— se ee ee Columbia Gniversity inthe Cttyof Hew Pork LIBRARY THE SELIGMAN LIBRARY OF ECONOMICS PURCHASED BY THE UNIVERSITY Leg MOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.| ris Oi OF mon NY POSTAG EH. Geith a Prefatory Tlemore. BY SIR ROWLAND HILL, K.C.B., D.C.L. (OXON), F.RS., FRAS., ETC. VOLUME I. wONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES & SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. 1871. LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. Mt ult Heo > ADVERTISEMENT. I most earnestly request that every one into whose hands this narrative may fall will pay the strictest attention to the notification which heads the title- page, and regard the contents as confidential. For this injunction he will find sufficient reason in the closing paragraph of the Preface. RowLaNvD HILL. PREFACE. —e1oo—_- Tue following narrative was originally drawn up at much greater length, and in its present shape 1s the result of a double abridgment, first in manuscript and afterwards in print. This proceeding was ac- cording to a preconceived plan; my wish being to leave to my relatives a more detailed history than was likely to be acceptable to the public, and at the same time to supply ample means for dealing with any question that might arise as to accuracy of statement. Perhaps it may be thought that abridgment might have been advantageously carried yet further ; but, on the one hand, I hope there is at present no more superfluous matter than can be readily skipt; and, on the other, I naturally desired that the public should have so much of detail as would distinctly set forth the authorship, execution, and administration of the chief postal reforms effected during the last thirty years. My story is told in the first person, but it is only in a limited sense that it is autobiographic. For reasons that will be easily gathered from the vill Preface. narrative, I had to devolve upon another the task of immediate composition, and I deemed it fortunate that one upon whose pen I had much relied from the first had leisure for the work. This, I may remark, is much more vicarious in the narrative presented to the public than in the original, where events are to a ereat extent described in letters or in extracts from my journal. Of course the whole has undergone my careful revision, a duty in which I have been by no means unaided ; but, after every correction, I cannot feel sure that sense has not sometimes suffered in paraphrase ; and if it appear hereafter that on some minor points expression conveys or suggests erroneous meaning, I must ask the reader to believe that such deviation is not only contrary to my intention and sincere desire, but has occurred in spite of our earnest efforts. If the reader find somewhat too much of self- assertion, if he think I have too often quoted what is complimentary to myself, I ask him to consider how much I have suffered from detraction and injustice ; how my conclusions were ridiculed, my success denied, and how, when success was incontestable, the origina- tion of my plan was claimed by others. Let him see me dismissed from office, without recompense, by a man of Sir Robert Peel’s high character, and consider the presumption naturally arising from an act so unusual ; let him observe how long and pertinaciously the progress of postal reform was troubled and thwarted, and how loudly and confidently I was charged with proceedings for which I of all men was farthest from being responsible. He will readily be Preface. 1X aware that claims and accusations may revive when I am no more; and will perhaps pardon me if, with all the reserve adverted to above, I am still led by precaution into what he may regard as prolixity. One point more. If it be asked why I do not yet publish this history, so as to enable me to meet in my own person any controversy to which it may give rise, I answer first, that by the time of its completion, my vigour, both of body and mind, had become so impaired, as to put such direct defence, should it be needed, altogether beyond my power; and secondly, that I hope and trust the delay of a few years may enable my executors, while retaining all statements essential to the completeness of the narrative, so to place it before the public as to avoid wounding the feelings of any one. February, 1871. b CONTENTS OF VOL. I PreFaTory Memorr (1795 to 1836). Family Circumstances Character of Parents—My Father’ s Opinions Family Conversations Mechanics Haunted House Indirect Education—Removal to Bir mingham—My Father a Schoolmaster . ‘ My Scanty Lessons—My Father's s Teetines: — My Electrical Machine . ; ; d Machine-ruling and Bookbinding My Circulating ee ne Teaching Studies . ; Theatricals My First Watch Geographies—Financing My Father’s Lectures to erator Phalocouhical Socioty —My Part therein—Careful Preparation : Night of Lecture : Mischance repaired—Family Co-operation. Second Lecture—Revolving Planisphere Lecturing Enterprizes Excursion. : Repair of Electrical Apparatus—First Step towar ds Official Life . Water-clock Alarum : i f : : Undeveloped Conceptions Mental Arithmetic—Zerah Colbourn—His Process discovered and extended. 5 Other Mental Arithmetic—School J urisprudence—Juvenil Par- liament . : : : Improvement in Punctuality : Long Hours—Slanderous Report— Surveying — Scene of a Mur der Trigonometrical Survey . : 3 My Journal—Measurement of Base Taine Improyed use of Theodolite—Captain Kater PAGE Nor Oe xii Contents. Verification of MS ee ff . ‘ mporised Telegraphy—-Esprit de orps Bre Sur ‘veys, Coal Mine, Roman Road—Introduction of Yolnn- tary Work ; : a See and Variety Reading Course—Model Steam Engine . Thomas Creswick — Corporal Punishment discarded — School Police—Composite School rank— Moral Element . Practical Architecture Astronomical Observations—Mental Calculations Clerkship of Works—New School- HOU aad of School Fights—Result . : Punctuality made absolute Printing and Etching—Juvenile Parliament entrusted with a Power of Purse : “Public Education ”—Miss Edgew orth—Lord ‘Brougham —Den- tham—Visit from Captain Kater and Basil Hall—Article in ‘Edinburgh Review’— Article in London gs — De Quincey . : : ; ; Fire at Hazelwood . Wilberforce, Grote, M. J aiken Gann Frélich—Removal to Tendon —Bruce Castle 4 Useful Knowledge Society — My Marriaeai My Father-in-law (Mr. Joseph Pearson )—Post Office ‘slowness in 18382—Vernier-Pendulum . Failing Health—Change of Occupation contemplated. Cowden ment Employment sought—Paper on Home Colonies Tour abroad . Profession abandoned Continued Interest in School—New Fmployment Estimate of Fitness Intervening eae aren on inor lieder eee aaGen to Chancellor of Exchequer—Result—Stamped Covers—Scanty Journalism of the Period . . Pauper Education—Suggestion of District Schools : : South Australian Colonization Project—Difticulties and Delays . South Austrahan Secretaryship Ways and Means—Survey of Territory : Despatch of Emigrants—Suecessful Provision for Sanitary care on Board—Strict Enforcement of Contracts 3 Plan to secure Punctuality in Sailing—Satisfactory Result of Precautions Progress of Colony Representation of Minority—Retirement fn om Seor etaryship Testimonial from Commissioners —Inventional Enterprize — Printing Machine Professor Cowper . i My Brother Edwin—Improvement completed Its Results—Why abandoned . : Offer of advantageous Partnership— Why declined PAGE 36 ov 39 40 4d 42 43 45 46 47 49 50 Contents. HISTORY OF PENNY POSTAGE. —_—_———— CHAPTER I.—Page 73. Conception (1886). Home Incidents and Discussions. Defects of Postal System—Monopoly—Habitual Evasion— Pro- digious Charges—Modes of Evasion . : 2 : Newspaper Expedient—Franks : Monstrous abuse thereof—First Conception of Travelling Post Office Devices for Propulsion for ‘Tubular Convey ance — Beneficial Results of Reform in Tariff : Large Surplus of 1885—Opportunity for Reduction—What tax to be reduced—My serious Investigation begins—Rule for selection—Postage indicated . Indication how confirmed—Authorities for Reduction Evil of High Rates, Moral as well as Fiscal Study of Blue Books—Analysis of Expenditure. Startling Discovery—Insignificance of Distance. Further Inquiries—Simplicity of operation essential—Questions of Uniform Rate and Prepayment—First Conception of Uni- form Penny Rate—Question of Loss to Revenue . Primary and Secondary Distribution — Distinction Gdstifed— Absolute Simplicity versus Absolute Equity Extension of Delivery—Incredible Deficiency Sources of Increase in Correspondence—Supersession of Contra- band Conveyance, : Cheapness always increases Consumption At Lower Price Equal Disbursement . : Estimated Increase in Number of Letters—Proposed Disuss of Franks . Frequency vice ene tn = Wialapitcation of Letter Writers—Ex- pected Stimulus to Commerce—Benefit to General Revenue— Mr. Wallace, his valuable Services to Postal Reform : My first acquaintance with Mr. Wallace—Rising Demands for Postal Reforms—Commission of Inquiry—Time propitious . My Plan reduced to Form—Expected Benefits . CHAPTER II.—Page 97. Promvuneation (1837). Family Council—Plan submitted to Government Interview with Chancellor of Exchequer—Confirmatory Letters— Suggested Modifications . ; Objections to Prepayment—Expedient devised_—Stamped Covers Xill PAGE 73 86 87 88 89 90 mi 94 95 a7 98 99 X1V Contents. Result of Interview . Opportunity lost—Mr. Wallace’ s Magnanimity Publication of Plan—Letters of Encouragement F Summoned before Commission of Post Office Inquiry — My Evidence—Defects in London District : : Proposed Remedies : ; First Mention of Adhesive Stamps : Sir Francis Head’s Irishman Joint Examination of Opposing Witnesses, its Advantage—Mr. Wallace’s Support — Commissioners’ recommendation — Government Promise—My Caveat ; Commissioners’ further recommendation . Government Rejection—Warning of Ce ae Appeal to Public . Leigh Hunt, Mr. Cobden—Case of a . £6 postage—Sir John Bur goyne ; , : 4 4 Mr. Francis Place . : Newspaper Support — Daniel ey Connell Mr. Hume, Lord Ashburton — Other Supporters — Petitions to Parliament—Postmaster-General’s Denunciation. : Postmaster-General nevertheless supplies some information— Common Council—Town’s Meetings . Post Office Movement— Day Mails ——A ceeleration—“Bedartian in Foreign Postage — Beneficial Legislation — Reductions in Home Postage. Slowness of Delivery Anomalies Hardships — Temptations Sead of Checks -—— Third Edition of Pamphlet Result of Recent len prey eur ene Nea Titacalty General Fall in Revenue—Advise gradual and tentative Reduction . Immediate Recommendations—Imaginary Difficulty of ee ance 4 None of my Calculations invalidated presen Training in Caution—Confirmations of my Views. Preface to Third Edition Parliamentary Committee obtained—List of Members—Instruc- tion to Committee . Petitions to Lords—Duke of Richmond, Lord Lichfield, Lord Brougham, his constant Support—Mr. Hawes—Government Announcement in Commons : Promised Experiment delusive — Sir Robert Peel's pertinent Inquiry—Debate in Lords—Lord Br ougham, Lord Duncannon, Lord Lichfield—Variable Statements and Re- markable Estimates —Delusive Experiment de The Year’s Work and Broa p | deprecated PAGE 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 114 112 115 114 116 117 118 119 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 Contents. CHAPTER III.—Page 129. PARLIAMENTARY ComMITTEE (1838). Letters to Lord Lichfield—Social Composition . Fallacies exposed : ‘ Mr. Moffatt, his zealous Gre ont Mercantile Gommnihter ‘ 5 Mr. Ashurst—Mr. Henry Cole, Jeu d’esprit (Scene at Windsor) . Triple-rated Billet and Single-rated Despatch—Post Circular— Parliamentary Committee (Mr. Wallace’s) . Its Labours— Witnesses examined— My next attempt was to arrive at some rule which might serve for general guidance in such cases; and I came to the conclusion that, with some allowance for exception, the best test would be found by ex- amining each tax “as to whether its productiveness has kept pace with the increasing number and _pros- perity of the nation. And the tax which proves most defective under this test is in all probability the one we are now in quest of.”’} This test brought the tax I had in mind, viz., that on the transmission of letters, into bad pre-eminence ; since, during the previous twenty years, viz., from 1815 to 1835 (my investigations being made in 1836), the * «Post Office Reform ; its Importance and Practicability.? By Rowland Hill. Published by Charles Knight and Co., London. 1837. t ‘Post Office Reform, second edition, p. 2. t. bid: p:*3: 1836.] , Reduction in Postage Considered. is absolute revenue derived from the Post Office, whether gross or net, instead of increasing, had even some- what diminished ; whereas, if it had merely kept pace with the growth of population, to say nothing of the concurrent spread of education, extension of trade, and advancement in prosperity, the revenue—I mean the net revenue—would have increased by no less than 500,0002.* To try the matter further, I looked out for some other tax, which, while less exorbitant, was in other respects liable to as nearly as possible the same influences, and I naturally took the duty on stage- coaches. I found that this, instead of diminishing, like that in question, had more than doubled in the same period; increasing from less than 218,000/. to nearly 500,000/., or about one hundred and twenty- eight per cent. I found, again, that if the Post Office revenue had risen in like proportion (and it seemed scarcely to be doubted that the demand for the con- veyance of letters had increased in the same ratio as that for the conveyance of persons and parcels), the increase of net revenue would have been no less than 2,000,000/.7 The general fairness of this conclusion was after- wards shown by the fact; 116 per cent. having been the ratio of increase in the net revenue of the Post Office during the twenty years between 1847 and 1867. For yet further comparison, I turned to the accounts of Post Office revenue in France, where the rates of postage were less exorbitant than with us, and taking the gross revenue (the net revenue not being given), I found that this had risen from somewhat less than 1,000,000/. in 1821 to nearly 1,500,000/. in 1835, about fifty-four per cent. in fourteen years.{ Nor was I proceeding without authority in thus condemning the existing postal rates as unsound in * *Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 3. Tt p. 4. iop. Be 80 Authorities for Change. [1836. policy, Sir Henry Parnell having attributed the non- increase of the revenue to the high duty charged on letters, and Mr. McCulloch having not only taken the same general view, but specifically explained the loss by reference to the illicit conveyance of letters, for which the increased number of coaches gave so much facility.* Of the important services of Mr. Wallace on the same point I shal! speak hereafter. While thus confirmed in my belief that even in a financial point of view the postal rates were injuriously high, I also became more and more convinced, the more I considered the question, that the fiscal loss was not the most serious injury thus inflicted on the public; that yet more serious evil resulted from the obstruction thus raised to the religious, moral, and intellectual progress of the people ; and that the Post Office, if put on a sound footing, would assume the new and important character of a powerful engine of civilisation ; that though now rendered feeble and inefficient by erroneous financial arrangements, it was capable of performing a distinguished part in the great work of national education. I became also more alive to the consideration that the duty of rendering its operation as beneficial as possible, incumbent as this must be on any institution, became doubly so on the Post Office, from its character as a monopoly ; that, as it forbade all others to per- form its functions, it was bound to render its own performance as complete as possible.t Of this view I found strong confirmation in the recent report of a Government Commission.} Being thus fully convinced that the present ar- rangements were wrong, I had next to inquire as to the changes most efficient for redress. As I had never yet been within the walls of any Post Office * «Post Office Reform,’ second edition, pp. 5, 6. feape es. { ‘Highteenth Report of the Commissioners of Revenue Enquiry,’ p. 4. 1836.] Systematic Hxamination. 81 (an advantage which was, indeed, reserved for me until after the adoption of my plan), my only sources of information for the time consisted in those heavy blue books, in which invaluable matter too often lies hidden amidst heaps of rubbish. Into some of these, as previously implied, I had already dipped; but Mr. Wallace having supplied me by post with an additional half hundred weight of raw material, I now commenced that systematic study, analysis, and comparison, which the difficulty of my self-imposed task rendered necessary. I started however with the simple notion that rates must be reduced,—but soon came to the conclusion that such reduction might be carried to a considerable extent not only without loss to the revenue, but with positive benefit; that a larger reduction might be made without loss, and a still larger without drawing upon the surplus beyond a reasonable extent.* The question to be decided therefore was, how far the total reduction might safely be carried; and _ this involved two preliminary inquiries; first, what would be the probable increase of correspondence conse- quent upon such or such reduction; secondly, what would be the augmentation of expense consequent upon such increase. Investigation upon this latter head brought out three important facts. The first was that one great source of expense was to be found in what is tech- nically called “taxing” the letters, that is, ascertain- ing and marking the postage to be charged on each ; the second, that great expense likewise arose from complicated accounts, post-masters having to be debited with unpaid postage on letters transmitted to their offices, and credited with their payments made in return ; while they again had to receive and check the payments of the letter carriers, who, it must be * «Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 10. Toi. I. G 82 Analysis of Expenses. , [1836. remembered, received, at that time, from the public, almost all the postage paid; the third, that the cost of delivering letters, great as it inevitably was, was much augmented—indeed, save in rural districts, more than doubled—by being saddled with the collection of postage. It further appeared that these expenses must increase in something like direct proportion to in- crease in the number of letters. These conclusions led me to perceive that for the effectual reduction of expense it was necessary to obtain simplicity of operation, and therefore to reduce the prodigious variety of rates (then extending on single inland letters alone to upwards of forty), and further, to adopt means to induce prepayment, so as to save the time at once of the letter carriers, of the clerks with whom they had to account for postage received, of the provincial post-masters, and, lastly, at the central office. In considering how far the variety of rates might be reduced, I was naturally led to inquire what pro- portion of postal expense proceeded from the convey- ance of letters between town and town, and further, how far such expense, whatever it might be, varied in relation to distance. On pursuing this inquiry, I arrived at results so startling that nothing but the most careful verification could satisfy me of their accuracy. I first perceived that the expense of such conveyance, which one would naturally suppose to be very great, was in fact, when divided by the number of missives, very small. Having, according to the best information then accessible, estimated the number of letters and news- papers annually passing through the Post Office at 126,000,000, I calculated the apparent cost of what J termed the primary distribution, viz., the receipt, con- veyance and distribution of missives passing from post % 1836. | Primary Distribution. 83 town to post town, and found that this cost, on all such letters, newspapers, &c., within the United Kingdom, was, on the average, only 84-hundredths of a penny each; and that of this sum only one-third, or 28-hun- dredths of a penny, went to conveyance ; the remain- ing two-thirds, or 56-hundredths of a penny, apper- taining to the receipt and delivery of letters, the collection of postage, &e. I further remarked that as the cost of conveyance for a given distance is, under ordinary circumstances, in tolerably direct proportion to the weight carried, and as a newspaper or franked letter (and franked letters were then very numerous) weighs generally as much as several ordinary letters, the average expense of conveying a letter chargeable with postage must be much lower yet ; probably about one-third of the sum mentioned above, or in other words nine-hundredths of a penny; a conclusion pretty well supported by the acknowledged fact that the chargeable letters did not weigh more than about one-fourth of the whole mail.* Beyond this, I found, by another calculation, based on more exact data, that the cost of transit as regards the great mass of letters, small as it appeared to be, was in reality still smaller; being probably loaded with charges not strictly appertaining to it, and cer- tainly enhanced by the carriage of the mail to places which were “ not of sufficient importance to repay the expense.” Having found, with tolerable accuracy, the total cost of conveying the mail from London to Hdin- burgh ;{ having in like manner estimated the weight * «Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 16. Tt Ibid. { When at length I obtained precise information, I found that in taking care not to make my estimate too low I had made it considerably too high ; and I think the history of this rectification too curious and characteristic to be omitted. ‘I'wo years later, the Parliamentary Committee appointed to consider my plan ordered, at my suggestion, a return on the subject ; when, to my surprise and amusement, the report of the Post Office gave as G@ 2 84 Cost of Conveyance. [1836. of the mail so conveyed, and from these premises deduced the cost per letter, I found this to be no more than one thirty-sixth part of a penny, though the distance, four hundred miles, is far above the average.* ; Thus, then, I found, first, that the cost of conveying a letter between post town and post town was ex- ceedingly small; secondly, that it had but little re- lation to distance ; and thirdly, that it depended much upon the number of letters conveyed by the parti- cular mail; and as the cost per letter would diminish with every increase in such number, and as such increase would certainly follow reduction of postage, it followed that, if a great reduction could be effected, the cost of conveyance per letter, already so small, might be deemed absolutely insignificant. Hence, then, I came to the important conclusion that the existing practice of regulating the amount of postage by the distance over which an inland letter was conveyed, however plausible in appearance, had no foundation in principle; and that conse- quently the rates of postage should be irrespective of distance. I scarcely need add that this discovery, as startling to myself as it could be to any one else, was the basis of the plan which has made so great a change in postal affairs. New prospects having thus opened upon me, I was next led to consider two further questions, both im- the cost of this mail the exact sum estimated by me, viz., 57. Struck with the coincidence, the more so as I had intentionally allowed for possible omission, I suggested the call fora return in detail ; and, this being given, brought down the cost to £4 8s. iid. In the return, however, I discovered an error, viz., that the charge for guards’ wages was that for the double journey instead of the single; and when this point was adjusted, in a third return, the cost sank to £3 19s. 77d. When explanation of the anomaly was asked for, it was acknowledged by the Post Office authori- ties that my estimate had been adopted wholesale.—Appendia to Second Report of Select Committee on Postage, 1888, pp. 257-259. * «Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 18. 1836. ] Uniform Rate—Prepayment. 85 portant to that simplicity of arrangement of which I was In quest. First, was it possible that the existing variable charge should be exchanged for a single uniform rate ? Second, was it practicable to require prepayment ? No great sagacity was needful to perceive how vast would be the convenience to the public, and the economy of labour to the Post Office, if either of these points could be secured, and how prodigious the gain from attaining both. As regards the first, it was clear that as the expenses of the receipt and delivery were the same for all letters, while the cost of conveyance, already so small, seemed reducible to absolute insignificance, a uniform rate would approach nearer to absolute justice than any other rate that could be fixed. It further appeared that as lowness of rate was essential to uniformity (since no serious elevation of the lowest existing rates would be tolerated, and the same lowness was the only condition on which pre- payment could be successfully required) every re- duction of working expenses, however obtained, would itself, by facilitating decrease of rate, become a means of attaining the simplicity indispensable to my plan. Seeing that there would be great difficulty in establishing any uniform rate higher than the mi- nimum then in use, viz., one penny, [ was of course led to consider whether the uniform rate could be fixed as low as that small sum; or, in other words, what loss of net revenue would be involved in the adoption of a penny rate, and lastly, whether such loss were admissible for the sake of the great advan- tages to be thereby secured. Again, however, perceiving that though simple distance did not justify imcrease of rate, yet such 86 Distribution of Two Kinds. (1836. increase might be required by remoteness from the ereat highways of traffic, I thought that probably general uniformity might be more easily secured by sacrificing universality ; and hence arose my concep- tion, now doubtless generally forgotten, of a practical distinction between primary and secondary distri- bution. By primary distribution, I meant “ the transmission of letters &c., from post town to post town throughout the United Kingdom, and the delivery within the post towns; and by secondary distribution, that distribution which proceeds from each post town, as a centre, to places of inferior importance ;”"* my plan being that within the range of primary distribution there should be a uniform rate of one penny, retaining an additional charge for secondary distribution (to be collected on delivery), unless indeed any district so served might choose to take the cost of such distribution upon itself. Of the equity of such a distinction it is needless to speak, since the difference of charge would have proceeded from a difference in actual expense; of its feasibility it is enough to say that it was to a considerable extent in actual use, the common prac- tice being, on the arrival of a letter at any post town, for delivery beyond a certain range, to charge an additional penny. In one instance at least the existing difference was yet greater, the additional charge in the London district being as high as two- pence. In some towns in each of the three kingdoms the secondary principle was carried so far as to impose a special charge, generally of a penny, on all letters not fetched from the office by the receiver ;} a practice continued, I believe, for some time even after the establishment of penny postage. The only remaining question was whether, supposing this distinction to * “Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p, 12. + Returns, 1830, Nos. 293-and 478. ~~ 1836.] Extension of Delivery. 87 be set aside, the advantage of absolute uniformity would compensate for the injustice involved in establishing equality of charge with inequality of expense. At the same time, wishing to give primary distribution its greatest possible range, and to make the rates even on secondary distribution as low as could fairly be done, I proposed that the whole weight of taxation should be thrown on the primary distribution, which was to include every place which could be reached without absolute loss to the revenue, and that each department of the secondary distri- bution should just defray its own expenses.* On this plan I hoped that under economical man- agement every important village would be able to obtain at least one delivery per day, and the im- portance of such extension will be strikingly manifest when the reader is reminded that at the period in question there were, even in England proper, districts as large as the county of Middlesex in which the postman never set foot. Upon looking back to this question as it then stood, I am inclined to think that the early abandonment of this distinction (made for reasons that will appear hereafter) was on several accounts unfortunate ; one serious consequence being a great aggravation of the immediate loss to the revenue, but a far more im- portant one its effect in retarding that extension of postal facilities of which I have yet to speak, and which was so important to both public convenience and fiscal recovery. As the additional charge would have repaid the cost of extension, the most ostensible as well as the most valid objection thereto would have been removed; and that development might have been rapid, which was in fact lamentably slow. Doubtless the distinction would have been but * «Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 55. 88 Sources of Increase. [1836. temporary, save perhaps in those remote places where there is now no delivery at all; elsewhere secondary distribution would have gradually yielded to primary.* One important circumstance on which I relied for increase in the number of post letters was the extent to which, under the stimulus of high rates, contra- band conveyance was carried. Of this I have already made some little mention, but there was a systematic evasion of the law that far outwent anything that could be done by mere private hands. I had learnt, for instance, that the carriers plying between Bir- mingham and the neighbouring towns, to the dis- tance of twelve or thirteen miles, were in the constant habit of conveying letters, which they delivered at one penny each (justifying so far my proposed reduction) ; and a highly respectable merchant and manufacturer of that town gave it me as his opinion that the number of letters so distributed very greatly exceeded the number distributed in the same district by the Post Office.t It was, also, well-known that vast numbers were every day forwarded by carriers and coach proprietors. Of course discoveries sometimes occurred, and penalties were levied, but the traffic was so openly carried on that the risk could not have been great—an occasional seizure doing little more than to show the extent of the practice, which indeed was not likely to be suppressed so long as it was sanctioned by the moral sense of the public; in face of which the Post Office itself could not levy its full penalties. Thus, in the year 1833, though one of the fines incurred was as high as 1000/., the highest * By statistics published in the journal of the Society of Arts (Oct. 28th, 1870), it appears that the plan of secondary distribution (though perhaps not under that name), actually exists in North Germany, concurrently with complete distribution from house to house; and, doubtless, the one arrangement has facilitated and justified the other. t ‘Post Office Reform,’ second edition, pp. 34 and 83. 1836.] Contraband Conveyance. 89 amount actually paid was only 160/.* Such a seizure had lately been made, bringing to hght in a carrier’s warehouse one bag containing no less than 1100 letters.+ Independently, however, of positive evidence, it was clear that “the vast extent to which the trade of the country had increased during the previous twenty years” (viz., those immediately following the close of the great war with France and the second war with the United States) “must have been attended by a proportionate increase in the amount of mer- cantile correspondence, while the spread of education and increase of population during the same period must have greatly augmented the correspondence of all kinds.”f Now it was easy to foresee (though, as will after- wards appear, the very probability was then not merely questioned but denied) that the proposed reduction to one penny would cause all, or nearly all, this correspondence to pass through the Post Office, which, by its superior organisation and com- mand of means, would render private competition on equal terms altogether futile. I have already remarked on the encouragement afforded by the increased sale of various articles after the reduction of the duties thereon; but per- celving that such reduction could tend to increased sale only by its effect on price, and that the chief element of price is cost, over which legislation has no control, I was naturally led to expect that here, where the reduction would be directly and fully upon price itself, the consequent increase of custom would be very much greater.§ As a means of giving some indication of the results to be looked for, I took two or three articles, of which, from whatever cause, the price had fallen, * Parl. Return, 1834, No. 19. t ‘ Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 83. f Ibid. § p. 85. 90 Effects of Cheapness. [1836. and observed how far cheapening had been followed by increase in consumption. Thus, the price of soap having fallen by one-eighth, the consumption had increased by one-third; in tea, a reduction of one- sixth had increased consumption by almost a half; in coffee, a gradual reduction of one-fourth (occurring during the previous thirteen years) had been accom- panied by an increase in consumption amounting to threefold ;—while in cotton goods, a similar reduction of one-half, spread over about twenty years, had been accompanied by a corresponding increase of no less than fourfold. Thus, it appeared that reduction in price, even if it does not increase the total expenditure on the article affected, seldom, if ever, permanently lowers its amount.* Hence it followed that even supposing the postage to be reduced to the low rate contemplated, the public would probably continue to expend as much in postage as before; and that thus the gross revenue would be sustained. According to my calculation, this implied an increase in the number of letters posted to the amount of between five and six fold. Moreover, the soundness of the principle had already stood the test of experiment, though on a small scale, in the Post Office itself; the chief trial having taken place in the London district, and con- siderable reductions having also been recently made in the postage of foreign letters, all speedily followed by great increase in the amount of receipts thereon. Of loss to revenue following reduction of postage, save as a very temporary consequence, I knew no instance. In brief, I arrived at the following conclusions :— First, that the number of letters passing through the post would be greatly increased by the disuse of franks and abandonment of illicit conveyance 5 * “Post Office Reform,’ second edition, pp. 86, 87. 1836.] Conclusions. 91 by the breaking up of one long letter into several shorter ones, by the use of the post for the distri- bution of circulars and the issue of many circulars hitherto withheld; and, lastly, by an enormous enlargement of the class of letter-writers. Further, that supposing the public, according to its practice in other cases, only to expend as much in postage as before, the loss to the net revenue would be but small; and again, that such loss, even if large, would be more than compensated by the powerful stimulus given by low postage to the productive power of the country, and the consequent increase of revenue in other departments. Finally, that while the risk to Post Office revenue was comparatively small and the chance of eventual gain not inconsiderable, and while the beneficial effect on the general revenue was little less than certain, the adoption of my plan would certainly confer a most important, manifest, and acceptable benefit on the country.* It is now high time to speak of one whose valuable services in the cause of Post Office reform are, I fear, but insufficiently remembered at the present day, but who, nevertheless, was in the field more than two years before I began my investigations, and who, while unconsciously preparing the way for my pro- ceedings, procured, by persevering efforts, some im- mediate changes of considerable value. This was the late Mr. Wallace, who, having been elected to the first reformed Parliament for the new borough of Greenock, began, in 1833, a course of bold criticism on the proceedings of the Post Office, which, though received at first, perhaps because of some over-earnestness, with unmerited ridicule, gradually succeeded in obtaining attention in Parliament, and even in some degree from the public. * « Post Office Reform,’ second edition, pp. 94-96. 92 Mr. Wallace. [1886, Up to that time the Post Office, notwithstanding its manifold imperfections, had for a long period, perhaps ever since the adoption of Palmer’s great reform, almost always escaped general censure. Nor, indeed, is this surprising ; for it must be admitted that, how- ever far it lagged behind the knowledge of the age, it was even then, abstractedly considered, a wonderful machine, conveying missives to and from the most distant places with much more approach to regularity and certainty than any other means had yet afforded ; so that it was generally regarded in those days as an admirable mystery, whose apparent vagaries and shortcomings resulted, no doubt, from insuperable difficulties well understood by the initiated, but far beyond the comprehension of the profane vulgar. The merit of breaking down this prestige is due in great measure to Mr. Wallace’s exertions ; for, though the Commissioners of Revenue Inquiry, already re- ferred to, had a short time before with great ability exposed much mismanagement in the Post Office, and recommended various improvements (some of which were afterwards taken up by Mr. Wallace, and some still later by myself), yet these exposures and recom- mendations, buried as they were in voluminous re- ports, attracted little attention from the public. Mr. Wallace, however, not contented with de- nouncing abuses, proceeded to indicate various re- medies ; thus, he advised the adoption of weight as a measure of charge, instead of the absurd and roublesome plan then in use, which regulated it mainly by the number of inclosures. Again, he proposed that the contract for the construction of mail-coaches should be thrown open to public com- petition; a measure which being soon afterwards adopted, effected a saving of more than 17,000/. per annum. He also urged the consolidation of the London General and District Post Offices; a measure 1836.] Exposures and Recommendations. 93 which subsequently formed part of the plan of penny postage, though not carried into effect until many years afterwards ; and, lastly, he urged the appoint- ment of a Commission of Inquiry into the manage- ment of the Post Office ; a measure carried out early in 1835—the Commission continuing its labours until 1838, during which period it issued no less than ten reports; its efforts fairly entitling it to the credit of much of the subsequent improvement. During the first year of its operations Mr. Wallace, suspending his efforts in Parliament, more effectually served the cause to which he had devoted himself by assisting in the investigations of the Commission; giving evidence, in the course of which he recommended, amongst others, the following improvements: first, the establishment of day mails—which subsequently formed part of my plan, and was eventually carried into effect, with great advantage to the public and to the revenue; secondly, a reduction in the rates of postage ; and, thirdly, more frequent communication between place and place. In 1836, resuming his labours in Parliament, while urging various other measures, he repeated his re- commendation of a reduction in the rates of postage, naming eightpence or ninepence as a maximum (a limitation which, whatever may be thought of it now, would then have been regarded as a great improve- ment); advised, secondly, the registration of letters (afterwards carried into effect with advantage both to the public and the revenue); and lastly, the abandonment of a rule, so monstrous that its main- tenance seems now hardly credible, by which the rate of charge, instead of being regulated by the actual distance between place and place (supposing, which as yet nobody questioned, that distance was the true criterion), was varied according to the length of the course, often circuitous, which the 94 Time Propitious. “[1836. letter was made to take for the convenience of the Post. Office. It was in this year (1836) that my acquaintance with Mr. Wallace began; but I must now return for a time to my own proceedings, merely observing here, though I shall have occasion to recur to the subject, that any one wishing for a concise, but I believe tolerably complete statement, of Mr. Wallace’s services, may refer to the report of a speech, given in the Appendix (B), which I made at Greenock in the year 1850, at a meeting convened for the purpose of originating a national testimonial to Mr. Wallace, for his services in relation to postal reform. Moreover, the impulse given to the general cause by Mr. Wallace was aided by some of the leading men in each of the two great political parties; the Duke of Richmond, Earl Spencer, and Lord Ashburton in the House of Lords, and Viscount Lowther, Mr. Hume, Mr. Warburton, and many others in the House of Commons, having declared themselves in favour of extensive reforms; while the late Government (Sir Robert Peel’s) and its successor (Lord Melbourne’s) seemed to have acknowledged the necessity for such change, by appointing a Commission of Inquiry. Being now prepared with my main facts and con- clusions, I had to consider how best to give them effect. The time seemed propitious; the Liberals being in power, the almost superstitious respect for the Post Office being, not indeed shattered, but certainly shaken, and a large surplus being ready to make good the immediate loss likely to follow reduc- tion, as well as to provide for the moderate permanent ~ loss on which I had reckoned, as a proper sacrifice to the public good, in view of the great advantages to be thereby secured. By this time, moreover, I had many friends in Parliament, and even some acquaint- ance with one or two megabits of Government ; which 1836.] Plan Reduced to Form. 95 encouraged me to hope that my plan would, at least, receive attention; and attention, I was sanguine enough to think, must soon induce adoption. I set to work, therefore, to give my matter such shape as seemed best fitted to illustrate my facts and give force to my arguments; working with the more confidence because with Mr. Spring Rice, who, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, would have chiefly to consider the question, I had the good fortune to be personally acquainted ; he having, many years before, visited our school at Hazelwood, and I, on various subsequent occasions, one of which has already been mentioned, having had further intercourse with him. In urging the various benefits to be anticipated from cheap and easy postal conveyance, I did not fail to dwell on its aid to education, which was then at length beginning to be regarded as a matter of national interest and national duty, though the move- ment in its favour was still grievously clogged by sectarian prejudice and political animosities. The following passage will show that I gave it the chief place in my summary :—* ‘Its object is not to increase the political power of this or that party, but to benefit all sects in politics and religion ; and all classes from the highest to the lowest. To the rich, as to the less wealthy, it will be acceptable, from the in- creased facilities it will afford for their correspondence. To the middle classes it will bring relief from oppressive and irritating demands which they pay grudgingly; estimating them even beyond their real amount, because probably of their frequent recurrence—which they avoid by every pos- sible contrivance, and which they would consider quite in- tolerable if they knew that nearly the whole is a tax. And to the poor it will afford the means of communication with their distant friends and relatives, from which they are at present debarred. It will give increased energy to trade; it will remove innumerable temptations to fraud; and it will * © Post Office Reform,’ second edition, pp. 66, 67. 96 Benefits Expected. (1836. be an important step in general education ; the more impor- tant, perhaps, because it calls on Government for no factitious aid, for nothing in the shape of encouragement, still less of compulsion; but merely for the removal of an obstacle, created by the law, to that spontaneous education which happily is extending through the country, and which, even the opponents of a national system will agree, ought to be unobstructed in its progress.”* * «Post Office Reform,’ p. 67. CHAPTER II. PROMULGATION. As yet I had proceeded almost alone ; but when I had made a draft of my intended pamphlet, our usual family council was convened, to hear it read and consider its contents. I cannot now recall, even vaguely, the various discussions that ensued, nor the suggestions and modifications to which they gave rise; but the general result was a hearty approval of the plan, and that ready co-operation in pro- moting it which never failed me in any need, either before or after. Probably the wording of the draft underwent various changes, but the general tenour remained unaltered; and when all had been done that our united care could effect, the paper was printed (though of course with the precautionary mark “ Private and Confidential”), in order that it might be the more readily perused by those to whom it was to be addressed. With certain exceptions, to be named hereafter, and with some additions to the Appendix, it was substantially and almost literally the same as that subsequently published under the title of ‘Post Office Reform, Second Edition.’ When, however, I placed my paper in the hands of Government (which I did early in January, 1837), it was in the earnest desire that no publication might be necessary. Hoping, with the sanguine expectation of an inventor, that a right understanding of my VOL. I. H 98 Chancellor of Exchequer. [1837. plan must secure its adoption, and relying with con- fidence on the clearness and force of my exposition, I little knew as yet the endless complexities in the machine of Government, the deep-rooted prejudice of routine, or the countless interests ready to start up in alarm at the appearance of innovation. The first result, however, of my sending in my treatise was encouraging, as I received a summons to wait upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I must add that he received me courteously, that he listened attentively to my representations, and seemed to imply a sort of general approval of my plan, by suggesting some modification in detail, advising the reconsideration of some of its parts, and recom- mending that in some others the facts and argu- ments should be given more in detail; and, in conclusion, requesting me to send in a supplement to my paper. | In this document, which I sent in on the 28th of the same month (January), I gave more in detail my reasons for expecting a great increase in the number of letters; adding also confirmatory letters from Mr. Charles Knight, the eminent publisher ; Mr. Dillon, of the house of Morrison and Co.; Mr. Thornley, the member for Wolverhampton; and Mr. Porter, of the Board of Trade; all of which subsequently appeared in the second edition of my pamphlet.* The ounce, which I had taken merely as the lowest rate then recognised in the Post Office, having been objected to as too large for the minimum weight and measure of increase, on the ground that it would allow several letters to be sent under one cover to be afterwards distributed by private hand, I adopted the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s suggestion for the sub- stitution of the half-ounce. Perhaps some future * *Post Office Reform,’ second edition, pp. 88, 89, 92, 93. 1837.] Objections and Expedients. 99 reformer may recommend the restoration of the original standard.* On the other hand, the pound having been objected to as too high a maximum, since its use might excite discontent among coach proprietors and other carriers, who would probably regard it as an interference with their trade, I proposed a reduction to four ounces. At a later period, however, if I may so far anticipate events, when penny postage came to be established, the pound limit was the one adopted, and even this limitation was afterwards withdrawn, so as to leave no restriction in weight save what would arise from augmented charge. I had also to deal with the question of prepayment, on which difficulties had been raised both in the office and from some quarters without; the former taking alarm lest its establishment, however attained, should greatly diminish the amount of correspond- ence, and the latter objecting that it would enable the clerks in the Post Office to become possessed of in- formation relative to parties corresponding which might be used for the commercial injury of one or other, and also pointing out that servants or others intrusted with money for the payment of postage might be tempted to keep this for their own use, destroying the letters to conceal their dishonesty. While giving various reasons which it would be now quite superfluous to repeat, for declining to share in the alarm of the Post Office, I suggested, as a means of obviating the other difficulties, the use of stamped covers, a device which, as I have already mentioned, had been originally recommended, uot in- deed for letters but for newspapers, by Mr. Charles Knight; and [ take occasion to remark that the * Within the last few months (November, 1869) I have privately recom- mended to Government the contingent adoption of this measure, as well as of others for giving increased facilities and greater speed of conveyance. H 2 100 Result of Interview. (1837. mention of this expedient, as applied to letters, oc- curred for the first time in this supplementary paper. I pointed out at the same time, that to whatever extent the covers might be used, to that extent or nearly so the revenue would be collected in large sums instead of small, a change obviously tending to the simplification of accounts in the department con- cerned. I submitted at the same time that mode of gradual introduction of my plan which appeared almost im- mediately afterwards in the second edition of my pamphlet ; and as time would be required for the pre- liminary arrangements necessarily extending over the whole country, I suggested its experimental application, in the meantime, to the local corre- spondence of the London District, containing, as | pointed out, one-twelfth part of the whole population of the United Kingdom. To return to my interview with the Chancellor of the Iixchequer, I must admit that the hopes with which it began were considerably damped before its close ; I was at least made very distinctly aware that — Government had by no means made up its mind to the adoption of my plan, and I was left altogether in doubt as to the prospect of such desirable conclusion. This was very disappointing, for I could not but feel that unless the plan were voluntarily taken up by Government, its introduction would have to encounter serious obstacles, and would be attended with grave disadvantages. If the public must be called on to enforce attention on a reluctant Government, even supposing the call to be answered, the plan would have to be adopted in such shape and in such manner as the public voice might demand, little thanks mean- time being given for the concession ; whereas if Government kept the matter entirely in its own hands it might proceed tentatively, and therefore — 1837.] Mr. Wallace's Magnanimty. 101 safely ; lowermg the rates with caution, and mean- while removing anomalies, increasing facilities, ex- tending operations, and taking all other measures tending to enlarge public convenience, to increase correspondence, and to sustain the revenue ; while every succeeding improvement would come with a grace, and be received with gratitude. ‘To this hour I regret that this course was not taken; believing that by it much misunderstanding, nay, much ani- mosity, would have been prevented, much trouble saved, facilities more promptly secured, and even the loss of revenue, which in the year following the adoption of my plan compelled a temporary augmen- tation of other duties, altogether avoided. Almost as soon as I laid my plan before Govern- ment, I took also into council a few trusty friends, and thus had the benefit of various criticisms, and of some suggestions; while, nevertheless, save where I myself yielded to argument, my own opinion was, in every instance, confirmed by ‘a majority of those consulted. But of all those I thus consulted there was no one whose reply I awaited with greater anxiety than that of Mr. Wallace, already recognised as the leading Post Office reformer of the day. Would he not treat me as an intruder on his domain, a poacher on his manor? Would he not at best give me but a cold approval, keeping his heart all the while for his own device? His prompt reply brought full relief. It was couched in kind and encouraging language, and conveyed his hearty concurrence in the main features of my plan. In recognising the generosity of his conduct, I felt also that a great point was gained. Nor did the sequel fail to confirm the first impression. Mr. Wallace gave me all the advantage of his position, and laboured through three anxious years to promote my views as earnestly as if they had been his own. 102 Publication— Encouragement. [1837. Within a few days from my sending in the supple- mentary paper to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I had occasion again to trouble him. Mr, Labouchere having given notice of motion for a bill to amend the Post Office Laws, it seemed important that my plan, unless the Government itself were going to take it up, should be forthwith presented to the public, with a view to its producing some effect on the contemplated legislation; and it became necessary to inquire whether it would be proper to publish the paper. I thought, moreover, that if the Government seriously enter- tained my project such intention would be given as a reason for withholding leave of publication; and that thus I should obtain some indication on the subject. Without awaiting a reply, I proceeded at once to put the pamphlet in complete readiness for speedy issue, should leave be given; and accordingly, when there came a simple announcement that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had no objection what- ever to its publication (a reply to which, I may observe, was appended a name then little known, but now deservedly held in high respect—that of Arthur Helps), I hastened to complete my little work, which was soon afterwards published, the Chancellor of the Exchequer receiving, I believe, the first copy. Meanwhile I had received many encouraging letters, some from private friends, and others from persons to whom I was less known, or not known at all. Amongst those which gave me most satisfaction there was one from Colonel Colby, who, in expressing approval of my paper, gave me also some account of exertions previously made by himself with a view to the gradual reduction of postage rates for long distances. A second letter was from Mr. Raikes Currie, who afterwards was a member of the Parliamentary Com- mittee appoimted to consider my plan, and a third 1837.] Commission of Inquiry. 103 from Professor Empson, of Haileybury College, who reported that he had heard my plan spoken of in Edinburgh, at a dinner at the Lord Advocate’s, and that in the most favourable terms; and who under- took to speak about it, within a few hours, to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, “if he can listen to anything and anybody except banks and bankers.” Now that penny postage has long been an estab- lished fact, and that doubt of its practicability has disappeared in the certainty of success, the circum- stances just mentioned may seem trivial; but in the midst of the anxiety that attended its incipient course, every indication of advancing favour was eagerly received and carefully recorded. Meanwhile, however, a proceeding of yet greater importance had taken place. Soon after the private circulation of my pamphlet, I received a summons to give evidence before the Commission for Post Office Inquiry already mentioned, which was now collecting matter for its ninth report, the subject being the London Twopenny Post (though the term compre- hended also the threepenny delivery), and the Com- missioners, the late Lord Bessborough (then Lord Duncannon), Lord Taunton (then Mr. Labouchere), and the Duke of Somerset (then Lord Seymour). I need not say that their invitation was gladly accepted; my first examination took place on Feb- ruary 13th, 1837; and in my evidence I pointed out the principal defects in the existing system of distri- bution within the London district. The first was that the deliveries were too few and too slow ; and the second, that all letters, whencesoever collected or whithersoever going, had, with some trifling exceptions, to be sent primarily to the central ofice in St. Martin’s-le-Grand. It will hardly be beleved now that, by the combined effect of these two mal-arrangements, the time required for an inter- 104 My Evidence. [1837. change of letters within London itself was, on the average, little less than fifteen hours; while between London and Tottenham, the distance from the central office being under seven miles, and the road supplied with coaches passing to and fro at all hours of the day, the average was as high as nearly twenty-five hours. In the way of remedies, I proposed, first, that the rate, supposing the postage to be prepaid, should be reduced from twopence or threepence to one penny ; secondly, that the deliveries should be made hourly ; the necessary facilities to be afforded by the establish- ment of district offices, and the combining in one body the two sets of letter-carriers, then employed, the one in delivering the local, or, as they were called, the twopenny post letters, the other those arriving from without the district, which were called general post letters. These several improvements, I scarcely need say, have now been effected, though after long delay, to be hereafter explained. Considering the comparatively small amount of reduction to be made on the district letters, leaving the postage, on the average, at nearly one-half of its existing rate, I did not estimate the consequent in- crease in number, even supposing all facilities to be afforded, at more than threefold. I may observe, in passing, that it is now (1867) more than seven- fold. For further facility I suggested that improvement in the nomenclature of streets which is now in pro- gress; and I may here mention that as the suggestion was fruitless at the time, I took occasion at a later period, when the bill to establish the Board of Works was in hand, to obtain the insertion of the clause giving the requisite powers. I also prepared a plan of proceeding, which I placed in the hands of an energetic member of that body, since dead. 1837.] Device of Stamps. 105 Having, previously to my examination, in a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, made the first mention of stamps, I repeated the suggestion here. I have already said whence the first notion was derived, and how far it extended; but as there has been some little public discussion on the matter, I extract the relative passage from my evidence :— ‘A few years ago, when the expediency of entirely abolish- ing the newspaper stamp, and allowing newspapers to pass through the Post Office for one penny each, was under con- sideration, it was suggested by Mr. Charles Knight, the pub- lisher, that the postage on newspapers might be collected by selling stamped wrappers at one penny each.* Availing myself of this excellent suggestion, I propose the following arrangement : ‘Let stamped covers and sheets of paper be supplied to the public from the Stamp Office or Post Office, as may be most convenient, and sold at such a price as to include the postage. Letters and newspapers so stamped might be put into the letter-box, as at present, instead of being delivered to the receiver. ‘Covers, at various prices, would be required for packets of various weights ; and each should have the weight it is entitled to carry legibly printed with the stamp. * * * * * ‘Should experience warrant the Government in making the use of stamped covers universal, most important ad- vantages will be secured—advantages, indeed, of such mag- nitude, that before any exception whatever is admitted, the policy of such exception should be very fully considered. ‘1. The Post Office would be relieved altogether from the collection of the revenue, and from all accounts relating to that collection. Distribution would be its only fancticn,. * * * * * ‘The only objection which occurs to me to the universal adoption of this plan is the following: Persons unaccus- tomed to write letters would, perhaps, be at a loss how to proceed. They might send or take their letters to the Post Office without having had recourse to the stamp. It * Neither Mr. Knight nor I was then aware of an earlier thou: gh long abandoned use of stamped covers in France. See p. 224, L06 Adhesive Stamp. [1837, is true that, on presentation of the letter, the receiver, instead of accepting the money as postage, might take it as the price of a cover or band, in which the bringer might immediately enclose the letter, and then redirect it; but the bringer would sometimes be unable to write. Perhaps this difficulty might be obviated by using a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash, which the bringer might, by applying a little moisture, attach to the back of the letter, so as to avoid the necessity for redirecting it.’ * It is curious to observe, by the last paragraph of the above, that the adhesive stamp, now of universal and indeed almost exclusive use, was originally de- vised as a mere expedient for exceptional cases ; the stamped cover, which it has displaced, being the means of payment which was expected to become general. Long afterwards, when in familiar use, the adhesive stamp was thus humorously described by Sir Francis Head : ‘A postage stamp is a new coin of the realm expressly devised for the prepayment of letters; “and,” said an Irish- man in describing it to his mate, “ the only difference I can see between it and a donkey is, that the one you lick with a stick and the other you stick with a lick.” ’f Although I hoped at this time, that in order to relieve the Post Office of all account-keeping, and to prevent all avoidable delay in delivery, prepay- ment would eventually be made universal, yet, knowing how much better it is to induce than to compel, [ proposed that in the outset, at least, the alternative should be allowed; the old rate of two- pence or threepence remaining undiminished where payment was deferred.t My first examination being finished, I was in- * «Ninth Report of Commissioners for Post Office Enquiry,’ pp. 82, 33. Same substantially, ‘Post Office Reform,’ second edition, pp. 41-45. Tt ‘Quarterly Review,’ for July, 1850. { ‘Ninth Report of Commissioners for Post Office Enquiry,’ pp. 38, 40. . ‘ 1837.] Joint Examination. 107 formed that Mr. Robert Smith, then head of the Twopenny Post Department, would be called on for his evidence, and that afterwards I should have opportunity of commenting thereon. Knowing that there would be much difference between us, and fearing that reply and rejoinder, if made in the ordinary way, might weary out the Commissioners before they could arrive at any sound conclusion, I ventured to suggest that we should be examined together. I was not aware of any precedent for this course, nor do I know that it has ever been repeated. The plan, however, was adopted by the Com- missioners, and with good success. In this manner, statement promptly met counter-statement, and ar- gument counter-argument; so much so, indeed, that the proceeding, as will be seen on reference to the evidence,* eventually took the form rather of dis- cussion between Mr. Smith and me than of ex- amination of either; much to the saving of time, and the facilitation of conclusions. Mr. Wallace also gave earnest evidence in support of my views, and the result was that the Com- missioners recommended as immediate measures, by way of experiment, the optional use of stamped penny covers within the London District, increase in the weight allowed in a single packet, and an addi- tional daily delivery; and on the presentation to the House of Commons of an important petition, of which I shall speak hereafter, Lord Duncannon announced that it was the intention of Government to carry so much of the plan into effect.t While I could not but regard this concession as a great triumph, I had nevertheless to guard against a serious danger; the reality of which subsequent events did not fail to demonstrate. Lord Dun- * “Ninth Report of Commissioners for Post Office Enquiry,’ p. 34. T ‘ Post Office Reform,’ third edition, p. 90. 108 Partial Trial Promised. [1837. cannon’s intimation that the contemplated change would be considered as a trial of the general plan, made it necessary to guard against inferences to be drawn from a partial failure, which was but too probable ; for where the reduction in postage would be but small, frequent and rapid delivery was my main dependence ; and this, in the proposed measure; was to receive scarcely any attention. Now should this be regarded as a trial of my plan, and should its results, in consequence of its incompleteness, fall short of what I held out as likely to follow its com- plete adoption, there was little chance that either the Post Office, or the Government, or the public, or even the Commissioners, would draw the necessary distinction and attribute the partial failure to its true cause. I therefore felt that I must put the matter in its true light, and that before trial should begin. I consequently wrote to the Secretary of the Commis- sioners a letter, in which, while expressing my satis- faction at the intended change, I begged leave very distinctly to point out that it would afford no test of my plan, as this could not be fairly tried unless adopted in its integrity so as to comprehend division into districts with hourly deliveries.* This last course, therefore, [again urged on the Commissioners ; pointing out that the amount of revenue at stake in so limited a change was but small ; that success here would warrant extension of the plan, while failure would set the matter at rest. I had the satisfaction to learn that this letter produced its intended effect. After reconsidering the question, the Commissioners, guardedly, but yet distinctly, spoke in favour of complete adoption within the London District ;; a course, I may ob- serve, which, besides its immediate benefit, would * *Ninth Report of Commissioners for Post Office Enquiry,’ p. 87. tT ‘Ninth Report,’ pp. 8, 9. 1837.] Promise Unfulfilled. 109 have subjected my plan to a tolerably fair experi- ment. I may add that their report contains specimens of stamped envelopes, sent in by the well- known paper-maker, Mr. Dickinson, who had given evidence on the subject. It is curious to remark that the point on which the Commissioners spoke with most hesitation is one which never presented any real difficulty, viz., the practicability of general prepayment. It now only remained to see whether the Govern- ment would act on the recommendation of its own Commission, which certainly seemed the more pro- bable as all the Commissioners were likewise members of Government. This fair prospect, however, ended in disappointment; nothing whatever being done, and my only consolation for the moment being that my plan had escaped an unfair trial. The rejection of this very moderate and limited improvement made it clear that the only course left was to bring the public voice to bear forcibly on the question. I was, as already implied, very reluctant to take any step to promote such a result; and [ had even, in the first edition of my pamphlet, held forth an earnest warning on the subject. I give the passage. Unfortunately for the Government, as well as for myself, it proved prophetic to the letter:— ‘Judging from the rapid growth of public opinion which we have recently witnessed with regard to other institutions, we may expect that in a few years, or even months, if “ the still small voice ” which, at present, gives scarcely audible expression to half-formed desires, be neglected, it will swell into a loud, distinct, and irresistible demand; and then a reform, which would now be received with gratitude, as one of the greatest boons ever conferred on a people by its Government, would perhaps be taken without thanks, and even with expressions of disappointment, because less extensive than unreasonable people might have expected.’* * «Post Office Reform,’ first edition, p. 53, second edition, p. 65. 110 Appeal to Public. (1837. But could the public voice be drawn forth? Doubtless the proposed reduction of postage would be acceptable enough; but would the measure be regarded as practicable, as capable of adoption with- out such loss to the revenue as would necessitate the imposition of yet heavier burdens? Could the public be got to take the plan into its serious consideration ? Was not a proposal so paradoxical likely to be classed with numberless wild schemes, which had enjoyed a momentary attention only to be thrown aside with scorn? Was not a conclusion, which had startled myself, even when I had arrived at it by laborious investigation, likely to be ridiculed as absurd by those to whom it was presented in the abrupt manner in which it would inevitably reach most minds? That a large portion of the public would thus deal with it was beyond all doubt; and would there be a yet larger or more influential body to take the opposite course ? Even supposing this to be so, would the majority be sufficiently large and influential to carry Parliament with it, to constrain Government, and to over- bear the Post Office; which, so far as indications went, seemed likely to put forth all its powers of obstruction ? These questions it was not easy to answer; but repeated success in innovation had inspired con- fidence; and bold as the attempt appeared, and doubtful as the issue must be, it was advised by the family that trial should be made; and knowing that I should derive thence whatever aid it was in its power to afford, I proceeded to the work; having, however, as yet no more time to employ in it than remained after the full discharge of the duties attaching to my post as Secretary to the South Australian Commission. As mentioned before, I had already published the pamphlet previously circulated as private and con- 1837.] Letters of Encouragement. 111 fidential, and it is to this publication that I have already made repeated reference, under the title, ‘Post Office Reform, Second Edition ;’ a misnomer adopted for convenience. The appearance of the pamphlet speedily brought in letters from various quarters, amongst others an amusing one from Leigh Hunt, in which he declared that the reasoning of my pamphlet “carries us all along with it as smoothly as wheel on railroad,” and another from a gentleman known to me in relation to Australian affairs, who advised that my pamphlet should be republished in as cheap a form as possible, offering himself to bear half the expense; an offer afterwards repeated by Mr. Cobden. Why these offers were not accepted I cannot now recollect. The same gentleman also informed me of a remarkable instance of exorbitant postage which had come to his knowledge. The captain of a ship arriving at Deal had posted for London a packet weighing thirty-two ounces, which came to the addressee charged with a _ postage not of five shillings and sixpence, according to the rate proposed by me, but of upwards of six pounds, “being,” as my informant observed, “four times as much as the charge for an inside place by the mail.” So that, had the captain, instead of posting the packet, sent a special messenger with it up to London, allowing him to travel inside both ways, and paying him handsomely for his time, as well as in- demnitying him for his travelling expenses, the result would have been a considerable saving. The following yet stronger case was afterwards thus mentioned in a letter from Sir John Burgoyne to my friend Mr. Moffatt, who obligingly placed the letter in my hands. I cannot, however, pass over the name of this gallant veteran without gratefully mentioning that he was one of those who zealously co-operated in the movement. Even at his present advanced 119 Mr. F’, Place’s ‘* Hitch.” (1887. age his interest in postal success remains warm and active. ‘ Office of Public Works, Dublin, ‘ May 8, 1839. * * * * * «A packet of official papers was to be transmitted by one of our officers from a country town: it seems that parcels for the mail were in that town received in the same shop as the letters; and either by mistake of the messenger or of the postmaster, this packet, which was meant to be a parcel, was forwarded as a letter. The charge was 11/.; that is, for a packet that I could readily carry off in my pocket ; an amount for which I could have taken the whole mail; places for four insides, and three out, with their portmanteaus, carpet-bags, &e. &e. we.’ The following incident I found not less amusing than encouraging :— Mr. Francis Place, the author of ‘ Principles of Population,’ but better known as a leading man on the Liberal side at Westminster elections, and as an earnest friend, though no flatterer, of the working- classes, with whom also I had some previous ac- quaintance, having received a copy of my pamphlet, remarked to an inquiring friend that he had not thought it worth perusal, having supposed that it was only some nonsensical scheme for carrying letters all over England for a penny, and being wearied out with wild-goose proposals for all sorts of impracticable measures. Having, however, on further urgency, promised to look at the thing some fine day, he at length, as he afterwards avowed, began the perusal in the confident expectation that he should soon find out “the hitch!” and although as he went on he step by step admitted the soundness of the reasoning, he was still sure that he should find “the hitch” somewhere. In this quest he read on to the end of the book, finishing with the exclamation, —I quote his own words—“ I'll be damned if there 1837.] Newspaper Support. 113 is a hitch.’ I have no doubt, from Mr. Place’s great activity, that though he was an old man, his new conviction did not remain merely speculative. And here, perhaps, I may be excused if I mention one member of my family, now no more, who, though unknown save in his own neighbourhood, where, however, he was highly respected, used his industry and his local influence, both great, from first to last, in aid of the cause, viz., my brother-in-law, Mr. Francis Clark, one of the magistrates of Birming- ham, but afterwards resident at Adelaide, South Australia. Some of the journals, also, began to notice my pamphlet, the Morning Herald being, I believe, the first; while the Globe, the Scotsman, and the Sir- mingham Journal, very quickly followed; the Times also took up the cause, and within the year the support of the press was almost universal. Amongst all, however, the most earnest was the Spectator, then conducted by my friend, the late Mr. Rintoul, which maintained throughout his editorship, with unflagging earnestness, the able advocacy then begun. A little later, but still within two months from the appearance of the pamphlet, Mr. Gibbon Wake- field informed me that he and Mr. Rintoul had had a conference with Daniel O’Connell, who not only pro- mised his powerful aid, but even volunteered to move for a committee on the plan. I suppose, however he must have given way to Mr. Wallace, who, about a week later, viz., on May 9th, made a motion for that purpose, which, nevertheless, he withdrew at the request of Lord John Russell and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who informed the House that the plan was under the consideration of Government. This, I may observe, was the second mention of my plan in Parliament, the first having been made some WO, 1 I 114 Approval and Disapproval. [1837. time before by one of its most earnest advocates, Mr. Joseph Hume. About a fortnight later, I received a letter from Lord Ashburton, appointing a day for seeing me in reference to a petition which he had undertaken to present to the House of Lords, a petition remark- able for the high character or important position of its signatories, some of them men of first stand- ing in the city, and others of literary or scientific eminence. ‘This presentation accordingly took place on May 30th, and, in his speech, Lord Ashburton gave an able abstract of the plan, adding to nearly all its chief points the sanction of his authority.* On the same evening an identical petition was presented to the House of Commons by Mr. Grote, others soon following by Mr. (now Sir William) Hutt, and Mr. Charles Villiers. All this was very satisfactory, but about a fort- night later, viz., on June 15th, the plan and its supporters had to endure strictures the reverse of complimentary. The Harl of Lichfield, then Post- master-General, in moving the second reading of a — bill relative to Post Office affairs, asserted, in opposi- tion to Lord Ashburton, that the revenue of the - department had considerably increased, that it was produced by 170,000,000 of letters annually cir culated in England, and that if the reduction in duty for which some individuals called were acceded to, it would require the enormous number of 416,000,000 annually to produce the same amount of revenue.t “With respect to the plan set forth by Mr. Hill,” he said, “of all the wild and visionary schemes which he had ever heard or read of, it was the most extraordinary.” ad ee * “Post Office Reform,’ third edition, p. 93; ‘Hansard,’ vol. xxxviil. p. L098. } ‘ Hansard,’ vol. xxxviii. p. 1464. f p. 1462-1464. 1837. Public Movement. EES _ Save the completion of the ‘Ninth Report of the Commissioners for Post Office Enquiry,’ already so often referred to, and the passing of the Act moved by Lord leh fald. of the value of which I shall speak presently, little of importance occurred during the next two months, except that I procured an intro- duction to his lordship, from his brother, the late General Anson, then visiting at the house of my father-in-law, Mr. Pearson; and being admitted to an interview, obtained, through his means, a certain amount of information from the Post Office, which, though not all that I sought, was yet of considerable use. On October 19th the matter was brought before the Court of Common Council of the City of London, by the late Mr. Pritchard, then High Bailiff of Southwark, who invited me to attend below the bar, that I might be at hand for reference. While there, Mr. Pritchard having mentioned, on my authority, that the conveyance of a mail from London to Edinburgh cost no more than five pounds, a member of the Common Council, perhaps con- founding mail with mail-coach, came to me, inquiring whether I had really made such an assertion ; and upon my answering in the affirmative, walked away with every expression of scorn for a statement so obviously absurd. I need not remind the reader that the amount was afterwards proved by Post Office Returns to be less than four pounds. Fortunately the court did not agree with the critic; resolutions being passed in favour of the plan, and a petition for its adoption ordered to be presented to both Houses of Parliament; which was accordingly done with the usual ceremonies. Towns’ meetings also began to be held in other places; and at apnea, Elgin, and elsewhere, there were not only able meg eae passed, Eo os 116 Post Office Movements. [1837. and corresponding petitions ordered, but these were accompanied with a vote of thanks to me, as the author of the plan. Favourable resolutions were also passed by the Chambers of Commerce of Edinburgh and Dundee, a memorial was sent in by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and a petition from the Stock Exchange. These events, combined with others previously mentioned, had given me a confidence, which, self-reliant as I was prone to be, my own unaided convictions could not have supplied. Meantime, although my plan was for a time set aside, the various efforts made in relation to the general subject were not altogether without effect ; for, in the course of this year, day mails were established on one or two of the principal roads, though with some troublesome restrictions ; amongst them, one which now seems incredible, viz., against their use for the despatch of the morning papers. Again—and this was at the time no small matter— advantage had been promptly taken of the opening of the Grand Junction Railway (that by which the line from London to Birmingham was in effect extended to Liverpool and Manchester) for acce- lerating the conveyance of the north-western mails. Some further reductions were made in foreign postage; though certainly with due caution, as will now be readily acknowledged by any one who learns that by an announcement gravely made, the public were informed that henceforth postage on letters to the Mediterranean would be at the rate of “only ten shillings per ounce.” * The legislative change already referred to as introduced by Lord Lichfield was an important improvement, bringing all the Acts (one hundred and forty-one in number) relative to the Post Office into a single law, possessing the triple advantage of * Post Office advertisement, Morning Chronicle, August 22, 1837. 1837.] Legislation and Reduction. Li? compactness, brevity, and perfect intelligibility. The bill for effecting this was drawn, I may remark, by my friend Mr. Arthur Symonds. Another Act authorised the Postmaster-General, with the consent of the Lords of the Treasury, to make reductions in postage, both partially and generally; a trust which afterwards proved of no small convenience.* Lastly, Government had announced as_ probable that the postage between towns not more than seven miles apart would be reduced from fourpence to twopence ; a change soon afterwards effected. All these improvements, while more or less beneficial in themselves, had the collateral advantage of paving the way for future changes; and certainly enough remained to be done, as would appear in the most striking manner, were the old state of things to be restored but for a single day, and the public compelled but for once to endure practices which were then regarded as things of course. Many of these have been already adverted to; perhaps one or two more may with propriety be mentioned here. The delivery of letters arriving by the night mail, which is now completed throughout London and even in many of the suburbs by nine A.M., was not then concluded, even in the Lombard Street district, probably as much favoured as any, till eleven, save to those who purchased the anticipation of an hour and a half by special payment. And I may here remark that the mode in which “the early delivery ’’ was secured to those so favoured served to enforce my arguments for the practice of prepayment ; the way being for the postman to leave the letters without awaiting payment at the time, and to return afterwards to collect the postage; so that in this delivery he had little more to do than to walk on as fast as he could; whereas according to the ordinary * *Post Office Reform,’ third edition, p. 89, 118 Tardiness and Anomalies. [1837. mode, the time, returned by the Post Office as occupied in delivery, averaged nearly two minutes per letter.* As the day mails were so few, most of the letters arriving in London by the morning mails on their way to other towns had to lie all day at the General Post Office; so that places correspond- ing through London, even if very near to one another, were, in postal distance, kept as far asunder as London and Durham; and when a blank post-day intervened, the delay was even more remarkable. Thus a letter written at Uxbridge after the close of the Post Office on Friday night was not delivered at Gravesend, a distance of less than forty miles, until Tuesday morning. Again, the operation of the threepenny post was so ludicrously slow that no one thought of employing it where despatch was of the slightest importance. To interchange letters between London and Hampstead required, under the most favourable circumstances, about ten hours; though a messenger would have walked over the ground in little more than two. If two letters were put in the proper district receiving-houses in London between five and six o'clock in the evening, one addressed to Highgate, the other to Wolverhampton (which lies one hundred and twenty miles further on the same road), the Highgate letter was delivered last. The postage of a letter from Wolverhampton to Brierley Hill, conveyed by a cross-post passing through Dudley, was only one penny; whereas if the letter stopped short at Dudley, thus saving some miles in conveyance, the charge rose to fourpence. The absurd rule of charging by number of enclosures, instead of by weight, often caused great irritation, especially when any one of the enclosures — * ¢ Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 28. 1837.] Hardships and Ti emptations. 119 was very diminutive. Thus in an instance reported tome at the time,a certain letter from London to Wolverhampton, which now would be conveyed for one penny, came charged with a postage of two shillings and sixpence, viz., tenpence for the letter, tenpence for a returned bill of exchange enclosed therein, and tenpence for a small scrap of paper attached to this latter at the notary’s office. On the poorer classes the inconveniences fell with special weight, for as letters almost always arrived unpaid, while the postage was often too heavy to be met at the moment, letters were sometimes withheld for days, or even weeks, until the means of discharge could be raised.* The necessity for ascertaining the number of enclosures compelled the examination of every doubt- ful letter, by the light of a lamp or candle placed behind it; and this inspection, leading to the dis- covery of bank-notes, &c., which otherwise might have escaped remark, exposed the clerks to needless temptation, led to many acts of dishonesty, and brought much loss to correspondents. In addition to the dishonesty thus directly injurious to individuals, there were other frauds which materially affected the revenue. Such was the complication of accounts, that the deputy postmasters ‘could not be held to effectual responsibility as respects the amounts due from them to the General Office ; and as many instances of deficit came at times to light, sometimes following each other week after week in the same office, there can be no doubt that the total annual loss must have reached a serious amount. A third edition of my pamphlet being called for * “Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 93. } ‘ Kighteenth Report of the Commissioners of Revenue Enquiry,’ p. 66. “Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 69. 120 Encouragement and Discouragement. [1837. within the year, I took advantage of this, both to notify new facts, and to indicate any further develop- ment of my own views. The net revenue of the Post Office for the year 1836 (unknown at the time of my previous pub- lication) showed some increase, and was expected moreover to be in turn surpassed by that for 1837. This progress was encouraging; for as the recent changes in the Post Office arrangements, though not of a decided character, consisted chiefly in reduced charges and increased facilities, the results were, pro tanto, confirmatory of the soundness of the principles which I had advocated. The augmentation in net revenue, moreover, was the more striking because, by the reduction of the stamp duty on news- papers, these had so increased in number, that their conveyance and distribution, all of course gratuitous, now comprised several additional millions; and be- cause, at the same time, commercial depression had reduced the revenue in every other department.* This last fact could not but be viewed by some as a formidable obstacle to the plan; and though I did not see it in that light, believing that a reduction of postage would give a stimulus to commerce, which would greatly benefit all the other sources of revenue, I suggested that the difficulty could be met by such gradual adoption of the plan as might suit the caution or timidity of the controlling authorities. My recommendations appear in the following ex- tract :—tT ‘It cannot be doubted that a reduction in postage to a certain extent would benefit the Post Office revenue, and an opinion to this effect is very general in the Post Office itself. Let, then, a general system of reductions be put into immediate operation, and extended as rapidly as the state of the revenue will permit ; and concurrently with this, let’ * «Post Office Reform,’ third edition, p. 48. Tt p. 49: 1837.| Immediate Recommendations. 12 the means here pointed out for simplifying the mechanism of the Post Office be adopted as far as practicable, in order that the consequent increase in the amount of business may not require an increased establishment.’ To give effect to these recommendations, I pro- posed that, as a first step, the postage between post towns should be immediately reduced by one half; that charge should depend no longer on number of enclosures, but on weight; that stamps should serve at first for a very limited range, say for fifteen miles ; so that the numerous mistakes expected to occur in their use (of which there was much groundless apprehension) might admit of speedy and easy correction; and, though at that time very desirous of seeing prepayment made universal, because of the complete simplicity which it would introduce into the Post Office accounts, I recommended that an option should be given, by which prepayment should always be lower by one penny than post payment. Of course in recommending these expedients I did not swerve from my original design ; my expressed desire being that these first measures should be gradually extended, as experience warranted, until the whole plan was in operation.* Much anxiety had been expressed, which under present circumstances seems ludicrous enough, as to the means by which the increased number of letters, on which I relied for sustaining the revenue, could be conveyed from town to town. A five-fold increase, it was maintained, would require a five-fold number of mail-coaches; and I was charged with having omitted this material fact in my calculations. Reply was easy, because, first, the existing mail-coaches were by no means fully laden, many of them indeed having very little to carry ; and secondly—which will how appear remarkable—the chargeable letters formed * «Post Office Reform, third edition, p. 49. 122 Imaginary Difficulties. [1837. but an inconsiderable part of the mail; the bulk of which consisted partly of newspapers, and partly of letters and packages sent under franks, insomuch that, startling as this may seem, the chargeable letters then divided among the four-and-twenty mail- coaches which left London every night might, without displacing a single passenger, and without exceeding or even equalling the ordinary load, have been all forwarded by a single coach. In short, instead of being justly exposed to the charge of omission, I had made in my calculations, through excess of caution, more than due allowance for the increased expense, and that by the large amount of 100,000/.* Fortunately I was able truly to add “that though my plan, with its estimates, had then been before the public for several months, and though both had been submitted not only to the general inquirer, but to the scrutinising examination of those who had most opportunity for acquiring knowledge on the subject, no statement had appeared which invalidated any one of the calculations.’ t Caution in statement, I may observe, had been strengthened in me by almost all the various training through which I had passed. As an instructor, a surveyor, a machinist, an inventor, a responsible secre- tary to an important enterprise, I had had constant need for its exercise ; the more so, perhaps, as I was keenly sensible to the ridicule that follows error, especially in innovators. To return to my immediate subject. By this time, the result of a reduction of postage made six years before in a large portion of the London district, by _ the extension of the twopenny range, had been shown to be favourable ; a return on the subject having been called for by the Commissioners of Post Office Enquiry. * Post Office Reform,’ third edition, p. 51-8. T p. 54. 1837.] Confirmation of Views. 123 It had been calculated by the Post Office authorities that this reduction would reduce the gross revenue to the extent of 20,0007. per annum; whereas at the end of six years the revenue, instead of being a loser, was by 10,0002. a gainer.* Considerable reductions also had recently taken place in the postage of foreign letters ; reductions already followed by a great increase in receipts. Neither had any instance occurred, within my know- ledge, in which reduction of postage had, after a fair trial, been attended with loss to the revenue. To this third edition of my pamphlet was given a preface, written by my brother Arthur, my suc- cessor at Bruce Castle, from matter supplied by myself, in which a parallel was suggested between my plan, contending as it then was against opposition from the Post Office authorities, and Palmer’s great improvement, carried fifty years before, over obstacles raised to it from the same quarter. This preface, being copied in part or in whole into various journals, attracted much public attention; and doubtless had some effect in satisfying or silencing those who argued against the probability of a stranger being able, in Post Office affairs, to improve on the know- ledge of Post Office officials. Doubtless, as I had already acknowledged,{ my want of practical familiar- ity with the arrangements of the Post Office was a disadvantage, and may have led me into some mis- conception in matters of minor importance; but probably such disadvantage was counterbalanced by the absence of those prejudices in favour of an established routine, to which men wholly engrossed in practical duties are peculiarly and unavoidably, liable. * ‘Post Office Reform,’ third edition, p. 71. ‘Ninth Report of Com- missioners of Post Office Enquiry,’ p. 22. t ‘Post Office Reform,’ third edition, p. 73. t ‘Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 64. 124 Parliamentary Committee. (1837. This preface is dated November 15th, 1837, and the third edition of my pamphlet must have appeared a few days later. On the 23rd, Parliament having meantime reassembled, Mr. Wallace renewed his motion for a committee on my plan, and though but ten months had elapsed since my first publication, such was already the progress of public opinion, due in great measure to the energetic support of my many earnest friends and the powerful advocacy of the public press, that the committee was not only granted, but, as would appear from the silence of ‘Hansard,’ without even a debate. The nomination of its members, which took place four days later, gave the following list :—Mr. Wal- lace, Mr. Poulett Thomson, Viscount Lowther, Lord Seymour, Mr. Warburton, Sir Thomas Fremantle, Mr. Raikes Currie, Mr. Morgan John O’Connell, Mr. Thornely, Mr. Chalmers, Mr. Pease, Mr. Mahony, Mr. Parker (Sheffield), Mr. George William Wood, Mr. Villiers.* The reference or instruction to the committee was as follows :— ‘To inquire into the present rates and mode of charging postage, with a view to such a reduction thereof as may be made without injury to the revenue ; and for this purpose to examine especially into the mode recommended for charging and collecting postage in a pamphlet published by Mr. Row- land Hill.’ Three members of this committee—viz., Lord Sey- mour, Mr. Parker, and Mr. Poulett Thomson (after- wards Lord Sydenham)—were also members of Go- vernment, and, as I soon found, sat as opponents to the plan. I need not say, however, that the appoint- ment of the committee, whatever adverse elements it might contain, filled me with high expectations ; = Third Report of the Select Committee on Postage,’ p. 2. t ‘Third Report of the Select Committee on Postage,’ p. 2. 1837.] Discussions in Lords. 125 so well assured was I by this time of the soundness of my views, and so confident that they would derive abundant support from the examination to be made, whatever might be the ultimate decision of the com- mittee; though on this point also I had good hopes. Three days later the Duke of Richmond, in pre- senting the petition from Elgin, took occasion to recommend at least a considerable reduction of postage rates, his opinion carrying the greater weight, as he had formerly filled the office of Post- master-General. Lord Lichfield, in reply, declared that “ were the plan [of penny postage] adopted, in- stead of a million anda half of money being added to ihe revenue, after the expenditure of the establish- ment was provided for, he was quite certain that such a loss would be sustained as would compel them to have recourse to Parliament for money to main- tain the establishment.” Lord Brougham, however, in presenting a petition from the merchants and traders of London, declared that nothing which had fallen from Lord Lichfield had shaken his confidence in Mr, Hill’s plan.* His lordship again spoke to the same effect a fortnight later, when the Karl of Rad- nor, in presenting a petition from the London book- sellers, also advised a large reduction in postage rates.t Indeed I may say, once for all, that neither then nor afterwards did Lord Brougham ever lose an opportunity of giving my plan his powerful support. On the same day (December 15th, 1837), Mr. Hawes having asked in the House of Commons whether Government had decided to give effect to the recommendation of the Commissioners with regard to stamped covers, the Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that it was intended to introduce them in the twopenny post department. * ‘Hansard,’ third series, vol. xxxix. pp. 376-3881. + pp. 1014-1015. 126 Delusive Announcement. [1837. ‘In thus first mentioning the name of Mr. (after- wards Sir Benjamin) Hawes, I feel bound to add that the interest which he showed thus early in my plan became warmer and warmer as time advanced, and never ceased till his death. The same may be said of Mr. Hume, and yet more emphatically of Mr. Warburton. The real purport of the announcement now made, though it does not clearly appear so in the words quoted, was that the stamped cover should be used within the range of the twopenny and threepenny post, but without any reduction of postage there, so that it would be merely a mode of payment in advance (such payment not being then customary), without any motive to its use. Sir Robert Peel pertinently asked if the two plans of reducing the postage and using stamped covers could not be combined; but the Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that “they would try the latter experiment first on the twopenny post. If it sue- ceeded they would try it on an extended scale ; at the same time he was bound to say that while he did not wish to speak disparagingly of an attempt he was himself about to try, he must add he was not very sanguine as to the result.”* Three days later, Lord Brougham, in presenting the petition from the Lord Mayor and Common Council of the City of London, after having given some account of Palmer’s great improvement, spoken — of the opposition which it encountered, of the gloomy predictions made as to its inevitable consequences, and of the grand results obtained by its adoption, proceeded to comment on the intention of Govern- ment to deviate so widely from the recommendation — of the Commissioners of Post Office Knquiry as to adopt a plan “totally different in its nature, and * ¢ Hansard,’ third series, vol. xxxix. pp. 1115-1116. | 1837.] Lords Brougham and Lichfield. 127 which might fail over and over again without the possibility of even a Post Office speculator pretending that it was a failure of Mr. Hill’s plan, because it was to be confined to the twopenny post.” Lord Dun- cannon replied that, “after mature consideration, it was found to be inexpedient to try the experiment of Mr. Hill’s plan to the full extent that had been pro- posed. His Right Hon. friend (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) did not intend to carry the suggestions of the Commissioners into effect the way proposed, but he determined on the issue of penny* stamp covers for the short distances, and to reduce the four- penny post to twopence. He admitted that this could not be considered as a trial of Mr. Hill’s plan, but he thought it the safer course in the first instance.f The Postmaster-General, after having stated the annual number of chargeable letters passing through the Post Office (previously given by himself as 170,000,000) to be only 42,000,000, charged me with having entirely omitted to provide for the greater bulk of additional letters required by my plan, and alleged that “if the postage charge were generally reduced to a penny per letter, it would require twelve times the present circulation of letters to produce the revenue now derived from the Post Office charges.”t He added, “the mails will have to carry twelve times as much in weight, and there- fore the charge for transmission, instead of 100,000J. as now, must be twelve times that amount.’§ The day after this announcement—alarmed at the notion of an experiment whose inevitable failure wag sure, in spite of Lord Duncannon’s disclaimer, to be viewed, as so far a failure of my plan—I wrote to * The word “penny,” though found in ‘Hansard,’ is, as shown by what follows, erroneously inserted. t ‘Hansard,’ third series, vol. xxxix. pp. 1201-1210. t ‘ Hansard,’ vol. xxxix. p. 1207. § ‘ Mirror of Parliament,’ vol. xxxviii. p. 838. 128 Delusive Experiment Deprecated. [1837. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, asking whether, before the change was made, I might be afforded an opportunity of stating my views on the subject; at the same time I expressed a hope that as I had in the first instance submitted my plan to Govern- ment, had taken pains to secure accuracy in all my statements, and had, while attacking a system, carefully avoided all personalities, I might be con- sidered as entitled to some attention, and even in- dulgence. The Chancellor politely repled that he should have much pleasure in seeing me, but was unable at present to fix a day for doing so ; I cannot find, however, either in my memory or in my memo- randa, that this day ever came. So closed the year 1837, one of the busiest and most important in my life; comprising my first ap- plication to Government, the publication and republi- cation and second republication of my pamphlet, my examination before the Commissioners of Post Office Enquiry, my hope founded on their recommendation, its disappointment, my appeal to the public, the appointment of a parliamentary committee, and the earnest and various support which had been ‘accorded. Considering that less than eighteen months had elapsed from my first earnest attention to the subject, and that I had not only worked with all the difficul- ties and disadvantages of an outsider, but with the duties of my post as South Ameen Secretary pressing heavily upon me, I had every reason to be satisfied and even delighted with my progress, though I will not undertake to say that I thought so at the time. However, I had full encouragement to pro- ceed, the more so as I could not then foresee that two more years of incessant toil would precede the adoption of my plan—a toil which would have been beyond my strength but for the constant assistance received from the various members of my family. CHAPTER III. PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE. I opENED the year 1838 with a series of letters to Lord Lichfield, which were obligingly inserted in all the morning papers, the first appearing on January 9th. These letters were written in the manner de- scribed below; and it may save trouble hereafter to remark that much else which has appeared under my name, together with not a little to be found in my minutes at the Treasury and at the Post Office, was produced in the same way. To me the device and elaboration of plans was incomparably easier than their exposition or advocacy; with my brother Arthur the case was the reverse ; and this led me to the frequent employment of his pen. What neither of us could have effected separately, joint action made easy. Our mode of proceeding was as follows: I having collected and arranged my facts and formed a skeleton of the proposed paper, we sat down together, my brother dictating and I writing, often however paus- ing to bring the language into more exact expression of my thoughts, or to mention, or at times to learn, some new idea that arose as we went on. Oc- casionally, however, when business pressed we worked apart ; but in any case the whole paper so constructed underwent our joint revision, and we sometimes found that the thoughts with which we started had, in the WOL,: I; K 130 Letters to Lord Lichfield. [1838. very attempt to express them, undergone such modif- cation that we rejected all that had been done, and began our task afresh. The letters to Lord Lichfield were written mainly in reply to his lordship’s speeches in Parliament, from which some passages have already been cited. From these letters I give one or two quotations :— ‘In the series of letters which I shall take the liberty of addressing to your lordship, I hope I shall carefully maintain that respect for the claims, and consideration for the feelings of others, which, I trust, have marked all that I have hitherto written. Your lordship must be well aware that whoever enters on the task of innovation, must expect some amount of ridicule or abuse aimed either at his plan or himself. Your lordship must feel that a person so circumstanced ought not to allow such a necessary consequence of his attempt either to deter him from his adopted course, or to provoke his retaliation. ‘T take this opportunity of publicly thanking your lordship for the courtesy, which I have in private experienced at your hands in every communication with which I have been honoured, whether in person or by letter.’ The following passage from the third letter is in reply to the announcement by Government that the principle of stamped covers would be tried in the London District :— ‘Should the trial of stamped covers on the plan now unfor- tunately contemplated issue in success, the world will indeed see a paradox,—an effect without a cause. Were such an ex- periment merely useless it might pass without comment; but its inevitable failure may produce no small mischief. An apparent trial of a plan may easily be confounded with a real one ; and though I am sure nothing could be further — from the intentions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, yet had the aim been to throw unfair discredit on the plan, — it would have been difficult to devise a better mode of pro- — ceeding.’ i The following are passages from the last letter :— ‘Again, your lordship has fallen into the error of supposing 1838.] Fallacies Exposed. 131 that in twelve-folding the number of letters we shall twelve- fold the bulk of the whole mail. Of this error the refutation is supplied by another part of your lordship’s speech, where it is stated that, while the average number of letters despatched by the evening mails is below thirty thousand, the average number of newspapers by the same conveyance is nearly sixty thousand. Now as the average weight of a newspaper is about six times that of a letter, and the average number of newspapers double that of letters, it follows that the total weight of the newspapers is twelve times that of the letters— consequently that a twelve-fold increase in the number of letters (even if such an increase were necessary to sustain the revenue) would only make the weight of letters equal to that of newspapers, and therefore would only double the present load ; so that even were all the evening mail-coaches at present loaded to the full (and your lordship will find that the average is not nearly half a load), a double number of these coaches would be sufficient. * * * * * ‘There is one remaining objection which, as it can scarcely have been made seriously, needs but little remark. Your lordship objects that on the required increase in the amount of correspondence “the whole area on which the Post Office stands would not be large enough to receive the clerks and the letters.” Without adverting to the means which I have distinctly pointed out for obviating any such inconvenience, Tam sure that your lordship will not have much hesitation in deciding whether in this great and commercial country the size of the Post Office is to be regulated by the amount of correspondence, or the amount of correspondence by the size of the Post Office.’ About the time that the last of these letters ap- peared, an important movement, which had been already some weeks in preparation, took definite shape. Mr. Moffatt, afterwards M.P. for Southampton, havin or sought an interview with me, had proposed the estab- lishment of a “ Mercantile Committee,” to collect evi- dence in favour of the plan; and his proposal bein o, of course, gladly accepted, he went to work with such carnestness, that I soon found in him one of my most K 2 132 Mercantile Committee. [1838 zealous, steady, and efficient supporters. Funds he raised with comparative ease, but the formation of a committee he found more difficult than he had ex- pected. Now, however, February 5th, 1838, he wrote to inform me that he had at length prevailed upon Mr. Bates, of the House of Baring Brothers, to accept the office of chairman; and this point being secured, other good members were easily obtained. As soon as the committee was formed, I was in- vited to attend, in order to give such information as might seem desirable, and to answer such questions as any of the members might wish to propose; an ordeal which, happily, ended satisfactorily to both parties. Mr. Ashurst, father of the present solicitor to the Post Office, having been requested to act as solicitor to the committee, went promptly to work ; and though by choice he acted gratuitously, laboured with as much ardour as if important personal interests were involved in the issue. No less earnestness was shown by Mr. Henry Cole, who had been engaged to aid in the work. He was author of a jeu d’esprit, which attracted considerable attention at the time, as many as a hundred thousand copies being issued, and which doubtless was read by many whose attention the same matter, in a more serious form, would have failed to obtain. This was an imaginary scene at — Windsor Castle, the characters being Her Majesty — the Queen, Lord Melbourne, Lord Lichfield, and my- | self. Of course my cause was made victorious, the — royal commendation being bestowed on my efforts, while the Prime Minister and the Postmaster-General were duly snubbed, the one for indifference, the other — for opposition. This, however, was only one of the almost innumerable devices by which Mr. Cole, in his indefatigable ingenuity, contrived to draw public” attention to the proposed measure. Another amusilg- 1838.] ~ Mr. Cole—Mr. Moffatt. 133 stroke consisted in passing through the Post Office, and afterwards exhibiting in fac-simile to the public eye (the originals being previously shown in Parliament), two letters, so arranged as to display, in the clearest light, the absurdity of the existing rule of charge. Of these, one nearly as light as a feather, and almost small enough to require a pair of forceps for its handling, quite a letter for Lilliput, but containing an enclosure, bore double postage; while the other, weighing nearly an ounce, eight inches broad, and more than a foot long, a very creditable letter for Brobdingnag, but all written on one sheet, had its postage single. I scarcely need add that, while he thus roused at- tention, he also circulated solid information. This was conveyed chiefly through a periodical entitled ‘ The Post Circular, of which Mr. Cole was the editor, and which was carried on throughout the period of the movement. Through this medium and otherwise, he enlarged upon the advantages of the plan, producing in its support a variety of facts obtained from time to time, urged resort to petitions, and circulated the requisite forms for the same, &c. Moreover, he was ever ready to give assistance in any form, and, in a word, worked as the committee’s zealous agent, contri- _ buting not a little to the success of the movement. In short, the committee thus entered upon a course of vigorous action, which never flagged until its main purpose had been achieved ; nor must I omit to say that Mr. Moffatt, its originator and chief worker, was ready on all subsequent occasions—and these were many—to answer any call for support; the aid thus given being often very acceptable and of great value, Meanwhile the Parliamentary Committee, ap- pointed on the motion of Mr. Wallace, began its sittings, the first being held on February 7th, the 134 Labours of Committee. [1838. cause at the same time receiving valuable support in petitions from various town councils and other bodies, some of which also referred in complimentary lan- guage to my lately-published letters to Lord Lich- field. Mr. Wallace, being appointed chairman, thenceforth concentrated his indefatigable efforts upon its work; and his labour during the whole session—his duties being by no means confined to the formal sittings—was most severe. The committee sat no less than sixty-three days, and besides referring to “the Reports of the Finance Committee of 1797 and of sundry Commissions which had previously inquired into the management of the Post Office,” by which their labours were “ much assisted,” they examined “ the Postmaster-General, the secretaries and the solicitors of the three Post Offices of England, Ireland, and Scotland, and other officers of the Post Office department; obtained many important returns from the Post Office, most of which they directed to be prepared expressly for their use; and also examined the chairman, secretary and solicitor of the Board of Stamps and Taxes, Mr. Row- land Hill, and eighty-three other witnesses, of various occupations, professions, and trades, from various parts of the kingdom; in the selection of which they were much assisted by an association of bankers and merchants in London, formed expressly to aid the committee in the prosecution of their inquiry.”* This association, I scarcely need add, was the com- mittee formed by Mr. Moffatt, and kept in vigorous action by his untiring efforts, aided by those of Mr. Ashurst and Mr. Cole. 7 The committee wisely directed its attention chiefly to the question of inland postage, which indeed — offered abundant matter for investigation. In speaking of the evidence given before this * “Third Report of the Select Committee on Postage,’ p. 3. 1838.] Postage by Distanee. 136 committee, I follow not the order in which it was given, but the classification observed in the final Report; selecting, as the Report does, only those portions which bear most strongly on the questions to be resolved. My own evidence I shall in the main pass over, seeing that it was in substance al- most identical with my pamphlet. My plan of “secondary distribution,* however, I now thought it expedient to abandon, so far as regarded the existing range of post-office operations, not from any any doubt of its justice or intrinsic advantage, but with a view to simplify the great question before the committee.f One question, of course, related to the varying rates of postage, which any one accustomed to present simplicity would find sufficiently perplexing. In Great Britain (for in Ireland it was somewhat dif- ferent) the postage on a single letter delivered within eight miles of the office where it was posted was, as a general rule—consequent on a recent reduction— twopence, the lowest rate beyond that limit being fourpence. Beyond fifteen miles it became five- pence; after which it rose a penny at a time, but by irregular augmentation, to one shilling, the charge for three hundred miles ; one penny more served for four hundred miles, and thenceforward augmentation went on at the same rate, each additional penny serving for another hundred miles. This plan of charge, with various complications arising out of it, produced remarkable anomalies, specimens of which are given in the evidence of Mr. Paul Measor, post- master of Exeter. As if this complexity were not quite enough, there was as a general rule an additional charge of a half- penny on a letter crossing the Scotch border; while * «See ‘ Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 12. + See my letter to the Chairman of the Committee. First Report, p. 424. 136 Number of Chargeable Letters. [1838 letters to or from Ireland had to bear, in addition, packet rates, and rates for crossing the bridges over the Conway and the Menai; or, if they took the southern route, a rate chargeable at Milford.* Lastly, there was the rule already mentioned, by which a letter with the slightest enclosure incurred double postage, and with two enclosures triple; the postage, however, being regulated by weight whenever this reached an ounce, at which point the charge became quadruple ; rising afterwards by a single postage for every additional quarter of an ounce.y Surely it is no wonder that Post Office officials, viewing prepay- ment in connection with such whimsical complexity, and probably thinking the connection indissoluble, should be hopeless of inducing the public to adopt the practice. A second inquiry, which occupied much attention, referred to the number of chargeable letters then passing annually through the Office. The importance of this question, which no longer appears at first sight, was then so great that it was regarded as one of the main points at issue between the Post Office and myself. Its importance arose thus. To estimate the in- crease 1n correspondence required for my purpose, it was obviously necessary to know the amount of loss per letter involved in the proposed reduction of postage; in other words, the difference between the proposed rate and the average of, the rates actually paid, which average had therefore to be arrived at. This I placed at sixpence farthing, the Post Office authorities at a shilling. Actual knowledge, how- ever, did not exist, and each party had resorted to calculation, dividing the gross revenue by the sup- — posed number of letters. That number I then esti- * “Third Report from the Select Committee of Postage (1838), p. 6. tT p. 49. ee hee eo | 1838.] Conflicting Estimates. 137 mated at eighty-eight millions,* the Post Office authoritatively declared it to be only forty-two or forty-three millions;f hence the difference in our results as to the actual average of postage, and con- sequently as to the required increase in correspon- dence, which I fixed at five-and-a-quarter-fold, the Post Office at twelvefold. Of course it would have been easy for the Post Office authorities to correct their calculation, before the appointment of the committee, by an actual counting of letters; nor have I ever learned why this corrective was not applied. I had indeed to thank the depart- ment for obligingly supplymg me with a fact essen- tial to my calculation, viz., the number of letters, general and local, delivered in London in one week ; and had this fact been dealt with by the Post Office as I myself dealt with it (a process, however, pro- nounced incorrect by the office),{ the same result, or nearly so, must have been arrived at by both parties ; but, as already intimated, had the counting process been applied to the whole country, as was afterwards done on the requisition of the committee, the whole question would have been settled at once. Before my examination, however, I had been enabled, by the complaisance of the Postmaster- General, to obtain further information, chiefly as to the number of letters delivered and postage collected in Birmingham ; and this had led me so far to modify my former estimate, as to reduce it to seventy-nine and a-half, or, in round numbers, to eighty millions. § I may here add that yet further information, supplied on the requisition of the committee, enabling me to make yet further correction, I again reduced my estimate to seventy-eight millions. | By the same 7 Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 78. f ‘Third Report,’ p. 339. { Speech of Lord Lichfield in House of Lords, November 30th, 1827. § ‘Third Report,’ p. 7. | p. 8. 138 Average Postage. [1838, time, the Post Office, having abandoned the state- ment so confidently put forth, had raised the number to fifty-eight and a quarter millions,* and this, after the counting mentioned above, it again advanced to seventy and a quarter millions.— The committee, after very elaborate calculations made by Mr. War- burton, fixed it at seventy-seven and a-half millions,t that is, ten and a-half millions below my first rough estimate, made on very limited information, and thirty-five and a-half millions above the authoritative statement of the Postmaster-General, made with all means of correction at command. The committee’s conclusion as to the number of letters confirmed also my estimate as to the average single postage, viz., sixpence-farthing.§ It seems invidious, but I think it not superfluous, thus distinctly to report the result, since it may serve usefully tu show, when other reforms are called for, in this or any other depart- ment, that official authority ought not imperiously to bear down conclusions arrived at by earnest, laborious, and careful investigation. On the question as to the propriety of the existing rates, Colonel Maberly and other witnesses from the Post Office nearly all gave it as their opinion that these rates were too high, at once for the general interests of the public and also for that of the revenue. Indeed, Colonel Maberly believed that “ every Postmaster- General had [so] thought them for many years.” || He did not, however, explain why this opinion, so generally entertained, had been so barren in result; and, indeed, when the Postmaster-General and the Secretary were interrogated by the committee as to any general or even specific abatements they might wish to recommend, no satisfactory reply could be obtained. * ‘Third Report,’ p. 7. Tp.8! topege § Ibid. \| p. 12. 1838, ] Illicit Conveyance. 139 The committee received much evidence, both as to the extent to which the law was evaded by the ir- regular conveyance of letters, and as to the evils produced by suppression of correspondence where circumstances rendered such evasion difficult or im- practicable. Thus Mr. Parker and other publishers reported that it was a common practice, in their trade, to write a number of letters for different indi- viduals in the same district, all on one sheet; and that this, on first coming to hand, was cut up into its several parts, each being delivered either by hand or through the local posts.* Mr. Dillon, of the firm of Morrison and Dillon, reported a similar practice, mutatis mutandis, in respect of money payments. By other witnesses it was established that illicit correspondence was “carried on throughout the country, in systematic evasion of the law, if not in open violation of it, to an extent that could hardly have been imagined, and which it would be difficult to calculate ;’ this occurring “principally in the neighbourhood of large towns, and in populous manufacturing districts;” some carriers making it “their sole business to collect and distribute letters,’ which they did “openly, without fear of the conse- quences; women and children” being “employed to collect the letters.’{ Throughout one district the practice was “said to be universal, and was known to have been established there for nearly fifty years."§ “The average number of letters thus sent daily throughout the year by a house in the neigh- bourhood of Walsall exceeded fifty, and by that house more than a hundred and twenty had been sent in one day.