
referring me, for confirmation of his statement, to Thayer Street,
Manchester Square.

_Belgium._

Belgium, too, was in movement; and in a minute prepared in reply to
an application from the Government of that country, I was able to
show how accurately the results of penny postage had agreed with my
anticipations. Six months later, viz., in December, 1848, I received
a copy of the Government Bill, which proposed to reduce the various
postage rates to a uniform charge of twopence; retaining, however, the
lower rate of one penny for local letters. It appeared that the whole
number of letters was but nine millions, or about one-ninth part of
that delivered in the London district, the population of which is about
half of that of Belgium. The people of Brussels were pressing for a
penny rate.

When the question came before the Belgian Parliament, the Lower
House, rejecting the rate proposed by Government, adopted our own
rates; these, however, being rejected by the Upper House in favour of
a twopenny rate, the king, upon learning that this modification was
producing great and general dissatisfaction, proposed a compromise,
which was accepted. By his a penny was fixed as the rate for moderate
distances, the rate beyond being twopence. Stamps were to be used, and
a penny to be added in all cases where the letter was not prepaid.

CHAPTER XVII.

EFFORTS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION. (1848-9.)

In the narrative of the proceedings of the year 1848 I have reserved to
the last some that were of great importance to myself, and I venture
to think, through me, to the public service. The discordant action
in the secretarial department, so often referred to in these pages,
so difficult to prevent where there were two co-ordinate authorities
dealing apart with the very same affairs, and unfortunately so
needlessly aggravated in a variety of ways, continued throughout the
year with but little abatement, and with no prospect of cure. Not
only, as already shown, did it seriously impede, and in some important
cases even stop, the progress of improvement, but it acted also so
injuriously on my own health as at times to make me even doubt the
possibility of my remaining at my post.

Before, however, the effect on my health became too manifest to allow
of neglect, the two-fold evils of my position, the realisation of all
the unpleasant anticipations with which I had entered on my office,
had led me to seek the early fulfilment of those expectations held
out to me in the beginning, without which I should not have entered
on my arduous task. In reply to my inquiry as to the term necessary
for demonstrating my power of dealing with details there had been
loose mention of six months.[56] At the end of that period, viz., in
May, 1847, having become firmly convinced that the existing evils
admitted but of one cure, I had made my first move in that direction.
I had told the Postmaster-General that, after six months' trial, I
was convinced that Colonel Maberly and I could never work cordially
together. Some time afterwards, being called on to prepare scales for
salaries, I again pressed my views. I told the Postmaster-General that,
as the scales I had to propose would disappoint existing expectations
and probably increase an insubordinate spirit already showing itself
amongst the men, the work could not be safely attempted under divided
responsibility, unless there were a harmony of action of which I saw
not the least hope. I added that, much as I desired to take part in
carrying out my plan, I was so deeply impressed with the dangers to
which I had referred, that I thought it would be better to leave
the executive entirely with Colonel Maberly than to continue on the
present footing. The Postmaster-General, although apparently not
viewing the matter in so serious a light as myself, seemed uneasy at my
persistence, and said he must consult the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

About a month later, Mr. Thomas Young, the Receiver-General, having
entered into conversation with me on the subject, and learnt my views
and feelings thereon, counselled patience, but assured me that he knew
the feeling at the Treasury, and that I might calculate on the desired
change before the end of the next session. After the lapse of another
month the Postmaster-General, in reply to inquiry, told me that he
had spoken to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but without definite
result. He added, however, that, as I had to see the Chancellor on
other business, I had better discuss the matter with him myself, and
go fully into the subject. I accordingly saw the Chancellor of the
Exchequer at the earliest opportunity. After having discussed with him
my more immediate business, which related to my undivided control of
the Money Order Department, a point on which I was fortunate enough to
obtain his concurrence, I deemed it inexpedient to enter on further
measures, especially as he was much pressed for time. I told him,
however, that I thought it right to say that the step about to be taken
would necessarily lead to further measures; on which he said, "I have
no objection to that."

Meantime I had the satisfaction to remark various indications of that
increased confidence in myself, on which, of course, the desired
promotion must be based. Early in the year 1848, however, I saw reason
to apprehend that, without prompt action on my part, I myself might
be subject to ejection. The clerks in the money-order division of the
Secretary's department were alarmed by information that attempts were
making to remove me, and all under me, to the Money Order Office over
the way, a change which would have put my retention of office quite
out of the question. The clerks, whose salary and position would have
suffered by this removal, memorialized the Postmaster-General on the
subject. Upon speaking to Lord Clanricarde, I learned that some such
suggestion had been made, but presently abandoned. I took advantage
of the alarm to obtain for those under me full security as to their
position and salary.

Some months later, circumstances again led me to mention my claim.
Increase of business in the London district requiring an increase of
force, and this appearing to contradict the expectations I had held
out, I was sent for to the Treasury, where I saw Mr. Parker:--

"_May 12th._--I thought it necessary to speak plainly as to the
causes of their not having been realised, and said that so long
as they continued Colonel Maberly in office they must not expect
any decided retrenchment, and that, had I supposed that he would
have retained his position so long, I never would have undertaken
my present duties. He seemed sorry to have provoked these
statements, and remarked that great savings had been effected in
the Money Order Office; to which I replied that it was because that
department had been freed from Colonel Maberly's influence."

Some weeks later, I received for my plan the marked approbation of the
highest authority in the Government:--

"_June 21st._--Lord John Russell, last night, in the House of
Commons, in enumerating the measures which had resulted from the
Reform Bill, spoke as follows of penny postage (the extract is from
the _Times_ of to-day): ... 'Whilst these great changes have been
made, other measures have been adopted, such as the reduction of
the postage of letters to a penny (Hear! from Colonel Sibthorpe, in
a tone which provoked considerable laughter). I was about to allude
to the reduction of postage in a parenthesis with other measures,
but I really think that, viewed as a great social change, nothing
more beneficial has taken place in later times (Hear, hear). When
you contemplate the enormous increase which has taken place in
correspondence, you may estimate the number of persons who were
deprived of the benefit of communicating with their friends, and
of offering the interchange of domestic affections (Hear, hear). I
really think that we cannot overestimate all the advantages which
have resulted from that act (Cheers).'"

The more, however, I felt gratified with this evidence of increased
confidence on the part of the Government, the more anxious was I made
by a communication received three days afterwards:--

"_June 24th._--The Postmaster-General told me in confidence that
Ministers had determined to resign if beaten on the Jamaica
question, now pending--a result which he thought probable; his
object in telling me this appeared to be to enable me, as far as
possible, to prepare for the change. I repeated what I have before
told him, that his own resignation would in all probability be
followed by mine, for that, judging from former experience, I was
sure that unless I was well backed by the Postmaster-General, ----
would so conduct himself as to render my position unbearable. He
replied that he had no doubt I should have much opposition to
contend with, not only from ----, but from the heads of the other
departments, who to a man were opposed to reduction. I reminded
the Postmaster-General of his minute, prescribing a course of
proceeding on my part much more restrictive than the actual
practice of the office, and stated that, should he resign, ----
would, I felt sure, endeavour to enforce the regulations to the
letter. I also inquired if the Postmaster-General would have any
objection to modify his minute in accordance with the practice of
the office. To this I understood him to assent. He says there will
be plenty of time, after the question of resignation is settled, to
attend to such matters. Lord St. Germans, he thinks, would be his
successor. He has noticed that Lord St. G. has rarely deviated from
Maberly's advice."

"_June 28th._--E. H., A. H., F. H., and I, met to consult on the
steps to be taken in consequence of the Postmaster-General's
communication of the 24th, and decided what should be done. These
family consultations are a great aid to me. Wrote a minute,
modifying the one [alluded to above]."

"_June 29th._--Called on the Postmaster-General at his house, and
had a very satisfactory interview. He is fully satisfied as to my
administrative powers, and offers to leave a memorandum for his
successor (should the Ministry resign, of which there is now less
probability), expressing his high opinion thereon. Fully admits
that the prospect of promotion held out when I entered on office
had reference to my succeeding Maberly. That all doubt of my
ability to manage the department had long ceased, and that he had
repeatedly expressed himself to other members of the Government
quite ready to conduct the Post Office with my aid only; that
he expected a vacancy in some other department would have been
found for M. before this, but that his present post was so good
a one that it was difficult to find another equally good, and
that Parliament and the public would not justify their allowing
so young a man as M. to retire upon a pension. I proposed, as an
intermediate step, that I should be declared joint secretary with
M.; but, as I could not accept any advance of salary so long as
I was postponing the consideration of others' salaries, my salary
should continue at its present amount till the general adjustment
should take place.... Finally, he promised to consider my proposal,
and to consult the Chancellor of the Exchequer thereon."

"_June 30th._--The danger of resignation is past; the Ministers had
a majority of 15 last night. Gave the Postmaster-General the minute
(June 28th), but he defers decision thereon, there being now no
haste."

I did not altogether concur in the propriety of delay, feeling as
I did that every day was bringing new evils. After narrating other
proceedings at this interview, my Journal thus continues:--

"Called his [the Postmaster-General's] attention to the great
increase of expenditure, shown by an account just rendered for the
last half of 1847. It is at the [annual] rate of nearly £100,000."

In the following August the question was again forced upon me,
by a demand of the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the complete
consolidation of the two corps of letter-carriers;[57] a measure
involving also the establishment of hourly deliveries and district
offices, all important features of my plan. Knowing that the required
change, which, unless made with the greatest care, would inevitably
excite great discontent among the clerks, sorters, letter-carriers, and
others, could not be safely attempted under present arrangements, I
again spoke to the Postmaster-General on the subject of my promotion,
but obtained no satisfactory reply.

Checked and encumbered too as my progress had been, a review of it made
about this time showed that, however imperfect in its great features,
it was nevertheless, in the aggregate, greater than I myself had
been conscious of. In fact, I found that most of the improvements
included in the list of agenda, which I had laid before the Committee
of 1843, were either completed or at least in progress. Still, as I
felt it indispensable that my greater reforms also should go forward,
I continued from time to time to urge that important change which the
condition of my engagement gave me a right to demand; and as the year
drew to its close without any step being taken in reference to my
claims, I naturally became more impatient. Instead of the six months
which had been spoken of as my probable time of probation, two whole
years had now elapsed. I could not but regard this interpretation of
the virtual promise as more than sufficiently loose.

After careful consultation with my brothers, I resolved on making a
formal application upon the subject. In my letter, which is given in
the Appendix (A), after referring to past difficulties and previous
applications, as also to the distinct expectation which had induced me
to accept my present post, after appealing to his lordship as "to my
having made every possible effort to surmount and avoid the obstacles
incident to my present position," I submitted a list of the chief
improvements (all of them, however, of a comparatively minor character)
which, under his lordship's authority, I had been able to effect in
the postal service. I then described the improvements effected in the
Money Order Department, expressing my confident expectation that in
the course of the year it would become self-supporting,[58] and that
by additional measures, then in progress, it would in time be made
to afford a satisfactory profit. I adduced the facility with which
the necessary changes, many of them difficult and complicated, had
been effected in this department since it came under my immediate and
exclusive direction, as affording fair presumption that with similar
means at my command a like success might be obtained elsewhere. I
remarked that my appointment to this department had been avowedly to
ascertain my competency for practical management, and submitted that by
the results such competency was proved.

After adverting to some of the most important and pressing improvements
remaining to be made, to the opposition which these had always
encountered, to the cautious and tentative process by which alone they
could be effected, to the impracticability of carrying on this without
"immediate confidential and uninterrupted intercourse with those most
conversant with details, or on whom the duty of immediate execution
would devolve," or without "the exercise of an influence and authority
limited only by due subordination to" his "lordship," I again urged
the fulfilment of the expectation held out to me. I strengthened my
claim by reference to symptoms of dissatisfaction in the public with
the slowness of progress, natural enough in its ignorance of the
difficulties under which I laboured, but through which I was exposed to
attacks which I might not repel, and suffered in my reputation while
quite unconscious of blame.

This letter was promptly acknowledged as follows:--

"Dublin, January 6th, 1849.

"MY DEAR SIR,--The subject of your letter of the 3rd is a matter
for more than mere departmental consideration, and all I can do
upon it is to communicate it to the authorities at the Treasury. I
shall do so without delay.

"Most truly yours,
"CLANRICARDE."

Three days later I learnt from the Postmaster-General that it had
been forwarded to the Premier, Lord John Russell; and about a month
afterwards I heard in like manner that it was then in the hands of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. Instead, however, of a reply, positive or
negative, to my application, I received from the Postmaster-General's
private secretary a letter addressed to his lordship from the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, demanding the consolidation of the two
corps of letter-carriers, referring to a promise of such improvement
alleged to have been made two years before, and speaking of its
non-fulfilment as discreditable to the department. I need not say that
in such promise I at least had had no share; but as the obstacles to
this very measure had been set forth in my recent letter, I was obliged
to conclude that this letter, though forwarded as already mentioned to
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, remained unread by him.

A few days afterwards, however, the Postmaster-General told me that
he and Lord John Russell had talked over my letter, but the reported
result was only the old conclusion, viz., delay till a suitable vacancy
should be found elsewhere for Colonel Maberly. I suggested two several
expedients which were not adopted. In short, nothing whatever was done,
and though no attempt was made, either then or at any other time, to
show any flaw in my claims, I found nothing but delay. I certainly had
as yet no suspicion of the extent to which this delay would be carried.

Ten days later the Chancellor of the Exchequer again, in a private note
to the Postmaster-General, returned to the charge, protesting that
no jarring between Colonel Maberly and me could justify the delay,
but still showing no sign of having read my letter. It was easy to
suppose the Chancellor of the Exchequer unable to discover of himself
the mode in which jarring between Colonel Maberly and me rendered it
impracticable to effect what he desired, and to understand how press of
business and variety of occupation might have prevented his noticing
or remembering my explanation on the subject. Unfortunately his want
of information, however accounted for, could not remove obstructions
nor avert dangers; and thus, while he applied his spur, I could not
induce him to remove the curb. My only resource was again to seek a
hearing; and accordingly I wrote to my immediate official superior what
was nevertheless intended rather for the Chancellor of the Exchequer
himself.

After mentioning that I had in vain sought by reconsideration to find
means of accomplishing in my present position even part of what was
desired, I suggested that, to remove all obstacles to my promotion,
Colonel Maberly should be allowed to retire on full salary, I
undertaking all his work in addition to my own, without any present
increase of emolument; Colonel Maberly to be of course ready to fill
any satisfactory vacancy in another department whenever it occurred.
Thus, with full allowance for such augmentation to my salary as might
then take place, there would still be a large saving to the revenue.
The reply to this letter, though expressed with Lord Clanricarde's
usual kindness, was a request for its withdrawal; a request with which,
after a week's consideration and consultation with friends, I thought
it best to comply. I notified, however, that I still urged my claim as
stated in my previous letter.

Meantime doubt revived as to the stability of the Ministry:--

"_May 7th._--The Postmaster-General expresses doubt as to the
result of this debate [the Navigation Laws], on which the existence
of the Ministry depends. He says, however, that in the event
of their resignation, there will be ample time to consider any
arrangements similar to those discussed at the time of the last
ministerial crisis for making my position in the office more
satisfactory."

With the importance of the relief to be derived from the long-sought
change in my position I was again impressed by failure of health.
Towards the end of May I became so unwell as to be very unfit for work,
and was obliged to remain almost entirely at home. Some weeks later I
again fell ill, and was for a week absent from the office, getting with
difficulty through some little work at home. Early in August, however,
the parliamentary session having closed, I was able to take more rest,
and though repeatedly interrupted by recalls either to the Post Office
or the Treasury, I was nominally at holiday for a whole month, and
really passed nearly a fortnight at Ramsgate. Before leaving town,
however, I again wrote to the Postmaster-General. (See Appendix B.) In
his reply (Appendix C), Lord Clanricarde repeated his former objections
to moving in the matter, and said he saw no reason to believe that
the Treasury would take at that moment any steps to place me in the
position I desired to hold.[59]

"_September 12th._--The Postmaster-General came to the office for
the first time since our recent correspondence. His manner was most
hearty and friendly, so much so as to render it almost impossible
to discuss any question otherwise than in the most amicable manner.
His stay was so short that I could barely get through the most
pressing business; it is understood, however, that we are to talk
over the correspondence when he comes next."

On further consideration, I determined to take no further action at
present; and, indeed, my attention was soon afterwards engrossed in
other matters.

CHAPTER XVIII.

SUNDAY RELIEF. (1849-50).

I now come to one of the most painful passages of my whole life.
Perhaps, even had I been in possession of every external advantage, the
trouble and anxiety now approaching would have been very considerable,
but certainly by my anomalous position they were so aggravated as to
become almost more than I could bear. The call constantly made upon me
to check unreasonable demands for augmented force or increased salary
had necessarily raised against me a hostile feeling, which was but
too ready to break out when occasion offered. To explain how such a
contingency occurred, I must go somewhat backward in my narrative.

At the time of my appointment to the Post Office, Sunday was very
far from bringing to the department the amount of rest at present
enjoyed there. Even at the chief office, which was usually spoken of
as completely exempt from Sunday duty, more than twenty persons were
regularly employed during several hours of the day, partly in sorting
out the letters for Government and foreign ambassadors resident in
London, letters technically called "States,"--which had to be delivered
the same day--and partly in doing other work which, under the existing
arrangements, could not safely be deferred until the Monday morning.
Elsewhere offices were, as a rule, open during most of the day, not
only for general purposes, but even for the transaction of money-order
business. Applications, indeed, began to be made by particular towns
for the suspension of this latter duty at their respective offices;
but, owing to the various difficulties and objections by which the
change was beset, and in particular the apprehended risk of opposition
from without, no progress was made until towards the end of 1847. In
that year, in consequence of a memorial presented from Bath by Lord
Ashley (now Earl of Shaftesbury), then one of the members for that
city, the Postmaster-General directed inquiry to be made whether, by
extending the hours on Saturday night, money-order transactions on
the Sunday might not be discontinued without injury to the working
classes. A report on this subject from the surveyor of the district
having come into my hands, I drew up a minute (January 27th, 1848), in
which I advised that for the present, at least, the Bath office should
be closed for money-order business on the Sunday, and I suggested that
in the event of its success a similar arrangement might be extended to
other towns. The Postmaster-General having adopted this recommendation,
the Bath office was closed on the Sunday for money-order business,
though it still remained open for ordinary purposes nine hours on that
day, as before. Even thus limited, however, the alteration excited
a in the minds of those who regarded it as the forerunner of other
restrictions, and within a month a memorial against further change was
presented by Viscount Duncan, the other member for the city, signed by
the mayor and nearly five thousand other persons, "Clergymen, officers
of the navy and army, gentlemen, members of the various professions
and trades, and others." It thus appeared that, important as it was to
afford Sunday relief, any movement for the purpose, if not cautiously
made, might excite opposition, perhaps too strong to be overcome. The
difficulty, too, was increased by unreasonableness and even absurdity
in some of the demands put forth; as, for instance, one for the
complete stoppage on their route of the mail-trains and all other
vehicles in the mail-service, from midnight on Saturday till midnight
on Sunday.

As, however, the Sunday suspension of money-order business at Bath
appeared on trial to produce no public inconvenience, I recommended its
extension, first to Leeds, and afterwards to Birmingham, these towns
having likewise presented memorials on the subject. In both cases my
recommendation was adopted by the Postmaster-General. I now began to
take measures to extend this Sunday closing of the money-order offices
to the whole kingdom. By the beginning of 1849 it was extended to
England and Wales, and thus, in one day, four hundred and fifty offices
were relieved from money-order duty, many of which had been previously
open for that purpose during the whole Sunday, just as on ordinary
days. Three months later, the experiment still proving successful, the
measure was extended to Ireland and Scotland, relieving two hundred and
thirty-four additional offices, and making the Sunday suspension of
money-order business complete.

Meantime, also, I was taking steps for bringing all other Sunday
work in the provincial offices within narrower limits. In October,
1848, I submitted a minute suggesting that inquiry should be made as
to Sunday proceedings at the offices in Scotland (where restriction
had always been carried further than in England), and how far such
arrangements were found satisfactory to the public and the department.
The information thence derived led me to hope that the English offices
might be closed at least during the hours of divine service, and the
Sunday deliveries limited in all cases to one. I consequently suggested
that the opinion of the surveyors should be ascertained on these
points, and at the same time I recommended that the offices should, in
the first instance, be closed from ten to five (except for the receipt
and despatch of any mails in the interval).

The Reports of the surveyors concurred in strongly recommending the
adoption of the proposed improvements; not, however, without showing
some apprehensions of inconvenience, and consequent complaints, from
the proposed restriction to one delivery; for the cases in which
there were more deliveries than one on the Sunday proved then much
more common than I had supposed. Still, I was of opinion that, with
whatever inconvenience the improvements might be attended, they
would be accepted by the public if accompanied by another measure
conferring an equivalent advantage. Such a measure was at that time
under consideration, and had long been regarded as a desideratum,
viz., the transmission of the "forward letters"[60] through London on
the Sunday, with a view to their delivery on the Monday morning; a
measure which I felt confident might be effected, not only without any
addition to Sunday labour, but, even when taken in all its bearings,
with a great reduction of Sunday labour. Nay, more, I saw reason to
believe that, even in the London office, on which alone the labour of
such transmission would fall, the improvement might, in the end, be
made to yield similar relief. This expectation was fully confirmed by
experience.

Accordingly I took an early opportunity of consulting the
Postmaster-General on the subject. I found that he concurred in my
views, but wished to consult Lord John Russell before anything was
done. This was on January 9th, 1849, and six days later he informed
me that Lord John Russell had no objection to consider the question,
and wished to see the proposed plan. I prepared a careful statement on
the subject, which was sent in without delay. A few days later, Lord
John Russell having approved of the plan for transmitting the forward
letters through London on the Sunday, I got my brother Arthur's help,
and threw my memorandum into the form of a minute; and as it fully
explains the grounds on which I proceeded in this matter, I insert it
at length in Appendix D, giving here the following summary.

After referring to the suspension of money-order business on Sunday,
I reported that investigations made showed that a further very
important relief as related to Sunday work might be effected in all
the provincial offices, but that the consideration of this question
was closely connected with the Sunday transmission of letters through
London, a measure which had been urged by various authorities, and
which was the more important, because the number of letters to which it
related had advanced within the last thirteen years by ten-fold.

I next pointed out that the evil of detention had been found so serious
that in several cases the rule had been evaded, either by making use
of other existing channels, or by the actual establishment of Sunday
cross-posts, an expedient which, besides its other evils, obviously
involved additional Sunday work.

After pointing out that the present Sunday duties at the chief office
ordinarily occupied twenty-six persons for six hours, even a greater
force being sometimes required, I proposed, with a view of diminishing
the amount of Sunday work in the department as a whole--provincial as
well as metropolitan--that the existing mail trains should bring up
on the Sunday, in addition to the present bags, the forward stamped
letters, and the forward stamped letters alone, so that there might be
neither any possibility of a Sunday delivery of letters to the London
public nor any unnecessary addition to the Sunday accounts.

In order that the men employed might be able to attend divine service,
I proposed that the whole interval from 10 A.M. till 5 P.M. should be
left perfectly free, and that the same arrangement should be extended,
as far as possible, to the duties already existing.

After glancing at the obvious fact that for any temporary increase in
force required at the chief office, there would be at least a large
and permanent set-off elsewhere, I pointed out that the existing
arrangements led to a great amount of Sunday despatch and delivery
in the provinces, and consequently of Sunday letter-writing and
letter-reading there; so that, taking the whole country through, Sunday
work would be undoubtedly lessened. I further stated that there were
means by which, after the contemplated change, it would be possible to
reduce the Sunday labour even at the chief office considerably below
its actual amount.

I next stated the large reduction in Sunday labour which in a recent
minute I had proposed at the provincial offices of England and Wales,
and again advised its adoption, and its extension in some of its
features to Ireland and Scotland. I added that its effect would be to
"release a very large number of persons now engaged even during the
hours of divine service," and thus to "afford to many hundreds, perhaps
even to some thousands, needful rest, and the opportunity of attending
the services of the day."

This minute was referred by the Postmaster-General to Colonel Maberly,
who, as I had the satisfaction of learning two days later, promptly
declared his intention to report in favour of the measure, saying that
it ought to have been adopted long ago. This he accordingly did, and I
have the pleasure to say that, amidst the troubles which subsequently
arose from the measure, Colonel Maberly stood by his first decision.

About three weeks later the "Lord's Day Society" applied to me to
receive a deputation, with a view to the total cessation of Post
Office business on the Sunday, stating that they were referred to me
by the Postmaster-General. As Lord Clanricarde was then out of town, I
wrote to him for instructions, feeling, meantime, no small perplexity,
because I well knew that, on the one hand, resistance to the expected
demand would expose me to attack, and that, on the other, concession
would soon produce such an uproar throughout the country as must
seriously annoy the Government, and, moreover, raise obstacles to those
practical measures of Sunday relief which were already in progress.

However, the Postmaster-General having expressed a wish that I should
receive the deputation, I called at the Treasury to urge immediate
sanction to my last measures on the subject, but found the Chancellor
of the Exchequer too much occupied to attend to the business.

"_March 30th._--Received the deputation from the 'Lord's Day
Society,' consisting of Mr. Cowan, M.P. for Edinburgh, General
MacInnes, three clergymen, and others. They had prepared a plan
for stopping the mails throughout the kingdom from midnight on
Saturday till midnight on Sunday, but I had no great difficulty
in satisfying most of them that any attempt of the kind would
excite much angry opposition, and consequently that it would be
much better, at first at least, to aim at such improvements as most
people would concur in."

Any impression, however, which I might have made soon faded away, the
Society within three weeks again urging their plan, under the erroneous
notion that they had found an answer to my objection, and pressing me
to undertake it, "as the only man capable of giving it effect." Of
course I could only point out the error and decline their request.

"_August 7th._--Summoned to the Treasury. Mr. Hayter[61] tells me
that he read my minute on the Sunday work aloud to the Chancellor
of the Exchequer; that both considered it a very able paper, and
that the measure had been sanctioned."

Measures were thus in progress for giving a vast amount of Sunday
relief throughout the country. Much had been already done, more was
in hand, and, judging by the past, I saw reasonable ground to hope
that the completion of this would open the way, as in the end it did,
to yet further benefit. Of course I could not but be aware that the
important change now preparing had in it an element of danger. The
transit of letters through London on the Sunday, if taken alone, would
necessarily be considered as an increase of Sunday work, the more so
as the "practical officers" maintained, contrary to my opinion, that
at least a temporary addition to the present force was essential to
the plan. It was to be feared, therefore, that London would be more
struck with a slight increase of Sunday employment in its own office
than with any decrease, however great, in all the other offices of the
kingdom; and that if London should sound the alarm on a subject where
Englishmen feel rather than think, an angry excitement would spread
throughout the country; an evil so formidable as to require that every
precaution should be taken against it. Above all, it was desirable
that no partial rumour should precede the complete enunciation of the
plan; since its sole chance of ready acceptance, and indeed its true
justifiability, depended upon its character as a whole. Consequently,
every one of those to whom knowledge was necessarily intrusted had been
strictly enjoined to secrecy. Unhappily, there must have been treachery
in the camp; not that I ever had the means of fixing this charge on any
individual, or that I ever was solicitous to do so; but of the fact
itself there was abundant evidence.

On September 27th my wife and I, by way of keeping the twenty-second
anniversary of our wedding, had taken a walk together as far as Hendon,
but after spending some time pleasantly there, we found the rest of our
pleasure marred by rumours of approaching trouble--rumours too well
confirmed on the following day.

"_September 28th._--The newspapers this morning are full of
the most absurd statements as to the Sunday duties' measure,
which, in several, is violently attacked as a desecration of the
Sabbath, and so on. The _Herald_ and the _Record_ profess to
give very circumstantial statements of what I have said and done
in the matter, but these are pure inventions. The clerks in the
Inland Office have signed a memorial to the Postmaster-General,
remonstrating against the measure, as though it were intended to
require their attendance on a Sunday, and expressing a pious horror
of so doing. The facts being that some who have signed the memorial
already attend throughout the day, while the additional duties
will be so arranged as to leave the clerks at liberty from ten
till five; few will be wanted, and those are to be volunteers. A
deputation of these fellows has been to the Bishop of London [Dr.
Blomfield], and it is said to the Lord Mayor also; both of whom
have taken up their case. I fear the whole proceeding is another
manifestation of that insubordination and desire to thwart my plans
which unquestionably exist.... Wrote to the Postmaster-General, who
left London yesterday morning for Portumna, stating how matters
stood, and made arrangements with Tilley [the assistant-secretary]
for the immediate issue of the notices to the public, as the most
effectual means of allaying the storm. They will appear in the
papers to-morrow morning, and will be distributed all over the
kingdom by to-morrow night's mails. A contradiction from authority
which I sent appears in the evening papers."

The statement that the Lord Mayor had proceeded in this questionable
manner proved to be untrue, but of the Bishop's part in the matter
there was no doubt. I could not but think it strange that one who had
himself to exercise authority and maintain discipline should feel
warranted, on an _ex-parte_ statement, without even ascertaining
whether this extraordinary appeal had been preceded by proper
application to the proper authority, should feel warranted, I say, to
give the sanction of his high authority to a proceeding which, in the
case of his own clergy, he would justly have regarded as irregular and
insubordinate.

As usual in difficulties, I sought aid from my own family:--

"_September 29th._--Matthew having fortunately returned home, I
have the advantage of his advice and assistance. We went to the
office together, and in the course of the day were joined by
Arthur. The contradiction and notice have had a good effect, but
the excitement has by no means subsided. The _Times_ has a leader
written evidently by some one who has seen my minute (probably at
the Treasury), partly defending, partly attacking the plan....
Strange enough, there is an able and earnest defence in the
_Morning Post_. Sent a confidential letter to the editor of the
_Times_, supplying the information which he so sadly lacks, and
wrote again to the Postmaster-General. The Lord Mayor has called a
meeting for Wednesday."

"_October 1st._--Went to the Treasury. Hayter treats the opposition
to the new arrangement of Sunday duties as a matter of no
importance. I think he is mistaken. I advise the publication of the
minutes on the subject. He will consult with the Chancellor of the
Exchequer."

In an able article which appeared in the _Times_ about six months
later, and which is quoted in its proper place, the delusion of the day
is justly compared to the infatuation which, two hundred years ago,
overspread England, led to such fearful injustice, and produced so much
unmerited suffering, from the calumnious breathings of so coarse a
miscreant as Titus Oates. Doubtless two centuries had not passed away
for nothing; a great amelioration of manners had taken place, both in
deceivers and in deceived; but, great as was the difference in degree,
the present movement was in kind the same thing again. History once
more repeated itself. Only let the accusation be monstrous enough, the
asseveration sufficiently bold, and the invention of circumstances
tolerably plausible, there is still a large fraction of the public
to whom disproof is for a time impossible of reception; the mist of
error so entirely blinding that the most glaring correctives passed
unnoticed--nay, unseen; while there is another class, perhaps almost
equally large, which hides its better knowledge, overawed by general
prejudice; so that while denunciation is clamorous and confident,
defence is but slow, feeble, and timorous.

"_Same day._--Mr. ----, M.P. for ----, called in consequence of the
note from Matthew. He says that he was about to engage actively
in the opposition, not knowing that the measure was mine; that he
shall now do no more than is necessary to satisfy his constituents,
but that he must go with the stream. The Methodists, he says,
are organising an opposition throughout London, and all the
metropolitan members must join in it. Showed him in confidence my
minute. He strongly advises its immediate publication."

"_October 2nd._--Matthew and I went early to Mr. Hayter's house
to put him in possession of the information afforded by Mr. ----,
keeping back the name of our informant, and to press for the
publication of the minute. He still thinks lightly of the matter,
but he will speak to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who comes
to town to-day to attend a Cabinet Council to decide, as H. says,
'whether we shall go to war with Russia.'"

We afterwards called together on an old and valued friend in the City,
hoping that we might rely on him, as one frequently taking part in
public affairs, to speak in defence of the measure at the meeting
convened by the Lord Mayor.

"We were surprised to find that even he had adopted the current
notions about the plan, and that, after we had in confidence shown
him the minute, he was by no means cordial in his approval.

"_Same day._--Went to the Treasury. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
thinks it unnecessary to publish the minute. Hayter is confident
the Government will not give way; but I fear that as they do
nothing to stem the tide, they will eventually give way to it.
However, I can do no more."

"_October 3rd._--The Lord Mayor came to the office just before
the hour for the City meeting. He gives much such an account of
things as ----, and says that, if Lord John Russell persists, he
will certainly lose his seat for the City. Gave the Lord Mayor some
information to use at the meeting. He told me that the deputation
of clerks did come to him, and that he reprimanded them for so
doing."

The City meeting was unanimous against the measure; the agitation was
evidently very powerful, and the most absurd and erroneous statements
were abroad. One circumstance, however, gave partial explanation of
the stir. We all know that in the heat of debate, as well as in the
heat of wine, suppressed feelings are apt to come forth; and some of
the speeches at this meeting showed, not very obscurely, a motive to
agitation of which I was not previously aware, and which certainly
assorted but ill with the religious considerations so much dwelt upon.
It appeared that, by the existing arrangements, the London merchant
occasionally got his letters from the East or West Indies or other
distant places on Monday morning, while the Liverpool merchant did
not get his till Monday evening; so that there was an interval of
which, by the aid of the telegraph, the London merchant could take
advantage for his special benefit. By the change contemplated, the two
deliveries would be made at the same time, and the local advantage be
therefore lost. I must not be supposed to attribute this low motive
to the meeting generally, still less to the public at large, though
probably it had its influence on more persons than would have been
willing to acknowledge it even to themselves. As we proceed, too, it
will be manifest that other motives were at work of an order but little
more elevated. Meantime, as Government intended, notwithstanding the
clamour, to go forward with the measure, it was necessary promptly to
secure the means.

"_Same day._--Pressed on Tilley the necessity of ascertaining,
without delay, what volunteers could be obtained from the men;
begging at the same time that no compulsion whatever might be used."

Of course the sole ground of complaint from the clerks and
letter-carriers was the expectation, real or pretended, that Sunday
attendance would be compelled. Such an expedient had never entered
into my mind; for, first, I should have held such compulsion too high
a price to pay for the advantage; and, secondly, I anticipated no
difficulty whatever in obtaining volunteers.

"_Same day._--Received a letter from the Postmaster-General,
expressing an opinion that the steps taken will soon put the public
right. Wrote in reply."

Three days later, being asked by Colonel Maberly if it was my intention
that none but volunteers should be taken, and being urged by Mr.
Bokenham (the head of the department immediately concerned) to allow of
compulsion, with a warning that otherwise men would hardly be procured,
I replied that I would rather give up the measure than compel a single
man to attend. On the morrow I had again support from a very important
quarter:--

"_October 5th._--The _Times_ this morning has an able defence,
founded chiefly on the information supplied in my letter to the
Editor."

But pending the beneficial effect which such articles might gradually
produce upon the middle classes, the state of mind in the class whence
letter-carriers and messengers are drawn remained matter of anxiety. On
the day on which the article appeared there was a straw to show which
way the wind was blowing; and however ludicrous the incident appears
now that the storm is passed, it was not half so funny at the moment.

"The excitement against the measure (or rather against that which
has been falsely stated to be the measure), and I fear against
myself individually, is becoming popular. To-day Sir John Easthope
saw in the street a boy [selling ginger-beer] with a placard round
his hat inscribed 'Anti-Rowland Hill Pop.'"

The following day, however, brought more support from the press:--

"_October 6th._--The _Morning Chronicle_ has an able defence of the
measure, so had the _Globe_ of last night; indeed, the whole of the
daily press, except the _Morning Herald_ (which is rabid) and the
_Standard_, is, I believe, on the right side."

This was immediately followed by support from a quarter of yet more
direct importance:--

"_Same day._--Received a summons to attend the Chancellor of the
Exchequer at half-past twelve. Maberly also was summoned. We were
shown into separate waiting-rooms, and Maberly was called in first.
In about a quarter of an hour I was called in also. Hayter was
present. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Hayter both spoke in
strong terms of the excellence of the measure and the folly of the
opposition.... After some discussion and inquiry, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer wrote a letter to Lord John Russell, containing a
brief statement of the main facts of the case, which he read to us,
at the same time adding that Lord John will decide whether to give
way to the clamour or not."

At the same conference I had to report that as yet only three
volunteers had come forward for the new work; but, again expressing my
strong objection to compulsion, I mentioned a device for simplifying
the sorting by which I was confident the work might be performed by
unpractised hands. Though Colonel Maberly still preferred compulsion,
the Chancellor of the Exchequer authorized an experimental trial of the
plan, which, with the aid of two of my nephews, I made without delay,
and in two days carried so far as to obtain satisfactory results; a
fact, doubtless, not lost on the regular force.

"_October 9th._--In the course of the day went to the Treasury to
report progress. Saw Hayter, who sent in a note to the Chancellor
of the Exchequer (a Cabinet sitting at the time) containing my
report."

"_October 10th._--The Chancellor of the Exchequer sent for me, Lord
John Russell having decided that the minute shall be published
forthwith.... I fear the publication will be too late. A large
deputation waits on Lord John Russell and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer to-morrow, and the Postmaster General is summoned to
town."

"_October 11th._--The minute appears in all the morning papers
except the _Times_."

The time appointed for the actual change being now close at hand,
definite and binding arrangements were indispensable. The duties
were accordingly divided by mutual agreement amongst Mr. Tilley, Mr.
Bokenham, and myself. I was, however, confident of success, as by this
time a large number of volunteers had come forward, so that we had to
make a selection, the men chosen being principally from the secretary's
office. The readiness to volunteer from this division of the service
proceeded, as I had the gratification to learn, from a step taken by
Colonel Maberly, who, calling his clerks together, addressed them in
a speech in which he pointed out that the department was in danger
through unjust attacks, and called upon them to stand forth in its
defence.

"In the evening the Postmaster-General came to the office, having
arrived in town late last night, and met the deputation. Reporters
were present, and reports will, no doubt, appear in the morning
papers. The deputation, the Postmaster-General says, pressed for a
postponement of the measure, pleading that they had scarcely had
time to read the minute; and after they left it was decided to
delay the change for a fortnight.... We discussed the question of
compulsion, towards which I find the Postmaster-General inclined;
but here again I found him uninformed as to the facts of the case.
He was not aware either that the clerks now engaged on Sunday are
volunteers, or that a sufficient number of men for the new duties
had come forward. I entreated him not to resort to compulsion,
telling him that I had authorised others to say that none would be
employed except volunteers, and pointing out that any compulsion
would give the men a real grievance, whereas at present their case
rested entirely on misrepresentation."

"_October 12th._--The best report on the deputation is in the
_Morning Chronicle_, which also contains an able leader in favour
of the measure."

On the morrow I conferred again with the Postmaster-General relative
to the arrangements in question, when he communicated to me, in strict
confidence, that he feared there was a decided leaning towards the
insubordinate men on the part of certain important officials whom he
named.

"We again discussed the question of compulsion, and the
Postmaster-General promised that no compulsion should be resorted
to if the work could be done by volunteers on Bokenham's plan or on
mine."

After recording these transactions, my Journal thus continues:--

"It is impossible to notice all the proceedings of the week, nor
is it necessary. The accounts of meetings to protest against the
measure, and the gross falsehoods which have been promulgated in
order to get up a case, will be found in the _Morning Herald_;
... the real facts appearing in my published minute, and in the
statements of Ministers on receiving the deputation of Wednesday."

It is remarkable that while the only firm stand against compulsion
was made by myself, it was upon me that the blame of this imaginary
compulsion was chiefly laid; against me that the most unscrupulous
asseverations were uttered, and the bitterest reproaches directed. I
had been for a long time earnestly and successfully engaged in reducing
the Sunday labour of the department throughout the United Kingdom.[62]
Hundreds of persons, through measures adopted on my recommendation,
had been released from the greater part of their Sunday duty. I had,
in fact, been strenuously, though quietly, doing the very work of the
Lord's Day Society; and, now, because a further important measure in
the same direction required a small temporary addition to the Sunday
force of the London office alone, this even being so arranged as that
all engaged would be released from duty an hour before the usual time
for the commencement of Divine Service, I was denounced as the chief
enemy of the due observance of the Sunday, and charged with a wicked
intention to compel, whereas, on the contrary, I was doing my very best
to prevent compulsion. These attacks, too, so painful and injurious
to myself, were no less endangering the great measure of relief which
I was striving to carry through. As I have said, the public could not
yet think--it only felt. Under such circumstances I was bound to be
most heedful lest any act or even acquiescence on my part, real or
apparent, might give, or seem to give, ground, however slight, for just
imputation.

Mr. Bokenham had twice applied to me to obtain for him a peremptory
order from the Postmaster-General to carry out the measure; adding
that, if this were done, he felt sure his men would come forward from
good-feeling towards himself. This I had, of course, refused; but it
now occurred to me (October 13th) that, if the order were accompanied
with permission to select volunteers, not only from within the office,
but also, if necessary, from the world at large, Mr. Bokenham's desire
might be safely granted, since it was impossible that, with so wide
a choice, there should be the slightest difficulty in obtaining the
necessary aid. Upon my explaining this proposed course to Mr. Bokenham,
he expressed his desire to have it carried out. I learned from him,
however, much to my chagrin, that he received a verbal order to compel
attendance; but upon my stating to him the Postmaster-General's promise
to the contrary, he said he should apply for further instructions
before taking any steps. I accordingly wrote a minute in which I stated
my unabated confidence in my plan of sorting, and my readiness to
undertake the responsibility of its execution if the Postmaster-General
should so decide. Having shown this to Mr. Tilley, who had been present
throughout the conversation, and who at once vouched for the accuracy
of the statements contained therein, I went straight to Brighton,
obtained without difficulty the requisite powers for Mr. Bokenham, and
the Postmaster-General's approval of the whole minute, he "viewing it
as a very satisfactory mode of reconciling the voluntary principle with
a peremptory order to Bokenham, and expressing himself much indebted to
me for the trouble I had taken."

All now seemed to be satisfactorily arranged for action; but three days
later new doubts arose, the Postmaster-General informing me that Mr.
Bokenham had withdrawn from his engagement to me, and that he himself
had thought it necessary to issue a positive order, upon which he had
no doubt the new duty would be executed, and, as he confidently hoped,
by volunteers. After mentioning that he had overlooked the phrase in my
minute relative to volunteers from without, he advised that, supposing
Mr. Bokenham should express no distrust of his power, I should now
leave the matter in his hands. I could not but feel anxious lest his
lordship's authorisation to Mr. Bokenham should include that compulsion
which I so strongly deprecated. When I got sight of the instructions
referred to in his letter, I found that I was not mistaken. I at once
replied (see Appendix E), informing him how I had become pledged to
the opposite course, declaring myself still ready to undertake the
responsibility of the sorting by volunteers, provided I received the
powers which had been conferred on Mr. Bokenham, and repeating my
earnest desire that the improvement should be abandoned altogether
rather than we should "run the risk of compelling any one to do that to
which he has a conscientious objection."

My anxiety on the subject was not without reason:--

"_October 19th._--The _Morning Herald_ has a leader, letter, and
advertisement, stating that the voluntary plan has been withdrawn
(hitherto this paper has repeatedly denied that the work was to be
voluntary), and that compulsion will be resorted to. The leader, of
course, attributes all this to me.

"The Postmaster-General came to town. He again hesitates; will
immediately consult Lord John Russell. I pressed for an immediate
decision.... The Postmaster-General intimates that when the
excitement is over there must be a searching inquiry, and a change
in the organisation of the office favourable to my interests; but
expectations of the kind have been so frequently raised only to be
disappointed, that such intimations produce little effect on my
mind."

Lord John Russell, in the main, confirmed my view as to the employment
of volunteers exclusively. The Postmaster-General informed me that
he had spoken seriously to Mr. Bokenham, and hoped for good results.
I pointed out to the Postmaster-General that, though his order for
the execution of the plan was peremptory, yet, considering the ample
field given for obtaining volunteers, it could not possibly enjoin
compulsion; with which conclusion he agreed.

Meantime the work of agitation did not relax:--

"_October 22nd._--Inflammatory appeals to the public, representing
us as resorting to compulsion, are placarded, among other places,
on the boards for official notices at some of the churches."

Still, whatever the present pain, I was confident of succeeding in
the end, provided there was no flinching; but it was of the first
importance to have a complete and definite understanding as to the
mode of action. Vacillation must be brought to an end, if possible,
and, fortunately, it was decided the next day that I should undertake
the duty, with authority to raise volunteers in and out of the office.
I consequently began at once to make needful arrangements, when Mr.
Bokenham, informing me that for certain reasons it would be easier for
him to obtain volunteers than he had supposed, expressed a desire to
try again. The next day he undertook in writing to discharge the duty
by the aid of volunteers alone. This offer, with a minute of my own, I
despatched to the Postmaster-General, again at Brighton, who wrote me
word next day that he had approved my minute "with great satisfaction."

"_October 25th._--Called with Matthew on the Hon. [and Rev.]
Grantham Yorke, Rector of St. Philip's, Birmingham, who is come to
town partly to learn the real facts of the Sunday duties question
(he called yesterday at the Post Office, but I was unable to see
him). He takes a very liberal view of the question, and will defend
the measure at a town's meeting, to be held next Tuesday, in
Birmingham."

This promise Mr. Yorke handsomely fulfilled, and not without good
effect, though public feeling was still too strong to allow of
immediate success.

On the same day that I saw Mr. Yorke there were more inflammatory
notices at the churches; but to these no printer's name was attached.
It was no wonder that symptoms of direct insubordination began to
appear in the department. The gas in Mr. Bokenham's office was on one
occasion suddenly put out, and one of the volunteers for the Sunday
duty was hooted. I could not but feel great anxiety as to the issue,
since an open outbreak would have thrown all into confusion; nor can
I deem it even now needless to point out that when any considerable
portion of the public, acting upon an _ex-parte_ statement, and hastily
assuming that that which is not promptly denied must needs be true,
takes upon itself to countenance discontent in an important Government
department, it must, at least, produce in the department itself great
anxiety and the waste of much valuable time, and may expose the
whole country to the risk of most serious inconvenience. Some months
afterwards the Postmaster-General admitted that he was now satisfied
that we should have had a strike in the Inland Office if the men had
had the slightest pretext for it; and that if he had forced any one to
attend on Sundays, which he says ---- pressed him to do, it would, no
doubt, have furnished the pretext.

On the following day I became aware of one source of misconception
among the men, and, through them, among the public. Mr.
Bokenham admitted that, when he communicated to his clerks the
Postmaster-General's positive order for the Sunday transmission, he
withheld the minute that limited the service to volunteers, and thus
raised, and in some degree justified, the cry that compulsion would be
employed.

Meanwhile the trouble thus excited in St. Martin's-le-Grand was
extending to the provincial offices, at one of which the postmaster had
gone so far as to issue, under his own signature, a hand-bill against
the measure.[63] Meanwhile one postmaster, at least, took a very
different course:--

"The postmaster at Plymouth has written to say that in his office
alone thirty men, including letter-carriers, will be relieved. He
describes the measure as one of the most important 'in the annals
of the Post Office.'"

All such support was very important at a time when opposition was so
strong, and, I must add, so unscrupulous:--

"_October 27th._--The Committee of the Lord's Day Society has
issued a copy of my minute of February 3rd, with comments thereon
of a very offensive character. They insinuate doubts as to the
minute having been written in February, and express their belief
that I originally proposed a Sunday delivery.

"_Same day._--Worse placards than ever at the churches. Sent in a
memorandum to Colonel Maberly informing him that at a church in
Gresham Street a placard is exhibited exhorting the men to strike."

The following is the text of this strange exhortation:--

"TO THE CLERKS, SORTERS, CARRIERS, AND OTHER
AGENTS OF THE POST OFFICE.

"FELLOW MEN! especially to ye 'who fear God and work
righteousness,'--

"You ought, you must obey God rather than man!
This is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith.
Trust in the Lord, and do good, and verily ye shall be fed.

"Strike!--Every one of ye to a man. Strike!--Make a passive
resistance to the adversaries of your souls. Strike! and let Mr.
Rowland Hill, and Lords Clanricarde and John Russell, see that
there is One mightier than they whose commands you reverence
supremely.

"Unite if you can, but let no man defer to the timid or
compromising spirit of a fellow-servant.

"Honour and observe the Word of God.

"Unless _you_ stand, the public cannot at this juncture do much
more than they have done.

"Stand ye, and _then_ the entire nation, every one in it whose
voice is habitually raised up to the King of kings, will hold you
up, and _in due time_ will strive for the freedom of every postal
servant throughout the kingdom on the Sabbath day; but _you_ must
be bold in the name of the Lord, in order to engage His mighty
favour and the sympathy of His people universally.

"What an impudent daring is this by creatures of mere circumstance
and pomp.

"God is defied, and the genuine execrating outcry of a Christian
nation is set at naught!

"It is to be hoped that our Queen will be solicited to cast such
men out from her councils and executive; _they_ are the men who
endanger the State; for, most assuredly as there is a God who
taketh vengeance, so will this realm be visited if the sins of it
should be so enormously added unto; and the Lord's people (who are
the saving salt of it) will be constrained to say. 'Even so, Lord,
so let Thine enemies perish.'

"Fellow Christians of every denomination! continue to pray for the
oppressed, they shall have a holy fortitude themselves to cast from
them the bands of the oppressor.

"6, Finsbury Pavement,
"Friday, 26th October, 1849."

As usual, in these exhortations to bold defiance, the printer's name
was cautiously suppressed.

While so much was doing to abuse the public mind, official reserve
prevented my taking the most direct means for its correction:--

"_Same day._--The Postmaster-General objects to my sending the
proposed information to the newspapers; he thinks it will be better
to wait and see what they say, contradicting it if necessary. I
cannot convince him of the practical impossibility of correcting an
erroneous impression when once adopted by the public."

After all that has been described, the reader will not be surprised at
the next passage from my Journal. I must first state, however, that
ere this the time for hesitation was past, the labour of preparation
concluded, and the day of actual trial come:--

"_October 28th.--Sunday._--Very ill--confined to my bed nearly
the whole day. I have no doubt my illness has been caused by the
anxieties of the last month."

Ill though I was, nevertheless I was eagerly desirous of information as
to the success of the first experiment, particularly as to whether the
force engaged had proved, as I expected, ample. I had ascertained the
previous day "that no more carriages, drivers, guards, &c., would be
employed in conveying the bags from and to the stations than heretofore
on a Sunday; the only difference will be that four-wheeled carriages
with two horses will be substituted for two-wheeled carriages with one
horse." Mr. Bokenham wrote up from the office that the work not having
been quite completed by ten o'clock, though twenty minutes more would
have sufficed, he had requested ten of the force to return in the
evening to finish; a necessity arising, however, from the fact that the
number of letters was 18,000 or 20,000 more than usual on the Sunday.
He added, that, "the men were all in excellent humour, and exerted
themselves to their utmost."

On the following day, when, though better, I was unable to leave
home, I looked with anxiety into the morning papers to learn what
would be the complexion of their reports in the absence of that
information which I had been forbidden to supply; and, with concern,
I found my unsatisfactory anticipations confirmed. Even the _Times_,
which had hitherto given us so much support, headed its article with
"_Commencement_ of Sunday labour in the Post Office;" made it appear
that it was intended to make a despatch by the day mails, but that the
attempt failed; represented the attendance as compulsory, and stated
that not less than fifty men were employed in the additional duties,
the actual number being only twenty-five. Handbills, too, were publicly
distributed by letter-carriers, attacking not only me, but also the
Postmaster-General, and even the Government.

Amidst so many difficulties on one side it was natural that those on
the other should be overlooked. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had
written to me saying that he did not see the necessary connection
between Sunday relief in the provinces and the Sunday transmission of
letters through London; intimating, in short, that we might retain the
one and abandon the other. In reply, I informed him that I could not
have ventured to propose the one change without the other, reminded him
that there were two parties to be considered in the matter, referred
for further explanation to my minute of the previous February, repeated
my conviction that by the use of proper means the additional force
at the Chief Office could be altogether dispensed with, reported
satisfactory results thus far, and forwarded, as evidence of relief at
the provincial offices, the letter lately received from the postmaster
of Plymouth.

On the day after writing this letter, being still confined to the
house, I received a note from the Postmaster-General, informing me that
he was much pressed to issue an order for compelling attendance, and
that he wished me to consider the question before he next came to the
office. On going myself to the office on the following day, I learnt
that a larger Sunday force had been applied for by Mr. Bokenham, partly
with a view to completing the work in the morning, and partly to enable
him to work the men on alternate Sundays only. He wished the number to
be raised to forty, which, by alternation, would be in effect five less
than the number I had proposed; yet I hesitated to agree to the change,
knowing how the matter would be misrepresented abroad.

"_November 2nd._--In the evening the Postmaster-General came to
the office, and reported that Lord John Russell concurred in the
importance of avoiding compulsion. The final settlement is deferred
till Monday."

Even the authority of the Premier, however, did not remove all
difficulties, for on my suggesting to Mr. Bokenham that he should offer
a new inducement to volunteers, he again urged that, instead of this, I
should consent to a compulsory attendance in rotation. Upon my refusal,
he asked permission to warn the men that, unless there were sufficient
volunteers, compulsion would be resorted to; offering, as I still
refused, to do this in his own name, without implicating me. Of course
I stood firm to my point.

When the second Sunday had passed much as the first, I again offered,
with a view to avoid further importunity, to undertake the work myself;
but scarcely had I done this when a new difficulty arose, for which,
however, I was not altogether unprepared. An eminent printer, who had
offered me the aid of fifty of his men, deemed it prudent to withdraw,
as he saw reason to believe that if he persisted in his offer it would
lose him some important custom.[64] At the same time I was warned by
anonymous letters (of one of which a copy is given in Appendix F), of
treacherous conduct within the office, and upon my reporting this to
the Postmaster-General, learnt that he had received the same warning
in a letter not anonymous.[65] I had come to him, however, prepared
with a memorandum showing the results for which I was ready to make
myself responsible, and also the conditions which I deemed essential
to success; and, of course, I stood quite prepared to go on. My offer
was the more opportune as Mr. Bokenham, who arrived in the midst of our
conversation, informed the Postmaster-General, when I had withdrawn,
that he could not remain responsible for the new work, even on the
Sunday next ensuing. My offer, therefore, was, with some modification,
accepted. I felt more confident in the charge, because I had devised
a means of reducing the number of bags--the chief difficulty on the
previous Sunday--from six hundred to one hundred, and because I had
learnt from Mr. Tilley that all such volunteers as he had spoken to had
renewed their engagement. He himself was ready to go on, and even Mr.
Bokenham, though shrinking from the chief responsibility, was, like
Mr. Tilley, willing to undertake the share of duty allotted to him
according to our first arrangement.[66] The only remaining doubt was
whether the Premier might not decide upon a complete abandonment of the
plan.

"_November 6th._--Saw the Postmaster-General by appointment at
his own house in the evening. Lord John Russell, whom he met at
the Cabinet Council at Windsor, did not hesitate a moment. The
agreement of yesterday was therefore confirmed."

This was, however, with one modification, viz., that if the office
did not supply the requisite number of volunteers, the deficiency
should be made up from other Government departments. Happily no such
necessity arose, as the number of volunteers from the office itself
who presented themselves on the conditions I had been authorised to
offer, was more than necessary. Seeing this, Mr. Bokenham for the
third time undertook the duty, at first only for the next Sunday, but
within two days for permanence. Accordingly the next Sunday, though
the additional force still did not exceed twenty-five men, the number
of letters, however, being somewhat less than the week before, the
whole work was completed in the morning, so as to release all engaged
in it by ten o'clock for the whole day. In short, the difficulty had
so completely passed away that three days afterwards Mr. Bokenham
came to inquire if I should be likely to make any change in duties
during the next three Sundays, as he wished to leave town; and upon
my doubting the safety of his withdrawal at such a time, gave it as
his opinion that there was no danger. Among the circumstances tending
to this satisfactory result was, doubtless, an authority which I had
obtained from the Postmaster-General to form a permanent corps of
volunteers, principally from other Government offices, who were to
receive a month's pay whether called upon for actual service or not.
The Stamp and Record Offices alone were ready to supply thirty-five
men, or ten more than needful. I could not, however, fully share in Mr.
Bokenham's confidence. Only four days before, inflammatory handbills
had been distributed within the office, one being deposited at each
sorter's place, while a sub-sorter was selling, at a halfpenny per
copy, an abusive song attacking myself; proceedings which, as the
Postmaster-General remarked in calling for investigation, showed that
there must be great neglect in the discipline of the office.

There continued, likewise, a daily issue of placards, which were
exhibited chiefly on the churches and in certain shop-windows, one of
these latter being nearly opposite my room. A few of these placards
were avowedly issued by the Lord's Day Society, but most of them were
anonymous. All had the appearance of being concocted more or less in
the Post Office, and all evinced an utter disregard of truth. I retain
to this day a collection of these mendacious papers, which, though
large, is nevertheless incomplete. The strike among the men urged in
some of them never went further than the refusal, on the part of the
guards, on one occasion, to assist in placing the bags in the carriages
at the Post Office; in consequence of which, even before I knew the
fact, they were all suspended from employment by the Postmaster-General.

However, as the Sunday duty was now permanently off my hands, I had
leisure to direct my attention towards those measures for diminishing
its amount, which formed an integral part of my plan. One of these
was so to arrange the work as to have the greatest practicable amount
of sorting done in the travelling offices on the railways; the
earlier portion ending by five on Sunday morning, and the latter not
beginning till nine on Sunday evening. The pursuit of this object
led to a singular device. One portion of the correspondence passing
through London on the Sunday, viz., that from towns too near to London
to allow of time for sorting on the way, seemed incapable of being
brought within this arrangement; but while I was preparing a minute on
the subject, in which my brother Arthur was assisting me, I suddenly
startled him, so he now reports, by exclaiming: "A light breaks in upon
me." I had just conceived the first notion of the device referred to
above, which, strange as it may seem, really answers its purpose very
well. This was that the _down_ mail-trains on Saturday night should
take up these letters at the different towns on their respective
routes, thus conveying them, in the first instance, in a direction
opposite to their final destination, but subsequently transferring
them to the up-trains for conveyance to town. Thus the down night
train to Liverpool would receive successively the up-mails of St.
Albans and Watford, and on arrival at a more remote town would transfer
them all to the up-train, which would carry them back to London. By
this arrangement the required opportunity for sorting the letters
was obtained. Indirect as is the route, no time whatever is lost to
the public, which to this day, I believe, remains quite unaware that
letters are carried away from London by one night train only to be
brought back by another. Another point for relief was a Sunday morning
delivery in the suburbs of London, employing about four hundred men,
against which, amidst all the hubbub of the time, not a word had been
said.[67] It occurred to me that, as a means of immediately reducing
the work, the district cross posts might be dispensed with on Sundays,
which could be done without inconvenience.

The Postmaster-General was delighted with an arrangement that reduced
Sunday work in the London district, and at once agreed to putting down
the cross posts--a change which released eleven men. He was inclined,
indeed, as a punishment to the agitators, to abolish the Sunday morning
delivery without giving anything in its place; but, upon my advice,
this project was abandoned. Accordingly, carrying out a plan of
relief which I had suggested, as a more general measure, when at the
Treasury,[68] I proposed to substitute a late Saturday night delivery
in the nearer suburbs for that on Sunday morning. By this plan more
than a hundred men would be forthwith released from Sunday duty in
the metropolitan district alone, while further investigation promised
additional benefit. Within a fortnight I was able to submit a minute
recommending the measure in detail; and to this the Postmaster-General
gave his sanction, though he sadly wished to punish the public in the
manner I have mentioned.

Further measures of relief soon followed:--

"_November 30th._--At home finishing a minute on the sorting of
Sunday letters. I have again improved the plan, so as to have most
of the sorting done in the country on Saturday night and Sunday
morning [of course very early, viz., before the passing of the up
mails]. Four or five men working in London on the Sunday will, I
expect, suffice."

"_December 1st._--Smith tells me that he shall be able to include
every place in the six mile circle in the measure of Sunday relief.
Nearly two hundred persons will thus be released from Sunday duty
in the metropolitan district."

On the same day, I wrote a minute pointing out the means for reducing
the number of bags, as already spoken of. On learning from Mr.
Tilley that some reports on this subject were lying in the office, I
sent for them, and found that they were in reply to a minute of the
Postmaster-General, written nearly two months before on information
given by me. These reports represented my plan as quite practicable,
and as saving "nearly half the labour of making-up and despatching the
bags;" but orders had been given that no change should be made; and
the reports had not even been submitted to the Postmaster-General. Of
course I went forward with the improvement, which was carried into
effect about six weeks later.

Meantime, there had appeared, from very different quarters, and on
very different grounds, two able defences of our late proceedings:
one from the late General Peyronnet Thompson, in the form of a series
of letters to the _Sun_ newspaper, and the other from the Rev. Dr.
Vaughan, Head Master of Harrow School. General Thompson, for the most
part, subordinated the question of the day to one of a more general
character, viz., the obligation on Christians to observe the Mosaic
law; but Dr. Vaughan perceived that, as the former question did not
involve the latter, it was better to discuss it separately. His paper
is remarkably forcible and terse. Such support from so high a quarter
at so critical a time was invaluable. I quote his concluding passage:--

"Let these evils [those of Sunday labour] be met on their proper
ground, and at the proper time. Let the good sense and the
religious feeling of the country be appealed to when the danger
really threatens. At present it is as remote as ever. It will not
be brought one step nearer by _this_ measure. But it _may_ be
increased by a premature and unreasonable outcry, to be succeeded,
as usual, by a very natural recoil."

To accelerate the process of Sunday relief, I thought it would be
well to assemble all the surveyors for England and Wales, and to
discuss with them, _viva voce_, questions usually dealt with by
tedious correspondence. The meeting took place in December. The
business occupied several successive days, and the results were highly
satisfactory, the more so as all their recommendations were made
unanimously. In short, the opportunity thus afforded for receiving
information, obtaining opinions, and explaining my own views and
intentions, proved so beneficial to the service, that in important
cases I resorted again and again to similar meetings. I always found
the intercourse both profitable and pleasant. It increased the interest
of the surveyors in the work of improvement, and, by the collision of
many opinions,[69] broke down prejudices and overthrew obstacles. I may
say, once for all, as regards the effect on myself, that, though these
discussions led to no change in principles, they often modified actual
measures. I cannot conclude this brief account of the meeting without
mentioning a singular fact which I learnt in the course of it--a fact
from which much more might be inferred. Amongst the circuitous courses
long maintained for carrying mails forward on the Sunday, without
using the forbidden route through London, it appeared that letters
posted at Kingston-on-Thames on the Saturday night for Barnet were
conveyed by way of Exeter; thus travelling more than four hundred miles
instead of five-and-twenty!

Meanwhile, I thought that the time had arrived for effecting an
additional Sunday relief which I had contemplated from the first. Under
the old arrangement there had always been performed on the Sunday
certain work which properly belonged to the Monday; the reason for this
proceeding being that the amount of duty accumulated on the Monday by
the Sunday suspension of business was, without such relief, more than
could be dealt with. The relief, however, that arose from the Sunday
transit of letters had made it beyond question practicable for Monday
to execute all its own work. That it should be made to do it I had
advised in the very outset, feeling confident that it could do it;
but I had been met not only with the usual declaration that the thing
was impracticable, but with objections so plausible that, for once, I
abated self-confidence, and supposed that the practical officers must
be right. To my great surprise, on now moving in the matter, I found
that, to a considerable extent, the impracticable change had already
been effected, though, unluckily, no corresponding reduction had been
made in the Sunday force. Such a reduction I began, therefore, to urge;
and before the close of the year Mr. Bokenham had reluctantly consented
to reduce his Sunday force by eleven men. He gave, at the same time,
promise of further reduction on the following Sunday, if practicable;
a question soon settled, for the Postmaster-General sanctioned, on
the second day of the next year (January 2, 1850), minutes reducing
the Sunday force in the London Office from twenty-six men, the number
ordinarily employed for many years, to three; ten or eleven, however,
being employed either before five o'clock in the morning or after eight
o'clock at night in the mail carriages.

When, earlier in these proceedings, I wrote to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, telling him that I thought an additional expenditure of £500
a-year would enable me to adopt measures indicated in my minute of the
previous February for bringing the Sunday force within its original
limits, his answer was that, if necessary, I might take £1500.

"_December 28th._--Another minute has been sanctioned, subject to
the approval of the Treasury, which will abolish certain day-mails,
cross-posts, and double despatches, now rendered useless by the
discontinuance of the second delivery on the Sunday at provincial
offices. In addition to this the receipt of inland letters will be
confined to the stamped and unpaid, and, as a general result, the
offices throughout England and Wales will close from 10 a.m. for
the rest of the day, instead of opening again at 5 p.m. as they now
do.... By these means additional rest, averaging from three to five
hours, will be given at the provincial post offices."

My recommendation for transferring the Sunday morning delivery in
the suburbs of London to Saturday night was also carried into effect
this day, and I may add that that which was thus found practicable on
Saturday night was at length acknowledged to be so on all other nights;
and thus was established that late suburban delivery which is still
maintained, much to the convenience of the public.

So ended the year 1849, amidst clouds which, though still dark enough
to remind me of the storm that had been raging for the last three
months, and to warn me that more disturbance might yet come, were at
least beginning to break.[70]

I have already referred to hostility in the office as the chief source
of the great trouble which had befallen the department in general, and
me in particular. If there had not been a mutinous spirit amongst the
men, attacks from without, however annoying, could not have produced
that grievous anxiety which arose from the knowledge of treason within.
This, I may remark, was the third distinct cabal formed with a view to
drive me from office. Like the two former ones, and one more yet to be
mentioned, it was so timed as to take advantage of a temporary weakness
in my position; a weakness caused on this occasion by my having
ventured, in quest of a great good, to encounter popular feeling.

I cannot conclude this portion of my narrative without remarking how
near the great measure of Sunday relief was to being defeated by
public clamour that arose out of the hasty acceptance of mendacious
statements from insubordinate officers. At the City meeting in the
previous October it had been maintained that the temporary addition of
twenty-five men would not only be made permanent, but would soon be
swollen to six hundred. Within four months of this prediction, not only
had the whole addition been dispensed with, but also the original force
of twenty-six men had been reduced to fourteen. Of these, moreover,
four only worked during the day, while of the remainder, who were
employed in the several travelling offices, five ceased work at about
five o'clock on Sunday morning, and the remaining five did not begin
work until about eight o'clock on Sunday night. The main results are
summed up in a Report which I made to the Postmaster-General on the
28th of January, 1850, and which was afterwards printed by order of the
House of Commons.[71] Of this a notice from an impartial quarter will
appear later in this narrative.

In the mean time, Dr. Vaughan, of Harrow, had published a second letter
in defence of our proceedings. It was written in reply to a violent and
unscrupulous attack by a brother clergyman and schoolmaster. This able
paper sums up as follows:--

"I have now discharged, however imperfectly, the task imposed upon
me by circumstances which I must still deplore. Earnestly, most
earnestly, do I desire the thankful and reverent observance of the
Lord's Day, with which I believe our national as well as individual
welfare to be closely, inseparably linked. Deeply do I lament the
condition of those weary and comfortless labourers who are cut
off from the inestimable blessings to be derived from its holy
rest. It is because I believe that many of the provincial officers
of our national Post Office are involved in this calamity, and
that the present measure contemplates, and in part effects, their
emancipation, that I have condemned the blind hostility with which
it has been assailed, and laboured to expose the misrepresentations
by which that hostility has been fostered."[72]

The complainants had now so far extended their demands as in effect to
abandon their former ground, the cry now being for the total abolition
of Sunday postal work of all kinds.[73] The Postmaster-General having
called upon the Secretaries to report on this demand, I presented my
report on the 5th of January, and it was printed, with other documents,
by order of the House of Commons.[74] The following is a summary of its
contents:--

I first recognise the great relief that would be given to the
department by such total suspension, and then proceed to show why I had
not ventured to recommend it. I drew a distinction between collection
and delivery on the one hand, and conveyance on the other, pointing
out that the former could be suspended in any particular place without
materially affecting the convenience of any other place, while the
latter could not be so suspended even on a portion of a single line
of mail without affecting the convenience of every place which that
line served, whether directly or indirectly; so that while the former
suspension might be adopted in detail, according to the wish of each
particular place, supposing this to be really ascertained, the latter
would require a much more general concurrence. I advised that wherever
Sunday delivery by letter-carriers was abolished, the abolition
should extend also to delivery at the window, and I suggested that,
where delivery was retained, individuals might be allowed to protect
themselves against it by giving in a written notice to that effect at
the post office.

In respect of conveyance, I thought it possible that if the demand
became sufficiently general, it might in time become practicable to
suspend those branch posts that served many places, and that with
the concurrence of the public this might be gradually done to a very
great extent; but I saw no hope of such a state of things as would
justify the interruption of the mails on the trunk lines, which were
indispensable alike to the purposes of Government and the convenience
of the public. On this latter point I showed in considerable detail
what an enormous amount of derangement such suspension would produce.
I showed that to suspend all operations of the Post Office for the
twenty-four hours of Sunday must necessarily involve the interruption
of the mails for more than twenty-four hours, and that this would make
it impossible for them to start at midnight on Sunday from the point at
which they stopped at midnight on Saturday. The derangement that would
result would produce inconvenience at place after place throughout
each line, for it would not only alter the hours of delivery, but also
disturb arrangements with the branch mails, cross mails, and rural
posts, throughout the greater part of the kingdom, the whole evil being
doubled by its necessarily applying to mails in both directions. I
showed further, that as the stoppage of the mails would not imply the
stoppage of the mail trains, since passengers would never consent to
such an interruption, there would be no cessation of traffic, while the
relief even to the servants of the Post Office would be but nominal,
since it would be found indispensable to an efficient responsibility
that the bags when at rest, just as when in motion, should remain under
the custody of the guards, who would thus have to continue on duty
throughout the day of rest.

With regard to the amount of public inconvenience which would arise
from the interruption, I showed that, supposing but one letter in a
thousand to contain tidings of pressing importance, there would be,
at the then existing rate of correspondence, nearly a thousand cases
per week in which delay would painfully interfere with the feelings of
relatives and friends, or lead to serious trouble or loss; and that the
necessity so produced would inevitably lead to a revival of contraband
conveyance, detrimental alike to Sunday observance and the interests of
the office.

In conclusion, I pointed out that by the measures then in progress,
combined with others carried into effect during the previous year,
improvements were now in such a state of advancement that in a few
days the Sunday duty throughout England and Wales would be reduced to
probably little more than half its original amount; while this great
benefit would be obtained in such a manner as not only not to impair,
but greatly to promote, the public convenience.

"_January 21st._--The Postmaster-General is highly pleased at my
Report on the proposed total abolition of Sunday duties, which is
to be sent to Lord John Russell for use in debate. I have advised
that its statements, which necessarily run into considerable
detail, should be checked by the practical men."

So far as I remember, however, no error was discovered.

Shortly after this time symptoms of a better understanding on the
part of the public began to appear, more defenders arising in various
quarters, and even those who made extreme demands taking a more
moderate tone. But whatever assurance I might now have as to improved
feeling in the public, an ordeal which I was about to go through still
seemed formidable. I had had the pain to learn that Mr. Wallace, who
had done so much for the public and for myself, had fallen into
pecuniary difficulties, so that his friends in Scotland were raising a
subscription for his benefit. A public meeting had been resolved upon,
and I was earnestly requested to attend, which I promised to do, though
with considerable misgiving as to the sort of reception I was likely
to meet with. My doubts were nowise removed by a letter received from
my uncle, Provost Lea, of Haddington, who, having been apprised of my
expected visit by the Scotch newspapers, wrote in the most earnest
terms to deprecate the attempt, warning me that the feeling against
me northward of the Tweed was so strong that he feared I should be
literally torn to pieces by the mob. Though I made great allowance for
the apprehensions of an affectionate relative and kind-hearted old man,
I certainly thought it very likely that hisses and groans might be
more abundant than applause. Be this as it might, the journey, being a
matter of duty, had to be taken, and on March 6th I went to Glasgow.

On the following morning, before proceeding to Greenock, I paid a visit
to the large ship-yard of Messrs. Napier, employing several hundred
men. When I was about to leave, the foreman of a gang of workmen
busily employed in constructing a large iron vessel came forward and
demanded in a loud voice, "Three cheers for Rowland Hill;" a call
responded to by what seemed to my gratified ears a unanimous shout.
Thus encouraged, I went to Greenock. The meeting was held in a large
church, the chairman occupying the pulpit; a usual arrangement, as I
was assured, in Scotland. On rising to speak I was received, so said
the newspapers, "with enthusiastic applause;" the same being repeated
when I sat down.[75] Of what I said I will merely remark that justice,
gratitude, and sympathy for my suffering friend, combined to draw from
me my best efforts. On the following day, after inspecting the post
office both at Greenock and Glasgow, I set out on my return, very
agreeably disappointed in the expectations with which I had gone forth.
I must not close this account without mentioning that the result of the
subscription was the purchase of an annuity of £500 for Mr. Wallace's
life.

On the 19th of the month the question of the total abolition of Sunday
duty was shortly discussed in the House of Lords; Lords Malmesbury,
Clanricarde, and Brougham speaking against the measure, while the
Bishop of Oxford and Lord Harrowby spoke cautiously in its favour. On
the same day my friend Mr. Matthew Forster, at my request, moved in the
Commons for the several reports on the question of Sunday duty. To this
motion the Government at once acceded. I cannot mention Mr. Forster
without adding that the friendliness which he had shown me from my
first acquaintance with him continued with steady increase to the end
of his life; that, in short, I stand indebted to him and to his family
for much kindness and much valuable aid.

Two days later, the Postmaster-General having offered to a deputation
from Edinburgh a Parliamentary Committee on the subject, this proposal
(at the recommendation of the Secretary to the Lord's Day Society) was
declined; a conclusive proof of conscious weakness.

"_April 10th._--This morning's _Herald_ contains an account of a
meeting at Exeter Hall to petition for total abolition. Few men
of weight appear to have been present, and the whole proceedings
were in a subdued tone. One of the speakers, in describing what I
have done, spoke of it as a step in the right direction. Their
resolutions, of course, contain various misrepresentations."

It was evident that the agitation was rapidly subsiding, and two days
later I was able to administer an additional sedative; my report of
January 28th, showing the progress made in Sunday relief, being at
length printed, I sent out five hundred copies in various directions,
feeling sure that the statements therein contained, however unavailing
to such as resolutely kept their eyes shut, would have no small effect
upon the more candid.

A week later I record progress:--

"_April 20th._--The returns are producing their effect. I have
received numerous letters congratulating me on the result."

I also began to conjecture as to the probability of formal
retractation by those, so many in number, who had assailed and
misrepresented our measures in tirades, whether from the press,
pulpit, at public meetings, or otherwise. My recorded summary is
"I don't expect it." Up to that time, so far as I am aware, there
had been but two retractations. Lord Ashley, in a private letter to
the Postmaster-General, had declared that the country was under the
greatest obligations to him for the Sunday relief already afforded.
Of the journals that had attacked me one had frankly acknowledged
its error. Though, doubtless, many instances of such reparation may
have occurred unknown to me, it is remarkable that neither record nor
memory supplies me with a third instance either then or afterwards.
The one paper thus honourably distinguished is the _Leeds Mercury_,
which had been throughout a staunch supporter of postal reform, but had
too hastily yielded credence to bold and plausible allegations. The
_Times_, which, though it was sometimes mistaken in matters of detail,
had, on the whole, given highly valuable support during the late trial,
published on April 25th the following admirable exposition and defence
of the whole proceeding:--

"Historians and essayists delight in flattering the self-opinion of
their contemporaries by extraordinary anecdotes of popular delusion
in less enlightened times. A kind of indefinite satisfaction
appears to be derived from contrasting the inferiority of previous
generations. The confidence with which for many years together
5,000,000 English Protestants believed themselves in bodily peril
from 100,000 Catholics is a favourite instance of the kind.
The 'loss of our eleven days' is another; when, upon a simple
correction of the calendar, grave divines actually lectured from
the pulpit on the blasphemous wickedness of interfering with the
course of time, and denounced the profanity which brought every
sinner in the kingdom nearly a fortnight closer to his end. Mr.
Macaulay, too, informs us that the post when first established was
the object of violent invective, as a manifest contrivance of the
Pope to enslave the souls of Englishmen; and most books of history
or anecdote will supply stories equally notable. But we really
very much doubt whether any tale of ancient times can match the
exhibition of credulity which occurred in our own country, and
under our own eyes, within these last twelve months.

"We need not enter upon any narrative. Every reader's recollection
will carry him back to last Christmas, when, from one end of the
kingdom to the other, there was a loud and steady outcry against
a projected 'desecration of the Sabbath.' Mr. Rowland Hill was
introducing 'Sunday labour' into this decorous and religious
country. He had succeeded in inserting 'the small end of the
wedge.' He had asked for twenty-five additional clerks on Sunday,
and a few months would see this pressed labour indefinitely
multiplied, and all ideas of Sabbath observance contemptuously
forsworn. Such was the belief even amongst intelligent people.
Meetings were held in all great towns to record a protest against
the iniquity; and, when the resistance proved unsuccessful, it was
plainly asserted that the national character was for ever gone. As
for the promoter of the measure, he was a forsaken reprobate, who
looked only to the acceleration of day-mails, without the smallest
heed to the fourth commandment. We have before us at this moment a
sheet of letter-paper, headed by an engraving of 'Rowland Hill's
new Chapel, St. Martin's-le-Grand, under which title is depicted
the General Post Office on a Sunday morning, with all the symbols
of unholy industry and bustle. However, the measure in question
was carried out, and we will now--from the official returns on
the subject--inform the reader in plain unadorned language how it
originated, what it contemplated, and what it has actually brought
to pass.

"More than two years ago the attention of the Post Office
authorities was directed towards the means of _abridging Sunday
labour_ in the various offices, and inquiries were instituted
with this object. While they were in progress, Mr. Hill succeeded
to the secretaryship of a certain department, which brought the
subject under his immediate care, and he promoted with all his
efforts the advancement of the great end in view. Opinions were
not altogether concurrent on the matter, but a step was at length
taken, and on Sunday, the 6th of February, 1848, the post office
at Bath was closed for money-order business on that day. The
experiment succeeded, and on the 13th of August in the same year
the regulation was extended to Leeds, and, six weeks later to
Birmingham--still without inconvenience or complaint. Fortified by
these results, the authorities conceived themselves competent to
push still further their great object of _abridging Sunday labour_,
and the arrangements above mentioned were, at the commencement of
last year, extended to all offices in England and Wales, so that
four hundred and fifty offices were _relieved of a material portion
of their Sunday duties_ in a single day. Three months more saw the
same indulgence conceded to Ireland and Scotland, by which two
hundred and thirty-four additional offices experienced the same
relief.

"Pending these trials and successes, Mr. Rowland Hill conceived a
plan for _abridging Sunday labour_ still more considerably, and,
indeed, to a great extent, abolishing it altogether. The duties
hitherto suspended had been those of the Money Order Department
alone; but a scheme was now entertained of greatly limiting Sunday
deliveries, and of absolutely closing the offices between the hours
of ten and five; or, in other words, from the commencement of the
morning service in churches till the close of the afternoon. With
this proposed limitation of deliveries was combined a regulation,
long known to be desirable, for the transmission of a certain
class of letters _through London_ on a Sunday, which would, it
was thought, by giving very considerable accommodation at a small
cost of labour, tend to reconcile the public to the cessation
of those Sunday deliveries which were now to be stopped. It was
this proposal which caused the outcry. Mr. Hill asked but for the
temporary service of twenty-five clerks as a present means of
relieving twenty times that number; and he showed his reasons for
anticipating that no measure could ultimately be more effective in
_abridging Sunday labour_ altogether than that now proposed. All
this was in vain. He was, as our readers know, decried, denounced,
and stigmatized as a Sabbath-breaker and apostate; although his
very proposition was actually one of a well-considered series for
diminishing Sunday labour throughout the kingdom.

"Now, let the results be marked, for certainly never was popular
delusion more conspicuously displayed. To begin with the particular
incident complained of:--Mr. Hill had always stated that the
necessity for the extra labour would be brief, whereas his
assailants declared that the expedient would inevitably tend to
nationalize Sabbath-breaking and demoralize the whole State. On
Sunday, the 28th of October, the additional force of twenty-five
men was first employed; on the 6th of January following it was
reduced to thirteen; on the 13th of the same month to three; and
on the very next Sunday it was dispensed with altogether, having
effected its objects within the space of three months. So much for
the 'evil' done. Now let us see what good was brought by it.

"By the device and execution of these measures five hundred and
seventy-six provincial post offices have experienced a total
positive relief of about seven and a quarter hours each Sunday, and
upwards of four thousand dependent offices have received a similar
relief of about seven hours. Estimated in relation to individuals,
the effect of the measures _has been to give to five thousand
eight hundred and twenty-nine persons an average Sunday relief of
five and three-quarter hours each_; that is to say, nearly six
thousand people have been relieved from nearly six hours work
every Sunday by the operation of a scheme which was denounced as
a deliberate encouragement to Sabbath-breaking and profanity. Nor
have the results ended here, for, as if to complete the exposure,
the new arrangements have actually led to a discontinuance even
of that existing labour which they were described as augmenting
in perpetuity. The Sunday force regularly employed in the Post
Office _before_ the famous provisions of Mr. Rowland Hill's scheme
amounted to twenty-seven men. On the first day of operations under
the new system this, to the scandal and horror of the public, was
increased to fifty-two. To be sure some four thousand or five
thousand were relieved in other quarters by the same regulation;
but this little compensation was altogether overlooked in the great
iniquity. But what followed? Not only was this additional force
dispensed with _in toto_ before three months had passed, but its
labours had even contributed to lighten the lot of those who still
remained. So well did the new arrangements act, that the work of
the _original_ force began gradually and steadily to diminish, and
we are now officially told that 'the whole Sunday force ordinarily
employed in the London office will be reduced to five or six men,
which, even with the addition of the ten clerks employed in the
mail trains (and their duties will intrench but little on the
observances of the Sunday), _will make a total force of little more
than half that employed before the 28th of October last_.' So that
the very expedient which, notwithstanding its beneficial effects
elsewhere, was obstinately condemned on the simple ground of its
augmenting Sunday labour in a particular office, has actually
resulted, not only in completely effecting all its proposed ends,
but in diminishing by nearly one-half the identical labour which it
appeared for a moment to augment.

"We think the reader will admit that, upon the whole, the
outcry by which such a measure as this was represented as a
profane and godless scheme for abolishing the observance of the
Sabbath, has no equal in history for prodigious and incredible
absurdity. Even vaccination, we believe, was never described as
a device for actually perpetuating small-pox, whereas the most
judicious and effective step in a series of measures expressly
designed to abridge Sunday labour has been thus, in the middle
of the nineteenth century, represented, taken, and accepted
as a deliberate stratagem for destroying the holiness of the
Sabbath-day. That the spirit which facilitated the delusion was, in
itself, honourable to the country, we freely admit, but that the
common sense of Englishmen should be so strangely misled is a fact
not very creditable to the national intelligence, or satisfactory
to the national pride."

Good effects also were soon manifest in another quarter of great
importance:--

"_April 30th._--Last night Mr. Hayter, in reply to a question from
Mr. Fagan as to when the Sunday arrangements would be extended to
Ireland, spoke of them as having given universal satisfaction; an
expression which appears to have been well received in the House."

In one quarter alone the former wrong was steadily persisted in:--

"_May 9th._--The Lord's Day Society has issued a manifesto in reply
to our reports and minutes. It is more offensive and unprincipled
than even their former publications."

Meantime, as it was necessary, according to long-established practice,
to allow some latitude in respect of the force to be summoned on the
arrival of an extraordinary mail, I experienced no little difficulty
in keeping this liberty within reasonable limits. Thus, though I
found that one man was sufficient for dealing with four thousand ship
letters, five men had been called in (on Sunday May 12th) to deal with
seventeen hundred. I was consequently obliged to require from Mr.
Bokenham a report advising a definite rule for preventing such excess;
and this being obtained, matters thenceforth went on more smoothly.
In short, the measures for Sunday relief being in the course of this
month extended to Scotland and Ireland, I regarded the arrangement as
complete.

This agreeable impression, however, was soon afterwards disturbed by
Lord Ashley's giving notice of a motion for an address to Her Majesty,
praying for measures to be taken to stop the collection and delivery
of letters and the transmission of mails on the "Lord's Day;" in other
words, for the total abolition of Sunday duty.

"_May 23rd._--The Lord's Day Society has issued a circular,
urging members to support Lord Ashley's motion. It stands for
the 30th instant. It professes to give a history of the demand
for total abolition, and of the relief afforded, and, of course,
misrepresents facts."

