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 THE LIBRARIES 
 
THE LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL 
 
 AND THE 
 
 HISTORY OF PENNY POSTAGE. 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR ROWLAND HILL 
 
 K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., ETC. 
 
 AND THE 
 
 HISTORY OF PENNY POSTAGE. 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR ROWLAND HILL 
 
 AND 
 
 HIS NEPHEW 
 
 GEORGE BIRKBECK HILL, D.C.L. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 "dr. JOHNSON: HIS FRIENDS AND HIS CRITICS," ETC. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 TPiOS. DE LA RUE & CO. 
 
 no, BUNHILL ROW. 
 
 1880 
 {The right of Ti-ansIaiion and Reproduction is reserved.') 
 
PRINTED BY 
 
 THOMAS DE LA RUE AND CO., BUNHILL ROW, 
 
 LONDON. 
 
CONTENTS OF SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 BOOK II. {ConttniLed) 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY (1843). 
 
 *' State and Prospects of Penny Postage," i-— Examined before the Committee, 
 2 — The " Fallacious Return," 4 — Charge for the Packet Service, 5 — Treaty 
 with France, 6 — Colonel Maberly's Evidence, 7 — Dockwra, Allen, and 
 Palmer, 9 — Australian Letters and India, 10 — Committee's Report, 12 — 
 Spain and Russia, 13 — Letters from Sydney Smith and Miss Martineau, 14. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 RAILWAY DIRECTION (1843-6). 
 
 Director and then Chairman of the Brighton Railway Company, 16 — Examination 
 of Railway Officers, 18 — Enforcement of Penalties, 19 — Three Codes of 
 Signals. Safety of the Line, 20 — Excursion and Express Trains, 21 — Postal 
 facilities for Brighton, 22 — Value of Shares. Resignation of Chairmanship, 
 23 — Offer from the South-Western Company, 24 — Parliament and the 
 Railways, 25. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 NATIONAL TESTIMONIAL (1844-6). 
 
 United States, 27— Mazzini and Sir James Graham, 28— "A Penny Post," by 
 John Hill, 29 — Subscriptions to the Testimonial, 29— Income Tax Commis- 
 sioners, 30— Mr. Cobden and the Anti-Corn Law League, 31 — Presentation 
 of Testimonial, 32. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 APPOINTMENT TO POST OFFICE (1846). 
 
 The New Ministry, 37— Lord Clanricarde Postmaster-General, 38— Mr. War- 
 burton, 39 — Appointment offered, 40 — Mr. Hawes, 41 — A Painful Dilemma, 42 — 
 Letter to Mr. Hawes. Appointment accepted, 43 — Promise of Promotion, 46. 
 
 y b o 8 1 
 
 f-^ o 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 TOINT SECRETARYSHIP ( 1 846-8). 
 
 The " Edinburgh Review " and Mr. Charles Dickens, 48 — Restrictive Minute, 49 — 
 Cabals, 51 — Snowed up, 52 — The Post Office a vast Machine, 53 — Liverpool 
 Town Council, 54 — Lord Clanricarde's Boldness, 55 — Bristol Post Office, 
 57 — Lieutenant Waghorn, 59 — A Bundle of old Clothes by Post, 61 — 
 Applications for Increase of Salary, 6^ — Statistics, 64 — Book Post. Pro- 
 posed System of Promotion, 65 — Railway Legislation, 66 — Money Order 
 Department, 70 — Offensive Minute. Mr. Cobden's Advice, 73 — Savings in 
 Stationery, 76 — Arrears of Money Orders, 77 — Carelessness in Remittance, 78 
 — Attempted Robbery, 79 — Frauds, 80 — Esquires in Low Life, 81 — ^Joseph 
 Ady, 82 — Telegraph, 83 — Chartists, 84. 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 General Progress. Letter to IVIr. Baring, 85 — Number of Letters from 1839 to 
 1847, 86 — Book Post. Professor De Morgan, 87 — Evasion of Postage, S8 — 
 Scale of Salaries. The Interpretation of a Fortnight's Holiday, 89 — Letter- 
 boxes, 90 — Railway Notices. Sir Erskine May, 91 — United States, 92 — 
 France, Revolution of 1848, 93 — Belgium, 94. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 EFFORTS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION (1848-9). 
 
 Discordant action in the Post Office, 95 — Claim for Promotion, 96 — Lord John 
 Russell on Penny Postage, 98 — The Ministry in Danger, 99 — Great Increase of 
 Expenditure, 100 — Formal Application for Promotion, loi — The Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer's unreasonable Demand, 103 — Plealth again fails, 105. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SUNDAY RELIEF (1849-50). 
 
 Sunday Labour in Post Office, 107 — Bath Post Office, 108 — Closing of Money 
 Order Offices, 109 — Other Measures of Relief. "Forward Letters," no — 
 Minute on Reduction of Sunday Labour, in — Lord's Day Society, 113 — 
 Treachery in the Camp, 115 — Bishop of London, 116 — City Meeting, 118 — 
 Publication of Minute, I2I — No Compulsion. Extracts from Private Journal, 
 123 — Hon. and Rev. Grantham Yorke. Insubordination, 128 — Slanders of 
 Lord's Day Society, 129 — The first Sunday on the new Plan, 131 — Anony- 
 mous Letters, 134 — Lord John Russell, 135 — Further Slanders of the Lord's 
 Day Society, 136 — Railway Sorting, 137 — Suburban Sunday Delivery, 13S — 
 General Thompson and Dr. Vaughan, 139 — Meetings of Surveyors, 140 — 
 Further Sunday relief, 141 — Cabals, 143 — Demand for total Abolition of 
 Sunday Labour, 144 — Mr. Wallace. Visit to Greenock, 148 — Mr. Matthew 
 Forster, 149 — The Times, 151 — Lord Ashley's Motion, 155 — No Sunday 
 Deliveries, 158 — Commission on Sunday Labour, 160. 
 
CONTENTS. VU 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PARTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION (1S5O-I). 
 
 The Word of a Minister, 163 — Renewed Claim for Promotion, 164 — Mr. 
 Warburton, 165 — Mr. Cobden, 166 — Mr. Hume, 167 — Sir C. Wood, 169^ 
 Application for an Assistant-Secretary, 170 — Mr. Frederic Hill — his Services 
 as an Inspector of Prisons, 171 — Ministry in Danger, 173 — Increase of Salarj', 
 174 — Death of Mr. T. W. Hill. jNIr. Frederic Hill's Appointment, 176— 
 Staff of Clerks, 177. 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIX (1849-51). 
 
 Money Order Department, 178 — Clerks divided into Classes, 179 — Clerks in 
 Charge. Prepayment, 180 — Mail Trains verstis Mail Carts, 181 — Rural Dis- 
 tribution, 182 — Postal Treaties, 183 — Salaries and Promotion, 184; Rectifi- 
 cation of Accounts, 185 — Mr. Cunard and the West Indian Mails, 186 — 
 United States. India, 187 — France. Revenue, 1S8 — Mail Robbery, 1S9 — 
 Improved Condition of Officials. Source of Dishonesty, 190 — "Household 
 Words" and "Quarterly Review," 191. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 EFFORTS FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION (185I-2). 
 
 The Railway Department, 193 — Letter from Mr. Cobden. Visit to the West 
 Riding, 194 — The two Secretaries, 195 — Renewed Application for Promotion, 
 196 — Mr. Cobden, Mr. Hume, and Sir C. Wood, 198 — A Mysterious Allu- 
 sion in Mr. Cobden's Letter, 199 — Resignation of the Liberal Ministr}', 200 — 
 Lord Clanricarde's Minute. Statement of Improvements, 201. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 LORD HARDWICKE (1852). 
 
 Lord Hardwicke Postmaster-General, 203 — Two Kings in Brentford, 205 — Mr. 
 Warburton, 206 — Court Dress. The Latch-key, 207 — Chevalier Bunsen, 
 208 — Who is to be Subordinate? 209 — Lord Hardwicke's peculiar Spelling. 
 An Election Job, 2X0 — Resignation of Tory Ministry, 211 — East Indian Post 
 Office, 212. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 LORD CANNING (1853-4). 
 
 Lord Canning, Postmaster-General, 213 — Treaty with France, 214 — Large 
 Savings, 215 — Letter to Lord Canning, 215 — Promotion or Resignation, 
 217 — Lord Canning's Answer, 218 — Dangerous State of Health, 219 — Com- 
 mission for Revising Salaries, 221 — Dinner at Lord Canning's. Mr. Glad- 
 stone, 222 — Mortality among Colonels, 223 — Sole Secretary, 224. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 PROGRESS OF REFORM FROM THE MIDDLE OF 185I TO THE END OF 1854. 
 
 Railway Legislation, 227 — Acceleration of Northern Mails, 231 — Limited Mails, 
 232 — A Transformation Scene, 233 — Silence under Misrepresentation. Pre- 
 miums for Punctuality, 235 — Mail -bag Apparatus, 236 — Rectification of 
 
VUl CONTENTS. 
 
 Accounts, 237 — Packet Service (Lord Canning's Commission), 238 — Colonial 
 Postage, 241 — The Times, 243 — Foreign Book Post. Chevalier Bunsen and 
 Lord Hardwicke, 244 — Salaries and Promotion, 245 — Report of Commis- 
 sioners for Revising Salaries, 246 — Patronage, 248 — Competitive Exami- 
 nations, 249 — Telegraphs, 251 — Postal Reform abroad, 252. 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 Money Orders. Article in " Household Words," 253 — Hong-Kong Post Office, 
 257 — Prepayment. Early Deliveries, 258 — Pillar Letter-boxes. Number of 
 Letters, 259 — Increased Honesty, 260 — Titus Oates. Funeral of the Duke of 
 Wellington, 261. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 SOLE SECRETARYSHIP — FIRST ANNUAL REPORT, 1854. PROGRESS OF 
 
 IMPROVEMENT (1855-9). 
 
 Lord Canning, 263 — Arrangement of Secretarial Duties, 264 — The Staff of 
 Officers, 266 — Annual Reports. Monthly Report of Improvements in hand, 
 267 — Post Office versus Board of Works, 268 — Free Delivery, 270 — London 
 District Offices, 271 — Scotch and Irish Mails, 273 — Need of Railway Legis- 
 lation, 276 — Sir G. C. Lew^is, 277 — Government Loans to Railway Companies, 
 278 — Government Purchase of Railways. Royal Commission on Railways, 
 283 — Arbitration, 284 — True Interests of the Companies, 285 — Money Orders. 
 Contract Work, 286 — Post Office versus Admiralty. Mr. Trollope, 288 — • 
 Panama Route, 290 — Indian Mutiny, 292 — Acceleration of News, 294 — • 
 Revenue and Expenditure, 295 — Predictions Fulfilled, 297 — Promotion by 
 Merit. Sir W. Hayter, 298 — Civil Service Examination, 300 — Letter from 
 Sir C. Trevelyan, 301 — Health of Officers, 302 — Life Insurance, 304 — Mutual 
 Guarantees, 307 — Libraries, 308. 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 FIRST ANNUAL REPORT (1854). 
 
 Soldiers' Letters. Colonial and Foreign Posts, 310 — Street Nomenclature and 
 House Numbering, 311 — Early History of the Post Office, 312 — Im- 
 provement in Accounts. Number of Offices, 313 — Number of Letters. 
 Returned Letters, 314 — Registration, 315 — Soldiers' Remittances. Exten- 
 sion of Money Order System to Colonies, 316 — Transference of Management 
 of Colonial Post Offices. Foreign Posts, 317— United States, 318— Mr. Pliny 
 Miles, 319 — Treaties made easily Terminable, 320. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 DISCONTENTS IN THE OFFICE (1S55-9). 
 
 Demands for higher Wages, 321 — "Civil Service Gazette," 322 — Letter-carriers 
 — Eligibility of their Position, 324 — Christmas-boxes, 325 — Mutinous Meeting, 
 326 — Threats of Assassination, 327 — A familiar Acquaintance, 328. 
 
CONTENTS. ix 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS FROM 1855 TO 1859. 
 
 Postal Guide and Postal Official Circular, 329 — Date Stamps. Mr. Pearson Hill's 
 Stamping Machine, 330 — Mr. C. W. Sikes and the Post Office Savings Banks, 
 331 — Salaries, 333 — Volunteer Corps, 334 — Compulsory Prepayment, 335 — 
 Parcels Post. Tubular Conveyance, 336 — Inventors, 339 — Telegraph Tube 
 Service, 340 — Mr. R. Stephenson, 341 — Postage on Newspapers, 342 — The 
 Times, 344 — Mr. Gladstone, 345 — Serious Illness, 346 — Plan for distributing 
 Newspapers, 347 — Wreck of the "Violet" Mail-packet, 349 — The Bey of 
 Tunis. Number of Letters posted in Russia and Manchester. The last Attack 
 on Penny Postage, 350 — Government Franking, 351. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 POSTMASTERS-GENERAL (1855-60). 
 
 Lord Canning, 353 — Indian Mutiny. "Edinburgh Review," 354 — Duke of Argyll, 
 355 — Lord Colchester, 356 — Lord Elgin, 357 — Health failing, 358 — Royal 
 Society. K. C.B., 359 — Vigorous and harmonious Action in the Office, 360 
 — Dangerous Illness. Lord Stanley of Alderley, 361 — Fourth Cabal. Mr. 
 Gladstone's Support, 362. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 PROGRESS AFTER 1 859. 
 
 Post Office Savings Banks — their Costliness, 364 — Registration, 367 — Pattern 
 Post, 368 — Packet Service. Transference from Admiralty. Mr. Frederic Hill's 
 Reforms, 369 — Tenders. Surveys of Mail-packets, 370 — Readjustment of 
 Transmarine Rates, 371 — Punctuality, 372 — Large Expenditure prevented, 
 373 — Reward for faithful Services, 374 — Free-trade and subsidised Mail- 
 packets, 375. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 RESIGNATION (1864) 
 
 A Blow struck at Promotion by Merit. Appeal to the Treasury, 376— Interviews 
 with Lord Palmerston, 377 — Health broken down. Medical Certificate, 378 
 — Mr. Gladstone's Kindness. Letter of Resignation, 379 — Results of Postal 
 Reform, 380 — Number of Letters. Revenue, 382 — Letters from Lord Stanley 
 of Alderley, 384 — Lord Stanley's Speech in the House of Lords, 386 — Statue 
 in Birmingham, 387 — Mr. Joseph Parkes. " Sir F. Baring's opinion of 
 Rowland Hill," 388 — Pension to Lady Hill. Notice by Lord Palmerston, 
 390— Treasury Minute, 391— Authorship of Penny Postage, 393 — Lady Hill's 
 Address to the Queen, 394 — Grant from Parliament. Lord Palmerston's 
 Speech, 395— Speeches by Lords Brougham and Clanricarde, 398 — Letter to 
 Mr. Gladstone, 399 — Mr. Gladstone's Answer, 400 — University of Oxford. 
 Testimonials. Albert Gold Medal, 400 — Happy among Reformers ! Postal 
 Reforms of the Future, 401 — Packet Service. Every Department should be 
 Self-supporting, 402 — Contract Work. Female Labour. Parcels Post, 403— 
 Postal Union. Office of Postmaster-General should be Permanent, 404^ 
 Patronage. Promotion by Merit. Post Office Monopoly, 405— The Path that 
 lies before Reformers, 406. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 BOOK I I I. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Squandering of Force, 411 — Rowland Hill's Character. His Pride in his Plan, 
 412 — A rare Combination of Enthusiasm and Practical Power. Never Com- 
 plained of the World. His perfect Integrity, 413 — His high Standard of 
 public Duty. His Generosity and Consideration for the feelings of others, 
 414 — Asked too much of men in general, 415 — A Member of the Political 
 Economy Club, 416 — His continued Interest in Postal Affairs. Garibaldi, 
 417 — Effect of Education on the Postal Revenue. Spelling. His Grief at 
 the Faults committed in the Post Office, 418 — Mr. Gladstone's Description of 
 his Lot. State of his Health, 419 — Royal Society Club, 420 — An over- 
 wrought Brain. Metropolitan Asylums Board, 421 — Regularity of his 
 Household, 422 — The Resources of his Old Age, 423 — His Gratitude. 
 Thoughtfulness for others, 424 — Death in the Family Group, 425 — Colonel 
 Torrens. His Son's Marriage, 426 — Not Forgotten of Men. Statue in 
 Kidderminster. Freedom of the City of London, 428 — Death, 429 — West- 
 minster Abbey, 430. 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 A. — Letter to Postmaster-General Lord Clanricarde (January 3rd, 1849), p. 437. 
 
 B. — Letter to Postmaster-General Lord Clanricarde (August 13th, 1849), p. 443. 
 
 C. — Lord Clanricarde's Reply (August 23rd, 1 849), p. 445. 
 
 D. — Minute on the Sunday Duties of the Post Office (Februar}' 3rd, 1849), p. 446. 
 
 E. — Letter to Postmaster-General deprecating Compulsory Employment on the 
 Sunday (October iSth, 1849), p. 453. 
 
 F. — Anonymous Letter from a Sub-Sorter (October nth, 1849), p. 455. 
 
 G. — Letter to Mr. Warburton (November i6th, 1850), p. 457. 
 
 H. — Letter to Postmaster-General Lord Canning (June i8th, 1853), p. 460. 
 
 I. — Memorandum by Sir R. Hill on the Net Revenue of the Post Office (De- 
 cember i8th, 1862), p. 466. 
 
 J. — Conveyance of Mails by Railway — Memorandum thereon (January 6th, 
 1857), p. 474. 
 
 K. — Minute relative to Panama Route to Australia (September 27th, 1858), p. 478. 
 
 L. — Letter to Lord Canning, Governor-General of India (October 24th, 1857), 
 p. 482. 
 
 M. — Proposed Reduction in the Postage on Newspapers and other Printed Matter 
 (June 1 2th, 1869), p. 484. 
 
 N. — Letter to the Lords of the Treasury — Superannuation Grant (March 17th, 
 1864), p. 492. 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 HISTORY OF PENNY POSTAGE. 
 
 ( ContiiiJted.) 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OP 
 
 PENNY POSTAGE. 
 
 {Continued?) 
 
 -♦o«- 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY (1843). 
 
 As the Committee was not moved for until so late 
 in the session, it could not have very long to sit ; and, 
 at the end of seven weeks, its inquiry was brought to 
 a close by the approach of the prorogation. This 
 abrupt ending was in two ways unfortunate. In the 
 first place, it cut short the evidence I was giving in a 
 reply to allegations from the Post Office ; and, in the 
 second place, it allowed no time for more than the 
 briefest Report. To supply these deficiencies, and to 
 present the whole in readable shape to the public, I 
 drew up a careful statement of the principal facts 
 given in evidence, with my own comments thereon, 
 and published it under the title of " State and Prospects 
 of Penny Postage ;'"^ and from this I proceed to 
 abstract or extract, as may appear most convenient. 
 The pamphlet, I may add, contained, in an appendix, 
 the whole of the correspondence asked for by Sir Thomas 
 Wilde ; including, therefore, the letters refused by the 
 Treasury, but which I had afterwards laid before the 
 Committee in the course of my evidence. 
 
 The witnesses before the Committee were — first, 
 myself, and afterwards the Secretary of the Post 
 
 * London : Charles Knight and Co., Ludgate Street, 1844. 
 VOL. II. B 
 
2 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843 
 
 Office, the Postmaster-General, and three other 
 functionaries of the department. 
 
 " The main part of my evidence consisted of written statements, 
 prepared from day to day, and read before the Committee. The 
 Committee proposed this unusual course, and though I saw that it 
 would greatly increase the labour of preparation, yet, as it enabled 
 me to adopt a better arrangement of matter than could have been 
 secured in an examination altogether viva voce^ I readily complied 
 with their desire."* 
 
 The labour, however, was enormous — especially in 
 the collection, verification, and arrangement of a 
 vast number of facts — and required for its effi- 
 ciency all practicable assistance from my family. I 
 believe nothing but such assistance, and the ex- 
 citement of the contest, could have enabled me to 
 support the toil. The amount of matter laid before 
 the Committee may be judged of when I say that my 
 examination-in-chief occupies a hundred and thirty- 
 four pages in the folio Blue Book (equal to two 
 volumes of an ordinary novel), and engaged the 
 whole time of the Committee at six consecutive 
 sittings. The heaviest part of the work was in the 
 beginning, as then my time for preparation was 
 briefest, while, as it fell out, the mass of matter was 
 largest — ninety-five of the hundred and thirty-four 
 pages being taken up with the proceedings of the first 
 four days. 
 
 After having restated the principal features of my 
 plan, enumerated the chief improvements already 
 effected, and glanced at the chief causes then impair- 
 ing or retarding the beneficial operation of these 
 improvements, I repeated the statement of their 
 results, as already mentioned in my petition, adding 
 that the chargeable letters had increased to nearly 
 
 * " State and Prospects," p. 3. 
 
1843] MY EVIDENCE. 
 
 threefold, while the Increase in Post Office expenses, 
 though still, in my opinion, excessive, was, when the 
 accounts were cleared of certain extraneous charges, 
 actually less for the three years subsequent to the 
 reduction of the rate than for the three years previous 
 thereto.^ 
 
 I referred to a letter from Messrs. Pickford, by 
 which It appeared that they estimated the increase 
 in the number of their letters during the last four 
 years, enclosures being counted in, as from 30,000 
 to about 720,000. t 
 
 I compared the results of penny postage, and of the 
 other alterations consequent upon It (so far as they had 
 then been carried into effect), with the recorded an- 
 ticipations of the Post Office and of myself; referring 
 particularly J to Illicit conveyance, the safety of postage 
 stamps, and the exchange of charge by number of 
 enclosures for charge by weight ; on all which points 
 the expectations of the Post Office had proved 
 erroneous. I also recalled Colonel Maberly s opinion 
 that in the first year the number of letters would not 
 double, even If every one were allowed to frank ; Mr. 
 Louis's estimate that the adoption of the penny rate 
 would cause a loss of from sevenpence to eightpence 
 per letter — that Is, somewhat more than the gross 
 revenue of the Post Office at the time ; and Lord 
 Lichfield's statement in Parliament, that each letter 
 costs the Post Office *' within the smallest fraction of 
 twopence-halfpenny " — a calculation making the ex- 
 pense double the produce of the penny rate.§ On 
 the other hand, I had no difficulty in showing that 
 
 * ** Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 24. 
 t " Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 25. 
 J " Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 72. 
 § " Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 72, p. 21. 
 
4 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND KILL. [1843 
 
 my calculations had been justified, and my expecta- 
 tions, with due allowance for time and circumstance, 
 fairly fulfilled. 
 
 I afterwards laid before the Committee a general 
 statement of measures of improvement not yet 
 effected, but which I had recommended while at the 
 Treasury, several of them essential parts of my 
 original plan.^ In addition to these, I mentioned 
 various other measures, suggested by experience, 
 which I had been quite unable to bring forward for 
 want of opportunity. I may so far anticipate as to say 
 that nearly all the measures then spoken of under 
 both headings were, after my return to office, carried 
 successively into effect, and that their combined 
 operation is the main cause of the present large 
 amount of public convenience and fiscal benefit 
 derived from the Post Office. After such an enu- 
 meration of measures, it was almost superfluous to 
 repeat that " the adoption of my plan was extremely 
 incomplete, its financial operations most injuriously 
 interfered with, and its public benefits lamentably 
 cramped." 
 
 I next proceeded to examine the parliamentary 
 return already referred to, more than once, as the 
 *' Fallacious Return," by which it was made to appear 
 that the Post Office, instead of affording, as shown 
 by the ordinary accounts, a net revenue of ^600,000, 
 caused a positive loss. It may well seem incredible 
 that returns emanating from the same department 
 should exhibit results so widely different, and the 
 reader may naturally be curious as to the means by 
 which the difference was produced. It was mainly 
 this: At the time when penny postage was established, 
 the packet service was, with little exception, charged 
 
 * ** Report of the Committee on Postage {1843)," questions 78-82. 
 
1843] CHARGE FOR THE PACKET SERVICE. 5 
 
 to the Admiralty ; whereas In this return the whole 
 amount (^612,850) was charged against the Post 
 Office.^ The department on which the expense ought 
 to fall, or the equitable division of the charge between 
 the two, might be matter of question ; but it Is obvious 
 that to make such a change without notification, and 
 thereby exhibit, by a mere shuffling of items, results 
 so impaired, was to lead the public into a very false 
 Inference as to the revenue arising from the Post 
 Office under the new system as compared with the 
 old. Indeed, the delusion so produced not only 
 misled large numbers at the time, but, as already 
 said, haunts some minds even to the present day. 
 
 This, however, was not all ; since the return also 
 made a pretended division of the postage revenue 
 under two heads, one consisting of the inland revenue, 
 the other including the foreign and colonial revenue — 
 a distinction which I showed to be made, not by actual 
 examination of facts and just Inference therefrom, but 
 by mere estimate. I also showed that In this return 
 the amount of foreign and colonial postage was greatly 
 swollen at the expense of the Inland revenue, the 
 purpose obviously being to disparage the results of 
 penny postage ; and further that, despite the state- 
 ments of Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Goulburn, the 
 net revenue of the department was really ;^6oo,ooo 
 per annum, t a statement soon confirmed by the 
 following admission of Colonel Maberly : — 
 
 "As I have stated over and over again, looking at it as regards the 
 Post Office revenue now, as compared with what the Post Office 
 revenue was before the penny post, the surplus of income over 
 expenditure is somewhere about ;j£6oo,ooo."| 
 
 * " Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 85, p. 44. 
 + " Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 84 and 85. 
 Z " Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 1664. 
 
6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843 
 
 After disposing of the " fallacious return " — falla^- 
 clous to the extent of ^600,000 per annum — I pro- 
 ceeded to the proof of the different allegations of my 
 petition. 
 
 I described a serious error lately made in a treaty 
 with France — an error the more vexatious as being 
 the result of needless meddling. 
 
 Extract from my evidence : — 
 
 " The next and last case under this head [Economy] is the new 
 postal treaty with France, which, however excellent in its general 
 objects and effects, is, in consequence of important errors in the 
 details, operating very unfavourably on our portion of the revenue 
 derived from the united postage, French and English, on letters 
 between the two countries. Our scale of postage, as the Committee 
 will bear in mind, ascends by half-Ounces up to one ounce, and then 
 by ounces. The French scale, on the other hand, ascends by 
 quarter-ounces. Several important results flow from this distinction. 
 As every letter, in regard to a portion of its postage, is under the 
 quarter-ounce scale, the great majority of letters will be just within 
 the quarter-ounce ; such letters, therefore, though liable to a French 
 rate of 2od. per ounce, and a British rate of only \od. per ounce, 
 would be charged \od. each, viz., 5^. British and ^d. French — the 
 whole being collected sometimes by the one Post Office, sometimes 
 by the other. Under the old system each Government would retain 
 its own 5^., and hand over the second ^d. to the other Government. 
 The English Post Office, however, in order to relieve itself of the 
 trouble of accounting for the letters ?iwneratim, proposed a clause by 
 which each Government would have accounted to the other for the 
 whole mail at once, according to its weight in bulk. I pointed out to 
 the Treasury how unfairly towards our own Government the proposed 
 stipulation would operate, and the proposal of the Post Office was 
 consequently rejected. It appears, however, by the treaty that it was 
 subsequently revived, with a slight modification, which no doubt was 
 thought would obviate the evil, but which only slightly mitigates it. 
 Under the treaty, we are to pay in respect of a mail, the postage of 
 which is collected in England, 2od. an ounce to the French for 
 their share of the postage ; whereas on a mail the postage of which 
 is to be collected in France, we are only to receive i2d. per ounce. 
 Applying this rule to the great majority, which, as before said, are 
 just under the quarter ounce, the ultimate effect is, that of our 5^., 
 
1843] REGISTRATION. 
 
 when the postage is collected in France, the French hand over to us 
 o:ily 3^., retaining 2d. of our 5^., in addition to their own 5^. ; 
 whereas, when we collect the postage, we hand over to the French 
 the whole of their 5^., retaining our own 5^. without any addition. 
 Upon certain small classes of letters the arrangement would be in 
 favour of the English, but to a very slight extent even upon such 
 classes ; and, on the general balance the disadvantage is to an annual 
 amount probably of some thousands of pounds.""^ 
 
 Upon the importance of additional facilities there 
 was the less need that I should repeat in my pamphlet 
 what I had advanced before the Committee, because 
 of the ample recognition given to such importance, in 
 general terms, by Colonel Maberly, in his evidence : — 
 
 " The Post Office has always held the opinion, and I believe they 
 are right, that facilities judiciously applied will enormously increase 
 the correspondence ; and I have sometimes myself pushed this 
 doctrine to a length that may be considered almost absurd, that 
 facilities increase correspondence almost more than reduction of the 
 rate."t 
 
 On the question, however, of what had been done 
 towards that increase of facilities recognised as so 
 important, I dealt with one or two of the most promi- 
 nent points. Thus, under the head, '' Security of 
 Correspondence," I referred to my evidence on the 
 subject of registration ; feeling it the more necessary 
 to enlarge upon this point because of the exaggerated 
 views put forth in his evidence by Colonel Maberly 
 as to the insecurity then existing — views expressed 
 in such phrases as '' The department has become 
 thoroughly demoralized ;" I there has been "enormous 
 plunder and robbery ;" § "the plunder is terrific ;" || 
 and, by way of climax, "a letter posted with money 
 in it mipfht as well be thrown down in the street as 
 put into the Post Office." H 
 
 * '* Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," question 318. 
 
 t Question 1132. % Question 11 74. § Question 1 163. 
 
 II Question 1176. IF Question 1178. 
 
8 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843 
 
 After I had explained to the Committee the diffi- 
 culties to be encountered in the travelling-office — 
 where "how the duty is to be performed" the Post- 
 master-General had declared himself '' altogether at 
 a loss to imagine," adding that ^' if the number of 
 registered letters should increase largely this office 
 must be abolished " — a return was ordered by the 
 Committee, in which, when received, the danger to 
 the public service certainly stood forth in a ludicrous 
 light ; since it appeared that the number of registered 
 letters then to be dealt with in the travelling-office, 
 during its whole journey from London to Preston, 
 averaged only six each trip ! 
 
 For the purpose of refuting my statement, that 
 little or nothing had yet been done in the way of 
 increased facilities to the public, an attempt was made 
 to extort from me an admission that there had been a 
 great number of additional deliveries within the pre- 
 vious twelve months in different parts of the king- 
 dom. The mode taken was to inquire if I were aware 
 of large augmentations in particular towns selected 
 by the querist (Mr. Estcott), who said that he spoke 
 from his own knowledge, and to lead the Committee 
 to infer, from my inability to reply off-hand to such 
 questions, that I must be ignorant on the general 
 subject ; the whole was made up of parts, and If I 
 could not speak to these, how could I be informed as 
 to that ?^ In the interval, however, between my two 
 interrogations on this subject, I produced evidence 
 flatly contradicting, so far as related to two out of the 
 three towns named, the allegations so distinctly im- 
 plied in the questions of the hon. m.ember.t 
 
 * '• Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 407-421, 581-594. 
 f "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 563-570. 
 
1843] POSTAL REFORMERS. 9 
 
 Such are a few of the matters selected for my 
 pamphlet, out of the many dealt with in my evidence 
 relative to past proceedings. 
 
 The next point of consideration was the probability 
 of the completion of my plan. I again quote from 
 my pamphlet, premising that in the previous passage 
 I had referred to the importance which I had always 
 attached to the plan as a whole, and to the Duke 
 of Wellington's emphatic recognition of such im- 
 portance : — 
 
 " As regards probabilities, it is a curious fact that, from the insti- 
 tution of the Post Office to the present time, no important improve- 
 ment has had its origin in that establishment* The town-posts 
 originated with a Mr. Dockwra,t shortly before the Restoration; the 
 cross-posts with Mr. Allen, about the middle of last century ; and 
 the substitution of mail-coaches for horse and foot posts was, as is 
 well known, the work of Mr. Palmer some thirty years later. It is 
 remarkable that the cases of Dockwra and Palmer bear a consider- 
 able resemblance to my own. The opposition to the introduction, 
 and, what is more extraordinary, to the working-out and even the 
 continuance of Palmer's plan, is too well known to be dwelt on here; 
 but both these remarkable men saw their plans adopted, were them- 
 selves engaged to work them out, and subsequently, on the complaint 
 of the Post Office, were turned adrift by the Treasury. "J 
 
 I may remark here that though the three reformers 
 ■ — Dockwra, Palmer, and I — were all alike in the fact 
 of dismissal, a subsequent distinction must be observed. 
 Mr. Dockwra, I fear, never received any recompense 
 for his valuable improvement ; Mr. Palmer was allowed 
 a pension of ^3,000 per annum, an amount much 
 below that promised him in the case of success — 
 obtaining, however, after many years delay, a par- 
 
 * I have since learnt that Mr. Allen had been in the Post Office. 
 
 + The plan was originally devised by a Mr. Murray, who, however, transferred 
 it to Mr. Dockwra. 
 
 :J: " State and Prospects of Penny Postage," pp. 35, 36. 
 
10 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843 
 
 llamentary grant of ^50,000 ; I alone was so far 
 favoured as to be recalled to aid In the completion 
 of my plan. 
 
 In dealing with this question of probabilities, I 
 w^as obliged to dwell strongly on the notorious 
 hostility of the Post Office, as well as its incapacity 
 for the task to be performed : to refer, for instance, 
 to Colonel Maberly's habitual prediction of failure,"^ 
 and Lord Lowther's declared inability to see any- 
 thing in my plan save the introduction of a penny 
 rate, and the establishment of a third delivery to 
 Hampstead.t I had also to show, from the past 
 inaction and indifference of the Treasury, the hope- 
 lessness of looking for efficient aid in that quarter. 
 
 Before concluding the account of my evidence, 
 I extract a passage, which may perhaps afford some 
 little amusement. The reader will recollect the 
 circumstances already mentioned relative to a notice 
 issued by the Post Office, recommending persons 
 corresponding with the far East by the Overland 
 Mail to appoint agents in India for the payment of 
 the onward postage. | On this subject the following 
 passages occurred before the Committee : — • 
 
 " Chair i7ia7i. — With regard to Indian letters, an objection was 
 taken by the East India Company to forwarding letters from Bombay 
 unless payment was made at Bombay ? — I am aware of that. 
 
 " That was notified to the Post Office by the East India Company? 
 — Unquestionably. 
 
 "The Post Office gave notice to the public of such detention on 
 the part of the East India Company ? — Yes. 
 
 " Did they do anything more than that ? — Yes ; they advised that 
 every one wishing to write to places beyond Bombay should appoint 
 an agent for the payment of the transit postage. 
 
 "The Post Office advised that?— Yes. 
 
 * "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 1803 and 1S04. 
 t Question 2968. % Vide ante, pp. 485, 486. 
 
1S43] CORRESPONDENCE WITH AUSTRALIA. II 
 
 "Where does such advice appear? — In the notice given by the 
 Post Office on the occasion. 
 
 ****** 
 
 " Does that contain anything more than an announcement to the 
 public that the East India Company had made such a regulation ? — 
 Yes ; it contains a recommendation to the public to address their 
 letters to the care of correspondents in India. 
 
 ****** 
 
 ^^ Mr. Tennenf. — The tenor of your former answer would import 
 that that was a suggestion emanating from the Post Office ; are you 
 aware that that was a recommendation made to the public by the 
 Post Office in pursuance of direct instructions from the Directors of 
 the East India Company? — I was not aware till this moment that 
 the Directors of the East India Company had power to issue in- 
 structions to the Postmaster-General. 
 
 ****** 
 
 "Are you aware of any instruction given by the East India 
 Directors to the Post Office, that if parties wished their letters to be 
 forwarded, they must find an agent there to do it ? — I have, of course, 
 no means of knowing the correspondence between the Post Office 
 and the East India Company. 
 
 But assuming that the facts are as I gather from the questions of the 
 honourable gentleman, I do not see how those facts can place the 
 Post Office under the necessity of calling upon the British public to 
 do that which is quite impracticable. 
 
 3|C tffC ^ ^ 3^ 3f» 
 
 " Chairman. — What course has been taken ? — The course which 
 appears to have been taken is this, that the Post Office issued the 
 notice I have read in the course of the last April, and that it was 
 withdrawn almost immediately after, in consequence, as it appears 
 to me, of the ridicule which the proceeding brought upon the Post 
 Office."* 
 
 The proceedings of the Committee, as I have 
 already stated, were brought to a rather abrupt con- 
 clusion, so as to prevent, for the moment, an elaborate 
 Report. Nevertheless the power to say enough to 
 acquit both the Treasury and Post Office was 
 
 * " Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," questions 423-439. 
 
12 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843 
 
 obviously in the hands of the majority, had it felt 
 warranted in such a course ; or again, if the inquiry 
 were judged incomplete, nothing could have been 
 easier than to procure the reappointment of the Com- 
 mittee in the following session, and so to obtain 
 abundant time for the formal acquittal of both de- 
 partments, together with an equally complete con- 
 demnation of myself. Neither course, however, was 
 taken. The Committee merely reported what it had 
 done, regretted its inability, for want of time, to report 
 its opinion, but gave the evidence and various corre- 
 spondence, and entertained no doubt that both the 
 Treasury and the Post Office would give my pro- 
 posals the fullest consideration.^ The reader must 
 imagine for himself, if he can, the grounds on which 
 the Committee had to rest when they expressed such 
 confidence. All I need say here is, that I can point 
 to but little in subsequent events to relieve his per- 
 plexity. 
 
 My pamphlet continued as follows : — • 
 
 " In conclusion, I must repeat that if in this pamphlet I have 
 limited my attention to portions only of the late evidence, the selec- 
 tion is made merely for brevity. It would be impossible, without 
 extending these remarks to a most tedious length, even to touch 
 upon all the points in debate. There is not a single one, however, I 
 most emphatically declare, from the discussion of which I have the 
 least disposition to shrink ; nor, I maintain, a single material point on 
 which my positions were shaken by the Post Office evidence — all appa- 
 rent effect of the kind being referable to such misrepresentation, 
 distortion, or suppression, however unwittingly employed, as has been 
 exposed in these pages. 
 
 " Under these circumstances, what remains for me to do ? So 
 long as there is no opportunity of advancing the public benefit, and 
 so long as the absence of all power relieves me in justice from all 
 responsibility, it is my earnest wish to retire from labours so heavy as 
 
 * "Report of the Committee on Postage (1843)," P- 3- 
 
1843] SPAIN AND RUSSIA. 1 3 
 
 those in which I have now for many years been engaged ; — to avoid 
 conflicts which, though I have not shrunk from them when necessar)', 
 have always been repugnant to my feeHngs and remote from my 
 habits of Ufe ; — and, if possible, to recruit that health which both 
 these causes have seriously impaired.""^ 
 
 The preparation of the pamphlet from which I have 
 drawn the foregoing account could not, of course, 
 begin until the appearance of the printed report of the 
 Committee's proceedings, which was not until more 
 than three months after their close. The interim 
 allowed me a period for needful rest, and was not 
 quite without features of Interest. 
 
 On September 7th I received a letter from the 
 Spanish Minister In London, requesting Information 
 desired by his Government, with a view to the 
 introduction of the postage-stamp Into Spain. Such 
 information I was, of course, most happy to supply ; 
 the more so as I felt that the very use of the stamp 
 must involve a certain arriount of uniformity, and, as 
 a consequence, tend to low rates. 
 
 Not long afterwards, the papers announced that the 
 Russian Government also had adopted the stamp, 
 though for a reason which the Englishman even of 
 that time would hardly have imagined for himself, and 
 which certainly I had not set forth among expected 
 advantages. The motive In each case was understood 
 to be the desire of preventing fraud in the postmasters ; 
 and it is obvious that much peculation, practicable 
 under the system of money payments, would be 
 prevented by the use of stamps. It Is remarkable, 
 however, that the first countries to adopt the Improve- 
 ment — Spain and Russia — should be two so far from 
 taking a general lead In European civilization and 
 liberality. 
 
 * (( 
 
 State and Prospects of Penny Postage," p. 42. 
 
14 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843 
 
 On November 22nd the Committee's Report was 
 issued, and without loss of time I fell to such perusal 
 and annotation of the whole evidence as were neces- 
 sary preliminaries to the writing of my pamphlet. 
 It was finished before the end of January, and copies 
 were immediately sent to the leading journals, to every 
 member of the Postage Committee, to Sir Robert Peel 
 and Mr. Goulburn, to various other influential persons, 
 and to a large number of friends and supporters. 
 
 Amongst various letters of acknowledgement I 
 received the followincy : — 
 
 o 
 
 "From the Rev. Sydney Smith. 
 
 "Sir, — Many thanks for your book, which I will diligently read, as 
 I know no one who has increased the public happiness and comfort 
 more than yourself (I do not meddle with the question of revenue — ■ 
 that is a separate chapter) ; but it is impossible to speak too highly 
 of the advantage and satisfaction your plan has afforded to the 
 country at large ; and though it may have diminished the revenue 
 directly, I think it might easily be that facility of communication 
 is a great source of wealth and revenue too. 
 
 ** February 22nd, 1 844." 
 
 *' From Miss Martineau. ** February 26th, 1844. 
 
 " Dear Mr. Hill, — I write not to trouble you for an answer, about 
 which I always feel most scrupulous, but to thank you for sending me 
 your last statement. It is most painfully interesting; and it seems to 
 be found so by others, for my copy has been passing from hand to 
 hand, since the day after I had it. At first reading I was, I own, 
 more discouraged than I ever felt before ; but the more I consider, 
 the more persuaded I am that all will yet end well. Of one thing I 
 am now fully convinced — that there is no danger of any one supposing 
 you responsible for 'improvements' superficially resembling yours, but 
 expensive and ill-managed. From all I can learn everywhere, it 
 does seem clear that a broad, distinct line is drawn between your 
 propositions and those of the reckless . . or any one else. I 
 am always at it with my acquaintance in Parliament ; and what I see 
 there is the ground of my hope that you will get justice at last I 
 
1843] MISS MARTINEAU. 1 5 
 
 find them all, at first, prone to the very natural error of supposing 
 the Post Office gentry good authority on Post Office matters. When 
 they take my reference to the Report, and find what a figure these 
 same gentry cut there, a great point is gained, from which, surely, 
 justice must, sooner or later, ensue." 
 
1 6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843-6 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TIAILWAY DIRECTION. (1843 TO 1 846.) 
 
 In the midst of these transactions I found it neces- 
 sary, as I have already said, to think of means for the 
 maintenance of my family. My choice, however, 
 was limited, for, as I never abandoned the hope of 
 returning to my occupation under Government, I had 
 to avoid any engagement w^hich would render this 
 impracticable or even difficult. I wished, likewise, to 
 find some post which should, if possible, have some 
 direct relation to that service which w^as uppermost in 
 my thoughts — should, even by its nature, tend to give 
 me increased fitness for those more immediate and 
 more detailed duties which I hoped to be one day 
 called on to perform. 
 
 It happened that at this time the affairs of the 
 Brighton Railway Company were in an unsatisfactory 
 state, so much so that it was held desirable to unseat 
 the actual directors and appoint others in their place. 
 In this project I w^as invited to take part, and being 
 put in nomination for the new board, became, by 
 the success of the movement, one of the directors. 
 The new Chairman w^as Mr. J. M. Parsons, and to 
 him, more than to any other individual, are to be 
 attributed the judicious and energetic measures taken, 
 in the early stages, for the restoration of the Com- 
 pany's affairs. He afterwards informed me that he 
 
1843-6] CHAIRMAN OF THE BRIGHTON RAILWAY. 1 7 
 
 viewed my appointment with considerable alarm, 
 expecting that I should urge, if not a penny rate, at 
 least some sweeping reduction of fares, to the ruin of 
 the Company's finances. It will suffice to say that we 
 became sincere, accordant, and earnest coadjutors, and 
 formed a friendship which continued warm and un- 
 broken to the day of his death, some five-and-twenty 
 years afterwards. 
 
 The rigorous examination immediately set on foot 
 showed the existence of practices now too well known 
 in railway management, whereby the appearance of 
 prosperity is maintained amidst progress towards real 
 insolvency. Dividends had been paid when there 
 were in fact no profits to divide, and meantime the 
 resources of the Company were being drained and 
 narrowed, by waste, mismanagement, and inattention 
 to public convenience. Distrust and dissatisfaction 
 had gone so far that the value of the shares, originally 
 £^0, had fallen to ;^35. The directors soon saw that 
 for the first half-year, at least, no dividend could justly 
 be made ; but, of course, they were not without anxiety 
 as to the result of such an announcement on the price 
 of shares. To our gratification, it was so well received 
 by the public that the price almost immediately began 
 to rise ; and I may add that purchasers had no reason 
 to regret their outlay. 
 
 After having continued some time in the direction, 
 I had the satisfaction to find myself, on the motion 
 of the late i\Ir. Pascoe Grenfell, j\I.P., unanimously 
 appointed Chairman of the Company, and from this 
 time I gave my undivided attention to its affairs. Fully 
 convinced of its great capabilities, and having great 
 reliance in my coadjutors, and (if the truth must be 
 told) in myself, I had invested in its shares all my 
 own property, and a considerable sum of money 
 
 VOL. II. C 
 
1 8 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843-6 
 
 borrowed from the various members of my family and 
 other friends, some of whom also became shareholders 
 on their own account. In so doing, I did not look 
 upon myself as rash, but as simply embarking the 
 largest capital that I could command in a concern of 
 whose soundness I was w^ell assured, in which I was a 
 leading partner, and from which, if expectations were 
 not realized, I should have it in my power to withdraw 
 with, at worst, but moderate loss. 
 
 While retrenching useless expenditure and providing 
 for public convenience, the directors also turned much 
 attention to the important point of security to the lives 
 and limbs of passengers. On this point, as well as on 
 some others, I had an opportunity for inspection, of 
 which I made the most. I had removed to Brighton ; 
 in my trips to town, made three or four times each 
 week, I regularly took my seat in a coupe facing 
 backwards at the extreme end of the train. By this 
 means I could, at pleasure, take notice of proceedings 
 and appearances along the line, and in particular mark 
 how far the signals required after the passing of a train 
 were duly made. The solicitor to the Company, who 
 also resided at Brighton, soon became my frequent 
 companion, and now and then the third place was 
 occupied by one or other of the directors. This gave 
 convenience for the transaction of business by the way, 
 and enabled me to enter the board-room thoroughly 
 prepared for rapid and decisive action. 
 
 I believe it was upon the Brighton line that 
 systematic examination of officers previously to their 
 admission to new duties was first established, and I 
 took every means to make it as complete as possible. 
 
 Generally speaking, I had the hearty co-operation 
 of my brother directors, and doubtless many of the 
 improvements effected during my connection with 
 
1843-6] ENFORCEMENT OF PENALTIES. I9 
 
 the Board originated with one or other of their 
 number ; but there was one important point on which 
 it was with difficulty that I got my own way, and I 
 advert to this particularly, because I am convinced 
 by a variety of circumstances that laxity thereon is a 
 frequent cause of accident, even to the present day. 
 This was a strict enforcement of penalties — very 
 moderate ones sufficed — on every discovered breach of 
 rule. Of course there was ready concurrence in this 
 whenever the omission resulted in positive accident, 
 but there was no less disposition to condone at other 
 times. " Why punish the poor man ? — No harm has 
 been done," was a frequent remonstrance ; and when I 
 pointed out that the amount of blame was nowise 
 affected by the result, my proposition, though admitted 
 in theory, was deemed harsh in practice ; so that, 
 while no objection was raised to the soundness of the 
 rule, almost every case seemed to be regarded as an 
 exception. Fortunately, I had enough of support to 
 maintain enforcement, and to this I attribute much of 
 the benefit which followed. 
 
 Another useful practice was to diffuse throughout 
 the Company's force full information as to the cause 
 of accidents, wherever they might occur. For this 
 purpose, we arranged with the proprietors of one of the 
 railway journals, that whenever accounts of accidents 
 were given in the paper we should be supplied with 
 three or four hundred slip-copies of the narrative, and 
 these were distributed to every station-master, engine- 
 driver, guard, and pointsman — in short, to all on whose 
 conduct the safety of the passengers depended. 
 
 Again, by occasionally travelling on the engine I 
 discovered defects in the arrangements which might 
 otherwise have been concealed till some catastrophe 
 brought them to light. For instance, the road between 
 
 c 2 
 
20 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843-6 
 
 London and Brighton at that time belonged to three 
 several companies, each with a different code of signals, 
 or rather, each, with certain exceptions. Interpreting 
 the same signals differently. Consequently, the 
 engine-driver, in reading the signal, had to consider 
 on what part of the road the train was then running. 
 The danger of such a state of things was so obvious 
 that I had no great difficulty in establishing a uniform 
 code. I may remark here, that I know of few things 
 more interesting or exciting than to travel on an 
 engine running at high speed, especially on a dark 
 night. 
 
 The success of all these precautionary measures was 
 highly satisfactory. It must, indeed, be admitted that 
 in some respects safety was easier of attainment then 
 than now, lines being more simple and the traffic much 
 less. But, on the other hand, experience was then 
 comparatively short, and much was unknown which is 
 now familiar ; neither was the electric telegraph yet in 
 use. Be all this as it may, the fact is that during the 
 three years and more that I sat at the Brighton board 
 the Company was subjected to, I believe, but one 
 external claim for compensation. This exceptional 
 case was as follows. It is well known that when a 
 train reaches a terminus it is the duty of a pointsman 
 to direct it into some portion of the station then free 
 to receive it. On one occasion the pointsman at 
 Brighton so blundered that the arriving train struck 
 against a line of carriages, fortunately empty ones, 
 then occupying the rails on to which it ran. As the 
 train was of course preparing to stop, and had brought 
 down its speed almost to a minimum, the collision was 
 slight ; and though the alarm was considerable, and 
 several of the passengers were a little shaken, only 
 one sustained any Injury. This was a young woman 
 
1843-6] EXCURSION AND EXPRESS TRAINS. 21 
 
 who wore one of the large combs common at the 
 period, and whose scalp was slightly wounded by its 
 teeth. Of course the compensation was trifling. The 
 pointsman, being brought before the Board, at once 
 acknowledged his error, and declared his inability to 
 account for the momentary misapprehension which 
 produced it, but pleaded in excuse that though he had 
 held his present post for several years, and had had on 
 the average to perform the duty in question nearly a 
 hundred times per day, this was his first mistake in its 
 execution. This statement, which, so far as it could 
 be tested, was found to be literally true, appeared so 
 satisfactory to the Board, that, in their judgment, 
 looking at his conduct as a whole, the man deserved 
 praise rather than blame ; though, in deference to 
 public opinion, he was for a time removed to an 
 inferior post. 
 
 Two improvements adopted by the Board, chiefly, 
 I believe, on my recommendation, are now recognised 
 as established institutions ; and by their extension to 
 other lines, and by increase in the scope of their 
 operation, have obtained an importance far beyond 
 any expectation that I could then have formed. 
 These are excursion-trains and express-trains. Our 
 first excursion-train ran on Sundays only. After 
 a time the train was run on Mondays also. 
 
 The earliest express-train, intended to accommo- 
 date residents in Brighton whose occupation was in 
 London, started from the first at its present hour, 
 though of necessity it occupied more time in the trip ; 
 as no engine of the day was able to run fifty miles 
 without stopping to take in water, while no means had 
 yet been devised for supplying it to an engine in 
 motion. The train, however, travelled at the rate of 
 thirty-four miles per hour, including a halt at Red- 
 
22 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843-6 
 
 hill, no small achievement at that time. Every one 
 must have remarked how soon the gratification of 
 one desire gives birth to another — how soon we 
 complain of imperfection in what would have been 
 regarded but a few years earlier as unattainable per- 
 fection. I happened one day to travel in an ordinary 
 carriage, and, not being known to its other occupants, 
 heard some free remarks on the management of the 
 line, to which I listened for my own edification. Some- 
 what to my disappointment, I found the late accele- 
 ration complained of as insufficient, one of the pas- 
 sengers exclaiming, " This is a slow-coach ! — a very 
 slow coach ! " Imprudently I asked, '* Are you aware. 
 Sir, that the whole distance from London to Brighton 
 is accomplished in an hour and a-half ? " *' Oh ! " was 
 the glib reply, " if they can do it in an hour and a-half, 
 they can just as well do it in an hour ! " ^ 
 
 By one expedient I sought to combine advantage 
 to my present service with benefit to my former one. 
 Perceiving that residence at Brighton, and therefore 
 custom to the railway, would be increased by every 
 addition to postal facilities between that town and 
 the metropolis, I induced the directors to make an 
 offer to the Post Office for the conveyance of a mail 
 by every train without any additional expense to that 
 department. The result of this offer, which was kept 
 for some time under consideration at the Post Office, 
 will presently appear. 
 
 In the course of 1845 the price of the ;^^o shares 
 had risen, I think, to ^75, or more than twice their 
 
 * The following anecdote I find recorded by Sir R. Hill. "The Clayton tunnel, 
 the longest one upon the London and Brighton Railway, bore for some time, 
 though quite undeservedly, the reputation of being unsafe. One day when I was 
 travelling through it, a man, addressing me, said : * Sir, this tunnel does a power 
 of good.' 'How so?' I asked. 'Why,' he replied, 'there are more prayers said 
 in this tunnel than in all the churches in Brighton put together.'" — Ed. 
 
1843-6] RESIGNATION OF CHAIRMANSHIP. 23 
 
 market value at the time when the new directors 
 were appointed — a price, however, which I knew to 
 be in excess of their real value, and which was due 
 in part to the general inflation at the time, for this, it 
 may be remembered, was the year of the well- 
 known "railway mania." I may observe here that, 
 pecuniarily speaking, I had been a gainer by my 
 expulsion from the Treasury ; the rise in the value 
 of my railway property, resulting in great measure 
 from my own efforts and those of my brother 
 directors, having been so great as to render my pre- 
 vious salary comparatively insignificant ; indeed, in 
 one year, while chairman, my total gain was as high as 
 ;^6,ooo. Why, then, did I resign so advantageous a 
 position, especially as I could not but foresee a danger, 
 a fear afterwards too well confirmed, that, in the 
 absence of my own direct supervision and control, 
 these great profits might be exchanged for yet greater 
 losses ? The answer is to be found in the political 
 circumstances of the day. By this time Sir Robert 
 Peel's Government was beginning to totter, and the 
 Liberals to have strong hopes of a speedy return to 
 power. Believing that their return would be followed 
 by my own recall, and feeling that my late efforts had 
 drawn considerably on my strength both of body and 
 mind, I resolved to obtain a long holiday — an indul- 
 gence impracticable while I retained the chairmanship. 
 I gave notice accordingly, as appears by the following 
 extract from the Railway Chronicle, which will, per- 
 haps, be the more interesting as it announces the result 
 of the offer to the Post Office already mentioned, 
 and indicates probable consequences : — 
 
 " The Post Office has accepted the liberal offer of the Brighton 
 Company to carry a bag of letters by every train gratis. As the 
 South-Eastern, following the Brighton's good example, made a 
 
24 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843-6 
 
 similar proffer, we presume that has been treated in like manner. 
 We congratulate the Post Office on its wisdom, and we are apt to 
 think that a large share of public thanks for the arrangement is due 
 to the new Postmaster-General, the Earl of St. Germans. Coupled 
 with this intelligence, so honourable to the Brighton Company, we 
 regret to hear that the chief instigator of the proposition, the 
 chairman, Mr. Rowland Hill, has intimated to the Board his in- 
 tention to resign his post for the sake of his health, which has been 
 much affected by his laborious attention to business. 
 
 "Mr. Hill's retirement will be felt by the Company and the 
 public. Since he became chairman, the Brighton Railway has 
 increased more than 50 per cent, in value, and the public accom- 
 modation on the line in all respects — cheapness, speed, punctuality, 
 and a kind solicitude for the comfort of all passengers, from highest 
 to lowest — may justly be said to have been raised quite to an equality 
 with that of the best-managed line in the kingdom." 
 