|| Not one fiftieth part of the letters from Walsall to the neighbouring towns was sent by post.” * “Third Report,’ p. 12. + Ibid. f pels. § Ibid. | p. 13. 140 Modes of Evasion. [1838, Mr. Cobden, as yet new to fame, but who had been deputed by the Chamber of Commerce at Man- chester to give in evidence the results of inquiries instituted by them, reported thus— ‘The extent to which evasion is there practised is in- credible; five-sixths of the letters from Manchester to London do not pass through the Post Office.’ * Similar evidence was received from Glasgow. Mr, Brewin, of Cirencester, reported that— ‘The people in that town did not think of using the post for the conveyance of letters; he knew two carriers who carried four times as many letters as the mail did.’ t Further evidence equally weighty and equally striking came in from other quarters.§ Various devices, now doubtless forgotten through disuse, were then in constant requisition ; thus letters for travellers and others in the trade were habitually enclosed in the parcels sent by the great. London booksellers to their customers in the provinces; similar use was made of warehousemen’s bales and parcels, and of boxes and trunks forwarded by carriers; as also of what were termed “free packets,” containing the patterns and correspondence of manufacturers, which the coach proprietors carried free of charge, except fourpence for booking. In the neighbourhood of Glaseow recourse was had to “weavers bags,” that is, bags containing work for the weavers, which the manufacturers forwarded to some neighbouring town, and of “family boxes,” farmers having sons at the University forwarding to them once or twice a week boxes containing provisions, and the neighbours making a Post Office of the farmer’s house.|| Colonel Maberly, however, did not attach much value to all this evidence, knowing “from long * ‘Third Report, p.18. + Ibid, p fp. lau seine || Ibid. 1838.] Oficial Connivance. 141 experience, when he was in Parliament, that mer- chants and interested parties are very apt to over- state their case,’ and his view was supported by some of his subordinates, though strongly contra- dicted by others, especially the Liverpool postmaster, Mr. Banning (the elder brother of the present officer), and the late solicitor to the General Post Office, Mr. Peacock, who “apprehends the illegal conveyance of letters to be carried to a very great extent at the present moment, and has no doubt that persons of respectability in the higher, as well as the humbler, walks of life, are in the habit of sending letters by illegal conveyance to a great extent.’”’* The same general opinion was strongly expressed by Mr. Godby, the secretary to the Irish Post Office; as also by Mr. Thompson, its solicitor, who represented even the drivers and guards of the mail-coaches as constantly engaged in the illegal traffic. In relation to letters going abroad the following is the summary of the evidence :-— ‘The evasion of the postage on letters sent from different parts of the United Kingdom to the out-ports, for the purpose of being put on board of ships bound to foreign parts, especially to the United States of America, is yet more remarkable than the evasion of the inland postage. It is thoroughly known to the Post Office authorities; but the practice appears to be winked at. Colonel Maberly speaks of that practice as one known, and almost recognised.’ t Strong corroborative evidence was given by Mr. Banning, the postmaster of Liverpool; and the following curious fact was stated by another witness from the same great port, viz., Mr. Maury, president of the “ American Chamber of Commerce.” When arrangements had been completed for the establish- ment of regular steam navigation between Liverpool and New York, Mr. Banning, expecting to have a * «Third Report,’ p. 15. fT ipa 17. 142 Letters for America. [1838. large despatch of letters to provide for, was careful, before the departure of the Sirius, the first of the new line of steamers, to furnish himself with a bag of ample dimensions, but, “to his astonishment, received only five letters in all,” though “by that ship at least ten thousand letters were in fact sent, all in one bag, which was at the office of the consignee of the ship. Mr. Maury himself sent at least two hundred letters by that ship, which went free.”* These extraordinary statements were strongly supported by the evidence of Mr. Lawrence, Assistant Secretary to the London Office, who “states, that from what the Post Office have learnt, the American packet, which leaves London every ten days, carries 4000 letters, each voyage, which do not pass through the Post Office; that he is aware of the existence in London of receiving-houses for letters, to be forwarded otherwise than by the Post; the Jerusalem Coffee- house, for instance, receives letters for the East Indies; the North and South American Coffee-house, for South America, the United States, and British America; that almost every ship-broker in London has a bag hanging up for letters to be forwarded by the ship to which he is broker; and that the number of letters for North America so collected for several ships in the office of one ship-broker have been enough to load a cab.” Discoveries made by the Board of Customs, and duly reported to the Lords of the Treasury, led to the same conclusion as to the extensive smuggling of letters to out-ports.f In fine, it appeared by various evidence that, with the opening of railways, the improvement and ex- tension of steam navigation, and, indeed, with every addition to facilities for conveyance, the temptation * ¢'hird Report,’ p. 18. + Ibid. 1838.] Evasion still Increasing. 143 to “smugeling correspondence,” and consequently the practice itself, increased and were likely to increase yet further. In short, the committee came “to the conclusion that, with regard to large classes of the community, those principally to whom it is a matter of necessity to correspond on matters of business, and to whom also it is a matter of importance to save the expense of postage, the Post Office, instead of being viewed as it ought to be, and would be, under a wise administration of it, as an institution of ready and universal access, distributing equally to all, and with an open hand, the blessing of commerce and civili- sation, is regarded by them as an establishment too expensive to be made use of, and as ‘one with the employment of which they endeavour to dispense by every means in their power.”* They also became convinced that if it were possible, by increased rigour, to put a stop to the illicit transmission of letters, a vast diminution must take place in the number of letters written; and the suppression of correspondence already caused by high rates greatly magnified. One witness had “made a calculation some time ago among the poor manufacturers, and found when one of them in full work could earn forty shillings a week, he would receive, on an average, thirty orders, which at four- pence a piece, if they went through the Post Office, would be twenty-five per cent. on his earnings.” f While, however, illicit correspondence was found thus prevalent, there was abundant and striking evidence to show that “high rates of postage deter the public to a vast extent from writing letters and sending communications which otherwise they would write or send ;” that “even those who have the means of evasion within their reach reduce their corre- * «Third Report,’ p. 19. t Ibid. 144 High Rates Suppressive. [1838. spondence greatly below the standard which, under other circumstances, they would think expedient ;” that “suppression of correspondence on matters of business takes the place of evasion in proportion as the transactions to be announced or performed are moderate in amount, and the condition in life of the parties is humble.”* Were it not too tedious to enumerate even the heads under which suppression was deposed to, the reader, accustomed to the present state of things, would be astonished at the extent and variety to which movements would be restricted by a return to the old rates. Some few instances are all that can be noted. Who would now divine that high rates of postage could have any relation to the prevalence of small-pox? And yet it was found that “ Prac- titioners and others in the country do not apply for lymph in the degree they otherwise would do to the institutions formed in London for the spread of vaccination, for fear of postage.” Again: “Sixpence,” says Mr. Brewin, one of the Society of Friends, “is a third of a poor man’s daily income ; if a gentleman, whose fortune is a thousand pounds a year, or three pounds a day, had to pay one-third of his daily income, that is, a sovereign, for a letter, how often would he write letters of friendship?” * * * * “The people do not thinkof using the Post Office; it is barred against them by the very high charge.” “ Mr. G. Henson, a work- ing hosier from Nottingham, had given his wile — instructions not to take letters in unless they came _ from particular persons; it would take half his income were he to pay postage.” The following statement, showing at once the desire and the inability of the poor to correspond, 1s taken from the evidence of Mr. Emery, Deputy- * ‘Third Report,’ p. 20. ff) peel 1838.] Family Communication Prevented. 145 Lieutenant for Somersetshire, and a Commissioner of Taxes :— ‘A person in my parish of the name of Rosser had a letter from a grand-daughter in London, and she could not take up the letter for want of the means. She was a pauper, receiving two-and-sixpence a week. * * * She told the Post Office keeper that she must wait until she had received the money from the relieving officer; she could never spare enougk; and at last a lady gave her a shilling to get the letter, but the letter had been returned to London by the Post Office mistress. She never had the letter since. It came from her grand-daughter, who is in service in London.”* Struck by this statement, Mr. Emery made further inquiries. The following statement he received from the postmaster of Banwell :— ‘My father kept the Post Office many years; he is lately dead; he used to trust poor people very often with letters; they generally could not pay the whole charge. He told me, indeed I know, he did lose many pounds by letting poor people have their letters. We sometimes return them to London in consequence of the inability of the persons to whom they are addressed raising the postage. We fre- quently keep them for weeks; and, where we know the parties, let them have them, taking the chance of getting our money. One poor woman once offered my sister a silver spoon to keep until she could raise the money; my sister did not take the spoon, and the woman came with the amount in a day or two and took up the letter. It came from her husband, who was confined for debt in prison; she had six children and was very badly off.* The following was reported by the postmaster of Congresbury :— ‘The price of a letter is a great tax on poor people. I sent one, charged eightpence, to a poor labouring man about a week ago; it came from his daughter; he first refused taking it, saying it would take a loaf of bread from his other children, but after hesitating a little time, he paid the money, and opened the letter. I seldom return letters of * «Third Report,’ p. 21. { p. 22. WOLs. I. L 146 Petition from Bristol Poor. [1838, this kind to Bristol, because I let the poor people have them, and take the chance of being paid; sometimes I lose the postage, but generally the poor people pay me by degrees.’* The postmaster of Yatton stated as follows :— ‘T have had a letter waiting lately from the husband of a poor woman, who is at work in Wales; the charge was ninepence; it lay many days, in consequence of her not being able to pay the postage. I at last trusted her with it,.’t Mr. Cobden stated :— ‘We have fifty thousand in Manchester who are Irish, or the immediate descendants of Irish ; and all the large towns in the neighbourhood contain a great many Irish, or the descendants of Irish, who are almost as much precluded, as though they lived in New South Wales, from all corre- spondence or communication with their relatives in Ireland.’t As the postage between Manchester and most parts of Ireland was then about double the present postage (1869) from any part of England or Ireland to Australia, the separation between the Irish in _ Lancashire and their countrymen at home must then have been, postally considered, not only as great but _ about twice as great as is now that between the Irish at home and their friends at the Antipodes. ‘ Of the desire of the poor to correspond, Mr. Emery — gave further evidence, stating -— ‘That the poor near Bristol have signed a petition to — Parliament for the reduction of the postage. He never saw ereater enthusiasm in any public thing that was ever got up — in the shape of a petition; they seemed all to enter into the thing as fully, and with as much feeling as it was possible, as_ a boon or godsend to them, that they should be able to— correspond with their distant friends.’§ There was much other evidence to the same general effect. : Much evidence was also given as to the extent 0 * ‘Third Report,’ p. 22. t Ibid. t Ibid. § p. 23, } 1838.] Moral Evils of High Rates. 147 moral evil caused by the suppression of corre- spondence. On this point Mr. Henson speaks again :— ‘When a man goes on the tramp, he must either take his family with him, perhaps one child in arms, or else the wife must be left behind; and the misery I have known them to be in, from not knowing what has become of the husband, because they could not hear from him, has been extreme. Perhaps the man, receiving only sixpence, has never had the means, upon the whole line, of paying tenpence for a letter, to let his wife know where he was.’ * Mr. Dunlop believed that— ‘One of the worst parts of the present system of heavy postage is, that it gradually estranges an absentee from his home and family, and tends to engender a neglect of the ties of blood, in fact, to encourage a selfish spirit; at the same time he has known very affecting instances of families in extreme poverty making a sacrifice to obtain a letter from the Post Office.’+ Mr. Brankston said :— ‘T have seen much of the evils resulting from the want of communication between parents and their children among the young persons in our establishment; I find the want of communication with their parents by letter has led, in some instances, to vice and profligacy which might have been otherwise prevented.’ t It was also shown that one effect of suppression of correspondence was to keep working-men ignorant of the state of wages in different parts of the country, so that they did not know where labour was in demand. Thus Mr. Brewin said :— ‘We often see poor men travelling the country for work, and sometimes they come back, and it appears they have been in a wrong ‘direction; if the postage were low they would write first, and know whether they were likely to succeed,’§ » “Third Report,’ p. 24. + Ibid. Ty pico: § Ibid. ed 148 High Rates cause Tramping. [1838. Mr. Henson stated as follows :— ‘The Shoemakers’ Society at Nottingham tell,me that 350 persons have come there for relief. * * * Very few of those persons would have gone upon tramp if they could have sent circular letters to a number of the largest towns in England at_a penny to receive information whether a job could be got or not.’* It may be observed that one of the main facts now urged in favour of Trades Unions is, that they collect and circulate the very information here spoken of as so much wanting. There was evidence to show that the difficulty of communication aggravated— ‘The remarkable pertinacity of the poor to continue in their own parish, rather than remove to another where ae condition would be bettered.’ Tt was also stated that— ‘The consequence of the high rates, in preventing the working-classes from having intercourse by letter, is, that those who learned at school to write a copy have lost their ability to do so.’f Mr. G. Henson adds that— ‘There are many persons, who, when he first knew them wrote an excellent hand, but now, from their scarcely ever practising, they write very badly: one of these persons is s0 much out of the habit of writing that he would as soon doa day’s work, he says, as write a letter: they are so much out of the habit of writing that they lose the art altogether.’§ Mr. Davidson, of Glasgow, thought— ‘That additional opportunities of correspondence would lead the industrious classes, the working-classes, to pay more attention to the education of their children than they do now, and that it would have a highly beneficial effect, both upon their moral and intellectual character. || * «Third Report,’ p. 25. t p. 26. t Ibid. § Ibid. || p. 27. 1838.) Injurious to Education. 149 So strong was the sense entertained by some of the witnesses of the evils inflicted on society by imposing a tax upon postage that they expressed their doubts whether it were a fit subject for taxation at all. Mr. Samuel Jones Loyd (now Lord Overstone), said :— ‘I think if there be any one subject which ought not to have been selected as a subject of taxation it is that of inter- communication by post; and I would even go a step further, and say, that if there be any one thing which the Govern- ment ought, consistently with its great duties to the public, to do gratuitously, it is the carriage of letters. We build national galleries, and furnish them with pictures ; we propose to create public walks, for the air and health and exercise of the community, at the general cost of the country. I do not think that either of those, useful and valuable as they are to the community, and fit as they are for Government to sanction, are more conducive to the moral and social advancement of the community than the facility of intercourse by post. I therefore greatly regret that the post was ever taken as a field for taxation, an should be very glad to find that, consistently with the general interests of the revenue, which the Government has to watch over, they can effect any reduc- tion in the total amount so received, or any reduction in the charges, without diminishing the total amount.’* Mr., afterwards Sir William, Brown, and also Lord Ashburton, strongly supported this opinion, the latter saying :— | ‘The communication of letters by persons living at a dis- tance is the same as a communication by word of mouth between persons living in the same town. You might as well tax words spoken upon the Royal Exchange, as the commu- nications of various persons living in Manchester, Liverpool, and London. You cannot do it without checking very essentially the disposition to communicate.’t I pause here in my narrative to bar an inference that might very naturally be drawn from my citing the above passages, viz., that in my opinion even the present rates constitute a tax, and may therefore be * «Third Report,’ p. 27. T p. 28. 150 Low Postage no Tax. [1888. wisely and justly abandoned in favour of lower ones, or indeed of absolutely free conveyance. Certainly, if it could be shown that some other corporation could and would manage the whole correspondence, with all its numerous and extensive rootlets and ramifications, on lower terms than the Government, and this without any sacrifice in speed or certainty, then the difference between such lower rates and the present might fairly be termed a tax; but I am not aware that such capability has yet been conceived, still less seriously maintained; and indeed I cannot but believe that, taking the duty as a whole, the Post Office, so long as it is well managed, is likely to do the work on better terms than any rival institution. Another opinion erroneously attributed to me, and connected with the above, is, that so long as the department thrives as a whole its funds may justly be applied to maintain special services which do not repay their own cost; whereas, from the first, I have held that every division of the service should be at _ least self-supporting,* though I allowed that, for the ’ sake of simplicity, extensions might be made where _ there was no immediate expectation of absolute profit.; All beyond this I have always regarded as contrary to the true principles of free trade, as swerving into the unsound and dangerous practice of protection. Whenever, therefore, it is thought that the net revenue from the Post Office is too high for the interests of the public, L would advise the application of the surplus to the multiplication of facilities in those districts in which, through the extent of their corre- spondence, such revenue is produced. | To return to the evidence. With regard to the — amount of reduction that it would be expedient to make, the witnesses generally, whether from the Post * “Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 55. t+ Ibid. 1838.] Amount of Reduction. 151 Office or otherwise, were of opinion that it must be large; illicit conveyance having become too firmly established to be effectually dealt with by any moderate change. The Secretary indeed, was of opinion— ‘That to whatever extent the postage is reduced, those who have hitherto evaded it will continue to evade it, since it cannot be reduced to that price that smugglers will not compete with the Post Office, at an immense profit.’* Mr. Peacock, while of opinion that nothing would entirely prevent illicit transmission, said that the only means he knew of to check it was to reduce the postage rates.7 Tt has already been shown that a very important, indeed essential, part of my plan was uniformity of rate. To this various objections were raised, some of which would now seem frivolous enough. As an instance, I may mention the statement— ‘That in certain cases extra rates are levied, and are applicable to the maintenance of certain roads and _ bridges, undertaken with a view to expedite the mails which travel over them.’ t An objection the more frivolous as the total amount of the rates thus levied was less than 8,000/. Some witnesses from the Post Office regarded the uniform rate as “ unfair in principle.”§ Dr. Lardner, while he regarded it as abstractedly unjust, yet thought it should be recommended on account of its simplicity. All the other witnesses were in its favour, provided the rate were as low as one penny ; and nearly all considered a uniform rate preferable to a varying one, though the rate should somewhat exceed one penny.|| Mr. Jones Loyd observed that the— * ‘Third Report,’ p. 29. { Ibid. t p. 33. § p. 34. || Ibid. 152 Uniform fate. [1838, ‘Justice of the uniform plan is perfectly obvious. You are not warranted in varying the charge to different individuals, except upon the ground that the cost of conveyance varies; so far as that varies the charge ought to vary; but it appears to me that that which consists of a tax upon individuals ought to have no reference to the place of their residence; it should either be equal, or, if it varies at all, it should be in proportion to their means of bearing the tax.’ Being asked whether, if a uniform rate of two- pence were imposed on all letters, and if a person at Limerick got his letters for twopence, a person at Barnet would not soon find out that he ought to have his letters for a penny, Mr. Loyd answered :— ‘If such be the fact, he would soon find it out, I presume; if it was not the fact, of course he would never find it out.’* Mr. Dillon made the following remarkable state- mente ‘To show how little the cost of transit sometimes enters into the price of goods, I may mention to the committee, in the way of illustration, that we buy goods in Manchester; they are conveyed to London ; we sell them in London very often to dealers resident in Manchester, who again carry them back to the place from whence they came, and, after the cost of two transits, they will have bought them of us cheaper than they themselves could have bought them in Manchester. In this instance, the cost of transit, as an element of price, has become absolutely destroyed by the force of capital and other arrangements.’ t Lord Ashburton also approved the principle of a uniform rate, and Colonel Colby termed it “ just and convenient.”{ Colonel Maberly would like a unr form rate of postage, but did not think it practicable. “Any arrangements which, in the great details of Post Office matters, introduce simplicity, he looks upon as a great improvement.”§ Most of the other Post Office authorities liked the idea of 4 * «Third Report,’ p. 34. t Ibid. t Ibid, § Ibid. 1838.] Prepayment. 153 uniform rate, as “it would very much facilitate all the operations of the Post Office,” but the Super- intending President of the London Inland Office differed from the other witnesses, asserting “ that it is quite as easy to make twenty different taxes [of letters] as to make them all the same.”* The feasibility of payment in advance, now the almost universal practice, was the subject of much inquiry. Most of the witnesses from the Post Office recognised the advantage of the arrangement, though some of them doubted its practicability. Part of this difficulty, it must be admitted, was, in some sort, of my own creating; for, perceiving that the costly system of accounting rendered necessary by payment on delivery could never be entirely set aside unless prepayment became universal, my first notion had been to make this compulsory ; and though, to smooth the difficulties, I recommended that in the outset an option should be allowed, that, namely, which exists at. present, I certainly looked upon this as but a temporary expedient, and both desired and expected that the period of probation might be short. Doubt- less it was a mistake, though a very natural one, so to clog my plan; my aim, however, was not merely to establish a pleasing symmetry, but to attain an important practical end. The Postmaster-General and the Secretary were both of opinion that the public would not like pre- payment. Being called on to reply to objections on this point, I showed that the question for the public to determine was between prepayment at a low rate and post payment at a high rate; and I ventured to predict that, when so considered, the objection to pre- payment would speedily die away; the more so as the difference proposed to be made between the two modes of payment, viz., that between one penny and * “Third Report,’ p. 35. 154 Mode of Prepayment. [1838. twopence, was not adopted “ as an artificial means of enforcing prepayment,” but arose “ out of the greater economy to the Post Office of the one arrangement ag compared with the other.’ Nearly twenty other witnesses were examined on the same point, all sup- porting my view, some going so far as to advise that compulsory prepayment should be established at once ; and, indeed, the ease with which prepayment became the general, nay almost universal custom, must make it seem wonderful that its adoption should ever have been considered as presenting serious difficulties, Supposing prepayment to be resolved on, the question remained as to the mode in which such payment could be most conveniently and safely made ; and this inquiry of course brought the use of stamps into full discussion. It must be remembered that in proposing by this plan to supersede the multitudinous accounts then kept in the department, my object had been not merely to save expense, but to prevent loss through negligence or by fraud. In relation to this, the committee found important evidence in the Eighteenth Report of the Commissioners of Revenue Enquiry, already referred to; as appears by the following extracts given in the report of the com- mittee :— ‘Upon the taxation of letters in the evening there is no check. ‘The species of control which is exercised over the deputy postmasters is little more than nominal.’ Upon this unsatisfactory state of things it appeared by the evidence of the Accountant-General of the Post Office that very little improvement had been made since the issue of the Commissioners’ Report. — Another matter of anxiety relative to the use of stamps was the risk of their forgery; and on this — point Mr. John Wood, the Chairman of the Board of Stamps and Taxes, together with other officers of the — 1838.] Stamps— Objections—Answers. — 155 department, was examined at considerable length ; Mr. Wood wished to superadd to the use of stamps that of some paper of peculiar manufacture, forgery being more difficult when it requires the combined talents of the engraver, the printer and the paper- maker. Specimens of such a paper had been laid before the committee by Mr. Dickinson, and such a paper, with lines of thread or silk stretched through it, Mr. Wood regarded as the best preventive of forgery he had ever seen. I scarcely need say that this is the paper which was subsequently used in the stamped envelope, though its use was afterwards abandoned as unnecessary. The Post Office opinions as to the use of stamps for the purpose of prepayment were, on the whole, favourable; though the Secretary was of opinion that, as regards time, labour, and expenditure at the General Post Office, the saving would not be so great as “Mr. Hill in his pamphlet seemed to think it would.”* He enumerated nine classes of letters to which he thought stamps would be inapplicable. The task of replying to these objections was easy, on some points ludicrously so; thus solemn reference was made to the class of letters which not having found the party addressed had been returned through the Dead Letter Office to the sender. The additional postage so caused could not be prepaid in stamps. Of course not, but luckily no such postage had ever been charged.t Another class of letters presenting a difficulty (here I am careful to quote the exact words) “ would be halfounce letters weighing an ounce or above.” I could not but admit that letters exhibiting so remarkable a peculiarity might present difficulties with which I was not prepared to deal.t * «Third Report,’ p. 41. T ‘Second Report,’ question 11,110. fold 111. ioe Stamps— Moral Advantage. (1838. “The ninth class,” said the Secretary, “is packets improperly sent through the Post Office. You may send anything now if you pay the postage.” What could be more obvious than the answer? I gave it as follows: “The fact is, you may send anything now, whether you pay the postage or Mots = But the Secretary continued, “The committee is aware that there is no prohibition as to what description of packets persons should put into the Post Office; the only protection to the Post Office at present is the postage that would be charged on such packets.”’} My answer was easy: “ The fact is, that the ‘only protection’ is no protection at all. The Post Office may charge, certainly, but it cannot oblige any one to pay; and the fact of there being a deduction in the Finance Accounts for 1837, amounting to 122,000/. for refused, missent, and redirected letters, and so forth, shows that the Post Office is put toa considerable expense, for which it obtains no re- muneration whatever.” Among the advantages claimed for the proposed use of stamps was the moral benefit of the arrange- ment; and this was strongly urged by Sir William Brown, who had seen the demoralising effect arising from intrusting young men with money to pay the postage, which, under the existing arrangement, his house was frequently obliged to do.t His view was supported by other witnesses. | It seems strange now that it should ever have been thought necessary to inquire gravely into the expediency of substituting a simple charge by weight for the complicated arrangement already mentioned ; but this was by no means deemed superfluous at the — * «Second Report,’ question 11,112. + Ibid. ¢ ‘Third Report,’ p. 42. 1838.] Charge by Weight. 157 time. The innovation, being stoutly resisted, had to be justified, and evidence was taken accordingly. Lord Ashburton being called on for his opinion, thought that the mode in use was “a hard mode, an unjust mode, and vexatious in its execution.”* On the other hand, though Colonel Maberly admitted the frequent recurrence of mistakes, which indeed it must have been impracticable to avoid, viz., “that a great number of letters are charged as double and treble which are not so, and give rise to returns of postage,’+ and though Sir Edward Lees thought “that charging by weight would, to a certain extent, prevent letters being stolen in their passage through the Post Office,’{ yet the Assistant Secretary, the Superintending President, and one of the Presidents of the Inland Office, together wlth most of the other witnesses from the Post Office, were unfavourable to taxing by weight. The Superintending President described an experiment made at the office, from which he concluded that a greater number of letters could be taxed in a given time on the plan then in use, than by charging them in proportion to the weight of each letter. The value of this test was pretty well shown by the fact that in this experiment the weighing was not by the proposed half-ounce, but by the quarter-ounce scale, and that nearly every letter was put into the scale unless its weight was palpable to the hand.§ The probable effect of the adoption of my plan on the expenditure of the Post Office department was a question likely to elicit opposite opinions. It was to be considered, for instance, whether the staff then employed in the London Inland Office, V1zZ., four hundred and five persons,|| would suffice for that Increase of correspondence on which I counted; or * «Third Report,’ p. 48. + Ibid. tp. 44. § ‘First Report,’ questions 1369, 1372. | ‘Third Report,’ p. 45. 158 Economy— Conveyance of Mails. [1838. whether, again, supposing the increase not to be attained, it would, through economy of arrangement, admit of serious reduction. On these questions* there was much difference of opinion, even within the office. Thus, while one high official stated that payment in advance, even though it occasioned no increase of letters, would not enable the Post Office to dispense with a single clerk or messenger,f another, viz., Mr. Lawrence, although declaring that he spoke with great caution, as not being practical enough to make a distinct statement, was of opinion that four times the number of letters might be undertaken by the present number of hands.f{ Again, as to the sufficiency of the existing means of conveyance, the Superintendent of the Mail- coaches, after stating “that a mail-coach would carry of mail fifteen hundredweight, or one thousand six hundred and eighty pounds, represented that if the letters were increased to the extent assumed, the present mail-coaches would be unable to carry them 3’) while Colonel Colby stated that the first circumstance which drew his attention to the cheapening of postage was that in travelling all over the kingdom, par- ticularly towards the extremities, he had “ observed that the mails and carriages which contained the 7 letters formed a very stupendous machinery for thea conveyance of a very small weight; that in fact, if the correspondence had been Joanie or trebled, or quadrupled, it could not have affected the expense of conveyance. ’ | To determine the question the committee directed a return to be made of the weight of the mail actually carried by the several mail-coaches. going out of London. The average was found to be only 463 pounds, or little more than a quarter of the weight * «Third Report,’ p. 45. t p. 46. tp ATe § p. 48. | Ibia, q p. 49. 1838.] Economy.— Lord Ashburton. 159 which, according to Post Office evidence, a mail- coach would carry; and as it appeared, by other evidence, that the chargeable letters must form less than one-tenth of the weight of the whole mail, it was calculated by the committee that, with every allowance for additional weight of bags, the average weight of the chargeable letters might be increased twenty-four fold before the limit of 1680 pounds would be reached. It was further shown that the weight of all the chargeable letters contained in the thirty-two mails leaving London was but 1456 pounds ; that is, less than the weight which, a single mail-coach could carry.* Finally, on the general question of economy to be expected from the adoption of my plan, Lord Ashburton deposed as follows :— ‘The opinion I have expressed with respect to the present high rate of postage is an opinion I have always entertained ; but I was much struck with the statement of Mr. Hill upon the subject. I thought the uniformity of the rate of postage, and the plan of stamping covers, and the plan of not making any addition for moderate-sized letters, were very good and very desirable; also, I was much struck with the great facility in the delivery of letters, arising from the deliverer having no money to collect upon the delivery, and the great means of simplifying the whole transactions of the Post Office by transferring the money part of it principally to the Stamp Office, and taking away from it nearly the whole of its functions as a board for the collection of the revenue.’t Though the amount to be recommended as the uniform rate was of course a question for the con- sideration of the committee, yet, as my plan fixed it at one penny, most of the witnesses assumed this as the contemplated change ; making it the basis of their estimates, and counting upon this low rate for turning into the regular channel of the post various communi- cations then habitually made by other means, such, * «Third Report,’ p. 50. t Ibid. 160 Sources of Increase. [1838. for instance, as small orders, letters of advice, re- mittances, policies of insurance, and letters enclosing patterns and samples, all of which were, for the most part, diverted into irregular channels by excess of postage. Similar expectations were held out with respect to letters between country attorneys and their London agents, documents connected with magisterial and county jurisdiction, and with various local trusts and commissions, for the management of sewers, harbours, and roads, and of schools and charities, together with notices of meetings and elections to be held by joimt stock and proprietary bodies.* The mere enumeration will surprise the reader of the present day, accustomed as he must be to send and receive all such communications by the post alone. Nor will it seem less strange to learn that at that time the post had little to do with the circulation of prices current, catalogues of sales, prospectuses, circulars, and other documents issued by public insti- _ tutions for the promotion of religion, literature, science, public instruction, or other philanthropic or charitable ends; all of which, so far as they could then be circulated at all, were obliged to find their way through channels more or less irregular. The committee, however, “also took evidence as to the increase that was to be expected in the posted correspondence of the country from the adoption of a uniform rate of twopence ;” but on this basis they found that much greater diversity of opinion pre- vailed. Some important witnesses, however, with Lord Ashburton at their head, “ were, for the sake of protecting the revenue, favourable to a plan founded on a twopenny rate.”t While, however, Lord Ashburton thought the — reduction to twopence, rather than to a penny, safer — as regards the direct revenue of the Post Office, he * «Third Report,’ p. 52. t p. 58. t p54. ) ‘ ; \ ’ 1838.] Abolition of Franks. 161 was strong in his opinion that reduction of postage would act beneficially on the general revenue of the country, saying that there was “no item of revenue from the reduction of which he should anticipate more benefit than he would from the reduction of postage ;” and adding that “if, under any plan of reduction, you did not find an improvement in the Post Office revenue, you would find considerable benefit in every other way.”* Although it was obvious that the establishment of a low rate of postage would of itself have a strong tendency to the disuse of the franking privilege, the committee had to consider how far it might be de- sirable to retain that privilege at all. It was found that the yearly number of franked missives was about seven millions; that those franked by members of parliament, Sewn less than five millions in number, might be counted nearly as double letters, the official franks (about two millions in number) as eightfold letters, and the copies of the statutes, distri- buted by public authority (about seventy-seven thou- sand in number), as thirteen-fold letters.7 In respect of the official franks, indeed, supposing their contents to be always in genuine relation to the public service, there was a mere formal difference between their passing through the Post Office free, and their being charged to the office of state from which they were posted; but such a supposition would have been very wide of the truth, for, as is justly remarked in the Report, “it is lable to the abuse, which no vigilance can effectually guard against, of being made the vehicle for private corre- spondence.” The Report continues :— ‘Thus it appears from Dr. Lardner’s evidence, that while he resided in Dublin, the greater part, if not the whole, of his correspondence was allowed to pass under the franks of the * «Third Report,’ p. 56. tp. 60. MOEA: T. M 162 ‘olonel Maberly’s Plan. [1838 then Postmaster-General for Ireland, and that the extensive correspondence in which he is now engaged, in relation to various publications, and to engineering, on which he is professionally consulted, is carried on principally by means of official franks. He states, that as these franks enable him to send any weight he pleases, he is in the habit, mn order to save trouble to those from whom he obtains the franks, of enclosing under one cover a bundle of letters to the same neighbourhood.”* However the objection to the existence of such opportunities might be lessened in the particular case by the uses to which it was applied, there was clearly no ground for supposing that it was only for such laudable purposes that the privilege was em- ployed ; indeed, it was notorious that men of science were far from being the class principally indulged. Neither could it be the poor and humble to whom the favour was commonly extended, but, as alleged by Mr. Brankston, one of the witnesses, it was “principally the rich and independent who en- deavoured to obtain franks from those who are privi- leged to give them.” Dr. Lardner, too, said that “a man to obtain such advantages as he obtains must be a person known to or connected with the aristocratic classes of society.” 7 Besides considering my plan, the committee had to deal with various other suggestions, the principal of these being “a graduated scale of reduced rates, commencing with twopence, and extending up to twelvepence, tantamount, as was stated, in England, to a reduction of threepence per letter, which was laid before the committee by Colonel Maberly.” The loss to the revenue from such reduction he estimated at from seven to eight hundred thousand pounds a year.{ None of these plans, however, except one for charging the rates according to geographical distance, © Sina ee a ee, a, we * “Third Report,’ p. 60. t p. a, t p. 63. 1838.] Effect of Increased Facilities. 163 were approved of by any of the witnesses unconnected with the Post Office. As regards the importance of increased facilities in reference alike to the convenience of the public and the restoration of the revenue, upon which I had laid such stress, but which unfortunately were so tardily adopted, much confirmatory evidence came alike from the Post Office and from other quarters. Thus Colonel Maberly reported that “ the impression at the Post Office is, as a general principle, and it is, in point of fact, almost always found, as a general rule, that increased accommodation produces an in- creased quantity of letters.°* The postmaster of Liverpool and Sir Wiliam Brown both laid great stress on quickness of despatch ;7 and it appeared, by a return, that the simple fact of conveying the Manchester and Liverpool mail by railway instead of by coach had, in the course of three years, raised the receipts on letters passing between those towns from less than thirteen thousand pounds to nearly seventeen thousand, or about thirty-one per cent.{ Mr. Willock, the postmaster of Manchester, stated that “letters have, in numerous instances, been sent in coach parcels, not so much with a view to save postage as to facilitate transmission, and to insure early delivery. This happens,’ he stated, “very much in those neighbourhoods in which there is not direct communication through the medium of the Post Office, especially in a populous and manufacturing district between twenty and thirty miles from Man- chester.”§ In confirmation of the latter remark, Mr. Cobden stated that in the village of Sabden, twenty-eight miles from Manchester, where his print- works were, although there was a population of * ‘Third Report,’ p. 64. + Ibid. topes, § Ibid. M 2 164 Oficial Opinions. [1838. twelve thousand souls, there was no Post Office, nor anything that served for one. Such are a few of the multitudinous staterneat made to the committee, in reply to questions, nearly twelve thousand in number, addressed to the various witnesses. The recital throws at least some light upon the difficulties by which the way to postal reform was beset, showing how necessary it was then to strengthen points which now seem quite unassail- able, to prove what now seems self-evident, to induce acceptance of what no one now would hear of abandoning. If further illustration of such necessity be needed, it may be found in the following extracts from the evidence of Post Office officials :— The Assistant Secretary :— ‘Question 986. I think there are quite as many letters written now as there would be even if the postage were re- duced [to one penny ].’* It having been stated that the time for posting letters at the London receiving offices had been ex- tended from 5 to 6 p.m., Mr. Holgate, President of the Inland Office, is examined as follows :— ‘Question 1586. Chairman. Has any notice of that been conveyed to the public ?—I should be very sorry if any had. ‘1587. How long has that been [the practice] ?—The last three months. ‘1588. Why should you regret that being made public ?— They would reach us so much later, and throw so much upon ~ the last half-hour in the evening. ‘1589. That is the time when the office is most pressed by business ?— Yes. ‘1590. Mr. Currie [a member of the committee]. In fact, the office has given the public an accommodation which the office is anxious that the public should not profit by + * * * * * 1655. If Mr. Hill’s plan were carried into effect, I do nob — * ‘First Report,’ p. 79. T p. LOG: 1838.] Post Office Opposition Natural. 165 think that any tradesmen could be got to receive letters [7.e., to keep a receiving house] under 1002. a year.* The Postmaster-General :— ‘Question 2821. He[Mr. Hill] anticipates only an increase of five and a quarter-fold [to make up the gross revenue] ; it will require twelve-fold on our calculation. * * * Therefore it comes to that point, which is right and which is wrong: I maintain that our calculations are more likely to be right than his.’+ It may be remarked here that the old gross revenue was rather more than made up in the year 1851], the increase of letters being then only four and three- quarters-fold.f My own examination occupied a_ considerable portion of six several days, my task being not only to state and enforce my own views, but to reply to objections raised by such of the Post Office authorities as were against the proposed reform. ‘This category comprised, with the exception of Mr. Peacock, the solicitor, all the highest officials in the chief office ; and however unfortunate their opposition, and how- ever galling I felt it at the time, I must admit on retrospect that, passing over the question of means employed, their resistance to my bold innovation was very natural. Its adoption must have been dreaded by men of routine, as involving, or seeming to involve, a total derangement of proceeding—an overthrow of established order; while the immediate loss of revenue—inevitable from the manner in which alone the change could then be introduced (all gradual or limited reform having by that time been condemned by the public voice), a loss, moreover, greatly exaggre- rated in the minds of those who could not or did not see the means direct and indirect of its recuperation, must naturally have alarmed the appointed guardians * ‘First Report,’ p. 109. T p. 189. { ‘ First Annual Report of the Postmaster-General,’ pp. 65, 68. 166 Summary of Secretary's Opinions. [1838, of this branch of the national income. If, as the evidence proceeded, they began to question the wisdom of their original decision, they probably thought, at the same time, that the die was now cast, their course taken, and all that remained was to maintain their ground as best they could. The nature and extent of Post Office resistance, much as has appeared already, is most conspicuous in the following extracts, the last I shall make, from the Digest of Evidence, in which are summed up the opinions put forth by the Secretary ; opinions from which, so far as I am aware, he never receded :— ‘He considers the whole scheme of Mr. Hill as utterly fallacious; he thought so from the first moment he read the pamphlet of Mr. Hill; and his opinion of the plan was formed long before the evidence was given before the com- mittee. The plan appears to him a most preposterous one, utterly unsupported by facts, and resting entirely on assump- tion. Every experiment in the way of reduction which has been made by the Post Office has shown its fallacy ; for every reduction whatever leads to a loss of revenue, in the first instance: if the reduction: be small, the revenue recovers itself; but if the rates were to be reduced to a penny, the revenue would not recover itself for forty or fifty years.’ The divisions on the two most important of the resolutions submitted to the Commission, and, indeed, the ultimate result of their deliberations, show that no effort made in support of right views had been superfluous. Thus, on a motion made on July 17th by Mr. War- burton to recommend the establishment of a uniform rate of inland postage between one post town and 4 another, the Committee was equally divided; the — “ayes” being Mr. Warburton, Lord Lowther, Mr. Raikes Currie, and Mr. Chalmers; the “noes,” the three members of Government, Mr. P. Thomson, Lord Seymour, and Mr. Parker, with Mr. Thornley, | 1838.] Votes of Committee. 167 M.P. for Wolverhampton; so that the motion was affirmed only by the casting vote of the Chairman.* Mr. Warburton further moving :— ‘That it is the opinion of this committee, that upon any large reduction being made in the rates of inland postage, it would be expedient to adopt an uniform rate of one penny per half-ounce, without regard to distance, — the motion was rejected by six to three; the “ayes” being Mr. Warburton, Mr. Raikes Currie, and Mr. Morgan J. O'Connell; and the “noes” the same as before, with the addition of Lord Lowther and Mr. G. W. Wood; and upon Mr. Warburton, when thus far defeated, moving to recommend a uniform postage of three halfpence, the motion was again lost by six to four, the only change being that Mr. Chalmers, who appears to have been absent during the second division, now again voted with the ayes.f The second day, however, Mr. Warburton returned to the charge, moving to recommend a uniform rate of twopence the half-ounce, increasing at the rate of one penny for each additional half-ounce ; a motion met, not by the direct negative, as before, but by an amendment more than tantamount to this. On this question, as also on that of uniformity, the committee was equally divided, the opponents to the proposed reforms losing Lord Lowther, who now voted in its favour, and the supporters remaining as before, save that Mr. Villiers, who had been absent at the previous divisions, took the place of Mr. Morgan John O’Connell. Again, therefore, the motion was affirmed only by the casting vote of the Chairman.{ The passing of the two resolutions, however—-one to recommend a uniform rate of inland postage irrespective of distance, and the other to fix the single rate at twopence—was decisive as to the committee’s course, as will appear * ‘Third Report,’ p. iv. {thids pate ft Ibid. 168 Lord Seymour's Plan. [1838 by the sequel. We must return for a time to the rejected amendment. This had been moved by Mr. P. Thomson, and the substance of it was to abandon the recommendation of a uniform rate and to consider instead a Report proposed by Lord Seymour, the chief points of which were to recommend the maintenance of the charge by distance and the establishment of a rate varying from one penny, for distances under fifteen miles, to one shilling for distances above two hundred miles, or of some similar scale. This, it must be observed, would have been adopted as the recommendation of the committee but for the casting vote of the Charman, Mr. Wallace. To what extent so untoward a circumstance would have retarded the cause of postal reform it would be difficult now even to conjecture; but it cannot be doubted that the success, which, even with the support of the committee, was so hardly achieved, would at least have undergone long and injurious delay. To make this clear, it must be observed that by the adoption of Lord Seymour’s draft Report (a copy of which I have before me) not only the recommenda- tions for uniformity and decided reduction of postage would have been set aside, but also those for increased facilities, for the general use of stamps, and for charge by weight instead of number of enclosures. Lord Seymour’s Report, however, though so un- satistactory in its recommendations, and, according to my view, very erroneous in its reasonings on many pulnts, more especially in its main argumentation, viz. that ayainst uniformity, yet contained passages of great value at the time, as confirming my state- ments, and, more or less, directly supporting my views ; particularly as regards the evils which high rates of postage brought upon the poor, the vast extent of illicit conveyance, the evils of the frank system, and even many of the advantages of a uniform charge. 1838.] Correct on One Point. 169 Doubtless, could the recommendations contained in this Report have been voluntarily adopted by the Post Office only two years before, almost every one of them would have been received as a grace; but it was now too late, their sum total being altogether too slight to make any approach towards satisfying the expectations which had subsequently arisen, as the sequel will abundantly show. Before quite leaving Lord Seymour's Report, I must, in candour, admit that on one point his predic- tion was truer than my own, though, as my own remained unpublished, I was not committed to it. The following is the passage :— ‘It appears that the great change which must result from the substitution of railways for mails [mail-coaches] will have the effect of increasing considerably the cost of conveying the correspondence of the country.’ In my copy of this draft Report (given to me, I suppose, by Mr. Wallace) I find the following remark in my own handwriting :— ‘No such thing. One railway stands in place of several common roads.’ The implied inference, viz., that the cheaper opera- tion of railways would lower the cost of conveying the mails seemed justified by the moderation of the charges for this service made up to that time by the railway companies. The event, however, has contra- dicted my contradiction, the railway charges for con- veying the mails, contrary to the rates for passengers and goods, being higher, weight for weight, than those on the old mail roads. The committee having thus decided the two great points of uniformity of rate and a twopenny charge for the single letter, Mr. Wallace, with his usual kindness, immediately wrote to inform me of the 170 Close of Proceedings. [1838 result. He was the more careful to do this because, as he knew, it was not in full accordance with my wish, the rate recommended being higher than that which I regarded as desirable ; and, what was worse, such as to make strict uniformity impracticable ; since reservation would have to be made in favour of the local penny rates then in existence, which could not be raised without exciting overpowering dissatisfac- tion. To return to the committee: only one further attempt was made to modify their resolutions, viz. this was a motion made at the next meeting by Lord Seymour, in the following words :— ‘That it is the opinion of this committee that an increase of general post letters under an uniform rate of twopence, to the extent which will be required to sustain the gross revenue of the Post Office, will occasion a considerable addition to the cost of the establishment.’ This motion, however, was negatived by six to three; the only noticeable variety being that Mr. Thornley, who, though always my personal friezd, had hitherto voted with my opponents, now voted in favour of the proposed reforms. After this day the members of Government ceased . their attendance, save only that Lord Seymour once reappeared during the consideration of the Report, though there is no record to show what part he, or, indeed, any one else, took on that day. Opposition being thus abandoned, proceedings of course went on rapidly, so that at the next meeting, viz, on July 25th, the whole of the remaining resolutions, more than twenty in number, and several of them of considerable length, were all carried; the Chairman being requested also to draw up a Report in con- formity therewith. As the proceedings of the committee approached 1838.) Preparation of Report. 171 their close, Mr. Wallace requested that I would undertake to prepare a draft Report for his considera- tion, previously to its being submitted to the Com- mittee. From this I naturally shrank; but, upon further urgency, I so far consented as to select so much of the evidence as seemed most necessary for the purpose, cutting it out from the reports just as it stood, in question and answer, but classifying it under some twenty different heads. This, according to my recollection, we placed in Mr, Wallace’s hands, and upon it he wrote a Report. Report writing, how- ever, was not his forte, especially when it had to be performed in haste, and amidst the distraction of other necessary business, so that the document pro- duced was not such as would have answered any useful purpose. Whether it still exists in MS. I do not know, but I believe it never was printed. Under these circumstances, with Mr. Wallace’s full consent, my brother Frederic undertook the task, and pro- duced the Report laid before the committee. _ This, as shown by the minutes, took place on July 3lst, and the draft was considered on four several days ; the last being August the 11th, when it was formally agreed to. I must here mention, how- ever, that though this Report became the basis of that finally issued, it was by no means the same document, having been re-arranged, in great measure re-written, and greatly added to, during the recess. Of this more hereafter. Thus closed, for the present, the work of this memorable committee, on whose decision rested con- sequences, not only of the deepest interest to myself, but, as afterwards appeared, of importance to the whole civilised world. Seldom, I believe, has any committee worked harder, or conferred greater benefit by its labours. I must add that Mr. Wallace’s exer- tions were unsparing, his toil incessant, and his zeal 172 Spurious Claims. [1838. in the cause as unflagging as if the profit and the reputation were to be all his own. My own convictions in relation to the committee and its chairman were corroborated by the following strong passage in the Zimes. ‘Altogether we regard the Post Office Inquiry as one con- ducted with more honesty and more industry than any ever brought before a committee of the House of Commons.’* Perhaps, before proceeding to other matters, I may, without invidiousness, make one more remark in re- ference to the proceedings of this committee. It is not unknown that since the successful establishment of penny postage, there have appeared other claimants to its authorship. As regards Mr. Wallace, enough has been said to show that he was not of the number; though of late some persons, trusting perhaps to imperfect recollections, have advanced such claims in his name. As regards other claimants, it is most remarkable that throughout this period of contest, when no less than eighty-seven witnesses deposed in favour of the measure, and when all solid information and every weighty opinion were so valuable, they gave no evidence, remained unheard, and, so far as has ever appeared, entirely silent. General Colby, indeed, on whose behalf some such claim has been advanced since his death, did give evidence, but without the least reference to further discoveries by himself than has been already mentioned ; and I may add, that though he honoured me with his friendship to the time of his death, he never even alluded to the claim in question. Indeed, all the claims of which the public has lately heard are of very recent date, having arisen long since the success of penny postage became indisputable. The Report adopted at the last meeting of the * Times, May 31, 1839. 