I could not but think that the Society, in its zeal for enforcing
upon others a strict observance of the fourth commandment, too often
deferred to a more convenient season its own observance of the ninth.
Being called upon by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to supply such
information as would be needful for meeting Lord Ashley's motion,
I drew up a memorandum, which, after mentioning further measures
increasing the number of persons relieved to about eight thousand,
concludes as follows:--

"In reference to the question of total abolition of Sunday duty it
should be remarked--

"First, that its advocates wholly overlook the interests of the
poor. To be obliged to resort, as has been proposed in case of
need, to the electric telegraph, or to a shilling postage, would be
a severe tax upon the poor man; and,

"Secondly, that the Government, having a monopoly of the delivery
of letters, cannot refuse to deliver them except in places where
the demand is practically unanimous. Numerous small places (about
four hundred probably) have preferred such a request, and it has
been complied with. Several, however, finding the non-delivery
inconvenient, have requested that the delivery may be resumed; and
it has been resumed accordingly."

While the above was in preparation I received a letter from Lord
Ashley, urging me to hold out expectations that Government would make
further reductions in the Sunday duty, admitting that we "had already
done a great deal," and, oddly enough, inferring therefrom that we
could do much more. Not agreeing in this conclusion, I was obliged to
decline giving the pledge required.

On the following day, viz., that fixed for the motion, I had my first
interview with the Premier, waiting upon him by his desire. After a
time the Chancellor of the Exchequer came in; both agreed that the
motion must be resisted, but I left them in fear that they were not
sufficiently prepared for the encounter; I was desired to be under the
gallery of the House of Commons. The following entry in my Journal
records what occurred:--

"_May 30th._--At five o'clock went to the House of Commons...
owing partly to Lord Ashley having omitted the most objectionable
part of his motion (the stoppage of the mails), and still more, I
fear, to the cowardice of the members, ... the motion was carried,
by ninety-three to sixty-eight."

"_May 31st._--Called on the Postmaster-General [then recovering
from a dangerous illness] to report last night's proceedings. The
_Times_, which gives the best account of the debate, has also an
excellent leader."

In consequence of this resolution of the House, I was summoned by the
Postmaster-General and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who wished
to consult me as to the course to be taken. While thinking it better
to give way in the main, they seemed inclined to take an exception
in favour of "delivery at the window;" but against this exception I
strongly protested, our experience in Scotland having shown that it
would involve more labour, to say nothing of unseemly crowding, than
delivery in the ordinary manner. "I suggested that, as the motion
proposes the appointment of a Commission to inquire into the stoppage
of the mails, the Commission should also inquire into the stoppage of
the deliveries and collections. Nothing was decided, as the Chancellor
of the Exchequer has to consult Lord John Russell."

"_June 6th._--While at the Treasury, ---- came in. On my laughing
at him for his vote on the Sunday question, he admitted that
he was ashamed of it, adding that he did not expect to be in a
majority. I believe that many of the votes were given under similar
expectations."[76]

"_June 7th._--Mr. Forster [M.P. for Berwick] called to consult me
as to his endeavouring to re-open the Sunday question. I advised
him to do nothing without previously consulting the Chancellor of
the Exchequer."

"_June 8th._--Lord John Russell, in reply to Mr. Forster, stated
that he would not support any motion for the reversal of the
resolution of the House on the subject of Sunday duties."

I scarcely need say that I heartily concurred in his lordship's
decision. If the public really desired, at the sacrifice of its own
convenience, to confer so great a boon on the Post Office as that
implied by the terms of the resolution, it would have been very
ungracious in Government to intercept the concession. If otherwise, it
was but just that the responsibility of error should rest on the House
of Commons, which had interfered in the matter. Accordingly, when, a
few days later, Mr. Forster wrote to ask for assistance with reference
to a bill which he proposed to introduce to legalize the conveyance
of letters on Sunday by private hand--a measure, of the abstract
justice of which no one can doubt--I thought it better to decline
taking any part in opposition to the decision of the House. Mr. Forster
persevered, but his motion was negatived without a division.

As Her Majesty,[77] following of course the advice of her Ministers,
formally announced to the House that its wishes would be complied with,
notice was forthwith issued from the Chief Office, totally forbidding
delivery, and notifying that, though letters might be deposited in the
receiving boxes as usual, they would remain "unsorted and untouched
until the Monday." It was added, that postmasters contravening these
orders would be "most severely punished."

It is remarkable that whereas the late hubbub had been all raised
against the Sunday transmission of letters through London, Lord
Ashley's motion _contained no reference whatever to this innovation_;
and though in the public notice just mentioned it was distinctly
announced that such transmission would be continued, the announcement
produced no revival of the outcry, and the innovation gradually came to
be regarded as part of the natural course of proceeding.

It did not fare so well with the innovation adopted at the request of
the House of Commons:--

"_June 21st._--Last night there was a further discussion in the
House of Commons as to the Sunday duties, on an attempt by Mr.
Locke to get a window delivery. It is evident that the reaction has
commenced."

"_June 22nd._--Last night Lord Brougham raised the question as to
the legality of stopping the Post Office business on the Sunday;
and many of the daily and weekly papers of this morning are loud in
their condemnation of the measure."

Public inconvenience was, of course, to be estimated in some degree by
the effect of the change on the amount of correspondence; the change,
it should be observed, first took effect on Sunday, June 23rd:--

"_June 25th._--[_Tuesday._]--The stoppage of business on the Sunday
reduced yesterday morning's arrival in London by about 80,000
letters, increasing the mid-day arrival by about 18,000, and this
morning's by about 16,000--causing, therefore, a diminution of
about 47,000 letters in London alone."

Mr. Locke's motion, which came on on July 9th,[78] was set aside in
favour of an amendment moved by Lord John Russell, and carried by a
large majority, praying Her Majesty to cause an inquiry to be made
whether the amount of Sunday labour in the Post Office might not
be reduced without completely putting an end to the collection and
delivery of letters, &c., on Sundays.[79]

The Commission appointed to give effect to this amendment consisted of
the Postmaster-General, Mr. Labouchere (afterwards Lord Taunton), and
Mr. (afterwards Sir) Cornewall Lewis. Their recommendation, promptly
arrived at, but expressed after much deliberation, was, in fact, though
not in form, that the office should revert to the arrangements which
existed previously to the resolution of the House, carried on the
motion of Lord Ashley.[80] I endeavoured, though in vain, to obtain
a more distinct avowal as to the real purport of the advice, feeling
convinced that the juster and bolder course was also the more politic.
This opinion was soon confirmed by the manner in which the Report was
received by the public press, all the daily papers agreeing in its true
interpretation, and the _Morning Herald_ attacking the Commissioners
for the indirectness of their proceeding. A fortnight later, however,
viz., on September 1st, the recommendation was carried into effect,[81]
and though a modification as regards the rural messengers, which
had been recommended by the Commission, was, on the advice of the
surveyors, adopted by the Postmaster-General, even this change excited
so much public dissatisfaction as to produce its partial abandonment.

Thus the whole question of Sunday duties was finally settled, after
having kept the department, and particularly myself, in grievous
trouble and anxiety for more than sixteen months. During the whole
of this period the improvements in the general management of the
department--which it was my duty and earnest desire to introduce--were
to a great extent necessarily delayed. Moreover, a spirit of
insubordination was excited, which, being unfortunately backed both in
and out of Parliament, gave much trouble later on.

CHAPTER XIX.

PARTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION.

If I had been painfully sensible of the evils attending my anomalous
position even before the commencement of the Sunday observance
agitation, the suffering I had gone through during its progress, and
my fear of its recurrence in some other form, impelled me, as soon as
I began to breathe a little freely, to new efforts for relief. Before
the end of 1849 I had again addressed the Postmaster-General, briefly
referring to past correspondence, and showing how my fears had been
confirmed by recent events; how I had been singled out for attack, even
in respect of measures which I had earnestly and successfully opposed;
and how entirely it was out of my power, in the present state of the
office, to render those extended services which were expected of me at
the time of my appointment. Past experience, however, gave me but very
moderate hope of success; and this was fortunate, for, three months
after the delivery of my letter, I learnt, upon inquiry, that all was
in _statu quo_--nothing to be done till some vacancy should occur.

Here then was more disappointment; a continuance of my troubles; the
maintenance of a position subjecting me to constant demands, but
denying me the promised means of satisfying them. Much as I owed to
certain members of the existing administration, and particularly to
my immediate official superior, I have never been able to account
satisfactorily for the constant adjournment of my claims. I had
returned to office, at much personal sacrifice, under a virtual
promise, contingent only on my demonstrating certain powers: and
yet, though neither promise nor demonstration was ever denied or
even questioned, fulfilment was withheld; a second contingency being
introduced, of which I had never dreamed, and which I should have
regarded as an insuperable objection to re-entering the service.

Owing partly to this rebuff, and partly to the demands on my attention
arising out of Lord Ashley's motion for the total abolition of Sunday
work, I took no further active measure towards the improvement of my
position for several months. Perhaps I might have been willing to wait
yet longer, but for two causes; first, that my health, owing to recent
labour, anxiety, and mortification, was now suffering more grievously
than ever before; and, second, that services continued to be demanded
of me which, on my actual footing, I was quite unable to perform. The
failure of my health constrained me during this year, in spite of
every effort, and though I was paying no inconsiderable sum yearly
out of my own pocket for extraneous help,[82] to take frequent rest
sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for a week, and once for more
than a month. My complaint was a tendency of blood to the head. It has
always been my opinion that at this time were sown the seeds of the
disorder which, subsequently aggravated by other painful circumstances,
later on compelled me finally to withdraw from duty at a period when
otherwise there would have remained to me, to the best of my belief,
several years of useful service. Indeed I should have been forced to
retire much earlier had it not been for the subsequent appointment of
my brother Frederic as assistant-secretary.

Being, however, again pressed repeatedly to undertake duties beyond
my power, I at length resolved to make another effort to obtain what
I knew to be the only change that could give me a fair chance of
retaining my health, and at the same time of successfully performing
the important duties for which I was responsible, or even of completing
the reforms which I had held up to public expectation fourteen years
before. Again, therefore, I sought the aid of my ever-zealous friend,
Mr. Warburton; zealous, indeed, he must have been, or long ere this he
would have been tired of my claims, and even of the public interest on
which they were based.

In a letter which I wrote to him (Appendix G), I pointed out that
four years had elapsed since the promise of speedy promotion was
made, and two years since I first claimed its performance; and that
though no objection was raised to the justice of my claim, no steps
had been taken towards its practical acknowledgment. I showed the
utter insufficiency of my present staff for the enormous amount of
work now devolving upon me, and the impracticability of giving me an
adequate force without either making me Chief Secretary or incurring an
unwarrantable expense of several thousands a year. I referred to the
injury done to my health by excessive labour, and the impossibility,
under present circumstances, of my obtaining due rest. I referred to
improvements effected, particularly the reform of the Money Order
Department, to savings actually made, and to others in prospect.
Lastly, I begged that if Government were still of opinion that it
could not immediately fulfil its promise, a period might now be fixed
beyond which the complete performance of the promise should not be
delayed, and that arrangements should be at once made for the nearest
approximation to such performance that might be deemed practicable.

Mr. Warburton, with his usual kind alacrity, promised to see the
Chancellor of the Exchequer without delay, and to let me know the
result. This interview was unsatisfactory; for though the Chancellor
of the Exchequer admitted my claim, spoke highly of me, and said I
was in reality the Chief Secretary, he promised no more than that I
should succeed to the post if there occurred a vacancy at once suitable
and acceptable to Colonel Maberly; though, upon Mr. Warburton's
pressing further, he expressed readiness to give me more assistance,
or to exercise his patronage in favour of any member of my family,
and promised to see me on the subject generally. Upon my showing the
Postmaster-General a copy of my letter to Mr. Warburton, and reporting
all that had passed, he admitted that Government was afraid of being
attacked by the economists for extravagance, if they allowed Colonel
Maberly to retire on full salary. Nevertheless, he cordially approved
of what had been done, and volunteered to speak to the Chancellor of
the Exchequer himself, and to back all that Mr. Warburton had urged.
Two days later he reported progress, informing me that the Chancellor
of the Exchequer wished to see him and me together, but adding that
he had objected to this for himself, partly because he was going
immediately to Ireland. He advised, however, against any attempt to
establish a coequal secretariat, but said there would be no difficulty
about raising my salary, and spoke of my having six month's holiday
before taking Colonel Maberly's place, and of appointing a second
assistant-secretary to relieve me of routine duty. In short, he showed
clearly that he was desirous of the change.

I accordingly wrote next day to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
inquiring when I should wait upon him, and enclosing a copy of the
whole correspondence on the subject of my position, commencing with
my letter to Mr. Hawes of November 3rd, 1846, and ending with that to
Mr. Warburton of November 15th, 1850. I then called on Mr. Warburton
to report progress. He was in high spirits, and now thought we should
succeed.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that, as he was going into the
country, he must postpone seeing me till after his return; but that he
would take the correspondence with him and read it meantime. On the
same day (December 19th) I received a letter from my brother Frederic,
who had gone at my request to Manchester to see Mr. Cobden relative
to any opposition that might be looked for from the economists. He
informed me that he had been received in the most friendly manner, that
Mr. Cobden, on his return to town, would talk over the matter with Mr.
Hume, Mr. Villiers, and others, with a view to their acting together,
and that meantime he authorized him (my brother) to say that he would
back me in everything that I might think necessary for carrying out my
plans, including the retirement of Colonel Maberly on full pay. On my
brother's return, I learnt that, though Mr. Cobden engaged to defend
Government in the House if attacked for allowing Colonel Maberly to
retire on full salary, he objected to give in writing a guarantee to
be shown to the Postmaster-General, unless Mr. Hume would move in the
same direction. At all events he advised that Mr. Hume should at once
be applied to,[83] and thought Mr. Warburton the best man to make this
application. Mr. Warburton preferred to do this by letter, and in the
end decided on merely suggesting to Mr. Hume that he should see me on
the subject.

When I saw Mr. Hume, he expressed concurrence with Mr. Cobden, and
undertook to write to him on the subject, but wished to consult other
members before signing any paper to be used by Government. He was
exceedingly earnest in the matter, and reminded me of a speech he made
in 1846, urging on the Whig Government, just then come into power, the
necessity for placing me in the Post Office.

Meanwhile I prepared for use in my expected interview with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer a statement of improvements effected in
the previous two years; a step the more needful, as it might well have
been supposed, seeing how much my attention was occupied during the
main part of this time with the agitation respecting Sunday observance
and with attempts to rectify my own position, that the course of
improvement had been entirely suspended. Serious as was the check from
these causes, and particularly from the former, which had involved
me in a sort of life and death struggle, there was quite enough to
show that time had not been allowed to pass unprofitably; and I may
add that, even when my personal attention was most largely withdrawn,
inquiries and preparations which I had set on foot were constantly
paving the way for the improvements then in hand. On the Chancellor of
the Exchequer's return to town after the absence of nearly a month, I
again applied for an interview, but again met with postponement; and
it was not until a fortnight later that the desired opportunity was
obtained. I looked upon these delays as very unpromising.

Meantime efforts were renewed in another quarter; the
Postmaster-General himself speaking to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
who explained the delay which had occurred, and promised to see me in
a day or two. Lord Clanricarde informed me that a vacancy was expected
in the chairmanship of the Audit Office, to which it was intended
that Colonel Maberly should be appointed. This would have been most
satisfactory could I have relied on prompt action; but as I was not to
allow my knowledge of such expectation to appear even in my conference
with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and as meantime objections on
unsatisfactory grounds were raised against my being at once placed on
full equality with Colonel Maberly, I could feel no confidence in the
result.

After sleeping on the matter I decided that the Chancellor of
the Exchequer must be pressed. A case had just occurred in which
importunity had induced him to yield to claims which I regarded as
at best but illfounded, and I thought that the same expedient might
work as well where the claim was undeniable. I accordingly wrote as
follows:--

"General Post Office, 29th January, 1851.

"DEAR SIR,--It is so very important that my case should be decided
without further delay, that I must beg to be excused for proposing
that, if possible, the interview you were so good as to promise me
may not be any longer deferred.

"Yours faithfully,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, &c. &c."

An immediate reply summoned me for the next day.

"_January 30th._--Went to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's with
documents to sustain my case as set forth in the correspondence.
Asked if he had read the correspondence. He replied he had read
the greater part.... Urged that I had fulfilled the only condition
on which my position depended, and claimed the fulfilment of his
part of the compact. He at once admitted my claim, qualifying the
promise, however, to mean that I am to succeed Maberly on the
occurrence of a vacancy. This is not what was understood at the
time, as I told him. He says that as soon as any office in his
gift suitable for Maberly becomes vacant, M. shall be removed to
it (he did not say that he had any immediate expectations of a
vacancy) but that I must wait patiently, &c.; that he should not
be justified in pensioning M. at his time of life, as this would
violate a rule which, though it acts disadvantageously in some
cases, is on the whole beneficial. On my admitting that there was
truth in this view of the subject, but pressing that all this
should have been considered before the promise was given, and
that it was unfair to induce me to accept office by holding out
expectations unless Government saw their way to their fulfilment
in a reasonable time, he said, standing up and leaning his back
against the wall, as he is accustomed to do, 'We may talk in this
way till we are both black in the face, but it's of no use. I can't
do it yet.' He then said earnestly and cordially that I had fully
realised the expectations of my most sanguine friends, and that
he would do all in his power to show his sense of my services.
He would immediately raise my salary to £1,500 a-year, and 'give
me any amount of assistance I might require.' On my remarking
jocularly that he was scarcely aware of the extent of this promise;
that I wanted such a staff as M.'s, at a cost probably of £10,000
a-year; he replied that he 'would give any reasonable amount of
assistance.'...

"In conclusion, I thanked him especially for his hearty recognition
of my services, but added that I felt it my duty to state, 'in
the plainest language I could use,' that I must consider what
he proposed as only an instalment on my claim, ... and that many
important improvements must be deferred so long as the direct
authority of Secretary to the Post Office is withheld from me."

"Saw Warburton and reported to him the result, which he considers
satisfactory."

"_January 31st._--Received the following from Hume:--

"'Burnley Hall, 30th January, 1851.

"'MY DEAR SIR,--I have had a letter from Mr. Cobden on the subject
I wrote to him about, and on my arrival in London, on the 3rd of
February, I shall have the pleasure of writing to you or seeing
you, after I have had some conversation with Mr. Cobden, and some
other persons.

"'I think your object may be attained, which will give satisfaction
to yours sincerely,

"'JOSEPH HUME.

"'ROWLAND HILL, Esq., General Post Office.'"

"_February 1st._--Moffatt called. Told him in confidence much that
had occurred. He will join Hume and Cobden in doing what I want."

"_February 3rd._--Called on Cobden, who is just returned to town.
Told him in confidence the greater part of what passed between
the Chancellor of the Exchequer and myself. He will see Hume in
the morning, and will try to get him to settle matters without
consulting any one else.... In the course of conversation I said I
feared that the Sunday agitation had injured my influence with the
public, but Cobden replied that it was no such thing; that I was
'the most popular man in the world.'"

In reference to my conversation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer
I spoke to the Postmaster-General on the subject of assistance. I
proposed that I should have as assistant-secretary some one in whom I
had entire confidence, and who would be able to take my place in case
of my absence, and I pointed out that for such duty a knowledge of
Post Office details was unnecessary. His lordship expressed general
concurrence, but said that he must speak on the subject with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. My wish was to obtain the appointment of
my brother Frederic, but I forbore at the time to mention his name, as
the Postmaster-General was in haste to reach the House of Lords.

To justify my selection I need only recount a few facts. My brother had
been for sixteen years one of the Inspectors of Prisons; for twelve
years in Scotland, and the remaining time in England. He was one of
the first appointed under the Act of 1835, by which the office was
created; and Lord John Russell, then Secretary of State for the Home
Department, when assigning to the inspectors their districts, paid him
the compliment of saying that he had given him Scotland because he knew
that in that part of the kingdom there was most need of improvement.

On examination, my brother found that, with the almost sole exception
of the Glasgow Bridewell, which was under the governorship of an
admirable prison reformer, Mr. Brebner, the Scottish prisons were
as bad as Lord John Russell had stated, and that indeed the great
majority, instead of being places of reform, were the abodes of
idleness and disorder, and not unfrequently of drunkenness and riot;
in a word, of general demoralization. Although invested with no other
power than that of inspection, and of making Reports to the Secretary
of State, and, through him, to Parliament and the country, my brother,
in a short time, effected a great change. He obtained the removal of
a large number of bad officers, the appointment in their stead of
persons qualified for their duties, including matrons (of whom till his
nomination there had been only two or three in the whole of Scotland),
with a proper corps of female assistants, and without waiting for
the erection of new prisons, he succeeded, in most instances, in
inducing the local authorities at once to turn to the best account the
buildings at their command.

After a time he was authorized by Government to frame a bill for
remodelling the whole system of prison government in Scotland in
accordance with his recommendations. Although this bill was a good deal
altered, and, as we both thought, much injured, in its passage through
Parliament, the new system adopted under it was a great improvement
on what had existed before. By the appointment of a general board, of
which he was chosen a member, a directing authority was established
which removed many obstacles to improvement. Thus, long before he
quitted Scotland to take an English district, every prison there had
either been so altered as to become well fitted for its use, or, if
beyond improvement, had been replaced by a new building. In every
prison productive work had been introduced, motives to diligence
supplied, tread-mills and all other unproductive employment abolished,
flogging and every kind of degrading punishment discontinued; good
chaplains had everywhere been appointed, and provision made for
ordinary elementary instruction; the health of the prisoners had much
improved, good conduct had become the general rule, and, in many
cases, means had been provided for maintaining some amount at least
of supervision and friendly assistance after liberation. Finally, my
brother practically showed that, under good arrangements, all prisoners
of ordinary health and strength, and committed for even a moderate
period, may be made to defray the entire cost of their maintenance and
custody.

Any one who compares the most enlightened demands of the present
day with this statement of facts, and yet more, the series of
recommendations contained in my brother's Reports, or more summarily
in his work entitled "Crime; its Amount, Causes, and Remedies," will
find that my account of his services contains no exaggeration.

Having carried the work of prison reform thus far in Scotland, he
exchanged his Scottish for an English district; but although he was
able to accomplish a good deal there, he found among the country
justices of the peace, who have the general charge of the county
prisons, far more of _vis inertiæ_ than he had encountered in Scotland.
In the belief that in the Post Office, in conjunction with myself, he
should have a new and wide field for the exercise of his knowledge of
the principles of government and his powers of administration, and that
he should be able to render me effectual assistance, he was ready to
accept an appointment, should it be made, as assistant-secretary.

Of course I was well pleased with the prospect of constant aid from
one of whose ability and trustworthiness I was so well assured; a
prospect which, as the sequel will show, was amply realised. Upon my
speaking more explicitly, the Postmaster-General made no objection to
the appointment,[84] but feared that the Chancellor of the Exchequer
would object to the necessary expense; an apprehension at which I
could not but feel disappointed after all that had passed, but which,
nevertheless, was confirmed on inquiry. Coupled with the announcement
of this result, came new cause of anxiety, viz., a warning that
Ministers would resign if beaten on an impending motion of Mr.
Disraeli's. Though, on the division, there was a majority in their
favour, yet, as the difference was only fourteen, it was but too
clear that the administration was by no means firm. It was important,
therefore, to press on at once. I again called upon Mr. Hume; but
though I found him very friendly, he still objected to giving me the
letter I wanted, intimating that he should shortly effect the object by
something which he was to say in the House. Naturally I could not share
Mr. Hume's confidence, particularly as I could at best but conjecture
the tenour of his proposed remarks; and I must add, that though I
have not the slightest doubt of Mr. Hume's perfect good faith and
earnestness in the matter, I cannot find, either in my records or in my
recollection, that the intention was ever fulfilled.

The following passage shows how kindly earnest Lord Clanricarde was on
my behalf, even at a season of critical importance to himself:--

"_February 22nd._--On reaching the office, found a note from the
Postmaster-General, desiring to see me at once. Went to his house
and found him busy writing a letter to the Treasury, recommending
the advance of my salary. He tells me that Lord John Russell has
tendered his resignation, and that they are all going out as soon
as their successors are appointed."

At my request he made an addition to his letter, for the purpose of
securing the position of my clerks in the event of my being driven from
office. After using every means to hasten action in the Treasury, he
sent in the letter (which was very complimentary to me) by his private
secretary. The Treasury promptly replied, authorizing the advancement
of my salary in a letter, from which the following is an extract:--

"I am directed to acquaint your lordship that, in consideration of
the services which Mr. Hill has rendered to the country, and the
meritorious manner in which he has discharged his official duties,
my Lords are pleased to sanction the additional salary recommended
by your lordship."

Again, however, the immediate alarm passed away. After fruitless
attempts to form an administration, Lord Stanley withdrew, and the
old ministers returned to office. My great pleasure at this relief
was, however, soon damped by the revival of former difficulties, the
Treasury again pressing for that amalgamation of the two corps of
letter-carriers which, without undivided authority, it would be, as
I well knew and had often represented, impossible for me to effect,
and highly dangerous to attempt. The Postmaster-General admitted
the difficulty,[85] and undertook to speak to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer on the subject. In the meantime I pointed out to his lordship
that the question of assistance had been left to him, and I urged
immediate action in this matter. He replied that, notwithstanding the
power that had been given him, he must still consult the Chancellor
of the Exchequer. He intimated that the Ministry were still in a
precarious position. This appeared to me anything rather than a
reason for delay; and I particularly pressed the appointment of an
assistant-secretary, strengthening my former reasons with others of
great weight.

"_March 24th._--The Postmaster-General has spoken to the Chancellor
of the Exchequer on the subject of assistance. He thinks the
Chancellor of the Exchequer will not object; but nothing can be
decided till after the Budget has been brought forward."

It will easily be believed that I was not a little impatient at these
inexplicable and hazardous delays; but happily relief was coming.

"_April 8th._--Last night the Ministers had an unexpectedly large
majority on the question of the income tax, and they are now
considered safe for the session. Spoke to the Postmaster-General on
the subject of assistance."

"_April 28th._--The Postmaster-General, who is returned to town, is
much pleased with my success in the North Western negotiation [to
be explained hereafter], which I think has hastened the decision
as to Frederic. He has seen the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
intimates that the matter is satisfactorily settled; but I am to
see the Postmaster-General at his house to-morrow."

"_April 29th._--At the Postmaster-General's house. I am to prepare
a letter to the Treasury, and a minute recommending the appointment
of an assistant-secretary to the Postmaster-General, and let
the Postmaster-General see both in draft. Frederic is virtually
appointed."

"_May 5th._--The Postmaster-General has returned the drafts with
some verbal alterations only."

"_May 6th._--At the Postmaster-General's house. He was going to
the Drawing Room, and could do no more than sign a fair copy of
the letter to the Treasury. Will see minute to-morrow. Authorizes
me to say that he will appoint Frederic. Intends to transfer the
secretarial management of the Railway Department to me."

"_June 2nd._--The Treasury authority for the appointment of an
assistant-secretary to the Postmaster-General having been received,
I lost no time in submitting it to the Postmaster-General, who, on
my stating the anxiety on the subject of my poor father (now, I
fear, on his death-bed), kindly filled up Frederic's appointment
on the instant; and I immediately despatched Pearson [my son] to
Tottenham with the news."

"_June 7th._--Thanked the Postmaster-General in my father's name
for his kindness with reference to Frederic's appointment. Obtained
leave of absence for Frederic, in order that he may continue in
attendance on my father. I have sent him work which he can do at
Tottenham."

"_June 13th._--Attending the death-bed of my dear father. Till
within a few hours of his dissolution he retained the command of
his faculties, and took evident pains by signs (for he was too
feeble to speak more than a word or two) to show his recognition
of us all, and to satisfy us that he was quite happy. He died,
apparently without any pain, about half-past eight in the evening.
I shall sadly miss his warm and intelligent sympathy. Nothing was
so acceptable to him, even up to the time of my visiting him last
night, as an account of any improvements in progress in the Post
Office.[86]

My father died in his eighty-ninth year--a longevity not unprecedented
in our family. So remarkable was his retention of mental power, that in
this, his last illness, he devised a new process for ascertaining, by
mental arithmetic, the incidence of Easter Sunday in any given year;
a process which, at his desire, I put to the test of practice, with a
result completely satisfactory.

To return to the subject of this narrative. In thus accepting the
offer of assistance, I could not but feel that, notwithstanding all my
protestations, I weakened my present claim to that great change, so
long the object of my desire, since concession, however insufficient,
could not be closely followed by further demand. Nevertheless, so great
was the pressure upon me, so serious the danger of my breaking down
altogether, that I had no alternative. Some estimate of my difficulties
may be formed from the following simple statement. Though reference
was made to me in all cases of serious difficulty, whatever their
nature, and though the secretarial charge of the Money-Order Department
was exclusively in my hands, the amount of assistance at my command
hitherto was limited to my private secretary and four or five clerks,
while that under Colonel Maberly consisted of a private secretary,
an assistant-secretary, competent to act as an occasional deputy,
and probably not less than fifty or sixty clerks. Still I naturally
regarded the late accession to my force,--particularly as it gave me
the aid of my brother--with great satisfaction.

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIX.

PROGRESS OF REFORM FROM THE BEGINNING OF 1849 TO
THE MIDDLE OF 1851.

Having thus carried the general narrative to this important point, I
pause to describe those concurrent proceedings[87] which could not
be conveniently mentioned in their chronological order, remarking,
however, that the chief improvements effected within the period have
been mentioned as they took place, and that those of my readers who
have little desire to know more on the subject may easily pass over
so much as they please of what follows. For convenience I resort to
classification.

MONEY ORDER DEPARTMENT.

_Economy, Self Support._

Various measures of economy were adopted; not, for the most part, of
sufficient importance to be mentioned in detail, though of considerable
value in their aggregate effect. One, however, by its magnitude, claims
distincter record, being the release for other duties of such a number
of clerks as reduced the Money Order staff, in proportion to its amount
of business, by nearly forty per cent.; an economy effected by the
mere simplification of accounts and modes of procedure. Two others may
be mentioned as curious, the first being a saving of probably about
£800 a-year through the substitution for "guard books" of an apparatus
invented by Mr. Walliker, one of the clerks (now Postmaster of Hull),
and the second the saving of £700 a year by a mere reduction, and that
not the first, in the size of the letter of advice. By the various
improvements thus introduced into the Money Order Office since it came
under my superintendence it was found--the accounts being at length
for the first time balanced--that the annual loss of more than £10,000
had been converted into a small gain. It should be mentioned that, in
fetching up the arrear of accounts, debts, which ought long since to
have been claimed, were found owing by various deputy postmasters, and
had to be recovered, in some instances, of their sureties; a proceeding
sometimes involving much hardship. In one case, at Bilston, where the
payment thus enforced amounted to £230, the postmaster had been dead
some years.

_Condition of Clerks Improved._

The Money Order Department being thus made self-supporting, I felt
justified in recommending not only a considerable increase in the
salaries of the probationary clerks, but also an addition to those
of the lowest grade on the staff. I was also enabled to extend
and regulate the leave of absence in the department. A few months
afterwards, the Postmaster-General thus described the latter measure in
the Upper House, reporting afterwards that the Lords were much struck
with it:--

"The clerks in the Money Order Office were divided into classes,
and twelve were counted in a class where it was calculated that
eleven could do the work, so that by this means one might be always
absent, and thus every clerk enjoy a month's leave of absence in
the year. Now that was not an unjust nor a severe arrangement, but
much more just and impartial than the old system, by which one
clerk might be away for a considerable time, and another could
get no leave of absence at all. They were allowed to work for one
another, and in case of illness, if the absentee was away more than
a month, he might have his work done by paying for it. This had
been agreed to by all the classes but two; and there was now in the
Money Order Department of the Post Office a case of a gentleman who
had been ill for eleven months during the last two years, and his
colleagues worked for him without a penny of remuneration, knowing
that he really was ill and unable to attend himself."[88]

_New Head of Department._

In the course of this period, on the sudden death of Mr. Barth, the
President of the Money Order Office, the vacancy was filled, much to
my satisfaction, by the appointment of Mr. Jackson, who had zealously
seconded me in improving the department, and who, I am glad to say,
retained his post many years, much to the advantage of the service and
the benefit of the public.

_A Paradox._

There remains to mention a ludicrous perplexity, showing how easy
it is, amidst complicated changes, for even those who have best
opportunity of judging, and are most interested in arriving at the
truth, to fall into misconception. In the early part of 1850, when we
confidently believed that correspondence of all kinds was, as usual,
on the increase, we remarked, to our surprise, a falling-off in the
number of letters passing through the Inland Office, and speculated
much as to its cause. Mr. Bokenham attributed it to a decrease in
Sunday letter-writing; but the mystery was at length explained by our
simply calling to mind that the natural effect of a recent improvement
in the Money Order Department was to relieve the Inland Office of about
forty-six thousand packets per week, a number somewhat more than enough
to account for the decrease.

GENERAL ECONOMIC MEASURES.

_Clerks in Charge._

There was an abuse demanding correction, of which the following is a
specimen. A clerk in the chief office, in receipt of about £82 per
annum, was sent to act temporarily as clerk to one of the surveyors,
and, for one cause or other, his exceptional employment was prolonged
from two months to fourteen. Further, it happened that during two
months of the fourteen he had charge of the Gloucester Post Office.
By this lucky combination of circumstances, his emoluments for the
time were at the annual rate of £452, or between five or six times his
ordinary income. I took some steps with a view of putting things on a
juster footing, but found the abuse too strongly sustained to allow
me much hope of removing it until I should obtain more uncontested
authority.

_Prepayment._

I again considered the question of totally abolishing prepayments in
money. Both Mr. Tilley and Mr. Johnson (the excellent surveyor of the
home district), whom I consulted, agreed in the practicability of the
measure, and spoke strongly of its importance, as greatly simplifying,
and therefore economising, the mechanism of the department; but, for
fear of inconvenience to the public, I hesitated to take the step
all at once. To Mr. Tilley, however, I mentioned, in confidence, a
plan which I had conceived for dealing with unpaid letters, viz.,
that wherever posted they should be sent in the first instance to
the Metropolitan office, thence to be forwarded to their respective
destinations. This arrangement would have tended much to economy, as it
would have wholly superseded the "by-accounts," _i.e._, the accounts
between one provincial office and another. This device I must myself
have afterwards forgotten, for certainly it was never acted upon. Some
years later, it was attempted to make prepayment in respect of inland
letters absolutely compulsory, but public objection proving too strong,
the attempt was abandoned. I believe that this forgotten plan would
still be the best step towards attaining the desired end.

_Mail Conveyance._

I discovered instances in which the serious expense of railway
conveyance was incurred, when, speed being unimportant, a cheaper
mode served equally well. It is obviously of no use to a place that
its letters should arrive in the middle of the night, every purpose
being answered if they come in time to be included in the earliest
practicable delivery. Consideration of this led me to propose, in such
cases, the substitution of mail-carts. In one such case this year the
effect was an annual saving of about £800, and in one in the following
year more than £2000.[89]

_A Summary._

A statement of the savings which, without counting the rejection of
applications for needless increase of force or salary, I had secured
by the end of 1850, either by prevention of unnecessary augmentation
in expenditure, or by positive reductions, showed an amount of nearly
£40,000 a year; although I believe my clerks, in hastily preparing the
statement (for it was suddenly required) had made several omissions.

_Further Economy in Conveyance._

The surveyor for the South of Ireland had recommended that the night
mails to Waterford should be conveyed by a new line of railway between
Carlow and that city. The entry on the subject in my Journal (13th of
January, 1851) thus concludes:--

"On the Postmaster-General calling for my opinion, I was able to
show that the adoption of such recommendation would cost about
£10,000 a-year, that it would afford scarcely any convenience, ...
but that a day-mail ... might be established at a comparatively
small cost, and would be of great service to Waterford. The
Postmaster-General has adopted my view.

"_May 22nd, 1851._--A short time since certain towns in the West
Riding memorialized the Postmaster-General to despatch a mail
by an existing express train direct to Boston. The Company (the
Great Northern) refused to undertake the service for less than a
first-class fare each trip, or £540 a-year. The Postmaster-General
called for my opinion. I offered the Company £200 a-year; they
refused, and the memorialists were informed that, owing to the
excessive demands of the Company, the mail [a very small one] must
be withheld. This brought public opinion to act on the Company,
and, as I expected, they became suitors to us, first offering to
reduce the charge to about £340 a-year, and ultimately consenting
to charge the bags as parcels. On these terms we shall give a mail
in both directions for about £200 a-year, or for little more than
the third part of what was originally demanded for a mail in one
direction."

RURAL DISTRIBUTION.

On July 15th, 1850, I learned that the Postmaster-General had
sanctioned what I regarded as a very important measure:--

"Hitherto no posts have been given except daily posts; henceforth,
when the correspondence will not justify a daily post, one is to be
given thrice, or twice, or once a week, according to a fixed scale,
under which the amount of correspondence is compared with the cost
of the post. Thus, at a comparatively small cost, the postal system
will, I hope, be extended to nearly every house in the kingdom."

This measure, however, though sanctioned by the Treasury, and ordered
to be carried into immediate effect, to this day, notwithstanding
constant progress, still incomplete, mainly, I believe, through
objections on the part of the surveyors to the apparent anomaly of
intermittent posts; though the necessary consequence is that many
houses, and perhaps even some hamlets, must remain altogether unvisited
by the postman.

PACKET SERVICE.

I was asked to prepare a confidential memorandum on the subject of
an experimental despatch of the mails to North America from Galway,
which I did accordingly, the results of my investigation, however, not
being such as, in my opinion, to justify the experiment. I scarcely
need add that some years later the course thus deprecated was taken
by Government, not indeed in expectation of profitable results, but
as a concession to Irish demands; that the attempt was altogether
unsuccessful, and besides absorbing a large sum from the revenue,
occasioned disastrous loss to all who held shares in the packets.

POSTAL TREATIES.

Although postal treaties with foreign countries had but little direct
connection with my particular reforms, yet their indirect bearing was
important; and still greater their relation to the general postal
interests of the country; so that though, ever since my removal from
the Treasury they had been managed for the most part without reference
to me, I nevertheless had now frequent opportunities of suggesting
improvements, and in the end the arrangement fell almost entirely into
my hands.

The Postmaster-General directed my attention to the state of our treaty
with France. The British Office had proposed that the international
rate should be reduced from tenpence to sixpence, but this was objected
to by the French Government, because it was coupled with a demand for
an equitable division of postage between the two Offices. It may be
remembered that through a blunder made by our Office in 1843 an undue
advantage was given to France, which I then estimated at £4000 per
annum; but by a modification made subsequently to my reappointment,
but entirely without my knowledge, our annual loss had been raised to
£8000. I explained all this to the Postmaster-General, and he regretted
that I had not been consulted in the matter; he thought, however, that
the French Government could not refuse such concession as would at
least rectify the latter error.

"_March 15th, 1850._--At the Postmaster-General's house. He is
about to visit Paris, and intends to treat for a reduction in the
international rate. He is anxious at the same time to correct the
blunder in the treaty exposed by me in 1843, under which we lose
many thousands a year in accounting with France for our share of
the postage collected there. After a careful consideration of
the subject, we are both obliged to admit that, if the French
Government should insist upon continuing this part of the treaty,
as they doubtless will, there is now no escape."

The Postmaster-General had been led to suppose that the original error
was committed at the Treasury; but I was able to satisfy him that, so
far from that being the case, the Treasury had on my report, carefully
warned the Post Office on the very point. As the matter stands at the
present time (1868), the annual loss in our transactions with the
French Post Office, by irretrievable errors, is probably not less than
£10,000.

SALARIES AND PROMOTIONS.

On the subject of salaries I found a strange, not to say absurd,
discrepancy between form and practice. The clerks were, indeed, very
properly arranged in classes, the salaries varying according to
position, and promotion taking place as vacancies occurred, on formal
attestation of a candidate's fitness for the duties of the higher
class; but all this classification, whatever merit it apparently had,
was rendered worthless by the simple fact that difficulty of duties
did not correspond with rank of class. Thus the Government was really
paying £300 or £400 a year to clerks whose work was nowise superior in
quality or quantity to that performed by others whose annual salary
was but £70.[90] All this I pointed out to Mr. Hayter.[91] He admitted
that the odium of rectification, so far as Government usage would allow
rectification to be made, should not rest upon me alone, and promised
to use his influence to get a Commission appointed for the revision of
salaries generally. The Chancellor of the Exchequer hesitated to adopt
the suggestion; but, as applications were coming in for particular
augmentations which could not be satisfactorily dealt with until
some general principle was adopted and reduced to a rule, I obtained
authority to press the matter on the Treasury. Although, however, this
was done, and although after the lapse of a year the Postmaster-General
himself wrote a minute on the subject, yet a second year passed before
this important step was taken.

RECTIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS.

As already shown, I had striven to present to the public mind a true
statement as to the fiscal results of my reforms, or, to speak yet
more comprehensively, as to the real earnings of the Post Office. This
struggle was forced upon me by constant attempts to lead the public
mind into error on this important point. That which I have repeatedly
spoken of as the fallacious return[92] was, in one form or other, ever
and anon revived, nor is misconception altogether removed even at the
present moment. Of other corrections, also, I have already spoken, and
I purpose now to continue the narrative.

"_January 30th, 1849._--Showed the Postmaster-General a requisition
which I have prepared for a return to Parliament, showing the real
earnings of the Post Office by including in the revenue the net
proceeds of the newspaper stamps, and in the expenditure so much
of the packet service as is fairly chargeable against the Post
Office. He has no objection to its being moved for. My object is to
neutralize, if I can, the mischief which Lord Seymour and others
have done by getting returns charging the whole packet-service
against the Post Office."

Notice of motion having been accordingly given by my friend Mr.
Thornley, M.P. for Wolverhampton, the Treasury, as usual, referred to
the Post Office, to learn whether there were any objection to granting
the return. The consequence being that Mr. Tilley came to me, by
Colonel Maberly's desire, to show me a note written in reply, in which,
to my amusement, I found the opinion given that the return should be
withheld, "in fairness to Mr. Hill." Of course I explained the whole
matter to Mr. Tilley, and, the supposed obstacle being removed, the
return was ordered without opposition, and the duty of preparing it was
committed by the Postmaster-General to me.

Of the unfairness of charging the whole cost of the packet-service to
the Post Office, I had striking evidence shortly afterwards.

"_March 3rd, 1849._--The newspapers having stated that Government
had contracted with the West India Steam-packet Company for
carrying the mails to the Brazils, I asked the Postmaster-General
if he had been consulted in the matter, and found that he had not;
and further, that there had been no communication with the Office
on the subject."

So that, according to the practice of which I complained, the Post
Office was made chargeable with heavy expenses, incurred not only
without its request, but without its consent or even knowledge.
The inexpediency of such proceedings happened to receive further
illustration on the same day; Mr. Cunard calling upon me (of course
now too late) to say that he had come to England for the purpose of
proposing to undertake the West Indian mails at half the price then
paid for their conveyance, thus tantalising us by proving that an
opportunity had been lost of saving £120,000 per annum.

In a return called for by the House of Lords, I found that the number
of letters for the year had been arrived at by treating the year as
consisting of twelve months of four weeks each, so that the total given
was that for forty-eight weeks instead of fifty-two. It would have
been hardly fair to mislead the House of Lords without doing the same
good office to the House of Commons. Accordingly, upon the Lower House
calling for a return of the amount of transit postage paid to France,
the sum reported, without any note to prevent misunderstanding, instead
of being the total amount, was merely the balance of account between
the two Offices. After recording this fact, my Journal proceeds as
follows:--

"It is a very rare thing for a return to reach me which does not
contain some egregious error."

Fortunately I saw the return before its issue, and it was of course
corrected.

"_July 18th, 1850._--Every now and then something almost incredibly
absurd and mischievous in the management of the Post Office turns
up. Some investigations in which I have lately been engaged have
brought to light the astounding fact that for the payment of a
large part of our expenses (hundreds of thousands a year probably)
we have no vouchers, and yet there is a pretence of auditing our
accounts. The fact is, that the salaries and wages of the clerks,
letter-carriers, &c., at the country offices, together with heavy
expenses for carrying mails, &c., are paid by the postmasters,
and allowed in their accounts, but no evidence is required that
the payments are actually made; and instances have occurred in
which postmasters have gone on taking credit year after year for
payments on account of mails, &c., which have been suppressed. The
postmasters at ---- and ---- were both detected in this fraud."

The following shows that, six months later, blundering remained
unabated:--

"_January 23rd, 1851._--A _balanced_ account of revenue for the
quarter ending 10th October last has been sent to me containing a
gross error; an advance from the English to the Irish Office being
so managed as apparently to increase the balance in hand for the
_United Kingdom_ by £40,000!"

"_January 25th._--The Accountant General persists in it that his
account is correct. (I wish it were; a means would then have been
devised by which we might readily increase the balance in hand to
any extent.) He will, however, alter it, if I 'desire it!'--as
though it could be a matter of choice whether the balance can be
increased by £40,000 or not."

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL EXTENSION.

_United States._

While my attention was, of course, mainly absorbed in the improvement
of our own postal system, I was always glad to hear of corresponding
progress abroad, whether in the colonies or in foreign countries.

"_January 8th, 1849._--Some one has sent me, from New York, a copy
of the American Postmaster-General's Annual Report. Their reduction
to two rates at Midsummer, 1845, has been very successful.
Previously to that time the Post Office did not pay its expenses,
and the distribution was curtailed from year to year in a vain
attempt to make it pay. Now with extended distribution and reduced
rates (on the average about half the preceding rates) the Post
Office has a surplus income. The Postmaster-General recommends
making the lower rate (5 cents = 2-1/2_d._) general, and requiring
prepayment. This is the more satisfactory as he opposed the
reduction in 1845."

In short, Congress was so well satisfied with the result of its
previous reductions, that, early in the year 1851, it changed what had
been its minimum rate, viz., twopence-halfpenny, into its maximum,
establishing a three-halfpenny rate for distances under three thousand
miles.[93]

_India._

"_December 21st, 1849._--Mr. Porter (Secretary to the Board of
Trade) called with a letter which he had received from Lord
Dalhousie, requesting him to see me with reference to the
introduction of a low uniform rate of postage into British India.
I, of course, promised to assist."

Mr. Porter showed me the letter, and I learnt, much to my amusement,
the reason why Lord Dalhousie had not addressed me more directly. He
mentioned that he had formerly been acquainted with me; but feared I
might by this time have forgotten him. It will be seen hereafter how
successfully this first move was followed up.

_France._

Early in 1850 I received from M. Piron a copy of a report showing the
results obtained during the past year, the first in France of reduced
postage. Though it was a time of great commercial depression, the gross
postal revenue had fallen but twenty-two per cent., while the number
of letters had increased by thirty per cent. At the same time the
proportion of prepayments had risen from ten per cent. to twenty-five,
notwithstanding that the charge was alike on prepaid and post paid.
This was a remarkable indication of the convenience of stamps, showing
that when, in 1839, Mr. Spring Rice proposed, without any reduction
of postage, to try "the principle of stamps," his proposal might have
proved not so absolute a mockery as I then supposed it to be.

_General Summary._

In short, progress was so general and so rapid that, as I was able
truly to remark in my speech at Greenock already referred to, cheap
postage was gradually extending throughout the civilized world.

NUMBER OF LETTERS.

In 1849 the year's increase of letters was unusually small, though,
perhaps, as great as could be expected in a time of so much political
agitation and commercial depression. The increase next year (1850) was
but little larger; the two years, however, making up a total of three
hundred and forty-seven millions, and raising the increase under penny
postage to about 4-2/3-fold.

REVENUE.

The postal revenue also had, by this time, as measured by the gross
amount, nearly fulfilled my original prediction, being within £82,000,
or less than four per cent., of that received in 1838. That the net
revenue had not kept pace with my expectations was due, not only to
the various errors in management and obstacles to economy already
mentioned, but also, in great degree, to the abandonment of charge
for secondary distribution, and the increasing demands of the railway
companies.

This subject has been more than once touched on in this narrative,
but, perhaps, scarcely enough has been said to make the public fully
aware how much the establishment of railways, so beneficial in regard
to celerity and exactitude, has increased the expense of conveying the
mails. To many the following entry will doubtless be startling, to
some, perhaps, incredible:--

"_March 28th, 1851._--I find on a comparison of accounts, that
although the payments to railway companies for 1850 exceed
£400,000, the payments for mail conveyance by ordinary roads were
rather greater in 1850 than in 1838, when there was nothing paid
to the railways; so that the whole expenditure in railways is an
addition to the former cost of carrying the mails. This is the
main cause of the _net_ revenue falling below my estimate--indeed
it accounts for nearly the whole deficiency. The explanation is
not so much the increased weight and frequency of mails (for off
the railway such increase is not great) as the increased celerity
of all our movements, the greater expense of conveyance on the
bye-roads caused by the railways having absorbed their traffic,
and the greater number of branch night mails, owing to the great
extension of the limits of the night-work caused by the use of
railways."

INCIDENTS.

_Mail Robbery._

"_January 2nd, 1849._--Last night a serious robbery, chiefly of
registered letters, one of which contained, it is said, £4,000,
took place between Bridgewater and Bristol, in the up mail."

"_January 3rd._--The thieves (two) are taken; one is a discharged
railway guard. They had the impudence to rob the down mail also the
same night, and the Post Office guard having heard of the previous
robbery, kept a good look-out. The property stolen from the down
mail, including a packet of diamonds, is recovered--not that stolen
from the up mail. There is an interval of about two hours between
the two mails at Bristol, which the thieves probably employed in
secreting the property first stolen. The newspapers are full of the
particulars."

_Theft at Caermarthen._

"_February 2nd, 1849._--Went upstairs to Mr. Ramsey's room to
see the articles which have been stolen by the daughter of the
Caermarthen postmaster. There is jewellery and haberdashery enough
to stock a small shop, and £95 in money. The woman has kept the
letters (200 or 300) from which the articles were taken, so that
many can be restored. It seems that she has indulged her thieving
propensities for seven years."

It appeared afterwards that her object had been to amass such a dowry
as would give her good matrimonial prospects.

_Anonymous Contribution._

"_January 23rd, 1849._--Received an anonymous letter (postmarked
Birmingham) containing 10s. in postage stamps 'Towards
penny-postage memorial from a man to (_sic_) poor at the time to
subscribe.'"

_A Striking Result._

The following shows one of the extraordinary results of cheap postage:--

"_June 14th, 1849._--Last week's returns show that 3,100,000
letters [an unprecedented number] passed through the London office
(general and district) in that period. On asking Bokenham for an
explanation, he states that Hatchard, the publisher in Piccadilly,
and a city house connected with him in the publication of a
valuable Bible, are sending out 300,000 prospectuses of their
Bible; they are all in penny envelopes; the postage would exceed
£1,200."

_Improved condition of Officials._

I received the following striking indications as to the amount of
relief afforded within the last eleven years to Post Office officials:--

"_September 10th, 1849._--Having occasion to refer to some papers
connected with the Liverpool office of the year 1838, I find it
stated that, after a proposed increase of force, the clerks would
be engaged from ten to twelve hours a day, besides occasional
night-work; also that none of the letter-carriers would walk less
than twenty miles a day, Sundays included. Such a state of things
would now be viewed as monstrous."

_Source of Dishonesty._

It has often been alleged that dishonesty in Post Office servants
arises from insufficiency in their salaries. A better explanation
would be found in the fact that under a system of patronage[94] men
are too often admitted into the service without sufficient inquiry as
to character, and are retained there after their conduct has furnished
such ground for suspicion as would lead to their being discarded from
any well-conducted private establishment. And here it should be pointed
out that the evils inherent in the system are often greatly aggravated
by injudicious interference from the public, who regard such dismissals
as a punishment which ought not to be inflicted without formal proof of
some positive offence.

"_February 11th, 1850._--Some months ago I caused ----, an
Inland Office clerk, employed at the Charing Cross office in
money-order business as extra clerk, to be removed therefrom under
circumstances which raised a strong suspicion against his honesty.
As there was no absolute proof of fraud, the proceeding was viewed
as a harsh one, and the man was still continued as an Inland Office
clerk, and very imprudently employed in the registration duties. He
has now been detected in stealing five or six remittances from the
deputy post-masters, amounting in all to about £200."

_A Worthy Promotion._

I had the misfortune in this period to lose one of my best officers;
but happily my loss was his gain.

"_December 31st, 1850._--To-morrow Godby succeeds to the vacant
appointment of chief clerk in Colonel Maberly's office. I shall be
sorry to lose him from the Money Order Department, but it would
have been the height of injustice to oppose his promotion."

_My Son's Appointment._

This year (1850) my only son was nominated by the Postmaster-General to
a junior clerkship in the Secretary's Department.

_"Household Words" and "Quarterly Review."_

There appeared in the course of the next year (1851), two interesting
articles on postal proceedings. The first a lively description from
the pen of Mr. Charles Dickens, published in the first number of
"Household Words;" the second a much longer and more elaborate
treatise, though scarcely less amusing, from the pen of Sir Francis
Head, published in the "Quarterly Review;" an ample amends for the
attack in the same publication ten years before. With both gentlemen
I had pleasing intercourse on the occasion, particularly so with the
latter, who, requiring more extensive information, and taking great
pains to get a correct notion of the leading principles of the whole
system, necessarily passed more time in my company. His conversation I
found as amusing as his writings.

I may add that his article deals ably with the question of Sunday
labour, and very clearly sets forth the mechanism of the office. It
will be found in No. 177 of the "Review," or in Sir Francis Head's
"Descriptive Essays," Vol II., p. 286.

CHAPTER XX.

EFFORTS FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION. (1851-2.)

The extent to which railway affairs had come into my hands, combined
with the necessity, under existing arrangements, for my acting through
the medium of others not subordinate to me, and prone to interfere
with my proceedings, led me to urge upon the Postmaster-General the
importance of formally transferring the secretarial management of the
railway department to myself. This was the more necessary, because the
circular of December, 1847--never yet recalled or superseded--made it
the duty of the surveyors and others to disregard any instructions I
might give in railway matters; so that I had been reluctantly compelled
to ask Mr. Tilley [the assistant-secretary] to sign letters for me. My
Journal (June 26th, 1851) thus continues:--

"The Postmaster-General still hesitates--says he will consult the
Chancellor of the Exchequer to-morrow, &c., and meanwhile advises
me to sign instructions in disregard of the circular."

This promise, though not forgotten, produced no effect for several
months. Meanwhile my health again began to suffer. The assistance
lately granted me, valuable as it was, not only fell far short of my
requirements, but also came too late for full benefit. My friends were
still moving in my behalf, as appears by the following letter from Mr.
Cobden:--

"Midhurst, Sussex,
"14th September, 1851.

"MY DEAR SIR,--Having learnt your address from your brother, I
write merely to say that, although I did not forget to fulfil my
promise, yet the conversation I had with the Chancellor (which I
took care was a casual one) ended in leaving matters where they
were. He spoke, as usual, in terms of high regard for yourself, and
is, I believe, sincerely desirous of promoting the object I had
in view in speaking to him. But the difficulty in the way of the
arrangement is the same now as before. 'M---- is not an old man;
he cannot with decency be shelved; and at present there is nothing
good enough in point of salary to which he could be transferred
so as to create a vacancy in his post,' &c. I confess I don't see
why this should not be treated as an exceptional case, and believe
that a very good defence might be made of such an arrangement as
was spoken of; but I gathered from the Chancellor that he was
not disposed to take upon himself the responsibility of such a
proceeding. And so the matter must remain for the present. We will
talk the subject over again when we meet....

"Hoping you are finding health in the sea-breezes,

"I remain,
"Very truly yours,
"R. COBDEN."

Soon afterwards, at the request of the Postmaster-General, I visited,
in company with my son, the more important towns in the West Riding of
Yorkshire, where I discussed with Mr. Godby, the surveyor, numerous
demands for postal improvement lately received from that important
district. At Leeds, Halifax, Bradford, and Huddersfield I received
deputations. The result of my proceedings is thus recorded:--

"_November 19th._--Succeeded in every instance in satisfying
the parties that we were desirous of doing all that was
practicable--that some of their demands were unreasonable, or of
doubtful practicability, and others dependent on the expense
as compared with the correspondence to be benefited. I was
exceedingly well received, thanked for the trouble I had taken, and
complimented on the benefits I had conferred on the nation. I am
very well satisfied with the visit, though it will cause me some
months of hard work."

Meanwhile, a little incident occurred which may perhaps be worth
mentioning. A gentleman who was writing an account of the Post Office
having written to Colonel Maberly to inquire as to the difference
between the duties of the "secretary to the Post Office and those
of the secretary to the Postmaster-General;" and Colonel Maberly
having politely referred the querist to me, I wrote a brief note, the
substantial part of which ran as follows:--

"There is no essential difference between the two offices, and the
term 'secretary to the Postmaster-General' is in strictness the
official designation of both. The two secretaries are in the same
relative position to the Postmaster-General, who assigns to them
their respective duties."

Colonel Maberly, though not quite agreeing in the terms of my note, did
not object to its despatch, which was accordingly made; but the querist
having objected to the brevity of my reply, I referred the matter to
the Postmaster-General, who settled the point by pronouncing my note "a
devilish good answer."

I perceived about this time various indications of an improved feeling
towards me in the office. My complete success in the trying struggle
relative to Sunday observance, and in some other important matters to
be spoken of hereafter, combined with the confidence now constantly
reposed in me by the Postmaster-General, and at the Treasury, seemed
to have convinced opponents that further contest was unprofitable,
and that it would be better frankly to enjoy the comfort of harmonious
action.

"_December 26th._--The entries in my Journal have of late been
comparatively few. This is not because there is less to be done,
but partly because, since the appointment of Frederic, less has
fallen to my share, and partly (indeed chiefly) because there
is now much less opposition to my measures than heretofore....
The improvement in this respect is so great that, but for the
apprehension that in the event of a new Postmaster-General being
appointed the opposition would revive, I should scarcely desire a
change in my position."

Ground of anxiety, however, soon re-appeared; strong representations
being made to me as to bad appointments in the secretaries' office,
the advancement of unfit men, and grievous inconvenience thence
arising; a pressing reason for change which had not occurred to me.
Accordingly, about a fortnight later, I again spoke on the subject to
the Postmaster-General,[95] who, admitting that the administration
was in a very precarious state, promised to speak immediately to
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which he accordingly did, but with
little success, the old difficulties being still dwelt on, though the
Postmaster-General now informed me that Colonel Maberly was willing
to accept £1,500 a year as a retiring pension. I pointed out to him,
moreover, that the restoration of the old gross revenue, which seemed
now to be an established fact, was an epoch in the progress of my
plan which afforded opportunity for decided action. In this view he
concurred.

A few days later the Postmaster-General spoke a second time to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, but again with little result, save that
he induced him to consent to my applying for support to my friends
in Parliament. With this view, I obtained several copies of the
correspondence already mentioned, and appended a memorandum, in which
I pointed out that another year had passed away, the fifth since
those expectations had been held out to me which still remained to
be fulfilled. I again referred to enforced delay in improvement; to
insufficiency in the net revenue, owing to my inability, circumstanced
as I was, to give full effect to the economical arrangements which
I had always contemplated; to the comparative insignificance of the
expense implied in granting to Colonel Maberly any retiring allowance
that could be thought of, and to means by which even such small
sacrifice could be directly compensated.

Lastly, referring to the actual position of Ministers, to the
expectations held out to me, to the acknowledged fulfilment on my part
of the only condition on which they were made to depend, and, above
all, to the extent to which the public service was suffering, I pressed
on Government to adopt at once the only means by which it could with
certainty fulfil its engagement, viz., to allow Colonel Maberly to
retire on a sufficient pension. While I admitted that such a step would
be a departure from an excellent rule, I pointed out that mine was an
exceptional case, and must have been so viewed by Government at the
time when it raised the expectations in question.

"_January 31st._--Called on Cobden. Read to him the memorandum,
and left a copy of the correspondence for his perusal. He enters
warmly into the business, will again speak to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, says he ought not to hesitate; advises that I should
apply to those only who, like himself, are pledged to the success
of penny postage, either as members of the Committees of 1838 and
1843, or as witnesses. I think he is right; at all events, this
will be the safe side. Cobden, to my surprise, said that I ought
not to give up any part of my salary--that £2000 a year was not
too much, adding that I ought to be Postmaster-General, and would
have been such in any less aristocratic country than ours. Wrote to
Moffatt, who is at Ventnor, inclosing a copy, and gave a third to
Thornley. Hume, Warburton, and Currie are out of town."

A few days later, however, I saw nearly all these gentlemen, as also
Mr. Milner Gibson. Mr. Hume spoke of difficulties, Mr. Thornley had
already spoken to the Chancellor of the Exchequer without effect,
Mr. Warburton, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Moffatt were as usual very much in
earnest, all undertaking to see the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
Mr. Warburton volunteering to go also to Lord John Russell whenever I
might think this expedient.

"_February 11th._--Brown reports that the Chancellor of the
Exchequer is angry, complaining that he has had no less than four
applications about me within the last two or three days, and that
he can do no more. Received from Cobden the following letter:--

"'103, Westbourne Terrace,
"'10th February, 1852.

"'MY DEAR SIR,--Hume and I spoke to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer. There is a difficulty which he threw in our way (upon
high authority) which you do not seem to have seen. Has Hume
explained it to you? If not, give me a meeting for a minute either
here or at the House. These matters are better talked about than
written about.

"'Yours truly,
"'R. COBDEN.

"'R. Hill, Esq.'"

The next day, on seeing Mr. Cobden, I learnt that the Chancellor of
the Exchequer had pronounced my suggestion impracticable. He alleged
that two secretaries were necessary, and that consequently any retiring
allowance to Colonel Maberly must be an additional charge on the
revenue, an addition which Mr. Hume was not prepared to defend, though
Mr. Cobden was. Mr. Hume subsequently confirmed this statement of his
views, and while assuring me that the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke
very highly of me, and promised promotion at the first opportunity, he
himself was of opinion that nothing could be done at present, and so
counselled patience. He forgot that such advice to a man tottering and
almost sinking under his load is much more easily given than received.

_The mysterious allusion in Mr. Cobden's letter was never fully
explained to me._

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the late conference, had
assigned as a reason for Colonel Maberly's retention that the foreign
negotiations were under his charge, I no sooner arrived at the office
than I called upon the head clerk of that department for a specific
statement on the subject, when it appeared that of all the negotiations
then in hand, eleven in number, every one, without exception, was under
mine.

"_February 13th._--Without committing Cobden, I put the question
plainly to the Postmaster-General, as to whether he was still of
opinion that, in the event of Colonel Maberly's retirement, I
should be able to manage the department without other aid than
that of the two assistant-secretaries. He answered emphatically in
the affirmative, and on my adding that there was an impression on
the minds of some of my friends that the appointment of another
secretary would be necessary, he authorised me to state the
contrary in his name, and volunteered to speak to the Chancellor of
the Exchequer on the subject, under the impression that my friends
must have been misled by some mistake on his part."

After reporting all this to Mr. Cobden, I called, by his advice, on Mr.
Moffatt, who was about to speak to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on
the subject. Of course I put him in possession of all the facts.

"_February 15th._--Met Moffatt at the Reform Club. He says the
Chancellor of the Exchequer refused to hear him--that he complains
bitterly of my 'unfairness' in setting the Members upon him, and
says that if my friends are not satisfied, they ought to meet and
appoint a deputation, with which he will, once for all, go fully
into the matter, but that he will not see any more individual
Members. Moffatt thinks the result of his interview unfavourable,
but I do not. I have all along desired to have a meeting of
Members, but was afraid that it might look too much like direct
agitation."

"_February 16th._--Saw Cobden, and reported proceedings. We are
to do nothing for a few days, in order to allow time for the
Chancellor of the Exchequer to cool."

"_February 17th._--Moffatt tells me that last night he had a
conversation with the Postmaster-General, in which the latter
stated that if Colonel Maberly retired the appointment of another
secretary would be unnecessary."

"_February 18th._--The Postmaster-General told me of his
conversation with Moffatt, adding that he has expressed a similar
opinion to the Chancellor of the Exchequer."

"_February 19th._--Reported proceedings to Warburton; he will
attend the meeting of Members."

"_February 21st._--Called on Cobden to advise that the meeting of
Members should now be held, when I learned to my surprise (not
having seen the morning papers) that Ministers resigned last night
in consequence of a defeat on the Militia Bill. He considers the
resignation real. I certainly have been very ill-used."

"_February 23rd._--The Postmaster-General confirms Cobden's
impressions. Lord Derby has undertaken to form an administration,
and Lord Clanricarde retains office only till his successor is
appointed."

I fear the deep mortification I underwent at this sudden frustration
of my hopes when I thought fulfilment so near at hand caused me to
regard the important change which was taking place much more from a
private than a public point of view. My excuse may perhaps be found
in the recollection of the struggle that I had for so many years
sustained, in the fact of my worn health of both body and mind, and in
the non-fulfilment of the promise originally made me, a delay by which
the term of six months had already been extended to five years, and, as
now appeared, till those who had given the pledge had lost the power
to redeem it. On those who were now to become my official superiors I
could have but little claim, and my expectation from them was even less.

It still remained to do what was possible for diminishing the evil
of the change, and, as my readers will readily believe, I had full
reliance on the friendliness of Lord Clanricarde. I therefore drew up
a minute proposing that the restrictive regulations laid down on my
entering office should be rescinded, and that the practice which had
superseded them should be formally approved. To this minute I obtained
Lord Clanricarde's sanction. Colonel Maberly, as his lordship soon
afterwards informed me, sent in a counter-minute, but without effect.
Lord Clanricarde's reply to this was admirable. While, of course,
leaving matters with his successor, he gave it as his own opinion that
a practice which has gradually grown up is more likely to work well
than any rule that can be prescribed.

A further step on my part is thus recorded:--

"_February 27th._--At Lord Clanricarde's request I have prepared a
statement of the principal improvements which I and Frederic have
effected, and of those in hand, as also a statement of the savings
which we have effected. The improvements now in hand are no less
than thirty in number, even counting each class, as for instance
the eleven foreign negotiations, as one; the savings, omitting sums
under £20, and disregarding the numerous applications for increased
salaries, &c., which have been prevented, amount to nearly £60,000
a year."

This is exclusive of the large savings I effected whilst at the
Treasury.

CHAPTER XXI.

LORD HARDWICKE.

"_February 28th, 1852._--Read Lord Derby's speech last night in
the House of Lords. He talks of giving much attention to social
improvements. I wish I could see reason to hope that he would go
earnestly to work at the Post Office. He might, if he would, obtain
a reputation for his administration in that department at least."

"_March 2nd._--Lord Hardwicke, the new Postmaster-General (whose
patent, however, is not yet completed), came to the office with
Lord Clanricarde. It was understood that they would go through
the office together; but I afterwards found that Lord Hardwicke
preferred waiting till his patent was made out, so none of us saw
him. Lord Clanricarde tells me that, on his explaining to Lord
Hardwicke my position in the office, and the opposition between
Maberly and myself, Lord Hardwicke said the opposition was a good
thing, as it would secure his hearing both sides of the question."

"_March 8th._--Lord Hardwicke entered on his duties to-day. Maberly
was with him the greater part of the time he spent at the office.
Before leaving, he sent a message to say that he would 'have the
pleasure of making my acquaintance' early next morning."

"_March 9th._--Lord Hardwicke received me in a very friendly
manner, spoke in high terms of penny postage, said that he
understood that all the improvements were introduced by myself,
and expressed his intention to extend improvement still further,
especially mentioning the complete abolition of money prepayment.
He told me that Maberly had spoken to him on the importance of a
division of our duties, but Lord Hardwicke said he should take no
steps in the matter until he was more familiar with the subject,
and that in the mean time he wished everything to proceed as
before; adding that it would be very gratifying to him if he could
be the means of establishing cordiality between Maberly and myself."

"_March 10th._--Tilley came from Maberly with overtures of peace
and amity. He says that Maberly is quite unhappy in consequence
of the recent measures, and requested him (Tilley) to ask me if I
had any objection to propose a division of duties. I replied that I
should willingly consider the subject, and discuss it with Tilley
or with Colonel Maberly himself, if the latter preferred my so
doing, and expressed a general desire to meet his wishes as far as
possible."

Shortly afterwards I transacted business for the first time, save on
a trifling matter, with my new official superior, who had informed
me that he should attend the office daily and work hard. My first
experience was, as will be seen, of a mixed character. It must be
borne in mind that Lord Hardwicke had been accustomed to the strict
discipline of a man-of-war:--

"_March 13th._--Laid several important minutes before the
Postmaster-General. He expressed his concurrence in all, and
earnest approval of some; but, instead of signing them and
returning them to me, as Lord Clanricarde would have done, he said
he should keep them, and send them, when signed, with other papers,
to Colonel Maberly, in order that they might be properly entered;
and on my explaining that I always sent the minutes to be entered,
after which they went to Colonel Maberly, the Postmaster-General
intimated, in rather a peremptory manner, that he must do his own
business in his own way."

"_March 18th._--Gave Lord Hardwicke a statement of my duties and
responsibilities, he having called upon the chief officers to do
the like."

The minute examination which is, doubtless, indispensable on board a
man-of-war, was less profitable in the Post Office:--

"_March 20th._-- We are suffering much inconvenience from the
manner in which Lord Hardwicke delays his decision on the minutes:
those left with him on the 13th instant are not yet returned. He
appears to be making the mistake of attempting too much. He is
calling for all sorts of returns, some on unimportant matters,
_e.g._, the number of fires lighted daily in the office, and seems
unwilling to rely sufficiently on the recommendations of his
advisers."

"_March 23rd._--In discussing the proposed reduction in the
Colonial postage, the Postmaster-General was very complimentary
as to the accuracy of my financial predictions as regards former
measures."

"_March 26th._--The Postmaster-General, instead of simply approving
our minutes, is apt to add instructions which render the whole
impracticable. I find, however, a readiness on his part to alter
his minutes on their impracticability being pointed out."

Meantime, old sources of trouble beginning to reopen,[96] a
conversation ensued between Lord Hardwicke and myself relative to the
division of duties. He again expressed a desire to place matters on a
more satisfactory footing, but appeared to have a notion that Colonel
Maberly's authority must be in some degree superior to mine. "There
cannot," said he, "be two kings in Brentford;" and on my pointing out
that in the Treasury and other departments there were two secretaries
of equal authority, he replied, "If you are to be joint secretaries,
I'll make you shake hands and sit in the same room." How far harmony
would have been improved by compulsory association I am not able
to determine, as the experiment was never tried. The conversation
continued as follows:--

"He again spoke in strong terms of the value of my services, and
proceeded in so open and unreserved a manner that I thought it best
to tell him of the conditions under which I accepted office, and
of the manner in which the late Government had from time to time
postponed the fulfilment of its engagements. My statement produced
an evident effect on Lord Hardwicke. He said he was very glad I had
communicated these facts to him; that he should consider what I had
said confidential, though he should probably speak to Lord Derby on
the subject."

I had the more hope of his intercession in my favour because I found
that he was intimate with Mr. Warburton, of whom he spoke in the
highest possible terms. The hope, however, was soon crushed:--

"_April 13th._--Warburton came into my room before seeing the
Postmaster-General [the appointment had been made by me with his
lordship's sanction], but, as he thought it better not to come up
again, I arranged to call upon him in the evening, when I found
that, although the Postmaster-General had spoken well of me,
Warburton has no hope whatever of his adopting any more decided
course than a division of duties between Maberly and myself; so
that chance is gone."

"_May 3rd._--The Postmaster-General has sent me a minute referring
to my statement of the work in hand, and requesting that I will
not enter on any new subject without his previous direction. As
he was then at the office, I immediately applied to him for an
explanation, when I found that he had sent a similar minute to
Maberly, and that his object was to secure that he should at all
times know what was going on. He says (all in good temper) that
hitherto I have really been Postmaster-General, but that he intends
to be Postmaster-General himself; adding, however, that he has no
intention of obstructing improvement. His notion was that it would
be practicable for me to apply for the authority in question, even
before entering on the preliminary investigation of the subject,
but I satisfied him that this was impossible; and the understanding
now is that I am to make the requisite application as early as
possible.... In the course of an interview a good deal of plain
speaking occurred in a half-joking manner. Among other things, I
told him that, if he obstructed improvements, I should leave him."

If I had had any misgiving as to the manner in which my plain speaking
had been received, it could scarcely have outlived the following:--

"_May 4th._--The Postmaster-General has sent Maberly and myself
the following, which came written on a large sheet of paper like a
minute:--

"'_To Celebrate the Queen's Birthday._

"'The Master-General of the Post Office requests the honour of
Colonel Maberly's and Mr. Rowland Hill's company at dinner on the
13th of May, at a quarter before eight o'clock.

"'Full dress.'"[97]

It was curious that this act of politeness should be followed
immediately by an act of discipline:--

"The same hour which brought this good-natured invitation brought
also a demand for my latch-key of the private door of the General
Post Office. The Postmaster-General has given up his own latch-key,
and has required every one else to do the same. I am not sure that
this is not a necessary precaution."

Be this as it may, the safeguard was not long maintained, the
latch-keys being quietly redistributed in the interregnum that followed
Lord Hardwicke's retirement, and never afterwards reclaimed.

The necessity for my appearing at Lord Hardwicke's party in court
dress led to a discovery, which, though somewhat annoying at the time,
I can afford to laugh at now. Calling for correspondence which had
taken place three or four years before with the Lord Chamberlain, and
which, as I understood, for I had never seen the papers, regulated
my official costume, I found that, while Colonel Maberly was placed
in the third, I had been assigned to the fifth or lowest class, the
Secretaries for Ireland and Scotland, my acknowledged inferiors in
position, being placed in the fourth. I had no difficulty in deciding
on the authorship of this arrangement, nor in conjecturing why,
contrary to rule, the papers had been withheld. On my calling the
Postmaster-General's attention to the matter, he took it up warmly,
expressing an opinion that I should be placed in the same class with
Colonel Maberly, and directing me to prepare a minute accordingly,
though, as formalities had to be gone through, the change could not be
made in time for the dinner.[98] I suppose, however, Lord Hardwicke
must have forgotten the matter. My own attention was soon absorbed in
things of more importance; and nothing was done until the matter was
set right of itself on my promotion to the sole secretaryship. I could
not but admire at the dinner the discreet arrangement made by our host
to prevent jealousy between Colonel Maberly and me, the former being
placed at one end of the table, the latter at the other, while his
lordship sat precisely in the middle.

To return to ordinary matters. Certainly my Post Office experience had
never yet long run smooth, and the ripple soon came:--

"_June 10th._--In a minute of Saturday last, on the Prussian
treaty, which, I hope, is now finally settled, I mentioned,
as I had done in former minutes, that I had seen Chevalier
Bunsen on a point of difference. In confirming the minute, the
Postmaster-General made an exception as regards my seeing Chevalier
Bunsen, adding a direction that, in future, when any foreign
minister came to the Post Office, he, the Postmaster-General,
should be informed, with a view, as afterwards explained, of
seeing the minister himself. Even if necessary--which it was
not--neither the time, just as I had satisfactorily concluded a
very difficult treaty, nor the manner, was well chosen. To-day,
on inquiring how the Postmaster-General wished me to proceed when
he was absent from the office, viz., whether I should delay the
business or transact it myself, and report proceedings on his
arrival, he expressed a desire that I should, in his absence,
inform the 'Chief Secretary,' meaning Colonel Maberly, of the
minister's visit, so as to give him the option of the interview;
an instruction which was particularly absurd, seeing that the very
negotiation in question had been transferred to me [from Colonel
Maberly].... To this I replied that I should, of course, follow
the Postmaster-General's instructions as regards communicating
with himself, but that I must decline informing Colonel Maberly,
as my doing so would be equivalent to an acknowledgment of
subordination to the latter. On this the Postmaster-General
declared an intention of writing a minute, making my position
really subordinate to Colonel Maberly's, again using his favourite
expression, 'there cannot be two kings in Brentford'--that there
must be a first authority, a second, and a third; that to have two
equal authorities was contrary to his views of discipline, &c., &c.
I acquiesced in the general proposition, but reminded him of Lord
Clanricarde's opinion, that it was desirable Colonel Maberly should
be induced to retire; adding that, during the last few years Lord
Clanricarde was in office, I was in effect the Chief Secretary;
and suggesting that, if Colonel Maberly were retained, and it was
necessary to place one above the other, the proper course would
be to ascertain which of us was best qualified for the superior
appointment, and to act accordingly. I said also that there would
be no great difficulty in deciding the question of superiority,
for that he would find, on referring to the minutes, that Lord
Clanricarde was in the habit of requiring my opinion in nearly
all Colonel Maberly's difficult cases; and when, as frequently
happened, we advised differently, in nine instances out of ten my
advice was adopted, and Colonel Maberly's rejected. As all this
seemed to produce little effect, I proposed to defer the question
for the present, and proceeded with the other business."

Among the minutes which I submitted to him was one which, after reading
it, he pronounced a "most masterly statement," declaring his intention
to act in accordance with its recommendation, and praising the minute
on various grounds. My Journal thus continues:--

"On finding that he was so much delighted with it, I reverted to
our conversation as to my position.... This appeared to take him
aback, and he replied, 'Well, well, I must write my minute;[99]
but I don't think I shall make you subordinate to Colonel Maberly,
though I must have a difference. I don't think you'll object to
what I intend; and, if you should, I sha'n't be at all offended by
your appealing to the First Lord of the Treasury.'"

The minute, accordingly, appeared in a very mitigated form, so that the
main objection left in it was to the persistent designation of Colonel
Maberly as Chief Secretary, a title unknown in the office, authorized
by no warrant or other document, and sure to lead to further trouble.

For the present, however, I determined to let matters rest, as I came
to the conclusion that further attempts would be useless, and very
probably injurious.

I need not say that I scanned the political horizon[100] at this time
with great interest:--

"_July 26th._--Circumstanced as I am, I have, of course, anxiously
watched the elections, now nearly completed. I fear the result is
such as to enable Ministers to retain their places for some time."

The restrictions laid upon me by the Postmaster-General greatly
lessened my work, and gave me a relief with which I might have been
well pleased, could I have been satisfied as to consequences. The new
distribution of duties, however, was ill-judged; and, though partly
corrected on my representation, remained seriously obstructive to
improvement.

My forebodings as to the result of the elections were not confirmed:--

"_November 23rd._--The Postmaster-General has decided to defer
for the present the whole question of Colonial postage. He talked
openly to me of a doubt of the Ministry continuing in office."

"_December 15th._--The Postmaster-General tells me that it is very
probable that the Ministry will be thrown out by the division
on the Budget, and spoke of the views of the Government in so
unreserved a manner, that I thought it right to remind him that my
political views and connections were those of the opposite party.
He said he knew that very well, but still went on to speak of the
views, expectations and intentions of the Cabinet."

"_December 17th._--The division last night was against the
Ministers. Brotherton, who has just called at the office, tells me
that they will certainly resign to-day."

"_December 20th._--The Postmaster-General has appointed a hot
Orange partizan of the present Government (not previously in the
service) to succeed Creagh (recently dead) as President of the
Dublin Money Order Office. I know, from what he has told me, that
he has done this unwillingly, being, I suspect, pressed thereto by
the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Cornwall and I had recommended the
next in seniority, who happens to be a good man. Notwithstanding
this, and one or two other cases, Lord Hardwicke has, on the whole,
used his patronage well."

I must, in fairness, add that the gentleman whose appointment seemed at
the time so objectionable proved a very good officer.

At this time of doubt as to who might be my new official superior,
and what the position I might hold with him, I perused with great
satisfaction an important document just issued:--

"_December 28th._--The Report on the East Indian Post Office
contains, among other matters, the following testimony in favour
of uniformity of rate. It is curious to contrast the evidence of
the officials there and here on the question, especially when the
greater distances and inferior means of conveyance in our Indian
Empire are considered.

"'34. Uniformity of postage, without reference to distance,
is recommended by its simplicity, by its fairness, and by the
facilities it gives for the introduction of other improvements into
the department. Combined with a low rate of charge, it forms the
conspicuous and chief benefit, which the monopoly of the carriage
of letters enables the Government to confer upon the whole body
of its subjects, by almost annihilating distance, and placing it
within the power of every individual to communicate freely with
all parts of the empire. It makes the Post Office what, under any
other system, it can never be--the unrestricted means of diffusing
knowledge, extending commerce, and promoting in every way the
social and intellectual improvement of the people. It is no longer
an experiment, having been introduced with eminent success into
the United Kingdom, as well as into the United States of America,
France, Spain, and Russia. It is advocated by every officer of
experience connected with the department in India, and by every
individual who has been consulted in the course of this inquiry,
and it has already been recommended by three out of the four
subordinate Governments.'"

I may add that the recommendation of the Commission was soon afterwards
carried into effect; so that, with the exception of some outlying
portions, a low uniform rate of postage was established over the length
and breadth of our vast Indian Empire.

CHAPTER XXII.

LORD CANNING. (1853-4.)

The doubt as to the new Postmaster-General was soon satisfactorily
cleared by the appointment of Lord Canning. Though it was not until a
fortnight later that I had an opportunity of forming a direct opinion
of our new chief, I had heard enough to make me very hopeful as to
my future relations with him. Meantime, I had the satisfaction to
find that I had lost no ground at the Treasury, Mr. Wilson, the new
secretary, having written to ask for my advice and opinion on the
several cases awaiting decision.

"_January 14th._--My interview with Lord Canning was
satisfactory.... I intended to have abstained at this, my first
interview, from all allusions to the disagreeables of my position;
but he entered himself on the subject, and, in the course of a long
conversation, I told him of the expectations, still unfulfilled,
held out by Sir Charles Wood and Lord Clanricarde; of my successful
administration of the Money Order Office; of the division of
duties, which had gradually grown up under Lord Clanricarde; and
of the new arrangements made by Lord Hardwicke, &c. I found that
... as was the case with Lord Hardwicke when he entered office,
he had been led to believe that I and Frederic did nothing but
manage the Money Order Office. At the close of an hour and a-half's
conversation, Lord C. expressed a desire that Lord Hardwicke's
arrangements should be observed till he (Lord C.) was more familiar
with the business of the office, when he would revise them."

At such a time as this every confirmation of my former calculations
and predictions was highly acceptable, and particularly welcome was a
return just then received, which showed that the number of letters had
at length attained that five-fold increase on which I had originally
counted, progress of late having been very rapid.

I soon had the satisfaction to find that I was treated with confidence,
Lord Canning consulting me on various matters which his predecessor had
withdrawn from my charge.

"_March 12th._--The Postmaster-General voluntarily entered on the
subject of my position. He intends to speak to Lord Clanricarde,
and probably to Sir Charles Wood, on the matter."

I saw also fresh evidence of confidence in me at the Treasury:--

"_April 8th._--Mr. John Wood, by direction of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer [Mr. Gladstone], consulted me confidentially on some
points of the intended Budget.... I inquired if I was at liberty
to name the subject to the Postmaster-General, but was told, to my
surprise, that I was not at liberty to do so."

Not _malapropos_ to the present question, I discovered that a serious
obstacle to improvement in our treaty with France had arisen from
a concession heedlessly made to the French Post Office about two
years before, increasing the undue advantages already spoken of.
This concession had been made, not only without my knowledge, but,
improbable as this may appear, without authority from the Treasury.
Although, however, the direct loss produced by this blunder was at the
rate of more than £3,000 a year, the old punctilious notions as to
ostensible economy still stood in the way of the change by which alone
real economy could be obtained, the Postmaster-General informing me
that, though he was ready to listen to any suggestions for facilitating
the desired change, he feared Mr. Gladstone would object to the
expedient of a full retiring allowance to Colonel Maberly on the same
grounds that Sir Charles Wood had done. On the 7th of June, however, he
advised me to prepare a statement for his use at the Treasury; but upon
my speaking of the Parliamentary influence which I could bring to bear
upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he deprecated its present use,
promising at the same time to inform the Chancellor as to the fact.

One important article in the statement called for related to economy. I
had the pleasure to find, upon examination, that the amount of saving,
either actually obtained or prospectively secured by my brother and
myself, within the last sixteen months, was nearly £75,000 per annum,
which, added to nearly £60,000 per annum previously economised since
my return to office, gave a total annual saving of nearly £135,000,
effected in the face of constant opposition, amidst divided authority,
and with command of only a most inadequate force.

"_June 18th._--Sent in my letter to the Postmaster-General....
After very carefully considering the question, ... I have intimated
as plainly as I could, without a risk of offence, my intention not
to remain at the Post Office if present arrangements are continued."

The following shows the substance of the letter, which, however, is
given at full length in the Appendix (H).