 Some months after the appearance of the paragraph 
 quoted above, I received an application which gave 
 me much pleasure from the South-Western Railway- 
 Company. I must premise that my intercourse with 
 this corporation had been hitherto mainly of a hostile 
 character, its contests with the Brighton Company 
 having been both numerous and fierce. I was now 
 informed, however, that this Company intended to 
 appoint a manager at a high salary, then a rather 
 novel measure, and I was requested to recommend a 
 fit person for the duties. Upon my inquiring as to 
 the precise amount of salary to be given, and the 
 specific qualifications required, I was told that the 
 former would be about ;!^ 1,500 per annum, and for 
 the latter, said the respondent, ** Let them be as much 
 like your own as possible." The meaning of this 
 could not be misunderstood, but, of course, under the 
 circumstances, could not be acted upon. Other eligible 
 offers were made to me, but, with the Post Office in 
 view, I could accept none. 
 
 I had now passed nearly four years in the position 
 
1843-6] PARLIAMENT AND THE RAILWAYS. 25 
 
 of railway director, and though it was grief and 
 bitterness to me to be so long kept aloof from my 
 true work, yet, considering the close connection 
 between railway companies and the Post Office, and 
 the consequent importance of the knowledge I had 
 been enabled to gain, I could not regard the time as 
 ill-spent. 
 
 Before leaving the subject of railways, however, I 
 must mention one occurrence, typical, I believe, of 
 many others, the whole forming one of the great 
 causes of that unfortunate depreciation in railway 
 property of which the world is now but too well aware. 
 At the time of my joining the company the town 
 of Hastings enjoyed no railway communication with 
 any other place. Two projects were started for 
 connecting it with London — one by the Brighton 
 Company, and the other by the South-Eastern. In 
 the parliamentary contest that ensued, the Brighton 
 Company dwelt much on the importance of a coast- 
 line, so useful in defence against invasion, of which 
 at that time there was no small apprehension. Of 
 the military advantage of such a line, strong evidence 
 was given, I think, by the Duke of Wellington. The 
 South-Eastern Company, on the other hand, whose 
 projected line was in effect of the same length, based 
 its claim mainly on the fact that by taking the inland 
 route it would open up a new tract of country 
 of great agricultural importance. The Committee, 
 naturally desirous of obtaining both advantages, 
 suggested for the consideration of the Brighton 
 Company whether it would not be worth while to 
 construct its coast-line, even though the inland line 
 should also be made. As, however, the Brighton 
 directors distinctly rejected this proposal, on the ground 
 that the traffic would not suffice for two lines, the 
 
26 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1843-6 
 
 Committee decided in favour of the coast-line ; and 
 the Brighton Company, regarding a decision made 
 under circumstances so peculiar as a sufficient security 
 against competition, put the works immediately in 
 hand. In the next session, however, the South- 
 Eastern Company returned to the charge with a slight 
 modification of its route, made, apparently, to save 
 appearances ; but again, the modified project being 
 referred to the Board of Trade, according to a rule 
 recently laid down by the House of Commons, and 
 being condemned by that authority, on the ground 
 that the line was in effect the same with that lately 
 rejected by Parliament, was abandoned by the 
 Company. In the following session, however — as 
 Parliament meantime had shown little disposition to 
 treat the recommendations of the Board of Trade with 
 respect — the project was again renewed. When the 
 Brighton directors attempted opposition, they were 
 coolly informed by the chairman of the parliamentary 
 committee that, owing to a change in the Standing 
 Orders of the House, they had no locus standi. In 
 short, the South-Eastern Company gained its point. 
 Railway companies have been denounced as ruining 
 each other by competition ; if so, where does a large 
 portion of the blame lie ? 
 
1844-6] SIR JAMES GRAHAM. 2/ 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 NATIONAL TESTIMONIAL ( 1 844-46). 
 
 Of one motive to retirement from more active rail- 
 way duties I have not yet spoken : it was supplied 
 by the generosity of the public, as will appear here- 
 after. I first return to transactions connected with 
 the Post Office, from which attention has been with- 
 drawn by the above narrative. Of such limited 
 progress, however, as was made towards the adoption 
 of my plans, I shall speak more conveniently when 
 the period of my exclusion approaches its close. 
 
 I had the high gratification to learn that the leading 
 feature of my plan had been introduced to some 
 extent into the United States, and that the President 
 had announced to Congress his desire to reduce the 
 postage throughout the Union ; a measure carried into 
 effect in the spring of 1845, when the postage was 
 fixed at five cents (twopence-halfpenny) for distances 
 within three hundred miles, and ten cents between 
 places more remote. At home, however, the Liberal 
 party wisely judged that the time for further par- 
 liamentary action on the subject of postal reform was 
 not yet come, though occasional motions on postal 
 affairs showed that the question did not altogether 
 sleep. 
 
 Meantime, an occurrence took place which brought 
 
28 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1844-6 
 
 postal affairs, on a point of much importance, re- 
 peatedly before Parliament and the country. This 
 was the opening of letters to and from Signor 
 Mazzini and other Italian exiles, by authority of the 
 Secretary of State for Home Affairs, from whose 
 name such practices were for a time termed ** Gra- 
 hamizing," though, in truth. Sir James Graham was 
 by no means their originator. The unhappy conse- 
 quences, however, in this particular instance, raised 
 so strong a feeling of indignation against the indi- 
 vidual minister, as in great measure to withdraw 
 public attention from the precedent pleaded in his 
 defence. There were two debates on the subject in 
 each House in June, 1844, and these were followed 
 by many further discussions, ending in each House 
 by the grant of a committee of inquiry, each of which 
 made its Report in the following August. In that of 
 the Lords alone there is reference, and that I think 
 somewhat obscure, to what, as I afterwards learned, 
 was a regular practice at the Post Office, though for it 
 the Post Office authorities were nowise responsible. 
 Incredible as it may appear to my readers, it is never- 
 theless true that so late as 1844 a system, dating from 
 some far distant time, was in full operation, under 
 which clerks from the Foreign Office used to attend 
 on the arrival of mails from abroad, to open the letters 
 addressed to certain ministers resident in England, 
 and make from them such extracts as they deemed 
 useful for the service of Government. Happily, the 
 feeling manifested on this occasion led to the entire 
 abandonment of this most questionable expedient ; 
 though it must be recorded that a motion made 
 by Mr. Buncombe, on April 9th, 1845, to forbid the 
 further opening of letters under any circumstances, 
 was lost, the House apparently holding that there 
 
1844-6] NATIONAL TESTIMONIAL. 29 
 
 were circumstances which might render such an 
 expedient just and necessary. I may remark, how- 
 ever, that in the ten years during which I had 
 opportunity for direct knowledge on the subject, it 
 was never resorted to except in a very few cases 
 relating, so far as I can recollect, exclusively to 
 burglars, and others of that stamp. 
 
 I cannot close this portion of my narrative without 
 mentioning one small but curious incident. In May, 
 1845, I received a letter from my friend Dr. Hender- 
 son, informing me that there was a tract in the British 
 Museum, dated as far back as 1659, and entitled "A 
 Penny Post," the author of which bore my own 
 surname. On application to my friend Dr. Gray, I 
 received, through his kindness, a manuscript copy of 
 the same, which is still in my possession. The title 
 is as follows : — " A Penny Post, or a Vindication of 
 the Liberty and Birthright of every Englishman in 
 Carrying Merchants' and other Men's Letters, against 
 any Restraint of Farmers of such Employments. By 
 John Hill, 1659."^ 
 
 I now come to a proceeding of no small importance 
 to myself, whether regarded as an attestation of my 
 services, or as an augmentation of my means. In 
 March, 1844, the Mercantile Committee, so frequently 
 mentioned in this narrative, issued an advertisement 
 inviting subscriptions to a testimonial in my favour. 
 Generally speaking, I was most properly left un- 
 informed as to details ; but in December of the same 
 year I received a letter from Mr. Estlln, an eminent 
 surgeon of Bristol, giving an account of proceedings 
 in that important city anterior to any movement in 
 London ; and, in point of fact, I believe it was in 
 
 * An interesting account of this tract, by Mr. Henry B. Wheatley, will be found 
 in •* The Academy " of December 27th, 1879.— Ed, 
 
30 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1844-6 
 
 Bristol, and from Mr. Estlln, that the testimonial had 
 its origin. I may add that, so far as I am aware, 
 the first London paper in which the measure was 
 advocated was one in which I believe Mr. Estlin 
 may have had some influence. It was a paper of 
 limited circulation, called The Inquirer^ and I was 
 informed that the article in question was from the pen 
 of the editor, the Rev. William Hincks. Neither of 
 these gentlemen now survives ; but, feeling how much 
 I owe to both, I cannot omit this small tribute to their 
 memory. 
 
 In the early part of 1845, after having been re- 
 quested to take in advance the contributions of three 
 of the larger towns, I received from Sir George 
 Larpent a formal copy of the resolutions of the Mer- 
 cantile Committee, together with a cheque for ^10,000, 
 the final presentation being deferred until the accounts 
 should be entirely made up. 
 
 Of course the main proceeding made its way into 
 the newspapers, and thus became known to the public 
 in general, and to the Commissioners of the Income 
 Tax in particular — the consequence being an applica- 
 tion from the Commissioners for Brighton, demanding 
 income-tax upon the chief amount. Finding that 
 representations to them produced no effect, I over- 
 leaped the next stage, and went at once to Mr. 
 Trevelyan at the Treasury, who, like the Duke of 
 Wellington on a well known occasion, exclaimed, 
 " This is too bad !" adding, " It w^ill never do first to 
 deprive you of your salary, and then to tax the public 
 subscription made in lieu of it. Leave this to me." I 
 willingly agreed, and a few days later received a letter 
 from the Income Tax Commissioners, enclosing an 
 instruction from the chief office for the withdrawal of 
 the demand. 
 
1844-6] THE ANTI-CORN LAW LEAGUE. 3 1 
 
 It would be ungrateful to omit mention here of 
 some indications of public satisfaction besides those 
 of a pecuniary nature. Thus, I received the following 
 interesting letter from Mr. Cobden : — 
 
 "My dear Sir, "Manchester, 30th May, 1846. 
 
 •t* 5(5 s|C jp 3(s 3f^ 
 
 " The League will be virtually dissolved by the passing of Peel's 
 measure. I shall feel like an emancipated negro — having fulfilled 
 my seven years' apprenticeship to an agitation which has kno^^^l no 
 respite. I feel that you have done not a little to strike the fetters 
 from my limbs, for without the penny postage we might have had 
 more years of agitation and anxiety. 
 
 *' Believe me, faithfully yours, 
 
 ♦' Rowland Hill, Esq." *' Richard Cobden. 
 
 Probably Mr. Cobden, in this letter, referred merely 
 to the great facility given by cheap postage for the 
 transmission and circulation of those papers which 
 played so material a part in the Anti-Corn Law 
 agitation ; but it seems not unlikely that other assist- 
 ance may have been afforded to his great improvement 
 by the success, so far as then ascertained, of my 
 measure, as a bold reduction of taxation — a change 
 much more sudden and decided than had ever before 
 taken place in our fiscal system. I believe I am 
 safe in assuming that this success has acted as an 
 encouragement to the many adventurous changes in 
 taxation which have followed one another in rapid 
 succession even to the present time. 
 
 Among the many minor evidences to the benefit 
 derived from cheap postage, the following little cir- 
 cumstance was not the least pleasing. The late 
 Mr. Tremenheere told me that a servant-boy in his 
 father's house in London, learning that his mother in 
 Somersetshire was dangerously ill, wrote home for a 
 daily bulletin, which he duly received until the danger 
 was over, eagerly rushing every morning to the door 
 
32 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 at the first sound of the postman's knock. Such an 
 occurrence would seem trivial now ; it was felt then 
 as a striking novelty. 
 
 The formal presentation of the Testimonial took 
 place at Blackwall on June the 17th, 1846, a public 
 dinner being given on the occasion. Of my own 
 family there were present my father (then in his 
 eighty-fourth year), all my brothers, my brother-in- 
 law, and my only son. The chair was taken by Mr. 
 Warburton. A report was read by the secretary of 
 the Testimonial Committee, from which it appeared 
 that the net amount of the subscription was upwards 
 of ;^ 1 3,000. The committee expressed Its opinion 
 that the amount would have been larger had not in- 
 dividual subscriptions been limited at the outset to 
 ;^io lOi". The report also, contrasting the testimony 
 from the Treasury to the value of my services 
 with the fact of my dismissal, urged my recall. 
 The chairman took occasion in the speech, in which 
 he proposed my health, to point out that among 
 the subscribers to the Testimonial Fund was to be 
 reckoned the First Lord of the Treasury, Sir Robert 
 Peel. 
 
 In my reply, after expressing my thanks, and 
 speaking of the public services of those who 
 had assisted in the great work of postal reform, 
 I proceeded to a short review of the principal 
 results of penny postage up to that time. I showed 
 that, even with the very limited adoption of my plan, 
 considerable progress had been made towards the 
 recovery of the revenue and that large multiplication 
 of letters on which I had counted ; the number of 
 letters delivered within twelve miles of St. Martin's- 
 le-Grand being already equal to that delivered under 
 the old system throughout the whole United King- 
 
1846] PRESENTATION OF TESTIMONIAL. 33 
 
 dom. I next touched upon those yet more important 
 benefits which could not be exhibited in a statistical 
 form ; and upon this point I was happily able to 
 quote from a recent speech of Mr. Goulburn, made 
 on the bringing-in of his Budget, the passage being 
 as follows : — 
 
 " It would be a fallacy to suppose that the country is only relieved 
 by a remission of taxation to the amount of the loss experienced by 
 the Exchequer. Nothing can be more erroneous. When you reduce 
 a tax you should calculate the amount of relief afforded upon the 
 increased consumption of that article ; you cannot take as a measure 
 of the relief of the pressure upon the people the amount which you 
 collect less in the revenue." 
 
 Now, by applying this rule to the determination of 
 the amount of relief afforded by the reduction of the 
 postage rates, even taking such reduction at only 
 fivepence per letter, it would appear that the total 
 benefit amounted to the enormous sum of ^6,000,000 
 per annum.^ 
 
 Having thus dealt with the past and present, I 
 proceeded to speak of the future ; and here I turned 
 again to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as a judge 
 certainly free from all suspicion of undue leaning 
 towards penny postage, for an opinion as to the results 
 to be expected from those improvements for which I 
 had so strenuously contended. In the same speech he 
 anticipated '' that the revenue of the Post Office, as 
 additional facilities are given, will continue to present 
 a large annual increase ;" and further on he estimated 
 the net postal revenue for the current year at ;^8 50,000. 
 I was able, even then, truly to add — and I may 
 observe, in passing, that this remark has since that 
 
 * Application of the same rule to the letters of the year iS68 would raise the 
 amount of relief to nearly ;^I7, 000,000. [In 1878 the amount would be nearly 
 ;^23,ooo,ooo. — Ed.] 
 
 VOL. II. D 
 
34 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 time been frequently repeated by others — that there 
 was no branch of the revenue the increase of which 
 was so steady and rapid as the revenue of the Post 
 Office. I pointed out that, as education became more 
 and more extended, a large increase of correspondence, 
 and consequently of revenue, might be confidently 
 expected ; the more so because, great as the actual 
 amount appeared when viewed in the aggregate, the 
 average yielded by its division amongst the whole 
 population was but one letter per month for each 
 person ; while if the time should ever come when the 
 average postage of the country would equal that given 
 by the domestic correspondence of my own family, 
 including children and servants, the annual gross 
 revenue of the Post Office would amount to more 
 than ;^40,ooo,ooo — or twentyfold its actual sum. 
 
 But if the present imperfect arrangements afforded 
 such results as those which had actually been realized, 
 what would be the effect of adopting the whole plan ? 
 Little had been done towards this during the last three 
 years, but the Post Office had reluctantly made at 
 least one valuable move. It had established new 
 deliveries in London to the extent, if not of six, as 
 recommended by myself, yet to that of three. The 
 effect was immediately to advance the annual rate of 
 increase in the number of district letters by 50 per 
 cent. This improvement had not been followed by 
 that earlier delivery of the general post letters which 
 I had offered to effect without any material addition to 
 expense, but such an acceleration the Post Office had 
 declared impossible. 
 
 In the department of economy, however, much 
 remained to be effected, and that not by a reduction 
 of salaries, nor by increasing the labours of the men, 
 but by simplifying the mechanism of the Post Office. 
 
1846] PRESENTATION OF TESTIMONIAL. 35 
 
 I added that, seeing how much room there was for 
 further improvement, and yet how near the results 
 actually obtained approached to those anticipated from 
 the complete development of the plan, I thought we 
 w^ere fully justified in assuming that, but for the 
 unfortunate interruption in the progress of the measure 
 which took place on the retirement of the Liberal 
 Government, there would ere this have been no 
 exception whatever to the realization of our antici- 
 pations. 
 
 I then referred to the good effects of penny postage 
 on the action of other countries ; its adoption by the 
 British Parliament having already led to reductions 
 in Russia, Prussia, Austria, Spain, and the United 
 States of America. 
 
 I continued as follows : — ■ 
 
 " Before I conclude, I must request your kind indulgence while I 
 lay before you a brief statement of the manner in which the estab- 
 lishment of penny postage has affected myself It is notorious that 
 a reformer must not expect a life of ease and comfort. Judging 
 from my own experience, he must make up his mind to labour hard, 
 to encounter much disappointment, and to have his motives and 
 conduct misunderstood and misrepresented. Still, when I compare 
 my own with the course of earlier reformers, I cannot but feel that, 
 independent even of the munificent reward which your kindness has 
 bestowed upon me, I have in many respects been most fortunate. 
 Sir Samuel Romilly tried year after year in vain to effect so obvious 
 an improvement as the abolition of capital punishment for privately 
 stealing in a shop to the extent of five shillings. This attempt met 
 with but little support from the people, while it was opposed by the 
 Government of the day, by Lord Chancellor Eldon, and by Chief 
 Justice EUenborough. I, on the contrary, have seen my plan, how- 
 ever imperfectly, brought into practice; and none but those who 
 have laboured long and anxiously to effect an important improve- 
 ment can form any conception of the gratification which such a 
 result brings with it. There was, however, one period of my course 
 to which I cannot even now revert without pain. I allude to that 
 period when, with my health impaired by six years of incessant 
 
 D 2 
 
36 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 labour and anxiety, I was dismissed from the Treasury, and left to 
 seek afresh the means of supporting my family. I have on a former 
 occasion expressed my thanks to Sir Robert Peel for the kind 
 manner in which he has more than once been pleased to speak of 
 my labours. I now thank him for the honour he has done me in ■ 
 contributing to the Testimonial ; but had he yielded to my entreaties 
 to be allowed, at any pecuniary sacrifice to myself, to work out my 
 own plan — to prove that I had not misled the public as to its results, 
 nor even adopted those sanguine views which in a projector might 
 perhaps be forgiven, however erroneous ; — had he done this, my 
 gratitude would have been unbounded. But severe as was the 
 disappointment which I felt, and still feel, at being unjustly deprived 
 of all participation in the execution and completion of my own plan 
 — in seeing it left in the hands of gentlemen who feel no interest in 
 its success, and who, I must say, have evinced no peculiar aptitude 
 either for comprehending its principles, or for devising and executing 
 the necessary details — even at that moment of severe disappoint- 
 ment, I can truly say that I felt no regret at having embarked in the 
 great work of Post Office improvement. 
 
 I concluded thus : — 
 
 "I trust that you, as well as the thousands of my friends and 
 benefactors who are not now present, will not judge of the strength 
 of my feelings by the feebleness of their expression, but that you and 
 all will believe that I, and every member of my family, feel truly 
 grateful for the princely gift, and for the high honour which have 
 been conferred upon us." 
 
1846] THE NEW MINISTRY. 37 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 APPOINTMENT TO POST OFFICE {1846). 
 
 Although I was confident that the return of the 
 Liberals to power was but a question of time, it 
 followed so rapidly upon the events already mentioned 
 as almost to take me, and I suppose many others, by 
 surprise. After holding office somewhat less than five 
 years, Sir Robert Peel found himself without adequate 
 support in the House which had raised him to power, 
 and on the 29th of the month in which I received my 
 testimonial he resigned. . 
 
 Although I became aware, by repeated conversations 
 which I had had with my friend Mr. Hawes, who was a 
 member of the new Government, that he confidently 
 reckoned upon my recall, yet, knowing that he could 
 have no direct power in the matter, I was desirous of 
 further evidence as to the intentions of the new adminis- 
 tration. Mr. Warburton, who was always believed to 
 have great influence with Liberals in power as well as 
 out of power, undertook to communicate with the 
 Government. On July 30th he wrote word that he 
 had had an interview with the new Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer (Sir Charles Wood, now Lord Halifax), 
 and would be glad to see me on the morrow. Of his 
 oral communication I have retained no record, but 
 according to my recollection the Chancellor had 
 
38 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 Spoken of difficulties — had thought that the best post 
 for me would be, not at the Treasury as before, but 
 at the Post Office, into which, however, he did not yet 
 see how my introduction could be managed without 
 disturbance to the department. In short, the matter 
 was a problem, and time would be required for its 
 solution. I resolved, therefore, to make good use of 
 the interim, and entering on the longest holiday I had 
 ever known, went abroad for that change of scene and 
 thought which alone could fit me for the arduous 
 duties in which I expected soon to be engaged. 
 
 Meantime, some events of interest passed at home. 
 On August 22nd Mr. Buncombe, in the House of 
 Commons, again complained of the management of the 
 Post Office. In the course of the debate Mr. Parker 
 (Secretary to the Treasury) stated that the new Post- 
 master-General (Lord Clanricarde) had found " the 
 whole establishment in a most unsatisfactory condi- 
 tion." ^ Mr. Hume, in terms highly complimentary to 
 me, urged my recall. The Premier (Lord John Russell) 
 admitted '' that he was by no means satisfied with the 
 state of the Post Office, nor did he think the plans of 
 reform instituted by Mr. Hill had been sufficiently 
 carried out;t and Mr. Warburton, referring to Lord 
 John Russell's admission, strongly urged my reappoint- 
 ment to office. 
 
 My first intimation of this debate was received in a 
 letter from Mr. Warburton, of which the following is 
 the closing passage : — 
 
 " I think it manifest from this statement of Lord John Russell 
 that a reform in the Post Office is meditated in good earnest. . . . 
 You must be within call, if wanted." 
 
 On November 2nd, five days after my return from 
 
 Hansard," Vol. Lxxxviii., p. 957. t " Hansard," Vol. LXXXViii., p. 959. 
 
 * (( 
 
1846] LORD CLANRICARDE 39 
 
 abroad, I received a letter from Mr. Warburton, of 
 which the following is the substance. He had just 
 seen Lord Clanricarde (at his request), who said that, 
 knowing Mr. Warburton's interest in me and in Post 
 Office matters, he wished to have some conversation 
 with him before negotiating directly with me. There 
 were difficulties in the way of giving me any high 
 existing office in the Post Office, and objections 
 thereto. The office of secretary, for instance, was so 
 loaded with detail, that if given to me, whose office 
 should be to advise, suggest, and consider of improve- 
 ments, my utility would be destroyed. On the other 
 hand, there were objections to an office of the nature 
 held before, on account of antagonism with the Post 
 Office. His lordship thought the fittest appointment 
 would be one constituting me the adviser of the Post- 
 master-General. He thought that such an office, 
 which every day's experience convinced him was 
 necessary, might be constituted by himself at once. 
 Mr. Warburton informed his lordship that, from some 
 conversation he had had with me, he knew that I 
 would not accept any office from the Government 
 which might be regarded as a mode of putting me 
 on the shelf; but that if an office of permanence 
 and dignity, connecting me with the Post Office — 
 not placing me under the secretary — and giving me 
 sufficient weight to carry out my plans of improve- 
 ment, were offered, it would be accepted ; that the 
 office suggested by his lordship wanted permanence. 
 I might be dismissed, as before, by some cabal of the 
 officers of the department. They would bide their 
 time until a Postmaster-General should be appointed 
 who would cashier me. If the office were ephemeral, 
 I could be of no utility ; resistance to my proposed 
 measures would be protracted until they could be 
 
40 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 defeated by a change of dynasty. He added that, on 
 his (Mr. W.'s) suggestion, Lord Clanricarde would have 
 an interview with me on the subject. Mr. Warburton 
 obtained Lord Clanricarde's permission to repeat to 
 me what had passed. 
 
 Having procured an appointment with Lord Clan- 
 ricarde, I called upon him two days later ; but of 
 my conversation with him on this occasion, and at a 
 second interview, I have no further record than the 
 following : — " Saw Lord Clanricarde twice during the 
 negotiation ; much pleased with his straightforward, 
 business-like manner." I remember, however, that I 
 suggested for his lordship's consideration the revival 
 of the title assigned to Palmer, viz., Surveyor-General 
 of the Post Office, and that in consequence of his 
 inquiry as to the circumstances of Palmer's appoint- 
 ment, I undertook to send him a report on the 
 subject. 
 
 On the following day, I received a letter from his 
 lordship, in which, after expressing a wish to hear my 
 more considered opinion of the proposal which he had 
 intimated to me, he continued as follows : — 
 
 " I assure you that I am convinced such an appointment as that I 
 wish you to hold — we will not quarrel about a na7ne for it — would 
 afford the best possible opportunity (under all existing circumstances) 
 for carrying out steadily, safely, and constantly, every possible im- 
 provement in the Post Office, in conformity with your plan and 
 general views." 
 
 Objection having arisen to the revival of Palmer's 
 official title, and my position being, as I well knew, 
 matter of grave importance to my efficiency in office, 
 I wrote to Mr. Warburton on the 17th, but was 
 prevented by his illness at the time from receiving 
 that immediate assistance which in health he was 
 always so ready, I might say so eager, to give. 
 
1846] APPOINTMENT OFFERED. 4I 
 
 Meantime, the negotiation was carried on by Mr. 
 Hawes, who was at once a member of the Govern- 
 ment, and exceedingly zealous for my interests ; but in 
 the course of it a vexatious mistake occurred, which 
 was by no means without injurious effect. Knowing 
 how difficult it would be for me, after all that had 
 passed, to co-operate either harmoniously or success- 
 fully with Colonel Maberly, I urged the importance 
 of the step actually taken eight years later, viz., of 
 removing him to some other office. To this it was 
 replied that there was no post available for the 
 purpose, save at lower salary than he was then re- 
 ceiving ; and as the loss involved was said to be ^300 
 a-year, I expressed my perfect willingness to sacrifice 
 that sum for the purpose of indemnification. My 
 salary at the Treasury, it may be remembered, was 
 ;^i,500 a-year (the same as that of the Secretary to the 
 Post Office) ; and I now said that I was ready to accept 
 ;^i,200, provided only that my position were such as 
 would enable me to carry out promptly and efficiently 
 the remaining parts of my plan. Unluckily for me, 
 it came to pass that, w^hile my offer as to salary was 
 caught at, the accompanying stipulation was somehow 
 set aside ; the definite proposal being that I should 
 take office as Secretary to the Postmaster-General 
 with a salary of ^1,200 a-year; thus placing me in 
 a lower position than that which I had previously 
 occupied at the Treasury. When I pointed out this 
 to Mr. Hawes, he expressed his regret at the perverse 
 form the thing had taken, but saying that the error 
 could not now be retrieved, gave it as his earnest 
 advice that I should accept the proposal as it stood. 
 Upon my objecting to this, he urged that the arrange- 
 ment was but temporary ; for that as soon as I should 
 have demonstrated my fitness for the entire control of 
 
42 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 the department, I should doubtless be placed at the 
 head. As I still resisted, his urgency increased. He 
 warned me that, if I now declined, my plans might 
 remain for ever incomplete, for that no second oppor- 
 tunity was likely to be offered ; and he concluded with 
 the words, '' Let me implore you to accept it." To 
 such an exhortation from a kind and valued friend 
 I could not return an abrupt answer, and though 
 grievously disconcerted at what had occurred, I pro- 
 mised to consider the matter. 
 
 Here, then, I found myself in a painful dilemma. 
 On the one side I was called on to accept a lower 
 position than before, and thus to maintain from inferior 
 ground a contest which had almost worn me out when 
 the ground was equal ; to consent to carry out my 
 plans, if at all, through wearisome controversy, over 
 factitious obstacles, and by reluctant hands ; perhaps 
 to break down in the trial, and thus leave my work 
 still undone. On the other hand, could I let slip this, 
 my sole chance, as it appeared, of at least attempting 
 to complete the great task on which I had entered ? 
 Could I disappoint the friends who had striven so 
 earnestly on my behalf, and for the promotion of my 
 great object ? Could I forget the noble subscription 
 raised for me by the public, and seem to show, by my 
 acts, that I preferred emolument to achievement, or 
 doggedly stood out for unimportant distinctions of title 
 or position ? ^ The question was a very difficult one, 
 
 * Some months before his death Sir R. Hill sent to inform me of a circum- 
 stance that had been lately brought back to his memory, but which he had 
 omitted, he said, to mention in the History of Penny Postage. At the time 
 when it was proposed that he should return to the Post Office with a lower 
 salary than Colonel Maberly's, and therefore in an inferior position, he himself 
 was unwilling to do so. He foresaw the troubles that would arise. On mentioning 
 this to some of his friends, he found that they considered that he was bound to 
 return to the Post Office work, having received, as it were, a retaining fee in the 
 public subscription. If it had not been for this he should, he said, have refused 
 the place. — Ed. 
 
1S46] SECRETARY TO THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL. 43 
 
 and though, after much consideration, I felt inclined to 
 give way, I resolved first to consult all such of my 
 brothers as were within reach. The result in each 
 case was curiously identical, though for some reason, 
 now forgotten, I had to consult them severally. Each 
 began with an indignant ejaculation at the terms as 
 they stood, and a declaration that they could not be 
 accepted ; but each, after hearing the matter to the 
 end, came to the conclusion that, unworthy as was the 
 treatment to which I was subjected, it would not do to 
 forego what might prove to be my only opportunity of 
 completing my great work. Since my own conviction 
 accorded with theirs, I wrote to Mr. Hawes in accept- 
 ance of the offer. As the letter fully sets forth my 
 reasons for this step, I give it in extenso : — 
 
 *' Brighton, November 23rd, 1846. 
 
 " My dear Hawes, — You will be glad to learn that I have decided 
 to accept the offer of Government of a permanent appointment as 
 secretary to the Postmaster-General, at a salary of ^1,200 a-year. 
 
 " The opinion so strongly expressed by Mr. Warburton and your- 
 self as to the necessity for so doing, backed as it now is by that of 
 Mr. Samuel Jones Loyd, has overborne my own objections, though I 
 cannot say that it has removed them, as I still feel great appre- 
 hension that, notwithstanding the promises of support which I have 
 received from the Postmaster-General and the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer, I shall have to encounter that opposition which has 
 hitherto been so successful in retarding the progress of penny post- 
 age, and on some occasions in resisting the most positive orders of 
 the Treasury. 
 
 " You are aware that, with a view to neutralize, or at least diminish, 
 this formidable opposition, I was willing to sacrifice a large propor- 
 tion of my own salary, in order to enable the Government to offer 
 Colonel Maberly his full salary as a retiring allowance. It is not for 
 me to discuss the reasons which have led to Colonel Maberly's re- 
 tention in of^ce, but it obviously is my duty carefully to consider 
 how far such retention ought to influence my own conduct. 
 
 " This difificult question has occupied my mind for several days, 
 and the result, I am sorry to say, is a confirmation of the opinion 
 
44 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 which I expressed to you and Mr. Warburton when the offer was 
 first communicated to me, namely, that, under the circumstances of 
 the case, to accept office would expose the improvements which 
 remain to be effected to a serious risk of failure, and thus perhaps 
 bring discredit on the general plan as well as on myself; and conse- 
 quently that I should best consult the public interest and my own by 
 respectfully declining the offer of Government. I need not tell you 
 that I am most anxious for an opportunity of completing my plan, 
 and that throughout these negotiations I have proposed no con- 
 ditions, except that I should have the authority requisite to secure 
 the success of the measure. Much will undoubtedly be done by 
 making my office permanent, and by placing me in immediate com- 
 munication with the Postmaster-General, as well as the Treasury; 
 but I fear this is not enough. I think Colonel Maberly should have 
 been induced to resign. I see almost insuperable difficulty in 
 attempting to collect information and to issue instructions otherwise 
 than through the general secretary's office, and yet, judging from 
 past experience, it appears hopeless to look for his voluntary co- 
 operation, while his position makes him too strong to be effectually 
 coerced. But assuming that Colonel Maberly must remain in office, 
 then I think that my appointment should have been one of at least 
 equal rank with his. This point, as will be seen by the published 
 correspondence, was fully considered when I went into the Treasury, 
 and the reasons which then existed, the strength of which was in 
 effect admitted by Mr. Baring, apply with at least equal force now. 
 
 " These are my own views on the subject, and I think it best to 
 state them without reserve ; but seeing that Mr. Warburton, Mr. 
 Loyd, and yourself entertain a different opinion, that you all express 
 a strong conviction to the effect that if this opportunity of com- 
 pleting my plan be lost no other will be afforded me, that public 
 opinion would not support me in declining the offer, and that I may 
 look forward to a probable reorganization of the Post Office, and, if 
 I show that I possess the requisite administrative powers, to pro- 
 motion, at no distant period, to a position of higher authority — I am 
 naturally led to distrust my own opinions, and to adopt the safer 
 guidance of my kind and able advisers. 
 
 " After an interval of four years, during which my attention has 
 necessarily been devoted to other matters, I am therefore about to 
 enter on my arduous task. I shall look forward with as much hope 
 and as little apprehension as I can; but if improvement in the 
 mechanism and in the revenue of the Post Office should be less 
 rapid than I had anticipated under the impression that opposing 
 
1846] MR. WARBURTON. 45 
 
 influences would be removed, I cannot doubt that Government and 
 the country will do me the justice to bear in mind the pecuhar 
 difficulties of my position, and to recollect that, whatever circum- 
 stances limit my power, they to the same extent limit my responsi- 
 bility also. 
 
 "Though the fact does not at all touch the public ground to 
 which, in considering this question, I have endeavoured to confine 
 my attention, I may be excused for mentioning that my acceptance 
 of the appointment, accompanied as it must be by the abandonment 
 of my present occupation, will be attended with an increase of labour 
 and a sacrifice of income. 
 
 " I am sure you will excuse my troubling you with this letter. My 
 
 object is, first, to give you the earliest intimation of my decision, 
 
 and, second, to place on record the circumstances of the case while 
 
 they are fresh in our memories. To any other member of the 
 
 Government than yourself I could not speak in so unreserved a 
 
 manner. 
 
 *'I remain, &c., &c, 
 
 "Rowland Hill. 
 
 "P.S. — . . . November 24th. — I have kept back my letter in 
 order that I may show it to Mr. Warburton, who authorizes me to 
 say that he approves of it." 
 
 Two days afterwards I received a letter from the 
 Postmaster-General, requesting that I would call upon 
 him on the following Saturday. Having meantime 
 inquired of Mr. Warburton whether there were any 
 further information which he thought it important for 
 me to receive before this interview, I had a letter from 
 him, in which he mentioned that he had told Lord 
 Clanricarde of my acceptance of the offer made by 
 Government, accompanying his announcement with 
 the remark that those whom I had consulted had been 
 in doubt as to the advice they should give, fearing that 
 Colonel Maberly would be able to thwart me in my 
 exertions. Mr. Warburton's letter then proceeded as 
 follows : — 
 
 "That the objections had been overcome by the promises of 
 support which had been given both by his lordship and the 
 
46 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, and by the assurance of the latter that, 
 if you proved yourself an able administrator, you were to look forward 
 to promotion." 
 
 A few days later, having in the meantime called 
 on the Postmaster-General, I received my formal 
 appointment. As I had again cast in my lot with the 
 Post Office, I withdrew, of course, from my previous 
 employments, resigning all my directorships, already 
 three in number. 
 
 I was now in my fifty-second year, and in the tenth 
 from that in which I first took Post Office reform 
 seriously into my thoughts. I need not say that the 
 interval had been a period of very hard work, that 
 a decade in my life was in every sense gone ; in 
 short, that I was already somewhat old for the heavy 
 work of reform that still lay before me. 
 
1846] IN THE POST OFFICE AT LAST. 47 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 JOINT SECRETARYSHIP. (l 846- 1 848.) 
 
 The scene of my labours was henceforth to be In 
 that institution which had so long been the centre 
 of my thoughts ; and though the post assigned me 
 would, as I knew, give me but limited power for 
 attaining the ends I had in view, I still hoped by 
 patience and perseverance to make fair progress. I 
 now resumed the Journal which for four years had 
 been suspended : — 
 
 ^^ December ^fh, 1846'. — Called on the Postmaster-General at his 
 house . . . Drove with him to the Post Office in his cab." 
 
 As we passed through Newgate Street, there was 
 a little incident of some amusement. The way being 
 blocked, there arose some of the abusive language 
 usually heard on such occasions against those who, 
 being immediately ahead, seem to stop the way ; and 
 the Postmaster-General and his new secretary came in 
 for their full share. Upon looking back we found 
 that the abuse came from the driver of a mail-cart, 
 who was thus unconsciously railing at his official 
 superiors. Lord Clanricarde burst into a hearty 
 laugh ; showing, what I have often remarked, that 
 men under heavy official pressure seem more than 
 commonly pleased with a little fun. 
 
48 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 " On reaching the Post Office, Mr. Cornwall (the Postmaster- 
 General's private secretary), who had preceded us, told me that 
 Colonel Maberly wished to see me. We went together to M.'s room. 
 M. and I shook hands, &c. All three then proceeded to make the 
 circuit of the Post Office, and I was introduced to all the heads of 
 departments. ... To commence duty on Wednesday, the 
 9th." 
 
 This was at least a satisfactory beginning, but 
 what was to follow ? While I resolved that nothing 
 should be wanting on my part to maintain harmony, 
 I could not but form, from the past, unsatisfactory 
 expectations as to the future. How far these mis- 
 givings were justified will appear presently; and yet 
 I should willingly suppress much of the evidence on 
 this point but for fear of misleading future reformers. 
 It is important that any one meditating such a course 
 as mine should know what that course really was ; so 
 that before entering on his work he may count the 
 cost. How soon difficulties are forgotten by mere 
 bystanders was curiously shown In my case by an 
 article some few years later in the " Edinburgh 
 Review," on Mr. Charles Dickens's story of *' Little 
 Dorrit." Few periodicals rendered me more impor- 
 tant service than this — in none did It seem less pro- 
 bable that the nature and extent of my struggles 
 would be underrated ; and yet my course was cited 
 as one notoriously demonstrating the Injustice of those 
 attacks on official jealousy which have rendered *' Cir- 
 cumlocution Office " a familiar term. Mr. Dickens's 
 amusing reply will be found In *' Household Words," 
 Vol. XVI., p. 97, and it may be added that it contains 
 a short, but true and lively, sketch of my early 
 struggles. Prior, therefore, to describing the im- 
 provements which I was gradually able to introduce, 
 I shall endeavour to give a specimen of the circum- 
 
1846] OBSTRUCTIONS. 49 
 
 Stances which, for years after my restoration to office, 
 made progress so tardy : — 
 
 " December' gth. — Commenced duties at the Post Office. 
 
 "The Postmaster-General has referred to me by minutes the 
 Railway Report, and several applications for increase of force or 
 of salary, but there is some demur in supplying the necessary 
 papers, and the assistant-secretary (Campbell) showed me a minute 
 (referred to in a note which I received this morning from the 
 Postmaster-General, who is not at the office to-day), prescribing the 
 course of proceeding in my department. It appears to be un- 
 necessarily restrictive; must see the Postmaster-General on the 
 subject." 
 
 To show how much this minute was Hkely to hamper 
 me, it is only necessary to state that it forbade me 
 to demand any papers whatever, or to send for any 
 officer, without first enumerating my wants in a 
 minute, which was to receive the sanction of the 
 Postmaster-General, and then be sent to Colonel 
 Maberly for him to give it effect. As it was im- 
 practicable for me, when entering on any investiga- 
 tion, to foresee what papers or what officers I should 
 require to consult, or even to know what papers were 
 in existence, it is obvious that by such a rule my 
 proceedings would be so clogged as to render satis- 
 factory progress Impracticable : — 
 
 ^'- Dece77iber loth. — . . . seem to think that the minute may be 
 converted into a means of annoyance. Johnson, the chief clerk, 
 has refused to show Armstrong [my private secretary] the form of 
 the letter register without a written order to that effect; but the 
 Postmaster-General learnt the fact, and set the matter right even 
 before I could see him. On my calling his attention to the minute, 
 he explained it to be much less restrictive than I had supposed, and 
 at once wrote a second minute explanatory of the first." 
 
 With regard to the supposed necessity for restric- 
 tion, I soon learnt that not only the assistant-secretary, 
 
 VOL. II. E 
 
50 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1846 
 
 but also several of the clerks in the secretary's office, 
 could obtain necessary papers without the least diffi- 
 culty. I must add that, while at the Treasury, I 
 had similar freedom in relation to the papers there, 
 and even to the officers of the Post Office, and I can 
 truly aver that, so far from abusing the opportunities 
 thus given, I had been careful to avoid everything 
 that could in the least degree infringe the discipline 
 of either department. Subsequent discoveries, how- 
 ever, led me to understand what strong reasons there 
 must have been for obtaining from the Postmaster- 
 General an order rendering access to papers as limited 
 as possible. For, while I really shunned all know- 
 ledge on the subject, I could not avoid receiving from 
 casual observation ample confirmation of the sus- 
 picions that I entertained three years before as to 
 the extent to which the Parliamentary Committee of 
 1843 v/as misled."^ 
 
 Restriction became the more galling because, In 
 the very nature of things, the pressure of work was 
 more than enough. 
 
 '■'■ Dece7?iber isth. — Learnt from Stow that a copy of the minutes 
 as to the course of proceeding in my department (December 9th 
 and loth) has been sent to the head of each department in the 
 office. This needless pubHcity is not, I fear, without an object. 
 The minutes desire that a copy may be supplied to me, without 
 naming any other party." 
 
 The reader, who has observed how speedily the 
 withdrawal of my friends from power in 1841 was 
 
 * ^'■February 24th, 1847. — I felt tempted to obtain returns, with a view of 
 settling some of the disputed points between the Post Office and myself — the 
 one as to the division of French postage between the two Governments, for 
 insto.nce — but refrained, from a desire to avoid all causes of irritation. Armstrong 
 tells me that, in a statement of French postage which I have attacked in my 
 pamphlet as being too high by about £'ip,ooo, an error of ^^32,000 was actually 
 discovered in the Accountant's office." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
1847] CLAIMANTS. 5 1 
 
 followed by intrigues to thwart my progress, under- 
 mine my credit, and remove me from my post, will 
 be little surprised at the manifestations recorded 
 above. At the time of the first cabal, I was in the 
 weakness of isolation ; this, the second, was formed 
 when I was in the weakness of a novel position ; and 
 it will be found hereafter that other such seasons were 
 chosen as times for similar proceedings. I felt too 
 truly that a struggle was to come, and I could not 
 yet foretell how far I should be supported in it by 
 the Postmaster-General. 
 
 I had scarcely got my department into somewhat 
 smoother working, when I was called upon to deal 
 with applicants of two separate kinds : first, depu- 
 tations from letter-carriers and stampers, suggesting 
 improvements and applying for increase of wages ; 
 all of whom, for the sake of discipline, I declined 
 receiving without the express sanction of the Post- 
 master-General ; and, secondly, from persons claiming 
 compensation for inventions or devices already in- 
 cluded more or less explicitly in my published plan. 
 The most remarkable amongst these claimants was 
 a lady, who informed me by letter that the plan of 
 penny postage originated with her, and begged that 
 I would be so obliging as to aid her in obtaining due 
 compensation from Government ! 
 
 Meantime I went to w^ork with a view to the ex- 
 tension of those facilities on which I had laid so much 
 stress : — 
 
 ^''January joth, 184^. — This week engaged chiefly in completing 
 the instructions to the surveyors, by means of which I hope to effect 
 important improvements simultaneously in all the large towns in the 
 kingdom." 
 
 These instructions, when completed, were sanc- 
 tioned by the Postmaster- General, who, however, 
 
 E 2 
 
52 - LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 thought it necessary that they should be issued under 
 the signature of Colonel Maberly. With the Post- 
 master-General's consent, the document subsequently 
 appeared in the newspapers. Of the Reports called 
 for by this circular, about one-half were received 
 w^ithin six months, and these gave information as to 
 the state of things in about one hundred and twenty 
 of the largest provincial towns. They showed all 
 sorts of anomalies, though not quite so much room 
 for improvement as I had expected. I was convinced, 
 however, that the very issue of the circular had caused 
 considerable improvements to be at once made. My 
 progress, nevertheless, continued to be clogged with 
 difficulties : — 
 
 '■^February jrd. — The present arrangements do not work well in 
 some important particulars. I have no ready means of learning 
 what is being done in Maberly's department, in consequence of 
 which we sometimes play at cross purposes, and there is much 
 delay. ... At the risk of being considered ' impracticable,' I 
 must try to put things on a different footing." 
 
 ^^ February 6th. — I feel very uneasy at the slow progress made, 
 but, circumstanced as I am, it is impossible to go faster." 
 
 My moral difficulties found a physical parallel : — 
 
 '•''February 8th. — Returning to Brighton [where I still continued 
 to live] by the 5 p.m. express train, was stopped by a sudden snow- 
 storm. With two engines we were three and a-half hours in ad- 
 vancing three miles from Three Bridges. We came to a dead stand 
 near to the Balcombe Tunnel; remained there till i a.m., unable 
 to proceed or return, when, an engine having arrived, and all the 
 passengers having been crammed into three carriages, we returned 
 to Three Bridges, leaving the remainder of the train in the snow. 
 Sat up all night at ' The Fox.' Next morning, the line being open to 
 London soon after ten, I returned to town. The other passengers, I 
 found, on my return to Brighton at night, did not complete their 
 journey till 4 p.m. (having been twenty-three hours on the way)." 
 
 A few days later, being invited by the Guardian 
 
1847] THE rOST OFFICE A VAST MACHINE. 53 
 
 Society at Liverpool to a public dinner, I took oppor- 
 tunity, in my speech of thanks, to explain to a certain 
 extent the duties and powers of the Post Office, mis- 
 apprehension as to which led then, and doubtless 
 leads still, to unprofitable correspondence, withdraw- 
 ing attention from practical improvements to futile 
 discussion. I found it particularly necessary to show 
 why suggestions, however valuable, cannot be suddenly 
 adopted, since, in so vast and complex a machine as 
 the Post Office, which must not for one hour be 
 arrested in its motion, it is indispensable to make 
 such preliminary examination and complete arrange- 
 ment as will yield full security that the change will 
 throw nothing out of gear, but work smoothly from 
 the first. I showed that, while some of the improve- 
 ments called for by my Liverpool friends seemed 
 feasible, others could not be made. 
 
 Thus, it had been demanded that letters should no 
 longer be carried past the office from which they were 
 to be distributed to some office further on, whence 
 they would have to return, but that the distributing 
 office should receive them at once. This demand, 
 not then new, nor yet worn out, I had to meet by 
 showing that the letters for one office were at such 
 times mixed up with those for other offices, and 
 therefore could not be dropped in passing, while the 
 delay in sorting could not be absolutely prevented 
 unless every post town in the United Kingdom made 
 up a bag for every other post town, which, as there 
 were then about one thousand post towns in all, would 
 involve the daily despatch, transmission, and opening 
 of a million of bags in each direction, an immense 
 majority of which would contain no letters whatever. 
 At the same time I assured my auditors that I should 
 do my best to render the Post Office as useful as 
 
54 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 possible, and that I would carefully Inquire Into all the 
 defects in its management which they had brought to 
 my notice."^ To this task I addressed myself on the 
 morrow. 
 
 Even here, however, I found old impediments to 
 the progress of improvement ; for when I proposed 
 to Mr. Banning, the postmaster of Liverpool, to keep 
 open the Money Order Office to a later hour without 
 waiting for instructions from London, my advice was 
 met by the presentation, though with many apologies, 
 of the Postmaster-General's restrictive minute, the 
 issue of which had been previously condemned, but 
 unfortunately not revoked. One consequence was 
 that I refrained, for the time, from attempting im- 
 provements at Manchester, lest I should encounter 
 another copy of the minute there. On my return I 
 pressed on the Postmaster-General the importance of 
 reconsidering the arrangements affecting my position 
 before his leaving town, which he promised to do, 
 perhaps the more readily because he was much pleased 
 with what I had effected at Liverpool. The con- 
 sideration, however, produced no immediate result. 
 
 ^'■September 28th. — Banning, who called upon me to-day, reports 
 that the restriction of the Liverpool receiving-houses to stamped and 
 unpaid letters, accompanied as it is by an extension of time for 
 posting, is working very satisfactorily ; so are the other improvements 
 which, not requiring Treasury sanction, have been carried out ; but I 
 find that though the Treasury sanction [to certain further improve- 
 ments] has been received a month, no steps whatever have as yet 
 been taken thereon. The reply to the weekly inquiry made as to 
 matters in arrears has been, that the papers were with Colonel 
 
 * "February 13th. — I met a Committee of the Town Council . . . en- 
 couraged them to communicate to me any carefully-considered improvements 
 which might occur to them. The results of this meeting have satisfied me that 
 it would be very useful to the Post Office to have similar means in every large 
 town of learning the well-considered wishes of the inhabitants." — Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal. — Ed. 
 
1847] LORD CLANRICARDE'S BOLDNESS. 55 
 
 Maberly, and beyond this nothing could be learnt till to-day, when, 
 getting impatient at the delay, I set Armstrong to learn the cause, 
 when it appeared that the papers were not with Colonel Maberly at 
 all, but in the first clerk's room, where they had been ' mislaid ' as 
 usual." 
 
 This transaction, though apparently but of local 
 importance, I have narrated at some length, because 
 it shows how the progress of improvement was clogged, 
 and how much my time was occupied in watching lest 
 that which I had carefully planned should be marred in 
 w^orking. Other difficulties will appear as I proceed 
 with my narrative : — 
 
 ^^ February lyth. — Requested that he [the Postmaster-General] 
 would reconsider a minute directing that letters addressed to me 
 by the subordinates shall pass not only through the heads of the 
 departments, as I had proposed, but through Maberly's office." 
 
 '"''February 24th. — Finished a minute calling for copies of many 
 of the periodic returns made to Maberly, to which I have added 
 several original ones, with a view of obtaining tolerable statistics. 
 At present they are lamentably deficient." 
 
 ^'•February 2'/th. — The Postmaster-General is so much engaged in 
 his duties as Cabinet Minister that he rarely comes to the office at 
 present, and I am obliged to defer many points on which it is 
 necessary to consult him. I am much dissatisfied with the little 
 progress made." 
 
 When, however, the Postmaster-General was more 
 at leisure we sometimes got on apace : — 
 
 March ^tJi. — Had a long interview with the Postmaster-General, 
 and got through much business. I never met with a public man 
 who is less afraid of a novel and decided course of action . . . ; 
 e.g.^ a proposal of mine to require the postmaster at Manchester to 
 pay out of his fees the salaries of two new clerks, required on 
 account of his own inefficiency, has been cordially adopted, in 
 direct opposition to Maberly and the surveyor; and this is the 
 more important, inasmuch as my minute is a direct attack on a 
 claim hitherto treated with great reverence, viz., the right of an 
 officer to continue receiving fees (unless compensated), however 
 
56 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 large in amount and mischievous in their tendency, simply because 
 he has once enjoyed them. 
 
 " Spoke again of the absolute necessity of my being better in- 
 formed as to what is going on, and proposed that he [the Postmaster- 
 General] should direct that all communications to and from the 
 Treasury should pass through my hands. He at once concurred in 
 the necessity of the thing, but proposed that, instead of writing a 
 minute on the subject, he would himself take care that I saw such 
 papers before they left his own hands. I fear that the arrangement 
 will frequently be forgotten, but I could not object to try it. He 
 again expressed a wish that I would not disturb existing arrange- 
 ments, at least so far as they appear in writing ; but on my telling 
 him that the rule requiring me to obtain papers through him caused 
 much inconvenience and delay, he told me in confidence that he did 
 not desire that I should regard it, but send for any papers that I 
 wanted." 
 
 Not liking this anomalous state of things, I consulted 
 confidentially with Mr. Jones Loyd, mentioning also 
 my uneasiness at the slow progress of improvement, 
 and referring to the expectations held out to me through 
 him and Mr. Warburton before I entered the Post 
 Office.^ These expectations, however, I did not sup- 
 pose were likely soon to be fulfilled, as I had just learnt 
 that a large addition was about to be made to Colonel 
 Maberly's staff. Mr. Loyd, while recognising the ex- 
 pectations held out to me, advised me temperately to 
 press the Postmaster-General to assign to me a depart- 
 ment, or at least to leave in my hands till ripe for his 
 own decision all matters connected with any specific 
 improvement which may be assigned to me. On this 
 advice I resolved to act as occasions arose. I presently 
 had further evidence that I was advancing in the confi- 
 dence of my official superiors. The Postmaster- 
 General placed the secretarial management of the 
 Money Order Department in my hands, and directed 
 
 * See pp. 43-46. 
 
1847] BRISTOL POST OFFICE. 57 
 
 that all returns to Parliament should be submitted 
 to me before being sent to the Treasury, with free 
 leave for me to attack any such as seemed unfair to 
 penny postage, while the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 in his place in Parliament, spoke highly of my 
 services. 
 
 At the same time, I felt obliged to remind the Post- 
 master-General of our slow progress. I again called 
 his attention to the delay of my measures after their 
 leaving my hands ; showed, in short, that all my 
 measures were standing still, and told him I was very 
 anxious to bring some one improvement to a successful 
 issue, a view in which he agreed, thinking, however, 
 that much had already been effected. As regards 
 minor matters this was true enough, but my continued 
 anxiety was justified by the fact that I had now been 
 nearly four months in office without being able to bring 
 into effect any improvement important enough to re- 
 quire the sanction of the Treasury. 
 
 On April ist of this year, in accordance with the 
 wish of the Postmaster-General, I went to Bristol. As 
 what I found there may be regarded as a specimen, by 
 no means an unfavourable one, of the state of things 
 at the provincial offices generally, I describe it. The 
 first delivery of the day, by far the most Important of 
 all, was not completed until twelve o'clock ; the letter- 
 carriers, as I was informed, often staying after de- 
 parture from the office to take their breakfast before 
 commencing their rounds. I was able to show how at 
 a small cost (only ;^I25 a year) it might be completed 
 by nine. The office itself I found small, badly lighted, 
 and worse ventilated. The clay mail thence to London 
 was nearly useless, its contents for London delivery 
 being on the morning of my Inquiry only sixty-four 
 letters, thirty-seven of which might have been sent by 
 
58 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 the previous mall on the mere payment of the extra 
 penny. The impression regarding this mail, both in 
 and out of the office, agreed exactly with my evidence 
 in 1843, viz., that all day mails, to be efficient for their 
 purpose, should start as late as is consistent wdth their 
 reaching London in time for their letters to be for- 
 warded by the evening mails. The satisfaction I felt 
 in such improvements as I had been able to make on 
 the spot was much enhanced by my receiving at the 
 termination of my visit the thanks of both clerks and 
 letter-carriers for the new arrangements. 
 To return to the subject of obstruction : — 
 
 " April 20th. — A letter from Mr. Lettis, a senior clerk of the 
 Money Order Office, written on the 12th instant, and forwarded the 
 same day by Mr. Earth, instead of being sent at once to me, was for- 
 warded, by Colonel Maberly's own endorsement, to the Postmaster- 
 General, then in the west of Ireland, in consequence of which it did 
 not reach me till yesterday, I being all the while engaged on the 
 subject to which it relates." 
 