1838.] Mr. Warburton—HMis Lome. vo committee was placed in the hands of Mr. Warburton, by agreement (well understood though unrecorded), for revision ; a work to which he forthwith applied himself with untiring zeal, referring occasionally to me for some detail of information, or for the verifica- tion of some calculation. I had therefore frequent occasion to call on Mr. Warburton, and I may add that such occasions recurred from time to time almost up to the period of his death. On first entering his house, I was shown into the dining-room, and in all my subsequent visits I was received in the same apartment. I well remember the appearance of things—an appearance which never varied from first to last. What first struck me was that the room never could be used according to its name; the table, indeed, stood out in full length, sufficient for a respectable number of guests, but it was wholly occu- pied with piles of books, and those not of the most digestible kind, consisting almost entirely of such as in passing through the Post Office are marked Par. Pro. and are known to all the world as “ blue books.” The sideboard was similarly heaped, save that a little room was left for astronomical instruments, Mr. War- burton being an able mathematician, and indeed a frequent contributor to a Cambridge scientific journal, numbers of which he would occasionally lend me, though, unfortunately, I found much of their contents beyond my range. The chairs, save one, bore each its parliamentary load, and similar lumber occupied the floor; passages only, and those narrow ones, being left between the paper walls. There were, however, one or two books of lighter kind; but even these seemed insensible of change. On an early visit, I laid hands on a number of the ‘ Edinburgh Review,’ containing one of Macaulay’s brilliant articles, I think that on Lord Bacon; and as the book always remained exactly where I laid it. down, I found Op- 174 Impatience for Report. [1838, portunity of reading, bit by bit, the whole essay. ‘The one chair already mentioned, and a small table near it, were alone unencumbered with books, and alone free from the dust which, in every other part of the room, seemed to have on it the repose of years. What the rest of the house might be made of, I cannot say; it was sufficient for me that its owner always afforded me zealous support, and gave practical evidence of sincere and earnest friendship. Meanwhile, having but inferential knowledge as to the progress of the work, and thinking it very im- portant that no time should be lost in publishing the Report, since I hoped it might be advantageously dealt with in the newspapers during the recess, I felt, though I was careful to conceal, a certain degree of impatience at what I supposed must prove but Jaborious refinement on that which already appeared sufficiently good, a feeling more than fully shared in by Mr. Wallace, who in the course of the autumn wrote to me, in earnest protest against the delay, his expressions growing stronger as fame advanced, until on December Ist he went so far as to predict that, if the Report were withheld during the holidays, penny postage would not be carried out during the next year. He even begged that his letters might be kept as vouchers of his anxiety on the subject. Eventually, however, it became clear enough that no time had really been lost, the delay being more than atoned for by the excellence of the result. Meanwhile, too, the press, not awaiting the appear- ance of the Report, began to urge action by reference to what was already known. The Times, in par-. ticular, during the months of November and Decem- ber, repeatedly wrote in strong support of my plan, as ‘ne following extracts abundantly show. After stating the leading features of the plan of penny postage, the Zimes says :— ‘ 1838.] “The Times” urges Progress. 175 ‘Here is a plan, then, as clear and simple as can well be imagined, and which the mind, almost without an effort, can follow into its minutest details. * * * * * ‘Such, and so strong appear to us the arguments by which the proposed change of system is recommended, on whichever side it may be viewed, that it only requires to be inquired into and fully understood to be carried by the universal consent of Government and people. ‘T'o cause it to be thoroughly understood must necessarily be a work of time, and also, as involving a change of habits and associa- tions—a work of some difficulty ; but the end cannot be un- certain. (Zimes, November 22nd, 1838.) ‘There would seem, in ordinary cases, sufficient grounds for the abandonment of any system attached to, and forming part of, any civilised age or country, that it was proved to be injurious to the temporal interests of the community, a bar to its intellectual progress, and destructive alike of morals and happiness, and that it could be changed for another involving little risk of loss, with the fair, though distant, prospect of immensely increased profits.’ (Z¢mes, December doth, 1838.) ‘How, then, it will perhaps be asked, is any Post Office, as a Government department, to go on at all so as to yield any revenue? ‘The answer is, that it must do the work as low as individuals can do it, and that, joined with the greater regu- larity and security which the present machinery imparts to it, will keep it in operation. ‘The evidence collected by the Committee of the House of Commons has satisfactorily shown that this may be done at the low rate suggested by Mr. Hill, and, in all probability, with a very great increase of the Post Office revenue. After the disclosures made, what have the Post Oftice people to expect if they do not adopt that course ? Nothing less than that every large town in the kingdom, the metropolis included, will have its organised arrangements for the-conveyance of letters by private hands, and drive them out of the trade altogether. * * * * * ‘Now will any man of plain understanding deny, after reading this, that if it were desired to ingraft trickery and deceit on the character and every day practice of the whole trading part of the community, no mode could possibly be 176 Hopes and Fears. [1838, so effectual as the present Post Office system.’ (Times, December 8th, 1838.) As I have already mentioned the more important events occurring between the prorogation of Parlia- ment in August and the end of the year 1838, it will be seen that, so far as postal affairs were concerned, this was to me a period of comparative rest, though even then scarcely a week or perhaps even a day passed without their making some call on my atten- tion. Of course, too, my duties at the Australian Commission remained undiminished, or rather indeed increased with the increasing flow of emigration, and ' the difficulties already arising in the colony. How- ever, I was again able to breathe, and to prepare for those new anxieties which I knew must be in the future. When would the Report appear? What effect would it produce on the country? Would there be such a movement as would sufficiently in- fluence ministers and Parliament? To me, of course, these were questions of the deepest interest, and though, for the time, the main work was, as it were, taken off my hands (since the process which I had : been fortunate enough to initiate must be looked to for bringing the movement to its next stage), yet it was necessary to keep watch, to be ready for assist- ance when called for, to deal with almost innumerable communications, and to pay respectful attention to many suggestions, especially, of course, to such as came from earnest supporters of the cause. So closed the year 1838. 177 CHAPTER IV. PENNY POSTAGE BILL. Tus first notable circumstance in 1839 was the receipt of a letter from Sir William Brown, written from Washington, and informing me of an interview which he had had with the Postmaster-General of the United States on the subject of my pamphlet, and the parliamentary proceedings relative thereto. The Postmaster-General told him that my pamphlet had given him a great deal of information, that it was the intention of the United States Government to re- model the Post Office laws in the next session of _ Congress, and that he thought five cents for all distances would be a postage sufficient to cover ex- penses. This sum, I may here remark, was afterwards adopted, though subsequently the charge was yet further reduced. Sir Wilham gave it as his own opinion that the action of the American Government would materially assist the movement at home. Three weeks later, however, he expressed some dis- trust of the Postmaster-General, describing him, not much to my information, as a “ loco foco,” and advis- ‘ing me to write to the Hon. Mr. Kennedy, who was very desirous of moving in the matter, and to whom it was wished that I should send the reports, pam- phlets, &c., bearing upon the subject. In writing to this gentleman, I expressed an opinion that on account of the great extent of territory and the sparseness of population in the United States, penny WOL. I. N 178 Committee's Report. [1839. postage might not be so applicable to that country as to England; but added, that as the American people did not look to their Post Office for revenue, I thought the general rate, if not reduced so far as a penny, might yet be a low one. The Report so laboriously prepared by Mr. War- burton appeared, I believe, early in March, the first notice I find of the event being in the ‘ Spectator’ newspaper (No. 558) of the 9th of that month; the number containing, in a “second edition,” the whole of the Report, though omitting some of the notes, and the “ Abstract of Evidence” appended thereto. This last part of the blue book, so far as it goes (for unfortunately the abstract is incomplete), materially aids any one wishing to arrive at the facts of the case. Of this Report (the third of the Committee of 1838) I forbear to give even a summary; not only because this would involve the repetition of much that has been already said, but because I have no hope whatever of doing justice to so very able and interesting a document, the result of many months of hard labour, the very model of a Report, and which, as such, as well as because of the valuable information which it contains, will even now amply repay the trouble of perusal. It is invaluable as an authoritative record of a state of things so absurdly strange as to be now almost incredible, but which was nevertheless justified and upheld at the time by many able and excellent men. Moreover, its ela- borate calculations, which I was called upon to check, put some of the most important questions at issue in a clear, striking, and often even amusing light. It may ie added that on all important points it gave to my statements and conclusions the sanction of its powerful authority. Nevertheless, as the committee had determined on the [eee ene of a twopenny rate, the Report had to be framed in, at least, formal ye c ‘ , 1839.] Mr. McCulloch an Opponent. 179 accordance with this fact ; though both Mr. Wallace, ‘in whose name it went to the committee, and Mr. Warburton, by whom it was actually drawn, were strongly in favour of the penny rate. A careful perusal of the document, however, will show that, though the twopenny rate is formally recommended, the penny rate is the one really suggested for adoption. In this sense it was understood by the public, and to my knowledge it was wished that it should be so understood. It only remained to see what effect this masterly Report would have on the country, the Parliament, and the Government. As respects the first, enough has been mentioned to justify good expectation ; the same might be said in less degree of the second; but of the third, all indications were as yet adverse. On the 12th of April appeared, in some of the London papers, as afterwards in the ‘ Post Circular, a letter which I had felt called upon to write in reply to an article in the Supplement to McCulloch’s ‘Commercial Dictionary, then lately published, ex- tracts from which had appeared in some of the papers. Mr. McCulloch’s opposition came very unexpectedly, since he had previously been a decided supporter of the general plan; his name having appeared amongst the select signatures to the important London petition presented to Parliament in the year 1837, and already mentioned at page 126 of this history. He had likewise supported the cause in the Courier newspaper, resented the delay in adopting my plan, had, in conversation with myself, pronounced Ministers “a set of dawmn’d fools,” and threatened to expose them in the ‘ Edinburgh Review.’ The only circumstance to which I could attribute his change of opinion was that he had recently been appointed head of the Stationery De- partment: we all know, and I myself have been N 2 180 Public Movement. [1889 charged with such experience, that questions often assume a new aspect when viewed from the windows of a Government office. It would be superfluous to detail here, either Mr. McCulloch’s grounds of objec- tion, or my reply, experience having set the question absolutely at rest. Meanwhile, meetings were taking place in various towns to petition in favour of penny postage, strong articles on the same side appeared in the Times, the Morning Chronicle, the Post, and various other papers; and Mr. Wallace, as chairman of the late committee, received so many letters on the subject of the movement, as to be under the necessity of publicly acknowledging them en masse, mentioning, by way of instance, that on the single day of writing he had received nine written communications in reference to various petitions, together with eight newspapers. 3 The Post Office, too, began to show signs of un- easiness, and made a few very cautious reductions; lowering, for instance, the postage between London and Keswick from thirteen pence to a shilling, and granting similar indulgence on London letters to twenty-one other places; the amount of reduction being in each instance the same, or, as the ‘ Post Circular’ put it, not to a penny, but by a penny. On March 23rd a somewhat remarkable scene occurred in the House of Commons; Mr. Scholefield having presented a petition from Birmingham, for which he was member, the Speaker desired all honourable members who had petitions to present on Penny Postage to bring them up ; when instantly a great number of members on both sides of the House “ advanced in a crowd to present them, amidst cheering on all sides.” It may be added that the petitions on the subject in the course of six — days amounted to two hundred and fifteen. - Jeu & Esprit. 181 The number of the ‘ Post Circular’ from which I have taken this account (No. 12) contains also one of those amusing devices with which my friend, Mr. Henry Cole, knew so well how to strike the public eye. Probably the reader will not be dis- pleased at its reproduction. The Edinburgh mail- coach, it will be seen, is depicted, with its guard, coachman, and two outside passengers; the letter \ yy | gta 8 2. ag J ATS toa : FRANKS Went Mra Dy kia |e | Te) a alas NES SI) Se = W yj ) 1 Sevan 7/460 F il 3 eel S hd x. BAYS K\| 1 NX Great weight and no price! Little weight and all price !! bags, which, as all the world knows, or then knew, usually occupied the hind boot, so as to lie under the guard’s foot, are by an artistic liberty placed on the roof, the whole being arranged in divisions of franks, newspapers, Stamp-office parcels, and chargeable letters; the first three (which are free of postage) occupy the whole roof, the last lying in small space on the top of one of the bulky —_ 182 Newspaper Support. [1889. ‘divisions, the proportions being those of the mail conveyed on March 2nd, 1838. The legend below sums up the tale. Of the depth and extent of public feeling by this time aroused, further evidence appears in the following extracts from the Evaminer and the Times’ :— ‘On no subject within our recollection has there been so general an agreement, as upon Mr. Hill’s plan for a penny postage.* ‘Such is the degree of conviction which is carried to all who have bestowed any thought upon it, that the only question is—and it is asked universally—will these ministers have the honesty and courage to try it? On a review of the public feeling which it has called forth, from men of all parties, sects, and conditions of life, it may well be termed the cause of the whole people of the United Kingdom, against the small coterie of place-holders in St. Martin’s-le- Grand, and its dependencies.’ That these journals did not stand alone, is shown by a general list in the ‘ Post Circular,’ of newspapers known to have taken the same side. Though pro- | bably incomplete, it contains the names of twenty- five London papers (nine daily and sixteen weekly), and of eighty-seven provincial papers. It must be remembered, too, that, as already shown, the number of journals, especially of country journals, was then comparatively small. While public feeling was thus manifesting itself at home, I received further evidence of attention excited abroad, Mr. Hume sending me a pamphlet written by M. Piron, then second in authority in the Post Office of France, advocating reduction of postage, and speaking of my plan in very flattermg terms. * Kxaminer, April 27, 1839. + Times, March 16, 1889. .. 183 Deputation to Premier. The rate recommended by M. Piron was twenty centimes the quarter-ounce, or, setting aside the dif- ference of weight, nearly the same as that previously recommended here by the Parliamentary Committee. M. Piron, I may here remark, continued to press his views on the French Government (at one time I was assured to his own injury) till my plan, in a modified form, was adopted by the Revolutionary Government of 1848. I may also mention here that, soon after the receipt of Mr. Hume’s communication, I had a letter from Dr. (now Sir John) Bowring, dated Berlin, and informing me that our proceedings were exciting much interest in that part of the world. Now, however, came the crowning proof of the hold which the plan had taken of the public mind. On May 3rd, Lord Melbourne received a deputation on the subject, in which were comprised about one hundred and fifty members of Parliament, chiefly, if not exclusively, supporters of Government. The principal speaker was Mr. Warburton, his most telling passage being as follows :— ‘If he might be pardoned for making the observation upon such an occasion, he would say it would be a concession so wise, that it would be well calculated to make any Govern- ment justly popular, and he would strongly urge it as a measure which a Liberal party had a just right to expect From a Liberal administration.’ * * * * * He was followed by Mr. Travers, a leading member of the Mercantile Committee, and a man well-known and highly influential in the City. _ Next came Sir John Campbell, then Attorney- General, and who I need not say afterwards attained the highest legal position in the state. After a short speech from Mr. Mark Phillips, M.P. 184 Mr. Moffatt’s Offer. [1839 for Manchester, Mr. O’Connell, mounting on a chair in a distant part of the room, spoke as follows :— ‘One word for Ireland, my lord. My poor countrymen do not smugele, for the high postage works a total prohibition to them. They are too poor to find out secondary conveyances, and if you shut the Post Office to them, which you do now, you shut out warm hearts and generous affections from home, kindred, and friends. Consider, my lord, that a letter to Ireland and the answer back would cost thousands upon thousands of my poor and affectionate countrymen considera- bly more than a fifth of their week’s wages; and let any gentleman here ask himself what would be the influence upon his correspondence if, for every letter he wrote, he or his family had to pay one-fifth of a week’s income.’ Next came Mr. Hume; his voice, as that of the watchful guardian of the national finances, carrying unusual weight; since it was notorious that he would be the last man to recommend any impro- vident course. Not the least remarkable speech, the concluding one, was that of Mr. Moffatt, who undertook, if Government shrank from the risk of the proposed reduction, to form a City company which should take the Post Office entirely off their hands, guaran- teeing to the State the same amount of revenue as before. Lord Melbourne's reply, though reserved, was courteous and encouraging. He recognised the im- portance of the deputation, acknowledged the weight of the facts produced, and while he withheld all present announcement as to the course to be adopted by Government, promised that the whole matter should receive prompt and earnest attention. ‘A strong feeling evidently pervaded the room in reference to Mr. Warburton’s allusion to the just expectation of this important measure being conceded by a Liberal Government. H&E WAS THEN LOUDLY CHEERED. * ** Morning Chronicle, May 3, 1839. | | 1839.) 2 Adoption of Plan. 185 3 So remarkable a deputation could not but produce a great effect. Mr. Warburton’s hint, though guarded, was, as I learnt, well understood, and I was after- wards assured that this proceeding was the very turning-point of the movement; the Government having thereon decided to adopt the measure. Certainly, but three weeks later, viz, on May 92nd, I received the following letter from Mr. Warburton :— May 22, 1839. My pzar SIR, Ihave just learnt from Mr. Bannerman, who has it from Lords Melbourne and Duncannon, that the penny post- uge is to be granted. I shall see Lord M. and Lord J. R. on Sunday. Dear Sir, Yours truly, Henry WARBURTON. Rowianp Hitt, Esq. Three days later I again heard from Mr. War- burton, as follows :— May 25, 1839. My pear Sir, ‘ Mr. Parker, the Treasury Lord, last night, and Lord John Russell, this morning, confirmed to me the intentions of the Government to propose your plan; and I believe that they will announce publicly their intentions to that effect on Tuesday. I shall take an opportunity of expressing my opinion to Lord Melbourne that you ought to be employed to superintend the execution of the plan. If you have anything to say to me on the subject, call before half-past 10 o’clock to-morrow. Yours, Henry WARBURTON, Rownanyp Hun, Esq. Of course, the recommendation that I should be employed had in my view a double importance ; agreeing not only with my own natural and ardent desire, but also with the inevitable conviction that if 186 Lord J. Russell’s Announcement. [1839. by the alternative course, the management of my plan were committed to the hands of its avowed and persistent opponents, men who manifestly viewed it not only with dislike but with scorn, and whose predictions would be falsified if it attained success, it would have small chance of receiving that earnest and zealous attention, watchful care, and constant effort for effectual development combined withstrict economy, on which I knew the desired result must depend. For convenience I mention here that after the passing of the Postage Bill, Mr. Wallace wrote to Lord Melbourne to the same effect. His letter is but a specimen of Mr. Wallace's general course in my regard. He makes no refer- ence to his own valuable labours, but only urges claims for me, based on the importance of my discovery. To return to my narrative, as the intentions of — Government could not remain entirely secret, a meeting appointed for May 31st, and for which the use of the Egyptian Hall had been granted by the Lord Mayor, was postponed to July 10th, and in fact never took place; for, six days later, Mr. Warburton, having in the House asked the Secre- tary of State for the Home Department whether Government intended to proceed with a twopenny or penny rate, Lord John Russell replied that the inten- | tion of Government was to propose a resolution in favour of a uniform penny postage, remarking, “ the plan will be in conformity with that which has been proposed by the committee as likely to be the most beneficial one,” and adding that, though the scheme would necessarily involve many months of preparation, no time should be lost.* Having been apprised of Mr. Warburton’s intention, I was present * This passage also is entirely omitted in ‘ Hansard, but is recorded partly in the ‘ Post Circular, No. 14, p. 59; and partly in the ‘ Mirror of Parliament,’ vol. xxxviii. p. 2578. r 1839.] Question of Stamps. 187 when the announcement was made; and I leave the reader to imagine the deep gratification I felt at thus seeing expectation turned into certainty. Probably from want of due report, the Duke of Richmond—though, as already shown, much inter- ested on the subject—remained ignorant of what had occurred ; for three days later, in presenting petitions “from a great many places in favour of uniform penny postage,’ he hoped that if Government re- duced postage at all, they would adopt Mr. Rowland Hill’s plan, and not that of the Committee of the House of Commons. The Duke’s recommendation, I need not say, found a warm seconder in my own heart, and though the point on which his thoughts must have mainly turned, viz., the preference of a penny rate to a twopenny one, had been conceded by Government, grave doubts yet remained as to the adoption of my plan in its entirety ; and here my first anxiety was as to the introduction of stamps; their use, as already shown, being indispensable to that rapidity and economy of postal operation, without which the mere adoption of the penny rate would be extremely im- perfect as a matter of public convenience, and perhaps seriously detrimental to the direct revenue. I consequently prepared a paper, which was printed and circulated by the Mercantile Committee, ‘On the Collection of Postage by means of Stamps.’ Of this it will suffice to say here that it describes in considerable detail the plan of which the first bare suggestion had been given, as already shown, early m 1837. I will only mention that I had to describe envelopes and adhesive stamps now so familiar to all, the one as “the little bags called envelopes,” and the other as “small stamped detached labels—say about an inch square—which, if prepared with a glutinous wash on the back, may be attached without 188 “ Facts and Estimates.” [1839. a wafer.” I must admit, however, that, as the paper shows, I still looked upon stamped covers or en- velopes as the means which the public would most commonly employ; still believing that the adhesive stamp would be reserved for exceptional cases. Unfortunately, the recommendations contained in my paper were not acted upon until the Government had resorted to other supposed expedients, which turned out to be real impediments, and were not got rid of without much trouble. Meantime, on June 25th, Lord Radnor, in present- ing forty petitions in favour of uniform penny postage, repeated Mr. Warburton’s question as to the intentions of Government, and received from Lord Melbourne the assurance that the Chancellor of the Exchequer would shortly bring the matter forward ;* his words were as follows :-— ‘Undoubtedly it is the intention of the Government to carry into effect the plan referred to by my noble friend—con- sidering how it has been recommended, the strong interest it has excited, and the benefits and advantages which unques- tionably belong to it—with all practicable speed.’ f In my anxiety to obtain for the proposed measure a favourable reception in the House of Commons, I drew up with great care a short paper, entitled ‘Facts and Estimates as to the Increase of Letters, which was printed by the Mercantile Committee, a copy being sent to every member of Parliament. Of this paper, probably, no copy now remains save the one or two reserved by myself. It would be convenient to pass it over, and as, to the best of my belief, it was never after referred to, either by supporter or opponent, it would seem reasonable to suppose that either the impression made by it must have had little to do with the decision of the House, or * ‘Mirror of Parliament,’ vol. xxxviii. p. 38298. t Ibid. : LE b 1839.] Opposition of Stationers. 189 that the result of the measure was generally regarded as sufficient confirmation of its contents. Truth, how- ever, requires that it should be recalled from oblivion. Upon looking -back to the time, I feel that I must have been unduly influencel by the evidence pro- ceeding from the general public in support of my recommendations; that I did not make sufficient allowance for the influence of desire upon judgment, nor remember that where real knowledge is unattain- able, conjecture naturally goes to the utmost extent that reason can seem to justify. In short, though the predictions then put forth are now doubly fulfilled, I must acknowledge that the fulfilment was by no means so easy or so rapid as to equal the expectation I then entertained and held out to others. At the same time, large allowance must be made for the then - unexpected and most untoward fact that the working of my plan was, as regards all direct action, com- mitted to those who were almost pledged to its failure. : About the time that this paper was issued, opposition arose in so strange a quarter, that if the reader were invited to conjecture, he could scarcely go right save by considering how best he could go wrong. If it had been inquired what trade was most likely to benefit by the multiplication of letters, surely the one selected would have been the trade in paper. Never- theless, a deputation of stationers went up to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, setting forth that they and their brethren would be put to great incon- venience by the adoption of Mr. Rowland Hill’s plan. Probably the motive to this whimsical pro- ceeding was an apprehension that the issue by Government of stamped envelopes would deprive the petitioners of an expected trade; the fear of this -mnaking them blind to the far more than counter- balancing advantage to be derived from the multipli- 190 Plan before Parliament. (1839, cation of what envelopes were intended to contain, However I must not omit to mention that, some months afterwards, when I was in office, I had a very satisfactory interview with these same gentle- men at the Treasury. The deputation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer was said at the time to have been favourably received, but no very notable effect seems to have been pro- duced, At all events, on July 5th, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in bringing forward his Budget, pro- posed the adoption of uniform penny postage. After having dwelt upon the fact that there had been of — late a large increase of expenditure, due partly to improved administration in home affairs, partly to the establishment of ocean steamers for the convey- ance of the mails, and the employment for the same purpose of railway trains instead of mail-coaches, partly to the increase of the National Debt by the borrowing of the twenty millions used in the redemp- tion of negro slavery, partly also to increase in the means of defence, and lastly, to the recent insurrec- tion in Canada, he observed that, as through these various circumstances there was little or no spare revenue, it would be necessary that the Government, in yielding to the general wish for the adoption of penny postage—a measure imperilling a revenue of a million and a half—must be assured of the con- currence of the House in the adoption of such means as might be necessary for making good any deficiency that might arise; he himself expecting that in the outset such deficiency would be very great. After having stated that, on some points he differed from the conclusions of the committee, he proceeded to — eulogise their labours in the following terms :— a ‘I must admit that a committee which took more painsto — inform itself, whose collection of evidence is more valuable, | as giving the opinions of many of the most intelligent persons ai = 1939.] Resolution— Debate. 191 , of all classes in the country, I never remember in my Parlia- mentary experience.”* In reference to the popular demand for the measure, he made the following remarkable de- claration :— ‘T find that the mass of them [the petitions] present the most extraordinary combination I ever saw of representations to one purpose from all classes, unswayed by any political motives whatever; from persons of all shales of opinion, political and religious; from clergymen of the Established Church, and from all classes of Protestant Dissenters ; from the clergymen of Scotland, from the commercial and trading communities in all parts of the kingdom.’t Judiciously thinking that it would be better for the House to leave the details of the measure in the hands of Government, he demanded for the Treasury the power at once of fixing the rates of postage, of ordering payment by weight, of making prepay- ment compulsory and of establishing the use of stamps. He concluded by moving the following Resolution :-— ‘That it is expedient to reduce the postage on letters to one uniform rate of a penny postage, according to a certain amount of weight to be determined ; that the Parliamentary privilege of franking should be abolished ; and that official franking be strictly limited—the House pledging itself to make good any deficiency that may occur in the revenue from such reduction of the postage.’t Such opposition as was made was directed rather against the pledge required of the House than against the plan of penny postage, and on that point Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Goulbourn were supported by some members on the Liberal side of the House, including Mr. Hume, who regarded such pledge as superfluous, seeing that the House was at all times : E * Hansard,’ 3rd series, vol. xlviii. p. 1860. fp: 1361. t p. 1865, 192 Opposition. [1839. bound to maintain the national income, and who also thought that the Chancellor of the Hxchequer’s estimate of deficiency was excessive, he himself believing that though there might be a serious de- ficiency the first, and even the second year, it was probable that as by that time the plan would be in full operation, the future deficiency would not be greater than Mr. Hill had allowed for. All, however, concurred in the opinion that if the experiment were to be made the penny rate was to be preferred to any other; and while Mr. Goulbourn sald that he should have been much in favour of the measure were there but a surplus to justify the risk, Sir Robert Peel went so far as to say— ‘That he should have thought it sufficient, if Government had maturely considered the details of this measure, had calculated the probable loss to the revenue, and had come forward to propose, in this acknowledged deficiency of the public revenue, some substitute to compensate the public. He should have thought that sufficient. So convinced was he of the moral and social advantages that would result from the removal of all restrictions on the free communication by letter, that he should have willingly consented to the pro- position.”* It was very noticeable at the time that, after citing the strongly condemnatory opinions of Colonel Maberly and Lord Lichfield, Sir Robert Peel remarked, ‘“‘T do not say that these opinions convince me."t The Resolution was agreed to without division. A. week later, the Chancellor of the Exchequer haying moved that the Report on the Postage Acts be received, Mr. Goulbourn, who might be regarded as the Chancellor of the Exchequer expectant, moved — resolutions of which the object was to have the — measure of penny postage postponed, on the round, | * ‘Hansard,’ 3rd series, vol. xlviii. p. 1887. tT ‘ Mirror of Parliament,’ vol. xxxviii. p. 8695. 1839.] Second Debate. 193 mainly, of the present deficiency in the revenue, the extensive powers proposed to be given to the Treasury, and the opposition of the paper-makers. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in reply, pointed out several recent instances of partial reduction in postage rates which had been followed, speedily, by an increase of revenue; taunted the opposition members with altered tactics since the last debate, and challenged them to a direct vote against penny postage. Sir Robert Peel repeated the arguments of Mr. Goulbourn, and again urged objections to the pledge to make good any loss of revenue. After speeches from Mr. Poulett Thomson, Mr. Warburton, and Lord Sandon in favour of the _measure, the House divided, when the “ayes” were 215, and the “noes” 113, giving a majority of 102 in favour of penny postage.* Those who frequented the House of Commons thirty years ago will remember the two doorkeepers of the day. Mr. Pratt, a somewhat tall and grave personage, and Mr. Williams, a chubby red-faced man, who seemed as if he escaped bursting only by the relief he found in laughing at the exuberance of his own humour. Both these men were zealous friends of penny postage, took every opportunity to inquire or report progress, and, in the warmth of their friend- ship, always went at least as far as duty permitted, in enabling me to attend the discussions on postal matters. On the night when the above important division took place their excitement was prodigious. During the debate I had sat under the gallery, but on the division had, of course, to withdraw. As I passed into the outer lobby, the inner being required in the division, and used, as it happened, to receive the supporters of the measure, my two friends * ¢ Hansard,’ vol. xlix. pp. 277-307. WOT; I, O 194 Division—Zealous Doorkeepers. [1839. warned me to keep near the door, that they might let me know how things went on. I took my station accordingly, and ever and anon was informed through the grating in the door, the flap being for the moment withdrawn, as to accession of number. Report became more and more satisfactory, Willams’s eager face beaming at each momentary glimpse with increased gratification: “All right,” “Going on capitally,” “ Sure of a majority,’ were given out in succession, until the climax was reached by his whispering audibly, amidst laughter which he strove in vain to control, “ Why, here’s old Sibby come out;” and certainly when I learnt that Colonel Sibthorpe, the Tory of Tories, was amongst the supporters of my plan, I could not but feel that the game was won. The measure was now considered secure so far as related to the House of Commons, but people had not yet forgotten the warning given by the ejaculation so common seven or eight years before, “ Thank God there’s a House of Lords;” and anxiety began to arise as to the reception which the measure might experience in the Upper House. Promptly therefore the Mercantile Committee directed its attention that way, and appointed certain of its members as a deputation to wait upon a few of the more influential peers. In executing this mis- sion, the deputation naturally sought an interview with the Duke of Wellington ; their application, how- ever, receiving the following characteristic reply :— London, July 16, 1839. Tue Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to Mr. Moffatt. The Duke does not fill any political office. He is not in the habit of discussing public affairs in private, and he declines to receive the visits of deputations or individuals for the — purpose of such discussions. If, as a Member of Parliament, any gentleman or cow- — 1839.] Duke of Wellington. 135 mittee should wish to give the Duke information, or the benefit of their opinion, he is always ready to receive the same in writing, but he declines to waste their time and his own by asking any gentleman to come to this distant part of the town to discuss a question upon which he would decline to deliver his opinion, excepting in his place in Parliament. Moreover the Duke, although not in political office, has much public business to occupy his time, and on Thursday in particular, the day named by Mr. Moffatt, he will be occu- pied by attendance upon the Naval and Military Commission during the whole of the forenoon, until the meeting of the House of Parliament of which he is a member. Being thus disappointed of an interview, the depu- tation requested me to undertake the duty of addressing the Duke by letter; and, after carefully considering the topics most likely to influence his Grace, I wrote as follows :— Bayswater, July 22, 1839. My Lorp Duke, At the request of the Mercantile Committee on Post- age, I have the honour to submit for your Grace’s considera- tion a few facts in support of the Bill for the establishment of a uniform penny postage, which it is expected will shortly be brought into the House of Lords. The evidence which has been given before the Select Com- mittee on Postage proves that the Post Office revenue has scarcely increased at all for the last twenty-four years. That the present high rates lead all classes, except those allowed to frank, to evade postage to an enormous extent. That they cause a vast amount of correspondence, mer- cantile as well as domestic, to be actually suppressed, thus crippling trade and preventing friendly intercourse. That if postage were reduced to one penny the revenue would be more likely to gain than to suffer. That the present average cost to the Post Office of distri- buting letters is 3d. each, and that this cost would be greatly reduced under the proposed arrangements. That the cost to the Post Office is frequently greater for short distances of six or eight miles than for long distances of two or three hundred miles; thus showing the unfairness of the present varying charges. 0 2 196 First and Second Reading. [1839, And that the partial reductions in postage rates hitherto made have, after a short time, invariably benefited the revenue. I have taken the liberty of enclosing a short abstract of the Report of the Select Committee on Postage, which has been drawn up by the Mercantile Committee, as well as some ‘Facts and Estimates as to the Increase of Letters,’ prepared by myself, to which I respectfully solicit your Grace’s atten- tion. The boldness, yet safety of the proposed change, its sim- plicity and its tendency to extend commerce, science, and education, will, I confidently hope, recommend it to your Grace’s favourable consideration. I have, &c., Row and HILL. To His Grace the DukE or WELLINGTON, &. &ce. &e. To this letter I received no reply; indeed, as appears on the face of it, I was careful so to frame it as to show that none was expected; but the letter appears to have had its effect, for when the debate came on, the Duke, as will be seen hereafter, distinctly sup- ported the measure. Meanwhile the bill for establishing penny postage was brought in by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord John Russell, and Mr. F. Baring ; and passed the first reading without discussion.* The second reading took place on the 22nd July, after a debate in which Mr. Goulbourn, Sir Robert Inglis, and Sir Robert Peel attacked, and Mr. Francs Baring, Lord Seymour, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Warburton defended the bill. The attack was founded chiefly on the large powers granted to the Treasury, though Sir BR. Peel, while admitting “that a great reduction of postage might be made, not only without injury, but with great advantage to the revenue,” thought, how- ever, “ that it would be better to make a partial re- * « Hansard,’ vol. xlix. p. 494. 1839.] Summary of Petitions. eh duction of the postage duties than to repeal them almost entirely, as is now proposed,” and considered “that the advantages to be derived from such a pro- position are much overrated.”* Sir Robert Inglis also objected to the abolition of the Parliamentary privilege of franking, stating incidentally, that to some mercantile houses it was worth 300/. a year, and thus explaining the desire of others for penny postage, as being nearly equivalent to franking ; but Sir Robert Inglis’s objection was overruled by Sir Robert Peel, who strongly urged the importance of abolishing the privilege in question, adding that if each Government department were required to pay its own postage much would be done towards checking abuse. He also advised that ‘ Parliamentary Proceedings’ should be subjected to a moderate postage charge; and it is scarcely necessary to add that Sir Robert Peel’s advice on this point was followed. The bill was read without a division. On the following day the public anxiety relative to the House of Lords showed itself in a petition “sioned by the Mayor and upwards of twelve thou- sand five hundred of the merchants of the City of London, which the Noble Lord who presented the petition understood had been signed in twelve hours,” praying that no temporary deficiency of revenue might delay the establishment of penny postage.f | As this, though not by any means the last petition _ presented, is the last requiring notice, it may not be amiss to mention here that the number of petitions presented to Parliament in favour of penny postage during the single session of 1839 was upwards of two thousand; the number of appended signatures * ‘Mirror of Parliament,’ vol. xxxviii. p. 4171. } ‘ Hansard,’ vol. xlix. pp. 623-641. t p. 687. 198 Third Reading. [1839 being about a quarter of a million; while as many of the petitions proceeded from Town Councils, Chambers of Commerce, and other such Corporations, a single signature in many instances represented a consider- able number of persons. The bill having passed rapidly through all but the third reading, the only remaining fear was lest a feeling of security should produce dangerous neglect at the last stage. To guard against this the Mercan- tile Committee issued a circular to such members as were in favour of the measure, urging them to make a House. On July the 29th the bill was read a third time and passed, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announcing’, in reply to Sir Robert Peel, that Govern- ment had not yet determined on the precise mode in which the measure should be introduced.* Before following the bill to the Upper House I will mention a circumstance which, however trifling in itself, may derive some interest from its connection with a body so much the ‘‘observed of all observers” as the House of Commons. One night, when a discussion on Post Office affairs was to come on, J was sitting under the gallery when one of the members suggested to me that I should go up-stairs and get some refreshment; a hint of which, after some hesitation as to the propriety of intruding, I gladly availed myself. Acting on direction there received, I went to “the Kitchen,” where the usual processes of boiling and roasting were actively going forward. Upon my request for tea a wooden tray was brought out, and being first supplied with the requisites for the meal, was handed to me. — Suspecting that my subjection to the necessity of carrying this apparatus to the refreshment-room might arise from my being regarded as an intruder, I watched the motions of such as came by wi | * ‘Hansard,’ vol. xlix. p. 936. j 1839.] Summons from Premier. Lg questionable right. Scarcely had I taken my seat when I saw Joseph Hume doing as I had done; others followed in like manner, and I soon became aware that this was the common practice. Whether any change has been made I know not, but I was glad, in being relieved from an imaginary slight, to remark that the members of an assembly accounted one of the most fastidious in the world were not ashamed to wait upon themselves. A. few days later, I received a letter from Lord Duncannon, informing me that Lord Melbourne wished to see me. As head of the Government he would have to introduce the bill into the House of Lords, and he wanted the information necessary for his speech. The place appointed for the interview was his lordship’s house, in Green Street, Berkeley Square; the time one o'clock on the following Sunday. Of course, on such an occasion, I was punctuality itself, knocking at his lordship’s door exactly as the clock struck. I was shown into the drawing-room, where, however, I found only Lord Duncannon, who informed me that the Premier was not yet up, though, as he had been assured by the servants, he might soon be expected. I must mention, by the way, that Lord Duncannon, who always, I believe, save in his official capacity, had been friendly to my plan, had now taken it up with a certain de- gree of warmth, having in his place in Parliament declared himself persuaded, “that, with great exer- tion on the part of those who are to carry the bill into execution, there will ultimately not be any loss,” and added, “that he never recollected so strong a wish having been expressed to both Houses of Par- lament on any measure as had been expressed on the subject of postage.” * After a little time Lord Melbourne made his * ‘Mirror of Parliament,’ vol. xxxvili. p. 4206. 200 Lords Melbourne and Lichfield. [1839, appearance, in his dressing-gown. My reception was most gracious, and we presently went to work. In the course of conversation I had occasion to speak of Mr. Warburton, when his lordship inter- rupted me with, “Warburton! Warburton! He’s one of your moral- force men, isn’t he?’ I replied that I certainly believed Mr. Warburton’s hopes of improvement did rest more on moral than on physical force. “ Well,’ rejoined his lordship, “I can understand your physical-force men, but as to your moral-force men, [ll be damned if I know what they mean.” Not hitting upon any apposite reply, I remained silent, and a second time we returned to the subject of the interview, until at length his lordship, seeming to have become possessed of his subject, began to pace the room, as if arranging his speech ; often moving his lips, though uttermg no audible sound. In this process, however, he was interrupted by the entrance of a servant, who made an announcement which did not reach my ear. The answer was, * Show him into the other room,’ and, after a short time, Lord Melbourne, apologising for leaving us, withdrew. A minute afterwards, the hum of conversation sounded through the folding- doors, and, by and by, one of the voices gradually rose in distinctness and earnestness, taking at length an angry tone, in which I presently heard my own name pronounced. As the voice seemed to me that of a stranger I must have turned an inquiring eye towards Lord Duncannon, who informed me that it was that of Lord Lichfield. After a while, warmth seemed to abate, the tone became moderate, and at length the farewell was given, Lord Melbourne re- entering by the folding-doors, with the remark, “ Tuichfield has been here ; I can’t think why a man can’t talk of penny postage without going into a passion.” We again returned to our work, and this 1839.] Bill before Lords. 201 being at length complete, after a request that I would attend the next day at the House of Lords, I took my leave. © Next day, August 5th, after the presentation of several petitions by Lord Ashburton, Lord Melbourne made the motion in the House of Lords for which, as we have seen, he had duly prepared, proposing, in a long speech, the second reading of the Postage Bill. He fully admitted that the income of the country fell short of the expenditure—allowed that there was great uncertainty as to the fiscal results of penny postage ; but intimated that a surplus or deficiency of three or four hundred thousand pounds in an income of forty-eight millions was a matter of com- paratively little moment, and justified the course Government had taken mainly on the ground of “the very general feeling and general concurrence of all parties in favour of the plan.” The Duke of Wellington, after stating various objections to the measure, especially on the score of depression in the finances, yet recognising the evils of high postage rates, and expressing an opinion “that that which was called Mr. Rowland Hill’s plan was, if it was adopted exactly as proposed, of all plans that most likely to be successful,” con- cluded with saying, “I shall, although with great reluctance, vote for the bill, and I earnestly recom- mend you to do likewise.” Lord Brougham ably defended the measure, and Lord Ashburton, though far from sanguine as to the financial results of penny postage, recommended its adoption on account of its commercial and social advantages. _ The Earl of Lichfield was anxious to remove the impression that he was opposed to the measure, and “to show that, with perfect consistency with all that he had said or done, he could give a vote for the pro- 202 Duke of Wellington. [1839 posal of his noble friend at the head of the Govern- ment.” He supported the plan, however, “on en- tirely different grounds from those on which Mr. Hill proposed it,” viz.,in relation to the universal demand for the measure, and on the understanding that it was not expected “that by the measure either the revenue would be a gainer or that under it the revenue would be equal to that now derived from the Post Office department.” * After a few words from Viscount Duncannon in favour of the measure, the bill was read a second time, without a oe Keene to injunction I was present during the above discussion; as it proceeded there was much anxiety as to ‘lie result, but, above all, speculation was busy as to the course that would be taken by the Duke of Wellington. I remember, however, that in the outset I myself felt rather confident on this latter point, having received assurance, as | think, from Lord Duncannon; but when in the course of the discussion the Duke dwelt on the low state of the national finances, and the danger of reducing a duty under such circumstances, I began to fear that I had been misinformed; and I suppose this feeling must have been expressed by my looks; for Lord Dun- cannon, leaving his seat, kindly came to where I sat, on the steps of the throne, and whispered, “Don't be alarmed, he’s not going to oppose us.” Thus re- assured I listened calmly, and, as the Duke pro- ceeded, perceived distinctly that my fears were groundless. As I have already stated, the bill was read a second time without a division; the third reading took place four days later without even a debate ; the bill receiving the Royal assent on the 17th,t and being afterwards referred to in the follow- * © Hansard,’ vol. xlix. pp. 1207-1239. T p. 369. 1839.] Royal Assent—Queen’s Speech. 203 ing terms in the Queen’s Speech on the prorogation of Parliament; a similar honour, I may remark, was accorded to it in two subsequent speeches :— ‘It has been with satisfaction that I have given my consent to a reduction of the postage duties. I trust that the Act which has passed on this subject will be a relief and en- couragement to trade, and that, by facilitating intercourse and correspondence, it will be productive of much social advantage and improvement. I have given directions that the preliminary step should be taken to give effect to the intention of Parliament, as soon as the inquiries and ar- rangements required for this purpose shall have been com- pleted.”* I must not omit to mention that, on the Royal assent being given, Mr. Wallace, with his usual kindness, wrote to my wife, to congratulate her on the success of her husband’s efforts, a success to which her unremitting exertions had greatly contributed. A collection of letters, twenty-six in number, received by Mr. Moffatt during the period that the bill was in progress, shows how great was the anxiety and likewise the activity of those who took chief imterest in the success of the measure. Mr. Wallace, Mr. Travers, and Mr. Ashurst, were zealously co-operating in its promotion, but the most distinguished for activity were Mr. Moffatt and Mr. Cole; while on Mr. Warburton we relied mainly for that discretion, the result of his sagacity and long experience, which was necessary for the control and right direction of our efforts. Thus, in little more than three years from the time when I entered seriously upon my investigations, and in little more than two years and a half from my first application to Government, this measure, so bold in its innovation and paradoxical in its policy as to be met in the outset with the ridicule and scorn of those to * “Hansard, vol. |. p. 369. 204 Retrospect and Prospect. [1839, whom the public naturally looked as best qualified by position to judge of its value, had become law; and when I look back on my humble birth, the lack of influential friends with which, in common with the rest of my family, I had had to enter upon the world’s struggles, and the great antecedent umprobability of my ever being able to exercise any marked influence on public affairs, I cannot but feel proud at belonging to a country where such a career could be run, nor remember without deep gratitude that, sore as had been my difficulties, and heavy my toil, I had received aid from high and low, met with helping hands and generous hearts in hundreds to whom my only introduction and recommendation was what I had been enabled to devise and propose for the public good. And now again came a period of comparative rest, though, of course, my thoughts frequently reverted to the recommendations kindly made by Mr. War- burton and Mr. Wallace, with no small anxiety about my future relations to the reform now resolved upon. Friends on all hands, from peer to plebeian, assured me that as Government had taken my plan, it must also take me; but to my mind the conse- quence did not appear certain ; and even supposing it sure that Government would take me, it yet re- mained to be inquired what the Government would do with me. On this point, suggestions outran alike eventual result and my own expectation. The following may be taken as a specimen. One of my brothers meeting Lord King, the following con- versation took place. “ Well, what are Government going to do with your brother Rowland?” “ Nay, my lord, I do not know that they are going to do anything with him.” “Oh, they must give him something, no doubt of that; the only question is what. Now this is what they clearly ought to do. 1839.] Lords King and Ashburton. 205 They should tell Colonel Maberly that he has fought his battle well, stood to his guns to the last, but has been defeated; and that being the case, must, of course, withdraw and make way for his successful rival.” While I thus kept an eye on everything that might give indication as to my future, I received the following letter from Lord Ashburton, who had been, as may be remembered, the first amongst men high in influence and position to take an active part in the promotion of my plan. It will be remarked that his lordship, owing doubtless to his long ex- perience in financial affairs, was more correct than I in his estimate of immediate results; but it must be remembered that penny postage was left for years without those supports which formed an essential part of my plan, and which had been so pointedly urged by the Duke of Wellington as necessary to its results :-— The Grange, Alresford, August 20, 1839. Dear Sir, I most unfeignedly congratulate you that your great measure is so far safely landed. You do too much honour to the part I have humbly taken in this matter. I have certainly been unfeignedly anxious that this important experiment should be tried, and tried fairly ; but the merit is undividedly yours, and the success due to the unexampled perseverance and intelligence you have applied to opening and instructing the public mind. What Parliament can do is done, and it only remains to be hoped that success will not be hazarded by imperfect execution. What measures the Post Office will adopt I cannot know, but I think they will make a great mistake if they do not contrive to secure your assistance. If it should really turn out that your anticipations as to maintaining the revenue are realised, your triumph will be great indeed; one half of it will be more than I expect ; but on this point there must, after all, be much speculative uncertainty, and my only reeret was that our finances were 206 Wolverhampton Testimonial. [1839, not in a better state to make useful experiments. I shall watch the result with great interest, and beg you will believe me, Dear Sir, Yours very truly, ASHBURTON. Rowianp Hiu, Esq. I hope the principle of prepayment will be stoutly maintained. Any relaxation must be very temporary and with a large additional charge. Without this the scheme | will not work. The plan of postage-stamps seems to my mind the best. The post-officers should sell them, and as everybody must put his letter into some office, he may there also buy his stamp. About a fortnight later I was summoned to take my part, a passive one, in a very gratifying pro- ceeding at Wolverhampton, where a subscription had been raised to present me with a handsome silver candelabrum, which bore the following inscrip- tion :— To Rowianp Hitt, Esq., presented by the inhabitants of Wolverhampton, in testimony of their high sense of his public services, as the Founder and able Advocate of the Plan of Universal Penny Postage, a.p. 1839. CHAPTER V. APPOINTMENT IN TREASURY. (1839.) Berore leaving town for Wolverhampton, as I was in constant hope of a communication from Govern- ment, I had given strict injunction at the South Australian Office that if any such communication arrived it should be forwarded without delay. Now it so happened that a certain gentleman, well known to us at the time in connection with Australian affairs, had bestowed on our proceedings more attention than was either profitable or convenient, and had begun to be regarded much in the light in which, doubtless, I myself was then viewed at the Post Office ; in short, he had been unanimously voted an intolerable bore. When, therefore, a packet arrived at the office with what appeared to be his name written in the left- hand corner of the direction, it was naturally treated as a missive which might very conveniently await my return; and it was not until a messenger came from the Treasury to inquire why no notice had been taken of a letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that the clerk on duty became aware of the mistake. Hastening to correct the blunder, well aware of the Post Office delay, and impressed with the novel speed of railway conveyance, he instantly made up the despatch in a brown paper parcel, which he sent, with all speed, to the station, but which, by the tardiness of its conveyance, practically demonstrated that even postal dilatoriness might be outdone. 208 Interview with Mr. Baring. [1839, The packet came into my hands just before the ceremony of presentation began, and, being of course eagerly opened, was found to contain a summons to Downing Street; a fact contributing, as may be sup- posed, not a little to the pleasure of the day. Of course the call was obeyed without loss of time. On presenting myself at the Treasury I was very courteously received by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. (afterwards Sir) Francis Baring (Mr. Spring Rice having been just raised to the peerage) ; and before speaking of what occurred, I wish to premise that I afterwards found in Mr. Baring a steady friend and zealous supporter, his kind in- terest in my plan and myself never failing until death. This first interview, however, was on one important point very unsatisfactory. To make this clear, it must be recollected that I then held a permanent office, involving heavy duties and implying great trust and responsibility, and that though my salary was as yet only 500/. a-year (all salaries in this new department being then low), yet as I had been fortu- nate enough to give full satisfaction, I had every prospect of increase, and a fair chance of eventual promotion. When, therefore, it was proposed that I should abandon this position to accept an engagement for two years only, without any increase of salary, I must confess I could scarcely avoid regarding the offer as an affront, and was yet more struck with the disadvantage at which such degradation would place me in respect of ability to carry out my plans; nor was I so overawed by official dignity as altogether to repress my feelings. However I brought the con- ference to a close by informing Mr. Baring that I must consult my friends upon his offer; and that, as my eldest brother was then at Leicester, I thought it would be three days before I could give my answer. 