I gave in the outset, Lord Canning being as yet new to the matter, a
concise history of my proceedings from the time of my dismissal in
1842, mentioning my invitation to office in 1846, my stipulation as to
assurance of sufficient authority, the promises given me on this point
and the expectation of speedy promotion held out, my own reluctance to
accede to office without a more material guaranty, and my concession to
the opinion of my friends, in particular Mr. Warburton, Lord Overstone,
Mr. Hawes, and Mr. Raikes Currie. After observing that even Lord
Clanricarde's kindness and confidence had failed to counteract the
radical badness of the arrangement, I proceeded as follows:--

"Looking then back upon the events of the six years during which my
promised promotion has been delayed, I feel bound to state that, if
in December, 1846, I could have foreseen what has occurred, I could
not have accepted the offer then made, nor do I believe that under
like circumstances my friends would have advised me to the step."

After speaking of the improvements effected by my brother and myself in
the Money Order Department, and showing that this success established
the probability of improvement under the same management in the Post
Office generally, I mentioned that, owing to the rapid augmentation
in the number of letters, no doubt was entertained in the department
that in a short time a most expensive outlay, probably not less than
half-a-million, would be required for a new post office, a necessity
which I did not doubt might, under better arrangements, be averted for
years, if not removed altogether. I grounded my expectation on the
fact that under the management of my brother and myself a similar and
yet more pressing necessity had been so averted in the Money Order
Department. I likewise pointed out that, even supposing a new building
to be afterwards necessary, it was important that its erection should
be delayed until the carrying of the railway system into the heart
of the Metropolis should have shown what site and what arrangements
would best suit the altered state of things. I observed also, that from
overtures made to the department by some of the projectors, I thought
it highly probable that whatever changes in the Post Office might be
rendered necessary or desirable by the new state of things, they would
not have to be made altogether, perhaps not mainly, at the cost of
Government.

After referring to the almost clamorous demand for further facilities
in the transmission of letters, a demand which could not be effectually
met without energetic and cordial co-operation in the higher
departments of the Executive, and ready obedience and zealous activity
in all the subordinates, I concluded as follows:--

"Having written thus far, and having also carefully considered
every statement and every remark I have made, I feel it my
duty to say that, after all the deliberation required by so
grave a question, I have arrived at the settled conviction that
the existing state of things cannot continue; and I therefore
respectfully request that in considering the present application
such continuance may not be regarded as a possible alternative.

"I am sure your lordship will believe me incapable of dealing
lightly with that connection with the Post Office on which I set
so great and just a value: to devise and bring into operation, so
far as it has been effected, my system of Penny Postage, has been
the cherished object of the best years of my life; interest in its
progress, whether I am an instrument or not in promoting it, will
ever retain the firmest hold on my mind, and would suffice to keep
me in any course but one which I feel to be inconsistent alike with
my private and my public duty."

* * * * *

The whole correspondence relative to my position was submitted by Lord
Canning to Mr. Gladstone, who, in turn, as I was informed, consulted
the Premier, Lord Aberdeen. But I again encountered delay, though I
was now assured that, in order to facilitate the desired change, Mr.
Gladstone would arrest certain economical measures which had been
decided on, and to which he attached great importance. The vacancy in
prospect was that of the Chairmanship of the Audit Office (spoken of
long ago by Lord Clanricarde), but no exact information existed as to
the intentions of the incumbent, Sir William Herries. Lord Canning,
however, undertook to inquire. He soon afterwards informed me that
Sir William Herries had, some time before, proposed to retire if
Government would give him a regiment; but, upon a cavalry regiment
being offered, had preferred to wait for one of infantry. Upon my
inquiring whether I might understand that Government would take the
first opportunity of giving Colonel Maberly another appointment, Lord
Canning, after reminding me of the sacrifice already made to that
end, added that Mr. Gladstone had expressed an opinion to the effect,
that if, by so doing, he should succeed in retaining my services, he
should most effectually consult the interests of the Government and the
expectations of the public. I could not but express my gratification at
so high a compliment. I still, however, pressed for a definite answer
to my question, and finally, the Postmaster-General promised again to
consult the higher authorities, and to write me an answer to my letter.
He added, that he should show the draft of his letter to the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, and probably to Lord Aberdeen.

"_August 10th._--Received the following letter from Lord Canning:--

"'Grosvenor Square,
"'August 9th, 1853.

"'MY DEAR SIR,--I have laid your letter of the 18th of June before
Lord Aberdeen and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who have given
it their attentive consideration.

"'The change of your official position which is urged in it
depends upon matters not altogether in the control of the
Government; and, although I am enabled to say that upon a fitting
opportunity arising it is probable that an offer would be made
by the Government to use Colonel Maberly's services in another
department, I have no knowledge whatever of Colonel Maberly's
wishes or intentions in regard to his own position, nor do I feel
it necessary at present to inquire into them.

"'I trust that you will not be disappointed if I am unable to give
any further or more positive reply to your request.

"'I return the copy of the 'confidential correspondence' which I
received from you, and which has since been seen by the Chancellor
of the Exchequer.

"'I am, my dear Sir,
"'Yours very faithfully,
"'CANNING.

"'ROWLAND HILL, Esq.,
"'&c., &c., &c.'"

I was much disappointed; for with every allowance for official caution,
the letter promised but little, and seemed to imply that, even if a fit
opportunity should occur, there was no intention of _requiring_ Colonel
Maberly to give up his present appointment. If any one regards my
distrust as unwarrantable, I think he will find excuse in considering
the numberless disappointments I had already sustained.

"_August 16th._--Placed the subjoined letter in the hands of the
Postmaster-General. Explained verbally the danger to my health, and
even life, of continuing the present arrangements, described my
sufferings from a tendency of blood to the head, ... and suggested
his seeing Hodgson[101] on the subject. I told him that my object
was to satisfy him of the real difficulties of the case, and that
in saying I _could_ not go on as at present, I did not mean that I
_would_ not. I think the communication will have its effect."

In this letter I repeated the request so often made at an earlier
period, that until the only effectual change could be made I might at
least have such support to my authority as would arise from my being
placed on perfect equality in all respects with my colleague,[102]
and further have definitely assigned to me such departments of the
secretarial duty as his lordship might judge proper, together with
a transfer to my authority of the corresponding portions of the
secretarial staff. An alternative expedient which I suggested was
that I should suspend my present duties, and employ the interval in
personally inspecting the postal arrangements of foreign countries,
and in negotiating, under his lordship's instructions, such changes
as might appear best calculated to facilitate our foreign postal
communications.

Three days later I spoke again to the Postmaster-General, pointing out
that, by the death of Sir F. Adam, there was a vacant colonelcy. He
was aware of the fact, but thought he could not move in the matter. In
this posture of affairs, having first arranged with Mr. Hodgson for a
letter to the Postmaster-General, which the latter had expressed his
willingness to receive, I left town for a holiday, and passed a month
in Scotland.

"_October 13th._--The Postmaster-General came to the office
for the first time since his holiday and mine commenced.... He
entered on the subject of my letter of the 16th August. He told
me that he had received Mr. Hodgson's letter; that immediately
on his return to town he saw the Chancellor of the Exchequer on
the subject, and had, with some reluctance, called also on the
Commander-in-Chief (here he noted the fact, of which I was aware,
that three vacant colonelcies had arisen); that he was not at
liberty to state what had passed at the interview, but that it had
satisfied him of the high probability that, in a few months, if
not weeks, Government would be able to offer Colonel Maberly the
appointment of Chairman of the Board of Audit; and that though he
must be understood as not pledging himself that such would be the
case, and still less that Colonel M. would accept the offer if
made, he had made up his mind to advise me to wait. Incidentally,
he named Christmas as the probable maximum time. He added that
he thought there would be great difficulty in adopting either
of the temporary expedients suggested in my letter of the 16th
August, more especially the first, and that he hoped to obviate
the necessity altogether. After urging the unfairness of making
my position contingent on Colonel M.'s decision, and suggesting
the immediate adoption of the first alternative in my letter,
which, while perfectly fair, would probably make Colonel M. the
more ready to accept the offer, I inquired whether, in the event
of his refusing, the Postmaster-General would be prepared then
to adopt such alternative; to which he replied that he certainly
should; but that he had reason to believe that the offer would not
be refused, accompanied, as it would be, with such addition to
the salary attached to the office as may be required to make up
the amount Colonel M. now receives. In conclusion, I thanked the
Postmaster-General, and promised carefully to consider his advice."

The period of suspense which followed the above communication was
agreeably broken by the visit of the Treasury Commission, which came
to inquire into Post Office salaries, &c. The Commissioners were Lord
Elcho, Sir Stafford Northcote, Sir Charles Trevelyan, and Mr. Hoffay.
My Journal thus describes the mode of my examination:--

"_December 2nd._--The Commissioners concluded my evidence....
Matters are conducted in a very pleasant, though discursive
manner. As regards myself, it has been rather a conversation or
discussion (as though I were a member of the Commission) than an
examination."

Of the results of the investigation I shall speak under the head
"Salaries."

The opening of the year 1854 still found me in the same position,
though, certainly, with a better defined prospect than ever before.
I had now, however, completed the seventh year of my service at
the Post Office, and, perhaps, I may be excused if, in comparing
fulfilment with expectations held out, I thought seven years a rather
free interpretation of six months. Still, being convinced that the
Postmaster-General was as earnest in my favour as even Lord Clanricarde
had been, and also that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and even the
Premier were sincerely desirous of speedily effecting the proposed
change, I could afford to wait a little, though my health would not
admit of a long delay. Fortunately, encouraging information soon came.

"_January 6th, 1854._--The Postmaster-General entered on the
subject of my position at the Post Office. Showed me a letter from
Lord Hardinge, to which he, no doubt, referred on the 13th of
October; it is dated in August. Lord H. states that, at the usual
rate of mortality among colonels, Sir William Herries' turn would
occur before the end of January."

"_January 16th._--Dined at Lord Canning's; a pleasant small party.
I sat next to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with whom I had much
agreeable conversation."

I remember that I returned home with the impression that I had been all
the time upon my trial (in a most friendly spirit, however), first,
before the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and afterwards, though the
notion may seem ridiculous, before Lady Canning, my host having very
perceptibly led me into conversation with this highly-accomplished
lady, and she having, with no little tact and much kindness, drawn
me out. I was so far satisfied, however, with the interview that,
had I but been in even my former health, the remaining interval of
expectation would have seemed short.

"_February 25th._--Went to Brighton for a little rest. The harass
and hard work, so much increased of late by railway irregularities
and by the apparently never-ending delay as to my position in the
office, have made me seriously unwell."

Matters, however, were now steadily advancing towards a conclusion:--

"_March 2nd._--Had some further talk with the Postmaster-General on
the subject of my position. The recent death of Colonel Hay caused
him again to see Lord Hardinge. The next vacancy is to be offered
to Sir William Herries."

It must be admitted that waiting for dead men's shoes has but little
tendency to promote kindly sympathy, and I fear my family, in
consulting the military obituary about this time were not so much
impressed as could be wished with the loss sustained by the country in
the death of its veterans. The desired information, however, did not
come in the expected form.

"_April 8th._--Somewhat startled with the announcement in the
newspapers that Sir William Herries had resigned his appointment
as Chairman of the Audit Office. But the Postmaster-General tells
me that this is a necessary preliminary to his being nominated to
a colonelcy now vacant; that he (the Postmaster-General) has seen
Lord Aberdeen respecting Sir William Herries' successor, and that
'all is right.'"

A week later I was again taken by surprise, not unmingled with alarm:--

"_April 15th._--Yesterday the _Daily News_ announced that Mr.
Edward Romilly had been appointed to succeed Sir William Herries.
This I concluded was a mistake; but this morning a similar
announcement appearing in the _Morning Chronicle_, I sent a note
of inquiry to the Postmaster-General, and received by return of
messenger a note as follows:--'Dear Mr. Hill,--The announcement
in the _Chronicle_ is true, but the fact in nowise affects any
arrangements respecting yourself. Yours, very faithfully, CANNING.'
Later in the day the Postmaster-General came to the office and
explained that the Government was unwilling to place a new man at
the head of the office; they had, therefore, promoted Mr. Romilly,
one of the previous Commissioners, and that Colonel Maberly was to
take Mr. R.'s place; that he had consented so to do, and that the
whole thing was settled.... The Postmaster-General added that the
whole scheme was near being knocked on the head a few days ago by
the breaking-up of the Ministry on the question of postponing the
Reform Bill; for twelve hours they had in effect resigned."

Notwithstanding the announcement that "the whole thing was settled,"
it may well be supposed that, after receiving the last part of Lord
Canning's communication, I retained some little suppressed anxiety
until the necessary forms should be completed; for this, however, ten
days sufficed.

"_April 25th._--The following letter was this morning received from
the Treasury:--

"Treasury Chambers, 24th April, 1854.

"MY LORD,--I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of Her
Majesty's Treasury to transmit for your information and guidance
a copy of their Lordships' minute of the 21st instant, appointing
Lieut.-Colonel Maberly to a seat at the Board of Audit, and
consolidating the appointments of Secretary to the General Post
Office and Secretary to the Postmaster-General in the person of Mr.
Rowland Hill.

"I am, &c.,
"C. E. TREVELYAN.

"The Right Honourable the Postmaster-General,
"&c., &c., &c."

"Addressed the following letter to the Postmaster-General:--

"G. P. O., 25th April, 1854.

"MY DEAR LORD,--Allow me to tender my sincere and earnest thanks
for the change which has been effected in my position--a change for
which I feel the more indebted because of the persevering kindness
with which, in the midst of your own laborious duties, you have
wrought for it from the moment of my earliest application to you
on the subject, and with which I feel the more deeply gratified
because it affords a promise of seeing those improvements which
have been the main object of my life brought to completion under
your lordship's enlightened administration.

"I have the honour to remain,
"Your Lordship's obliged and faithful servant,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"The Right Honourable VISCOUNT CANNING,
"&c., &c., &c."

I also wrote letters of thanks to Mr. Gladstone and Lord Aberdeen.

Letters of congratulation soon poured in from the many friends in
and out of Parliament, at home and abroad, who had so long and so
steadily supported the cause of postal reform, and so kindly interested
themselves in my favour; amongst others, from Lord Brougham, Lord
Truro, Sir Francis Baring, Mr. Warburton, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Cobden,
Mr. Hume, Mr. Moffatt, Mr. Raikes Currie, and M. Piron.[103]

Government went further even than I had ever asked for, advancing my
salary at once to the maximum rate of £2,000 a year.

It will be observed that all those to whom I had on this occasion to
render official thanks had been members of the Government by which
twelve years before I had been dismissed from office. I could not but
think that the kind and earnest manner in which these gentlemen now
acted proceeded in some measure from a desire to compensate me for
the injustice of their former leader; and this view made me even more
grateful for their consideration.

CHAPTER XXIII.

PROGRESS OF REFORM FROM THE MIDDLE OF 1851 TO THE END OF 1854.

Having thus conducted the narrative to that point in my official
career to which my hopes and expectations had so long been directed,
I now pause again to speak of concurrent events, and particularly to
mention the improvements effected during the three years of which I
have been treating.[104] I shall, as before, deal separately with the
several departments of Post Office administration. I must add that,
for the sake of convenience, I have in several departments continued
the narrative somewhat beyond the period of my appointment as sole
secretary, viz., April, 1854, trenching even, in one or two cases, on
the year 1855.

CONVEYANCE OF MAILS.

As the reader is aware, I had long regarded it as of primary importance
to obtain a general Act regulating railway charges to the Post Office,
an Act that should _fix_ the charges for ordinary trains, and establish
some principle applicable to other cases, and thus either supersede
arbitration--generally a very unsatisfactory expedient--or confine it
within definite bounds. There seemed at one time a prospect of some
progress in this direction, a bill being introduced into Parliament by
Government, under the administration of Lord John Russell, the object
of which was to remove doubts as to our right to send a guard as a
passenger by any ordinary train with the mails as his luggage, and also
to authorize our sending bags as parcels on payment of the usual parcel
rates. If this measure had been adopted, it would have enabled us to
establish additional mails, especially between the larger towns, at
hours when the correspondence, though important, is not sufficient to
justify the high charges usually made by the railway companies. I did
all in my power to support such a measure--of which, indeed, I was in
great part the author--but nothing was effected. The bill was, first,
so modified, through concessions to the railway companies, as to become
worse than useless, and then, because yet further modification was
resisted by the Government, was thrown out.

Eighteen months later, under the authority of Lord Hardwicke, I
prepared clauses, intended to secure fair rates of charge, for
insertion in all new railway bills. These his lordship determined to
incorporate in a bill, with a view to their extension also to existing
railways. I estimated that their adoption (and they were perfectly
just) would reduce our annual expenditure in railway conveyance (then
about £360,000) by at least £100,000. The overthrow of Lord Derby's
administration, which occurred a few days later, transferred the matter
to other hands.

A committee being appointed on railway and canal bills in the session
of 1853, with Mr. Cardwell as chairman, I gave evidence,[105] of which
the following is a summary.

I showed that the existing relations between the Post Office and
the railway companies were very unsatisfactory, tending greatly to
restrict the use of the railways for the conveyance of mails, to the
real injury of the companies, and still more to that of the public.
I showed, also, that while the construction of railways had greatly
reduced the cost of conveying passengers and goods, it had largely
increased that of conveying the mails. Thus, since the opening of
railways, although the total weight of mail had increased by only 140
per cent., the cost of its conveyance had increased by nearly 300
per cent., viz., from, £112,000 in 1836 to about £442,000 (of which
about £362,000 was for railway conveyance) in 1852. I laid before the
committee a bill[106] (approved first by Lord Hardwicke, and afterwards
by Lord Canning) framed with a view of prescribing rates of charge for
mails conveyed by ordinary trains (those run at hours determined by
the companies), such rates being fully equal, all things considered,
to those charged to the public for like services, and of laying down
a principle of arbitration in respect of trains run at hours fixed by
the Postmaster-General. I also laid before the committee a copy of my
Report to the Postmaster-General of the 1st of January, 1847.[107]

The committee, in its Report, referred especially to my evidence, and,
in the main, adopted my view, expressing an opinion "that the companies
should afford to the Post Office, at the same charge as would be paid
by private individuals for similar services, every assistance which
might add to the convenience of the public. They think that no railway
should have any claim to be considered as fulfilling its obligations to
the district in which it is situate which fails to facilitate in this
way the postal communications of that district."[108]

Nothing, however, was accomplished; and repeated attempts, subsequently
made, were equally unavailable. In truth, the railway influence is
so strong in Parliament, and, on this point, so little guided by a
knowledge of true railway interests, that the injurious law enacted
thirty years ago, though avowedly a temporary measure, to last only
until experience of the working of railways should have afforded the
requisite data for laying down a scale of charges, continues in force
to the present day.

Meanwhile, willing to try what could be done with the existing laws,
I devised a new application of them. Being pressed to supply Ayr and
the neighbouring towns with a more direct communication than they then
enjoyed, and finding that the railway company to be dealt with, though
having suitable trains actually running, refused to carry the mails,
except at prices far beyond what the correspondence would justify, I
devised a new kind of notice, which the solicitor to the Post Office
regarded as strictly legal, requiring the company to carry the mails by
the existing trains, but leaving them at liberty to alter or withdraw
these trains altogether on giving us fifteen days' notice. Under such
a notice our arbitrator was of opinion that the remuneration awarded
would be, as it ought to be, very low. This plan succeeding, I obtained
its extension to some other lines, but at length met with resistance
from one of the companies. On reference to the law officers of the
Crown, our claim was pronounced untenable, they holding that by the
law as it stood, the Postmaster-General was bound (whether he desired
it or not) to _fix_ the hours for the mail-trains without reference to
the arrangements of the companies. The Post Office is thus kept in a
position quite unintelligible to the public, who cannot understand why
existing trains, obviously capable of employment for postal service,
are not used wherever convenience requires; the real obstacle being
that the amount of correspondence in question, though sufficient to
justify the expense of conveyance at a moderate rate--a rate, however,
fully remunerative to the company--is often quite insufficient to meet
the heavy cost of a regular mail train.

Amidst these efforts to procure that cheapness of conveyance which
would justify greater frequency of despatch, it was clearly of
importance to obtain for the conveyance of the mails the greatest
practicable speed, though the public can be little aware how many
difficulties, direct and incidental, attend acceleration. In the year
1851 we called upon the North Western Company to accelerate its mail
trains, but met with resistance. In a conference with Captain Huish,
the manager of the line, while explicitly insisting on our right to
require the change, I expressed a wish to meet the convenience of the
company as far as possible, and proposed a modification, which I hoped
would remove objections. After a week's consideration, the company
persisted in its refusal, disputing our right to require them to carry
mails at a speed exceeding twenty-seven miles an hour, including
stoppages. This view unfortunately was supported by our solicitor.
Meanwhile, however, at the desire of the Postmaster-General, I made a
compromise with the company until the opinion of the Crown officers
should be obtained. By this, when given, our right was sustained.
Even the amount of acceleration thus procured proved highly valuable,
was very popular in the City, and produced some strong expressions of
thanks; but before the end of the year I procured sanction for the
gradual introduction of a measure to run the mails, at least on the
long lines of road, at express speed.

The work of acceleration was quickened by a manœuvre of the
Great Northern Railway Company, which, in July of that year (1851),
spontaneously began to run a train at night-mail time, and at such
speed as to outstrip the mail train on the North Western line.
Believing that the object was to force upon us, through the public
voice, the use of this train, of course at a large expense, I applied
to the North Western Company for such acceleration on their line as
would obviate the demand. It was at this time that I first suggested
what are now called limited mails, though the expedient was not adopted
till some years afterwards.[109]

The plan of limited mails, when brought into operation, raised the
speed along the North Western route to forty miles an hour, including
stoppages, a rate the very notion of which would have been regarded
thirty years before as a madman's dream.

The great extent of the acceleration in the northern mails eventually
obtained may be exemplified as follows. When I first took the matter
in hand, though there was railway conveyance over the whole distance,
a letter leaving London by the night mail for Edinburgh or Glasgow
could not receive an answer until the afternoon of the next day but
one. The answer to a Monday night's letter, for instance, did not
arrive until the afternoon of Wednesday; since the Monday night-mail
did not reach its destination until after the departure of the return
mail appointed to reach London on Wednesday morning; whereas now
(1870)--the Monday night-mail from London reaching Edinburgh or Glasgow
on Tuesday morning, and the return mail not starting until Tuesday
evening--not only is the answer to a Monday night's letter received
on Wednesday morning, but also there is allowed for writing it an
interval of not less than ten or eleven hours; in effect, a whole day.
This result is easily stated, but were I to attempt to detail the
preliminary arrangements essential to the series of changes by which
it was effected, or the various devices by which difficulties had to
be surmounted, I should weary out the reader and even tire myself. Let
it suffice to give some notion of the multiplicity of arrangements
affected, and the almost theatrical suddenness of the transition. The
day before each successive change everything remained exactly in _statu
quo_. Every branch mail along the whole line had to bring up its mail
at the established time. Every office, sub-office, receiving-house,
and pillar-box, had to yield up its letters in accordance with this
arrangement, closing therefore to the public, at such an hour as
best suited such requirement. Every rural messenger, on foot or on
horseback, had to arrive in accordance with the time for such closing;
and, in this case, thousands of receiving places and thousands of
messengers were concerned. All this being the proceeding of one day,
on the next everything was different, the hour everywhere altered, so
much so that, at some of the places remote from the starting point the
alteration involved even substitution of day for night or night for
day. Of course every person concerned had to be apprised of the change,
and prepared for it. A single surveyor might have to issue instructions
to a thousand offices, and these to as many messengers, since ignorance
or neglect in any member of the force would inevitably have produced
confusion fruitful of annoyance and complaint in the places served. It
must be added that the highly complicated provision thus made for the
mails in one direction had all to be repeated for those in the opposite
direction.

I need not say that innovation is often pointed to as the source of
evils with which it has no real connection. Thus, great irregularity
having occurred in the mails to the north of Scotland, through
long detention at Forfar--purposely made by the railway company in
consequence of the Post Office disputing their right to claim extra
payment for forwarding the mails (when late) by the train which
actually carried on their passengers--there was great dissatisfaction
and anger at Aberdeen and elsewhere; the blame being unjustly laid on
the Post Office, and, through mere coincidence of time, charged upon
the recent acceleration of the mails.

Of course the higher the speed the greater, other things equal, is the
danger of irregularity; and complaint on this head arose in no measured
tone. As our representations to the companies were met by allegations
of unpunctuality on our part, I proposed a covenant by which they and
the Post Office should be mutually subjected to fine whenever any
irregularity occurred, but the offer found little acceptance. Finding
this to be the case, and that the continued irregularity of the
northern mails still provoked severe attacks on the Post Office, I
sought defence by publishing a circular which I had addressed to the
railway companies concerned. This step, however, produced a number
of letters in reply, some of them equally skilful and unscrupulous.
Effectual rejoinder would have made an intolerable demand on my time
and strength, so that I began to repent having resorted to publicity at
all. Objectionable as it is to allow to misrepresentation the advantage
of inferences to be drawn from silence, it may be questioned if it be
not better to leave rectification to the hand of time than to involve
oneself and one's department in distracting controversy.[110] Indeed,
one of our Post Office officials goes so far as to declare that if he
found himself charged in a newspaper with parricide, he would hold
his tongue lest the accusation should be repeated next day with the
aggravation of matricide.

While, however, submitting to misconception, I sought means to obtain
substantial ends; and for this purpose, in preparing a scheme of mutual
fines, I added premiums for punctuality, hoping thereby both to obtain
the consent of the companies to the plan as a whole, and to supply
a new motive to exertion and care. I also planned the conveyance of
the mails on one of the principal lines by special trains absolutely
limited to mail service, which I hoped to accomplish at a moderate
expense by inducing the companies to join in an arrangement under
which, the bare additional cost in each instance being ascertained by a
neutral authority (some eminent engineer), we should be bound to pay a
certain fixed multiple of that amount. Captain Galton, of the Board of
Trade, and Sir William Cubitt the eminent engineer, entirely approved
of both these plans, the latter estimating the cost in question at from
one shilling to one shilling and threepence per mile, and advising that
we should offer to pay two-and-a-half times that amount. Under this
rule, it may be observed, the Post Office would have to pay less for
the whole train than it now frequently pays for only a small part of
one.

The proposal of mutual fines for unpunctuality, notwithstanding its
sweetener of rewards for punctuality, found but little favour with the
companies, and the same remark applies to the plan of charge by fixed
scale; but the proposed special mail service was ultimately adopted.

The introduction of the apparatus for exchanging bags without the
stoppage of the train naturally excited considerable attention.
Probably, however, many of my readers know little of the process beyond
its result. That which takes place is as follows: The bags to be
forwarded, being suspended from a projecting arm at the station, are so
knocked off by a projection from the train as to fall into a net which
is attached to the mail carriage, and is for the moment stretched out
to receive them, while, at the same time, the bags to be left behind,
being hung out from the mail carriage, are in like manner so struck
off as to be caught in a net fixed at the station; the whole of this
complex movement being so instantaneous that the uninformed eye cannot
follow it.

"_April 9th, 1853._--The mail inspector reports that the people
on the line of the [recently] accelerated mail assemble in crowds
to see the bags exchanged at those stations at which the train
does not stop. 'Half Yorkshire,' he says, 'was assembled at
Northallerton; but, though very much delighted, the people appear
to have had no notion of what was really accomplished. Seeing a set
of bags hanging from a sort of lamp-post before the train arrived,
and a similar set in a net below after it had passed, their notion
was that the use of the machinery was merely to transfer the bags
from the one to the other."

Interest and amusement, however, were not unmingled with feelings of
a very different kind. It scarcely need be said that the operation in
question requires very careful management both in the train and at
the station. Even with such management an element of danger remains,
increasing in proportion to the speed of the train and weight of the
bags. In fact, as the use of the bag-apparatus extended, some slight
accidents occurred. In my anxiety I induced the Postmaster-General to
call for a report from Sir William Cubitt on the subject; and this
being delayed through Sir William's indisposition, I took upon myself,
(the Postmaster-General just then being absent), to issue instructions
restricting, and in some cases suspending, their use. This difficulty,
I may however state, was ultimately overcome by an improvement, devised
by my son, in the bag-exchanging apparatus. I may be allowed to add
that Sir William Cubitt, who had himself failed to devise means for
surmounting the difficulty, candidly and kindly expressed a very high
opinion of my son's expedient.

RECTIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS.

The reader will remember[111] how long and how ineffectually I once
strove to obtain the rectification of accounts relative to the true
amount of the postal revenue. In 1852, however, I succeeded in
demonstrating to Lord Hardwicke that if the Post Office were charged,
on the one hand, with a fair share of the packet service, and received
credit, on the other hand, for the stamp duty on newspapers,[112]
the net revenue would be found, not, as was then maintained by some
persons, nothing at all, but, as set forth in the ordinary accounts
of the department, more than a million per annum. A year later Lord
Canning, then Postmaster-General, giving me the draft Report of the
Packet Commission which he had prepared as chairman, with a request
that I would look it over, I found that he had adopted my views, though
he expressed doubts as to the agreement of his colleagues.[113] I may
mention here that ten years later I prepared an elaborate memorandum as
to the means of ascertaining the true net revenue of the Post Office.
This paper, in which the incidence of the packet service expense, as
well as other questions relative to the subject, is duly treated of,
will be found in the Appendix (I).

PACKET SERVICE.

_Lord Canning's Commission._

Of the able Report of the Commission, already mentioned, commonly
called Lord Canning's Commission, the following are some of the leading
points. It will be observed that the question relative to the just
incidence of the charge for mail-packets is not directly dealt with,
though there is enough to show that the feeling of the Commission
accorded with my view.

The Commission, which included not only Lord Canning, but Sir Stafford
Northcote, gave, in their Report, a brief history of the introduction
of contract mail-packets, explained under what special circumstances
heavy subsidies for these packets appeared necessary, and expressed
it as their opinion that when use can be made (as is now the case in
every instance) of steamers which carry passengers and freight, large
subsidies are no longer required. They added that after a new route has
been opened for the extension of commerce, and sufficient time allowed
for the experiment, the further continuance of the service, unless
required for political services of adequate importance, should be made
to depend on its tendency to become self-supporting. The Commission
also advised the omission in future contracts of many conditions which
tend to increase the cost; and recommended that the contract should be
reduced to a simple undertaking (with penalties for failure) to convey
the mails at fixed periods and with a certain degree of speed. This
recommendation was afterwards to a great extent carried into effect; as
was also, though not in the same degree, another recommendation, viz.,
to make the payment, when practicable, consist of a portion of the
sea-postage.

The Commission further advised that, except on the establishment
of a new route, no contracts should be entered into to run for a
long period. On this head, as on that of dispensing with conditions
regarding the construction, size, and steam-power of the ships to
be employed, and other matters, the course thenceforth generally
taken by the Post Office, on my brother's advice, was so to frame the
forms of tender as to ascertain the exact amount of expense involved
in the several requirements. This specification naturally led to the
abandonment of any whose cost exceeded their value, and thus, in
effect, produced a large economy.

The following passage shows the opinion of the Commissioners as to the
extent to which Government should undertake and maintain transmarine
postal communication. The recommendations are still very worthy of
attention:--

"In undertaking this duty [transmarine postal communication] the
Government will, in the first place, have regard to the national
interests, whether political, social, or commercial, involved
in the establishment and maintenance of each particular line.
Care must, however, be taken, in cases where the communication
is desired for commercial purposes, to guard against an undue
expenditure of public money for the benefit of private merchants.
The extension of commerce is undoubtedly a national advantage,
and it is quite reasonable that Parliamentary grants should
occasionally be employed for the sake of affording fresh openings
for it by establishing new lines of communication or introducing
new methods of conveyance, the expense of which, after the first
outlay has been incurred, may be expected to be borne by the
parties availing themselves of the facilities afforded them. But
this having once been done, and sufficient time having been allowed
for the experiment, the further continuance of the service, unless
required for political reasons of adequate importance, should
be made to depend upon the extent to which the parties chiefly
interested avail themselves of it, and upon its tendency to become
self-supporting."[114]

How valuable these recommendations were, how long they were observed,
when they were set aside, and with what result, will appear hereafter.

COLONIAL POSTAGE.

Towards the end of 1851, learning that an influential association
had been formed for obtaining a low rate of transmarine postage, and
fearing that the Government might be placed in the dilemma of having
either to resist a popular demand or to submit to a very serious loss
of revenue, I proposed to the Postmaster-General (Lord Clanricarde)
a middle course, viz., a reduction of colonial postage generally to
sixpence, the rate at the time being for the most part one shilling.
Had I foreseen, what experience has now shown, viz., that where
long distances are concerned the increase of correspondence bears
comparatively little relation to the amount of charge, I should
probably have hesitated before advising concession even so far. The
proposed measure, however, was not adopted at the time, nor under
the administration of Lord Derby. Early in 1853 it was at length
sanctioned; too late, indeed, to forestall public demand, but still
early enough to prevent this from acquiring troublesome force.

"_March 5th, 1853._--The _Daily News_ of this morning contains
an account of the Postmaster-General's reception of a deputation
yesterday, which came to urge the extension of penny postage to the
colonies."

It may not be amiss to remark here that this demand, which has often
been repeated, is generally based on a false analogy. Penny postage, it
is contended, is eminently successful at home, therefore it must needs
succeed abroad; distance is not taken into account on land, therefore
it need not be reckoned by sea; home letters have multiplied enormously
under reduced rates in the United Kingdom, and the same result may
be counted on in our correspondence with the most distant colonies.
Here it is forgotten that before a penny postage was established at
home it was ascertained that a penny charge was more than sufficient
to defray all expenses, while no such proof has been given with regard
to expenses abroad. Distance by land was not disregarded until it was
shown that the variation in cost was far too small to be expressed in
the lowest coin of the realm. Moreover, where very great distances are
concerned, where in the nature of things answer is slow, multiplication
of letters is but moderately affected by the lowering of rate. When
contractors will undertake to carry letters to India or Australia for
the same charge as to Glasgow or Aberdeen--starting at fixed times and
proceeding at the highest practicable speed--ocean penny postage will
become a practical question. Till then the consideration must, I fear,
be postponed.

On the subject of the deputation my Journal thus continues:--

"The Postmaster-General explained the intentions of the Government
on the subject. The Treasury authority for the sixpenny rate has
now been received; it postpones, however, the extension of the
measure to any of the colonies till the necessary negotiations have
been entered into with those not under our control."

Here, too, it may be useful to touch on a popular misconception. It is
commonly supposed that the Home Government can of its own authority
make changes as regards colonial postage, whereas, save in some of the
smallest colonies, such changes must await the consent of the Colonial
Governments.

"_March 5th, 1853._--The _Times_ of this morning contains an
admirable leader on the above subject [the general reduction
of Colonial Postage]. A little complaining at the hardship of
charging a penny for carrying a newspaper to the antipodes must be
forgiven."

From this article I make the following extracts:--

"We have this day to announce a step which, simple and unpretending
as it may seem, is really a greater move towards a complete unity
of our independent empire than the most splendid conquest or the
largest annexation. In reply to a deputation last Friday the
Postmaster-General stated that as soon as the colonial assents
could be obtained and the proper arrangements made, it was intended
to reduce the postage of letters for every part of the British
dominions abroad to the uniform rate of sixpence the half-ounce.
The present average postage of colonial letters is not less
than fourteen-pence. What will be gained is the low rate, _and
the uniformity, which experience has shown to be scarcely less
appreciated than cheapness_. Very shortly, therefore, it will be
in the power of any of our readers to drop a letter into the box
of the next cottage or in the next street, to his friends on the
slopes of the Himalaya, or at Mount Alexander, or at Vancouver's
Island, or at Toronto, with the certainty, as far as the whole
power of Government can secure it, of having an answer back at the
cost, for the postage of the two letters, of one shilling. The
answer from across the Atlantic will probably be within a month;
that from Simla or Lahore within three months; and that from
the antipodes within half a year. A party of emigrants sailing
this week may hope to arrive at Geelong or Adelaide soon after
Midsummer, and about Michaelmas their friends at home, supposing
the arrangement completed, may hope to receive full accounts of
their voyage and safe arrival at the moderate cost of sixpence.
Let people talk as they please of the sun never setting on our
dominions, and of the British flag waving over every sea and every
shore, nothing brings before our mind so forcibly the fact that
we are everywhere, and that everywhere we represent the spirit of
progress, as this little type of universal power--this letter given
to the village postman in March, with an answer from mid-Asia in
June. There is something grand and showy enough in the returns
that appear from time to time in our military and naval journals,
giving the stations of our ships and of soldiers in every part
of the world; but the grandeur of the idea is qualified by many
painful considerations, for the whole is merely an ill remedy for
a still worse evil. But there is no such alloy in the thought that
any member of the British Empire, comprehending an eighth of the
human species, will be able to communicate with any other within
a space of time and at a cost incredible to our forefathers, and
even hitherto unattainable. Considering how much there is that is
questionable in our dominion, in its means and in its results,
it is satisfactory to find one means and one result of undoubted
advantage to the whole human race, viz., that we draw mankind
together, and bring the whole world, so to speak, within hearing
distance."

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL BOOK POST.

The ill-judged treaty which bound us to carry certain printed matter
to the United States at the low charge of one penny for two ounces,
though with very high charges for greater weights, led to discontent
in Canada, which, though enjoying an arrangement far more favourable
on the whole, was subjected to a higher minimum charge. The Canadian
complaint was backed by Lord Grey, then Secretary for the Colonies.
Negotiations were therefore entered into with the United States
Government for the substitution of a regular book-post for the existing
arrangement.

To recover a false step, however, is notoriously less easy than to
make, or even to avoid it, and the negotiation proved fruitless.
The failure was the more unsatisfactory because of the motive for
the rejection of our proposals (fully shown in the progress of the
negotiations), viz., the desire to protect American literary piracy
from the competition of our legitimate production. I am happy to
record, however (1868), that a better spirit has prevailed, and that
books are now sent by post to the United States as elsewhere.

In the year 1852, Lord Wrottesley calling to inform me that the
British Association for the Promotion of Science was about to apply
to Government for the international transmission of scientific
publications at a low rate, I pointed out to him that it would be
much better to apply for a general book-post, and the application was
modified accordingly.

Meantime, with the concurrence of the Commissioners of Post Office
Inquiry in the East Indies and of the East India Company, I obtained
from Lord Hardwicke, though with some difficulty,[115] sanction to a
measure for extending the book-post to the East Indies.

SALARIES AND PROMOTION.

Early in 1852 my brother Frederic completed a measure adjusting the
salaries of the rural sub-postmasters (about six thousand, I believe,
in number), advancing some and depressing others, according to the
ascertained amount of work, and laying down a rule for the decision
of all future cases. Somewhat later, the Postmaster-General having
decided, on receipt of a memorial from the clerks of the Money Order
Office, that their salaries should be revised, I prepared a minute,
which received Lord Hardwicke's ready sanction, and which I intended
to serve as a model for other departments. Its substance was, first,
to prepare a scheme of salaries, classes, &c., according to the best
practicable ideal; to make this the ground of all future appointments,
and gradually to apply it, with due modification, to the clerks already
in the service. Further, it assigned to each clerk a small yearly
increase of salary in case of continued good conduct, regulated the
number of classes and the complement of each by the gradations and
amount of duty, made promotion strictly dependent upon fitness for
higher service, and laid down "that the amount of salary assigned to
the respective classes should be such, and such only, as will suffice
to secure the services of thoroughly competent men." My hope that this
minute would serve as a model for more general regulations did not wait
long for fulfilment.

While these changes were in progress, other departments of the
Office were applying for a revision of salaries, and, as a means of
securing uniformity of action, essential to general contentment, I
offered to deal myself with all such cases. Though this offer was but
very partially accepted at the time, a more decided step towards a
uniform system was taken soon afterwards, as already mentioned, by the
appointment of a Commission for the general revision of salaries in
several departments of the Civil Service. My examination before this
Commission occupied eight days, and I had the satisfaction to find
its views concurring to the full extent with my own and my brother
Frederic's on the important points of patronage, promotion, and
classification.

The Report of this important Commission was issued in the year 1854.
Amongst the many valuable recommendations which it contained, the
following are perhaps the most noticeable:--

The Commissioners first object to the double secretariate, and,
observing that "the business of the Post Office is of a kind which
peculiarly requires centralization," recommend that the whole should be
placed under the direction of a single secretary.

They advise that, in order to place "the highest prizes within
the reach of every deserving person," means should be taken "for
opening the ranks of the Secretary's Office to all members of the
establishment."

They further advise that, throughout the department, individual
salaries should advance by annual increments, instead of by large jumps
at long intervals; all advancement, however, to be contingent on good
conduct.

After mentioning the division of the circulation department into
the "Inland Office," and the "London District Office," and showing
"the analogous character of these two offices," they recommend the
consolidation of the two.

They point out that to obtain suitable men on reasonable terms, it is
"necessary to hold out prospects of advancement to those who conduct
themselves well, and who manifest the qualifications which are required
for superior posts," so that "by a proper encouragement to merit,
economy and efficiency may be combined."

To improve the discipline of the provincial offices--an improvement
then much required--they recommend that the respective postmasters
should, under approval and in accordance with prescribed rules, appoint
their own clerks.

They proceed to make the golden recommendation that "all promotion
should be strictly regulated according to qualification and merit;" a
rule which, could its complete observance be secured, would in time
raise any department to the highest state of efficiency and economy.

Their next recommendation deals with one of those anomalies in which
our political and social structure, from its unsystematic nature, so
much abounds. Every uninformed person would naturally assume that all
provincial postmasters (deputy-postmasters, as they are technically
called) must be appointed by the Postmaster-General; whereas, at
the time in question, all such appointments were in the hands of
the Treasury. Still worse, the nomination was left in effect to the
member of parliament for the district where the vacancy occurred,
provided only he were a general supporter of the Government. Of this
anomaly the Commissioners recommended the removal, not only on account
of the more obvious reasons, but also "because the power which the
Postmaster-General would possess of rewarding meritorious officers in
his own department, by promoting them to the charge of the important
provincial offices, would materially conduce to the general efficiency
of the whole body."

This recommendation the Treasury so far adopted as to concede to the
Postmaster-General the appointment to all postmasterships where the
salary exceeded £175 per annum, observing that the principle of making
such appointment the reward of merit "would be inapplicable in all
cases where the post office is held in conjunction with a private
business or profession." And here I may remark that, though it is true
that the powers and responsibilities of the chief office can never
be placed on a completely satisfactory footing until all subordinate
appointments are placed at its disposal, still the concession made
was very large and highly valuable, and the relinquishment of so much
patronage reflects great honour on the Liberal Administration then in
power.[116]

The last recommendation which I shall cite is one of far more
importance than would appear on the face of it, viz., that the
Postmaster-General "should determine the future complement of each
class according to the nature and amount of duty to be performed in
it." It might seem incredible that such a recommendation should be
needed, but hitherto the number in a class had had but little reference
to the amount of duty that fell to it to perform, and indeed, as
mentioned in an earlier part of this narrative,[117] the division
implied no real classification whatever, so that in many instances men
of high class were, through lack of ability, employed at low-class
work, and _vice versa_.

The Report of the Commissioners, being referred by the Treasury to
the Postmaster-General, Lord Canning, and having received his almost
unqualified approval, was ordered, with little more exception than that
already mentioned, to be carried into effect.

_Competitive Examinations._

The following entry is on a subject of some difficulty, and of great
importance:--

"_March 4th, 1854._--The Report of the Commissioners on the Civil
Service generally has been issued. Some months ago they requested
my opinion on the draft of their Report, in which they had
recommended that the patronage should be accumulated chiefly in
the hands of the Treasury (_i.e._, of the Whipper-in for the time
being). To this arrangement I objected decidedly, and I now see
that they have abandoned it, making the admission to the Service
in all cases to depend on a competitive examination, and thus
abandoning patronage altogether. This will not, I fear, work well.
The competition will, I think, be necessarily thrown on matters
of secondary importance. Indeed the Commissioners propose that it
shall be literary. The plan is attracting much notice from the
public, and is earnestly backed by the _Times_. The Report is in
many respects excellent. Indeed the objects aimed at are, without
exception, highly creditable to the Commissioners and to the
Government."

As I feared, the plan of competitive examination worked
unsatisfactorily, the criteria not being the best, and the
responsibility being so divided that no one is in effect answerable
for an appointment made under it. The consequence of its adoption has
been in many instances the rejection of men who gave promise of great
usefulness, and the admission of others whose usefulness has proved
very small. If no way had been open to the public service but through
competitive examination, as now conducted, I cannot say what might
have been my own chance of admission; since, on the plan adopted, no
amount of knowledge or power in other departments is regarded as making
up for deficiency in certain prescribed subjects. Under such a system
neither George Stephenson nor Brindley would have passed examination
as an engineer; nor, perhaps, would even Napoleon or Wellington have
been admitted to any military command. The principle, if sound, must be
equally applicable to manufacturing and commercial establishments; but
I have heard of none that have adopted it. Indeed, a wealthy merchant
lately declared (and I believe most of his brethren would agree with
him) that if he had no clerks but such as were chosen for him by
others, his name would soon be in the _Gazette_. I have always been of
opinion that the more the appointments to the Post Office, and indeed
to other public departments, are regulated on the principles ordinarily
ruling in establishments conducted by private individuals, the better
it will be for the public service. The question to be decided between
candidates should be, I think, simply which is best fitted for the
duties to be performed, and the decision should be left to the person
immediately answerable for the right performance of the duty.[118]

_Telegraphs._

In the year 1852 I received (through Mr. Nicholson, of Waverley Abbey)
a paper drawn up by his son-in-law, Captain Galton, recommending
that the Post Office should become manager of the whole telegraphic
system. As the communication was private, I replied accordingly,
giving, however, a favourable opinion of the project, and, of course,
leaving Captain Galton to take such further steps as he should think
best. I knew nothing further of this matter at the time, but have
recently learnt that his plan was submitted by him to the Board of
Trade, and thence referred to the Post Office, but objected to by
the Postmaster-General of the day. A few years later, however, the
project was revived within the office by Mr. Frederick Baines, who
had at one time occupied a post of considerable importance under one
of the Telegraphic Companies. This gentleman drew up an elaborate
memorandum, comprising a complete plan; and this was referred by the
Postmaster-General to the Treasury, but without any result at the time.
I need not add that this important measure is now (1869) on the point
of being carried into effect, but must regret that it should be at a
cost at once so superfluous and so enormous as to make it very doubtful
whether the institution can be self-supporting (that is, paying at once
interest on money borrowed, its direct working expenses, and a just
contribution to the general cost of management), and almost certain
that, save at further loss to the revenue, correspondence by its means
cannot be cheap.[119]

FOREIGN EXTENSION.

"_October 11th, 1851._--Mr. Von der Heydt (Prussian Minister of
Finance), Chevalier Bunsen, and M. Drouet (Chargé d'Affaires for
the Belgian Government), met in my room to arrange with me several
matters connected with the negotiation for a reduction of rates
between this country and the German Postal Union."

The following general record may render further details unnecessary:--

"_November 29th, 1854._--The returns from our Ministers abroad
showing the postal improvements in the several foreign countries
are now completed. They show that my plan has been adopted more
or less completely in the following States: Austria, Baden,
Bavaria, Belgium, Brazil, Bremen, Brunswick, Chili, Denmark,
France, Frankfort, Hamburg, Hanover, Lubeck, Naples, New Granada,
Netherlands, Oldenburg, Peru, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia,
Saxony, Spain, Switzerland, Tuscany, United States, Wurtemberg.

"The results are in most cases similar to our own [similar
mistakes, probably, being made in the mode of adoption]. They
are generally an increase in gross revenue and in expenses, and
a decrease in net revenue. In some instances the revenue is
exceedingly small: thus the kingdom of Portugal produces a less
gross revenue than the city of Edinburgh: in no instance is the
revenue, whether gross or net, so large as with us. The extent
to which my plan has been adopted in almost every part of the
civilized world is very remarkable, and very gratifying. In Europe,
Sweden is the only considerable State which forms an exception."

Sweden did not very long remain an exception.

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXIII.

MONEY ORDER DEPARTMENT.

The secretarial charge of this department had been committed, as I
have already said, to my brother Frederic. I cannot better describe
the state to which it had by this time been brought than by quoting
the following passages from an interesting and amusing article in
"Household Words":--[120]

"In 1792, when the true British sailor was stoutly preparing to
defy the French in various parts of the globe at thirty shillings a
month, and when British military valour was fighting Tippoo Saib in
India at a shilling a day, it was felt as a great hardship that the
affluent warriors of both services could not transmit, safely and
speedily, to their sweethearts and wives, even from one part of the
United Kingdom to another, their surplus capital. The Government,
seeing the danger of allowing the savings of its servants to burn
holes in their pockets, was good enough to concoct a snug little
'job,' by means of which such pocket-conflagrations might be
extinguished. The monopoly of transmitting money from one place to
another was conceded to three gentlemen in connection with the Post
Office. Their terms were--eightpence for every pound; but if the
sum exceeded two pounds, a stamp duty of one shilling was levied
by Government in addition. Five guineas was the highest amount
which could be thus remitted; and the charge for that sum was four
shillings and sixpence, or nearly five per cent., besides the price
of the postage of the letter which contained the advice--perhaps a
shilling more.

"Now, happily, the days of monopoly have passed, and Mr. Rowland
Hill does the same thing for the odd sixpence, with an odd penny,
at a profit to the Government of about seven thousand pounds a
year, exclusive of the gain derived from the enormous number of
letters of advice which Post Office orders have created. When the
privilege was extended from soldiers and sailors to the general
public, the three monopolists of the last century could divide
between them, on an average, no more than six hundred and fifty
pounds per annum. No longer ago than the year 1838, the Money Order
Office was absorbed into the Post Office; and, although the charges
were reduced to a commission of sixpence for sums not exceeding
two pounds, and of one shilling and sixpence for sums up to five
pounds (which was, and is still, the limit), a chief clerk and
two assistants were appointed to do all the business the public
brought to them; and even they could only do it at a loss to the
department. People could not afford to increase even the reduced
charges for commission, by the eightpenny and shilling postages for
their letters of advice.

"Penny postage, therefore, is the parent of the gigantic
money-order system, which now flourishes in full activity. In
estimating the advantages of that great stroke of economical,
administrative, and commercial sense, many of its less prominent
agencies for good are overlooked. The facilities it has
afforded for epistolary intercommunication are so wonderful and
self-evident, that we who benefit by them are blinded to the hidden
impulses it has given to social improvement and to commerce.
Regarded only as the origin of the present money-order system,
penny postage has occasioned the exercise of prudence, benevolence,
and self-denial; it has, in many instances, stopped the sufferings
of want by timely remittances; and it has quickened the
undercurrents of trade by causing small transactions to be easily
and promptly effected. These advantages can only be estimated by a
consideration of the following facts.

"During the advent year of penny postage, the commission on Post
Office orders was reduced to threepence and sixpence for sums not
exceeding two pounds and not exceeding five pounds respectively. In
that year the number of orders granted in the United Kingdom was
(in round numbers, which we shall use throughout, for the reader's
greater convenience) 188,000, for an aggregate amount of £313,000.
Even this was a great advance on the business previously done at
the old prices; but what are the figures for the tenth year of
penny postage? During the year 1850 the number of orders granted in
the United Kingdom was 4,440,000, for amounts making up £8,495,000;
only a million less than the yearly produce of the income and
assessed taxes put together! This marvellous increase can perhaps
be better appreciated by being seen through a diminished medium. In
the first _month_ of the penny postage (1840), the issue of orders
was about 10,000 in number, for something over £16,000; but in the
month of December, 1851, the number of orders issued was more than
367,000, for £690,000. That is to say, during that single month
twice as many orders were taken out and paid for than were issued
and paid in 1840 during the whole year.

* * * * *

"The Central Money Order Office in which these remarkable results
have been produced and ascertained is in Aldersgate Street, London,
hard by the Post Office. It is a large establishment--large
enough to be a very considerable post office in itself--with
extensive cellarage branching off into interminable groves of
letters of advice and receipts, all methodically arranged for
reference. The room in which the orders are issued and paid has
a flavour of Lombard Street and money. It has its long banker's
counter, where clerks sit behind iron gratings, with their wooden
bowls of cash, and their little scales for weighing gold; and
vistas of pigeon-holes stretch out behind them--which are not
without their pigeons, as we shall presently see. Here, from ten
o'clock to four, keeping the swing doors on the swing all day,
all sorts and conditions of people come and go. Greasy butchers
and salesmen from Newgate Market, with bits of suet in their
hair, who loll, and lounge, and cool their foreheads against the
grating, like a good-humoured sort of bears; sharp little clerks
not long from school, who have everything requisite and necessary
in readiness; older clerks in shooting coats, a little sobered
down as to official zeal, though possibly not yet as to cigar
divans and betting offices; matrons who _will_ go distractedly
wrong, and whom no consideration, human or divine, will induce to
declare in plain words what they have come for; people with small
children, which they perch on edges of remote desks, where the
children, supposing themselves to be for ever abandoned and lost,
present a piteous spectacle; labouring men, merchants, half-pay
officers, retired old gentlemen from trim gardens by the New River,
excessively impatient of being trodden on, and very persistent as
to the poking in of their written demands with tops of canes and
handles of umbrellas. The clerks in this office ought to rival the
lamented Sir Charles Bell in their knowledge of the expression of
the hand. The varieties of hands that hover about the grating,
and are thrust through the little doorways in it, are a continual
study for them--or would be, if they had any time to spare, which
assuredly they have not. The coarse-grained hand which seems all
thumb and knuckle, and no nail, and which takes up money or puts
it down with such an odd, clumsy, lumbering touch; the retail
trader's hand, which chinks it up and tosses it over with a
bounce; the housewife's hand, which has a lingering propensity to
keep some of it back, and to drive a bargain by not paying in the
last shilling or so of the sum for which her order is obtained;
the quick, the slow, the coarse, the fine, the sensitive and dull,
the ready and unready--they are always at the grating all day
long. Hovering behind the owners of these hands, observant of the
various transactions in which they engage, is a tall constable
(rather potential with the matrons and widows on account of his
portly aspect), who assists the bewildered female public, explains
the nature of the printed forms put ready to be filled up for the
quicker issuing of orders and the greater exactness as to names,
and has an eye on the unready one, as he knots his money up in a
pocket-handkerchief or crams it into a greasy pocket-book. If you
have any bad money by you, be careful not to bring it here. The
portly constable will whisk you into a back office before you can
say Jack Robinson, will snip your bad half-crown or five-shilling
piece in half directly, and (at the best), after searching inquiry,
will fold the pieces in a note of your name and address, and
consign them to a bundle of similar trophies for evermore.

* * * * *

"This sort of mystification is even more surprising than that under
which certain uneducated individuals (Irish) have been known to
labour. The belief has more than once been manifested at a money
order office window that the mere payment of the commission would
be sufficient to procure an order for five pounds; the form of
paying in the five pounds being deemed purely optional. An Irish
gentleman (who had left his hod at the door) recently applied in
Aldersgate Street for an order for five pounds on a Tipperary post
office; for which he tendered (probably congratulating himself on
having hit upon so good an investment) sixpence. It required a
lengthened argument to prove to him that he would have to pay the
five pounds into the office before his friend could receive that
small amount in Tipperary; and he went away, after all, evidently
convinced that his not having this order was one of the personal
wrongs of Ireland, and one of the particular injustices done to
hereditary bondsmen only.

* * * * *

"Despite the prodigious increase in the business of the department
which we have pointed out, its efficiency has been doubled, and
its cost almost halved. By superseding seventy-eight superfluous
ledgers, the labour of sixty clerks has been saved; by simply
reducing the size of the money orders and advices, the expense of
paper and print alone has been diminished by £1,100 per annum;
while the abolition of separate advices of each transaction has
economised the number of letters by 46,000 weekly. The upshot is,
that these economical reforms have effected a saving in the Money
Order Office alone equal to £17,000 _per annum_."

As a supplement to the foregoing extracts I quote from my Journal the
following statistical record:--

"_June 7th, 1853._--The accounts of the Money Order Office for 1852
show an increase of profit of £4,227, making a total for the year
of £11,664. In 1847, when I took to the department, there was a
loss of £10,600 a year; so that the effective saving is upwards of
£22,000 a year."

GENERAL ECONOMIC MEASURES.

Various improvements noticeable under this head (some of them of
considerable importance) are omitted here as being more conveniently
mentioned under other categories, as Money Orders, Conveyance of Mails,
Packet Service, &c.

The following, though of economic tendency, was, as will be perceived,
more beneficial in another respect:--

"_October 29th, 1851._--A clerkship at Hong Kong having become
vacant by death, the Postmaster-General has, on my recommendation
... determined not to fill it up, and to employ part of the saving
thus effected in giving to the postmaster and each of the remaining
clerks in turn leave of absence for a year and a half, with full
salary and an allowance of £100 towards the expense of the voyage.
By these means, while ample force will still be left, the poor
fellows will have the opportunity of recruiting their health, and a
saving will be effected of £183 a year."

By merely entering into negotiations for substituting coach for railway
train we obtained from the Belfast and Ballymena Railway Company a
voluntary reduction in charge of more than £2000 a year, and this
with some gain in time; again, by substituting car for coach between
Limerick and Galway, we obtained another reduction of £1,200 a year.

Another measure provided for some immediate and a large prospective
saving in the cost of guards, the duties of many amongst whom I found,
on examination, to be so light as not to occupy, on the average, more
than three or four hours per day. It is a curious fact that I was led
to the examination resulting in this discovery by an application for
_increased_ force.

In the year 1851 prepayment in money of postage on inland letters was
abolished at all those provincial offices where it had been thus far
allowed. Early in the following year the abolition was extended to
Dublin, next to Edinburgh, and last of all to London--thus completing
the establishment of prepayment by stamps alone throughout the
United Kingdom, and greatly simplifying our proceedings. To save
trouble, however, to the senders of large numbers of circulars,
a limited exception was still allowed at the chief office in St.
Martin's-le-Grand, the rule eventually taking this form, viz., to
receive prepayment in money from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in sums of not
less than £2 at a time. And thus, with this trifling exception, was
carried into full effect, and I believe without a dissentient voice,
a mode of payment which it was at one time maintained that the public
would regard with such disfavour that its unpopularity would be found
a serious obstacle, if not an insuperable bar, to the whole scheme of
penny postage.

MINOR IMPROVEMENTS.

_Early Delivery._

"_December 31st, 1851._--Frederic has succeeded in satisfying Smith
(President of the London District Office) of the practicability
of a considerable improvement in the delivery of the general post
letters in those parts of the suburbs of London which are about
four or five miles from the Post Office. For the last three or
four weeks the delivery at Brixton and in the neighbourhood has
been about two hours earlier than theretofore, and the improvement
will shortly be extended to Hampstead, Highgate, Stoke Newington,
and many other places about equally distant from the Post Office,
if the Treasury sanction the small increase of expense necessary.
The measure will be a step towards the more perfect plan which
I attempted to carry out more than four years ago, but which I
was obliged to abandon for the time in consequence of Smith's
objections.

"_January 31st, 1852._--The further improvement in the suburban
deliveries commenced this morning. At my house [Hampstead] the
general post letters were delivered just before nine o'clock,
instead of, as heretofore, about half-past eleven."

The hour of morning delivery has now, for many years, been as early as
eight. This acceleration by three hours and a-half in the principal
delivery of the day, especially to the large class resident in the
suburbs of London, whose occupations require that they shall leave home
by nine or ten o'clock in the morning, is obviously very important. In
many cases it makes the difference of a day in their ability to reply.

_Facilities for Posting._

Up to this time pillar-boxes were unknown in England,[121] though
already in use not only in France, where they were an old institution,
but also in some of the principal towns of Germany, and even in the
villages of the Channel Islands.

"_January 8th, 1852._--We had a conversation on the subject of
street letter-boxes, when I found that the Postmaster-General was
not disinclined to a trial of them in the great thoroughfares of
London."

Postal convenience at railway stations was also still unknown.

"_February 13th._--The Postmaster-General has sanctioned a measure
of mine which, I expect, will have the effect of converting the
railway stations in all the larger towns into gratuitous receiving
offices."

It was still, however, some time before the plan was carried into
effect.

NUMBER OF LETTERS.

The following entries show the progressive increase of letters during
this period:--

"_January 19th, 1852._--The number of letters which passed through
the London Office last week is the greatest on record, being
2,597,000 general post, and 850,000 district post letters; in
all, 3,447,000, or considerably more than twice the number under
the old system for the whole kingdom. It is remarkable that the
London general post letters, which increased to the extent of
about 200,000 a week soon after the opening of the Exhibition [the
Great Exhibition of 1851] continue now that it is closed to be as
numerous as ever.

"_January 20th, 1853._--The usual annual account of letters gives
379-1/2 millions for the year 1852, or an increase of 19-1/2
millions on the previous year. The number is exactly five times as
great as before reduction.... The letters have for the last three
or four months increased very rapidly (one of the many signs of
prosperity); the last return (for the week ending 21st December)
showed an increase of more than 400,000 in the letters passing
weekly through London; and on Monday morning last Bokenham tells
me that the number of letters which passed through his office was
greater than in any previous Monday by 40,000.

"_January 9th, 1855._--The number of letters delivered in the
United Kingdom last year was 443-1/2 millions, showing an increase
on 1853 of 32-1/2 millions; the largest increase since 1840, the
first year of the reduced rates. This great increase is, I think,
mainly owing to the extension of rural distribution. In the course
of the year, I believe, we have opened more than five hundred
offices."

This large increase of correspondence by the admission of the rural
districts to the postal system reminded me of a remark which I had
heard from my father many years before, viz., that the result of the
first census, while it disappointed expectation as to the population
of the towns, exceeded it as to that of the whole country; the rural
districts proving to be better inhabited than had been supposed.

_Occasional Pressure._

The following entry gives a specimen of the remarkable contingencies to
which the Post Office was then liable, and for which therefore it had
always to stand prepared. By improved arrangements the difficulty has
in great measure been obviated.

"_July 4th, 1853._--On Saturday the despatch of the night mails
was three-quarters of an hour late; this was caused by the arrival
in the course of the day of heavy mails from the following places,
viz., the United States, the West Indies, the East Indies,
Australia _viâ_ Singapore, and Australia _viâ_ the Cape. The total
number of letters, including inland, which reached the General Post
Office that day, was 458,000, of which 212,000 (chiefly Foreign and
Colonial) were unpaid. It was with the greatest difficulty that the
work was got through at all."

_Increased Honesty._

I need not say that I made the following record with great
satisfaction:--

"_July 8th, 1853._--A recent return to Parliament of the number
and cost of prosecutions [for Post Office offences] from 1848 to
1852 inclusive shows an enormous decrease, nearly, I think, in the
ratio of three to one; this very satisfactory result is, I believe,
mainly owing to the improved arrangements in the Money Order
Office."

_Titus Oates._

One of my letters of this period refers to a curious document,
discovered some time before amongst the records of the Post Office,
by which it appears that the infamous Titus Oates received, after
the Revolution, by way of recompense, it may be supposed, for the
tremendous flagellation he had undergone a few years before, and
certainly on recommendation from the House of Commons, a pension of
£300 per annum, charged on the revenues of the Post Office. Of this
document, when first discovered, I had sent a copy to Lord Macaulay, by
whom it is noticed, though slightly, in his account of the period.[122]
The document, curious in itself, is too long for insertion, but the
following are extracts:--

"We [William the Third] for divers good causes and consideracons Us
hereunto moveing.... Have given and granted by these presents ...
unto Titus Oates Doctor in Divinity his Executors Administrators
and Assignes one Annuity or yearly pencon of Three hundred pounds
of lawfull English money ... payable out of Our Revenues ... of
the General Letter Office or Post office ... for the term of
ninety-nine years ... if he the said Titus Oates and Rebecah his
wife or either of them shall soe long live."

_Funeral of the Duke of Wellington._

"_November 22nd, 1852._--The returns for the last week show that
the funeral of the Duke of Wellington on the 18th reduced the
letters despatched from London by the evening mails of that day
by about 100,000. The next day's mails were probably increased by
about 10,000."

CHAPTER XXIV.

SOLE SECRETARYSHIP--FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 1854.

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT, 1855-59.

The statement which will be found on a subsequent page relative to
improvements in hand during the last month of 1854, shows, in some
measure, the increased progress consequent on the important change
effected within the year. Command of the secretary's staff--many of
them able officers--enabled me more rapidly to devise and mature
measures of improvement, relieved me, to a great extent, from the
necessity of dealing with details and from the toil of throwing my
conceptions into the form of well-considered and elaborate minutes, and
allowed me, when due authorization had been obtained, to carry them
out without impediment or loss of time, or over-watchful care against
the introduction of some thwarting modification. Provided only I could
obtain the approval of the Postmaster-General, and, where needful, of
the Treasury, my course henceforth would be uninterrupted so long as
health of body and mind should be vouchsafed for its continuance. I
did not however, expect, though such a notion seemed to be very common
abroad, that the approval of the Postmaster-General and the sanction
of the Treasury were to be had for the mere asking. These authorities
frequently have views of their own, and, though they naturally pay
much attention to the advice of their highest permanent officers,
nevertheless they occasionally delay or modify action, and sometimes,
though very rarely, exercise their absolute veto. All who had the
pleasure of knowing Lord Canning, the Postmaster-General of the day,
must be aware that he was not a man likely to act upon advice in great
matters without being first convinced of its soundness; but, at the
same time, they will remember that his great ability, diligence, and
candour, were likely to bring the means of substantial conviction
within his reach. In working under such a man, though one may be
sometimes subjected to delay or disappointment, there is, nevertheless,
much profit, as the necessity for convincing often leads to closer
investigation and more careful consideration than might, at first
sight, appear necessary, and occasionally tends, even where measures
are perfectly sound in themselves, to more careful inquiry as to the
best mode of presenting them in an acceptable form to the public. I
entered now, therefore, upon the most satisfactory period of my whole
official career, that in which the course of improvement was steadiest,
most rapid, and least chequered. The work of organization, to which I
was now able to give most of my time and attention, had long been to
me of all occupations the least difficult and the most pleasant; and
perhaps, but for the effect of past struggles, the course now opening
to me might have continued, though not without some abatement from
causes to be mentioned hereafter, unto the present day.

During such a period personal history naturally loses most of its
interest. For six years there was peace in the Post Office, and the
history of peace, though often most important, is almost proverbially
uninteresting. Quitting, therefore, for a time, that which more nearly
appertains to myself, I proceed at once to describe the improvements
effected or attempted within the period.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECRETARIAL DUTIES.

The private journal from which I have drawn so largely in narrating
the occurrences of my official career was suspended soon after my
appointment as sole secretary, partly because I now felt myself
relieved from the fear of that antagonism which had rendered exact
knowledge of past occurrences a matter of painful necessity, partly
because I was no longer obliged to build up and maintain a claim for
promotion, and partly because the full liberty now allowed for the
furtherance of reform required on my part undivided attention to
the device and careful consideration of measures, and of the means
of carrying them into effect. Henceforward, therefore, I have for
some years to depend mainly upon records of a formal and official
character, and prominent among these stand the Annual Reports of
the Postmaster-General, the first of which relates, so far as it
is special, to the year in which I attained my final position. It
describes, therefore, occurrences which partly preceded, partly
followed, that change. Much, however, in this First Report is naturally
of a more general character.

I must premise, that one of my earliest steps on becoming sole
secretary was to arrange for the meeting of the chief secretary
(myself) and the two assistant-secretaries (Mr. Tilley and my
brother) in frequent conference, for the consideration of measures
in contemplation or in progress, and also of such suggestions on any
subject as any one of the three might offer. This provision proved
to be exceedingly useful. Mr. Tilley, who had been between thirty
and forty years in the department, and had made good use of his
opportunities, was always ready to furnish such information relative
to details as occasion might require; while my brother, who had, for
seventeen years, been engaged in duties of a higher order and greater
difficulty than those now devolving upon him, brought with him a
mastery of general principles, a power of origination, and a habit of
constantly striving for improvement, which gave him special fitness for
the duty to which, indeed, he was more especially appointed, that of
aiding me in the work of amelioration. This conference continued its
sittings during the whole of my secretaryship; and I felt much concern
when I learnt that on my withdrawal it came to an end.

In the division of duties between the assistant-secretaries, I was
guided by my knowledge of their respective powers, as well as by a
reference to the speciality of my brother's appointment. Whatever
departments required to be efficiently conducted with but moderate
change in their arrangements were committed to the charge of Mr.
Tilley, while those which seemed most susceptible of great improvement,
with the exception of such as I retained in my own hands, were given
in charge to my brother. The principal of these were the Money Order
Department, already mentioned, the mail conveyance by land and by
sea, and the Foreign and Colonial Department generally, including,
of course, conventions with foreign countries. I need scarcely add,
however, that I exercised a general control over the whole; and as the
reader will be but little interested in knowing whether particular
reforms owe their origin or execution to my brother or myself, I shall,
save in a few more marked cases, sink individuality and speak only of
joint action. I wish, however to state here my conviction that without
my brother's able and zealous assistance, the full reform of the Post
Office would not and could not have been successfully accomplished.

The heads of departments--the immediate subordinates of the
secretaries--were, for the most part, men whose selection did credit
to my predecessor, Colonel Maberly, on whose recommendation they had
been appointed. They were, in short, an able staff of officers. I took
advantage of their ability to make what proved a valuable change in
their mode of proceeding; for whereas the practice had been for these
officers simply to select the cases requiring the judgment of the
secretary, and to await his instructions before writing their minutes
thereon, I gradually induced them to come prepared with an opinion of
their own, which might serve in a measure for my guidance. This soon
led to a further improvement; for, as the most convenient way of giving
such opinion clearly was to throw it into the form of a minute, it
became not uncommon, at least in ordinary cases, to draw the minutes,
even before any reference to me. This arrangement not only saved me
much valuable time, but also procured for the matters in question a
much closer investigation, and more careful consideration from those
whose position was most advantageous for the task, than could be
without the responsibility pertaining to men called on to advise.

The Annual Reports already mentioned were intended to supply such
information to the public as might tend to prevent misapprehension
and avert complaint, and at the same time to describe the course of
improvement.

_Construction of Reports._

The Reports themselves, though always perused and often curtailed or
otherwise modified by the Postmaster-General, were, from the beginning
to the close of my secretaryship, substantially the work of my brother,
with whom indeed the plan originated, being but the application to
the Post Office of a practice which he had very fully maintained
during sixteen years as an Inspector of Prisons. It must be observed
that the surveyors and heads of departments were called on to supply
the necessary materials by reporting each on his own division of the
service. This arrangement obviously supplied an additional motive for
exertion, and more especially for bringing all matters in hand to a
speedy completion. It may be added that in the year 1856, that is to
say within two years from our first issue, a letter was addressed by
the Treasury to the other departments of the public service, calling
attention to the Post Office Reports, and inviting similar reports from
them, and that in the following year there appeared a First Annual
Report from the Board of Customs, and from the Commissioners of Inland
Revenue, each containing a mass of valuable information.

RATE OF IMPROVEMENT.

The following passage in the First Report throws light on the rates of
improvement:--

"On the first day of every month a report is laid before the
Postmaster-General, showing the principal improvements in hand, and
the stage at which each has arrived. The latest of these reports
(which is of the usual length) records one hundred and eighty-three
measures, in various stages of progress, or completed, during the
month of December, 1854. Minor improvements, such as extension of
rural posts, &c., are not noticed in these reports."

BUILDING.

At various towns correspondence having far outgrown the space provided
for dealing with it, existing offices were enlarged or new offices
erected. Though, at times, there was more or less of contest with
influential corporations, naturally inclined to adorn their respective
towns at the national expense, yet, so long as the matter was left in
our hands, we were able, upon the whole, to effect these changes at
moderate cost.

A far larger outlay than was involved in all these provincial erections
and enlargements, however lavishly made, had already been staved off by
my brother. He learning, soon after his appointment to the department,
that there was a great demand for room at the chief office (a building
originally erected with far more regard to outward appearance than
inward convenience, as was found out as work increased), and that the
purchase of Smithfield had been suggested, together with the erection
of an entirely new building, examined the present office from the roof
to the basement. He found several rooms filled with old and useless
papers, and one large apartment, in the immediate neighbourhood of
others where clerks were working, employed as a laundry; while for
extinguishing fire, of which the risk was thus thoughtlessly incurred,
there was not then in the whole building any provision whatever.
He also found a great deal of unoccupied space available for the
construction of large additional rooms. With the assistance of Mr.
Gould, the intelligent clerk of the works, he recommended alterations
which, being carried into effect, greatly added to the capacity of the
office. While the danger of fire was diminished, provision was made
against its occurrence by the erection of tanks on the roof, with a
provision of pipes, cocks, hose, and buckets, in different parts of
the building, and by appointing firemen to be on duty, by relays,
throughout the day and night. In short, the improvement in the building
was so effectual, that when I resigned my post, more than twelve years
afterwards, there appeared every reason to hope, especially considering
the relief afforded by the district offices, that the erection of a new
chief office might be indefinitely postponed; though I learn now (1868)
that such expectation is disappointed, and that land in the immediate
neighbourhood has actually been purchased as an additional site.

Long before my resignation, however, a change had been made, the
benefit of which I have never been able to discover,--the construction
and alteration of Post Office buildings being transferred by the
Treasury, in the year 1858, from the Post Office to the Board of
Works. I attempted to obtain a reversal of this order, knowing that
the change by no means tended to economy; and, in support of my view,
I produced the following striking contrast. A new post office had
lately been erected at Brighton, the cost, excluding a very moderate
sum expended in fitting up a portion of it as a residence, being no
more than £1,600. A similar erection had now to be made at Dundee; and
as the correspondence of this town is not more than about half that of
Brighton, the least to be expected was that the cost here should be
within the cost there; instead of which, the estimate sent in by the
Board of Works raised it to four-or five-fold the amount; nor could all
the remonstrance I made, and I was not sparing in my representations,
bring it lower than £5,700. My general pleading availed no more than
my special remonstrance, and the duty in question is still attached to
the Board of Works, with what æsthetic advantages I cannot pretend to
say, but certainly at a greatly increased expense.

FREE DELIVERY.

Free delivery was rapidly extending throughout the United Kingdom.
At the present day (1868) the work is so far advanced that to many
readers the very term "free delivery" must have lost its significance.
Formerly, to every office there were limits, sometimes narrow ones,
beyond which delivery was either not made at all, or made only at an
additional charge, generally of one penny per letter, an arrangement
nowise interfered with by the simple establishment of penny postage.
During the period now under consideration, however, in addition to
much previously done, this immunity was extended to several thousand
places, without counting a widening of range or other improvement at
places where it already existed in an imperfect state. In short, by
the end of this period free delivery was extended so far as to include
ninety-three per cent. of the whole correspondence.[123]

LONDON DELIVERY.

While due attention was thus paid to the provinces, the department did
not neglect the interests of London, whose population is one-tenth,
and whose correspondence is even one-fourth of that of the United
Kingdom. Much as had already been done in accelerating the delivery of
letters coming into the district, we saw that additional improvements
might be made to carry this acceleration still further. As early as
January, 1856, a hope was expressed, in the Report on the previous
year, that the first delivery of the day throughout the metropolis
might eventually be completed by nine a.m.,[124] instead of eleven,
or even later. To effect this, however, and no less to obtain rapid
intercommunication between the different parts of the metropolis,
required changes so complicated, that their details could not be set
forth without wearying the reader. At the same time, the greatest
caution and foresight were required to prevent derangement in
transition; and this, combined with other difficulties, greatly delayed
the completion of the plan. Briefly stated, the changes involved were
as follows; and I may remark that they are almost identical with those
proposed in my evidence before the Post Office Commissioners in 1837,
already mentioned in this narrative. We had to unite the two corps
of letter-carriers (the impracticability of which, under divided
authority, had so long delayed the whole measure[125]); to rearrange
their "walks;" to divide London into districts, each to be treated
in some respects as a separate town; to procure suitable buildings
for district offices, or, failing this, to erect such buildings,
first obtaining proper sites (no easy matter); to adopt a new plan of
sorting at the chief office; and lastly, to provide for the sorting
of mails according to the new districts before reaching London.[126]
That everything might be done with the utmost circumspection, I
nominated a committee of officers to consider the details involved in
the necessary changes, which committee made a very elaborate and able
Report.[127] In about three years from the first positive movement the
district system, though still imperfect, was in some sort established
throughout. The beneficial effect had already distinctly appeared in
the augmented rate of increase in the number of district letters;
the annual increment rising from somewhat less than a million and a
half to somewhat more than six millions and a quarter.[128] Early
delivery, meantime, so far advanced as to bring the completion of the
first round of the day nearly to the point aimed at, viz., 9 a.m.[129]
The number of deliveries, too, was raised to ten, and communication
within the whole suburban district rendered much more frequent and
rapid.[130] These improvements had received some aid from the public in
the multiplication of street-door boxes,[131] and yet more in the use
in addresses of initial letters indicating districts,[132] while the
Metropolitan Board of Works also had somewhat amended the nomenclature
of streets and the numbering of houses;[133] but on all three points
very much remained then, and, I must add, remains still, to be done.

Shortly afterwards a similar system was applied to Liverpool, by which
means not only the deliveries were much improved, but the cost of
erecting a new chief office was avoided.[134]

RAILWAY SERVICE.

_Acceleration of Mails._

While these important improvements were going forward within the
London district, measures were also in steady progress for improved
communication with all parts of the United Kingdom, partly by the
extended use of day mails, partly by an acceleration of speed, and
partly by measures for securing greater punctuality. For the further
attainment of the latter object, attempts were again made to induce the
companies to enter into engagements by which they and the Post Office
should be mutually bound to penalties in case of unpunctuality, coupled
with rewards to the companies (though, of course, not to the Post
Office) for punctual performance.[135] In the year 1855 one company,
viz., the North British, accepted this proposal, and the beneficial
effect soon showed itself, the instances of irregularity being brought
down in one half year from a hundred and twelve to nine, while the
company received within the same time £400 in the way of reward.[136]
Notwithstanding this result, however, the Post Office never succeeded
in inducing the railway companies generally to agree to the adoption of
the plan.

After awhile, nevertheless, we prevailed on the companies conveying
the night mail between London and Edinburgh to limit the ordinary
traffic of the mail trains, and at the same time to effect a material
acceleration.[137] Mainly by these means, the interval between London,
on the one hand, and Edinburgh and Glasgow on the other--previously
reduced from time to time--was brought down to less than eleven
hours; and this, with other aids, enabled the department to deliver
the letters at these important cities before business hours in the
morning, and to despatch the return mails after business hours in the
evening. To effect this improvement we had to make an _additional_
payment of about £15,000 a year to the railway companies alone; but the
benefit was so great to Edinburgh and Glasgow--indeed to the whole of
Scotland--that we did not grudge the outlay.

I cannot say so much for another acceleration effected during this
period, viz., that of the mails between London and Dublin; not that
this was less important, but that the annual expense entailed by the
change is every way greatly in excess. The object was that the night
and day mails should reach Dublin, the one in time for the first
delivery of the day and for despatch onwards by the Dublin day mail,
the other in time for delivery the same night and for despatch onwards
by the Dublin night mail; and in order that these operations might be
regular, it was obviously necessary that there should be a margin of
time at Dublin to allow for occasional late arrival there. In 1853 a
committee of the House of Commons had been appointed to report upon
the best means of improving the service in question. The evidence of
Captain Huish and other authorities connected with the existing service
was to the effect that it might be greatly accelerated, and that at
a not very immoderate addition to the actual cost. In consequence,
the committee reported in favour of the measure,[138] and Government
decided to give effect to their recommendation; but, when negotiations
were commenced, the companies concerned, disregarding their own
evidence, demanded at once more time for the trip and a higher rate
of remuneration. I strongly urged resistance to both demands, and as
the Postmaster-General backed my views, I have little doubt that, had
the negotiations been left with the Post Office, the quicker and less
costly service would have been secured. Unfortunately, the Treasury had
taken the matter into its own hands, and we were overruled; so that for
insufficient advantages the country has to pay an annual subsidy of
upwards of £100,000, in addition to the cost--necessary, however, on
either plan--of provision for sorting the letters both on the railway
and on board the mail steamers. Unfortunately, too, unpunctuality is
not so rare as might be desired, the appointed penalties having been
suspended on the ground of insufficient pier accommodation at Holyhead.
Still, with every drawback, the improvement was important, reducing the
ordinary time of the journey to eleven hours and a half, and obtaining,
so far as time was duly kept, all or nearly all the advantages aimed
at--advantages extending even to Irish letters for the continental
mails.[139] The following extract from the Tenth Annual Report,
exemplifies the benefit of the change:--

"Thus the period required for the transmission of a letter from
London to Cork, and for the receipt of a reply, has been shortened
in all cases by half a day, and in the great majority of cases by
more than a day."[140]

_General Contracts._

During this period, also, many additional companies entered into
general contracts, such as have already been spoken of; binding
themselves, for a fixed sum per annum, not only to perform certain
specified services at appointed hours and at a given speed, but to
place all their trains, without exception, at the service of the
department.

_Need of Legislation._

Nevertheless, all that we could effect as respects railway conveyance
of the mails left, and I must add still leaves, much to be desired; the
law being, to this day, in such a state as is exceedingly injurious
not only to public convenience and to economy in the Post Office, but,
as I conscientiously believe, to the true interests of the companies
themselves. The following instances may serve for illustration:--

Application was made to the Post Office for a day mail to Alton; and
the concession was offered on condition that the London and South
Western Company would consent, according to a practice established on
some other lines, to carry the bag at the ordinary parcel rate, the
Post Office undertaking (contrary to the usual practice in respect
of parcels) to convey it to and from the stations. Our offer could
hardly be considered unreasonable, seeing that the Post Office, as
compared with an ordinary customer, would have to pay equally high for
less service and for regular instead of occasional custom. The offer,
however, was refused; the Post Office had no power to enforce the
demand; and, as the correspondence would not justify the expense of a
regular mail train, the desired convenience was delayed for years; the
company thereby losing an increase to its parcel traffic, every penny
paid for which would, in effect, have been clear profit.

In the year 1856, I received an application from Sir George Cornewall
Lewis, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, for such an acceleration
of the mail to Hereford as would enable letters to reach Kington
(Radnorshire), near which he resided, in time for an early morning
delivery. As the readiest means of effecting this was by the use of
the Gloucester and Hereford Railway, I applied to the company to know
on what terms they would perform the duty, the distance upon their
line being twenty-three miles. The answer was a very heavy demand
(according to my recollection, £3,000 per annum); the reason given
for this enormous charge being that the line, which was ordinarily
closed during the night, would have to be kept open for the special
service. Though Sir Cornewall Lewis forbore to urge a demand involving
so large a sacrifice, I could not but desire to attain the end, if
practicable, knowing how inconvenient it must be for important official
correspondence to be delayed. Taking advantage, therefore, of the
clearness of the line by night, I proposed that the Post Office should
itself run a train (as by law any one is entitled to do), paying,
however, the appointed tolls, though legally exempted therefrom. This,
however, was obviously impracticable without supplies of coal and
water, and standing room for the engine and carriage, which the company
alone had the means of furnishing; and for these I offered to pay
according to arbitration. This offer the company absolutely declined,
though, as a further inducement, I had included in it the tender to the
company of a carriage for passengers. Other means being sought for, it
was at length suggested that Kington might be reached in sufficient
time by another route, if the Shrewsbury and Hereford Company would
allow the use of their line on moderate terms; and, this company
agreeing to perform the duty for £1000 a year, the very circuitous
route _viâ_ Shrewsbury was adopted, and is still followed; the longer
route involving, however, no inconvenience, as the conveyance is
effected in the night.

Again, the importance of some definite rule of charge for specific
duty, even as a means of facilitating improvement, is shown by
reference to the multiplicity of contracts sometimes requiring to be
made or modified before a change can be completed. The following is
from the Report of 1859:--

"The great number of arrangements still necessary for the
conveyance of letters to long distances, notwithstanding the length
of many of the railways for which a single contract suffices, is
shown by the fact, that for the transmission of a letter from
Land's End to John O'Groat's--exclusive of engagements with rural
messengers, and of arrangements for the conveyance of mail-bags
between railway stations and post-offices--twenty-one separate
contracts are required."[141]

_Conciliatory Devices--Loans._

In my anxiety to place our relations with the railway companies on a
satisfactory footing, and amidst doubt as to success in any attempt
to procure efficient legislation on the subject, I devised, in the
beginning of 1857, what I hoped might prove a means of winning from the
companies that which, in spite of what I believed and still believe to
be to their true interests, they have almost all refused to concede.
My plan was that Government should, on ample security and to a limited
extent, advance loans, on the terms on which it could itself borrow, to
such companies as were willing to adopt a reasonable tariff of charge
for postal services. This arrangement, while costing in effect nothing
to Government, would enable the companies to borrow at a rate much
lower than ordinary. As I still consider this suggestion important, I
give my memorandum on the subject at length in the Appendix (J). I may
state here that I proposed to make the arrangement terminable at the
end of three years, and that I hoped to reduce our annual payments for
railway service by about £250,000. An inquiry from the Duke of Argyll,
then Postmaster-General, led me to add a representation, setting forth
strong additional reasons for seeking to obtain, of course on equitable
terms, unlimited use of the railways. The following is the most
important passage:--

"I feel assured that if my plan of advances to the railway
companies were adopted, there would be no _financial_ difficulty,
either in using, more or less, every railway now existing, or which
may be hereafter constructed, or in extending the delivery of
letters to every house in the United Kingdom."