 The paper thus retarded I soon found was one 
 amongst many, all of them more or less important to 
 a rieht understanding^ of the work on which I was 
 specially engaged. Application, however, to the 
 Postmaster-General for the maintenance of direct 
 communication produced no other effect than an 
 injunction to Colonel Maberly's department against 
 further delay. 
 
 In the midst of these troubles, petty in themselves, 
 but trying to my health and very injurious in the delay 
 they produced, I saw, for the first time, a fellow- 
 labourer in the great cause of postal improvement, 
 w^io, in establishing the overland route to India, had 
 surmounted formidable difficulties and rendered in- 
 valuable services, without, I fear, securing either to 
 
1847] LIEUTENANT WAGHORN. 59 
 
 himself or his family any proportionate recompense. 
 My record of the interview is very brief : — 
 
 "Lieutenant Waghorn called. He is a man of singularly energetic 
 appearance." 
 
 A means of preventing, to a considerable extent, 
 injurious measures in the Post Office being taken with- 
 out my knowledge was hit upon almost accidentally. 
 Upon my mentioning to Mr. Parker, then Secretary to 
 the Treasury, that many of the applications from the 
 Post Office to his department were made without my 
 cognizance, and offering, with the sanction of the Post- 
 master-General, to go down once a week or so to the 
 Treasury to assist him in his decisions upon them, the 
 offer was gladly accepted, the more so as the augmen- 
 tations recently made in the Post Office salaries were 
 producing corresponding demands from other quarters. 
 Yet further confidence was shown when the new 
 practice at the Treasury started a fresh difficulty, viz., 
 as to what was to be done when my opinion was against 
 measures which the Postmaster-General had recom- 
 mended without consulting me. Upon my applying to 
 Lord Clanricarde for instructions, he told me that he 
 wished me to have no scruples as to any measures, but 
 to advise against them unhesitatingly If so Inclined. 
 
 Notwithstanding this confidence, however, the 
 anomalous arrangement of the department remained 
 fruitful in mischief; indeed every practised man 
 knows that where proceedings are vitiated at their 
 source no subsequent vigilance suffices for their 
 effectual correction. In my case, moreover, vigilance 
 on such points was maintained at the sacrifice of 
 progress in improvement. Parliamentary returns 
 moved for about this time by members hostile to my 
 plans, and demanded in such form as to mislead, were 
 
6o LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 accelerated, while one moved for by Mr. Warburton in 
 such form as to secure a true statement was kept back. 
 Though, by great effort, I procured from the Post- 
 master-General an order for modification in two of 
 the fallacious returns, yet, after all, one of them actually 
 went forth with all its errors retained. 
 
 After many details on this vexatious topic, my Journal 
 proceeds as follows : — 
 
 " I feel ashamed, as well as annoyed, in having to record these 
 vexations, and I must put an end to them by some means or other. I 
 would gladly omit these records altogether, but former experience has 
 shown that it would be unsafe so to do. I am obliged, therefore, 
 with a view to my own justification hereafter, to continue them, 
 though I cannot but fear that (should this Journal ever be read by 
 those who do not know me intimately) such daily complainings may 
 be considered as evidence of querulousness on my part."* 
 
 So long as this twofold authority continued, it was 
 impracticable for the Postmaster-General, unless en- 
 dowed with a more exact memory for details than can 
 be reasonably expected in a Cabinet Minister, to avoid 
 inconsistency in his own proceedings. Thus after 
 having obtained his acceptance of an advantageous 
 offer from the Brighton Railway Company, I learnt to 
 my amazement that the offer had been refused. On 
 inquiring into the matter, I found out that this was the 
 result of counter advice of which I knew nothing. 
 
 It has been seen that errors thus arising found their 
 way into Parliamentary returns ; they even affected 
 
 * These vexations began to tell upon his health. Thus, in his Journal, I 
 find the following entries: — May 8th, 1847. "I have more to do than I can 
 accomplish satisfactorily ; this produces headache and incapacity, which make the 
 matter worse." On September 28th of the same year, after describing some fresh 
 vexations, he writes : " I have been reading my evidence given ten years ago before 
 the Commissioners of Post Office Enquiry. . . . There is a heartiness and fresh- 
 ness in my replies which I fear I should not now evince." — Ed. 
 
i847] A POST OFFICE BILL. 6l 
 
 legislative enactment. In a bill sent up from the Post 
 Office to the Treasury for introduction into Parliament, 
 I had advised the insertion of clauses authorizing the 
 Treasury to relax or abolish the rule fixing a maximum 
 to the weight of a letter, but at the same time 
 establishing restrictions — as, for instance, prepayment 
 of postage on all heavy letters — to prevent abuse of the 
 new rule by the public. The solicitor of the Post 
 Office, however, so drew the bill as to supersede the 
 Treasury exercise of this power by a clause making the 
 abolition absolute, and at the same time omitting the 
 proposed safeguards. As the bill was never submitted 
 to my examination in a complete form, it became law 
 with this defect. Fortunately, the practical con- 
 sequences were not very serious, the public probably 
 rem.aining for the most part quite unaware of its new 
 liberty or, rather, licence. Some wag, however, getting 
 hold of the fact, turned it to account for his amusement, 
 posting in Ireland a bundle of old clothes, directed to 
 London, which being of course refused by the ad- 
 dressee, as the postage demanded was no less than 
 ;if 4. us., had to be carried back according to rule to the 
 place of despatch ; the double conveyance being neces- 
 sarily made gratis, as the sender naturally took care not 
 to be known. I need not say that at the first oppor- 
 tunity the Act was amended. 
 
 A very far more serious evil was reported to me 
 shortly afterwards; namely, that a clerk in the Money 
 Order Office in Manchester had been detected in 
 several frauds. My informant attributed the loss 
 of letters, &c., mainly to the absence of investigation 
 as to character, arising out of the system of patronage. 
 He added that he pointed out this as the chief cause 
 of the evil to Lord Lowther soon after his appoint- 
 ment. 
 
62 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 To heedlessness in appointment was unfortunately 
 added laxity in discipline : — 
 
 ^^ September joth. — At the postmaster, who gets ;£"i5 a year 
 
 as compensation for [his loss of] late-letter fees has remitted till lately 
 only 75-. or 8^-. a year [for such fees] ; but on a stir being made the 
 remittances at once advanced to as much per week : the explanation 
 given is that he omitted to demand the fee, not that he fraudulently 
 appropriated it ; and on this ground he has escaped dismissal, I 
 think very improperly ; but I have not been consulted in either case, 
 and know the facts only from conversation with the Postmaster- 
 General." 
 
 About the same time I was engaged in devising 
 means for a partial introduction of the plan of district 
 offices in the London delivery, but was led to abandon 
 the attempt, in some measure, by the inconveniences 
 attending a partial arrangement, and yet more by fear 
 of serious disorder likely to arise from the imperfect 
 manner in which I knew, by past experience, the 
 necessary instructions would be carried into effect, 
 unless I could myself superintend their execution ; and 
 thus it was that several years had to elapse before this 
 great improvement could be made. 
 
 Soon after arriving at this conclusion I attempted to 
 remove a strange anomaly which was producing a 
 certain amount of trouble in the office, leading occa- 
 sionally even to delay in the despatch of the mails. 
 This was that while letters brought to the chief office 
 after 7 p.m. were not received for that night's mail 
 without an additional fee of sixpence, late newspapers 
 w^ere received up to that hour on payment of a half- 
 penny : — ^ 
 
 *' October ^th. — To-day I consulted Bokenhamf on the expediency 
 
 * "The origin of this strange anomaly is this : Many years ago the newspaper 
 fees were the perquisite of certain officers, and they therefore took newspapers in 
 as late as possible." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
 t The head of the Sorting Department. 
 
1847] APPLICATIONS FOR INCREASE OF SALARY. 6 
 
 t 
 
 of advancing the fee [on newspapers] at seven o'clock, but he 
 strongly advises against it, on the ground of its certain unpopularity 
 with the press." 
 
 So difficult Is it to recall concession, however mis- 
 chievous and absurd. In the end, however, a compro- 
 mise was adopted which, while it greatly relieved the 
 department, proved satisfactory to the newspaper 
 publishers. I abstain from further narration of mere 
 obstructions, not for want of matter, but because 
 enough has been done to show the difficulties, annoy- 
 ances, and delays ever crossing the path of my improve- 
 ments ; the like of which must, I fear, be expected by 
 all whose zeal for reform leads them to intrude amidst 
 men of routine. 
 
 A trouble of another kind, however, began now to 
 show itself, which later on produced serious con- 
 sequences. Applications for increase of salary, backed 
 by the recommendation of Colonel Maberly, were 
 referred to me for consideration, the circumstances being 
 such that, without unscrupulous disregard of the public 
 interest, I could do nothing but advise their rejection. 
 I found that in one instance, instead of the applicants 
 being simply informed of the Postmaster-General's 
 decision, which was in conformity with my opinion, they 
 had also been told — contrary to official rule — of our 
 conflicting recommendations. The consequence was a 
 renewal of the application, accompanied with a letter of 
 thanks to Colonel Maberly, and an appeal from my 
 judgment as being opposed to that of " the Secretary." 
 I could not but foresee that if, without any opportunity 
 of recommending merited concession, I were to be held 
 up as a bar to concessions recommended by others, 
 I should, in course of time, find myself in a position 
 very unfavourable alike to the maintenance of my just 
 authority and the progress of good measures. After 
 
64 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 noticing the above facts, my Journal proceeds as 
 follows : — 
 
 " October i6th. — I tried to avoid this collision of opinion, repre- 
 senting to the Postmaster-General the probable result when the 
 papers were first referred to me ; but his reply was that his opinion 
 coincided with my own, but that he could not act in direct oppo- 
 sition to Maberly's earnest advice without support from me, conse- 
 quently I had no escape ; luckily the Treasury, as well as the 
 Postmaster-General, take my view of the question." 
 
 Accordingly, I wrote a somewhat severe minute on 
 the subject, and this was approved by the Postmaster- 
 General. I must add that my foreboding was, on both 
 points, justified by the sequel, the usual course being, 
 for a long time, that the duty of rejecting such appli- 
 cations fell almost exclusively upon me, while the 
 popularity that arose when an application was granted 
 was almost engrossed by Colonel Maberly. The 
 natural, nay, inevitable result was that great difficulties 
 were raised in the way of the improvements that I 
 attempted to make. 
 
 Under all these circumstances, it is little to be 
 wondered at that, on looking back on the progress 
 made during the first year since my appointment at the 
 Post Office, I was much dissatisfied with w^hat I found, 
 nor could I feel surprised that symptoms of discontent 
 began to appear in the public, which, knowing nothing 
 of impediments, naturally expected the fulfilment of 
 those expectations which my admission to office had 
 raised. 
 
 Among the improvements that I effected this 
 year, the following is, I conceive, of great im- 
 portance : — 
 
 Exorbitant claims having been advanced and ad- 
 mitted for compensation in respect of abolished fees, 
 
1847] ' BOOK POST. 65 
 
 perquisites, &c., I made arrangements for such returns 
 as to the current amount of those irregular emoluments 
 as would keep these claims thenceforth within due 
 bounds. The efficiency of this plan will be evident 
 when it is considered that, though at the period of 
 abolition claimants would naturally seek to make this 
 amount appear as large as possible, yet, in ordinary 
 times, when the receipt of large fees might act as a bar 
 to demand for augmented salary, the interest would lie 
 in the opposite direction. All, therefore, that was 
 necessary was to get the ordinary estimate on indis- 
 putable record. This had been provided for before I 
 left the Treasury, but, in the interim, the plan had 
 been abandoned. 
 
 Finding that any attempt to establish a parcel post, 
 which I had formerly suggested, would raise more 
 opposition in the railway companies than I thought 
 it prudent just then to encounter, I suggested the 
 establishment of a book post, pointing out how much 
 such a measure would promote education, and how 
 acceptable it would be to the public. The Postmaster- 
 General expressed apprehensions of the department 
 being overloaded on magazine days, and I had to 
 point out the means by which all such difficulties could 
 be surmounted. Vehement objections came from the 
 usual quarter, but these were overruled. 
 
 Before closing the account of the year, I must 
 mention two attempts at improvements which have 
 met with no success. 
 
 Upon an application from Colonel Maberly's extra 
 clerks for an increase of salary, I proposed instead a 
 regular system of promotion, whereby all vacancies 
 in the establishment should be filled by selection from 
 the extra clerks instead of from without, an arrange- 
 ment which would have obtained the collateral 
 
 VOL. II. F 
 
 O 
 
66 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 advantage of submitting every candidate for regular 
 clerkship to a probation in the extra corps. The 
 Postmaster-General seemed favourable to the prin- 
 ciple, which, indeed, had been occasionally recognised 
 in practice, but unfortunately I never succeeded in 
 obtaining its adoption as a rule, the real obstacle 
 being, no doubt, that it would have acted as an 
 impediment to patronage. 
 
 My second abortive measure I regarded as of great 
 importance, nor has my opinion of it undergone any 
 change ; though how far it may be applicable to the 
 circumstances of the present day is another question. 
 Wishing to procure for the Post Office the unrestricted 
 use of all the railway trains, and that at a moderate 
 fixed rate, I suggested that Government, as a means 
 of procuring the ready acquiescence of the railway 
 companies, should include in a bill then preparing for 
 Parliament a provision in their favour, which seemed 
 to me to be in strict accordance w^Ith justice, and with 
 the true interests of the public. In my Report'' on 
 this subject, I first showed that in order to enable 
 the Post Office effectually to serve the public, it was 
 necessary that the department should make far greater 
 use of the railways. Under the existing law, owing 
 to uncertainty as to the rate of payment, the excessive 
 awards frequently made, and other causes, this was 
 impracticable. I therefore proposed that an attempt 
 should be made to obtain an Act empowering the 
 Railway Commissioners, at that time an organised 
 Board, with the present Lord Belper at its head, to 
 take the following steps : — 
 
 I St. To issue a general tariff of charges for the 
 
 * The Report (dated 1st January, 1847) was subsequently laid before a 
 Parliamentary Committee, and is given in extenso in the Fifth Report of the 
 Select Committee on Railway and Canal Bills, Appendix, p. 246. (Par. Pro. 
 1853, No. 736.) 
 
1847] PROPOSED RAILWAY LEGISLATION. 6/ 
 
 conveyance of mails, such tariff to be constructed so 
 as to afford the companies a moderate profit. 
 
 2nd. To decide all questions which might arise be- 
 tween the Post Office and any railway company. 
 
 3rd. To issue a general tariff of maximum fares for 
 passengers and charges for goods, minerals, &c., to be 
 demanded of the public ; and 
 
 4th. To revise such general tariffs from time to 
 time. 
 
 By way of compensation to the companies, and with 
 a view also to the advantage of the public, I proposed, 
 *' subject to such regulations as Parliament may im- 
 pose for securing fairness towards all parties interested, 
 to adopt a territorial division of the surface of the 
 kingdom, reserving, as open to new companies, any 
 district in which the public interests would be served 
 by the construction of new and independent lines, 
 but assigning to each existing company" — on certain 
 specified conditions — "so much of the district on each 
 side of its line as can be most advantageously served 
 by such company ; a provision being made that, if at 
 any time the Railway Commissioners should be of 
 opinion that the public interests require that a railway 
 of a given description should be made within such 
 assigned territory, it shall be competent to the Com- 
 missioners to call upon the company to which the 
 district is so assigned to construct the line, with the 
 consent of Parliament ; and if the company refuse or 
 neglect so to do within a given time, to offer the line 
 to the public at large." 
 
 I further proposed that these arrangements should 
 apply compulsorily to all companies hereafter to be 
 formed, but that " each existing company should have 
 the option, within a certain period, to accept the same 
 conditions, or to continue in its present condition." 
 
6S LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847 
 
 The following advantages, among others, would, I 
 expected, result from the proposed arrangements : — 
 
 1. It would secure the cheap conveyance of the 
 mails, and greatly promote the extension and perfec- 
 tion of the system of Post Office distribution. 
 
 2. It would secure the establishment of moderate 
 fares, without resorting to competition, which it is now 
 generally admitted would be as injurious to the public 
 as to the companies. 
 
 3. It would secure the completion of the railway 
 system at the least expenditure of capital, and in a 
 manner most conducive to economy in working. 
 
 4. It would repress rash and unprincipled specu- 
 lation ; and 
 
 5. It would relieve Parliament from the drudgery of 
 investigating hastily-devised and useless projects. 
 
 As regards the interests of the companies, I pointed 
 out that — 
 
 1. It would relieve them from the ruinous expen- 
 diture now necessary to defend their property from 
 aggression. 
 
 2. It would enable them to take advantage of the 
 cheapness of labour or materials, and abundance of 
 capital, gradually to extend the ramifications of their 
 lines to all places capable of affording a remunerative 
 traffic. 
 
 And, finally, it would greatly benefit both the public 
 and the companies, by enabling the directors and other 
 officers to devote their time and energy (now mainly 
 absorbed in Parliamentary contests) to the internal 
 management of their affairs, thus conducing to economy, 
 and to the comfort and safety of their passengers. 
 
 All these important results, I was of opinion, would 
 be obtained without any sacrifice on the part of the 
 public or of the companies. 
 
i847] PROPOSED RAILWAY LEGISLATION. 6g 
 
 In a Report, the primary object of which was to 
 faciHtate the use of railways by the Post Office, it 
 may appear out of place to deal with the questions 
 of charges for passengers and goods, railway exten- 
 sion, &c., but I found one part of the subject so linked 
 with every other as to render separate treatment im- 
 practicable. 
 
 Had this plan been adopted when originally pro- 
 posed (more than twenty"^ years ago), the following 
 results, I firmly believe, would have been obtained : — 
 
 I St. The postal system would have been enormously 
 improved. 
 
 2nd. The conveyance of passengers and goods wouid 
 have been considerably cheapened. 
 
 3rd. The railway system would have been far more 
 extended than it now is. 
 
 4th. A vast waste of capital would have been 
 avoided. And, 
 
 5th. Railway property, instead of being almost 
 a byword for depression and insecurity, would, under 
 tolerable management, have been placed on a firm 
 basis. 
 
 Unhappily, the advantage which would have been 
 gained by the adoption of my plan is now for ever 
 lost. The contests it might have prevented during 
 the last twenty years have done their disastrous work ; 
 but the future remains, and I believe it still possible 
 to amend our railway system and even to adopt a plan 
 more comprehensive than the one just described. My 
 views on the subject appear in a separate Report, 
 which I made as a member of the Commission on 
 Railways appointed in the year 1S65, the substance 
 
 * This was written before 1S71.— Ed, 
 
70 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847-8 
 
 of which, I may remark, will be found in a summary 
 appended thereto.* 
 
 I have now brought the year 1847, the first which I 
 passed at the Post Office, to a general close, I have 
 yet to speak of proceedings relative to one improve- 
 ment, which, however, was not carried into effect until 
 the following year. I narrate this at some length, not 
 only because of its importance, but also because it 
 serves well as a specimen of my course of proceeding 
 during the long period which I passed in the anomalous 
 position to which I had been appointed. 
 
 The Postmaster-General having requested me to 
 examine the state of the Money Order Department, 
 with a view to its improvement and extension, I 
 succeeded in devising a plan which, while it effected 
 many improvements, provided for a very large ex- 
 tension, and that without increasing the number of 
 accounts with the chief office. I learnt now that a 
 plan which I proposed when at the Treasury w^ould 
 have simplified operations exceedingly, but that its 
 adoption, though earnestly pressed by Mr. Jackson 
 (then at the head of the department), had been suc- 
 cessfully resisted ; and that, though some part of this 
 plan had been superseded by other improvements, 
 much yet remained which Mr. Jackson thought would 
 be highly useful. 
 
 In my consequent preparations I was impeded 
 frequently for hours, sometimes for days, by the want 
 of necessary papers, the registration and arrangement 
 being so defective that, according to the registering 
 clerk, his death would leave the office in absolute 
 perplexity. When the papers came they were some- 
 
 * Royal Commission on Railways, 1S67. — Report from Sir Rowland Hill, 
 K.C.B., F.R.S., one of the Commissioners. 
 
1847-8] MONEY ORDER DEPARTMENT. 7 1 
 
 times exceedingly imperfect, the omission being in 
 one instance that of a very important report ; and of 
 course fresh delays occurred while these omissions 
 were supplied. Again, when, in reference to a pro- 
 posed measure of economy, I called upon the head of 
 the department and his immediate subordinate to 
 support my views by expressing in writing opinions 
 which they had given in conversation, they excused 
 themselves by pleading that they should thereby incur 
 serious displeasure. 
 
 The omitted report was one made some time before 
 by Mr. Jackson, recommending an improvement 
 calculated to save the department between ^2,000 and 
 ;^3,ooo per annum. Taking up this rejected measure, 
 I was enabled, after long elaboration, to procure its 
 adoption, and in a few months more its beneficial 
 results were placed beyond question ; the head of the 
 department reporting that the accounts were more 
 complete and the checks more efficient, and that the 
 annual saving was even greater than had been reckoned 
 upon, amounting to nearly ^3,500. 
 
 In the meantime, however, these various obstruc- 
 tions, combined with the fact that both in public 
 estimation and by Colonel Maberly's distinct renun- 
 ciation I was now solely responsible for the right 
 administration of this special department, led me to 
 take a decided step. I accordingly wrote a minute, 
 proposing that all minutes and instructions regarding 
 the Money Order Department of England and Wales 
 should proceed exclusively from myself; that all 
 reports from the department should be addressed 
 to me ; in short, that the secretarial control of that 
 department should thenceforth be entirely in my 
 hands. 
 
 In consequence of this, the Postmaster-General 
 
72 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847-8 
 
 wrote a minute on the subject, which, however, being 
 modified by the Chancellor of the Exchequer,^ to 
 whom it was shown in draft, still left things in an 
 unsatisfactory state. Upon my pointing out the in- 
 sufficiency of the measure. Lord Clanricarde proposed 
 that I should myself see the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer. While awaiting this interview, which 
 took place about a fortnight later, I felt so much 
 doubt as to the result, and consequently as to my 
 ability to retain office, that I deemed it my duty to 
 explain to my private secretary and my only clerk that 
 they might have to look out for other appointments. 
 
 When at length I saw the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer difficulties seemed to vanish. He had no 
 objection to the Money Order Department being 
 placed under my exclusive management, having 
 merely disapproved of the mode in which it was 
 proposed that the change should be effected. He at 
 once recognised the danger of divided responsibility, 
 and, in short, undertook to arrange the whole matter 
 with the Postmaster-General. Four days later the 
 Postmaster-General informed me that he had decided 
 to place the Money Order Department entirely under 
 my management, but that he wished to consider 
 further as to the mode. He thought of speaking to 
 Maberly, with a view, if possible, of doing the thing 
 quietly. My new powers were called into requisition 
 the same day by a little symptom of insubordination 
 in the Money Order Department. Confident of 
 authority, I now felt justified in giving such warning 
 to the offender! as produced instant submission, with 
 abundance of promise for the future. 
 
 * Sir Charles Wood (now Lord Halifax). — Ed. 
 
 + It was one of the senior clerks. "Armstrong has told him that, if any 
 obstacles are thrown in the way of improvement, it is my fixed determination to 
 
1847-8] * MR. COBDEN'S ADVICE. 73 
 
 The difficulty, however, was not yet solved, for I 
 presently found that the Postmaster-General, instead 
 of himself drawing the minute transferring the secre- 
 tarial authority over the Money Order Department to 
 me, had remitted the task to Colonel Maberlv. The 
 result was such an instrument as would have both 
 crippled my authority and lowered me in the eyes of 
 each of the some twenty officers to whom the minute 
 was to be communicated.^ Unfortunately this minute, 
 without any opportunity being allow^ed for objection, 
 had been confirmed, not only by the Postmaster- 
 General but also by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 The course I took was to draw up a new minute, in 
 the name, not of Colonel Maberly, but of the Post- 
 master-General himself, substantially the same as 
 regarded the powers that were given me, but free from 
 all offensive expression and unnecessary restriction. 
 This I submitted to the Postmaster-General, urging its 
 adoption ; but, though he admitted the objectionable 
 character of some parts of Colonel Maberly's minute, 
 I saw that he was disappointed and annoyed at my 
 application. 
 
 In my renewed difficulty, I perceived that I must 
 further consider my ground : — 
 
 *' December 17th, 184."/. — Called on Mr. Cobden ; described my 
 position at the Post Office, and asked his advice as to the course I 
 should adopt ; more especially seeking his opinion as to whether I 
 should be justified in pubUc opinion in resigning my appointment, if 
 
 apply to the Postmaster-General to dismiss the offender, and that the higher his 
 
 rank in the office, the more readily I shall take the step. is greatly alarmed, 
 
 and promises all sorts of things." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
 * "Maberly has contrived to make it appear ver)' much his own act, talks of 
 his laying down rules for my guidance, interdicts me from punishing or even 
 reprimanding anyone without the previous sanction of the Postmaster-General, 
 and in various ways contrives to make the very act of extending my power the 
 means of tying my hands." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
74 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847-8 
 
 circumstances should induce me so to act. He thinks that, except on 
 some great and simple question, I should not be justified in resigning, 
 as, though harassed by the obstacles thrown in my way by Maberly, 
 I have nevertheless been able to introduce important improvements ; 
 his advice, therefore, is patience. He recommends that I should see 
 other M.P.'s, and represent to them Maberly's conduct, with a view 
 of forming a party in the House ; . . . but I replied that I 
 considered such a course would be justly viewed as a breach of 
 confidence, though I felt at liberty to consult my personal friends, 
 among whom I counted himself. He proffered assistance in any 
 way, and promised to take an opportunity of speaking to the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer as to the necessity ' of extending my 
 powers." 
 
 The same day, having learnt that a circular to 
 postmasters and others, to give effect to the new 
 money-order arrangements, was in the printer's hands, 
 I sent my private secretary to apply for a suspension 
 of proceedings until the Postmaster-General's further 
 pleasure should be known. This brought the Post- 
 master-General's private secretary with a copy of the 
 circular, in which, as I expected, I found an un- 
 necessary and offensive restriction.^ All the officers 
 to whom it w^as addressed w^ere informed that, while 
 they w^ere to obey me in matters connected with the 
 Money Order Department, they were not to obey me 
 on any other subject. My subordinates were thus 
 called on to watch my proceedings, while a disposition 
 on my part was implied to do that which, from the 
 first, I had most scrupulously avoided. I also learnt 
 that copies had already been sent to Dublin and 
 
 * The following is an instance of one of these circulars : — 
 
 "The Heads of Departments and Officers of the Secretary's Office are 
 requested, before acting on any papers forwarded by Mr. Hill to the Postmaster- 
 General, to satisfy themselves that the minutes upon such papers have been entered 
 in the books of the Secretary's Office, which can be easily ascertained by an 
 observation of the number of the minutes endorsed in red ink on the back of the 
 paper by the Minute Clerk. Charles Johnson, Chief Clerk. Oct. 26th, 1847." 
 ^Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
1847-8] OFFENSIVE CIRCULAR. 75 
 
 Edinburgh. I insisted on their recall. Mr. Cornwall, 
 after conferring with Colonel Maberly, promised the 
 withdrawal of the objectionable clause, hoping that I 
 would then raise no further obstacle to the issue of the 
 circular. I was obliged, however, still to object to 
 this, as the circular would give effect to the minute 
 against which I had protested, and thus pledge me to 
 duties without awarding me the necessary power. 
 
 The result of Mr. Cornwall's application was com- 
 municated to me in a private letter from the Post- 
 master-General, by which I learnt that, though he 
 intended to draw a fresh minute in place of Colonel 
 Maberly' s, he had found nothing to object to in the 
 circular, and consequently had directed its issue with- 
 out further delay. He added that his own view was 
 confirmed by that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 of whose opinion he sent me a memorandum. By 
 this, however, I perceived that the nature of my 
 objection had been misunderstood, probably by both. 
 
 My Journal proceeds as follows : — - 
 
 " On inquiry I found that the circular about to be despatched 
 retained the objectionable clause. It was not, I think, asking too 
 much to be heard before any irretrievable step was taken." 
 
 However, the Postmaster-General's intention was 
 soon fulfilled ; and the new minute (written in his 
 own hand) differed in no material point from the 
 draft which I had prepared. I had also some little 
 satisfaction in finding that, though the circular had 
 now been issued, yet, in the new minute, all autho- 
 rity for the offensive part of it had been removed. 
 Anxiety as to my true position relative to the Money 
 Order Department being now sufficiently relieved I 
 advanced in good spirits, and at once entered on my 
 new duties. 
 
^6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847-8 
 
 " December 2jrd. — The newspapers are reporting the new arrange- 
 ment, each after its own fashion. The Ti?nes and Chronicle have 
 useful notices on the subject ; the Morning Post tells the world that 
 I have been promoted to the superintendence of the Money Order 
 Office, but carefully quotes the circular to show that my authority is 
 confined thereto." 
 
 Unfortunately, in coming for the first time close to 
 any department one always has to learn abuses : — 
 
 ^'■January 8th, 1848.'^ — It is distressing to find that forgeries and 
 other frauds connected with money orders are frequent. ... I 
 have already had to deal with six or eight cases of this kind." 
 
 The subjoined is a striking instance of the economy 
 that may be produced in large operations by even a 
 small change. I found that although the old money- 
 order forms w^ere supplied at a very low rate (about 
 ten for a penny), yet, by reducing the size, I could 
 save about ^/OO per annum ; and this notwith- 
 standing an improvement in the form, w^hich the 
 Comptroller of the Stationery Office alleged would 
 involve an additional Q.x'pQnsQ of nearly ^1500 a-year. 
 To remove this objection, however, I had to resort to 
 a mechanical device derived from former experience in 
 constructing my printing machine, t This saving was 
 soon afterwards followed by a larger one, consequent 
 on reduction in the size of the " letter of advice " and 
 the abolition of what were called duplicate advices. 
 Both these economical measures had the collateral 
 
 * Under the same date I find the following entry in Sir R. Hill's Journal : — 
 " I am obliged to consult Dr. Southwood Smith as to the state of my health, 
 having for the last three weeks suffered from sleepless nights, and almost constant 
 headache. Dr. Smith enquires whether I had not suffered from anxiety, or 
 excessive labour, and I explained to him my real position." — Ed. 
 
 t "In perfecting my printing machine we spent about /"2000, and hitherto 
 the saving now effected is the only advantageous result. Without the knowledge 
 thus obtained I could not have overcome the difficulties as to printing." — Sir R. 
 Hill's Journal. — Ed 
 
1847-8] ARREARS OF MONEY ORDERS. yj 
 
 advantage of diminishing labour in the chief office, 
 while the total annual saving. in stationery alone, even 
 on the consumption at that time, was thus raised to 
 
 about ^2500."^ 
 
 Not less important was it to obtain prompt and 
 complete accounts. One desideratum was a com- 
 plete registration of papers, the necessity for which 
 happened to be exemplified in the midst of my 
 arrangements on the subject by the discovery, in the 
 desk of the late chief clerk at a town in Yorkshire, of 
 more than forty unanswered letters from the chief 
 office, some of them already six months old. Money- 
 order accounts in the London office, too, I found in 
 great disorder ; arrears so long as, in the opinion of 
 the head of the department, would require for bringing 
 them up a force of thirty-five men for four years ; in 
 other words, an outlay of at least ;^i 0,000, w^ith a 
 doubt whether even then the outstanding money 
 orders could be correctly ascertained. To avoid so 
 great an outlay, I suggested an Act of Parliament 
 protecting the department, after due notice, from legal 
 claims on orders issued before 1847. This course was 
 in the end adopted, though the practice was still to 
 discharge any claim which appeared to be just ; nor 
 do I remember that the restriction ever led to com- 
 plaint. 
 
 At the same time there was prospect of great 
 economy : — ■ 
 
 ^^ February i6th, 1848. — Jackson now thinks that other improve- 
 ments now in progress will enable the Money Order Ofifice to undertake 
 all the additional work likely to arise in the next two or three years, 
 including the extension of the system throughout England and 
 Wales, without any increased force. If so, the effective saving 
 will be enormous." 
 
 * At the present rate of consumption {1S69) the saving must amount to about 
 i^6ooo a year. 
 
yS LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847-8 
 
 It may be added that this expectation was confirmed 
 by the event. 
 
 ^^ March 8fh, 1848. — The Postmaster-General, in speaking of the 
 many improvements which I have effected, remarked the singular 
 absence of all complaints from the public, though some [of the 
 improvements] are more or less restrictive." 
 
 Among the means formerly taken to account for the 
 existence of a revenue under what It regarded as the 
 ruinous system of penny postage, the Post Office had 
 uniformly maintained that a large profit was obtained 
 in the Money Order Department. A return now 
 made to Parliament showed that, so far from this 
 being the case, the expenditure of the previous year, 
 the last before that department came under my con- 
 trol, exceeded the receipts by about ;^ 10,000. 
 
 A summary of the Improvements effected thus far 
 in this department will be found in a letter addressed 
 by me to the Postmaster-General on January 3rd, 1849, 
 which is given in the Appendix. 
 
 Some incidents of the years 1847 and 1848, which 
 for convenience I have hitherto omitted, are yet worthy 
 of record : — ■ 
 
 Carelessness in Remittance, 
 
 " May 2yth^ 1847. — Mr. Ramsey (missing-letter clerk) brought me 
 a packet containing whole bank-notes to the amount of ;^i5oo, so 
 
 carelessly made up that they had all slipped out ; and to add to the 
 carelessness the packet was imperfectly addressed to some country 
 house in Herefordshire, no post town being named. It had found 
 its way, after much delay, into thfe post office at Ross, and had been 
 sent to London by the postmistress. Instances of such carelessness 
 are not infrequent." 
 
 I may add that, some years afterwards, there was 
 sent to the office for the book-post a large sum in 
 bank-notes, the ends of the packet being left open, 
 according to book post rule, so as to expose the 
 
1847-8] ATTEMPTED ROBBERY. 79 
 
 contents. It is much to be wished that all persons 
 inclined to such carelessness would pause to think 
 how grievous is the temptation to which the humbler 
 servants of the Post Office are thereby exposed. 
 
 Atte77tpted Robbery. 
 
 ''^Jidy yih. 184'/. — There was a serious attempt this morning 
 (fortunately unsuccessful) to rob a letter-carrier who was taking out a 
 large number of bankers' parcels for delivery. It is said in the office 
 that they contained nearly half-a-million of money." 
 
 The circumstances of this extraordinary proceeding 
 are thus described in the "Annual Register" : — 
 
 Fro?}i the '''■ Annual Register''^ for 18 41. Chronicle, p. 82. 
 
 "July 7. Murderous Attack on a Letter-Carrier. 
 
 "A most atrocious attack was made upon one of the letter 
 deliverers employed by the General Post Office, named Bradley. 
 He is one of those whose particular duty it is to make the early 
 delivery at the different bankers and merchants in Lombard Street of 
 what are called the 'registered letters.' He had received his bag of 
 letters as usual from the chief office, St. Martin's-le-Grand, at eight 
 o'clock, and was proceeding through Mitre Court, which leads from 
 Wood Street to Milk Street. After passing through the gate, which 
 at night closes the entrance to the court in Wood Street, he noticed 
 two or three men in the passage, one of whom suddenly locked the 
 gate ; and when Bradley had nearly reached the iron posts in the 
 middle of the court he was struck a violent blow with a life- 
 preserver, which stunned him for a moment ; he nevertheless called 
 out for assistance, keeping his bag of letters firmly grasped in his 
 hand and under his arm. The villains, alarmed by his cries, rapidly 
 made off into Milk Street, leaving behind them their deadly weapon. 
 Bradley was severely injured about the head, and being an old man, 
 was, in consideration of his resistance to this attack, allowed to retire 
 on full pay. A reward of ;£3oo was offered for the detection of the 
 perpetrators ; but as Bradley could give no description of them, and 
 no other person had observed them, the police did not get any clue 
 to their detection." 
 
 I am glad to learn (1867) that this faithful veteran 
 is still living. 
 
8o LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1847-8 
 
 Sino^iilar Frauds. 
 
 In the early days of money-order transactions, it 
 was the lenient custom of the office, in cases where an 
 order had been paid to a forged signature, still to pay 
 it to the right party. This dangerous indulgence did 
 not fail to become known to the knavish class, who 
 made profitable use of the opportunity. Thus two 
 persons, perhaps lodging at the same house, would 
 purposely arrange that an order obtained in favour of 
 one should fall into the hands of the other ; and when 
 the latter, by forging the signature of the former, had 
 obtained payment, the former, applying in his own 
 name, and showing that the signature given was not 
 his, was able to obtain payment a second time. To 
 put a stop to this systematic fraud, which had become 
 a thing of daily practice, it became necessary so to 
 modify the existing law as to provide that when an 
 order had once been paid, even though to the wrong 
 person, no legal claim should remain against the Post 
 Office. In accordance with the old practice, the order 
 was still paid where it appeared that the blame rested 
 with the Post Office itself. This new rule, though re- 
 garded by many as a great stretch of power, not only 
 put an immediate stop to the fraud against which it 
 was directed, but produced so little complaint from any 
 quarter as to make it clear that the previous indulgence 
 had been almost as superfluous as it was dangerous. 
 Nevertheless the exceptional authority of the Post- 
 master-General was soon afterwards put in requisition 
 in the following case : — 
 
 In a large provincial town a person applied in haste 
 at the post office, stating that on his way thither he 
 seemed to have dropped an order which he was 
 bringing for payment ; at the same time giving in 
 
1847-8] MONEY ORDERS. 8 1 
 
 his name, and begging that no order might be paid 
 to that name until his return, as he would go back 
 to his house to examine whether he might perchance 
 have left it there. Some time after his departure, 
 however, a second person came to the window, saying 
 
 that Mr. had recovered the order, having in fact 
 
 left it at home, and had sent him with it to obtain 
 payment, he himself being unexpectedly detained. 
 The clerk, satisfied with this plausible statement, 
 fitting in so well with antecedent circumstances, de- 
 livered the money accordingly, but was startled a few 
 minutes later by the reappearance of the first claimant, 
 with the declaration that, as he had not been able to 
 find the order at home, it must of course have been 
 lost, and a request that nothing might be done until a 
 new order was obtained. Upon the clerk's reporting 
 what had meanwhile occurred, and mentioning the 
 new rule, the applicant, after some remarks not par- 
 ticularly flattering to postal sagacity, announced his 
 intention to appeal in the highest quarter. The de- 
 cision there made was that in so extraordinary a case 
 the strict rule should not be fully maintained, but that 
 the department must, nevertheless, be secured from 
 loss. This was thrown in equal shares on the two 
 parties immediately concerned, each having shown 
 negligence, the one in losing the order, the other in 
 paying it against injunction. 
 
 Esqtcires in Low Life. 
 
 An angry letter was received at the General Office 
 relative to alleged misconduct in an officer at the 
 Charing Cross office, w^ho had refused to pay a 
 money order, because of irregularity in the signature 
 of the payee. The complainant reported that the 
 ground of objection was that when he gave his sig- 
 
 VOL. II. G 
 
82 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 nature he appended the term Esq., adding, *' The silly 
 fellow does not know that in a certain rank of life 
 every one signs himself Esq." 
 
 Coniplaints. 
 
 It is curious, and would at first sight seem inex- 
 plicable, that acceleration of the mails, though effected 
 solely for the public benefit, often too at great cost, 
 and always with much trouble, led in some instances 
 to angry complaint. Perhaps the most whimsical 
 instance of this was that of a lady in a northern 
 town, at which the night mail from London had 
 previously arrived somewhat too late for the last 
 delivery of the day, so that the letters could not 
 be distributed until the following morning, whereas 
 by this acceleration they were delivered the same 
 evening. The allegation was that, w^hereas com- 
 plainant used always to get her letters early in the 
 morning, she never received them now till late at 
 night. 
 
 Joseph Ady. 
 
 Among miscellaneous incidents of the year 1848 
 the followinof mav be mentioned. The ofi^ce and the 
 public had long been troubled with a restless ad- 
 venturer named Joseph Ady, a man who maintained 
 the language and dress of a Quaker, but who, I 
 apprehend, was no real mernber of the Society of 
 Friends. This person was for ever posting a number 
 of letters to inform individuals that he knew of 
 something to their advantage, which, for a stated 
 fee, he was ready to mention. As all these letters 
 were unpaid, and many consequently rejected, Mr. 
 Ady was called on to pay no small amount of postage ; 
 but, by representations of his poverty, age, and feeble 
 health, and promises to ofTend no more, he had again 
 
1848] JOSEPH ADY. 83 
 
 and again obtained very lenient treatment ; while no 
 sooner was he out of one scrape than, by a return to his 
 former practice, he plunged Into a new one. On one 
 occasion, having been let off lightly on condition of 
 his entering Into a formal written engagement not to 
 repeat the offence, he showed the inveteracy of his 
 habit by inserting after his signature words to the 
 followlnof effect : — 
 
 " If Mr. Peacock [the solicitor to the Post Office] is any relation 
 to the Mr. Peacock who, about twenty years ago, lived at [such a 
 place], I can, on receiving the usual fee of twenty-one shillings, tell 
 him something to his advantage." 
 
 Presently afterwards he resorted to a new device. 
 This was to post his letters, really unstamped, but 
 each one bearing the mark as of a stamp removed, 
 so as to furnish ground for an asseveration, of course 
 ready at hand, that a stamp had really been affixed 
 to each. It is needless to say that so shallow a pretext 
 was of no avail, and a conviction was obtained against 
 him which threw him into prison, and though, by his 
 usual wiles, he soon contrived to obtain release, he 
 seemed at length to feel himself beaten, gave up his 
 singular trade, and, Indeed, soon afterwards died. 
 
 Comfnunication by Telegraph. 
 
 The following entry records as a wonder what would 
 now be regarded as a very trivial incident : — 
 
 ^'- April 4th J 1848. — The payment of a money order has been 
 countermanded from Manchester by electric telegraph. 
 
 'J -^ 
 
 * "May 15th, 1849. — The Treasury concurs in the arrangement for bringing 
 the Electrical Telegraph to the Post Office. Under this arrangement, which was 
 settled by Mr. J. L. Ricardo and myself, with the concurrence of the Postmaster- 
 General, part of a spare passage will be given up to the Company at the Post 
 Office, in return for which we are to have a right to transmit and receive messages 
 at a low rate (one shilling for not more than ten words), the Company bearing all 
 expenses. I am inclined to hope that the plan will prove mutually advantageous." 
 —Sir R. Hill's Journal.— Ed. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 Chartist Movement. 
 
 The Chartist movement of the year 1848 affected 
 the Post Office as well as other public departments : — 
 
 ^^ April 6th. — Went to the Mansion House to be sworn in a 
 special constable with all the other officials. Serious apprehensions 
 are entertained of an attack from the Chartists on Monday next, 
 when they hold a great meeting on Kennington Common, and 
 intend to march in procession to the Houses of Parliament to 
 present their petition. Arms are being provided for the Post Office, 
 which is being put into a state of defence, in common with other 
 Government offices." 
 
 At Colonel Maberly's suggestion, I placed my own 
 clerks, and those of the Money Order Office, in all 
 about two hundred and thirty, under his command ; 
 thus making a total force of upwards of thirteen 
 hundred men. 
 
 ^'' April 8th. — Iron bars are being put to the lower wmdows, and 
 special precautions taken against fire. Goldsmiths' Hall, and other 
 buildings which command the entrances to the Post Office, will be 
 occupied with our people. These preparations, and the excitement 
 they produce, are a sad hindrance to business." 
 
 ^'- April loth. — Incoming to the office accompanied the Chartist 
 procession down Holborn Hill, crossing it without difficulty at the 
 bottom. The lower windows and doors of the office are defended 
 by bars of iron and planks. Upwards of thirteen hundred of our 
 people, a large portion of whom are well armed, are divided into 
 small parties, each with its officer, and written instructions have been 
 issued for their guidance. The excitement is too great for much 
 work to be done. About one o'clock the Postmaster-General told 
 me that Fergus O'Connor was arrested, but this afterwards proved to 
 be a mistake. Another report, which for a while received credit, 
 spoke of the disaffection of the Guards, but about two o'clock certain 
 information arrived to the effect that the meeting had quietly 
 dispersed, and that the threatened processions were abandoned. 
 Soon after four I left, but the clerks and others were detained till the 
 mails had been despatched. On my return home I noticed much 
 excitement in the streets, and nearly all the shops were closed." 
 
1848] GENERAL PROGRESS. ' 85 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 GENERAL PROGRESS. 
 
 Having narrated the transfer of the Money Order Department 
 to my superintendence, I now proceed to more general trans- 
 actions, and for their description give the following letter to Mr. 
 Baring : — 
 
 "General Post Office, January 24th, 1848. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I think the enclosed will interest you. You 
 will not fail to remark the effect of the do-nothing policy of 1842, 
 and of all, except the latter part, of 1843. The great increase in 
 subsequent years is owing mainly to the extension of the rural distri- 
 bution, which goes on with such rapidity that in the last year we 
 brought more than one thousand places within the range of the Post 
 Office system. No one would now question the policy of the mea- 
 sure which you proposed, except, perhaps, on the ground that it did 
 not go far enough. 
 
 "The increased facilities afforded of late years are proving far 
 more profitable than even I had anticipated. 
 
 " The revenue of the past year will probably be about ^^2, 2 20,000 
 gross, and ;2^i, 030,000 net. The gross revenue is as large as it was 
 in 1834, and within 5 per cent, of what it was in 1837. The current 
 year will probably give an amount equal to 1837, thus realising 
 my anticipations of gross revenue. The net revenue will be about 
 ^£"200,000 less than I calculated ; but in my opinion the expenses 
 have been needlessly increased to that extent. The same gross 
 revenue as in 1837 was, according to my calculation, to be the 
 result of a five-fold increase of letters ; it will have been brought 
 about by a 4|-fold increase. 
 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 "Rowland Hill." 
 
86 
 
 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND PULL. 
 
 [1848 
 
 ENCLOSURE. 
 
 Estimate of the Number of Chargeable Letters delivered in the 
 United Kingdom in each year from 1839 to 1847.* 
 
 Year. 
 
 1839 
 
 1840 
 
 184I 
 
 1842 
 
 1843 
 
 1844 
 
 1845 
 
 1846 
 
 1847 
 
 Number of 
 Letters. 
 
 Millions. 
 
 76t 
 169 
 196I- 
 2o8i 
 
 220i 
 
 242 
 
 271I 
 
 299I 
 322 
 
 ANNUAL 
 
 INCREASE. 
 
 Number of 
 Letters. 
 
 Per-centage 
 
 reckoned on 
 
 the No. for 
 
 1839. 
 
 Millions. 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 • • • 
 
 • • • 
 
 93 
 
 123 
 
 27I 
 
 36 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 2l{ 
 
 28 
 
 29 1 
 
 39 
 
 28 
 
 37 
 
 22f 
 
 30 
 
 ^^ January 28th. — Received a very gratifying note from Mr. Baring 
 in reply to the above, in which, though not quite concurring in my 
 comparison of net revenue, he says, 'There is still a great store of 
 undeveloped letter-writing in the country, and I am sanguine enough 
 to believe your estimate as to number will be wrong by being 
 much under the mark.' He adds, with characteristic frankness, 
 * What has surprised me most is the quiet way in which the people 
 here take to the prepayment and stamping. I was always much 
 afraid of that part of the plan, and am glad to find myself wrong.'" 
 The following are further extracts from Mr. Baring's letter : — 
 *' As I am writing to you I cannot help mentioning what was told 
 me at Weymouth this year, which shows how, in trifles even, your 
 scheme has been a benefit. 
 
 * The estimate for 1839 is founded on the ascertained number of letters for one 
 week in the month of November, and strictly speaking it is for the year ending 
 December 5th, at which time 4^/. was made the maximum rate. The estimate for 
 each subsequent year is founded on the ascertained number of letters for one week 
 in each calendar month {vide Return to the House of Commons, No. 586, 1847). 
 
 t This is exclusive of about 6^ millions of franks. 
 
1848] BOOK POST. 87 
 
 " I was at Weymouth when I was Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 and busy with you about the reduction [of postage], and used, with 
 my children, to frequent a shell-shop and gossip with the shopkeeper 
 — a man of some intelligence in his way. I was at Weymouth again 
 this summer, and having gone to my shell friend, after a little talk, 
 ' Oh, Sir ! ' he said, ' I must tell you that the penny postage that you 
 were busy about when you were here last has been a great benefit 
 to me in my way, which you did not, I dare say, expect, and I am 
 sure I did not. I now send my shells all over the country.' " 
 
 The following is a curious instance of a real advantage figuring as 
 the reverse. While the year's improvement did not equal my ex- 
 pectation, a return called for by Parliament was so given as to make 
 it appear less than it really was, the progress in gross revenue being 
 in effect understated by about ;j^ 100,000. The following is the 
 explanation of this anomaly : — By the system of prepayment the 
 number of rejected letters had been so diminished that the deduction 
 made on their account from the gross postage had been reduced by 
 that sum, a fact suppressed in the return.* I pointed out the error 
 to the Accountant-General, who at once admitted it, but explained 
 that a corrective entry which he had made in the return had been 
 removed thence by order. 
 
 BOOK POST. 
 
 The following entries relate to the Book Post : — 
 
 ^''Jafiuary 28th. — Went to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to 
 endeavour to remove his objections to the book post. He is afraid 
 apparently of the railway interest, and dislikes the notion of entering 
 into competition with carriers. I reminded him that we did not 
 propose to avail ourselves of our monopoly [I should have said ' to 
 extend our monopoly to the conveyance of books '], but merely to 
 serve the public better than it is now served ; that no other system 
 than that of the Post Office would reach the rural districts ; and 
 pointed out the moral and political importance of enlightening those 
 districts, &c., &c. W^e had a stout battle, but in the end he gave up, 
 suggesting, however, for my consideration, the expediency, in the 
 first instance at least, of restricting each packet to a single volume." 
 
 This suggestion was adopted. The difficulties being thus removed, 
 the book post was at length established, the necessary warrant 
 
 * To make this clear, it may be necessary to mention that the gross postage 
 includes all postage charged ; and that, to arrive at the real postal revenue, there 
 has, of course, to be deducted from this total so much as, owing to rejection of 
 unpaid letters by addressees, or other similar causes, is never received. 
 
88 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 appearing in the Gazette of February nth. At first any writing 
 whatsoever found in a posted book made it subject to letter charge, 
 but this absolute restriction was soon found to be inconvenient, 
 especially to collectors of old books. Professor De Morgan, I 
 remember, found it a little hard that a bar to the use of the book 
 post should arise from the mere fact that a useful volume contained 
 some such inscription as the following : — 
 
 *' Anne price Her Booke 
 god give her grace therein to Look ; " 
 
 The rule was accordingly made less stringent ; wTiting, however, 
 being still restricted to a single page. In the course of years it 
 became allowable to write anything whatever, save only a letter, 
 and, with the same restriction, to send any matter, even if written 
 throughout. 
 
 I am sorry to remark, however, that meantime advantage was 
 taken of the new facility for frequent attempt at evasion of postage ; 
 letters, small articles of dress, &c., being slipped in between the 
 leaves of the books, and, ungallant as the statement may appear, I 
 am bound to mention that the chief offenders in this way were ladies. 
 Sometimes the means resorted to evinced no small pains and inge- 
 nuity, exercised for the mere purpose of saving a few pence. Thus, in 
 one instance which I remember, a hole had been excavated in the 
 thickness of an old book — leaving not only the binding, but several 
 leaves above and below, uninjured, and in this hole was concealed a 
 watch. And here I may remark that, with every desire to give the 
 public all possible facilities, we were often deterred from so doing by 
 the tricks and evasions which too frequently followed any relaxation 
 of our rules ; evasions which, even when detected, and when clearly 
 opposed to the spirit a?id intention of the regulation, were sometimes 
 defended — and owing to the unwillingness of Government depart- 
 ments to risk defeat in a court of justice, successfully defended — 
 on the ground that there was no infraction of the letter of the regu- 
 lation. The conscientious part of the pubhc — happily, so far as my 
 experience shows, the great majority — is little aware how much it 
 suffers from unscrupulous conduct such as this. 
 
 ECONOMIC MEASURES. 
 
 While thus carrying forward extensive and important improvements 
 in the single department placed under my exclusive superintendence, 
 and while instituting the book-post system, I found myself, by want 
 of necessary power, debarred from those more general improvements 
 
1848] ECONOMIC MEASURES. 89 
 
 which constituted important features in my plan as laid before 
 Parliament. I had nevertheless abundance of less profitable, though 
 not unprofitable, occupation in work mostly of a routine character. 
 Here I had steadily to resist such tendency to unnecessary increase 
 in expenditure as seemed likely, if unchecked, to render all my 
 economical arrangements nugatory. I had, at the same time, to 
 seek every opportunity of retrieving false steps made previously to 
 my appointment;"^ some of which were still producing serious 
 waste. Of course, many of the savings effected either way were, 
 individually, of small amount, yet not only were they important in 
 their total, but also the care thus exercised tended to introduce that 
 spirit of economy without which no department can produce its best 
 effects. 
 
 Scales of Salaries. 
 
 Sound economy, I need not say, requires that salaries should be 
 regulated by fixed principles; and as early as January 31st of this 
 year I had suggested to the Postmaster-General that it would be well 
 for the Treasury to appoint commissioners who should establish 
 scales of salaries equally applicable to all the revenue departments, 
 so as at once to remove mutual jealousy and to prevent unreasonable 
 claims in one department from arising out of unreasonable con- 
 cession in another. Such a Commission was actually appointed 
 about five years afterwards, and its proceedings will be mentioned in 
 their proper place. 
 
 Former Prodigality. 
 
 One past proceeding, strongly exemplifying the necessity for a 
 regulating principle, is set forth in the following extract from my 
 Journal. Rectification was an affair of great difficulty : — 
 
 ^'' May 2'jfh. — In preparing for my minute on the mail guards I 
 have been obliged to read the papers on the subject for the last 
 eleven years. They show that a scale of wages about two-thirds of 
 that now in use was proposed by the officers of the department, and 
 recommended by Colonel Maberly ; also that much lower wages 
 {2\s. per week) had been paid for seven years to the guards on the 
 
 * "June 8th, 1848. — I frequentlydetect some strange misuse of terms which has 
 become habitual in the office — e-g., many clerks have applied for, and received, a 
 fortnight's holiday ; but I accidentally discovered the other day that one to whom 
 I had granted the indulgence stayed away fourteen working days, and, on inquiry, 
 I found that such was the interpretation invariably put on the term. In my own 
 department I, of course, have put an end to this." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
90 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 ^Manchester and Liverpool Railway, and that they were satisfied 
 therewith ; that the Postmaster-General, in opposition to the advice 
 of his officers, proposed to the Treasury a scale nearly the same, but 
 slightly higher than that now established, and then appointed a large 
 
 number of new guards ; that, owing to a blunder of 's [instead 
 
 of the change being limited to guards on railway, who got no fees 
 from passengers], the option was offered to all the guards then in the 
 service to be placed on this scale, as he admits, without authority 
 from the Treasury ; that the Irish guards [who all worked on mail- 
 coaches], without exception, accepted the offer ; thus adding at once 
 more than ;£5,ooo a year to the expenses ; that an attempt was then 
 made (in effect unsuccessfully) to withdraw the offer, and that in the 
 course of a few years the expenses in mail guards were advanced 
 from ;!^io,5i3 in 1836, to £^2Z,(i2'] in 1841 ; that my minute on the 
 subject, written at the Treasury in 1842, calling for explanations and 
 suspending further advance meanwhile, was sent to the Postmaster- 
 General in August of that year, and remained unanswered till 
 September, 1845, and that in the meantime the Post Office was 
 frequently pressing the Treasury to remove the suspension. . . . 
 Towards the end of 1845 the Treasury took off the suspension, and 
 the arrears (about ^2,000) were paid. The Committee of Investi- 
 gation, in 1843, called for a copy of my minute, and of the pro- 
 ceedings consequent thereon, but it was delayed under various 
 pretexts, and was eventually withheld altogether." 
 