1839.] Treasury Offer Considered. 209 Accordingly, on the following day, I went betimes to Bruce Castle, and having conferred with my brothers there, proceeded to Leicester ; arriving (as yet railways were few and disjointed) late in the evening. I found my brother stretched on a sofa; he had had a hard day’s work in conducting an inquiry, at the instance of the Lords of the Treasury, into some corporation affairs, and seemed quite ex- hausted; so that although I was aware he must know that important business alone could have brought me so far, I naturally proposed to defer everything to the next day. Of this, however, he would not hear; saying that he had to proceed on the morrow with the enquiry, so that no time must be lost. To do the best under the circumstances I began my story in as passionless a manner as | could command; and for a short time he listened quietly enough, seeming too much oppressed by fatigue to be capable of strong interest. When, however, I came to the offer of 500/., a startling change occurred, the form but now so full of lassitude becoming at once overcharged with muscular energy. He seemed not, merely to start but to bound from the sofa, his face flushing, and his frame quivering with indignation. When he became somewhat more composed, and the whole matter had been duly discussed, he suggested that he should write a letter for me to hand to the Chancellor of the Exchequer; and when I had eagerly accepted his offer, he consented—the hour bemg by this time over late—to defer the execution of his task until morning. Accordingly, at an early hour, we were at work, I writing from his dictation; and when the draft was completed, my sister-in-law, who fortunately had accompanied her husband, transcribed it, and the signature being appended, I returned to town by the first conveyance, reaching home in the middle of VOL; I. EF 210 My Brother Matthew's Letter. [1839, the night The following is my brother’s letter. I need not apologise for its insertion in full :— Leicester, Sept. 12, 1839. DEAR RowLanp, Before I give you my opinion, I think it better to prevent the possibility of misapprehension, by putting in writing the heads of what you have reported to me as haying occurred at the interview between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and yourself on Tuesday, respecting your pro- posed employment by the Government in carrying your plan of Post Office reform into operation. You state that Mr. Baring, having regard to what had been arranged between Lord Monteagle and himself, offered to engage your services for two years for the sum of 500/. per annum; you, for that remuneration, undertaking to give up your whole time to the public service. That on your expressing surprise and dissatisfaction at this proposal, the offer was raised to 8002, and subsequently to 10000. per annum. You state that your answer to these proposals was, in substance, that you were quite willing to give your services gratuitously, or to postpone the question of re- muneration until the experiment shall be tried; but that you could not consent to enter upon such an undertaking on a footing in any way inferior to that of the Secretary to the Post Office. You explained, you say, the object which you had in view in making this stipulation—you felt that it was a necessary stipulation to insure you full power to carry the measure into effect. I have carefully considered the whole matter in all its bearings, and I cannot raise in my mind a doubt of the propriety of your abiding by these terms; and I will set down, as shortly as I can, the reasons which have occurred to me to show that the course you have taken was the only one really open to you. It is quite clear that to insure a fair trial for your plan you will require great powers; that Ministers will not in- terfere with you themselves, nor, as far as they can prevent it, suffer you to be thwarted by others, I can readily believe; but I am not so sure of their power as I am of their goodwill. You have excited great hostility at the Post Office—that — 1839] My Brother Matthew's Letter. 211 we know as a matter of fact; but it must have been inferred if the fact had not been known. It is not in human nature that the gentlemen of the Post Office should view your plan with friendly eyes. If they are good-natured persons, as r dare say they are, they will forgive you in time; but they have much to overlook. That a stranger should attempt to understand the arcana of our system of postage better than those whose duty it was to attain to such knowledge, was bad enough; that he should succeed, was still worse ; but that he should persuade the country and the Parliament that he had succeeded is an offence very difficult to pardon. Now, you are called upon to undertake the task of carrying into action, through the agency of these gentlemen, what they have pronounced preposterous, wild, visionary, absurd, clumsy, and impracticable. They have thus pledged them- selves, by a distinct prophecy, repeated over and over again, that the plan cannot succeed. I confess I hold in great awe prophets who may have the means of assisting in the ful- filment of their own predictions. Believe me, you will re- quire every aid which Government, backed by the country, can give you to conquer these difficulties. You found it no easy task to defeat your opponents in the great struggle which is just concluded; but what was that to what you are now called upon to effect? no less an enterprise than to change your bitter enemies into hearty allies, pursuing your projects with goodwill, crushing difficulties instead of raising them, and using their practical knowledge, not to repel your suggestions and to embarrass your arrangements, but using that same knowledge in your behalf, aiding and assisting in those matters wherein long experience gives them such a great advantage over you, and which may be turned for or against you at the pleasure of the possessors. To try this great experiment, therefore, with a fair chance of success, it must be quite clear that you have the confidence of the Government ; and that can only be shown by their advancing you to an equality, at least, with the principal executive officer among those with whose habits and pre- Judices you must of necessity so much and so perpetually interfere. Have you made Mr. Baring sufficiently aware of the numerous—I might say numberless—innovations, which your plan of necessity implies? The reduction of postage and the modes of prepayment are, no doubt, the principal features of your plan; but you lay great stress, and very he 212 My Brother Matthew's Letter. [1839. properly, in my opinion, on increasing the facilities for transmitting letters; and this part of the reform will, I ap- prehend, cause you more labour of detail than that which more strikes the public eye. In this department you will be left to contend with the Post Office almost alone. It will be very easy to raise plausible objections to your measures, of which Ministers can hardly be supposed to be competent judges, either in respect of technical information or of leisure for inquiry. Neither would the public, even if you had the means and inclination to appeal to it, give you assistance in matters upon which you could never fix its attention. But your personal weight and importance as compared with that of others who it is reasonable to believe will, in the first instance at least, be opposed to you, will be measured very much by comparison of salary. We may say what we will, but Englishmen are neither aristocratic nor democratic, but chrysocratic (to coin a word). Your salary will, there- fore, if you have one at all, fix your position in the minds of every functionary of the Post Office, from the Postmaster- General to the bellman, both inclusive. But though I see these insuperable objections to your accepting either of the salaries which have been offered, I will not advise you (and you would reject such advice if I gave it) to embarrass the Government, if there be any difficulty, which there may be unknown to us, in the way of their either giving you a higher salary, or postponing the question of remuneration until the end of the two years. Your offer made on the spur of the moment, to surrender. your present appointment, and work for the public without salary, though it does look somewhat “ wild and visionary ” at first sight, yet after a long and careful reflection upon it, I distinctly advise you to renew, and more than that, | seriously hope it will be accepted. Your fortune, though most men would consider it very small, is enough to enable you to live two years without additional income; and I feel certain that the Government and the country will do you and your family justice in the end; but suppose I should be mistaken, and that you never receive a shilling for either your plan or your services in carrying it into operation, I should be very glad to change places with you, and so would thousands of your countrymen, if, on taking 839.] Second Reception at Treasury. 213 your labours and privations, they could also feel conscious of your merit. I remain, &e. M. D. HI. This letter I forwarded the next day, enclosing it in a short one from myself to the same effect; in which also I proposed to wait upon Mr. Baring at four o'clock, to give him any further explanation that might be required. On presenting myself accordingly I was received in a manner not merely courteous but most friendly ; no time was lost in debate, and I was requested to call again the following day at one o'clock, to see the draft of a letter which Mr. Baring under- took to prepare meanwhile. Of this letter, which, upon my expressing satisfaction with it, Mr. Baring immediately signed and handed to me, the following is @ copy :— Downing Street, September 14, 1839. SIR, I write you the result of our interviews, feeling that it may be a satisfaction to you to possess some memorandum on paper. With respect to the position in which you would be placed, I would explain that you will be attached to the Treasury, and considered as connected with that department with reference to the proposed alterations in the Post Office. You will have access to the Post Office, and every facility given you of inquiry both previously to the arrangements being settled and during their working. Your communi- cations will be to the Treasury, from whom any directions to the Post Office will be issued; and you will not exercise any direct authority, or give any immediate orders to the officers -of the Post Office. I make this explanation as to the mode of doing our business, to prevent future misunderstanding. Your communications and suggestions, &c., will be with the Treasury, in whom I consider the power to superintend and carry into effect these alterations to be vested. With respect to the money arrangements, I understand 214 Appointment to Treasury. [188 9 the employment to be secured for two years certain, at the rate of 15002. per annum. I should also add that the employment is considered as temporary, and not to give a claim to continued employment in gies at the termination of these two years. Having put duly upon paper a memorandum of our con- versation, I cannot conclude without expressing my satis- faction that the Treasury are to have the benefit of your assistance in the labour which the legislature has imposed upon us, and my conviction that you will find from myself and the Board that confidence and cordiality which will be necessary for the well working of the proposed alterations. T am, &c. F’. T. Barine. LOWLAND Hunn, Esq. Of course I inwardly objected to that clause in the letter which limited my engagement to two years, but, with my usual self-reliance, I reckoned upon making myself within that period so useful as to secure a permanent appointment. Mr. Baring having referred to the arrangement which placed me, not at the Post Office, but at the Treasury, I replied that of course he might put me then where he hked, but that I should end by being Secretary to the Post Office—a prediction eventually fulfilled, though certainly by no means so speedily as I ex- pected. j The letter was soon followed by a Treasury Minute, making the formal appointment. On care- fully reconsidering both, I thought that my powers were neither so considerable nor so clearly set forth as could be desired; nevertheless two days later, viz., on Monday, September 16tb, 1839, I entered on the duties of my new office, rejoicing’ in the belief that I was at length in a_ position to effect the great reform I had originated, feeling, also, at the moment, well rewarded for all past — labours and anxieties, and, though not blind to — 1839.] First Visit to Post Office. 215 future difficulties, yet too well pleased with my suc- cess thus far, and with the kind congratulations which poured in from all sides—my zealous champion Mr. Wallace, taking the lead—to allow any painful anticipations much place in my thoughts. From what has already been stated, the reader must be aware that, however deep the gratification with which, at the end of three years’ unceasing effort, I at length found myself in a recognised position, in direct communication with persons of high authority, and intrusted with powers which, however weak and limited in the outset, seemed, if discreetly used, not unlikely in due time to acquire strength and durability, I was far from supposing that the attaimment of my post was the attainment of my object. The obstacles, numerous and formid- able, which had been indicated in my brother’s letter, had all, I felt, a real existence; while others were sure to appear of which, as yet, I knew little or nothing. Still I felt no way daunted; but relying at once on the efficiency of my plan, and on the promised _ Support of Government, I felt confident of eventual achievement; and, of course, resolved to spare no effort that could tend to this result. On the very day that 1 took my place in Downing Street I accompanied the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer and Mr. Robert Stewart, one of the Lords of the Treasury, to the Post Office, in order to Inspect the practical working of the department, which, as already mentioned, I had never had a prior opportunity of witnessing. My first impressions contradicted in some measure iy expectations; the whole process of dealing with the letters I found more rapid than I had supposed. Here, however, was a fallacy, very naturally pro- duced, and which has doubtless imposed upon many an unpractised visitor. The presence of strangers 216 Taxation and Sorting. (1839. naturally puts every man on his mettle; and efforts are made which could not be long sustained. Again, the head of a department, zealous for its reputation, directs observation, unconsciously perhaps, to his best men; while the unwary spectator, general- ising on both points, attributes to every pair of hands and to the whole period of manipulation a speed which rightly pertains only to a few indi- viduals and even in their case to a very brief time. Another source of misconception I found to lurk in the many errors made in the haste of action ; whereby a large number of letters came back to the hands which had passed them, and being viewed by the observer as new,letters, failed, of course, to produce any abatement in his estimate of speed. I found, the “taxation of letters’? more rapid, and the sorting slower, than I had reckoned upon; but soon perceived that the latter process was greatly impeded by want of room, which was indeed bitterly complained of by those concerned, and appeared most conspicuously in the removal of bags, which, having to be half lifted, half dragged in and out of the sorting rooms, jostled each other very inconveniently by the way. This lack of space was the more remarkable, since the building, which had been erected at enormous expense, was as yet only ten years old, and had witnessed but little increase of business within its walls. The rooms indeed were lofty, even to the full height of the edifice, but yet ill ventilated; re minding one of what has been said by I forget whom, viz., that if the crowd be but dense enough, a man — may be stifled even where his ceiling is the sky. A thermometer in the room marked 72°, but I was _ informed it sometimes rose to 90°; so that between — heat and impurity of the air the men’s working powe!s- must have been seriously impaired; to say nothing 1839.] Suggestions Adopted or Rejected. 217 of more durable injury to their health. Some of the officers in attendance suggested the construction of galleries ; which, without lessening the general height of the room, might afford more space; but knowing that mere height, as indeed shown by the actual state of things, is but a secondary consideration, and ob- serving that there was considerable space between the ceiling and the roof, I recommended that the room should be divided into two floors, the ceiling being raised, and that for the removal of bags, recourse should be had to lifts, such as I had seen in use in the cotton mills at Belper and elsewhere. Both these suggestions were eventually adopted. As this inspection had the disadvantage of being foreknown, I determined that my next should be made without notice; and accordingly somewhat surprised my friends at the Office by appearing amongst them soon after six the next morning, I did not perceive, however, any noticeable difference in the state of things, save that, the work being less, and the hands therefore fewer, there was a corre- sponding decrease of bustle and closeness. On going to the Treasury, I suggested to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that as room at the Post Office was already deficient, and was likely to be more so when the lower rate was adopted, no time should be lost in establishing the district offices and uniting the two corps of letter-carriers, as re- commended in my evidence before the Post Office Commissioners. Repeating this recommendation on the following day, I was requested to draw up a paper giving my views in detail; Mr. Baring telling me that he should have occasion to see Colonel Maberly in a few days, and that he would confer with him on the subject. To dispose of this matter for the present, I must say that I did not then succeed in convincing the Chancellor of the Ex- 218 My Daily Work. (1839. chequer of the soundness of my views, and that, in fact, they were not acted upon until fifteen years later. At the same time Mr. Baring expressed a wish that I should speedily visit the French Post Office, which he had been informed was in some important respects exceedingly well managed ; a desire to which I of course readily acceded. I may mention here that my journal, after a long suspension, was now resumed ; and it is by reference to this that I am able to give details which have long ago passed from my memory. I find that my practice was still to rise at six, and to proceed straightway to work at my official duties; indeed, when I was at the Treasury, my attention was so. much diverted to questions of detail on postal matters of all kinds that, had I confined my work to office hours, though I made’ these unusually long, the pro- gress of reform, slow as it actually was, would have been reduced to a veritable snail’s pace. My long hours, however, soon obliged me to apply for addi- tional assistance. From this journal I proceed to give one or two extracts; premising that, were I to print it entire, it would give the reader a tolerable outline of the subsequent course of postal reform, but would be some- times enigmatical, sometimes tedious; and moreover would occasionally show an irritation, of which the _ expression now, as then, is better confined to my secrétaire :— ‘1839, September 20.—Mr. Baring came to me at the Treasury. |He] had not been able to look over the agenda, — though at work till four this morning. Will take it next, and — let me know when ready to discuss it. Asked me to state — what assistance I thought necessary. I replied that I wished to engage the services of Cole (whom I had mentioned on a_ previous day), and that I required a clerk or amanuensis- Ae, 1839.] Subsidiary Appointments. 219 * * * As toaclerk, B. recommended that I should select one from the Post Office, as his practical knowledge would be useful to me. To this I assented, and it was arranged that B. should write to Colonel Maberly on the subject, but it after- wards occurred to me that the arrangement might possibly lead to unpleasant consequences. I therefore went to Mr. Baring and represented this view of the subject, at the same time proposing that I should engage Mr. Ledingham. * * * To this B. consented. I proposed a salary of 40s. per week, but B. objected to more than 30s., such being the allowance to supernumerary clerks in the Customs. The salary was therefore fixed at this sum.’ The engagement of Mr. Cole, applied for as above, was completed three days later; and thus I had the great satisfaction of retaining after my appointment aid which had been so highly serviceable before. Mr. Ledingham, also, was engaged, and fully justified Mr. Gardiner’s recommendation;* working with me through many years, first at the Treasury and after- wards at the Post Office, up to the commencement of his fatal illness, with intelligence, fidelity, and — zeal, About this time” I began to experience somewhat of that kind of annoyance which my own proceed- Ings during the last two years and a half must have produced to the Post Office authorities, and m some measure to the Government of the day. I was now myself, in some sort, within the pale, and I began to find that ‘through my difference of position there was a decided change in the sound produced by a knocking at the outer gate. Suggestions for improvement, generally super- fluous or impracticable, and applications on other Subjects soon became numerous; and were sufficient In the ageregate to occupy much time, and to make me practically understand the nervous irritability * Mr. Gardiner was Secreta issi \ ry to the Commissioners of P Enquiry ; Mr, Ledingham was his clerk, Spit Rt 5 220 Caution— Other Sorting. [1839, produced in all Government departments by appli- cations from without. Soon after my appointment I received a letter from one of the subordinates at the Chief Office, making various suggestions of improvement. Fearing that this proceeding might be a breach of discipline, I consulted the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to the course to be adopted. Mr. Baring expressed himself much pleased at my caution, and wrote immediately to Colonel Maberly, to learn his wishes on the subject, receiving for answer that Colonel Maberly saw no objection to such communications. A day or two later I again visited the Post Office, and was present at the sorting of letters for the twopenny post. Here was anything rather than the pressure which I had observed in the evening sort- ing of the General Post letters, the force being evidently far too great for the work; so that at the rate at which I saw the letters sorted the average number per delivery, say six thousand, might have been sorted completely in the time occupied (about an hour and quarter) by four persons; and yet the sorters formed quite a crowd. Of course I found in this fact additional reason for that union of the two divisions of letter-carriers which was an essential pre- liminary to the establishment of the district system. In my journey to Paris, which, though rather quick for the period, occupied more than two days and a night, exclusive of one night of rest by the way. I was accompanied by Mr. Wynne of the London Inland Office, whose knowledge of detail I thought would be useful in the proposed inspection ; my wile also going with me as amanuensis. I called imme- diately on M. Conte, the Postmaster-General, and being received with great politeness, made arrange- ments for visiting the office early on Monday morning (it was then Saturday). I received also every assist j 1839] Visit to French Post Office. 221 ance from Mr. Henry Lytton Bulwer, then acting as English Minister in the absence of Lord Granville, and to him I presented my credentials from Lord Palmerston. On the appointed morning, having risen before five o'clock, I went to the Post Office, and witnessed the whole process of the morning duty; which, however, differed but little from that carried on in the London office; of which indeed it was, in most particulars, avowedly a copy. Not to dwell too minutely on this inspection, I will only state some few of the results set forth in my report. Having given certain tables, I sum up as follows :— I found that the gross Post Office revenue of France was about two-thirds that of England ; the expenses, about twenty per cent. more, and the net revenue somewhat less than one half.* The rates of postage I found to be about two- thirds of our rates for corresponding distances, but to vary for equal distances, not as with us, accord- ing to the number of enclosures, but simply [as I had proposed for England] according to the weight of the letter or packet.+ I found a kind of book post in use; the charges, however, being regulated not by weight, but by superficial measurement of the paper.} Considering the small extent of Paris as com- pared with London, I found the number of Post- offices much larger, viz., 246 against 237.8 The process of “ taxing” letters by weight naturally attracted my earnest attention, as one of the points on which my opinion had differed much from those of the Post Office authorities. Certainly, first appear- ances were against me, the rate of proceeding being * “Report on the French Post Office,’ p. 2. T p. 5. f p. 6. § p. 6. 222 | French Post Office. [1839. only twenty-six and a half letters per minute, whereas Mr. Bokenham had described some careful experi- ments made in the London office, which gave an average of thirty-three letters per minute taxed in the English manner. A short examination, however, set all to rights; for the weighing apparatus was nothing better than a common pair of scales; and the gradations of weight were so small (less even than a quarter of an ounce) as to keep the scales in frequent use; while, by the half-ounce gradation proposed for England, they would not be required for one letter in ten. I found, too, my opinion in favour of weight confirmed by all such officers here as I consulted.* Another subject of special importance at the time was the classification of the letter-carriers ; and here I had the pleasure of finding that there existed no such distinction as that which I had ventured to condemn in the London Office; and that its absence was held to be an advantage.f There was another point on which the French Post Office was—and it must be admitted still is—in advance of ours, viz. that it undertakes the trans- mission of valuables of small dimensions at a com- mission paid of five per cent. If the article be lost, the Post Office pays the price at which it was valued.{ An arrangement for transmitting money through the Post Office was, I found, in great use, or what I thought such, while our money-order system, owing to the high rates of charge and other causes had but 3 a very limited operation ; the yearly amount trans- : mitted being less than half that in France. 4 On the safety of prepayment some of the gentlemen connected with the French Post Office shared the apprehensions expressed in England; — * “Report on the French Post Office, p. 10. + Ibid. tpt. ! 1839. ““ Quarterly Review.” 223 though M. Piron held with me that securities might easily be established against the expected danger. I need not say that in our own country, at least, expe- rience has shown the alarm to have been unfounded. On another point of anxiety, likewise set at rest by experience, viz., the apprehended forgery of stamps, | my own views received decided confirmation from M. Cordier, the head of the Stamp Department. Such are the chief points of my Report, which, I may add, being printed for the use of members of Government, and copies being sent to the London daily papers, appeared next morning at full length in the Times. Meanwhile, there had appeared in the ‘ Quarterly Review’ an elaborate attack, said to have been writen by Mr. Croker, on my whole plan and all its supporters; the Mercantile Committee, the Parliamentary Committee, the witnesses, and above all the Government, receiving each a share of the reproaches which fell primarily upon myself. This philippic was answered in the next number of the ‘Edinburgh Review, in an article written by my brother Matthew. As almost all the points debated have now been decided by experience, I do not think it needful to give an abstract of the two articles, but merely make a few extracts, which may still interest or amuse. Any one, however, curious as to the state of affairs and of opinions at the time, may find it worth his trouble to peruse both. But, before proceeding further, I must mention, first, that Mr. Murray happening to meet my brother soon after the publication of the article in the ‘Quarterly, expressed his regret at its appearance ; and, secondly, that in the same journal appeared at a later period, viz., in 1850, an article of a very different character, written by Sir Francis Head, in whose collected Essays it is republished. 224 Earliest Post-paid Envelope. [1839. I must also mention that the earlier article in the ‘Quarterly’ contains one statement of some im- portance, which, had I recollected it at the proper time, would have been useful in a recent discussion as to the origin of postage stamps :— ' ‘M. Piron tells us that the idea of a post-paid envelope originated early in the reign of Louis XIV. with M. de Valayer, who, in 1653, established (with royal approbation) a private penny-post, placing boxes at the corners of the streets for the reception of letters wrapped up in envelopes, which were to be bought at offices established for that purpose. “iF 1 We Fae ‘But this device had long been forgotten even in France; and we have no doubt that when Mr. Charles Knight, an extensive publisher as well as an intelligent literary man, proposed, some years since, a stamped cover for the circulation of newspapers, he was under no obligation for the idea to Monsieur de Valayer. Mr. Hill, adopting Mr. Knight’s — suggestion, has applied it to the general purposes of the Post Office with an ingenuity and address which make it his own. ft I must add that the writer emphatically joined me in condemning parliamentary franks, and laid blame upon the Government for having so long delayed all improvement, for not having proceeded to action on the first appearance of my plan, and above all, for not having given to postal reform that gradual introduction which I had recommended.{ The unsoundness of my views is set forth to the writer’s satisfaction a few pages later, the italics here and elsewhere being the reviewer's :— | ‘We are bound to say, after the perusal of the evidence and a mature consideration of all the arguments of Mr. Hill and his advocates, that whatever may be thought of the abstract advantages of a general penny postage, Mr. Hill’s specific plan has broken down on almost every point, both as to the * ‘Quarterly Review,’ No. 128, p, 552. ' Tope pba tp oe 1839.] Penny Postaye “a Failure.” 225 facts on which it professes to stand, and on the results which it promises. ”* My statement that Post Office revenue had remained stationary during the twenty years preceding the writing of my pamphlet is pronounced to be com- pletely overthrown by the fact that the Post Office revenue had doubled during the fifteen years pre- ceding that period. Expectation of moral benefits from low postage is thus met :— ‘On the whole we feel that, so far from the exclusive benefits to “order, morals, and religion,’ which Mr. Hill and the committee put forward, there is, at least, as great a chance of the contrary mischief, and that the proposed penny post might perhaps be more justly characterised as “ sedition made easy.” *t Remembering the old rates of postage, the reader will be struck with the following laudation :— ‘We are prepared to contend * * * that as long as any species of taxes or duties are to be levied, there is none more legitimate in principle, or more fair and equitable in practice, than the Post Office revenue; nay, none—no, not one in our whole financial system—so much so !’§ No wonder that the writer should be well satisfied, since he had previously reminded his readers that “a letter on any sized sheet, with any quantity of writing which it can hold,” and with “a separate invoice or other enclosure” added thereto, could be sent from London to Glasgow for the small charge of two shillings and fourpence.| The reader of the present day, whom dire necessity has accustomed to modern hardships, will be roused toa sense of his condition by learning that “ pre- payment by means of a stamp or stamped cover is * “Quarterly Review,’ No. 128, p. 520. T p. 524. t p. 531. § p. 533. | p. 588. VOL. I . Q 226 “ kdinburgh Review.” [1889. universally admitted to be quite the reverse of con- venient, foreign to the habits of the people,”* &c, I proceed now to give a few passages from the article in reply. The following is perhaps the first public notice of a change already felt, but which soon took a more positive and troublesome form :— ‘But the introduction of the bill into Parliament produced some curious phenomena out of doors, worthy of a moment’s attention. The journals whose duty it is to prove Ministers in the wrong, whatever side of whatever question they may elect to take, had seized upon Mr. Hill’s plan as a godsend. That any Chancellor of the Exchequer should have the courage to adopt such a reduction of rates never entered their imagination ; but they knew very well that the change would be extremely popular, and that abundance of fact and argument could be adduced in its behalf. Here, then, was a prize—faction served and popularity gained by the same course. Accordingly, none were so loud and long in favour of penny-postage as the Tory journals—none so intolerant of delay. * : . ‘But their prayers are at length heard—their aspirations for a penny rate are about to be accomplished. What, then, is their course of action? Do they rejoice in their success? Not at all. On such occasions, journalists are in the habit of making somewhat liberal claims on the public approbation for their own share in the struggle; and they attribute, perhaps, sufficient potency to their own exertions and influence. But with exemplary modesty and forbearance, our Tory “contemporaries” refrain from a single note of triumph. They rarely break silence at all, and when they do, it is to hint a doubt of the soundness of their own views. — Their occupation is gone! at least for atime. ‘The change in the political atmosphere produced a corresponding change in the Dutch weather-house of Tory politics. Fair-weather Joan retired from view, and foul-weather John took her — place.’ Tf ‘i In the following passage the rationale of uniformity _ * © Quarterly Review,’ No. 128, p. 551. 7 ‘Edinburgh Review,’ vol. exlii. p. 550. 1839.] Rationale of Uniformity. 227 in rate with variety in distance is so clearly set forth, that even though the practical question has long since been decided, I cannot pass it over :— ‘The cost of postage to the Post Office is divisible into three heads :—the cost of receiving a letter into the office—of its transmission from town to town—and of delivery to. the correspondent. The first and last of these heads, it is clear, must be pretty much the same for all letters; at all events, these heads of cost will not vary according to the distance which the letter travels. TRe item of transmission would certainly never at first sight be expected to be uniform. Mr. Hill, however, as we think, has demonstrated, that it is so small in itself, and is so little increased by any increase of distance, that to consider it as uniform is a nearer approxi- mation to exact justice than can be made by any variation expressible in the smallest coin. We must refer to the Report for the calculations on which the exact amount is founded. All that we shall here do is, to examine the principle on which this uniformity is founded. It is quite obvious that the essential cost of transmitting light articles is not in the ratio of distance, but in the inverse ratio of numbers. Give a porter a letter to carry a mile, and you will pay him a shilling; give him a hundred letters, to be delivered at one place at a distance of five miles; and, even if he charges five shillings, it is obvious that each of these latter epistles will be despatched at a twentieth of the cost of the former.’* The following, written, it must be observed, before the establishment of the penny rate, shows a very Just estimate of subsequent results :— ‘That some years may elapse before the Post Office revenue recovers its position, is highly probable; but in our minds this does not at all affect the propriety of adopting the plan. If its principles are well founded, there should be an increase from year to year; and when the amount arrives again at its present height, there will be nothing in this circumstance to make it stationary. It will go on to a surplus, on which we may fairly calculate to counterbalance the deficit of the early years.’t * “Edinburgh Review,’ vol. cxlii. p. 561. f p. 572. Q 2 ‘ ares 228 Present Loss—Future Gain. [1839. The article thus concludes :— ‘Let, then, any temporary diminution of income be re- garded as an outlay. It would be but slight considered with reference to the objects in view, and yet all that is demanded for the mightiest social improvement ever attempted at a single effort. Suppose even an average yearly loss of a million for ten years. It is but half what the country has paid for the abolition of slavery, without the possibility of any money return, Treat the deficit as an outlay of capital, and those who make a serious affair of it suppose that a great nation is to shrink from a financial operation which a joint-stock company would laugh at. But enough of revenue. Even if the hope of ultimate profit should altogether fail, let us recur to a substituted tax ; and if we are asked, What tax? we shall answer, Any tax you please—certain that none can operate so fatally on all other sources of revenue as this. Letters are the primordia rerum of the commercial world. To tax them at all, is condemned by those who are best acquainted with the operations of finances. Surely, then, cent. per cent. will hardly be deemed too slight a burden, and yet that—nay, more than that—the new plan will yield. ‘But the country will never consent to adjudge this great cause on points of revenue. That the Post Office ought to be open to all in practice, as well as in theory, is now felt to be as necessary to our progress in true civilisation as the liberty of the press, the representation of the people in Parliament, public education, sound law reform, the freedom of commerce, and whatever else we require to maintain our “high prerogative of teaching the nations how to live.” ”* * «Edinburgh Review,’ vol. exlii. p. 572. CHAPTER VI. PENNY POSTAGE. (1839-40.) My attention, on my return from France (in October of this year), was mainly directed to the means of intro- ducing the system of penny postage as promptly as was consistent with safety, much care being obviously necessary to put the office in order for the expected flood of letters before the sluices were opened. The Chancellor of the Exchequer suggested that in the outset stamped letters should not be admitted later than 3 P.m.; the time to be extended when practicable. The heads of the two chief departments in the Circu- lation Office urged, as a preliminary, the erection of the galleries already spoken of; a measure to which I objected, both because of the time that it would take, and because I thought a large outlay at the chief office, the estimate, without including any arrange- ment for better ventilation, being as high as 8,000, would delay the establishment of those district offices on which [ relied so much both for public con- venience and for the maintenance of the revenue. As a temporary expedient, I suggested the use of a part of the Bull and Mouth Inn, which happened then to be vacant; a suggestion which, unluckily, found no favour at the Post Office; so that as the Chancellor of the Exchequer could not make up his mind to adopt the district system, immediate alterations were 230 Fourpenny Rate. (1839. resolved upon, at the reduced cost, however, of 6,0002. One cause of delay was found in an invitation issued by the Treasury, accompanied with the offer of reward, for plans of collecting the postage, whether by stamps or otherwise ; a proceeding which precluded any positive action until all the plans, which poured in from various quarters, should have been duly examined. The communications were more than two thousand five hundred in number, ’and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who had intended to read all himself, was obliged to delegate the task to the Junior Lords of the Treasury, who must have had dry work of it, as I better knew, when a considerable portion of the work devolved ultimately upon my- self. Foreseeing much delay, I suggested to the Chancellor of the Exchequer the expediency of allow- ing, in the first instance, prepayment by money, though, as I pointed out, this course might increase the difficulty of introducing the stamp. A few days later, viz.,on November the 2nd, I Jaid before the Chancellor of the Exchequer the sketch of a plan which I had devised for the gradual intro- duction of the new system. This was at once to introduce into the London district the penny rate for prepaid letters, and to abolish throughout the dis- trict the additional charge of twopence then imposed on every General Post letter delivered beyond certain limits. As to the rest of the country, I proposed immediately to fix fourpence as the maximum single inland rate; with the abolition of all anomalous charges, such as a penny for crossing the Menai Bridge, the halfpenny for crossing the Scottish border, and the penny for delivery beyond certain — limits. These recommendations, after having been fully considered by the Post Office and the Treasury, were carried into effect on the 5th December. . 1839] Intelligent Letter- Carriers. 231 In the interim there came to me, at the Treasury, three letter-carriers from the twopenny post depart- ment, who had jointly drawn up a very clever paper relating to the metropolitan delivery. The name of one was Job Smith, but those of the others I did not retain. The three are thus spoken of in my journal :— ‘They are exceedingly intelligent men, the two elder especially. Their plan differs but little from my own (vide 9th Report of the Commissioners).’ They assure me they have neither seen nor heard of my plan, and I believe them, for on those points on which we differ they preferred my plan when explained to them; indeed, they have applied the plan to the General Post delivery precisely in the manner I intended, though I believe my intentions have never yet appeared in print. Their paper and their conversation fully confirm the soundness of my views.’ The Chancellor of the Exchequer, however, ex- pressed doubts as to both the economy and the safety of prepayment; and though he admitted that stamps must be tried, and though I submitted an elaborate Report on the whole subject, his doubts grew yet stronger; but as I remained confident, he gave way, only declaring that he threw the responsibility of that part of the measure entirely upon me. Even had I felt any misgiving, it was now too late to draw back ; but I accepted the responsibility with alacrity. Amidst these proceedings there were one or two occurrences of some interest. I received a letter from Mr. Cobden (used, with some others in this narrative, with the consent of his widow), from which I give an extract, showing that however favourably I may have thought of my plan, his expectations far outran my own :— ol am prepared to see all the world sorely puzzled and surprised, to find that the revenue from the penny postage ewceeds the first year any former income of the Post Office.’ Dee Stamps i Three Forms. [1839. The Chancellor of the Exchequer consulted me as to the policy of taking advantage of the willingness, as reported by Dr. (now Sir John) Bowring, of the State of Hamburg to reduce the charge on English transit letters from fourpence to a penny in consider- ation of their letters being charged a penny for passing through England. I strongly advised that the treaty should be concluded forthwith, which was accordingly done; this treaty, the first foreign result of English postal reform, being duly welcomed. When, however, I was consulted as to the policy of further reducing the inland rate on foreign letters generally, before negotiating similar reductions with foreign powers, I advised against that course, as likely to render such negotiations more difficult; and the project was abandoned. The question of probable forgery of the stamp still causing much anxiety, various conferences were held on the subject; in which I was assisted by Mr. Wickham and Mr. Pressly from the Stamp Office, Mr. Bokenham and Mr. Smith from the Post Office, and my brother Edwin (subsequently appointed Superintendent of Postage Stamps, and eventually of Stamps generally). Not to go into tedious details, it may be mentioned that the three kinds of stamps now in use, though in very different degrees, viz., stamped letter-paper, stamped envelopes, and ad- hesive stamps, were agreed upon, and obtained the approval of the Treasury. | In the minute establishing the fourpenny rate, care had been taken to show that the measure was only temporary, and merely intended to give needful practice in the new mode of charge, viz., by weight, before the great expected increase in the number of letters should occur. The explanation, however, did not give universal satisfaction, and I began now — practically to feel how great an advantage had been 9 1839] ~+Dissatisfaction and Suspicion. 233 neglected when Government declined to take up postal reform without awaiting the coercion of popular demand. The spontaneous reduction of the existing high rates to a maximum of even sixpence or eightpence, would have been welcomed with joy and gratitude; now so low a mazimum as fourpence, though this was the lowest of all General Post rates when my pamphlet was published, was received with no small amount of dissatisfaction. Suspicions arose at the concession would go no further; Govern- meni—was accused of an intention to cheat the public; and I, too, had a share in the accusation, being charged in some of the newspapers with having betrayed my own cause. Hitherto denun- ciations had fallen on me from above ; my elevation to office now gave opportunity—speedily seized on —for attacks from below. I had learnt, however, before this time, that all this was to be expected and endured ; that the only chance of escaping obloquy is to avoid prominence; that the thin-skinned should keep within the pale of private life. December the 5th, the day appointed for the first change, was of course passed in considerable anxiety as to the result, but of necessity I had to await the next morning for the satisfaction of my curiosity. The following is from my journal, December 6th :— ‘There was an increase of about fifty per cent. in the number of letters despatched from London on Thursday as compared with the previous Thursday, and a loss of about 9002. out of 16002. in the total charges. The number of paid letters in the district post has increased from less than 9,000 to about 23,000; the number of unpaid letters re- maining about the same as before, viz., 32,000. No doubt the increase is greater at present than it will be in a day or two, as comparatively few letters were written the day before the reduction ; still the result is as yet satisfactory. The Chancellor of the Exchequer thinks very much go. ‘December Tth—As I expected, the number of letters e 234 Condemnation and Approbation. [1839, yesterday was less than on Thursday; the increase as com- pared with the previous Friday being about twenty-five per cent. only.’ Of course, when it was found that the immediate Increase was so very moderate, the moment had ar- rived for exultation in those who had_ predicted failure ; and, like Sir Fretful Plagiary, I was fortunate enough to have more than one “ damned good-natured friend” to keep me sufficiently informed of the jubi- lation—which, however, did not daunt me much. Whilst, as I have said, angry voices arose at the limited extent of the first reduction, there were at least some persons.who, being out of the reach of general information, received the change much as I had once hoped the whole public would do, viz., as a great and unexpected boon. A poor Irishman, for instance, who brought a letter to the Chief Office, with one shilling and fourpence for the postage, upon having the shilling returned to him, with the information that the fourpence was all that was re- quired, broke out in acknowledgment to the window- clerk with a “ God bless your honour, and thank you.” About a week after the change, I had the satis- faction of hearing from Messrs. Bokenham and Smith, the two heads of the Circulation Department, as follows :— ‘Journal, December 13th.—Bokenham says they do not put more than one letter in twenty into the scale, and that a greater saving than he expected results from uniformity of rate; that the increased number of letters has required no increase of strength. Smith gives a similar account (he has two additional men). Both laugh at the notion of the inse- curity in the delivery as resulting from prepayment.’ Three days later, I proposed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the penny rate should come into operation in three weeks from that day ; the prepay- 1839.] Ministerial Toils. JD ment to be made in money until the stamps, now in preparation, could be issued; and the abolition of franking to take place as soon as prepayment should be made compulsory. Mr. Baring approved generally of the plan, but preferred to extend the time to a month, and to abolish franking at once; the former modification being of little moment, the latter, as may be inferred from the event, a very judicious change. Two days afterwards—that we might complete the - necessary arrangements without loss of time—the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on leaving Downing Street, took me with him to his house at Lee, where, after dining, we set to work, and, continuing without interruption, finished our task about one in the morning. When I rose to retire, somewhat fatigued with my long day’s work, I observed, to my surprise, that my host, opening his Treasury box, began to take out papers as if for immediate examination. Upon my expressing surprise, and a hope that he was not going to work more that night, he told me that he should not sleep till all were dealt with. If I had ever supposed that Chancellors of the Ex- chequer had an easy life, I had abundant opportunity, now and afterwards, for disabuse. Much objection was raised at the Post Office to the establishment of the penny rate before the issue of stamps; especially if coupled with the rule requir- ing double rate when the postage was paid on de- livery of the letter, which would of course tend, as it was meant to do, to make prepayment the general practice; but, after a good deal of discussion, in which Mr. Baring supported my views, all objection was withdrawn, and the 10th January, 1840, was finally determined upon as the day when penny postage should be established throughout the whole kinedom, 236 “ My Lords.” [1839. At this same conference, I proposed that the scale of weight, as applied to high-priced letters (foreign and colonial), should ascend throughout by the half ounce. Mr. Baring was favourable to this arrange- ment, but it was abandoned for the time at the desire of Colonel Maberly, who maintained that trouble would arise from the minuteness of the grade; and, in fact, was not adopted till more than twenty years afterwards. Meanwhile, the examination of the multitudinous devices for producing an inimitable stamp having at - length been completed, I was called on to prepare a minute on the whole subject, preparatory to issuing orders for the execution of the work. The mode of proceeding in such cases may surprise the uninitiated as much as, in the outset, it had surprised me. By this time, however, I had fallen mto the routine. Accordingly, I put my own views on the matter, modified by what I had gathered in conversation with my official superior, into the mouths of “ My Lords,” submitting the draft to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for his comments, in accordance with which I altered again and again until he was satis- fied; soon learning that when this point was gained, the consent of “My Lords” was as prompt and certain as the facing of a company at the command of the captain. Few fictions, I suppose, are more complete than the minutes purporting to describe the proceedings of the Treasury Board. There was certainly a large and handsome room containing a suitable table headed with a capacious arm-chair, the back bearmg a crown, and the seat prepared, as I was informed, for the reception of the sovereign, whose visits, however, scarcely seemed to be frequent, as the garniture was in rags. On this table, according to the minutes, — the Chancellor laid such and such papers, making — 1839.] | Competing Machinasts. 237 such and such remarks; sometimes the Fjrst Lord of the Treasury appeared as taking a part, though only on occasions of some little importance, such, for instance, as my appointment; then deliberation seemed to follow, certain conclusions to be arrived at, and corresponding instructions to be given: a goodly appearance on paper, while the simple fact was that two or three Junior Lords being seated for form’s sake, papers were read over which were to go forth as the resultant minutes of the said meet- ing, but which, having all been prepared before- hand, had received the signature of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or of one of the Secretaries of the Treasury, the attending Lords giving their assent, as a matter of course, without a moment's thought or hesitation. Once, indeed, while I was yet very new, I did venture to go so far as to inquire, in language which caution made somewhat enigmatical, whether I was to complete the minute then in hand before it received the confirmation of the Board; nor shall I readily forget the look of perplexity which followed the question. When my meaning was at length per- ceived, such answer was given that the inquiry never had to be repeated. With regard, however, to the competing plans, though valuable suggestions were afforded by several, no one was deemed sufficient in itself; and adjudica- tion ended in selecting, from the whole number of competitors, four who had rendered most service, and in dividing the offered reward amongst them, in equal shares; thus giving 100/. to each. The guc- cesstul candidates were: Messrs. Bogardus and Coffin (who had acted together), Mr. Benjamin Cheverton, Mr. Henry Cole, and Mr. Charles Whiting. By this minute, the plan of prepayment was at length definitely adopted, as was also the use of 238 Abolition of Franks— The Queen. [1839, stamps; and this in the three forms which I had recommended before the Treasury issued their invi- tation for suggestions; together with the addition recommended at the same time, that stamps should be impressed upon paper of any kind sent to the Stamp Office by the public. It was also ordered that the penny rate should be adopted forthwith; the stamps to be introduced as soon as they could be got ready. Charge by weight having been previously adopted, there was now added the rule doubling the charge on letters not paid for in advance. Some change, also, in the same general direction was made in the postage even of foreign letters. The Queen having been graciously pleased (and here the words were no mere form) to abandon her privilege of franking, thus submitting her letters to the same rule as those of her humblest subject, it was determined that all other such privilege should cease at the same time. And here it may be observed, that though the obligation now extended to all Government offices, viz., to have their letters taxed like those of private persons, might seem to be only formal, since their so-called payment of postage was little more than matter of account between one department and another, yet, as no department likes to see its postage charge in excess, it constituted, in effect, to a considerable or a real check. At the ~ same ine it was essential for showing the real earn- ings of the Post Office | On parliamentary papers, hitherto free, a postage was established at the rate of one penny for two ounces; but, some weeks later, on the represen- tation of members, the allowance of weight was doubled. In anticipation of a large influx of letters, it was ordered that, for a time, the free receipt of letters at _ 1839. | Treasury Warrant— Correction. 239 the London offices should cease one hour earlier than before, with a corresponding arrangement at the country offices; the anticipation there to vary from one hour to half an hour, as might be deemed needful by the District Surveyor ; but the time for the receipt of late letters, everywhere and in all cases, extending to as late an hour as before. This minute, after revision and re-revision by Mr. Baring, Colonel Maberly, and myself, having, at length, been adopted, and published in the news- papers, 2 warrant to the same effect was prepared for the Gazette, and signed by Lord Melbourne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mr. (afterwards Sir Thomas) Wyse. As the minute gives in detail the reasons for the conclusions arrived at, and thus illustrates an important part of the history, I give it entire in the Appendix (C). Upon looking over the warrant the next day, however, I discovered an error; the privilege relative to the letters of soldiers and sailors, which it had been intended to continue in full, bemg therein limited to letters inwards. This omission, as the three signatories had in the mean time left town, and delay was inadmissible, placed me in an unpleasant dilemma; so that I had either quietly to see the inadvertent establishment of a temporary restriction of a valued privilege, or to take upon myself—a subordinate of but two months’ standing—to alter the terms of a Treasury warrant. After much hesitation I ventured on the bolder alternative, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on learning the facts, frankly gave me his thanks. The warrant appeared in a supplementary Gazette the same evening, December 28; and this is the last event I have to mention in the year 1839, the third of the penny postage movement. A question soon arose as to the hour for posting newspapers, a subject accidentally omitted in the 240 Public Notification. [1839-40. minute. Here I may observe that, though I was constantly striving to anticipate all contingencies, and that for the most part with good success, it would now and then occur that something escaped observation, and that in a minute elaborately framed to meet all cases, some little flaw would still appear, to give trouble. Often, however, the explanation was that a draft liable to extraneous modification would sometimes be materially changed by the substitution of a phrase, which, without careful com- parison with the whole document, seemed a just equivalent for that which it replaced. Here, however, as already said, was certainly an omission; I supposing that no change would be made in respect of newspapers, while Colonel Maberly considered these as included in the term letters. While we were discussing the point before the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Colonel Maberly contending that the restriction would be indispen- — sable, I urging that it would be very unpopular, we were interrupted by the Chancellor, who meantime had been opening his letters, and now suddenly exclaimed, “ My Exchequer Bills are at one per cent. premium ; so I don’t care for a little unpopularity.” And thus the matter ended. All being resolved upon, we did not hold it neces- sary to pursue the cautious policy observed on some previous occasions, but took means to make the coming change as widely known as _ practicable. Accordingly, a form of notification having been agreed upon, I ordered half a million of copies to be printed, and at the same time inserted a short adver- tisement in every newspaper throughout the kingdom. On the day before that appointed for the establish- ment of Penny Postage, came information as to the effect of the fourpenny rate, showing that the nume- rical increase in the letters affected by the reduction, Fe 1840] Penny Rate Begins. 241 was for England and Wales 33 per cent., for Scot- land 51, and for Ireland 52; the increase on the whole being 36 per cent. At length the great day arrived. I give, with one addition, the relative passages from my journal for that day and the three following :— ‘January 10.—Penny Postage extended to the whole kingdom this day! Very able articles on the subject in the Chronicle, Advertiser, and Globe. The Tory papers for the most part sulky. Standard abusive of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. * * * The Chancellor of the Exchequer much pleased with Matthew's admirable article on postage in the ‘Edinburgh Review, published yesterday. I have abstained from going to the Post Office to-night lest I should embarrass their proceedings. I hear of large numbers of circulars being sent, and the Globe of to-night says the Post Office has been quite besieged by people pre- paying their letters. I guess that the number despatched to- night will not be less than 100,000, or more than three times what it was this day twelvemonths. If less I shall be dis- appointed. ‘ January 11.—The number of letters despatched last night exceeded all expectation. It was 112,000, of which all but 13,000 or 14,000 were prepaid. Great confusion in the hall of the Post Office, owing to the insufficiency of means for receiving the postage. The number received this morning was nearly 80,000, part, of course, at the old rate. Mr. Baring is in high spirits. It cannot be expected, however, that this great number will be sustained at present. ‘January 13.—As was expected, the number of letters despatched on Saturday was less than on Friday. It was about 70,000. I did not expect so great a falling off.’ I must not omit to mention that I received a large number of letters—mostly from strangers—but all dated on this, the opening day, thanking me for the great boon of Penny Postage. 5 ‘January 14.—The number of letters yesterday somewhat Increased. About 90,000 each way. Mr. Baring, on my report that many persons were unable to get to the windows OIL. 1. R 242 Attack and Support. (1840. to post their letters in time, promised to write to Mr. D. W. Harvey, the superintendent of police, to direct that the thoroughfares may be kept clear.’ It is a whimsical fact that for this difficulty of — access to the office windows, which continued for some days, and against which I, of course, had no direct, and little indirect, power of providing, some of the Tory papers held me fairly open to attack. On the other hand, I learnt that on the first evening of the penny rate, notwithstanding the crush and inconvenience, three hearty cheers were given in the ereat hall for Rowland Hill, followed by three others for the officers of the department. Further, on the 16th of the month, came the second mention of my plan in a Queen’s Speech; the words being as follows :— ‘T have lost no time in carrying into effect the intentions of Parliament by the reduction of the duties on postage, and I trust that the beneficial effects of this measure will be felt throughout all classes of the community.’* * ‘Hansard,’ vol. li. p. 4. 243 CHAPTER VII. stamps. (1840.) As the arrangements for printing the stamps advanced it became apparent that it would be necessary to appoint some well qualified person to superintend the process, manage the machinery, &c. My thoughts naturally turned to my brother Edwin; and my recommendation being favourably received, and the consequent inquiries being answered as satisfactorily as I was well assured they must be, the Chancellor of the Exchequer informed me, about a fortnight later, that he had made the appointment. The salary he mentioned was 500/. or 6001. a year; but, at my brother’s wish, I informed him that the smaller sum would be preferred, provided that the sacrifice might avail to secure him efficient assist- ance; an arrangement to which the Chancellor readily consented. This appointment promised no small relief to me; as hitherto much of the time urgently demanded for more important business had been necessarily given to merely mechanical arrange- ments, since I could not and did not find in unin- terested persons those zealous efforts and that watch- ful care which were essential to combined rapidity and security. | Much, however, still, and indeed for a long time afterwards, inevitably devolved upon me, which R 2 244 Initial Difficulties. [1840. would be commonly supposed to be altogether out of my range. Naturally I was regarded by everybody as responsible for an imnovation made on my advice; and it would be beyond measure tedious to describe, or even enumerate, the efforts and precautions for which I was called upon to give efficiency to the operation of my plan, and at the same time secure it against that various trickery to which innovation necessarily opens the door. Of course, too, each novelty in proceeding was admitted with more or less difficulty. Thus, for instance, though it was obviously desirable that the paper to be used as covers should, before issuing, be cut into the proper shape (previous folding was not yet thought of, no machinery existing for the purpose), yet that preliminary was objected to, because of the additional trouble it would give, not only in cutting, but also in counting; and it really cost me a considerable portion of three several days, to say nothing of some trial of temper, to carry the point. Towards the end of the following month, Mulready’s design, together with the stamps intended for Post Office use, was formally approved ; and of this design I may remark, that though it subsequently brought _ so much ridicule on the artist and his employers, yet it was regarded very favourably, before issuing, by the Royal Academicians, to whom it was presented when they assembled in council on April i0th of this year. Neither is the discrepancy hard to explain, since that which is really beautiful so often wearies by endless repetition. To close the subject, I will mention here, by anticipation, that the public rejec- tion was so complete as to necessitate the destruction of nearly all the vast number prepared for issue; and it is a curious fact that a machine had to be- constructed for the purpose; the attempt to do the work by fire in close stoves (for fear of ab ee = - * — 1840. Disappointment —Average Postage. 245 straction forbad the use of open ones) having abso- lutely failed. The error made in this. provision was not the only one; since, as appears by a Treasury Minute of January 28, the use of the adhesive stamp, which has now almost driven out the others, was. still expected to be very limited. Of course my watch on the number of letters was unceasing, the result being very variable ; sometimes encouraging, and sometimes so unsatisfactory as to cause me no small uneasiness; a feeling not much soothed by information that the plan, as I was in- formed in confidence by Mr. Gordon (Secretary to the Treasury), was already pronounced at the Post Office a total failure. On March 12th the first parliamentary return on the subject was obtained; when it appeared that the increase in the number of chargeable letters was somewhat less than two anda quarter-fold. Certainly I had expected more, and was obliged, in my disap- pointment, to fall back on my general confidence in the soundness of my views, deriving, however, some encouragement from finding that the average postage, instead of being only 12d., as I had calculated, proved to benearly 13d.; a difference which, however trifling In appearance, would, when multiplied, as it already had to be, by a hundred and fifty millions, tell sensibly in the result. This, also, enabled me to correct my calculation as to the increase in the number of letters necessary to sustain the gross revenue; which I now reduced from five-fold to four and three-quarters-fold; a reduction fully justified eleven years later by the result.* At length, preparations being sufficiently advanced, a Treasury Minute of April 22nd, followed by a warrant to the same effect, appointed the 6th of the * «First Report of the Postmaster-General,’ pp. 65-68. hi 246 First Issue of Stamps. [1840. following month as the day when prepayment by stamps should begin ; the alternative of prepayment in money being left for the present, so as to allow time for the public to fall quietly into the new practice. Mr. Baring, indeed, having but little faith in the expected preference of the public for stamps, offered to promote their use by making them the only means of prepayment; but, independently of my confidence in their acceptability, I preferred that the two modes, money and stamps, should contend for public favour on equal terms. A difficulty, however, arose here, for which I was quite unprepared, and which may still excite wonder ; objection being raised in the department to the sale of stamps at the three Chief Offices, viz., of London, Dublin and Edinburgh. I can only suppose that official dignity was touched, the feeling excited being such as might arise on board a man-of-war at a proposal to intrude bales of merchandise on “ Her Majesty’s Quarter-deck.” The issue of stamps, however, began, as appointed, on the Ist of May. Great, I had the satisfaction of hearing, was the bustle at the Stamp Office; the sale on this one day amounting to 2500. It was clear, therefore, that this practice, so “inconvenient and foreign to the habits of Englishmen,” was at least to have trial. So far all was well; but now began a series of troubles, against which I had striven to provide, but necessarily through the instrumentality of others little interested in their prevention. Six days later, I received information that no stamps had been issued to any of the receiving- houses in London. On inquiring into the cause of this omission, | found that in the Treasury letter, . giving instructions on the subject, the important word not had been omitted, so that whereas the minute directed that the issue should not be delayed 1840.] Post Office versus Stamp Office. 247 on account of certain preliminaries the letter directed that it should. Two days later, a new difficulty appeared. The objection raised at the Stamp Office to the cutting up of the whole sheets into single covers, had pre- vented the construction of proper machinery for the purpose; and now a contest arose between two departments, the Stamp Office persisting in issuing the sheets uncut, and the Post Office very properly refusing to supply its receivers with them until cut. The consequence of this antagonism, combined with public exigence, was that the cutting had to be carried on throughout the following Sunday. I secured, however, an additional machine for the Monday, and the promise of another for the Wed- nesday. Nevertheless, the delay produced consi- derable dissatisfaction; the stamps issued having fallen, toa great extent, into the hands of private venders, who naturally took advantage of the demand to sell at a profit. A week later, the issue threatened to come toa standstill; the Post Office, though it had in writing undertaken the duty of distributing the stamped covers, now declaring such distribution beyond its power. My inquiries merely produced a repetition of this declaration ; the nature of the obstacle I failed to learn. As I was unwilling to call in the authority of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who, indeed, at this time was so much occupied as to be almost accessible, I could but urge and remonstrate ; and it was some time before this produced the desired effect. Even a month atter the first issue, the London receivers remained still unsupplied, the Post Office alleging that it could hot obtain stamps, and the Stamp Office declaring that it had complied, and more than complied, with all Tequisitions, The only thing beyond doubt was that blame rested somewhere ; but where, it was hard to 248 Demand outruns Supply. [1840. discover ; the more so, as each department was too much out of temper to allow of easy interrogation, I scarcely need add that troubles more or less similar to these continued to arise from time to time. Meanwhile, the actual production could scarcely keep pace with the public demand; the less so as this took the unexpected form already implied; adhesive stamps so fast rising in preference, that the great stock of covers which had been prepared proved of comparatively little value. The presses actually at work were producing more than half a million of stamps per day, but this was insufficient, and sudden addition was not practicable, since, by a relay of hands, the work was already carried on by night and by day without intermission. Of course, such pr essure was not without its evils; some of the work being inaccurately and even carelessly executed, so that I began to fear that forgery might be sue- cessfully rear a fear, however, whee happily proved groundless; only two attempts, so far as I know, ever having been made, and both of a very bungling character, though in one the author was cunning enough to escape personal detection. In the other, which occurred in Ireland, the offender was convicted and punished; the detection occurring in conseqnence of a young man’s writing to his sweetheart under one of the forged stamps, and enclosing another for her use in reply. Amidst these anxieties, another arose which proved far more durable and more troublesome. This pro- ceeded from the difficulty of making the obliteration of the stamp complete and effectual. All the penny stamps, it must be observed, including the pictorial cover, were at this time printed in black; the oblite- rating ink being red; used, I suppose, because that colour had long been employed to indicate prepay- ment. 1840.] Difficulty in Obliteration. 249 Of course the danger was, first, lest obliteration should be omitted; and, secondly, lest the effacing marks should afterwards be removed. Even on the first point there was a good deal to complain of in the outset ; so much that a certain amount of discredit began to attach to stamps as a whole. ‘The Post Office replied to complaints by saying that every care was taken; and no doubt serious difficulties would arise in introducing a new mode, where so many persons were concerned; these, too, being spread far and wide over the kingdom. Even where absolute omission was avoided the obliteration was often very incomplete. I observed that the obli- terating stamp used at the General Post Office was badly constructed, and requested Mr. Bokenham to try another which I had had prepared. This he under- took to do; indeed he appeared anxious to get the work well done, but complained of the stupidity of the clerks and deputy-postmasters. An extract from my journal, a few days later, shows how matters were getting on :— ‘May 21st—Several more cases of stamps wholly unobli- terated, or very nearly so, have come within my knowledge ; and all sorts of tricks are being played by the public, who are exercising their ingenuity in devising contrivances for temoving the obliterative stamp, by chemical agents and other means. One contrivance is to wash over the stamp, before the letter is posted, with isinglass, or something else which acts as a varnish, and as the obliterating stamp falls on this varnish, it is easily removed with soap and water. Tricks of this kind are quite sufficiently numerous to pro- duce great annoyance ; but I doubt whether it is more than the exercise of a little ingenuity which will speedily be directed to other objects. Iam making every effort, however, with the aid of Phillips, the chemist,* and others, to prevent these frauds, and I trust I shall succeed.’ Seven days later I find the following entry :— * The late Professor R. Phillips, F.R.S. 250 Trickery— Counter Devices. (1840. ‘May 28th.—To-day Lord John Russell sent a blank sheet of paper, which some impudent fellow had addressed to him, using a label which had evidently been used before, for the features were entirely washed away. Nevertheless, it was passed at the Post Office. Whiting, the printer, also sent a note his brother had received from Brighton, the stamp of which was so slightly obliterated that the mark was scarcely visible, and by night would almost certainly pass.’ This took me next day to the Post Office, where I remained with Mr. Cole during the two busiest hours of the day, witnessing operations. I give the following extract :— ‘ May 29th.—The tricks with the stamps are, Mr. Bokenham says, abating, and practically he thinks there is no danger of their being used twice, now that ink for obliteration has been supplied to the deputy postmasters from the Central Office—a measure which I advised in the first instance.’ Nevertheless, more than a fortnight later, I find the following entry :— ‘Pressly* assured me that he continually receives letters the stamps of which have not been cancelled. That he has sent them so frequently to Colonel Maberly that he does not like to send any more, lest it should be thought annoying. He gave me one recently received.’ Meantime, as the red ink seemed _ inefficacious, black ink was tried; and, for a time, this appeared to be effectual. | Additional security was also sought in legislation ; advantage being taken by Mr. Timm, the Solicitor to the Stamp Office, of a bill then preparing on postal affairs, to introduce a clause enabling the Postmaster- General to open any letter bearing a forged stamp, or a stamp used for the second time; but as the Chancellor of the Exchequer felt sure that Parlia- ment would not grant such a power, the clause, very — * Now Sir Charles Pressly, K.C.B. He was then Secretary, and after- wards Chairman, of the Board of Stamps and Taxes. bh 1840.] ~ Eminent Chemists. 251 much to Mr. Timm’s regret and my own, was struck out. We were, therefore, thrown back upon chemical and mechanical means of defence; and it soon appeared that these must be put into further requisi- tion; Mr. Donovan, a chemist of Dublin, having succeeded in removing the effacing black without injuring the stamp below. This paradoxical opera- tion is explained by the fact that the latter had been impressed by powerful machinery, and likewise had had time to dry ; while the former was produced only by hand and remained fresh. ) Again, therefore, I had to call in Mr. Phillips. He came accompanied by Dr. Clark, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Aberdeen, who had kindly volunteered his services, and who suggested a number of experiments, which Mr. Phillips under- took to try. Dr. Clark, also, about three weeks later, being then about to leave for Manchester, undertook, in connection with friends among the calico-printers of that town, to try some experiments on a new principle of obliteration; an offer which of course I thankfully accepted. On the same day, however, Mr. Phillips reported favourably of a new kind of ink devised by a Mr. Parsons, informing me, nevertheless, that it had yet to be subjected to various tests. At this juncture came a formal report from the Post Office, stating that the red ink was found to be removable, and asking for instructions. The state- ment, though necessarily made as a matter of form, came to me as a mere truism; but the request for Instructions was more easily made than complied with; for about the same time Mr. Parsons’ ink yielded to the skill of Messrs. Perkins and Co., con- tractors for the supply of adhesive stamps ; who, how- ever, reported in turn, that they had prepared two 252 Destructible Oleaginous Ink. (1840, other kinds of ink, either of which they thought would answer the purpose. I lost no time in setting Mr. Phillips to work on the subject; and, in my anxiety, went so far as to trouble the greatest chemist of the age. Kindly giving me the needful attention, though in an extremely depressed state of health, the result of excessive labour—a fact, of course, unknown to me when I made my application—Mr. Faraday approved of the course which I submitted to him, viz., that an aqueous ink should be used, both for the stamps and for obliteration, so soon as the stock of stamps now on hand should be exhausted, and that, in the mean time, obliteration should be made with black printing-ink. As the stock of covers was so large that, considering its little favour with the public, it was likely to last some years; and as, in dealing with those, an oleaginous effacing ink was in- dispensable, while, nevertheless, it would be imprac- ticable to have two kinds of effacing ink in use at the same time, it was important to procure a destructible oleaginous ink to be used meanwhile in printing the adhesive stamps; and I accordingly requested Mr. Phillips, and also Mr. Bacon, of the firm of Perkins and Co., to undertake the task; which they did. | The new oleaginous ink produced on the above application seemed at first to answer well; but past failure led me to doubt present results. Meantime, endless suggestions were coming from various quarters, all requiring to be more or less considered, and many plausible enough to deserve trial, but all ending, sooner or later, in failure. The worry of this continued succession of hope and disappointment made me at last almost afraid to enter my office ; where I foreknew that some untoward report must be awaiting me. At length I drew up a long and elaborate Report, >) ee \ 1840.] Difficulties and Devices. 253 containing all the information then possessed, and recommending, for the present, obliteration with good black printing-ink, prepared in a peculiar manner, and the printing of the adhesive stamps in coloured inks—blue, as before, for the twopenny ones, but red for the penny ones; both colours, however, to be olea- ginous, but at the same time destructible; my aim being to render the obliteration so much more tenacious than the postage stamp that any attempt at removing the former must involve the destruction of the latter. The new labels being thus far provided for, anxiety remained as to the stock of all kinds still on hand. It was still hoped, however, that thoroughly good printer's-ink would answer the purpose sufficiently to prevent any serious abuse; but within three weeks from the date of my Report, a chemist named Watson had succeeded completely in the removal of this obliteration also. His process, however, though very simple, inexpensive, and effectual in relation, at least, to the black stamp, proved so slow as to demand nine minutes per label in its application ; so that the danger to be apprehended was not very formidable. To prevent even this, however, Mr. Watson proposed an obliterating ink which he regarded as quite irre- movable. So indeed it proved; but nevertheless its use was inadmissible, because it both injured the paper and obliterated the writing in its neighbourhood. Mr. Watson’s attempts to remove the black ink from the red stamp seemed, after an interval of some weeks, to succeed; but, fortun ately, the success proved to be fallacious; nor, so far as I am aware, has practical success been subsequently achieved by any one; so that the mode then adopted still remains In satisfactory use. Still, however, temporary difficulties remained, and, yet worse, increased: the process of removing black from black, which Mr. Watson could carry on 254 My Brother Edwin Assailed. [1840. but slowly, my clerk, Mr. Ledingham, whose in- genuity had dealt effectually with many previous devices, succeeded in carrying on at the rate of one per minute; a rate quite quick enough to make knavery very profitable. After much thought [ hit upon a device which is thus recorded in my journal :— ‘ November 9th.—It occurred to me that as the means which were successful in removing the printing-ink obliterant were different from those which discharged Perkins’s ink, a secure ink might perhaps be obtained by simply mixing the two, and some trials made to day lead me to hope that this plan will sueceed. Perhaps certain ingredients of Perkins’s ink, added to the printing-ink, would do equally well.’ This device succeeded ; the ink so formed proving to be indestructible. Now, at length, all seemed to be right; but one more difficulty yet remained. To enable this ink to dry with sufficient rapidity, it had been necessary to introduce a small quantity of volatile oil; and the smell thus produced was declared at the Post Office to be intolerable. Happily, means were soon found for removing the offence; and so, at length, a little before the close of the year, all requirements were met. But the most grievous trouble that arose to me in connection with these cares remains to be told. When, from the causes already shown, and others yet to be described, I was almost overborne with — labour and anxiety, there came a new trouble for which I was quite unprepared; and which, like the last straw, was enough to break the camel's back. A blow aimed at my brother was a precursor of what subsequently befel myself, though with a difference — that will presently appear. Before proceeding, lam _ bound to mention that, at a later period, and after time had brought about some personal change at the Stamp Office, everything was done to make amends: for this wrong. My brother’s services were fully, nay, _ 1840.] Satisfactory Result. 255 handsomely recognised, his powers greatly extended, and his emoluments enlarged; a sequel, however, which of course I could not then foresee. ‘Journal, June 29th.—A letter has been addressed by the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes to the Treasury, setting | forth, and greatly exaggerating, the exertions of its own officers with regard to the postage stamps, saying not a word of Edwin’s exertions, which have been much greater than those of any one else, but adding that as, from the un- popularity of the covers and envelopes, it will probably be unnecessary to manufacture any more, and as certain arrange- ments which they propose can be adopted with regard to the labels and stamped paper, it will be unnecessary to employ Edwin any longer. ‘The fact is, that they are utterly ignorant of machinery and of the difficulties it presents, and are consequently unable to appreciate Edwin’s peculiar powers. In their opinion the whole difficulty consists in the dis- tribution of the stamps and in going through certain forms for their registration. At the very moment that they propose to dispense with his services, Edwin is applying counters to Barnes’ presses, is improving the presses to be employed in stamping the paper of the public (which before he took them in hand were for this purpose quite worthless), and is pre- paring one of a superior construction. If the business is left in the hands of the Commissioners without such aid as Edwin gives, my opinion is that we shall soon be in a mess.’ After some delay, arising from the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s close occupation, I succeeded in laying the case fully before him. He at once ex- pressed agreement in my view of the question, and the result was that, happily alike for my brother and for the public convenience, five months later the obnoxious letter was withdrawn; and my brother, though for a time subjected to more or less of annoy- ance, was never afterwards disturbed in his office. On the contrary, some years later his superintendence, originally confined to the postage department, was extended to the whole stamping system—a com- prehension rendered more practicable, I may observe, 256 Printing of Stamps. (1840. by the aid of his son, Mr. Ormond Hill. Under their joint care the machinery originally devised for postal purposes was extended to stamps generally, and improved mechanical appliances were introduced throughout the department. The great advantage | thus obtained, in point of economy, despatch and excellence of work, has been several times noticed, with approbation, in the Annual Reports of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, extracts from which will be found in the Appendix (D.); and 1 learn that, but for these improvements, the stamping of receipts and bankers’ cheques, the number of which averages about a hundred and sixty thousand per day —being also hable to great variation—would have required an extensive enlargement of the premises and a considerable increase of the working staff; which, on the contrary, was, through a skilful use of the union of the two departments, brought into more efficient and economical organisation than ever before. Before leaving the subject of stamps, I must say a few words about the form in which the adhesive stamps are printed, and the mode of their production. It may be necessary to inform those who buy stamps only in small quantities—probably the great mass of her Majesty’s subjects—that the whole sheet of penny stamps contains two hundred and forty, the equivalent of course of 1/.; and that as each row contains twelve stamps, the 1/. is easily divisible into shillings, while — the shillings, in like manner, may be promptly re- duced to pieces worth respectively sixpence, fourpence, twopence or a single penny. In the outset it was foreseen that the stamps might be used in ordinary payments; and it may be added that the currency thus introduced bears some resemblance—though the comparison is much in its favour—to an expedient practised long ago at the Bank of England. I Absolute Uniformity. 257 learn from Mr. Hunt, late Governor of that insti- tution, that in its early days notes were frequently presented for partial payment, such payment being recorded on the note, which then returned to circulation, passing at a diminished value. The same gentleman informs me that there is to this day such an outstanding note of the date of 1697, which if presented would be redeemed by the payment of sixpence. As regards the production of stamps, it must be premised that two qualities were indispensable ; first, cheapness ; secondly, security against imitation. To obtain this latter quality, it was necessary to have excellence both of design and of workmanship, together with exact uniformity in the whole number issued—requirements which made extreme cheapness difficult. The Queen’s head was first engraved by hand on a single matrix; the effigy being encompassed with lines too fine for any hand, or even any but the most delicate machinery to engrave. The matrix being subsequently hardened, was employed to produce impressions on a soft steel roller of sufficient circum- ference to receive twelve ; and this being hardened in turn, was used, under very heavy pressure, to produce and repeat its counterpart on a steel-plate, to such extent that this, when used in printing, produced at each impression two hundred and forty stamps; all this being of course done, as machinists will at once perceive, according to the process invented by the late Mr. Perkins, In this manner there were produced in the first fifteen years more than three thousand millions of stamps ; all, as being derived from the same matrix, of course absolutely uniform. At the end of that ume it was thought desirable to create a second matrix, but as this was obtained by transfer from the Ola, T. S 258 Securities against Forgery. [1840, first—save that the lines were deepened by hand—the deviation from identity was at most very slight. With plates procured from this, the process however being somewhat modified, there had been printed, up to July, 1867, more than seven thousand millions of stamps; thus making up a total of considerably more than ten thousand millions, in all of which the impression is, for all practical purposes, absolutely uniform. Now it will easily be perceived that, if imitation cannot be effected without resort to the means described above, as used in the production of the stamps, forgery is in effect impracticable; since no forger can have the command of very powerful, delicate, and therefore costly machinery, requiring for its management skilful, and therefore highly-paid workmen. If the Queen’s head alone constituted the effigy, something in imitation might be done by the aid of lithography, or some other such copying process; but this fails when applied to the extremely delicate lines already mentioned as constituting the background; which in the lithographer’s hands do but smirch the paper. Another difficulty is thrown in the way of the forger by the letters placed at the four corners of each stamp; which will be found to vary in every one of the two hundred and forty impressions com- prised in a sheet; the necessary modification being made in each steel-plate by means of a hand punch. By this arrangement the forger is compelled either to resort to the like complexity or to issue his counterfeits in single stamps, all identical in their lettering ; a proceeding which, if carried to any remunerative extent, would inevitably lead to detec- tion. Of the additional security derived from the use of a portrait in the stamp, an advantage long ago recognised in coinage, it will suffice to remark ; zl i a 1840] Advantage of a Portrait. 259 that of all depictions a portrait is perhaps the one in which change, however slight, is most easily discovered, especially by those who have it continu- ally before their eye. We all know that no strange face could have more than a moment’s chance of passing for that of a familiar friend. 260 CHAPTER VIII. SUBSIDIARY PROCEEDINGS. CoNCURRENTLY with all these transactions, many and various matters, some of them of great impor- tance, demanded attention. As letters multiplied, so also, to my surprise and concern, did complaints relative to theft; and that in a much greater ratio. This, as I eventually learnt, was consequent upon a change at the Post Office; made, unluckily, without notification to the Treasury. A wholesome practice — had previously existed of registering every letter supposed to contain articles of value; but, under the pressure caused by the increase of letters, this pre- caution had been abandoned. Of course, the remedy was to revive it; but here difficulties arose. No fee had previously been charged; and now that it was rightly thought necessary that the trouble of regis- tration should be paid for, a question arose as to what the charge should be ; the rates proposed by the Post Office, viz., one shilling for general post lettters, and twopence for district post letters, seemed to me doubly objectionable; first, as to excess in the former of the two charges, and secondly, as to variety without sufficient reason ; my wish being for a uniform rate, and that on no account higher than sixpence. This difference of opinion, combined with — extreme difficulty of access to the ever-occupied — 1840.] Reduction in Fees and Rates. 261 Chancellor of the Exchequer, delayed the measure ; but at length, thinking it better to obtain what I could, in the hope of subsequent improvement, | gave way so far as to agree to a uniform rate of one shilling; and procured for that measure the appro- bation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. As another means of diminishing theft, I proposed a reduction of the fee for money orders; and, with the approbation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, this was carried into effect; the rates being reduced from 6d. to 3d. for any sum not exceeding 2/.; and from ls. 6d. to 6d. for any higher sum up to 51. This reduction, combined with the low postage charged on transmission, had the effect of increasing the number of money-orders in ten years by more than twenty-fold.* Another matter was tle reduction of rates on ship- going letters. Though the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer was not inclined to enter on the discussion of new measures till after the close of the present session of Parliament, he agreed to reduce the postage of letters to and from the North American Colonies to a general rate of ls. 2d., a great boon, at the time, to the British settlers and their friends. This first measure was followed by several others ; one of them relating to correspondence with Hol- land; though here, as elsewhere, negotiation was necessary to establish a just proportion between advantage and expense; the Dutch Government demanding that the division of receipts should be equal, while the whole expense of the packet service, besides conveyance over a greater extent of territory, was to fall upon us. This, I remember, led Mr. Baring to tell me an anecdote, not then generally known, relative to some unreasonable demand of the Dutch Government laid before Mr. Canning when * «First Report of Postmaster-General,’ p. 66. 262 Alarming Increase in Expenditure. [1840. Foreign Minister, who, after perusing it, minuted the paper as follows :— In matters of treaty the fault of the Dutch Is giving too little and asking too much. Attempts at reduction were also made in reference to correspondence with France; though for a time without success. The most troublesome and unsatisfactory duty now devolving upon me was resistance to needless in- crease of expense. I found, with great concern, that augmentation was proceeding rapidly ; and, indeed, the addition during the first year of penny postage amounted to something more than 100,000/.;* that, too, following an increase of 70,0000. in the previous year; an amount sufficient to produce a very serious injury to fiscal results, the whole of which I well knew would be, by many, attributed to my reform. The increase was partly due to what was, in one point of view, an untoward coincidence, viz., the concurrent extension of the railway system. For though this tended greatly to the convenience of correspondents, and therefore to increase in the amount of correspondence, yet its effect in augmenting postal expenditure was quite startling. That an improvement which has so prodigiously cheapened the conveyance of passengers and goods should have greatly raised the cost of conveying the mails, how- ever paradoxical, is demonstrably true; as indeed appears by the following simple statement. The total charge for carrying the inland mails in the year 1835 (that before the writing of my pam- phlet) was 225,920/.;+ and it will be remembered that the mail-coaches were then so lightly loaded as to admit of a manifold increase in burden without much addition to their number. By the end of 1840, * «Tirst Report of the Postmaster-General,’ p. 68. T See ‘ Post Office Reform,’ second edition, p. 14. | 1840.] Causes of Increase. 263 when the number of chargeable letters had little more than doubled, while that of free missives must have oreatly decreased, this charge, had risen to 333,418/.,* and at the present time (1868) it appears to be as high as 718,480/.4 Of course, great benefit to the Post Office is derived from the vast increase in speed, and ereater allowance of space; but while in all these the public has its full share, it enjoys at the same time that great reduction in expense, which contrasts so remarkably with the increased charge to the Post Office. To a limited extent, explana- tion is to be found in the loss of that immunity from tolls which in England all mail-coaches enjoyed on the old roads; but the main augmen- tation is attributable to circumstances which could not be considered without a too long digression. The increase was and is unquestionable; and the coincidence, as already implied, was misleading ; giving an excellent handle to the enemies of the re- form, and demanding of its friends a longer explana- tion than the public had time or inclination to follow. A far less serious but more harassing’ increase of expense arose out of demands for augmented salaries, allowances, &c., which now poured in from all sides; and which came to the Treasury, backed by recom- mendation from the Post Office authorities; the Chief Office seeming never to question the judgment of the local surveyors, save when there appeared plausible ground for advising yet further augmen- tation. The reasons advanced were sometimes go insufficient that it was impossible for me, knowing the bitter hostility still entertained towards Penny Postage and its author, to avoid the suspicion that the care incumbent on such occasions was willingly set * Finance Account for 1840. t ‘Fifteenth Report of the Postmaster-General,’ p. 15, 264 Ceaseless Contracts. (1840, aside; that increased expenditure was almost wel- comed as a means of fulfilling adverse prediction. Not the least remarkable were two cases after- wards stated in my evidence before a Parliamentary Committee. Additional allowances to two postmasters (at Swinford and Ballaghaderin in Ireland) were pro- posed, on the ground that the money-order business had become so heavy that each postmaster was obliged to engage a clerk to attend to that duty alone. The accounts in the Post Office would of course have supplied a check to this statement; but it came to the Treasury vouched, first, by the sur- veyor of the district; second, by the Dublin office; and third, by the London office. The Treasury, at my suggestion, however, called for information as to the actual number of money-orders paid and issued by each office in a given time; and after the lapse of a year the information was supplied, when it ap- peared that the actual number of money-orders paid and issued, when taken together, was in one office only three per day, and in the other only two. I advised the rejection of the proposed allowances; but this question, with many others of a similar char- acter, remained undecided when my duties were interrupted.* I thus found myself engaged in a constant suc-, cession of petty contests, often unavailing, and always invidious; since, while ever called on to resist the demands of the undeserving, I was debarred, by my position, from originating any recommendation in favour of the deserving; a dis- advantage under which I laboured for many years, and which seriously clogged my efforts for subsequent improvement. The information, too, for rightly weighing these * ‘Report of the Select Committee on Postage, 1843,’ p. 92. 1840.] Checks to Extravagance. 265 various claims, though very accessible to the Post Office, was to me difficult and uncertain of at- tainment; since, in the investigation, I had of necessity to act through those to whom I stood opposed, and who were naturally unwilling to be found in the wrong. The plan, which after some experience I adopted, was as follows. I induced the Treasury to issue an instruction to the Postmaster- General that every application for increased force or salary at a provincial office should be accompanied with a detailed statement (in accordance with a printed form prepared by myself) of the work and expenditure of such office; and by making good use of these, I gradually arrived at averages which I used as guides in subsequent cases, and thus became enabled to exercise a salutary control. Doubtless many applications were altogether pre- vented by the conviction that the statement would not justify the demand: in some instances such statement was withheld on the plea of urgency; a move which was met by a temporary grant of force, to be made permanent if shown to be needful. Other modes were tried, but in the end lack of success effectually checked unwarranted attempts. I may add that the plan is still in use, is found to save much perplexity at the Post Office, and has operated beneficially in at once preventing needless expen- diture and in enabling the Office to do prompt justice to well-founded claims. Of reduced postage on colonial letters I have already spoken; but amongst the multifarious business referred to the Treasury by the Post Office, and with all of which I was called on to deal, there were other colonial matters, some of them perplexing enough ; ‘such, for instance, as to decide between two competing: routes from Halifax to Quebec, and to take such measures as would enable French Canadians, whom 266 Hard Work of Master and Man. [1840. it was then peculiarly important to conciliate, to cor- respond with friends in their mother country on equal terms (as far as practicable) with Englishmen of the same colony. I have already implied that movements were im- peded, and labour increased, by difficulty of access to the Chancellor of the Exchequer; but it should be added that this went so far, especially during the parlia- mentary session, that pressing affairs were sometimes kept for weeks, and even months, awaiting his decision. When, at length, the end of the session came, the exhausted minister felt the imperative demand for rest ; and resolved to take six weeks’ holiday. The reader who has accompanied me through the last three years will not wonder to find that I had a like requirement: J, therefore, requested and obtained leave of absence for the same period. What propor- tion of this furlough was available for its purpose to the Chancellor, I, of course, cannot exactly say ; it is sufficient for me to speak for myself. As the diffi- culties relative to obliteration were still upon me, I should not have left town but from absolute necessity ; and even in going I was obliged to make such arrangements as could scarcely fail of producing recal ; knowing too, all the time, that even while I was away, many papers would of necessity be referred to me; so that, at best, my days of vacation would be but half-holidays. Leaving home on August 14th, I got on pretty well for five days; when, amongst various papers, came the Postmaster-General’s formal announcements relative to the failure of obliteration, with a request from the Chancellor of the Exchequer that I would report upon it. While I was dealing with this, I received, on the 21st, the notice that Mr. Parsons’ obliterating ink had proved ineffectual; and my anxiety was so great, that though but a week of my 1840.] Complaint and Explanation. 267 holiday was gone, I determined on an almost imme- diate return to town. After nine days spent on the matter which had re- called me, and other business at my office, thinking matters now in tolerable train, I again left town; going, however, only to Ramsgate, that I might keep within call, and arranging to receive a daily report of progress. Altogether, I had this time an interval of twelve days, interrupted only by the daily receipt of papers which I could deal with where I was; but on September 13th I was again recalled :— ‘Journal, September 13th, Sunday.—Received a note from Mr. Gordon, stating that Lord Melbourne has applied to him for information as to the causes of the “continued and in- creasing deficiency of the Post Office revenue” (I think these are the words), and as to the future prospects, and requesting I will enable him to supply it with as little delay as possible. As I cannot, while at Ramsgate, give this information, or rather satisfy Lord Melbourne that the revenue is not de- creasing in reality * * * TJ decided on returning at once to town, and came away by the packet at eleven o’clock.’ Four days were now occupied mainly in procuring the information thus called for, and in drawing up my Report on the subject ; in which the increase in charges for conveyance had to take a conspicuous part; but on the 18th I again returned to Ramsgate ; where fortunately I was able to remain until the 30th, my term of holiday having been considerately ex- tended by a week, on account of interruptions. [have already shown that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was working as hard as myself; abundant evidence of this might be produced from my journal, but I will give only one more extract :-— ‘ December 24th.—Saw the Chancellor of the Exchequer for “three minutes,” left with him, for Christmas Day reading, a long report on the new envelopes, a minute thereon, a form to be filled up in all cases in which application is made for advancing the expenses of any office, and some other papers.’ 268 Steady Increase in Letters. [1240, I have now little left to complete the history of this year. Among other expedients, I had recommended the introduction of what, from the particular form they have generally taken, are now usually called pillar-boxes; a plan which in its essential part I had seen in use in France some years before :—. ‘ November 9th.—A day or two ago there was a letter in the Times suggesting that a letter-box should be put up in West- minster Hall, for the convenience of the lawyers. I thought this a good opportunity to propose an experiment on my plan for having letter-boxes put up throughout London and other towns, in the great thoroughfares and other places of resort ; the letters being taken out by the messengers now employed to collect from the receiving houses. Mr. Baring consents to the plan being tried in Westminster Hall: if successful it will add greatly to the public convenience (when extended), and will save some thousands a year in London alone.’ Mr. Baring’s consent was, I believe, acted upon ; but I had accomplished little more in this direction, when the interruption occurred to which I have already adverted. However, as the year of which I am now speaking (1840) advanced, increase in the number of letters began to show that steady progress which has never since been interrupted. Before the end of June this was pretty manifest, and by the middle of November progress was not only steady but rapid. I insert here the following extracts from a letter received somewhat later from Captain Basil Hall :— Portsmouth, Dec. 31, 1840. My pDEAR Sir, Many thanks for your agreeable information. Indeed I have no doubt—nor ever had—that your admirable inven- tion (for it well deserves that name) will ere long make up the Post Office revenue to what it was. To say nothing of the enormous advantages which it brings along with it to all classes of the community ! It strikes me, too, that a great convenience might be added — 1840.] Folding Machine. 269 to the envelopes if there were put a small lick of the gum which is used for the stamps at the angle where the wafer or wax is put; so that an envelope might be closed without the trouble of a wafer or the double “toil and trouble” of a seal —implying lucifer-matches, tapers, and wax. I can easily see how one hundred, or any number of envelopes, might have this small touch of gum applied to them ata dash of a brush. But, indeed, the manufacture of envelopes—supposing Government were to take it in hand—would be so enormous that a small profit on each would realise a great sum. Every one now uses envelopes, which save a world of time, and if you were to furnish the means of closing the letter by an ad- hesive corner a still further saving of time would take place. * * #* * * I dare say you are sadly bothered with crude suggestions ; but my heart is so completely in your noble scheme—the greatest of the day—that I venture to intrude occasionally. Ever most truly yours, Basin Haut. This is, so far as I am aware, the first mention of that now almost universal practice, which has nearly made wafers and sealing-wax things of the past. On December 15th I first saw, in my brother Edwin’s room at Somerset House, and in its earliest form—for he was as yet scarcely out of the first throes of invention—that folding machine, which was afterwards patented, which attracted so much atten- tion at the first International Exhibition, and is now in constant and extensive use. In the model it already seemed to do its work very well, but the labour of some years was yet required to complete its adaptation to its purpose; and in this latter part of the process my brother received important assistance from Mr, Warren De la Rue, who eventually pur- chased the patent. The following passage shows that the close of the year was full of anxiety for that which was to follow :— 270 Still Increasing Expenditure. [1840. ‘ December 31st.—The Post Office expenses are increasing at an enormous rate. As nearly as I can ascertain the present rate of expenditure is about 900,000/. per annum, which is an increase of more than 200,0002. in the last two years: the greater part of the increase results from the employment of railways, and cannot perhaps be avoided (though I think much may be done even there to reduce the charge), but a consider- able portion is owing to the increase of establishments. In the first half of the present year the expenses of the several establishments were increased at the rate of about 20,0000. per annum, and I fear that at least an equal increase has taken place in the last half of the year. Nearly the whole of this increase of establishments might, I believe, have been avoided.’ | Before closing the narrative of this year I may mention two or three incidents of an amusing cha- racter. The following case, among many others, was re- ferred to me: The writer of a letter, not having a penny stamp at hand, had attached thereto one half of a twopenny stamp—cut in two for the purpose. Upon finding that his letter had, never- theless, been treated as unpaid, he had applied to the Post Office, and, failing there, actually gone so far as to memorialise the Treasury. Of course, I could only recommend that the previous judgment should be confirmed, which was accordingly done. Some years afterwards I had to deal, in a matter of private business, with a gentleman who, as I believe, was the writer of this whimsical memorial. [If any hasty inference had been drawn from my first passage with him it was more than set aside by the second ; for in this his conduct was not only kind but liberal. Soon after the issue of the adhesive stamp, a distin- guished connoisseur, reading the injunction to affix the stamp “on the right-hand side of the letter,” felt a doubt as to what the injunction might really mean. Being in the artistic habit of reversing sides 1840.] Amusing Incidents. 271 in speaking of pictures, and probably having done so in the case of Mulready’s beautiful though unaccept- able design, he wished to know whether the term “rieht” were to be received in the artistic or the common sense. Accordingly, knocking at the office window, he modestly requested to be informed which was the right-hand side of the letter, when he was repulsed with the counter-demand, “Do you think we have nothing to do but to answer idle questions ?” the window at the same time closing with a bang. In the same year there was, as may be still re- membered, much public excitement in expectation of Her Majesty’s first accouchement; lively interest turning upon the question whether the nation would be blessed with a prince or princess. Amongst other speculation on the subject, doubtless a good deal went on in the room where the three messengers (two waiting upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer and one upon me) passed most of their time, with little else to do than to discuss the topics of the day, of which they probably supposed every one’s head to be as full as their own. For myself, as I was during the whole period engaged in the earnest effort to give my plan that full development which was essential to its success, I fear I did not give to the great question all the attention which its importance demanded; and even when the grand announcement — was matter of hourly expectation, I was completely absorbed in the device of means for overcoming one or other of the numberless difficulties with which I had to contend. In the midst of this research the door was suddenly thrown open by my messenger, with a loud exclamation, “ A Princess Royal, sir!” As the sounds which reached my ear did not inform my understanding, I merely looked up from my paper with the inquiry “ Who?” and the announce- 272 . Miss Edgeworth. (1841. ment, though repeated, still conveying but half: meaning, the only result was that I started up from mny chair, in surprise and perplexity, with a direction to my messenger that he should “show the lady upstairs.” I close the year’s history in a manner very pleasing to myself by transcribing the following extract of a letter received in the course of it from one to whose works [ felt, in common with many of my contem- poraries, deeply indebted; and whose name I can never mention but with gratitude and respect :— DEAR Sir, Captain Beaufort* told you very truly that I take a strong interest in the progress of the Penny Postage—both a public and a private interest; and I truly think that the British nation, the united empire, owes you millions of thanks for the improvements that have been made in social inter- course—in all the intercourse of human creatures for pleasure or business, affection or profit ; including the profits of litera- ture and science—foreign and domestic. * * * * * I am, dear Sir, Your obliged, Maria EDGEWORTH. * The hydrographer to the Navy. 273 CHAPTER IX. PROGRESS UNDER DIFFICULTIES. At the opening of 1841 I had been a year and a quarter in office; and, as has been seen, had been enabled, by dint of great efforts, backed by the increasing confidence of the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, to bring into operation the most striking parts of my plan; those, indeed, which many, pro- bably most, people at the time regarded as the whole plan; though the reader must be aware that very much was still lacking to its completion, to say nothing of those further improvements of which I was necessarily getting sight as I advanced in my work. If it had ever been supposed by Government that the whole plan could be established within the two years for which alone I had been engaged, either unfounded expectations must have been held as to Post Office co-operation, or I must have been accredited with such energy—moral and _ physical —such powers of convincing, persuading, or over- riding, as have been vouchsafed to few indeed. I had worked, and was still working, to the utmost extent of my power; but not only was every onward step retarded by the adverse feeling and cumbrous routine already referred to, but, as has been seen, the very maintenance of Stamp Office and Post Office action in such efficiency as to prevent clog or dis- VOL. I. T 274 Hopes and Fears. [184t. aster, had demanded of me almost incessant watch- fulness and exertion. In short, it might by this time have been perceived that to give full effect even to my published plan would require at least several years of unremitting labour; while the field of postal improvement, taken as a whole, was (as, indeed, it still is) absolutely boundless. However, I felt at this time no further anxiety about the durability of my engagement than such as related to the stability of the existing administration. Not only had Mr. Baring expressed in words his increas- ing confidence, but yet greater assurance came to me from his increasing readiness to adopt my suggestions (whenever I could get opportunity to explain them), and from his leaving the routine work, so great in amount, more and more to my decision. Nay, should there arrive the calamitous event just alluded to, the exchange of the Liberal for a Tory Administration, I could not avoid indulging in the hope, that even the latter, accepting the new order of things as they had done on a far greater question six years before,* might, if only in a spirit of emulation, carry on the good work; retaining my services as a necessary means to the end. Should the reader be inclined to think that I was dwelling too much on my own interests, let him review all the main circumstances, and I think he will judge me more charitably. Let him remember how important complete efficiency in the plan was, alike to public convenience and fiscal ends; let him remember that in the Post Office itself the plan was already declared a failure; that its very permanence was yet problematical: let him consider all the reasons there were to believe that the great ends in question could be attained only by the con- stant efforts of one who combined, with the knowledge drawn from long and laborious investigation, a pel- ® * The first Reform Act. 1841.] Feeling at Post Office. 275 sonal interest so deep that failure in this would seem to be failure in all, and he will not find it very hard to understand how, apart from private considerations (to which, nevertheless, I could not be insensible), I looked upon the retention of my post as a point of almost vital importance. However, though these thoughts could not but pass through my mind, their only immediate effect was to confirm my previous determination (if that could be strengthened) to make myself so useful that my services should be regarded as indispensable. I had yet to learn that men in power do not always prefer public good to party advantage. Meantime, was it possible that I misapprehended the state of feeling at the Post Office in respect of my plan and myself? The Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, friendly as he had shown himself to both, held a more favourable opinion, and might he not be in the right? Events were in progress towards the complete resolution of this question; but, meantime, the difference of opinion between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and me was necessarily an obstacle to progress, since it led me to urge what he was often at first, and sometimes at last, inclined to resist. I must admit, however, that the first passage In my Journal for the year 1841 which bears at all on the question of Post Office management is far from being of an adverse character ; it is as follows — ‘January 16th.—Yesterday I wrote by post to Colonel Maberly to ask for certain information which was supposed to exist, but which could not be found in the Treasury, owing to their having no index to their minutes, and I was only able to indicate very vaguely what I wanted. To-day I received copies of a letter from the Postmaster-General to the Treasury and the reply, both [written] in 1837, containing the informa- tion I desired. I mention this to show that the Post Office still deserves the high reputation it has long enjoyed for 7p 2 276 Post Office a Prompt Correspondent. [1841 promptitude in replying to letters (no unimportant conve- nience to those who, like myself, have frequent occasion to address it) and because, as I have frequently to find fault, I am the more anxious to praise when I can do it conscien- tiously.’ It may be not unprofitable to mention an arrange- ment at the Post Office, explaining, in a measure, its habitual promptitude in reply. The papers con- stantly accumulating in the Secretary’s office, I should think at the rate of a small cart-load per week, are in the keeping, not of clerks, but of a corps of mes- sengers, chosen from the general body for their superior intelligence. These, under one of their own number, manage the whole business of tying up, docketing, indexing, and arranging; and are always ready on occasion for the duty of research. The whole is admirably managed; and, paradoxical as this may be, is believed to be better done than it would be by men of higher station. Many years’ after the events now in narration, it was hastily thought, in a general revision of duties, that the head officer of the corps should be taken from a higher grade; but the change was found far from beneficial, and was soon reversed. The explanation seems to be that the higher officer, thinking himself rather lowered by his new employment, the more so as handling dusty papers must, in some degree, have marred the results of his toilet, discharged the duty in but a perfunctory manner; while those of the lower grade, justly regarding themselves as raised in trust and position, executed it as men perform a task in which they take pride. It has been seen how much care was taken to pre- vent unlawful practices relative to the stamp; and the experience of many years attests the efficacy of the means adopted. Of course, too, when discovery, or seeming discovery, was made of a flaw in our — Vo * . a se +i comma 1841.] Post Office Vagaries. 277 security, the fact was carefully withheld from the public during the period of experiment and rectifica- tion. What, then, was my surprise and vexation at an occurrence thus recorded in my journal ?— ‘ February 18th.—In the Post and Herald of this morning is a notice of a lecture at the Polytechnic Institution, from which it would appear that the lecturer exhibited electrotype imi- tations of the medallion stamp, stating, at the same time, that they could be imitated with the greatest ease, that they had consequently been abandoned, and that he was authorised by Government to make a series of experiments connected there- with. I immediately showed the paragraph to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with a view of ascertaining if he had given any such authority. le had not.’ On Mr. Cole’s applying at the Polytechnic Insti- tution, the authorities there produced an official letter from Colonel Maberly, authorismg the experiments in question, and stating that he would bear them harmless. It must be added that the experiments thus injuriously made were but a repetition of pro- cesses performed some months before, under proper authority, by Mr. Palmer, of Newgate Street; and, further, that as the stamp had now been officially registered, no attempt at imitation could be lawfully made save by authority of the Commissioners of Stamps; who, again, would have to give power by a formal warrant. The Post Office condemnation of the plan, founded on the slow progress in the number of letters, still continuing, it was a little remarkable that there came from the same quarter written warnings to the r Treasury of an expected “ break-down” from exces- Slve increase :— ‘Jowrnal, February 11th.—[The Chancellor of the Exchequer showed me] a note from Colonel Maberly which concludes thus: “If this weather lasts I fear we shall have a break-down. We are dreadfully afflicted in London—at Derby they mus 278 Extravagant Demands. [1841. have more assistance—at Bristol our clerks won't stay, their pay is too bad, and those who do remain will be worked to death. We will do as well as we can; but, take my word for it, we were never so near a break-down.” Expressions of this kind have been rather frequent of late, and it behoves me, I think, not altogether to disregard them. They appear to me to be intended to be understood thus—there will be a break- down, but the fault is not ours; the blame rests with the new system and those who forced it upon us. My reply is, if Colonel Maberly cannot carry on the new system he ought to resign; if he remain in his present position, and there is a break-down, the fault is clearly his; at all events, the blame must and ought to fall to his share. ‘ February 23rd.—|Lord Lichfield, in a note to Mr. Baring] talks in the same manner as Colonel Maberly, but even more strongly ei the oa of a meal don, : : ‘I found Mr. Baring had acted with his usual decision. He had written to desire that Lord Lichfield would state ex- plicitly the dangers he apprehended, and the additional strength required ; after which we shall look into the cases, and then he will see Lord Lichfield and Colonel Maberly on the subject.’ It will have been observed that the apprehensions set forth above are coupled with allegations of neces- sity for increased force ; and such demands, if granted as fast as they were made, would have defeated all hope of that large economy which, in my calculations, was counted upon from simplification of operations. Of the lavish course taken I proceed to give some further indication :— ‘Journal, January 29th.—Had some conversation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to future proceedings. He is becoming uneasy, like myself, at the extravagant and heed- less demands (apparently) of the Post Office for increased force. ‘March 27th.—The Postmaster-General having made a second application for two additional clerks in the Accountant- General’s Office, and two more in the Accountant for Ireland's Office, and intimated that a farther addition will probably be 1841.] . Sometimes Checked. 279 required in Edinburgh, all on account of the quarterly returns ordered some time back, I wrote to Court [the London Accountant-General] to request he would call upon me on the subject, to bring copies of the forms they have sent out, &e,, in order that I may judge what additional strength is really necessary.’ Mr. Court, calling as requested, though not till eleven days afterwards, I found that the demand for increased force was made in exclusive reference to these quarterly returns, which were entirely needless, as monthly returns, answering every purpose, were already received on the same subject. Mr. Court acknowledged this, but added that they had been ordered by Colonel Maberly. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, to whom I applied on the subject, informed me next day that Colonel Maberly and Mr. Court would adopt any plan for making these returns that I might suggest in writing. I had only to advise that they should not be made at all. ‘May 12th—The Postmaster-General having applied for what I considered a very extravagant establishment for the money-order office in Dublin, I drew a minute calling for information as to the whole amount of [money-order]| pound- age collected in Ireland, &c.; when it appeared, as I ex- pected, that such amount fell short of the minimum cost of the proposed establishment in Dublin alone. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, on my recommendation, has cut down the salaries considerably. ‘May 25th—Managed to get about a quarter of an hour with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which eight or ten cases were decided; in several instances the Postmaster- General's application for increased expenses in different offices being disallowed.’ The vigilance I had now so long exercised in rela- tion to Post Office accounts was by no means allowed to abate. The following curious instance shows that even when Post Office and Stamp Office worked 280 Correction of Accounts. (1841, together the resulting accounts might remain open to question :— ‘Journal, April 1st.—In going over the proof sheets of that part of the annual finance accounts which relates to the Post Office, I was led to suspect from their appearance that the proceeds of postage stamps sold by the Stamp Office in Ireland had been carried to the credit of the British, instead of the Irish, Post Office. Went to the Stamp Office to inquire. Pressly was confident that so gross a mistake could not have been made, but on inquiry it appeared that my suspicions were well-founded. The consequence of the mistake is that the British revenue appears to be about 15,000/. more, and the Irish. revenue 15,0002. less, than it really was. Mr. Charles Crafer, who arranges the financial accounts in the Treasury, thinks the account cannot now be altered, but he will append an explanatory note. It is strange that the Irish { Post] Office should have been satisfied with such a sub- traction from their revenue, the more so, because it makes up the greater part of the apparent deficit; the expenses m Ireland having exceeded the revenue, according to the account, by about 21,0007, though really by 6,0002. only. ‘The Stamp Office will make arrangements for preventing such a mistake in future.’ In connection with the subject of stamps, it should be mentioned that in the course of this year, Mr. Pressly, secretary to the Stamp Ottice, having observed that some of the provincial postmasters were also sub-distributors of stamps for general purposes, sug- gested the expediency of making such union the general arrangement. This suggestion I reported to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who confirmed my view in its favour, and was inclined to act upon it, at least so far as related to a number of new Post Offices about to be established in connection with the con- templated extension of rural distribution. At Mr. Pressly’s request, | wrote a minute on the subject, which was adopted by the Treasury ; but the sugges- tion, owing probably to the change of Government — _— 1841.] Post Office Inaptitude. 281 which took place shortly afterwards, was not carried ‘nto effect. After long lying dormant it was revived in the year 1863 in a Parliamentary Committee pre- sided over by Mr. Horsfall, before which, on the 13th of March, I gave evidence in favour of the measure, but the Committee reported against it; and though some further investigations were made both in the Post Office and in the Department of Inland Revenue, no positive result followed. My opinion, however, still is that the vast organisation of the Post Office might be advantageously employed at least for the distribution of all such stamps as are in frequent demand. In the following transaction, the Post Office alone was responsible :— ‘ Journal, May 19th.— Wrote two or three scolding minutes. There have been several instances lately of great inaccuracy on the part of one or two of the surveyors, who, in applying for authority to increase the expenses at certain provincial ottices, have been guilty of, to say the least, very careless misrepresentations. In the instance of the Cheltenham Office, the surveyor deducted 100/. from the gross annual income of the postmaster for house rent, whereas it afterwards appeared that the office is supplied rent free by the inhabitants. This and many other inaccuracies almost equally glaring have come before the Treasury unnoticed by the Post Office.’ The above circumstances might scarcely be worth mentioning, did they not tend to show how much my time was occupied in doing other people’s work, to the great hindrance of my own. A few more stances of this, and I have done :— ‘August 24th—The Postmaster-General reports to the Treasury that he cannot proceed with the arrangements for rural distribution unless he has a map divided into registrars’ districts, or a description of the boundaries of the aietricte. Why ie should apply to the Treasury to overcome the diffi- culty I know not (I wrote to Colonel Maberly some time ago 282 Progress of Reform Slow. [1841. in reply to a remark of his, telling him that, there was no such map in existence). However, as I would rather do the work myself than have the measure delayed, I have been to the Registration Office, Poor Law Commission, and Tithe Com- mission, to see if the necessary information for constructing a map can be obtained. I have also sent for Arrowsmith to meet me to-morrow morning, and hope by a little manage- ment to get the thing done. It was done accordingly. With distractions so numerous and so various, with a large amount of routine work, all requiring to be dealt with carefully, with opposition at the Post Office to almost every additional improvement that I proposed, and with the greatest difficulty of obtaming access to the ever-occupied Chancellor of the Exchequer, without whose sanction no step, great or small, could be taken, I found progress towards the completion of my plan but slow; a slowness the more galling because, meantime, not only general convenience, but the fiscal results of the measure were erievously suffering ; while I feared that the public, knowing that I was now in office, and yet ignorant of the trammels under which I laboured, would— as in fact a large portion of it did—charge upon the plan itself failure really due to the incompleteness of its development. It must not be supposed, however, that I was stinted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in such aid as money could procure ; for as early as February of this year, having notified to him that I should require some additional assistance, I was authorised to engage whatever I might think necessary. Of course, the irremovable pressure was from that kind of work which I could not delegate to others; and this more than once seemed likely to bear me down :— ‘ Journal, March 6th.—I have been unwell this week, and have done little more than carry on the current business. i — & 1841.] Letter Thefts—Allegations—Remedy. 283 Lawrence, whom I consulted to-day, has ordered leeches to be applied to my neck, and desires I will get holiday if pos- sible. ‘March 10th.—Received from the Chancellor of the Exchequer a very kind note, stating that Lawrence had written to him on my case. ‘He also sent for me and repeated his advice in the kindest and most friendly manner, adding that he would undertake any cases which could not wait my return. In the course of conversation I expressed my regret, half in earnest half in joke, that I should have added so much to his own labour by cutting down the Post Office revenue so mercilessly. He replied that additional taxes would have been necessary even if the postage had not been reduced, and that the reduction made the imposition of such taxes much more easy. He added that he thought the measure was working exceedingly well, and begged that I would not be uneasy about it. I am to take a fortnight’s holiday immediately, and more at Easter if necessary.’ Availing myself of this kind permission, I with- drew to Brighton the next day, deriving great benefit from my rest, though, of course, I found on my return that Mr, Baring had been unable to add my load to his own too heavy burden; so that all the papers accumulated in my absence had now to be dealt with. With the holiday at Easter I was fortunately able to dispense. Theft from money-letters increasing, of course, with increase in their number, and the Post Office autho- rities—though the ratio of loss was in fact consider- ably below that of increased remittances—affecting to regard this sequel of the late change, really so satis- factory, as a thing of sudden and portentous birth, I proposed, as a remedy, the lowering of the registration fee; which, as already mentioned, had been placed, at the demand of the Post Office, as high as a shilling ; enough to act in most cases ag a prohibitory duty ; but the Post Office opposed my proposal on the a 284 Liberal Administration Tottering. [1841. ground that the number of registered letters would be unmanageable in the forward offices; whereas it appeared by a recent return that at Birmingham, the largest forward office in the kingdom, only nine such letters passed through it per day; less than one per mail, This bugbear of “ the forward offices” will reappear in this narrative, having, indeed, served the Post Office authorities much as that of the “ Hong Merchants” had served the Hast India Company some ten years before. The Liberal Administration, which had been for some time losing ground, showed, as the parliamentary session advanced, increasing signs of weakness; the falling revenue being, of course, one of its chief difh- culties ; and I could not but feel that, for this I should probably be regarded as in some degree answerable; since the public could know little of the obstructions to the fiscal success of my plan, and would, I feared, form its conclusion by simply placing together the two facts, that the postage had been lowered to a penny and the postal revenue fallen from 1,600,000/. to 500,000/. More than ever did I regret that my proposals had not been so taken up by the Govern- ment as to admit of that gradual introduction of my plan which would have prevented this loss. It must be remembered, however, as was handsomely acknowledged by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that the postal loss was by no means the only one which the revenue had sustained; the country being at that time under one of those depressions which lessened the produce of all taxes of whatever kind. In reviewing the whole matter calmly, as I can do now, I feel also called upon to remember that if, through excess of caution, the establishment of penny postage had been delayed until such general depres- 1841.] Push on Improvements. 285 sion, combined, as it was, with other causes, had thrown out the Liberal Government, the reform would, in all probability, have been deferred, at least, until the return of the Liberals to power six years later. Be all this as it may, I felt anxious upon three points: first, would the Tories, if they came into office, attempt a reactionary course? Second, sup- posing that they left the penny rate unchanged, would they stop the progress of the other improve- ments essential to the completion of my plan? And, third, would they retain my services? I naturally clung to the wish that I might be allowed to com- plete what I sincerely believed to be a great im- provement; the more so as, with all the fond imagination of an inventor, I already seemed dimly to foresee its universal adoption producing universal benefit. I resolved, at all events, to push forward im- provement as fast as I could, in order that the Government which had given me my post might have whatever credit such improvements might bring. One of these, for which the warrant was issued on March 23rd, reduced the British postage between the United Kingdom on the one hand, and Hamburg and Lubeck on the other, from ls. 6d. and ls. 8d. respectively, to a uniform rate of 6d.; and the same reduction was extended, five months later, to Bremen : the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as he signed the latter warrant, expressing peculiar satisfaction at the advantage thus given to the city whence, as he informed me, his family originally came. Warrants signed on the same day as this latter document reduced the rates to the Western coast of South America and established rates to the lately-formed colony of New Zealand. It was with some difficulty, amidst the bustle of the time, that I got this latter 286 Improvements—Rural—Metropolitan. —_ [1841. warrant signed. Three days later the signature, if given, as is probable, would have made it the act of another Government. A yet more desirable measure was the extension of rural distribution at home. Having ascertained by a circular of inquiry that there were 400 registrars’ districts without a Post Office, I obtained sanction for the establishment of a Post Office in each of them, Lord Lichfield promising to push on the ar- rangements immediately. By very great exertion progress to this point was effected in little more than a month; but how very long the measure, thus apparently secured, had to wait for effect will appear hereafter. Concurrently with this proceeding I was fortunate enough to effect an arrangement for keeping open the Lombard Street and branch offices to a later hour. Much opposition was made to this change, and a counter measure was proposed which would have involved a needless increase of force: all this, however, was eventually overruled, but the trouble and delay attending the measure were a strong in- stance of the difficulty experienced in working out details. Amongst the anomalies I found in the Post Office, a striking one, as already implied, lay in the emolu- ments of the various provincial postmasters, which, having been settled on no rule, exhibited abundant irregularities. For this I sought a remedy. To lay down a satisfactory rule, however, required such information as was for the time unattainable, through the almost total want of systematic statistics in the Post Office. The evil of such deficiency had lately been curiously exemplified. In the year 1837, the postmasters throughout the kingdom, being called on to report the amount of their respective late letter fees, which they then retained as a_per- —— 1841.] Want of Statisties. 287 quisite, had for the most part rated it_ low, probably thinking it to their interest that their emoluments should appear small; but in the year 1840, whenit was proposed to commute such perquisite for a fixed allowance, the reports then made showed, for the most part, an enormous augmentation ; and though doubtless many of these returns were made fairly enough, yet the increase,even on the average, was surprising large. Now it was obvious that if the re- turns had been made asa matter of course from year to year, when no change was in prospect, such sudden exaggeration would have been impracticable. I con- sequently proposed to the Chancellor of the Exche- quer that there should henceforth be a yearly return of all emoluments; and that, as the Post Office appeared unwilling to undertake the necessary col- lection and classification, the duty should be added to my department. To this recommendation, which was made as early as February, I received, at the time, no decided answer; Mr. Baring, though think- ing the measure desirable, not rating the statistics so highly as I did. I again brought the measure before him, with several others, in the month of July, anxious that all should be adopted before the change then evidently approaching should take place; and again obtained a general approbation of all I proposed, without, however, any authority to proceed further. Increase in the number of letters had, meanwhile, proceeded satisfactorily :-— ; ‘Journal, February 2nd.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer 1s much pleased with the increase of letters, as shown by the comparison of the present period with the corresponding weeks of 1840, and wishes a form of return, exhibiting the results, to be prepared for Parliament. Last night the number of letters and newspapers was such, that with every exertion the mails could not be despatched in time.’ I need not say that, throughout the whole period 288 Penny Rate versus Twopenny Rate. [1841. which I am describing, I was anxiously alive to what- ever might indicate the probable course of events :— ‘ February 9th.—Herries has been moving for certain re- turns of Post Office revenue, &c., and the Chancellor of the Exchequer tells me that he thinks the Tories, especially if they get into power, will try to advance the rate to two- pence. I told him that I did not think they could succeed, at the same time reminding him that I always was of opinion that twopence would produce the larger revenue.’ Mr. Baring held the opposite opinion, and I now believe that he was right. A few months after- wards, financial difficulties increasing, I was called on to estimate the probable effect of raising the rate to twopence, and my report, made, of course, after careful inquiry and consideration, was not such as to induce Ministers to try the change. To avoid recurring to the subject, [ may here add that once only was the question revived. This was during the financial pressure consequent on the Russian war; when being called on to make a con- fidential report, I showed that, though some immediate increase of revenue might be expected from raising the rate to twopence, the benefit would probably be more than counterbalanced, in the long run, by the check to correspondence; and upon this, the project was finally abandoned. As has been seen, however, the course of the Tories was still uncertain :-— ‘April 30th.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer brought on his Budget to-night. I was under the gallery. The fories were aghast at the Free Trade proposals, which oc- cupied so much of their attention, that they had little to say on the subject of postage. Perhaps the returns, showing the steady increase of letters, may have something to do with the matter. Sir Robert Peel was quite silent on the subject; Goulburn talked some nonsense and made some — false [erroneous woul'| have been a juster term | statements i okt Williaa thal 1841.] Liberal Administration Falling. 289 with as much confidence as though he had understood what he was talking about. He was answered by Hume. ‘ May 12th.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer expressed an apprehension that Sir Robert Peel would attempt to ad- vance the postage rate to twopence. ‘May 13th—Mr. Wallace called to say that he has no doubt Ministers must resign, and that the Tories will attempt to advance the postage—he says to threepence. Last night Mr. Patrick Chalmers told me fourpence. ‘July 6th—He [the Chancellor of the Exchequer] still thinks it probable that Peel will advance the rate.’ Anxiety on this point, however, was eventually relieved :— ‘August 27th—The Chancellor of the Exchequer tells me that from what he observed in the course of his speech last night in the House of Commons, when he spoke of the reduction in postage, he is satisfied that Peel does not intend to raise the rate. * * * Cole reports that Mr. Moffatt has seen Lord Lowther, who tells him that there is no danger of the Tories raising the postage rate.’ From what has been said, it may be inferred that indications of the approaching change multiplied as time went on; and it is unnecessary for me to add that the dissolution to which the Government resorted, when defeated in its Free Trade policy, resulted in the election of a House by which it was unseated, As the catastrophe approached my personal anxiety naturally increased; a feeling readily understood and kindly recognised by the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer :— ‘May 12th— * * * This led to a conversation as to my own position, in course of which Mr. Baring expressed himself very strongly as to my zeal and skilful management and said, that if the period for renewing my engagement Were come, he should certainly propose to continue it, but that he could not, with justice to those who might succeed the present Government, renew it now. He will, however, record his opinion either in a minute or letter to myself VOL. I. u 290 My Position Doubtful. [1841. as to the manner in which I have discharged my duty. Nothing could be more kind and friendly than his whole conduct, and I feel much indebted for the open manner in which he spoke on so delicate a subject as the present position of Government. ‘ June 22nd.—Applied for an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but could see him only for a moment, in the presence of others. He was just starting for Ports- mouth (for which he sits), and will be absent a week.’ As matters were pressing, I wrote to him a letter in which, after repeating the various reasons pre- viously urged for placing the administration of my plan permanently in my own hands, I suggested for consideration the expediency of taking advantage of official changes then in progress to transfer Colonel Maberly to some other post. The letter will be found in the Appendix (H.). ‘ July 6th—Had a long audience with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and nearly emptied my box of papers. This done, he entered on the subject of my letter, and in the course of a very friendly conversation spoke to the following effect. He was afraid that there was no place vacant which could be offered to Colonel Maberly. I mentioned the vacancy in the Poor Law Commission. He first said that he thought Colonel Maberly would not like the appointment, but, on my pressing that he should be asked, Mr. Baring intimated that it had been filled up; he admitted that it was now desirable that I should be in the Post Office, and added nearly as follows: ‘If there had been a vacancy in the secretaryship of the Post Office when I first knew you I certainly should not have given you the appointment, because experience has convinced me that inventors are seldom men of business; but, having worked with you for nearly two years, I have no hesitation in saying that if there were now a vacancy I should propose to Lord Melbourne to give you the appointment.” I suggested that, as the surveyors are the agents by whom improvements are carried into effect, perhaps the object in view might be accomplished by making me Surveyor-General. He pro- mised to think of this, and, referring to our conversation of May 12th, said, that as my engagement would terminate in —— 1841] Efforts to Secure Position. 291 about two months, he should not hesitate in renewing it in some shape or other. ‘ August 20th.—Spoke again to Mr. Baring on the subject of my engagement. He stated that his intention was to renew it for a year certain, and, on my proposing an indefinite renewal, said that if that were done the question of salary must be recon- sidered (in which I acquiesced), and that he doubted whether he should be justified in such a renewal. Finally, he promised to reconsider the matter, and to show me the minute before anything was decided. I don’t think this is quite just towards myself. My measure has been adopted by Govern- ment; it has been tried under great disadvantages, owing to the continuance at the Post Office of those who are hostile to it, and still it has succeeded, and I have given entire satis- faction to Mr. Baring, as he has repeatedly assured me; I think therefore that a permanent position, either in the Post Office or the Treasury, should be given to me. It is absurd to expect that the work will ever be completed. Practically, there is no end to the improvements which it is desirable to make, and I ought not to be exposed to the anxiety resulting from the insecurity as regards my own income, in addition to that which is inseparable from my position. I would rather suffer some diminution of income and have the matter made permanent, though, considering the labour, responsibility and difficulty of my duties, I don’t think I am overpaid. ‘ August 27th.— Was interrupted after a very short interview [with the Chancellor of the Exchequer], and before I got through a tithe of my business) Had no opportunity of speaking to him, as I intended, on my own engagement, ‘August 28th.—Waited in vain till late in the evening for an interview with Mr. Baring. He has, however, promised to see me on Monday. Division in the House of Commons last night on the address (a majority of ninety-one against Ministers) makes an immediate resignation necessary, and I am, of course, anxious not only to settle my own engage- ment but several Post Office references which have been lone in hand. a ‘August 30th—Had a further conversation with the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer as to my engagement. He now intends to write me a letter on the subject, as he did when I Was first engaged; but I fear it will not be so decisive a renewal as I think it ought to be. He appears to shrink ue 2 292 Mr. Baring’s Commendatory Letter. [1841. from the responsibility of any decisive act now, which, though very considerate towards his successors, is not, I think, quite fair towards me. He is, however, quite friendly, and promises to do all in his power. In the course of con- versation he said that I must expect hereafter a change in the tone of the Post Office authorities; that from the very highest to the lowest they were hostile to me and my plan, and that now he could no longer support me such a change was probable. I think he expressed himself somewhat more strongly than facts justify, but, in the main, I fear he is correct, and if so, it is clear that the plan has been tried under most unfavourable circumstances. ‘September 1st.—I again spoke to Mr. Baring about my engagement. He has not yet written the letter, but promises to do it forthwith; the delay causes me much anxiety, and will, I fear, prevent the possibility of obtaining any modifica- tion in the letter, however desirable. Mr. Goulburn is to be the Chancellor of the Exchequer, not Sir Robert Peel, as was expected. Mr. Baring thinks this an advantageous arrangement for myself, as I shall have a better chance of access to him. Report makes Lord Lowther Postmaster- General, an arrangement which would be very favourable to my plan.’ I scarcely need say that the pleasing delusion into which I thus fell was effectually dispelled in the course of the following year :— ‘September 2nd.—On arriving at the office I found the fol- lowing letter on my table: September 1, 1841. Drar Sir, As it may be satisfactory to you to have in writing the position in which I consider you to stand, I propose to put on paper my view, in order that you may use it for the information of my successor. I wish, therefore, to state that some time ago I informed you, in reference to the Post Office business, that I thought it would be of great advantage to continue your services beyond the two years originally settled; that I did not deem it expedient to make any engagement beyond one year, but that you might consider that for one year from the expita- 1841] His Subsequent Friendship. 293 tion of the former two years your services were engaged, on the same conditions as before. I think it but justice to you not to conclude this letter without expressing to you my thanks for the unwearied and zealous assistance which you have given me in the carrying on the Post Office business. I feel satistied that without that assistance it would have been scarcely possible for the Treasury to have given any proper consideration to the arrangements for putting the scheme into effect, and I am happy in having to record my entire satisfaction with the manner in which you have conducted the business of your oltice. You will make what use you please of this letter by showing it to my successor. Yours very sincerely, Re: Barine. This is not what I could wish as regards the length of the engagement, but I am satisfied that it is all Mr. Baring considers himself justified in doing; and feeling that it would be very ungracious to object to so kind a letter, I acknowledged it as follows :— Downing Street, Sept. 2, 1841. Dear Sir, Pray accept my earnest thanks for your very kind and gratifying letter, and for the just and able manner in which you have carried my plan, so far, into effect. Looking forward with much anxiety, but in the hope that happier times for all of us may yet be in store, I have, &e., Rowxanp Hitt. This must have been one of Mr. Baring’s latest official acts, as the formal resignation of Ministers took place on the following day; and though I had subsequently, and, indeed, to the end of his life, much gratifying intercourse with him, our official relations here terminated. Of the important aid which he afterwards gave me much remains to 294 Bitterness of Change. [1841. be said; but I will here so far anticipate as to mention an incident which occurred twenty-two years after this time. Soon after my final retirement from the Post Office, happening to be at Brighton, I met Sir Francis Baring—for he had then succeeded to the Baronetcy —and presently received a call from him. In con- versation with my wife, he remarked that oftentimes, when he worked with me at the Treasury, he had disagreed with me in opinion, but had always found afterwards that he was in the wrong and I was in the right. Upon Lady Hill’s observing that she had been taught by her husband to believe all Sir Francis Baring’s decisions right, he replied, with a laugh: “ Well, then, now you have the very best authority for believing them wrong.” Three days after the date of Mr. Baring’s letter he left Downing Street for the continent. About 11 o’clock the same day Mr. Goulburn entered on the business of his office. Twenty-seven years before this time, when Bona- parte abdicated the throne of France and withdrew to Elba, a caricature was said to be privately cir- culated in Paris, representing an eagle flying out from a window in the Tuileries, while a fat goose waddled in at the door. Perhaps the reader who has followed me through my labours and anxieties, who has sympathised in my disappointments and rejoiced in my success, and who remembers, in addition, that I had been all my life a Liberal, and was by no means free from the prejudices of my party, will pardon me when I confess that my mind, at this crisis, har- boured a feeling too much resembling the scorn and bitterness which prompted the French caricature. Yet had IJ, amidst all my troubles, some aids to complacency. Of the approbation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer I have already spoken, and cer- 1841.] Testimonials. 295 tainly this was my greatest comfort. The following tokens, however, had their value. On the 8th of April, I received a very beautiful silver salver from Liverpool, accompanied with a letter from Mr. Egerton Smith, Editor of the Liver- pool Mercury, the leading journal of that town, a gentleman who had from the first been an earnest supporter of Penny Postage, and who remained its steady advocate to the end of his life. The letter informed me that the salver had been purchased with the pence contributed by thousands of his fellow-townsmen, and that Mr. Mayer, in whose works the plate had been produced, and by whom it was delivered into my hands, had waived all considerations of profit and worked con amore. The inscription on the salver is at once gratifying and simple. On July 2nd I received from Glasgow two highly- wrought silver wine-coolers, accompanied with a kind letter from Mr. Francis Reid, and bearing an inscrip- tion stating that it was “in testimony of gratitude,” from a few gentlemen of that city. To the foregoing attestations I cannot forbear to add the following extract of a letter from my valued friend the late Captain Basil Hall, R.N. :— H.M.S. Indus. Off Lisbon, August 17, 1841, My DEar Sir, * * * I made a great effort, when I was in London, just before sailing, to call on you. ' % * * * * I wished to have asked you not to intermit your intensely interesting communications about the working of your most noble measure, and which you may be sure will only be the more valuable by reason of the distance I am from any chance of personal communication. I do not ask you to write—as I know how much your time is taken up by letters 296 Captain Basil Hall. [1841. of immediate importance—but I pray you to send me any printed statements you may make, or any MS. statements which a clerk might copy. * # * May I ask for two or three copies of the Report you read to the Statistical Society ; as I have, stupidly enough, given away all those you sent me. I ought to have kept one, at least, to astonish the natives at Malta. Greatly, I assure you, it did astonish and, I need not say, delight me; and I ought long ago to have wished you joy of the glorious promise it holdsout. * * * It must indeed bea proud con- sideration to you to think that your single instrumentality has augmented the number of letters from a million and a half in four weeks (in 1839) to five millions in the be- ginning of 1841. It makes me giddy when I think of it all; and when I try to fancy the immense increase of intercommunication which these figures imply, I am lost in admiration of the boldness of your conception, and in the skill and perseverance with which you have followed it up in practice. I do not know what others feel, but I am conscious of the deepest gratitude to you, and only wish I could evince it in something more satisfactory than words. Ever most sincerely yours, Basin Hatt. Of course the unsatisfactory feelings produced by the recent change were withheld from expression ; indeed I was most anxious that nothing on my part should add to the official prejudice already known to exist against me. CHAPTER: X. NEW MASTERS. (1841-2.) On the day when Mr. Goulburn entered on the duties of his office I wrote a note to him, enclosing Mr. Baring’s letter, and requesting an interview at his convenience. Meanwhile circumstances occurred to raise my hopes :— ‘September 6th.—Called on Mr. Stephen [the late Sir James Stephen] at the Colonial Office on some postage business. He assures me that I shall find Mr. Goulburn very pleasant to transact business with—a man of high honour and of great skill in details. Mr. [now Sir John] Lefevre, whom I afterwards saw at the Board of Trade, gave a similar account of him.’ The first part of this favourable opinion was, in a measure, confirmed the same day :— ‘This afternoon I had my first interview with Mr. Goul- burn: he received me with great civility, and inquired as to the nature of my engagement, duties, &c. He appeared somewhat at a loss to know what I could have to do, and was not a little surprised when I told him that seventy-two cases had been referred to me in the month of August alone. He seemed to think that my plan was fully introduced, and did not, as it appeared to me, learn with much satisfaction that much remained to be done. We went through three or four papers that were pressing, and he readily acquiesced in all my recommendations. He is to consider whether the 298 Lord Lowther. [1841. business hereafter shall be conducted with himself or with one of the secretaries. I inquired if he saw any objection to my communicating with Lord Lowther; he replied, that he thought the more I conferred with Lord Lowther the better.’ The next day’s record was also satisfactory :— ‘September Tth—Had my first interview with Sir George Clerk, the new Secretary, and was received with great po- liteness.’ Presently, however, came passages of a somewhat different character :— ‘September 13th.—Called on Lord Lowther. Stated my own desire, and that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that I should communicate freely with him on postage matters. He did not appear to me to meet the advance cordially, but it is said that he is habitually cold, reserved, and cautious. He told me that his patent not being made out, he was not yet authorised to act, and appeared to desire that I should understand that to be a reason for restricted communication at present. I found that he had read my paper “ on the results of the plan,” &c., and the attack upon it, but he expressed no opinion on either. Altogether, I do not consider the interview very satisfactory.’ In a few days practical results of the change began to appear. An application which I made to the Post Office for needful information was declined, on the alleged authority of the new Postmaster-General, unless made according to forms which would have made the actual slow progress intolerably slower ; and, at the same time, papers arriving at the Trea- sury from the Post Office, which hitherto had been all handed over to me, were now almost entirely withheld. On the former point, however, matters were set right for the time by a second interview with Lord Lowther, who, I found, had acted in the belief that he was merely continuing the previous practice, and who appeared annoyed at having been P 1841.] Explanations and Arrangements. 299 misled. By his authority I wrote a letter to Colonel Maberly, referring alike to his lordship’s intentions, and to the Treasury Minute in which my right for immediate information was distinctly laid down. My letter, which I wished to soften as much as possible, contained the following passage :— ‘Let me add, that though clearly entitled to act as I have done, I would at once have given up my claim and adopted the suggestion contained in your note, if I were not convinced that to resort to the formality of Treasury Minutes in the numerous instances in which inquiry is necessary would seriously retard the progress of business.’ The former order being thus re-established at the Post. Office, there remained to seek a similar resto- ration at the Treasury. Here, however, Mr. (now Sir Charles) Trevelyan (Assistant Secretary to the Treasury) had kindly intervened on my behalf, strongly recommending that the opportunity of checking the Post Office expenditure should not be taken from me, and had procured from Sir George Clerk a promise to consult with Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Goulburn on the subject ; but as no further result was obtained, I wrote to the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, suggesting that, in my present lack of employment, I should either proceed with measures for the further introduction of my plans, or that if this were at the time impracticable, I should be allowed an interval of entire repose after the heavy labours of the last two years. This letter produced an immediate effect, Mr. Tre- velyan, Sir George Clerk, and even the Chancellor of the Exchequer all speaking to me on the subject in the course of the same day; explanations were given, arrangements made (a kind of compromise which I hoped would, in operation, gradually put all things right), and the desired holiday most readily granted. 300 Mr. Wallace's Disclaimer. [1841. “Everything,” says my journal, “was said in the most polite, and, to all appearance, friendly manner, and altogether things have assumed a much more favourable aspect.” Accordingly, five days later, I left home for the lake district : certainly my term of holiday was very little interrupted with business, nor did I find more than three or four papers awaiting me on my return a month afterwards. One intervening incident, however, I must not omit to mention, The original conception of a uniform penny rate has been more than once, of late years, attributed to Mr. Wallace. How far that generous-hearted man was from making such a claim himself may be gathered from the following passage in a speech delivered by him at Aberdeen, and re- ported in the Aberdeen Herald of October 2nd :— ‘And here let me say, once for all, that to Mr. Hill alone is the country indebted for that scheme, for he is the real inventor, and its only discoverer, while the honour conferred to-day upon me can only apply to working it out in Parlia- ment.’ I may observe that, gratifying as such attestation naturally was, I so little expected at that time any dispute as to the true authorship of the plan, that I did not even record the fact in my journal; which, indeed, presents a perfect blank from the day of my departure to that of my return. The benefit derived from my holiday was not checked by my first interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer :— ‘ November 5th.—Got through much business with the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer very satisfactorily.’ Nevertheless, the same interview ushered in what afterwards proved a very serious matter. It was indeed the beginning of the end; since the move 1941-42.) Unfavourable Changes. 301 then first announced eventually led, as I was informed, and as I fully believe, to my being driven from office. Before treating of this, however, it will be conve- nient to deal with various other matters. The withdrawal of routine papers from my charge having, of course, diminished my amount of work, it was notified to me that my establishment should be reduced, and suggested that Mr. Cole’s services might be dispensed with. While admitting this on the supposition that affairs remained on their present footing :— ‘T expressed an opinion (November 10th) that it would be better to employ the whole strength of the establishment, and offered to go into the Post Office to organise the registration of letters and superintend the execution of the remaining parts of my plan, &c. ; all of which he [ Mr. Trevelyan] under- took to report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but intimated that his instructions were to reduce the establish- ment, and talked of my doing with one clerk, to which I decidedly objected. ‘ November 11th.—Mr. Trevelyan told me that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had decided with regard to Cole (he leaves on January 10th, at the end of his quarter) ; that he appeared well inclined as to my going into the Post Office, and would write to the Postmaster-General on the subject. ‘January 8th, 1842.—Cole leaves me to-day. The progress of the Penny Postage both before and after its adoption by Government, has been greatly promoted by his zeal and activity.’ Meantime, however, it had been ordered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that all papers relative to the Post Office, by whomsoever dealt with, should afterwards be shown to me; in order that I might be made fully aware of the course of proceeding. Upon reading over the papers which had been disposed of without being referred to me, I had the pleasure to find that the manner in which they had been dealt with was on the whole satisfactory. 302 Ups and Downs. [1841-42. The inconvenience of previous reticence soon appeared :— ‘ December 9th, 1841.—A communication from the Post Office, and one from the Admiralty, regarding the West India mails, having been referred to me, I stepped over to the Foreign Office to consult with Mr. Murray with reference to certain instructions to the Consuls, when I found that the Post Office was communicating with the Foreign Office as well as the Treasury, and the whole matter was getting into inextricable confusion ; this has arisen in consequence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer having disposed of some of the papers without referring them to myself. I shall be able to put the matter right, and trust that it will now be left in my hands. No time is to be lost, as the first packet sails on January Ist, and the detailed arrangements for transmitting the mails from port to port and collecting and remitting the postage remain to be made.’ All this I was fortunately able to effect. Gradually I seemed to inspire some amount of confidence :— ‘ December 11th.—This week I have had several difficult cases not connected with penny postage, and I think I per- ceive, on the part of Sir George Clerk, a tendency to rely more on me than heretofore.’ Similar entries appear on December 18th and 24th; but within two months the favourable aspect changed :— ‘February 12th, 1842.—I have had three or four cases referred to me this week, but by far the greater number, though certainly the least difficult, are decided in the Treasury. This circumstance, coupled with the total silence on the part of the Chancellor of the Exchequer with regard to my recent letters to him, shows, I fear, that no friendly feeling is entertained towards myself, and if so, towards my plan.’ This impression was gradually confirmed by sub- sequent events. ee 1842,] Progress almost Barred. 303 While support at the Treasury was thus feeble and vacillating, I could have very small hope of aid from the Post Office. It has indeed been seen that Lord Lowther had withdrawn all objection to my calling for returns as before; but these, though the informa- tion I was able to extract from them was of use, were in themselves a constant source of trouble from their inaccuracy :— ‘March 8th, 1842.—Sent [to the Post Office] the financial returns recently made to the Treasury, for correction. Led- ingham cannot convince that they are wrong (which they clearly are in principle), and they are come back uncor- rected. It is strange that men whose sole duty it is to keep accounts should not only blunder, but be unable to see the error when pointed out.’ It was in this account, I believe, but certainly in one from the same functionary, that the balance carried forward at the close of a quarter changed its amount in the transit; and when [ pointed out this fact as conclusive against the correctness of the account, it was urged that, without such modification, the next quarter’s account could not be made to balance. Happily, however, this impossibility gave way, so that at length the error was fully admitted, and, by rectification in details, the due result obtained. Errors, however, did not end here :— ‘May 20th, 1842.—Received the Parliamentary Returns from the Post Office. Very inaccurate. Sent Ledingham with them to the Post Office to get them corrected.’ In short, it is literally true that an accurate return or statement in detail of any kind from the Post Office was at this time a rare exception. IfI had found it hard to make head previously to the late change, I found progress now almost im- practicable ; and, though I persevered in unremitting 304 Penny Tate Safe—Error. (1842. effort, I had little indeed of that encouragement which is derived from the prospect of speedy success. For some time, as already said, I had even con- siderable anxiety about retrogression; but these fore- bodings, at least, were not confirmed by the event :— ‘ March 7th, 1842.—To-day’s Morning Post has a leader on the subject of the financial measures to be brought forward by Sir Robert Peel on Friday, from which the following is an extract: “It is conjectured by some that Mr. Rowland Hill’s Penny Postage inroad upon a revenue which could ill afford such an experiment, is to be counteracted, not by the re- storation of the old system, but by an increase to the uniform rate of postage. The objections to this are that it would not do much to supply the deficiency, and that it would be an interference with an experiment deliberately adopted by a former Parliament, and not yet acknowledged by advocates to have failed in a financial point of view.” ’ It is to be feared that to this very day the “ ad- vocates ” remain as obstinately unconvinced as ever :—- ‘ March 12th, 1842.—Penny Postage is: safe. Sir Robert Peel, in announcing his financial measures last night, states that he does not intend to advance the rate, at least at present. He speaks highly of the social advantages of Penny Postage, and expresses an opinion that the measure has not yet had a full trial. But he states, erroneously, that the cost of the packet service defrayed by the Admiralty exceeds the Post Office net revenue.’ This was, I believe, the first appearance of a statement which, in one form or other, has ever since tended to perplex or mislead the public. More of this hereafter. Of my efforts for improvement during this year of difficulties I propose to speak in less detail than heretofore, limiting attention to a few matters of chief importance. My labours were not altogether ineffectual, though for the most part, as already in- timated, effect was rare and limited. Tosome extent ae a a a a 1842] . Rural Distribution. 305 the rule already adopted with regard to new salaries and additional emoluments must, I think, have acted to check extravagance, even when detailed control had passed from my own hands; and I may add that an occurrence about this time, due to past proceedings, showed in a striking manner the value of the rule :— ‘ June 11th, 1842.—Week’s work chiefly a large number of salary cases, 7.¢., applications for advances, allowances, &c., which have been waiting ever since May, 1841, for returns ordered from the Post Office. Many prove on investigation to be utterly groundless: whether this explains the delay of twelve months in making the returns (some indeed are not even yet sent in) I cannot say,’ Of course my chief aim at this time, supposing the penny rate to be secure, was to introduce mea- sures for increased facility, on which depended, in great degree, the multiplication of letters, and for improved economy to render such increase ade- quately beneficial to the revenue. It will be remembered that one of the last acts of the late Chancellor of the Exchequer was to give the Treasury sanction to a plan for extending rural distribution. The necessity for such a measure at the time is abundantly shown in the following summary, which I subsequently gave in evidence, the items of which, though literally correct, will scarcely be credited in the present day :— ‘The establishment of rural Post Offices does not appear to have been regulated by any well-defined principle. In some districts, owing apparently to the greater activity of the surveyors, they are exceedingly numerous; in others, of superior relative importanc:, they are comparatively in- frequent. Some places, of 200 or 300 inhabitants, have them ; others, with 2000 or 3000, are without. ‘Of the 2100 registrars’ districts, comprised in England and Wales, about 400, containing a million and a half of VOL 1. X 306 An Authorised Reform Barred. [1842. inhabitants, have no Post Offices whatever. ‘The average extent of these 400 districts is nearly 20 square miles each; the average population about 4000. The average popu- lation of the chief place of the district about 1400 ; and the average distance of such chief place from the nearest Post Office between four and five miles. ‘ Again, while we have seen that those districts which are altogether without Post Offices contain, in the aggregate, a million and a half of inhabitants, it can scarcely be doubted that even those districts which are removed from this class by having a Post Office in some one or other of their towns or villages contain, in their remaining places, a much larger population destitute of such convenience. The amount of population thus seriously inconvenienced the Post Office has declared itself unable to estimate; but it is probable that in England and Wales alone it is not less than four millions. The great extent of the deficiency is shown by the fact, that while these two divisions of the empire contain about 11,000 parishes, their total number of Post Offices of all descriptions is only about 2000. ‘In some places guas? Post Offices have been established by carriers and others, whose charges add to the cost of a letter in some instances as much as 6d. A penny for every mile from the Post Office is a customary demand.’ By the plan sanctioned by Mr. Baring, an office was to be established forthwith in every registrar's district where as yet none existed; my intention being to propose such further extension, from time to time, as experience might justify. In my triumph at carrying this measure through the Treasury before the change of Ministers, I forgot to make due allowance for the Post Office’s power of passive resistance; and was therefore unprepared for a discovery which I accidentally made four months later, viz., that Mr. Baring’s minute on rural distribution had been suspended by Mr. Goulburn. — Of the reason for this suspension, I could never, so long as 1 remained in office, get any information; but more will appear on the subject hereafter. ere a lew oil 1842.] Attempts at Heonomy. 307 I have spoken of the great and increasing expense of railway conveyance. Convinced that there was room for economy, I had directed a portion of my attention to this department :— ‘ September 10th, 1841.—Completed a long minute on the subject of a proposed day mail to Newcastle-on-Tyne, in the course of which I have endeavoured to establish some principles with reference to day mails, and to point out modes by which the cost of railway conveyance in this and other similar cases might be greatly reduced. Sent draft to Lieutenant Harness for his perusal.’ I cannot mention the name of Lieutenant (now Colonel) Harness, without adding that I always found in him a very zealous and eflicient co-operator. I owe much to the information and assistance which he yielded me from time to time. The plan I proposed, which was upon the whole more convenient for the public than the existing arrangement, involved a saving of about 50001. a year; and it was with much satisfaction that five months later (February 10th, 1842) I learnt that it had received the approbation of the Postmaster- General. How I was unexpectedly prevented from myself carrying this important project into effect will be shown a few pages later. A second railway case, and certainly a remarkable one, was as follows :— ‘January 15th, 1842.—There are two railway mails from Birmingham to Gloucester and back, both late at night, and with an interval of only about two hours between: the cost of each is about 5000/. per annum, and after a careful investigation of the subject I think there is little doubt that one of the two is unnecessary ; certainly the reason for it given by the Post Office on my application is unsatisfactory.’ x2 308 Imaginary Saving. [1842 I consequently prepared a minute embodying my views, which was adopted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but brought a demurrer from the Post- master-General, who maintained the necessity for the double despatch in a Report which, however, I found to be full of blunders and misstatements. After obtaining further information, and further examining the whole subject, I succeeded in not only devising a plan for withdrawing one of the mails without the shghtest injury to the public service, but in indicating subsidiary changes which promised to procure for the public more convenience from the one train than was then afforded by the two. This device, however, involved so much labour, and re- quired so much caution, that my Report was not completed until I was almost on the point of leaving the Treasury. After my retirement, however, the Treasury, using this report, forced upon the Post Office the adoption of my plan. I must here mention that, more than twenty-five years after this period, I first learnt from Mr. Edward Page, then Inspector-General of Mails, that before the receipt at the Post Office of my report on the sub- ject, he himself had made the same discovery, and suggested a remedy, which, however, was rejected by the higher authorities of the Post Office. Meanwhile, a curious incident occurred, which, however small in itself, showed how far the Office was competent to deal correctly with questions of economy. On the Glasgow and Ayr Railway the practice had been to place the bags under the care of the railway guard; a service for which the company received 40/. a year. A Report came to the Treasury from the Postmaster-General, showing that he had superseded this service by the appointment of a mail guard, and taking credit to himself for economy s0 effected by the discontinuance of such payment; the _— 1842.] Modes of Waste. 309 self-gratulation being made in the apparent forget- fulness that the mail guard’s salary would be some- where about double the sum saved. One form of extravagant expenditure on railway conveyance was in occupation of superfluous space :— ‘ August 2nd, 1842.—In one instance, to which | have called attention, namely, the day mail between York and Nor- manton, the maximum weight of the bags being only two quarters twenty-four pounds, two compartments of a second- class carriage are occupied by the Post Office, that is to say, sixteen passengers are displaced to make room for what is about equivalent to the luggage of one. Recommended a thorough investigation of the subject.’ In consequence of this very startling discovery, the Post Office was directed to report upon the state of all the railway lines in respect of space occupied, with a view to preparing some very stringent regu- lations for putting a stop to such waste of public money ; the Report, however, had not been received when my services came to an end. Another form of waste arose from inaccuracy as to the length of railway used by the Post Office on particular lines, the award, according to a common practice, fixing not a gross sum, but a mileage rate; thus, after much dunning for information, I found the Post Office so overpaying one company by as much as 400/. a year, though the true distance was stated both in its official notices to the Company and in its own time bills; and, what was more remark- able, after I had pointed out the error, persisting in justification of the amount. I consequently drew up a Report on the subject, which will be found in the evidence taken betore the Parliamentary Committee ou Postage of 1843. Meantime, however, I had had the satisfaction to perceive that, little as my services were estimated at the Post Office, the agitation produced by my 310 Fraud—Safequard Rejected. (1842, movements had led to some efforts towards improve- ment, the Postmaster-General proposing, in conse- quence of my representations, to discontinue a railway mail from Derby to Nottingham and to substitute coach conveyance, by which a saving of about 10002. a year would be effected at no loss of time in the delivery of the letters, as the whole transit was in the night. My serious attention was also drawn to the Money- Order Department, in relation to which I drew a long minute, suggesting means for simplifying the ac- counts, and thus effecting a great saving in the cost of management. Sir George Clerk appeared to be much struck with the facts of the case, but, consider- ing it too important for his decision, said he would consult the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It so happened that the necessity for decided measures was demonstrated by the discovery of an alarming fraud at a provincial office. The post- master had absconded with a debt to the revenue of more than 2200/., of which only 1000/. was covered by sureties. It was fortunate that his flight had not been taken a year earlier, when his debt was much larger, varying from 3000/. to 5000/. Even as it was, but for energetic measures taken by the Post Office the loss would have been greater. I pointed out to Sir George Clerk that about 250,000/. ap- peared to be in the hands of the several postmasters, and that other losses must be expected. Sir George Clerk concurred in this view, and said the Chancellor of the Exchequer would speak to the Postmaster- General on the subject. Nevertheless my minute * was set aside, a mere temporary arrangement being substituted. It may be convenient to remark here that the mouey-order accounts with the several postmasters, * “Appendix to the Report of the Committee on Postage (1848),’ p. 56. 