My memorandum was sent by the Duke of Argyll to the Treasury, with
a somewhat guarded recommendation that it should be favourably
considered. By his permission, I also laid it before Mr. Hutchinson,
chairman of the Stock Exchange, who, with some valuable recommendations
as to the best mode of giving it effect, expressed his entire
approbation of the plan. This being reported in a second memorandum,
the whole matter was referred by the Treasury to Sir Alexander
Spearman, though with what result I do not know. Meanwhile His Grace
suggested that I should obtain also the opinion of Mr. Gladstone, who,
it must be remembered, was not then in the Government, having seceded
on a question relative to the Russian war; and on this advice, with the
ready permission of Sir G. Cornewall Lewis, Mr. Gladstone's successor
in office, I was only too happy to act. The result--which, however, I
first communicated to the Chancellor of the Exchequer--I subsequently
stated in the following letter to the Postmaster-General. The reader
will here see something of the practical difficulties which even
Government, after giving its approbation to a measure, has to apprehend
in carrying it, however cautiously, through Parliament:--

"February 23rd, 1857.

MY DEAR LORD DUKE,--Mr. Gladstone is of opinion that the Post
Office interests in connection with the railways have been greatly
neglected by the Legislature; that the Government should, if
possible, obtain possession of the railways, when all difficulty
would, of course, cease; that this might have been done seven or
eight years ago, but that now it would be very difficult, and that
some other course must in all probability be resorted to.

"He likes my plan (though inferior, as being less direct than the
other), but considers it too difficult a piece of legislation for
Parliament as matters now stand, and advises that, with the consent
of the Treasury, we should endeavour to make the arrangement with
some one company subject to the confirmation by Parliament, which,
for a single bargain, might, he thinks, be counted upon; and that
having done this we should, if the results prove satisfactory,
apply to Parliament for power to deal with other companies.

"He also thinks well of referring the whole question, including the
Bill, to a committee of the House of Commons, _provided some able
member of the Government can spare time to manage the case_; but
not otherwise.

"Sir George Cornewall Lewis is inclined to the latter alternative;
but the difficulty will be to spare Mr. Wilson or any other able
man to attend the committee. He spoke of Mr. Lowe, and promised to
consider the whole case.

"Faithfully yours,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"His Grace the DUKE OF ARGYLL."

While this matter remained under consideration at the Treasury, or,
in other words, was forgotten amidst the demands of more pressing
business, another attempt was made at general legislation, as will
hereafter appear, but still without success; and in the beginning
of 1858 I again called the Postmaster-General's attention to the
subject. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had suggested, meantime, that
Government, instead of lending money, as I had originally proposed,
or Consols, according to Mr. Hutchinson's judicious modification,
might yield the necessary aid by giving its guarantee for loans to
be raised by the companies themselves; but this suggestion had been
condemned by Mr. Hutchinson, as far less beneficial to the companies,
and as raising what would be felt as an injurious distinction between
loan and loan, _i.e._, guaranteed and unguaranteed. The matter was now
referred by the Treasury to the Board of Trade, then presided over by
Lord Stanley of Alderley, who called for the opinion of the Secretary,
Mr. Booth, which was in effect adverse. I had also, with permission,
consulted Mr. Locke, the eminent engineer, then M.P. for Honiton; who,
however, though approving of the principle, demanded that it should be
carried out to its full extent, so as not merely to cover £30,000,000,
as I had proposed, but to include loans generally. He also required
a further amalgamation of companies, and what it may be remembered I
had previously urged, but in vain, viz., the concession to each great
company of a district or territory, into which other companies should,
except in specified contingencies, be forbidden to intrude. In short,
through excessive caution on the one hand, and excessive demands on the
other, combined with the ordinary difficulties attending innovation,
nothing was done.

Ten years[142] have now elapsed since my attempt was abandoned, but
my estimate of its value remains undiminished; I see no intrinsic
difficulty in the plan, no counterbalancing evil to its benefit, nor
any obstacle to its adoption, but the want of a more general and
accurate knowledge on the subject; for lack of this, supposing my view
to be correct, Government has been and still is constantly expending
a quarter of a million per annum more than necessary, the railway
companies are deprived of a valuable relief, and the postal service is
cramped to a degree seriously affecting the interests of the public at
large.

_Attempts to procure Legislation._

My attempt in the same year (1857) to obtain satisfactory legislation
was not more successful than my previous efforts. The bill was prepared
with every just consideration for railway interests, which, indeed,
I was little likely to neglect, but was introduced too late in the
session to give it any chance of passing against the opposition which,
to my great disappointment, it encountered.[143]

Two years later, thinking I had found a favourable conjuncture, I
proposed a measure on new terms, which I hoped would prove more
acceptable. A bill being drawn accordingly at the Post Office, with the
sanction of the Treasury, I hoped that it would be introduced early in
the session of 1860; but before the time arrived, my increasing illness
took so serious a form that many months elapsed before I was able to do
work of any kind; and, in short, my direct attempts to obtain railway
legislation here came to an end.

To what form the relation between the Post Office and the railways
will eventually be brought, by legislation or otherwise, must for the
present remain matter of conjecture. The purchase of the whole railway
system by the State has of late been much talked of; and, of course, if
this should be effected, all such legislation as I sought to procure
would be superseded; but the difficulties to be surmounted are very
great. Reference has been made to a Royal Commission on Railways, of
which I was a member. This was appointed in 1865, and I joined it at
the earnest request of Mr. Gladstone. Though unable, through the state
of my health, to attend all the meetings, I was careful to examine
the report of all such evidence as I did not hear, and both evidence
and discussion confirmed the opinions I had previously formed on the
subject. These had in the main been put forth some time before by
my brother Frederic, who also frequently discussed them with me in
conversation, and finally gave them concise but distinct expression
in his evidence before the commission. I may add that our joint view
was supported by evidence from Mr. Edward Page, Inspector-General of
Mails, and Mr. Gregory, C.E., the Arbitrator for the Post Office, and
afterwards President of the Society of Civil Engineers.

Adopting the suggestion of Government purchase (originally made, I
believe by Mr. Galt, as early as the year 1844), but differing from
him as to the mode of proceeding, my brother recommended that the
purchase should be made gradually; and this not by compulsion, save
in a few exceptional cases, but by free covenant between the railway
proprietors and the Government; that the purchase should be effected,
not by any increase of the National Debt, but on some such arrangement
as is now generally adopted when one company becomes possessed of the
line of another; lastly, that Government should not attempt to work
the railways itself, but lease them to companies or individuals on
such conditions as would most tend to public benefit. These views will
be found expressed in my separate Report (for I did not succeed in
bringing over my brother Commissioners to my opinion) at pp. cxii. and
cxxvi.[144] Mr. Monsell, M.P. for the county of Limerick also made a
separate report concurring in great measure with my own. It is foreign
to the purpose of this narrative to dwell on the general advantages
that might be expected to follow the great change in question; suffice
it to repeat that, if effected, it would put it in the power of the
Government to secure to the Post Office the prompt and unimpeded
command of all railway facilities, and that on terms at once equitable
in themselves and beneficial to all parties.

_Arbitration with Railway Companies._

In the absence of those fixed rules which legislation alone can
establish, frequent recourse is necessarily had to arbitration; which,
however, is unsatisfactory in its results, owing, no doubt, chiefly to
the difficulty of procuring an umpire at once sufficiently conversant
with the facts and principles that should form the basis of judgment,
sufficiently unbiassed to deal with them dispassionately, and at the
same time acceptable to the railway companies. In cases of difference
between individuals and large companies, the public feeling, as shown
by the decision of juries and otherwise, is for the most part unduly
favourable towards individuals; and, in like manner, in cases between
companies and that largest of corporations the State, the feeling is
unduly favourable to the companies; the more so as the companies can
address _ex parte_ statements to the public, while even the highest
fixed officers in any Government department are bound by official
etiquette to silence.

Further indication as to the true interest of railway companies in
relation to the Post Office will be found in the following passage:--It
may be remembered that I had, when chairman of the Brighton Railway
Company, induced the directors to offer to the Post Office the almost
gratuitous conveyance of an additional mail by every train between
London and Brighton not already retained for postal service, and
that this offer had been in part accepted. In the beginning of 1859,
however, I learnt that the company, then under the chairmanship of
Mr. Schuster, demanded payment for this additional service. Sincerely
believing the demand to be contrary to the company's true interests. I
wrote to the chairman in earnest deprecation. I give the essential part
of my letter:--

"15th February, 1859.

"MY DEAR SIR,

* * * * *

"I trust, however, that you will not lightly disturb the existing
arrangements. You are mistaken as to the motives which induced the
board, at the time I had the honour of being their chairman, to
undertake the conveyance of the mails between London and Brighton
at the present rates of charge. Our motive was not so much the
benefit of the Post Office as that of the railway company; and the
result of fourteen years' experience clearly establishes, I think,
the policy of the measure.

"Beyond the limits of the London District there is no town in
England which has equal postal facilities with Brighton; and the
board will, I think, on reconsideration, agree with me in opinion
that no inconsiderable part of the £20,000 a year obtained from the
sale of season tickets is attributable to this cause.

"Any attempt to raise the charge upon us would necessarily lead to
a diminution of service; and, in this way, the company as well as
the public would suffer.

"As a shareholder, I am anxious on this point...."

The consequence, I am happy to say, was the abandonment of the demand,
and the maintenance of the previous practice; which, I understand,
remains unchanged to the present time (1868).

MONEY ORDERS.

The amount annually transmitted, which before the establishment of
penny postage had been less than one-third of a million, but in the
fourteen following years had risen to nearly ten millions, rose between
1854 and 1859 to more than thirteen millions;[145] and the profit,
which had been gradually substituted for a loss, and had risen by 1854
to somewhat more than £16,000, rose by the end of 1859 to more than
£29,000.[146]

_Obstacles to Economy._

Further economy, to the extent of about £1000 a year, might have
been effected by the adoption of an arrangement prepared by my
brother for farming out what is called "the window duty" (that is,
the direct transaction of ordinary post office business with the
public) at the chief money order office, on a plan already in very
general use elsewhere; but, though this was recommended to three
several Postmasters-General, its adoption was not obtained.[147]
Success would have led to a great extension of the recommendation; our
joint conviction being that all the duties of postmasters and their
subordinates, together with much other business of the department,
might be most economically and effectually performed under a system of
contracts. At the same time the obstacle to the change was then, as
now, far from inconsiderable; the manifest effect being to diminish,
in proportion to its extent, the amount of that patronage on which
every Administration counts as a means of influence. It must not be
forgotten, indeed, that the Liberal Administration under the Earl of
Aberdeen made a very handsome sacrifice of patronage, in relation to
the appointment of provincial postmasters; and there is ground for
believing that this change, instead of being disliked by Members of
Parliament, had from most a hearty approval; relieving them as it
did, so far, from the importunities of place-hunting constituents.
At the same time, it must be admitted that, until there be a more
general enlightenment in the public itself, combined with a more
resolute discontinuance of everything like corrupt practice, it will be
difficult for any administration, however liberal, to take those bold
steps which alone can put the public service on a sound footing.

With regard to the economic tendency of the plan of contracts, I do not
think it would be an over-sanguine estimate to fix the annual saving
of public money to be ultimately derived from its full adoption and
careful administration, in the Post Office alone, at a quarter of a
million sterling.

PACKET SERVICE.

_Post Office_ versus _Admiralty_.

As the packet service remained during the whole of this period in the
hands of the Admiralty, the action of the Post Office upon it was
necessarily indirect and limited; as is strikingly exemplified by the
fact that in the year 1857 the contract with the West Indian Packet
Company was renewed not only without my knowledge, but without that
even of the Postmaster-General. The inconvenience of such a course
appeared distinctly enough two years later when Mr. Anthony Trollope,
being sent out to the West Indies on other business, was able, although
a landsman, to propose a scheme of routes for the mail-packet at once
more convenient and more economical than the existing routes, and, in
the opinion of the hydrographer to the Admiralty, superior to them even
in a nautical point of view. This scheme nevertheless had to wait long
for adoption, because no satisfactory arrangement could be made with
the directors of the company; and their renewed contract had yet four
years to run.[148]

Moreover, the omission to introduce into the renewed contract efficient
stipulations to secure punctuality led to its natural consequence; some
of the packets worked by this company, viz., those between St. Thomas,
Colon, and Greytown, being the least punctual in all the mail-packet
service; while the most punctual were those between Devonport and the
Cape of Good Hope, belonging to the Union Steamship Company, into whose
contract such stipulations had been introduced in their strongest form,
and which in the year 1859 made every one of its voyages within the
appointed time.[149]

The unwise renewal of the West Indian Mail Packet contract naturally
led to demands for similar facilities elsewhere. The fact is,
as already intimated, that the West Indian packet service was
established not for postal, but for political purposes, and the term
Royal mail-packets was a misnomer, which, while it could not blind
our neighbours, tended much, as has already been shown, to mystify
ourselves. The chief effect at this period was that other colonies,
less favoured hitherto, began to put in claims to which, under
the circumstances, it was difficult to reply; those of Australia,
then rapidly rising in importance through the discovery of their
gold-fields, naturally taking the lead. In the consideration of this
matter the Post Office was called on to take a part, and it was at
length decided that a monthly line of steamers in each direction
should be maintained, half the very heavy expense to be defrayed by
the mother country, and the other half by the colonies conjointly; the
several contributions of these latter to be proportionate to their
respective amounts of correspondence and the distance performed in
their respective services. South Australia, indeed, refused at first to
bear any part of this expense, save on conditions which we deemed quite
inadmissible; but, as the Home Government stood firm, resistance was
eventually abandoned.

_Panama route to Australia._

Another controversy relative to the Australian service was as follows:--

About the year 1857 a demand arose in this country for sending the
Australian mails by way of Panama, a line of steamers across the
Pacific having been projected. The projectors hoped to divert a portion
of the mail service to that route, which of course it became their
interest to extol above all others. Their recommendation was based on
two alleged advantages; first, that the new route was the shortest, and
second, that its adoption in addition to the existing communication
would turn the monthly mail into a bi-monthly one. The comparative
shortness of the route seemed to be received by the public as a fact
too obvious to admit of question; and as it was in connection with
this route that the suggestion of an intermediate mail was originally
made, the two projects became so associated in the popular mind, that
the adoption of the one seemed essential to the establishment of the
other. Besides the new company, there were other parties interested
in the plan, viz., the colonies of New Zealand and New South Wales,
which, lying eastward of the other Australian settlements, would,
by the proposed arrangement, receive their mails earlier than their
neighbours; thus obtaining whatever advantage attaches to priority of
information. Whether these colonies urged upon their friends in England
agitation in favour of the new route, I cannot say. At all events, the
demand was strongly backed at home, some of the newspapers becoming
quite clamorous for the change, the Government being strongly pressed
for immediate action, and all hesitation denounced as imbecility or
red-tapism. It really seemed as if globes, maps, and gazetteers were
unknown or inaccessible, and common sense fast asleep. The outcry
increasing in volume and intensity, Government at length expressed its
intention to call for tenders. How wide-spread was the delusion was
curiously exemplified by the following incident. Happening to meet at
the Athenæum a friend, who had long held an important office in the far
East, almost on the shores of the Pacific, a man of great acquirements
and extended information, I was at once challenged with the inquiry of
the day, "Why do you not establish an Australian mail by the Panama
route?" and upon putting the counter-question, "Why should we?" was
promptly answered, "Because it is the shortest." I proposed that we
should forthwith submit this allegation to the test of measurement,
and, obtaining a piece of string, we repaired to the large globe in the
drawing-room, where a few moments settled the question. So far as I was
able to analyze the popular error, it consisted mainly in practical
ignorance of the enormous breadth of the Pacific Ocean.

Of course it was not sufficient to convince private friends; my
business being to act upon Government, which seemed to be upon the
point of incurring a very large and very useless expense. I accordingly
wrote a report on the subject, which, as the project may some day
be revived, I give in the Appendix (K). This, being backed by Lord
Colchester, was sent to the Treasury, and the plan was given up. A line
of steamers across the Pacific was, indeed, afterwards established by
a special company subsidised by the New Zealand Government, and to
this were of course consigned the mails to New Zealand, and such other
letters, &c., as were specifically directed for conveyance by that
route. The enterprise, however, was the reverse of profitable, and has
at length been abandoned.[150]

_Peninsular and Oriental Company._

It must be added that, in the year 1858, the conveyance of the
Australian mails by the usual route was transferred, with no small
public benefit, to the Peninsular and Oriental Company,[151] by which
it has ever since been well performed, the passage to Melbourne _viâ_
Marseilles being brought within fifty days, while a punctuality is
maintained, which, considering the vast distance to be traversed, is
extraordinary. This remarkable regularity, however, while proceeding in
great measure from the excellent management of the company, is, in this
case, as in several others, due in part to the gradual introduction of
that system of fines and rewards[152] to which we so long strove in
vain to induce railway companies to consent.

_Indian Mutiny._

It may well be supposed, however, that during the critical period
of the Indian mutiny, when all thoughts were directed to one great
end, and when the rapid conveyance of intelligence was of the utmost
importance, the Post Office, so far from being left unconsulted,
was called on for every effort that could be made. After careful
examination of the packet service as it stood, we discovered the
means of doubling the number of mails to Calcutta and Madras (then
two per month), with but moderate change of existing arrangements,
and at comparatively small additional expense.[153] I wrote (Sept.
12th, 1857) to the chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Company,
informing him of our plan, and inviting him to a conference on the
subject. I also wrote (Sept. 16th) to Mr. Wilson, then Secretary to the
Treasury, to mention what we had done, and to advise the postponement
of all other negotiations for the same purpose. Little time was lost
in the matter, the company thankfully adopting our recommendation,
and the new arrangement being at once approved by the Treasury; and
thus was obtained, at the annual cost of £16,000, a duplication of
service, which but for the expedient employed would scarcely have been
procured at the rate of £100,000. Every effort was also made, even
at considerable expense, to shorten the journey between London and
Paris. By the cordial assistance of the French Post Office, and the
zealous co-operation of the directors of the English and French railway
companies, this was frequently brought within nine hours;[154] no easy
matter, perhaps, even now in 1868, but certainly very difficult in 1857.

The general result of our efforts during the Indian troubles was
briefly stated in a letter to Lord Canning, which I give in the
Appendix (L), as it may now perhaps be considered to derive some
historic value from the crisis during which it was written, and the
great statesman to whom it was addressed.

ACCELERATION OF NEWS.

In addition to the measures taken for accelerating the mails, efforts
were made to increase, as much as possible, postal facilities to the
public journals. I had previously made various arrangements for this
general purpose, but the universal demand for early intelligence at the
time of the Indian mutiny led us to seek further improvement.

The mode of proceeding, when application was made to me on the subject,
was, so far as I remember, for the managers of the morning journals to
send a special messenger to Marseilles to receive there such part of
the mail as pertained to them. On arriving at Boulogne the messenger
took this on board a steamer specially hired for the purpose, and
immediately upon reaching Dover handed it over to writers sent down
from London, who returned by a special train, making their abstracts
and extracts by the way. The proceeding on this side Dover may, for
aught I know, remain unaltered to the present time; but, with some
trouble, I devised and established such an arrangement as dispensed
with the special messenger to Marseilles, and that in such a manner
as to avoid the delay which had led to the employment of the special
steamer; so that, thenceforth, without trouble or expense to the
journalists, their despatches were received at Dover at least as early
as before, the saving to each paper being, as I was informed by the
editor of one, no less than about £2,000 per annum.

About the same time also we revived an arrangement, which had fallen
into disuse, whereby other foreign correspondence for the newspapers,
from whatever quarter, might be obtained on application at the office
before any delivery could be made to the general public. The only
condition required was that the envelopes used should be of a peculiar
tint, so that in sorting they might easily be selected.

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

_Revenue._

Following, as heretofore, that mode of accounting which for the purpose
of comparison it was still necessary to retain, viz., the one in use
at the time when penny postage was established, the results, in round
numbers, may be briefly stated thus:--

The gross revenue increased from £2,700,000 in 1854 to £3,300,000 in
1859; but as the cost of management increased in the same period from
£1,500,000 to somewhat more than £1,900,000, the increase in the net
revenue was somewhat less than £200,000.[155]

_Expenditure: Causes of Increase._

As already shown, the chief increase in the cost of management was
referable to the following causes--increase in the staff, consequent
on the great multiplication of correspondence (by that time seven-fold
its original amount); increased salaries and allowances; the extension
and ramification of the postal system (already affording collection and
delivery to almost every village in the United Kingdom); the expense
of increased facilities and conveniences afforded to the public; the
costly acceleration of the more important mails; and, lastly, increase
in the charge for mail conveyance consequent upon its transfer from
mail-coaches to railway trains. It is obvious that several of these
causes of expenditure have no reference whatever to Penny Postage, but
must have arisen had the old rates been maintained.

It must be remarked here that the multiplication of sub-post offices
and receiving-houses, implied in what has just been mentioned, would
have been very much more costly had not the expense been controlled
by established rules based on sound principles. It has already been
shown that the old plan of considering every case "according to its
merits," to use the official expression, that is to say, of fixing
the salary of A without ever inquiring how much was paid to B, C, or
D, for equal service, had been to a considerable extent superseded by
fixed scales. But we now went fully into the matter and brought the
system to completion, thus providing a satisfactory guide available
not only for new offices but also for any increase of duty at those
already established; an arrangement which removed many anomalies
and also saved much valuable time. The care with which the work was
done is attested by the fact that up to the present time the scales,
so far as I am aware, have undergone little or no modification, and
have even been used for higher offices than those for which they were
originally intended. Like benefit was derived from a scale prepared,
about the same time, for regulating the amount of security demanded
from postmasters according to the extent and frequency of their
opportunities for defrauding the revenue; a scale which is, I believe,
still in force.

_Predictions Fulfilled._

It may be remembered that, in my evidence before the Parliamentary
Committee of 1838, I expressed a confident anticipation that, if penny
postage were adopted, the public would, after a while, expend as much
in postage as under the old system, and consequently that the gross
revenue would, in the end, be made good. This anticipation was more
than realized in the year 1851.[156]

As regards net revenue, I expressed an opinion to the effect that
the great increase of letters necessary to make good the gross
revenue would require an additional expenditure of about £300,000 per
annum, and, consequently, that the net revenue would be reduced by
that amount, or to about £1,300,000 a year. The actual increase of
expenditure, however, owing to causes already mentioned, far exceeded
my estimate; consequently the net revenue of the same year (1851) was
only £1,118,000,[157] and it was not till six years later that it rose
to £1,300,000.[158] And though, as must be obvious to the attentive
peruser of the foregoing pages, these results, but for almost endless
obstructions, would have occurred at a much earlier date, it was with
deep satisfaction that I at length saw my predictions fulfilled. I
may add here that in the year 1862, the net revenue so far exceeded
any expectation that I had held out as nearly to equal the largest
amount obtained under the old high rates;[159] and that ever since that
year it has greatly exceeded that amount. Of course these comparative
statements are all based on the mode of calculation which was in use
at the time when penny postage was adopted.

When, however, my predictions with regard to revenue were fulfilled
beyond all question, we thought it would be well, while retaining the
old mode of reckoning for the purpose of showing progress under the
new system as compared with the old, to introduce a more accurate
mode, for the purpose of exhibiting as nearly as possible, the actual
financial results of postal operations; and the results thus arrived
at were given, for the first time, in the Report for 1859. By this
changed mode of reckoning, which is set forth in some detail in its
proper place,[160] it appears that the amount to which the Treasury
was actually benefited by the Post Office, though rather less than
that arrived at by the old mode of reckoning, was still more than
£1,100,000. Of course, when comparison with the past is not in
question, the amount thus ascertained is the one which it is best to
take. It may be added that the substantial part of this revenue, viz.,
about £1,000,000, was derived from inland correspondence; to which, as
the reader may remember, I had always pointed as the main source of
actual income.

STAFF.

_Promotion by Merit._

During this period the system of promotion by merit was brought into
full operation. In the three metropolitan offices, when a vacancy
occurred, application for appointment was open to all; the respective
claims were carefully compared, and without the admission of any
other consideration whatever, the claim which was adjudged to be
best carried the day. How strict our practice was may be shown by the
following incident. To keep our course free from disturbing influence,
it had been laid down that any intercession from without in favour
of individual officers should act, if not injuriously, at least not
beneficially, on the advancement of those concerned; and, as the rule
had been sanctioned by the Treasury, it certainly was not from that
quarter that I should have expected its breach. It is much easier,
however, to authorize the establishment of a rule than to bend old
habits in conformity with its tenour, or even to remember its very
existence; and, not a little to my amusement, I received an interceding
letter from the very Secretary of the Treasury, my friend Mr. (now Sir
William) Hayter. The following was my reply:--

"27th December, 1855.

"MY DEAR HAYTER,--We really do mean to carry out the Treasury
regulations as to promotion honestly and with an utter disregard of
all conflicting interests, however potent.

"With this view the inclosed circular has been issued, and every
violation of the rule laid down, even though it extend no further
than the suggestion of an application such as that which you have
forwarded, is punished by reprimand and probable degradation.

"Fortunately young ----'s conduct is so good, especially as regards
the observance of the rules of the office, that I feel justified
in assuming that he is not to blame in the present instance, but I
cannot communicate the application to the Duke, neither can I allow
it to influence any advice I may have to give him.

"I am sure you will concur in these views.

"I am, &c.,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"The Right Hon. W. G. HAYTER, M.P."

By the transfer to the Post Office of appointment to all the higher
postmasterships, opportunity for promotion was greatly enlarged,
and posts formerly bestowed for political services, now became the
rewards of approved merit. This change obviously involved great
improvement in the quality of the persons thus entrusted with powers
and duties of no small importance to the public. In the provincial
offices a corresponding improvement was, in great measure, secured by
delegating the power of appointing their subordinates, under certain
restrictions, to the respective postmasters; who, being themselves
responsible for the good working of their offices, were naturally led
to such selection as would best conduce to that end. This delegation,
so far as related to clerks, was made, as already mentioned, on the
recommendation of the Civil Service Commissioners; and, the trust being
satisfactorily exercised, was subsequently extended to the appointment
of letter-carriers also.

Of the inconveniences arising from confining admission to the service
to candidates passing the Civil Service examinations, of which I have
already spoken, some evidence is given by the following extract from a
Report of Mr. Abbott, secretary to the Post Office in Scotland:--

"Considering the different duties of the account, the secretary's,
and the sorting branches, I am inclined to believe that the
examination should have more special reference to the vacancy the
candidate is to fill than to his general knowledge on certain
subjects proposed for all in the same class; more especially as
regards persons nominated to the sorting office, where manual
dexterity, quick sight, and physical activity, are more valuable
than mere educational acquirements."[161]

But, whatever might be the amount of inconvenience that in the first
appointment arose from neglect of such criteria, the system of
promotion by merit, being regulated entirely by reference to official
services, was found to work exceedingly well. From the different
departments of the metropolitan offices, and from the provincial
surveyors, the reports of its operation were almost uniformly
satisfactory. Officers were found to take more personal interest in
their duties, to do more work without augmentation of force, to make up
in some degree by additional zeal for the increased yearly holiday that
was granted them, and to discharge their duties with more cheerfulness
and spirit, knowing that good service would bring eventual reward.[162]
In short, almost without exception, good conduct was reported on all
sides.

From Sir Charles Trevelyan, one of the Commissioners whose
recommendation had led the Treasury to adopt this beneficial change of
system, I received the following letter. The italics are the writer's:--

"Treasury, 26th March, 1856.

"MY DEAR MR. HILL,--The good fruits of improvement described in
the Second Annual Report of the Postmaster-General, and especially
in the section headed 'Staff of Officers,' are a rich reward to my
brother Commissioners and myself for any assistance we may have
given in producing them; and it is especially gratifying to know
that the anticipated result of giving to this large body of public
officers a higher interest in their profession, and an increased
self-respect, and of bringing them more fully under the influence
of the wholesome stimulants to human action, has been attained.
We did what we could; but much the largest share belongs to Lord
Canning and yourself, and Mr. Tilley[163] and your brother, and
other distinguished officers of the department, who not only
cordially co-operated with the Commissioners of Inquiry in framing
the plan, but, what is far more difficult and important, _carried
it into actual effect_ with characteristic firmness and prudence.

"Sincerely yours,
"C. E. Trevelyan.

"ROWLAND HILL, Esq.,
"&c., &c., &c."

My own strong feeling of the value of the improvement I find thus
expressed a year and a half later:--

Extract from a letter to the Duke of Argyll, dated October 2nd,
1857:--

"While referring to Treasury authority in justification of the
course adopted, I think it right to add that my own opinion
is entirely in accordance with that authority; nay, that I am
convinced that some of the more difficult improvements recently
effected--that, for instance, which has already had so beneficial
an effect on the London early delivery--could not have been
accomplished under the old system of promotion."

_Health._

In the midst of proceedings thus tending not more to the public
good than to the true interests of the officers of the department,
other measures were taken by which the welfare of the latter was yet
more directly and obviously promoted. One of these was the formal
appointment of a medical gentleman to take, in addition to some
other duties, the regular charge of the health of the large number
of letter-carriers attached to the chief office. The duties of this
officer--of course with proper assistance--were subsequently extended
to the homes of invalids, and also to the staff at each of the new
district offices. Similar appointments were afterwards made at Dublin
and Edinburgh. Means were also taken to supply the men with pure
water. Serious mischief had arisen, especially in times when cholera
or diarrhœa was epidemic, from their resort to a neighbouring
pump attached to Goldsmiths' Hall; the water of which, though most
attractive in appearance and taste, was found by analysis to be very
deleterious in quality. In the erection of the new district offices
much care was taken to avoid those bad internal arrangements--alike
destructive to rapid action and injurious to health--which want of
either attention or experience had introduced at St. Martin's-le-Grand.

The general health of the department was in danger of being lowered
by the new standard of acquirement that had been established for
admission to the service. The persons best fitted for letter-carriers'
duties in a physical point of view are obviously those whose previous
occupation has inured them to labour of body and endurance of weather;
but such persons were, in effect, to a great extent excluded by the
new educational requirements, which, on the other hand, gave, for the
most part, easy admission to shopmen, clerks, domestic servants, and
others, but little accustomed to out-door exercise. To remedy this, the
Postmaster-General (the Duke of Argyll) requested the Civil Service
Commissioners to adopt a somewhat lower standard of acquirement, and
at the same time authorized the chief medical officer to subject all
candidates for the office of letter-carrier to stricter test as regards
bodily strength. The application of this higher physical standard
caused the rejection of at least one candidate out of four.[164]

By all these measures, the health of the department, which, with every
allowance for the favourable age of its officers, stood even at the
beginning of the period in very advantageous comparison with that of
London generally, was gradually raised to a very high standard.

One further improvement, however, seems very desirable, though the
means of effecting it have not yet been found. In the year 1857, Dr.
Lewis, the chief medical officer, having reported on the sanitary
condition of the dwellings of the letter-carriers, sorters, and
messengers attached to the chief office,[165] the Annual Report makes
this comment:--

"It is painful to reflect how much sickness must be caused by the
small, close, and ill-ventilated houses or rooms in which many of
these officers reside; an amount of sickness much beyond anything
that can depend on the regulations of the department itself."[166]

A hope was expressed that, as the department had stated its readiness,
in case of suitable abodes being provided, to give a guarantee against
loss from arrears of rent, provision would be made by commercial
enterprise;[167] but this hope still remains unfulfilled; and it must
be admitted that no small part of the difficulty rests with the men
themselves.

_Insurance._

Another measure for the benefit of the staff, and more especially
its humbler members, that is to say most of its number, consisted
in arrangements for facilitating life insurance, and for placing
the security of such investment beyond all doubt; an improvement of
considerable advantage to the public, as it tends to retain in its
service a number of careful provident men. At an earlier period, a
mutual insurance society had been formed in the London office, but
owing to errors in the scale of premiums and payments, this society had
fallen into difficulties, such as to show that it would, at no distant
period, be unable to meet its liabilities. Attempts had been made from
time to time to obtain assistance from the Treasury; thus, in the year
1849, at Mr. Tilley's request, I spoke urgently on the subject to Mr.
Hayter; a recent application having been refused.

Amidst the labour and anxiety that weighed upon me during the period
of the Sunday Observance agitation, I had no spare attention for the
furtherance of this useful measure, nor was it until the beginning of
the year 1851 that I was able to take the next step. Then, however, I
spoke to Sir George Cornewall Lewis on the subject. I proposed that
Government should give up to the fund the proceeds of the unclaimed
money orders, which I estimated at about, £1,100 a year, and I
explained to him a plan which I had in view for extending the utility
of the association, by including not only life insurance, but also
guarantees for the conduct of the insured. He agreed in the opinion
that the association should be helped in its present difficulties,
but, objecting to anything in the shape of charity, was not inclined
to go further; and in this position matters remained for the time. On
my brother's appointment, however, later in the same year, I directed
his attention to the matter, and, in a short time, he produced a plan
which, satisfying the Treasury, procured for the society its required
assistance.

The first step in accordance with this sanction was to induce an office
of undoubted stability to take upon itself the society's liabilities;
and to this the Atlas Assurance Company assented upon receiving the sum
of £2,000, which was drawn from the void order fund. It was arranged
that thenceforth the whole of this fund, amounting at the time to about
£1,400 a year, together with the interest on its previous accumulation,
which constituted a principal of about £12,000, and lastly, all the
money found in such "dead letters" as could not be returned to the
writers, should be applied towards assisting officers in payment of
insurance fees.[168] In this manner the association in question, "The
Post Office Widows' and Orphans' Fund Society," was placed on a firm
footing.

As, however, the demands thus made on these various funds were not
sufficient, in the scale laid down, to absorb the whole, a portion of
the void order fund was employed in rescuing from difficulties another
society in the London Office, called the "Letter-Carriers' Burial
Fund;" the rights and claims of which became perplexed and uncertain
on the amalgamation of the two sets of letter-carriers; with only one
of which the society had been connected. These measures had the effect
of exchanging past contributions into payments for life insurance;
and thus gave to every contributor the full benefit of his former
sacrifices. The fund still being by no means exhausted, authority was
obtained to apply the remainder towards aiding members of the service
throughout the United Kingdom to insure their lives, by using it in
part payment of the premiums; and, even from the best established
insurance offices, a considerable reduction of fees was obtained, in
consideration of the large amount of business thus thrown into their
hands.

By the end of 1857 the total amount insured for was £280,000.[169] As
might be expected, the greatest amount of providence was shown in
Scotland, England at first lagging much behind, while poor Ireland
was fairly distanced. Subsequently, however, England came up with
Scotland, and even Ireland amended her relative position. Still, the
number of insurers, when compared with that of the whole force, was at
best but small: a defect attributed to the premiums having to be paid
in quarterly amounts; an arrangement unsuited to men in the receipt of
weekly or even monthly wages. It was therefore arranged that insurers
should have the option of making their payments by means of a small
deduction from their salaries. This improvement was found to produce
the desired effect; the number of insurers increasing by about eighty
per cent. within three months after the alteration.[170]

Another beneficial change arose thus. Of course, in these departments
of the service where the officers have to be intrusted with the
public money, guarantees are required of those who are appointed; a
requirement necessarily producing either trouble or expense. Private
guarantees were commonly procured, though some nominees got the
security of the British Guarantee Association, the fees for obtaining
which, however, although moderate, implied a considerable deduction
from the smaller salaries. Mr. Banning, the postmaster of Liverpool,
conceived the plan of a mutual guarantee amongst the officers
themselves. This proving very successful at Liverpool, was subsequently
introduced into the Chief Office, and extended to the offices of some
other of the principal towns.[171]

_Libraries._

The following is an extract from the Postmaster-General's Report for
1858:--

"It is with much pleasure that I have witnessed the establishment,
among the clerks in the Chief Office in London, of an institution
called the Post Office Library and Literary Association. The
large number of clerks who have enrolled their names shows how
general among them are a taste for reading and a desire for mental
cultivation and pleasures of a superior kind. Besides much support
within the department, the institution has received many liberal
donations, both of money and books, from without--among others,
a munificent gift of £50 from His Royal Highness the Prince
Consort."[172]

In the following year similar institutions on a smaller scale were
established at nearly all the London district offices, and also at
Glasgow.[173] In the London office, the institution was aided by the
delivery of lectures, a work in which several of the higher officials
took part. On the occasion of the annular eclipse of 1858 I took my
turn by giving a lecture on the subject of that phenomenon, and had the
pleasure of addressing a very full and very attentive audience.

_Summary._

I cannot better close this account of the Post Office staff, numbering
at that time more than twenty-four thousand persons in all, of which
more than three thousand served in the London district, than by
quoting the following passage from the Sixth Annual Report, that
for 1859, issued as usual in the following year, and signed by the
Postmaster-General of the day, Lord Elgin:--

"It is with much satisfaction that I contemplate the many
improvements made within the last few years in relation to the
staff of officers. The arrangement under which every person
who enters the service is placed on probation before being
fully admitted; the gradual increase of salary within the
respective classes according to each officer's good conduct and
increasing usefulness; the promotion from class to class, and
from appointment to appointment, according to merit and superior
qualification practically demonstrated, and irrespective of all
other consideration; the strengthening of responsibility and of
energetic management by giving to the postmasters the choice of
their own clerks and letter-carriers; the improvement that has been
made, where necessary, in the sanitary state of the post offices
generally, and the appointment at the Metropolitan offices of
medical men to attend gratuitously on all employed there (except
the higher paid officers), and thus to stop disease at an early
stage; the extension to all the servants of the Post Office of a
pension in old age; and the arrangement by which every man can
obtain aid in insuring his life, and thus provide for his family at
his death,--are excellent, and have, I believe, produced the best
effects.

"I have the less hesitation in giving my testimony to these
improvements, because as I have been but a short while in office,
most of them were effected during the time of my predecessors."[174]

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXIV.

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT, 1854.

The first of the series of Annual Reports was prefaced with an
historical sketch of the Post Office from its origin, written by my
nephew, Mr. Alfred Hill. To this interesting narrative I beg to refer
such of my readers as may desire to become acquainted with the early
history of the department.[175] Like all similar documents, it will be
found in any collection of Parliamentary papers. Here, however, I shall
only quote one or two statements not previously given, and some few
other passages that may interest or amuse.

_Soldiers' Letters._

It had formerly been maintained, even by so high an authority as the
Duke of Wellington, that British soldiers were but little disposed
to make use of their long-existing privilege of penny postage. That
opinion found little confirmation at this time, since during the first
eight months, after arrangements had been made for postal communication
during the Crimean War, more than three hundred and fifty thousand
letters each way passed between England and the seat of war; neither
did the higher rate attaching to the quicker route through France
prevent its engrossing six-sevenths of the whole correspondence.

_Colonial and Foreign Posts._

Under this head the Report deals with one of a numerous class of
misapprehensions. I think I have already referred[176] to the
well-known propensity of Englishmen to make comparisons unfavourable
to their own country. The simplified and reduced postage on letters
to and from the Colonies, viz., sixpence for the whole distance, had,
as respects the Australian Colonies, been unfavourably contrasted
with the charge of twopence-halfpenny made for conveying a letter to
Australia from the United States, whereas the American charges did not
include the colonial postage, by which, even when lowest, the total was
raised above our rate. Again, the American mails were despatched only
by chance vessels, while the English mails were conveyed by regular
packets, bound under heavy penalties to start at fixed times and to
perform the voyage within a stipulated period, and therefore engaged at
higher rates, the British Post Office paying threepence where the Post
Office of the United States paid but one penny.

It is mentioned that the book-post was now in operation with almost
every important colony, and with most of the minor ones; and that
amongst other changes in foreign postage there was an important
reduction in that to France, which, from a rate varying between
eightpence and tenpence,--itself a very great reduction on earlier
rates,--had been reduced to a uniform one of fourpence. By this
improvement the postage between any place in the United Kingdom and
any place in France, including even Algeria, was made as low as that
charged, twenty years before, between the nearest two towns in England,
and less than the eighth part of the postage charged at that earlier
period on letters between say Manchester and Lyons.

_Street Nomenclature and House Numbering._

In a note to certain recommendations to the general public, remark was
made on the confusion and delay in the delivery of letters arising
from the application of the identical names to different streets, the
extent of this practice being shown by the fact that in London alone
there were found to be fifty King Streets, as many Queen Streets, and
sixty John Streets and William Streets. In the Appendix mention is also
made of perplexities arising from irregularity in numbering, carried in
some instances to such an extent as to have the same number attached to
seven different houses in the same street, and, in particular places,
exhibiting such further anomalies as would seem altogether incredible.
Mr. T. B. Cooke, Inspector of Letter Carriers, who supplied the
information, gives the following ludicrous instance:--

"On arriving at a house in the middle of a street, I observed
a brass number, 95, on the door, the houses on each side being
numbered respectively 14 and 16. A woman came to the door, when I
requested to be informed why 95 should appear between 14 and 16;
she said it was the number of a house she formerly lived at in
another street, and it (meaning the brass plate) being a very good
one, she thought it would do for her present residence as well as
any other."

_Unfounded Complaints._

Reference was made to serious charges brought against the Post Office
without sufficient examination of antecedent facts; thus it was shown
to a newspaper publisher, who complained of repeated losses, that it
was his own clerk who was the thief. In another case, a more general
complaint on the same subject led to the discovery, near the chief
office, of a thriving mart, illicitly supplied by private messengers
employed to convey newspapers to the post.

_Early History of the Post Office._

In an interesting Report from Mr. Scudamore, there is a remarkable
passage which shows that general views in accordance with those on
which my reforms were founded were incidentally expressed, about a
century and a half before, by the Postmasters-General of the day, Sir
R. Cotton and Sir F. Frankland. It is as follows:--

"We have, indeed, found by experience, that where we have made
the correspondence more easie and cheape, the number of letters
has been thereby much increased, and therefore do believe such a
settlement may be attended with a like effect in those parts [viz.,
a particular district]."

I cite also from Mr. Scudamore's Report the following curious passage:--

"The packets in those times, when war raged for so many years,
and when every sea was covered with French privateers, gave our
Postmasters-General very great and constant anxiety. Their orders
to the captains of such vessels are urgent, that they shall run
while they can, fight when they can no longer run, and throw the
mails overboard when fighting will no longer avail.... [There is] a
piteous petition from James Vickers, captain of the Grace Dogger,
who, as he lay in Dublin Bay waiting until the tide would take him
over the bar, was seized by a French privateer, the captain of
which stripped the Grace Dogger of her rigging, sails, spars, and
yards, and of all the furniture 'wherewith she had been provided
for the due accommodation of passengers, leaving not so much as a
spoone or a nail-hooke to hang anything on,' and finally ransomed
her to the aforesaid James Vickers for fifty guineas, which sum,
with the cost of the other losses, our Postmaster-General had to
pay."

_Improvement in Accounts._

A passage from the Report of the Chief Examiner shows the great
improvements which had taken place in the system of accounts, and the
strange laxity which had existed before the late reforms.

By this it appeared that under the old system the accounts of the
provincial postmasters were usually from three to six months in
arrear; that no vouchers were demanded for the proper disbursement
of the money with which the postmasters were credited; that through
this dilatoriness they were themselves frequently ignorant of the real
state of their affairs, and under temptation to use the public money
for their own purposes;[177] while, at the same time, the revenue was
injured by the delay in remitting the balances. This was contrasted
with the new system, under which "each postmaster renders his account
week by week, with all its proper vouchers for every receipt and every
payment, and showing the revenue left in his hands at the close of each
week to be the smallest possible sum."[178]

At the same time, notwithstanding the "many and great struggles made to
bring the accounts of the Post Office into a satisfactory state," the
force in the offices of the Receiver and Accountant-General had been
reduced from ninety-three to fifty-one, and that not only without any
demand for extra time, but with a fair allowance of holiday to those
engaged.

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT FROM 1855 TO 1859.

NUMBER OF POST OFFICES, ETC.

The number of receptacles for letters in the United Kingdom, which
before the establishment of penny postage was about 4,500, and which
had subsequently been raised to about 10,000, was increased during
the period now under consideration to more than 13,000,[179] thus
nearly tripling the original number.[180] Of these about 2,000 were
pillar-boxes. It is to be observed that, while these cannot fulfil all
the purposes of post offices, they have the advantage over them in
one important respect. They can be cleared at all hours of the night,
when receiving-houses and sub-post offices are closed; a convenience
especially valuable in London, in reference to the morning mails. Their
superiority in respect of economy is obvious; and this valuable quality
so facilitates their multiplication that in London, by the close of the
period, there was scarcely a house but had a posting-place within a
furlong.[181]

Some inconvenience arose at first, and probably is still experienced in
a less degree, from the greater opportunity for mischief afforded by
these isolated boxes, though there is some set-off in the circumstance
that the most wanton or malicious act directed against them can extend
no further than to the boxes and their contents. An abominable attempt,
made in the year 1859, to set fire during the night to the contents of
a box at a post office--that of Devonport--besides partially effecting
this detestable purpose, greatly imperilled the whole building, and
even placed in jeopardy the lives of the postmaster and his family.[182]

NUMBER OF LETTERS.

The increase in the number of chargeable letters delivered in the
United Kingdom was from 443 millions in 1854[183] to 545 millions in
1859;[184] _i.e._, from somewhat less than six-fold of the number
previously to the establishment of penny postage to somewhat more
than seven-fold; so that the mere increment during these five years
far exceeds the total amount under the old rates; the one being 102
millions and the other only 76 millions.[185]

RETURNED LETTERS.

In the Report for 1855 there is striking information as to reduction
in the proportion of returned, mis-sent, and redirected letters which
followed the establishment of penny postage. In the year 1838 the
postage so lost amounted to 4-1/4 per cent. on the gross postal revenue
of Great Britain. In three years it had fallen to 2-1/4 per cent., in
eleven years more to 1 per cent., and in three years more to 3/4 per
cent.;[186] and the proportion seems to have fallen afterwards still
lower.[187]

REGISTRATION.

The proportion of registered letters, too, which under the original
high charge had been comparatively small, was now steadily advancing;
the Fourth Annual Report showing that in the year 1857 it was one out
of 400.[188] In the year 1868 it was as high as one out of 333. The
general adoption of registration, however, was, and probably still is,
somewhat retarded by the fear that, as the very fact of registration
indicates value, which might otherwise remain unobserved, its use
tends rather to create danger than to diminish it. This objection is
sufficiently disposed of by a statement in the Sixth Annual Report,
by which it appears that of the 1,400,000 letters registered within
the year, only 785, or one in about 1,750, were reported as not having
reached their destination. Further, that all these except 15 were
afterwards recovered; and that of eight, out of this small exceptional
number, the loss had occurred after they had left the custody of the
British office.[189] In contrast with this it may be mentioned that in
the same year (1859) no less than £260 found in unregistered letters
remained in the hands of the Post Office simply from the want of means
to find out either the addressee or the sender.[190] Such negligence
in remitting money is the more blameable because, as remarked in the
Postmaster-General's Third Report, it offers temptations to theft which
often prove irresistible, "bringing many a man in the service of the
Post Office to disgrace and ruin, who, but for the thoughtlessness[191]
or parsimony of others, might have remained an honest and useful member
of society."[192] As if this were not quite enough, a cry was raised
that the dishonesty really due to this blameable conduct on the part of
individuals was attributable to parsimony in the department. It was
alleged, though without any justification, as will hereafter be shown,
that men were driven to depredation through scantiness of pay.

_Soldiers' Remittances._

During the time of the Russian War the money order system was carried
into active operation amongst our forces serving in the East, who,
in the course of the year 1856, sent home by this means more than
£100,000.[193]

_Increased Facilities of Remittance._

It was in this period that the maximum amount for a single money
order was raised from £5 to £10,[194] an improvement long urged; that
opportunity was given for converting, at an almost nominal charge, a
money order into what was in effect a bill payable ten days after date;
and that, to facilitate small remittances, postage stamps were made
exchangeable for money at a low commission, on application at a post
office.[195]

_Extension of Money Order System to Colonies._

In the year 1857, after overcoming many difficulties, a plan was
devised for establishing a money order system between the mother
country and the colonies. In fear of opposition on the ground of
interference with private enterprise, the plan was arranged with
a view to remove objections previously regarded as insuperable on
the part of bankers, and succeeded in obtaining the acquiescence of
those most likely to be affected by the change. The consent first
of the Postmaster-General (Lord Colchester), and afterwards of the
Treasury, was obtained; but when the arrangement was about to come into
operation the Treasury sanction was suspended, on that very allegation
of interference which it was hoped had been provided against. In
1859, however, taking advantage of an application on the subject from
the Canadian Post Office, these views were again urged. With Lord
Colchester's approval, application was again made to the Treasury,
which, after some hesitation, agreed to try the experiment. It is only
necessary to add that the trial proved so successful that money order
communication was gradually extended to all the other colonies, and to
some foreign countries.

_Intra-colonial Rates of Postage._

By returns obtained from the colonies during the year 1856, it
appeared that reduction of rate was universal, or very nearly so, and
uniformity of charge almost as general. The lowest rate reported was
that in India, where the minimum charge was, and still is, for all
distances, as low as three farthings; and though the weight thereby
covered is certainly very small--being only about one-tenth of an
ounce--yet on the one hand such restriction appears to produce little
or no inconvenience to natives, and on the other hand it is more than
counterbalanced by the vast extent of country over which a letter
may be conveyed. The new postal system, which involved in effect the
complete adoption of my plan, was established on the recommendation
of a Commission of Inquiry. I have lately learnt (1870) with great
satisfaction, that, whereas before the change, the Indian Post Office
was a source of expense, it is now self-supporting.

_Transference of Management of Colonial Post Offices._

As it had been found difficult, or rather impracticable, for the
Postmaster-General effectually to superintend postal affairs in distant
colonies, measures were taken in the year 1859--though they could not
be completed until the next year--for transferring to the different
Colonial Governments in the West Indies (unfortunately, in the case
of Jamaica, at least, much against their will) the management of
their respective offices. Of course such transfer, following as it
did a similar change with regard to all our North American colonies,
materially reduced the amount of our revenue, the counterbalancing
advantage being the benefits usually arising from autonomy.

FOREIGN POSTS.

_France._

The reduction of postage between England and France, already mentioned,
which extended to the transit rates charged in each country on the
letters of the other, having been followed by a large increase of
correspondence, further changes were considered desirable,[196] and in
the year 1856 my brother was sent to Paris to negotiate with the French
Office. The result of the proceedings was the completion of a new
postal convention involving large mutual reduction in transit rates
and sea postage, an important clause being inserted which empowered the
two Offices, by mutual agreement, to make future alterations in most
of the provisions of the convention without the delay and formality
of ordinary diplomatic action. This important provision, being one
on which great stress was justly laid, was carefully included, when
practicable, in subsequent treaties with whatever power.

_Other European Countries._

New postal conventions, having for their object a reduction and
simplification of charges, were in the same year (1856) in progress
with Belgium, the German Postal Union, and Spain. Even with the first
of these powers negotiation advanced but slowly; with the other two
progress was slower still; while all attempts with Portugal, even
to obtain reduction in the excessive rate then charged to Madeira,
viz., one shilling and tenpence the quarter ounce, with an additional
charge on delivery, a matter of no small importance to many English
families, were for the time fruitless.[197] Indeed, so sluggish were
the movements of this power, that no new convention had been effected
with it, and consequently no postal improvement made (save in marine
transit), for fifty years. Two years later, however, through the
efforts of the British ministers at Madrid and Lisbon, aided by Mr.
Edward Rea, who had been despatched by the Postmaster-General for the
express purpose, better postal treaties with Spain and Portugal were at
length concluded.[198]

_United States._

Arrangements were also made for the registration of letters between
this country and the United States;[199] but on other points of far
more importance negotiations with that country made no effective
progress during the period now under review. Our proposals made in
1856, which involved a reduction in the letter postage from a shilling
the half ounce to sixpence, the establishment of a book-post, and
the adoption of low transit rates on terms more favourable to the
United States than were required by simple equity, were met by a
counter-proposal, which, not being regarded as satisfactory, was
replied to with a full statement of objections; an offer being made
at the same time to submit the whole matter, if needful, to the
arbitration of a third party. Instead, however, of making any rejoinder
to this, the American Postmaster-General, in his next Annual Report,
while entirely passing over the offer of arbitration, represented
England as acting so unsatisfactorily, "that for the present no
disposition is felt to pursue the matter further."[200] Any one wishing
to satisfy himself as to the respective merits of the parties in this
proceeding will find the necessary documents in the Appendix to the
Sixth Report of the British Postmaster-General, p. 57.

Before the English rejoinder could be made, however, the
misrepresentations so boldly put forth raised an outcry in America,
which was partly echoed here. Error in this country, so far as it went,
was likely to disappear, or at least to become harmless, as soon as the
next Annual Report came out; but in America, correction, if left to
ordinary means, would doubtless have been found very slow. Fortunately,
as might be expected in so energetic a nation, the need called forth
the man; and so much as one man could do for diffusing sound knowledge
on the whole subject was done by the late Mr. Pliny Miles; who, in his
zeal for postal reform--a zeal, I must remark, rarely leading him into
any inaccuracy--published more on the general subject in America than
ever I did in England, travelled widely also in the Union, to urge his
views by word of mouth, and several times crossed the Atlantic for the
furtherance of his object. I must forestall events so far as to add
that, long as he had to labour, and often as he endured disappointment,
he happily lived to see his efforts rewarded with a large measure of
success.[201] I must also so far anticipate here as to express the
pleasure with which I have heard during late years of a total change
in the spirit of the American Post Office, the new authorities of
which have, I am informed, shown the utmost readiness to concur
frankly in any measure of improvement, and an honourable desire to form
arrangements equitable to both parties.

_Treaties made easily Terminable._

As much inconvenience had arisen from past treaties having been made
generally for long periods, so that, in case of disagreement as to
interpretation on any point, or of serious modification being found
needful, nothing could be done save by the slow and cumbrous process
of diplomacy through the Foreign Office, a clause was inserted in all
these new conventions, in accordance with a general rule previously
laid down, whereby they were made terminable by either party at
moderate notice.

CHAPTER XXV.

DISCONTENTS IN THE OFFICE. (1855-1859.)

While, however, content thus prevailed at the Post Office, and while
reports from all quarters spoke highly of the general conduct of those
employed in its service, it was inevitable that amongst so large a body
of men discontent should arise somewhere or other. Promotion by merit,
however satisfactory to the deserving, did little to gratify those
who had no merit to show, and was yet more distasteful to any whose
conduct positively shrunk from examination. Even less gratification was
doubtless felt by men who found themselves deprived of extra pay long
received but never earned,--nay, accorded where, instead of additional
service, even ordinary duty had been so remitted as to become little
more than nominal.

Of course, too, the officials of the Post Office, high and low, like
all other persons employed in whatever service, hold themselves
constantly open to an offer of increased salary or other improvement
in condition; and as, in the nature of things, such advancement does
not always come so frequently as desired, are not a little disposed
to give the matter a helping hand when convenient. It will readily be
imagined that such movements are most frequent in the lower branches
of the service; or at least take there their most troublesome form.
Sorters and letter-carriers, like other handicraftsmen, are more
struck with the amount of their own work than able to appreciate the
superior skill and incomparably greater labour required in the higher
operations; and thus their inequality of condition, though the natural
result of inferiority in qualifications, is too apt to be regarded
as a standing grievance. Unfortunately, the public is somewhat apt to
foster the error; to accept without examination sweeping statements as
to excessive labour and insufficient recompense; and, as in the case
of other operatives, the evil is prodigiously aggravated by men who in
such aggravation find advantage or gratification to themselves, and who
unhesitatingly swerve as far from truth and justice as public credulity
will allow--no very limited tether.

In a weekly paper entitled the "Civil Service Gazette" I was subjected,
from an early period of my career at the Post Office, to almost
constant personal attacks; many of them written with considerable
plausibility, but all void of substantial truth. Every one who has well
considered the subject of slander must know how great an advantage
the unscrupulous journalist has over the object of his attack, in the
dilemma in which he places him of either replying, at much expense of
time and dignity, to unfounded charges, or of allowing to them the
sanction which a very large, though somewhat thoughtless, portion
of the public infers from reticence. The amount of mischief that
may be done in any department of manufacturing industry by artful
misrepresentation addressed to over-willing ears has been painfully
illustrated of late; and this is by no means without its parallel in
that widely-extended department of Government which was so long the
scene of my labours. Some notion of the means employed may be formed by
a perusal of the following hand-bill, a copy of which was most properly
forwarded to the Chief Office by the postmaster of a large provincial
town, who found it in circulation among the clerks of his office:--

POST OFFICE REFORM.

=AGITATE--AGITATE--AGITATE!!!=

READ THE "CIVIL SERVICE GAZETTE,"
Unstamped 5d.--Stamped 6d.

=July 24th, 1858,=
Rowland Hill's Last Ukase!
BREAK DOWN OF THE GAGGING SYSTEM!
WHITE SLAVES OF THE POST OFFICE.

31st,
Rowland Hill's Job Frustrated:
HIS GREAT REVENGE:
The Screw and Gagging System of the General Post Office.
=POST OFFICE REFORMS=
AND THE WAY TO GET THEM:
HOPE FOR THE LETTER CARRIERS.
Coming Emancipation of the White Niggers.

August 7th,
POST OFFICE MANAGEMENT.
OUR MISSING LETTERS AND OUR LATE DELIVERIES.
The Letter Carriers' "Bill of Fare."

14th,
Post Office Reform by Merit,
REVELATIONS FROM ST. MARTINS LE GRAND.
=HOPE FOR THE OPPRESSED.=

THE POST MASTER GENERAL AND THE
LONDON LETTER CARRIERS.

Communications addressed, =pre paid=, to C. W. No. 9, East Mount Terrace,
LONDON.--E. will meet with immediate attention.

Self-answering as such exaggeration must appear to the thoughtful and
well-informed, it is not without its effect on the unthinking and
ignorant, particularly when the demands it implies correspond with
their own natural desires. In some hope, therefore, of averting, or at
least lessening, mischief, I drew the attention of Lord Colchester,
then Postmaster-General, to the intrusion of this hand-bill into the
department. It must be added that the copy received at the provincial
office was enclosed in a circular signed by a former postmaster who
had been dismissed for misconduct. His lordship entered into the
matter with interest, and suggested further inquiry; which, being
made, showed that the offensive paper had been sent to various other
large offices. Nothing, however, resulted from these measures; and,
as I had long ago directed my private secretary to make no report of
what appeared in that journal, save in cases of absolute necessity, I
was generally able, when a good-natured friend inquired if I had seen
the last attack, to reply in all sincerity that I did not read the
paper. The attacks, I understand, continued some years longer, many
of them being traced to discharged servants of the office. I cannot
but express my regret that the Civil Service should not have seen that
it was disgraced by the support of a paper which condescended to such
disreputable means for accomplishing its objects. Be this as it may, it
is easier to shut one's eyes to a fire than to put it out or prevent
its spreading, and, as will be seen, the sparks thus maliciously
scattered were not altogether without effect.

The eligibility of a letter carrier's position at the time to which
I refer was shown, not only by the large number of respectable men
constantly applying for appointment, but by the advantages attached
to the service in respect of rate of wages, supply of clothing,
opportunity for rising into the class of sorters, the pension provided
for old age (combined with assistance in life assurance), the
gratuitous supply to a large portion of the force of medical attendance
and medicine, and lastly, the annual holiday granted without loss of
wages; while, with all this remuneration, the hours of labour, taking
one day with another, were limited to eight. I may add that measures
were in progress for yet further improving the condition of the
letter-carriers.[202]

Every care, moreover, had been taken to provide for the speedy
rectification of individual cases of hardship, which in so large and
rapidly extending a department might unwittingly arise, by giving the
fullest opportunity for legitimate complaint, by guarding all such
complainants as took the prescribed mode from any consequent prejudice,
however unfounded their allegations might prove, and by allowing to the
lowest man in the service the means of appeal to the highest authority,
that of the Postmaster-General. With such provision it might perhaps
have been hoped that not only would all motive to such insubordinate
proceedings as had frequently troubled the department in previous years
be entirely removed, but even that irregular modes of complaint would
not have been taken, at least until after full trial of the appointed
channel.

Nevertheless, about two months after the circulation of the
inflammatory paper given above, amidst an almost total absence
of formal complaint, and certainly without substantiation of any
grievance in respect of a class, or even of individuals, a meeting of
letter-carriers was held in the South Western district, and reported
in the newspapers, at which "Speeches were made containing statements
which the men who uttered them must have known to be false, but from
the consequences of which they endeavoured to screen themselves
by concealing their names."[203] For the time the misconduct was
repressed; but we felt that without either such a course of concession
as would gradually raise salaries far beyond true remuneration (thus
tending to serious waste and other evils, not less certain though less
patent), or such union of firmness and energy in all the authorities
of the department as would render even an approach to mutiny unsafe to
those concerned, recurrence of trouble was certain, and its imminence
could not but remain a source of anxiety. This will further appear in a
later period of my narrative.

Slander, however, was not the only means resorted to by malcontents;
threats being added. Of these no mention appears in my Journal, as
of course I wished to keep off all apprehension on my account from
my family, and particularly from my wife, who generally acted as my
amanuensis. At least three times, however, notice was sent me that
unless the wages of the letter-carriers were raised I should be
assassinated. The first of these occurrences was, I believe, in 1854,
when I was summoned from a holiday sojourn at Brighton, in consequence
of a letter to this effect being received at the office, where, in my
absence, it had been opened by my brother. On arriving at the London
Station, I found my brother, Mr. Peacock, the solicitor to the Post
Office, Mr. (now Sir William) Bodkin, its standing counsel, and, I
believe, Mr. Bokenham, head of the Circulation Department, who had
all come to meet me, thinking it better that for the time I should
not go to the office. The threatening letter was produced, and I was
informed that the writing was identified by an expert with that of a
certain letter-carrier in the Chief Office, who had lately been giving
considerable trouble. In short, Mr. Peacock, in kind concern for my
safety, advised immediate arrest and prosecution. Upon a careful
comparison, however, of the anonymous letter (which of course was
written in a disguised hand) with a specimen of the suspected man's
usual handwriting, I felt so much doubt as to the evidence of identity
that I declined to concur in the proceeding, which was consequently
abandoned; and I must add that circumstances (though of what nature I
cannot now recollect) seemed afterwards to show that my doubt was well
founded.

Another letter, received a year or two afterwards, was more precise
in its warning, naming a particular day on which, supposing demands
to remain ungranted, execution would take place, notifying also the
mode of death fixed upon, viz., by shooting. To allow reasonable time
for effecting the change, the interval was somewhat long; and, oddly
enough, the day again happened to fall within the period of my holiday,
though near its end. As, however, the notice was so definite, I thought
it well to show myself, lest absence, being misinterpreted, should lead
to further trouble. Accordingly, returning home the evening before,
I went the next morning, at my usual hour and by my usual route, to
the office; my practice at that time being to walk the last half-mile
of the way.[204] I carried no weapon but my umbrella, but of this I
determined to make, if necessary, good use, believing that if properly
handled it would prove a very formidable, not to say deadly, weapon. I
scarcely need say my resolution was not put to its trial.

The last letter I received on such a subject is shown by the postmark
to have been sent on December 23rd, 1858. It certainly was rather
ill-timed, for in the previous month I had induced the Treasury to
abandon its intention of issuing an order forbidding the receipt of
Christmas-boxes, and also had obtained for the letter-carriers some
improvement in their scale of wages, the Treasury granting even more
than was applied for. Of course I took no more notice of this threat
than of its predecessors; and the age to which I have lived is an
instance of the longevity proverbially attained by threatened men.

CHAPTER XXVI.

MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS FROM 1855 TO 1859.

Various occurrences remain to be mentioned before I proceed to that
portion of my narrative with which I shall close the history of this
period.

In order to give the public, in a cheap and convenient form, such
information regarding the Post Office as is of general interest, we
established that small periodical publication which is now so well
known by the name of the "British Postal Guide." The first number
appeared in the year 1856, and its acceptability was shown by the sale
soon rising to between twenty and thirty thousand. From that time to
this a revised edition has been regularly issued every quarter.

About two years later a valuable improvement was effected in a
publication which had for many years existed under the direction of
the Post Office by the name of the "Daily Packet List." This was now
rearranged, enlarged, and made to convey much information beyond its
former meagre contents; a weekly edition was added; and the "Postal
Official Circular," as it is now called, has performed much useful
service. Had the recommendation, however, which was actually adopted by
the Postmaster-General, been sanctioned in full by the Treasury, the
sphere of this publication would have been so extended as to render it
a kind of postal monitor; correcting misconception as it arose, and
keeping the public constantly informed as to the real proceedings of
the department.

STAMPING.

The Post Office stamp indicating date had never been renowned for
clearness, and perhaps the constant increase in the number of letters
may have tended to make the dark darker still. At all events means
for improvement had been for some time in earnest consideration, when
circumstances drew public attention pointedly to the defect. At a trial
presided over by Lord Campbell, towards the end of 1856, a question
of some importance turned upon the precise date at which a letter
was posted; and the stamp being too obscure to supply the necessary
evidence, his lordship, though in a tone of general friendliness to the
Post Office, animadverted rather sharply upon the failure. This brought
me a letter from the Duke of Argyll, who was then absent from town, to
which I replied as follows:--

"17th December, 1856.

"MY DEAR LORD DUKE,--Active measures for the improvement of the
date stamp have long been in progress, and much has already been
accomplished; a further minute on the subject will be ready, I
hope, by to-morrow night's post; Lord Campbell's censures are
therefore, to say the least, ill-timed.

"The foreign stamping is on the whole somewhat better than ours,
but the difference is not great, and Mr. Bokenham thinks it will
disappear when we have a better ink. The foreign stamping is, I
believe, in most cases similar to our own, but the work is done
more leisurely.

"We have tried various machines, but as yet without success.
My son thinks he can overcome the difficulties, and he has for
a long time been at work at a model; but your Grace is aware
that mechanical inventions are slow of realization; still I hope
something may be accomplished before very long.

"I have, &c.,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"His Grace the DUKE OF ARGYLL."

More than two years elapsed before a satisfactory result was arrived
at. Amongst the various machines tried, there were several that would
do the work, but such as produced legible marks were deficient in
speed, and _vice versâ_; so that the human hand, imperfect as was
its operation, still retained its superiority. In the year 1859,
however, machines devised by my son were "at length constructed, which
are found," says the Report, "to perform the work of stamping and
obliterating more quickly and perfectly than by hand."[205] My son,
however, laboured hard for further improvement so successfully that at
the present time, with much increased legibility in the impression,
the speed of operation as compared with the best handwork is at least
fifty per cent. higher. The value of his invention was, two or three
years after my resignation, on Mr. Tilley's recommendation, handsomely
recognised by a special grant of £1,500; of which, however, about £650
was in remuneration for actual outlay.

SAVINGS BANKS.

In the year 1859 the first move was made towards that important
improvement, the establishment of the Post Office Savings Bank; Mr.
Edward Baines, M.P. for Leeds, enclosing to me unofficially, but with a
request for attention, a paper on the subject, drawn up by Mr. Charles
William Sikes, of Huddersfield, the originator of the plan. I wrote
on August 2nd to express my concurrence in Mr. Sikes's views, and my
readiness to do what I could towards giving them effect. My letter was
as follows:--

"August 2nd, 1859.

"MY DEAR SIR,--Pray excuse the unavoidable delay in replying to
your letter of the 30th ult.

"With modifications which could readily be introduced, Mr. Sikes's
plan is, in my opinion, practicable so far as the Post Office is
concerned.

"The plan also appears to me to be practicable in its other parts;
but on these I would suggest the expediency of taking the opinion
of some one thoroughly conversant with ordinary banking business,
and who is acquainted also with Savings Banks.

"I need not add that, if carried into effect, the plan would in my
opinion, prove highly useful to the public, and, in some degree,
advantageous to the revenue.

"I shall be most happy, when the time arrives for so doing, to
submit it for the approval of the Postmaster-General.

"Faithfully yours,
"ROWLAND HILL.
"E. BAINES, Esq., M.P., Reform Club."

Mr. Sikes, I must not omit to say, never received nor ever sought any
advantage, pecuniary or otherwise, in recompense for his admirable
suggestion, contenting himself with the deep gratification of having
done what lay in his power to confer an inestimable benefit on the
humbler classes of his countrymen.

Mr. Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, at once took up the
scheme warmly,[206] and subsequently carried the measure through
Parliament, the machinery for giving it effect being devised by Messrs.
Scudamore and Chetwynd.

SALARIES.

I have already implied an opinion that, if any of the officers in the
Department are underpaid, it is rather in the higher walks than the
lower. For the lower offices fit men are to be found in abundance,
while for the higher there is certainly no superfluity. Many of the
higher officers are, indeed, paid more than their services deserve,
but this is due to a previous bad mode of promotion. On the other
hand the talent, zeal, energy and integrity, with which some of the
higher duties are actually filled, obtain but scanty recompense,
even when every allowance is made for certainty, early income, and
claim to pension, in comparison with the emoluments obtained by equal
qualifications in the commercial or manufacturing world, so that there
is a danger, and something more than a danger, of good men being
allured from the service by offers or prospects based on the powers and
qualities they have therein demonstrated. With this feeling I induced
the Postmaster-General to apply to the Treasury early in 1859 for a
moderate increase of salary to the Assistant Secretaries, and some few
others who had distinguished themselves by efficient discharge of
their duties. Sir Stafford Northcote, then Secretary to the Treasury,
after calling for more information, and considering the question at
an interview appointed for the purpose, obtained the adoption of this
recommendation, though not to its full extent.

VOLUNTEER CORPS.

In the same year, the Volunteer movement having begun, we thought it
important that a corps should be raised in the Post Office, trusting
that such a move might act as an example to the Civil Service
generally. Accordingly, on May 4th, I wrote to the Postmaster-General,
Lord Colchester, on the subject, and obtained his ready sanction. Upon
my communicating with the heads of departments, I was told that there
would be readiness enough to volunteer if only the expenses could be
provided for, or reduced to a low rate; that the men would willingly
give their time, but thought it somewhat unreasonable that there should
be a demand for their money also. The difficulty was overcome by the
same means, and I suppose to about the same extent, as in other corps;
but from that day to this I have been unable to understand the policy
or propriety of making men pay for liberty to serve their country, a
practice which must, in the nature of things, debar large numbers from
enrolment. The movement was not limited to the Chief Office, and was
especially satisfactory at Edinburgh.

* * * * *

I have now to mention some attempts at improvement which did not
succeed at the time, and yet remain to be effected.

COMPULSORY PREPAYMENT.

In my original plan, as may be remembered, I counted upon universal
prepayment as an important means towards the simplification of
accounts, and consequent economy of time and expense; the expedient of
double postage on postpayment being regarded by me as a temporary mode
of avoiding the difficulties naturally attending a transition state;
and though hitherto postponing the measure to more pressing matters,
I had always looked forward to a time suitable for taking the step
necessary to the completion of my plan. Of course, the almost universal
resort to prepayment had rendered accounts of postage very short
and easy, but obviously universal practice alone could render them
altogether unnecessary.

In the year 1859, upon a review of all circumstances, we hoped that
the fitting time had at length arrived, the proportion of unpaid
letters having become exceedingly small; and we made the attempt. Such
a change, however, could not be effected without producing a certain
amount of inconvenience; and unfortunately, while those annoyed were
loud in their complaints, the general public could not readily be made
very sensible of the benefits, economical and otherwise, thence to be
derived, and still less could they be made as earnest in defence as
opponents were in attack. Not a little to my regret, I found it my
duty to recommend to the Postmaster-General that the measure should be
indefinitely postponed. My own feelings and opinions on the subject
will be shown in the following extract from a letter which I addressed
shortly afterwards to my sister in South Australia:--

"You will learn by the newspapers, perhaps, that we have been in
hot water with the public, _i.e._, with the majority of the public,
in consequence of an attempt to make prepayment of inland letters
compulsory to the extent of one penny. By this post I send you a
parliamentary return, showing our reasons for the measure, and the
grounds of its abandonment.

"This is the first time I have had to retrace a step; and to
confess the truth, I don't like it. Since the measure was
abandoned, many have come forward to defend the restriction; had
they done so in the first instance the result might, perhaps, have
been different."

PARCELS POST.

As early as 1842[207] I had recommended the establishment of a parcels
post, but was prevented from any immediate action by my dismissal
in that year from the Treasury; and for a long time after my recall
to office, measures of more pressing importance, combined with the
difficulties of my position, compelled further delay. Even when I had
more leisure, and was on firmer ground, the ill-judged opposition of
the railway companies remained a constant obstacle. In the year 1858
the question was taken up by the Society of Arts, a meeting being held
on the subject, with Lord Ebrington, now Earl Fortescue, in the chair,
and an able Report, drawn up by my friend, Mr. Chadwick, was adopted.
Nevertheless, this valuable addition to public convenience is still a
desideratum.

TUBULAR CONVEYANCE.

The division of London into districts naturally induced inquiry as to
the swiftest and cheapest means of conveyance over the comparatively
short distances between office and office. Mail-carts were at once
put in use, but I was inclined to hope that a swifter mode might be
found--one, too, less liable to interruption. I called to mind an
attempt made thirty or forty years before by a Mr. Vallance, to propel
a vehicle containing passengers through a partially exhausted tube;
the project then in view being the construction of an airtight tunnel
between London and Brighton. Of this I had received some account from
my friend, the late Mr. Moses Ricardo, who had been a passenger in
a short experimental trip. He told me, indeed, that on reaching the
terminus he and those with him "got a bang" by the abrupt stoppage of
the vehicle, no arrangement having been made for its gradual check;
but knowing that such arrangement was very feasible, and apprehending
no severe consequences in any case to letters or newspapers, I hoped a
similar plan might prove applicable to the purpose in hand. I therefore
called in the assistance of two able engineers, viz., Mr. Charles
Hutton Gregory, and Mr. Edward Alfred Cowper, who jointly made, with
great care and skill, a full investigation into the practicability of
the scheme. To avoid needless expense, they conducted their experiments
on a small scale, nor was any line of tubes of a size for actual use
ever laid down, though Mr. Cowper devised and constructed a very
ingenious air-pump, especially applicable to the exhaustion of the
tubes, as was attested by its complete success. The conclusion arrived
at was that the plan was perfectly practicable, but that for distances
so short the economy in time would not be sufficient to justify the
additional expense involved in the innovation.

Some years later, remembering this ground of condemnation, I inquired
whether the plan could not be made available for a larger purpose.
Up to that time it had not been found practicable to convey the mail
from London to Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, or Paris, within the
compass of a night; acceleration, therefore, up to this point was
highly desirable. Even now (1868), much as has been done, the work
is not absolutely perfect; while the increased expense by which the
last abridgement, though of not more than two or three hours, has
been effected, exceeds £15,000 per annum. Now my hope was that by the
establishment of tubular conveyance so far as Dover on the one hand,
and Crewe on the other, the necessary acceleration in all the three
services--Irish, Scotch, and French--might be obtained; and judging
from the estimate made with reference to the London District, I hoped
that the cost would not greatly exceed the actual payment for the
railway service to be superseded. To these larger questions, therefore,
the attention of Messrs. Gregory and Cowper was now turned.

I must confess, however, my views were not altogether limited to
increased speed: I saw that tubular conveyance, if successful, would
facilitate frequent despatch; indeed, that a rapid succession of mails
would probably be the most economical way of using the apparatus;
again, that as the tubes could without inconvenience keep the line of
ordinary roads, pass through the heart of towns, and even be carried,
when necessary, through the very post offices along the route, I
hoped for no small economy, both of time and money, in the disuse of
the mail-carts plying between such offices and the various railway
stations. I further thought that, if railway companies saw a successful
competitor for postal service, they would moderate their demands, or,
if remaining unreasonable, would be controlled by arbitrators, who
would of course take the new rival into account. Lastly, I hoped that
the great acceleration consequent upon the adoption of the new plan
would prove highly acceptable to newspaper proprietors, by expediting
the distribution of their journals.

In due time I received a very able report upon the subject. This was
drawn up by Mr. Cowper, but received Mr. Gregory's sanction. The
substance is given in the following passage:--

"I find that with pipes of sufficient diameter, and a vacuum of 11
lbs., a speed of 120 to 150 miles an hour might be obtained, but at
a very great cost, both in first outlay and in working expenses."

I may add that the means recommended was exhaustion of the tube, not
the injection of air; that powerful engines would have had to be
erected at intervals of only four miles; that the chief weight to
be dealt with was not that of the piston and the mail--which really
constituted only a small fraction of the whole--but that of the air
itself within the tube; that the annual expense, including four per
cent. interest on outlay, would be, for a tube ten inches in diameter,
about £32,000 the hundred miles, but for a fifteen-inch tube, which I
regarded as indispensable, no less than £80,000.

As this latter amount largely exceeds even the high payments for
railway conveyance over the same distance, the project was indefinitely
postponed, without its very entertainment, so far as I am aware, ever
having reached the public ear. And here, I may remark, that almost
every improvement, mechanical or otherwise, is preceded by more or less
of inquiry, cogitation, and experiment, sometimes involving serious
labour and expense, which, ending only in disappointment, remains
unknown; while the public, through absence of information, naturally
makes its estimate of labour by reference to that only which produces
manifest results; an error often productive of great injustice to
inventors, who are thus regarded rather as men that have made lucky
hits than as those who by energy, perseverance, and generally great
pecuniary sacrifice, have, after many failures, worked their way to
valuable results. I, indeed, was now able to make needful experiments
without any risk to myself, or even much outlay by the department; but
projectors are seldom so fortunately placed.

When, some time afterwards, a company was formed for reducing the
plan of tubular conveyance to practice, all the information on the
subject acquired by the Post Office was handed over for its use.
Though greatly pressed we declined to enter into either partnership or
covenant with the company until the successful working of the scheme
should be established. One line was so laid down as to be available
for our purpose, viz., that from the Euston Station to the North
Western district Post Office, a distance of about half a mile, and was
used accordingly. Unfortunately, however, the whole enterprise proved
unprofitable, and for the time, at least, tubular conveyance of mails
came to an end. Still, what is recorded here may one day prove useful,
since the day may arrive--perhaps is now come--when, on some one line
at least, the expense involved, prodigious as it must be, will be
justified by the amount of correspondence and the importance of speed.
Perhaps the approaching termination of the contract for the Irish mail
service may afford convenient opportunity for the trial.[208]

CONTROVERSY WITH MR. ROBERT STEPHENSON.

In the course of this period I was reluctantly drawn into controversy
with the eminent engineer, Mr. Robert Stephenson, then President of the
Society of Civil Engineers, who, in his inaugural address, in defiance
of facts, with which, at his request, I had supplied him, represented
the railway system as essential to the fiscal success of penny postage,
and even to the conveyance of the mails: and then proceeded to charge
the Post Office with harsh and unjust dealing in relation to the
railway companies, and with uncertainty, irregularity, and delay in
its own proceedings. The dissatisfaction which I naturally felt and
expressed at statements and charges so unfounded, being reported to
Mr. Stephenson, drew from him a letter in which he expressed regret
at my annoyance, thanked me for the information supplied to him,
admitted "all the principal facts therein stated," but retained
his own conclusions; at the same time deprecating controversy, and
speaking in the highest terms of my public services. To remove, as far
as practicable, the erroneous impression necessarily produced by Mr.
Stephenson's address, which of course could not be affected by his
private letter, I requested Mr. Edward Page, the Inspector-General
of Mails, as the officer most conversant with the whole subject, to
prepare a complete exposition of the facts of the case; and this, drawn
up with Mr. Page's usual care and ability, appeared in the Appendix to
the Second Report of the Postmaster-General (p. 45), and, I may add,
will still repay perusal. In a subsequent address, however, to the
Institution, Mr. Stephenson, without any effectual answer to Mr. Page's
definite and accurate statements, repeated his former asseverations.
Holding it unprofitable to argue against declamation, I allowed the
controversy to drop; nor should I now have thought it needful to
trouble the reader with this statement, had not a recent biographer of
Mr. Stephenson reopened the question.

NEWSPAPER PRIVILEGES.

I now come to a question on which, I fear, sound views will at no
time receive much commendation or support from the newspaper press.
Inestimable as is the benefit conferred by the action of the _fourth
estate_, taken as a whole, it is nevertheless unquestionable that
this estate, like those more formally recognised, is at times swayed
more or less by considerations not relating altogether to the highest
public interest. Naturally conscious of its own high merits, it is a
little apt to forget that its good work proceeds, for the most part,
from the same motive that impels other caterers to the general welfare
and convenience, and to suppose that it has claims which itself would
be prompt to deny to other crafts. These claims it has great power of
enforcing, for bold indeed must be the minister who should maintain to
the full the public right against so powerful a brotherhood.

The real question is, whether the conveyance of a newspaper at a
lower rate than other printed matter, and, indeed, at a rate too low
to cover the cost, be not a sort of bounty or protection granted to
a section--in fact, a small section--of newspaper readers at the
expense of the general public. My own opinion being strongly in the
affirmative--believing, moreover, that such a departure from the
principles of free trade is unwarrantable--I found it my duty to
prevent, if possible, the establishment of such an anomaly. The better,
however, to set forth my proceedings on this point, I must mention some
antecedent circumstances.

First, it must be borne in mind that while newspapers had been
gradually relieved of all special taxation, the postal privileges
originally conferred upon them in consideration of such special
taxation had been not only maintained, but greatly extended. Thus,
whereas under the old system free delivery, even of stamped newspapers,
extended only to such as passed between post town and post town, such
towns being but about nine hundred in number, while a charge, varying
from one penny to twopence, was levied in all other cases, they were
now almost everywhere delivered free. Of course, too, newspapers
shared with letters the advantage of that rapid transmission which was
maintained at great expense.[209]

All this, and much more to the same general purpose, was set forth
in an elaborate minute which I had to prepare some time afterwards.
Nevertheless, in the year 1858, Government was called on to extend
these privileges still further, and this unreasonable demand I felt
bound, in the interest of the public, to resist. As the correspondence,
_pro_ and _con_, will be found at full in Parliamentary Return No. 302,
1860, a short notice here will suffice.

In a minute there given, after dwelling on the important changes
mentioned above, I pointed out that the actual rate charged on
newspapers, was, in respect of the heavier newspapers, only one-eighth
of that charged on letters. I referred to the known impracticability
of defining a newspaper, and the consequent necessity of extending the
privileges now applied for, if conceded at all, to much other matter;
and I indicated the obstacles that would thence arise to the rapid
conveyance of the mails, through the difficulty and danger of giving
out or receiving heavy bags without stopping the trains.

The Treasury, however, deciding in favour of the memorialists, all that
could be done was to devise means to reduce the evil to a minimum; and
in this, as indeed in the whole transaction, I had Lord Colchester's
thorough support. The plan I devised received the approbation of the
Treasury, but the whole matter was for the time set aside by the
change of Government which speedily followed. Lord Colchester was
followed by Lord Elgin, thus continuing the succession of excellent
Postmasters-General. Before this time, however, the _Times_, generally
so friendly to me, and so often affording my plans a support on which
I set a high value, began a series of attacks on the Post Office, and
more particularly on myself, which continued, at short intervals,
for some months, and became the source of much trouble. This evil,
however, brought its consolation. Letters of sympathy, not unmixed with
indignation, came in from various quarters, amongst others from the
Duke of Argyll, my late official superior, and from that tried friend
of truth and justice, the late Lord Radnor.

It is with much regret that I say anything in disparagement of the
leading journal; omission, however, would impair the truth of this
narrative, and would so far leave others that may tread in my path
unwarned as to what, in like circumstances, they must expect. As I
have already said, the _Times_ has much oftener afforded me support
than subjected me to attack; frequently, too, bringing a salve for the
very sore it had made, and ably maintaining those views which, in its
moments of irritation, it had scornfully disparaged. On one of the
very points on which it attacked the office about this time, viz., the
comparative amount of work and wages in the department, it subsequently
wrote in an admirable manner; nor can I refer my readers to an abler
exposition of sound principles than is to be found in its article of
July 24th, 1862. I cannot touch upon this subject without mentioning
the remarkable fact that, whereas the introduction of penny postage
was really followed by a reduction in the hours of work, and at the
same time by an increase in the remuneration to almost every man in
the department, save only the Postmaster-General and the Secretary, an
impression has very generally prevailed, and still, I believe, remains
in many quarters, that the truth is the very reverse.