 Letter-Boxes. 
 
 One means of economising the time of the letter-carriers, which I 
 had contemplated from the first, was to induce the public to provide 
 themselves with letter-boxes to the doors of their houses ; and I now 
 suggested to the Postmaster-General the expediency of addressing a 
 circular on the subject, in his name, to the inhabitants of London. 
 I proposed that it should give information as to the cost of change, 
 and offer Post Office assistance in case of difficulty. At the time 
 the Postmaster-General concurred in all this, but for some months 
 nothing was done. 
 
 '■'■ March 2gth. — The P.M.G. has sent me a private note stating 
 his apprehension that the circular as to letter-boxes, <S:c., will be 
 ridiculed, and proposing to leave out all information as to prices, (S:c. 
 As he had previously sanctioned the circular, I suppose some one 
 must have excited these apprehensions. To me it appears ridiculous 
 to issue a circular without giving the information which every one 
 naturally desires ; but of course it must be altered." 
 
1848] RAILWAY NOTICES. QT 
 
 Letter-boxes, however, have become frequent, though far from 
 being so general as both economy and pubhc convenience require. 
 Neither the Postmaster-General nor I imagined that the circular, 
 limited as it was, could give offence to any one. Nevertheless, it 
 produced some angry letters, — among others, one from the late 
 Marquis of Londonderry, who indignantly demanded whether the 
 Postmaster-General actually expected that he should cut a sht in his 
 mahogany door ! 
 
 MINOR IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 Railway Notices. 
 
 The following minor improvement may perhaps be worth men- 
 tioning, as being, if not particularly beneficial to the department, at 
 least very economical to that large portion of the public which is 
 interested in railway extension. Railway notices were at that time 
 served personally on landholders and occupiers by the solicitors of 
 the companies, at the rate of one guinea for each notice. The 
 Speaker of the House of Commons (now Lord Eversley) sent his 
 private secretary, Mr. (now Sir Erskine) May, * to confer with me on 
 the expediency of having the notices in question served by means of 
 registered letters. To this there was a very serious obstacle in the 
 fact of the delivery not extending to every house, so that I had to 
 devise means by which this difficulty might be overcome. At the 
 end of four months, howxver, and in fair time for the notices of the 
 season, a plan which Mr. May and I jointly concocted having 
 received the sanction of Government, the proposed regulations were 
 issued ; the effect being to reduce the expense of serving a notice 
 from one guinea to sixpence. I had, in due time, the satisfaction to 
 learn that the plan, as adopted, worked smoothly, though it certainly 
 appeared that some solicitors were in no special haste to avail them- 
 selves of the new facility. 
 
 '•'■February 20th^ i84g. — Met at my brother Matthew's house, Mr. 
 Brooks, the Home Missionary at Birmingham, a very intelligent, active 
 and benevolent man. He tells me that penny postage is producing 
 excellent effects as regards the poor, inducing large numbers, even 
 among the adults, to learn to write, and that their correspondence is 
 increased, he thinks, a hundred-fold. He thinks requiring prepayment 
 by stamps (the postmasters being obliged to sell even a single stamp) 
 will not interfere with the correspondence of the poor, who are rather 
 proud of sticking the Queen's head on their letters." 
 
 * "Mr. May is one of the few men I ever met with who, being improvers 
 themselves, desire the help of other improvers." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. July 
 8th, 1848.— Ed. 
 
92 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 FOREIGN EXTENSION. 
 
 I must now speak of the progress made during the year in the ex- 
 tension of postal reform to foreign countries, as also changes in our 
 relations therewith. 
 
 United States. 
 
 '•'■ February loth, 1848. — The Postmaster-General explained to me 
 the position of the postal treaty with the United States. Whatever 
 may have been our conduct at first, I think we are right now, and the 
 United States Government wrong. Bancroft, the United States 
 minister, had consented to an arrangement of perfect reciprocity, viz., 
 on each letter either way twopence to each government for inland 
 rate, and tenpence to the Government owning the packet, when the 
 United States Government refused its ratification ; and yet, owing to 
 the absurd secrecy observed on such occasions [by our official rule], 
 the English, as well as the American papers, throw all the blame on 
 our Government. Proposed to the Postmaster-General that I should 
 see Thornely, Brown, and some other M.P.'s interested in the matter, 
 who had applied to me on the subject, and let them know how matters 
 stand — to which he assented, and I arranged to meet them to-morrow 
 morning." 
 
 I must observe that such hasty conclusions in the press, and con- 
 sequently in the public, are not so infrequent as could be wished ; the 
 Post Office, and perhaps other departments of Government, being 
 frequently blamed for defects and anomalies which they have no 
 power to supply or remove. I must confess it has appeared to me 
 that we Englishmen have a singular disposition, where the question 
 lies between our neighbours and ourselves, to lay the blame, if possible, 
 on ourselves. 
 
 ^^ April i^th. — jVIr. James Lee of New York came with an intro- 
 duction from Mr. Rathbone of Liverpool. Mr. Lee is intimate with 
 the President, and is anxious to assist in effecting amicable arrange- 
 ments as to the postal communication between this country and the 
 United States. He admits the abstract fairness of our proposals, but 
 contends that we ought to modify them because, owing to the angry 
 feeling on the part of the people in the United States, the Govern- 
 ment there cannot concur therein. This struck me as a strange 
 admission of weakness. I suggested an arrangement which, though 
 equally favourable to us, would not encounter the prejudices of the 
 American people ; at the same time carefully guarding myself against 
 its being supposed that I was empowered to negotiate. He caught 
 
1848] THE UNITED STATES AND FRANCE. 93 
 
 eagerly at the suggestion : said that he should go immediately to the 
 American minister to consult him thereon, and then see me again. 
 Mr. Lee entirely confirms the statement of mine, on which much 
 doubt has been thrown, namely, that the United States Post Office 
 has no provision for the delivery of letters, and consequently that, 
 notwithstanding their greater distances, they have no claim to a higher 
 inland rate than ourselves." 
 
 Meantime, progress was making in the United States towards such 
 measures as, by bringing their home postal system into accordance 
 with our own, would obviously facilitate international accommodation. 
 An association was formed at New York apparently for procuring the 
 adoption of my plan in all its points, and the President (Mr. Polk), 
 in his message to Congress, recommended that the variable rate, 
 established about three years before, should be reduced to a uniform 
 rate of twopence-halfpenny ; the same to be prepaid. This I could 
 not but regard as a very complete acknowledgment of the fairness 
 and convenience of uniformity, considering the vast extent of the 
 United States, and that the measure followed a trial of two rates. An 
 entry in my Journal records that the treaty between the two countries 
 was settled. The terms, indeed, seemed to me unduly advantageous 
 to America, but, under all the circumstances, I approved of the con- 
 cession. 
 
 France. 
 
 Good progress was making also in France; the Revolution, so 
 disastrous in many respects, having at least removed from his office 
 the chief opponent of postal reform, M. Dubost. On June 21st I 
 learnt from M. Grasset, my former correspondent, that he had laid 
 before a committee of the National Assembly, with my friend M. St. 
 Priest as president, a proposal for a low uniform rate, payable by 
 means of stamps. Unfortunately he did not propose to make any 
 distinction of charge between letters prepaid and post-paid. On this 
 modification which he had made in my plan my correspondent 
 prided himself as the simplest system in the world. I could not but 
 acknowledge, however, that, even in spite of his modification, the pro- 
 posed change would be a vast improvement on the actual rates. The 
 Report of the committee, drawn up by " Citizen St. Priest," recom- 
 mended a considerable reduction in the charge for postage. 
 
 ^'■August 26th. — The Times of this morning states that the bill for 
 the establishment of the twopenny rate passed the National Assembly 
 on the 24th." 
 
 By this Act money prepayment was forbidden, but as nothing was 
 gained by prepayment in stamps, the inducement to use stamps 
 
94 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 seemed but weak, so that the economy involved therein was likely to 
 be but small. Experience showed the error, and the post-paid rate 
 was afterwards increased, I think, as with us, to a double amount 
 My friend M. Piron obligingly sent me a sheet of the new French 
 postage stamps, the image on which was a female head, symbolical of 
 the French Republic. The confusion of the revolutionary period 
 seemed to be whimsically exemplified in the fact that, of the three 
 hundred heads on the sheet, several were inverted. This packet I 
 received just before the close of the year. A few days later I have 
 the following entry : — 
 
 ^^ January ijth, 184^. — M. Thayer, the present head of the Post 
 Office in France, called, as he said, to see the father of their improved 
 Post Office system ; he is new to his duties, and therefore not very 
 familiar with details, but he seems hopeful. He proposes to ex- 
 change papers connected with the departments. He walked with 
 crutches, having been shot in the foot in attacking barricades in June." 
 
 M. Thayer, I may remark, informed me that he was of English ex- 
 traction, referring me, for confirmation of his statement, to Thayer 
 Street, Manchester Square. 
 
 Belgiinn. 
 
 Belgium, too, was in movement ; and in a minute prepared in reply 
 to an application from the Government of that country, I was able to 
 show how accurately the results of penny postage had agreed with 
 my anticipations. Six months later, viz., in December, 1848, I re- 
 ceived a copy of the Government Bill, which proposed to reduce the 
 various postage rates to a uniform charge of twopence ; retaining, 
 however, the lower rate of one penny for local letters. It appeared 
 that the whole number of letters was but nine millions, or about one- 
 ninth part of that delivered in the London district, the population of 
 which is about half of that of Belgium. The people of Brussels were 
 pressing for a penny rate. 
 
 When the question came before the Belgian Parliament, the Lower 
 House, rejecting the rate proposed by Government, adopted our own 
 rates ; these, however, being rejected by the Upper House in favour 
 of a twopenny rate, the king, upon learning that this modification was 
 producing great and general dissatisfaction, proposed a compromise, 
 which was accepted. By his a penny was fixed as the rate for 
 moderate distances, the rate beyond being twopence. Stamps were 
 to be used, and a penny to be added in all cases where the letter was 
 not prepaid. 
 
1848] TWO CO-ORDINATE AUTHORITIES. 95 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 EFFORTS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION. (1S48-9.) 
 
 In the narrative of the proceedings of the year 1848 
 I have reserved to the last some that were of great 
 importance to myself, and I venture to think, through 
 me, to the public service. The discordant action in the 
 secretarial department, so often referred to in these 
 pages, so difficult to prevent where there were two 
 co-ordinate authorities dealing apart with the very 
 same affairs, and unfortunately so needlessly aggra- 
 vated in a variety of ways, continued throughout 
 the year with but little abatement, and with no 
 prospect of cure. Not only, as already shown, did 
 it seriously impede, and in some important cases 
 even stop, the progress of improvement, but it acted 
 also so injuriously on my own health as at times to 
 make me even doubt the possibility of my remaining 
 at my post. 
 
 Before, however, the effect on my health became 
 too manifest to allow of neglect, the two-fold evils of 
 my position, the realisation of all the unpleasant antici- 
 pations with which I had entered on my office, had led 
 me to seek the early fulfilment of those expectations 
 held out to me in the beginning, without which I 
 should not have entered on my arduous task. In 
 reply to my inquiry as to the term necessary for 
 demonstrating my power of dealing with details there 
 
g6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 had been loose mention of six months.^ At the end of 
 that period, viz., in May, 1847, having become firmly 
 convinced that the existing evils admitted but of one 
 cure, I had made my first move in that direction. I 
 had told the Postmaster-General that, after six months' 
 trial, I was convinced that Colonel Maberly and I 
 could never work cordially together. Some time 
 afterwards, being called on to prepare scales for 
 salaries, I again pressed my views. I told the 
 Postmaster-General that, as the scales I had to pro- 
 pose would disappoint existing expectations and 
 probably increase an insubordinate spirit already 
 showing itself amongst the men, the work could 
 not be safely attempted under divided responsibility, 
 unless there w^ere a harmony of action of which I saw 
 not the least hope. I added that, much as I desired 
 to take part in carrying out my plan, I was so deeply 
 impressed with the dangers to which I had referred, 
 that I thought it would be better to leave the execu- 
 tive entirely with Colonel Maberly than to continue on 
 the present footing. The Postmaster-General, although 
 apparently not viewing the matter in so serious a light 
 as myself, seemed uneasy at my persistence, and said 
 he must consult the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 About a month later, Mr. Thomas Young, the 
 Receiver-General, having entered into conversation 
 with me on the subject, and learnt my views and 
 feelings thereon, counselled patience, but assured me 
 that he knew the feeling at the Treasury, and that I 
 might calculate on the desired change before the end 
 of the next session. After the lapse of another month 
 the Postmaster-General, in reply to inquiry, told me 
 that he had spoken to the Chancellor of the Exche- 
 
 * See pp. 41 and 46. 
 
1848] APPLICATIONS AND DELAYS. 97 
 
 quer, but without definite result. He added, however, 
 that, as I had to see the Chancellor on other business, 
 I had better discuss the matter with him myself, and go 
 fully into the subject. I accordingly saw the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer at the earliest opportunity. After 
 having discussed with him my more immediate busi- 
 ness, which related to my undivided control of the 
 Money Order Department, a point on which I was 
 fortunate enough to obtain his concurrence, I deemed 
 it inexpedient to enter on further measures, especially 
 as he was much pressed for time. I told him, how- 
 ever, that I thought it right to say that the step about 
 to be taken would necessarily lead to further mea- 
 sures ; on which he said, *' I have no objection to 
 that." 
 
 Meantime I had the satisfaction to remark various 
 indications of that increased confidence in myself, 
 on which, of course, the desired promotion must 
 be based. Early in the year 1848, however, I saw 
 reason to apprehend that, without prompt action on 
 my part, I myself might be subject to ejection. The 
 clerks in the money-order division of the Secretary's 
 department were alarmed by information that attempts 
 were making to remove me, and all under me, to the 
 Money Order Office over the way, a change which 
 would have put my retention of office quite out of the 
 question. The clerks, whose salary and position would 
 have suffered by this removal, memorialized the Post- 
 master-General on the subject. Upon speaking to 
 Lord Clanricarde, I learned that some such suggestion 
 had been made, but presently abandoned. I took 
 advantage of the alarm to obtain for those under me 
 full security as to their position and salary. 
 
 Some months later, circumstances again led me 
 to mention my claim. Increase of business in the 
 
 VOL. II. H 
 
98 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 London district requiring an increase of force, and 
 this appearing to contradict the expectations I had 
 held out, I was sent for to the Treasury, where I 
 saw Mr. Parker : — 
 
 ^^ May 1 2th. — I thought it necessary to speak plainly as to the 
 causes of their not having been realised, and said that so long as 
 they continued Colonel Maberly in offxe they must not expect any 
 decided retrenchment, and that, had I supposed that he would have 
 retained his position so long, I never would have undertaken my 
 present duties. He seemed sorry to have provoked these statements, 
 and remarked that great savings had been effected in the Money 
 Order Office ; to which I repHed that it was because that department 
 had been freed from Colonel Maberly's influence." 
 
 Some weeks later, I received for my plan the marked 
 approbation of the highest authority in the Govern- 
 ment : — 
 
 ^''June 2 1 St. — Lord John Russell, last night, in the House of 
 Commons, in enumerating the measures which had resulted from 
 the Reform Bill, spoke as follows of penny postage (the extract is 
 from the Tifnes of to-day) : . . . ' Whilst these great changes have 
 been made, other measures have been adopted, such as the reduction 
 of the postage of letters to a penny (Hear ! from Colonel Sib- 
 thorpe, in a tone which provoked considerable laughter). I was 
 about to allude to the reduction of postage in a parenthesis with 
 other measures, but I really think that, viewed as a great social 
 change, nothing more beneficial has taken place in later times 
 (Hear, hear). When you contemplate the enormous increase which 
 has taken place in correspondence, you may estimate the number of 
 persons who were deprived of the benefit of communicating with 
 their friends, and of offering the interchange of domestic affections 
 (Hear, hear). I really think that we cannot overestimate all the 
 advantages which have resulted from that act (Cheers).'" 
 
 The more, however, I felt gratified with this 
 evidence of increased confidence on the part of the 
 Government, the more anxious was I made by a 
 communication received three days afterwards : — 
 
 '•^June 24th. — The Postmaster-General told me in confidence that 
 
1848] THE MINISTRY IN DANGER. 99 
 
 Ministers had determined to resign if beaten on the Jamaica ques- 
 tion, now pending — a result which he thought probable ; his object 
 in telling me this appeared to be to enable me, as far as possible, to 
 prepare for the change. I repeated what I have before told him, that 
 his own resignation would in all probability be followed by mine, for 
 that, judging from former experience, I was sure that unless I was 
 
 well backed by the Postmaster-General, would so conduct 
 
 himself as to render my position unbearable. He replied that he 
 had no doubt I should have much opposition to contend with, not 
 
 only from , but from the heads of the other departments, who 
 
 to a man were opposed to reduction. I reminded the Postmaster- 
 General of his minute, prescribing a course of proceeding on my 
 part much more restrictive than the actual practice of the office, and 
 
 stated that, should he resign, would, I felt sure, endeavour to 
 
 enforce the regulations to the letter. I also inquired if the Post- 
 master-General would have any objection to modify his minute in 
 accordance with the practice of the office. To this I understood 
 him to assent. He says there will be plenty of time, after the 
 question of resignation is settled, to attend to such matters. Lord 
 St. Germans, he thinks, would be his successor. He has noticed 
 that Lord St. G. has rarely deviated from Maberly's advice." 
 
 ^'•June 28th. — E. H., A. H., F. H., and I, met to consult on the 
 steps to be taken in consequence of the Postmaster-General's com- 
 munication of the 24th, and decided what should be done. These 
 family consultations are a great aid to me. Wrote a minute, modi- 
 fying the one [alluded to above]." 
 
 ^''June 2gth. — Called on the Postmaster-General at his house, and 
 had a very satisfactory interview. He is fully satisfied as to my 
 administrative powers, and offers to leave a memorandum for his 
 successor (should the Ministry resign, of which there is now less 
 probability), expressing his high opinion thereon. Fully admits that 
 the prospect of promotion held out when I entered on office had 
 reference to my succeeding Maberly. That all doubt of my ability 
 to manage the department had long ceased, and that he had re- 
 peatedly expressed himself to other members of the Government 
 quite ready to conduct the Post Office with my aid only ; that he 
 expected a vacancy in some other department would have been found 
 for M. before this, but that his present post was so good a one that it 
 was difficult to find another equally good, and that Parliament and 
 the public would not justify their allowing so young a man as M. to 
 retire upon a pension. I proposed, as an intermediate step, that I 
 should be declared joint secretary with M. ; but, as I could not 
 
 H 2 
 
100 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1848 
 
 accept any advance of salary so long as I was postponing the con- 
 sideration of others' salaries, my salary should continue at its present 
 amount till the general adjustment should take place. . . . Finally, 
 he promised to consider my proposal, and to consult the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer thereon." 
 
 ^'■June joth. — The danger of resignation is past ; the Ministers 
 had a majority of 15 last night. Gave the Postmaster-General the 
 minute (June 28th), but he defers decision thereon, there being now 
 no haste." 
 
 I did not altogether concur In the propriety of 
 delay, feeling as I did that every day was bringing 
 new evils. After narrating other proceedings at this 
 interview, my Journal thus continues : — 
 
 " Called his [the Postmaster-General's] attention to the great 
 increase of expenditure, shown by an account just rendered for the 
 last half of 1847. It is at the [annual] rate of nearly ;^ 100, 000." 
 
 In the following August the question was again 
 forced upon me, by a demand of the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer for the complete consolidation of the 
 two corps of letter-carriers \^ a measure Involving also 
 the establishment of hourly deliveries and district 
 offices, all important features of my plan. Knowing 
 that the required change, which, unless made with the 
 greatest care, would Inevitably excite great discontent 
 among the clerks, sorters, letter-carriers, and others, 
 could not be safely attempted under present arrange- 
 ments, I again spoke to the Postmaster-General on 
 the subject of my promotion, but obtained no satis- 
 factory reply. 
 
 Checked and encumbered too as my progress had 
 been, a review of It made about this time showed 
 that, however Imperfect in Its great features, It was 
 nevertheless, In the aggregate, greater than I myself 
 
 * See Vol. 1., pp. 269 and 373. 
 
1848] FORMAL CLAIM FOR PROMOTION. lOI 
 
 had been conscious of. In fact, I found that most 
 of the improvements included in the Hst of agenda, 
 which I had laid before the Committee of 1843, were 
 either completed or at least in progress. Still, as I 
 felt it indispensable that my greater reforms also 
 should go forward, I continued from time to time to 
 urge that important change which the condition of my 
 engagement gave me a right to demand ; and as the 
 year drew to its close without any step being taken in 
 reference to my claims, I naturally became more im- 
 patient. Instead of the six months which had been 
 spoken of as my probable time of probation, two 
 whole years had now elapsed. I could not but regard 
 this interpretation of the virtual promise as more 
 than sufficiently loose. 
 
 After careful consultation with my brothers, I 
 resolved on making a formal application upon the 
 subject. In my letter, which is given in the Ap- 
 pendix (A), after referring to past difficulties and 
 previous applications, as also to the distinct ex- 
 pectation which had induced me to accept my 
 present post, after appealing to his lordship as ''to 
 my having made every possible effort to surmount 
 and avoid the obstacles incident to my present posi- 
 tion," I submitted a list of the chief improvements 
 (all of them, however, of a comparatively minor 
 character) which, under his lordship's authority, I 
 had been able to effect in the postal service. 
 I then described the improvements effected in the 
 Money Order Department, expressing my confident 
 expectation that in the course of the year it would 
 become self-supporting,^ and that by additional mea- 
 sures, then in progress, it would in time be made to 
 
 * This anticipation was realised. See Return to House of Commons, No. 645 
 1850. 
 
102 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 afford a satisfactory profit. I adduced the facility with 
 which the necessary changes, many of them difficult 
 and complicated, had been effected In this department 
 since it came under my Immediate and exclusive direc- 
 tion, as affording fair presumption that with similar 
 means at my command a like success might be obtained 
 elsewhere. I remarked that my appointment to this 
 department had been avowedly to ascertain my com- 
 petency for practical management, and submitted that 
 by the results such competency was proved. 
 
 After adverting to some of the most important and 
 pressing Improvements remaining to be made, to the 
 opposition which these had always encountered, to the 
 cautious and tentative process by which alone they 
 could be effected, to the impracticability of carrying on 
 this without " immediate confidential and uninterrupted 
 intercourse with those most conversant with details, 
 or on whom the duty of immediate execution would 
 devolve," or without '' the exercise of an influence and 
 authority limited only by due subordination to" his 
 "lordship," I again urged the fulfilment of the expec- 
 tation held out to me. I strengthened my claim by 
 reference to symptoms of dissatisfaction in the public 
 with the slowness of progress, natural enough in its 
 ignorance of the difficulties under which I laboured, 
 but through which I was exposed to attacks which I 
 might not repel, and suffered in my reputation while 
 quite unconscious of blame. 
 
 This letter was promptly acknowledged as follows : — 
 
 "Dublin, January 6th, 1849. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — The subject of your letter of the 3rd is a 
 matter for more than mere departmental consideration, and all I can 
 do upon it is to communicate it to the authorities at the Treasury. 
 I shall do so without delay. u ^^^^ ^^.^ly yo^j-s, 
 
 "Clanricarde." 
 
1849] UNREASONABLE DEMAND. IO3 
 
 Three days later I learnt from the Postmaster- 
 General that it had been forwarded to the Premier, 
 Lord John Russell ; and about a month afterwards I 
 heard in like manner that it was then in the hands of 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Instead, however, 
 of a reply, positive or negative, to my application, 
 I received from the Postmaster-General's private 
 secretary a letter addressed to his lordship from the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, demanding the con- 
 solidation of the two corps of letter-carriers, referring 
 to a promise of such improvement alleged to have 
 been made two years before, and speaking of its non- 
 fulfilment as discreditable to the department. I need 
 not say that in such promise I at least had had no 
 share ; but as the obstacles to this very measure had 
 been set forth in my recent letter, I was obliged to 
 conclude that this letter, though forwarded as already 
 mentioned to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, re- 
 mained unread by him. 
 
 A few days afterwards, however, the Postmaster- 
 General told me that he and Lord John Russell had 
 talked over my letter, but the reported result was only 
 the old conclusion, viz., delay till a suitable vacancy 
 should be found elsewhere for Colonel Maberly. I 
 suggested two several expedients which were not 
 adopted. In short, nothing whatever was done, and 
 though no attempt w^as made, either then or at any 
 other time, to show any flaw in my claims, I 
 found nothing but delay. I certainly had as yet no 
 suspicion of the extent to which this delay would be 
 carried. 
 
 Ten days later the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 again, in a private note to the Postmaster-General, 
 returned to the charge, protesting that no jarring 
 between Colonel Maberly and me could justify the 
 
104 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 delay, but still showing no sign of having read my 
 letter. It was easy to suppose the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer unable to discover of himself the mode 
 in which jarring between Colonel Maberly and me 
 rendered it impracticable to effect what he desired, 
 and to understand how press of business and variety 
 of occupation might have prevented his noticing or 
 remembering my explanation on the subject. Un- 
 fortunately his want of information, however accounted 
 for, could not remove obstructions nor avert dangers ; 
 and thus, while he applied his spur, I could not induce 
 him to remove the curb. My only resource was again 
 to seek a hearing ; and accordingly I wrote to my 
 immediate official superior what was nevertheless 
 intended rather for the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 himself. 
 
 After mentioning that I had in vain sought by 
 reconsideration to find means of accomplishing in 
 my present position even part of what was desired, 
 I suggested that, to remove all obstacles to my 
 promotion. Colonel Maberly should be allowed to 
 retire on full salary, I undertaking all his w^ork in 
 addition to my own, without any present increase of 
 emolument ; Colonel Maberly to be of course ready 
 to fill any satisfactory vacancy In another department 
 whenever It occurred. Thus, with full allowance for 
 such augmentation to my salary as might then take 
 place, there would still be a large saving to the 
 revenue. The reply to this letter, though expressed 
 with Lord Clanrlcarde's usual kindness, was a request 
 for its withdrawal ; a request with which, after a 
 week's consideration and consultation with friends, I 
 thought It best to comply. I notified, however, 
 that I still urged my claim as stated in my previous 
 letter. 
 
1849] FAILURE OF HEALTH. IO5 
 
 Meantime doubt revived as to the stability of the 
 Ministry : — 
 
 " May yfh. — The Postmaster-General expresses doubt as to the 
 result of this debate [the Navigation Laws], on which the existence 
 of the Ministry depends. He says, however, that in the event of 
 their resignation, there will be ample time to consider any arrange- 
 ments similar to those discussed at the time of the last ministerial 
 crisis for making my position in the office more satisfactory." 
 
 With the Importance of the rehef to be derived 
 from the long-sought change In my position I was 
 again Impressed by failure of health. Towards the 
 end of May I became so unwell as to be very unfit for 
 work, and was obliged to remain almost entirely at 
 home. Some v»^eeks later I again fell ill, and was for 
 a week absent from the office, getting with difficulty 
 through some little work at home. Early in August, 
 however, the parliamentary session having closed, I 
 was able to take more rest, and though repeatedly 
 Interrupted by recalls either to the Post Office or 
 the Treasury, I was nominally at holiday for a 
 whole month, and really passed nearly a fortnight at 
 Ramsgate. Before leaving town, however, I again 
 wrote to the Postmaster-General. (See Appendix B.) 
 In his reply (Appendix C), Lord Clanricarde repeated 
 his former objections to moving in the matter, and 
 said he saw no reason to believe that the Treasury 
 would take at that moment any steps to place me in 
 the position I desired to hold.^ 
 
 * Lord Clanricarde said, in his reply, "I could not send forward lo the 
 Treasury your letter of the 3rd of January without previously communicating 
 with Colonel Maberly." On this Sir R. Hill thus remarks in his Journal : — " In 
 saying that he could not forward, &c., he strangely forgets himself. He did send 
 it forward as soon as he received it. Perhaps he means that he cannot send it 
 forward officially or a second time ; but this is unnecessary. I don't like the look 
 of things at all. If I consent to these indefinite delays, the result will be that 
 there will be a change of Ministry, and I shall be defrauded of my promised 
 promotion." — Ed. 
 
I06 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 ''^ September 1 2th. — The Postmaster-General came to the office for 
 the first time since our recent correspondence. His manner was 
 most hearty and friendly, so much so as to render it almost 
 impossible to discuss any question otherwise than in the most 
 amicable manner. His stay was so short that I could barely get 
 through the most pressing business; it is understood, however, that 
 we are to talk over the correspondence when he comes next." 
 
 On further consideration, I determined to take no 
 further action at present ; and, indeed, my attention 
 was soon afterwards engrossed in other matters. 
 
1849] SUNDAY DUTY. 10/ 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SUNDAY RELIEF. (1849-50). 
 
 I NOW come to one of the most painful passages of 
 my whole life. Perhaps, even had I been in possession 
 of every external advantage, the trouble and anxiety 
 now approaching would have been very considerable, 
 but certainly by my anomalous position they were so 
 aggravated as to become almost more than I could 
 bear. The call constantly made upon me to check un- 
 reasonable demands for augmented force or increased 
 salary had necessarily raised against me a hostile feeling, 
 which was but too ready to break out w^hen occasion 
 offered. To explain how such a contingency occurred, 
 I must go somewhat backward in my narrative. 
 
 At the time of my appointment to the Post Office, 
 Sunday was very far from bringing to the department 
 the amount of rest at present enjoyed there. Even at 
 the chief office, which was usually spoken of as com- 
 pletely exempt from Sunday duty, more than twenty 
 persons were regularly employed during several hours 
 of the day, partly in sorting out the letters for Govern- 
 ment and foreign ambassadors resident in London, 
 letters technically called " States," — which had to be 
 delivered the same day — and partly in doing other 
 work which, under the existing arrangements, could not 
 safely be deferred until the Monday morning. Else- 
 where offices were, as a rule, open during most of the 
 
I08 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 day, not only for general purposes, but even for the 
 transaction of money-order business. Applications, 
 indeed, began to be made by particular towns for the 
 suspension of this latter duty at their respective offices; 
 but, owing to the various difficulties and objections by 
 which the change was beset, and in particular the 
 apprehended risk of opposition from without, no pro- 
 gress was made until towards the end of 1847. In 
 that year, in consequence of a memorial presented 
 from Bath by Lord Ashley (now Earl of Shaftesbury), 
 then one of the members for that city, the Postmaster- 
 General directed inquiry to be made whether, by ex- 
 tending the hours on Saturday night, money-order 
 transactions on the Sunday might not be discontinued 
 without injury to the working classes. A report on this 
 subject from the surveyor of the district having come 
 into my hands, I drew up a minute (January 2 7th, 1 848), 
 in which I advised that for the present, at least, the Bath 
 office should be closed for money-order business on the 
 Sunday, and I suggested that in the event of its success 
 a similar arrangement might be extended to other towns. 
 The Postmaster-General having adopted this recom- 
 mendation, the Bath office was closed on the Sunday 
 for money-order business, though it still remained open 
 for ordinary purposes nine hours on that clay, as before. 
 Even thus limited, however, the alteration excited alarm 
 in the minds of those who regarded it as the forerunner 
 of other restrictions, and within a month a memorial 
 against further change was presented by Viscount 
 Duncan, the other member for the city, signed by the 
 mayor and nearly five thousand other persons, ** Clergy- 
 men, officers of the navy and army, gentlemen, mem- 
 bers of the various professions and trades, and others." 
 It thus appeared that, important as it was to afford 
 Sunday relief, any movement for the purpose, if not 
 
1849] CLOSING OF MONEY ORDER OFFICES. IO9 
 
 cautiously made, might excite opposition, perhaps too 
 strong to be overcome. The difficulty, too, was in- 
 creased by unreasonableness and even absurdity in some 
 of the demands put forth ; as, for instance, one for the 
 complete stoppage on their route of the mail-trains and 
 all other vehicles in the mail-service, from midnight on 
 Saturday till midnight on Sunday. 
 
 As, however, the Sunday suspension of money- 
 order business at Bath appeared on trial to produce no 
 public inconvenience, I recommended its extension, 
 first to Leeds, and afterwards to Birmingham, these 
 towns having likewise presented memorials on the 
 subject. In both cases my recommendation was 
 adopted by the Postmaster-General. I now began to 
 take measures to extend this Sunday closing of the 
 money-order offices to the whole kingdom. By the 
 beginning of 1849 it was extended to England and 
 Wales, and thus, in one day, four hundred and fifty 
 offices w^ere relieved from money-order duty, many 
 of which had been previously open for that purpose 
 during the whole Sunday, just as on ordinary days. 
 Three months later, the experiment still proving suc- 
 cessful, the measure was extended to Ireland and 
 Scotland, relieving two hundred and thirty-four addi- 
 tional offices, and making the Sunday suspension of 
 money-order business complete. 
 
 Meantime, also, I was taking steps for bringing all 
 other Sunday work in the provincial offices within 
 narrower limits. In October, 1848, I submitted a 
 minute suggesting that inquiry should be made as to 
 Sunday proceedings at the offices in Scotland (where 
 restriction had always been carried further than in 
 England), and how far such arrangements were found 
 satisfactory to the public and the department. The In- 
 formation thence derived led me to hope that the 
 
no LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 English offices might be closed at least during the 
 hours of divine service, and the Sunday deliveries 
 limited in all cases to one. I consequently suggested 
 that the opinion of the surveyors should be ascertained 
 on these points, and at the same time I recommended 
 that the offices should, in the first instance, be closed 
 from ten to five (except for the receipt and despatch of 
 any mails in the interval). 
 
 The Reports of the surveyors concurred in strongly 
 recommending the adoption of the proposed improve- 
 ments ; not, however, without showing some apprehen- 
 sions of inconvenience, and consequent complaints, 
 from the proposed restriction to one delivery ; for the 
 cases in which there were more deliveries than one on 
 the Sunday proved then much more common than I 
 had supposed. Still, I was of opinion that, with what- 
 ever inconvenience the improvements might be attended, 
 they would be accepted by the public if accompanied by 
 another measure conferring an equivalent advantage. 
 Such a measure was at that time under consideration, 
 and had long been regarded as a desideratum, viz., 
 the transmission of the '' forward letters " "^ through 
 London on the Sunday, with a view to their delivery 
 on the Monday morning ; a measure which I felt con- 
 fident might be effected, not only without any addition 
 to Sunday labour, but, even when taken in all its bear- 
 ings, with a great reduction of Sunday labour. Nay, 
 more, I saw reason to believe that, even in the London 
 office, on which alone the labour of such transmission 
 would fall, the improvement might, in the end, be made 
 to yield similar relief. This expectation was fully con- 
 firmed by experience. 
 
 Accordingly I took an early opportunity of consulting 
 
 * "Forward letters" are letters coming from one post town to a second, for 
 despatch to a third. 
 
1849] MINUTE ON SUNDAY DUTY. Ill 
 
 the Postmaster-General on the subject. I found that 
 he concurred in my views, but wished to consult Lord 
 John Russell before anything was done. This was on 
 January 9th, 1849, and six days later he informed me 
 that Lord John Russell had no objection to consider 
 the question, and wished to see the proposed plan. I 
 prepared a careful statement on the subject, which was 
 sent in without delay. A few days later. Lord John 
 Russell having approved of the plan for transmitting 
 the forward letters through London on the Sunday, I 
 got my brother Arthur's help, and threw my memoran- 
 dum into the form of a minute ; and as it fully explains 
 the grounds on which I proceeded in this matter, I 
 insert it at length in Appendix D, giving here the fol- 
 lowing summary. 
 
 After referring to the suspension of money-order 
 business on Sunday, I reported that investigations 
 made showed that a further very important relief as 
 related to Sunday work might be effected in all the 
 provincial offices, but that the consideration of this 
 question was closely connected with the Sunday trans- 
 mission of letters through London, a measure which had 
 been urged by various authorities, and which was the 
 more important, because the number of letters to w^hich 
 it related had advanced within the last thirteen years by 
 ten-fold. 
 
 I next pointed out that the evil of detention had 
 been found so serious that in several cases the rule 
 had been evaded, either by making use of other 
 existing channels, or by the actual establishment of 
 Sunday cross-posts, an expedient w^hich, besides its 
 other evils, obviously involved additional Sunday 
 work. 
 
 After pointing out that the present Sunday duties at 
 the chief office ordinarily occupied twenty-six persons 
 
112 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 for six hours, even a greater force being sometimes 
 required, I proposed, with a view of diminishing the 
 amount of Sunday work in the department as a whole 
 — provincial as well as metropolitan — that the existing 
 mail trains should bring up on the Sunday, in addition 
 to the present bags, the forward stamped letters, and the 
 forward stamped letters alone, so that there might be 
 neither any possibility of a Sunday delivery of letters to 
 the London public nor any unnecessary addition to the 
 Sunday accounts. 
 
 In order that the men employed might be able to 
 attend divine service, I proposed that the whole interval 
 from 10 A.M. till 5 P.M. should be left perfectly free, and 
 that the same arrangement should be extended, as far 
 as possible, to the duties already existing. 
 
 After glancing at the obvious fact that for any tem- 
 porary increase in force required at the chief office, 
 there would be at least a large and permanent set-off 
 elsewhere, I pointed out that the existing arrangements 
 led to a great amount of Sunday despatch and delivery 
 in the provinces, and consequently of Sunday letter- 
 writing and letter-reading there ; so that, taking the 
 whole country through, Sunday work would be un- 
 doubtedly lessened. I further stated that there were 
 means by which, after the contemplated change, it 
 would be possible to reduce the Sunday labour even at 
 the chief office considerably below its actual amount. 
 
 I next stated the large reduction in Sunday labour 
 which in a recent minute I had proposed at the provin- 
 cial offices of England and Wales, and again advised 
 its adoption, and its extension in some of its features 
 to Ireland and Scotland. I added that its effect would 
 be to "release a very large number of persons now 
 engaged even during the hours of divine service," and 
 thus to " afford to many hundreds, perhaps even to 
 
1849] LORDS DAY SOCIETY. II3 
 
 some thousands, needful rest, and the opportunity of 
 attending the services of the day." 
 
 This minute was referred by the Postmaster-General 
 to Colonel Maberly, who, as I had the satisfaction of 
 learning two days later, promptly declared his intention 
 to report in favour of the measure, saying that it 
 ought to have been adopted long ago. This he ac- 
 cordingly did, and I have the pleasure to say that, 
 amidst the troubles which subsequently arose from the 
 measure. Colonel Maberly stood by his first decision. 
 
 About three weeks later the " Lord's Day Society" 
 applied to me to receive a deputation, with a view 
 to the total cessation of Post Office business on the 
 Sunday, stating that they were referred to me by the 
 Postmaster-General. As Lord Clanricarde was then 
 out of town, I wrote to him for instructions, feeling, 
 meantime, no small perplexity, because I well knew 
 that, on the one hand, resistance to the expected 
 demand would expose me to attack, and that, on the 
 other, concession would soon produce such an uproar 
 throughout the country as must seriously annoy the 
 Government, and, moreover, raise obstacles to those 
 practical measures of Sunday relief which were already 
 in progress. 
 
 However, the Postmaster-General having expressed 
 a wish that I should receive the deputation, I called at 
 the Treasury to urge immediate sanction to my last 
 measures on the subject, but found the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer too much occupied to attend to the 
 business. 
 
 *^ Marc/i jo^k. — Received the deputation from the 'Lord's Day 
 Society,' consisting of Mr. Cowan, M.P. for Edinburgh, General 
 Maclnnes, three clergymen, and others. They had prepared a plan 
 for stopping the mails throughout the kingdom from midnight on 
 Saturday till midnight on Sunday, but I had no great difficulty in 
 VOL. IL I 
 
114 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1S49 
 
 satisfying most of them that any attempt of the kind would excite 
 much angry opposition, and consequently that it would be much 
 better, at first at least, to aim at such improvements as most people 
 would concur in." 
 
 Any Impression, however, which I might have made 
 soon faded away, the Society within three weeks again 
 urging their plan, under the erroneous notion that they 
 had found an answer to my objection, and pressing me 
 to undertake it, "as the only man capable of giving it 
 effect." Of course I could only point out the error 
 and decline their request. 
 
 "August yth. — Summoned to the Treasury. Mr. Hayter* tells 
 me that he read my minute on the Sunday work aloud to the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer ; that both considered it a very able paper, 
 and that the measure had been sanctioned." 
 
 Measures were thus in progress for giving a vast 
 amount of Sunday relief throughout the country. 
 Much had been already done, more was in hand, 
 and, judging by the past, I saw reasonable ground 
 to hope that the completion of this would open the 
 way, as in the end it did, to yet further benefit. Of 
 course I could not but be aware that the important 
 change now preparing had in it an element of danger. 
 The transit of letters through London on the Sunday, 
 if taken alone, would necessarily be considered as 
 an increase of Sunday work, the more so as the 
 "practical officers" maintained, contrary to my 
 opinion, that at least a temporary addition to the 
 present force was essential to the plan. It was to 
 be feared, therefore, that London would be more 
 struck with a slight increase of Sunday employment 
 
 * The Secretary to the Treasury. "Mr. Hayter and I think very much alike 
 on Post Office matters, and we consequently get on swimmingly." — Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal, Sept. 6, 1849. — Ed. 
 
1849] TREACHERY IN THE CAMP. II5 
 
 in its own office than with any decrease, however 
 great, in all the other offices of the kingdom ; and 
 that if London should sound the alarm on a subject 
 w^here Englishmen feel rather than think, an angry- 
 excitement would spread throughout the country ; an 
 evil so formidable as to require that every precaution 
 should be taken against it. Above all, it was desirable 
 that no partial rumour should precede the complete 
 enunciation of the plan ; since its sole chance of ready 
 acceptance, and indeed its true justifiability, depended 
 upon its character as a whole. Consequently, every 
 one of those to w^hom knowledge was necessarily 
 intrusted had been strictly enjoined to secrecy. 
 Unhappily, there must have been treachery in the 
 camp ; not that I ever had the means of fixing this 
 charge on any individual, or that I ever was solicitous 
 to do so ; but of the fact itself there was abundant 
 evidence. 
 
 On September 27th my wife and I, by way of 
 keeping the twenty-second anniversary of our wedding, 
 had taken a walk together as far as Hendon, but after 
 spending some time pleasantly there, we found the rest 
 of our pleasure marred by rumours of approaching 
 trouble — rumours too well confirmed on the following 
 day. 
 
 " Septejfiber 28th. — The newspapers this morning are full of the 
 most absurd statements as to the Sunday duties' measure, which, in 
 several, is violently attacked as a desecration of the Sabbath, and so 
 on. The Herald and the Record profess to give very circumstantial 
 statements of what I have said and done in the matter, but these are 
 pure inventions. The clerks in the Inland Office have signed a 
 memorial to the Postmaster-General, remonstrating against the 
 measure, as though it were intended to require their attendance 
 on a Sunday, and expressing a pious horror of so doing. The facts 
 being that some who have signed the memorial already attend 
 throughout the day, while the additional duties will be so arranged 
 
 I 2 
 
Il6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 as to leave the clerks at liberty from ten till five ; few will be wanted, 
 and those are to be volunteers, A deputation of these fellows has 
 been to the Bishop of London [Dr. Blomfield], and it is said to the 
 Lord Mayor also ; both of whom have taken up their case. I fear 
 the whole proceeding is another manifestation of that insubordination 
 and desire to thwart my plans which unquestionably exist. . . 
 Wrote to the Postmaster-General, who left London yesterday morning 
 for Portumna, stating how matters stood, and made arrangements 
 with Tilley [the assistant-secretary] for the immediate issue of the 
 notices to the public, as the most effectual means of allaying the 
 storm. They will appear in the papers to-morrow morning, and will 
 be distributed all over the kingdom by to-morrow night's mails. A 
 contradiction from authority which I sent appears in the evening 
 papers." 
 
 The statement that the Lord Mayor had proceeded 
 in this questionable manner proved to be untrue, but 
 of the Bishop's part in the matter there was no doubt. 
 I could not but think It strange that one who had 
 himself to exercise authority and maintain discipline 
 should feel warranted, on an ex-pai^te statement, 
 without even ascertaining whether this extraordinary 
 appeal had been preceded by proper application to the 
 proper authority, should feel warranted, I say, to give 
 the sanction of his high authority to a proceeding 
 which, in the case of his own clergy, he would justly 
 have regarded as Irregular and Insubordinate. 
 
 As usual in difficulties, I sought aid from my own 
 family : — 
 
 " Septet7iher 2gth. — Matthew having fortunately returned home, I 
 have the advantage of his advice and assistance. We went to the 
 office together, and in the course of the day were joined by Arthur. 
 The contradiction and notice have had a good effect, but the excite- 
 ment has by no means subsided. The Twies has a leader \sTitten 
 evidently by some one who has seen my minute (probably at the 
 Treasury), partly defending, partly attacking the plan. . . . 
 Strange enough, there is an able and earnest defence in the 
 Mornijig Post. Sent a confidential letter to the editor of the 
 Times, supplying the information which he so sadly lacks, and 
 
1849] PUBLIC DELUSION. 11/ 
 
 wrote again to the Postmaster-General. The Lord Mayor has called 
 a meeting for Wednesday." 
 
 •' October ist. — Went to the Treasury. Hayter treats the oppo- 
 sition to the new arrangement of Sunday duties as a matter of no 
 importance. I think he is mistaken. I advise the pubHcation of the 
 minutes on the subject. He will consult with the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer." 
 
 In an able article which appeared in the Times 
 about six months later, and which is quoted in its 
 proper place, the delusion of the day is justly com- 
 pared to the infatuation which, two hundred years 
 ago, overspread England, led to such fearful injustice, 
 and produced so much unmerited suffering, from the 
 calumnious breathings of so coarse a miscreant as 
 Titus Oates. Doubtless two centuries had not passed 
 away for nothing ; a great amelioration of manners 
 had taken place, both in deceivers and in deceived ; 
 but, great as was the difference in degree, the present 
 movement was in kind the same thing again. History 
 once more repeated itself. Only let the accusation be 
 monstrous enough, the asseveration sufficiently bold, 
 and the invention of circumstances tolerably plausible, 
 there is still a large fraction of the public to whom 
 disproof is for a time impossible of reception ; the 
 mist of error so entirely blinding that the most glaring 
 correctives passed unnoticed — nay, unseen ; while there 
 is another class, perhaps almost equally large, which 
 hides its better knowledge, overawed by general pre- 
 judice ; so that while denunciation is clamorous and 
 confident, defence is but slow, feeble, and timorous. 
 
 '■'' Sa?ne day. — Mr. , M.P. for , called in consequence of 
 
 the note from Matthew. He says that he was about to engage 
 actively in the opposition, not knowing that the measure was mine ; 
 that he shall now do no more than is necessary to satisfy his con- 
 stituents, but that he must go with the stream. The Methodists, he 
 says, are organising an opposition throughout London, and all the 
 
Il8 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 metropolitan members must join in it. Showed him in confidence 
 my minute. He strongly advises its immediate publication." 
 
 " October 2nd. — Matthew and I went early to Mr. Hayter's house 
 
 to put him in possession of the information afforded by Mr. , 
 
 keeping back the name of our informant, and to press for the publi- 
 cation of the minute. He still thinks lightly of the matter, but he 
 will speak to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who comes to town 
 to-day to attend a Cabinet Council to decide, as H. says, ' whether 
 we shall go to war with Russia.'" 
 
 We afterwards called together on an old and valued 
 friend in the City, hoping that we might rely on him, 
 as one frequently taking part in public affairs, to speak 
 in defence of the measure at the meeting convened by 
 the Lord Mayor. 
 
 " We wxre surprised to find that even he had adopted the current 
 notions about the plan, and that, after we had in confidence shown 
 him the minute, he was by no means cordial in his approval 
 
 ^^ Same day. — Went to the Treasury. The Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer thinks it unnecessary to publish the minute. Hayter 
 is confident the Government will not give way ; but I fear that as 
 they do nothing to stem the tide, they will eventually give way to it. 
 However, I can do no more." 
 
 " October ^rd. — The Lord Mayor came to the office just before the 
 hour for the City meeting. He gives much such an account of 
 
 things as , and says that, if Lord John Russell persists, he will 
 
 certainly lose his seat for the City. Gave the Lord Mayor some 
 information to use at the meeting. He told me that the deputation 
 of clerks did come to him, and that he reprimanded them for so 
 doing." 
 
 The City meeting was unanimous against the 
 measure ; the agitation was evidently very powerful, 
 and the most absurd and erroneous statements were 
 abroad. One circumstance, however, gave partial 
 explanation of the stir. We all know that in the heat 
 of debate, as well as in the heat of wine, suppressed 
 feelings are apt to come forth ; and some of the 
 speeches at this meeting showed, not very obscurely, 
 
1849] CITY MEETING. II9 
 
 a motive to agitation of which I was not previously 
 aware, and which certainly assorted but ill with the 
 religious considerations so much dwelt upon. It 
 appeared that, by the existing arrangements, the 
 London merchant occasionally got his letters from the 
 East or West Indies or other distant places on 
 Monday morning, while the Liverpool merchant did 
 not get his till Monday evening ; so that there was an 
 interval of which, by the aid of the telegraph, the 
 London merchant could take advantage for his special 
 benefit. By the change contemplated, the two 
 deliveries would be made at the same time, and the 
 local advantage be therefore lost. I must not be 
 supposed to attribute this low motive to the meeting 
 generally, still less to the public at large, though 
 probably it had its influence on more persons than would 
 have been willing to acknowledge it even to themselves. 
 As we proceed, too, it will be manifest that other 
 motives were at work of an order but little more 
 elevated. Meantime, as Government intended, not- 
 withstanding the clamour, to go forward with the 
 measure, it was necessary promptly to secure the 
 means. 
 
 " Sa7ne day. — Pressed on Tilley the necessity of ascertaining, 
 without delay, what volunteers could be obtained from the men ; 
 begging at the same time that no compulsion whatever might be 
 used." 
 
 Of course the sole ground of complaint from the 
 clerks and letter-carriers was the expectation, real or 
 pretended, that Sunday attendance would be compelled. 
 Such an expedient had never entered into my mind ; 
 for, first, I should have held such compulsion too high 
 a price to pay for the advantage ; and, secondly, I 
 anticipated no difficulty whatever in obtaining volun- 
 teers. 
 
120 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 " Same day. — Received a letter from the Postmaster-General, 
 expressing an opinion that the steps taken will soon put the public 
 right. Wrote in reply." 
 
 Three days later, being asked by Colonel Maberly 
 if it was my intention that none but volunteers should 
 be taken, and being urged by Mr. Bokenham (the 
 head of the department immediately concerned) to 
 allow of compulsion, with a warning that otherwise 
 men would hardly be procured, I replied that I would 
 rather give up the measure than compel a single man 
 to attend. On the morrow I had again support from 
 a very important quarter : — 
 
 " October §th. — The Times this morning has an able defence, 
 founded chiefly on the information supplied in my letter to the 
 Editor." 
 
 But pending the beneficial effect which such articles 
 might gradually produce upon the middle classes, the 
 state of mind in the class whence letter-carriers and 
 messengers are drawn remained matter of anxiety. On 
 the day on which the article appeared there was a straw 
 to show which way the w^Ind was blowing ; and how- 
 ever ludicrous the incident appears now that the storm 
 is passed, it was not half so funny at the moment. i 
 
 *' The excitement against the measure (or rather against that which 
 has been falsely stated to be the measure), and I fear against myself 
 individually, is becoming popular. To-day Sir John Easthope saw in 
 the street a boy [selling gingerbeer] with a placard round his hat 
 inscribed "Anti-Rowland Hill Pop." 
 
 The following day, however, brought more support 
 from the press : — 
 
 " October 6th. — The Morning Chronicle has an able defence of the 
 measure, so had the Globe of last night ; indeed, the whole of the 
 daily press, except the Morning Herald (which is rabid) and the 
 Standard^ is, I believe, on the right side." 
 
1849] LORD JOHN RUSSELL. 121 
 
 This was immediately followed by support from a 
 quarter of yet more direct importance : — 
 
 '■'■ Same day. — Received a summons to attend the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer at half-past twelve. Maberly also was summoned. We 
 were shown into separate waiting-rooms, and Maberly was called in 
 first. In about a quarter of an hour I was called in also. Hayter 
 was present. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Hayter both 
 spoke in strong terms of the excellence of the measure and the folly 
 of the opposition. . . . After some discussion and inquiry, the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer \\Tote a letter to Lord John Russell, 
 containing a brief statement of the main facts of the case, which he 
 read to us, at the same time adding that Lord John will decide 
 whether to give way to the clamour or not." 
 
 At the same conference I had to report that as yet 
 only three volunteers had come forward for the new 
 w^ork ; but, again expressing my strong objection to 
 compulsion, I mentioned a device for simplifying the 
 sorting by which I was confident the w^ork might be 
 performed by unpractised hands. Though Colonel 
 Maberly still preferred compulsion, the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer authorized an experimental trial of the 
 plan, which, with the aid of two of my nephews, I 
 made without delay, and in two days carried so far as 
 to obtain satisfactory results ; a fact, doubtless, not 
 lost on the regular force. 
 
 *' October gih. — In the course of the day went to the Treasury to 
 report progress. Saw Hayter, who sent in a note to the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer (a Cabinet sitting at the time) containing my 
 report." 
 
 " October loth. — The Chancellor of the Exchequer sent for me, 
 Lord John Russell having decided that the minute shall be published 
 forthwith. ... I fear the publication will be too late. A large 
 deputation waits on Lord John Russell and the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer to-morrow, and the Postmaster General is summoned to 
 town," 
 
 *' October nth. — The minute appears in all the morning papers 
 except the Twies^ 
 
122 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 The time appointed for the actual change being now 
 close at hand, definite and binding arrangements were 
 indispensable. The duties were accordingly divided 
 by mutual agreement amongst Mr. Tilley, Mr. 
 Bokenham, and myself. I was, however, confident of 
 success, as by this time a large number of volunteers 
 had come forward, so that we had to make a selection, 
 the men chosen being principally from the secretary's 
 of^ce. The readiness to volunteer from this division 
 of the service proceeded, as I had the gratification to 
 learn, from a step taken by Colonel Maberly, who, 
 calling his clerks together, addressed them in a speech 
 in which he pointed out that the department was in 
 danger through unjust attacks, and called upon them 
 to stand forth in its defence. 
 
 " In the evening the Postmaster-General came to the office, having 
 arrived in town late last night, and met the deputation. Reporters 
 were present, and reports will, no doubt, appear in the morning 
 papers. The deputation, the Postmaster-General says, pressed for a 
 postponement of the measure, pleading that they had scarcely had 
 time to read the minute ; and after they left it was decided to delay 
 the change for a fortnight. . . . We discussed the question of 
 compulsion, towards which I find the Postmaster-General inclined ; 
 but here again I found him uninformed as to the facts of the case. 
 He was not aware either that the clerks now engaged on Sunday are 
 volunteers, or that a sufficient number of men for the new duties had 
 come forward. I entreated him not to resort to compulsion, telling 
 him that I had authorised others to say that none would be employed 
 except volunteers, and pointing out that any compulsion would give 
 the men a real grievance, whereas at present their case rested entirely 
 on misrepresentation." 
 
 " October 12th. — The best report on the deputation is in the 
 Morning Chronicle^ which also contains an able leader in favour 
 of the measure." 
 
 On the morrow I conferred again with the Post- 
 master-General relative to the arrangements in ques- 
 tion, when he communicated to me, in strict confidence. 
 