1842.] Registration— Competing Plans. all which were then made up and transmitted to the Central Office for audit but once a quarter, are now made up and audited every day ; and that no such fraud, at least to any serious amount, has occurred since 1847, in which year I subjected the Money- Order Office to a thorough revision. In reference to the serious case reported above, I have great pleasure in mentioning that the son of the defaulter, moved only by filial obligation, event- ually made good the whole loss. I return now to the notification made to me by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on November 5th, 1841,* a notification already spoken of as fraught with serious consequences. He informed me that the Postmaster-General had proposed to establish a compulsory registration of money letters, with a shilling fee to be charged to the receiver when not paid by the sender. I pointed out the impracticability of the plan, and showed how the same end might be obtained by unobjectionable means. It was arranged that I should see the Post- master-General and prepare a Report on the subject. Had my own plan of registration been adopted, the complaints on which the Postmaster-General’s recommendation was based could scarcely have arisen :— ‘November 8th, 1841.—Saw Lord Lowther. He defends the Post Office plan so earnestly that I suspect it must be his own, At length, however, he partially admitted its defects, and listened rather impatiently to mine [my plan, not my defects, which would perhaps have had patient hear- Ing]. Having an engagement, he requested me to come again to-morrow. One thing surprised me much—he could hot see that an increase of lost letters, if only proportionate - the increase of letters transmitted, argued no increase of risk,’ * See p. 300. 312 Resistance— Consultation. [1842 To illustrate this further I will mention here that, whereas the number of money letters passing through the otfice had increased (according to Colonel Maberly) by tenfold, the number of missing money letters (as shown by a Parliamentary Return obtained a few months later) was no more than five and a-half- fold; so that the risk in transmission, the only thing really in question, had very sensibly diminished ; an improvement the more remarkable, both because previously to the establishment of penny postage the number of such losses was in rapid increase, and because, as already mentioned, the Post Office had subsequently discontinued a practice of gratuitously registering all letters supposed to contain articles of value. When I again called on Lord Lowther as re- quested, I found him still decidedly averse to lower- ing the registration fee, though otherwise half inclined to adopt my plan. As he desired further information, I undertook to send him my former Reports on the subject, as also the draft Report then in preparation, which I accordingly did. The draft, however, was returned without acquiescence, and his lordship’s note seemed to me to be written in no friendly spirit: in consequence I consulted with my brothers and other friends. ‘ November 23rd, 1841.—They all agree with me as to the necessity of adopting decisive measures with a view of ascer- taining whetber or not the further improvements which. form important parts of my plan are to be carried out fairly and speedily, and if not, that a regard to my own reputation will require me to resign. Also that the present is a case in which I should make a stand, without, however, pushing matters to an extreme all at once.’ I accordingly sent in my Report,* next day, to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, together with a letter,t * ©Report of Postage Committee (1843),’ Appendix, p. 7. Tt pede 1842.] Proposals and Oljections. 313 in which I offered my services, under the approval of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Post- master-General, to carry the proposed measures into effect, undertaking the whole responsibility, and guaranteeing that there should be neither a stoppage of the mails nor any additional expense beyond the amount of the additional fees. ‘ November 24th, 1841.—Wrote also to the Postmaster- General, expressing regret that I had not had the good for- tune to satisfy him as to the practicability of the measures which I had recommended, and a hope that a proposal (viz, the above) with which I had accompanied the Report would remove his objections. ‘November 25th, 1841.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer has read my Report, but apparently with little attention, for he is by no means master of the subject; he seems to con- sider the plan objectionable, but gives reasons for objecting to it which ought to recommend it. Among others, that almost everybody would take receipts, that is to say, that the gross revenue would be increased nearly fifty per cent! He appears to think, with the Post Office people, that the main object in view is to keep down the quantity of business. My offer to undertake the registration had evidently been overlooked. I called special attention to it, however, and the whole matter is to be referred privately to the Post- master-General. I begged that it might be referred officially, in order that the objections, if any, might be recorded, but this was overruled, at least for the present.’ The Post Office bugbear of an overwhelming number of registered letters, which was to produce prodigious trouble and disorder at the “forward offices,” I completely exposed in a supplementary Report.* _ As gradually appeared, however, instead of push- Ing forward an important improvement, I was only strengthening Post Office hostility. My reports, to- gether with one subsequently received from the Post- * ‘Report of Postage Committee (1843),’ Appendix, p. 11. 314 Hostility versus Argument. [1842. master-General, were placed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the hands of Mr. Trevelyan; who sent for me on December 29th, 1841, to talk over the matter. Unluckily, however, he had not read over my reports, being deterred by their unavoidable length, but called on me to give him their pith. To make this summary more conclusive, I proposed, first, to examine the reports sent in by the Postmaster- General; and at length, though Mr. Trevelyan doubted Mr. Goulburn’s approbation, I prevailed upon him, by the mere plea of justice, to allow me to read it. I found, however, that while it was written in a most hostile spirit, it did not establish a single ground of objection to my plan, though my offer to undertake the necessary organisation was treated with scorn ; and absurdly represented as one which would supersede the authority of the Postmaster-General. It was inti- mated, nevertheless, that the plan itself would be carried into execution if required, though it would lead to all sorts of evils; a prediction which I knew it would be very easy for the Post Office to fulfil. Mr. Trevelyan, after considering all that I laid before him, told me that he agreed entirely with me, and had advised Mr. Goulburn accordingly. Meantime, I had received some information from a private source. ‘January 18th, 1842.—Mr. reports that Lord L. is very apprehensive of attacks in Parliament for the no-progress hitherto made, and uneasy as to the working of his registration scheme. That in this state of mind he is inclined to rely more and more on Maberly, a tendency which he, ——, thinks has been promoted by the officials having persuaded him that the activity of the Merchants’ Committee, and the pressure from the public geuerally, . is attributed to myself. —— says Lord L. works very hard, gettmg up frequently at six in the morning, but 1843.] Beginning of End. 315 that his attention is given to small matters, and that he constantly changes his objects. ‘This account agrees so well with the spirit manifested in Lord L.’s Report on registra- tion that I cannot doubt its accuracy. Unfortunately Lord L. is both cold and suspicious, otherwise I would go to him and trust to the effect of a plain, open, and straightforward statement of the whole case. With such a man as Mr. Baring such would be the true policy; with Lord Lowther it would be useless, perhaps mischievous. ‘January 27th, 1842.—Having prepared another letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I sent it in this morning.* In this letter I take no notice of the Postmaster-General’s Report, but renew my offer to undertake the registration, and in so doing, state distinctly that I am ready to submit to the “immediate” authority of the Postmaster-General, so that there is no longer any pretence for misunderstanding my intentions. I also enumerate several important and urgent measures of Post Office improvement, which have occupied my attention while the question of registration has been pending, and propose to submit ‘the details for con- sideration if the decision should be still further delayed. I think this letter will make it very difficult for them to prevent the progress of the measure if they are so disposed.’ _ My reason for entering into this detail on the sub- ject of registration, was that, as already implied, it Was my proceedings on this subject which eventually caused me the loss of my post. I had, it appeared, crossed with my advice a strong wish of the Post- master-General’s; and this, as I was afterwards told, was never forgiven, but became, more than any other single circumstance, the ground of the demand which he is said to have made soon afterwards for my dismissal. I have only to add that, even when My opposition was set aside, the course recommended by the Post Office was not taken; the warner was dismissed, but the warning was remembered; and though Lord Lowther remained Postmaster-General “ “Report of Postage Committee of 1843,’ p. 28. 316 Increase in Postal Revenue. (1842. as much as three years after my removal, his plan of high-feed compulsory registration was never carried into effect. I should have felt my own post less assailable had the Post Office revenue been more rapid in its recovery. I have already referred to such depression as was caused by increased Post Office expenditure, and by those circumstances which at the time de- pressed the revenue in every department; and it must be added that appearances were made worse by the manner in which the accounts of the Post Office were kept, the effect at this time being to reduce an actual increase for the quarter, amounting to between 30,0002. and 40,000/., to an apparent decrease. Later, however, the improvement began to be manifest :— ‘April 6th, 1842.—The revenue accounts show an increase of 90,0007. on the year. * * * The Post Office revenue is the only department * * * which does not show a defi- ciency on the quarter, a phenomenon which puzzles the Tory papers amazingly.’ It had already been shown in the statement made by Sir Robert Peel on March 12,1842, that a strong disposition existed somewhere to make the loss result- ing from the adoption of penny postage appear as large as possible, nor could I doubt as to the quarter in which this disposition existed. Indeed subsequent events made everything clear. The inference which it was intended that the public should draw from the statement that the cost of the packet service exceeded the whole Post Office revenue, long served to mislead that large portion of the public which, for want of time or ability to exa- mine, takes plausible appearances for facts. The fallacy, nevertheless, was fully exposed within two months of its first appearance. — i342] Fallacy Refuted—EKrror tenacious. 317 Lord Monteagle, on June 21, 1842, in a debate on the Income Tax,* said :— ‘When his noble friend (Lord Fitzgerald) adverted to the revenue formerly derived from the Post Office, and stated that the whole of the revenue had disappeared, his noble friend was labouring under a very great mistake. 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 Affghanistan or China. It was as distinct from the Post Office as the expense of the army or navy.’ At a subsequent period, as will appear in its proper place, I was called upon to expose the fallacy more in detail; but everybody knows that an error once adopted is slow of eradication; and this par- ticular one, gross as it really is, is not only still to be met with here and there among the public, but has actually been thrice put forth, since my final with- drawal from office, in the Annual Report of the Postmaster-General ;} so that even now it is far from superfluous to point out, that in comparing the fiscal results of the new system with those of the old, the cost of the packet service should be excluded from the one as it always was from the other; nor is it less necessary to urge that whenever it is deemed advisable to maintain a line of conveyance for political purposes, or for any other purposes not really postal, the expense, barring a due charge for such postal service as. may incidentally be performed, should be charged, not to the Post Office, but to its appropriate department ; confusion of accounts being always detrimental to economy and obstructive to reform, Naturally, however, I received, during this difficult * Hansard,’ vol. xiv. p- 321, ft ‘Tenth Report of the Postmaster-General,’ pp. 37, 88; ‘Eleventh Report of the Postmaster-General,’ pp. 16, 17; ‘Twelfth Report of the Postmaster-General,’ pp. 34, 35, 318 Lack of Public Support. [1842. period, but limited support from without. The public, satisfied with having obtained the adoption of the penny rate, the reform in which it was most interested, bestirred itself little in advocacy of those further improvements in which its interest was less direct and far less obvious; many persons, indeed, regarding penny postage pure and simple as the be- all and end-all of the matter. Of course, I could no longer communicate with the public, my mouth being officially sealed; and I may observe here, that it were well for the public to understand how com- pletely this is the case with all subordinate officers. Whatever may be their views on the proceedings of their department, whatever schemes they may form or adopt for improvement, or, on the other hand, whatever injustice may be done to them by their official superiors, or whatever charges may be made against them in Parliament, by the public press, or otherwise—comment, or even statement of facts, is forbidden by official rule; a rule, which being un- known to the public, often leads to erroneous infer- ence, and encourages attacks which otherwise would be regarded as cowardly. From one more quarter, however, useful assistance was given at this time; the Merchants’ Committee sending in a memorial to the Treasury, signed by every one of its members, Whig or Tory, urging the complete execution of my plan, and following up this step with a deputation to the Postmaster-General, which ended in their receiving an assurance that Lord Lowther was desirous of carrying out my mea- sures fully and fairly “equally so with his prede- cessor.” Of the value of the assurance the reader may easily judge by the parallel. The following was not a little encouraging :— ‘January 26th, 1842.—Received a letter from Mr. George Stokes, Hon. Secretary of the Parker Society (a Society of 1942.] Unanswered Letters. 319 more than 4000 members, the object of which is to reprint the works of the early Reformers), stating that the very existence of the Society is owing to penny postage. The whole letter is very gratifying.’ I must now trace the chain of circumstances which more immediately preceded my dismissal, though the connection will in the outset be scarcely more visible to the reader than it was, at the time, to myself. I have already spoken of the letter which I had addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the day when he succeeded Mr. Baring in office, and mentioned the result, which was for the time satis- factory. I have also spoken of my attempts rela- tive to registration, and the offer of my services, subject to the Chancellor’s approval, and that of the Postmaster-General, for the organisation, and, “till fully established,” the execution of the measures proposed. The letter in which this offer was made, and which is dated November 24, 1841, having received no reply, was followed, on December 2, by a short note, covering a further report on the same subject.* On January 27, 1842, no reply having yet been received to either of these two communications, I again wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging that, if registration could not be dealt with, I might be allowed to proceed with some other part of my plan, giving at the same time a list of measures out of which one or more might be selected.7 — This letter also obtaining no reply, I wrote again on March 7, mentioning other parts of my plan which might be introduced pending the question of registration, adverting to fresh evidence of their feasibility and advantage, and again requesting that * See ‘ Report of Select Committee on Postage ( 1843),’ Appendix, p. 11. t ‘Report of Select Committee on Postage (18+3),’ p. 28. 320 Earnest Appeal. [1842. I might be allowed to proceed in their introduction under the authority of the Postmaster-General. I added the actual results thus far obtained, viz., that the chargeable letters annually delivered in the United Kingdom had already increased from 75 mil- lions to 208 millions, the increase in the London dis- trict post letters being from about 13 to 23 millions; that the illicit conveyance of letters was in effect sup- pressed; that the gross revenue was about two-thirds of the largest amount ever obtained, and nearly, if not fully, as great as that under the fourpenny rate ; that the net revenue amounted to about 565,000/. show- ing an increase, notwithstanding many counteracting causes, of 100,000/. upon that for the first year of penny postage; and lastly, that the inland, or penny post letters, were decidedly the most profitable, if not the only profitable, part of the Post Office business. * The letter concluded as follows :— ‘Looking to the progress now making, under the unfavour- able circumstances to which I have adverted, I see no reason to doubt that, if the measure were fully and zealously carried into effect, a very few years, with a revived trade, would suffice to realise the expectations which I held out. I also firmly believe that those circumstances which have tended in no inconsiderable degree to diminish the utility of the | measure * * * may be avoided; and that without any in- crease of expense, but simply by improved arrangements. * * * * * ‘Let me hope, Sir, that I may not be considered as un- reasonably urgent in thus addressing you. Let me beg of you to consider with indulgence the peculiarity of my position: that I have been appointed, in the words of the Treasury minute, to assist “in carrying into effect the penny postage ;” that, although I have no direct influence over the arrangements, they are generally supposed by the public to be under my control; that, my name being identified with * «Report of Select Committee on Postage (1848),’ p. 29. - 1842,] Answerless Answer. Bad , the plan, I am, to a great degree, regarded as responsible for its success. On these grounds I confidently, but respectfully, appeal to your kindness and justice to afford me the means of satisfying public expectation by gradually carrying the plan into execution in its fulness and integrity.’ To this letter I received, a fortnight afterwards, a brief reply, if that can be called reply in which no real answer is given, and no definite question even touched upon.* I subsequently wrote two other letters (one on March 23, and the other on May 31) of the same general tenour, but with every modification which I could think of as likely to lead to the desired result ;+ but to neither of these did I ever receive any reply ; so that the short and evasive answer just mentioned was the only notice ever taken of the various attempts indicated in the foregoing letters to obtain atten- tion to the several improvements which I sought to introduce. I have only to add that all the measures then so slighted are now in operation, tend- ing alike to public convenience and to the increase of the revenue. Meantime, other circumstances were occurring which eventually brought matters to a crisis. The proposed establishment of a day mail to New- castle, in accordance with my recommendation, having rendered it desirable that I should visit that town, and Mr. Hodgson Hinde, the Member for Newcastle, having urged that my journey should be made without delay, I applied to Sir George Clerk and obtained his ready acquiescence. Wishing at the same time to visit some: of the country offices, and scrupulously desiring to avoid any approach to breach of rule, I wrote to Colonel Maberly for authority so to do, but this request being referred by him to the Postmaster-General, and representations * “Report of Select Committee on Postage (1848), p. 30. + p. 31, WO: I. = 322. Announcement of Dismissal. [1842. being made by the latter to the Chancellor of theEx- chequer, the end was that the sanction to my journey was altogether withdrawn, the management of the matter being handed over to the Post Office; with what prospect of good result I leave the reader to judge. This, however, was not all; for soon after- wards, viz., on July 12, I received a letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, not in reply to any of mine, but announcing that from the ensuing 14th of September (when my third year at the Treasury would end) my “further assistance” would be “ dis- pensed with ;” the notification, however, concluding with the following acknowledgment :— ‘In making this communication I gladly avail myself of the opportunity of expressing my sense of the satisfactory manner in which, during my tenure of office, you have discharged the several duties which have been from time to time committed to you.’ Being very unwell at the time when this letter reached me, and of course far from benefited by its perusal, I was constrained to apply to Sir George Clerk for a short leave of absence—a request readily eranted. After a little repose I prepared ani answer to Mr. Goulburn’s letter, which after much reconside- ration and consultation with my brothers, I sent in on July 29th. Ofcourse its general purpose was to urge that the late decision might be reconsidered; but, to ease matters, I offered, as I had done ona previous occasion, to work for a time without salary.* Meanwhile, however, additional discouragement had occurred from the fact that, in reply to an objec- tion raised against my salary by Colonel Sibthorpe, the intended discontinuance of my services had been announced by Sir George Clerk in the House of Commons. * Parliamentary Return, 1843, No. 119, Di Ds 1842.) Sympathising Friends. 323 On August Ist, I received a note from Mr. Moffatt, of which the following is an extract :— ‘T perused with great concern the flagrant announcement made in the House on Friday evening touching the rejection of your future services. | ‘Memory supplies me with no parallel to this treatment ; 1t embodies an act of public dishonesty, which, if permitted, would be alike discreditable to the Government which proposed, and to the assembly which should sanction such an arrangement. ‘ August 9th.—Matthew has taken up the matter earnestly ; he has seen Brougham, Wilde, Villiers, and Aglionby, who express great anger and surprise now they understand what is intended. It seems they had assumed that I was to be employed in some other department; this, they say, is the general impression, which accounts for the apathy on the subject hitherto. Some course or other will, I expect, be decided on to-morrow. Of course I take no part in the matter myself.’ After much consultation, however, it was deemed expedient to defer all action until the next session of Parliament ; and though the announcement of this decision was little to my satisfaction, of course I kept my thoughts to myself. About a week afterwards I received a letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer in reply to my letter of July 29, which, however, though it spoke in somewhat elaborate approbation of my services, repeated his decision as to their discontinuance.* ‘August 20th—I want to make the remnant of time as effective as possible, and with this view generally get to work soon after six in the morning.’ In addition to matters already mentioned, and others that I pass over, there are three which must not be omitted. The first was the transfer of the Channel Island * Parliamentary Return, 1843, No. 119, p. 8. f yy 324 Employment of Interval. (1842. mail-packets from Weymouth to Southampton, which had been proposed by certain gentlemen of Jersey, who offered to perform the new service at a reduction of 6000/. a year on the cost of the old, but which had been objected to by the Post Office on the ground that it would delay the foreign correspondence of the Islands. I succeeded in showing that, instead of delay, there would be, on the whole, a considerable acceleration, while their correspondence with this country would be accelerated in a ngh degree. The second was the postal communication between London and Dublin: respecting this I devised a plan by which the time would be diminished by fully one-third, and a saving effected to the extent of 30,000/. a year, the change also facilitating the discon- tinuance of the Milford and Waterford packets—a measure then under consideration. The third related to economy in respect of mail- cuards, the cost of which “ increased between 1836 and 1841, from 10,5132. to 28,627/., though the number has increased only from three hundred and fifty-three to three hundred and fifty-six, and ought, notwith- standing the addition of day mails, to have greatly diminished, first, because each railway absorbs the mails of several lines, and, secondly, because a guard can obviously travel much further on a railway than on a common road. ‘The reason assigned for in- creasing the salaries of the guards, was the loss of fees in consequence of the use of railways; but the greatest increase is in Ireland, where, in 1841, the only railway in use was the short line from Dublin to Kingston. In Ireland, between 1836 and 1841, the number of guards having decreased from eighty-five to seventy- seven, the expense increased from 29351. to 7656U.”* Of the minute from which I have just quoted no notice from any quarter ever reached me. * “Report of Select Committee on Postage (1843),’ p. 10. P 1342] Summons from Chancellor of Exchequer, 325 I resume my narrative :— ‘September 10th.—Received an unexpected summons from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He has read my Report on the Channel Islands packets ; stated some objections to the plan, which I removed. Don’t know whether he will adopt it or not. He was very cordial and friendly, and began to express his regret at the necessity under which he felt him- self as to the termination of my engagement, &c. I told him that I did not intend to avaii myself of the interview to reopen the question, and merely wished to thank him for his intention of recording in a Treasury Minute approval of my services. I described shortly the Report which I gave to Mr. Trevelyan * * * and told him of another Report now in hand,* adding that I was anxious to turn the remnant of time to the best possible account. He intimated the proba- bility of his applying to me hereafter for special assistance in Post Office affairs, if I had no objection; thanked me earnestly for what I had done, and shook hands with apparent warmth. His manner, now and heretofore, and the tenour of his letters go far to confirm the impression that he feels that he is acting unjustly, and under compulsion I believe of the Postmaster-General, who is said to command five or six votes in the House of Commons.’ After my loss of office, my proposed improvement relative to the Channel Islands packets, though still long delayed and obstinately resisted, was, as I learnt by the public prints, at length effected ; being in fact forced upon the Post Office by the Treasury, which, as I was afterwards able to ascertain, used my minutes as 1ts means of compulsion. ‘September 14th—My engagement terminates to-day. * * * Found on inquiry that the Postmaster-General has not yet sent in the estimate on foreign and colonial postage, nor answered the minute respecting the reduction of space in the railway carriages. Also that the registration question remains in statu quo. The revenue payments for z ‘On Postal Communication between London and Dublin,’ already mentioned, i 326 | Appeal to Premer. (1842. the quarter up to the 10th instant amount to 112,0002.; or 33,0001. more than at the corresponding date of last year. ‘ September 17th.—On a review of this journal I find that the savings which I have effected or proposed since the present Government came in (September 3, 1841) amount at a low estimate to 80,0002. per annum, of which 51,0000. is the amount since I received notice of the termination of my engagement. And these savings are in no instance obtained by a sacrifice of convenience on the part of the public, but in many [instances] are the result of measures tending greatly to increase such convenience. ‘ September 22nd.—Lord Brougham, who has seen a copy of the correspondence between Mr. Goulburn and myself, pro- nounces my case to be “irresistible.” He has kindly volunteered to write to Lord Ashburton, who is daily expected to return from America, to get him to see Sir Robert Peel on the subject. * * * Sir Thomas Wilde, who had previously seen the same correspondence, also expresses a strong opinion as to the strength of my case, and has very kindly volunteered to undertake it in Parliament. 413 APPENDIX B. (Page 94.) EXTRACT FROM THE GREENOCK ADVERTISER, OF FRIDAY. MARCH 8th, 1850. Testimonial to Ropert WaLuace, Esq., late M. P. for Greenock. The Pioneer of Postage Reform. Rowiand Hirt, Esq., rose amid the most enthusiastic applause, and said—Ladies and Gentlemen, the Committee for promoting Mr. Wallace’s Testimonial having done me the honour to invite me to take a part in this day’s proceedings, I felt bound, at whatever inconvenience to myself, to attend, and to repeat the testimony which I have always gladly borne to the great and important aid afforded by your late representative, my esteemed and venerable friend Mr. Wallace, in the promotion of Penny Postage. (Applause.) With the view of enabling you fairly to estimate the value of Mr. Wallace’s important services, it will be necessary to take a brief review of his career as a Post-Office Reformer. I need not remind you that Mr. Wallace entered the House of Commons as your representative in the year 1833. At this time the Post Office was considered by the public nearly perfect. . But although several improvements had been effected under the administration of the Duke of Richmond, probably no department of government had during the previous twenty years improved so little, and yet no depart- ment had been so free from attack and complaint. It is true that the Commissioners of Revenue Inquiry had a short time before, with great ability, exposed much mismanagement in the Post Office, and had recommended various improvements (some of which were afterwards taken up by Mr. Wallace, and some still later by myself), but these exposures and 414 Appendi«a B. recommendations, buried as they were in ponderous parlia- mentary reports, attracted little attention from the public, who still continued to view the Post Office as a vast and mysterious, but nearly perfect machine. (Hear, hear.) I can scarcely think, however, that it could have been so viewed by the Government. They must, one would think, have been impressed with the remarkable fact, that since the close of the war, notwithstanding the great increase of popu- lation, and the still greater increase of commercial activity, the revenue of the Post Office, whether gross or net, had not increased at all. (Hear.) Such was the state of things when Mr. Wallace, in the year 1833, first roused the attention of Parliament and the public to the urgent necessity for reform in the Post-office, which he attacked with that perseverance and energy which distinguished all his proceedings ; and not satisfied with attacking abuses, Mr. Wallace, even at this early period of his parliamentary career, recommended an important improvement which, subsequently as part of the plan of Penny Postage, was carried into effect with great advan- taze to the public. The improvement to which I allude was the substitution of charge by weight for charge by enclosure. (Applause.) In the year 1834 Mr. Wallace proposed in Parlia- ment several other important measures, among which were the following :—Ist. The opening to public competition of the contract for the construction of the mail coaches. This measure, which was soon after adopted, effected a saving of 17,2187. a year. 2d. The consolidation of the London General and District Post Offices. This measure subse- quently formed part of the plan of Penny Postage, and was partially carried into effect, with most advantageous results, about three years ago. Much, however, still remains to be accomplished. 3d. The appointment of a Commission of Inquiry into the management of the Post Office. This re- commendation was acted upon early in the next year (1835), and the Commission continued its labours till 1838. In the interval the Commission issued no less than ten reports, and it is fairly entitled to the credit of much of the subsequent improvement in the Post Office. During the year 1835, Mr. Wallace appears to have suspended his exertions in Parliament, thinking probably that he should more effectually serve the cause to which he had devoted himself, by assisting Testimonial to Robert Wallace, Esq. A15 in the investigations of the Commission. Accordingly, I find him giving evidence before that body, in the course of which he recommended the following improvements among others :— Ist. The establishment of day mails, which subsequently formed part of my plan, and has been carried into effect with great advantage to the public and to the revenue. 2d, A reduction in the rates of postage. 3d. More frequent com- munication between places, Mr. Wallace expressing in an opinion, since confirmed by experience, that the revenue, as well as the public, would be benefited thereby. In 1836 Mr. Wallace resumed his labours in Parliament, recommend- ing among other measures :—Ist. A reduction of the rates of postage, naming 8d. or 9d. as amaximum. 2d. The regis- tration of letters, since carried into effect with advantage both to the public and to the revenue. (Applause.) 3d. That the postage charge should be regulated by the distance along the shortest practicable road, instead of being deter- mined, as it then was, by the circuitous route through which the Post Office might for its own convenience carry the letter. It is now difficult to believe that only a few years since, a system so monstrous as that which Mr. Wallace successfully attacked, should have been suffered to exist for a single day—a system under which 6d. or 8d. was sometimes charged on letters passing between places not more than as many miles asunder, merely because the Post Office for its own convenience pre- ferred to carry the letters round about. (Hear.) I have now arrived at the period when my intercourse with Mr. Wallace commenced ; and in order that you may form a just appreciation of the valuable aid afforded me_ by Mr. Wallace, it is necessary to consider well his position and that of the Post Office at this time. By four years of in- cessant attacks, Mr. Wallace had destroyed the prestige once enjoyed by the Post Oftice, and had thus exposed it to the wholesome influence of public opinion ; in addition to which he had effected some important improvements. By these means he had made the subject of the Post Office his own, and was by general consent the Post Ollice Lteformer of the day. It was therefore in his power greatly to aid, or greatly to discourage, the exertions of others. (Cheers.) In this year (1836), through the intervention of one of my brothers, then Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, I applied to Aline Appendia B. Mr. Wallace for the loan of any books he might possess relating to the Post Office, and he very kindly lent me various Parliamentary reports and returns. (Hear, hear.) These documents afforded me essential aid in the work which I had long meditated, but in which I then for the first time earnestly engaged. ‘The result was a thorough convic- tion in my own mind that the inland rate of postage ought to be the same for all distances, and that provided the postage of letters were prepaid, the rate might be reduced as low as 1d. throughout the United Kingdom. (Applause.) I did not, however (and I distinctly stated as much at the time), reckon on effecting so vast a reduction without a considerable loss of net revenue, though I did calculate on eventually obtaining as large a gross revenue as before. But the greatest difficulty of my task had still to be overcome. That difficulty consisted in the apparent hopelessness of convincing others that results so startling, and prima facie so paradoxical, could really be derived from a careful examination and, accurate appreciation of the facts of the case. Entertaining these apprehensions, and having regard to Mr. Wallace’s position as the leading Post Office Reformer of the day, I was exceedingly anxious as to the view which he might take of my plan. I felt that its success or failure would greatly depend on his verdict. Accordingly, at the beginning of 1837, I sent Mr. Wallace a copy of my pamphlet (which, in the first instance, was printed for private circulation), and waited in the greatest anxiety for his opinion. It came couched in kind and encouraging language, conveying his hearty concurrence in the main features of the plan, and I at once felt that a most important advance had been made. It is impossible to speak too strongly of my obligations to Mr. Wallace at this time. Many a man circumstanced as he was would have treated me as an intruder—as one coming to poach on his warren; but Mr, Wallace, so far from evincing any jealousy, at once gave me all the advantage of his position, and before the public had declared in favour of my plan, he had adopted it with all his accustomed heartiness. (Applause.) Almost immediately on the issue of my pamphlet, both Mr. Wallace and myself were examined by the Post-Office Commissioners with reference to the applica- tion of my plan to the London District post—a measure Testimonial to Robert Wallace, Esq. ALT which the Commissioners recommended, though unfortu- nately their recommendation was not adopted by the Govern- ment. From this time the progress of public opinion in favour of the plan of Penny Postage was so rapid, that before the end of the year Mr. Wallace had succeeded in obtaining the appointment of a committee of the House to investigate its merits. Of this committee Mr. Wallace was the active and indefatigable chairman. It continued to sit throughout the session of 1838, in the course of which it examined no less than eighty-three witnesses; and the labour to the chairman, whose duties were by no means confined to the sittings of the committee, was most severe. The result of the investigation is well known, but it may not be in the recollection of this meeting that the committee having been nominated by Government, which was then unfavourable to Penny Postage, contained several members who were, ew officio, opponents of the measure, and that the resolution establishing the vital principle of uniformity of rate was carried only by the cast- ing vote of the chairman. (Hear, hear, and applause.) Had Mr. Wallace given his casting vote on the other side, or even withheld it, the adoption of Penny Postage would probably have beeu delayed for years, possibly the plan might have been altogether abandoned. The Report of the committee, one of the ablest documents ever laid before Parliament, gave an extraordinary impetus to the demand for Penny Postage, and in the session of 1839 upwards of 2000 petitions, with more than a quarter of a million of signatures (though a large proportion of the petitions being from corporate bodies bore only a single signature each), were presented to the House of Commons alone; and before the end of the session, and within the short space of two years and a-half from its announcement, Penny Postage became the law of the land. (Applause.) During the greater part of this period (at least so long as Parliament was sitting) I was in almost daily communication with Mr. Wallace. The labour which we both had to go through was enormous; and I never shall forget how much I felt cheered and encouraged to persevere, by his own hearty, earnest, and confident manner of en- countering the difficulties and disappointments necessarily incidental to so vast an undertaking. (Loud applause.) It would ill become me to speak of the commercial and social 418 Appendia B. advantages which have resulted from Penny Postage. Under its operation, the number of chargeable letters has increased from 76 millions to 337 millions per annum, and though the net revenue, owing to the enormous cost of railway convey- ance and other causes into which I cannot with propriety enter, is much less than my estimate, the gross revenue has realized that estimate, being now nearly, if not quite as great as before the reduction of the rates. But whatever may have been the sacrifice of revenue, most people now readily admit the benefit to the nation at large has been cheaply purchased. (Cheers.) The advantages of cheap Postage however are by no means confined to this country. Our example has been followed, more or less closely, by several of the nations of Europe, and by the United States of America; and it is most gratifying to know that cheap Postage is gradually extending over the civilized world. The manner in which Mr. Wallace, the earliest Post Office reformer of the present generation, has laboured zealously and successfully to bring about these happy results, has been shown by the statement of facts with which I have felt it my duty to trouble this meeting, and I earnestly hope that the people of this great country, who so munificently rewarded my exertions, will recognise also the claims of Mr. Wallace, and will step forward to cheer in the decline of life a man so justly entitled to our respect and gratitude. Mr. Hill then sat down amid hearty demonstra- tions of appiause. APPENDIX C. (Page 239.) THE PENNY POST. Copy of a Treasury Minute, dated December 26, 1839. My Lorps read the minute of the 23rd of August, proposing to receive communications from the public with reference to the letter stamps named in the Act 2 and 3 Victoria, cap. 52, and offering certain rewards for the same. The communications (more than 2600 in number) received in consequence of this minute have for a long time occupied the attention of their Lordships. Many of them display much ingenuity. They are highly satisfactory, as evincing the interest taken by men of science and by the public in general in the measures now in progress for the reduction of postage, and they have afforded much useful information with reference to the details of the new arrangements. Upon full deliberation, however, their Lordships do not think it will be advisable to adopt any one of the specific plans pro- posed, without modification and combination with other arrangements. After the best consideration my Lords can give the subject, and with the view of awarding most fairly between the parties, my Lords have decided not to give the specific sums men- tioned in their minute of 23rd of August, but have selected four communications which are the most distinguished either for originality or for completeness, and from which my Lords have derived the greatest service, and decided to award the sum of 1002. to each. The authors of these four communica- tions are as follows, the names being arranged alphabetically, viz.: Messrs. Bogardus and Coffin (who have acted together), Mr. Beriginin Elieveréor, Mr. Henry Cole, and Mr. Charles Whiting. A920 . Appendix C. My Lords next proceed to take into consideration the several points enumerated in the Minute of the 25rd of August, and the suggestions connected therewith which occur in the communications already referred to. Their Lordships, upon full consideration, have decided to require that, as far as practicable, the postage of letters shall be prepaid, and to effect such prepayment by means of stamps. Their Lordships are of opinion that the convenience of the public will be consulted, more especially at first, by issuing stamps of various kinds, in order that every one may select that description of stamp which is most suitable to his own peculiar circumstances ; and with a view of affording an ample choice, their Lordships are pleased to direct that the following stamps be prepared :— First, Stamped Covers.—Tlhe stamp being struck on pieces of paper of the size of half a sheet of 4to. letter paper. Second, Stamped Envelopes.—The stamp being struck on pieces of paper of a lozenge form, of which the stationers and others may manufacture envelopes. Third, Adhesive stamps, or stamps on small pieces of paper with a glutinous wash at the back, which may be attached to letters either before or after they are written; and Fourth, Stamps to be struck on paper of any description which the public may send to the Stamp Office for that pur- pose. The paper for the first, second, and third kinds of stamps to be peculiar in its water-mark, or some other feature, but to be supplied to Government by competition. My Lords direct that the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes, and the Commissioners of Excise, should receive the official directions to take the necessary steps in conjunction with this Board, and with the Postmaster-General, for the preparation of the stamps herein enumerated. Although the necessary experiments and investigations which have been conducted under the direction of this Board are already far advanced, my Lords fear that a considerable time will be required for completing the preparation of the dies, plates, and machinery (much of which is unavoidably of a novel construction), necessary for the manufacture of the stamps ; and being desirous of affording to the public with the least possible delay the full advantage of the intended The Penny Post. 421 reduction in postage, their Lordships propose at once to effect such reduction. On the use of Stamps, however, my Lords have fully decided ; they will be prepared with the least possible delay, and when ready due notice will be given of their intro- duction. Having, therefore, communicated with the authorities of the Post Office, my Lords are pleased to direct that on the 10th day of January next the following arrangements shall come into operation :— The scale of weight already established for General Post letters to be extended to the London district and other local post letters. The charge on all letters passing between one part of the United Kingdom and another, whether by the General Post or the London district or other local post, to be one penny per single rate. Such postage to be prepaid—if not prepaid, to be charged double on delivery. Letters between the United Kingdom and the Colonies to be charged, if conveyed by packet, and not passing through France, at the rate of one shilling per single rate; and if conveyed by private ship, at the rate of eightpence per single rate, in whatever part of the United Kingdom they may be posted or delivered. Letters between the United Kingdom and foreign coun- tries (those passing to or from or through France excepted) to be charged as follows: If conveyed by packet, and posted at the port of departure, or delivered at the port of arrival within the United King- dom, the present packet rates. If posted or delivered in any other part of the United Kingdom, twopence per single rate, in addition to the present packet rates, unless where a lower charge shall now exist, in which case such lower charge to continue. If conveyed by private ship, eightpence per single rate, in whatever part of the United Kingdom they may be posted or delivered. | . With regard to Foreign letters to and from France, or passing through France, my Lords consider that pending such modifications as may be introduced into the treaty with that 422 Appendia C. country, the maximum of the charge for packet and inland postage should not exceed that rate which is now chargeable on a letter to and from London; no alteration being made in cases where the charge, under the present treaty, shall be less than such beforementioned rate. The preceding reductions do not apply to letters passing vid France between the United Kingdom and the Medi- terranean, Egypt, and the East Indies, which will continue to be charged as at present. Letters between the United Kingdom and foreign countries will continue to be subject to the same regulations with regard to prepayment as at present. Lord Melbourne states to the Board her Majesty’s desire that such measures may be taken with reference to her Majesty’s privilege of franking, as my Lords may consider advisable for the public service, and in conformity with the other regulations which they may lay down with regard to franks. My Lords are pleased to direct, that from and after the 10th of January next, the privilege of franking. both parliamentary and official, cease. The printed votes and proceedings of the Imperial Par- liament, or of the Colonial Legislatures of either of her Majesty’s colonies, if sent in the manner now required by law, to be charged as follows, whether passing from one part of the United Kingdom to another, or between the United Kingdom and the Colonies, provided they do not pass through France, or to the East Indies, v7@ Falmouth,— Not exceeding two oz. in weight, one penny. Exceeding two oz., and not exceeding four oz., two- pence. And so on, an additional penny for every additional two ounces, without limitation as to weight; such charge to be the same whether prepaid or not. Their Lordships, however, consider it will be proper that the Postmaster-General should be authorised, in cases where it may appear necessary so to act, to postpone the despatch of parliamentary proceedings for twenty-four hours—their Lordships being aware that the greatest inconvenience frequently has arisen from the very large influx of heavy The Penny Post. 423 parliamentary papers. And their Lordships are therefore pleased to call the Postmaster-General’s attention to this point with the view of his making such regulations as may be required. The privileges now attached to addresses to her Majesty— to parliamentary petitions—to newspapers, and to the letters of soldiers and sailors engaged in service abroad, to remain unaltered, except that a soldier’s or sailor’s single letter will be interpreted to mean a letter not exceeding half an ounce in weight. If any privileged letter or other article become liable to the full letter rates of postage, such rates to be charged according to the scale of rates herein established for letters. The treble duty to which newspapers in certain cases become liable to be calculated according to the same scale. All privileges except those already enumerated to cease. The following are exceptions to the regulation which restricts the amount of weight to sixteen oz. 1. Parliamentary proceedings as already named. 2. Addresses to her Majesty, and parliamentary petitions. 3. Letters and packets received from or addressed to places beyond the limits of the United Kingdom. 4. Letters and packets addressed to or despatched by the Government Departments, or such officer as may now have the privilege of franking by virtue of his office. And 5. Deeds, if transmitted under such regulations as the Postmaster-General may consider necessary to prevent abuse of the privilege. In consideration of the reduction now made in the postage of ship letters, and the probable increase of such letters, the master’s gratuities will be reduced to 2s. 6d. per 100 for all letters, newspapers, and other packets conveyed between one part of the United Kingdom and another. At the same time gratuities of one penny per letter or packet, and one half- penny per newspaper, will be given to the masters of ships trading to the East Indies, on the same conditions as those now applying to other ship letters and papers. With reference to the arrangements herein made, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are to be considered as parts of the United Kingdom, and the Ionian Isles and Honduras as British colonies. AGA Appendix C. My Lords are of opinion that the whole of these arrange- ments should apply to all letters and packets posted within the United Kingdom, or (if brought from abroad) first delivered up to any Post-office within the United Kingdom on or after the 10th of January next. My Lords will communicate with the public deparinens with regard to the mode of charging the letters of: such departments. Transmit a copy of this Minute officially to the Postmaster- General, and desire his Lordship will give the necessary instructions to his officers to carry the directions of my Lords into effect. Desire also that he will direct the Solicitor of the Post- office to prepare a draft of a warrant in conformity with the provisions of the Postage Acts, to be signed by my Lords, and inserted in the Gazette pursuant to the provisions of the Act 2nd and 8rd Vic., cap. 52. My Lords, in carrying the reduced rates of postage into operation, feel it their paramount duty to provide against any disarrangement which a great influx of letters posted at the last moment might occasion in the business of the Post Office. Whilst their Lordships are most unwilling that there should be any positive curtailment of the time allowed to the public in posting letters, their Lordships feel it necessary, in the first instance at least, to hold out an inducement to the public not to delay the posting of letters to a late period, by restricting the benefit of the full reduction to those letters which shall be posted early. And their Lordships with this view are pleased to authorise the Postmaster-General to close the letter boxes throughout London at five o’clock, and in the country an hour or half an hour earlier than at present, according to the circumstances of each place. My Lords direct that the fees for late letters be charged as follows :— From the future hour of closing each box until the present hour, one penny per letter or packet, without regard to its weight; and after the present hour of closing each box, twopence per letter or packet, except where a lar eer fee is now established, in which case the present fee will continue. The Penny OS 425 Instruct the Postmaster-General to make arrangements for carrying to the general revenue the fees for late letters, at the same time submitting for the consideration of this Board any cases for compensation which he may consider necessary. , APPENDIX D. (Page 256.) EXTRACT FROM FIRST REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE, ON THE INLAND REVENUE. Under the head “‘ DIscoUNT AT THE OFFICES OF DISTRIBUTORS IN THE COUNTRY.” “Tt is ‘only just to our stamping department, and more especially to Mr. Edwin Hill, under whose supervision it is placed, that we should mention the constant improvements which are every day being introduced in the machinery for impressing or manufacturing stamps, although it is impossible to enumerate or explain them in detail. Bi‘ The most remarkable of Mr. Hill’s inventions was one which has now become of comparatively minor importance, namely, the application of steam power to newspaper stamping. By a very ingenious contrivance, the unwieldy sheets of paper for newspapers, which used to be presented for stamping in immense quantities at a time, were separated, turned over, and stamped, with a dispatch and accuraey which had previously been considered as unattainable ; and the superior execution of the work, instead of increasing the expense, was attended with a saving of at least 20007. a year. WOE Ie 2P A426. Appendia D. EX'TRACT FROM SECOND REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE, ON THE INLAND REVENUE. (Dated 12th of May, 1858.) Under the head “Stamp Duttk&s.” “The efficiency of our stamping department continues to be maintained, and to keep pace with the demands of the public, through the watchfulness and inventive ingenuity of Mr. Edwin Hill. His most recent addition to our machinery, a contrivance for fixing the blue paper and metal guard on parchment, is a substitute for two operations in different departments, and the labour of three men. This small improvement effects a saving of 3002. a year.” EXTRACT FROM THIRD REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE, ON THE INLAND REVENUE. (Dated May, 1859.) Under the head “Stamps.” “= = “The pressure on our stamping department was at first very great, and the administrative and mechanical resources of Mr. Edwin Hill were taxed to the utmost to keep pace with the demands of the public. By the invention’ of new and more rapidly performing machines,- and the employment of a large number of extra hands, he was able to dispose of the immense stock of cheques thus suddenly poured in, without giving rise to any complaint of delay or inconvenience.” Letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 427 APPENDIX E. (Page 290.) LETTER TO THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER, SUGGESTING TRANSFERENCE OF COLONEL MABERLY TO ANOTHER POST. Downing Street, June 23, 1841, Dear Sir, I have to apologise for troubling you at such a time with considerations which may appear personal. Nothing but the conviction that they are not really so, and further, that they do not admit of delay, can justify the present application. _ It has occurred to me as possible that the official changes now in progress may afford an opportunity of placing me (without injury to any one) in a position more favourable to the success of the measure in which I am engaged. I think you will agree that to complete the introduction of my plan requires a careful consideration of numerous measures of detail and a close and constant watchfulness over their working. Also that its financial success depends on a rigid and searching economy in every branch of ‘management. I am stire you will do me the justice to admit that I have patiently and anxiously sought to accomplish these objects under the existing arrangements, and yet a review of the last twelve months, that is to say, of the period since we entered on the details of the measure, shows, I fear, that little of this kind has been effected. If progress is thus slow while I enjoy your powerful sup- port (and for the kindness and constancy with which it has been afforded I shall always feel most grateful), what will be the result if, unfortunately, that support should be even tem- porarily withdrawn ? Will you therefore excuse the liberty I take in respect- fully suggesting for your consideration whether it is not highly important to the success of the measure that I should henceforward take a position in the Post-office, and whether 498. | Appendia E. the official changes now in progress may not afford oppor- tunity for ereating the necessary vacancy without any injury to Colonel Maberly? Such a change could not, I presume, be otherwise than agreeable to him; it would relieve him from the unpleasant task of working out a measure which he dislikes, and which he has repeatedly affirmed cannot succeed ; a measure, therefore, whose success cannot add to his reputation, and whose failure is not unlikely to be attri- buted, however undeservedly, to his mode of conducting it. At the same time the proposed change would put an end to a divided, unacknowledged, and therefore ineffectual responsibility, without, I should hope, depriving me of the creat advantage I have hitherto enjoyed of submitting every important question to your judgment. | Permit me to add, that as I have no desire to advance my own emoluments, the suggested change would effect a saving to the revenue of Colonel Maberly’s present salary and allow- ances. May I be allowed to hope that, whatever may be your decision on the arrangement I have ventured to suggest, you will excuse the liberty I have taken, and attribute my con- duct to the motive by which alone I am influenced, viz., an earnest and anxious desire to establish speedily and beyond all question the success of a measure on which not only my whole reputation is at stake, but which, in case of failure, or even of partial success, is sure to be used as a ground of attack against the Government by which it has been adopted. Let me beg that you will not take the trouble to answer this letter till you return to town. In bringing the matter under your notice before the completion of the official arrangements referred to above, the immediate object which I have in view is accomplished. I have, &ce., Row.uanp HItt. LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. 2 * ‘ -* , y = i ~ - Pi, en es ee oe . 4 Se eT Ss aaa Pl eet eae ane ey Boe eet PSI eet i EP eerie POE OP athe eae ae ater SDS eee ro? SA eas a rete e NT eta OTH ee are roe akan et ee ee ee i fo eee ml vied fos Pe ee, en. Si oer ror) rae eT ar cr a ee Le ne Naar ot: . nett a ig 1b Piers ae bea +, meh Ie gk PB 4 5 a © ae a Pes Pian oy ~ ee] a = ee iwts 7 + ee eee a eee ro gmc 2. r ; Si talk Mi beh i ee ate. 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