Early in the year 1860, Mr. Gladstone requested me to attend at his
office to meet the manager of the _Times_ and another gentleman, who
wished to make some representations on the part of the journals. The
interview took place accordingly, when I found that the demand was
for a reduction of the newspaper rate in all cases, however heavy or
light the paper, to one penny. The argument chiefly relied on by the
applicants was that the railway companies were happy to convey the
papers at half the charge; to this I merely replied that, if such were
the case, there could be no reason, seeing that there was no monopoly
in the conveyance of newspapers, to make any application at the Post
Office, the whole matter being already provided for. I need not say,
however, that this reply, though it remained unrefuted, was held to be
quite unsatisfactory. Of course, the rejoinder was that the facility
in question was limited to places served by railway lines; but I had
no difficulty in showing that this destroyed the whole value of the
argument, since it was the very relief from the expense of extended and
ramified operation which enabled railway companies to do their work at
so low a rate.

It was almost immediately after this interview that I was attacked
with the severe illness which for a long period disabled me for duty,
and from which, indeed, I have never fully recovered. The proceedings
closed for the time with a statement made by Mr. Gladstone on May 14th,
1860, when, in reply to an inquiry from Mr. Baines, member for Leeds,
in relation to a bill which had been introduced on the subject, he
stated that differences of opinion had arisen between those interested
and the Post Office on certain points which Parliament would have to
consider, and then proceeded as follows:--

"We are, however, met by this difficulty. Sir Rowland Hill, the
Secretary to the Post Office, I regret to say, has been labouring
under a severe illness, and an intimation has been made to him
on medical authority that it is absolutely requisite, in order
to the public retaining his invaluable services, that he should
have leave of absence for no less a period than six months. I
think, therefore, it will be impossible for the department to
state its case on a subject of this kind in the absence of one
who, I may say, has been the life and soul of all the Post Office
arrangements in this country for the last twenty years. Under these
circumstances, I have no alternative but to postpone that inquiry
which I admit to be fairly demanded; and as it is uncertain whether
or not Sir Rowland Hill may recover before the end of the Session,
I think it best to drop the bill, reserving to myself the renewal
of it at a future period, after this inquiry shall have been
made."[210]

To conclude this subject, I must mention that when, nine years later,
after my retirement from the Post Office, the demand for increased
newspaper privileges was revived by articles in various journals and
speeches in Parliament, the _Times_ leading in the one, and Mr. Graves,
M.P. for Liverpool, in the other, I turned my attention to the quest
of means for so far complying with such demand as might be consistent
with justice to the general tax-payer; in other words, I sought to
discover whether sufficient facilities might not be afforded, at a
low rate, without increasing the loss already sustained by the Post
Office in dealing with newspapers. I had the satisfaction to hit upon a
plan, by which all that was really important might be effected without
subjecting the department to any loss whatever; so that its adoption
would imply a double gain, first, in adequate concession to those
immediately interested; and, secondly, in making the special service
self-supporting. By my plan newspapers, undirected, not folded for
the post, and therefore, of course, without wrappers, would have been
distributable by the Post Office much as is now done by newsagents. At
the same time I pointed out how spare revenue might be advantageously
employed in giving additional and very important facilities to the
conveyance of letters. Throwing my views, as clearly and concisely as I
could, into the form of a memorandum (see Appendix M), I sent this to
Mr. Gladstone, who, in return, informed me, by his private secretary,
that he had read it "with the greatest interest," and had sent it on to
the Postmaster-General. Hearing nothing further, and finding that the
question would be again raised in the Session of 1870, I wrote to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Lowe, telling him of the memorandum,
and offering to send him a copy. A letter from his private secretary,
accepting this offer, is the last communication I ever received on the
subject.

The course actually taken, viz., that of abolishing the limitation on
weight and halving the postage, with no arrangement for economy in
operation and no set-off, save what is implied in the abolition of the
impressed stamp (in itself an important advantage, I acknowledge--one,
indeed, for which I had often striven), largely increases a loss
already great, and, what is still worse, greatly strengthens an example
already mischievous. Its ultimate consequences it is impossible to
predict. Demand has already arisen for the conveyance of other printed
matter at the same rate, a demand which can plead in its support that
such matter may, by existing rules, be detained to suit the convenience
of the office, while newspapers must, of course, be forwarded at once.
In short, I am myself quite unacquainted with any logic by which it can
be maintained that while a newspaper weighing six or eight ounces is
conveyed for a halfpenny, a letter weighing but half an ounce should be
chargeable with a penny, or, in other words, why the lightest letter
should be charged twice as much as the heaviest newspaper.

On a careful comparison of the two plans, I cannot but think that mine
would have proved not only better for the Post Office, but also more
acceptable to the publishers and news venders, because, while the cost
of transmission would have been practically the same, they could have
been saved the great trouble of folding, covering, and addressing
each separate copy; processes necessarily performed at a time when
every minute is of great value. I may add that, as my plan is, in its
essential features, independent of rates of postage, it may still be
adopted without interfering with recent changes; nay, by relieving
the Post Office of railway conveyance and sorting, the cost of both of
which is seriously augmented by increased weight and bulk, it would go
far towards justifying the late innovation.

MISCELLANEOUS.

One of the most striking and impressive events of this period is thus
mentioned in the Report for 1856:--

"In recording the chief events of last year, I must not omit the
melancholy loss, by shipwreck, of the 'Violet' mail-packet, between
Ostend and Dover; a catastrophe attributed at the time, in one of
our public journals, to an undue strictness by the department in
requiring mail-packets to put to sea at the appointed time, even in
a violent storm.

"I need scarcely say that no such rule exists, and that no such
orders had been given. It would certainly be the duty of the
captain of a mail-packet not to allow slight obstacles to cause
delay; but on this point we may always fully rely on the courage
and sense of duty of a British commander.

"Mr. Mortleman, the officer in immediate charge of the mail-bags,
acted on the occasion with a presence of mind and forethought which
reflect honour on his memory. On seeing that the vessel could not
be saved, he must have removed the cases containing the mail-bags
from the hold, and have so placed them, that when the ship went
down they might float; a proceeding which ultimately led to the
recovery of all the bags, except one containing despatches, of
which, from their nature, it was possible to obtain copies. I may
add, that a similar spirit of determination to perform their duty
to the last has, on several previous occasions of exposure to
imminent danger, distinguished the conduct of our officers."[211]

The following passage from the same page records, not for the first
time, foreign aid kindly given to one of our mail-steamers in
distress:--

"An instance, calling for grateful acknowledgment on my part [it
is the Duke of Argyll who speaks], occurred last year, of prompt
and gratuitous assistance given by two foreign Governments in the
conveyance of a large mail from India, which was on board a ship
belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
bound for Southampton, when, owing to an accident to the machinery,
the vessel became unable to proceed. The casualty happened near
Tunis; and the Bey gave immediate orders for a steam-vessel in his
own service to be got ready to convey both the mail and passengers,
without cost, to Marseilles, which was accordingly done; and from
Marseilles the mail was, by the French Government, forwarded
gratuitously to Calais; whereas, under ordinary circumstances, a
mail of the same weight would for this part of the journey alone
have entailed a charge of more than £800."

It has been mentioned that our number of letters in 1857 was more than
500,000,000; the following passage shows very strikingly that the
correspondence of a country is not always according to its population:--

"According to an official return in a recent number of the 'Journal
de Saint Petersbourg,' giving various Russian postal statistics for
the year 1855, the whole number of letters posted in Russia was
about 16,400,000, or almost exactly the same as the number posted
in the single city of Manchester and its suburbs."[212]

It will be remembered that one of the changes made on the establishment
of penny postage was the total abolition of franking, and some account
has been given of the monstrous abuses which existed under that
pernicious system. As germane to the matter, I quote the following from
"Hansard;" the passage being also curious as recording, I believe, the
last attack ever made on penny postage within the walls of Parliament:--

"_June 22nd, 1857.--Government Postage._

"On the motion that £88,045 be voted for the postage of Government
letters,

"_Mr. Bentinck_ suggested that it would be better to return to
the system of franking, adding that he had always thought that
the Penny Post Act was one of the greatest jobs ever perpetrated,
and one of the greatest financial mistakes ever committed by the
country.

"_Sir Francis Baring_, in reply, suggested that the hon. gentleman
should try to bring back the old rates of postage, and he would
then see what was the feeling of the country with regard to the
penny rate; ... that the accounts ought to show the amount of
service performed by the Post Office, and the charge was brought
into the estimates in order to put a stop at once to the gross
abuse of official franks. He was inclined to think that abuse was
carried to an enormous extent, and he was afraid if they gave the
public offices the right of franking the same abuse would recur.

"_Mr. Roebuck_ said there were two objects in voting this money,
to know what was expended and to check persons spending more than
necessary. The appearance of this item prevented any abuse of the
Post Office machinery. The 'Ambassadors' bag' in past times had
been sadly weighted. Coats, lace, boots, and other articles were
sent by it, even a pianoforte; and not only a pianoforte, but a
horse."[213]

I hear with much regret that in the present year (1868) the old
practice has been in some sort restored at the various Government
offices previously enjoying the privilege, and even extended to such as
never had it before; the whole change being doubly injurious, since,
in addition to the evil tendencies already adverted to,[214] it
gives to the estimates of expenditure in the various offices a delusive
appearance, to the extent, in the aggregate, of about £200,000 a year,
the annual expenses of those offices, and the real earnings of the Post
Office, being alike understated by that amount.[215]

Before quitting the Reports from which I have drawn so largely, I must
mention that the historic sketch of the English Post Office already
referred to is followed in the Second and Third Reports by an equally
curious account of the old postal system in Scotland and Ireland; and I
can safely add that each of the three will well repay perusal.

CHAPTER XXVII.

POSTMASTERS-GENERAL, 1855 TO 1860.

LORD CANNING.

Towards the close of 1855 I learnt with extreme regret of the
approaching withdrawal of Lord Canning, just then appointed
Governor-General of India; my only consolation being the conviction
that in the high and arduous duties to which he was now called, the
great talents, high principles, strict conscientiousness, and unwearied
industry, with which I had happily been brought into such intimate
relation, would extend to a vast empire the benefits they had conferred
on a single department.

The close of his career as Postmaster-General was highly
characteristic. For some reason it was convenient to the Government
that he should retain his office until the very day of his departure
for the East. Doubtless it was expected that this retention would be
little more than nominal, or that, at most, he would attend to none but
the most pressing business, leaving to his successor all such affairs
as admitted of delay. When I found that he continued to transact
business just as usual, while I knew that he must be encumbered with
every kind of preparation, official, personal and domestic, I earnestly
pressed that course upon him, but in vain; he would leave no arrears,
and every question, great or small, which he had been accustomed
to decide, was submitted to him as usual, to the last hour of his
remaining in the country. Nor was decision even then made heedlessly or
hurriedly, but, as before, after full understanding. This was, however,
the easier to him because of his remarkable quickness of apprehension,
which enabled him to seize one's conceptions almost more rapidly than
they could be set forth; and I may add that with this happy quality he
combined the invaluable power of perceiving, as it were by intuition,
how ideas supplied for a special case might be made applicable to
general purposes.

Of his eminent services in India it is not for me to speak, but, as
an instance of attention to matters of detail, I may mention what I
afterwards learnt from Lord Elgin, that at the period of his greatest
labour and anxiety, viz., in the very height of the mutiny, he wrote
long minutes with his own hand. I had always remarked his very strict
attention to the precise wording of the papers he was called upon to
sign, and indeed often thought it overstrained; but I believe he had at
once an earnest desire that his exact meaning should be made clear, and
a most delicate perception of the difference produced by the slightest
variation of terms. In common with the whole world, I regarded his
premature death as a severe national calamity. He was earnest and
energetic in the moral reform of the Post Office, and, had his life
been longer spared, might perhaps have been the moral reformer of
India.[216]

DUKE OF ARGYLL.

I must not be supposed, however, to imply that the department was
unhappy in its new chief, since the Duke of Argyll showed in his office
powers not unworthy of his distinguished predecessor, combined with
equal diligence and equal conscientiousness. In him I found a no less
striking quickness of apprehension and promptitude in generalization,
while his facility in composition struck me with amazement. It would
sometimes happen that in a case where he deemed it indispensable to
reply to an application by an autograph letter, he received from me a
long and complicated verbal explanation, involving much of technicality
and detail, and then sat down and wrote off sheet after sheet, which,
when handed to me for perusal, showed that he had completely mastered
the subject, and had set it forth with admirable force and clearness.
This latter part of his performance was the more wonderful to me
because of my own deficiency; for I have always found the satisfactory
exposition of a new plan far more difficult than its device or its
elaboration.[217] I have only to add that I was sorry when his tenure
of office came to a close. He left what is, I believe, very unusual, a
written expression of regret at separation. His letter was as follows:--

"Post Office, February 27, 1858.

MY DEAR SIR,--I hope to see you on Monday at the Office, when I
shall probably introduce my successor to yourself and the assistant
secretaries.

"Meanwhile I must express to you my regret on account of the change
which removes me from official intercourse with you. I have had
much satisfaction in that intercourse. It is a great pleasure
to work in an office where every question is so thoroughly and
carefully considered as by you; and you have every reason to be
satisfied with the invaluable social benefits which you have been
the means of conferring upon the people through the Office with
which you have been so long connected.

"I am, my dear Sir,
"Yours very truly,
"ARGYLL."

LORD COLCHESTER.

Lord Colchester, who succeeded the Duke of Argyll on the change of
administration in March, 1858, I found an earnest and painstaking
man, diligent in the careful perusal of all minutes submitted to him,
and even of the enclosures (often dry and long) with which they were
necessarily accompanied; patient in listening to any suggestion,
however new, and to any details, however complicated; and ready to
adopt any improvement. Of all those under whom I served no one was
kinder in manner, or showed more consideration for the feelings of
others. Lastly, he had a positive detestation for every kind of job,
and never hesitated to resist pressure on this subject from whatever
quarter.

LORD ELGIN.

Of the high administrative powers of Lord Elgin, who entered office
in June, 1859, it would be quite superfluous to speak; suffice it to
say that I found him equally diligent, candid, and trustful with his
predecessor, and remarkably calm and dispassionate in his judgments. On
entering upon his office, he said he wished to explain what he thought
should be the relation between himself and me. In details he did not
intend to interfere at all, thinking that the head of a department
might better employ his time than in dealing with these; but, before
determining to go further, he had thought it his duty to make careful
inquiry as to whether I were a man on whose advice full reliance could
be placed, and being satisfied on that point, he intended to throw
the responsibility upon me--at least until he should have performed
the long, difficult, and perhaps impossible task of making himself
acquainted with the immense details of the department--by acting on my
recommendation on all points, save perhaps in some exceptional case,
where he should see strong reason to the contrary. Happily, to the best
of my recollection, no such exception ever occurred. I have only to add
that his kindness of manner accorded with the fulness of his confidence.

With 1859 closed the twentieth year since my entrance into the service
of the Government in relation to Post Office management; or, striking
out the years during which I had been excluded from my work, the
sixteenth of my actual service in that department. During this time,
as may be remembered, I had served under Mr. Baring and Mr. Goulburn
at the Treasury, Lord Clanricarde, Lord Hardwicke, Lord Canning, the
Duke of Argyll, Lord Colchester, and Lord Elgin, at the Post Office.
Whoever has followed me thus far will have perceived that my estimation
of my successive superiors, whether correct or otherwise, has varied
considerably; but I believe all will agree that I may justly regard
myself as having been, on the whole, very fortunate; as having had to
deal, for the most part, with great intelligence, zeal, and honour,
and as having met with almost unvarying courtesy and kindness, and
not unfrequently enjoyed firm and earnest support. I must add my full
belief that, had the power rested with my immediate superiors, I should
have escaped the long interruption to my tenure of office, and have
been spared the greater part of that protracted and exhausting contest
which undermined my health.

It was not, however, until the last year of this period that I began
to feel that permanent failure in strength which, combined with other
circumstances, compelled me five years afterwards to withdraw at
once and finally from my post. In this year (1859) after a careful
consultation on my case by three eminent medical men, it was laid
down that henceforth I must limit my days of work to four in the
week. Amidst anxiety on this point, however, I had the satisfaction
of believing myself pretty firmly established in public opinion, and
in the confidence of Government. Two years before I had, without
any movement whatever on my part, been elected a member of the
Royal Society, my recommendation being signed by the Duke of Argyll,
the Astronomer Royal, Sir Roderick Murchison, and several other
distinguished members; this honour being followed a year later by my
admission to that inner circle, the Royal Society Club. Later still,
viz., in 1867, I had the honour to be elected a member of the Council
of the Royal Society, though increasing infirmity soon compelled me to
withdraw.

Early in 1860,--the twenty-fourth year, I may observe, from that in
which my attention was first seriously turned to the reform of the Post
Office,--Her Majesty was pleased to confer upon me the honour of Knight
Commander of the Bath; an honour at once unsolicited and unexpected.
The first notification of this gracious intention was received in the
following letter from Lord Elgin, then Postmaster-General:--

"30th January, 1860.

"MY DEAR MR. HILL,--I beg leave to enclose for your perusal a note
which I have received from Lord Palmerston.

"Permit me at the same time to assure you of the great pleasure
which I experience in conveying to you this proof of Her Majesty's
appreciation of your distinguished services.

"Very sincerely yours,
"ELGIN AND KINCARDINE."

[_Enclosure._]

"94, Piccadilly, 30th January, 1860.

"MY DEAR LORD ELGIN,--I have much pleasure in informing you that
the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve of Mr. Rowland
Hill being made a Knight Commander of the Civil Order of the Bath.

"Yours sincerely,
"PALMERSTON."

By a pleasing coincidence, of which I was, however, at the moment quite
unaware, the honour of C.B. was conferred at the time of my formal
installation on one of my former pupils, Major Beecher, for important
services in India.

The close of the period which I have been describing found the
department in a highly satisfactory state. The various improvements
which had been effected since progress had become unembarrassed were
already producing very manifest results. The public convenience had
been in many ways promoted, and various arrangements for its further
extension were in steady progress; the revenue, already large, gave
every promise of continued increase; the numerous improvements in
relation to the health, comfort, and remuneration of the staff, and
above all the rule of promotion by absolute merit--modified only by
seniority in cases where merit was equal--now recognised as in full
force, had gradually diffused such a spirit throughout the department
as seemed to have secured vigorous and harmonious action. All, in
short, was working smoothly;[218] and I well remember the satisfaction
which Mr. Tilley, the senior Assistant Secretary, who up to this time
had uniformly given me earnest and efficient support, expressed at
the general state of the service, so different from what he had once
known; remarking that now every one seemed to do his duty as a matter
of course. I did not then foresee how serious a change was at hand. Of
this, however, I shall speak but very briefly.

LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY.

In February, 1860, there came upon me that severe illness of
which I have more than once spoken by anticipation; an illness
which, commencing with forty-eight hours of nearly continuous
insensibility,[219] not only confined me to my house and prostrated my
bodily strength, but, what was far worse, rendered me for a long time
quite incapable of any serious mental action, save by such spasmodic
effort as was at once both painful and injurious for the present,
and hazardous for the future. In short, I was compelled to be absent
from duty, with but little exception, and that only under imperative
necessity, for several months. Fondly believing that the peaceful state
just spoken of would endure, I did not anticipate any very serious
positive consequences from my absence, though, of course, I knew it
must delay the progress of improvement. Circumstances, however, proved
untoward. Lurking discontent was fanned into a flame by a breath from
without; and this, occurring during my disability--no accidental
coincidence, as I believe--gave opportunity for the revival of those
cabals, higher up in the office, which had so frequently interfered
with good order, and made improvement difficult. At this critical
period the office of Postmaster-General unfortunately became vacant,
by the appointment of Lord Elgin to the direction of our expedition
to China, and for a time there was a sort of interregnum, during
which the duties of the office were provisionally discharged by the
Duke of Argyll, who, however, had at the same time other demands on
his attention. When, at length, a permanent appointment was made, in
the person of Lord Stanley of Alderley, I had not the good fortune to
obtain from him that confidence and support which I had enjoyed with
his predecessors. I will not now dwell upon what followed. The facts
are upon record, and the time may come when it will be proper that they
should appear. Let it suffice for the present to say that I had to
oppose a fourth cabal, occurring, like its predecessors, at a period of
temporary weakness on my part; had again--and now without the support
from the head of the department which I had previously received--to
enter into contests--contests ever increasing in severity, which I
had no longer the strength to maintain; and that, after a series of
fruitless efforts, I found my health so grievously and hopelessly
impaired as to compel me seriously to consider the question of final
retirement from that important and almost absorbing task in which I had
so long been engaged.

Before proceeding, however, to the concluding part of my narrative I
must give some account of the improvements effected in the interim. Of
course, in a period of such difficulty the progress of improvement was
comparatively slow; and though the Department continued steadily to
advance in its fiscal results, and in its beneficial effects on public
convenience, this was due in a much higher degree to past reforms than
to changes made at the time.

It is due, however, to Mr. Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer,
to state that during these contests I had the advantage of his support
and countenance so far as he was able to exercise independent action,
and I received from him the following very gratifying letter:--

"11, Downing Street,
"Whitehall, Jan. 24, 1861.

"DEAR SIR R. HILL,--I have read your completed Minute, and though I
am to see you to-morrow, I must, without waiting, say I have read
it with a deep sense of pain, and some of shame, in reviewing what
has happened.

"If you are at present under odium for the gallant stand you make
on behalf of the public interests, at a period too when chivalry
of that kind by no means 'pays,' I believe that I have and I hope
still to have, the honour of sharing it with you.

"I hope you have sent your Minute to the Duke of Argyll.

"I am very thankful that you are once more at your post, and remain,

"Most truly yours,
"W. E. GLADSTONE."

CHAPTER XXVIII.

PROGRESS AFTER 1859.

SAVINGS BANKS.

The plan of Post Office Savings Banks, already mentioned as having
been brought before the public and the Government most prominently by
Mr. Sikes, had, through the energetic efforts of Mr. Gladstone, been
provided for, in the year 1860, by Act of Parliament. It was speedily
brought into operation in England and Wales, and was extended early
in the following year to Scotland and Ireland. As this new department
was closely connected with the Money Order Office, its secretarial
management devolved, in the ordinary course, on my brother; who, before
proceeding to the work of organization, recommended that this should
be based upon the contract system; a measure which would have been
highly economical, but would obviously have involved the abandonment
of patronage. This recommendation, however, did not find favour with
the Postmaster-General, Lord Stanley of Alderley, and the department
was soon afterwards transferred to Mr. Tilley. Together with this
great measure of economy were rejected other means proposed by myself.
In short, operation was made so expensive, that while a money order
costs the department in issue or payment but three-halfpence, every
transaction in the savings bank, whether of deposit or withdrawal,
costs sevenpence.[220]

The full evil of such increase in current expense will appear when
it is considered what, under strictly economical management, these
savings' banks might become. Their chief avowed object is, and most
assuredly should be, to give the largest justifiable encouragement
to popular thrift; and to this, as I conceive, every other aim
should be completely subordinated. To this end it is important to
induce, by all reasonable means, the greatest amount of deposit, but
incomparably less important, if indeed at all desirable, to give more
than reasonable facility for withdrawal. Certainly there is no just
ground for extending and multiplying such facility at the expense
of the department; especially seeing that the necessary consequence
is a reduction in that rate of interest whose amount constitutes a
main inducement to depositors; so that the effect is to mulct the
steady depositors for the convenience of the more changeable. Had the
Post Office been able to offer the same rate of interest as the old
savings banks, its absolute security, combined with a reasonable and
inexpensive increase of facility for the transaction of business,
would not only have soon brought to it the whole actual amount of the
savings bank business, but in all probability would have so extended
that increase in thrift, which, with all defects, it has actually
produced, as to make it correspond with the hopes of the most zealous
advocates of the new scheme, and in particular of the benevolent
gentleman in whose earnest suggestion it took its rise. Before the
arrangements were finally adopted, I urged my views as to excess of
expense and consequent prejudice to revenue, in an elaborate letter to
the Postmaster-General. Some small change for the better was made, but,
high as the estimate still remained, it has been exceeded by the actual
expense, though the Annual Reports would seem to show otherwise.[221]

With all drawbacks, however, the institution may safely be pronounced
to be a great national benefit. The number of Post Office Savings Banks
in the United Kingdom by the end of the year 1861 was nearly four-fold
the maximum number of savings banks existing under the old system,[222]
and is now (1869) as high as six-fold.[223] It is important also to
observe that the number of small deposits is more than proportionately
increased; a fact obviously tending to show that this important means
of thrift has been made more available to that class in which economy
is at once most difficult and yet most desirable.

"'This gratifying result,' says the eighth Annual Report, 'is
doubtless attributable to the superior facilities given by the Post
Office banks; and especially to the fact that they are open daily
and for several hours, and that they are situated almost at the
door of the depositor.'"[224]

The new institution also proves very convenient to friendly societies,
charitable societies, and penny banks, which avail themselves of its
benefits in considerable numbers.

Fear had been expressed during the progress of the bill through
Parliament that the sub-postmasters would fail to carry out the details
of the measure; but it was found that--

"The postmasters throughout the country have lent themselves
cheerfully and readily to the work, and instead of merely carrying
out their instructions perfunctorily, and in ordinary course, have
exerted themselves to make known and to explain the advantages of
the Post Office Savings Banks, and to facilitate, so far as lay in
their power, the transactions of the poorer depositors."[225]

REGISTRATION.

In the year 1862 an important improvement was made in the matter of
registration. It may be remembered that my urgent advocacy of the
lowering of the fee from one shilling to sixpence, in opposition to
the opinion of Lord Lowther, appeared to be the immediate cause of my
dismissal from the Treasury by the Government of Sir Robert Peel.[226]
I had easily succeeded in obtaining that important reduction after my
appointment to the Post Office by the Government of Lord John Russell,
and the change had been followed by a large increase in the number of
registered letters, and a corresponding diminution in the amount of
loss by dishonesty or negligence within the Office.[227] Of course,
however, even the lower fee proved a stumbling-block to some persons,
and, notwithstanding all remonstrance from the Post Office, the
practice of sending coin in unregistered letters, though diminished,
was by no means extinct; so that losses were still reported; and, what
was far worse, sorters and letter-carriers were exposed to needless
temptation, and individuals of their number occasionally subjected to
undue suspicion. It was consequently resolved, with the sanction of the
Treasury, to make the registration of coin-bearing letters compulsory;
a double fee being charged where the duty was omitted by the sender;
while, to give a compensatory advantage, the registration fee was
reduced from sixpence to fourpence. Even with this mitigation, however,
there was considerable anxiety in the Department as to the light in
which compulsory registration would be viewed by the public; but Lord
Stanley of Alderley, then Postmaster-General, being anything rather
than deficient in courage, readily encountered the risk, and the result
justified his boldness; the speedy consequence being a large increase
in the number of registered letters, and a very great decrease in the
number of alleged losses. It may be added that the near approach to
absolute security obtained by registration was shown by the fact that
out of about nine hundred thousand registered letters posted in the
United Kingdom, whether for delivery at home or abroad, during the
latter half of 1862, the whole number lost was only twelve.[228]

PATTERN POST.

In the last year of this period the pattern post was established. This
was done at the express desire of the Postmaster-General. My own wish
was to make it part of that more extensive arrangement which I have
already mentioned under the name of Parcels Post; my chief objection
to the more partial scheme being the difficulty sure to arise as to
the definition of a pattern. As, however, I was not then in a state
of health to surmount immediately the many obstacles to the more
comprehensive scheme, and as Lord Stanley was impatient of delay, the
more limited plan was adopted and carried into effect.

PACKET SERVICE.

_Transference from Admiralty._

The last improvements of which I shall speak here are those connected
with the Packet Service. This service, it will be remembered, had,
under the management of the Admiralty, become a source of very great
expense; attributable partly to the fact of its extension, for
political reasons, very far beyond the requirements of the Post Office.
As this extension had ceased, it was desirable, as fast as possible,
to bring the expense within such limits as would render the service
self-supporting, and thereby relieve the British tax-payer from a
needless burden. Opportunity was given for such improvement by the
transference of the service from the Admiralty to the Post Office; a
change made in the year 1860. Of course progress could be but slow,
seeing that existing contracts had to be respected; but steps were
promptly taken to put the department in readiness for availing itself
of opportunities as they should occur. The secretarial charge of the
department was from the first placed in the hands of my brother, who
already had like charge of the foreign and colonial departments, and
had previously performed such secretarial duties relative to this
service as even then devolved on the Post Office.

_Improvement in Tenders._

His first move was, so to frame the tenders as, in effect, to analyze
the charges hitherto made in the gross; to show how much was demanded
for the main duty, and how much for its various adjuncts; and by this
means to ascertain how far the various details of any particular
service justified the expense of their additional maintenance. The
value of such analysis may be exemplified by stating that by abandoning
stipulations which were really of little or no practical utility,
either to the Post Office or to the public at large, we were able to
reduce the annual expense to the Home Government of conveying the mails
to and from Honduras from £8,000 to £2,000; eventually, indeed, to
£1,500.

_Discontinuance of Surveys._

A yet more important measure, however, as being even more general in
its operation, was to relieve contractors from the admiralty surveys
of the vessels, previously insisted upon, and to limit the demand to
a stipulation--under adequate penalties--that the mail service should
be regularly performed within a given time. It was not without much
difficulty that the sanction of the Postmaster-General was obtained to
so great an innovation. The measure, however, was in full accordance
with the spirit of Lord Canning's Report on the packet service; and,
before it was recommended, good assurance had been received that the
alterations required by the Admiralty, though often attended with heavy
expense, really tended to render the vessels employed less fit for
the performance of their special service. In short, the measure was,
practically speaking, carried into effect; and, so far as I can learn,
has never given rise to a single complaint. Its pecuniary benefit was
exemplified by a tender subsequently made for a particular service by
Sir Edward Cunard; the effect being to reduce the annual charge, in
this one contract alone, from £23,000 to £19,000, a rate of saving,
which, when applied to the whole cost of the packet service, would
amount to about £200,000 a year.

_Readjustment of Transmarine Rates._

Concurrently with these and other measures for reducing the cost of
the service, my brother sought to do something towards meeting its
inevitable expense by a moderate increase of postage in quarters
where the charges for conveyance were proportionately the heaviest.
Experience had shown that, where transmission necessarily occupies
a long time, increase of correspondence depends far less on lowered
rates than on increased speed and frequency of transmission. He felt,
moreover that it could not be just to call upon the British tax-payers
generally to pay exorbitantly for advantages specially appertaining to
the comparatively few persons who were directly interested in foreign
and colonial correspondence; that every branch of the postal service
ought to be self-supporting, and the false principle of protection
to particular interests entirely shut out. At the same time, to meet
the convenience of those who required cheapness rather than speed, he
proposed a concurrent reduction on all letters sent by ordinary trading
vessels; a mode of conveyance involving very little expense. A change
so doubtful of acceptance, though so sound in principle, Lord Stanley
of Alderley had the courage to adopt; and it received the cordial
approbation of Mr. Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer.

_Fiscal Benefits._

The effect of these combined measures is most strongly exemplified in
the service to the Cape of Good Hope and Natal; the loss on which was
reduced in six years from about £28,000 to about £5,400 per annum. In
short, I believe that the large annual loss involved in the foreign
and colonial packet service was actually reduced during the time
that the department was in my brother's hands by more than £200,000;
£100,000 being saved by reduced expenditure, and the like sum gained by
increased yield from the correspondence; while the cost to the British
taxpayer was further diminished by the extension of arrangements
previously adopted for calling upon the colonies, once exempt from all
expense of transmission, to bear their just share of the charge.

_Increased Punctuality._

Whilst thus successfully striving for increased economy, my brother
also took measures for improving the service. By a system of exact
accounts he obtained quarterly tables showing at a glance how each
line of packets stood with respect to punctuality, together with the
length of its quickest and of its slowest voyage; so as to have ground
of comparison with subsequent performances. He also introduced into
all new contracts a stipulation for penalties to be levied in cases of
over time. Lastly, while the Annual Report was in his hands, he was
careful that, whenever a service was performed with great credit, the
Postmaster-General's Annual Report should contain due notice of the
fact. The directors showed the value they attached to such recognitions
by quoting them in their reports to the shareholders. To complete this
matter, I may here state that so striking was the effect gradually
produced by these various measures, that, in the last quarter during
which the department was under my brother's superintendence, viz.,
that ending September 30th, 1867, there were, as I learn, only twenty
instances of a packet arriving after its time; while those of arrival
before time were no less than two hundred and twenty-seven.

_Large Expenditure Prevented._

The last great service performed by my brother in this department,
which, for the sake of completing the subject, I mention here,
consisted in the defeat of an attempt to draw the British Government
into the adoption of such changes in the Australian service as, without
any appreciable improvement in its efficiency, would have subjected
the mother country to an increased annual expense of about £114,000.
The proposal was drawn up with great art, and under show of certain
advantages, really aimed at diverting the main burden of expense from
certain of the colonies to the mother country. My brother, after a
careful consideration of the whole subject, prepared a minute exposing
the fallacies of the plan and justifying its rejection. This minute
being approved by the Postmaster-General of the day (the Duke of
Montrose), and confirmed by the Treasury, was sent out with but little
change in its words to the colonies concerned, where it appears to have
settled the question.

_Reward for Faithful Services._

This important minute was written in the year 1867, about three years
after my resignation. While, however, my brother was quietly rejoicing
at the success with which he had surmounted these serious difficulties,
and dwelling, perhaps, with some natural gratification on two recent
minutes in which the Duke of Montrose had recorded his satisfaction
with the financial results of the packet service during the time it had
been under his management, and with the state of perfection into which
that service had been brought; while, moreover, he was taking measures
for further improvements of great importance, for which opportunity was
rapidly approaching, through the termination of existing contracts,
a change was preparing which soon put all such thoughts to flight.
Will it be believed that in the course of the same year, nay, within
a few months from the date alike of the despatch to Australia and of
the Postmaster-General's gratifying minutes, the whole packet service
was withdrawn from my brother's charge and placed in other hands.
The motive assigned by his Grace was that Mr. Frederic Hill's views
were opposed to those of the Postmaster-General, Mr. Tilley, and the
Treasury. No positive act of opposition was alleged or even hinted
at, my brother's proceedings in the matter having been limited to
statements and arguments set forth in minutes to his Grace; while, to
judge by all his antecedents, he was ready, as indeed he was bound,
to obey any injunction, and to carry out any announced wish of his
official superior, however little these might be in accordance with
his own opinion. The consequences of the change, it must be added,
were far more speedy than satisfactory. Within a year, the cost of
the service, which under his management had been gradually reduced
by about £100,000, was augmented by little less than £300,000; and I
may add that but for such interposition as for a short time he was
still allowed to make, the increase, great as it was, would in all
probability have been greater still.[229]

CHAPTER XXIX.

RESIGNATION. (1864.)

I return to the year 1864, and to my personal narrative.

The necessity for my withdrawal was the more disappointing because
I knew that I had the full confidence and even sympathy of the head
of that department to which the Post Office is subordinate. This
confidence, however, was not sufficiently near for my support; and
in my immediate department the ground was slipping from beneath my
feet. The chief point I was striving to maintain was that of promotion
at once by absolute merit, and in faithful accordance with the
requirements of the department. The rules by which this was maintained
had to an important extent been of late set aside; all my resistance
to the change being overborne. My appointment having been made by the
Treasury, I had thought myself justified in appealing directly to that
higher authority; and I now learnt, for the first time (February 6th,
1864), that such appeal had been condemned by the Postmaster-General,
who at the same time denied in general terms my alleged appointment
by the Treasury,[230] maintaining that "all appointments in the Post
Office, without distinction, are made by the Postmaster-General, and
him alone." I had even gone so far (on the suggestion of Mr. Gladstone)
as twice to solicit and obtain an interview with the Premier, Lord
Palmerston. Though, on the first occasion, I was received in the most
friendly manner, and listened to with great patience, and even obtained
some little support, I became convinced, on the second interview, that
I had no hope of effectual aid from that quarter. In short, matters had
ere this come into such a state that it was in effect impracticable for
me to retain my actual position; and, indeed, at the time of which I am
now writing, viz., the beginning of 1864, no change, I am afraid, would
have availed, my strength being already exhausted. The last six months
I had passed in vacation, for which I had applied, in the hope that
such a period of rest might so far recruit my health as to enable me to
hold on in the hope of better times; but at the close of the period I
was but too sensible that this end had not been attained. I therefore
procured a consultation of all my medical advisers, four in number;
their opinion, communicated to me through the mouth of their senior,
Sir Thomas Watson, is thus recorded in my Journal:--

"They were unanimously of opinion that for me to return to the
Post Office would be attended with serious risk of life, and they
hoped that I would altogether abandon any such intention; that I
had accomplished a great work, and they hoped that I would make
up my mind to rest for the future; that with rest, and with such
pleasant occupation as they had no doubt I could find, they had
every reason to believe I should, to a considerable extent, regain
my health and strength. He added that he had been informed by the
others, confidentially, that certain changes had been made at the
Post Office, which, in my opinion, would add to my difficulties
if I returned; but that, under any circumstances, their opinion
was against such return. The question of an extension of leave of
absence having been raised, Dr. Watson, supported by the others,
earnestly advised that the main question should now be finally
decided, as they considered it very important, in the state of
my health, that all doubt on the subject should be removed. They
afterwards gave the following certificate:--

"'16, Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square,
"'February 18th, 1864.

"'We certify that the state of Sir Rowland Hill's health is such
as to render it unsafe for him to resume his duties at the Post
Office.'"

In yielding to the necessity thus falling upon me, I had some comfort
in knowing that I left behind me, in addition to several men of tried
zeal and ability in their respective stations, a few on whose zeal,
talent, and earnest support of my plans, I could implicitly rely; for
though I feared that under existing circumstances their efforts would
be comparatively unavailing, yet I trusted they would have strength to
endure until the return of better times. Unfortunately while my trust
in their firmness has been fully justified, my hope seems as far as
ever from fulfilment.

My whole family concurring in the necessity of the contemplated step,
I called on the Chancellor of the Exchequer: my interview with him is
thus recorded in my Journal:--

"Gladstone greatly regrets my determination to resign. Presses upon
me an offer to arrange for another six months' absence, with a
clear understanding that I do not return to the Post Office while
Lord Stanley of Alderley is there. At his urgent request, promised
to reconsider the question."

I fulfilled this promise, but could not venture to change my
determination. Before sending in my resignation, however, I thought it
due to Mr. Gladstone to wait upon him, and state the reasons which
compelled me to take this step, as also to warn him of the evils that
must follow some of the changes then in progress at the Post Office.
Mr. Gladstone, receiving me with much kindness and evincing great
sympathy, expressed his readiness to do anything in his power that
might enable me to remain; but, while sincerely thanking him for all
his kindness past and present, I was obliged to say that measures of
relief, even if practicable, were now too late. Thus ended my last
official interview with that distinguished statesman.[231]

My letter of resignation, which was addressed to the Lords of the
Treasury, a copy being also sent to the Postmaster-General, was as
follows:--

"Hampstead, 29th February, 1864.

"MY LORDS,--Referring to my letter to your lordships of the 12th
March last for explanation of the circumstances which rendered
my position at the Post Office so difficult, especially in the
impaired state of my health, I regret to say that the leave of
absence subsequently accorded me having elapsed without any
satisfactory result, I have no course left but to resign my
appointment as Secretary to the Post Office into your lordships'
hands, which I now accordingly beg leave to do. The necessity for
this step will at once appear on reference to the enclosed medical
certificate.

"I will not, my lords, attempt to conceal the extreme regret with
which I have come to the resolution to retire from a pursuit which
has been the absorbing occupation of so many years of my life. I
had once hoped to assist, for some considerable time to come, in
the great work of perfecting our postal system. My disappointment,
severe as your lordships will feel it must be, is nevertheless
greatly mitigated by the consolation of knowing that all the
expectations I ever held out to Parliament and the country have
been surpassed by the results. Of these, I beg leave to enclose a
brief and necessarily imperfect statement.

"Sincerely thanking your lordships for the ready support you have
so frequently afforded me in the performance of my arduous duties,

"I have, &c.,
"ROWLAND HILL.
"The Right Hon.
"The Lords Commissioners of H.M. Treasury, &c."

Of the brief and imperfect statement of results referred to above, the
following is a copy. A few notes, however, are appended for the purpose
of giving later results:--

"RESULTS OF POSTAL REFORM.

"Before stating the results of postal reform, it may be convenient
that I should briefly enumerate the more important organic
improvements effected. They are as follows:

"1. A very large reduction in the rates of postage on all
correspondence, whether inland, foreign, or colonial. As instances
in point, it may be stated that letters are now conveyed from
any part of the United Kingdom to any other part--even from the
Channel Islands to the Shetland Isles--at one-fourth of the charge
previously levied on letters passing between post towns only a
few miles apart;[232] and that the rate formerly charged for this
slight distance--viz., fourpence--now suffices to carry a letter
from any part of the United Kingdom to any part of France, Algeria
included.

"2. The adoption of charge by weight, which, by abolishing the
charge for mere enclosures, in effect largely extended the
reduction of rates.

"3. Arrangements which have led to the almost universal resort to
prepayment of correspondence, and that by means of stamps.

"4. The simplification of the mechanism and accounts of the
department generally, by the above and other means.

"5. The establishment of the book-post (including in its operation
all printed and much MS. matter), at very low rates; and its
modified extension to our colonies, and to many foreign countries.

"6. Increased security in the transmission of valuable letters
afforded, and temptation to the letter-carriers and others greatly
diminished, by reducing the registration fee from 1_s._ to 4_d._,
by making registration of letters containing coin compulsory, and
by other means.

"7. A reduction to about one-third in the cost--including
postage--of money orders; combined with a great extension and
improvement of the system.

"8. More frequent and more rapid communication between the
Metropolis and the larger provincial towns; as also between one
provincial town and another.

"9. A vast extension of the rural distribution--many thousands of
places, and probably some millions of inhabitants, having, for the
first time, been included within the postal system.

"10. A great extension of free deliveries. Before the adoption of
penny postage, many considerable towns, and portions of nearly all
the larger towns, had either no delivery at all, or deliveries on
condition of an extra charge.

"11. Greatly increased facilities afforded for the transmission
of foreign and colonial correspondence; by improved treaties with
foreign countries, by a better arrangement of the packet service,
by sorting on board, and other means.

"12. A more prompt despatch of letters when posted, and a more
prompt delivery on arrival.

"13. The division of London and its suburbs into ten postal
districts--by which, and other measures, communication within
the twelve-miles circle has been greatly facilitated, and the
most important delivery of the day has, generally speaking, been
accelerated as much as two hours.

"14. Concurrently with these improvements, the condition of the
employés has been materially improved; their labours, especially
on the Sunday, having been very generally reduced, their salaries
increased, their chances of promotion augmented, and other
important advantages afforded them.

"RESULTS.

"My pamphlet on 'Post Office Reform' was written in the year
1836. During the preceding twenty years--viz., from 1815 to 1835,
inclusive--_there was no increase whatever in the Post Office
Revenue, whether gross or net_; and therefore, in all probability,
none in the number of letters: and though there was a slight
increase in the revenue, and doubtless in the number of letters,
between 1835 and the establishment of penny postage early in
1840--an increase chiefly due, in my opinion, to the adoption
of part of my plan, viz., the establishment of day mails to and
from London--yet, during the whole period of twenty-four years
immediately preceding the adoption of penny postage, the revenue,
whether gross or net, and the number of letters, were, in effect,
stationary.

"Contrast with this the rate of increase under the new system,
which has been in operation during a period of about equal length.
In the first year of penny postage, the letters more than doubled;
and though since then the increase has, of course, been less rapid,
yet it has been so steady that, notwithstanding the vicissitudes
of trade, every year, without exception, has shown a considerable
advance on the preceding year, and the first year's number is now
nearly quadrupled. As regards revenue, there was, of course, at
first a large falling off--about a million in gross and still more
in net revenue. Since then, however, the revenue, whether gross
or net, has rapidly advanced, till now it even exceeds its former
amount; the rate of increase, both of letters and revenue, still
remaining undiminished.

"In short, a comparison of the year 1863 with 1838 (the last
complete year under the old system) shows that the number of
chargeable letters has risen from 76 millions to 642 millions (See
Note A); and that the revenue, at first so much impaired, has not
only recovered its original amount, but risen, the gross from
£2,346,000, to about £3,870,000, and the net from £1,660,000 to
about £1,790,000.[233] (See Note B).

"The expectations I held out before the change were, that
eventually, under the operation of my plans, the number of letters
would increase five-fold, the gross revenue would be the same as
before,

(A) In 1868 the number had increased to 808,000,000.--("Fifteenth
Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 4.) [In 1878 the number had
increased to 1,097,000,000--nearly fourteen and a-half fold the
number sent in 1838, in addition there were sent through the post
in 1878, 111,000,000 post-cards, 197,000,000 book packets and
circulars, and 130,000,000 newspapers.--ED.]

(B) Return 1868, No. 215, the latest account rendered in this form
shows that in 1867 the gross revenue had advanced to £4,548,000,
and the net revenue to £2,127,000. [According to the form now in
use, the gross revenue for 1878-9, was £6,274,000, and the net
revenue £2,434,000.--ED.] while the net revenue would sustain
a loss of about £300,000. The preceding statement shows that the
letters have increased, not five-fold, but nearly eight and a-half
fold; that the gross revenue, instead of remaining the same, has
increased by about £1,500,000; while the net revenue, instead of
falling £300,000, has risen more than £100,000. (See Note[234]).

"While the revenue of the Post Office has thus more than recovered
its former amount, the indirect benefit to the general revenue of
the country arising from the greatly increased facilities afforded
to commercial transactions, though incapable of exact estimate,
must be very large. Perhaps it is not too much to assume that, all
things considered, the vast benefit of cheap, rapid, and extended
postal communication has been obtained, even as regards the past,
without fiscal loss. For the future there must be a large and
ever-increasing gain.

"The indirect benefit referred to above is partly manifested in
the development of the money-order system; under which, since the
year 1839, the annual amount transmitted has risen from £313,000 to
£16,494,000; that is, fifty-two-fold (See Note[235]).

"An important collateral benefit of the new system is to be found
in the cessation of that contraband conveyance which once prevailed
so far that habitual breach of the postal law had become a thing of
course.

"It may be added that the organization thus so greatly improved and
extended for postal purposes, stands available for other objects;
and passing over minor matters, has already been applied with great
advantage to the new system of Savings Banks.

"Lastly, the improvements briefly referred to above, with all
their commercial, educational, and social benefits, have now been
adopted, in greater or less degree--and that through the mere force
of example--by the whole civilized world.

"I cannot conclude this summary without gratefully acknowledging
the cordial co-operation and zealous aid afforded me in the
discharge of my arduous duties. I must especially refer to many
among the superior officers of the department--men whose ability
would do credit to any service, and whose zeal could not be greater
if their object were private instead of public benefit.

"ROWLAND HILL.
"Hampstead, Feb. 23rd, 1864."

RESIGNATION.

In consequence of further communication from the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, I wrote to him as follows:--

"Hampstead, March 4th, 1864.

"MY DEAR MR. GLADSTONE,--Mr. Moffatt has communicated to me your
expressions of desire that I should, if possible, still continue my
connection with the Post Office.

"Though much gratified with this further proof of friendly feeling
towards myself, and deeply regretting that your earnest and
repeated efforts to remove the obstacles to my continuance at
the Post Office should have proved unavailing, I am reluctantly
obliged--having regard to the opinions so emphatically expressed by
my medical advisers, confirmed as they are by my own conviction--to
abide by the decision already announced.

"If, however, the expectation entertained by my medical friends
of improved health from rest should be realized, I need scarcely
say that I shall be most happy to afford Government any advice or
assistance it may be in my power to give; and I may remind you that
my first official connection with the Post Office was as adviser to
Sir Francis Baring, then Chancellor of the Exchequer.

* * * * *

"I remain, &c.,
"ROWLAND HILL."

A few days later I received the subjoined from the Postmaster-General:--

"General Post Office, March 7th, 1864.

"DEAR SIR ROWLAND,--I have to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter, informing me that you have resigned your situation as
Secretary to the Post Office.

"It is with great concern I hear the state of your health is such
as to prevent you from resuming your duties.

"I enclose a copy of the letter I have sent to the Treasury on the
subject of your resignation, which expresses my opinion of the
great value of your services, and I have only again to assure you
how sensible I am of the loss which the Department has sustained,
and of my sincere regret at the cause of your retirement."

The enclosure was as follows:--

"4th March, 1864.

"MY LORDS,--I have received a communication from Sir R. Hill,
together with a medical certificate, from which it appears that
he has derived no benefit from his leave of absence; and that the
state of his health is such as to render it unsafe for him to
resume his duties; and in which I am informed that he has already
forwarded his resignation of the office as Secretary of the Post
Office.

"Under these circumstances, I have no choice left but to accept
his resignation; but I cannot do so without expressing my regret
that the country should be deprived of the services of this
distinguished public servant.

"For the introduction of penny postage alone--a measure which,
in itself, and in all its ramifications, has conferred such vast
benefits on all classes of the community, and with which the name
of Sir Rowland Hill will ever be identified--he deserves the
gratitude of his country--indeed of the civilized world, which, no
doubt, will not be niggardly expressed.

"But it is rather my province as Postmaster-General to state simply
the high opinion I entertain of the able manner in which Sir
Rowland Hill, so long as his health permitted, performed his duties
in this Department, and feeling satisfied that your lordships will
concur with me, I have no hesitation in recommending you to grant
him at once a retiring allowance equal to his full salary, a step
which the Superannuation Act enables you to take."

My reply, written on the same day, was as follows:--

"Hampstead, 8th March, 1864.

"MY DEAR LORD,--I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt
of your lordship's letter of yesterday enclosing a copy of the
letter you have addressed to the Treasury on the subject of my
resignation; and to request that you will accept my thanks for the
manner in which you have been pleased to speak of my services.

"I have the honour to be,
"Your Lordship's most obedient Servant,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"The Right Hon.
"LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY, &c."

Amongst the numerous notices of my retirement that appeared in the
newspapers there was one[236] which showed that, notwithstanding my
careful silence on the subject, suspicion was abroad as to the cause
of my resignation. In it my retirement was attributed to opposition in
the Department,--not to the ill-health which such opposition, combined
with other troubles, had produced. The day after the appearance of
this notice, a passage occurred in the House of Lords, which is thus
mentioned in my Journal:--

"The following tells its own story. I have only to add, that
although I know Lord Truro, who inherits his father's interest
in my success, I have had no communication with him, direct or
indirect:--

"_Times_, March 9th.

"'RETIREMENT OF SIR ROWLAND HILL.

"'Lord TRURO rose to ask Her Majesty's Postmaster-General whether
the rumour of Sir Rowland Hill's resignation was well-founded; and,
if so, whether he had any objection to state the circumstances
under which that resignation had taken place. The noble lord said
he put the question to satisfy the strongly expressed desire of
the public to know the truth of the rumour to this effect which
had got abroad. He was sure that it would cause general regret to
hear of the existence of any cause for the retirement of a man who
had conferred such an immeasurable benefit upon the country, and,
indeed, upon the whole civilized world. (Hear, hear).

"'Lord STANLEY OF ALDERLEY said that Sir Rowland had recently
resigned his position in the Post Office in consequence of the
state of his health. Six months ago he applied for six months'
leave of absence, in the hope that he might then be enabled to
resume his duties, but at the end of that period--the beginning
of this month--he forwarded his resignation, saying that the six
months' leave of absence had not restored him, and accompanying it
with a medical certificate that it would not be safe for him to
resume his duties. Those were the whole circumstances connected
with Sir Rowland Hill's resignation, as far as he was acquainted
with them. He was sure that he should meet with their lordships'
concurrence in expressing the deepest regret at the retirement
of this able public servant. (Hear, hear.) The name of Sir R.
Hill would be inseparably connected with the establishment of the
penny post system--one of the greatest improvements of the present
age--which had, perhaps, conferred more benefit on mankind than any
other invention. (Hear, hear.) Those who recollected the state of
things before the penny post would know that to the poorer classes
correspondence by letter was practically interdicted, that to the
class above them the cost of a letter was a very serious matter,
and that, in the commercial and mercantile world, intercourse
was very much restricted by the expense of correspondence. Since
its first introduction, the penny post system had been greatly
extended; facilities of all sorts were given; money orders and
savings banks had been connected with it, and in every way it
had been largely developed. It had become popular all over the
civilized world, and with it the name of Hill would be for ever
connected. Their lordships would confirm him in expressing the
general regret which would be felt by the public at his retirement,
and the universal acknowledgment of the value of his services
would, no doubt, be a great satisfaction to Sir R. Hill. (Hear,
hear.)'"

Amongst the numerous manifestations at this time, not the least
gratifying was the meeting at Birmingham, at which it was determined to
raise subscriptions for the purpose of erecting a statue to me in some
public part of that town, in which I had passed so many of my early
years. My pleasure at this movement was not a little enhanced by the
fact that the originator of the project, the late Mr. James Lloyd, had
been, some forty years before, my pupil.

A few days after the meeting at Birmingham I received, through my
steady and valued friend the late Mr. Matthew Forster, the following
communication from the late Mr. Joseph Parkes, whom I had known almost
from boyhood, and to whom I could not but feel much indebted for his
spontaneous and earnest efforts in my behalf:--

"10th March, 1864. R. C. 5-1/2 P.M.

"DEAR MR. FORSTER,--I could not leave my office till 5. I thought
my interview with Sir F. Baring so good a chapter in Hill's life,
and so important a testimony to his public services, that I penned
the written minute in a note to you before I left Staple Inn. In
fact, Sir Francis is the best, and a willing, witness of Hill's
deserts.

"Yours truly,
"JOSEPH PARKES."

"_Sir Francis Baring's opinion of Rowland Hill._

"Staple Inn, 10th March, 1864.

"DEAR MR. FORSTER,--I found Sir Francis Baring at his rooms after
breakfast this morning, and I sat an hour with him on the subject
of our friend Sir Rowland Hill's deserts and claims on his country.
No one could be more kind or sensible in all his views of the
subject, and on the proper course for Sir Rowland Hill's friends to
pursue in the matter.

"I detailed to him the particulars of my interview with Moffatt
yesterday, and who, Sir Francis thinks, has not injudiciously
broken ground with Mr. Gladstone; and Sir Francis cheerfully agrees
to be one of three, _i.e._, with Mr. Wilson Patten and Moffatt, in
a deputation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

"Sir Francis at first doubted whether he himself should be one of
the best persons to promote the object of Hill's friends in seeing
Mr. Gladstone, as he said he and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had each _angles_ that possibly might not quite _square_. However,
afterwards, he agreed with me that such were of no moment, and that
he felt it was due to himself, equally as to Hill, that he should
unite with Mr. W. Patten and Moffatt. He said really emphatically,
'No public man can so well or naturally impress Hill's deserts
on the Chancellor of the Exchequer as myself, and it is my duty
to do it. Hill was long in office under me, _or rather I under
him_. For months, I may say, he was little out of my own room. I
have the highest estimate of his public services on the postal
changes, of his talent and good judgment throughout many difficult
considerations and decisions; and his integrity was unimpeachable
in carrying out his plans. Further, I always found him open-minded
in regard to objections made to his own individual propositions on
some points, often material, on which we individually differed,
and in which, now and then, I overruled him; he always made
due allowance for _my_ disagreement with him, and all proper
consideration for _my_ difficulties and views as Chancellor of the
Exchequer. And I formed not only this high opinion of his character
and public service, but I also formed a friendship for him which
would induce me always to promote his interest in any matter in my
power.'

"I really thus pen his almost exact words as due to Hill, and
because they much impressed me. And you know Sir Francis is not
a man of many words, or, in manner, of overflowing heart.... He
considers that at Hill's age, and considering the immense benefits
his country has derived at his hands, a retiring pension on full
salary only would be a 'mockery' (Sir Francis's own expression);
and he considers that either his bare official pension, or, say
£1000 per annum, might be asked of Gladstone, with a grant of a
proper sum as a public reward or a just gift to him. We talked
awhile on the _amount_ of that sum.

* * * * *

"But we both thought the figure an after consideration. He said the
pressure of the proposed deputation to Gladstone must be placed on
Mr. Gladstone, as all Chancellors of the Exchequer naturally were
given to be scared when such exceptional claims were made on the
public's purse. But he spoke highly of Gladstone's generosity of
mind as a public and private man; and he said he was certain the
Chancellor of the Exchequer would be sincerely glad to give full
consideration to Hill's most peculiar case and public claims, and
to do all in his power officially, and within his public duty. Sir
Francis mentioned the _Times_ article among others as particularly
useful, and as having placed Hill's services on the proper and full
basis. He did not know of the Birmingham statue meeting, and was
much struck by the fact. I send you my Birmingham _Daily Post_ with
the report, and the deputation should be armed with it to show Mr.
Gladstone.

"Sir Francis thought no two better men than Mr. W. Patten and
Moffatt could be selected as his colleagues; Moffatt also having
been an original strong promoter of Hill's postal reforms and early
movement.

* * * * *

"It is no question of what Hill's pecuniary private position may or
may not be. It is simply the appreciation of his singular services
to his country, and the gains of his countrymen by his mind and
labours--of the unquestionable success of _his_ plans of postal
reform--of the vast beneficial _results_.

"I will only add that I cannot sufficiently appreciate Sir Francis
Baring's kind and earnest interest in your good object.

"Truly yours,
"JOSEPH PARKES.

"P.S.--I will only repeat that Sir Francis was decided that Mr.
Gladstone should be seen at once, and before the Treasury decide on
Hill's retiring pension, and that Gladstone, by such a deputation,
must be backed up to a full act of justice. Sir Francis said he
was confident Lord Palmerston would agree to any course Gladstone
approves.

"The proper decision would be to give Hill the full salary as
retiring pension, and the sum of money. But we shall see how
matters work as they progress."

"EXTRACT from the _Daily News_ of March 12th.

"_House of Commons._

"Pension to Lady Hill. Notice by Lord Palmerston.

"_Sir Rowland Hill._

"Lord PALMERSTON.--Sir, I believe it is well known that that
valuable and deserving public servant, Sir Rowland Hill, is about
to retire from the public service, and that in the ordinary course
of things he will be entitled to a pension for life. I beg to move
that this House resolve itself into a committee of supply, on
Monday next, for the purpose of considering whether that pension
should not be extended for the life of Lady Hill should she survive
her husband."

On the 15th I received a minute of the Treasury, of which the following
is a copy. There are some errors in the minute, of which the most
important was noticed in my letter to Mr. Gladstone of this day (also
subjoined), but nothing could be more gratifying than the minute as a
whole:--

"TREASURY MINUTE, dated 11th March, 1864.

"Read letter from Sir Rowland Hill, K.C.B., dated the 29th
February, stating that six months' absence having elapsed without
any satisfactory results as regards the state of his health, he has
now no course left but to resign his appointment as Secretary to
the Post Office.

"Read also letter from the Postmaster-General of the fourth
instant, stating that Sir Rowland Hill has, in consequence of the
state of his health, been compelled to retire from the public
service, and bearing his testimony to the eminent services which
Sir Rowland Hill has rendered.

"The retirement of Sir Rowland Hill from the office of Secretary to
the Post Office would, if treated under the ordinary machinery of
the Superannuation Act, afford to my Lords the power of granting
him no more than a pension of £566 13_s._ 4_d._, or to the utmost
£666 13_s._ 4_d._, but it supplies, in the judgment of my Lords,
an occasion of peculiar fitness for calling into action the 9th or
special clause of the Superannuation Act, and thus, by a proceeding
which marks their sense of his services, of drawing to those
services the attention of Parliament.

"The period during which Sir Rowland Hill has held office, either
by a temporary or a permanent appointment, is but little in excess
of twenty years; yet my Lords have to regret that while he remains
full as ever of ability, energy, and resources, and of disposition
to expend them for the public good, the state of his health, due,
without doubt, in great part to his indefatigable labours, compels
him to solicit a retirement.

"It is not, however, by length of service that the merits and
claims of such a man are to be measured. It is not even by any
acknowledgment or reward which the Executive Government, in the
exercise of the powers confided to it, can confer.

"The postal system, one of the most powerful organs which modern
civilisation has placed at the command of Government, has,
mainly under the auspices and by the agency of Sir Rowland Hill,
been, within the last quarter of a century, not merely improved
but transformed. The letters transmitted have increased nearly
nine-fold, and have been carried at what may be estimated as little
more than one-ninth of the former charge. In numerous respects
convenience has been consulted and provided for even more than
cheapness.

"Upon the machinery for the transmission of letters there have been
grafted other schemes, which, at a former period, would justly have
been deemed visionary, for the transmission of books with other
printed matter, and of money, and for receiving and storing the
savings of the people.

"While these arduous duties have been undertaken, the condition of
the persons employed in this vast department has been improved,
and, could attention be adequately drawn to what lies beneath the
surface, my Lords are persuaded that the methods of communication
by letter which are now in action have produced for the mass of the
population social and moral benefits which might well have thrown
even these brilliant results into the shade.

"As respects purely fiscal interests, advantages so great as those
which have been recited were, of course, not to be obtained without
some effort or sacrifice. But the receipts on account of postal
service, which on the first adoption of the change were reduced by
above a million sterling, have now more than recovered themselves;
and if computed on the same basis as under the old system, the
gross sum realised is about £3,870,000 instead of £2,346,000, and
the net about £1,790,000 in lieu of £1,660,000; at the same time
contraband in letters may be stated to have ceased, and instead of
a stationary revenue, such as that derived from letters between
1815 and 1835, the State has one which is steadily and even rapidly
progressive.

"My Lords do not forget that it has been by the powerful agency
of the railway system that these results have been rendered
practicable. Neither do they enter into the question, as foreign
to the occasion, what honour may be due to those who, before the
development of the plans of Sir Rowland Hill, urged the adoption
of the uniform penny postage.[237] Nor are they insensible to the
fact that the co-operation of many able public servants has been
essential to the work performed. But after all justice has been
done to others, Sir Rowland Hill is beyond doubt the person to
whom it was given to surmount every kind of obstacle, and to bring
what had been theretofore matter of speculation into the world
of practice, without whom the country would not have enjoyed the
boon, or would only have enjoyed it at a later date, and to whom,
accordingly, its enjoyment may justly be deemed due.

"Nor is it in this country alone that are to be perceived the happy
fruits of his labours; the recognition of his plans has spread with
a rapidity to be accounted for only by their excellence from land
to land, and truly may now be said to have met with acceptance
throughout the civilised world.

"Under these circumstances, it may justly be averred that my Lords
are dealing on the present occasion with the case not merely of a
meritorious public servant, but of a benefactor of his race; and
that his fitting reward is to be found not in this or that amount
of pension, but in the grateful recollection of his country.

"But my Lords discharge the portion of duty which belongs to them
with cordial satisfaction, in awarding to Sir Rowland Hill, for
life, his full salary of £2,000 per annum.

"Let a copy of this Minute be laid before Parliament.

"Transmit copy to the Postmaster-General, with a request that it
may be communicated to Sir Rowland Hill."

The following is my letter to Mr. Gladstone:--

"(Private and immediate.)
"Hampstead, March 15th, 1864.

"MY DEAR MR. GLADSTONE,--I have just received through the
Postmaster-General a copy of the Treasury minute of the 11th inst.

"I need not say how much I feel indebted for the very handsome
terms in which my services are acknowledged, and for the liberal
retiring allowance which the Treasury has granted me.

"There is, however, one part of the minute which I trust their
lordships may be induced to reconsider. It is that in which the
original conception of the _uniform_ penny rate is attributed to
others than myself. As this forms the main feature of my plan, and
as its discovery and first proposal were wholly my own, you will,
I am sure, pardon me if I press that in a formal document like the
one in question a mistake on so important a point may be corrected.

"But perhaps I ought to address an official letter to the Treasury,
stating more formally and fully the facts of the case. Will you
favour me with your wishes in this respect? My immediate object is
to request that the copy of the minute to be laid before Parliament
may not be issued until the point in question shall have been
investigated.

"I remain, &c., in haste,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"The Right Hon.
"The Chancellor of the Exchequer, &c."

Upon receiving Mr. Gladstone's reply I wrote to the Treasury a letter
in which I requested attention to the point in question. I also
enclosed a memorandum recapitulating the facts of the case. Both
documents will be found in the Appendix (N). My object in marking
as "Immediate" the letter containing the above memorandum was that
it might be laid before Parliament as soon as possible after the
publication of the unfortunate error which it was intended to correct;
and more particularly that this might be done before the Easter
holidays, then close at hand. This point Mr. Gladstone was kind enough
to secure; and in a few days my letter, with the memorandum, appeared
in the public papers. Moreover, he assured me, in a private letter,
that it was not intended in the Treasury minute to put a negation on my
claim to originality.

Lord Palmerston's notice relative to a pension to my wife produced
a good deal of discussion amongst my friends; and owing to their
earnest advice an address from Lady Hill to the Queen was prepared,
and a communication made to Lord Palmerston on the subject. A meeting
was then held, and arrangements were made for postponing further
proceedings in Parliament till after Easter. With these and the after
proceedings connected with the Parliamentary grant, except as to my
unavoidable correspondence with Mr. Moffatt, I took no part whatever,
but left the matter entirely in the hands of my friends.[238] The
purport of Lady Hill's address to the Queen was to pray that any
reward to which Her Majesty might consider me entitled should take a
form which should be beneficial to our children. A deputation, with
Sir Francis Baring at its head, then waited upon Lord Palmerston, and
in consequence of the representations then made to him, the motion of
which he had given notice was postponed, and, when actually brought
forward, was greatly modified.

Lord Palmerston's motion was finally made on June 11th, the following
message from the Queen having been brought up by his lordship on the
6th:--

"VICTORIA REGINA.--Her Majesty, taking into consideration the
eminent services of Sir Rowland Hill, the late Secretary of the
Post Office, in devising and carrying out various important
improvements in the postal administration, and being desirous, in
recognition of such services, to confer some signal mark of her
favour upon him, recommends to the House to concur in enabling Her
Majesty to grant Sir Rowland Hill the sum of £20,000."

The following report of the proceedings is taken from the _Times_:--

Mr. MASSEY having read Her Majesty's message, recommending
the grant of a sum of £20,000 to Sir Rowland Hill, K.C.B., in
recognition of his services in connection with postal reforms,

"Lord PALMERSTON rose and said: I trust that the Committee will
be disposed to concur without any objection in the recommendation
which her Majesty has been graciously pleased to make. (Cheers.)
Sir Rowland Hill is a man of great genius, of great sagacity,
of great perseverance and industry, and he has rendered great
services both to this and other countries. He formed the opinion
that the Post Office was more properly a department for the
performance of service than for the mere collection of revenue,
and with a boldness which staggered a great number of persons
who had not looked at the matter from the same point of view, he
recommended a very large reduction in the rate of postage, with
the confidence that it would in the end bring up the revenue to
the same amount to which it had previously stood, and would in the
mean time confer the greatest possible benefit upon the community.
(Hear, hear.) Many people thought that he was too sanguine in
his calculations, and that, although the number of letters might
increase, the revenue would not recover the great shock which the
introduction of the penny postage would inflict upon it. Those
anticipations have been falsified, and the calculations of Sir R.
Hill have turned out to be correct. Sir R. Hill had for nearly a
quarter of a century performed, with some slight interval, the
arduous duties which had devolved upon him in connection with the
scheme, and he is now at a time of life when his health must have
suffered from the great labour which attaches to his office. The
Treasury have on that ground, given him permission to retire,
and have done that which I am sure this house will not think too
much--they have given him his full salary for life. He is now, I
believe, in the seventieth year of his age, and his health has
been shattered by the labours which he has had to perform. Under
these circumstances, Her Majesty thought that this House would be
of opinion that the great services which he has performed would
recommend him for a grant which should enable him to make those
arrangements for his family which the short period during which
he may probably enjoy his pension would not otherwise permit him
to make. His labours have produced more beneficial results than
may strike persons at first sight. It is quite clear that the
facilities which the penny postage has given to the transactions
of commerce, and to all communications connected with business,
must have been infinitely advantageous to the industry, and, by
that means, to the general revenue of the country. (Hear, hear.) In
that view Sir R. Hill has performed great services to the country;
but there is another view in which he has produced still more
startling results, namely, in the amount of happiness and comfort
which his invention--if I may call it an invention--his plan, has
conferred upon millions of the poorer classes of the community.
(Hear.) When the rate of postage was as high as it was before
that plan was introduced, communication between the members of a
poor family who were scattered about the country was impossible.
How could a poor labouring man pay a shilling or sixpence for a
letter? Communication between the members of such families was more
difficult than the communication between England and Australia is
now. (Hear, hear.) The cultivation of the affections raises men
in their own estimation and in the standing which they occupy in
society. It improves their morals, and develops all those qualities
which tend to make useful members of the community. Therefore I
say that Sir R. Hill, independently of the benefits which his plan
has conferred upon the general interests and prosperity of the
country, has the merit of having conferred a great benefit upon the
labouring and poorer classes of the people, which would of itself
entitle him to any mark of approbation and reward which the House
may be disposed to confer upon him. In the year 1838, before the
penny postage was introduced, the number of letters transmitted
through the Post Office was 76,000,000; in 1863 the number was
642,000,000. (Hear, hear). That is a measure of the extent to which
that plan has assisted the industry and contributed to the comfort
and happiness of the community. There are many matters connected
with the plan which are independent of the mere reduction of the
amount paid for the postage of letters. Among others, there is the
facility which his arrangements have given for the transmission
of money in small sums from one part of the country to another.
The amount of the money orders taken out in 1838 was £313,000; in
1863 it was £16,494,000. (Hear, hear.) What an immense advantage
must have resulted from the facility for the safe transmission
of so large an amount of small sums, which it would otherwise
have been very difficult and expensive to transmit. Then there
is the book-post. It is greatly conducive to the interests of
literature, and the arrangements have been most extensively taken
advantage of. The gross revenue of the Post Office has increased
very considerably, but of course the increase of facilities has
led to the multiplication of establishments and officers, and
has therefore largely increased the outgoings. In 1838 the gross
receipts were £2,436,000; in 1863 they were £3,870,000; showing
that Sir R. Hill was perfectly right in anticipating that at no
distant period the receipts of the Post Office would recover from
the diminution which the first introduction of his plan naturally
produced. In point of fact everybody is so well acquainted with
the merits of Sir R. Hill's plan and the good effects which it has
produced, that I shall content myself with moving the resolution of
which I have given notice. (Cheers.) The noble Viscount concluded
by moving that a sum not exceeding £20,000 should be granted to Her
Majesty as a provision for Sir Rowland Hill."

* * * * *

"Sir F. BARING, having been Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time
when Sir R. Hill's plan was introduced (hear, hear), wished to bear
testimony to the ability of that eminent public servant, and to the
good sense, intelligence, and good humour with which he met and
surmounted the innumerable difficulties that it was then thought
right to throw in his way."

Mr. Neate, who had been at the time Sir Francis Baring's private
Secretary, most justly dwelt on the support given to me by Sir Francis,
when my official superior.

Mr. Hennessy asked why Sir Rowland Hill had not been created
Postmaster-General; to which Lord Palmerston remarked that had he been
appointed to that post he would have had to go out on a change of
Government.

The motion was carried without a division.

A few days afterwards, Lord Granville brought the question before the
House of Lords in a very kind and graceful speech.

"Lord BROUGHAM said there was this peculiarity in Sir Rowland
Hill--that whereas inventors in general were the most sanguine of
men,[239] who saw no difficulties in the way, and who exaggerated
the probable results of their novelty, he understated the value of
his invention and over-estimated the difficulties and the expense
of adopting it.

* * * * *

"The Marquis of CLANRICARDE had the satisfaction of remembering
that under him and through him, in some degree, Sir Rowland
Hill had entered the Post Office; and bore testimony to the
extraordinary zeal for the public service, the judgment, the
discretion, the temper, and unvarying urbanity with which he met
all the difficulties that he had to encounter. Of course those
who had been accustomed to the old system viewed the innovation
proposed with great alarm and suspicion. He attributed no blame to
these officers, believing that the opinions given by them against
the new system were founded upon very natural fears and bias. But
penny postage, as his noble friend had said, was not the only
improvement for which the nation had to thank Sir Rowland Hill.
His belief was that, if it had not been for Sir Rowland Hill,
the business in the Money Order Office would not have reached to
one-sixteenth of its present proportions, and he doubted, indeed,
whether that business would have been carried on any longer. No
balance had been struck, and no one could tell what assets were
in hand. He then asked Mr. Hill, who at that time had introduced
some important improvements in the circulation of letters, to take
this subject in hand. The result of that gentleman's efforts was
to establish, if not an exact balance, at least what practically
amounted to it; the system was materially altered, and instead of
eleven entries for every money order, the number was reduced to
four or five; and since that time he had heard of no defalcation or
fraud on the part of postmasters, such as had frequently occurred
before that time. During the time that he had the honour to be
connected with the Post Office he always found that Mr. Hill
laboured zealously and efficiently, and always to his satisfaction.
When objections to his plans were raised, Mr. Hill always received
them in a fair and temperate manner, and never complained of being
overruled when fair grounds for so doing had been shown. Upon the
whole, this country had never rewarded by a grant of money any
public servant who more richly deserved it. Mr. Hill's name would
live in every country, for every country had derived benefit from
his labours."[240]

I need not say that the parliamentary recognition of my services, so
handsomely made, was and is regarded by myself and my family as the
crowning honour of my life.

I wrote as follows to Mr. Gladstone:--

"Hampstead, 15th June, 1864.

"MY DEAR MR. GLADSTONE,--While I have written to Lord Palmerston
and Lord Granville to thank them for the favour they have publicly
shown me, I cannot but feel that my chief acknowledgments for
the very handsome and gratifying manner in which my services
have been recognised must be due to yourself, who, from first to
last, have lent me your powerful aid in my efforts to perform the
duties committed to me, and have given to all my suggestions and
representations a kind, candid, and careful consideration.

"Believe me, &c.,
"ROWLAND HILL.

"The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
"&c., &c., &c."

To the above letter Mr. Gladstone replied as follows:--

"11, Carlton House Terrace, June 15th, 1864.

"_My dear Sir R. Hill_,--The support you have had from me has been
the very best that I could give; but had it been much better and
more effective, it would not have been equal to your deserts and
claims.

"I sincerely hope you are deriving much benefit from a lightened
mind,

"And remain,
"Always sincerely yours,
"_W. E. Gladstone_."

Amidst the above transactions some events occurred of no small interest
to myself; the first being that I had the gratification of receiving
from the University of Oxford the honorary degree of D.C.L.;[241] and
the second an address voted at a town's meeting at Liverpool, followed
by a valuable presentation of pictures. I will also mention here that,
a year later, the town of Longton presented me with two fine china
vases, specimens of its manufacture. About a week after the date of Mr.
Gladstone's letter I had the honour of receiving the Albert Gold Medal
of the Society of Arts from the hands of the Prince of Wales.[242]

Some time afterwards I received a letter from the Treasury stating
that their lordships had "cordial satisfaction in giving directions to
the Paymaster-General to issue to me the amount of the Parliamentary
grant, £20,000."

Such was the final close of my official career; and, without forgetting
the struggles, delays, disappointments, or mortifications attending
it, I cannot but acknowledge that when I compare my experience with
that of other reformers or inventors, I ought to regard myself as
supremely fortunate. Amongst those who have laboured to effect great
improvements, how many have felt their success limited to the fact that
by their efforts seed was sown which in another age would germinate
and bear fruit! How many have by their innovations exposed themselves
to obloquy, ridicule, perhaps even to the scorn and abhorrence of at
least their own generation; and, alas! how few have lived to see their
predictions more than verified, their success amply acknowledged, and
their deeds formally and gracefully rewarded!

Here, then, closes my narrative of postal reforms. It must not be
supposed, however, that no work will remain for a future historian;
for not only is the course of postal improvement, like that of any
other great department of human affairs, absolutely without limit, but
various important changes may be regarded as distinctly in prospect,
however uncertain may be the time of their accomplishment. As much
has been achieved of which in the outset I had but a dim conception,
and much also of which I had never thought at all--every advancement
opening a field for yet further progress, and every difficulty
surmounted affording encouragement to further effort and facilities
for further achievement--so the point now attained enables us to look
onward to points yet to be reached, and to conceive of others as still
beyond our sight.

Thus, it yet remains to carry into full effect the principles for
regulating the packet service recommended in Lord Canning's Report
already referred to; principles in accordance with those of economy
and free trade; a task unfortunately rendered at once more difficult
and far longer than it should have been by the retrogressive measures
lately mentioned. To accomplish this, it is necessary that every branch
of the packet service should be rendered at least self-supporting,
except, indeed, in any special case, if any such there be, where other
national interests, yet greater than those of the Post Office, require
an expenditure beyond receipts; and even there I would submit that such
additional expenditure should be charged not to the Post Office, but to
that department of state to which it really pertains; clear accounts
being obviously important to economy, and all attempt to hide political
action under the mask of postal facility being, to say the least,
absolutely futile.

Of course, the rule of self-support should, in like manner be
maintained in every other department of postal service. And this, I
may remark, would furnish the means for a just increase of advantages
in those districts or departments in which receipts may be found to
be much in excess of expenditure; an arrangement which would perhaps
include the establishment of tubular conveyance[243] to a limited
extent in certain directions, and would certainly give to many of our
great manufacturing and commercial towns either an increase in the
number of deliveries, or of mails.

In order that economic improvement may not be unduly encumbered with
fixed arrangements, it would be well to limit the duration of all
future contracts to some moderate period, say three years; but, under
this restriction, it is very desirable for the sake of economy, and
for other important considerations, that the contract system should
be greatly, though gradually, extended. Experience may show that it
may safely and advantageously be made to include the whole postal work
at the provincial offices, and various separate departments in the
offices within the metropolitan districts, not wholly excluding the
Chief Office itself. I may add that the benefit of this change would
be greatly increased if the proposed contractors, adopting views now
gradually gaining ground, should arrange to give their respective
subordinates a direct interest in the energetic and economical
performance of the service.

Independently of the moral benefits consequent upon the abolition of
private patronage, I believe the direct financial advantage, which
might be expected from the faithful adoption and rigorous execution of
this principle, would be, as I have already said, an eventual saving of
probably not less than £250,000 a year.

Judging by what has been done at the various telegraphic offices and
elsewhere, and bearing in mind the change now steadily progressing
in public opinion, I should hope that one beneficial effect of an
extension of the contract system would be that female labour would be
admitted to a much larger share in postal employment--an improvement
which my brother and I always had much at heart.[244]

Of a Parcels Post I have already spoken; and I am confident
that, whenever established, provided of course that it be on good
arrangements, its benefit will be great.

I have already indicated the desirableness of lowering the rate of
inland letter postage from a penny per half-ounce to a penny per
ounce--a change which would obviously give much relief as regards heavy
letters.

My brother Frederic twice formally proposed, once under Lord Stanley
of Alderley, and once under the Duke of Montrose, that negotiations
should be entered into with a view to establishing throughout Europe
an international postage on a low uniform rate, submitting, to that
end, a complete plan; I need not enlarge upon the political, moral, and
commercial advantages of so comprehensive an improvement.[245]

Concurrent negotiations should be entered into for extending our outer
money order system to many foreign countries not yet brought within its
range.

It has been repeatedly urged in Parliament and in the public press
that the office of Postmaster-General should cease to be political and
become permanent; and, as already intimated, I cannot but consider
such change highly desirable; seeing that a permanent head of the
Department would have ample time and motive to make himself thoroughly
acquainted with the business of the office, and would naturally be led
to select his subordinates with more direct reference to their probable
efficiency; his duration in office making it probable that the fruits
of his own selection, whether good or bad, would be reaped by himself.

Supposing this change to be made, it would become even more desirable
than it is at present that the Postmaster-General should have the
disposal of that very numerous class of Post Office appointments still
retained by the Treasury; seeing that, in addition to his being in
more direct communication with those on whose advice it is important
that he should act, he would also, as a matter of course, have better
information on the whole subject than the Treasury can command. Such
transference would also manifestly tend to that concentration of
responsibility which all who have rightly studied the principles of
administration agree with Jeremy Bentham in regarding as of primary
importance.

These organic changes being made, there would be good ground to hope
that, in due time, the all-important rule of promotion by simple and
exclusive reference to demonstrated fitness would be strictly followed.

One more change may be spoken of, but on this point I rather suggest
inquiry than advise action. The abandonment of the Post Office monopoly
has much to recommend it, but yet is not a one-sided question. On the
one hand, it implies the removal of an offence from our statute book,
and the probable rise of a wholesome competition wherever the service
is performed with less than the greatest efficiency and cheapness; a
competition which, more perhaps than any other external circumstance,
would tend to compel the department to have due regard to simple merit
in its officers, and economic efficiency in all its arrangements.[246]
On the other hand, it must be remembered that the operations of
the Post Office, extending over the whole country, provide for the
correspondence of many districts where the population is too small
or too sparse to yield any profit whatever; and that although its
general rule is not to go further than this, by providing for districts
which cannot be served without loss, yet for purposes of Government
the rule is in many instances set aside. It must be added that there
are many reasons in favour of affording a service, not indeed day
by day, but at least week by week, to every house in the United
Kingdom (a completeness already attained in France, Prussia,[247] and
Switzerland); and it would seem hard that the Post Office, while called
upon to continue all this ill-remunerated or non-remunerated service,
should be exposed to competition in that more profitable part of its
business, which alone rival establishments would undertake.

Upon the whole, however, I am so impressed with the evils attaching to
every monopoly, that I cannot but regard the abandonment in question,
after due preparation, as a desirable step.

Before taking leave of my readers, I would express an earnest hope
that my narrative, besides describing the progress of a remarkable
change, may prove especially useful to all who may at any time
contemplate a devotion of their powers to the cause of departmental
reform; that it may be serviceable alike for encouragement and for
warning--for encouragement, as showing that the field is open, and
success, with its rewards, not unattainable; for warning, as showing
with what difficulties it is beset, how serious the obstacles, how
long the delays, how galling the mortifications, and how deep the
disappointments, to be encountered even by one who is happy enough
to attain at length the goal towards which his long, laborious, and
anxious race has been directed.

BOOK III.

CONCLUSION.

"_He that dies in an earnest pursuit is like one that is wounded in
hot blood; who, for the time, scarce feels the hurt; and therefore
a mind fixed and bent upon somewhat that is good doth avert the
dolours of death; but, above all, believe it, the sweetest canticle
is_ 'Nunc dimittis,' _when a man hath obtained worthy ends and
expectations_."--BACON.

CONCLUSION.

Sir Rowland Hill, at the time of his retirement, "remained," in the
words of the Treasury Minute, "full as ever of ability, energy, and
resources, and of disposition to expend them for the public good." He
was broken down in health--broken down, not so much by the great work
that he had done, as by the hindrances that, time after time, had been
wantonly and cruelly piled up against him in the discharge of his duty.
"Men will one day think of the force they squander in every generation,
and the fatal damage they encounter by this neglect."[248] "He stands,"
wrote Mr. Gladstone a few months before he left the Post Office,
"pre-eminent and alone among all the members of the Civil Service as
a benefactor to the nation." He had not been two years in the service
of his country when the Chancellor of the Exchequer of that day, "a
man not of many words, or, in manner, of overflowing heart,"[249] told
him that, were the Secretaryship to the Post Office vacant, he was the
man whom he should recommend to fill it. In a most trying and severe
apprenticeship he had proved his thorough fitness for the post, and
had convinced Mr. Baring that there was, at all events, one inventor
who could be a man of business.[250] But before long his force was
squandered by Sir Robert Peel. For the next four years his work lay
outside the Post Office. With the return of the Whigs to power, he was
once more brought back to the great work of his life. Unhappily the
squandering of force did not come to an end. Seven years more had to
pass before he was made sole Secretary, and placed in a position of
real and undoubted power. For these seven years he had been, to use his
own words, "a general almost without an army." For the next six years
his work went on smoothly and rapidly under a happy succession of able
and high-minded Postmasters-General. But a change came all too soon.
In the Post Office certainly he should have had no master over him at
any time. There even the ablest of our statesmen might well have sat at
his feet. "He is King of Postal Reform," wrote a Postmaster-General of
a later date, "and I felt myself a very small subject in waiting upon
him." But under the able chiefs under whom he served from 1854 to 1860
he worked with full contentment. This happy period came to an end, as
has been seen, with the appointment of Lord Stanley of Alderley. His
force was once more, and for the last time, squandered.