1849] AGAINST COMPULSION. 1 23 
 
 that he feared there was a decided leaning towards 
 the insubordinate men on the part of certain important 
 officials whom he named. 
 
 "We again discussed the question of compulsion, and the Post- 
 master-General promised that no compulsion should be resorted to 
 if the work could be done by volunteers on Bokenham's plan or 
 on mine." 
 
 After recording these transactions, my Journal thus 
 continues : — 
 
 " It is impossible to notice all the proceedings of the week, nor is 
 it necessary. The accounts of meetings to protest against the 
 measure, and the gross falsehoods which have been promulgated 
 in order to get up a case, will be found in the Morning Herald ; 
 , . . . the real facts appearing in my published minute, and 
 in the statements of Ministers on receiving the deputation of 
 Wednesday." 
 
 It is remarkable that while the only firm stand 
 against compulsion was made by myself, it was upon 
 me that the blame of this imaginary compulsion was 
 chiefly laid ; against me that the most unscrupulous 
 asseverations were uttered, and the bitterest reproaches 
 directed. I had been for a long time earnestly and 
 successfully engaged in reducing the Sunday labour of 
 the department throughout the United Kingdom.^ 
 
 * The following extracts from Sir R. Hill's Journal show how much the question 
 had occupied his attention : — 
 
 " November 26th, 1847. — I advised the Postmaster-General steadily to oppose 
 a delivery of letters in London on the Sunday, being convinced that the large 
 majority is opposed thereto." 
 
 "May 23rd, 1848. — Suggested to the Postmaster-General the expediency of 
 putting a stop to the agitation about the ' Lord's Day ' by forthwith doing all that 
 is desirable, viz., closing the Offices throughout the country for Money Order 
 business, and for the receipt of money-paid letters, and at the same time arranging 
 for the transit of the ' forward letters ' through London on Sunday morning, 
 adding that in my opinion the latter measure would tend on the whole to the 
 observance of the Sabbath, as many letters would then be written and posted on 
 the Saturday which are now written and posted on Sunday." 
 
 "Oct. 19th. — On my recommendation the Postmaster-General has decided. 
 
124 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 Hundreds of persons, through measures adopted on 
 my recommendation, had been released from the 
 greater part of their Sunday duty. I had, in fact, 
 been strenuously, though quietly, doing the very 
 work of the Lord's Day Society ; and, now, because 
 a further important measure in the same direction 
 required a small temporary addition to the Sunday 
 force of the London office alone, this even being so 
 arranged as that all engaged would be released from 
 duty an hour before the usual time for the commence- 
 ment of Divine Service, I was denounced as the chief 
 enemy of the due observance of the Sunday, and 
 charged with a wicked intention to compel, whereas, 
 on the contrary, I was doing my very best to prevent 
 compulsion. These attacks, too, so painful and in- 
 jurious to myself, were no less endangering the great 
 measure of relief which I was striving to carry 
 through. As I have said, the public could not yet 
 think — it only felt. Under such circumstances I was 
 bound to be most heedful lest any act or even 
 acquiescence on my part, real or apparent, might 
 give, or seem to give, ground, however slight, for 
 just imputation. 
 
 Mr. Bokenham had twice applied to me to obtain 
 
 subject to the sanction of the Treasury, to put an end to the transaction of Money 
 Order business on the Sunday throughout England and Wales." 
 
 "Nov. 23rd. — The Treasury has sanctioned the discontinuance of Money Order 
 business on the Sunday, and I propose to commence with the new year." 
 
 ** Dec. 7th. — The Postmaster-General has sanctioned a minute of mine pro- 
 posing that the opinion of the Surveyors shall be taken as to the discontinuance of 
 ordinary Post Office business from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Sunday, with the 
 exception of the despatch and delivery of mails." 
 
 "Jan. 23rd, 1849. — I think I have fully established the position that to 
 transmit the * forward letters ' through London on the Sunday will not only be 
 a great convenience to the public, but will actually diminish Sunday work on the 
 part of the public and on that of the department." 
 
 "Feb. 15th. — The Treasury assents to the proposed discontinuance of Money 
 Order business on the Sunday in Ireland and Scotland, which was submitted for 
 their sanction a short time since." — Ed. 
 
1849] RENEWED ATTEMPTS AT COMPULSION. 1 25 
 
 for him a peremptory order from the Postmaster- 
 General to carry out the measure ; adding that, if 
 this were done, he felt sure his men would come 
 forward from good-feeling towards himself. This I 
 had, of course, refused ; but it now occurred to me 
 (October 13th) that, if the order were accompanied 
 with permission to select volunteers, not only from 
 within the office, but also, if necessary, from the world 
 at large, Mr. Bokenham's desire might be safely 
 granted, since it was impossible that, with so wide 
 a choice, there should be the slightest difficulty in 
 obtaining the necessary aid. Upon my explaining 
 this proposed course to Mr. Bokenham, he expressed 
 his desire to have it carried out. I learned from him, 
 however, much to my chagrin, that he received a 
 verbal order to compel attendance ; but upon my 
 stating to him the Postmaster-General's promise to 
 the contrary, he said he should apply for further in- 
 structions before taking any steps. I accordingly wrote 
 a minute in which I stated my unabated confidence in 
 my plan of sorting, and my readiness to undertake the 
 responsibility of its execution if the Postmaster- 
 General should so decide. Having shown this to 
 Mr. Tilley, who had been present throughout the 
 conversation, and who at once vouched for the ac- 
 curacy of the statements contained therein, I went 
 straight to Brighton, obtained without difficulty the 
 requisite powers for Mr. Bokenham, and the Post- 
 master-General's approval of the whole minute, he 
 ** viewing it as a very satisfactory mode of reconciling 
 the voluntary principle with a peremptory order to 
 Bokenham, and expressing himself much indebted to 
 me for the trouble I had taken. ' 
 
 All now seemed to be satisfactorily arranged for 
 action ; but three days later new doubts arose, the 
 
126 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 Postmaster-General informing me that Mr. Bokenham^ 
 had withdrawn from his engagement to me, and that 
 he himself had thought it necessary to issue a positive 
 order, upon which he had no doubt the new duty 
 would be executed, and, as he confidently hoped, by 
 volunteers. After mentioning that he had overlooked 
 the phrase in my minute relative to volunteers from 
 without, he advised that, supposing Mr. Bokenham 
 should express no distrust of his power, I should now 
 leave the matter in his hands. I could not but feel 
 anxious lest his lordship's authorisation to Mr. 
 Bokenham should include that compulsion which I 
 so strongly deprecated. When I got sight of the 
 instructions referred to in his letter, I found that I 
 was not mistaken. I at once replied (see Appendix 
 E), informing him how I had become pledged to the 
 opposite course, declaring myself still ready to under- 
 take the responsibility of the sorting by volunteers, 
 provided I received the powers which had been con- 
 ferred on Mr. Bokenham, and repeating my earnest 
 desire that the improvement should be abandoned 
 altogether rather than we should *'run the risk of 
 compelling any one to do that to which he has a 
 conscientious objection." 
 
 My anxiety on the subject was not without 
 reason : — 
 
 " October igth. — The Morning Herald has a leader, letter, and 
 advertisement, stating that the voluntary plan has been withdrawn 
 (hitherto this paper has repeatedly denied that the work was to be 
 voluntary), and that compulsion will be resorted to. The leader, 
 of course, attributes all this to me. 
 
 " The Postmaster-General came to town. He again hesitates ; 
 will immediately consult Lord John Russell. I pressed for an 
 immediate decision. . . . The Postmaster-General intimates 
 that when the excitement is over there must be a searching inquiry, 
 and a change in the organisation of the office favourable to my 
 
1849] SUPPORT FROM THE PREMIER. 12/ 
 
 interests ; but expectations of the kind have been so frequently 
 raised only to be disappointed, that such intimations produce little 
 effect on my mind." 
 
 Lord John Russell, In the main, confirmed my view 
 as to the employment of volunteers exclusively. The 
 Postmaster-General Informed me that he had spoken 
 seriously to Mr. Bokenham, and hoped for" good 
 results. I pointed out to the Postmaster-General 
 that, though his order for the execution of the 
 plan was peremptory, yet, considering the ample 
 field given for obtaining volunteers, It could not 
 possibly enjoin compulsion ; with which conclusion 
 he agreed. 
 
 Meantime the work of agitation did not relax : — 
 
 " October 22nd. — Inflammatory appeals to the public, representing 
 us as resorting to compulsion, are placarded, among other places, on 
 the boards for official notices at some of the churches." 
 
 Still, whatever the present pain, I was confident of 
 succeeding in the end, provided there was no flinch- 
 ing ; but it was of the first Importance to have a 
 complete and definite understanding as to the mode 
 of action. Vacillation must be brought to an end, if 
 possible, and, fortunately, It was decided the next day 
 that I should undertake the duty, with authority to 
 raise volunteers In and out of the office. I conse- 
 quently began at once to make needful arrangements, 
 when Mr. Bokenham, informing me that for certain 
 reasons It would be easier for him to obtain volunteers 
 than he had supposed, expressed a desire to try again. 
 The next day he undertook in writing to discharge the 
 duty by the aid of volunteers alone. This offer, with 
 a minute of my own, I despatched to the Postmaster- 
 General, again at Brighton, who wrote me word next 
 
128 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1S49 
 
 day that he had approved my minute " with great 
 satisfaction." 
 
 '•'- October 2Sth. — Called with Matthew on the Hon. [and Rev.] 
 Grantham Yorke, Rector of St. Philip's, Birmingham, who is come 
 to town partly to learn the real facts of the Sunday duties question 
 (he called yesterday at the Post Office, but I was unable to see him). 
 He takes a very liberal view of the question, and will defend the 
 measure at a town's meeting, to be held next Tuesday, in Bir- 
 mingham." 
 
 This promise Mr. Yorke handsomely fulfilled, and 
 not without good effect, though public feeling was still 
 too stroni2f to allow of immediate success. 
 
 On the same day that I saw Mr. Yorke there were 
 more inflammatory notices at the churches ; but to 
 these no printer's name was attached. It was no 
 wonder that symptoms of direct insubordination began 
 to appear in the department. The gas in Mr. Boken- 
 ham's office w^as on one occasion suddenly put out, and 
 one of the volunteers for the Sunday duty was hooted. 
 I could not but feel great anxiety as to the issue, since 
 an open outbreak would have thrown all into con- 
 fusion ; nor can I deem it even now needless to point 
 out that w^hen any considerable portion of the public, 
 acting upon an ex-parte statement, and hastily assum- 
 ing that that which is not promptly denied must needs 
 be true, takes upon itself to countenance discontent in 
 an important Government department, it must, at 
 least, produce in the department itself great anxiety 
 and the waste of much valuable time, and may expose 
 the whole country to the risk of most serious incon- 
 venience. Some months afterwards the Postmaster- 
 General admitted that he was now satisfied that we 
 should have had a strike in the Inland Office if the 
 men had had the slightest pretext for it ; and that if 
 he had forced any one to attend on Sundays, which 
 
1849] THE PROVINCIAL OFFICES. 129 
 
 he says pressed him to do, it would, no doubt, 
 
 have furnished the pretext. 
 
 On the following day I became aware of one source 
 of misconception among the men, and, through them, 
 among the public. Mr. Bokenham admitted that, 
 when he communicated to his clerks the Postmaster- 
 General's positive order for the Sunday transmission, 
 he withheld the minute that limited the service to 
 volunteers, and thus raised, and in some degree justi- 
 fied, the cry that compulsion would be employed. 
 
 Meanwhile the trouble thus excited in St. Martin's- 
 le-Grand was extending to the provincial offices, at 
 one of which the postmaster had gone so far as to 
 Issue, under his own signature, a hand-bill against the 
 measure.^ Meanwhile one postmaster, at least, took 
 a very different course : — 
 
 " The postmaster at Plymouth has written to say that in his office 
 alone thirty men, including letter-carriers, will be relieved. He de- 
 scribes the measure as one of the most important ' in the annals of 
 the Post Office.'" 
 
 All such support was very important at a time 
 when opposition was so strong, and, I must add, so 
 unscrupulous : — 
 
 *''■ October 2'jth. — The Committee of the Lord's Day Society has 
 issued a copy of my minute of February 3rd, with comments thereon 
 of a very offensive character. They insinuate doubts as to the minute 
 having been written in February, and express their belief that I origi- 
 nally proposed a Sunday delivery. 
 
 " Same day. — Worse placards than ever at the churches. Sent in a 
 memorandum to Colonel Maberly informing him that at a church 
 in Gresham Street a placard is exhibited exhorting the men to 
 strike." 
 
 * "Oct. 26th. — Roebuck has written to the Postmaster-General accusing the 
 
 postmaster at of agitating against the measure, and enclosing a hand-bill 
 
 signed by the postmaster which fully establishes the charge." — Sir K. Hill's 
 Journal. — Ed. 
 
 VOL. II. K 
 
130 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 The following is the text of this strange exhor- 
 tation : — 
 
 "TO THE CLERKS, SORTERS, CARRIERS, AND OTHER 
 AGENTS OF THE POST OFFICE. 
 
 " Fellow Men ! especially to ye ' who fear God and work 
 righteousness,' — 
 
 "You ought, you must obey God rather than man ! 
 This is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. 
 Trust in the Lord, and do good, and verily ye shall be fed. 
 
 " Strike ! — Every one of ye to a man. Strike ! — Make a passive 
 resistance to the adversaries of your souls. Strike ! and let Mr. 
 Rowland Hill, and Lords Clanricarde and John Russell, see that 
 there is One mightier than they whose commands you reverence 
 supremely. 
 
 " Unite if you can, but let no man defer to the timid or compro- 
 mising spirit of a fellow-servant. . 
 
 " Honour and observe the Word of God. 
 
 ^^ Unless you stand, the public cannot at this juncture do much 
 more than they have done. 
 
 " Stand ye, and t/ien the entire nation, every one in it whose voice 
 is habitually raised up to the King of kings, will hold you up, and t'n 
 due time will strive for the freedom of every postal servant throughout 
 the kingdom on the Sabbath day ; but you must be bold in the name 
 of the Lord, in order to engage His mighty favour and the sympathy 
 of His people universally. 
 
 " What an impudent daring is this by creatures of mere circum- 
 stance and pomp. 
 
 " God is defied, and the genuine execrating outcry of a Christian 
 nation is set at naught ! 
 
 " It is to be hoped that our Queen will be solicited to cast such men 
 out from her councils and executive; they are the men who endanger 
 the State ; for, most assuredly as there is a God who taketh vengeance, 
 so will this realm be visited if the sins of it should be so enormously 
 added unto ; and the Lord's people (who are the saving salt of it) 
 will be constrained to say. 'Even so. Lord, so let Thine enemies 
 perish.' 
 
 " Fellow Christians of every denomination ! continue to pray for 
 
 the oppressed, they shall have a holy fortitude themselves to cast from 
 
 them the bands of the oppressor. 
 
 *' 6, Finsbury Pavement, 
 
 "Friday, 26th October, 1849." 
 
1849] VERY ILL. 131 
 
 As usual, in these exhortations to bold defiance, the 
 printer's name was cautiously suppressed. 
 
 While so much was doing to abuse the public mind, 
 official reserve prevented my taking the most direct 
 means for its correction : — 
 
 ^^ Same day. — The Postmaster-General objects to my sending the 
 proposed information to the newspapers ; he thinks it will be better to 
 wait and see what they say, contradicting it if necessary. I cannot 
 convince him of the practical impossibility of correcting an erroneous 
 impression when once adopted by the public." 
 
 After all that has been described, the reader will not 
 be surprised at the next passage from my Journal. I 
 must first state, however, that ere this the time for 
 hesitation was past, the labour of preparation concluded, 
 and the day of actual trial come : — 
 
 " October 28th. — Sunday. — Very ill — confined to my bed nearly the 
 whole day. I have no doubt my illness has been caused by the 
 anxieties of the last month." 
 
 Ill though I was, nevertheless I was eagerly desirous 
 of information as to the success of the first experiment, 
 particularly as to whether the force engaged had proved, 
 as I expected, ample. I had ascertained the previous 
 day '* that no more carriages, drivers, guards, &c., 
 would be employed in conveying the bags from and to 
 the stations than heretofore on a Sunday ; the only 
 difference will be that four-w^heeled carriages with two 
 horses will be substituted for two- wheeled carriages with 
 one horse." Mr. Bokenham wrote up from the office 
 that the work not having been quite completed by ten 
 o'clock, though twenty minutes more would have 
 sufficed, he had requested ten of the force to return in 
 the evening to finish ; a necessity arising, however, 
 from the fact that the number of letters was 18,000 or 
 20,000 more than usual on the Sunday. He added, 
 
 K 2 
 
132 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 that, ''the men were all in excellent humour, and 
 exerted themselves to their utmost." 
 
 On the following day, when, though better, I was 
 unable to leave home, I looked with anxiety into the 
 morning papers to learn what would be the complexion 
 of their reports in the absence of that information 
 which I had been forbidden to supply; and, with con- 
 cern, I found my unsatisfactory anticipations confirmed. 
 Even the Times, which had hitherto given us so much 
 support, headed its article with '' ComTnencement of 
 Sunday labour in the Post Office ;" made it appear that 
 it was intended to make a despatch by the day mails, 
 but that the attempt failed ; represented the attendance 
 as compulsory, and stated that not less than fifty men 
 were employed in the additional duties, the actual number 
 being only twenty-five. Handbills, too, were publicly 
 distributed by letter-carriers, attacking not only me, but 
 also the Postmaster-General, and even the Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Amidst so many difficulties on one side it was 
 natural that those on the other should be overlooked. 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer had written to me 
 saying that he did not see the necessary connection 
 between Sunday relief in the provinces and the Sunday 
 transmission of letters through London ; intimating, in 
 short, that we might retain the one and abandon the 
 other. In reply, I informed him that I could not have 
 ventured to propose the one change without the other, 
 reminded him that there were two parties to be con- 
 sidered in the matter, referred for further explanation 
 to my minute of the previous February, repeated my 
 conviction that by the use of proper means the ad- 
 ditional force at the Chief Office could be altogether 
 dispensed with, reported satisfactory results thus far, 
 and forwarded, as evidence of relief at the provi'^'^ial 
 
1849] NEW DIFFICULTIES. 133 
 
 offices, the letter lately received from the postmaster of 
 Plymouth. 
 
 On the day after writing this letter, being still con- 
 fined to the house, I received a note from the Post- 
 master-General, informing me that he was much pressed 
 to issue an order for compelling attendance, and that he 
 wished me to consider the question before he next came 
 to the office. On going myself to the office on the fol- 
 lowing day, I learnt that a larger Sunday force had 
 been applied for by Mr. Bokenham, partly with a view 
 to completing the work in the morning, and partly to 
 enable him to work the men on alternate Sundays only. 
 He wished the number to be raised to forty, which, by 
 alternation, would be in effect five less than the number 
 I had proposed ; yet I hesitated to agree to the 
 change, knowing how the matter would be misrepre- 
 sented abroad. 
 
 '■'' November 2nd. — In the evening the Postmaster-General came to 
 the office, and reported that Lord John Russell concurred in the im- 
 portance of avoiding compulsion. The final settlement is deferred 
 till Monday." 
 
 Even the authority of the Premier, however, did not 
 remove all difficulties, for on my suggesting to Mr 
 Bokenham that he should offer a new inducement to 
 volunteers, he again urged that, instead of this, I should 
 consent to a compulsory attendance in rotation. Upon 
 my refusal, he asked permission to warn the men that, 
 unless there were sufficient volunteers, compulsion would 
 be resorted to ; offering, as I still refused, to do this in 
 his own name, without implicating me. Of course I 
 stood firm to my point. 
 
 When the second Sunday had passed much as the 
 first, I again offered, with a view to avoid further impor- 
 tunity, to undertake the work myself; but scarcely had 
 
134 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 I done this when a new difficulty arose, for which, how- 
 ever, I was not altogether unprepared. An eminent 
 printer, who had offered me the aid of fifty of his men, 
 deemed it prudent to withdraw, as he saw reason to 
 believe that if he persisted in his offer it would lose him 
 some important custom.* At the same time I was 
 warned by anonymous letters (of one of which a copy 
 is given in Appendix F), of treacherous conduct within 
 the office, and upon my reporting this to the Post- 
 master-General, learnt that he had received the same 
 warning in a letter not anonymous.t I had come to him, 
 however, prepared with a memorandum showing the 
 results for which I was ready to make myself re- 
 sponsible, and also the conditions which I deemed 
 essential to success ; and, of course, I stood quite pre- 
 pared to go on. My offer was the more opportune as 
 Mr. Bokenham, who arrived in the midst of our con- 
 versation, informed the Postmaster-General, when I 
 had withdrawn, that he could not remain responsible 
 for the new work, even on the Sunday next ensuing. 
 My offer, therefore, was, with some modification, 
 accepted. I felt more confident in the charge, because 
 I had devised a means of reducing the number of bags 
 — the chief difficulty on the previous Sunday — from 
 six hundred to one hundred, and because I had learnt 
 from Mr. Tilley that all such volunteers as he had 
 spoken to had renewed their engagement. He him- 
 self was ready to go on, and even Mr. Bokenham, 
 though shrinking from the chief responsibility, was, 
 like Mr. Tilley, willing to undertake the share of duty 
 
 * "The custom of two religious societies for which he printed." — Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal, — Ed. 
 
 + ''November 5th. — Told the Postmaster-General of anonymous letters which 
 
 I had received, charging and with encouraging the opposition in 
 
 the office. He says he has received a letter, not anonymous, making similar 
 charges." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
i849] COMPLETE SUCCESS. 1 35 
 
 allotted to him according to our first arrangement."^ 
 The only remaining doubt was whether the Premier 
 might not decide upon a complete abandonment of 
 the plan. 
 
 ^'^ November 6th. — Saw the Postmaster-General by appointment at 
 his own house in the evening. Lord John Russell, whom he met at 
 the Cabinet Council at Windsor, did not hesitate a moment The 
 agreement of yesterday was therefore confirmed." 
 
 This was, however, with one modification, viz., that 
 if the office did not supply the requisite number of 
 volunteers, the deficiency should be made up from other 
 Government departments. Happily no such necessity 
 arose, as the number of volunteers from the office itself 
 who presented themselves on the conditions I had been 
 authorised to offer, was more than necessary. Seeing 
 this, Mr. Bokenham for the third time undertook the 
 duty, at first only for the next Sunday, but within two 
 days for permanence. Accordingly the next Sunday, 
 though the additional force still did not exceed twenty- 
 five men, the number of letters, however, being some- 
 what less than the week before, the whole work was 
 completed in the morning, so as to release all engaged 
 in it by ten o'clock for the whole day. In short, the 
 difficulty had so completely passed away that three days 
 afterwards Mr. Bokenham came to inquire if I should 
 be likely to make any change in duties during the next 
 three Sundays, as he wished to leave town ; and upon 
 my doubting the safety of his withdrawal at such a 
 time, gave it as his opinion that there was no danger. 
 Among the circumstances tending to this satisfactory 
 result was, doubtless, an authority which I had obtained 
 from the Postmaster-General to form a permanent corps 
 
 * See p. 122. 
 
136 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 of volunteers, principally from other Government 
 offices, who were to receive a month's pay whether 
 called upon for actual service or not. The Stamp and 
 Record Offices alone were ready to supply thirty-five 
 men, or ten more than needful. I could not, however, 
 fully share in Mr. Bokenham's confidence. Only four 
 days before, inflammatory handbills had been distributed 
 within the office, one being deposited at each sorter s 
 place, while a sub-sorter was selling, at a halfpenny 
 per copy, an abusive song attacking myself ; proceed- 
 ings which, as the Postmaster-General remarked in 
 calling for investigation, showed that there must be 
 great neglect in the discipline of the office. 
 
 There continued, likewise, a daily issue of placards, 
 which were exhibited chiefly on the churches and in 
 certain shop-windows, one of these latter being nearly 
 opposite my room. A few of these placards were 
 avowedly issued by the Lord's Day Society, but most 
 of them were anonymous. All had the appearance of 
 being concocted more or less in the Post Office, and 
 all evinced an utter disregard of truth. I retain to 
 this day a collection of these mendacious papers, 
 which, though large, is nevertheless Incomplete. The 
 strike among the men urged in some of them never 
 went further than the refusal, on the part of the 
 guards, on one occasion, to assist in placing the bags 
 in the carriages at the Post Office ; in consequence 
 of which, even before I knew the fact, they were 
 all suspended from employment by the Postmaster- 
 General. 
 
 However, as the Sunday duty was now permanently 
 off my hands, I had leisure to direct my attention 
 towards those measures for diminishing its amount, 
 which formed an integral part of my plan. One of 
 
t849] sorting ON THE RAILWAYS. 1 37 
 
 these was so to arrange the work as to have the 
 greatest practicable amount of sorting done in the 
 travelHng offices on the railways ; the earlier portion 
 ending by five on Sunday morning, and the latter not 
 beginning till nine on Sunday evening. The pursuit 
 of this object led to a singular device. One portion 
 of the correspondence passing through London on the 
 Sunday, viz., that from towns too near to London to 
 allow of time for sorting on the way, seemed Incapable 
 of being brought within this arrangement ; but while 
 I was preparing a minute on the subject, in which my 
 brother Arthur was assisting me, I suddenly startled 
 him, so he now reports, by exclaiming: ''A light 
 breaks in upon me." I had just conceived the first 
 notion of the device referred to above, which, strange 
 as it may seem, really answers its purpose very well. 
 This was that the down mail-trains on Saturday night 
 should take up these letters at the different towns on 
 their respective routes, thus conveying them, in the 
 first instance, in a direction opposite to their final 
 destination, but subsequently transferring them to the 
 up-trains for conveyance to town. Thus the down night 
 train to Liverpool would receive successively the up- 
 mails of St. Albans and Watford, and on arrival at a 
 more remote town would transfer them all to the 
 up-train, which would carry them back to London. 
 By this arrangement the required opportunity for 
 sorting the letters was obtained. Indirect as is the 
 route, no time whatever is lost to the public, which 
 to this day, I believe, remains quite unaware that 
 letters are carried away from London by one night 
 train only to be brought back by another. Another 
 point for relief was a Sunday morning delivery in the 
 suburbs of London, employing about four hundred 
 men, against which, amidst all the hubbub of the 
 
138 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 time, not a word had been said.'"' It occurred to me 
 that, as a means of immediately reducing the work, 
 the district cross posts might be dispensed with on 
 Sundays, which could be done without inconvenience. 
 
 The Postmaster-General was delighted with an 
 arrangement that reduced Sunday work in the London 
 district, and at once agreed to putting down the cross 
 posts — a change which released eleven men. He was 
 inclined, indeed, as a punishment to the agitators, to 
 abolish the Sunday morning delivery without giving 
 anything in its place ; but, upon my advice, this 
 project was abandoned. Accordingly, carrying out a 
 plan of relief which I had suggested, as a more general 
 measure, when at the Treasury,t I proposed to sub- 
 stitute a late Saturday night delivery in the nearer 
 suburbs for that on Sunday morning. By this plan 
 more than a hundred men would be forthwith released 
 from Sunday duty in the metropolitan district alone, 
 while further investigation promised additional benefit. 
 Within a fortnight I was able to submit a minute 
 recommending the measure in detail ; and to this the 
 Postmaster-General gave his sanction, though he sadly 
 wished to punish the public in the manner I have 
 mentioned. 
 
 Further measures of relief soon followed : — 
 
 ''^November joth. — At home finishing a minute on the sorting 
 of Sunday letters. I have again improved the plan, so as to have 
 most of the sorting done in the country on Saturday night and 
 Sunday morning [of course very early, viz., before the passing of 
 the up mails]. Four or five men working in London on the Sunday 
 will, I expect, sufifice." 
 
 * "It is a notable fact that, while so much has been said by the London 
 merchants and bankers against a delivery in London where their places of 
 business are, of course, closed, not a word has been said against a delivery in 
 the suburbs where they live." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
 t See " Report of Select Committee on Postage, 1843," P- 35' 
 
1849] GENERAL THOMPSON AND DR. VAUGHAN. 1 39 
 
 '■'• December 1st. — Smith tells me that he shall be able to include 
 every place in the six mile circle in the measure of Sunday relief. 
 Nearly two hundred persons will thus be released from Sunday duty 
 in the metropolitan district." 
 
 On the same day, I wrote a minute pointing out the 
 means for reducing the number of bags, as already 
 spoken of. On learning from Mr. Tllley that some 
 reports on this subject were lying In the office, I sent 
 for them, and found that they were in reply to a 
 minute of the Postmaster-General, written nearly two 
 months before on information given by me. These 
 reports represented my plan as quite practicable, and 
 as saving *' nearly half the labour of maklng-up and 
 despatching the bags ;" but orders had been given 
 that no change should be made ; and the reports had 
 not even been submitted to the Postmaster-General. 
 Of course I went forward with the improvement, 
 which was carried into effect about six weeks later. 
 
 Meantime, there had appeared, from very different 
 quarters, and on very different grounds, two able 
 defences of our late proceedings : one from the late 
 General Peyronnet Thompson, In the form of a series 
 of letters to the Su7i newspaper, and the other from 
 the Rev. Dr. Vaughan, Head Master of Harrow 
 School. General Thompson, for the most part, sub- 
 ordinated the question of the day to one of a more 
 general character, viz., the obligation on Christians to 
 observe the Mosaic law ; but Dr. Vaughan perceived 
 that, as the former question did not Involve the latter, 
 it was better to discuss it separately. His paper is 
 remarkably forcible and terse. Such support from so 
 high a quarter at so critical a time was Invaluable. I 
 quote his concluding passage : — 
 
 " Let these evils [those of Sunday labour] be met on their proper 
 ground, and at the proper time. Let the good sense and the 
 
140 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 religious feeling of the country be appealed to when the danger 
 really threatens. At present it is as remote as ever. It will not be 
 brought one step nearer by this measure. But it inay be increased 
 by a premature and unreasonable outcry, to be succeeded, as usual, 
 by a very natural recoil." 
 
 To accelerate the process of Sunday relief, I thought 
 It would be well to assemble all the surveyors for 
 England and Wales, and to discuss with them, viva 
 voce, questions usually dealt with by tedious corre- 
 spondence. The meeting took place in December. 
 The business occupied several successive days, and 
 the results were highly satisfactory, the more so as 
 all their recommendations were made unanimously. 
 In short, the opportunity thus afforded for receiving 
 information, obtaining opinions, and explaining my 
 own views and Intentions, proved so beneficial to the 
 service, that in important cases I resorted again and 
 again to similar meetings. I always found the inter- 
 course both profitable and pleasant. It increased the 
 interest of the surveyors in the work of improvement, 
 and, by the collision of many opinions,^ broke down 
 prejudices and overthrew obstacles. I may say, once 
 for all, as regards the effect on myself, that, though 
 these discussions led to no change in principles, they 
 often modified actual measures. I cannot conclude 
 this brief account of the meeting without mentioning 
 a singular fact which I learnt in the course of it — 
 a fact from which much more might be Inferred. 
 Amongfst the circuitous courses longf maintained for 
 
 * One or two anecdotes are still preserved in the Post Office of these meetings 
 with the Surveyors. On one occasion Sir Rowland Hill had noticed a certain 
 disposition to insul^ordination on the part of some of these gentlemen. "He 
 rebuked them by reminding them that, according to the conventional conclusion 
 of his letter, he was their obedient servant, ' whereas — I am nothing of the 
 sort.' " On another occasion, when talking of a certain able official who was 
 rather a bore, he said, "he is an excellent officer — at Edinburgh." — Ed. 
 
1849] ADDITIONAL SUNDAY RELIEF. I4I 
 
 carrying mails forward on the Sunday, without using 
 the forbidden route through London, it appeared that 
 letters posted at Kingston-on-Thames on the Saturday 
 night for Barnet were conveyed by way of Exeter ; 
 thus travelling more than four hundred miles instead 
 of five-and-twenty ! 
 
 Meanwhile, I thought that the time had arrived for 
 effecting an additional Sunday relief which I had 
 contemplated from the first. Under the old ar- 
 rangement there had always been performed on 
 the Sunday certain work which properly belonged 
 to the Monday ; the reason for this proceeding being 
 that the amount of duty accumulated on the Monday 
 by the Sunday suspension of business was, without 
 such relief, more than could be dealt with. The relief, 
 however, that arose from the Sunday transit of letters 
 had made it beyond question practicable for Monday 
 to execute all its own work. That it should be made 
 to do it I had advised in the very outset, feeling con- 
 fident that it could do it ; but I had been met not only 
 with the usual declaration that the thing was imprac- 
 ticable, but with objections so plausible that, for once, 
 I abated self-confidence, and supposed that the prac- 
 tical officers must be right. To my great surprise, on 
 now moving in the matter, I found that, to a consider- 
 able extent, the impracticable change had already been 
 effected, though, unluckily, no corresponding reduction 
 had been made in the Sunday force. Such a reduction 
 I began, therefore, to urge ; and before the close of the 
 year Mr. Bokenham had reluctantly consented to re- 
 duce his Sunday force by eleven men. He gave, at 
 the same time, promise of further reduction on the 
 following Sunday, if practicable ; a question soon 
 settled, for the Postmaster-General sanctioned, on the 
 second day of the next year (January 2, 1850), minutes 
 
142 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849 
 
 reducing the Sunday force in the London Office 
 from twenty-six men, the number ordinarily employed 
 for many years, to three ; ten or eleven, however, 
 being employed either before five o'clock in the 
 morning or after eight o'clock at night in the mail 
 carriages. 
 
 When, earlier In these proceedings, I wrote to 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, telling him that 
 I thought an additional expenditure of ^500 a-year 
 would enable me to adopt measures Indicated in my 
 minute of the previous February for bringing the 
 Sunday force within its original limits, his answer 
 was that, if necessary, I might take ;^i5oo. 
 
 " Dece7Jiber 28th. — Another minute has been sanctioned, subject 
 to the approval of the Treasury, which will abolish certain day-mails, 
 cross-posts, and double despatches, now rendered useless by the dis- 
 continuance of the second delivery on the Sunday at provincial 
 offices. In addition to this the receipt of inland letters will be 
 confined to the stamped and unpaid, and, as a general result, 
 the offices throughout England and Wales will close from 10 a.m. 
 for the rest of the day, instead of opening again at 5 p.m. as they 
 now do. ... By these means additional rest, averaging 
 from three to five hours, will be given at the provincial post 
 offices." 
 
 My recommendation for transferring the Sunday 
 morning delivery in the suburbs of London to Satur- 
 day night was also carried into effect this day, and 
 I may add that that which was thus found practicable 
 on Saturday night was at length acknowledged to be 
 so on all other nights ; and thus was established that 
 late suburban delivery which is still maintained, much 
 to the convenience of the public. 
 
 So ended the year 1849, amidst clouds which, 
 though still dark enough to remind me of the storm 
 that had been raging for the last three months, and 
 
i849] END OF THE THIRD CABAL. 
 
 to warn me that more disturbance might yet co 
 were at least beginning to break. "^^ 
 
 I have already referred to hostility in the office as 
 the chief source of the great trouble which had be- 
 fallen the department In general, and me In particular. 
 If there had not been a mutinous spirit amongst the 
 men, attacks from without, however annoying, could 
 not have produced that grievous anxiety which arose 
 from the knowledge of treason within. This, I may 
 remark, was the third distinct cabal formed with a 
 view to drive me from office. Like the two former 
 ones, and one more yet to be mentioned, it w^as so 
 timed as to take advantage of a temporary weakness 
 in my position ; a weakness caused on this occasion by 
 my having ventured, in quest of a great good, to 
 encounter popular feeling. 
 
 I cannot conclude this portion of my narrative 
 without remarking how near the great measure of 
 Sunday relief was to being defeated by public 
 clamour that arose out of the hasty acceptance of 
 mendacious statements from insubordinate officers. 
 At the City meeting in the previous October it had 
 been maintained that the temporary addition of 
 twenty-five men would not only be made permanent, 
 but would soon be swollen to six hundred. Within 
 four months of this prediction, not only had the whole 
 addition been dispensed with, but also the original 
 force of twenty-six men had been reduced to fourteen. 
 Of these, moreover, four only worked during the 
 
 * On January loth of the next year there is the following entry in Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal : — 
 
 "This being the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Penny Postage, we had a 
 family party to celebrate the event. My poor sister, however, was too much 
 affected by the consideration that it would be the last meeting of the kind before 
 her departure with her family for South Australia ; and I fear the same con- 
 sideration affected the spirits of all." — Ed. 
 
144 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 day, while of the remainder, who were employed In 
 the several travelling offices, five ceased work at 
 about five o'clock on Sunday morning, and the re- 
 maining five did not begin work until about eight 
 o'clock on Sunday night. The main results are 
 summed up in a Report which I made to the Post- 
 master-General on the 28th of January, 1850, and 
 which was afterwards printed by order of the House 
 of Commons.'^'' Of this a notice from an impartial 
 quarter will appear later in this narrative. 
 
 In the mean time. Dr. Vaughan, of Harrow, had 
 published a second letter in defence of our proceed- 
 ings. It was written in reply to a violent and 
 unscrupulous attack by a brother clergyman and 
 schoolmaster. This able paper sums up as 
 follows : — 
 
 *' I have now discharged, however imperfectly, the task imposed 
 upon me by circumstances which I must still deplore. Earnestly, 
 most earnestly, do I desire the thankful and reverent observance of 
 the Lord's Day, with which I believe our national as well as indi- 
 vidual welfare to be closely, inseparably linked. Deeply do I lament 
 the condition of those weary and comfortless labourers who are cut 
 off from the inestimable blessings to be derived from its holy rest. 
 It is because I believe that many of the provincial officers of our 
 national Post Office are involved in this calamity, and that the 
 present measure contemplates, and in part effects, their emanci- 
 pation, that I have condemned the blind hostility with which it has 
 been assailed, and laboured to expose the misrepresentations by 
 which that hostility has been fostered."! 
 
 The complainants had now so far extended their 
 demands as in effect to abandon their former ground, 
 the cry now being for the total abolition of Sunday postal 
 
 * Parliamentary Return, 1850, No. 185. 
 
 t Second Letter on the late Post Office Agitation, by Charles John Vaughan, 
 D.D., p. 32. 
 
1S50I TOTAL ABOLITION OF SUNDAY DUTY. I45 
 
 work of all kinds.'" The Postmaster-General having 
 called upon the Secretaries to report on this demand, 
 I presented my report on the 5th of January, and it was 
 printed, with other documents, by order of the House 
 of Commons.t The following is a summary of its 
 contents : — 
 
 I first recognise the great relief that would be given 
 to the department by such total suspension, and then 
 proceed to show why I had not ventured to recom- 
 mend it. I drew a distinction between collection and 
 delivery on the one hand, and conveyance on the 
 other, pointing out that the former could be suspended 
 in any particular place without materially affecting the 
 convenience of any other place, while the latter could 
 not be so suspended even on a portion of a single line 
 of mail without affecting the convenience of every 
 place which that line served, whether directly or in- 
 directly ; so that while the former suspension might 
 be adopted in detail, according to the wish of each 
 particular place, supposing this to be really ascer- 
 tained, the latter would require a much more general 
 concurrence. I advised that wherever Sunday de- 
 livery by letter-carriers was abolished, the abolition 
 should extend also to delivery at the window, and 
 I suggested that, where delivery was retained, indi- 
 viduals might be allowed to protect themselves against 
 it by giving in a written notice to that effect at the 
 post office. 
 
 In respect of conveyance, I thought it possible that 
 if the demand became sufficiently general, it might in 
 
 * Feb. 2ist, 1850. — "Professor Henslow has sent me an amusing reply to a 
 letter from the Lord's Day Society, requesting him to procure from his parish 
 a petition in favour of total abolition. Mr. Henslow tells them, ' Under the 
 old dispensation I would willingly have joined you in such a petition, but as 
 a Christian, I feel I ought not." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
 t Par. Pro. 1850, No. 185, p. 46. 
 
 VOL. II. L 
 
146 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 time become practicable to suspend those branch posts 
 that served many places, and that with the concurrence 
 of the public this might be gradually done to a very 
 great extent ; but I saw no hope of such a state of 
 things as would justify the interruption of the mails on 
 the trunk lines, which were indispensable alike to the 
 purposes of Government and the convenience of the 
 public. On this latter point I showed in considerable 
 detail what an enormous amount of derangement such 
 suspension would produce. I showed that to suspend 
 all operations of the Post Office for the twenty-four 
 hours of Sunday must necessarily involve the inter- 
 ruption of the mails for more than twenty-four hours, 
 and that this would make it impossible for them to 
 start at midnight on Sunday from the point at which 
 they stopped at midnight on Saturday. The derange- 
 ment that would result would produce inconvenience 
 at place after place throughout each line, for it would 
 not only alter the hours of delivery, but also disturb 
 arrangements with the branch mails, cross mails, and 
 rural posts, throughout the greater part of the king- 
 dom, the whole evil being doubled by its necessarily 
 applying to mails in both directions. I showed further, 
 that as the stoppage of the mails would not imply the 
 stoppage of the mail trains, since passengers would 
 never consent to such an interruption, there would be 
 no cessation of traffic, while the relief even to the 
 servants of the Post Office would be but nominal, 
 since it would be found indispensable to an efficient 
 responsibility that the bags when at rest, just as when 
 in motion, should remain under the custody of the 
 guards, who would thus have to continue on duty 
 throughout the day of rest. 
 
 With regard to the amount of public inconvenience 
 which would arise from the interruption, I showed 
 
1850] SUBSCRIPTION FOR MR. WALLACE. 147 
 
 that, supposing but one letter In a thousand to contain 
 tidings of pressing Importance, there would be, at the 
 then existing rate of correspondence, nearly a thousand 
 cases per week in which delay would painfully Interfere 
 with the feelings of relatives and friends, or lead to 
 serious trouble or loss ; and that the necessity so pro- 
 duced would inevitably lead to a revival of contraband 
 conveyance, detrimental alike to Sunday observance 
 and the Interests of the office. 
 
 In conclusion, I pointed out that by the measures 
 then in progress, combined with others carried Into 
 effect during the previous year, improvements were 
 now in such a state of advancement that In a few days 
 the Sunday duty throughout England and Wales would 
 be reduced to probably little more than half its original 
 amount ; while this great benefit would be obtained in 
 such a manner as not only not to impair, but greatly to 
 promote, the public convenience. 
 
 ^''January 21st. — The Postmaster-General is highly pleased at my 
 E eport on the proposed total abolition of Sunday duties, which is to 
 be sent to Lord John Russell for use in debate. I have advised that 
 its statements, which necessarily run into considerable detail, should 
 be checked by the practical men." 
 
 So far as I remember, however, no error was dis- 
 covered. 
 
 Shortly after this time symptoms of a better under- 
 standing on the part of the public began to appear, more 
 defenders arising in various quarters, and even those 
 who made extreme demands taking a more moderate 
 tone. But whatever assurance I might now have as 
 to improved feeling in the public, an ordeal which I 
 was about to go through still seemed formidable. I 
 had had the pain to learn that Mr. Wallace, who had 
 done s.o much for the public and for myself, had fallen 
 
 L 2 
 
148 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 into pecuniary difficulties, so that his friends in Scot- 
 land were raising a subscription for his benefit. A 
 public meeting had been resolved upon, and I was 
 earnestly requested to attend, which I promised to do, 
 though with considerable misgiving as to the sort of 
 reception I was likely to meet with. My doubts were 
 nowise removed by a letter received from my uncle. 
 Provost Lea, of Haddington, who, having been ap- 
 prised of my expected visit by the Scotch newspapers, 
 wrote in the most earnest terms to deprecate the 
 attempt, warning me that the feeling against me 
 northward of the Tweed was so strong that he feared 
 I should be literally torn to pieces by the mob. 
 Though I made great allowance for the apprehen- 
 sions of an affectionate relative and kind-hearted old 
 man, I certainly thought it very likely that hisses and 
 groans might be more abundant than applause. Be 
 this as It might, the journey, being a matter of duty, 
 had to be taken, and on March 6th I went to Glasgow. 
 On the following morning, before proceeding to 
 Greenock, I paid a visit to the large ship-yard of Messrs. 
 Napier, employing several hundred men. When I was 
 about to leave, the foreman of a gang of workmen 
 busily employed in constructing a large iron vessel came 
 forward and demanded in a loud voice, '' Three 
 cheers for Rowland Hill;" a call responded to by 
 what seemed to my gratified ears a unanimous shout. 
 Thus encouraged, I went to Greenock. The meeting 
 was held in a large church, the chairman occupying 
 the pulpit ; a usual arrangement, as I was assured, In 
 Scotland. On rising to speak I was received, so said 
 the newspapers, " with enthusiastic applause ; " the 
 same being repeated when I sat down."^ Of what I. 
 
 * For this speech, which, in justice to Mr. Wallace, I give at length, see 
 Vol. I., Appendix G. 
 
1850] MR. MATTHEW FORSTER. I49 
 
 said I will merely remark that justice, gratitude, and 
 sympathy for my suffering friend, combined to draw 
 from me my best efforts. On the following day, 
 after inspecting the post office both at Greenock and 
 Glasgow, I set out on my return, very agreeably 
 disappointed in the expectations with which I had 
 gone forth. I must not close this account without 
 mentioning that the result of the subscription was 
 the purchase of an annuity of ^^500 for Mr. Wallace's 
 hfe. 
 
 On the 19th of the month the question of the total 
 abolition of Sunday duty was shortly discussed in the 
 House of Lords ; Lords Malmesbury, Clanricarde, 
 and Brougham speaking against the measure, while 
 the Bishop of Oxford and Lord Harrowby spoke 
 cautiously in its favour. On the same day my friend 
 Mr. Matthew Forster, at my request, moved in the 
 Commons for the several reports on the question of 
 Sunday duty. To this motion the Government at 
 once acceded. I cannot mention Mr. Forster without 
 adding that the friendliness which he had shown me 
 from my first acquaintance with him continued with 
 steady increase to the end of his life ; that, in short, 
 I stand indebted to him and to his family for much 
 kindness and much valuable aid. 
 
 Two days later, the Postmaster-General having 
 offered to a deputation from Edinburgh a Parlia- 
 mentary Committee on the subject, this proposal (at 
 the recommendation of the Secretary to the Lord's 
 Day Society) was declined ; a conclusive proof of 
 conscious weakness. 
 
 '''■April loth. — This morning's Herald contains an account of a 
 meeting at Exeter Hall to petition for total abolition. Few men of 
 weight appear to have been present, and the whole proceedings were 
 in a subdued tone. One of the speakers, in describing what I have 
 
150 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 done, spoke of it as a step in the right direction. Their resolutions, 
 of course, contain various misrepresentations." 
 
 It was evident that the agitation was rapidly sub- 
 siding, and two days later I was able to administer 
 an additional sedative; my report of January 28th, 
 showing the progress made in Sunday relief, being 
 at length printed, I sent out five hundred copies in 
 various directions, feeling sure that the statements 
 therein contained, however unavailing to such as 
 resolutely kept their eyes shut, would have no small 
 effect upon the more candid. 
 
 A week later I record progress : — 
 
 " April 20th. — The returns are producing their effect. I have re- 
 ceived numerous letters congratulating me on the result." 
 
 I also began to conjecture as to the probability of 
 formal retractation by those, so many in number, who 
 had assailed and misrepresented our measures in 
 tirades, whether from the press, pulpit, at public meet- 
 ings, or otherwise. My recorded summary is '* I don't 
 expect it." Up to that time, so far as I am aware, there 
 had been but two retractations. Lord Ashley, in a pri- 
 vate letter to the Postmaster-General, had declared that 
 the country was under the greatest obligations to him 
 for the Sunday relief already afforded. Of the journals 
 that had attacked me one had frankly acknowledged 
 its error. Though, doubtless, many instances of such 
 reparation may have occurred unknown to me, it is re- 
 markable that neither record nor memory supplies me 
 with a third instance either then or afterwards. The 
 one paper thus honourably distinguished is the Leeds 
 Mercury, which had been throughout a staunch sup- 
 porter of postal reform, but had too hastily yielded 
 credence to bold and plausible allegations. The Times, 
 
1850] THE "TIMES." 151 
 
 which, though it was sometimes mistaken in matters of 
 detail, had, on the whole, given highly valuable support 
 during the late trial, published on April 25th the fol- 
 lowing admirable exposition and defence of the whole 
 proceeding : — 
 
 " Historians and essayists delight in flattering the self-opinion of 
 their contemporaries by extraordinary anecdotes of popular delusion 
 in less enlightened times. A kind of indefinite satisfaction appears 
 to be derived from contrasting the inferiority of previous generations. 
 The confidence with which for many years together 5,000,000 English 
 Protestants believed themselves in bodily peril from 100,000 Catholics 
 is a favourite instance of the kind. The ' loss of our eleven days ' 
 is another ; when, upon a simple correction of the calendar, grave 
 divines actually lectured from the pulpit on the blasphemous wicked- 
 ness of interfering with the course of time, and denounced the pro- 
 fanity which brought every sinner in the kingdom nearly a fortnight 
 closer to his end. Mr. Macaulay, too, informs us that the post when 
 first established was the object of violent invective, as a manifest con- 
 trivance of the Pope to enslave the souls of Englishmen ; and most 
 books of history or anecdote will supply stories equally notable. But 
 we really very much doubt whether any tale of ancient times can 
 match the exhibition of credulity which occurred in our own country, 
 and under our own eyes, within these last twelve months. 
 
 " We need not enter upon any narrative. Every reader's recollec- 
 tion will carry him back to last Christmas, when, from one end of the 
 kingdom to the other, there was a loud and steady outcry against a 
 projected 'desecration of the Sabbath. ' Mr. Rowland Hill was in- 
 troducing ' Sunday labour ' into this decorous and religious country. 
 He had succeeded in inserting 'the small end of the wedge.' He 
 had asked for twenty-five additional clerks on Sunday, and a few 
 months would see this pressed labour indefinitely multiplied, and all 
 ideas of Sabbath observance contemptuously forsworn. Such was the 
 belief even amongst intelligent people. Meetings were held in all 
 great towns to record a protest against the iniquity ; and, when the 
 resistance proved unsuccessful, it was plainly asserted that the national 
 character was for ever gone. As for the promoter of the measure, he 
 was a forsaken reprobate, who looked only to the acceleration of day- 
 mails, without the smallest heed to the fourth commandment. We 
 have before us at this moment a sheet of letter-paper, headed by an 
 engraving of 'Rowland Hill's new Chapel, St. Martin's-le-Grand, 
 
152 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 under which title is depicted the General Post Office on a Sunday 
 morning, with all the symbols of unholy industry and bustle. How- 
 ever, the measure in question was carried out, and we will now — from 
 the official returns on the subject — inform the reader in plain un- 
 adorned language how it originated, what it contemplated, and what 
 it has actually brought to pass. 
 
 " More than two years ago the attention of the Post Office authori- 
 ties was directed towards the means of abridging Sunday labour in the 
 various offices, and inquiries were instituted with this object. While 
 they were in progress, Mr. Hill succeeded to the secretaryship of a 
 certain department, which brought the subject under his immediate 
 care, and he promoted with all his efforts the advancement of the 
 great end in view. Opinions were not altogether concurrent on the 
 matter, but a step was at length taken, and on Sunday, the 6th of 
 February, 1848, the post office at Bath was closed for money-order 
 business on that day. The experiment succeeded, and on the 13th 
 of August in the same year the regulation was extended to Leeds, 
 and, six weeks later to Birmingham — still without inconvenience or 
 complaint. Fortified by these results, the authorities conceived them 
 selves competent to push still further their great object of abridging 
 Sunday labour^ and the arrangements above mentioned were, at the 
 commencement of last year, extended to all offices in England and 
 Wales, so that four hundred and fifty offices were relieved of a material 
 portion of their Sunday duties in a single day. Three months more 
 saw the same indulgence conceded to Ireland and Scotland, by 
 which two hundred and thirty-four additional offices experienced the 
 same relief 
 
 " Pending these trials and successes, Mr. Rowland Kill conceived 
 a plan for abridgifig Sunday labour still more considerably, and, in- 
 deed, to a great extent, abolishing it altogether. The duties hitherto 
 suspended had been those of the Money Order Department alone ; 
 but a scheme was now entertained of greatly limiting Sunday de- 
 liveries, and of absolutely closing the offices between the hours of 
 ten and five ; or, in other words, from the commencement of the 
 morning service in churches till the close of the afternoon. With 
 this proposed limitation of deliveries was combined a regulation, long 
 known to be desirable, for the transmission of a certain class of letters 
 through London on a Sunday, which would, it was thought, by giving 
 very considerable accommodation at a small cost of labour, tend to 
 reconcile the public to the cessation of those Sunday deliveries which 
 were now to be stopped. It was this proposal which caused the out- 
 cry. Mr. Hill asked but for the temporary service of twenty-five 
 
1850] THE "TIMES." 153 
 
 clerks as a present means of relieving twenty times that number; and 
 he showed his reasons for anticipating that no measure could ulti- 
 mately be more effective in abridging Sunday labour altogether than 
 that now proposed. All this was in vain. He was, as our readers 
 know, decried, denounced, and stigmatized as a Sabbath-breaker and 
 apostate ; although his very proposition was actually one of a well- 
 considered series for diminishing Sunday labour throughout the 
 kingdom. 
 
 " Now, let the results be marked, for certainly never was popular 
 delusion more conspicuously displayed. To begin with the particular 
 incident complained of : — Mr. Hill had always stated that the neces- 
 sity for the extra labour would be brief, whereas his assailants declared 
 that the expedient would inevitably tend to nationalize Sabbath- 
 breaking and demoralize the whole State. On Sunday, the 28th of 
 October, the additional force of twenty-five men was first employed ; 
 on the 6th of January following it was reduced to thirteen; on the 
 13th of the same month to three ; and on the very next Sunday it was 
 dispensed with altogether, having effected its objects within the space 
 of three months. So much for the 'evil' done. Now let us see what 
 good was brought by it. 
 
 " By the device and execution of these measures five hundred and 
 seventy-six provincial post offices have experienced a total positive 
 relief of about seven and a quarter hours each Sunday, and upwards 
 of four thousand dependent offices have received a similar relief of 
 about seven hours. Estimated in relation to individuals, the effect 
 of the measures has been to give to five thousand eight hundred and 
 twenty-nine persons an average Sunday relief of five and three-quarter 
 hours each; that is to say, nearly six thousand people have been 
 relieved from nearly six hours' work every Sunday by the operation of 
 a scheme which was denounced as a deliberate encouragement to 
 Sabbath-breaking and profanity. Nor have the results ended here, 
 for, as if to complete the exposure, the new arrangements have 
 actually led to a discontinuance even of that existing labour which 
 they were described as augmenting in perpetuity. The Sunday force 
 regularly employed in the Post Office before the famous provisions of 
 Mr. Rowland Hill's scheme amounted to twenty-seven men. On the 
 first day of operations under the new system this, to the scandal and 
 horror of the public, was increased to fifty-two. To be sure some four 
 thousand or five thousand were reheved in other quarters by the 
 same regulation ; but this little compensation was altogether over- 
 looked in the great iniquity. But what followed ? Not only was this 
 additional force dispensed with in toto before three months had 
 
154 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 passed, but its labours had even contributed to lighten the lot of those 
 who still remained. So well did the new arrangements act, that the 
 work of the original force began gradually and steadily to diminish, 
 and we are now officially told that ' the whole Sunday force ordinarily 
 employed in the London office will be reduced to five or six men, 
 which, even with the addition of the ten clerks employed in the mail 
 trains (and their duties will intrench but little on the observances of 
 the Sunday), will make a total force of little more than half that 
 employed before the 28th of October last.'' So that the very expedient 
 which, notwithstanding its beneficial effects elsewhere, was obstinately 
 condemned on the simple ground of its augmenting Sunday labour in 
 a particular office, has actually resulted, not only in completely 
 effecting all its proposed ends, but in diminishing by nearly one- 
 half the identical labour which it appeared for a moment to 
 augment. 
 
 " We think the reader will admit that, upon the whole, the outcry 
 by which such a measure as this was represented as a profane and 
 godless scheme for abolishing the observance of the Sabbath, has no 
 equal in history for prodigious and incredible absurdity. Even vacci- 
 nation, we believe, was never described as a device for actually 
 perpetuating small-pox, whereas the most judicious and effective step 
 in a series of measures expressly designed to abridge Sunday labour 
 has been thus, in the middle of the nineteenth century, represented, 
 taken, and accepted as a deliberate stratagem for destroying the 
 holiness of the Sabbath-day. That the spirit which facilitated the 
 delusion was, in itself, honourable to the country, we freely admit, 
 but that the common sense of Englishmen should be so strangely 
 misled is a fact not very creditable to the national intelligence, or 
 satisfactory to the national pride." 
 
 Good effects also were soon manifest In another 
 quarter of great importance : — 
 
 '"'' April 20th. — Last night Mr. Hayter, in reply to a question from 
 Mr. Fagan as to when the Sunday arrangements would be extended 
 to Ireland, spoke of them as having given universal satisfaction ; an 
 expression which appears to have been well received in the House." 
 
 In one quarter alone the former wrong was steadily 
 persisted in : — 
 
 May gth. — The Lord's Day Society has issued a manifesto in 
 reply to our reports and minutes. It is more offensive and un- 
 principled than even their former publications." 
 
1850] LORD ASHLEY'S MOTION. I 55 
 
 Meantime, as It was necessary, according to long- 
 established practice, to allow some latitude in respect 
 of the force to be summoned on the arrival of an extra- 
 ordinary mail, I experienced no little difficulty in 
 keeping this liberty within reasonable limits. Thus, 
 though I found that one man was sufficient for dealing 
 with four thousand ship letters, five men had been called 
 in (on Sunday May 1 2th) to deal with seventeen hundred. 
 I was consequently obliged to require from Mr. Boken- 
 ham a report advising a definite rule for preventing 
 such excess ; and this being obtained, matters thence- 
 forth went on more smoothly. In short, the measures 
 for Sunday relief being in the course of this month 
 extended to Scotland and Ireland, I regarded the 
 arrangement as complete. 
 
 This agreeable impression, however, was soon after- 
 wards disturbed by Lord Ashley's giving notice of a 
 motion for an address to Her Majesty, praying for 
 measures to be taken to stop the collection and delivery 
 of letters and the transmission of mails on the ''Lord's 
 Day ;" in other words, for the total abolition of Sunday 
 duty. 
 
 *' May 2jrd. — The Lord's Day Society has issued a circular, 
 urging members to support Lord Ashley's motion. It stands for the 
 30th instant. It professes to give a history of the demand for total 
 abolition, and of the relief afforded, and, of course, misrepresents 
 facts." 
 
 I could not but think that the Society, In its zeal for 
 enforcing upon others a strict observance of the fourth 
 commandment, too often deferred to a more convenient 
 season its own observance of the ninth. Being called 
 upon by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to supply 
 such information as would be needful for meetino- Lord 
 Ashley's motion, I drew up a memorandum, which, 
 after mentioning^ further measures increasine the 
 
156 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 number of persons relieved to about eight thousand, 
 concludes as follows : — 
 
 " In reference to the question of total abolition of Sunday duty it 
 should be remarked — 
 
 " First, that its advocates wholly overlook the interests of the poor. 
 To be obliged to resort, as has been proposed in case of need, to the 
 electric telegraph, or to a shilling postage, would be a severe tax 
 upon the poor man ; and, 
 
 " Secondly, that the Government, having a monopoly of the de- 
 livery of letters, cannot refuse to deliver them except in places where 
 the demand is practically unanimous. Numerous small places (about 
 four hundred probably) have preferred such a request, and it has 
 been complied with. Several, however, finding the non-delivery 
 inconvenient, have requested that the delivery may be resumed ; 
 and it has been resumed accordingly." 
 
 While the above was in preparation I received a 
 letter from Lord Ashley, urging me to hold out 
 expectations that Government would make further 
 reductions in the Sunday duty, admitting that we 
 '' had already done a great deal," and, oddly enough, 
 Inferring therefrom that we could do much more. 
 Not agreeing in this conclusion, I was obliged to 
 decline giving the pledge required. 
 
 On the following day, viz., that fixed for the motion, 
 I had my first interview with the Premier, waiting 
 upon him by his desire. After a time the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer came in ; both agreed that the 
 motion must be resisted, but I left them in fear 
 that they were not sufficiently prepared for the en- 
 counter ; I was desired to be under the gallery of 
 the House of Commons. The following entry in my 
 Journal records what occurred : — 
 
 '''•May jolh. — At five o'clock went to the House of Commons. 
 . . . . owing partly to Lord Ashley having omitted the most 
 objectionable part of his motion (the stoppage of the mails), and still 
 more, I fear, to the cowardice of the members, . . . the motion 
 was carried, by ninety-three to sixty-eight." 
 
1850] LORD ASHLEY'S MOTION CARRIED. 1 5/ 
 
 *^ May jist. — Called on the Postmaster-General [then recovering 
 from a dangerous illness] to report last night's proceedings. The 
 Twies, which gives the best account of the debate, has also an 
 excellent leader." 
 
 In consequence of this resolution of the House, I 
 was summoned by the Postmaster-General and the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, who wished to consult 
 me as to the course to be taken. While thinking it 
 better to give way in the main, they seemed inclined 
 to take an exception in favour of "delivery at the 
 window ; " but against this exception I strongly pro- 
 tested, our experience in Scotland having shown that 
 it would involve more labour, to say nothing of 
 unseemly crowding, than delivery in the ordinary 
 manner. '* I suggested that, as the motion proposes 
 the appointment of a Commission to inquire into the 
 stoppage of the mails, the Commission should also 
 inquire into the stoppage of the deliveries and col- 
 lections. Nothing was decided, as the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer has to consult Lord John Russell." 
 
 ^^June 6th. — While at the Treasury, came in. On my 
 
 laughing at him for his vote on the Sunday question, he admitted 
 that he was ashamed of it, adding that he did not expect to be in 
 a majority. I believe that many of the votes were given under 
 similar expectations.""^ 
 
 '''-Jufie yih. — Mr. Forster [M.P. for Berwick] called to consult me 
 as to his endeavouring to re-open the Sunday question. I advised 
 him to do nothing without previously consulting the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer." 
 
 '■'■Ju7ie 8th. — Lord John Russell, in reply to Mr. Forster, stated 
 that he would not support any motion for the reversal of the reso- 
 lution of the House on the subject of Sunday duties." 
 
 * Such inconsistency was not confined to Members of Parliament ; the incum- 
 bent of a certain parish in which Sunday delivery had been suspended in conse- 
 quence of a memorial, to which his own signature was attached, no sooner felt the 
 inconvenience of the change than he wrote an indignant protest against it ; naively 
 declaring that he had never thought the petition would be granted. 
 
158 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 I scarcely need say that I heartily concurred in his 
 lordship's decision. If the public really desired, at the 
 sacrifice of its own convenience, to confer so great a 
 boon on the Post Office as that implied by the terms of 
 the resolution, it would have been very ungracious in 
 Government to intercept the concession. If otherwise, 
 it was but just that the responsibility of error should 
 rest on the House of Commons, which had interfered 
 in the matter. Accordingly, when, a few days later, 
 Mr. Forster wrote to ask for assistance with reference 
 to a bill which he proposed to introduce to legalize the 
 conveyance of letters on Sunday by private hand — a 
 measure, of the abstract justice of which no one can 
 doubt — I thought it better to decline taking any part 
 in opposition to the decision of the House. Mr. Forster 
 persevered, but his motion was negatived without a 
 division. 
 
 As Her Majesty,^ following of course the advice of 
 her Ministers, formally announced to the House that 
 its wishes would be complied with, notice was forth- 
 with issued from the Chief Office, totally forbidding 
 delivery, and notifying that, though letters might be 
 deposited in the receiving boxes as usual, they would 
 remain '* unsorted and untouched until the Monday." 
 It was added, that postmasters contravening these 
 orders would be "most severely punished." 
 
 It is remarkable that whereas the late hubbub had 
 been all raised against the Sunday transmission of 
 letters through London, Lord Ashley's motion con- 
 tained no reference whatever to this innovation ; and 
 though in the public notice just mentioned it was 
 distinctly announced that such transmission would be 
 
 * "June 14th, 1850. — The Postmaster-General tells me in confidence that 
 the Queen was very much inclined to refuse compliance with the address." — 
 Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
1S50] COMMISSION OF INQUIRY. 1 59 
 
 continued, the announcement produced no revival of 
 the outcry, and the innovation gradually came to be 
 regarded as part of the natural course of proceeding. 
 
 It did not fare so well with the innovation adopted 
 at the request of the House of Commons : — 
 
 ''''June 2 1 St. — Last night there was a further discussion in the 
 House of Commons as to the Sunday duties, on an attempt by Mr. 
 Locke to get a window delivery. It is evident that the reaction has 
 commenced." 
 
 ''''June 22nd. — Last night Lord Brougham raised the question as 
 to the legality of stopping the Post Office business on the Sunday ; 
 and many of the daily and weekly papers of this morning are loud 
 in their condemnation of the measure." 
 
 Public inconvenience was, of course, to be esti- 
 mated in some degree by the effect of the change 
 on the amount of correspondence ; the change, it 
 should be observed, first took effect on Sunday, 
 June 23rd : — 
 
 '''■June 2^th. — \Tuesday?^ — The stoppage of business on the 
 Sunday reduced yesterday morning's arrival in London by about 
 80,000 letters, increasing the mid-day arrival by about 18,000, and 
 this morning's by about 16,000 — causing, therefore, a diminution of 
 about 47,000 letters in London alone." 
 
 Mr. Locke's motion, which came on on July 9th, ^ 
 was set aside in favour of an amendment moved by 
 Lord John Russell, and carried by a large majority, 
 praying Her Majesty to cause an inquiry to be made 
 
 * "July 9th. — At the House of Commons. ... In the course of the evening 
 
 ^ M.P. for , e\-inced a desire to renew acquaintance with me. For a 
 
 time I avoided him, but when this was no longer possible, I told him very plainly 
 my opinion as to the ' Lord's Day Society.' (He was one of the deputation which 
 came to me last year.) He replied that he had always done me justice, and 
 referred to what Lord Ashley had said in the House of Commons. On which I 
 rejoined that neither Lord Ashley nor any one else had spoken out in a straight- 
 forward, manly way. He left me, apparently much nettled." — Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal. — Ed. 
 
l6o LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 whether the amount of Sunday labour in the Post 
 Office might not be reduced without completely putting 
 an end to the collection and delivery of letters, &c., 
 on Sundays."*" 
 
 The Commission appointed to give effect to this 
 amendment consisted of the Postmaster-General, Mr. 
 Labouchere (afterwards Lord Taunton), and Mr. 
 (afterwards Sir) Cornewall Lewis. Their recom- 
 mendation, promptly arrived at, but expressed after 
 much deliberation, was, in fact, though not in form, 
 that the office should revert to the arrangements 
 which existed previously to the resolution of the 
 House, carried on the motion of Lord Ashlev.t I 
 endeavoured, though in vain, to obtain a more dis- 
 tinct avowal as to the real purport of the advice, 
 feeling convinced that the juster and bolder course 
 was also the more politic. This opinion was soon 
 confirmed by the manner in which the Report was 
 received by the public press, all the daily papers 
 agreeing in its true interpretation, and the Morning 
 Herald attacking the Commissioners for the indirect- 
 ness of their proceeding. A fortnight later, however, 
 viz., on September ist, the recommendation was carried 
 into effect,;|; and though a modification as regards the 
 rural messengers, which had been recommended by 
 the Commission, was, on the advice of the surveyors, 
 adopted by the Postmaster-General, even this change 
 excited so much public dissatisfaction as to produce its 
 partial abandonment. 
 
 Thus the whole question of Sunday duties was 
 
 * "Hansard," Vol. cxii. pp. 1214, 1215. 
 
 t "Report of the Commissioners appointed to investigate the question of 
 Sunday labour at the Post Office." 1850. 
 
 * "Sept. 2nd. — Monday. — Yesterday the Sunday arrangements were restored 
 to exactly the same state as before Lord Ashley's motion." — Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal. — Ed. 
 
1850] SUNDAY QUESTION FINALLY SETTLED. l6r 
 
 finally settled, after having kept the department, and 
 particularly myself, in grievous trouble and anxiety for 
 more than sixteen months. During the whole of this 
 period the improvements in the general management 
 of the department — which it was my duty and earnest 
 desire to introduce — were to a great extent necessarily 
 delayed. Moreover, a spirit of insubordination was 
 excited, which, being unfortunately backed both in and 
 out of Parliament, gave much trouble later on. 
 
 VOL. II. M 
 
1 62 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PARTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION. 
 
 If I had been painfully sensible of the evils 
 attending my anomalous position even before the 
 commencement of the Sunday observance agitation, 
 the suffering I had gone through during its progress, 
 and my fear of its recurrence in some other form, 
 impelled me, as soon as I began to breathe a little 
 •freely, to new efforts for relief. Before the end of 1 849 
 I had again addressed the Postmaster-General, briefly 
 referring to past correspondence, and showing how my 
 fears had been confirmed by recent events ; how I had 
 been singled out for attack, even in respect of mea- 
 sures which I had earnestly and successfully opposed ; 
 and how entirely it was out of my power, in the pre- 
 sent state of the office, to render those extended 
 services which were expected of me at the time of my 
 appointment. Past experience, however, gave me but 
 very moderate hope of success ; and this was fortunate, 
 for, three months after the delivery of my letter, I 
 learnt, upon inquiry, that all was in statu quo — nothing 
 to be done till some vacancy should occur. 
 
 Here then was more disappointment ; a continuance 
 of my troubles ; the maintenance of a position sub- 
 jecting me to constant demands, but denying me the 
 promised means of satisfying them. Much as I owed 
 to certain members of the existing administration, and 
 
1850] THE WORD OF A MINISTER. 1 63 
 
 particularly to my immediate official superior, I have 
 never been able to account satisfactorily for the con- 
 stant adjournment of my claims. I had returned to 
 office, at much personal sacrifice, under a virtual 
 promise, contingent only on my demonstrating cer- 
 tain powers : and yet, though neither promise nor 
 demonstration was ever denied or even questioned, 
 fulfilment was withheld ; a second contingency being 
 introduced, of which I had never dreamed, and which 
 I should have regarded as an insuperable objection to 
 re-entering the service. 
 
 Owing partly to this rebuff, and partly to the 
 demands on my attention arising out of Lord Ashley's 
 motion for the total abolition of Sunday work, I took 
 no further active measure towards the improvement of 
 my position for several months. Perhaps I might have 
 been willing to wait yet longer, but for two causes ; 
 first, that my health, owing to recent labour, anxiety, 
 and mortification, was now suffering more grievously 
 than ever before ; and, second, that services continued 
 to be demanded of me which, on my actual footing, I 
 was quite unable to perform. The failure of my health 
 constrained me during this year, in spite of every effort, 
 and though I was paying no inconsiderable sum yearly 
 out of my own pocket for extraneous help,"^ to take 
 frequent rest sometimes for a day or two, sometimes 
 
 * " July 4th, 1850. — At the Postmaster-General's ... I spoke of the 
 absolute necessity of a change . . . that my duties were too miscellaneous 
 and too difficult for my present staff to afford me efficient aid, and that notwith- 
 standing I paid ;!Ci5o a year out of my own pocket [his salary was but jC^t^oo 
 a year] for assistance out of the office, I had still more to do than my health 
 would bear." 
 
 "July 17th. — Called on Mr. Hodgson to consult him on the state of my health, 
 which makes me very uneasy. Hodgson strongly recommends rest — a week im- 
 mediately, and two months as early as it can be got. A tendency of blood to the 
 head, occasioned by severe mental exertion and anxiety, is my complaint. I have 
 no hope of getting so much rest, but I must do the best I can." — Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal. — Ed. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 for a week, and once for more than a month. My com- 
 plaint was a tendency of blood to the head. It has 
 always been my opinion that at this time were sown the 
 seeds of the disorder which, subsequently aggravated 
 by other painful circumstances, later on compelled me 
 finally to withdraw from duty at a period when other- 
 wise there would have remained to me, to the best of 
 my belief, several years of useful service. Indeed I 
 should have been forced to retire much earlier had it 
 not been for the subsequent appointment of my brother 
 Frederic as assistant-secretary. 
 
 Being, however, again pressed repeatedly to under- 
 take duties beyond my power, I at length resolved to 
 make another effort to obtain what I knew to be the 
 only change that could give me a fair chance of 
 retaining my health, and at the same time of success- 
 fully performing the important duties for which I was 
 responsible, or even of completing the reforms which I 
 had held up to public expectation fourteen years before. 
 Again, therefore, I sought the aid of my ever-zealous 
 friend, Mr. Warburton ; zealous, indeed, he must have 
 been, or long ere this he would have been tired of my 
 claims, and even of the public interest on which they 
 were based. 
 
 In a letter which I wrote to him (Appendix G), I 
 pointed out that four years had elapsed since the 
 promise of speedy promotion was made, and two years 
 since I first claimed its performance ; and that though 
 no objection was raised to the justice of my claim, no 
 steps had been taken towards its practical acknowledg- 
 ment. I showed the utter insufficiency of my present 
 staff for the enormous amount of work now devolving 
 upon me, and the impracticability of giving me an 
 adequate force without either making me Chief Secre- 
 tary or incurring an unwarrantable expense of several 
 
1850] THE WORD OF A MINISTER. 1 65 
 
 thousands a year. I referred to the injury done to my 
 health by excessive labour, and the impossibility, under 
 present circumstances, of my obtaining due rest. I 
 referred to improvements effected, particularly the 
 reform of the Money Order Department, to savings 
 actually made, and to others In prospect. Lastly, I 
 begged that If Government were still of opinion that 
 it could not immediately fulfil Its promise, a period 
 might now be fixed beyond which the complete per- 
 formance of the promise should not be delayed, and that 
 arrangements should be at once made for the nearest 
 approximation to such performance that might be 
 deemed practicable. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, with his usual kind alacrity, pro- 
 mised to see the Chancellor of the Exchequer without 
 delay, and to let me know the result. This interview 
 was unsatisfactory ; for though the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer admitted my claim, spoke highly of me, and 
 said I was In reality the Chief Secretary, he promised 
 no more than that I should succeed to the post if there 
 occurred a vacancy at once suitable and acceptable to 
 Colonel Maberly; though, upon Mr. Warburton's 
 pressing further, he expressed readiness to give me 
 more assistance, or to exercise his patronage in favour 
 of any member of my family, and promised to see me 
 on the subject generally. Upon my showing the Post- 
 master-General a copy of my letter to Mr. Warburton, 
 and reporting all that had passed, he admitted that 
 Government was afraid of being attacked by the econo- 
 mists for extravagance. If they allowed Colonel Maberly 
 to retire on full salary. Nevertheless, he cordially 
 approved of what had been done, and volunteered to 
 speak to the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself, and 
 to back all that Mr. Warburton had urged. Two days 
 later he reported progress. Informing me that the 
 
l66 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1850 
 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer wished to see him and 
 me together, but adding that he had objected to this 
 for himself, partly because he was going immediately to 
 Ireland. He advised, however, against any attempt to 
 establish a coequal secretariat, but said there would be 
 no difficulty about raising my salary, and spoke of my 
 having six month's holiday before taking Colonel 
 Maberly's place, and of appointing a second assistant- 
 secretary to relieve me of routine duty. In short, he 
 showed clearly that he was desirous of the change. 
 
 I accordingly wrote next day to the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer, inquiring when I should wait upon him, 
 and enclosing a copy of the whole correspondence on 
 the subject of my position, commencing with my letter 
 to Mr. Hawes of November 3rd, 1846, and ending 
 with that to Mr. Warburton of November 15th, 1850. 
 I then called on Mr. Warburton to report progress. 
 He was in high spirits, and now thought we should 
 succeed. 
 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that, as he 
 was going into the country, he must postpone seeing 
 me till after his return ; but that he would take the 
 correspondence with him and read it meantime. On 
 the same day (December 19th) I received a letter from 
 my brother Frederic, who had gone at my request to 
 Manchester to see Mr. Cobden relative to any opposi- 
 tion that might be looked for from the economists. He 
 informed me that he had been received in the most 
 friendly manner, that Mr. Cobden, on his return to 
 town, would talk over the matter with Mr. Hume, 
 Mr. Villlers, and others, with a view to their acting 
 together, and that meantime he authorized him (my 
 brother) to say that he would back me in everything 
 that I might think necessary for carrying out my plans, 
 including the retirement of Colonel Maberly on full 
 
1850] MR. COBDEN : MR. HUME. 1 6/ 
 
 pay. On my brother's return, I learnt that, though 
 Mr. Cobden engaged to defend Government in the 
 House if attacked for allowing Colonel Maberly to 
 retire on full salary, he objected to give in writing a 
 guarantee to be shown to the Postmaster-General, 
 unless Mr. Hume would move in the same direction. 
 At all events he advised that Mr. Hume should at 
 once be applied to,'" and thought Mr. Warburton the 
 best man to make this application. Mr. Warburton 
 preferred to do this by letter, and in the end decided 
 on merely suggesting to Mr. Hume that he should see 
 me on the subject. 
 
 When I saw Mr. Hume, he expressed concurrence 
 with Mr. Cobden, and undertook to write to him on 
 the subject, but wished to consult other members 
 before signing any paper to be used by Government. 
 He was exceedingly earnest in the matter, and re- 
 minded me of a speech he made in 1846, urging on 
 the Whig Government, just then come into power, the 
 necessity for placing me in the Post Office. 
 
 Meanwhile I prepared for use in my expected inter- 
 view with the Chancellor of the Exchequer a statement 
 of improvements effected in the previous two years ; 
 a step the more needful, as it might well have been 
 supposed, seeing how much my attention was occupied 
 during the main part of this time with the agitation 
 respecting Sunday observance and with attempts to 
 rectify my own position, that the course of improve- 
 ment had been entirely suspended. Serious as was the 
 check from these causes, and particularly from the 
 former, which had involved me in a sort of life and 
 death struggle, there was quite enough to show that 
 
 * "December 20th. — . . . Cobden advises that to prevent jealousy on 
 Hume's part he should at once be appealed to ; the fact of his, Cobden's, having 
 been consulted first being concealed." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
1 68 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [185 1 
 
 time had not been allowed to pass unprofitably ; and I 
 may add that, even when my personal attention was 
 most largely withdrawn, inquiries and preparations 
 which I had set on foot were constantly paving the way 
 for the improvements then in hand. On the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer's return to town after the absence of 
 nearly a month, I again applied for an interview, but 
 again met with postponement; and it was not until a 
 fortnight later that the desired opportunity was ob- 
 tained. I looked upon these delays as very un- 
 promising. 
 
 Meantime efforts were renewed in another quarter ; 
 the Postmaster-General himself speaking to the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer, who explained the delay which 
 had occurred, and promised to see me in a day or two. 
 Lord Clanricarde informed me that a vacancy was ex- 
 pected in the chairmanship of the Audit Office, to 
 which it was intended that Colonel Maberly should 
 be appointed. This would have been most satisfac- 
 tory could I have relied on prompt action ; but as I was 
 not to allow my knowledge of such expectation to 
 appear even in my conference with the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer, and as meantime objections on unsatis- 
 factory grounds were raised against my being at once 
 placed on full equality with Colonel Maberly, I could 
 feel no confidence in the result. 
 
 After sleeping on the matter I decided that the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer must be pressed. A case had 
 just occurred in which importunity had induced him to 
 yield to claims which I regarded as at best but ill- 
 founded, and I thought that the same expedient might 
 work as well where the claim was undeniable. I ac- 
 cordingly wrote as follows : — 
 
 "General Post Office, 29th January, 1851. 
 " Dear Sir, — It is so very important that my case should be 
 
1851] SIR CHARLES WOOD. 1 69 
 
 decided without further delay, that I must beg to be excused for pro- 
 posing that, if possible, the interview you were so good as to promise 
 me may not be any longer deferred. 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 "Rowland Hill. 
 
 •' The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, &c. &c." 
 
 An immediate reply summoned me for the next day. 
 
 ^^ January 20th. — Went to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's with 
 documents to sustain my case as set forth in the correspondence. 
 Asked if he had read the correspondence. He replied he had 
 read the greater part. . . . Urged that I had fulfilled the only 
 condition on which my position depended, and claimed the fulfil- 
 ment of his part of the compact. He at once admitted my claim, 
 qualifying the promise, however, to mean that I am to succeed 
 Maberly on the occurrence of a vacancy. This is not what was 
 understood at the time, as I told him. He says that as soon as any 
 office in his gift suitable for Maberly becomes vacant, M. shall be 
 removed to it (he did not say that he had any immediate expec- 
 tations of a vacancy) but that I must wait patiently, &c. ; that he 
 should not be justified in pensioning M. at his time of life, as this 
 would violate a rule which, though it acts disadvantageously in some 
 cases, is on the whole beneficial. On my admitting that there was 
 truth in this view of the subject, but pressing that all this should 
 have been considered before the promise was given, and that it was 
 unfair to induce me to accept office by holding out expectations 
 unless Government saw their way to their fulfilment in a reasonable 
 time, he said, standing up and leaning his back against the wall, as 
 he is accustomed to do, ' We may talk in this way till we are both 
 black in the face, but it's of no use. I can't do it yet.' He then 
 said earnestly and cordially that I had fully realised the expectations 
 of my most sanguine friends, and that he would do all in his power 
 to show his sense of my services. He would immediately raise my 
 salary to ;£"i,5oo a-year, and 'give me any amount of assistance I 
 might require.' On my remarking jocularly that he was scarcely 
 aware of the extent of this promise ; that I wanted such a staff as 
 M.'s, at a cost probably of ;)/^io,ooo a-year; he replied that he 
 'would give any reasonable amount of assistance.' . 
 
 "In conclusion, I thanked him especially for his hearty recog- 
 nition of my services, but added that I felt it my duty to state, ' in 
 the plainest language I could use,' that I must consider what he 
 
I/O LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851 
 
 proposed as only an instalment on my claim, . . . and that 
 many important improvements must be deferred so long as the 
 direct authority of Secretary to the Post Office is withheld from 
 me." 
 
 " Saw Warburton and reported to him the result, which he con- 
 siders satisfactory." 
 
 ^^ January J 1st. — Received the following from Hume : — • 
 
 *' 'Burnley Hall, 30th January, 1851. 
 
 *' ' My dear Sir, — I have had a letter from Mr. Cobden on the 
 subject I wrote to him about, and on my arrival in London, on the 
 3rd of February, I shall have the pleasure of writing to you or seeing 
 you, after I have had some conversation with Mr. Cobden, and some 
 other persons. 
 
 " ' I think your object may be attained, which will give satisfaction 
 to yours sincerely, 
 
 *' ' Joseph Hume. 
 
 "'Rowland Hill, Esq., General Post Office.'" 
 
 ^^ February 1st. — Moffatt called. Told him in confidence much 
 that had occurred. He will join Hume and Cobden in doing what 
 I want." 
 
 ^''February ^rd. — Called on Cobden, who is just returned to town. 
 Told him in confidence the greater part of what passed between the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer and myself. He will see Hume in the 
 morning, and will try to get him to settle matters without consulting 
 any one else. ... In the course of conversation I said I feared 
 that the Sunday agitation had injured my influence with the public, 
 but Cobden replied that it was no such thing ; that I was ' the most 
 popular man in the world.'" 
 
 In reference to my conversation with the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer I spoke to the Postmaster-General 
 on the subject of assistance. I proposed that I should 
 have as assistant-secretary some one In whom I had 
 entire confidence, and who would be able to take my 
 place In case of my absence, and I pointed out that 
 for such duty a knowledge of Post Office details was 
 unnecessary. His lordship expressed general concur- 
 rence, but said that he must speak on the subject with 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer. My wish was to 
 
i8si] MR. FREDERIC HILL. 171 
 
 obtain the appointment of my brother Frederic, but I 
 forbore at the time to mention his name, as the Post- 
 master-General was in haste to reach the House of 
 Lords. 
 
 To justify my selection I need only recount a few 
 facts. My brother had been for sixteen years one of 
 the Inspectors of Prisons ; for twelve years in Scot- 
 land, and the remaining time in England. He was 
 one of the first appointed under the Act of 1835, by 
 which the office was created ; and Lord John Russell, 
 then Secretary of State for the Home Department, 
 when assigning to the inspectors their districts, paid 
 him the compliment of saying that he had given him 
 Scotland because he knew that in that part of the 
 kingdom there was most need of improvement. 
 
 On examination, my brother found that, with the 
 almost sole exception of the Glasgow Bridewell, which 
 was under the governorship of an admirable prison 
 reformer, Mr. Brebner, the Scottish prisons were as 
 bad as Lord John Russell had stated, and that indeed 
 the great majority, instead of being places of reform, 
 were the abodes of idleness and disorder, and not 
 unfrequently of drunkenness and riot ; in a word, of 
 general demoralization. Although invested with no 
 other power than that of inspection, and of making 
 Reports to the Secretary of State, and, through him, 
 to Parliament and the country, my brother, in a short 
 time, effected a great change. He obtained the re- 
 moval of a large number of bad officers, the appoint- 
 ment in their stead of persons qualified for their duties, 
 including matrons (of whom till his nomination there 
 had been only two or three in the whole of Scotland), 
 with a proper corps of female assistants, and without 
 waiting for the erection of new prisons, he succeeded, 
 in most instances, in inducing the local authorities at 
 
1/2 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851 
 
 once to turn to the best account the buildings at their 
 command. 
 
 After a time he was authorized by Government to 
 frame a bill for remodelling the whole system of 
 prison government in Scotland in accordance with 
 his recommendations. Although this bill was a good 
 deal altered, and, as we both thought, much injured, 
 in its passage through Parliament, the new system 
 adopted under it was a great improvement on what 
 had existed before. By the appointment of a general 
 board, of which he was chosen a member, a directing 
 authority was established which removed many ob- 
 stacles to improvement. Thus, long before he quitted 
 Scotland to take an English district, every prison there 
 had either been so altered as to become well fitted for its 
 use, or, if beyond improvement, had been replaced by 
 a new building. In every prison productive work had 
 been introduced, motives to diligence supplied, tread- 
 mills and all other unproductive employment abolished, 
 flogging and every kind of degrading punishment 
 discontinued ; good chaplains had everywhere been 
 appointed, and provision made for ordinary elementary 
 instruction ; the health of the prisoners had much 
 improved, good conduct had become the general rule, 
 and, in many cases, means had been provided for 
 maintaining some amount at least of supervision and 
 friendly assistance after liberation. Finally, my brother 
 practically showed that, under good arrangements, all 
 prisoners of ordinary health and strength, and com- 
 mitted for even a moderate period, may be made 
 to defray the entire cost of their maintenance and 
 custody. 
 
 Any one who compares the most enlightened de- 
 mands of the present day with this statement of facts, 
 and yet more, the series of recommendations contained 
 
1851] MR. FREDERIC HILL. 1 73 
 
 in my brother's Reports, or more summarily in his 
 v/ork entitled ''Crime; its Amount, Causes, and 
 Remedies," will find that my account of his services 
 contains no exaggeration. 
 
 Having carried the work of prison reform thus far 
 in Scotland, he exchanged his Scottish for an English 
 district ; but although he was able to accomplish a 
 good deal there, he found among the country justices 
 of the peace, who have the general charge of the 
 county prisons, far more of vis merticE than he had 
 encountered in Scotland. In the belief that in the 
 Post Office, in conjunction with myself, he should 
 have a new and wide field for the exercise of his 
 knowledge of the principles of government and his 
 powers of administration, and that he should be 
 able to render me effectual assistance, he was ready 
 to accept an appointment, should it be made, as 
 assistant-secretary. 
 
 Of course I was well pleased with the prospect of 
 constant aid from one of whose ability and trustworthi- 
 ness I was so well assured ; a prospect which, as the 
 sequel will show, was amply realised. Upon my 
 speaking more explicitly, the Postmaster - General 
 made no objection to the appointment,''' but feared 
 that the Chancellor of the Exchequer would object 
 to the necessary expense ; an apprehension at which I 
 could not but feel disappointed after all that had passed, 
 but which, nevertheless, was confirmed on inquiry. 
 Coupled with the announcement of this result, came 
 new cause of anxiety, viz., a warning that Ministers 
 
 * The Postmaster-General expressed great surprise — a surprise that almost 
 amounted to incredulity — on being informed that Mr. Frederic Hill was willing to 
 exchange the office which he already held for the post of Assistant-Secretary. The 
 Inspectorship of Prisons he looked upon as the better appointment, as undoubtedly 
 it was. — Ed. 
 
174 LU'E OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851 
 
 would resign if beaten on an impending motion of 
 Mr. Disraeli's. Though, on the division, there was a 
 majority in their favour, yet, as the difference was only 
 fourteen, it was but too clear that the administration 
 was by no means firm. It was important, therefore, 
 to press on at once. I again called upon Mr. Hume ; 
 but though I found him very friendly, he still objected 
 to giving me the letter I wanted, intimating that he 
 should shortly effect the object by something which he 
 was to say in the House. Naturally I could not share 
 Mr. Hume's confidence, particularly as I could at best 
 but conjecture the tenour of his proposed remarks ; 
 and I must add, that though I have not the slightest 
 doubt of Mr. Hume's perfect good faith and earnest- 
 ness in the matter, I cannot find, either in my records 
 or in my recollection, that the intention was ever 
 fulfilled. 
 
 The following passage shows how kindly earnest 
 Lord Clanricarde was on my behalf, even at a season 
 of critical importance to himself: — • 
 
 ''''February 22nd. — On reaching the office, found a note from the 
 Postmaster-General, desiring to see me at once. Went to his house 
 and found him busy writing a letter to the Treasury, recommending 
 the advance of my salary. He tells me that Lord John Russell has 
 tendered his resignation, and that they are all going out as soon as 
 their successors are appointed." 
 
 At my request he made an addition to his letter, for 
 the purpose of securing the position of my clerks in 
 the event of my being driven from office. After using 
 every means to hasten action in the Treasury, he sent 
 in the letter (which was very complimentary to me) by 
 his private secretary. The Treasury promptly replied, 
 authorizing the advancement of my salary in a letter, 
 from which the following is an extract : — 
 
 " I am directed to acquaint your lordship that, in consideration of 
 
i8si] THE MINISTRY IN DANGER. 175 
 
 the services which Mr. Hill has rendered to the country, and the 
 meritorious manner in which he has discharged his official duties, my 
 Lords are pleased to sanction the additional salary recommended by 
 your lordship." 
 
 Again, however, the immediate alarm passed away. 
 After fruitless attempts to form an administration. Lord 
 Stanley withdrew, and the old ministers returned to 
 office. My great pleasure at this relief was, however, 
 soon damped by the revival of former difficulties, the 
 Treasury again pressing for that amalgamation of the 
 two corps of letter-carriers which, without undivided 
 authority, it would be, as I well knew and had often 
 represented, impossible for me to effect, and highly 
 dangerous to attempt. The Postmaster-General ad- 
 mitted the difficulty,"^ and undertook to speak to the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer on the subject. In the 
 meantime I pointed out to his lordship that the ques- 
 tion of assistance had been left to him, and I urged 
 immediate action in this matter. He replied that, not- 
 withstanding the power that had been given him, he 
 must still consult the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 He intimated that the Ministry were still in a precarious 
 position. This appeared to me anything rather than a 
 reason for delay ; and I particularly pressed the appoint- 
 ment of an assistant-secretary, strengthening my former 
 reasons with others of great weight. 
 
 "March 24th. — The Postmaster-General has spoken to the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer on the subject of assistance. He thinks the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer will not object ; but nothing can be 
 decided till after the Budget has been brought forward." 
 
 * "March 7th. — I spoke to the Postmaster-General on the subject, telling him 
 *it was exceedingly unjust of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to press me in this 
 way, knowing as he does that I dare not attempt the amalgamation until he keeps 
 his promise by giving me Maberly's place. In this the Postmaster-General ac- 
 quiesced." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
1/6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851 
 
 It will easily be believed that I was not a little im- 
 patient at these inexplicable and hazardous delays ; but 
 happily relief was coming. 
 
 ^^ April 8th. — Last night the Ministers had an unexpectedly large 
 majority on the question of the income tax, and they are now con- 
 sidered safe for the session. Spoke to the Postmaster-General on the 
 subject of assistance." 
 
 '•'• April 28th. — The Postmaster-General, who is returned to town, 
 is much pleased with my success in the North Western negotiation [to 
 be explained hereafter], which I think has hastened the decision as to 
 Frederic. He has seen the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and inti- 
 mates that the matter is satisfactorily settled ; but I am to see the 
 Postmaster-General at his house to-morrow." 
 
 ^^ April 2gth. — At the Postmaster-General's house. I am to pre- 
 pare a letter to the Treasury, and a minute recommending the 
 appointment of an assistant-secretary to the Postmaster-General, and 
 let the Postmaster-General see both in draft. Frederic is virtually 
 appointed." 
 
 '■^ May ^th. — The Postmaster-General has returned the drafts with 
 some verbal alterations only." 
 
 ^^ May 6th. — At the Postmaster-General's house. He was going to 
 the Drawing Room, and could do no more than sign a fair copy of 
 the letter to the Treasury. Will see minute to-morrow. Authorizes 
 me to say that he will appoint Frederic. Intends to transfer the 
 secretarial management of the Railway Department to me." 
 
 ^''June 2nd. — The Treasury authority for the appointment of an 
 assistant-secretary to the Postmaster-General having been received, I 
 lost no time in submitting it to the Postmaster-General, who, on my 
 stating the anxiety on the subject of my poor father (now, I fear, on 
 his death-bed), kindly filled up Frederic's appointment on the instant; 
 and I immediately despatched Pearson [my son] to Tottenham with 
 the news." 
 
 '''•June yth. — Thanked the Postmaster-General in my father's name 
 for his kindness with reference to Frederic's appointment. Obtained 
 leave of absence for Frederic, in order that he may continue in 
 attendance on my father. I have sent him work which he can do at 
 Tottenham." 
 
 ''''June 13th. — Attending the death-bed of my dear father. Till 
 within a few hours of his dissolution he retained the command of his 
 faculties, and took evident pains by signs (for he was too feeble to 
 speak more than a word or two) to show his recognition of us all, and 
 
1851] STAFF OF CLERKS. 1 77 
 
 to satisfy us that he was quite happy. He died, apparently without 
 any pain, about half-past eight in the evening. I shall sadly miss his 
 warm and intelligent sympathy. Nothing was so acceptable to him, 
 even up to the time of my visiting him last night, as an account of 
 any improvements in progress in the Post Office. * 
 
 My father died in his eighty-ninth year — a longevity 
 not unprecedented in our family. So remarkable was 
 his retention of mental power, that in this, his last 
 illness, he devised a new process for ascertaining, by 
 mental arithmetic, the incidence of Easter Sunday in 
 any given year ; a process which, at his desire, I 
 put to the test of practice, with a result completely 
 satisfactory. 
 
 To return to the subject of this narrative. In thus 
 accepting the offer of assistance, I could not but feel' 
 that, notwithstanding all my protestations, I weakened 
 my present claim to that great change, so long the 
 object of my desire, since concession, however insuffi- 
 cient, could not be closely followed by further demand. 
 Nevertheless, so great was the pressure upon me, so 
 serious the danger of my breaking down altogether, 
 that I had no alternative. Some estimate of my diffi- 
 culties may be formed from the following simple state- 
 ment. Though reference was made to me in all cases 
 of serious difficulty, whatever their nature, and though 
 the secretarial charge of the Money-Order Department 
 was exclusively in my hands, the amount of assistance 
 at my command hitherto was limited to my private 
 secretary and four or five clerks, while that under 
 Colonel Maberly consisted of a private secretary, an 
 assistant-secretary, competent to act as an occasional 
 deputy, and probably not less than fifty or sixty clerks. 
 Still I naturally regarded the late accession to my force, 
 — particularly as it gave me the aid of my brother — 
 with great satisfaction. 
 
 * "June 20th. — Attended my dear father's funeral." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 VOL. II. N 
 
178 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849-51 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PROGRESS OF REFORM FROM THE BEGINNING OF 1 849 TO THE 
 
 MIDDLE OF 1851. 
 
 Having thus carried the general narrative to this important point, 
 I pause to describe those concurrent proceedings * which could not 
 be conveniently mentioned in their chronological order, remarking, 
 however, that the chief improvements effected within the period 
 have been mentioned as they took place, and that those of my 
 readers who have little desire to know more on the subject may 
 easily pass over so much as they please of what follows. For 
 convenience I resort to classification. 
 
 money order DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Economy^ Self Support. 
 
 Various measures of economy were adopted ; not, for the most 
 part, of sufficient importance to be mentioned in detail, though 
 of considerable value in their aggregate effect. One, however, by 
 its magnitude, claims distincter record, being the release for other 
 duties of such a number of clerks as reduced the Money Order 
 staff, in proportion to its amount of business, by nearly forty per 
 cent.; an economy effected by the mere simplification of accounts 
 and modes of procedure. Two others may be mentioned as curious, 
 the first being a saving of probably about ;!^8oo a-year through the 
 substitution for " guard books " of an apparatus invented by Mr. 
 WaUiker, one of the clerks (now Postmaster of Hull), and the 
 second the saving oi j^^'joo a year by a mere reduction, and that 
 not the first, in the size of the letter of advice. By the various 
 improvements thus introduced into the Money Order Office since 
 
 * I have thought it advisable to omit the description of some of these pro- 
 ceedings, which, though important in themselves, yet would have but little 
 interest for the general reader. — Ed. 
 
1849-51] CONDITION OF CLERKS IMPROVED. 179 
 
 it came under my superintendence it was found — the accounts being 
 at length for the first time balanced — that the annual loss of more 
 than ;£"i 0,000 had been converted into a small gain. It should 
 be mentioned that, in fetching up the arrear of accounts, debts, 
 which ought long since to have been claimed, were found owing by 
 various deputy postmasters, and had to be recovered, in some 
 instances, of their sureties ; a proceeding sometimes involving much 
 hardship. In one case, at Bilston, where the payment thus enforced 
 amounted to £,2-^0, the postmaster had been dead some years. 
 
 Condition of Clej'ks Improved. 
 
 The Money Order Department being thus made self-supporting, I 
 felt justified in recommending not only a considerable increase in 
 the salaries of the probationary clerks, but also an addition to those 
 of the lowest grade on the staff. I was also enabled to extend and 
 regulate the leave of absence in the department. A few months 
 afterwards, the Postmaster-General thus described the latter measure 
 in the Upper House, reporting afterwards that the Lords were much 
 struck with it : — 
 
 " The clerks in the Money Order Office were divided into classes, 
 and twelve were counted in a class where it was calculated that 
 eleven could do the work, so that by this means one might be always 
 absent, and thus every clerk enjoy a month's leave of absence in the 
 year. Now that was not an unjust nor a severe arrangement, but 
 much more just and impartial than the old system, by which one 
 clerk might be away for a considerable time, and another could get 
 no leave of absence at all. They were allowed to work for one 
 another, and in case of illness, if the absentee was away more than 
 a month, he might have his work done by paying for it. This had 
 been agreed to by all the classes but two ; and there was now in the 
 Money Order Department of the Post Office a case of a gentleman 
 who had been ill for eleven months during the last two years, and 
 his colleagues worked for him without a penny of remuneration, 
 knowing that he really was ill and unable to attend himself"* 
 
 New Head of Department. 
 
 In the course of this period, on the sudden death of Mr. Earth, 
 the President of the Money Order Office, the vacancy was filled, 
 much to my satisfaction, by the appointment of Mr. Jackson, who 
 
 * "Hansard," Vol. cxiv., p. 273. 
 N 2 
 
l80 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849-51 
 
 had zealously seconded me in improving the department, and who, I 
 am glad to say, retained his post many years, much to the advantage 
 of the service and the benefit of the public. 
 
 A Paradox. 
 
 There remains to mention a ludicrous perplexity, showing how 
 easy it is, amidst complicated changes, for even those who have best 
 opportunity of judging, and are most interested in arriving at the 
 truth, to fall into misconception. In the early part of 1850, when 
 we confidently believed that correspondence of all kinds was, as 
 usual, on the increase, we remarked, to our surprise, a falling-off in 
 the number of letters passing through the Inland Office, and 
 speculated much as to its cause. Mr. Bokenham attributed it 
 to a decrease in Sunday letter-writing ; but the mystery was at length 
 explained by our simply calling to mind that the natural effect of a 
 recent improvement in the Money Order Department was to relieve 
 the Inland Office of about forty-six thousand packets per week, a 
 number somewhat more than enough to account for the decrease. 
 
 GENERAL ECONOMIC MEASURES. 
 
 Clerks in Charge. 
 
 There was an abuse demanding correction, of which the following 
 is a specimen. A clerk in the chief office, in receipt of about j[^Z2 per 
 annum, was sent to act temporarily as clerk to one of the surveyors, 
 and, for one cause or other, his exceptional employment was pro- 
 longed from two months to fourteen. Further, it happened that 
 during two months of the fourteen he had charge of the Gloucester 
 Post Office. By this lucky combination of circumstances, his 
 emoluments for the time were at the annual rate of ;j£"452, or 
 between five or six times his ordinary income. I took some steps 
 with a view of putting things on a juster footing, but found the 
 abuse too strongly sustained to allow me much hope of removing it 
 until I should obtain more uncontested authority. 
 
 Prepayment. 
 
 I again considered the question of totally abolishing prepayments 
 in money. Both Mr. Tilley and Mr. Johnson (the excellent sur- 
 veyor of the home district), whom I consulted, agreed in the 
 practicability of the measure, and spoke strongly of its importance, 
 as greatly simplifying, and therefore economising, the mechanism 
 
1849-51] MAIL CONVEYANCE. 181 
 
 of the department; but, for fear of inconvenience to the public, I 
 hesitated to take the step all at once. To Mr. Tilley, however, I 
 mentioned, in confidence, a plan which I had conceived for dealing 
 with unpaid letters, viz., that w^herever posted they should be sent in 
 the first instance to the Metropolitan office, thence to be forwarded 
 to their respective destinations. This arrangement would have 
 tended much to economy, as it would have wholly superseded the 
 " by-accounts," />., the accounts between one provincial office and 
 another. This device I must myself have afterwards forgotten, for cer- 
 tainly it was never acted upon. Some years later, it was attempted to 
 make prepayment in respect of inland letters absolutely compulsory, 
 but pubhc objection proving too strong, the attempt was abandoned. 
 I beUeve that this forgotten plan would still be the best step towards 
 attaining: the desired end. 
 
 Mail Conveyance. 
 
 I discovered instances in which the serious expense of railway 
 conveyance was incurred, when, speed being unimportant, a cheaper 
 mode served equally well. It is obviously of no use to a place that 
 its letters should arrive in the middle of the night, every purpose 
 being answered if they come in time to be included in the earliest 
 practicable delivery. Consideration of this led me to propose, in 
 such cases, the substitution of mail-carts. In one such case this 
 year the effect was an annual saving of about ;^8oo, and in one in 
 the following year more than ^2000.* 
 
 A Sumi?iary. 
 
 A statement of the savings which, without counting the rejection 
 of applications for needless increase of force or salary, I had secured 
 by the end of 1850, either by prevention of unnecessary augmen- 
 tation in expenditure, or by positive reductions, showed an amount 
 of nearly ;jf 40,000 a year ; although I believe my clerks, in hastily 
 preparing the statement (for it was suddenly required) had made 
 several omissions. 
 
 * "June 13th, 1849. — The Postmaster-General has approved a proposal of mine 
 to carry the night-mail between Oxford and the main line of the Great Western 
 Railway by cart instead of by the branch railway. As the journey both ways is 
 in the middle of the night nothing whatever is gained tO Oxford by the [present] 
 arrangement." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
1 82 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849-51 
 
 Further Ecotiomy i?i Co7iveyaiice. 
 
 The surveyor for the South of Ireland had recommended that the 
 night mails to Waterford should be conveyed by a new line ot 
 railway between Carlow and that city. The entry on the subject in 
 my Journal (13th of January, 185 1) thus concludes : — 
 
 *' On the Postmaster-General calling for my opinion, I was able to 
 show that the adoption of such recommendation would cost about 
 ;^io,ooo a-year, that it would afford scarcely any convenience, 
 . . . but that a day-mail . . . might be established at a 
 comparatively small cost, and would be of great service to Waterford. 
 The Postmaster-General has adopted my view. 
 
 " Afay 22?id, i8ji. — A short time since certain towns in the West 
 Riding memorialized the Postmaster-General to despatch a mail by 
 an existing express train direct to Boston. The Company (the Great 
 Northern) refused to undertake the service for less than a first-class 
 fare each trip, or jCs^*^ a-year. The Postmaster-General called for 
 my opinion. I offered the Company ;£^2oo a-year; they refused, 
 and the memorialists were informed that, owing to the excessive 
 demands of the Company, the mail [a very small one] must be 
 withheld. This brought public opinion to act on the Company, and, 
 as I expected, they became suitors to us, first offering to reduce the 
 charge to about ^^340 a-year, and ultimately consenting to charge 
 the bags as parcels. On these terms we shall give a mail in both 
 directions for about £2rOO a-year. or for little more than the third 
 part of what was originally demanded for a mail in one direction." 
 
 RURAL DISTRIBUTION. 
 
 On July 15th, 1850, I learned that the Postmaster-General had 
 sanctioned what I regarded as a very important measure : — 
 
 " Hitherto no posts have been given except daily posts ; hence- 
 forth, when the correspondence will not justify a daily post, one 
 is to be given thrice, or twice, or once a week, according to a fixed 
 scale, under which the amount of correspondence is compared with 
 the cost of the post. Thus, at a comparatively small cost, the postal 
 system will, I hope, be extended to nearly every house in the 
 kingdom." 
 
 This measure, however, though sanctioned by the Treasury, and 
 ordered to be carried into immediate effect, remains even to this 
 day, notwithstanding constant progress, still incomplete, mainly, I 
 believe, through objections on the part of the surveyors to the 
 
1849-51] POSTAL TREATIES. 1 83 
 
 apparent anomaly of intermittent posts ; though the necessary con- 
 sequence is that many houses, and perhaps even some hamlets, 
 must remain altogether unvisited by the postman. 
 
 PACKET SERVICE. 
 
 I was asked to prepare a confidential memorandum on the subject 
 of an experimental despatch of the mails to North America from 
 Gahvay, which I did accordingly, the results of my investigation, 
 however, not being such as, in my opinion, to justify the experiment. 
 I scarcely need add that some years later the course thus deprecated 
 was taken by Government, not indeed in expectation of profitable 
 results, but as a concession to Irish demands ; that the attempt was 
 altogether unsuccessful, and besides absorbing a large sum from the 
 revenue, occasioned disastrous loss to all who held shares in the 
 packets. 
 
 POSTAL TREATIES. 
 
 Although postal treaties with foreign countries had but little 
 direct connection with my particular reforms, yet their indirect 
 bearing was important; and still greater their relation to the general 
 postal interests of the country; so that though, ever since my 
 removal from the Treasury they had been managed for the most 
 part without reference to me, I nevertheless had now frequent 
 opportunities of suggesting improvements, and in the end the 
 arrangement fell almost entirely into my hands. 
 
 The Postmaster-General directed my attention to the state of our 
 treaty with France. The British Office had proposed that the inter- 
 national rate should be reduced from tenpence to sixpence, but this 
 was objected to by the French Government, because it was coupled 
 with a demand for an equitable division of postage between the two 
 Offices. It may be remembered that through a blunder made by 
 our Office in 1843 an undue advantage was given to France, which 
 I then estimated at ^^4000 per annum ; but by a modification made 
 subsequently to my reappointment, but entirely without my know- 
 ledge, our annual loss had been raised to jj^Sooo. I explained all 
 this to the Postmaster-General, and he regretted that I had not been 
 consulted in the matter; he thought, however, that the French 
 Government could not refuse such concession as would at least 
 rectify the latter error. 
 
 '•'■ March isth^ iS^o. — At the Postmaster-General's house. He is 
 about to visit Paris, and intends to treat for a reduction in the inter- 
 national rate. He is anxious at the same time to correct the blunder 
 
1 84 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849-51 
 
 in the treaty exposed by me in 1843, under which we lose many 
 thousands a-year in accounting with France for our share of the 
 postage collected there. After a careful consideration of the subject, 
 we are both obliged to admit that, if the French Government should 
 insist upon continuing this part of the treaty, as they doubtless will, 
 there is now no escape." 
 
 The Postmaster-General had been led to suppose that the original 
 error was committed at the Treasury ; but I was able to satisfy him 
 that, so far from that being the case, the Treasury had on my 
 report, carefully warned the Post Office on the very point. As 
 the matter stands at the present time (1868), the annual loss in our 
 transactions with the French Post Office, by irretrievable errors, is 
 probably not less than ;^i 0,000. 
 
 SALARIES AND PROMOTIONS. 
 
 On the subject of salaries I found a strange, not to say absurd, 
 discrepancy between form and practice. The clerks were, indeed, 
 very properly arranged in classes, the salaries varying according to 
 position, and promotion taking place as vacancies occurred, on 
 formal attestation of a candidate's fitness for the duties of the higher 
 class ; but all this classification, whatever merit it apparently had, 
 was rendered worthless by the simple fact that difficulty of duties did 
 not correspond with rank of class. Thus the Government was really 
 paying ;!^3oo or ;!£^4oo a year to clerks whose work was nowise 
 superior in quality or quantity to that performed by others whose 
 annual salary was but £^0* All this I pointed out to Mr. Hayter.f 
 He admitted that the odium of rectification, so far as Government 
 usage would allow rectification to be made, should not rest upon me 
 alone, and promised to use his influence to get a Commission ap- 
 pointed for the revision of salaries generally. The Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer hesitated to adopt the suggestion ; but, as applications 
 were coming in for particular augmentations which could not be 
 
 * A striking instance of this mal-arrangement was reported to me long after- 
 wards. A very meritorious officer appointed by Colonel Maberly, and said to be 
 the first ever admitted into the permanent staff save through political influence, 
 had, during several years, while rated at a salary never exceeding ;[^I20, to super- 
 intend men whose salaries ranged up to ;i^400. 
 
 t "Aug. 7th, 1849. — Summoned to the Treasury. . . . Explained to Mr. 
 Hayter the abuses as to promotion, viz., that there is no correspondence between 
 the rank of a clerk and his duties — that two clerks may be engaged in the same 
 duties, the one a secretary at £zoo a year, the other a junior at £^o a year. Of 
 these facts Hayter was not aware, and thinks the practice is familiar to the Post 
 Office."— Sir R. Hill's Journal.— Eu. 
 
1849-51] RECTIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS. 1 85 
 
 satisfactorily dealt with until some general principle was adopted and 
 reduced to a rule, I obtained authority to press the matter on the 
 Treasury. Although, however, this was done, and although after the 
 lapse of a year the Postmaster-General himself wrote a minute on 
 the subject, yet a second year passed before this important step was 
 taken. 
 
 RECTIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS. 
 
 As already shown, I had striven to present to the public mind a 
 true statement as to the fiscal results of my reforms, or, to speak yet 
 more comprehensively, as to the real earnings of the Post Office. 
 This struggle was forced upon me by constant attempts to lead the 
 public mind into error on this important point. That which I have 
 repeatedly spoken of as the fallacious return* was, in one form 
 or other, ever and anon revived, nor is misconception altogether 
 removed even at the present moment. Of other corrections, also, I 
 have already spoken, and I purpose now to continue the narrative. 
 