How strangely and how sadly was this man thwarted in the high aim
of his life. He longed for power, but it was for the power to carry
through his great scheme. For the mere shows--the trappings--of
authority he cared but little. Such outward things dwelt not in his
desires. "My plan" was often on his lips, and ever in his thoughts.
His strong mind was made up that it should succeed. He looked upon
it with all the fondness and the pride with which a father looks
upon his only boy. Take it from him, and his life was done. There was
in him a rare combination of enthusiasm and practical power--such a
combination as the world has not often seen, and may not again see for
many a long day. He had "the usual concomitant of great abilities, a
lofty and steady confidence in himself;"[251] but together with this
confidence was found a cautiousness that, for the most part, is only
seen in those who are far too timid for any great undertaking. He
clearly saw every difficulty that lay in his path, and yet he went on
with unshaken firmness. To the simple pleasures of life he was by no
means indifferent; but he had in his early years attained a thorough
self-mastery. In everything but in work he was the most temperate of
men. He never repined over the past, or, when once he had taken a
step, fretted at the result. His health was greatly shattered by his
excessive toils and his long struggles. For the last years of his life
he never left his house, and never even left the floor on which his
sleeping-room was. But in the midst of this confinement, in all the
weakness of old age and sickness, he wrote, "I accept the evil with the
good, and frankly regard the latter as by far the weightier of the two.
Could I repeat my course, I should sacrifice as much as before, and
regard myself as richly repaid by the result."

With these high qualities was united perfect integrity. He was the
most upright and the most truthful of men. He hated By-ends and all
his companions. He was often careless of any gain to himself, but the
good of the state never for one moment did he disregard. He watched
over the public money with a carefulness which few men show even in
watching over their own private hoards. He was never even so much as
tempted for a single moment to purchase popularity by swerving by a
hair's breadth from the narrow path of duty. More than once a slight
sacrifice of public money would have saved him from attack. To public
censure he was by no means indifferent. He suffered beneath it even
though he knew that it was unjust. Yet he was always ready to brave
it in a good cause. One of the men who long served under him bore
this high testimony to the character of his old chief:--"Sir Rowland
Hill was very generous with his own money, and very close with public
money. He would have been more popular had he been generous with the
public money and close with his own." Of his generosity I discovered
a striking instance in looking through his private Journal for his
last year in office. For one of his subordinates, on whose ability and
devotion to himself and zeal in the public service he set a high value,
he had not been able to obtain from the Government the recompense
which, in his opinion, that gentleman deserved. "I have compensated
him to some extent," he records, "by a gift of £300." Beneath a manner
that was cold beat one of the warmest and even tenderest of hearts.
He had, in earlier life, known what it was to bear the proud man's
contumely. The lesson that he had learnt in that hard school was one
of forbearance. His rule was stern, yet never without consideration
for the feelings of others. No one who was under him ever felt his
self-respect wounded by his chief. It is not yet forgotten in the Post
Office how, many years ago, one of the higher officers was summoned
to the room of the Postmaster-General to give an explanation on some
difficult matter. He found his Lordship and the Secretary sitting
at the table, but he himself, though he was likely to be kept some
time, was not invited to take a chair. Sir Rowland Hill stood up, and
remained standing, till his Lordship requested both to be seated.

He had not the fault of most enthusiasts, who look in others for a
zeal as ardent as that which animates themselves. He found it somewhat
hard, indeed, to understand how any one could be indifferent to the
statistics of Penny Postage, and help watching the rise in the number
of letters and the postal revenue with as much interest as Englishmen,
on a wet day, watch the rise in the weather-glass. But though he did
not ask for the same enthusiasm in those who were set under him, he did
look for the same carefulness, the same exactness, the same integrity,
and the same constant thought for the public good. He forgot that
they had not been trained in the same stern school with himself, and
he failed to make due allowance for the weakness of man's nature. By
asking too much from men he got from them, perhaps, less than they
might otherwise have given. Yet the better natures were not a little
raised by the high standard of duty that he ever set before them. He
left behind him, in all ranks of the service, a strong sense of public
duty, which has managed to outlive even the evil days which came after
him.

The history of his declining years I shall but touch on. His work was
well-nigh done on the day when he left the Post Office; yet prolonged
rest gave him back some small part of his old strength. "Much improved
during the winter," he noted down at the end of his first year in
retirement; "rest and cool weather suit me." In his labours as a member
of the Royal Commission on Railways[252] he showed that his mind,
however much it had been strained, had yet lost none of its clearness.
Not less did it show its power in the years when he was employed in
writing "The History of Penny Postage." He managed, he could long
boast, to keep himself "_au courant_ with the progress of science and
mechanical invention." For a while he had strength enough from time to
time to attend the meetings of the Political Economy Club. From a short
paper that he drew up I extract the following passage:--

"When I became a member of the Political Economy Club, I soon
marked a questionable assumption there--viz., that whatever is in
accordance with the laws of political economy is necessarily right
and expedient, and _vice versâ_. Question on this point happened to
be raised one evening by a remark from a member that the position
maintained on one side in the debate then going on was hostile to
general happiness; the answer to which was, not that the objector
was mistaken, but that the objection was irrelative; seeing that
the aim of political economy was not the general happiness, but
the wealth of nations. I took the liberty to point out that while
political economists might, of course, define their science as
they pleased, they must remember that under such restriction its
unaided conclusions could not claim to guide legislative action;
since it was at least conceivable, and perhaps not improbable,
that in certain cases the course most tending to a nation's wealth
might differ from that most tending to its weal. I am much inclined
to think that neglect of this distinction is amongst the causes
which have at different times brought this important science into
discredit, led the world to regard its professors as hard--nay,
heartless--and in a measure invalidated their plea that they are
not inventors, but only discoverers; that they create no laws, but
merely set forth the logic of facts. So far, however, as I can
observe in my retirement, such distinction is in the way to acquire
recognition."

He took a strong interest in politics; and no long time before his
death he was heard to say that he should gladly live two or three
years longer, that he might see how the arrangements made under
the Treaty of Berlin would work. It was, however, in watching the
operations of the Post Office that his chief interest still lay. I
remember how I called upon him one day about eighteen months before his
death. On my coming into his room he turned with a smile of pleasure
to his son, who happened to be present, and said, "Has your cousin
heard of the discovery?" I pricked up my ears, and at once thought of
some curious old family record that might have been found hidden away
in an old chest or cupboard. "This year," he continued, with proud
exultation, "the postal revenue is larger than the revenue produced
by the income tax. I was quite startled to find this out." Many years
earlier he had written to tell his brother how he had met Garibaldi.
"On Thursday (April 21, 1864) Caroline (Lady Hill) and I dined at
Fishmongers' Hall 'to meet Garibaldi.' I was a little afraid of the
undertaking; but I enjoyed the meeting, and am, to say the least, none
the worse for it. I had some conversation with Garibaldi about the
state of the Italian Post Office; but it was evident that he felt but
little interest in the matter. There is something very pleasing, not to
say fascinating, in his appearance and manner." Mr. M. D. Hill replied,
"I was very glad to hear you were able to go to the Fishmongers', and
very much amused to find that you consulted Garibaldi on Italian Penny
Postage. When you go to heaven, I foresee that you will stop at the
gate to inquire of St. Peter how many deliveries they have per day, and
how the expense of postal communication between heaven and the other
place is defrayed."

When, by the establishment of School Boards, primary education was so
widely extended, he foresaw at once the effect that would be thereby
produced on the postal revenue. "Is there," he wrote, "in addition to
the moral, intellectual, and commercial benefits more directly aimed
at, any set-off to this increased expense? For this I naturally turn to
its effect on the number of letters, which will obviously be enlarged
by diffusion of the power to write and read; though the extent to
which this will operate is at present matter for conjecture rather
than for estimate. I hold it, however, not quite impossible that in
this manner the outlay will eventually repay itself, though I am by
no means so sanguine as to expect so rich a result." That knowledge
might be more readily brought within the reach of all, he was eager
to see a reform of what, to use his own words, "is grossly misnamed
orthography." "For myself," he writes, "I frankly confess that I have
always made it a practice to have a spelling dictionary at hand, and
have not infrequently to turn to its pages. My education must, then,
it will be said, have been defective! True enough! but of how many has
the education been more defective! And even in those who have attained
proficiency, how great has been the sacrifice of time else applicable
to beneficial study!"

While his mind thus constantly turned to any subject that in any way
bore on his great plan, he found, unhappily, much that distressed him
in the government of the Post Office. He grieved over the changes that
after his retirement were too often made in disregard of the great
principles on which he had steadily acted.[253] More than once he
addressed warnings to the government. But at the very close of his
Journal he records,[254] "I have made myself seriously ill--having
brought on renewed threats of apoplexy--by what I have already
done." He could do no more. He had lifted up his voice, and lifted
it up in vain. There was happily another side to this sad picture.
Wrong-doings and blunders he could often forget, while he contemplated
the perfection with which the great machine still worked, though there
was no master-hand to govern it. He had the delight, too, of watching
his plan as it spread from country to country. "In some respects," to
quote the words that Mr. Gladstone used on his death, "his lot was one
peculiarly happy even as among public benefactors; for his great plan
ran like wildfire through the civilised world, and never perhaps was
a local invention (for such it was) and improvement applied in the
life-time of its author to the advantage of such vast multitudes of his
fellow-creatures." He had aimed at doing something for the world, and
he lived to know that his success had been far greater than his hopes,
and that the world was not ungrateful.

In the quiet course of his private life there is but little on which
I shall dwell. Each year saw his range narrowed more and more till
at last he was confined to one floor. In an interesting paper, which
he drew up in the summer of 1874, he thus describes the state of his
health:--

"Some description of my present illness, and of the causes thereof,
may perhaps prove useful to young persons who may be inclined to
follow a career with energy beyond their strength.

"My present position is this:--The ordinary state of my health does
not prevent considerable enjoyment of life, provided that I take
certain precautions and observe certain rules which experience
has dictated, and, further, that I am not disturbed by others; but
herein lies the difficulty. To control myself is easy enough, but
effectually to control others is beyond my power.

"Under the former head, I find that any kind of locomotion, except
within certain narrow limits, invariably proves hurtful--producing
pain in the head, a feeling of incapacity for self-guidance, and,
if persisted in, downright vertigo--the most perfect rest during
some hours being necessary to restore me to the normal state. It is
more than five years since I was in a railway-carriage, and I dare
not venture on a further trial, even could I get to the stations,
which, with a few unimportant exceptions, are beyond my reach;
my drives, even under the most favourable circumstances, being
limited to twenty or, at the utmost, to twenty-five minutes. Soon
after its completion I managed to reach the Holborn Viaduct; but
the Thames Embankment and the new Post Office I have never seen.
As to walking, a few yards to and from the carriage is all that I
can attempt. In my own rooms, indeed, and in an adjoining balcony
constructed for the purpose, I am able, at certain hours, neither
long after nor shortly before a meal, to pace a little every day.
The restriction is not owing to any lack of muscular strength, but
simply to the painful effect on my head."

It was, he says, so far back as the year 1839 that he could trace
the first indications of this coming inability to walk. It had grown
upon him till, about the year 1868, he fell into the state which he
has thus described, from which he never recovered. "This is the more
remarkable," he adds, "because, when a young man, I was the best
walker of the brotherhood, and could 'do' my thirty miles a day for, I
believe, any number of days in succession." He managed, nevertheless,
for many years to dine with the Royal Society Club.

"I cannot explain, fully at least, why I can visit one club and not
the others, the distance from home being practically the same for
all. One reason, no doubt, is the pleasure and excitement afforded
by meeting men of eminence whose conversation greatly interests me.
Another, the rest and reinvigoration resulting from the dinner; and
lastly, and perhaps chiefly, that the meetings are so frequent as
to admit of my selecting days when the weather, my health, and all
other circumstances are favourable."

He next describes the mode in which he suffered through the action of
others:--

"The disturbances from which I most frequently suffer are noises,
especially when unexpected; as, for instance, the sudden opening
or closing of a door, the dropping of any article on the floor....
Some protection is afforded me by increasing deafness, whatever the
inconvenience of such infirmity. Again, I am painfully sensible to
a shake so slight as to be imperceptible to one in ordinary health;
such, for instance, as is produced by any one walking across the
room save with an almost cat-like tread, or by a touch to my
chair so slight as even the mere brush of the servant's clothes
against it as he waits at table. Further, I am annoyed by any of
those repeated movements of hands or fingers which are habitual to
some people, though against this particular annoyance I find some
protection in taking a book or newspaper and interposing it as a
screen."

I may mention here, as an instance of his delicate consideration for
the feelings of others, that I had often noticed when I went to see
him how he thus screened his eyes. It was not till I read this account
of his health that I was in the least aware that it was against my
restlessness that he was screening himself.

Beneath the balcony that he had built for himself, wherein he hoped,
each year as the suns grew warm, to breathe the fresh air, the
Metropolitan Asylums Board set up a Small-Pox Hospital. Within a
few yards of the old man's only walk ran the road along which, day
after day for many a month, passed a sad train of ambulances and a
still sadder train of hearses. For the signal benefit that he had
conferred not only on England, but on the whole world, he had been
hitherto rewarded and honoured by a gratitude that was as strong as
it was general, by the free gifts of his countrymen and the vote of
Parliament. The University of Oxford had made him a Doctor of Laws,
and the Queen had made him a Knight Commander of the Bath. Before many
years had passed the City of London was to give him its freedom, and
Westminster Abbey a grave. The Asylums Board cared for none of those
things. Public benefactors and public honours did not enter into its
world. It knew of nothing but ratepayers. But ratepayers, it should
have remembered, are after all only men, and men, in these islands at
least, are neither ungrateful nor pitiless.

There was a striking regularity in the order of his household.
Everything went on almost as if by clockwork. He asked me one day
whether I had ever noticed that the sound of a bell was scarcely ever
heard in his house, save when someone came to the hall-door. He was,
he said, strictly punctual himself, and he had trained his servants to
habits of the strictest punctuality. He could afford, I knew, to take
some trouble with them, for they were very slow to leave his service.
His visitors saw year after year the best proof of a good master in
the familiar faces of those by whom he was served. As everything was
done at its appointed time, there was no need for a bell to be rung.
His meals, his medicine, everything was brought to the exact minute.
No one was summoned, for no one was ever late. In the days when he was
still strong enough to drive out, he had been often troubled by the
unpunctuality of his coachman:--

"I advised him to _aim_ at being five minutes before the appointed
time. Of course I only _advised_ this--to have ordered it would
merely have changed the appointed hour. Just as the allowance of
five minutes' grace at the Post Office simply alters the hour of
attendance from 10.0 to 10.5 a.m., and does nothing to secure
punctuality.

"Still the result was unsatisfactory, and I was irritated and
annoyed by the man's persistence. He was honest and sober, and
had a wife and several children. Dismissal, therefore, was out
of the question. I thought of fines, with rewards for continued
punctuality; but I have small faith in either fines or rewards.

"At last it occurred to me to adopt the Post Office rule, under
which any one accused of misconduct is called upon to give such
written explanation 'as he may desire.'

"The duty was entrusted to the footman, with instructions to call
for explanation in every instance of lateness, even when no more
than a fraction of a minute, the hall clock being taken as an
indisputable standard."

The result was that the man became so exact to his time that in twelve
months "there were only six cases of lateness, amounting in the
aggregate to eight minutes."

Confined though he so much was to one room, yet time did not hang on
his hands. His eyesight happily remained strong, and he was a great
reader. In the pages of a novel for many years he found pleasant
repose. Few men, indeed, were more deeply read than he in fiction.
Science, too, as I have shown, took up much of his time. Astronomy
remained to the last his favourite study. Poetry did not throw her
charm over him--at least to any great extent. Yet one day he told me
that he had just finished "Paradise Lost." "Milton," he said with a
smile, "does not, in my opinion, prove his case." His money accounts he
kept with the utmost exactness, even to a late age. Two years before
his death he told me that he could not expect to live much longer, for
his mental strength was steadily failing. He had been obliged to give
up even his account-keeping, which had been a pleasure to him from a
very early age. A day or two before, he added with an air of great
vexation, he had had to make an entry of money received, and he had
entered it as money paid.

Few things pleased him more than to talk over his past life. I find the
following record among the notes that I took of his talk. "As he told
me this day the story of his youth, and the difficulties that he had
overcome, the old man grew eloquent. If his words could have been taken
down, they would have read like a chapter of De Foe. I was filled with
admiration of his powers." Nothing touched him more than the memory of
some kindness that had been done him. He was grateful to all who had at
any time, in any way, helped him; but his gratitude overflowed towards
those who had rendered him help in the struggles of his youth. A year
before his death he could not be satisfied till he had put on record
the names of those who, more than seventy years before, had lent his
father money in the time of his greatest straits. The loans had been
long since paid off--mainly by the son's efforts as I have shown--but
the memory of these benefactors was not to be suffered to pass away
from his father's family. At no time was his thoughtfulness for others
more shown than in the winter of 1876, when he was suddenly struck
down by an attack that threatened paralysis. Forgetful of himself at
so awful a time, he thought only of others. It so happened that in a
few weeks' time he would have had to make me a certain payment. He
remembered that I had been suffering from a long illness, and he feared
that I might be put to some inconvenience should payment be delayed. He
sent to ask me to let him know at once the amount that would be due,
so that he might sign the cheque before his hand was paralysed. During
the same attack his son asked him whether he would like to consult
one of his nephews--a surgeon in whose skill he had great trust. He
had, indeed, he answered, wished to send for him. As, however, his own
doctor had not suggested, it, he had not said anything for fear of
hurting his feelings. A day or two later he begged me to go and see
him. I found him in bed, and very weak. He did not think, he said, that
he was dying, but it might be that he really was. It had always been
his habit, he added, throughout life to prepare for every contingency,
and therefore he wished to see me now. What he said could not, for the
present at least, fitly be set before the reader. He showed, however,
that in the blow that had thus suddenly fallen upon himself, his
feelings and his fears were all for those who had so long been dear to
him.

Such a life as this, secluded though it was, could not be free from
the losses that are common to the race. The old family group began to
grow thin before his eyes. His two elder brothers went first, to be
followed before long by his only surviving sister. They, however, had
all reached a ripe age. In the death of his eldest daughter, and of
more than one of his grandchildren, he felt the far deeper sorrow that
comes on the old when they see the young gathered to the grave before
them. He would tell with sad pride how one of these little ones had
once had the courage to call him to account. The child, who was but
three years old, one day when playing with his elder brother, had seen
his grandfather give a little dog a slight blow with a switch:--

"The hall being rather dusk, their grandfather did not perceive
that the two boys were there, or he would not, in their presence,
have struck Trottie. Later in the evening the children came to
say good-night, and were leaving the room when he noticed signs
of hesitation, followed by a whispered consultation outside the
halfclosed door. They were evidently settling which should be
spokesman. Probably F., although much the junior, volunteered
his services, as, when they re-appeared holding one another by
the hand, in a tone of deep solemnity, as befitted the occasion,
he said, 'Grandpapa, why did you beat Trottie?' The old man was
delighted with the child's courage in thus calling him to account;
and, bidding the lads come close to him, reminded them that any
noise made his head ache; that, should either of them make any
noise, he should never think of beating them, but should ask them
to be more careful for the future, well knowing that they would
attend to his wishes; but that it would be of no use to talk to
Trottie, who must either be kept out of his room altogether, which
their grandmamma would not like, or must be taught, by means of the
little switch, not to bark there. The boys retired fully satisfied
with the explanation."

Outside his own circle, Death, while it so long passed him by, was
very busy. Old friends, men eminent in science or in public life, he
saw pass away before him. He once spoke to me with deep feeling of
certain old men who, whenever they met him, had always received him
with the greatest warmth. Of his friend Colonel Torrens, whom he had
known years before as the chairman of the South Australian Commission,
he has left the following brief record:--"He was eminent as a writer on
political economy, and was one of the founders of the Political Economy
Club. He was many years in Parliament, and was chairman of the South
Australian Commission when I was secretary. I had known him previously,
but this made our acquaintance intimate, and led to a friendship
which continued till his death. When on his death-bed, at the age of
eighty-four, he wrote me a most affectionate letter, expressing his
desire that a connection even then contemplated between his family and
mine should be realised; and a year or two later this was done, to the
great satisfaction of my wife and myself, by the marriage of my son
with one of the Colonel's granddaughters." Colonel Torrens, I may add,
had early in the century distinguished himself as a brave soldier. His
descendants show with pride a sword of honour which was presented to
him for his gallant defence of the Island of Anholt.

With all its losses, its seclusion, and its deprivations, the old man's
life was far from being unhappy. He had resources in himself, and he
had the never-failing past on which to dwell. His strength failed,
and his mind began to lose somewhat of its old vigour. "Yet hath my
night of life some memory," he might well have said. He had, moreover,
a hearty love of fame, and he was doubly happy in this, that honours
followed him even into his retirement. He passed away from the sight
of men, but he was never made to feel that he was forgotten. Now in
one grateful acknowledgment, now in another, he was shown that the
world was not indifferent to the man who had conferred on it so signal
a benefit. In some newspaper, or in some book, would appear from time
to time a kindly and generous mention of his services which would warm
up his heart even in the chill of age. I am reminded how Johnson, one
day in the last summer of his life, "called out with a sudden air of
exultation, as the thought started into his mind, 'O! Gentlemen, I
must tell you a very great thing. The Empress of Russia has ordered
the 'Rambler' to be translated into the Russian language; so I shall
be read on the banks of the Wolga.' Boswell,--'You must certainly be
pleased with this, Sir.' Johnson--'I am pleased, Sir, to be sure. A man
is pleased to find he has succeeded in that which he has endeavoured to
do.'" In like manner Sir Rowland Hill often exulted at the news that
his great plan had won yet another triumph on some distant shore.

Fresh honours were done to him in his own country. Birmingham, the town
in which he had spent his youth and early manhood, had already set up
his statue. A short time before he died he heard that Kidderminster,
his birth-place, was going to pay him a like honour. And now, at the
very close of his life, the City of London granted him its Freedom. He
was far too weak to attend at the Guildhall, in accordance with ancient
custom, to receive this high distinction. The Court of Common Council,
with a kindness that gave a double grace to the honour that they
rendered, appointed a deputation to wait on him at his residence.[255]
He received it in his bed-chamber. It was the 6th day of June, 1879,
less than three months before his death. "I offer you," said the City
Chamberlain at the conclusion of an eloquent address, "the right hand
of fellowship in the name of the Corporation whom we represent, and
who deeply regret that they cannot receive you in person, as is their
wont on such occasions as the present. We congratulate you that,
notwithstanding the 'labour and sorrow' inevitable to the weight of
eighty-three years, you have been spared to witness the complete
triumph of your postal principles, to receive acknowledgments from the
State, and honours from your Sovereign. Detractors and obstructors you
have outlived, or they only survive to swell the ranks of those who
applaud. May your remaining days be consoled by the thought that your
name and services can never be forgotten, and may the sunset of your
life be brightened by the reflection that you have been permitted to
become one of the greatest benefactors of mankind." It was a touching
sight how the old man was moved by this, the last honour, that he was
to receive in his life-time from his fellow-countrymen. The tears
streamed down his venerable face, and he was scarcely able to utter a
word. I stood close by him, and I heard him say, "I cannot listen to it
as I ought." When the address was finished he could only say, "I wish
it were in my power to thank you." His son had to read his answer. More
than once he was distressed to see the members standing while their
Chamberlain was addressing him. "It would be a relief to me," he said,
"if you would sit down. I cannot bear to see you standing." This is
a trifling matter in itself, but it had its rise in that tender and
anxious thoughtfulness for others which I had so often marked in him.
Before leaving the house I went once more up to his room, and through
the open door gazed at the man whom I had so honoured. I did not
venture to break on his repose by going in. He had on his face a look
of great peacefulness. That which should accompany old age was indeed
on that day seen to accompany him. I never saw him again.

His strength failed daily, and it was soon seen that the end was not
far off. In the beginning of July death seemed close at hand, but he
rallied once more. Happily his sufferings were at no time very severe.
His mind often wandered, and at last he sank into a state of stupor.
For hours he lay motionless, giving no signs of life but by his quiet
breathing. His aged wife sat holding his beloved hand in hers. He
gave one last sign that he was still of this world. He felt for her
wedding-ring--that ring which he had put round her finger more than
fifty years before. Finding it, he knew whose dear hand it was that he
was holding, and with one gentle pressure he showed that the love that
he had always borne her from the beginning he bore her to the end. He
never moved again. He died on the 27th day of August, in the year 1879.
Hitherto this day had always been held a festival in our family; for on
it his brother Arthur had, for eighty-one years, kept his birthday.

It had been Rowland Hill's hope that his countrymen would think him not
unworthy to find his last resting-place in Westminster Abbey. It was,
indeed, with singular agreement that the voice of the people awarded
to him the last great honour which we Englishmen render to our famous
dead. There, followed by his children and his children's children,
by his two aged brothers, who had shared in his struggles and his
triumphs, by his brothers' children and their children's children, he
was laid in his glorious place of rest. It was the burial of a man of
the people, and the people came together to do him honour. Men came,
too, who had worked under him and worked with him--men who knew well
what manner of man he was who was now laid among the great ones of the
land. There was but one left of the good line of Postmasters-General
under whom it had been his happiness to serve. He unhappily was on the
wide Atlantic the day that we were gathered round the open grave. "I
can truly say," wrote the Duke of Argyll, "that no one among his many
friends and admirers would have joined more sincerely than I should
in the mourning of that day. I had the highest admiration of him, and
the strongest feeling of personal regard and affection towards him."
The City of London, which he had so signally served, was represented
by its chief magistrate, and the great Liberal party, to which he had
been so long attached, by his old friend Mr. Charles Villiers and Earl
Granville. His native town sent its Mayor and a deputation of citizens,
while his county was represented by its Lord-Lieutenant. The presence
of the venerable Astronomer-Royal, for whom the dead man had long
entertained a feeling of high regard, reminded those who had known him
how he had always spoken of astronomy as "my favourite science."

There came into my mind the words in which Edmund Burke told of the
funeral of our great English painter:--"Everything, I think, was
just as our deceased friend would, if living, have wished it to be;
for he was, as you know, not altogether indifferent to this kind of
observances." The solemn, glorious, and beautiful scene does not
easily lend itself to the poor words of mine. Yet I would willingly
let those who are to come after us know something of that which was
felt by more than one on this day that was so great in our house. One
who was present among the mourners writes to me: "It was not a state
ceremonial,--it was a people's payment of honour. There was not grief;
but there was a solemn sense of recognition of a great deed. As I saw
from the window of the Jerusalem Chamber the approach of the hearse,
and 'heard,' if one may say so, the sudden hush, the one feeling was
not grief, or that the country had sustained a loss, as when Macaulay
was buried with his work half done, but that the crown was being put
on a noble career. Sir Rowland, in his coffin, seemed to be making a
triumphal progress. What struck me most was, if you will put a kind
construction on the first part of the antithesis, this absence of
sorrow, this presence of reverence." From another account that was
written down at the time I take the following: "There were few touches
of solemnity or mortality till we were close on the Abbey. There we
heard the great bell tolling over head. I had heard it last when it
tolled for Macaulay. There a great crowd was gathered, very quiet and
very orderly. It was not till the carriage turned into Dean's Yard,
that I first felt in all its force what it was that we had come to
see and do. The band of the Post Office Volunteers was playing the
Portuguese Hymn. The men, all in black, were drawn up on each side
of the roadway with their arms reversed, and their faces resting on
the stocks of their rifles. The notes of the band at once woke up the
tenderest and most solemn feelings. The tears started into my eyes.
On getting out of the carriage I saw, for the first time, the coffin
with its beautiful shroud covered with wreaths of flowers. We marched
through the cloisters with the sad music of the soldiers still in
our ears. As we turned round a corner we saw the door into the Abbey
open before us.... Here we caught the notes of the organ. Wonderful
feelings swept through me--the ancient cloisters, the Abbey with its
thousand memories, the dead man borne before us, we following after him
who had known him and revered him, the sight of his two aged brothers
waiting in front to fall in with the other mourners,--the priest in
his white surplice. I remember how here it burst upon me how noble and
how glorious is the thought that man has made to himself of his own
immortality.... We entered the Abbey, and slowly moved along. If only
a man could keep at their height the lofty thoughts that filled him in
such a scene, who might not hope to find his last resting-place there?
But, alas, the swell will soon sink. As I passed up I heard my name
mentioned--I know not by whom. I recognised also an old servant of our
family. I mention this to show how the swift glances of the mind never
rest, even amidst the rush of feelings strong as these.... I saw my
children, too. W---- gazed at me with wonder in his dark eyes, E----
with pleasure at discovering me.... At the grave, as I looked down on
the coffin and read, 'Sir Rowland Hill. Born December 3rd, 1795. Died
August 27, 1879,' I thought how much there was contained within those
dates. The whole life of the dead man seemed to rise before me, from
his childhood at Wolverhampton, when he played with her who was one day
to be his wife and was now his widow; through his hard struggles, his
poverty, the neglect under which he had suffered, up to the present
glorious day when his countrymen thus honoured him.... I found the
tears rising in my eyes; but they were not so much tears for him, as
tears over our common humanity and mortality. The music flooded the
soul with the sense of man's nothingness and his short stay on earth. I
never once, as I looked down into the grave, thought that the dead man
might now be living in some other world. Had he been a great writer,
that thought would have come most naturally to me. But 'organisation is
my forte,' he was wont to say; and what place is there for organisation
in heaven? His, indeed, was a mind whose work lay in this working-day
world. And yet, had I remembered his love of astronomy, I might have
pictured him to myself as learning with delight the secret of the
stars. 'Organisation is some one else's forte,' he might now be softly
whispering to himself."

We saw him then laid to rest in the little chapel in the venerable
Abbey, beneath the statue of Watt. A memorial will one day be set
up in this quiet spot, to show the stranger and the passer-by where
Rowland Hill lies buried. In the great city hard by his statue will,
before long, stand in the very centre of the trade of the world. In the
charity that so many of his countrymen have founded for the relief of
the widows and orphans of the servants of the Post Office his memory
will be kept alive. But so long as men keep warm feelings, and the name
of home has still its charm; so long as there are sorrowful partings
and hearts that need comforting; so long as our high aim is towards
peace on earth, good will toward men, Rowland Hill is not likely to be
forgotten. For he has done almost more than any other man to bring near
those who are far off, to bind the nations together, and to make the
whole world kin.

APPENDICES.

APPENDIX A.

[See p. 101.]

_Letter to Postmaster-General Lord Clanricarde._

Hampstead, 3rd January, 1849.

MY DEAR LORD,--Referring to the various representations which I have at
different times taken the liberty of making to your Lordship, relative
to my position, and to the difficulties arising out of it which still
impede the course of improvement in the Post Office, I find myself
called upon by present circumstances to request your kind attention to
a review of the whole subject.

Your Lordship will remember that my present duties were undertaken with
great reluctance, because of the doubt I felt whether in the position
I was to occupy I should be able to secure those great objects whose
attainment would naturally be expected of me, as well by the Government
as the public, and that one of the most weighty of the considerations
influencing me to accept the appointment, was the prospect which was
held out of such reorganization in the official arrangements of the
Department, as would at no distant time place in my hands such prompt
and direct means of acquiring information and exercising control as I
have always deemed necessary for the full realization of my plans.

These views, your Lordship will recollect, are fully set forth in my
letter to Mr. Hawes, of 23rd November, 1846.

I feel sure that your Lordship will bear witness to my having used, to
the best of my ability, all such authority as was placed in my hands,
and to my having made every possible effort to surmount or avoid the
obstacles incident to my present position.

It was with this view that I selected and submitted to your Lordship
those improvements which, from their comparative simplicity, or from
the concurrence of the practical officers in my views, were most
readily carried into effect, deferring others, either in whole or
in part, where the measures, however important and even urgent in
themselves, presented great complexity or appeared to be, on whatever
grounds, very repugnant to those who had to carry them into effect.

Among the improvements thus effected are the following:--

1st. The time for posting letters at the London receiving houses
extended.

2nd. The limitation of weight abolished.

3rd. An additional daily despatch to London from the principal villages
in the vicinity established without additional expense.

4th. As one step among others towards the extinction of money
prepayment, the business of all new receiving houses restricted to
stamped and unpaid letters. A lower scale of salaries being also
consequently introduced.

5th. The postal arrangements of 120 of the largest towns in the United
Kingdom revised and completed.

6th. Unlimited writing on inland newspapers authorised on payment of
1_d._ fee.

7th. The public and the Department better protected from annoyance and
loss in respect of unpaid letters, by the establishment of a summary
process for recovering postage from the senders.

8th. The book-post established.

9th. The advantage of cheap registration secured to the public (by
reducing the charge from 1_s._ to 6_d._), without inconvenience to the
Department.

10th. An important extension of the time of posting late letters for a
great part of the United Kingdom afforded by arrangements at the Euston
Railway Station.

11th. As a step towards more frequent communication between large
towns, a third mail per day established from Birmingham and other towns
on the North Western Railway to London; this addition being made by the
North Western Company without payment.

12th. Day mails extended to several smaller towns in a circuit of about
twenty miles round London.

13th. The number of mail-guards reduced by placing the smaller mails
under the charge of the railway guards.

14th. The service of parliamentary returns for private bills provided
for.

15th. The despatch of mails at the country offices facilitated, and
the late letter fees secured to the revenue by requiring both fee and
postage to be paid in stamps. This improvement is about to take effect.

Some of the improvements in the money order department also belong to
this class.

Upwards of twelve months ago, this class of improvements being, as I
thought, nearly exhausted, I was preparing to address your Lordship
as at present, when my design was postponed through the following
circumstance:--The money-order department being of such a nature as
to admit of separation, in a great degree, from the other business
of the office, and Colonel Maberly having declined to undertake the
responsibility thereof under the retrenchments and other improvements
adopted on my recommendation by your Lordship and the Treasury, you
were pleased to transfer the secretarial management of that department
to me.

Of the change which has followed this transfer I need not speak in
detail. By a report of Mr. Barth, the head of the department, dated
31st January, 1848, it appears that the accounts were then in an almost
hopeless state of arrears; great doubt was entertained whether they
ever could be made complete, and the expense of their completion,
supposing it to be possible, was estimated at £10,000. No general
balance had ever been struck since the institution of the department in
1839, and the liabilities were of unknown amount. To avoid the enormous
expense of bringing up the arrears, and to ensure the extinction of
unknown liabilities, it was necessary to obtain an Act of Parliament
calling in the outstanding money orders. Concurrent efforts were made
to bring up the more recent arrears, and to prevent the possibility of
new ones arising; and, in consequence of these measures, affairs are
now in such a state that, at the end of August next, the liabilities of
the department will be fully known, and the materials obtained for a
general balance, which will then be struck forthwith.

On investigating the accounts, I found, to my great concern, that the
department was not only, as I had anticipated, unprofitable, but that
it involved an annual loss of no less than £10,000. It has, however,
been found practicable, even with greatly increased perfection in the
accounts, to introduce, by successive improvements, such simplification
as will save the salaries of 50 clerks in the London Office alone; and
this, combined with other important savings already effected, will, in
all probability, render the department self-supporting in the course of
the present year.

But your Lordship is aware that further important improvements are now
in progress, by means of which I confidently expect the money-order
department will be made to afford a satisfactory profit.

I may remark that the savings effected in this department have already
exceeded my estimate as laid before the select committee of the House
of Commons on Postage of 1843 (p. 90).

From the facility with which the necessary changes, many of them
difficult and complicated, have been effected in this department since
it came under my immediate and exclusive direction, your Lordship
will, perhaps, deem it not unreasonable to infer that, with similar
means at my command, a like success may be obtained elsewhere; and
the encouragement hence derived has augmented my earnest desire to
attempt without delay improvements in other departments, for years
contemplated, which, while they present many difficulties, are of no
slight importance to the public service.

The complete consolidation of the two corps of letter-carriers is
a promised measure of this description. This consolidation I first
recommended in the year 1837, submitted to the Treasury in the year
1842, laid before the select committee on postage of 1843, and
sustained through a severe examination. Up to that time it was opposed
by the Post Office authorities, and not supported by the Treasury; but
at the commencement of 1847 a decided step was taken in that direction,
and with advantageous results.

My opinion of the value of the measure has never varied, and my desire
for its adoption is, of course, greatly strengthened by finding it
pressed on the Office by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose
exhortations to the same effect have now, for twelve months, been from
time to time earnestly given.

But, after the maturest deliberation, I still feel impressed with the
painful conviction that unless I could be placed, with reference to
the departments concerned in the change, in a position similar to that
which I hold with regard to the Money Order Office, the attempt would
not only fail, but might produce a state of serious insubordination.

Your Lordship will bear in mind that the improvement in question
involves other changes, some of them of a very complicated nature, and
such as could be effected only by a delicate and difficult process;
I need not say that where the ramifications are so numerous, it is
quite impossible to frame, _in prospectu_, any detailed plan which
will not require very much of subsequent modification. The experience
derived from each step of the process, will be required to govern the
succeeding step. The improvements must be introduced on the tentative
principle, and extended or varied, hastened or delayed, according as
the peculiar feelings and opinions of parties concerned, or other
circumstances, may require. In fine, the management will constantly
demand immediate, confidential, and uninterrupted intercourse with
those most conversant with details, or on whom the duty of immediate
execution will devolve, as well as the exercise of an influence and
authority limited only by due subordination to your Lordship.

In the absence of these aids, any attempt to effect the improvement in
question would, in my opinion, be most inexpedient.

In the same category with this measure are various others, some of
which are of pressing importance, at a time when there is so great a
demand on the part of the Government for retrenchment and economy in
every department of the public service; and, considering that every
delay renders such improvement more and more difficult, I respectfully
submit the importance of my being early placed in a position for
entering upon them with safety and success.

I trust, my Lord, that in earnestly dwelling on these considerations as
affecting the public interest, I advance no improper claim as regards
myself. Your Lordship will, I am sure, remember that expectation of
such promotion was held out to me, contingent only on my demonstrating
that I possess the requisite administrative capabilities, and that
one object in placing the Money Order Departments under my immediate
direction was to bring these capabilities to the test. With the result
of this experiment your Lordship has been pleased to express entire
satisfaction, and, combining this testimonial with the repeated
expressions of approval with which your Lordship has honoured me during
the two years of my service, I trust I am not assuming too much in
regarding the conditions as fulfilled.

I am the more strongly impelled to ask for the fulfilment of the
contingent expectation, because, in addition to the Treasury's demand
and your Lordship's exercise for economy, there is, from time to
time, a manifestation of some disappointment in the public mind. It
is naturally expected that, under your Lordship's sanction, I should
effect the improvements in reference to which my appointment was made.
And as the public is far from being fully aware of the difficulties
under which I labour, and as I am of course precluded by my position
from giving explanations, I am exposed to attacks which I must not
repel, and suffer in my reputation, without being conscious of blame.

I have now finished a task which I began with reluctance, and which I
feel much relieved to have drawn to a close. A more agreeable duty
remains to be performed: it is to express my sincere thanks for the
kind support with which your Lordship has been pleased to honour my
efforts.

I have, &c.,
ROWLAND HILL.

The Most Noble
The MARQUIS OF CLANRICARDE,
&c., &c., &c.

APPENDIX B.

[See p. 105.]

_Further letter to Postmaster-General (Lord Clanricarde)._

Hampstead, August 13th, 1849.

MY DEAR LORD,--Knowing how fully your lordship's time and that of other
ministers is occupied during the session of Parliament, I have hitherto
refrained from again requesting attention to my letter of January 3rd,
but now that a period of comparative leisure has arrived, I feel that I
ought no longer to postpone the irksome task.

I have enclosed a copy of the letter for the purpose of inviting
a reperusal of it, and I think I may confidently appeal to your
Lordship's knowledge of the state of the department for supporting me
when I say that the experience of the seven months which have elapsed
since that letter was written has strengthened the grounds, both public
and private, on which my application was based.

The various interviews with which I have been honoured by your lordship
on nice and difficult points, arising in the course of business,
would enable me to refer to many cases in which the public service
has suffered from the continuance of the existing arrangements,
while, though this is doubtless a matter of inferior importance, such
arrangements are inconsistent both with my personal comfort and my
pecuniary interests.

On these, however, I will not dwell, nor even with respect to the
public service will I intrude on your attention as to more than
one point out of the many which occupy my thoughts. I refer to the
necessity for a general revision of salaries in the metropolitan
offices, which after being so long delayed now presses with great
urgency. It is due in justice to the clerks that their claims, whether
well or ill founded, should be set at rest by adjudication; but;
notwithstanding your Lordship's earnest desire that the task should
be accomplished, I have, I believe, satisfied you that in my present
position it would be unsafe to attempt even those improvements which
are necessarily preliminary to the still more difficult task of
revising the salaries.

Earnestly begging your Lordship will be pleased to take the necessary
steps for effecting a decision on my letter of January 3rd,

I have, &c., &c.,
ROWLAND HILL.

The Most Noble
The MARQUIS OF CLANRICARDE,
&c., &c., &c.

APPENDIX C.

[See p. 105.]

_Lord Clanricarde's reply._

Brighton, August 23rd, 1849.

MY DEAR SIR,--I have read your letter reverting to that which you
addressed to me on the 3rd of last January with much regret.

I am sorry you consider our existing official arrangements inconsistent
with your comfort and your interest. I see no possibility of their
being changed at present.

I could not alter them myself, and I could not send forward to
the Treasury your letter of the 3rd of January without previously
communicating with Colonel Maberly.

I have no reason to believe the Treasury would take at this moment any
steps to put you in the position you desire to hold. And my own opinion
is that, constituted as the office now is, we can proceed gradually
and steadily to carry into effect many improvements which you have
suggested or which may hereafter occur to you. You enumerate in your
letter of January 3rd several of importance which we have achieved
without even temporary inconvenience or failure,--others have been
effected since that date, and I have little fear of not being able to
have properly executed almost any alteration of the result of which we
might be well assured.

I see no reason why you should not complete a scale of salaries for
country offices and messengers as soon as the returns you have called
for may be perfected, or why such a scale should not be at once
adopted, and gradually, and not slowly, enforced. And in like manner,
the metropolitan offices might afterwards be dealt with.

With respect to your personal feelings and interests I can of course
say nothing. I am only gratified that you should feel satisfied with
the support which it has been my duty, and I assure you a sincere
pleasure, to me to afford you.

I remain, &c., &c.,
CLANRICARDE.

R. HILL, Esq.,
&c., &c., &c.

APPENDIX D.

[See p. 111.]

_Minute on the Sunday Duties of the Post Office._

_To the Postmaster-General._

1. In obedience to your Lordship's instructions, I beg to submit my
views as to further measures for reducing the Sunday duties of the Post
Office, and as to other improvements connected therewith.

2. The importance of affording to all connected with the Post Office
the utmost amount of rest on Sunday that is consistent with a due
regard to public convenience having led to measures for the total
suspension of money-order business on that day throughout England and
Wales, it is very satisfactory to remark, that neither the announcement
of the change, nor the experience of it thus far, has brought on the
department a single complaint from the public; and I confidently
anticipate like satisfactory results should the Treasury concur in your
Lordship's recent recommendation of a similar measure in Ireland and
Scotland.

3. Your Lordship will recollect that, in considering the above
improvement, the importance of a similar relief as respects other
duties was kept in mind; and, from the investigations which have been
made, there can be no doubt that a further very important relief as
relates to Sunday work may be effected in all the provincial offices.

4. The consideration of this question, however, is closely connected
with that of a measure mainly relating to public convenience, but
which, contrary to first appearances, proves on investigation to have a
direct tendency towards the same object of Sunday relief.

5. The transmission of letters through London on the Sunday, your
Lordship is aware, has long been a desideratum, having been recommended
by the Commissioners of Post Office Inquiry in 1836 (7 Report, p. 9);
and by a committee of the House of Commons in 1818 (3 Report, p. x.);
and again suggested by several members of a committee of the House of
Lords in 1847 (Report of the Select Committee. Ev. 430-445).

6. The obstacles to the adoption of these recommendations were,
first, an assumption that it would increase the Sunday work of the
department; second, a fear that it would lead to a Sunday delivery in
London.

7. Both these apprehensions, as will be shown hereafter, are groundless.

8. Since the time when the above recommendations were made, the
importance of the change has greatly increased, the Sunday average
letters involved in the consideration having advanced since 1836 from
5000 or 6000 to 50,000 or 60,000, or ten-fold.

9. The importance of the change will be still more manifest on
reference to the fact, that this present number of London "forward
letters" for a single day much exceeds what was in 1836 the
corresponding number for a whole week, for the expediting of which
it was determined by Government, on the recommendation of the
Commissioners of Post Office Inquiry, to establish day mails at an
estimated cost of £15,000 a year (7 Report, pp. 5 and 121).

10. The evil of the present arrangement, already so great, is
constantly increasing, partly because of the general increase of
letters, but mainly because of the centralising tendency of the
railways. The greatly increased speed of conveyance, too, obviously
tends to make any detention more severely felt; and the inconvenience
is particularly serious when, as occasionally happens, the detention
falls on a mail from the East or West Indies.

11. The evil of detention has been found so serious, that in several
cases the rule has been evaded, either by making use of other existing
channels for the conveyance of the mails sent on ordinary days through
London, or by the actual establishment of Sunday cross-posts; either
of which arrangements obviously involves increased expense, trouble,
liability to error, perplexity to the public, and additional Sunday
work. Thus the mail between Winchester and Birmingham is sent on the
Sunday through Exeter; and again, the correspondence between the
towns served by the North-Eastern Railway and those served by the
North-Western Railway is conveyed on a Sunday by a mail-cart, expressly
running on that day between Cambridge and Wolverton, through Newport
Pagnel, a distance of 47 miles--an arrangement involving an expense
of £148 per annum (£98 for the cart and £50 for additional sorting at
Newport Pagnel), besides a direct increase in Sunday occupation.

12. Meantime the mail trains, excepting a few of the day mails, run
as on other days, and, save as regards London, convey letters as
usual. Even to London nearly all letters from Ireland, Scotland, and
the out-ports, as also all foreign and colonial letters whatever, are
brought, as on other days, the same being partly assorted at the chief
office on the Sunday, for delivery or for forwarding, as the case may
be, the next morning.

13. For the performance of these duties and for the selection and
delivery of the "States" (letters addressed chiefly to the higher
offices of Government), twenty-six persons are ordinarily employed at
the chief office on Sunday, their time of occupation being, on the
average, six hours. The arrival of a heavy mail from abroad requires a
greater force.

14. To remove the evils of this weekly suspension of the ordinary
transmission through London, and the anomalies arising out of it,
and with the view of diminishing the amount of Sunday work in the
department as a whole, I propose that the _existing mail trains_ should
bring up on the Sunday, in addition to the present bags, the _forward
stamped letters_--excluding, however, newspapers, parliamentary
proceedings, and all documents not paying the full letter rates. These
limitations _will avert, on the one hand, any possibility of a Sunday
delivery of letters to the London public_, and, on the other, any
unnecessary addition to the Sunday accounts.

15. The restriction to stamped letters may perhaps cause some
inconvenience to the public, especially at first, arising out of their
difficulty of knowing what correspondence passes through London and
what does not; but as it is in contemplation to confine the receipt of
money-paid letters to the chief office of each provincial town, and as
the deputies can be instructed whenever the want of a stamp would cause
the detention of a letter to state as much when it is presented for
prepayment (an arrangement which will be facilitated by the comparative
leisure of blank post day), it appears to me that the danger of
inconvenience to the public will be small, and certainly far less
than that which now results from the doubt as to whether even stamped
letters posted on blank post day will be detained or not.

16. The inland letters thus brought in, as they would require no
accounts either to be examined or made out, would be despatched by the
existing day mails in those cases where this would be necessary to
secure their earlier delivery on the Monday. All the other letters,
whether inland or not, would be sent by the night mails. It is obvious
that, under this arrangement, none of the letters in question could be
delivered anywhere on the Sunday.

17. I should also strongly advise that in the performance of the
above-mentioned duties at the London office no infringement should be
allowed on the hours of divine service; the whole interval from ten in
the morning till five in the afternoon being left perfectly free; and
I should propose to extend this arrangement, as far as practicable, to
the existing duties at that office.

18. By availing ourselves of the time now occupied by the clerks of the
travelling post office in assorting such of the letters in question as
now reach them by the special cross-posts, I am of opinion that a force
of twenty-five men, at the expense of £300 per annum, will suffice for
the duties now proposed; and when it is considered that in the single
anomaly referred to above the plan will effect a saving of £148 a year,
it appears highly probable that the total reductions effected by the
improvement will fully compensate such additional expense.

19. I should add that, although Mr. Bokenham, whom I have consulted,
sees no difficulty as regards the practicability of the general
measure, he is of opinion that little aid can be afforded by the clerks
of the travelling post office; consequently, though willing to try with
twenty-five additional men, his impression is that a somewhat larger
number will be necessary.

20. As regards the effect of the proposed change on the amount of
Sunday occupation, it is manifest, from what has already been stated,
that for the increased force at the chief office there is, to say the
least, a large set-off elsewhere. A further examination, however, will
put the matter in a light still more satisfactory.

21. It is notorious that a blank post is everywhere preceded and
followed by a greater amount of correspondence than usual. Thus, in
London, the average number of letters is greater on Saturday by six
per cent., and on Monday by 25 per cent., than on other days. But, as
respects the correspondence sent through London, Saturday evening is at
present in most towns a blank post time. It therefore follows that such
correspondence is despatched from the provinces in unusual amount on
Saturday morning, and on Sunday morning or evening, according as there
may or may not be a Sunday day mail.

22. Now each of these augmentations tends to produce additional Sunday
work, both to the department and to the public. For the letters in the
first category are for the most part distributed by the Post Office and
read by the public on the Sunday, and those in the second are for the
most part written by the public and despatched by the office on Sunday.

23. It is obvious therefore that, as far as relates to the letters
in question, the proposed change would entirely get rid of Sunday
work, as respects the public; while, as respects the department, it
would exchange work now dispersed through nearly a thousand offices
for concentrated occupation in one--the latter requiring a less
proportionate force, and falling on such time as to be dealt with
without infringement on the hours of divine service. It is manifest
therefore that, as respects general supersession of Sunday work, the
balance is in favour of the proposed plan.

24. The advantage, however, by no means rests here. The plan will be an
important aid, as will be shown hereafter, to measures for relieving
the provincial offices as regards Sunday business in general.

25. As regards the chief office, the force now proposed to be employed
on the Sunday would suffice for nearly all the ordinary duties
necessarily belonging to that day, and thus it would be possible to
defer most of the work now done on the Sunday till after midnight; and
thus to avoid any material increase in the Sunday force. This latter
change, however, implies the previous consolidation of the inland and
district post offices.

26. Nay, were it thought necessary, there are means, arising in part
out of the comparative leisure at most country offices on the Saturday,
by which Sunday work at the chief office might be reduced considerably
below its present amount. As, however, these means involve some
complexity, and possibly additional expense, I do not propose them at
present. But hereafter, should they prove sufficiently simple to be
reduced to practice, and not too expensive for adoption, there can be
no doubt that this prevention of the weekly delay or irregularity in
the vast correspondence which ordinarily passes through London, so
far from involving any increase in the amount of Sunday work, would,
independently of its aid to other measures of relief, directly produce
a material diminution of the same.

27. I now come to the special question of relief to the provincial
offices. The measures in contemplation appear in the following extract
from my minute of Dec 6, 1848:--

"That every office in England and Wales be closed for all purposes from
ten to five o'clock on the Sunday, except for the receipt and despatch
of any mails in the interval; but that a box be left open for the
posting of stamped and unpaid letters. Further, that there be only one
delivery of letters on that day."

28. This proposal, having been referred by your Lordship to the English
surveyors, has met with their unanimous and earnest concurrence. It
appears, however, that although the general rule is to have only one
delivery on the Sunday, there are several towns in which there are
two. The discontinuance of the additional delivery, although, with one
doubtful exception, approved of by the surveyors, might, nevertheless,
in the absence of other alterations, produce serious complaint from
the public: the Sunday transmission of letters through London, however,
would, as regards most towns in England and Wales, withdraw so large a
proportion of letters from the second delivery (already very light),
that the little delay in the delivery of the residuum would be of no
moment. Such withdrawal, however, it must be admitted, is, in relation
to public convenience, an objection, _pro tanto_, to the plan; but,
as the delivery of these letters on the Monday morning would be
made conjointly with that of many letters now detained till Monday
afternoon, or, in some instances, till the next day, the measure, as a
whole, would probably give satisfaction even in the comparatively few
towns where the delay would occur. Everywhere else it would certainly
be felt as a great boon.

29. This change, therefore, being considered as part of the general
measure, I have no hesitation in recommending that (with possibly one
or two exceptions, which, if necessary, will be submitted hereafter)
the second delivery be abolished throughout England and Wales; Ireland
and Scotland being left for after-consideration; and that the plan, as
proposed in my minute of December 6th, be now carried into effect. The
reports of the surveyors are submitted.

30. It may perhaps assist your Lordship in deciding the important
question now submitted, if I briefly recapitulate the results, negative
as well as positive, of the whole of the measure.

31. First, It will prevent irregularity or delay (often amounting to
twenty-four hours) in the transmission of probably 50,000 letters a
week.

32. Second, It will add little or nothing to the expenses of the
department.

33. Third, It will cause no increase whatever of mail-trains or other
means of transmission, to or from London, on the Sunday.

34. Fourth, It will neither bring in nor take out a single London
letter, and therefore cannot cause either a Sunday delivery or a Sunday
collection in London.

35. Fifth, While it will not affect the number of Sunday collections
elsewhere, it will materially reduce the number of Sunday deliveries.

36. Sixth, While, so far as the public is concerned, it will leave
matters precisely as they now stand in London and the vicinity, it will
tend greatly to reduce Sunday letter-writing and reading elsewhere.

37. Seventh, It is true that as regards the London Post Office, it
will, in the first instance require the attendance of about twenty-five
persons on the Sunday, but these will not be allowed in the slightest
degree to infringe on the hours of divine service; and I am of opinion
that eventually even this limited attendance may be avoided, and the
Sunday work in the London office reduced much below its present amount.
On the other hand, as regards the provincial offices, it will release a
very large body of persons now engaged even during the hours of divine
service, and will thus afford to many hundreds, perhaps even to some
thousands, needful rest, and the opportunity of attending the services
of the day.

38. Should your Lordship approve of these proposals, I submit that the
necessary application be made to the Treasury.

39. Some important measures of relief to the rural messengers and rural
receivers on the Sunday, which have been suggested by Mr. W. Johnson,
will still remain for your Lordship's consideration; but, as they
are not essential parts of the main plan, I propose to submit them
hereafter in a separate minute.

ROWLAND HILL.

February 3, 1849.

APPENDIX E.

[See p. 126.]

_Letter to Postmaster-General deprecating Compulsory
Employment on the Sunday._

(_Private and Confidential._)

General Post Office, October 18th, 1849.

MY DEAR LORD,--I am greatly alarmed at your Lordship's note, and
earnestly entreat that you will not authorize Mr. Bokenham to compel
the attendance of a single man. During your Lordship's absence in
Ireland, the excited state of the public mind made it necessary to take
a decided course relative to this matter; and as it was always intended
and fully understood by Mr. Bokenham that none but volunteers were to
be employed on the Sunday duties, I did not hesitate to contradict the
report which had been most unjustly raised to the effect that the men,
notwithstanding conscientious objections to the work, were to be forced
to engage in it.

The pledge which, under the circumstances, I felt warranted and
compelled to give, I trust your Lordship will enable me fully to
maintain.

I am still ready to undertake the responsibility of the sorting by
volunteers, provided your Lordship will give me the powers which,
by your approval of my minute of the 15th inst., were conferred on
Mr. Bokenham. I submit, therefore, that there can be no necessity
for resorting to any compulsion; and considering the manner in which
the public has held me responsible for this measure, I trust I may
be permitted to say that, so far as my own feelings are concerned, I
would rather abandon the improvement altogether than run the risk of
compelling any one to do that to which he has a conscientious objection.

Until I received your Lordship's note I had no conception of any
difficulty or hesitation on Mr. Bokenham's part. Mr. Tilley was present
when Mr. Bokenham expressed his readiness to undertake the duty on the
conditions stated in my minute of the 15th. Mr. Tilley read the minute
a few hours later, and confirmed the accuracy of its statements.

I need hardly say that I shall carefully follow the advice with which
your Lordship has honoured me; but, as I am most anxious that this
matter should be settled without delay, I beg that should you be unable
to fulfil your intention of coming to town to-morrow, I may be favoured
with immediate instructions to wait upon you at Brighton.

I have, &c.
ROWLAND HILL.

The Most Noble the Marquis of CLANRICARDE,
&c., &c., &c.

APPENDIX F.

[See p. 134.]

_Anonymous Letter from a Sub-Sorter._

October 11th, 1849.

SIR,--Before taking up too much of your time, it is but fair to state
that I shall not conform to the usage of society nor to the regulations
of the Post Office. My communication will be anonymous, and, as you
perceive, in the handwriting of a female. The dangers which beset the
"usual channel," have forced me to take this course in offering an
observation or two on the opposition to the extension of Sunday duty.
This opposition in the office is not really against the duty, but is a
strong attempt to level the author of Penny Postage, and was originated
in Mr. ----'s room! The Clerks received the cue, and artfully led the
Subsorters, Letter-carriers, and Messengers to believe that the duty
was to be performed without pay. The Inspector of Letter-carriers
lent assistance by expressing a determination to resign if the order
came into operation. Old tales of cutting down of salaries on railway
lines were revived, and anecdotes manufactured telling of meanness in
private matters. The men saw what was expected from them, and were
soon employed on their walks in announcing their doleful prospects and
looking up mawworms to protest against such a prophane decree. Of the
success of this plan out of doors, Sir, you are aware. In the office,
the pretensions to piety are quite sickening. Fellows who have broken
nearly every commandment are now fearful of causing ever so slight a
flaw on the fourth. Still, there are plenty of men willing and able to
carry out your object if certain of protection. That this is wanted,
the following instance will show. The first man who made application
for the Sunday duty was told it must be in writing. Before, however, he
could put the few words required to paper, it was known all over the
office. A system of annoyance was commenced, strong enough to deter
him from proceeding further in the matter. He was hooted at inside the
building and insulted in the street.

Last night a report was in circulation that the morning despatch had
been abandoned from the difficulty of obtaining hands. I hope, Sir,
that this will not be the case with the evening duty, but that you will
persist in the determination to benefit the public, in spite of in door
opposition and out-of-door twaddle. Never mind if every letter is not
got off on the first attempt--it will soon improve. Give the clerks an
intimation that if they refuse this modification, it will be offered to
the Subsorters on the same terms. They are afraid of us now. Educated
in a better school--the Newspaper Office--for becoming officially
dexterous, we could beat them at their own duties, and not one of them
could accept a challenge to play the return match at those which we
perform.

I will not trespass longer on your patience than to state that the
hostility, portrayed by Mr. M. D. Hill in 1839 as likely to exist, is
now in full vigour. In the ten years which have elapsed since then,
they have not become reconciled to the name of Rowland Hill, but hate
it worse than ever. The soothing system is of no use. A stronger motive
in future must rule the Inland Office.

I am
Sir, most respectfully,
My poverty and not my will consenting to the omission of my name,

A SUBSORTER.

APPENDIX G.

[See p. 164.]

_Letter to Mr. Warburton._

Hampstead, November 16th, 1850.

MY DEAR SIR,--As you have kindly undertaken to see the Chancellor
of the Exchequer on my behalf, I beg to trouble you with a brief
recapitulation of the case.

You will recollect that in my late correspondence with the
Postmaster-General I took the liberty to remind his Lordship of the
promise under which I was induced to accept my present post, of the
serious obstacles to improvements as well as of the great danger
of insubordination in the office arising from my present anomalous
position, and of the acknowledged fulfilment of the only condition on
which my promotion was to depend.

It is now four years since the promise was made--two years have elapsed
since I first claimed its performance; and though no objection is
raised to the justness of the claim, no steps have been taken towards
its practical acknowledgment. Additional circumstances, which I shall
shortly state, now compel me to press for an immediate change.

According to present arrangements, Colonel Maberly has a staff of about
fifty clerks, formed into departments, each department having a head,
familiar with all the details thereof, and capable, under instructions,
of preparing nearly all the necessary minutes, thus relieving Colonel
Maberly himself of what would otherwise be an insupportable amount
of drudgery. As regards the Money Order Department, I am similarly
circumstanced; but for the transaction of general business, though I
believe most of the difficult cases, particularly the obnoxious ones,
devolve upon me, my whole staff consists of but three clerks, at
comparatively low salaries. Nor could I be supplied with an efficient
corps, save at the unwarrantable expense of several thousands a
year--_i.e._, an amount making some approach to the actual cost of
Colonel Maberly's staff.

Neither would it avail to withhold the above cases from me, as all are
more or less connected with those improvements which it is my especial
duty to effect and maintain.

Viewing my position as temporary, I have endeavoured to meet the
exigence by great personal exertion, and by obtaining competent
assistance at my own cost, in which latter course, limited and
imperfect as any such arrangements must necessarily be, I have already
expended several hundred pounds.

Still I am obliged to investigate each case myself, and substantially
to prepare the necessary minutes; and when, in addition to all this, it
is considered that from the first I have rarely had less than five or
six important and difficult improvements in hand at once, I scarcely
need assure you that the labour has been very severe. Indeed it has
proved quite too much for my health, and, according to the opinion of
my medical attendant (Mr. Hodgson) it has induced a disorder, which,
though yet but incipient, threatens the most serious consequences,
unless promptly and effectually checked.

Effectual rest, the remedy prescribed, however, is incompatible with
my present position. For though the Postmaster-General has most kindly
acceded to every request I have made for leave of absence, yet, seeing
that I have no assistant capable of undertaking my duties (as is done
for Colonel Maberly by the assistant-secretary) any partial rest thus
obtained entails a serious accumulation of work at its close. These
are the considerations which oblige me to press for immediate change,
though independently of them, and even of the promise adverted to
above, I trust a consideration of what has been effected during the
last four years will show my claim to be well founded.

To pass over numerous improvements, many of which have failed to excite
attention, not so much from any want of importance, as from their
smoothness in operation (the only case of trouble being the recent
improvement in the Sunday duties, when a temporary outcry arose from
a cabal within the office), I may particularise the reform of the
Money Order Department, the only department consigned to my charge, a
reform by which, with increased convenience to the public, increased
accuracy in the accounts, better pay, and more relaxation to the
clerks, a saving has been effected, already amounting, all things duly
considered, to a total of about £37,000, and which is now going on at
the rate probably of about £13,000 a year, with a clear prospect of
increase.

This, however, constitutes but a small portion of what, even with the
very limited means at my command, I have been able to save positively
or negatively in the Post Office generally.

In addition to the injury to health involved in the labour by which
these improvements have been achieved, I have had to submit to a
sacrifice of income. Mine is, I believe, the only important office in
the whole department with no scale of increase of salary; but for the
special limitation which my promised promotion would remove, I should
be now in the receipt of £1,500 a year--that is £400 a year less than
Colonel Maberly had during his first five years of office, and £500 a
year less than he has at present.

If Government is still of opinion that it cannot immediately fulfil its
promise, I beg that you will urge my claim at least so far as to press
that a period may now be fixed beyond which the complete performance of
the promise shall not be delayed; and that, seeing the impossibility of
continuing the present state of things, arrangements be at once made
for the nearest approximation to such performance that may be deemed
practicable.

I remain,
My dear Sir,
Yours faithfully,
ROWLAND HILL.

P.S.--I have enclosed a copy of a letter with which you favoured me on
the 27th of November, 1846, and which bears strongly on the case.

HENRY WARBURTON, Esq.

APPENDIX H.

[See p. 215.]

_Letter to Postmaster-General (Lord Canning)._

General Post Office, 18th June, 1853.

MY DEAR LORD,--As your Lordship is already acquainted with many of
the statements I am about to make, you will at once perceive that in
writing at such length my view is in accordance with your understood
wish so to prepare the case for the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to
supersede the necessity of reference to former correspondence on the
subject.

In September 1842, in the midst of what the Treasury was pleased to
consider an able discharge of duties connected with the institution of
my system of Penny Postage, I learnt that my services were no longer
required, and I spent the next four years in private life, except so
much of the year 1843 as was occupied in preparing and laying before a
committee of the House of Commons a full exposition of the operation
of the Post Office as then conducted, in the course of which I
demonstrated that the existing system of management, besides depriving
the public of many reasonable facilities, involved an enormous loss of
revenue.

In December, 1846, my friend Mr. Warburton intimated to me the
desire of Her Majesty's Government again to employ me in developing
and perfecting my plans, and that they were prepared to offer me a
permanent engagement at the Post Office.

Although I was then engaged in avocations more highly remunerative
than the proffered appointment, I at once avowed myself ready to
accept it if I could be assured of sufficient authority to secure the
success of my measures--a stipulation which, while reasonable under
any circumstances, was rendered imperative by my former experience
of the obstructions and injury that improvements were exposed to in
consequence of the state of feeling which prevailed at the Post Office.

I was given to understand that I might count on the support of the
Postmaster-General and the Chancellor of the Exchequer; and that if
I showed that I possessed the requisite administrative powers, (the
subsequent full acknowledgment of which happily relieves me from the
necessity of entering on that part of the subject) I might look forward
to be promoted at no distant period to a position of higher authority,
which was understood at the time and subsequently admitted to mean the
post of sole secretary.

Without for a single moment doubting the sincerity with which these
promises were made, I nevertheless, after much anxious deliberation,
arrived at the conclusion that they were not sufficiently explicit to
justify me in placing myself in a position so liable to failure, which
in the public mind would naturally be attributed to defects in the
system itself, or to mismanagement on my part, rather than to opposing
influences which could not be generally known.

My prospects of effecting improvements under the discouraging
circumstances in which I knew I should be placed did not seem clear
enough to justify me in incurring the risk of becoming myself an
instrument for destroying that universal reliance on the soundness of
my project, which I felt to be my surest means of obtaining ultimate
success.

But I was in the hands of my friends, and I shall not be censured for
deferring to the opinion of such men as Mr. Warburton, Lord Overstone,
Mr. Hawes, and Mr. Raikes Currie.

I consequently entered on my present office, and have now served
under three Postmasters-General; and I gladly avail myself of this
opportunity to express my deep sense of the kindness and confidence
with which I have been treated, and my full recognition of the efforts
made from time to time, with more or less of success, to remove
impediments and to give freer scope to my exertions; but the evils
which I foresaw and which have come upon me in full measure are beyond
the reach of palliatives. The system on which we are proceeding is
radically bad, and stands scarcely more strongly condemned by myself
than by my colleague Colonel Maberly.

Though possessed of secretarial authority, I am, if I may so express
myself, a general almost without an army--when I entered the office I
found, of course, the clerks regarding the senior secretary as having
the first if not the only claim on their services; and without desiring
for a moment to reflect on them or on any one else, I become every day
more convinced that without harmonious views, a joint jurisdiction,
even supposing equality to be fully and practically admitted, is
utterly incompatible with the requirements of the office.

Looking then back upon the events of the six years during which my
promised promotion has been delayed, I feel bound to state that if in
December, 1846, I could have foreseen what has occurred I could not
have accepted the offer then made, nor do I believe that, under like
circumstances, my friends would have advised me to the step.

That much has been done is, of course, not to be denied by me; but it
has been accomplished amidst sore trials, and with risks to health
which my duty to my family would not have allowed me to incur.

Let me then stand acquitted before your Lordship and the Chancellor
of the Exchequer of either impatience or presumption, when I urge in
the strongest manner, consistent with the respect which I owe to my
superiors, my claim to the prompt fulfilment of the understanding on
which alone I consented to take my seat at the Post Office.

As every statement like that which I am called upon by your Lordship to
make is, of necessity, tinctured with egotism, I gladly quit that part
of the task which relates to my own personal interests, and proceed to
show that the change which I claim is equally demanded by the public
service.

In 1847 I was directed by the Postmaster-General to report on the state
of the Money Order Office, which resulted in my recommending several
large retrenchments and other improvements, which were adopted by his
Lordship and the Treasury, but which Colonel Maberly declined to take
the responsibility of carrying into effect; in consequence of which the
secretarial authority of that Department was consigned to me alone.

By a report of Mr. Barth, the head of the Department, which I called
for soon afterwards, it appears that the accounts were then so deeply
in arrear that great doubt was entertained whether they ever could be
made complete, and the expense of their completion, supposing it to
be possible, was estimated at £10,000. No general balance had ever
been struck since the institution of the Department in 1839, and the
liabilities were of unknown amount.

To avoid the great expense of bringing up the arrears, and to insure
the extinction of unknown liabilities, it was found necessary to
obtain an Act of Parliament calling in the outstanding Money Orders.
Concurrent efforts were made to bring up the more recent arrears, and
to prevent the possibility of new ones arising. And eventually the
liabilities of the department were ascertained, and a general balance
was struck, which has since been repeated quarterly.

On a full investigation of the accounts I found that the Department was
not only, as I had anticipated, unprofitable, but involved an annual
loss of no less than £10,000.

I, however, found it practicable to introduce, by successive
improvements, such simplification in the arrangements as, with
increased convenience to the public, and increased accuracy in the
accounts, with better pay and more relaxation to the clerks, to convert
this loss into a gain, which amounted for the year 1850 to £3,236,
and which, under my brother, Mr. Frederic Hill, who has subsequently
carried on the Department in the same spirit of improvement, amounted
last year to £11,664, making an effective saving within five years of
upwards of £21,000 per annum.

As regards the Post Office generally, the amount of saving which may
still be effected is a matter of so much uncertainty, that I hesitate
to offer any estimate. I can only say that it may be assumed, as I
think it may, that every Department of the service can be gradually
improved to the same extent as the Money Order Office (the only one
which has been confided entirely to my care), it follows that in the
course of a few years, not only may the public be better served, and
the men, if necessary, better paid, but savings may be effected to an
extent of about £200,000 a year, in addition to the saving of £100,000
a year, which, if required, I should be prepared to show has already
been made.

But of late a new motive has arisen for the proposed change. The
augmentation of letters is not only in constant progress, but has
for some time moved forward with increasing celerity. Without some
change, no doubt is entertained in the office, that the present
building will soon be not only too small for the transaction of the
business, but so much too small, as that no increase of its limits by
practicable additions will answer the requirements of the service; and
consequently that a most expensive outlay--probably not less than half
a million--will be required for a new Post Office.

If placed, however, in the position contemplated, I shall be enabled,
as I confidently expect, to make, under your Lordship's sanction, such
improvements as will avert this impending necessity for years, if not
remove it altogether.

The result of my experiments in the Money Order Office has been to
show the great power which the simplification of arrangements has in
lessening the quantity of labour, and, as a consequence, the quantity
of space required for its performance.

When, five years ago, I took the secretarial control of the Money Order
department, the building appropriated thereto was fully occupied,
and negotiations were in progress for purchasing land to extend the
accommodations. At present, notwithstanding an increase of business to
the amount of one-third, there is such ample room that no extension is
likely to be required for many years to come.

My knowledge of the other departments of the Post Office enables me
to state, with some confidence, my opinion, that similar improvements
may be extended to those also, and with the like beneficial results.
At the present time, a postponement of building, though but for a few
years, is of great importance. Several projects for bringing railways
into the heart of the metropolis, so as to make them available for mere
local transit, are on foot. And from some years' experience, first as a
director and afterwards as chairman, of the Brighton Railway Company,
I feel justified in predicting that in some shape or other, some such
project will be realized: I also foresee that such change must produce
results in which both the Post Office authorities and the proprietors
of the railways will have a common interest, and from overtures which
have been made to the Department by some of the projectors, I think
it highly probable, that whatever changes in the Post Office may be
thereby rendered necessary or desirable, will not have to be made
altogether, perhaps not mainly, at the cost of Government.

But however this may be, it can scarcely be doubted that the effect
of such railways must be to reduce the value of any outlay made
irrespective of this disturbance in the present system of Metropolitan
communication, since it is hardly possible that any buildings that
might now be put up would be found adapted, either in position or
arrangement, to the altered state of things.

Having now concluded the financial part of the subject, I beg your
Lordship's attention to the new sources of anxiety which have been
opened, and to the possibility of allaying that anxiety by substituting
a unity of executive power for its present divided state.

The vast increase which has taken place of late years in the facilities
for locomotion and the conveyance of merchandise, has led to a
wide-spread desire--I might almost say a clamorous demand--for further
facilities in the transmission of letters. On some points this is the
result of ignorance as to what is practicable or even possible, while
on others it relates to changes which I have long had in view, but
which, under present impediments, I cannot undertake.

The experience of the last thirteen years has satisfied me, that if
our Post Office is to retain its present position, and to remain
the model for those of other nations, and still more if it is to
attain that high perfection to which your Lordship's enlightened
and vigorous administration seems to open the way, we must not only
continue in the course of improvement, but increase our speed. I
do not allude to reduction of rates; but to what, in the present
cheapness of postage, the public mind is much more intent upon,
viz., frequency, celerity, and exact regularity in transmission and
delivery. Inconveniences which, while the whole system of commercial
intercourse was characterised by dearness, infrequency, and slowness,
attracted but little attention, now rise to importance in the eyes of
the sufferer by the effect of comparison, and remedy is demanded with a
promptitude quite unheard of in former times, and which is unattainable
without energetic and cordial co-operation in the higher departments
of the executive, and ready obedience and zealous activity in all the
subordinates.

Having written thus far, and having also carefully considered every
statement and every remark I have made, I feel it my duty to say,
that after all the deliberation required by so grave a question, I
have arrived at the settled conviction that the existing state of
things cannot continue; and I therefore respectfully request that,
in considering the present application, such continuance may not be
regarded as a possible alternative.

I am sure your Lordship will believe me incapable of dealing lightly
with that connection with the Post Office on which I set so great and
just a value. To devise and bring into operation, so far as it has been
effected, my system of Penny Postage, has been the cherished object of
the best years of my life, interest in its progress, whether I am an
instrument or not in promoting it, will ever retain the firmest hold on
my mind, and would suffice to keep me in any course, but one which I
feel to be inconsistent alike with my private and my public duty.[256]

* * * * *

The Right Hon. VISCOUNT CANNING, &c., &c., &c.

APPENDIX I.

[See p. 238.]

_Memorandum by Sir Rowland Hill on the Net Revenue
of the Post Office._

Much difference of opinion has arisen as to the amount of net revenue
or profit of the Post Office department, _i.e._, the excess of receipt
above expenditure; some estimating it at upwards of £1,500,000 per
annum, others affirming that it is really less than £400,000.

This difference of opinion appears to arise from different views being
entertained on the two following points:--

1. As to whether certain items should be included in the receipt.

2. As to whether certain other items should be included in the
expenditure.

I may premise, that the subject of net revenue has to be viewed in two
aspects. First, as to its absolute amount, and, secondly, as to its
comparative amount when contrasted with the net revenue obtained before
the establishment of Penny Postage. I propose, therefore, to consider
the question from both points of view.

First.--As to the absolute amount of net revenue.

_Under the head of receipt_, the items regarding which there is a
difference of opinion are:--

(_a._) The postage of the Government correspondence.

(_b._) The proceeds of the impressed stamps on newspapers.

(_a._) The postage of the Government correspondence is included in the
ordinary amount of gross receipt, but it is contended by some that it
ought to be excluded.

The amount of Government postage is, on the average,
about £150,000 per annum.[257]
Of which that of the Post Office itself
is about 40,000 "
--------
Leaving for the other Departments abou £110,000 "

The postage of the Post Office itself cannot affect the Net Revenue,
seeing that it is included in the expenditure as well as in the gross
receipt. It may, therefore, be left out of consideration.

As regards the correspondence of the other Government departments,
if it were right to deduct the postage of it from the revenue of the
Post Office, it is obvious that it would also be right to deduct the
cost of its conveyance and delivery from the expenditure of the Post
Office. The net revenue would therefore be reduced, not by the full
sum of £110,000 above mentioned, but by that amount less the cost of
conveyance and delivery; in other words, by the profit the Post Office
obtains on the official correspondence. It is to be borne in mind,
however, that official postage is, in nearly all cases, charged by
weighing the letters not individually, but in the gross; a mode of
procedure which, if applied to private correspondence, would reduce the
rate of charge for such correspondence by about one-half; and although,
owing to the greater average weight of official letters, the reduction
of charge is not so great as one-half, it may be doubted whether the
remaining charge be sufficient to leave any profit to the Post Office,
so that, whether the amount received and the cost incurred for the
conveyance and delivery of official correspondence be, or be not,
included in the calculation, the net revenue of the Post Office could
be but very slightly affected. It may be added that the postage charged
against the various Government departments is actually paid into the
coffers of the Post Office, and is not merely a statistical record.

(_b._) The proceeds of the impressed stamp on newspapers is an item
regarding which the claim of the Post Office to include it in the
receipts is sufficiently established by reference to the fact that,
though this part of the revenue is collected by another department,
the sole purpose for which the stamp is now resorted to is to obtain
for the newspaper the advantage of postal transmission. At the same
time, it may be added, that the proceeds in question, amounting for the
year 1861, to £134,571,[258] are by no means a remuneration for the
service performed. Divided by the number of such newspapers conveyed
(viz., about 41 millions),[259] this amount gives only four-fifths of a
penny per paper; so that, as newspapers weigh on the average 2-1/2 ozs.
each,[260] the rate of charge for a newspaper is less than one-seventh
of that for a letter of the same weight.

An argument in favour of the sufficiency, and even more than
sufficiency, of the postage on newspapers to defray their postal
expense, has been drawn from the fact that the railway companies
actually convey them at a lower rate. But two important circumstances
have to be borne in mind, 1st, that railway companies, instead of
delivering the newspapers individually, merely hand them in bulk to
the newspaper agents; and 2ndly, that the companies make little or no
provision for conveyance to villages and hamlets, thus performing only
the least expensive portion of the service, and leaving the more costly
work to the Post Office.

After what has been said, it must be obvious, that even when newspapers
are prepaid with a postage stamp (the charge being thereby raised
to a penny for each transmission[261]), the payment is too low to
be remunerative. Moreover, the privilege accorded to news papers
indirectly forces another loss on the department, since the difficulty
of discriminating between newspapers and other printed matter has,
in fact, compelled a reduction of the book postage to the same rate.
So that, whereas formerly no book-parcel was carried for less than
sixpence, the charge on light book-parcels is now as low as a penny.
Instead, therefore, of any part of the receipts from newspapers being
withheld from the Post Office, as it is alleged ought to be done, an
equitable adjustment would have the effect of placing to the credit of
the department something additional for the unprofitable service thus
thrown upon it.

_Under the head of expenditure_, the only material item regarding which
a difference of view prevails, is the expense of the packet service,
which expense, it is maintained by some, should be charged to the Post
Office.

The claim that the Post Office should be charged with the _whole_
expense must be considered as barred by the simple fact, that few
of the mail-packets were established either by the Post Office, or
for merely postal purposes, their expense being far beyond what such
requirements could justify. "To assume that those packets were really
established for Post Office purposes is to charge the Government with
the most absurd extravagance. The West India packets, for instance,
were established at a cost of £240,000 per annum, though the utmost
return that was expected from letters was £40,000, leaving the £200,000
a clear deficit.

"Nor is this comparative uselessness for Post Office purposes confined
to the packets to remote places; the great cost, even of the home
packets, results from causes independent of the Post Office."[262]

Indeed, as was stated in the House of Lords by Lord Monteagle, who,
when Chancellor of the Exchequer, arranged the first contracts for the
mail steamers, "the expense of the packet service, which was said to
swallow up the whole of the revenue now derived from the Post Office,
had no more to do with the Penny Postage than the expense of the war in
Afghanistan or China. It was as distinct from the Post Office as the
expense of the army or navy. The great packet communication between
Great Britain and the British North American Colonies was undertaken
upon much higher principles than any connected with mere consideration
of revenue. It was felt by the Government of Lord Melbourne that it
was not wise to allow the only rapid mode of communication between
the British possessions in North America and the mother country to be
dependent upon the means afforded by the United States. Means were
accordingly taken to establish a line of communication of our own.
He admitted that this was not done, except at a very heavy expense;
but it was not right to place that expense to the account of the Post
Office."[263]

Still, it is obvious that, as these packets do postal work, some
portion of their expense ought to be charged to the Post Office, and
the question of _amount_ is what has really to be determined.

Upon this question it is necessary to explain that, upon a suggestion
from the Treasury, viz., that the amount should be "measured in each
case by the amount of ocean postage received,"[264] the following is
the rule observed:--

Whenever the amount of ocean postage is below the cost of the line
of packets by which the service is performed, the Post Office debits
itself, for packet service, with a charge just equal to the ocean
postage received. In the only two lines of packets (viz., those between
England and France, and England and Belgium), in which the ocean
postage exceeds the cost, the department debits itself with the whole
expense of the packet service.

Whatever may be thought of this arrangement, it will scarcely be
maintained that it is too favourable to the Post Office, which, save
in respect of the two packet services just mentioned (which now
jointly yield a surplus of about £56,000 per annum), is debited with
an amount equal to its whole receipts (viz., £470,000), without even
any allowance for the expense it incurs in that portion of the packet
administration which is necessarily carried on within the department.

The Eighth Annual Report of the Postmaster-General[265] contains an
estimate of the net revenue of the Post Office for the year 1861,
prepared on the principles laid down in the foregoing remarks, but
including some less important adjustments shown in the document itself.

The net revenue thus determined is £1,161,985, the whole, save the
£56,000 mentioned above, and about £30,000 derived from money-order
transactions, being the produce of inland postage, which thus yields a
net revenue of about £1,076,000.

Second. I now proceed to consider the question of net revenue as
to its _comparative_ amount, when contrasted with the net revenue
obtained before the establishment of Penny Postage, the object being
to ascertain the loss consequent on the reduction of the rate. When
proposing Penny Postage, I estimated this loss (under different
circumstances, however,) at about £300,000.[266]

The amount of net revenue in the year 1838, the last year throughout
which the old rates were maintained, was, according to the mode of
account then in use, £1,659,510.[267] For the purpose of comparison,
it is obvious that a similar mode of account must be applied to the
present state of things.

Bearing this in mind, we have now once more to consider the two points
affecting receipt, viz., the postage of the Government correspondence,
and the proceeds of the impressed stamps on newspapers, and the one
point affecting expenditure, viz., the expense of the packet service.

_As regards the Government correspondence._

It is alleged that, under the old system, this was carried free. Now
the fact is, that under that system the departments of probably the
largest correspondence, viz., the Customs, the Excise, and the Stamps
and Taxes, paid the postage of all their letters, while some other
departments, though less strictly dealt with, paid at least for their
foreign correspondence. The aggregate of such payments amounted, on the
average, to about £45,000 per annum.[268]

Now, seeing that, since the adoption of Penny Postage, the non-official
correspondence has increased nearly eight-fold, it may well be doubted
whether, had the old system continued, the official correspondence
would not have so increased as to raise the expenditure from £45,000
per annum to at least equality with the £110,000, the present
average.[269]

_As regards Newspapers._

As, under the old system, the proceeds of the impressed stamp did not
enter into the accounts of the Post Office, so, for the purpose of
comparison, they must be excluded now; the only question, therefore,
is, whether the Post Office should now be credited with the revenue
derived from the adhesive stamp as applied to newspapers. This claim
has been contested on the ground that, as under the old system
newspapers were carried free, so the same service should be reckoned
as performed now on the same terms; and it has been naturally supposed
that the effect of recent changes has been to reduce the number of
newspapers transmitted under the impressed stamp, the decrease being
counterbalanced by the use of the adhesive stamp for which, therefore,
in the comparison, no claim should be made.

Now, the fact is that, notwithstanding the option now given, the
number of newspapers freed by the impressed stamp at the present time
is not only as great as the number so conveyed in 1838, but is even
somewhat larger; whilst a considerable increase has also taken place
in the weight and bulk of the individual papers; so that the amount
of gratuitous service, instead of being diminished, has been largely
increased, and consequently, the sum derived from the adhesive stamp
is, to say the least, a mere payment for additional duty.

Again, it is a mistake to suppose that, under the old system, the
conveyance of newspapers was altogether free. In fact, there were
numerous and important exceptions, since the impressed stamp, to
which all newspapers were then subjected, freed the paper only when
transmitted from one post-town to another; moreover, in nearly every
town there were extensive districts beyond the free-delivery, in which
not only letters, but newspapers, were subjected to an additional
charge. From this charge both are now relieved. Again, in addition to
the towns that were then post-towns, there are at present more than
10,000 places having sub-offices. Before the introduction of Penny
Postage, a newspaper transmitted by post between a post-town and, with
few exceptions, any of the 10,000 places which have now sub-offices,
was subjected to a charge of at least one penny; and when transmitted
between any two of the above 10,000 places, with but few exceptions, to
a charge of at least twopence.

At present a newspaper, even without the impressed stamp, if posted
at any one of the 11,400 places at which head or sub-offices are now
established, provided only that it does not exceed 4 ozs. in weight, is
delivered at any other for a single penny.

No doubt, the number of newspapers directly charged with postage is
larger now than under the old system; but as the charge is far from
being remunerative, this is anything but a gain to the department.