 '"'■ January joth, 184^. — Showed the Postmaster-General a requi- 
 sition which I have prepared for a return to Parliament, showing the 
 real earnings of the Post Office by including in the revenue the net 
 proceeds of the newspaper stamps, and in the expenditure so much 
 of the packet service as is fairly chargeable against the Post Office. 
 He has no objection to its being moved for. My object is to 
 neutralize, if I can, the mischief which Lord Seymour and others 
 have done by getting returns charging the whole packet-service 
 against the Post Office." 
 
 Notice of motion having been accordingly given by my friend 
 Mr. Thorneley, M.P. for Wolverhampton, the Treasury, as usual, 
 referred to the Post Office, to learn whether there were any objection 
 to granting the return. The consequence being that Mr. Tilley came 
 to me, by Colonel Maberly's desire, to show me a note \mtten in 
 reply, in which, to my amusement, I found the opinion given that 
 the return should be withheld, "in fairness to Mr. Hill." Of course 
 I explained the whole matter to Mr. Tilley, and, the supposed 
 obstacle being removed, the return was ordered without opposition, 
 and the duty of preparing it was committed by the Postmaster- 
 General to me/ 
 
 Of the unfairness of charging the whole cost of the packet-service 
 to the Post Office, I had striking evidence shortly afterwards. 
 
 ^^ March jrd, i84g. — The newspapers having stated that Govern- 
 ment had contracted with the West India Steam-packet Company for 
 
 * See Vol. I., pp. 461, 475, and 485 ; and Vol. Ii., p. 4. 
 
1 86 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849-51 
 
 carrying the mails to the Brazils, I asked the Postmaster-General if 
 he had been consulted in the matter, and found that he had not ; 
 and further, that there had been no communication with the Office 
 on the subject." 
 
 So that, according to the practice of which I complained, the 
 Post Office was made chargeable with heavy expenses, incurred not 
 only without its request, but without its consent or even knowledge. 
 The inexpediency of such proceedings happened to receive further 
 illustration on the same day; Mr. Cunard calling upon me (of 
 course now too late) to say that he had come to England for the 
 purpose of proposing to undertake the West Indian mails at half the 
 price then paid for their conveyance, thus tantalising us by proving 
 that an opportunity had been lost of saving ;^i 20,000 per annum. 
 
 In a return called for by the House of Lords, I found that the 
 number of letters for the year had been arrived at by treating the 
 year as consisting of twelve months of four weeks each, so that the 
 total given was that for forty-eight weeks instead of fifty-two. It 
 would have been hardly fair to mislead the House of Lords without 
 doing the same good office to the House of Commons. Accord- 
 ingly, upon the Lower House calling for a return of the amount of 
 transit postage paid to France, the sum reported, without any note to 
 prevent misunderstanding, instead of being the total amount, was 
 merely the balance of account between the two Offices. After 
 recording this fact, my Journal proceeds as follows : — 
 
 ** It is a very rare thing for a return to reach me which does not 
 contain some egregious error." 
 
 Fortunately I saw the return before its issue, and it was of course 
 corrected. 
 
 ^^/uly i8th, 18 jO. — Every now and then something almost in- 
 credibly absurd and mischievous in the management of the Post 
 Office turns up. Some investigations in which I have lately been 
 engaged have brought to light the astounding fact that for the 
 payment of a large part of our expenses (hundreds of thousands 
 a year probably) we have no vouchers, and yet there is a pretence of 
 auditing our accounts. The fact is, that the salaries and wages of 
 the clerks, letter-carriers, &:c., at the country offices, together with 
 heavy expenses for carrying mails, &:c., are paid by the postmasters, 
 and allowed in their accounts, but no evidence is required that the 
 payments are actually made ; and instances have occurred in which 
 postmasters have gone on taking credit year after year for payments 
 on account of mails, &:c., which have been suppressed. The post- 
 masters at and were both detected in this fraud." 
 
1849-51] FOREIGN AND COLONIAL EXTENSION. 1 8/ 
 
 The following shows that, six months later, blundering remained 
 unabated : — 
 
 '"'' Ja7iiiary 2jrd, 18 ji. — A balanced account of revenue for the 
 quarter ending loth October last has been sent to me containing a 
 gross error ; an advance from the English to the Irish Office being 
 so managed as apparently to increase the balance in hand for the 
 United Kingdoni by ;2^40,ooo ! " 
 
 '•'' Ja7iiiary 2jth. — The Accountant General persists in it that his 
 account is correct. (I wish it were ; a means would then have been 
 devised by which we might readily increase the balance in hand to 
 any extent.) He will, however, alter it, if I ' desire it ! ' — as though 
 it could be a matter of choice whether the balance can be increased 
 by ;!^40jOoo or not." 
 
 FOREIGN AND COLONIAL EXTENSION. 
 
 United States. 
 
 While my attention was, of course, mainly absorbed in the im- 
 provement of our own postal system, I was always glad to hear of 
 corresponding progress abroad, whether in the colonies or in foreign 
 countries. 
 
 ''''January 8th, 184^. — Some one has sent me, from New York, a 
 copy of the American Postmaster-General's Annual Report. Their 
 reduction to two rates at Midsummer, 1845, has been very suc- 
 cessful. Previously to that time the Post Office did not pay its 
 expenses, and the distribution was curtailed from year to year in a 
 vain attempt to make it pay. Now with extended distribution and 
 reduced rates (on the average about half the preceding rates) the 
 Post Office has a surplus income. The Postmaster-General recom- 
 mends making the lower rate (5 cents = 2^^.) general, and 
 requiring prepayment. This is the more satisfactory as he opposed 
 the reduction in 1845." 
 
 In short, Congress was so well satisfied with the result of its 
 previous reductions, that, early in the year 1851, it changed what 
 had been its minimum rate, viz., twopence-halfpenny, into its 
 maximum, estabhshing a three-halfpenny rate for distances under 
 three thousand miles.* 
 
 India. 
 
 ^^ December 21st, i84g. — Mr. Porter (Secretary to the Board of 
 Trade) called with a letter which he had received from Lord 
 
 * In effect California was the only State not reached at the lower rate. 
 
1 88 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849-51 
 
 Dalhousie, requesting him to see me with reference to the introduc- 
 tion of a low uniform rate of postage into British India. I, of 
 course, promised to assist." 
 
 Mr. Porter showed me the letter, and I learnt, much to my 
 amusement, the reason why Lord Dalhousie had not addressed me 
 more directly. He mentioned that he had formerly been acquainted 
 with me ; but feared I might by this time have forgotten him. It will 
 be seen hereafter how successfully this first move was followed up. 
 
 France. 
 
 Early in 1850 I received from M. Piron a copy of a report showing 
 the results obtained during the past year, the first in France of re- 
 duced postage. Though it was a time of great commercial depres- 
 sion, the gross postal revenue had fallen but twenty-two per cent, 
 while the number of letters had increased by thirty per cent. At the 
 same time the proportion of prepayments had risen from ten per cent, 
 to twenty-five, notwithstanding that the charge was alike on prepaid 
 and post paid. This was a remarkable indication of the convenience 
 of stamps, showing that when, in 1839, Mr. Spring Rice proposed, 
 without any reduction of postage, to try " the principle of stamps," 
 his proposal might have proved not so absolute a mockery as I then 
 supposed it to be. 
 
 General Siunmary. 
 
 In short, progress was so general and so rapid that, as I was able 
 truly to remark in my speech at Greenock already referred to, cheap 
 postage was gradually extending throughout the civilized world. 
 
 NUMBER OF LETTERS. 
 
 In 1849 the year's increase of letters was unusually small, though, 
 perhaps, as great as could be expected in a time of so much political 
 agitation and commercial depression. The increase next year (1850) 
 was but little larger ; the two years, however, making up a total of 
 three hundred and forty-seven millions, and raising the increase 
 under penny postage to about 4^-fold. 
 
 REVENUE. 
 
 The postal revenue also had, by this time, as measured by the gross 
 amount, nearly fulfilled my original prediction, being within ^82,000, 
 
1849-51] POSTAL REVENUE. 1 89 
 
 or less than four per cent, of that received in 1838. That the net 
 revenue had not kept pace with my expectations was due, not only to 
 the various errors in management and obstacles to economy already 
 mentioned, but also, in great degree, to the abandonment of charge 
 for secondary distribution, and the increasing demands of the railway 
 companies. 
 
 This subject has been more than once touched on in this narrative, 
 but, perhaps, scarcely enough has been said to make the public fully 
 aware how much the establishment of railways, so beneficial in regard 
 to celerity and exactitude, has increased the expense of conveying the 
 mails. To many the following entry will doubless be startling, to 
 som.e, perhaps, incredible : — 
 
 '"'■March 28th, 18^1. — I find on a comparison of accounts, that 
 although the payments to railway companies for 1850 exceed 
 ;^4oo,ooo, the payments for mail conveyance by ordinary roads were 
 rather greater in 1850 than in 1838, when there was nothing paid to 
 the railways ; so that the whole expenditure in railways is an addition 
 to the former cost of carrying the mails. This is the main cause of 
 the net revenue falling below my estimate — indeed it accounts for 
 nearly the whole deficiency. The explanation is not so much the 
 increased weight and frequency of mails (for off the railway such in- 
 crease is not great) as the increased celerity of all our movements, 
 the greater expense of conveyance on the bye-roads caused by the 
 railways having absorbed their traffic, and the greater number of 
 branch night mails, owing to the great extension of the limits of the 
 night- work caused by the use of railways." 
 
 INCIDENTS. 
 
 Afail Robbery. 
 
 "/a?iiiary 2nd^ 184^. — Last night a serious robbery, chiefly of 
 registered letters, one of which contained, it is said, ;^4,ooo, took 
 place between Bridgewater and Bristol, in the up mail." 
 
 ^^Ja?iiiary jrd. — The thieves (two) are taken ; one is a discharged 
 railway guard. They had the impudence to rob the down mail 
 also the same night, and the Post Office guard having heard of the 
 previous robbery, kept a good look-out. The property stolen from 
 the down mail, including a packet of diamonds, is recovered — not 
 that stolen from the up mail. There is an interval of about two hours 
 between the two mails at Bristol, which the thieves probably em- 
 ployed in secreting the property first stolen. The newspapers are 
 full of the particulars." 
 
190 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849-51 
 
 Theft at Caennarthefi. 
 
 ^'■February 2Jid, 184^. — Went upstairs to Mr. Ramsey's room to see 
 the articles which have been stolen by the daughter of the Caer- 
 marthen postmaster. There is jewellery and haberdashery enough 
 to stock a small shop, and j[^(^^ in money. The woman has kept the 
 letters (200 or 300) from which the articles were taken, so that many 
 can be restored. It seems that she has indulged her thieving pro- 
 pensities for seven years." 
 
 It appeared afterwards that her object had been to amass such a 
 dowry as would give her good matrimonial prospects. 
 
 Anonyj?ious Contribution. 
 
 ^'-Jaiiuary 2^rd, 184^. — Received an anonymous letter (post- 
 marked Birmingham) containing loi". in postage stamps 'Towards 
 penny-postage memorial from a man to (sic) poor at the time to 
 subscribe.' " 
 
 A Striking Result. 
 
 The following shows one of the extraordinary results of cheap 
 postage : — 
 
 '"'■June 14th, i84g. — Last week's returns show that 3,100,000 letters 
 [an unprecedented number] passed through the London office (general 
 and district) in that period. On asking Bokenham for an explanation, 
 he states that Hatchard, the publisher in Piccadilly, and a city house 
 connected with him in the publication of a valuable Bible, are 
 sending out 300,000 prospectuses of their Bible ; they are all in 
 penny envelopes; the postage would exceed ;3^i,2oo." 
 
 Improved condition of Officials. 
 
 I received the following striking indications as to the amount of 
 relief afforded within the last eleven years to Post Office officials : — 
 
 " Septe77iber loth^ 184^. — Having occasion to refer to some papers 
 connected with the Liverpool office of the year 1838, I find it stated 
 that, after a proposed increase of force, the clerks would be engaged 
 from ten to twelve hours a day, besides occasional night-work ; also 
 that none of the letter-carriers would walk less than twenty miles a 
 day, Sundays included. Such a state of things would now be viewed 
 as monstrous." 
 
 Source of Dishonesty. 
 
 It has often been alleged that dishonesty in Post Office serv'ants 
 arises from insufficiency in their salaries. A better explanation would 
 
1849-51] SOURCES OF DISHONESTY. I9I 
 
 be found in the fact that under a system of patronage * men are too 
 often admitted into the service without sufficient inquiry as to 
 character, and are retained there after their conduct has furnished 
 such ground for suspicion as would lead to their being discarded 
 from any well-conducted private establishment. And here it should 
 be pointed out that the evils inherent in the system are often greatly 
 aggravated by injudicious interference from the public, who regard 
 such dismissals as a punishment which ought not to be inflicted with- 
 out formal proof of some positive offence. 
 
 " February nth, 18^0. — Some months ago I caused , an 
 
 Inland Office clerk, employed at the Charing Cross office in money- 
 order business as extra clerk, to be removed therefrom under circum- 
 stances which raised a strong suspicion against his honesty. As 
 there was no absolute proof of fraud, the proceeding was viewed as a 
 harsh one, and the man was still continued as an Inland Office 
 clerk, and very imprudently employed in the registration duties. He 
 has now been detected in stealing five or six remittances from the 
 deputy post-masters, amounting iji all to about ;3^20o." 
 
 A Worthy Frojnotton. 
 
 I had the misfortune in this period to lose one of my best officers ; 
 but happily my loss was his gain. 
 
 '■'■£)ece7?iber jist, 18 jO. — To-morrow Godby succeeds to the vacant 
 appointment of chief clerk in Colonel Maberly's office. I shall be 
 sorry to lose him from the Money Order Department, but it would 
 have been the height of injustice to oppose his promotion." 
 
 My SorCs Appointffient. 
 
 This year (1850) my only son was nominated by the Postmaster- 
 General to a junior clerkship in the Secretary's Department. 
 
 ^^ Household Words ^^ and ^^ Quarterly Review. ^^ 
 
 There appeared in the course of the next year (185 1), two interesting 
 articles on postal proceedings. The first a lively description from the 
 
 "April 27th, 1842. — The proceedings in an election committee to try the 
 validity of the last return for Lichfield have brought to light a gross abuse of Post 
 Office patronage in that city. One of the many clerks who have been appointed to 
 secure votes is now in Newgate on a charge of Post Office robbery. These, and 
 similar proceedings, account for the eagerness of the late Postmaster-General to 
 create places, and for much of the inefficiency and dishonesty among the clerks." 
 — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
ig2 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1849-51 
 
 pen of Mr. Charles Dickens, published in the first number of 
 *' Household Words;" the second a much longer and more elaborate 
 treatise, though scarcely less amusing, from the pen of Sir Francis 
 Head, published in the " Quarterly Review ; " an ample amends for 
 the attack in the same publication ten years before. With both 
 gentlemen I had pleasing intercourse on the occasion, particularly so 
 with the latter, who, requiring more extensive information, and taking 
 great pains to get a correct notion of the leading principles of the 
 whole system, necessarily passed more time in my company. His 
 conversation I found as amusing as his writings. 
 
 I may add that his article deals ably with the question of Sunday 
 labour, and very clearly sets forth the mechanism of the office. It 
 will be found in No. 1 7 7 of the " Review," or in Sir Francis Head's 
 " Descriptive Essays," Vol. 11., p. 286. 
 
1851] THE RAILWAY DEPARTMENT. 1 93 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 EFFORTS FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENT IN 
 POSITION. (1S5I-2.) 
 
 The extent to which railway affairs had come into 
 my hands, combined with the necessity, under exist- 
 ing arrangements, for my acting through the medium 
 of others not subordinate to me, and prone to interfere 
 with my proceedings, led me to urge upon the Post- 
 master-General the importance of formally transferring 
 the secretarial management of the railway department 
 to myself. This was the more necessary, because the 
 circular of December, 1847 — never yet recalled or 
 superseded — made it the duty of the surveyors and 
 others to disregard any instructions I might give in 
 railway matters ; so that I had been reluctantly com- 
 pelled to ask ;Mr. Tilley [the assistant-secretary] to 
 sign letters for me. My Journal (June 26th, 1S51) 
 thus continues : — 
 
 " The Postmaster-General still hesitates — says he will consult the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer to-morrow, Szc, and meanwhile advises 
 me to sign instructions in disregard of the circular." 
 
 This promise, though not forgotten, produced no 
 effect for several months. Meanwhile my health 
 again began to suffer. The assistance lately granted 
 me, valuable as it was, not onlv fell far short of mv 
 requirements, but also came too late for full benefit. 
 
 VOL. II. o 
 
194 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851 
 
 My friends were still moving in my behalf, as appears 
 by the following letter from Mr. Cobden : — 
 
 "Midhurst, Sussex, 
 
 *' 14th September, 1851. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — Having learnt your address from your brother, 
 I write merely to say that, although I did not forget to fulfil my 
 promise, yet the conversation I had with the Chancellor (which I 
 took care was a casual one) ended in leaving matters where they 
 were. He spoke, as usual, in terms of high regard for yourself, and 
 is, I believe, sincerely desirous of promoting the object I had in view 
 in speaking to him. But the difficulty in the way of the arrangement 
 
 is the same now as before. ' M is not an old man ; he cannot 
 
 with decency be shelved ; and at present there is nothing good 
 enough in point of salary to which he could be transferred so as to 
 create a vacancy in his post,' &c. I confess I don't see why this 
 should not be treated as an exceptional case, and believe that a very 
 good defence might be made of such an arrangement as was spoken 
 of; but I gathered from the Chancellor that he was not disposed to 
 take upon himself the responsibility of such a proceeding. And so 
 the matter must remain for the present. We will talk the subject 
 over again when we meet. ... 
 
 " Hoping you are finding health in the sea-breezes, 
 
 " I remain, 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 *'R. Cobden." 
 
 Soon afterwards, at the request of the Postmaster- 
 General, I visited, in company with my son, the more 
 important towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 
 where I discussed with Mr. Godby, the surveyor, 
 numerous demands for postal improvement lately 
 received from that important district. At Leeds, 
 Halifax, Bradford, and Huddersfield I received 
 deputations. The result of my proceedings is thus 
 recorded : — 
 
 " Novejnher igth. — Succeeded in every instance in satisfying the 
 parties that we were desirous of doing all that was practicable — that 
 some of their demands were unreasonable, or of doubtful practi- 
 
r85i] THE TWO SECRETARIES. 195 
 
 cability, and others dependent on the expense as compared with the 
 correspondence to be benefited. I was exceedingly well received, 
 thanked for the trouble I had taken, and complimented on the 
 benefits I had conferred on the nation. I am very well satisfied 
 with the visit, though it will cause me some months of hard work." 
 
 Meanwhile, a little incident occurred which may 
 perhaps be worth mentioning. A gentleman who was 
 writing an account of the Post Office having written 
 to Colonel Maberly to inquire as to the difference 
 between the duties of the ''secretary to the Post 
 Office and those of the' secretary to the Postmaster- 
 General ;" and Colonel Maberly having politely 
 referred the querist to me, I wrote a brief note, the 
 substantial part of which ran as follows : — 
 
 " There is no essential difference between the two offices, and the 
 term 'secretary to the Postmaster-General' is in strictness the official 
 designation of both. The two secretaries are in the same relative 
 position to the Postmaster-General, who assigns to them their 
 respective duties." 
 
 Colonel Maberly, though not quite agreeing in the 
 terms of my note, did not object to its despatch, 
 which was accordingly made ; but the querist having 
 objected to the brevity of my reply, I referred the 
 matter to the Postmaster-General, who settled the 
 point by pronouncing my note ''a devilish good 
 
 answer." 
 
 I perceived about this time various indications of 
 an improved feeling towards me in the office. My 
 complete success in the trying struggle relative to 
 Sunday observance, and in some other important 
 matters to be spoken of hereafter, combined with 
 the confidence now constantly reposed in me by the 
 Postmaster-General, and at the Treasury, seemed to 
 have convinced opponents that further contest was 
 
 o 2 
 
196 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [185 1-2 
 
 unprofitable, and that it would be better frankly to 
 enjoy the comfort of harmonious action. 
 
 " December 26th. — The entries in my Journal have of late been 
 comparatively few. This is not because there is less to be done, but 
 partly because, since the appointment of Frederic, less has fallen to 
 my share, and partly (indeed chiefly) because there is now much less 
 opposition to my measures than heretofore. . . . The improve- 
 ment in this respect is so great that, but for the apprehension that 
 in the event of a new Postmaster-General being appointed the 
 opposition would revive, I should scarcely desire a change in my 
 position." 
 
 Ground of anxiety, however, soon reappeared ; 
 strong representations being made to me as to bad 
 appointments in the secretaries' office, the advance- 
 ment of unfit men, and grievous inconvenience thence 
 arising ; a pressing reason for change which had not 
 occurred to me. Accordingly, about a fortnight later, 
 I again spoke on the subject to the Postmaster- 
 General,''' who, admitting that the administration 
 was in a very precarious state, promised to speak 
 immediately to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 which he accordingly did, but with little success, 
 the old difficulties being still dwelt on, though the 
 Postmaster-General now informed me that Colonel 
 Maberly was willing to accept ;^ 1,500 a year as a 
 retiring pension. I pointed out to him, moreover, 
 that the restoration of the old gross revenue, which 
 seemed now to be an established fact, was an epoch 
 in the progress of my plan w^hich afforded opportunity 
 for decided action. In this view he concurred. 
 
 A few days later the Postmaster-General spoke a 
 
 * " January Sth, 1852. — I told him plainly that the Government has not kept 
 faith with me — that if they meant, as now stated, that I should succeed Maberly 
 merely in the event of a vacancy arising in the ordinary manner, they ought 
 clearly to have stated as much, and not held out expectations of a different kind." 
 — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
1S52] FIVE YEARS' DELAY. 1 97 
 
 second time to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but 
 again with little result, save that he induced him to 
 consent to my applying for support to my friends 
 in Parliament. With this view, I obtained several 
 copies of the correspondence already mentioned, and 
 appended a memorandum, in which I pointed out that 
 another year had passed away, the fifth since those 
 expectations had been held out to me which still 
 remained to be fulfilled. I again referred to enforced 
 delay in improvement ; to insufficiency in the net 
 revenue, owning to my inability, circumstanced as I 
 w^as, to give full effect to the economical arrangements 
 which I had always contemplated ; to the comparative 
 insignificance of the expense implied in granting to 
 Colonel Maberly any retiring allowance that could be 
 thought of, and to means by which even such small 
 sacrifice could be directly compensated. 
 
 Lastly, referring to the actual position of Ministers, 
 to the expectations held out to me, to the acknowledged 
 fulfilment on my part of the only condition on w^hich 
 they were made to depend, and, above all, to the 
 extent to which the public service was suffering, I 
 pressed on Government to adopt at once the only 
 means by which it could with certainty fulfil its 
 engagement, viz., to allow Colonel Maberly to retire 
 on a sufficient pension. While I admitted that such 
 a step would be a departure from an excellent rule, 
 I pointed out that mine was an exceptional case, and 
 must have been so viewed by Government at the time 
 when it raised the expectations in question. 
 
 '•'' January jist. — Called on Cobden. Read to him the memo- 
 randum, and left a copy of the correspondence for his perusal. He 
 enters warmly into the business, will again speak to the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, says he ought not to hesitate ; advises that I 
 should apply to those only who, like himself, are pledged to the 
 
198 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1852 
 
 success of penny postage, either as members of the Committees 
 of 1838 and 1843, or as witnesses. I think he is right; at all 
 events, this will be the safe side. Cobden, to my surprise, said that 
 I ought not to give up any part of my salary — that ;^2ooo a year 
 was not too much, adding that I ought to be Postmaster-General, 
 and would have been such in any less aristocratic country than 
 ours. Wrote to Moffatt, who is at Ventnor, inclosing a copy, and 
 gave a third to Thornley. Hume, Warburton, and Currie are out of 
 town." 
 
 A few days later, however, I saw nearly all these 
 gentlemen, as also Mr. Milner Gibson. Mr. Hume 
 spoke of difficulties, Mr. Thornley had already spoken 
 to the Chancellor of the Exchequer without effect, 
 Mr. Warburton, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Moffatt were as 
 usual very much in earnest, all undertaking to see 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mr. Warburton 
 volunteering to go also to Lord John Russell whenever 
 I might think this expedient. 
 
 " February nth. — Bro^\^l reports that the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer is angry, complaining that be has had no less than 
 four applications about me within the last two or three days, and 
 that he can do no more. Received from Cobden the following 
 letter : — 
 
 *' * 103, Westbourne Terrace, 
 
 ** ' loth February, 1852. 
 
 " ' My dear Sir, — Hume and I spoke to the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer. There is a difficulty which he threw in our way (upon 
 high authority) which you do not seem to have seen. Has Hume 
 explained it to you ? If not, give me a meeting for a minute either 
 here or at the House. These matters are better talked about than 
 written about. 
 
 " ' Yours truly, 
 
 '"R. COBDEX. 
 ♦"R. Hill, Esq.'" 
 
 The next day, on seeing Mr. Cobden, I learnt that 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer had pronounced my 
 
1S52] MR. COBDEN I99 
 
 suggestion impracticable. He alleged that two secre- 
 taries were necessary, and that consequently any 
 retiring allowance to Colonel Maberly must be an 
 additional charge on the revenue, an addition w^hich 
 Mr. Hume was not prepared to defend, though Mr. 
 Cobden was. Mr. Hume subsequently confirmed this 
 statement of his views, and while assuring me that 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke very highly 
 of me, and promised promotion at the first oppor- 
 tunity, he himself was of opinion that nothing could 
 be done at present, and so counselled patience. He 
 forgot that such advice to a man tottering and almost 
 sinking under his load is much more easily given than 
 received. 
 
 The mysterious alhtsion in Mr. Cobden s letter was 
 never fully explained to me. 
 
 As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, In the late 
 conference, had assigned as a reason for Colonel 
 Maberly's retention that the foreign negotiations 
 w^ere under his charge, I no sooner arrived at the 
 office than I called upon the head clerk of that 
 department for a specific statement on the subject, 
 when it appeared that of all the negotiations then 
 In hand, eleven In number, every one, without ex- 
 ception, was under mine. 
 
 " February ijth. — Without committing Cobden, I put the 
 question plainly to the Postmaster-General, as to whether he was 
 still of opinion that, in the event of Colonel Maberly's retirement, 
 I should be able to manage the department without other aid than 
 that of the two assistant-secretaries. He answered emphatically in 
 the affirmative, and on my adding that there was an impression 
 on the minds of some of my friends that the appointment of 
 another secretary would be necessary, he authorised me to state 
 the contrary in his name, and volunteered to speak to the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer on the subject, under the impression that my 
 friends must have been misled by some mistake on his part." 
 
200 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1852 
 
 After reporting all this to Mr. Cobden, I called, 
 by his advice, on Mr. Moffatt, who was about to 
 speak to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 
 subject. Of course I put him in possession of all the 
 facts. 
 
 " February i^th. — Met Moffatt at the Reform Club. He says the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer refused to hear him — that he com- 
 plains bitterly of my 'unfairness' in setting the Members upon 
 him, and says that if my friends are not satisfied, they ought to 
 meet and appoint a deputation, with which he will, once for all, go 
 fully into the matter, but that he will not see any more individual 
 Members. Moffatt thinks the result of his interview unfavourable, 
 but I do not. I have all along desired to have a meeting of 
 Members, but was afraid that it might look too much like. direct 
 agitation." 
 
 " February i6th. — Saw Cobden, and reported proceedings. We 
 are to do nothing for a few days, in order to allow time for the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer to cool." 
 
 " February lyih. — Moffatt tells me that last night he had a con- 
 versation with the Postmaster-General, in which the latter stated 
 that if Colonel Maberly retired the appointment of another secretary 
 would be unnecessary." 
 
 ^^ February i8th. — The Postmaster-General told me of his con- 
 versation with Moffatt, adding that he has expressed a similar opinion 
 to the Chancellor of the Exchequer." 
 
 ^^ February igih. — Reported proceedings to Warburton; he will 
 attend the meeting of Members." 
 
 '•'• February 21st. — Called on Cobden to advise that the meeting of 
 Members should now be held, when I learned to my surprise (not 
 having seen the morning papers) that Ministers resigned last night 
 in consequence of a defeat on the Militia Bill. He considers the 
 resignation real. I certainly have been very ill-used." 
 
 ''^February 2jrd. — The Postmaster-General confirms Cobden's im- 
 pressions. Lord Derby has undertaken to form an administration, 
 and Lord Clanricarde retains office only till his successor is 
 appointed." 
 
 I fear the deep mortification I underwent at this 
 sudden frustration of my hopes when I thought 
 fulfilment so near at hand caused me to regard the 
 
1852] RESIGNATION OF THE MINISTRY. 201 
 
 important change which was taking place much more 
 from a private than a pubHc point of view. My 
 excuse may perhaps be found in the recollection of 
 the struggle that I had for so many years sustained, 
 in the fact of my worn health of both body and 
 mind, and in the non-fulfilment of the promise 
 originally made me, a delay by which the term of 
 six months had already been extended to five years, 
 and, as now appeared, till those who had given the 
 pledge had lost the power to redeem it. On those 
 who were now to become my official superiors I 
 could have but little claim, and my expectation from 
 them was even less. 
 
 It still remained to do what was possible for 
 diminishing the evil of the change, and, as my 
 readers will readily believe, I had full reliance on 
 the friendliness of Lord Clanricarde. I therefore 
 drew up a minute proposing that the restrictive regu- 
 lations laid down on my entering office should be 
 rescinded, and that the practice which had superseded 
 them should be formally approved. To this minute 
 I obtained Lord Clanricarde's sanction. Colonel 
 Maberly, as his lordship soon afterwards informed 
 me, sent in a counter-minute, but without effect. 
 Lord Clanricarde's reply to this was admirable. 
 While, of course, leaving matters with his successor, 
 he gave it as his own opinion that a practice which 
 has gradually grown up is more likely to work well 
 than any rule that can be prescribed. 
 
 A further step on my part is thus recorded : — 
 
 " February 2';th. — At Lord Clanricarde's request I have pre- 
 pared a statement of the principal improvements -which I and 
 Frederic have effected, and of those in hand, as also a statement 
 of the savings which we have effected. The improvements now 
 in hand are no less than thirty in number, even counting each 
 
202 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1852 
 
 class, as for instance the eleven foreign negotiations, as one ; the 
 
 savings, omitting sums under jQio^ and disregarding the numerous 
 
 applications for increased salaries, &c., which have been prevented, 
 amount to nearly ;£'6o,ooo a year." 
 
 This is exclusive of the large savings I effected 
 whilst at the Treasury. 
 
1852] LORD HARDWICKE. 203 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 LORD HARDWICKE. 
 
 ^^ February 28th, 18^2. — Read Lord Derby's speech last night in 
 the House of Lords. He talks of giving much attention to social 
 improvements. I wish I could see reason to hope that he would go 
 earnestly to work at the Post Office. He might, if he would, obtain 
 a reputation for his administration in that department at least." 
 
 '•''March 2tid. — Lord Hardwicke, the new Postmaster-General 
 (whose patent, however, is not yet completed), came to the office 
 with Lord Clanricarde. It was understood that they would go 
 through the office together; but I afterwards found that Lord 
 Hardwicke preferred waiting till his patent was made out, so none 
 of us saw him. Lord Clanricarde tells me that, on his explaining 
 to Lord Hardwicke my position in the office, and the opposition 
 between Maberly and myself. Lord Hardwicke said the opposition 
 was a good thing, as it would secure his hearing both sides of the 
 question." 
 
 ''''March 8th. — Lord Hardwicke entered on his duties to-day. 
 Maberly was with him the greater part of the time he spent at the 
 office. Before leaving, he sent a message to say that he would * have 
 the pleasure of making my acquaintance' early next morning." 
 
 '"''March gth. — Lord Hardwicke received me in a very friendly 
 manner, spoke in high terms of penny postage, said that he under- 
 stood that all the improvements were introduced by myself, and 
 expressed his intention to extend improvement still further, especially 
 mentioning the complete abolition of money prepayment. He told 
 me that Maberly had spoken to him on the importance of a division 
 of our duties, but Lord Hardwicke said he should take no steps in 
 the matter until he was more familiar with the subject, and that in 
 the mean time he wished everything to proceed as before ; adding 
 that it would be very gratifying to him if he could be the means of 
 establishing cordiality between Maberly and myself" 
 
 ''''March loth. — Tilley came from Maberly with overtures of peace 
 and amity. He says that ivLaberly is quite unhappy in consequence 
 
204 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1852 
 
 of the recent measures, and requested him (Tilley) to ask me if I 
 had any objection to propose a division of duties. I replied that I 
 should willingly consider the subject, and discuss it with Tilley or 
 with Colonel Maberly himself, if the latter preferred my so doing, 
 and expressed a general desire to meet his wishes as far as possible." 
 
 Shortly afterwards I transacted business for the first 
 time, save on a trifling matter, with my new official 
 superior, who had informed me that he should attend 
 the office daily and work hard. My first experience 
 was, as will be seen, of a mixed character. It must 
 be borne In mind that Lord Hardwicke had been ac- 
 customed to the strict discipline of a man-of-war : — 
 
 ^^ March ijth. — Laid several important minutes before the Post- 
 master-General. He expressed his concurrence in all, and earnest 
 approval of some ; but, instead of signing them and returning them 
 to me, as Lord Clanricarde would have done, he said he should keep 
 them, and send them, when signed, with other papers, to Colonel 
 Maberly, in order that they might be properly entered ; and on my 
 explaining that I always sent the minutes to be entered, after which 
 they went to Colonel Maberly, the Postmaster-General intimated, in 
 rather a peremptory manner, that he must do his own business in his 
 own way." 
 
 " March i8th. — Gave Lord Hardwicke a statement of my duties 
 and responsibilities, he having called upon the chief officers to do 
 the like." 
 
 The minute examination which is, doubtless, indis- 
 pensable on board a man-of-war, w^as less profitable in 
 the Post Ofifice : — 
 
 ''''March 20th. — We are suffering much inconvenience from the 
 manner in which Lord Hardwicke delays his decision on the 
 minutes: those left with him on the 13th instant are not yet 
 returned. He appears to be making the mistake of attempting 
 too much. He is calling for all sorts of returns, some on unim- 
 portant matters, e.g.^ the number of fires lighted daily in the office, 
 and seems unwiUing to rely sufficiently on the recommendations of 
 his advisers." 
 
1852] TWO KINGS IX BRENTFORD. 205 
 
 ^^ March 2jrd. — In discussing the proposed reduction in the 
 Colonial postage, the Postmaster-General was very complimentary 
 as :o the accuracy of my financial predictions as regards former 
 measures." 
 
 ^^ March 26th. — The Postmaster-General, instead of simply ap- 
 proving our minutes, is apt to add instructions which render the 
 whole impracticable. I find, however, a readiness on his part to 
 alter his minutes on their impracticability being pointed out." 
 
 ]\Ieantime, old sources of trouble beginning to re- 
 open,^ a conversation ensued between Lord Hard- 
 wicke and myself relative to the division of duties. 
 He again expressed a desire to place matters on 
 a more satisfactory footing, but appeared to have a 
 notion that Colonel IMaberly's authority must be in 
 some degree superior to mine. *' There cannot," said 
 he, '' be two kings in Brentford ; " and on my point- 
 ing out that in the Treasury and other departments 
 there were two secretaries of equal authority, he re- 
 plied, "If you are to be joint secretaries, I'll make you 
 shake hands and sit in the same room." How far 
 harmony would have been improved by compulsory 
 association I am not able to determxine, as the experi- 
 ment was never tried. The conversation continued as 
 follows : — 
 
 " He again spoke in strong terms of the value of my services, and 
 
 * "April 3rd, 1852. — In a minute of Maberly's on the custody of the Post 
 Office the following sentence occurs : — * That every officer (including the house- 
 keeper, &c.) wathin the building, except the Postmaster-General, the Secretar}^, 
 Assistant- Secretary, and Chief Clerk, shall be considered as under the directions 
 of the clerk-in-waiting for the time being, whilst the Chief Clerk is not on duty 
 in the Office, and they shall take their instructions from that officer alone, in case 
 of any emergency or accident.' 
 
 "The effect of this would, of course, be to place myself and Frederic 
 under the direction of the ' clerk-in- waiting ; ' and the Postmaster-General having 
 passed it unnoticed, I have for some time been uneasy on the subject ; but on my 
 pointing out the actual position of things to the Postmaster-General, he at once 
 altered Maberly's minute, by adding an s in each case to the word ' secretary ' (in 
 accordance with his peculiar orthography)." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
206 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1852 
 
 proceeded in so open and unreserved a manner that I thought it 
 best to tell him of the conditions under which I accepted office, and 
 of the manner in which the late Government had from time to time 
 postponed the fulfilment of its engagements. My statement pro- 
 duced an evident effect on Lord Hardwicke. He said he was very 
 glad I had communicated these facts to him ; that he should consider 
 what I had said confidential, though he should probably speak to 
 Lord Derby on the subject." 
 
 I had the more hope of his intercession in my 
 favour because I found that he was intimate w^ith 
 Mr. Warburton, of w^hom he spoke in the highest 
 possible terms. The hope, however, was soon 
 crushed : — 
 
 ^^ April ijth. — Warburton came into my room before seeing the 
 Postmaster-General [the appointment had been made by me with his 
 lordship's sanction], but, as he thought it better not to come up 
 again, I arranged to call upon him in the evening, when I found 
 that, although the Postmaster-General had spoken well of me, 
 Warburton has no hope whatever of his adopting any more 
 decided course than a division of duties between Maberly and 
 myself; so that chance is gone." 
 
 ^^ May jrd. — The Postmaster-General has sent me a minute 
 referring to my statement of the work in hand, and requesting 
 that I will not enter on any new subject without his previous 
 direction. As he was then at the office, I immediately applied to 
 him for an explanation, when I found that he had sent a similar 
 minute to Maberly, and that his object was to secure that he should 
 at all times know what was going on. He says (all in good temper) 
 that hitherto I have really been Postmaster-General, but that he 
 intends to be Postmaster-General himself; adding, however, that he 
 has no intention of obstructing improvement. His notion was that 
 it would be practicable for me to apply for the authority in question, 
 even before entering on the preliminary investigation of the subject, 
 but I satisfied him that this was impossible ; and the understanding 
 now is that I am to make the requisite application as early as 
 possible. ... In the course of. an interview a good deal of 
 plain speaking occurred in a half-joking manner. Among other 
 things, I told him that, if he obstructed improvements, I should 
 leave him." 
 
1852] COURT DRESS. 20/ 
 
 If I had had any misgiving as to the manner in 
 vvhich my plain speaking had been received, it could 
 scarcely have outlived the following : — 
 
 ^^ May 4th. — The Postmaster-General has sent Maberly and 
 myself the following, which came written on a large sheet of paper 
 like a minute : — 
 
 " ' To Celebrate the Qiieen^s Birthday. 
 
 (( ( 
 
 The Master-General of the Post Office requests the honour of 
 Colonel Maberly's and Mr. Rowland Hill's company at dinner on 
 the 13th of May, at a quarter before eight o'clock. 
 
 "'Full (^ress.'"* 
 
 It was curious that this act of politeness should be 
 followed immediately by an act of discipline : — 
 
 "The same hour which brought this good-natured invitation 
 brought also a demand for my latch-key of the private door of 
 the General Post Office. The Postmaster-General has given up 
 his own latch-key, and has required every one else to do the same. 
 I am not sure that this is not a necessary precaution." 
 
 Be this as it may, the safeguard was not long 
 maintained, the latch-keys being quietly redistributed 
 in the interregnum that follow^ed Lord Hardwicke's 
 retirement, and never afterwards reclaimed. 
 
 The necessity for my appearing at Lord Hard- 
 wicke's party in court dress led to a discovery, w^hich, 
 though somewhat annoying at the time, I can afford to 
 laugh at now. Calling for correspondence which had 
 taken place three or four years before with the Lord 
 Chamberlain, and which, as I understood, for I had 
 never seen the papers, regulated my official costume, 
 I found that, while Colonel Maberly was placed in the 
 
 * ** *Full dress' means, I find, that I am to play the fool in a Court dress with 
 a cocked hat and sword." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
208 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1852 
 
 third, I had been assigned to the fifth or lowest class, 
 the Secretaries for Ireland and Scotland, my acknow- 
 ledged Inferiors In position, being placed in the fourth. 
 I had no difficulty in deciding on the authorship ot 
 this arrangement, nor in conjecturing why, contrary to 
 rule, the papers had been withheld. On my calling 
 the Postmaster-General's attention to the matter, he 
 took It up warmly, expressing an opinion that I should 
 be placed In the same class wuth Colonel Maberly, 
 and directing me to prepare a minute accordingly, 
 though, as formalities had to be gone through, the 
 change could not be made in time for the dinner."^ I 
 suppose, however. Lord Hardwicke must have for- 
 gotten the matter. My own attention was soon 
 absorbed In things of more importance ; and nothing 
 was done until the matter was set right of itself on my 
 promotion to the sole secretaryship. I could not but 
 admire at the dinner the discreet arrangement made 
 by our host to prevent jealousy between Colonel 
 Maberly and me, the former being placed at one 
 end of the table, the latter at the other, while his 
 lordship sat precisely in the middle. 
 
 To return to ordinary matters. Certainly my Post 
 Office experience had never yet long run smooth, and 
 the ripple soon came : — 
 
 ^^/ufie loth. — In a minute of Saturday last, on the Prussian treaty, 
 which, I hope, is now finally settled, I mentioned, as I had done in 
 former minutes, that I had seen Chevalier Bunsen on a point of 
 difference. In confirming the minute, the Postmaster-General made 
 an exception as regards my seeing Chevalier Bunsen, adding a 
 direction that, in future, when any foreign minister came to the 
 Post Office, he, the Postmaster-General, should be informed, with a 
 
 * "I am to prepare a minute on the subject ; but as no change can be made 
 without the consent of the Queen, there is no chance of setting the matter right 
 before the dinner. It is altogether a foolish business, but it would be unwise to 
 let matters continue as they are." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
1852] WHO TO BE SUBORDINATE? 209 
 
 view, as afterwards explained, of seeing the minister himself. Even 
 if necessary — which it was not — neither the time, just as I had 
 satisfactorily concluded a very difficult treaty, nor the manner, was 
 well chosen. To-day, on inquiring how the Postmaster-General 
 wished me to proceed when he was absent from the office, viz., 
 whether I should delay the business or transact it myself, and report 
 proceedings on his arrival, he expressed a desire that I should, in 
 his absence, inform the ' Chief Secretary,' meaning Colonel Maberly, 
 of the minister's visit, so as to give him the option of the interview ; 
 an instruction which was particularly absurd, seeing that the very 
 negotiation in question had been transferred to me [from Colonel 
 Maberly]. ... To this I replied that I should, of course, follow 
 the Postmaster-General's instructions as regards communicating with 
 himself, but that I must decline informing Colonel Maberly, as my 
 doing so would be equivalent to an acknowledgment of subordi- 
 nation to the latter. On this the Postmaster-General declared an 
 intention of writing a minute, making my position really subordinate 
 to Colonel Maberly's, again using his favourite expression, 'there 
 cannot be two kings in Brentford ' — that there must be a first 
 authority, a second, and a third; that to have two equal autho- 
 rities was contrary to his views of discipline, &c., &c. I acquiesced 
 in the general proposition, but reminded him of Lord Clanricarde's 
 opinion, that it was desirable Colonel Maberly should be induced to 
 retire ; adding that, during the last few years Lord Clanricarde was 
 in office, I was in effect the Chief Secretary ; and suggesting that, if 
 Colonel Maberly were retained, and it was necessary to place one 
 above the other, the proper course would be to ascertain which of us 
 was best qualified for the superior appointment, and to act accord- 
 ingly. I said also that there would be no great difficulty in deciding 
 the question of superiority, for that he would find, on referring to 
 the minutes, that Lord Clanricarde was in the habit of requiring my 
 opinion in nearly all Colonel Maberly's difficult cases ; and when, as 
 frequently happened, we advised differently, in nine instances out of 
 ten my advice was adopted, and Colonel Maberly's rejected. As all 
 this seemed to produce Uttle effect, I proposed to defer the question 
 for the present, and proceeded with the other business." 
 
 Among the minutes which I submitted to him was 
 one which, after reading it, he pronounced a "most 
 masterly statement," declaring his Intention to act in 
 accordance with its recommendation, and praising the 
 
 VOL. n. p 
 
210 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1852 
 
 minute on various grounds. My Journal thus con- 
 tinues : — 
 
 "On finding that he was so much delighted with it, I reverted 
 to our conversation as to my position. . . . This appeared 
 to take him aback , and he replied, ' Well, well, I must write 
 my minute ; * but I don't think I shall make you subordinate to 
 Colonel Maberly, though I must have a difference. I don't think 
 you'll object to what I intend ; and, if you should, I sha'n't be 
 at all offended by your appealing to the First Lord of the 
 Treasury.' " 
 
 The minute, accordingly, appeared In a very miti- 
 gated form, so that the main objection left In it was 
 to the persistent designation of Colonel Maberly as 
 Chief Secretary, a title unknown In the office, autho- 
 rized by no warrant or other document, and sure to 
 lead to further trouble. 
 
 For the present, however, I determined to let 
 matters rest, as I came to the conclusion that further 
 attempts would be useless, and very probably Injurious. 
 
 I need not say that I scanned the political horizont 
 at this time with great interest: — 
 
 ^^July 26th. — Circumstanced as I am, I have, of course, anxiously 
 
 * More than two years later I find the following entry in Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal : — 
 
 "December i6th, 1854. — Lord Hardwicke, having taken exception to a state- 
 ment by the Post Office Commission to the effect that it had been found 
 impossible to define the separate duties of Colonel Maberly and myself, moved 
 for a Return of a Minute in which he, according to his own account, had 
 accomplished such definition. I felt tempted to give the Minute literatim 
 as well as verbatim, but, recollecting that Lord Hardwicke was really a good- 
 natured man, refrained. The strength of the temptation will be seen by the 
 accompanying copy of the Return, altered so as to show his Lordship's peculiar 
 orthography." [Among other peculiarities his Lordship spelt Scxretaries^ 
 Secritarys.^ — Ed. 
 
 t "June I2th, 1852. — Some of the present Ministers are jobbing in a very 
 unprincipled manner, in order to influence the coming elections. I have had to 
 
 advise on a letter from Lord to the Postmaster-General, asking the latter 
 
 to restore the second mail between and , arranging the matter so as to 
 
 enable him to announce the restoration when he next visits for his election. 
 
1852] RESIGNATION OF THE MINISTRY. 211 
 
 watched the elections, now nearly completed. I fear the result is 
 such as to enable Ministers to retain their places for some time." 
 
 The restrictions laid upon me by the Postmaster- 
 General greatly lessened my work, and gave me a 
 relief with which I might have been well pleased, 
 could I have been satisfied as to consequences. The 
 new distribution of duties, however, was ill-judged ; 
 and, though partly corrected on my representation, 
 remained seriously obstructive to improvement. 
 
 My forebodings as to the result of the elections 
 were not confirmed : — 
 
 ''^November 2jrd. — The Postmaster-General has decided to defer 
 for the present the whole question of Colonial postage. He talked 
 openly to me of a doubt of the Ministry continuing in office." 
 
 *^ December i^th. — The Postmaster-General tells me that it is 
 very probable that the Ministry will be thrown out by the division 
 on the Budget, and spoke of the views of the Government in so 
 unreserved a manner, that I thought it right to remind him that 
 my political views and connections were those of the opposite 
 party. He said he knew that very well, but still went on to speak 
 of the views, expectations and intentions of the Cabinet." 
 
 " December lyth. — The division last night was against the 
 Ministers. Brotherton, who has just called at the office, tells 
 me that they will certainly resign to-day." 
 
 ^^ December 20th. — The Postmaster-General has appointed a hot 
 Orange partizan of the present Government (not previously in the 
 service) to succeed Creagh (recently dead) as President of the 
 Dublin Money Order Office. I know, from what he has told me, 
 that he has done this unwillingly, being, I suspect, pressed thereto 
 by the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Cornwall and I had recom- 
 mended the next in seniority, who happens to be a good man. 
 Notwithstanding this, and one or two other cases. Lord Hardwicke 
 has, on the whole, used his patronage well." 
 
 That is to say, the country is to spend £%oo or £^00 a-year to promote his 
 private interests. As Lord Hardwicke has sent the letter (a private one) to me, 
 I suppose he cannot be fully alive to the dishonesty of the proposal. I shall, of 
 course, prevent the job, if possible." — Sir R. Hill's Journal. — Ed, 
 
 P 2 
 
212 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1852 
 
 I must, In fairness, add that the gentleman whose 
 appointment seemed at the time so objectionable 
 proved a very good officer. 
 
 At this time of doubt as to who might be my new 
 official superior, and what the position I might hold 
 with him, I perused with great satisfaction an im- 
 portant document just Issued : — 
 
 ^^ December 28th. — The Report on the East Indian Post Office 
 contains, among other matters, the following testimony in favour 
 of uniformity of rate. It is curious to contrast the evidence of the 
 officials there and here on the question, especially when the greater 
 distances and inferior means of conveyance in our Indian Empire 
 are considered. 
 
 " * 34. Uniformity of postage, without reference to distance, is 
 recommended by its simplicity, by its fairness, and by the facilities 
 it gives for the introduction of other improvements into the depart- 
 ment. Combined with a low rate of charge, it forms the con- 
 spicuous and chief benefit, which the monopoly of the carriage 
 of letters enables the Government to confer upon the whole body 
 of its subjects, by almost annihilating distance, and placing it within 
 the power of every individual to communicate freely with all parts 
 of the empire. It makes the Post Office what, under any other 
 system, it can never be — the unrestricted means of diffusing know- 
 ledge, extending commerce, and promoting in every way the social 
 and intellectual improvement of the people. It is no longer an 
 experiment, having been introduced with eminent success into the 
 United Kingdom, as well as into the United States of America, 
 France, Spain, and Russia. It is advocated by every officer of 
 experience connected with the department in India, and by every 
 individual who has been consulted in the course of this inquiry, and 
 it has already been recommended by three out of the four sub- 
 ordinate Governments.' " 
 
 I may add that the recommendation of the Com- 
 mission was soon afterwards carried into effect; so 
 that, with the exception of some outlying portions, a 
 low uniform rate of postage was established over the 
 length and breadth of our vast Indian Empire. 
 
i8S2] LORD CANNING. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 LORD CANNING. ( 1 853-4.) 
 
 The doubt as to the new Postmaster-General was 
 soon satisfactorily cleared by the appointment of Lord 
 Canning. Though it was not until a fortnight later 
 that I had an opportunity of forming a direct opinion 
 of our new chief, I had heard enough to make me very 
 hopeful as to my future relations with him. Meantime, 
 I had the satisfaction to find that I had lost no ground 
 at the Treasury, Mr. Wilson, the new secretary, having 
 written to ask for my advice and opinion on the several 
 cases awaiting decision. 
 
 ^^ January 14th. — My interview with Lord Canning was satisfac- 
 tory. ... I intended to have abstained at this, my first interview, 
 from all allusions to the disagreeables of my position ; but he entered 
 himself on the subject, and, in the course of a long conversation, I 
 told him of the expectations, still unfulfilled, held out by Sir Charles 
 Wood and Lord Clanricarde ; of my successful administration of the 
 Money Order Office ; of the division of duties, which had gradually 
 grown up under Lord Clanricarde ; and of the new arrangements 
 made by Lord Hardwicke, &c. I found that ... as was 
 the case with Lord Hardwicke when he entered office, he had been 
 led to believe that I and Frederic did nothing but manage the Money 
 Order Office. At the close of an hour and a-half's conversation. 
 Lord C. expressed a desire that Lord Hardwicke's arrangements 
 should be observed till he (Lord C.) was more familiar with the 
 business of the office, when he would revise them." 
 
214 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1853 
 
 At such a time as this every confirmation of my 
 former calculations and predictions was highly accept- 
 able, and particularly welcome was a return just then 
 received, which showed that the number of letters had 
 at length attained that five-fold increase on which I 
 had originally counted, progress of late having been 
 very rapid. 
 
 I soon had the satisfaction to find that I was treated 
 with confidence, Lord Canning consulting me on various 
 matters which his predecessor had withdrawn from my 
 charge. 
 
 ^^ March 12th. — The Postmaster-General voluntarily entered on the 
 subject of my position. He intends to speak to Lord Clanricarde, 
 and probably to Sir Charles Wood, on the matter." 
 
 I saw also fresh evidence of confidence in me at the 
 Treasury : — 
 
 " April 8th. — Mr. John Wood, by direction of the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer [Mr. Gladstone], consulted me confidentially on some 
 points of the intended Budget. ... I inquired if I was at 
 liberty to name the subject to the Postmaster-General, but was told, 
 to my surprise, that I was not at liberty to do so." 
 
 Not malapropos to the present question, I discovered 
 that a serious obstacle to improvement in our treaty 
 with France had arisen from a concession heedlessly 
 made to the French Post Office about two years before, 
 increasing the undue advantages already spoken of. 
 This concession had been made, not only without my 
 knowledge, but, improbable as this may appear, without 
 authority from the Treasury. Although, however, the 
 direct loss produced by this blunder was at the rate of 
 more than ;^3,ooo a year, the old punctilious notions 
 as to ostensible economy still stood in the way of the 
 change by which alone real economy could be obtained. 
 
1853] SAVINGS EFFECTED. 21$ 
 
 the Postmaster-General Informing me that, though he 
 was ready to Hsten to any suggestions for facilitating 
 the desired change, he feared Mr. Gladstone would 
 object to the expedient of a full retiring allowance to 
 Colonel Maberly on the same grounds that Sir Charles 
 Wood had done. On the 7th of June, however, he 
 advised me to prepare a statement for his use at the 
 Treasury ; but upon my speaking of the Parliamentary 
 influence which I could bring to bear upon the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer, he deprecated its present use, 
 promising at the same time to inform the Chancellor as 
 to the fact. 
 
 One important article in the statement called for 
 related to economy. I had the pleasure to find, upon 
 examination, that the amount of saving, either actually 
 obtained or prospectively secured by my brother and 
 myself, within the last sixteen months, was nearly 
 ;^75,ooo per annum, which, added to nearly ;^6o,ooo 
 per annum previously economised since my return to 
 office, gave a total annual saving of nearly >^i 35,000, 
 effected in the face of constant opposition, amidst 
 divided authority, and with command of only a most 
 inadequate force. 
 
 ^''June 1 8th. — Sent in my letter to the Postmaster-General. . . 
 After very carefully considering the question, ... I have in- 
 timated as plainly as I could, without a risk of offence, my intention 
 not to remain at the Post Office if present arrangements are con- 
 tinued." 
 
 The following shows the substance of the letter, 
 which, however, is given at full length in the Ap- 
 pendix (H). 
 
 I gave in the outset. Lord Canning being as yet 
 new to the matter, a concise history of my proceedings 
 from the time of my dismissal in 1842, mentioning my 
 
2l6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1853 
 
 invitation to office in 1846, my stipulation as to assur- 
 ance of sufficient authority, the promises given me on 
 this point and the expectation of speedy promotion held 
 out, my own reluctance to accede to office without a 
 more material guaranty, and my concession to the 
 opinion of my friends, in particular Mr. Warburton, 
 Lord Overstone, Mr. Hawes, and Mr. Raikes Currie. 
 After observing that even Lord Clanricarde's kind- 
 ness and confidence had failed to counteract the 
 radical badness of the arrangement, I proceeded as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Looking then back upon the events of the six years during which 
 my promised promotion has been delayed, I feel bound to state that, 
 if in December, 1846, I could have foreseen what has occurred, I 
 could not have accepted the offer then made, nor do I beHeve that 
 under like circumstances my friends would have advised me to the 
 step." 
 