_As regards the expense of the Packet Service._

For the year 1838, the last year, as has been said, throughout which
the old rates were maintained, the Post Office accounts, excepting a
trifling amount of arrears, contain no charge for packet service, that
service having been transferred from the Post Office to the Admiralty,
partly in 1823, and the remainder in 1837,[270] so that, for the
purpose of comparison, such charge must of course be excluded from the
present account.

In the Postmaster-General's Report for 1861 is a table (p. 31)
prepared with a view to a comparison such as that now under
consideration. It is proper to state, however, that a certain change
of circumstances has led to a corresponding change in the mode of
presenting the account. Formerly, when the year's disbursements were
almost identical with its liabilities, their unmodified appearance in
the account was sufficient for practical purposes; but, of late years,
when, owing to unavoidable irregularities in the large payments made to
railway companies, the disbursements and liabilities have often been
largely at variance, the latter have been presented in the account
in preference to the former, as obviously affording better means for
determining the net revenue of the year.

The amount arrived at by this mode of proceeding is £1,525,311, or
£134,199 less than the net revenue of 1838.

It may, perhaps, be objected to the above comparison, that the revenue
derived from the packets is greater now than heretofore, and that
equity requires a corresponding adjustment of the account. There can
be no doubt that the revenue in question has considerably increased,
although such increase is not wholly attributable to the improvements
in the packet service. If, however, the adjustment thus called for
should be made, equity would require corresponding adjustments on other
points. Thus, allowance would have to be made, 1st, for a considerable
amount of net revenue formerly accruing from various colonial post
offices, as, for instance, those of British North America and the
West Indies, which have recently been made independent. 2nd, for the
great increase in the expense of conveying the mails, which increase,
contrary to all that might have been expected, has arisen from the
establishment and extension of the railway system. And, 3rd, for the
additional expenditure caused by a general increase of salary and
by a reduction of individual labour, both made to remedy admitted
evils under the old system. It would, indeed, be very difficult, if
not wholly impracticable, now to ascertain the result of all these
adjustments; but it may safely be maintained that it would leave the
account at least as favourable to the Post Office as at present.

ROWLAND HILL.

December 18, 1862.

APPENDIX J.

[See p. 279.]

_Conveyance of Mails by Railway. Memorandum thereon._

As doubts appear to exist as to the expediency of proceeding with the
proposed Railway Bill, at least in the present comprehensive form,
I have been induced to consider whether the object in view may not
be attained by other means; and I am inclined to think that this may
be done not only without the opposition, but even with the cordial
co-operation of the railway companies; and that, concurrent with this,
an important saving of revenue may be effected.

The means which I would suggest are that the Exchequer Loan
Commissioners be authorised and required to advance loans, within
certain limits, to such railway companies as can give ample security,
on the following conditions:--

1st. The amount of loan in each case to be proportionate to the postal
service performed by the company. If thought necessary it might also
be limited to a certain percentage on the sum which the company is
legally empowered to borrow.

2nd. The rate of interest to be the market rate at the time as
determined by the terms on which the Government may actually raise the
necessary loan. At the present time this would probably be about three
and a quarter per cent.

3rd. The company to engage to carry the mails according to a fixed
tariff of rates to be framed beforehand by the Post Office. Such
tariff to include all possible varieties of service, whether by trains
"under notice," or otherwise; and the rates to be calculated so as,
under ordinary circumstances, to afford the companies a small profit.

4th. All the existing powers of the Postmaster-General to be
maintained, and some additional powers to be secured, _e.g._, the
right to demand trains exclusively devoted to the mail service. The
right to levy certain fines for irregularity on condition of paying
certain premiums for punctuality. The right to erect the apparatus for
the exchange of bags.

5th. The engagement to be for three years certain, terminable
afterwards by either party on twelve months' notice.

The following table exhibits the amount of debentures issued by the
several companies enumerated, and the average rates of interest on
such debentures, as shown by the last published accounts.[271] It
also exhibits the sum which each company would save if the _whole_
of their loans were raised at three and a quarter per cent., and the
amount, according to the latest award, payable by the Post Office for
postal service. A comparison of the two last items shows that if the
Government advanced the whole of the loans, the companies in question
would be considerable gainers, even though they carried the mails for
nothing. Such an arrangement, however, is not contemplated, and the
comparison is made merely with a view of showing the capabilities of
the plan.

The companies have been selected, not with a view of exhibiting the
results in a favourable light, but simply because they have a large
postal service.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Railway Company. |Total amount|Average |Saving of the | Amount annually
|of Debenture|rate of | Companies | payable by the
| Loans. |Interest.| by | Post Office for
| | | paying only | Conveyance of
| | |3-1/4 per cent.| the Mails under
| | | |the latest awards
| | | | or agreements.
------------------+------------+---------+---------------+------------------
| £ |Per Cent.| £ | £
Caledonian | 2,262,426 | 4.5 | 28,280 | 23,710
Great Western | 10,083,710 | 4.57 | 133,104 | 18,252
London and North-}| 10,975,589 | 4.3 | 115,243 | 56,500
Western }| | | |
London and South-}| 2,400,416 | 4.31 | 25,444 | 14,780
Western }| | | |
Midland | 4,151,556 | 4.28 | 42,761 | 23,412
North-Eastern | 6,833,642 | 4.36 | 75,853 | 34,380
South-Eastern | 2,709,468 | 4.61 | 36,848 | 14,624
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The annual payments for the railway postal service amount to about
£400,000. The general adoption of the above plan would (the service
remaining the same) reduce this amount probably to about £150,000.
To obtain the concurrence of the companies it would be necessary,
probably, for the Government to advance gradually, as the existing
bonds fall due, about £30,000,000 in the aggregate, or rather less
than two-fifths of the present amount of railway debentures. This
advance, taking the saving of the companies at only one per cent. on
the average, would reduce their expenses by £300,000. And as their
receipts from the Post Office would be reduced, say by £250,000, the
balance would give a direct gain to the companies of £50,000 per annum.
But I am assured by gentlemen well informed on the subject, that the
companies would also be benefited indirectly as regards the terms on
which they would be enabled to raise the remainder of their loans.

The question naturally arises, why, seeing that a larger advance
(say of £45,000,000 instead of £30,000,000) would probably suffice
to relieve the Post Office of _all_ payments for railway service, I
have not proposed the larger amount? The reason is that I have not
felt justified in asking Government to do more than is necessary to
supply the defects of early legislation, by placing the Post Office
in a position similar to that in which it would probably have stood,
had its interests (and through it those of the public) received due
attention from the legislature when railways were first established. It
is unnecessary to add that, should Government feel disposed to extend
the advances to railways beyond the limit I have proposed, the saving
which would result from such extension might go to the further relief
of the Post Office, or be carried direct to the credit of the general
revenue of the state, as Government might determine. In arriving at
this conclusion, I have not overlooked the importance of neutralising
the unwillingness sometimes manifested by the companies now under
agreement with the Post Office to afford additional service without
additional pay. Against this inconvenience I consider the Post Office
may be tolerably well secured by making the agreement terminable by the
Government, without notice, in the event of the conditions not being
fully performed by the company.

I may add that advances, such as those now suggested (except that
they were unfortunately unaccompanied by any stipulations as to the
postal service), have already been made to several of the Irish railway
companies.

Should the above plan be adopted by Government, I have little doubt
that almost every railway company would speedily avail itself of the
advantages it affords; and, if so, while both parties would be saved
the trouble, expense, delay, and uncertainty of arbitrations, the
Postmaster-General would be enabled, more effectually even than by the
proposed bill, to grant many important postal facilities earnestly
desired by the public, which he is now obliged to withhold, a most
acceptable boon would be conferred on the railway companies, and a
large saving--estimated above at £250,000 a year--would be effected in
the Post Office expenditure.

R. H.

6th January, 1857.

APPENDIX K.

[See p. 291.]

_Minute relative to Panama Route to Australia._

_The Postmaster-General._

1. In my minute of the 15th instant, on the subject of the Treasury
Minute of the 11th (referred to your Lordship for report), I
recommended that the consideration of that part of the Treasury Minute
which relates to an additional postal service to Australia, by way of
Panama, should be postponed, in order to admit of the immediate call
for tenders for the continuance of the service by way of Suez.

2. Your Lordship and the Treasury having been pleased to adopt this
recommendation, and the advertisements for tenders for the latter
service having been issued, I now beg to submit my views on the
proposed additional monthly service by way of Panama.

3. The question is divisible under two heads--

1st. Whether it is necessary that the postal communication with
Australia should be more frequent than at present, viz., once a
month? and

2nd. If so, is the Panama route the best for the additional mails?

4. As regards the first of these questions, I need not remind your
Lordship that the sea postage of all the correspondence with the
Australian colonies, including New Zealand, falls very far short of
the cost of even a single line of packets. Such cost under the late
contract having been £185,000 a year, while the total sea postage
cannot be estimated at more than about £50,000 a year.

5. Having regard to the enormous additional loss which would result
from the establishment of a second line of packets, and bearing in mind
that the dissatisfaction so strongly felt, both here and in Australia,
is not as to the infrequency of communication so much as to its
irregularity, I am of opinion that the wishes of the public, whether
at home or in the colonies, would be more effectually met by doing all
that is practicable to improve the existing monthly service than by
doubling the frequency of communication.

6. As regards the second question, viz., as to the best route for the
additional line of packets (should Government decide to establish one),
the points for consideration appear to be mainly as to the ports to
which the distances shall be reckoned, and the comparative length of
route.

7. The advocates of the Panama route generally select Sydney as the
right port; but this is manifestly unfair, inasmuch as, while by the
Panama route it is the nearest of the continental Australian ports,
by the Suez route it is the most distant. Neither can this port claim
preference by amount of correspondence, since the enclosed statement
of the correspondence between this country and the several Australian
colonies, including New Zealand, shows that that of New South Wales is
only 23 per cent. of the whole, while that of Victoria is as much as 58
per cent. The latter colony is also centrally situated, having Tasmania
on the south, South Australia and Western Australia on the west, and
New South Wales and New Zealand on the east. It is clear, therefore,
that Melbourne is the port to which the distances should be reckoned.

8. It will, of course, be for the Admiralty to state exactly the
comparative lengths of the two routes; but, from the best information I
have been able to obtain, it appears that the distance to Melbourne is
less by way of Gibraltar and Suez than by way of Panama, to the extent
of about 1,500 nautical miles, making a difference, according to the
average speed of the packets, of at least six days in favour of the
Suez route.

9. Though the contrary has often been assumed, even Sydney is nearer
by the Suez route than by the Panama route, and that to the extent
of about 300 nautical miles; so that the only colony which would be
brought nearer by the adoption of the Panama route is New Zealand,
whose correspondence, however, amounts to only six per cent. of the
whole.

10. The comparative absence of storms in the Pacific may, to some
extent, counterbalance greater distance, but not, I presume, so far
as to leave any doubt that the communication viâ Suez will remain the
quickest--to Melbourne at least. This, however, is a point on which, no
doubt, the Admiralty will report.

11. But, by the foregoing statement, the superiority of the Suez route
is by no means fully shown, since, as respects the mails sent through
France, the time is further shortened by four days and a-half:[272]
while the Panama route admits of no such acceleration.

The real advantage, therefore, of the Suez route, when speed is
important, cannot be estimated, as regards Melbourne, at less than ten
days. And as the saving, _viâ_ France, of course extends to all the
Australian colonies, it may be doubted whether even New Zealand would
be materially benefited by adopting the Panama route.

12. Again, by a slight sacrifice of time (not more, probably, than
one or two days) the Suez route might be made to take in either Point
de Galle or the Mauritius; thus in either case affording important
postal facilities, not only to the colony so included, but also to
this country and to the Australian colonies in their correspondence
therewith. The Panama route affords no similar facilities.

13. But the Suez route has also an important pecuniary advantage over
that by Panama. Our mails are conveyed across the Isthmus of Suez by
the Egyptian Government, for a fixed annual payment, which amounts
to not more than fourpence per pound weight; whereas the charge by
the railway company for crossing the Isthmus of Panama is elevenpence
per pound, in addition to which we have to pay the local government
the exorbitant rate of one shilling an ounce for letters for the mere
privilege of passing through their territory. These charges would add,
say twopence, to the postage of each newspaper, and sixpence to the
postage of each half-ounce letter. Or, should the quarter-ounce scale
be applied, then threepence for each quarter-ounce letter, making a
total charge of ninepence; so that there could be no cheap mail by this
route, the letters viâ Panama being all charged as highly as those sent
through France.

14. There is still another circumstance which should not be overlooked
in a comparison between the two routes--at both ends of the Suez route
the electric telegraph is being rapidly extended. It already reaches
from England to Malta; and, even if not yet completed, is in rapid
progress from Sydney _viâ_ Melbourne to Adelaide. Already, therefore,
as regards the transmission of news, the distance to and from Sydney
by this route is reduced by one-fourth; and, supposing that at any
future time the telegraph should be extended on the one side to Point
de Galle, and on the other to King George's Sound (neither, perhaps,
an improbable event), that distance would be so greatly reduced that
Sydney would be brought (by telegraph) within fifteen days of London.

15. The Panama route, as yet, possesses no similar advantage; and even
if the difficulties of crossing the Atlantic be mastered, and the
telegraph extended to Panama, there will yet remain the whole time
occupied in crossing the Pacific--probably more than thirty days.

16. These several considerations appear to be conclusive as to the
decided superiority of the route by Suez over that by Panama; and
consequently, even if a monthly service be deemed insufficient, the
additional packets should be placed on the Suez route.

17. Should similar views be adopted in the Australian colonies--as I
expect they will when the facts of the case are understood--the several
governments, excepting that of New Zealand, and perhaps that of New
South Wales, will probably decline to provide their share of the cost
of any service which may be attempted by way of Panama. It is very
important, therefore, that, as indicated in the Treasury Minute, the
concurrence of the colonies should be ascertained before any tender is
finally accepted.

18. But if, as fairness seems to require, it be made a condition of
the tender that the total time from London to Melbourne, _viâ_ Panama,
shall not exceed that which may be allowed _viâ_ France and Suez, then
it may be doubted if any responsible parties will be found to undertake
the contract.

19. In another minute, when submitting a letter from the Treasury on
the subject of postal communication with British Columbia, I propose
to consider the question (raised in that letter) as to the best mode
of conducting the service on this side the Isthmus of Panama; but, as
the effect on the Australian service would be much the same whether one
of the two monthly lines now existing be employed (and that service is
so direct that little would, I presume, be gained by adopting another
route), or whether a new and independent service be established, I do
not consider it necessary to trouble your Lordship on this point at
present.

20. Should your Lordship concur in these views, I would suggest that a
copy of this minute, accompanied by a letter from yourself, expressive
of such concurrence, be forwarded to the Treasury.

(Signed) R. H.

27th September, 1858.

Approved.
(Signed) C.

29th September, 1858.

APPENDIX L.

[See p. 293.]

_Letter to Lord Canning, Governor-General of India._

October 24th, 1857.

DEAR LORD CANNING,--I hope it may do some little to relieve your
Lordship's anxiety to learn that Government has adopted a plan of mine
for giving to Calcutta and Madras four mails a month, to and from
England, instead of two.

The plan is fully described in the enclosed copy of a minute; but, to
save you the trouble of reference, I beg to say that the principle of
the measure is as follows:--Leaving the Calcutta, Madras, and China
mails, whether _viâ_ Southampton or Marseilles, unaltered, I despatch
the Bombay mail from hence, _viâ_ Marseilles, about a week (a quarter
of a month) after the despatch of the Calcutta mail by that route; and
arrange the despatch from Bombay of the return mail, so that it may
reach London, _viâ_ Marseilles, also about a week after the arrival of
the Calcutta mail by that route.

Under this arrangement, the despatch across the peninsula, between
Calcutta and Bombay, being fitted, in each direction, to the Bombay
line of packets, will afford to Calcutta two good mails, each way,
per month, _viâ_ Bombay, in addition to the two per month she now has
by her own packets; and, as to cross the peninsula requires about a
week, the arrivals, as well as the departures, will be at nearly equal
intervals, _i.e._, one per week, or rather quarter of a month.

Madras will enjoy a similar advantage.

Bombay will not benefit by the change (except by electric telegraph
to and from Madras). On the contrary, she will be somewhat injured in
respect of her _slow_ mails, which must be conveyed between Southampton
and Malta or Alexandria, by the Calcutta, or by the Australian packets,
whichever will serve best, there to await the arrival of the Bombay
packets; but, as the payment of an additional postage of threepence
will not only avoid this delay, but will save several days, as
compared with the existing state of things, I attach little importance
to the objection.

As the plan involves comparatively little additional service, the
Peninsula and Oriental Company have undertaken it for a further payment
of £16,000 a year. I cannot, as yet, say when the change will be made.

I beg your Lordship will not think of replying to this letter. If
the plan prove acceptable to you, a word to that effect from your
private secretary will be welcome, more especially if he can add that
your health, and that of Lady Canning,--to whom I beg to be most
respectfully remembered--have not greatly suffered from the terrible
anxieties to which you must have been exposed.

Under the trying circumstances to which I have alluded, I venture to
think that your Lordship will not consider it obtrusive if I assure you
that you have the earnest sympathy of every one at the Post Office--of
every one at least who had the honour of knowing you--a sympathy
accompanied, however, by the most entire conviction that under your
able and energetic administration all that is possible to restore order
and to prevent future outbreak will be accomplished.

In our small way we have done our best to expedite the arrival of the
Indian mails. The last was conveyed from Paris to London, viâ Boulogne
and Folkestone, all circumstances being favourable, in eight and a-half
hours.

I have, &c.,
(Signed) ROWLAND HILL.

The Right Hon.
VISCOUNT CANNING
&c. &c. &c.

APPENDIX M.

[See p. 347.]

_Proposed Reduction in the Postage on Newspapers
and other Printed Matter._

Of the importance of distributing our cheap and excellent newspapers
and other periodicals and serials over the whole face of the country
there can be but one opinion amongst enlightened men. The aim of this
memorandum is to show to what extent, and by what means, this great
end can be attained, without undue sacrifice of other equally great
interests.

With respect to the allegations made as to the cheaper conveyance
of such matter in other countries, it is important to remark that
no argument can be safely drawn from them, even when they are
found literally correct, without careful examination into all the
appertaining circumstances.[273]

And here it may be observed, that forty years ago our own journals,
though laden with heavy duties, viz., the stamp duty and those on
advertisements and paper, were constantly spoken of as carried free. An
anomaly the more remarkable because if addressed anywhere beyond the
narrow limits of what was termed the "free delivery," every newspaper
bore a postal charge. It scarcely need be said that to the "freedom" of
those earlier days, no one, least of all the applicants in this case,
would wish to return.[274]

It must, therefore, be inquired as respect the countries referred to--

1st. Whether the postage be in addition to a stamp duty.

2nd. Whether the post office undertakes house-to-house delivery, and
that free of charge.

3rd. What are the restrictions as to weight, as to writing or other
marks, and as to time and place of posting. Whether, in short, the
cheap transmission be not made under regulations which would not be
tolerated here.

4th. Whether the governments concerned have not either the free use of
the railways for the conveyance of mails, or at least their use on very
much lower terms than are conceded here.

5th. Whether lowness of postage on printed matter be not obtained at
the cost of high postage on letters.

6th. What in the countries referred to is the fiscal result of the
postal system? whether, as here, the production of a large net revenue
(whose diminution would have to be made good by some other impost);
whether, as in various other countries, a bare self-support, or, as
in the United States, a deficiency to be supplied from the general
taxation.

7th. Whether, in fine, there be not some circumstance, or set of
circumstances, which vitiates the example.

It is at least highly probable that when the various examples held
up have been subjected to the proposed scrutiny, their validity will
shrink into very small dimensions.

Without, however, laying too much stress either way on foreign example,
it is manifestly important to consider the present question in relation
to other home interests; in recognising the claims of newspapers we
must not forget those of letters; the less so as the former are already
by far the more favoured class of the two, the allowance of weight of a
newspaper being eight-fold that of a letter. It must be borne in mind,
therefore, that in case of any surplus in revenue, equality, if not
priority of claim, whether for increased weight, increased facilities,
or other advantage, may be fairly set up in favour of letters; further,
that this claim is prodigiously strengthened by the fact that it is to
letters alone (almost exclusively to home letters) that the Post Office
is indebted for its net revenue.

Returning, however, for the moment to the separate question of
newspapers, it must be remarked that any lowering of that unit of
charge which has hitherto been strictly maintained is open to so many
objections as to demand that the change, if made, should be made with
extreme caution.

1st. The postal conveyance of printed matter--especially of newspapers,
since these admit of no delay--is, even at the present rates, under
existing circumstances, unremunerative, a fact which becomes very
intelligible when the eight-fold allowance of weight is considered, and
which of itself overthrows the expectation held out by some that the
fiscal loss by reduction would be compensated by increase in the number
of packets sent.

2nd. The proposed reduction, if made simply, would inevitably lead to
increased demands on the part of the railway companies, and that upon
two grounds, (_a_) augmented weight of the mails, and (_b_) alleged
interference with their parcel traffic. All this will be found to have
followed the reduction to the present rates.

3rd. The temptation to use printed matter as a cover, or fraudulent
substitute for written letters, which even now is unduly strong,
would, without safeguards far beyond any yet known, be enormously
strengthened.

4th. As the power of mechanically exchanging bags _en route_ is, as
mentioned by the Postmaster-General in the House of Commons, but
limited, augmentation in weight may, by rendering stoppage necessary,
retard the progress of the mails.

Under the first of the above heads it must be added that the sound
commercial principle on which the Post Office should be conducted--the
full establishment of which was kept steadily in view, and towards
which a nearer and nearer approach was made so long as I held the
office of secretary--is that each part of the business should be at
least self-supporting; every deviation from this principle not only
producing direct injury to fiscal results, but becoming prolific as
an example. Further, that deviation as respects printed matter is the
more objectionable because, as the Post Office has there no monopoly of
conveyance, the inevitable result is to saddle it with whatever has to
be conveyed at a loss, while aught that is profitable is sure to pass
into other hands.

In relation to the third head, that concerning temptation to fraud, it
may be remarked that, if the change can be so made as to render fraud
under its operation impracticable, objection on this score will of
course be removed; and, further, that if the modification necessary for
securing this can be made at the same time to reduce labour at the Post
Office as regards this special duty, ground for reduction in charge may
be established.

Thus then we come to a consideration of means; and, first, it is
assumed that the application under review relates only to the _primary_
distribution of newspapers, &c., viz., that from the hands of the
publishers or of the vendors; and it is for that alone that just
provision seems practicable or is here attempted.

Now it is well known that such distribution in towns, as now performed
by news vendors themselves, is very inexpensive, partly because the
cost of railway conveyance is less to them than to the Post Office,
partly because the delivery is generally performed by boys, but
_mainly because the newspapers are not individually addressed_, each
copy of a particular paper serving as well for one individual as
another. The first and perhaps only desideratum, therefore, is a means
for performing the same duty, viz., the distribution of papers not
individually addressed at small cost in the rural districts.

Now the need of individual addresses may be superseded in the country
by use of the means found available in towns: in other words, if lists
similar to those which doubtless guide the boys in the town delivery
be put into the hands of the Post Office rural messengers, the latter
will be able to perform the duty of distribution with as little
difficulty as the former.

Supposing this plan to be adopted, it becomes practicable to save
labour in the Post Office to a much greater extent than at first sight
appears.

At present, newspapers posted for rural districts have to be assorted
from a mass of papers for all parts of the United Kingdom, and, indeed,
of the world. Such as are for a distance have to undergo a like
operation at one or more offices on their way to that where, by a final
assortment, they are arranged according to the walks of the several
messengers. Lastly, of course, each paper has to be delivered according
to its particular address.

Now, upon the proposed plan, the publishers or the news vendors of
the metropolis, or other centre, instead of folding, addressing, and
posting the journals intended for the rural districts, would, as is now
done to a great extent--naturally send them in bulk, in the parcels
containing journals for the post towns; an arrangement which would
relieve the Post Office, not only of the first assortment, but also of
the duty of conveyance; thereby avoiding at once increased difficulty
as to exchange of bags, and also interference or quasi interference,
with parcel-traffic, unless in the acceptable way of augmentation; and
the provincial news vendors, on receiving these parcels, would, while
themselves dealing with the journals intended for town-delivery, and
for such of the rural districts as they might prefer to serve, convey
the remainder, still unfolded and unaddressed, to the local post
office (which they would have previously supplied with corresponding
lists, variable, say once a month), thus superseding the intermediate
assortments; and, lastly, the postmasters would only have to arrange
the journals, by number and kind, according to the rounds of the
messengers; thus reducing the trouble of even the final assortment to a
minimum.

Still further to lessen trouble to the Post Office, as likewise for
just security, it would be well to require that payment for the month
should be made in advance, viz., on delivery of the lists. It would
also be necessary to rule that the sum to be so paid should in no case
be below a certain amount.

And thus, by an actual reduction in Post Office labour, unattended with
any counterbalancing disadvantage, the desired reduction in postage
would be warranted.

It is obvious that papers thus dealt with would present no temptation
to fraud, since the absence of particular address would altogether
prevent their being used as substitutes for letters.

On the plan set forth above, if taken as a whole, I think it would be
safe and justifiable to reduce the charge for what I have called the
primary distribution of newspapers, &c., to one halfpenny the four
ounces, that is to say to one-half the present rate.

Security against fraud generally, it may be pointed out, would be
immeasurably increased if the proposed boon were accompanied with the
entire abolition of the impressed stamp, the use of which, besides
maintaining a constant temptation to dishonesty, demands, on the
part of the Post Office and the public, the observance of a highly
complicated set of rules, involving so much trouble that they are
constantly violated with impunity.

This change, however, would have to be accompanied with the issue of a
three-halfpenny adhesive stamp[275] (a measure actually contemplated
some years ago) to supply the place of the impressed stamp of the same
value now used by newspapers which, like the _Times_ or _Illustrated
London News_ occasionally range in weight between four and six ounces.
The use of the new stamp might very properly be extended to all other
printed matter of like weight.

Before touching on further possibilities as respects newspapers, I
return to the subject of letters, in relation to which much additional
improvement is desirable. This might be arranged under the following
heads:--

(_a_) Increase in the number of deliveries; at least in the large
towns.

(_b_) The extension of periodic (not necessarily daily) delivery
to every house, however remote, as in France, Prussia, and
Switzerland; an improvement important, not only to commercial
interests and social intercourse, but to jurisprudence,
legislation, and political action.

(_c_) The establishment on one or two of the great routes--say
after a trial for a short distance--of a mode of conveyance far
more rapid than any yet employed, but delayed on account of its
great expense, viz., tubular conveyance; by the use of which, in
the opinion of the eminent engineers, Mr. C. H. Gregory and Mr.
E. A. Cowper (as set forth by them in a report to myself dated
October, 1859), a speed of from 120 to 150 miles an hour might
be attained, though at a total annual cost (interest of capital
inclusive) of about £800 per mile, from which, however, there would
be a set-off of probably about two-thirds for present expenses
saved. The use of such conveyance so far as Crewe on the one hand
and Dover on the other, would bring Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and
Paris wholly within the reach of the London night mail, at the
same time, of course, greatly lessening the effective distance to
all places beyond. It would also, for reasons not necessary to be
stated here, both facilitate the frequent despatch of mails, and
aid greatly in the prompt distribution of newspapers to places
directly or indirectly served; would, for instance, make it
practicable to place the London morning newspapers on the breakfast
tables of Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.

(_d_) Increase in the standard of weight, say, from half an ounce
to an ounce, a change which would reduce the postage of heavy
letters by about a half, besides avoiding much weighing of letters
and vexatious overcharge for excess of weight.

(_e_) A reduced rate of postage, on certain conditions, for
circulars. In most towns there is a time in every day at which the
work in the post office is light, as also a delivery at which the
amount of letters, &c., might be considerably increased without
inconvenience, and circulars so posted as best to suit these
opportunities, provided always they came in sufficient numbers and
were taken to the head office, might reasonably be dealt with on
lower terms, perhaps at half the present rate.

A plan in accordance with what is here set forth was drawn up by my
son, Mr. Pearson Hill, and laid before the Secretary of the Post
Office some time ago, but, as I understand, awaits decision. His
plan is limited to local distribution; but, should it be adopted
and prove successful, I should be ready to suggest means for giving
it general effect.

Now beneficial concessions in the case both of letters and newspapers
would be greatly facilitated by the establishment of more equitable
and more equable arrangements than the present between the Post Office
and the railway companies. Opportunity for this is likely soon to
arise through inevitable demand for the extension to railway traffic
of that abolition of tax on locomotion which is now imminent in
respect of other modes of conveyance, a concession which may fairly
be accompanied with the legal enactment of the tariff of charges, and
other modifications in the laws affecting the Post Office proposed in
paragraphs 23 and 24 of my Report on Railways, dated 7th May, 1867,
which forms part of the Report of the Royal Commission on Railways laid
before Parliament in the same year.

Perhaps, also, means may be devised for such further improvement of the
apparatus used in exchanging bags as to remove the present objection to
increased weight.

Supposing these two important advantages to be secured, the Post
Office would then be able, without injustice to other interests, to
receive the newspapers (of course still in bulk and unaddressed, though
assorted according to districts and accompanied with respective lists)
directly from the metropolitan or other central publishers or vendors,
and to forward them, without further intervention, to their ultimate
destination; thus, in effect, reducing still further the charge for
their distribution throughout the country.

As reduction in labour, not only to the Post Office but also to
senders, will obviously attend every reduction in number of packets,
perhaps two or more publishers or vendors may, under either of the
above arrangements, send combined packets, lists, &c., a course which
will not in any way impede or modify distribution.

The operation of the plans recommended in this paper would, I believe,
open the way to additional advantages which it would now be premature
to mention.

ROWLAND HILL.

June 12, 1869.

APPENDIX N.

[See p. 394.]

_Letter to the Lords of the Treasury--Superannuation Grant._

Hampstead, 17th March, 1864.

MY LORDS,--The Postmaster-General, as requested by your Lordships, has
done me the favour to furnish me with a copy of your minute of 11th
instant, granting me a special superannuation allowance on retiring
from my office as Secretary to the Post Office, and conveying to me the
very favourable opinion, which your Lordships are pleased to express,
of the manner in which I have discharged my duties.

It cannot be necessary to assure your Lordships of the deep
gratification with which I have received so handsome and elaborate a
recognition of my services. I have only to beg that you will be pleased
to accept my most respectful thanks.

In a document so highly complimentary, I hesitate to notice what would
appear to be an admission, inadvertently made, to the effect that the
adoption of the uniform penny postage was urged by others before the
development of my plans. This, I assure your Lordships, is an error;
and, as uniformity of rate constitutes the main feature of my plan, I
am naturally anxious to place before you the real facts of the case.
I trust, therefore, you will pardon me if I request attention to the
enclosed memorandum on the subject.

I need scarcely add that, should the expectations of my medical
friends, of improved health from rest, be realised, and any occasion
arise in which it may appear to your Lordships that my assistance or
advice in further postal improvements may be of advantage, I shall feel
honoured by being permitted to place them at your disposal.

I have, &c.,
ROWLAND HILL.

The Right Hon.
The Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury,
&c., &c., &c.

MEMORANDUM.

A low and uniform rate of postage forms the most essential feature of
my plan of postal reform, and I have no hesitation in stating that its
conception originated wholly with myself. To guard against future error
I ask permission to place on record a brief statement of facts.

The principle of uniformity of rate, now that it has been in successful
operation for nearly a quarter of a century, appears, perhaps, simple
and obvious; but so far from its having been, as it is sometimes
supposed, the happy thought of a moment, it was the result of most
laborious investigation on my part. Indeed, a slight consideration
will show that its conception necessarily involved a previous
discovery--viz., that the cost per letter of mere transit within the
limits of the United Kingdom was practically inappreciable, or, at
least, that it was not dependent mainly on distance; being, in fact,
quite as much dependent on the number of letters contained in the
particular mail as on the distance that mail was carried. Indeed,
it was shown, from careful investigation, that the cost of mere
conveyance, even for so great a distance as from London to Edinburgh,
was only the thirty-sixth part of a penny per letter. From this and
other facts, it followed that a uniform rate was more just than one
varying according to distance. The convenience of uniformity was
obvious.

I may add that when I first entered on the investigations preparatory
to the construction of my plan, I myself had no conception of the
practicability of a uniform rate, and that the discovery referred to
above was as startling to myself as it proved when announced to the
public at large.

A reference to my original pamphlet--a copy of which is, I presume,
still in your Lordships' possession--or to my evidence before the
Select Committee of 1838, appointed to inquire into the practicability
of my plans, will show the various steps by which I arrived at the
conclusion that a uniform penny rate was at once just and practicable.

There is but one other person, so far as I am aware, to whom the
suggestion of a uniform penny rate has, with even the slightest
plausibility, ever been assigned--I refer to the late Mr. Wallace,
formerly Member for Greenock, and Chairman of the Select Committee on
Postage in 1838; but though Mr. Wallace frequently urged, among other
useful reforms, a great reduction in the postal charges, I can say from
personal knowledge that he had no idea whatever of a uniform rate
until after the publication of my pamphlet. Indeed, this sufficiently
appears from his speech in Parliament in July, 1836, the last occasion
on which, before the publication of my pamphlet, he referred to the
rates of postage. The following is an extract from "Hansard" (Vol.
xxxv., 3rd series, p. 422):--

* * * * *

"At the same time the rates of postage ought to be reduced. It would be
proper not to charge more than 3_d._ for any letter sent a distance of
50 miles; for 100 miles, 4_d._; 200 miles, 6_d._; and the highest rate
of postage ought not to be more than 8_d._ or 9_d._ at most."

* * * * *

Further evidence upon this point is also in my possession, which can be
submitted, should it be deemed necessary.

ROWLAND HILL.

Hampstead, 17th March, 1864.

FINIS.

THOS. DE LA RUE AND CO. PRINTERS. BUNHILL ROW LONDON.

INDEX

Abbott, Mr., vol. ii. 300

Aberdeen, Earl of, vol. ii. 217, 218, 222-225, 287

Accounts. See Post Office

Admiralty, vol. ii. 369. See also Packet Service

Ady, Joseph, vol. ii. 82

Airy, Sir G. B., correction of statement about M. Biot, vol. i. 499;
R. H.'s letter to him, 506;
letters to R. H., 507, 509;
signs R. H.'s recommendation for the Royal Society, vol. ii. 359;
present at his funeral, 431

Alarum water-clock, vol. i. 83, 157

Algeria, vol. ii. 311

Algerine ambassador, vol. i. 172

Allen, Ralph, vol. ii. 9

Alton, vol. ii. 276

Amiens, peace of, vol. i. 19, 38

Angas, Mr. G. F., vol. i. 221

Anson, General, vol. i. 279

Applegarth, Mr., vol. i. 224

Architecture, study of, vol. i. 61, 128

Argyll, Duke of, vol. ii. 349;
Government loans to railways, vol. ii. 279, 280;
Civil Service examination, 303;
his character;
facility of composition, 355;
signs recommendation of R. H.'s admission to Royal Society, 359;
provisionally Postmaster-General, 361;
letters to R. H., 344, 356;
R. H.'s letters to him, 280, 302, 330;
out of England at the time of R. H.'s funeral--his affection towards
him, 430

Arithmetic, mental, vol. i. 92, 128

Armstrong, Sir W., vol. i. 242

Armstrong, Mr., vol. ii. 49, 72

Arnold, Dr., vol. i. 100, 101, 115, 124

Arnott, Dr., vol. i. 210

Ashburton, Lord, vol. i. 279, 469;
evidence before Parliamentary Committee (1838) 310, 317, 321;
letter to R.H., 362

Ashford, Mary, vol. i. 85

Ashley, Lord (Earl of Shaftesbury), presents a memorial from Bath, vol.
ii. 108;
motion for abolition of Sunday duty, 155, 156, 158, 160, 163;
writes to R. H., 156;
partial retractation, 150, 159

Ashurst, Mr., vol. i. 294, 486

Assassination, threats of, vol. ii. 327

Assay Office, Birmingham, vol. i. 55

Astronomy, vol. i. 57-59, 68, 69, 495-508

Attwood, Mr., vol. i. 150

Auditing, Post Office, vol. i. 454, vol. ii. 186, 313

Australia, colonisation, vol. i. 217, 219;
correspondence, 485, vol. ii. 10, 396;
mails, 242, 289-292, 310, 373, 480;
postage charges, 243, 310, 371

Austria, postal reform, vol. ii. 35, 252

Ayr, vol. ii. 230

Baines, Mr. Edward, vol. ii. 331, 346

Baines, Mr. Frederick, vol. ii. 251

Ballaghaderin, vol. i. 413

Bancroft, Mr., vol. ii. 92

Banning, Mr., vol. ii. 54, 307

Banwell, vol. i. 306

Bar Beacon, vol. i. 97

Barbauld, Mrs., vol. i. 54

Baring, Sir Francis (Lord Northbrook), vol. i. 355, 371, 374, 376,
380, 381, 384, 386, 390, 391, 392, 401, 406, 411, 416, 424, 426,
428, 429, 432, 434, 435, 450, 451, 466, vol. ii. 358, 384;
first interview with R. H., vol. i. 365;
gives R. H. appointment in Treasury, 369;
doubts of prepayment and use of stamp, 382, 396, vol. ii. 86;
does not care for a little unpopularity, vol. i. 389;
long hours of work, 385, 398, 415, 417, 431;
remark on the French Government, 410;
friendship with R. H. and trust in him, 422, 423, 437-441, 490,
vol. ii. 388, 397, 411;
budget of 1841, vol. i. 436;
resigns office, 439;
consulted by R. H., 475-477;
presents R. H.'s petition, 483;
defends publication of correspondence, 485;
moves for return on rural distribution, 486;
speeches in House of Commons, 489, vol. ii. 351, 397;
congratulates R. H. on his appointment, vol. ii. 225;
opinion of R. H. 388-390, 411;
heads deputation to Lord Palmerston, 395;
letters to R. H., vol. i. 369, 439, 475, vol. ii. 86;
letters from R. H., vol. i. 440, 542, vol. ii. 85

Barth, Mr., vol. ii. 179, 462

Bath, vol. ii. 108

Bates, Mr., vol. i. 294

Beasley, Mr. Michael, 57, 61, 62, 79, 134;
his "utility," 63

Beecher, Major, vol. ii. 360

Belgium, postal reform in, vol. ii. 94;
postal treaty, 252, 318

Belper, Lord, vol. ii. 66

Benevolent Society, vol. i. 109

Bentham, Jeremy, reads "Public Education," sends two Greeks to Hazelwood
and a contribution to the Magazine, vol. i. 171;
visits Bruce Castle, 172;
suggests "a sucker from Hazelwood School," 180;
his "greatest happiness" principle, 193;
concentration of responsibility, vol. ii. 405

Bentinck, Mr., the last of the assailants of Penny Postage, vol. ii. 350

Bentley, Dr., vol. ii. 235

Berlin, vol. ii. 340

Biot, M., vol. i. 499

Birmingham riots, vol. i. 2, 11, 33, 47;
Philosophical Institution, 12, 80;
Mercury newspaper, 17;
volunteers, 38;
gun-making, 38;
tokens, 40;
police, 42;
exhibitions, 75;
Hampden Club, 139;
New Hall Hill meeting;
legislatorial attorneys;
exclusive musical society, 149;
represented in Parliament, 150;
Sunday question, vol. ii. 109, 128;
brass trade, vol. ii. 272;
pneumatic tubes, 340;
raises a statue to R. H., 387, 389, 428

Blair, Dr., vol. i. 98

Blomfield, Bishop, vol. ii. 116

Board of Trade, vol. ii. 251, 281

Board of Works, vol. ii. 269

Bodkin, Sir W., vol. ii. 327

Bokenham, Mr., vol. i. 385, 400, vol. ii. 62, 120-141, 155, 180, 190,
260, 327, 330, 453

Bookbinding, vol. i. 54

Book post, a kind of, in France in 1839, vol. i. 376;
established in England, vol. ii. 65, 87, 382, 397;
Foreign and Colonial, 244, 311

Booth, Mr., vol. ii. 281

Booth the forger, vol. i. 40

Boulogne, vol. ii. 294

Bowring, Dr. (Sir John), vol. i. 174, 382

Bradley, the letter-carrier, vol. ii. 79

Brankston, Mr., vol. i. 308

Brebner, Mr., vol. ii. 171

Brewin, Mr., vol. i. 301, 305, 308

Brierley Hill, vol. i. 282

Bright, Mr. John, vol. i. 477

Brighton, vol. ii. 22, 269, 285

Brighton Railway. See Railways.

Brindley, vol. ii. 250

Bristol, vol. i. 307, vol. ii. 57

British Association, vol. ii. 244

Brooks, Mr., vol. ii. 91

Brougham, Lord, interested in Hazelwood, vol. i. 173;
intends to found a school on the Hazelwood Plan, 180;
R. H. prepares for him "Home Colonies," 202;
approves of Owen's plan, 210;
R. H. addresses to him a letter on pauper education, 218;
character described by R. H., 219;
interest in Penny Postage, 288, vol. ii. 225;
presents City petition in its favour, vol. i. 289;
conduct on R. H.'s dismissal, 467, 468, 473;
story of "I is the plaintiff," 492;
takes part in the Sunday question, vol. ii. 149, 159;
speech on R. H.'s retirement, 398

Brown, Mr. (Sir William), vol. i. 310, 317, 336, vol. ii. 198

Bruce Castle, vol. i. 181, 201, 204, 214

Bunsen, Chevalier, negotiates postal treaty, vol. ii. 208, 252;
at the Queen's drawing room, 245

Burdett, Sir Francis, vol. i. 180, 240

Burgoyne, Sir John, vol. i. 277

Burke, Edmund, vol. ii. 398, 431

Burns, Robert, vol. i. 19

Burritt, Mr. Elihu, vol. ii. 319

Butler, Samuel, vol. i. 2

Caermarthen, vol. ii. 190

Calcutta, vol. ii. 272, 293

Cambridge, University of, vol, i. 67

Campbell, Thomas, vol. i. 149

Campbell, Lord, vol. ii. 330

Canada, vol. ii. 244, 316

Canning, Earl, vol. ii. 242, 275, 358;
pillar letter-box at Allahabad, vol. i. 417;
postage rate during Crimean War, 436;
Postmaster-General, vol. ii. 213;
question of R. H.'s promotion, 215-225;
railway legislation, 229;
Packet Service Commission, 238-240, 370;
promotion by merit, 249, 301;
his character, 263, 353-355;
appointed Governor-General of India, 353;
article on him in the "Edinburgh Review," 354;
letters to R. H., 218, 224;
R. H.'s letters to him, 215, 217, 225, 460, 478

Canning, Lady, vol. ii. 222

Canterbury, vol. i. 136, 218

Cape of Good Hope, vol. ii. 289

Cardwell, Mr. (Viscount Cardwell), vol. ii. 228

Carlyle, Mr. vol. i. xiv., vol. ii. 411

Cartwright, Major, vol. i. 150

Caxton Exhibition, vol. i. 229

Census, First, vol. ii. 260

Chadwick, Mr. Edwin, vol. i. 210, vol. ii. 336

Channel Islands, vol. ii. 259

Chantrey, Sir Francis, vol. i. 145

Charter House, vol. i. 101

Chartists, vol. ii. 84

Chester, vol. i. 140

Chetwynd, Mr., vol. ii. 333

Christmas-boxes, vol. ii. 325, 328.

Circular Delivery Company, vol. ii. 405

Circumlocution Office, vol. ii. 48

Cirencester, vol. i. 301

Civil Service Commission. See Commission

Civil Service Examinations. See Competitive Examinations

_Civil Service Gazette_, vol. ii. 322-324

Clanricarde, Marquis of, vol. ii. 51, 56, 57, 59, 66, 70, 72, 78, 90, 92,
97, 98, 108, 109, 111, 113, 120-129, 131-136, 138, 139, 141, 145,
147, 149, 150, 157, 158, 160, 173, 174, 176, 181-187, 194, 203,
204, 209, 213, 214,
218, 241, 259, 358;
appointed Postmaster-General, vol. ii. 38;
appointment of R. H. as his secretary, 39, 40, 45, 46;
abused by mail-cart driver, 47;
not afraid of a novel course of action, 55;
appealed to by R. H., 49, 54, 55, 58, 60, 64, 72-75, 96, 99, 100-106,
162-164, 168, 170, 175, 193, 196;
confidence in R. H., 59, 99, 165, 174, 195, 199, 200, 201, 216, 222;
ceases to be Postmaster-General, 200;
letters to R. H., 102, 445;
letters from R. H., 437, 443, 453;
speech on R. H.'s retirement, 398

Clark, Dr., vol. i. 401

Clark, Mr. Francis, vol. i. 278

Clark, Mrs. Francis (Caroline Hill), marriage, vol. i. 47;
her fine character, 195;
departure for Australia, vol. ii. 143;
R. H.'s letter to her, 335

Clark, Mr. Thomas, vol. i. 47

Clayton Tunnel, vol. ii. 22

Clerk, Sir George, Bart., vol. i. 444, 445, 447, 454, 465, 485;
announces in Parliament R. H.'s dismissal, 467;
Chairman of Committee of Inquiry, 492;
R. H.'s letter to him, 493

Clerks, Post Office, classification of, vol. ii. 179, 184, 249, 308;
improved condition of, 179, 190, 257, 308, 345, 381;
clerks in charge, 180

Clowes, Mr. W., vol. i. 230

Coach Company, project for, vol. i. 205, 520

Cobbett & Co., vol. i. 21

Cobden, Mr., offers to assist in publishing R. H.'s pamphlet, vol. i. 276;
examined before Parliamentary Committee, 301, 307, 324;
consulted by R. H., vol. ii. 73, 166, 170, 197;
letters to R. H., vol. i. 382, 477, 478, vol. ii. 31, 194, 198;
congratulates R. H. on his appointment, 225

Colbourn, Zerah, vol. i. 92, 512

Colby, General, vol. i. 268, 319, 332

Colchester, Lord, vol. ii. 291, 316, 324, 334, 344;
"an excellent Postmaster-General," 344;
his character, 356, 358

Cole, Mr. (Sir Henry Cole, K.C.B.), vol. i. 210, 374, 426, 436;
his ingenuity, 295;
editor of _Post Circular_, 339;
his valuable services, 447

Coleridge, S. T., his Pantisocracy, vol. i. 213;
paid poor woman's postage, 239

College, R. H.'s plan for establishing a great one, vol. i. 87, 104

Colonial Postage, vol. ii. 241-245, 310, 316, 317, 371

Commission, South Australian, vol. i. 220

Commission of Revenue Inquiry, vol. i. 246, 258, 315, 527

Commission of Post Office Inquiry, vol. i. 259, 268-274, vol. ii. 60

Commission of Post Office Inquiry in the East Indies, vol. ii. 245, 317

Commission for Regulating Salaries, vol. ii. 89, 184, 221;
its report, 246-249, 301

Commission on Sunday Labour, vol, ii. 160

Commission, Lord Canning's (Packet Service), vol. ii. 238, 370, 402

Commission on Railways, Royal, vol. ii. 69, 283, 416, 491

Committee, School, vol. i. 108, 116

Committee, Mercantile, vol. i. 294, 353, 462, 474, 484, vol. ii. 29

Committee of Enquiry, Select (1843), vol. i. 489, vol. ii. 1, 50

Committee on Postage, Select (1837-8), vol. i. 287, 295

Committee on Railway and Canal Bills (1853), vol. ii. 228

Common Council of London, vol. i. 280, 289, vol. ii. 428

Competitive Examinations--their evils, vol. ii. 249, 300, 303

Compton, Mr., vol. i. 4

Conference of Teachers, vol. i. 114

Congresbury, vol. i. 306

Constitution, Origin of the, vol. i. 115

Contract Work, economy of plan of, vol. ii. 286-288, 403

Conway, vol. i. 297

Coode, Mr., vol. i. 209, 210

Cooke, Mr. T. B., vol. ii. 311

Cornwall, Mr., vol. ii. 48, 211

Corporal Punishment, vol. i. 112

Cotton, Sir R., vol. ii. 312

Court Dress, vol. ii. 207

Court of Justice, School, vol. i. 107, 109, 110

Covent Garden Theatre--its loyal audience, vol. i. 143

Cowan, Mr., vol. ii. 113

Cowper, Professor, vol. i. 224, 524

Cowper, Mr. E. A., vol. ii. 337-339, 489

Creswick, Mr., vol. i. 118

Crimean War--proposed increase of postal rate, vol. i. 435;
soldiers' letters and remittances, vol. ii. 310, 316

Croker, Mr. J. W., vol. i. 377

Cube Roots, vol. i. 92, 512

Cubitt, Sir William, vol. ii. 236, 237

Cunard, Sir Edward, vol. ii. 186, 371

Cupar-Fife, vol. i. 442

Currency, vol. i. 40

Currie, Mr. Raikes, vol. i. 268, 325, 327, vol. ii. 216, 225, 461

_Daily News_, vol, ii. 241

Dalhousie, Earl of, vol. ii. 188

Davidson, Mr., Vol. i. 309

De Foe, vol. ii. 424

De La Rue, Dr. Warren, vol. i. 419, 501, 508

De Lys, Dr., vol. i. 499

De Morgan, Professor, vol. ii. 88

De Quincey, Thomas, interested in Hazelwood, vol. i. 173;
reviews "Public Education," 174, 178

Denman, Mr. (Lord Denman), vol. i. 150

Deal, vol. i. 276

Derby, Earl of, vol. ii. 200, 203, 206, 228, 241

Derbyshire, R. H.'s Tour in, vol. i. 137

Devonport, vol. ii. 289, 314

Dickens', Charles, reply to the "Edinburgh Review," vol. ii. 48;
article on the Post Office, 192;
article on the Money Order Office, 253

Dickinson, Mr., vol. i. 316

Diet, Experiments in, vol. i. 143, 147

Dilke, Sir C., vol. i. 210

Dilke, Sir C., vol. ii. 272, 375

Dillon, Mr. John, vol. i. 300, 313

Disraeli, Mr. (Earl of Beaconsfield), vol. ii. 174

Dockwra, Mr., vol. ii. 9

Donovan, Mr., vol. i. 401

Dover--Castle, vol. i. 133;
proposed tubular conveyance to, vol. ii. 338

Drawing, R. H.'s prize for, vol. i. 74

Drouet, Mr., vol. ii. 252

Dublin in 1821, vol. i. 160;
postal service, vol. ii. 258, 274, 337, 340

Dubost, Mr., vol. ii. 93

Dudley, vol. i. 282

Duncan, Viscount, vol. ii. 108

Duncannon, Lord (Earl of Bessborough), vol. i. 268, 272, 289, 290,
357, 360

Duncombe, Mr. Thomas, vol. ii. 28, 38

Dundee, vol. ii. 269

Dunlop, Mr., vol. i. 308

Early Rising, vol. I. 143

East Indies, vol. i. 303. See also India

Easthope, Sir John, vol. ii. 120

Ebrington, Lord (Earl Fortescue), vol. ii. 336

Edgeworth, Mr. Lovell, vol. i. 160, 162-167

Edgeworth, Miss, R, H.'s debt to her, vol. i. 50, 164, 421, 502;
introduction to her, 163;
reads "Public Education," speaks of her father, 165;
letter to R. H., 421;
scientific errors, 502

Edgeworth-Town assisting school, vol i. 160, 162-167.

Edinburgh, vol. ii. 258, 302; cost of
conveying a letter to, vol. i. 249, 280, 339;
Sunday agitation, vol. ii. 149;
Mails, 273, 337;
volunteer corps, 334

"Edinburgh Review," vol. i. 68;
reviews "Public Education," 121, 174, 178;
article on Penny Postage, 378, 390;
article on "Little Dorrit" and the "Circumlocution Office," vol. ii. 48;
article on Lord Canning, 354

Eldon, Earl of, vol. i. 212, 240, vol. ii. 35

Electrical Machine, vol. i. 55, 81

Electricity, lectures on, vol. i. 55, 80, 134

Elgin and Kincardine, Earl of, vol. ii. 308;
"an excellent Postmaster-General," 344;
his account of Lord Canning, 354;
his character, 357, 358;
letter to R. H., 359;
resignation, 361

Elgin, vol. i. 288

Ellenborough, Lord, vol. ii. 35

Emery, Mr., vol. i. 306

Emigrant ships, vol. i. 221

Empson, Professor, vol. i. 268

Enclosures, charge by, vol. i. 238, 282, 295

Envelopes, vol. 1. 393, 418, 419

Estcott, Mr., vol. ii. 8

Esquires in low life, vol. ii. 81

Estlin, Mr., vol. ii. 29

Euclid, vol. i. 11, 60

Eversley, Viscount, vol. ii. 91

Excursion trains, vol. ii. 21

"Exhibitions," School, vol. i. 91, 93, 113, 127, 170

Exhibition, Great (1851), vol. i. 26; vol. ii. 259

Express trains, vol. ii. 21

"Facts and Estimates," vol. i. 347, 534

Fagan, Mr., vol. ii. 154

Family council, vol. i. 191, 192, 262

Family fund, vol. i. 188-190

Faraday, Professor, vol. i. 3, 402

Female labour, vol. ii. 403

Ferguson, James, vol. i. 12

Fielding, Henry, vol, i. 3

Fights regulated, vol. i. 118

Fire at Hazelwood, vol. i. 95, 151;
origin of, 158; question of insurance, 158

Fire, precautions against, at Post Office, vol. ii. 268

Fitzgerald, Lord, vol. i. 460

Flood, walk through a, vol. i. 138

Forge, model of a, vol. i. 45

Forger, a, vol. i. 40

Forster, Mr. John, vol. i. 230, 525

Forster, Mr. Matthew, a steady friend, vol. ii. 149, 388, 394;
on the Sunday question, 157, 158;
Mr. Parkes's letter to him, 388

Foster, John, the essayist, vol. i. 141

Fourdrinier, vol. i. 224

France, revolution of 1789, vol. i. 19; peace with, 38, 134;
Mrs. Hill's uneasiness at being so near to its coast, 133;
postal revenue, 245;
reduction of postage in, 341, vol. ii. 93, 188, 252;
Post Office inspected by R. H. vol. i. 376;
early use of post-paid envelopes in, 377;
pillar letter-boxes, 417, vol. ii. 259;
treaty with, vol. i. 410, vol. ii. 6, 183, 214, 317;
assistance during Indian Mutiny, vol. ii. 293;
gratuitous conveyance of a mail, 350;
reduction in postage to France, 311;
proposed use of tubular conveyance for mail, 338;
universal delivery, 406

Frankland, Sir F., vol. ii. 312

Franklin, Benjamin, vol. i. 8, 12

Franks (Post Office) on newspapers, vol. i. 240;
abuses of, 240, 322, vol. ii. 350;
number of, vol. i. 321;
"Worth to some Mercantile Houses," 355;
abolished, 385, 388;
official franking, 355, 388, vol. ii. 351, 471;
revived, vol ii. 351

Freshwater Bay, vol. i. 146

Frölich, Count, vol. i. 173

Frome, General, vol. i. 221

Gaisford, Dean, vol. i. 17

Galt, Mr., vol. ii. 283

Galton, Mr. Tertius, vol. i. 499

Galton, Captain, vol. ii. 236, 251

Galway line of mail-packets, vol. ii. 183

Gardiner, Mr., vol. 1. 375

Garibaldi, vol. ii. 417

Garrick trained in careful habits, vol. i. 34;
his house in the Adelphi, 223

Gas, streets lighted by, vol. 1. 42, 160

Germany, vol. i. 253, vol. ii. 252, 259, 318, 484

Gibbon, Edward, "the tyranny of lawyers," vol. i. 9;
"independence, that first earthly blessing," 67;
"a man designed to think as he pleased, &c.," 213;
his early training, 217

Gibson, Mr. Milner, vol. ii. 198

Gilchrist, Dr., vol. i. 174

Gladstone, Mr., budget of, 1854, vol. i. 436;
budget of 1853, vol. ii. 214;
R. H.'s promotion, 215-225;
Government railway loans, 279, 280;
Savings Banks, letter to Mr. Sikes, 332;
newspaper postage, 345-347;
foreign and colonial postage, 372;
support to R. H. and confidence in him, 362, 376, 377, 379;
R. H.'s resignation, 378;
R. H.'s high regard for him, 379;
pension and parliamentary grant to R. H., 388-391, 399;
treasury minute, 391, 411;
R. H.'s letters to him, 384, 393, 399;
his letters to R. H. 362, 400;
description of R. H.'s services and plan, 411, 419.

Glasgow "family boxes," vol. i. 302;
testimonial to R. H., 442;
R. H.'s visit, vol. ii. 148;
Bridewell, 171;
mails, 273, 337;
library, 308;
pneumatic tubes, 340

_Globe_, The, vol. ii. 120

Godby, Mr., vol. ii. 191, 194

Gordon, Mr., vol. i. 395, 416

Gouger, Mr., vol. i. 216

Goulburn, Mr., vol. i. 350, 439, 446, 455, vol. ii. 5, 14, 33, 358;
motion against Penny Postage, vol. i. 351;
"talks nonsense," 436, 490;
Chancellor of the Exchequer, 441, 443;
suspends Mr. Baring's minute, 452;
appealed to by R. H., 454, 456-459, 463-465;
does not answer R. H.'s letters, 465;
dismisses R. H., 466-471;
publishes garbled correspondence, 482;
condemns R. H. for publishing the whole correspondence, 485;
excuses his own conduct, 488;
answered by Mr. Baring, 489

Gould, Mr., vol. ii. 268

"Grace Dogger" packet, vol. ii. 312

Graham, Sir James, vol i. 473;
has Mazzini's letters opened ("Grahamizing"), vol. ii. 28;
packet-service account, 238

Granville, first Earl, vol. i. 410;
second Earl, his speech on the parliamentary grant to R. H., vol. ii.
398, 399;
present at his funeral, 431

Grasset, Mr., vol. ii. 93

Graves, Mr., vol. ii. 347

Gravesend, vol. i. 282

Gray, Dr., vol. ii. 29

Greeks at Hazelwood, vol. i. 171, 172

Green, Mr. J. R., vol. ii. 356

Greenock, vol. i. 260, 527, vol. ii. 148

Gregory, Mr., Evidence before Railway Commission, vol. ii. 283;
report on tubular conveyance, 337-339, 489

Grenfell, Mr. P., vol. ii. 17

Grey, Earl, vol. ii. 244

Grote, George, interest in Hazelwood School, vol. i. 172, 173;
a supporter of penny postage, 263, 279

Guarantee, mutual, vol. ii. 307

Guards, mail, vol. i. 161, 453, vol. ii. 89, 257

Guest, Dr., vol. i., 12, 55

Gunboat, French, vol. i. 38

Gunpowder, vol. i. 242

Habeas Corpus Act suspended, vol. i. 22, 139;
damned in ignorance, 144

Hagley, vol. i. 62, 97, 134

Hall, Captain Basil, vol. i. 173;
Describes Hazelwood in "Edinburgh Review," 122;
letter to R. H., suggests gummed envelopes, 418

Hampden, John, vol. i. 1

Hampden Club, vol. i. 139

Hamburg, treaty with, vol. i. 382

Hardinge, Viscount, vol. ii. 222

Hardwicke, Earl of, vol. ii. 213, 228, 229, 238, 358;
Postmaster-General, vol. ii. 203;
a disciplinarian, 204, 207;
"two kings in Brentford," 205, 209;
"intends to be Postmaster-General," 206;
dinner party, 207;
peculiar spelling, 210;
patronage, 211;
dislike of "Hill's book-post," 245

Hare, Mr. Thomas, vol. i., 24, 223

Harmony, New, vol. i. 206

Harness, Colonel, vol. i. 452

Harrowby, Earl of, vol. ii. 149

Hatchard, Mr., vol. ii. 190

Hawes, Mr. (Sir Benjamin), vol. i. 483;
interest in Penny Postage, 288;
a member of the Ministry of 1846, vol. ii. 37;
induces R. H. to accept appointment, 41, 216, 461;
R. H.'s letter to, 43, 166, 437

Hayter, Mr. (Sir William), secretary to the Treasury--R. H. and he "get
on swimmingly," vol. ii. 114;
the Sunday question, 114, 117, 118, 121, 154;
learns from R. H. the abuses as to promotion, 184;
forgets his own regulations--R. H.'s letter to him, 299;
Post Office Mutual Insurance, 305

Hazelwood. See School.

Head, Sir Francis, vol. ii. 192

Health of Post Office staff, vol. ii. 302

Henderson, Dr., vol. ii. 29

Hennessy, Mr., vol. ii. 398

Henslow, Professor, vol. ii. 145

Henson, Mr. G., vol. i. 305, 308, 309

_Herald, Morning_, vol. i. 483, vol. ii. 115, 120, 123, 160

Hermit's Cave, vol. i. 169

Herries, Mr., vol. i. 435

Herries, Sir W., vol. ii. 218, 222-224

Herschel, Sir William, vol. i. 58, 497

Highgate, vol. i. 282

Hill, James, "a substantial freeholder," vol. i. 2

Hill, John, tract on "A Penny Post" (1659), vol. ii. 29

Hill, John, a volunteer against the young Pretender, vol. i. 3, 6

Hill, Mr. Alfred; writes an historical sketch of the Post Office, vol.
ii. 310

Hill, Mr. Arthur; a young trader, vol. i. 50;
a young actor and author, 77;
injures his eyesight, 127;
visits the Edgeworths, 160;
his brother's successor in the school, 203;
the Arthur Hill lifeboat, 203;
constant aid to his brother, preface, 234, 292, 487, vol. ii. 99, 111,
116;
his eighty-first birthday, 430

Hill, Mr. Edwin; a night alarm, vol. i. 37;
makes a model forge, 45;
at the assay office, 55;
his courage, 154;
family arbitrator, 187;
a partner in the school, 187;
joins Sir J. Lefevre's society, 210;
helps in the printing machine, 225;
superintendent of stamp machinery, 392, 405;
invents envelope-folding machine, 419;
attestations to his services, 539;
consulted by his brother, vol. ii. 99

Hill, Mr. Frederic, vol. i. 169, 263, vol. ii. 213;
in his boyhood fond of calculating, vol. i. 128;
his great services as an inspector of prisons, 215, and vol. ii. 171;
consulted by his brother, vol. ii. 99;
consults Mr. Cobden, 166;
appointed assistant-secretary to the Post Office, 176, 196;
reforms the system of mail packet contracts, 240, 369-373;
adjusts the salaries of the rural postmasters, 245;
his views on patronage and promotion, 246;
manages the Money Order Department, 253, 463;
his measure for early deliveries, 258;
aids his brother in the more difficult part of his duties, 265;
his able and zealous assistance, 266;
originates the annual reports, 267;
remodels the central office, 268;
his evidence before the Royal Commission on Railways, 283;
introduces contract work, 286;
a supporter of promotion by merit, 301;
draws up a plan for life insurance, 305;
tries to introduce the contract system into the savings banks, 364;
his reward for faithful services, 374;
wishes to employ female labour in the office, 403

Hill, Mr. Howard, his untimely death, vol. i. 8, 14, 195, 203;
his fine character, 196

Hill, Mr. Matthew Davenport, vol. ii. 91, 465;
life of him by his daughters, vol. i. preface xiv.;
describes his father, vol. i. 9, 19, and his mother, 30;
account of the Birmingham riots, 33;
a night alarm, 37;
a young trader, 49;
reforms his father's school, 63, 87, 88;
gives lessons at another school, 64, 65;
advice on a point of law, 86;
goes to the bar, 87, 126;
drills boys for "exhibition day," 91;
writes "Public Education," 103;
discussions with his brother, 105, 106;
lectures on electricity, 134;
defends Major Cartwright, 150;
M.P. for Hull, 220, 240;
introduces his brother to Mr. Parker, 243;
talk with Lord King, 362;
letter on Mr. Baring's offer, 366, vol. ii. 456;
article in "Edinburgh Review," vol. i. 378, 390;
assists his brother on his dismissal, 467, 469, 473, 477
--and in the Sunday agitation, vol. ii. 116, 118;
letter on his brother's illness, 361;
his brother's letters to him, vol. i. 175, 179, 185, 191, 220, vol.
ii. 417;
letters to his brother, vol. i. 176, 367, vol. ii. 417

Hill, Mr. Pearson, vol. ii. 176, 194, 417, 424;
his account of his father's printing press, vol i. 226;
appointment in the Post Office, vol. ii. 191;
improves the mail-bag apparatus, 237;
invents a stamping machine, 331;
his plan for the delivery of circulars, 405, 490;
his marriage, 426

Hill, Sir Rowland; birth, vol. i. 1, 34;
ancestors, 1-7;
parents, 8-33;
combines the strong qualities of each parent, 31;
early life at Horsehills, 35-46;
intimacy with the Pearson family, 42;
feeble health, 44;
makes a water-wheel, 44;
a model forge, 45;
removes to Birmingham, 47;
attends his father's school, 48;
a young trader, 49;
buys Miss Edgeworth's "Parent's Assistant," 50;
ambition, 50, 67, 87, 203;
builds a boat, 51;
helps in household work, 51;
feeling of responsibility, 51, 52, 76, 129;
shares in his mother's troubles, 52;
works a ruling-machine, 53;
turns bookbinder, 54;
assists in teaching, 54;
works at the assay office, 55;
makes an electrical machine, 55;
love of astronomy, 57-59;
habit of criticism, 58, 499;
studies mathematics, 60;
--navigation--architecture--would have puzzled an examiner, 61;
learns his deficiencies, 62, 65;
teaches at a neighbouring school, 65;
forms literary and scientific societies, 68-72;
studies French, 73, 74;
wins a prize for drawing, 74;
becomes a theatrical manager, 77;
begins a school atlas, 79;
makes a planisphere, 82;
a water-alarum, 83;
learns surveying, 85;
makes a map of the scene of a murder, 86;
scheme of a large college, 87, 104, 179, 180;
reforms his father's school, 88;
establishes punctuality, 89;
enforces penalties incurred, 90;
keeps the accounts and pays off his father's debts, 90;
corrects Shakespeare, 91;
rivals Zerah Colbourn, 92;
makes a trigonometrical survey, 94;
his audacity as a school-reformer, 102;
his plans always worked, 103;
helps in writing "Public Education," 103;
his faith in his system shaken in old age, 104;
over-worked, 105;
describes his system, 107-122;
a stern schoolmaster, 124;
plan for controlling his temper; his courage, 125;
becomes his father's partner, 128, 186;
plans Hazelwood School;
is his own architect, 128;
and clerk of the works, 129;
love of long walks, 131;
sees a criminal trial, 132; love of feats, 133;
sketches Dover Castle, 133;
lectures on electricity, 134;
sees a steamboat, 135;
becomes sub-secretary to Deaf and Dumb Institution, 136;
visits Derbyshire, 137;
describes a Hampden club, 139;
visits Liverpool, 140;
his need of trips, 141;
describes his parents, 142;
early rising;
sees John Kemble, 143;
hears a debate, 144;
sketches Netley Abbey, 145;
sees Stonehenge, 146;
experiments on diet, 147;
attends the New Hall Hill meeting, 149;
describes the fire at Hazelwood, 151;
saves a woman from burning, 152;
discusses the question of fire insurance, 158;
visits Edgeworth-town, 160;
climbs down to the Hermit's Cave, 168;
publishes "Public Education," 170;
thinks the celebrity of Hazelwood excessive, 174;
over-worked, 175-177;
trip to Scotland, 175;
Paris, 176;
his fortitude, 177;
intends to open a school near London, 180;
Bruce Castle, 181;
his marriage, 182;
helps his brothers, and is helped by them, 184, 191;
holds property in common, 186;
articles of partnership, 187;
family fund, 188;
family council, 191;
trained to reason, 194;
his early friends, 198;
his youthful judgments, 199;
gets rid of prejudices, 200;
one of the founders of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge, 201;
the "Vernier pendulum," 201;
health again breaks down, 202;
writes "Home Colonies," 202;
gives up school-keeping;
confidence in himself, 203;
forms various schemes, 205;
visits Robert Owen, 206;
scheme for a social community, 207-214;
Sir J. Shaw-Lefevre and he form a small society, 209;
his friendship with Mr. Roebuck, 214;
few careers open to him, 215;
tour in France;
describes his own character, 216;
joins the South Australian Association, 217;
works at abolishing the stamp duty on newspapers, 217;
his "Letter on Pauper Education," 218;
becomes secretary to the South Australian Commission, 220;
turns his mind towards postal reform, 223, 229;
invents a printing-machine, 224;
offered a partnership by Mr. Clowes, 230;
corrects error of Miss Martineau's, 239;
devises a travelling post office, 241;
examines the effects of reduction of taxation, 243;
analyses postal accounts, 246; ascertains
cost of conveying a letter, 248;
the conclusions at which he arrives, 256;
writes "Post Office Reform," 262;
lays it before Government, 263, 266;
publishes it, 267, 276;
examined before "Commission of Post Office Enquiry," 268;
proposes use of stamps, 270;
appeals to the public, 275;
present at a meeting of the Common Council, 280;
his caution in statement, 286;
parliamentary
committee granted, 287;
writes "Letters to Lord Lichfield;" mode of composition, 292;
examined before parliamentary committee, 295, 316, 325;
regards low postage as no tax, 311;
assists in preparing committee's report, 331;
examines rival claims to the authorship of Penny Postage, 332;
learns that Penny Postage is to be granted, 343;
writes "On the Collection of Postage by Means of Stamps," 345;
"Facts and Estimates," 347;
present at the division, 352;
letter to the Duke of Wellington, 354;
in the "kitchen" of the House of Commons, 356;
interview with Lord Melbourne, 357;
present in House of Lords, 360;
described by Miss Martineau, 361;
testimonials, 363, 442;
offered appointment in Treasury, 365;
consults Mr. M. D. Hill thereon, 366;
accepts appointment, 369;
first visit to the Post Office, 371;
hours of work, 374;
inspects the French Post Office, 376;
prepares for introduction of penny postage, 380;
visits Mr. Baring, 385;
learns who "My Lords" are, 386;
first day of penny postage, 390;
difficulties with the Stamp Office, 397;
obliteration of stamps, 399;
resists needless expenditure, 411;
proposes to set up pillar-boxes, 417;
wins Mr. Baring's confidence, 422;
detects errors in accounts, 429;
meets with constant opposition at the Post Office; over-worked, 431;
plan of rural distribution, 433, 451;
sets a high value on statistics, 434;
consulted about a twopenny rate, 435;
applies for office of secretary to the Post Office, 437;
alarmed by the change of ministry, 439;
under Mr. Goulburn, 443;
thwarted in his work, 444-447;
investigates railway charges, 452;
Lord Lowther's hostility, 459;
dismissal impending, 462;
his mother's death, 465;
notice of dismissal, 466;
correspondence with Sir Robert Peel, 469;
question of publishing correspondence with Treasury, 473;
offer of help from "the men of the League," 477;
cuts down personal expenditure, 480;
interview with Mr. Stephen, 481;
official publication of garbled correspondence, 482;
petitions Parliament, 483;
publishes all the correspondence, 484;
select committee moved for, 487;
committee granted, 492;
letter to Sir G. Clerk, 493;
publishes "State and Prospects of Penny Postage," vol. ii. 1, 14;
examined before the committee, 1-10;
director and then chairman of the Brighton Railway Company, 16;
resigns, 23;
offered appointment on the South-Western Railway, 24;
receives the national testimonial, 29;
takes the longest holiday he had ever known, 38;
offered appointment as secretary to the Postmaster-General, 39;
letter to Mr. Hawes, 43;
accepts the appointment, 45;
enters upon office, 47;
encounters obstructions, 49;
snowed-up, 52;
speech at Liverpool, 53;
undertakes Money Order Department, 56;
visits Bristol, 57;
assists at the Treasury, 59;
vexations tell upon his health, 60;
encounters unpopularity in the office, 63;
proposes a book post;
also a system of promotion, 65;
proposes railway legislation, 66;
reforms Money Order Office, 70, 178;
resists an offensive minute, 73;
a special constable, 84;
establishes book post, 87;
claims promotion, 95-106;
reduces Sunday labour, 108;
his measure for transmission of "forward letters," 110;
receives deputation from Lord's Day Society, 113;
attacked by Sabbatarians; treachery in the Post Office, 115;
objects to the use of compulsion, 120;
slandered by Lord's Day Society, 129;
complete success of his measure, 135;
device for railway sorting, 137;
establishes meeting of surveyors, 140;
reports on demand for total abolition of Sunday labour, 145;
visits Glasgow and Greenock, 148;
defended by the _Times_, 151;
Lord Ashley's motion, 155;
health again failing, 163;
claims promotion, 164;
consults Mr. Cobden and Mr. Hume, 166;
interview with Sir C. Wood, 169;
asks for appointment of Mr. F. Hill as assistant-secretary, 170;
his father's death, 176;
his limited staff of clerks, 177;
proposes a commission for revising salaries, 184;
manages the Railway Department, 193;
seeks Mr. Cobden's aid; visits towns in West Riding, 194;
claims promotion, 196;
consults his friends in Parliament, 198;
"a mysterious allusion in Mr. Cobden's letter," 199;
Lord Hardwicke Postmaster-General, 203;
Court-dress, 207;
discussion with Lord Hardwicke, 209;
does not expose his lordship's spelling, 210;
Tory ministry thrown out, 211;
Lord Canning Postmaster-General, 213;
letter to Lord Canning, 215;
promotion or resignation, 217;
dangerous state of health, 219;
meets Mr. Gladstone, 222;
sole secretary, 224;
proposes railway legislation, 227;
accelerates northern mails, 231;
replies to attacks, 235;
his minute on the true revenue of the Post Office, 238;
reduces Colonial postage, 241;
his evidence before the Commission for Revising Salaries, 246;
upholds promotion by merit;
dislikes competitive examinations, 249;
purchase of telegraphs, 251;
accelerates deliveries in London district, 258, 272;
arranges secretarial duties, 264;
establishes conference of secretary and assistant-secretaries, 265;
gives more power to the heads of departments, 266;
opposes the Board of Works, 269;
divides London into districts, 270;
accelerates mails, 273;
need of railway legislation, 276;
proposes Government loans to railway companies, 278;
a member of the Royal Commission on Railways, 283;
in favour of contract work, 286;
opposed to Panama route, 290;
doubles the mail to India, 292;
arranges scale of salaries, 296;
upholds promotion by merit, 298;
supports a system of life insurance in the office, 304;
lectures on the eclipse of 1858, 308;
encounters discontent in the office, 321;
threatened with assassination, 327;
approves of Mr. Sikes's scheme of savings banks, 332;
and of the volunteer corps, 334;
attempts compulsory prepayment, 335;
has for the first time to retrace a step, 336;
his plan of tubular conveyance, 336;
describes the lost labour of inventors, 339;
controversy with Mr. R. Stephenson, 341;
opposes the newspaper proprietors, 342;
attacked by the _Times_, 344;
his plan for the delivery of newspapers, 347;
condemns official franking, 351;
his account of the Postmasters-General from 1853-60, 353;
his difficulty of composition, 355;
his work limited to four days a week, 358;
F.R.S., K.C.B., 359;
peace in the office; dangerous illness, 360;
has not the confidence of Lord Stanley of Alderley, 361;
receives Mr. Gladstone's support, 362;
censures the management of the Post Office Savings Banks, 365;
wishes to establish parcels post, 368;
reforms the packet service, 369;
upholds promotion by merit;
appeals to the Treasury, 376;
interviews with Lord Palmerston, 377;
resigns, 379;
his character described by Sir F. Baring, 388;
receives copy of Treasury Minute, 390;
asserts his claim to the sole authorship of Penny Postage, 393;
receives a grant from Parliament, 399;
made D.C.L., receives presents from Liverpool and Longton, and the
Albert Gold Medal, 400;
looks upon himself as happy among reformers;
considers future postal reforms, 401;
his character, 411-415;
attends the Political Economy Club, 416;
meets Garibaldi, 417;
grieved by the state of the Post Office, 418;
describes the state of his health, 419;
suffers from the Metropolitan Asylums Board, 421;
regularity of his household, 422;
resources of his old age, 423;
thoughtfulness for others, 424;
death thins his family, 425;
his son's marriage, 426;
not forgotten of men, 427;
receives the freedom of the City, 428;
death, 429;
Westminster Abbey, 430

Hill, Sir Rowland: letters to Sir G. B. Airy, vol. i. 506;
Duke of Argyll, vol. ii. 280, 330;
Mr. E. Baines, vol. ii. 332;
Sir F. Baring, vol. i. 440, 542, vol. ii. 85;
a brother, vol. i. 206, 211;
Lord Canning, vol. ii. 225, 460, 478;
Mrs. F. Clark, vol. ii. 335;
Lord Clanricarde, vol. ii. 437, 443, 453;
Sir G. Clerk (a draft letter) vol. i. 493;
Council of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. i. 515;
Mr. Gladstone, vol. ii. 384, 393, 399;
Mr. Goulburn, vol. i. 464;
Sir B. Hawes, vol. ii. 43;
Sir W. Hayter, vol. ii. 299;
Lady Hill, vol. i, 201, 230;
Mr. M. D. Hill, vol. i. 175, 179, 185, 191, 220, vol. ii. 417;
"Journal of the Society of Arts," vol. i. 525;
Lords of the Treasury, vol. ii. 379, 492;
Colonel Maberly, vol. i. 445;
Sir R. Peel, vol. i. 471;
Mr. Schuster, vol. ii. 285;
Lord Stanley of Alderley, vol. ii. 385;
Admiral Smyth, vol. i. 500;
Mr. Warburton, vol. ii. 457;
Duke of Wellington, vol. i. 354;
Sir C. Wood, vol. ii. 168

Letters to him from Sir G. B. Airy, vol. i. 507, 509;
Duke of Argyll, vol. ii. 356;
Lord Ashburton, vol. i. 362;
Sir F. Baring, vol. i. 369, 439, 475, vol. ii. 86;
a brother, vol. i. 184;
Lord Canning, vol. ii. 218;
Lord Clanricarde, vol. ii. 40, 102, 445;
Mr. Cobden, vol. i. 382, 477, 478, vol. ii. 31, 194, 198;
Miss Edgeworth, vol. i. 421;
Lord Elgin, vol. ii. 359;
Mr. Gladstone, vol. ii. 362, 400;
Mr. Goulburn, vol. i. 466;
Captain Basil Hall, vol. i. 418;
Lord Hardwicke, vol. ii. 207;
Mr. T. W. Hill, vol. i. 173, 185, 213;
Mr. M. D. Hill, vol. i. 176, 366, vol. ii. 417;
Thomas Hood, vol. i. 479;
Mr. Hume, vol. ii. 170;
Miss Martineau, vol ii. 14;
Mr. Moffatt, vol. i. 467;
Sir R. Peel, vol. i. 469;
Sir A. G. Spearman, vol. i. 228;
Rev. Sydney Smith, vol. ii. 14;
Lord Stanley of Alderley, vol. ii. 384;
a sub-sorter, vol. ii. 455;
Colonel Torrens, vol. i. 223;
Sir C. E. Trevelyan, vol. ii. 301;
Mr. Warburton, vol. i. 343, 344, vol. ii. 38

Hill, Lady, childhood, vol. i. 43;
marriage, 182;
devotion to her husband, 183;
hears from her husband about his Vernier pendulum, 201, and his
printing press, 230;
congratulated by Mr. Wallace, 360;
conversation with Sir F. Baring, 441;
assists her husband in reducing his expenditure, 480;
her twenty-second wedding-day, vol. ii. 115;
her husband's amanuensis, 327;
proposed pension to her, 390;
address to the Queen, 394;
meets Garibaldi, 417;
her husband's death, 429

Hill, Thomas Wright (Rowland Hill's father), hurt in the Birmingham
riots, vol. i. 2, 34;
unusual character, 7;
relish of life, 8, 25;
wish to be a lawyer, 9;
knowledge of the Bible, 10;
an astronomer, 11, 57, 498;
under Priestley, 11;
lectures on natural philosophy, 12, 55;
on the formation of letter-sounds, 12;
short-hand, 13;
matchless benevolence, 13;
character as a schoolmaster, 14-19, 62;
a mathematician, 15, vol. ii. 177;
love of theories, vol. i. 18;
admirable as a father, 19, 55, 59;
a staunch Liberal, 19;
a student of Adam Smith, 23;
scheme for representing minorities, 24, 69;
imperfect side, 24;
death, 25, vol. ii. 176;
marriage, vol. i. 32;
children, 34;
opens a school, 47;
money difficulties, 52, 90;
buys a horse, 64;
not jealous of his sons, 88;
described by his son, 142;
chairman of Attwood's Committee, 150;
recommends spirit of co-operation, 185;
consolation in his children, 197;
discusses postal matters, 237, 241, 275;
present at presentation of national testimonial, vol. ii. 32;
remark on the first census, 260;
letters to one of his sons, vol. i. 13, 24;
his brother-in-law, 52;
Mr. M. D. Hill, 20, 105, 127, 172, 177;
Sir Rowland Hill, 185, 213

Hill, Sarah (Rowland Hill's mother), girlhood, 7;
character, 27;
moves her husband to turn schoolmaster, 30, 47;
economy, 30, 34, 52;
marriage, 32;
a "notable" woman, 43;
described by her son, 142;
death, 465

Hill Top. See School.

_Hillska Skola_, vol. i. 173

Hinks, Rev. W., vol. ii. 30

Hinde, Mr., vol. i. 465

Hodgson, Mr. Joseph, attends R. H. in times of illness, vol. i. 177,
vol. ii. 163, 219-221, 458

Hoffay, Mr., vol. ii. 221

Hogarth, William, vol. i. 39

Holgate, Mr., vol. i., 324

Holyhead, vol. ii. 275

Home Colonies, vol. i. 202

Honduras, vol. ii. 370

Hong-Kong Post Office, vol. ii. 257

Hood, Thomas, vol. i. 479

Horsehills, vol. i. 35, 45

Horsfall, Mr., vol. i. 429

"Household Words," vol. ii. 48, 192, 253

Howard, John, vol. i. 4, 141, 196

Huish, Captain, vol. ii. 231, 232, 274

Hull, vol. i. 150

Hume, Mr. Joseph, vol. i. 171, 173, 341, 357, vol. ii. 225;
visits Hazelwood, vol. i. 174;
a supporter of postal reform, 263, 288, 342, 350, vol. ii. 38;
consulted by R. H., vol. ii. 166, 167, 174, 198, 199;
letter to R. H., vol. ii. 170

Hunt, Leigh, vol. i. 276

Huskisson, Mr., vol. i. 198, 242

Hutchinson, Mr., vol. ii. 279, 281

Hutt, Sir W., vol. i. 220, 482

Income-Tax Commissioners, vol. ii. 30

India, postal reform in, vol. ii. 187, 212, 317;
postage to, 242;
book-post to, 245;
mutiny, 292, 354, 478

Inglis, Sir Robert, vol. i. 355

Inventors, not men who merely make lucky hits, vol. ii. 339;
described by Lord Brougham, 398;
their common lot, 401

Ireland in 1821, vol. i. 160, 161;
letters to (before 1840), 297;
Sunday labour, vol. ii. 112, 154;
mails to, 274, 338, 340;
life insurance, 307;
debts owing by postmasters, 313;
early history of Post Office, 352

Isle of Wight, vol. i. 146, 168

Jackson, Mr., vol. ii. 70, 77, 179

Jefferson, ex-President, vol. i. 174

Jeffrey, Lord, reviews "Public Education," vol. i. 178

"Jerusalem Coffee-house," vol. i. 303

Johnson, Dr., knew how to bind a book, vol. i. 54;
reads aloud the "Vanity of Human Wishes," 106;
receives a packet from Lisbon, 276;
rendering of a passage in Milton, vol. ii. 225;
quotes Bentley, 235;
to be read on the banks of the Wolga, 427

Johnson, Mr., vol. ii. 49, 74

Johnstone, Dr., vol. i. 64

Jones-Loyd, Mr. (Lord Overstone), evidence before committee (1838),
vol. i. 310, 312;
consulted by R. H., vol. ii. 43, 56, 216, 461

Jullien, M., vol. i. 174

Kater, Captain, vol. i. 95, 499

Kean, Edmund, vol. i. 135

Keble, Mr., vol. i. 194

Kemble, John, vol. i. 143

Kennedy, Dr., vol. i. 55

Keswick, vol. i. 339

Kidderminster, vol. i. 156; R. H's. birth-place, 1, 2, 34;
his statue to be set up there, vol. ii. 428

King, Lord, vol. i. 362

Kingston-on-Thames, vol. ii. 141

Kington, vol. ii. 277

Knight, Mr. Charles, suggests stamped covers for newspapers, vol. i.
218, 265, 270, 377

Knowles, Sheridan, vol. i. 200

Labouchere, Mr. (Lord Taunton), vol. i. 267, 268, vol. ii. 160

Land's End to John O'Groat's, vol. ii. 278

Laplace, vol. i. 59, 506

Lardner, Dr., vol. i. 173, 312, 322

Larpent, Sir George, vol. ii. 30

Lawrence, Mr. William, vol. i. 431

Lawrence, Mr. (of the Post Office), vol. i. 303

Lea, William, vol. i. 6

Lea, Bailie, vol. i. 7, 31, vol. ii. 148

Ledingham, Mr., vol. i. 374, 404, 448

Lee, Mr. James, vol. ii. 92

Leeds, vol. ii. 109, 194

_Leeds Mercury_, vol. ii. 150

Lees, Sir Edward, vol. i. 318

Leicester, vol. i. 366

Letters, postage rate before Penny Postage, vol. i. 238, 239, 247, 252,
276, 277, 281, 282, 295-297, 339, 381, vol. ii. 380, 396;
charges by enclosures, vol. i. 238, 282, 295;
effects of high rates on the poor, 239, 305-309, 342;
taxing, 247, 283, 372;
deliveries few and slow, 269, 281;
in large districts no deliveries, 253, 324, 451, vol. ii. 381;
illegal conveyance, vol. i. 238, 254, 300-304;
number as stated by government, 279, 290, 298, 299;
as stated by R. H., 298, 299;
average weight of London mail, 319, 339;
R. H.'s reforms;
proposed sorting in coaches, vol. i. 241;
actual cost of conveyance, 249, 280, vol. ii. 242, 493;
cost of distributing, vol. i. 248, 354;
uniform rate, 250, 312;
primary and secondary distribution, 251, vol. ii. 406;
rates suggested, vol. i. 251, 264, 269, 284, vol, ii. 404;
charges by weight, vol. i. 264, 318, 376, 386;
low postage no tax, 311;
prepayment, 250, 314, 378, vol. ii. 180, 258, 335;
uniform fourpenny rate, vol. i. 381, 384;
penny rate begins, 390;
number of letters after 1839, 395, 418, 435, 463, vol. ii. 86, 188,
190, 214, 259, 260, 314, 350, 382, 397;
registration, vol. i. 410, 455-459, vol. ii. 7, 315, 367, 381;
thefts, vol. i. 283, 410, 411, 455, vol, ii. 190, 315, 368;
forward letters, vol. i. 457, vol. ii. 110;
free delivery, vol. i. 252, vol. ii. 270, 381;
returned letters, vol. ii. 314;
increase of correspondence to distant places, vol. ii. 241, 371;
effect of school boards on letter writing,
418.
See also Penny Postage and Post Office.

Letter-Boxes (hall door), vol. ii. 90.
See Pillar Letter-Boxes.

Letter carriers, union of two corps of, vol. i. 258, 373, 375, vol. ii.
100, 103, 247, 271;
improved condition of, 190, 345, 381;
life insurance and burial fund, 304-307;
discontents, 321;
eligibility of their position, 309, 324;
Christmas boxes, 325, 328;
mutinous meeting, 326

Lewins, Mr. W. vol. ii. 367

Lewis, Sir G. C., passage in "Notes and Queries," vol. i. 239;
commission of inquiry into Sunday labour, vol. ii. 160;
mail service to Kington, 277;
R. H.'s device of government railway loans, 279-281;
Post Office insurance fund, 305

Lewis, Dr. vol. ii. 303

Libraries, Post Office, vol. ii. 308

Lichfield, vol. i. 138, vol. ii. 191

Lichfield, Earl of, Postmaster-General; his Post Office Consolidation
Act, vol. i. 281;
opposed to penny postage, 279, 288, 293, 314, 325, 351, 427, vol. ii. 3;
goes into a passion over it, vol. i. 359;
R. H.'s letters to, 292, 293

Life insurance of Post Office staff, vol. ii. 304-307

Lines, Mr., vol. i. 74, 391

Liverpool, R. H.'s first visit, vol. i. 140;
newspapers in 1834, 218;
testimonials, 442, vol. ii. 400;
speech at a public dinner, vol. ii. 53;
committee of the town council, 54;
district system, 272;
mutual guarantee, 307;
pneumatic tubes, 340

Lloyd, Mr. James, vol. ii. 387

Loans to railway companies. See Railways.

Locke, Mr., vol. ii. 159, 281

London, R. H.'s early visits, vol. i. 58, 134-136, 145, 200;
removal to, 180-182, 200;
daily newspapers, 218;
deliveries, 269, 282, vol. ii. 34, 258, 272;
petition for Penny Postage, vol. i. 280, 289;
number of Post Offices, 376, vol. ii. 314;
amount of correspondence, vol. ii. 94, 270;
Sunday agitation, 118;
grant of its Freedom, 428;
represented by its chief magistrate in Westminster Abbey, 430.
See also Post Office.

Londonderry, Marquis of, vol. ii. 91

Longton, vol. ii. 400

Lord's Day Society, foolish deputation from, vol, ii. 113;
its course of slandering, 129, 136, 154, 155;
a proof of conscious weakness, 149;
Professor Henslow's reply to, 145

Lord Mayor's English, vol. i. 144

Lords of the Treasury, vol. i. 386

Lowe, Mr. (Viscount Sherbrooke), vol. ii. 280, 347.

Lowther, Viscount (Earl of Lonsdale), vol. i. 436, 439, 448, 462, 465,
492, vol. ii. 61;
member of committee (1838), vol. i. 287;
votes against Penny Postage, 327;
Postmaster General, his cold and suspicious manner, 444, 458;
his ignorance, 453, vol. ii. 10;
plan of registration, vol. i. 455, 456, 459, 476;
his pride offended, 459, 476;
claims to the origination of Penny Postage, 488

Lyons, vol. ii. 311

Maberly, Lieut.-Colonel, vol. i. 374, 386, 424, 426, 428, 430, 444, 455,
487, 491, vol. ii. 48, 49, 55, 56, 58, 63, 64, 65, 71, 73, 75, 84,
89, 113, 120, 121, 122, 129, 177, 185, 201;
examined before parliamentary committee of 1838, vol. i. 300, 302, 313,
314, 316, 323, vol. ii. 10;
his opinion of Penny Postage, vol. i. 326, vol. ii. 10;
examined before Committee of Enquiry, 1843, vol. ii. 1, 3, 5, 7, 10;
question of his retirement, vol. i. 362, 427, 437, vol. ii. 41, 43, 74,
96, 98, 99, 103-105, 165-169, 194-200, 206, 209, 210, 215, 218,
219, 221, 437, 445, 457, 461;
appointed to the Board of Audit, 224;
his selection of heads of departments, 266

Macaulay, Lord, vol. i. 333, vol. ii. 151;
a man of "imperfect sympathies," vol. i. 199;
an error in his history, 500;
R. H. sends him a document about Titus Oates, vol. ii. 261;
"defiance of Post Office regulations," 315;
funeral, 431, 432

Madeira, vol. ii. 318

Magistrate, School, vol. i. 110

Magna Charta, vol. i. 145

Mails. See Railways.

Mail-bag apparatus, vol. ii. 237

Malmesbury, Earl of, vol. ii. 149

Maltby, Dr. vol. i. 173

Malthus, Mr., vol. i. 173, 188

Manchester in 1821, vol. i. 160;
Chamber of Commerce, 301, 307;
postage to Lyons, vol. ii. 311;
pneumatic tubes, 340;
correspondence equal that of Russia, 350

Map-making, vol. i. 79, 86

Marcet, Mrs., vol. i. 501

Margate, vol. i. 133-135

Marks, School, vol. i. 107

Marlborough, Duke of, vol. i. 38, vol. ii. 356

Marseilles, vol. ii. 294

Martineau, Miss, error in her History of England, vol. i. 239;
passage in her Autobiography about Sydney Smith and Lord Monteagle, 361;
describes R. H., 361, 390;
letter to R. H., vol. ii. 14

Massey, Mr., vol. ii. 395

Matthews, Mr. William, vol. i. 73, 89

Maury, Mr., vol. i. 303

May, Sir Erskine, vol. ii. 91

Mayer, Mr., vol. i. 442

Mazzini, vol. ii. 28

McCulloch, Mr., vol. i. 245, 338

Mediterranean, vol. i. 281

Melbourne, Viscount, vol. i. 344, 416, 438;
receives deputation, 341;
adopts Penny Postage, 343, 346;
R. H's interview with, 357;
on "moral-force men," 358;
moves second reading of Penny Postage Bill, 359

Menai Straits, vol. i. 297, 381

Mercantile committee. See Committee.

Messengers, Post Office, vol. i. 425

Metropolitan Asylums Board, vol. ii. 421

Miles, Mr. Pliny, vol. ii. 319

Milford, vol. i. 297

Mill, James, vol. i. 180

Millington's Hospital, vol. i. 4

Milton, John, quotation from his "Defensio Secunda," vol. ii. 225;
"Paradise Lost" read by R. H., 423

Minorities, representation of, vol. i. 24, 69, 223

Mitford, Miss, vol. ii. 319

Moffatt, Mr., vol. i. 277, 436, vol. ii. 225;
supporter of Penny Postage, vol. i. 294, 342, 469, vol. ii. 389;
corresponds with Duke of Wellington, vol. i. 353;
letter to R. H., 467;
consulted by R. H., vol. ii. 170, 198, 200;
R. H.'s resignation of office, 384, 388, 389, 394

Money Order Office, similar institution in France, vol. i. 376;
early State of English Office, vol. i. 377, 411, 454, vol. ii. 254, 398;
reduction of charges, vol. i 411, vol. ii. 316;
increase in business, vol. i. 411, vol. ii. 254, 286;
mismanagement of, vol. i. 454, vol. ii. 70, 77, 439;
frauds, vol. i. 454, vol. ii. 61, 76, 80;
economies and improvements in, vol. ii. 56, 71, 76-78, 178, 216, 257,
286, 381, 399, 439, 458, 463;
losses and profits, 78, 179, 257, 286;
Sunday business, 108;
clerks classified, 179;
salaries, 245;
amount yearly transmitted, 286, 383, 397;
contract work, 286;
extended to colonies, 316;
foreign countries, 404;
described in "Household Words," 253

Monopoly, Post Office, vol. i. 238, 246, vol. ii. 405

Monsell, Mr. (Lord Emly), vol. ii. 284

Monsoons, premature setting in of the, vol. i. 168

Montagu, Mr. Basil, vol. i. 43

Monteagle, Lord. See Rice.

Montrose, Duke of, vol. ii. 373, 374, 404

_Morning Chronicle_, vol. ii. 120, 122

_Morning Post_, vol. i. 449, vol. ii. 76, 116

Mortleman, Mr., vol. ii. 349

Mudge, Colonel, vol. i. 94, 96

Mulready envelope, vol. i. 393, 419

Murchison, Sir Roderick, vol. ii. 359

Napier, Messrs., vol. ii. 148

Neate, Mr., vol. ii. 398

Netley Abbey, vol. i. 145

New South Wales, vol. ii. 290, 481

New York, vol. i. 206, 303, vol. ii. 93, 187

New Zealand, vol. ii. 290, 480

Newcastle, vol. i. 452, 465, vol. ii. 340

Newspapers, stamp duty on, vol. i. 217, 226-230, 524, vol. ii. 238, 343,
466-473;
reduced, vol. i. 218;
number of in 1834, 218;
made to serve for letters, vol. i. 240;
privilege of late posting, vol. ii. 62;
acceleration of news, 294;
tubular conveyance, 338;
claims for lower postal rate, 342-349;
R. H.'s plan for their distribution, 347, 484-491;
number sent by post, 382

Newman, Cardinal, vol. i. 194

Nicholson, Mr., vol. ii. 251

"North and South American Coffee-House," vol. i. 303

"Notes and Queries," vol. i. 239

Northcote, Sir Stafford, vol. ii. 334;
commissioner on Post Office salaries, vol. ii. 221;
commissioner on packet service, 239

Nottingham Shoemakers' Society, vol. i. 308

Numbering of streets, vol. ii. 311

Oates, Titus, his slanders paralleled, vol. ii. 117;
pensioned, 261

Ocean Penny Postage, vol. ii. 241, 319, 371

O'Connell, Daniel, vol. i. 278;
on the deputation to Lord Melbourne, 342

O'Connell, Mr. M. J., vol. i. 287, 327

Oliphant, Mrs., vol. i. 500

Orthography, vol. ii. 418

Ostend and Dover mail packet, vol. ii. 349

Overstone, Lord. See Jones-Loyd.

Owen, Robert, interested in Hazelwood, vol. i. 173;
R. H.'s visit to him at New Lanark, 175, 206;
description of New Harmony, 206;
his plan, 206, 210, 214

Oxford, University of, vol. ii. 400, 422

Oxford, vol. ii. 181

Pacific Ocean, vol. ii. 291

Packet service. Admiralty _versus_ Post Office, vol. ii. 5, 183, 238,
288, 369-375, 402, 466-473.
See also Post Office and Commission.

Page, Mr. Edward, vol. ii. 283, 341

Palmer, John, his postal reforms, vol. i. 237, 257, 289;
defrauded by government, vol. ii. 9;
Surveyor General, 40

Palmer, Mr., vol. i. 426

Palmerston, Viscount, vol. ii. 399;
letter to Lord Elgin, 359;
R. H.'s interviews with, 377;
notice in House of Commons on a pension to Lady Hill, 390, 394;
deputation to him, 395;
brings up message from the Queen, 395;
speech in House, 395-8

Panama route, vol. ii. 290, 481

Parcels Post, vol. ii. 65, 336, 369, 403

Paris, R. H.'s visits to, vol. i. 176, 376;
number of post offices in 1839, 376

Parker, Mr. (M.P. for Sheffield), vol. i. 243, 287, 327, 344;
secretary to the Treasury, vol. ii. 38, 59, 98

"Parker Society," vol. i. 462

Parkes, Mr. Joseph, vol. ii. 388, 394

Parnell, Sir H., vol. i. 245

Parr, Dr., vol. i. 172

Parris, Dr., vol. i. 504

Parsons, Mr. J. M., vol. ii. 16

Parsons, Mr., vol. i. 401

Partnership, articles of, vol. i. 187

Patronage, vol. ii. 61, 184, 191, 211, 247-250, 287, 299, 364, 403, 405

Patten, Mr. Wilson (Lord Winmarleigh), vol. ii. 388, 389

Pattern post, vol. ii. 368

Pauper education, vol. i. 218

Peacock, Mr., vol. i. 302, 325, vol. ii. 327

Pearson, Mr. Joseph, vol. i. 42, 279

Peel, Sir Robert, vol. i. 289, 343, 436, 445, 473, 482, vol. ii. 14, 23;
gives qualified support to Penny Postage, 350, 351;
opposes immediate adoption, 351, 355;
supports abolition of franking, 355;
does not intend to advance penny rate, 449;
misstates postal revenue, 449, 460, 485, vol. ii. 5;
R. H. appeals to him, vol. i. 469, vol. ii. 36;
his reply, vol. i. 469;
R. H.'s rejoinder, 471;
speech on motion for committee of enquiry, 491;
subscribes to R. H.'s testimonial, vol. ii. 32, 36;
resigns, 37;
the "Peelites" compensate R. H. for his injustice, 226;
squanders force, 412

Penalties, enforcement of, vol. i. 90, vol ii. 19

Peninsular and Oriental Company, vol. ii. 292, 293

Penny postage; claimants to invention of, vol. i. 332, vol. ii. 51,
392-394, 493;
accepted by government, vol. i. 343-345;
obstacles to its full success, 347;
included in the budget, 348-353;
Bill passes the House of Commons, 355-356;
the House of Lords, 359-360;
plans for collecting, 381, 387;
to begin on January 10th, 1840, 386;
first day of, 390;
question of twopenny rate, 435, 436;
last attack on, vol. ii. 350;
results of, 380, 438;
ocean Penny Postage, 241.
See also Letters and Post Office.

Perkins, Messrs. vol. i. 402, 407

Perpetual motion, vol. i. 45

Persian Ambassador, vol. i. 172

Petitions in favour of Penny Postage, vol. i. 280, 288, 289, 307, 339,
349, 356;
R. H.'s petition, 483;
mercantile committee's, 484

Phillips, Professor John, vol. i. 503

Phillips, Professor Richard, vol. i. 400-402

Pickford, Messrs., vol. ii. 3

Pillar letter-boxes, first used in France, one set up at Allahabad,
vol. i. 417;
R. H. introduces them into England, 417, vol. ii. 259;
number of, 314

Piron, M., vol. i. 341, 377, vol. ii. 94, 188, 225

Pitt, William, vol. i. 19, 200

Place, Mr. Francis, vol. i. 277

Playfair, Dr. Lyon, vol. i. 210

Plymouth, vol. ii. 129, 133

Political economy, discussions on, vol. i. 23, 198

Political Economy Club, vol. ii. 416

Polk, President, vol. ii. 93

Polytechnic Institution, vol. i. 426

Porter, Mr., vol. ii. 187

Portugal, its gross postal revenue, vol. ii. 252;
its slowness to reform, 318

Post cards, vol. ii. 382

"Post Circular," vol. i. 339

Postmaster-General, office should be permanent, vol. ii. 404

Postmasters, emoluments of, vol. i. 433, vol. ii. 245;
should be empowered to appoint their clerks, 247;
appointment of, 248, 299, 405;
in arrear with accounts, vol. i. 454, vol. ii. 313

Postage. See Letters.

Post Office Consolidation Act, vol. i. 281;
number of offices, 376, vol. ii. 313, 314;
London district offices, vol. i. 258, 269, 376, vol. ii. 62, 100, 258,
271, 381;
rural offices, vol. i. 430, 433, 451, 486, vol. ii. 182, 260, 381;
"a vast machine," vol. ii. 53, 233, 271;
errors in accounts, vol. i. 249, 298, 429-430, 448, 449, 475, 490,
vol. ii. 5, 50, 78, 87, 186, 187;
errors as regards packet-service accounts, vol. i. 449, 460, 485,
vol. ii. 4, 185, 238, 402;
audit, vol. i. 454, vol. ii. 186, 313;
statistics, vol. i. 414, 434, vol. ii. 55, 65;
chief office, vol. ii. 216, 268-270;
widows' and orphans' fund, 306;
mutual guarantee, 307;
libraries, 308;
volunteer corps, 334;
revenue (before 1839), vol. i. 244, 256, 283, 286, 534, vol. ii. 382;
(after 1839), vol. i. 416, 432, 459, 460, 464, 468, vol. ii. 5, 33,
85, 188, 295, 297, 382, 392, 397, 417;
causes of increased expenditure, vol. i. 411-413, 419, 427, vol. ii. 295;
R. H.'s calculations as to recovery of revenue, vol. i. 256, 325, 347,
396, vol. ii. 214, 297;
true mode of arriving at net revenue, vol. ii. 237, 298, 466;
every branch ought to be self-supporting, 371, 402;
postal union, 404;
monopoly, vol. i. 238, 246, vol. ii. 405;
effect of school boards on the revenue, 417;

"Post Office reform," vol. i. 262, 276, 283

Postage of government departments, vol. i. 355, 388, vol. ii. 351

"Postal Guide" and "Postal Official Circular," vol. ii. 329

Pratt, Mr., vol. i. 352

Prepayment. See Letters.

Pressly, Sir Charles, vol. i. 400, 429

Priestley, Dr., T. W. Hill one of his congregation, vol. i. 11;
his house destroyed by rioters, 33;
his greatest-happiness principle, 193

Prince Consort. Gift to the Post Office Library, vol. ii. 308

"A Princess Royal," vol. i. 420

Prince of Wales presents Albert Gold Medal to R. H., vol. ii. 400

Printing-machine, vol. i. 224-230, 525-528, vol. ii. 76

Pritchard, Mr., vol. i. 280

Pritchard, Professor, vol. i. 504

Promotion, vol. ii. 65, 184, 191, 246-551, 298-302, 321, 376

Prussia, postal reform in, vol. ii. 35, 252, 406;
treaty with, 208

"Public Education," written by M. D. H. and R. H. vol. i. 103;
preface to it, 105;
makes Hazelwood famous, 130, 170, 178;
read in M.S. by Miss Edgeworth, 165;
praised by Bentham, 171;
reviewed by Jeffrey and De Quincey, 174, 178

Punctuality--school, vol. i. 89, 113, 120;
premiums offered to railway companies for, vol. ii. 235, 273;
to steam-ship companies, 292;
R. H.'s household, 422

"Quarterly Review," vol. i. 377; vol. ii. 192

Queen Victoria--abandons her privilege of franking, vol. i. 388;
disapproves of Lord Ashley's motion, vol. ii. 158;
her "Drawing Room," 245;
confers a K. C. B. on R. H. 359, 422;
Lady Hill's address to her, 394;
message to the House of Commons, 395

Radcliffe, Mrs. vol. i. 79

Radnor, Earl of, vol. i. 346, vol. ii. 344

Railways--cost of conveyance of mails, vol. i. 329, 412, 452, vol. ii.
181, 182, 189, 257, 296;
examination of officers, vol. ii. 18;
enforcement of penalties, causes of accidents, 19;
variety of signals, 20;
excursion and express trains, 21;
"railway mania," 23;
Parliament and the railways, 25;
competition, 26;
need of legislation, 66, 227-231, 276, 282;
Commission of 1865, 69, 283, 491;
notices, 91;
to be brought into the heart of London, 217, 464;
committee of 1853, 228;
acceleration of mails, 58, 231-237, 273;
premiums for punctuality, 235, 273;
general contracts, 275;
Government loans, 278-282, 474;
Government purchase, 283;
arbitration, 284;
true interests, 22, 23, 285;
London and Brighton, vol. i. 90, vol. ii. 16-26, 52, 60, 285;
South-Eastern, 23, 25;
South-Western, 24, 276;
North-Western, 176, 232, 274;
Great Northern, 182, 232;
North British, 273;
Gloucester and Hereford, 277;
Shrewsbury and Hereford, 277

Rathbone, Mr., vol. ii. 92

Rea, Mr. Edward, vol. ii. 318

_Record_, The, vol. ii. 115

Registration. See Letters.

Reports, Postmaster-General's Annual, vol. ii. 264, 267, 310, 351

Revenue (General) uninjured by judicious reductions of taxation, vol.
i. 242, 244, 255, 535;
postal revenue. See Post Office.

Ricardo, Mr. J. L., vol. ii. 83

Ricardo, Mr. Moses, vol. ii. 337

Rice, Mr. Spring (Lord Monteagle), vol. i. 218, 220, 267, 278, 289, 348,
365, 460, vol. ii. 188, 469;
R. H.'s interview with, vol. i. 263, 265;
includes Penny Postage in the budget, 348, 351, 355;
described by Miss Martineau, 361

Richmond, Duke of, vol. i. 288

Rintoul, Mr., vol. i. 278

Robbery, Attempted, of a letter-carrier, vol. ii. 79;
of a Western mail, 189.
See also Letters.

Robinson, Mr. H. C., vol. i. 36

Robinson Crusoe, vol. i. 10, 51

Rochefoucauld, La, vol. i. 192

Roebuck, Mr. J. A., early friendship with R. H., vol. i. 214;
on the Sunday question, vol. ii. 129;
official franking, 351

Roman road, vol. i. 98

Romilly, Sir Samuel, his sole inheritance, vol. i. 2;
effect of the French Revolution, 21;
reform of the criminal law, vol. ii. 35

Romilly, Mr. Edward, vol. ii. 224

Rousseau, J. J., vol. i. 124

Roy, General, vol. i. 94

Royal Observatory, vol. i. 95

Royal Society, vol. ii. 359, 420

Rugby School, vol. i. 100, 115

Ruling Machine, vol. i. 53

Russell, Lord John (Earl Russell), vol. i. 278, 355, 400, vol. ii. 38,
98, 103, 171, 174;
extract from his "Recollections," vol. i. 343;
announces adoption of Penny Postage, 345;
the Sunday question, vol. ii. 111, 118, 121, 127, 133, 135, 147, 156,
157, 159

Russia, vol. ii. 118;
postal reforms, vol. ii. 13, 35, 252;
number of letters (1855), 350

Sabden, vol. i. 324

Salaries--demand for increase of, vol. i. 413, 450, vol. ii. 55, 63, 321,
326, 327;
statistics for arriving at, vol. i. 414, 433, vol. ii. 65;
scale of, vol. ii. 89, 245, 296;
commission for revision of, vol. ii. 89, 184, 221, 246-249;
salaries of higher officers, 333;
of Postmaster-General and Secretary, 345;
of officers generally, 345

Sargant, Mr. W. L., his account of Mr. T. W. Hill, vol. i. 15, 16;
of Hazelwood School, 93, 123

Säve, Professor, vol. i. 173

Savings Banks, vol. ii. 331, 364-367, 383

Scholefield, Mr., vol. i. 339

School, opened at Hill Top, vol. i. 47;
Hazelwood, built, 128;
opened, 129;
on fire, 151;
"a sucker from it," 180;
Bruce Castle opened, 181;
Hazelwood, given up, 202;
moral tone, 15;
teaching, 15-18, 63, 65-67, 91-94, 127, 212;
theatre, 77;
surveying, 85, 94;
system of government 87, 100-128;
punctuality, 89, 120;
"exhibitions," 91, 113, 127, 170;
benevolent society, 109;
band of music, 112, 122;
"a little world," 113;
magazine, 116, 171;
"school fund," 119;
described by Mr. Sargant, 15, 16, 93, 123;
by Captain Basil Hall, 122;
becomes famous, 130, 170-174, 178;
its fame excessive, 174;
number of pupils, 178

School Boards, vol. ii. 417

Schuster, Mr., vol. ii. 285

Scotland, charge on letters to, vol. i. 238, 249, 297, 381;
Sunday labour, vol. ii. 109, 112, 148, 157;
mails, 232-234, 273, 338;
life insurances, 307;
early history of Post Office, 352

Screw steamboat, vol. i. 84

Scudamore, Mr., vol. ii. 312, 333

Severn, the, vol. i. 131

Seymour, Lord (Duke of Somerset), vol. i. 268, 287, 327-330, vol. ii. 185

Shakespeare corrected, vol. i. 91

Shaw-Lefevre, Sir J., letter to R. H., vol. i. 209;
South-Australian commissioner, 220;
his account of Mr. Goulburn, 443

Shoemakers' Society, vol. i. 308

Short-hand, vol. i. 13

Shrewsbury, vol. i. 4, 131, 132, 140, 141

Sibthorpe, Colonel, vol. i. 352, 467, vol. ii. 98

Sikes, Mr. C. W., the originator of Post Office Savings Banks, vol. ii.
331, 364, 366;
his disinterestedness, Mr. Gladstone's letter to him, 332

Small-pox, vol. i. 305

Smith, Adam, vol. i. 23, 198

Smith, Mr. Egerton, vol. i. 442

Smith, Mr. John, vol. i. 180

Smith, Mr. Robert, vol. i. 272, 385, vol. ii. 139, 258

Smith, Dr. Southwood, vol. i. 214, vol. ii. 76

Smith, Rev. Sydney, ridiculed Penny Postage, vol. i. 361;
letter to R. H., vol. ii. 14

Smyth, Admiral, vol. i. 498

Social Community, scheme for a, vol. i. 207, 210

Society, Mutual Improvement, vol. i. 68, 72;
literary improvement, 69;
philosophical, 80;
one founded by Sir J. Shaw-Lefevre and R. H., 209, 226

Society of Arts, vol. ii. 336, 400

Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, vol. i. 201, 219

Soldiers' letters and remittances, vol. ii. 253, 310, 316

South-Australian Association and Commission, vol. i 216, 219-224;
vol. ii. 426;
mail service, 289

Southey, Robert, hatred of Bonapartism, vol. i. 19;
description of the Charter House, 101;
Pantisocracy, 213

Spain, Postal reform in, vol. ii. 13, 35, 252;
treaty with, 318

Spearman, Sir Alexander, vol. i. 228, vol. ii. 279, 333

_Spectator_, The, vol. i. 278

Spencer, Earl, advice on publication of correspondence with Treasury,
vol. i. 474, 477

St. Germans, Earl of, vol. ii. 99

St. Priest, M., vol. ii. 93

Stamps--Newspaper stamps impressed at the Stamp Office, vol. i. 226;
first suggested by Mr. Knight, 265;
for letters proposed by R. H., 265, 270, 345;
adhesive, 271, 346;
stamped covers, 271, 383, 393;
objection to use of stamps, 314, 316, 378, 382, 396, vol. ii. 86;
devised in France, vol. i. 377;
machinery for manufacture of, 392, 406-409;
prepayment by stamps begins May 6th, 1840, 396;
supply insufficient, 397;
forgery and frauds, 399-401;
obliteration, 399-404;
number issued, 407;
electrotype imitations, 426;
introduced into Spain and Russia, vol. ii. 13

Stamps, general distribution of, by Post Office, vol. i. 429

Stamping, illegibility, vol. ii. 330;
Mr. Pearson Hill's machine, 331

_Standard_, The, vol. ii. 120

Stanley of Alderley, Lord, vol. ii. 281;
R. H. has not his confidence, 361, 362, 376, 378, 412;
disapproves of contract system, 364;
not deficient in courage, 368, 371;
establishes pattern post, 368;
letter to R. H. on his resignation, 384;
R. H.'s answer, 385;
letter to Treasury, 385;
speech in House of Lords, 386

"State and Prospects of Penny Postage," vol. ii. 1, 13

"States," letters for Government, &c., vol. ii. 107

Stationers, deputation of, vol. i. 348

Statistics, Postal, vol. i. 414, 434, vol. ii. 55, 65

Steamboat, plan for working one by a screw, vol. i. 84;
by the hydrogen of sea water, 210;
R. H.'s first sight of, 135;
run only in the summer, 160, 168

Stephen, Sir James, vol. i. 443, 481;
R. H.'s opinion of, 482

Stephenson, George, vol. i. 242, vol. ii. 250

Stephenson, Robert, controversy with, vol. ii. 341

Sterling, life of, vol. i. xii., vol. ii. 411

Stonehenge, vol. i. 131, 146

Stourbridge, vol. i. 57, 133

Street nomenclature, vol. ii. 311

Sunday observance agitation, vol. ii. 107-161, 305, 446-456

Surveying, Land, vol. i. 85

Survey, Trigonometrical, vol. i. 94, 175, 221

Survey of mail-packets, Admiralty, vol. ii. 370

Surveyors, Meeting of Post Office, vol. ii. 140;
reports from, 267

Sweden slow to adopt postal reform, vol. ii. 252

Swinford, vol. i. 413

Switzerland, vol. ii. 252, 406

Symonds family, the, vol. i. 1, 4, 141

Symonds, Mr. Arthur, vol. i. 210, 281

Talma, vol. i. 144

Taxation, reduction of. See Revenue.

Telegraph brought to the Post Office, vol. ii. 83;
Government purchase, 251, 418;
pneumatic tube service, 340;
female labour, 403

Testimonials to R. H. from Wolverhampton, vol. i. 363;
Glasgow and Cupar-Fife, 442;
Liverpool, 442, vol. ii. 400;
Longton, 400;
national, 27

Thayer, M., vol. ii. 94

Theatre, School, vol. i. 75, 77, 91

Theodolite, improved use of, vol. i. 95

Thiers, M., vol. i. 410

Thomas á Becket, vol. i. 136

Thompson, General, vol. i. 477, vol. ii. 139

Thornley, Mr., vol. i. 287, 327, vol. ii. 185, 198

Thornton, demanded wager of battle, vol. i. 86

Thrale, Mrs., vol. i. 54, 106

Tilley, Mr. (Sir John), vol. ii. 119, 122, 125, 134, 139, 181, 185, 193,
203, 331, 374, 453;
his duties as assistant-secretary, 264;
mentioned in Sir C. E. Trevelyan's letter, 301;
interested in life assurance of officials, 304;
gave R. H. earnest support up to 1860, 360;
managed Savings Bank Department, 364

Timm, Mr., vol. i. 401

_Times_, The, vol. ii. 76;
strong support to Penny Postage, vol. i. 331, 334, 340;
Sunday agitation, vol. ii. 116, 117, 120, 132, 151;
colonial postage, 242;
competitive examinations, 249;
attack on R. H., 344;
reduction of postage on newspapers, 345-347;
R. H.'s resignation, 389

Torrens, Colonel, chairman of South Australian Commission, vol. i. 220,
224;
an intimate friend of R. H., vol. ii. 426;
a gallant soldier, 427

Trafalgar, vol. i. 39

Travelling post office, vol. i. 205, 241, vol. ii. 137, 236

Tremenheere, Mr., vol. ii. 31

Trevelyan, Sir Charles, vol. i. 447;
friendliness towards R. H., vol. i. 445, 457, vol. ii. 30;
one of the Treasury Commission on salaries, vol. ii. 221, 301;
letters from, 224, 301

Tripolitan Ambassador, vol. i. 172

Trollope, Mr. Anthony, vol. ii. 288

Truro, First Lord. See Sir T. Wilde.

Truro, Second Lord, vol. ii. 386

Tubular conveyance, vol. ii. 337-340, 402, 489

Tunis, Bey of, vol. ii. 350

Turner, J. M. W., vol. i. 135

United States, Contraband letters to, vol. i. 303;
postal reform in, 336, vol. ii. 27, 35, 93, 187, 319;
negotiations with, 92, 244, 318;
mail-packet charges, 310;
unjustly blames England, 319

Uriconium, vol. i. 141

Uxbridge, vol. i. 282

Vallance, Mr., vol. ii. 337

Valayer, M. de, vol. i. 377

Vaughan, Rev. Dr., vol. ii. 139, 144

Vernier pendulum, vol. i. 201, 517

Vickers, James, vol. ii. 312

Villiers, Mr. C. P., describes R. H.'s "great disinterestedness,"
vol. i. 263;
a supporter of Penny Postage, 263, 467, vol. ii. 166;
a member of the committee of 1838, vol. i. 287;
present at the funeral, vol. ii. 431

"Violet" mail-packet, wreck of, vol. ii. 349

Voluntary work, vol. i. 116

Volunteer Corps, Post Office, vol. ii. 334

Von der Heydt, Mr., vol. ii. 252

Waghorn, Lieutenant, vol. ii. 59

Wakefield, Mr. E. G., vol. i. 216, 219, 278

Wallace, Mr. Robert, vol. i. 272, 330, 331, 334, 337, 338, 360, 361,
436, 480;
an early Postal Reformer, 245, 246, 257-260;
national testimonial to, 260, 529, vol. ii. 147;
moves for committee, vol. i. 278, 287;
chairman of committee, 295;
his casting vote carries uniform rate, 328;
never claimed authorship of Penny Postage, 332, 344, 446, vol. ii. 493

Walliker, Mr., vol. ii. 178

Walsall, vol. i. 301

Warburton, Mr. Henry, a supporter of Postal Reform, vol. i. 263, 288,
299, 327, 477;
writes report of committee of 1838, 333, 337;
his house, 333;
deputation to Lord Melbourne, 342;
"a moral-force man," 358;
presides at presentation of testimonial, vol. ii. 32;
communicates with the Government about R. H.'s acceptance of office,
vol. ii. 37, 43, 45, 56, 164, 166, 170, 198, 200, 206, 460;
letters to R. H., vol. i. 343, 344, vol. ii. 38;
R. H.'s letter to him, vol. ii. 457

Warwick, vol. i. 42, 150

Water-clock alarum, vol. i. 83

Water-wheel, vol. i. 44

Waterloo, illumination for, vol. i. 135

Watson, Mr., vol. i. 403

Watson, Sir Thomas, vol. ii. 377

Watt, James, vol. i. 23, vol. ii. 433

Wellington, Duke of, vol. ii. 25, 30, 250;
letter to Mr. Moffatt, vol. i. 353;
R. H.'s letter to, 354;
votes for Penny Postage Bill, 359;
urges adoption of R. H.'s plan as a whole, vol. i. 359, 362, vol. ii. 9;
funeral, 261;
maintains that soldiers are not given to letter-writing, 310

West, Benjamin, vol. i. 136

West Indies, packet service, vol. ii. 288;
each Government manages its own Postal Service, 317

Westminster Abbey, vol. ii. 430

Weymouth, vol. ii. 87

Wheatley, Mr. Henry B., vol. ii. 29

Wheatstone, Professor, vol. i. 210

Whitmore, Mr., vol. i. 220

Wight, Isle of, vol. i. 145, 146, 168

Wilberforce, Mr., vol. i. 4, 172

Wilberforce, Bishop, vol. ii. 149

Wilde, Sir Thomas (Lord Truro), vol. i. 467;
undertakes R. H.'s case before Parliament, 469, 480, 482, 483;
moves for Select Committee, 487;
congratulates R. H., vol. ii. 225

Wilkes, John, vol. i. 40

William the Third, vol. ii. 261

Williams, Mr., "a tradesman and a scholar," vol. i. 52

Williams, Mr. (door-keeper to the House of Commons), vol. i. 352

Wilson, Mr., vol. ii. 213, 280, 293

Wolseley, Sir Charles, vol. i. 149

Wolverhampton, vol. i. 34-8, 42, 46, 140, 282;
testimonial from, 363

Wood, Sir Charles (Viscount Halifax), vol. ii. 37, 43, 57, 73, 75, 87,
113, 114, 118, 121, 142, 155, 156, 157, 173, 175, 176, 184, 213,
214, 215;
question of R. H.'s promotion, 72, 97, 165, 166, 168, 194, 196, 197, 200;
unreasonable demands, 100, 103, 104, 132

Wood, Mr. John, vol. i. 315, vol. ii. 214

Wrottesley, Lord, vol. ii. 244

Yatton, vol. i. 307

Yorke, Hon. and Rev. Grantham, vol. ii. 128

Yorkshire Penny Bank, vol. ii. 365

Young, Mr. Thomas, vol. ii. 96

FOOTNOTES:

[1] London: Charles Knight and Co., Ludgate Street, 1844.

[2] "State and Prospects," p. 3.

[3] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 24.

[4] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 25.

[5] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 72.

[6] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 72, p. 21.

[7] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 78-82.

[8] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 85, p. 44.

[9] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 84 and 85.

[10] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 1664.

[11] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 318.

[12] Question 1132.

[13] Question 1174.

[14] Question 1163.

[15] Question 1176.

[16] Question 1178.

[17] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 407-421,
581-594.

[18] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 563-570.

[19] I have since learnt that Mr. Allen had been in the Post Office.

[20] The plan was originally devised by a Mr. Murray, who, however,
transferred it to Mr. Dockwra.

[21] "State and Prospects of Penny Postage," pp. 35, 36.

[22] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 1803 and
1804.

[23] Question 2968.

[24] Vide _ante_, pp. 485, 486.

[25] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 423-439.

[26] "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," p. 3.

[27] "State and Prospects of Penny Postage," p. 42.

[28] The following anecdote I find recorded by Sir R. Hill, "The
Clayton tunnel, the longest one upon the London and Brighton Railway,
bore for some time, though quite undeservedly, the reputation of being
unsafe. One day when I was travelling through it, a man, addressing me
said; 'Sir this tunnel does a power of good.' 'How so?' I asked. 'Why,'
he replied, 'there are more prayers said in this tunnel than in all the
churches in Brighton put together.'"--ED.

[29] An interesting account of this tract, by Mr. Henry B. Wheatley,
will be found in "The Academy" of December 27th, 1879.--ED.

[30] Application of the same rule to the letters of the year 1868 would
raise the amount of relief to nearly £17,000,000. [In 1878 the amount
would be nearly £23,000,000.--ED.]

[31] "Hansard," Vol. LXXXVIII., p. 957.

[32] "Hansard," Vol. LXXXVIII., p. 959.

[33] Some months before his death Sir R. Hill sent to inform me of a
circumstance that had been lately brought back to his memory, but which
he had omitted, he said, to mention in the History of Penny Postage.
At the time when it was proposed that he should return to the Post
Office with a lower salary than Colonel Maberly's, and therefore in an
inferior position, he himself was unwilling to do so. He foresaw the
troubles that would arise. On mentioning this to some of his friends,
he found that they considered that he was bound to return to the Post
Office work, having received, as it were, a retaining fee in the public
subscription. If it had not been for this he should, he said, have
refused the place.--ED.

[34] "_February 24th, 1847._--I felt tempted to obtain returns, with a
view of settling some of the disputed points between the Post Office
and myself--the one as to the division of French postage between the
two Governments, for instance--but refrained, from a desire to avoid
all causes of irritation. Armstrong tells me that, in a statement of
French postage which I have attacked in my pamphlet as being too high
by about £30,000, an error of £32,000 was actually discovered in the
Accountant's office."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[35] "February 13th.--I met a Committee of the Town Council ...
encouraged them to communicate to me any carefully-considered
improvements which might occur to them. The results of this meeting
have satisfied me that it would be very useful to the Post Office to
have similar means in every large town of learning the well-considered
wishes of the inhabitants."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[36] See pp. 43-46.

[37] These vexations began to tell upon his health. Thus, in his
Journal, I find the following entries:--May 8th, 1847. "I have more to
do than I can accomplish satisfactorily; this produces headache and
incapacity, which make the matter worse." On September 28th of the
same year, after describing some fresh vexations, he writes: "I have
been reading my evidence given ten years ago before the Commissioners
of Post Office Enquiry.... There is a heartiness and freshness in my
replies which I fear I should not now evince."--ED.

[38] "The origin of this strange anomaly is this: Many years ago the
newspaper fees were the perquisite of certain officers, and they
therefore took newspapers in as late as possible."--Sir R. Hill's
Journal.--ED.

[39] The head of the Sorting Department.

[40] The Report (dated 1st January, 1847) was subsequently laid before
a Parliamentary Committee, and is given _in extenso_ in the Fifth
Report of the Select Committee on Railway and Canal Bills, Appendix, p.
246. (Par. Pro. 1853, No. 736.)

[41] This was written before 1871.--ED.

[42] Royal Commission on Railways, 1867.--Report from Sir Rowland Hill,
K.C.B., F.R.S., one of the Commissioners.

[43] Sir Charles Wood (now Lord Halifax).--ED.

[44] It was one of the senior clerks. "Armstrong has told him that,
if any obstacles are thrown in the way of improvement, it is my fixed
determination to apply to the Postmaster-General to dismiss the
offender, and that the higher his rank in the office, the more readily
I shall take the step. ---- is greatly alarmed, and promises all sorts
of things."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[45] "Maberly has contrived to make it appear very much his own act,
talks of _his_ laying down rules for my guidance, interdicts me from
punishing or even reprimanding anyone without the previous sanction of
the Postmaster-General, and in various ways contrives to make the very
act of extending my power the means of tying my hands."--Sir R. Hill's
Journal.--ED.

[46] The following is an instance of one of these circulars:--

"The Heads of Departments and Officers of the Secretary's Office are
requested, before acting on any papers forwarded by Mr. Hill to the
Postmaster-General, to satisfy themselves that the minutes upon such
papers have been entered in the books of the Secretary's Office, which
can be easily ascertained by an observation of the number of the
minutes endorsed in red ink on the back of the paper by the Minute
Clerk. Charles Johnson, Chief Clerk, Oct. 26th, 1847."--Sir R. Hill's
Journal.--ED.

[47] Under the same date I find the following entry in Sir R. Hill's
Journal:--"I am obliged to consult Dr. Southwood Smith as to the state
of my health, having for the last three weeks suffered from sleepless
nights, and almost constant headache. Dr. Smith enquires whether I had
not suffered from anxiety, or excessive labour, and I explained to him
my real position."--ED.

[48] "In perfecting my printing machine we spent about £2000, and
hitherto the saving now effected is the only advantageous result.
Without the knowledge thus obtained I could not have overcome the
difficulties as to printing."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[49] At the present rate of consumption (1869) the saving must amount
to about £6000 a year.

[50] "May 15th, 1849.--The Treasury concurs in the arrangement for
bringing the Electrical Telegraph to the Post Office. Under this
arrangement, which was settled by Mr. J. L. Ricardo and myself, with
the concurrence of the Postmaster-General, part of a spare passage
will be given up to the Company at the Post Office, in return for
which we are to have a right to transmit and receive messages at a low
rate (one shilling for not more than ten words), the Company bearing
all expenses. I am inclined to hope that the plan will prove mutually
advantageous."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[51] The estimate for 1839 is founded on the ascertained number of
letters for one week in the month of November, and strictly speaking
it is for the year ending December 5th, at which time 4_d._ was made
the maximum rate. The estimate for each subsequent year is founded on
the ascertained number of letters for one week in each calendar month
(_vide_ Return to the House of Commons, No. 586, 1847).

[52] This is exclusive of about 6-1/2 millions of franks.

[53] To make this clear, it may be necessary to mention that the gross
postage includes all postage charged; and that, to arrive at the real
postal revenue, there has, of course, to be deducted from this total so
much as, owing to rejection of unpaid letters by addressees, or other
similar causes, is never received.

[54] "June 8th, 1848.--I frequently detect some strange misuse of terms
which has become habitual in the office--_e.g._, many clerks have
applied for, and received, a fortnight's holiday; but I accidentally
discovered the other day that one to whom I had granted the indulgence
stayed away fourteen working days, and, on inquiry, I found that such
was the interpretation invariably put on the term. In my own department
I, of course, have put an end to this."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[55] "Mr. May is one of the few men I ever met with who, being
improvers themselves, desire the help of other improvers."--Sir R.
Hill's Journal. July 8th, 1848.--ED.

[56] See pp. 41 and 46.

[57] See Vol. 1., pp. 269 and 373.

[58] This anticipation was realised. See Return to House of Commons,
No. 645 1850.

[59] Lord Clanricarde said, in his reply, "I could not send forward
to the Treasury your letter of the 3rd of January without previously
communicating with Colonel Maberly." On this Sir R. Hill thus
remarks in his Journal:--"In saying that he could not forward, &c.,
he strangely forgets himself. He did send it forward as soon as he
received it. Perhaps he means that he cannot send it forward officially
or a second time; but this is unnecessary. I don't like the look of
things at all. If I consent to these indefinite delays, the result will
be that there will be a change of Ministry, and I shall be defrauded of
my promised promotion."--ED.

[60] "Forward letters" are letters coming from one post town to a
second, for despatch to a third.

[61] The Secretary to the Treasury. "Mr. Hayter and I think very
much alike on Post Office matters, and we consequently get on
swimmingly."--Sir R. Hill's Journal, Sept. 6, 1849.--ED.

[62] The following extracts from Sir R. Hill's Journal show how much
the question had occupied his attention:--

"November 26th, 1847.--I advised the Postmaster-General steadily to
oppose a delivery of letters in London on the Sunday, being convinced
that the large majority is opposed thereto."

"May 23rd, 1848.--Suggested to the Postmaster-General the expediency
of putting a stop to the agitation about the 'Lord's Day' by forthwith
doing all that is desirable, viz., closing the Offices throughout the
country for Money Order business, and for the receipt of money-paid
letters, and at the same time arranging for the transit of the 'forward
letters' through London on Sunday morning, adding that in my opinion
the latter measure would tend on the whole to the observance of the
Sabbath, as many letters would then be written and posted on the
Saturday which are now written and posted on Sunday."

"Oct. 19th.--On my recommendation the Postmaster-General has decided,
subject to the sanction of the Treasury, to put an end to the
transaction of Money Order business on the Sunday throughout England
and Wales."

"Nov. 23rd.--The Treasury has sanctioned the discontinuance of Money
Order business on the Sunday, and I propose to commence with the new
year."

"Dec. 7th.--The Postmaster-General has sanctioned a minute of mine
proposing that the opinion of the Surveyors shall be taken as to the
discontinuance of ordinary Post Office business from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on the Sunday, with the exception of the despatch and delivery of
mails."

"Jan. 23rd, 1849.--I think I have fully established the position that
to transmit the 'forward letters' through London on the Sunday will not
only be a great convenience to the public, but will actually diminish
Sunday work on the part of the public and on that of the department."

"Feb. 15th.--The Treasury assents to the proposed discontinuance of
Money Order business on the Sunday in Ireland and Scotland, which was
submitted for their sanction a short time since."--ED.

[63] "Oct. 26th.--Roebuck has written to the Postmaster-General
accusing the postmaster at ---- of agitating against the measure, and
enclosing a hand-bill signed by the postmaster which fully establishes
the charge."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[64] "The custom of two religious societies for which he printed."--Sir
R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[65] "November 5th.--Told the Postmaster-General of anonymous letters
which I had received, charging ---- and ---- with encouraging the
opposition in the office. He says he has received a letter, not
anonymous, making similar charges."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[66] See p. 122.

[67] "It is a notable fact that, while so much has been said by the
London merchants and bankers against a delivery in London where their
places of business are, of course, closed, not a word has been said
against a delivery in the suburbs where they live."--Sir R. Hill's
Journal.--ED.

[68] See "Report of Select Committee on Postage, 1843," p. 35.

[69] One or two anecdotes are still preserved in the Post Office of
these meetings with the Surveyors. On one occasion Sir Rowland Hill had
noticed a certain disposition to insubordination on the part of some
of these gentlemen. "He rebuked them by reminding them that, according
to the conventional conclusion of his letter, he was their obedient
servant, 'whereas--I am nothing of the sort.'" On another occasion,
when talking of a certain able official who was rather a bore, he said,
"he is an excellent officer--at Edinburgh."--ED.

[70] On January 10th of the next year there is the following entry in
Sir R. Hill's Journal:--

"This being the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Penny Postage, we
had a family party to celebrate the event. My poor sister, however,
was too much affected by the consideration that it would be the last
meeting of the kind before her departure with her family for South
Australia; and I fear the same consideration affected the spirits of
all."--ED.

[71] Parliamentary Return, 1850, No. 185.

[72] Second Letter on the late Post Office Agitation, by Charles John
Vaughan, D.D., p. 32.

[73] Feb. 21st, 1850.--"Professor Henslow has sent me an amusing reply
to a letter from the Lord's Day Society, requesting him to procure from
his parish a petition in favour of total abolition. Mr. Henslow tells
them, 'Under the old dispensation I would willingly have joined you
in such a petition, but as a Christian, I feel I ought not.'"--Sir R.
Hill's Journal.--ED.

[74] Par. Pro. 1850, No. 185, p. 46.

[75] For this speech, which, in justice to Mr. Wallace, I give at
length, see Vol. I., Appendix G.

[76] Such inconsistency was not confined to Members of Parliament;
the incumbent of a certain parish in which Sunday delivery had been
suspended in consequence of a memorial, to which his own signature was
attached, no sooner felt the inconvenience of the change than he wrote
an indignant protest against it; naïvely declaring that he had never
thought the petition would be granted.

[77] "June 14th, 1850.--The Postmaster-General tells me in confidence
that the Queen was very much inclined to refuse compliance with the
address."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[78] "July 9th.--At the House of Commons.... In the course of the
evening ----, M.P. for ----, evinced a desire to renew acquaintance
with me. For a time I avoided him, but when this was no longer
possible, I told him very plainly my opinion as to the 'Lord's
Day Society.' (He was one of the deputation which came to me last
year.) He replied that he had always done me justice, and referred
to what Lord Ashley had said in the House of Commons. On which I
rejoined that neither Lord Ashley nor any one else had spoken out
in a straightforward, manly way. He left me, apparently much
nettled."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[79] "Hansard," Vol. CXII. pp. 1214, 1215.

[80] "Report of the Commissioners appointed to investigate the question
of Sunday labour at the Post Office." 1850.

[81] "Sept. 2nd.--Monday.--Yesterday the Sunday arrangements
were restored to exactly the same state as before Lord Ashley's
motion."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[82] "July 4th, 1850.--At the Postmaster-General's ... I spoke of
the absolute necessity of a change ... that my duties were too
miscellaneous and too difficult for my present staff to afford me
efficient aid, and that notwithstanding I paid £150 a year out of my
own pocket [his salary was but £1,200 a year] for assistance out of the
office, I had still more to do than my health would bear."

"July 17th.--Called on Mr. Hodgson to consult him on the state of my
health, which makes me very uneasy. Hodgson strongly recommends rest--a
week immediately, and two months as early as it can be got. A tendency
of blood to the head, occasioned by severe mental exertion and anxiety,
is my complaint. I have no hope of getting so much rest, but I must do
the best I can."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[83] "December 20th.-- ... Cobden advises that to prevent jealousy
on Hume's part he should at once be appealed to; the fact of his,
Cobden's, having been consulted first being concealed."--Sir R. Hill's
Journal.--ED.

[84] The Postmaster-General expressed great surprise--a surprise that
almost amounted to incredulity--on being informed that Mr. Frederic
Hill was willing to exchange the office which he already held for the
post of Assistant-Secretary. The Inspectorship of Prisons he looked
upon as the better appointment, as undoubtedly it was.--ED.

[85] "March 7th.--I spoke to the Postmaster-General on the subject,
telling him 'it was exceedingly unjust of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer to press me in this way, knowing as he does that I dare
not attempt the amalgamation until he keeps his promise by giving me
Maberly's place.' In this the Postmaster-General acquiesced."--Sir R.
Hill's Journal.--ED.

[86] "June 20th.--Attended my dear father's funeral."--Sir R. Hill's
Journal.--ED.

[87] I have thought it advisable to omit the description of some of
these proceedings, which, though important in themselves, yet would
have but little interest for the general reader.--ED.

[88] "Hansard," Vol. CXIV., p. 273.

[89] "June 13th, 1849.--The Postmaster-General has approved a proposal
of mine to carry the night-mail between Oxford and the main line of
the Great Western Railway by cart instead of by the branch railway. As
the journey both ways is in the middle of the night nothing whatever
is gained to Oxford by the [present] arrangement."--Sir R. Hill's
Journal.--ED.

[90] A striking instance of this mal-arrangement was reported to me
long afterwards. A very meritorious officer appointed by Colonel
Maberly, and said to be the first ever admitted into the permanent
staff save through political influence, had, during several years,
while rated at a salary never exceeding £120, to superintend men whose
salaries ranged up to £400.

[91] "Aug. 7th, 1849.--Summoned to the Treasury.... Explained to
Mr. Hayter the abuses as to promotion, viz., that there is no
correspondence between the rank of a clerk and his duties--that two
clerks may be engaged in the same duties, the one a secretary at £300 a
year, the other a junior at £70 a year. Of these facts Hayter was not
aware, and thinks the practice is familiar to the Post Office."--Sir R.
Hill's Journal.--ED.

[92] See Vol. I., pp. 461, 475, and 485; and Vol. II., p. 4.

[93] In effect California was the only State not reached at the lower
rate.

[94] "April 27th, 1842.--The proceedings in an election committee to
try the validity of the last return for Lichfield have brought to light
a gross abuse of Post Office patronage in that city. One of the many
clerks who have been appointed to secure votes is now in Newgate on a
charge of Post Office robbery. These, and similar proceedings, account
for the eagerness of the late Postmaster-General to create places, and
for much of the inefficiency and dishonesty among the clerks."--Sir R.
Hill's Journal.--ED.

[95] "January 8th, 1852.--I told him plainly that the Government has
not kept faith with me--that if they meant, as now stated, that I
should succeed Maberly merely in the event of a vacancy arising in the
ordinary manner, they ought clearly to have stated as much, and not
held out expectations of a different kind."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[96] "April 3rd, 1852.--In a minute of Maberly's on the custody of
the Post Office the following sentence occurs:--'That every officer
(including the housekeeper, &c.) within the building, except
the Postmaster-General, the Secretary, Assistant-Secretary, and
Chief Clerk, shall be considered as under the directions of the
clerk-in-waiting for the time being, whilst the Chief Clerk is not on
duty in the Office, and they shall take their instructions from that
officer alone, in case of any emergency or accident.'

"The effect of this would, of course, be to place myself and
Frederic under the direction of the 'clerk-in-waiting;' and the
Postmaster-General having passed it unnoticed, I have for some time
been uneasy on the subject; but on my pointing out the actual position
of things to the Postmaster-General, he at once altered Maberly's
minute, by adding an s in each case to the word 'secretary' (in
accordance with his peculiar orthography)."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[97] "'Full dress' means, I find, that I am to play the fool in a Court
dress with a cocked hat and sword."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[98] "I am to prepare a minute on the subject; but as no change can
be made without the consent of the Queen, there is no chance of
setting the matter right before the dinner. It is altogether a foolish
business, but it would be unwise to let matters continue as they
are."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[99] More than two years later I find the following entry in Sir R.
Hill's Journal:--

"December 16th, 1854.--Lord Hardwicke, having taken exception to
a statement by the Post Office Commission to the effect that it
had been found impossible to define the separate duties of Colonel
Maberly and myself, moved for a Return of a Minute in which he,
according to his own account, had accomplished such definition. I
felt tempted to give the Minute _literatim_ as well as _verbatim_,
but, recollecting that Lord Hardwicke was really a good-natured
man, refrained. The strength of the temptation will be seen by the
accompanying copy of the Return, altered so as to show his Lordship's
peculiar orthography." [Among other peculiarities his Lordship spelt
_Secretaries_--_Secritarys_.]--ED.

[100] "June 12th, 1852.--Some of the present Ministers are jobbing
in a very unprincipled manner, in order to influence the coming
elections, I have had to advise on a letter from Lord ---- to the
Postmaster-General, asking the latter to restore the second mail
between ---- and ---- arranging the matter so as to enable him to
announce the restoration when he next visits ---- for his election.
That is to say, the country is to spend £800 or £900 a-year to promote
his private interests. As Lord Hardwicke has sent the letter (a private
one) to me, I suppose he cannot be fully alive to the dishonesty of the
proposal. I shall, of course, prevent the job, if possible."--Sir R.
Hill's Journal.--ED.

[101] The late Mr. Joseph Hodgson, sometime President of the Royal
College of Surgeons; for nearly fifty years my medical adviser, and
likewise my valued and intimate friend.

[102] "As this arrangement involves an immediate addition of £500
a-year to my salary, I may, perhaps, be allowed to remind your Lordship
that emolument, simply as such, is not, and, indeed, never has been, my
object; but I have had bitter experience of the truth of the remarks
lately made in Parliament by Lord Palmerston to the effect that every
man's salary is really taken as the index of his position and authority.

"As, however, the necessity for such stamp of my official rank will
be greatly diminished whenever I become sole Secretary, I shall then
readily submit to a modification in the scale of remuneration attached
to the office, should your Lordship and the Treasury see fit to make
any such change."--Mr. Rowland Hill to Lord Canning. August 16th,
1853.--ED.

[103] The eloquent words of Milton might have come into the thoughts of
some of them when he says: "nihil esse in societate hominum magis vel
Deo gratum, vel rationi consentaneum, esse in civitate nihil æquius,
nihil utilius, quam potiri rerum dignissimum." "In the coalition of
human Society," to use Johnson's rendering, "nothing is more pleasing
to God, or more agreeable to reason, than that the highest mind should
have the sovereign power."--ED.

[104] "I have in this chapter also struck out not a few passages
describing matters that are not of permanent interest."--ED.

[105] "Fifth Report," pp. 175-191.

[106] "Fifth Report," p. 243.

[107] "Fifth Report," p. 246.

[108] "Fifth Report," p. 16.

[109] "July 26th, 1853.--Called at Euston Square and saw Huish and
Bruyères on the subject of a swift mail to the North. My notion is
to run a train with only one or two carriages in addition to those
required for the mail, and to stop only once in about forty miles."

"July 28th.--Called again at Euston Square, and ... proposed forty
miles an hour, including stoppages, thus reaching Edinburgh by 7
a.m."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[110] "It was said to old Bentley, upon the attacks against him, 'Why,
they'll write you down.' 'No, Sir,' he replied; 'depend upon it, no man
was ever written down but by himself.'"--"Boswell's Journal of a Tour
to the Hebrides." 4th Edition, p. 280.--ED.

[111] See page 185.--ED.

[112] The newspaper stamp duty was finally abolished in 1870.--ED.

[113] About five weeks earlier I find the following entry in
Sir R. Hill's Journal:--"May 30th, 1853.--Again pressed on the
Postmaster-General the unfairness of transferring to the Post Office
(as I fear is intended) the existing contracts for the Packet
Service.... I fear the injustice will be committed nevertheless, Sir
James Graham, who generally contrives to have his own way, having made
up his mind to the thing with a view, I suspect, to give an appearance
of retrenchment in the Admiralty expenditure."--ED.

[114] "Report," p. 4.

[115] Lord Hardwicke would seem to have had a strong dislike to the
book-post, to judge from the following entry in Sir R. Hill's Journal:--

"June 15th, 1853.--Breakfasted with Chevalier Bunsen. He promises
to urge on his Government the adoption of the Book-post. He told a
characteristic anecdote of Lord Hardwicke. At the time Lord H. was
Postmaster-General, Chevalier Bunsen met him at the Queen's Drawing
Room, where, it seems, if people talk at all, it must be in a low tone
of voice. Lord Hardwicke asked what Chevalier Bunsen thought of 'Hill's
Book-post,' expressing his own dislike of the measure. Chevalier Bunsen
defended it, on which Lord H. became excited, and talked so loud that
the Queen despatched an attendant to point out to him that, if he
wanted to converse, there was an adjoining room convenient for the
purpose."--ED.

[116] A subsequent concession reduced the minimum to £120.

[117] See p. 184.--ED.

[118] Since the above was written, the error, for such I unhesitatingly
pronounce it, has been aggravated by admission into the subjects for
competitive examination of some quite foreign to the business of the
office--as Latin and Greek.

[119] Sir R. Hill's foreboding has proved only too true. In our
high telegraph rate we pay, and shall long pay, for the reckless
extravagance with which the purchase of the telegraphs was made.--ED.

[120] Vol. v., p. 1, March 20, 1852.

[121] See Vol. I., p. 417.--ED.

[122] Macaulay's "History of England," Vol. v., p. 16 (edition in eight
volumes.)--ED.

[123] "Sixth Report," p. 10.

[124] "Second Report," p. 10.

[125] See Vol. II., p. 100.

[126] "Second Report," p. 10.

[127] "Second Report," pp. 9, 41.

[128] "Fifth Report," p. 9.

[129] "Fourth Report," p. 8.

[130] "Third Report," p. 5; "Fourth Report," p. 9; "Sixth Report," p. 9.

[131] The following extract from the "Industrial History of Birmingham"
supplies some evidence on this point:--

"The introduction of penny postage by Rowland Hill operated on this
branch of trade materially [Birmingham manufactures in brass]. How it
did so is strange but true. Immediately on its coming into effect came
the demand for letter-weighing machines, which were made in immense
quantities; and letter-box plates were introduced, made, and continue
to be made, in very considerable numbers."

[132] "Sixth Report," p. 9.

[133] "Fourth Report," p. 10.

[134] It appears that the district system is now (1869) introduced into
Calcutta. See "Greater Britain," by Sir C. Dilke, Vol. II., p. 263.
(Second Edition).

[135] "Second Report," p. 12.

[136] "Third Report," p. 7.

[137] "Fifth Report," p. 11.

[138] 1853, No. 747.

[139] "Seventh Annual Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 7.

[140] "Seventh Annual Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 18.

[141] "Fifth Report," p. 12.

[142] Written before 1871.--ED.

[143] "Fourth Annual Report," p. 13. The bill _in extenso_, with
explanatory remarks thereon, will be found at p. 46 of the same report.

[144] "Royal Commission on Railways. Report of the Commissioners, 1867."

[145] In 1878-79 the amount was more than twenty-seven millions. This
was, however, a decrease on the preceding year, when the amount had
been more than twenty-nine millions.--"Twenty-fifth Report," p. 45. The
profits for 1878-79 were £39,000. In the preceding year, when a much
larger business had been done, they were only £6,400.--"Twenty-fifth
Report," p. 21.--ED.

[146] "Sixth Report," p. 17

[147] Mr. Frederic Hill succeeded in the end in getting his plan
adopted. It works very well, I am informed, and has reduced the cost of
"the window duty" by about one-half.--ED.

[148] "Sixth Report," p. 27.

[149] "Sixth Report," p. 30.

[150] Even with the great assistance of the railway to California, it
is doubtful if the Western Route is the better for any colony except
New Zealand. The advantage of a bi-monthly mail is of course a distinct
question.

It is curious how inveterate is the mistake in question. Columbus
expected to reach Cathay more quickly by sailing westward, but was
stopped by the American continent. The projectors of the "Darien
Scheme" hoped to enrich themselves by making their settlement a great
_entrepôt_ between Europe and the East Indies; and Macaulay, in
his interesting narrative of the enterprise ("History of England,"
Vol. v., p. 200), considers their mistake to consist mainly in the
assumption that Spain would permit a settlement on its territory; but
it seems not to have occurred to him that, in any event, the scheme was
intrinsically hopeless, seeing that the old route by the Cape of Good
Hope, besides avoiding the cost and delay of transhipment, surpasses
the Darien route even in shortness. (October, 1872).

[151] "Fifth Report," p. 17.

[152] "Sixth Report," p. 22.

[153] "Fourth Report," p. 20.

[154] "Fourth Report," p. 22.

[155] "Parliamentary Return, 1868," No. 215.

[156] "First Report," p. 68.

[157] Ibid.

[158] "Fourth Report," p. 44.

[159] "Parliamentary Return, 1868," No. 215.

[160] "Sixth Report," pp. 32, 33.

[161] "Third Report," p. 28.

[162] "Second Report," pp. 27-29; "Third Report," pp. 24-29; "Fifth
Report," p. 23; "Sixth Report," pp. 38, 39.

[163] O! si sic omnia.--ED.

[164] "Fifth Report," p. 35.

[165] "Fourth Report," p. 77.

[166] "Fourth Report," p. 32.

[167] "Fourth Report," p. 77.

[168] "Before 1871 the money accruing from unclaimed money orders had,
for many years, been used in aiding officers of the department to
insure their lives; but in that year the Lords of the Treasury gave
directions for the discontinuance of the practice (except in regard
to then existing recipients of the aid), and for the payment of this
money into the Exchequer. In obedience to this order, the accumulated
capital, together with the interest thereon (amounting to £20,707), was
paid into the Exchequer. The actual amount of unclaimed money orders
for 1871 was £3,390."--"Twenty-fifth Report," p. 65.--ED.

[169] "Fourth Report," p. 33.

[170] "Sixth Report," p. 43.

[171] "Sixth Report," p. 42.

[172] "Fifth Report," p. 25.

[173] "Sixth Report," p. 43.

[174] "Sixth Annual Report," p. 43.

[175] "First Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 7.

[176] See p. 92.--ED.

[177] "April 7, 1849.--Accounts of debts due by late Postmasters not
yet discharged by the sureties (some many years old) show that, while
the amount of revenue collected in Great Britain is about ten times
as great as that collected in Ireland, the debts in Ireland more than
double those in Great Britain."--Sir R. Hill's Journal.--ED.

[178] "First Annual Report," p. 71.

[179] "Sixth Annual Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 7.

[180] The number of such receptacles in 1878-79 was more than 25,000,
of which nearly 12,000 were pillar-boxes.--"Twenty-fifth Report," p.
7.--ED.

[181] "Sixth Report," p. 9.

[182] "Sixth Report," p. 7.

[183] "First Report," p. 22.

[184] "Sixth Report," p. 14.

[185] For the numbers in 1878-79, see p. 382.--ED.

[186] "Second Report," p. 18.

[187] "Sixth Report," p. 15.

[188] "Fourth Report," p. 17.

[189] "Sixth Report," p. 15.

[190] "Sixth Report," p. 15.

[191] "Macaulay wrote to me at Harrow pretty constantly, sealing
his letters with an amorphous mass of red wax, which, in defiance
of post-office regulations, not unfrequently concealed a piece of
gold."--"The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay." Second edition. Vol.
II., p. 426.--ED.

[192] "Third Report," p. 30.

[193] "Third Report," p. 12.

[194] "Sixth Report," p. 17.

[195] "Sixth Report," p. 18.

[196] "Third Report," p. 15.

[197] "Third Report," p. 17.

[198] "Fifth Report," p. 19.

[199] "Third Report," p. 18.

[200] "Sixth Report," p. 20.

[201] Since the above was written, a passage, though an erroneous one,
in an interesting and popular work, has reminded me of another American
labourer in the field of postal improvement. One of Miss Mitford's
letters would seem to show that as early as 1832, or four years before
my pamphlet was written, she went to hear Mr. Elihu Burritt lecture
on ocean penny postage. A letter lately received from Mr. Burritt
informs me that he never visited England before 1846, and never worked
in the cause of postal reform but in sequence to myself. Explanation
of the error may easily be found by reference to the difficulty which
must have been encountered in piecing together, with even plausible
correctness, the scraps of paper on which Miss Mitford's letters were
habitually written.

[202] One curious question bearing on the letter-carriers' position,
and which occupied some little attention at this time, I must
here mention, as it is connected with a popular misconception,
sometimes fruitful in trouble, viz., whether public gratuities,
such as Christmas-boxes, should be taken into account in estimating
a letter-carrier's emoluments or not. These Christmas-boxes, I may
observe, average about £13 per letter-carrier, and amount in some
cases, I am told, to as much as £50 or £60. At first sight it appears
most ungenerous to include them, and yet a short statement will show
that to some extent this is unavoidable. A letter-carrier, say, has
attained the highest position open to him as such, and is offered
admission to the class of sorters, where the minimum pay equals his
present maximum, while the maximum is more than double what he is
receiving. This offer he declines, because by accepting it he would
cease to have direct intercourse with the public, and so lose all
opportunity for gratuity. This, of course, he has a perfect right to
do; but when he continues, while rejecting the higher rate, to point
to the lower as ground of complaint, either the answer must explain
the anomaly by referring to the addition to his salary thus made every
Christmas, or a complaint really unfounded remains plausible, and
obtains inconsiderate support.

[203] "Fifth Report," p. 40. In the admonitory address from which the
above quotation is made, and which was afterwards published in the
Annual Report, the position of a letter-carrier is distinctly set forth.

[204] Among some "miscellaneous anecdotes" recorded by Sir R. Hill I
find the following: "I used at one time to walk to Camden Town, take an
omnibus as far as the corner of Gray's Inn Lane and Holborn, and thence
walk to St. Martin's Le Grand. One day, while sitting in the omnibus, I
overheard one gentleman say to another, 'I understand that Mr. Rowland
Hill often travels in these omnibuses.' 'Oh, yes,' replied the other,
who chanced to sit nearly opposite me, 'I very often meet him--I know
him quite well.' Of course I held my peace, not deeming it necessary to
disconcert my familiar acquaintance."--ED.

[205] "Sixth Report," p. 9.

[206] Mr. Gladstone wrote to Mr. Sikes the following letter:--

"14, Downing Street, Whitehall, 30th November, 1859.

"DEAR SIR,--I have read with much interest your tract on Post Office
Savings' Banks, and have discussed the subject with Sir A. Spearman,
who has also had some communication with the Post Office authorities.

"The difficulties are very serious, chiefly in connection with the
question of interest and the mode of account for it. "At the same time
there is so much of promise in the plan on the face of it, that we are
unwilling to let it drop without a most careful examination.

"If you are likely to be in London, or were disposed to come hither,
personal communication on details might be of advantage. Sir A.
Spearman would be most ready to see you for the purpose of entering
into them fully, and I should be very desirous myself to give any aid
in my power at the proper time.

"I remain, Dear Sir, yours very faithfully,
"W. E. GLADSTONE.

"C. W. SIKES, Esq."

--ED.

[207] "Report of Select Committee on Postage (1843)," p. 41.

[208] For further information on this subject, see Appendix
M.--"Pneumatic tubes for the conveyance of telegrams are in use,"
I am informed, "between the Central Telegraph Office in St.
Martin's-le-Grand and many branch offices, the longest line of tube
being that to the House of Parliament--upwards of two miles. They are
also in use in Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle,
and Dublin. In Berlin a costly tube service has been established for
the distribution of _letters_ to the various parts of that city."--ED.

[209] More detailed information on this subject will be found in
Appendix I.

[210] "Hansard," Vol. CLVIII., p. 1205.

[211] "Third Annual Report," p. 33.

[212] "Fourth Annual Report," p. 17.

[213] "Hansard," Vol. CLXVI., pp. 188, 189.

[214] Some of the old abuses of the franking system have re-appeared.
Private letters are often sent under the Government frank; especially
is this the case with private letters for the colonies.--ED.

[215] It is important to observe that the amount actually paid by
Government for its postage before the abolition of franking was less,
in proportion to the amount of its correspondence, than that paid after
the abolition.

[216] The following note on Lord Canning was added by Sir Rowland Hill
in June, 1876:--"In an able article in the last 'Edinburgh Review,'
on Lord Mayo's Indian administration, the writer thus speaks of Lord
Canning:--'And then we come to Earl Canning, who, almost without
exception among English statesmen, presents the grandest picture of
unswerving firmness, courage and magnanimity in the midst of the most
appalling dangers; who, without losing hope and strong resolve, saw the
fabric of an empire fading away from his vision like an iceberg in the
Gulf Stream; who at the same time had to confront a native rebellion,
the panic fear and disaffection of his countrymen, and the opinion at
home which was the reverberation of the latter. He met the rebellion,
and he put it down. He met the panic fear, and he triumphed over
it. When blood and punishment and cruelty were preached, he stepped
forward as a grand and magnanimous ruler, as the representative of
British humanity and civilization, and with mild but absolute accent
proclaimed, "This shall not be," and it was not. The greatness of the
man who could so speak and so act, at such a time as the crisis of the
mutiny and rebellion in India in 1857, is not to be measured by the
ordinary deeds of war and peace, however grand in execution the former,
however wise and beneficent the latter may be.' That such a man, after
acquiring a thorough knowledge of myself, should have selected me for
the difficult and responsible post of Secretary to the Post Office, and
have continued throughout my attached friend, is to me a source of the
highest gratification."--ED.

[217] "The trace of Marlborough's neglected education was seen to
the last in his reluctance to write. 'Of all things,' he said to his
wife, 'I do not love writing.' To pen a despatch, indeed, was a far
greater trouble to him than to plan a campaign. But nature had given
him qualities which in other men spring specially from culture. His
capacity for business was immense."--"Green's Short History of the
English People," p. 691.--ED.

[218] "Sixth Annual Report," pp. 38 and 39.

[219] "I must confess," wrote his eldest brother to one of his friends,
"I must confess that the thought of that noble intellect paralyzed and
all but extinguished, struck me with a grief of greater intensity than
I ever felt before in all the bereavements which have been my lot."--ED.

[220] According to the Postmaster-General's Report for 1879,
every transaction costs 7·55_d._ exclusive of postage; while "the
Yorkshire Penny Bank (an old-established, widely-spread and very
thriving institution) does its work (I am informed) at 2_d._ per
transaction."--ED.

[221] The recent large reduction in cost is owing to the non-charge of
postage.--Note by Sir R. Hill in October, 1872.

[222] "Eighth Annual Report," pp. 12-14.

[223] "Fifteenth Annual Report," p. 16.

[224] "Eighth Annual Report," p. 14.

[225] "Eighth Annual Report," p. 15. Any of my readers desirous of
further information on this subject may refer with advantage to an
interesting work on the "History of Savings Banks," by Mr. William
Lewins, author of "Her Majesty's Mails." (Sampson Low and Co.)

[226] See Vol. I., p. 459.--ED.

[227] See Vol. II., p. 315.--ED.

[228] "Ninth Annual Report," p. 10.

[229] The following passage from Sir C. W. Dilke's valuable work
"Greater Britain," published since the above was written, throws
further light on the retrogressive course in question:--

"Writing for the Englishmen of Old England, it is not necessary for
me to defend free trade by any arguments. As far as we in our island
are concerned, it is so manifestly to the pocket-interest of almost
all of us, and, at the same time, on account of the minuteness of our
territory, so little dangerous, politically, that for Britain there can
be no fear of a deliberate relapse into protection, although we have
but little right to talk about free trade so long as we continue our
enormous subsidies to the Cunard liners.

"The American argument in favour of prohibition is in the main, it
will be seen, political; the economical objection being admitted, but
outweighed. Our action in the matter of our postal contracts, and in
the case of the Factory Acts, at all events shows that we are not
ourselves invariably averse to distinguish between the political and
the economical aspect of certain questions."--("Greater Britain,"
second edition, p. 69.)

[230] See my Letter of Appointment, Vol. II., p. 224.

[231] In a paper drawn up some years after this passage was
written, Sir R. Hill has thus expressed himself as regards Mr.
Gladstone:--"There are few public men with whom I have been on such
intimate terms, from whom I have received so much kindness, and for
whom I entertain so high a respect."--ED.

[232] When my plan was published, the lowest General Post rate was
fourpence; but while the plan was under the consideration of Government
the rate between post towns not more than eight miles asunder was
reduced from fourpence to twopence.

[233] In this comparison of revenue, the mode of calculation in use
before the adoption of Penny Postage has of course been retained--that
is to say, the cost of the packets on the one hand, and the produce
of the impressed newspaper stamps on the other, have been excluded.
The amounts for 1863 are, to some extent, estimated, the accounts not
having as yet been fully made up.

[234] In 1868 the letters had increased more than ten and a-half fold.
In 1867 the gross revenue had increased by £2,202,000, and the net
revenue by £467,000.

[235] In 1868 the amount transmitted had risen to £19,079,000, or more
than sixty fold--("Fifteenth Report of the Postmaster-General," p.
4.) [In 1878-79 it had risen to £27,303,000. In the preceding year,
however, it had been as high as £29,153,000. See Vol. II. p. 286.--ED.]

[236] In the _Morning Star_.--ED.

[237] See in correction of this mistake, p. 393 and Appendix N.

[238] In Sir R. Hill's Journal for June 23rd there is the following
entry:--"Received a letter from Mr. Joseph Parkes, giving a brief
account of the negociations with Government on the subject of the
Parliamentary grant, in which he states that a Baronetcy, in lieu of
the grant, was offered, but declined by my friends. This is the first
intimation I have had of the kind. Wrote to say that I fully confirm
the views taken by himself and Mr. Forster as to the Baronetcy."--ED.

[239] "Projectors see no difficulties, and critics see nothing
else."--Edmund Burke. "Correspondence of Edmund Burke." Vol. II., p.
332.--ED.

[240] The above report is taken, with abridgments, from the _Times_ of
June 15th, 1864.

[241] "June 9th, 1864.--Yesterday, received at Oxford the Honorary
Degree of D.C.L. Undergraduates most enthusiastic."--Sir R. Hill's
Journal.--ED.

[242] The following year Sir R. Hill dined at Marlborough House:--"The
Prince of Wales," he wrote, "reminded me of the pleasure he had had,
during the previous year, in presenting me with the Albert Medal,
on which I told him that he really presented me with an empty box,
and explained the cause, viz., that the successive blows required
for obtaining high relief of the medal had broken the die before the
work was completed. The interval being too short for the engraving of
another die, the Council of the Society had judged it better not to
delay matters; consequently the presentation took place 'in dummy.' The
Prince laughed heartily at the story."--ED.

[243] See p. 336.

[244] I have lately learnt (1870) with much pleasure, that this
improvement has been adopted in the new department of Telegraphy.

[245] In the Postal Union Mr. Frederic Hill's plan was at length
brought to effect.--ED.

[246] In 1867, proceedings were taken against the Circular Delivery
Company "for delivering letters contrary to the privilege of the
Postmaster-General." This Company delivered circulars at a very low
rate. "The proper mode of proceeding," Sir Rowland Hill recorded in his
Journal, "would have been to adopt a plan which I long ago frequently
discussed with the Assistant-Secretaries, and which has, I believe,
been recently proposed in writing by my son, viz., to undertake the
delivery of circulars at reduced rates (say a halfpenny), on certain
conditions made with a view to the convenience of the Post-Office.
* * * "_I do not like an enforcement of the monopoly. It covers
mismanagement._"--ED.

[247] In Prussia this is effected by means similar to my plan of
secondary distribution (see Vol. I., p. 251). The same means might be
resorted to here.

[248] Carlyle's "Life of Sterling" (edition of 1857), p. 221.

[249] See Vol. II., p. 389.

[250] See Vol. I., p. 438.

[251] Johnson's "Life of Milton."

[252] See Vol. II., p. 283.

[253] It is foreign to my present purpose to describe the after
administration of the Post Office. I would refer my readers to "The
Edinburgh Review," Nos. 263 and 291, for articles on the Postal
Telegraphs.

[254] The journal closes in the year 1869.

[255] The deputation consisted of Mr. Washington Lyon, mover of the
resolution; Sir John Bennett, the seconder; Mr. Peter McKinlay, the
Chairman of General Purposes Committee; Mr. Scott, F.R.A.S., the
Chamberlain; and Mr. Monckton, F.S.A. (now Sir John Monckton), the Town
Clerk.

[256] Before sending this letter Sir R. Hill read it to his eldest
brother. "I remember," says one who was present at the time, "Mr. M. D.
Hill saying, 'Mind, Rowland, if you send this, and if they do not do
what you ask, you must resign.' Sir Rowland answered, 'I know that, and
I am ready to resign.'"--ED.

[257] "Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p. 31.

[258] "Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p. 20.

[259] The number of free newspapers delivered in the United
Kingdom, in 1861, was about 45,700,000.--_Vide_ "Eighth Report of
Postmaster-General," p. 28.--But of these about 4-1/2 millions were
newspapers from abroad.

[260] "Seventh Report of Postmaster-General," p. 12.

[261] It is true that some few newspapers exceed the limit of weight
(4 ozs.) which is carried for one penny, and they are therefore
charged higher rates; but, on the other hand, two or more of the
lighter newspapers--the aggregate weight of which does not exceed the
4 ozs.--are frequently sent under the same cover, and only one penny
is charged on the packet. The average postage of each newspaper, when
prepaid with the postage stamp, will therefore, in all probability, not
exceed one penny per transmission.

[262] "Report of Select Committee on Postage (1843)," Mr. R. Hill's
evidence, p. 46.

[263] "Hansard"--Debate in Lords, June 21, 1842.

[264] Letter to Postmaster-General, 10th January, 1860.

[265] Pp. 20-22.

[266] "Second Report of Select Committee on Postage (1843)," question
11,070.

[267] "Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p. 31.

[268] "Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p. 31.

[269] The £45,000 and £110,000 charged for Government postage
(exclusive of that of the Post Office itself) for the year 1838 and
the present time, do not show the whole amounts received, the charges
on the official foreign correspondence being omitted from the first
amount, and that for the official bye and cross post letters from both.
In the "Second Report of the Select Committee on Postage" (Appendix, p.
115) is a table showing with greater accuracy the amounts received for
postage on the official _inland_ correspondence for each year from 1833
to 1837. The amounts given above, however, will suffice for comparison.

[270] "Report of Select Committee of Lords (1847)," question 352.

[271] "Railway Intelligence for the Period," ending 31st December,
1856. Published "under the Sanction of the Committee of the Stock
Exchange."

[272] Now (1868) 6-1/2 days.

[273] This caveat is abundantly justified by information published
in the "Journal of the Society of Arts" (October 28th, 1870), by
which it appears that in North Germany, one of the countries pointed
to for our example, newspapers are subject to a regular stamp duty,
such as was formerly paid in England, but the amount of which is not
easily stated, since it depends upon the size of the paper and other
circumstances; and, further, that the compulsory stamp has not the
franking power it possessed here, so that the postage constitutes an
additional charge; and it is with the sum of these two charges that
our postage should in fairness be compared. But the postage alone
(2/3_d._ for rather less than 1-1/2 oz., with a proportionate increase
for greater weights) is higher than that which was charged in this
country on many papers of large circulation, _e.g._, the _Times_ (with
its supplement of four pages, or, under the impressed stamp, with its
supplement of eight pages), the _Spectator_, the _Economist_, and the
_Athenæum_. While, besides exemption from stamp duty, other important
advantages were enjoyed by the British, as compared with the North
German, papers, _e.g._, under the adhesive stamp, permission to write
upon them anything except a letter, and, with the like exception,
to enclose with them either one or more additional newspapers, or
other printed or written matter, on paying book postage according to
the total weight; or again, under the impressed stamp, the power of
repeated retransmission. But, above all, the right to resort to other
and cheaper means of conveyance, a right barred in North Germany by
postal monopoly. In short, all things considered, there can scarcely be
a doubt, that even before the reductions of 1870, our much depreciated
newspaper arrangements were more favourable, alike to publishers and
the public, than those of North Germany, which are held up as our
example. Further, that the North German Post Office, instead of having
to pay, like the British Post Office, £600,000 a year for the railway
conveyance of its mails, has the use of all railways without subjecting
itself to any charge whatever, though its operations include parcels
up to the individual weight of twenty pounds; lastly, that with all
these advantages, and with a higher postage rate on the prevailing
class of letters, the North German Post Office, though serving a
population about equal to our own, yields in annual net revenue only
about £60,000, while the British Post Office, with all its burdens
and its lower rate of postage, yields, even if debited with the whole
expense of the mail packet service, more than £1,400,000, of course
relieving taxpayers to that extent.--_Vide_ Fifteenth Report of the
Postmaster-General--the latest issued--p. 14).

[274] Full information of this subject may be found in a minute of mine
dated 13th July, 1858, and included in a Parliamentary Return, No. 302,
1860.

[275] This was written at a time when, as yet, there were no halfpenny
stamps.--ED.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Life of Sir Rowland Hill, Vol. II (of 2) - and the History of Penny Postage" ***

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