 After speaking of the improvements effected by my 
 brother and myself in the Money Order Department, 
 and showing that this success established the pro- 
 bability of improvement under the same management 
 in the Post Office generally, I mentioned that, owing to 
 the rapid augmentation in the number of letters, no 
 doubt was entertained in the department that in a 
 short time a most expensive outlay, probably not less 
 than half-a-milllon, would be required for a new post 
 office, a necessity which I did not doubt might, under 
 better arrangements, be averted for years, if not re- 
 moved altogether. I grounded my expectation on the 
 fact that under the management of my brother and 
 myself a similar and yet more pressing necessity had 
 been so averted in the Money Order Department. I 
 likewise pointed out that, even supposing a new 
 building to be afterwards necessary, it was important 
 that its erection should be delayed until the carrying of 
 
1853] PROMOTION OR RESIGNATION. 21/ 
 
 the railway system into the heart of the MetropoHs 
 should have shown what site and what arrangements 
 would best suit the altered state of things. I observed 
 also, that from overtures made to the department by 
 some of the projectors, I thought it highly probable 
 that whatever changes in the Post Office might be 
 rendered necessary or desirable by the new state of 
 things, they would not have to be made altogether, per- 
 haps not mainly, at the cost of Government. 
 
 After referring to the almost clamorous demand 
 for further facilities in the transmission of letters, a 
 demand which could not be effectually met without 
 energetic and cordial co-operation in the higher depart- 
 ments of the Executive, and ready obedience and 
 zealous activity in all the subordinates, I concluded as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Having written thus far, and having also carefully considered 
 every statement and every remark I have made, I feel it my duty to 
 say that, after all the deliberation required by so grave a question, 
 I have arrived at the settled conviction that the existing state of 
 things cannot continue ; and I therefore respectfully request that in 
 considering the present application such continuance may not be re- 
 garded as a possible alternative. 
 
 " I am sure your lordship will believe me incapable of dealing 
 lightly with that connection with the Post Office on which I set so 
 great and just a value : to devise and bring into operation, so far as it 
 has been effected, my system of Penny Postage, has been the 
 cherished object of the best years of my life ; interest in its progress, 
 whether I am an instrument or not in promoting it, will ever retain 
 the firmest hold on my mind, and would suffice to keep me in any 
 course but one which I feel to be inconsistent alike with my private 
 and my public duty." 
 
 ****** 
 
 The whole correspondence relative to my position 
 was submitted by Lord Canning to Mr. Gladstone, who, 
 in turn, as I was informed, consulted the Premier, Lord 
 Aberdeen. But I again encountered delay, though I 
 
2l8 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1853 
 
 was now assured that, in order to facilitate the desired 
 change, Mr. Gladstone would arrest certain economical 
 measures which had been decided on, and to which he 
 attached great importance. The vacancy in prospect 
 was that of the Chairmanship of the Audit Office 
 (spoken of long ago by Lord Clanricarde), but no exact 
 information existed as to the intentions of the incum- 
 bent, Sir William Herries. Lord Canning, however, 
 undertook to inquire. He soon afterwards informed 
 me that Sir William Herries had, some time before, pro- 
 posed to retire if Government would give him a 
 regiment ; but, upon a cavalry regiment being offered, 
 had preferred to wait for one of infantry. Upon my 
 inquiring whether I might understand that Government 
 would take the first opportunity of giving Colonel 
 Maberly another appointment. Lord Canning, after re- 
 minding me of the sacrifice already made to that end, 
 added that Mr. Gladstone had expressed an opinion to 
 the effect, that if, by so doing, he should succeed in 
 retaining my services, he should most effectually consult 
 the interests of the Government and the expectations 
 of the public. I could not but express my gratification 
 at so high a compliment. I still, however, pressed for 
 a definite answer to my question, and finally, the Post- 
 master-General promised again to consult the higher 
 authorities, and to write me an answer to my letter. 
 He added, that he should show the draft of his letter to 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and probably to Lord 
 Aberdeen. 
 
 ^^ August loth. — Received the following letter from Lord 
 
 Canning : — 
 
 ***Grosvenor Square, 
 
 ♦• 'August 9th, 1853. 
 
 "'My dear Sir, — I have laid your letter of the i8th of June 
 before Lord Aberdeen and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who 
 have given it their attentive consideration. 
 
1853] DANGEROUS STATE OF HEALTH. 219 
 
 " ' The change of your official position which is urged in it 
 depends upon matters not altogether in the control of the Govern- 
 ment ; and, although I am enabled to say that upon a fitting 
 opportunity arising it is probable that an offer would be made by 
 the Government to use Colonel Maberly's services in another 
 department, I have no knowledge whatever of Colonel Maberly's 
 wishes or intentions in regard to his own position, nor do I feel it 
 necessary at present to inquire into them. 
 
 " * I trust that you will not be disappointed if I am unable to give 
 any further or more positive reply to your request. 
 
 " ' I return the copy of the ' confidential correspondence ' which 
 I received from you, and which has since been seen by the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 " ' I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 ** ' Yours very faithfully, 
 
 " * Canning. 
 •* * Rowland Hill, Esq., 
 "*&c., &c., &c.'" 
 
 I was much disappointed ; for with every allowance 
 for official caution, the letter promised but little, and 
 seemed to imply that, even if a fit opportunity should 
 occur, there was no intention of requiring Colonel 
 Maberly to give up his present appointment. If any 
 one regards my distrust as unwarrantable, I think he 
 will find excuse in considering the numberless disap- 
 pointments I had already sustained. 
 
 ^^ August i6th. — Placed the subjoined letter in the hands of the 
 Postmaster-General. Explained verbally the danger to my health, 
 and even life, of continuing the present arrangements, described my 
 sufferings from a tendency of blood to the head, . . . and sug- 
 gested his seeing Hodgson"^ on the subject. I told him that my 
 object was to satisfy him of the real difficulties of the case, and that 
 in saying I could not go on as at present, I did not mean that I 
 would not. I think the communication will have its effect." 
 
 * The late Mr. Joseph Hodgson, sometime President of the Royal College of 
 Surgeons ; for nearly fifty years my medical adviser, and likewise my valued and 
 intimate friend. 
 
220 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1853 
 
 In this letter I repeated the request so often made 
 at an earlier period, that until the only effectual change 
 could be made I might at least have such support to 
 my authority as would arise from my being placed on 
 perfect equality in all respects with my colleague,"'" and 
 further have definitely assigned to me such depart- 
 ments of the secretarial duty as his lordship might 
 judge proper, together with a transfer to my authority 
 of the corresponding portions of the secretarial staff. 
 An alternative expedient which I suggested was that 
 I should suspend my present duties, and employ the 
 interval in personally inspecting the postal arrange- 
 ments of foreign countries, and in negotiating, under 
 his lordship's instructions, such changes as might 
 appear best calculated to facilitate our foreign postal 
 communications. 
 
 Three days later I spoke again to the Postmaster- 
 General, pointing out that, by the death of Sir F. Adam, 
 there was a vacant colonelcy. He was aware of the 
 fact, but thought he could not move in the matter. 
 In this posture of affairs, having first arranged with 
 Mr. Hodgson for a letter to the Postmaster-General, 
 which the latter had expressed his willingness to 
 receive, I left town for a holiday, and passed a 
 month in Scotland. 
 
 " October ijih. — The Postmaster-General came to the office for 
 
 * "As this arrangement involves an immediate addition of /"500 a-year to my 
 salary, I may, perhaps, be allowed to remind your Lordship that emolument, 
 simply as such, is not, and, indeed, never has been, my object ; but I have had 
 bitter experience of the truth of the remarks lately made in Parliament by Lord 
 Palmerston to the effect that every man's salary is really taken as the index of his 
 position and authority. 
 
 "As, however, the necessity for such stamp of my official rank will be greatly 
 diminished whenever I become sole Secretary, I shall then readily submit to a 
 modification in the scale of remuneration attached to the office, should your 
 Lordship and the Treasury see fit to make any such change." — Mr. Rowland liill 
 to Lord Canning. August i6th, 1853. — Ed. 
 
1853] COMMISSION FOR REVISING SALARIES. 221 
 
 the first time since his holiday and mine commenced. . , . He 
 entered on the subject of my letter of the i6th August. He told 
 me that he had received Mr. Hodgson's letter ; that immediately on 
 his return to town he saw the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 
 subject, and had, with some reluctance, called also on the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief (here he noted the fact, of which I was aware, that 
 three vacant colonelcies had arisen) ; that he was. not at liberty to 
 state what had passed at the interview, but that it had satisfied him 
 of the high probability that, in a few months, if not weeks, Govern- 
 ment would be able to offer Colonel Maberly the appointment of 
 Chairman of the Board of Audit ; and that though he must be 
 understood as not pledging himself that such would be the case, and 
 still less that Colonel M. would accept the offer if made, he had 
 made up his mind to advise me to wait. Incidentally, he named 
 Christmas as the probable maximum time. He added that he 
 thought there would be great difificulty in adopting either of the 
 temporary expedients suggested in my letter of the i6th August, 
 more especially the first, and that he hoped to obviate the necessity 
 altogether. After urging the unfairness of making my position con- 
 tingent on Colonel M.'s decision, and suggesting the immediate 
 adoption of the first alternative in my letter, which, while perfectly 
 fair, would probably make Colonel M. the more ready to accept the 
 offer, I inquired whether, in the event of his refusing, the Post- 
 master-General would be prepared then to adopt such alternative ; 
 to which he replied that he certainly should ; but that he had reason 
 to believe that the offer would not be refused, accompanied, as it 
 would be, with such addition to the salary attached to the office as 
 may be required to make up the amount Colonel M. now receives. 
 In conclusion, I thanked the Postmaster-General, and promised 
 carefully to consider his advice." 
 
 The period of suspense which followed the above 
 communication was agreeably broken by the visit of 
 the Treasury Commission, which came to inquire into 
 Post Office salaries, &c. The Commissioners were 
 Lord Elcho, Sir Stafford Northcote, Sir Charles 
 Trevelyan, and Mr. Hoffay. My Journal thus de- 
 scribes the mode of my examination : — 
 
 *' December 2nd. — The Commissioners concluded my evidence. 
 . . . Matters are conducted in a very pleasant, though discursive- 
 
222 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1854 
 
 manner. As regards myself, it has been rather a conversation or 
 discussion (as though I were a member of the Commission) than an 
 examination." 
 
 Of the results of the investigation I shall speak 
 under the head " Salaries." 
 
 The opening of the year 1854 still found me in the 
 same position, though, certainly, with a better defined 
 prospect than ever before. I had now, however, 
 completed the seventh year of my service at the Post 
 Office, and, perhaps, I may be excused if, in comparing 
 fulfilment with expectations held out, I thought seven 
 years a rather free interpretation of six months. Still, 
 being convinced that the Postmaster-General was as 
 earnest in my favour as even Lord Clanricarde had 
 been, and also that the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 and even the Premier were sincerely desirous of 
 speedily effecting the proposed change, I could afford 
 to wait a little, though my health would not admit of 
 a long delay. Fortunately, encouraging information 
 soon came. 
 
 '•'' January 6fh, 18^4. — The Postmaster-General entered on the 
 subject of my position at the Post Office. Showed me a letter from 
 Lord Hardinge, to which he, no doubt, referred on the 13th of 
 October ; it is dated in August. Lord H. states that, at the usual 
 rate of mortality among colonels, Sir William Herries' turn would 
 occur before the end of January." 
 
 '■^January i6th. — Dined at Lord Canning's; a pleasant small 
 party. I sat next to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with whom I 
 had much agreeable conversation." 
 
 I remember that I returned home with the im- 
 pression that I had been all the time upon my trial 
 (in a most friendly spirit, however), first, before the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, and afterwards, though 
 the notion may seem ridiculous, before Lady Canning, 
 
1854] MORTALITY AMONG COLONELS. 223 
 
 my host having very perceptibly led me into con- 
 versation with this highly-accomplished lady, and she 
 having, with no little tact and much kindness, drawn 
 me out. I was so far satisfied, however, with the 
 interview that, had I but been in even my former 
 health, the remaining interval of expectation would 
 have seemed short. 
 
 '•''February 2^ih. — Went to Brighton for a little rest. The harass 
 and hard work, so much increased of late by railway irregularities 
 and by the apparently never-ending delay as to my position in the 
 office, have made me seriously unwell." 
 
 Matters, however, were now steadily advancing 
 towards a conclusion : — • 
 
 ^^ March 2nd. — Had some further talk with the Postmaster-General 
 on the subject of my position. The recent death of Colonel Hay 
 caused him again to see Lord Hardinge. The next vacancy is to be 
 offered to Sir William Herries." 
 
 It must be admitted that waiting for dead men's 
 shoes has but little tendency to promote kindly sym- 
 pathy, and I fear my family, in consulting the military 
 obituary about this time were not so much impressed 
 as could be wished with the loss sustained by the 
 country in the death of its veterans. The desired 
 information, however, did not come in the expected 
 form. 
 
 ''^ April 8th. — Somewhat startled with the announcement in the 
 newspapers that Sir William Herries had resigned his appointment 
 as Chairman of the Audit Office. But the Postmaster-General tells 
 me that this is a necessary preliminary to his being nominated to a 
 colonelcy now vacant ; that he (the Postmaster-General) has seen 
 Lord Aberdeen respecting Sir William Herries' successor, and that 
 •allis right.'" 
 
224 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1854 
 
 A week later I was again taken by surprise, not 
 unmingled with alarm : — 
 
 ^^ April i^th. — Yesterday the Daily News announced that Mr. 
 Edward Romilly had been appointed to succeed Sir William 
 Herries. This I concluded was a mistake ; but this morning a 
 similar announcement appearing in the Morning Chronicle^ I sent a 
 note of inquiry to the Postmaster-General, and received by return of 
 messenger a note as follows : — ' Dear Mr. Hill, — The announcement 
 in the Chronicle is true, but the fact in nowise affects any arrange- 
 ments respecting yourself Yours, very faithfully, Canning.' Later 
 in the day the Postmaster-General came to the office and explained 
 that the Government was unwilling to place a new man at the head 
 of the office ; they had, therefore, promoted Mr. Romilly, one of the 
 previous Commissioners, and that Colonel Maberly was to take 
 Mr. R.'s place ; that he had consented so to do, and that the whole 
 thing was settled. . . The Postmaster-General added that the 
 
 whole scheme was near being knocked on the head a few days ago 
 by the breaking-up of the Ministry on the question of postponing 
 the Reform Bill ; for twelve hours they had in effect resigned." 
 
 Notwithstanding the announcement that "' the whole 
 thing was settled," it may well be supposed that, after 
 receiving the last part of Lord Canning's communica- 
 tion, I retained some little suppressed anxiety until the 
 necessary forms should be completed ; for this, how- 
 ever, ten days sufficed. 
 
 '■''April 2^th. — The following letter was this morning received 
 
 from the Treasury: — 
 
 ''Treasury Chambers, 24th April, 1854. 
 
 "My Lord, — I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of Her 
 Majesty's Treasury to transmit for your information and guidance a 
 copy of their Lordships' minute of the 21st instant, appointing 
 Lieut.- Colonel Maberly to a seat at the Board of Audit, and con- 
 solidating the appointments of Secretary to the General Post Office 
 and Secretary to the Postmaster-General in the person of ]Mr. 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 **I am, &c., 
 
 "C. E. Trevelyan. 
 "The Right Honourable the Postmaster-General, 
 "&c., &c., &c." 
 
1854] SOLE SECRETARY. 225 
 
 " Addressed the following letter to the Postmaster-General : — 
 
 "G. P. O., 25th April, 1854. 
 
 " My dear Lord, — Allow me to tender my sincere and earnest 
 thanks for the change which has been effected in my position — a 
 change for which I feel the more indebted because of the persevering 
 kindness with which, in the midst of your own laborious duties, you 
 have wrought for it from the moment of my earliest application to 
 you on the subject, and with which I feel the more deeply gratified 
 because it affords a promise of seeing those improvements which 
 have been the main object of my life brought to completion under 
 your lordship's enlightened administration. 
 
 " I have the honour to remain, 
 "Your Lordship's obliged and faithful servant, 
 
 *' Rowland Hill. 
 "The Right Honourable Viscount Canning, 
 
 **(S:c., &c., &c." 
 
 I also wrote letters of thanks to Mr. Gladstone and 
 Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 Letters of congratulation soon poured In from the 
 many friends in and out of Parliament, at home and 
 abroad, who had so long and so steadily supported the 
 cause of postal reform, and so kindly interested them- 
 selves in my favour ; amongst others, from Lord 
 Brougham, Lord Truro, Sir Francis Baring, IMr. War- 
 burton, "Sir. Gladstone, Mr. Cobden, ]\Ir. Hume, Mr. 
 Moffatt, IMr. Raikes Currie, and M. Piron.^ 
 
 Government went further even than I had ever asked 
 for, advancing my salary at once to the maximum rate 
 of ;^2,ooo a year. 
 
 It will be observed that all those to whom I had on 
 this occasion to render official thanks had been mem- 
 
 * The eloquent words of Milton might have come into the thoughts of some of 
 them when he says : " nihil esse in societate hominum magis vel Deo gratum, vel 
 ration! consentaneum, esse in civitate nihil cequius, nihil utilius, quam potiri rerum 
 dignissimum." " In the coalition of human Society," to use Johnson's rendering, 
 " nothing is more pleasing to God, or more agreeable to reason, than that the 
 highest mind should have the sovereign power." — Ed. 
 
 VOL. II. Q 
 
226 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1854 
 
 bers of the Government by which twelve years before 
 I had been dismissed from office. I could not but 
 think that the kind and earnest manner in which these 
 gentlemen now acted proceeded in some measure from 
 a desire to compensate me for the injustice of their 
 former leader; and this view made me even more 
 grateful for their consideration. 
 
1851-4] RAILWAY LEGISLATION. 22/ 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 PROGRESS OF REFORM FROM THE MIDDLE OF 1 85 1 
 
 TO THE END OF 1 854. 
 
 Having thus conducted the narrative to that point in 
 my official career to which my hopes and expectations 
 had so long been directed, I now pause again to speak 
 of concurrent events, and particularly to mention the 
 improvements effected during the three years of which 
 I have been treating.'" I shall, as before, deal 
 separately with the several departments of Post Office 
 administration. I must add that, for the sake of 
 convenience, I have in several departments con- 
 tinued the narrative somewhat beyond the period of 
 my appointment as sole secretary, viz., April, 1854, 
 trenching even, in one or two cases, on the year 
 
 conveyance of mails. 
 
 As the reader is aware, I had long regarded it as of 
 primary importance to obtain a general Act regulating 
 railway charges to the Post Office, an Act that shouldy£r 
 the charges for ordinary trains, and establish some prln- 
 
 * I have in this chapter also struck out not a few passages describing matters 
 that are not of permanent interest." — Ed. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 ciple applicable to other cases, and thus either supersede 
 arbitration — generally a very unsatisfactory expedient 
 — or confine it within definite bounds. There seemed 
 at one time a prospect of some progress in this 
 direction, a bill being introduced into Parliament by 
 Government, under the administration of Lord John 
 Russell, the object of which was to remove doubts 
 as to our right to send a guard as a passenger by 
 any ordinary train with the mails as his luggage, 
 and also to authorize our sending bags as parcels on 
 payment of the usual parcel rates. If this measure 
 had been adopted, it would have enabled us to establish 
 additional mails, especially between the larger towns, 
 at hours when the correspondence, though important, is 
 not suf^cient to justify the high charges usually made 
 by the railway companies. I did all in my power to 
 support such a measure — of which, indeed, I was in 
 great part the author — but nothing was effected. The 
 bill was, first, so modified, through concessions to the 
 railway companies, as to become worse than useless, 
 and then, because yet further modification was 
 resisted by the Government, was thrown out. 
 
 Eighteen months later, under the authority of Lord 
 Hardwicke, I prepared clauses, intended to secure fair 
 rates of charge, for insertion in all new railway bills. 
 These his lordship determined to incorporate in a bill, 
 with a view to their extension also to existing railways. 
 I estimated that their adoption (and they were perfectly 
 just) would reduce our annual expenditure in railway 
 conveyance (then about ^360,000) by at least ;^ 100, 000. 
 The overthrow of Lord Derby's administration, which 
 occurred a few days later, tranferred the matter to 
 other hands. 
 
 A committee being appointed on railway and canal 
 bills in the session of 1S53, with Mr. Cardwell as 
 
1851-4] RAILWAY LEGISLATION. 229 
 
 chairman, I gave evidence,^ of which the following is a 
 summary. 
 
 I showed that the existing relations between the Post 
 Office and the railway companies were very unsatisfac- 
 tory, tending greatly to restrict the use of the railways 
 for the conveyance of mails, to the real injury of the 
 companies, and still more to that of the public. I 
 showed, also, that while the construction of railways 
 had greatly reduced the cost of conveying passengers 
 and goods, it had largely increased that of conveying the 
 mails. Thus, since the opening of railways, although 
 the total weight of mail had increased by only 140 per 
 cent., the cost of its conveyance had increased by 
 nearly 300 per cent., viz., from ;^ii2,ooo in 1836 to 
 about ;^442,ooo (of which about ^362,000 was for 
 railway conveyance) in 1852. I laid before the com- 
 mittee a billt (approved first by Lord Hardwicke, and 
 afterwards by Lord Canning) framed with a view of 
 prescribing rates of charge for mails conveyed by 
 ordinary trains (those run at hours determined by the 
 companies), such rates being fully equal, all things con- 
 sidered, to those charged to the public for like services, 
 and of laying down a principle of arbitration in respect 
 of trains run at hours fixed by the Postmaster-General. 
 I also laid before the committee a copy of my Report 
 to the Postmaster -General of the ist of January, 
 
 18474 
 
 The committee, in its Report, referred especially to 
 my evidence, and, in the main, adopted my view, ex- 
 pressing an opinion ''that the companies should afford 
 to the Post Office, at the same charge as would be paid 
 by private individuals for similar services, every assist- 
 ance which might add to the convenience of the public. 
 
 * "Fifth Report," pp. 175-191. t " Fifth Report," p. 243. 
 
 ::: " Fifth Report," p. 246. 
 
230 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 They think that no railway should have any claim to 
 be considered as fulfilling its obligations to the district 
 in which it is situate which fails to facilitate in this way 
 the postal communications of that district."^ 
 
 Nothing, however, was accomplished ; and repeated 
 attempts, subsequently made, were equally unavailable. 
 In truth, the railway influence is so strong in Parlia- 
 ment, and, on this point, so little guided by a knowledge 
 of true railway interests, that the injurious law enacted 
 thirty years ago, though avowedly a temporary measure, 
 to last only until experience of the working of railways 
 should have afforded the requisite data for laying down 
 a scale of charges, continues in force to the present day. 
 
 Meanwhile, willing to try what could be done with 
 the existing laws, I devised a new application of them. 
 Being pressed to supply Ayr and the neighbouring 
 towns with a more direct communication than they 
 then enjoyed, and finding that the railway company to 
 be dealt with, though having suitable trains actually 
 running, refused to carry the mails, except at prices far 
 beyond what the correspondence would justify, I 
 devised a new kind of notice, which the solicitor to the 
 Post Office regarded as strictly legal, requiring the 
 company to carry the mails by the existing trains, but 
 leaving them at liberty to alter or withdraw these trains 
 altogether on giving us fifteen days' notice. Under 
 such a notice our arbitrator was of opinion that the 
 remuneration awarded would be, as it ought to be, very 
 low. This plan succeeding, I obtained its extension to 
 some other lines, but at length met with resistance 
 from one of the companies. On reference to the law 
 officers of the Crown, our claim was pronounced un- 
 tenable, they holding that by the law as it stood, the 
 
 • " Fifth Report," p. 16. 
 
i8si-4] ACCELERATION OF NORTHERN MAILS. 23 1 
 
 Postmaster-General was bound (whether he desired it 
 or not) to fix the hours for the mail-trains without 
 reference to the arrangements of the companies. The 
 Post Office is thus kept in a position quite unintel- 
 ligible to the public, who cannot understand why 
 existing trains, obviously capable of employment for 
 postal service, are not used wherever convenience 
 requires; the real obstacle being that the amount of 
 correspondence in question, though sufficient to justify 
 the expense of conveyance at a moderate rate — a rate, 
 however, fully remunerative to the company — is often 
 quite insufficient to meet the heavy cost of a regular 
 mail train. 
 
 Amidst these efforts to procure that cheapness of 
 conveyance which would justify greater frequency of 
 despatch, it was clearly of importance to obtain for the 
 conveyance of the mails the greatest practicable speed, 
 though the public can be little aware how many diffi- 
 culties, direct and incidental, attend acceleration. In 
 the year 1851 we called upon the North Western 
 Company to accelerate its mail trains, but met with 
 resistance. In a conference with Captain Huish, the 
 manager of the line, while explicitly insisting on our 
 right to require the change, I expressed a wish to 
 meet the convenience of the company as far as pos- 
 sible, and proposed a modification, which I hoped 
 would remove objections. After a week's con- 
 sideration, the company persisted in its refusal, 
 disputing our right to require them to carry mails 
 at a speed exceeding twenty-seven miles an hour, 
 including stoppages. This view unfortunately was 
 supported by our solicitor. Meanwhile, however, at 
 the desire of the Postmaster-General, I made a 
 compromise with the company until the opinion of 
 the Crown officers should be obtained. By this, when 
 
232 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 given, our right was sustained. Even the amount of 
 acceleration thus procured proved highly valuable, was 
 very popular in the City, and produced some strong 
 expressions of thanks ; but before the end of the year 
 I procured sanction for the gradual introduction of a 
 measure to run the mails, at least on the long lines of 
 road, at express speed. 
 
 The work of acceleration was quickened by a 
 manoeuvre of the Great Northern Railway Company, 
 which, in July of that year (185 1), spontaneously began 
 to run a train at night-mail time, and at such speed as 
 to outstrip the mail train on the North Western line. 
 Believing that the object was to force upon us, through 
 the public voice, the use of this train, of course at a 
 large expense, I applied to the North Western Com- 
 pany .for such acceleration on their line as would 
 obviate the demand. It was at this time that I first 
 suggested what are now called limited mails, though 
 the expedient was not adopted till some years after- 
 wards."^ 
 
 The plan of limited mails, when brought into 
 operation, raised the speed along the North Western 
 route to forty miles an hour, including stoppages, a 
 rate the very notion of which would have been re- 
 garded thirty years before as a madman's dream. 
 
 The great extent of the acceleration in the northern 
 mails eventually obtained may be exemplified as 
 follows. When I first took the matter in hand, though 
 there was railway conveyance over the whole distance, 
 
 * "July 26th, 1853. — Called at Euston Square and saw Iluish and Bruyeres on 
 the subject of a swift mail to the North. My notion is to run a train with only 
 one or two carriages in addition to those required for the mail, and to stop only 
 once in about forty miles." 
 
 "July 28th. — Called again at Euston Square, and . . . proposed forty miles 
 an hour, including stoppages, thus reaching Edinburgh by 7 a.m." — Sir R. Hill's 
 Journal. — Ed. 
 
i8ST-4] ACCELERATION OF NORTHERN MAILS. 233 
 
 a letter leaving London by the night mail for Edin- 
 burgh or Glasgow could not receive an answer until 
 the afternoon of the next day but one. The answer 
 to a Monday night's letter, for instance, did not arrive 
 until the afternoon of Wednesday ; since the Monday 
 night-mail did not reach its destination until after the 
 departure of the return mail appointed to reach 
 London on Wednesday morning; whereas now (1870) — 
 the Monday night-mail from London reaching Edin- 
 burgh or Glasgow on Tuesday morning, and the 
 return mail not starting until Tuesday evening — not 
 only is the answ^er to a Monday night's letter received 
 on Wednesday morning, but also there is allowed for 
 writing it an interval of not less than ten or eleven 
 hours ; in effect, a whole day. This result is easily 
 stated, but were I to attempt to detail the preliminary 
 arrangements essential to the series of changes by 
 which it was effected, or the various devices by which 
 difficulties had to be surmounted, I should weary out 
 the reader and even tire myself. Let it suffice to 
 give some notion of the multiplicity of arrangements 
 affected, and the almost theatrical suddenness of the 
 transition. The day before each successive change 
 everything remained exactly in staht qtto. Every 
 branch mail along the whole line had to bring up 
 its mail at the established time. Every office, sub- 
 office, receiving-house, and pillar-box, had to yield 
 up its letters in accordance with this arrangement, 
 closing therefore to the public, at such an hour as best 
 suited such requirement. Every rural messenger, on 
 foot or on horseback, had to arrive in accordance with 
 the time for such closing ; and, in this case, thousands 
 of receiving places and thousands of messengers were 
 concerned. All this being the proceeding of one day, 
 on the next everything was different, the hour every- 
 
254 l^I^E OF SIR RO\^XAND HILL. [i?5i-4 
 
 where altered, so much so that, at some of the places 
 remote from the starting point the alteration involved 
 even substitution of dav for niQ:ht or nicrht for dav. 
 Of course ever\- person concerned had to be apprised 
 of the change, and prepared for it A single sur\-eyor 
 might have to issue instructions to a thousand ottices, 
 and these to as manv messencrers, since isrnorance or 
 neoflect in anv member of the force would inevitably 
 have produced confusion fruitful of annoyance and 
 complaint in the places ser^'ed. It must be added 
 that the highly complicated provision thus made for 
 the mails in one direction had all to be repeated for 
 those in the opposite direction. 
 
 I need not say that innovation is often pointed to 
 as the source of evils with which it has no real 
 connection. Thus, great irregularit}* having occurred 
 in the mails to the north of Scotland, throu2:h long: 
 detention at Forfar — purposely made by the railway 
 company in consequence of the Post Office disputing 
 their right to claim extra payment for forvrarding 
 the mails (when late) by the train which actually 
 carried on their passengers — there was great dissatis- 
 faction and anger at Aberdeen and elsewhere ; the 
 blame being unjustly laid on the Post Office, and, 
 through mere coincidence of time, charged upon the 
 recent acceleration of the mails. 
 
 Of course the higher the speed the greater, other 
 things equal, is the danger of irregularity' ; and 
 complaint on this head arose in no measured tone. 
 As our representations to the companies were met 
 by allegations of unpunctuality on our part, I pro- 
 posed a covenant by which they and the Post Office 
 should be mutually subjected to fine whenever any 
 irregularit}- occurred, but the offer found little accept- 
 ance. Finding this to be the case, and that the 
 
T851-4] SILENCE UXDER MISREPRESENTATION. 235 
 
 continued irregularity of the northern mails still 
 provoked severe attacks on the Post Office, I sought 
 defence by publishing a circular which I had addressed 
 to the railway companies concerned. This step, how- 
 ever, produced a number of letters in reply, some of 
 them equally skilful and unscrupulous. Effectual 
 rejoinder would have made an intolerable demand 
 on my time and strength, so that I began to repent 
 having resorted to publicity at all. Objectionable as 
 it is to allow to misrepresentation the advantage of 
 inferences to be drawn from silence, it may be ques- 
 tioned if it be not better to leave rectification to 
 the hand of time than to involve oneself and one's 
 department in distracting controversy.*" Indeed, one 
 of our Post Office officials goes so far as to declare 
 that if he found himself charged in a newspaper with 
 parricide, he would hold his tongue lest the accusation 
 should be repeated next day with the aggravation of 
 matricide. 
 
 While, however, submitting to misconception, I 
 sought means to obtain substantial ends ; and for 
 this purpose, in preparing a scheme of mutual fines, 
 I added premiums for punctuality, hoping thereby 
 both to obtain the consent of the companies to the 
 plan as a whole, and to supply a new motive to 
 exertion and care. I also planned the conveyance of 
 the mails on one of the principal lines by special 
 trains absolutely limited to mail service, which I hoped 
 to accomplish at a moderate expense by inducing the 
 companies to join in an arrangement under which, 
 the bare additional cost in each instance being 
 ascertained by a neutral authority (some eminent 
 
 * " It was said to old Bentlev, upon the attacks against him, 'Why, they'll 
 write you down.' * No, Sir,' he replied ; * depend upon it, no man was ever 
 written down but by himself.' " — '* Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.^ 
 4th Edition, p. 2S0. — Ed. 
 
236 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 engineer), we should be bound to pay a certain fixed 
 multiple of that amount. Captain Galton, of the 
 Board of Trade, and Sir William Cubitt the eminent 
 engineer, entirely approved of both these plans, the 
 latter estimating the cost in question at from one 
 shilling to one shilling and threepence per mile, and 
 advising that we should offer to pay tw^o-and-a-half 
 times that amount. Under this rule, it may be ob- 
 served, the Post Office would have to pay less for 
 the whole train than it now frequently pays for only 
 a small part of one. 
 
 The proposal of mutual fines for unpunctuality, not- 
 withstanding its sweetener of rewards for punctuality, 
 found but little favour with the companies, and the 
 same remark applies to the plan of charge by fixed 
 scale ; but the proposed special mail service was ulti- 
 mately adopted. 
 
 The Introduction of the apparatus for exchanging 
 bags without the stoppage of the train naturally 
 excited considerable attention. Probably, however, 
 many of my readers know little of the process beyond 
 its result. That which takes place is as follows : 
 The bags to be forwarded, being suspended from a 
 projecting arm at the station, are so knocked off" by 
 a projection from the train as to fall Into a net which 
 is attached to the mail carriage, and is for the moment 
 stretched out to receive them, while, at the same time, 
 the bags to be left behind, being hung out from the 
 mail carriage, are in like manner so struck off as to be 
 caueht in a net fixed at the station ; the whole of this 
 complex movement being so instantaneous that the 
 uninformed eye cannot follow it. 
 
 ^'- April gih, 1833. — The mail inspector reports that the people on 
 the line of the [recently] accelerated mail assemble in crowds to see 
 the bags exchanged at those stations at which the train does not stop. 
 
1851-4] MAIL BAG APPARATUS. 237 
 
 ' Half Yorkshire,' he says, ' was assembled at Northallerton ; but, 
 though very much delighted, the people appear to have had no 
 notion of what was really accomplished. Seeing a set of bags 
 hanging from a sort of lamp-post before the train arrived, and a 
 similar set in a net below after it had passed, their notion was that 
 the use of the machinery was merely to transfer the bags from the 
 one to the other." 
 
 Interest and amusement, however, were not un- 
 mlngled with feeHngs of a very different kind. It 
 scarcely need be said that the operation in question 
 requires very careful management both in the train 
 and at the station. Even with such management an 
 element of danger remains, increasing in proportion to 
 the speed of the train and weight of the bags. In 
 fact, as the use of the bag-apparatus extended, some 
 slight accidents occurred. In my anxiety I induced the 
 Postmaster-General to call for a report from Sir William 
 Cubitt on the subject ; and this being delayed through 
 Sir William's indisposition, I took upon myself, (the 
 Postmaster-General just then being absent), to issue 
 instructions restricting, and in some cases suspending, 
 their use. This difficulty, I may however state, was 
 ultimately overcome by an improvement, devised by 
 my son, in the bag-exchanging apparatus. I may be 
 allowed to add that Sir W^illiam Cubitt, who had 
 himself failed to devise means for surmounting the 
 difficulty, candidly and kindly expressed a very high 
 opinion of my son's expedient. 
 
 RECTIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS. 
 
 The reader will remember'"' how long and how in- 
 effectually I once strove to obtain the rectification of 
 accounts relative to the true amount of the postal 
 
 * See page 185. — Ed. 
 
238 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 revenue. In 1S52, however, I succeeded in demon- 
 stratino: to Lord Hardwicke that if the Post Office 
 were charged, on the one hand, with a fair share of 
 the packet service, and received credit, on the other 
 hand, for the stamp duty on newspapers,^ the net 
 revenue would be found, not, as was then maintained 
 by some persons, nothing at all, but, as set forth in 
 the ordinary accounts of the department, more than 
 a million per annum. A year later Lord Canning, 
 then Postmaster-General, giving me the draft Report 
 of the Packet Commission which he had prepared as 
 chairman, with a request that I would look it over, I 
 found that he had adopted my views, though he ex- 
 pressed doubts as to the agreement of his colleagues.t 
 I may mention here that ten years later I prepared an 
 elaborate memorandum as to the means of ascertaining 
 the true net revenue of the Post Office. This paper, 
 in which the incidence of the packet service expense, 
 as well as other questions relative to the subject, is 
 duly treated of, will be found in the Appendix (I). 
 
 PACKET SERVICE. 
 
 Lord Cannino'' s Commissiojt. 
 
 Of the able Report of the Commission, already 
 mentioned, commonly called Lord Cannings Com- 
 mission, the following are some of the leading points. 
 
 * The newspaper stamp duty was finally abolished in 1870. — Ed. 
 
 t About five weeks earlier I find the following entry in Sir R. Hill's Journal : — 
 "May 30th, 1S53. — Again pressed on the Postmaster-General the unfairness of 
 transferring to the Post Office (as I fear is intended) the existing contracts for the 
 Packet Ser\-ice. ... I fear the injustice will be committed nevertheless, Sir 
 James Graham, who generally contrives to have his own way, ha\-ing made up 
 his mind to the thing with a \-iew, I suspect, to give an appearance of retrench- 
 ment in the Admiralty expenditure." — Ed. 
 
1851-4] LORD canning's COMMISSION. 239 
 
 It will be observed that the question relative to the 
 just incidence of the charge for mail-packets is not 
 directly dealt with, though there is enough to show 
 that the feeling of the Commission accorded with 
 my view. 
 
 The Commission, which included not only Lord 
 Canning, but Sir Stafford Northcote, gave, in their 
 Report, a brief history of the introduction of contract 
 mail-packets, explained under what special circum- 
 stances heavy subsidies for these packets appeared 
 necessary, and expressed it as their opinion that 
 when use can be made (as is now the case in 
 every instance) of steamers which carry passengers 
 and freight, large subsidies are no longer required. 
 They added that after a new route has been opened 
 for the extension of commerce, and sufficient time 
 allowed for the experiment, the further continuance 
 of the service, unless required for political services of 
 adequate importance, should be made to depend on 
 its tendency to become self-supporting. The Com- 
 mission also advised the omission in future contracts 
 of many conditions which tend to increase the cost ; 
 and recommended that the contract should be reduced 
 to a simple undertaking (with penalties for failure) to 
 convey the mails at fixed periods and with a certain 
 degree of speed. This recommendation was after- 
 wards to a great extent carried into effect ; as was 
 also, though not in the same degree, another recom- 
 mendation, viz., to make the payment, when prac- 
 ticable, consist of a portion of the sea-postage. 
 
 The Commission further advised that, except on the 
 establishment of a new route, no contracts should be 
 entered into to run for a long period. On this head, 
 as on that of dispensing with conditions regarding the 
 construction, size, and steam-power of the ships to be 
 
240 " LIFE OF SIR ROWIAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 employed, and other matters, the course thenceforth 
 generally taken by the Post Office, on my brother s 
 advice, was so to frame the forms of tender as to 
 ascertain the exact amount of expense Involved In the 
 several requirements. This specification naturally led 
 to the abandonment of any whose cost exceeded their 
 value, and thus, In effect, produced a large economy. 
 
 The following passage shows the opinion of the 
 Commissioners as to the extent to which Government 
 should undertake and maintain transmarine postal 
 communication. The recommendations are still very 
 worthy of attention : — 
 
 " In undertaking this duty [transmarine postal communication] the 
 Government will, in the first place, have regard to the national 
 interests, whether political, social, or commercial, involved in the 
 establishment and maintenance of each particular line. Care must, 
 however, be taken, in cases where the communication is desired for 
 commercial purposes, to guard against an undue expenditure of 
 public money for the benefit of private merchants. The extension 
 of commerce is undoubtedly a national advantage, and it is quite 
 reasonable that Parhamentary grants should occasionally be employed 
 for the sake of affording fresh openings for it by establishing new 
 lines of communication or introducing new methods of conveyance, 
 the expense of which, after the first outlay has been incurred, may 
 be expected to be borne by the parties avaihng themselves of the 
 facilities afforded them. But this having once been done, and 
 sufficient time having been allowed for the experiment, the further 
 continuance of the serv'ice, unless required for political reasons of 
 adequate importance, should be made to depend upon the extent to 
 which the parties chiefly interested avail themselves of it, and upon 
 its tendency to become self-supporting." * 
 
 How valuable these recommendations were, how 
 long they were observed, when they were set aside, 
 and with what result, will appear hereafter. 
 
 "Report," p. 4. 
 
1851-4] OCEAN PENNY POSTAGE. 24I 
 
 COLONIAL POSTAGE. 
 
 Towards the end of 185 1, learning that an in- 
 fluential association had been formed for obtaining a 
 low rate of transmarine postage, and fearing that the 
 Government might be placed in the dilemma of having 
 either to resist a popular demand or to submit to a 
 very serious loss of revenue, I proposed to the Post- 
 master-General (Lord Clanricarde) a middle course, 
 viz., a reduction of colonial postage generally to six- 
 pence, the rate at the time being for the most part 
 one shilling. Had I foreseen, what experience has 
 now shown, viz., that where long distances are con- 
 cerned the increase of correspondence bears com- 
 paratively little relation to the amount of charge, I 
 should probably have hesitated before advising con- 
 cession even so far. The proposed measure, however, 
 was not adopted at the time, nor under the adminis- 
 tration of Lord Derby. Early in 1853 it was at 
 length sanctioned ; too late, indeed, to forestall public 
 demand, but still early enough to prevent this from 
 acquiring troublesome force. 
 
 ^^ March ^th^ i^SS- — The Daily News oi this morning contains 
 an account of the Postmaster-General's reception of a deputation 
 yesterday, which came to urge the extension of penny postage to the 
 colonies." 
 
 It may not be amiss to remark here that this 
 demand, which has often been repeated, is generally 
 based on a false analogy. Penny postage, it is con- 
 tended, is eminently successful at home, therefore it 
 must needs succeed abroad ; distance is not taken into 
 account on land, therefore it need not be reckoned by 
 sea ; home letters have multiplied enormously under 
 reduced rates in the United Kingdom, and the same 
 
 VOL. n. R 
 
242 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 result may be counted on in our correspondence with 
 the most distant colonies. Here it is forgotten that 
 before a penny postage was established at home it was 
 ascertained that a penny charge was more than suffi- 
 cient to defray all expenses, while no such proof has 
 been given with regard to expenses abroad. Distance 
 by land was not disregarded until it was shown that 
 the variation in cost was far too small to be expressed 
 in the lowest coin of the realm. Moreover, where 
 very great distances are concerned, where in the 
 nature of things answer is slow, multiplication of 
 letters is but moderately affected by the lowering 
 of rate. When contractors will undertake to carry 
 letters to India or Australia for the same charge as 
 to Glasgow or Aberdeen — starting at fixed times and 
 proceeding at the highest practicable speed — ocean 
 penny postage will become a practical question. Till 
 then the consideration must, I fear, be postponed. 
 
 On the subject of the deputation my Journal thus 
 continues : — 
 
 " The Postmaster-General explained the intentions of the Govern- 
 ment on the subject. The Treasury authority for the sixpenny rate 
 has now been received ; it postpones, however, the extension of the 
 measure to any of the colonies till the necessary negotiations have 
 been entered into with those not under our control." 
 
 Here, too, it may be useful to touch on a popular 
 misconception. It is commonly supposed that the 
 Home Government can of its own authority make 
 changes as regards colonial postage, whereas, save in 
 some of the smallest colonies, such changes must 
 await the consent of the Colonial Governments. 
 
 ^'' March yth, iSsj- — The Twies of this morning contains an ad- 
 mirable leader on the above subject [the general reduction of 
 Colonial Postage]. A little complaining at the hardship of charging 
 
1851-4] TPIE "TIMES." 243 
 
 a penny for carrying a newspaper to the antipodes must be for- 
 given." 
 
 From this article I make the following extracts : — 
 
 "We have this day to announce a step which, simple and unpre- 
 tending as it may seem, is really a greater move towards a complete 
 unity of our independent empire than the most splendid conquest or 
 the largest annexation. In reply to a deputation last Friday the 
 Postmaster-General stated that as soon as the colonial assents 
 could be obtained and the proper arrangements made, it was intended 
 to reduce the postage of letters for every part of the British do- 
 minions abroad to the uniform rate of sixpence the half-ounce. The 
 present average postage of colonial letters is not less than fourteen- 
 pence. What will be gained is the low rate, and the unifor77iii}\ 
 which experience has shown to be scarcely less appreciated than cheap- 
 ness. Very shortly, therefore, it wuU be in the power of any of our 
 readers to drop a letter into the box of the next cottage or in the 
 next street, to his friends on the slopes of the Himalaya, or at Mount 
 Alexander, or at Vancouver's Island, or at Toronto, with the certainty, 
 as far as the whole power of Government can secure it, of having an 
 answer back at the cost, for the postage of the two letters, of one 
 shilling. The answer from across the Atlantic will probably be 
 within a month ; that from Simla or Lahore within three months ; and 
 that from the antipodes wuthin half a year. A party of emigrants 
 sailing this week may hope to arrive at Geelong or Adelaide soon 
 after Midsummer, and about Michaelmas their friends at home, sup- 
 posing the arrangement completed, may hope to receive full accounts 
 of their voyage and safe arrival at the moderate cost of sixpence. 
 Let people talk as they please of the sun never setting on our 
 dominions, and of the British flag weaving over every sea and 
 every shore, nothing brings before our mind so forcibly the 
 fact that we are everywhere, and that everywhere we represent the 
 spirit of progress, as this little type of universal power — this letter 
 given to the village postman in March, with an answer from mid-Asia 
 in June. There is something grand and showy enough in the returns 
 that appear from time to time in our military and naval journals, 
 giving the stations of our ships and of soldiers in every part of the 
 world ; but the grandeur of the idea is qualified by many painful con- 
 siderations, for the whole is merely an ill remedy for a still worse evil. 
 But there is no such alloy in the thought that any member of the 
 British Empire, comprehending an eighth of the human species, will 
 
 R 2 
 
244 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 be able to communicate with any other within a space of time and at 
 a cost incredible to our forefathers, and even hitherto unattainable. 
 Considering how much there is that is questionable in our dominion, 
 in its means and in its results, it is satisfactory to find one means and 
 one result of undoubted advantage to the whole human race, viz., that 
 we draw mankind together, and bring the whole world, so to speak, 
 within hearing distance." 
 
 FOREIGN AND COLONIAL BOOK POST. 
 
 The ill-judged treaty which bound us to carry certain 
 printed matter to the United States at the low charge 
 of one penny for two ounces, though with very high 
 charges for greater weights, led to discontent in 
 Canada, which, though enjoying an arrangement far 
 more favourable on the whole, was subjected to a 
 higher minimum charge. The Canadian complaint 
 was backed by Lord Grey, then Secretary for the 
 Colonies. Negotiations were therefore entered into 
 with the United States Government for the sub- 
 stitution of a regular book-post for the existing 
 arrangement. 
 
 To recover a false step, however, is notoriously less 
 easy than to make, or even to avoid it, and the 
 negotiation proved fruitless. The failure was the more 
 unsatisfactory because of the motive for the rejection 
 of our proposals (fully shown in the progress of the 
 negotiations), viz., the desire to protect American 
 literary piracy from the competition of our legitimate 
 production. I am happy to record, however (1868), 
 that a better spirit has prevailed, and that books 
 are now sent by post to the United States as else- 
 where. 
 
 In the year 1852, Lord Wrottesley calling to inform 
 me that the British Association for the Promotion of 
 Science was about to apply to Government for the in- 
 ternational transmission of scientific publications at a 
 
1851-4I SALARIES AND PROMOTION. 245 
 
 low rate, I pointed out to him that it would be much 
 better to apply for a general book-post, and the appli- 
 cation was modified accordingly. 
 
 Meantime, with the concurrence of the Com- 
 missioners of Post Office Inquiry in the East Indies 
 and of the East India Company, I obtained from Lord 
 Hardwicke, though with some difficulty,^ sanction to a 
 measure for extending the book-post to the East Indies. 
 
 SALARIES AND PROMOTION. 
 
 Early in 1852 my brother Frederic completed a 
 measure adjusting the salaries of the rural sub-post- 
 masters (about six thousand, I believe, in number), 
 advancing some and depressing others, according to 
 the ascertained amount of work, and laying down a 
 rule for the decision of all future cases. Somewhat 
 later, the Postmaster-General having decided, on 
 receipt of a memorial from the clerks of the Money 
 Order Office, that their salaries should be revised, I 
 prepared a minute, which received Lord Hardwicke's 
 ready sanction, and which I intended to serve as a 
 model for other departments. Its substance was, first, 
 to prepare a scheme of salaries, classes, &c., according 
 to the best practicable ideal ; to make this the ground 
 of all future appointments, and gradually to apply it, 
 with due modification, to the clerks already in the 
 
 * Lord Hardwicke would seem to have had a strong dislike to the book-post, to 
 judge from the following entry in Sir R. Hill's Journal : — 
 
 "June 15th, 1853. — Breakfasted with Chevalier Bunsen. He promises to urge 
 on his Government the adoption of the Book-post. He told a characteristic anec- 
 dote of Lord Hardwicke. At the time Lord H. was Postmaster-General, 
 Chevalier Bunsen met him at the Queen's Drawing Room, where, it seems, if 
 people talk at all, it must be in a low tone of voice. Lord Hardwicke asked 
 what Chevalier Bunsen thought of ' Hill's Book-post,' expressing his own dislike 
 of the measure. Chevalier Bunsen defended it, on which Lord H. became 
 excited, and talked so loud that the Queen despatched an attendant to point out to 
 him that, if he wanted to converse, there was an adjoining room convenient for the 
 purpose." — Ed. 
 
246 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 service. Further, it assigned to each clerk a small 
 yearly increase of salary in case of continued good 
 conduct, regulated the number of classes and the 
 complement of each by the gradations and amount of 
 duty, made promotion strictly dependent upon fitness for 
 higher service, and laid down '* that the amount of 
 salary assigned to the respective classes should be such, 
 and such only, as will suffice to secure the services of 
 thoroughly competent men." My hope that this minute 
 w^ould serve as a model for more general regulations 
 did not wait long for fulfilment. 
 
 While these changes were in progress, other depart- 
 ments of the Ofiice were applying for a revision of 
 salaries, and, as a means of securing uniformity of 
 action, essential to general contentment, I offered 
 to deal myself with all such cases. Though this 
 offer was but very partially accepted at the time, 
 a more decided step towards a uniform system was 
 taken soon afterwards, as already mentioned, by 
 the appointment of a Commission for the general 
 revision of salaries in several departments of the 
 Civil Service. My examination before this Com- 
 mission occupied eight days, and I had the satisfaction 
 to find its views concurring to the full extent with my 
 own and my brother Frederic's on the important points 
 of patronage, promotion, and classification. 
 
 The Report of this important Commission was 
 issued in the year 1854. Amongst the many valuable 
 recommendations which it contained, the following are 
 perhaps the most noticeable : — 
 
 The Commissioners first object to the double 
 secretariate, and, observing that "the business of the 
 Post Office is of a kind which peculiarly requires 
 centralization," recommend that the whole should be 
 placed under the direction of a single secretary. 
 
1 85 1 -4] COMMISSION ON SALARIES. 247 
 
 They advise that, in order to place "the highest 
 prizes within the reach of every deserving person," 
 means should be taken "for opening the ranks of 
 the Secretary's Office to all members of the establish- 
 ment." 
 
 They further advise that, throughout the depart- 
 ment, individual salaries should advance by annual 
 increments, instead of by large jumps at long in- 
 tervals ; all advancement, however, to be contingent 
 on good conduct. 
 
 After mentioning the division of the circulation 
 department into the "Inland Office," and the "London 
 District Office," and showing "the analogous character 
 of these two offices," they recommend the consolidation 
 of the two. 
 
 They point out that to obtain suitable men on 
 reasonable terms, it is " necessary to hold out 
 prospects of advancement to those who conduct 
 themselves well, and who manifest the qualifications 
 which are required for superior posts," so that "by 
 a proper encouragement to merit, economy and 
 efficiency may be combined." 
 
 To improve the discipline of the provincial offices 
 • — an improvement then much required — they re- 
 commend that the respective postmasters should, 
 under approval and in accordance with prescribed 
 rules, appoint their own clerks. 
 
 They proceed to make the golden recommendation 
 that " all promotion should be strictly regulated 
 according to qualification and merit;" a rule which, 
 could its complete observance be secured, would in 
 time raise any department to the highest state of 
 efficiency and economy. 
 
 Their next recommendation deals with one of those 
 anomalies in which our political and social structure, 
 
248 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 from its unsystematic nature, so much abounds. Every 
 uninformed person would naturally assume that all 
 provincial postmasters (deputy-postmasters, as they 
 are technically called) must be appointed by the Post- 
 master-General ; whereas, at the time in question, all 
 such appointments were in the hands of the Treasury. 
 Still worse, the nomination was left in effect to the 
 member of parliament for the district where the 
 vacancy occurred, provided only he were a general 
 supporter of the Government. Of this anomaly the 
 Commissioners recommended the removal, not only 
 on account of the more obvious reasons, but also 
 "because the power which the Postmaster-General 
 would possess of rewarding meritorious officers in his 
 own department, by promoting them to the charge 
 of the important provincial offices, would materially 
 conduce to the general efficiency of the whole body." 
 
 This recommendation the Treasury so far adopted 
 as to concede to the Postmaster-General the appoint- 
 ment to all postmasterships where the salary exceeded 
 £iyS P^^ annum, observing that the principle of 
 making such appointment the reward of merit '' would 
 be inapplicable in all cases where the post office is 
 held in conjunction with a private business or pro- 
 fession." And here I may remark that, though it is 
 true that the powers and responsibilities of the chief 
 office can never be placed on a completely satisfactory 
 footing until all subordinate appointments are placed 
 at its disposal, still the concession made was very 
 large and highly valuable, and the relinquishment 
 of so much patronage reflects great honour on the 
 Liberal Administration then in power. "^ 
 
 The last recommendation which I shall cite is one of 
 
 * A subsequent concession reduced the minimum to ;[^I20. 
 
1851-4] COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS. 249 
 
 far more importance than would appear on the face of 
 it, viz., that the Postmaster-General " should determine 
 the future complement of each class according to the 
 nature and amount of duty to be performed in it." It 
 might seem incredible that such a recommendation 
 should be needed, but hitherto the number in a class 
 had had but little reference to the amount of duty that 
 fell to it to perform, and indeed, as mentioned in an 
 earlier part of this narrative,^ the division implied no 
 real classification whatever, so that in many instances 
 men of high class were, through lack of ability, 
 employed at low-class work, and vice versa. 
 
 The Report of the Commissioners, being referred 
 by the Treasury to the Postmaster-General, Lord 
 Canning, and having received his almost unqualified 
 approval, was ordered, with little more exception than 
 that already mentioned, to be carried into effect. 
 
 Competitive Examinations, 
 
 The following entry is on a subject of some diffi- 
 culty, and of great importance : — 
 
 ''March 4th, 1834. — The Report of the Commissioners on the 
 Civil Service generally has been issued. Some months ago they 
 requested my opinion on the draft of their Report, in which they 
 had recommended that the patronage should be accumulated chiefly 
 in the hands of the Treasury {i.e., of the Whipper-in for the time 
 being). To this arrangement I objected decidedly, and I now see 
 that they have abandoned it, making the admission to the Service in 
 all cases to depend on a competitive examination, and thus aban- 
 doning patronage altogether. This will not, I fear, work well. The 
 competition will, I think, be necessarily thrown on matters of 
 secondary importance. Indeed the Commissioners propose that 
 it shall be literary. The plan is attracting much notice from the 
 public, and is earnestly backed by the Times. The Report is in 
 many respects excellent. Indeed the objects aimed at are, without 
 
 * See p. 184. — Ed. 
 
250 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 exception, highly creditable to the Commissioners and to the 
 Government." 
 
 As I feared, the plan of competitive examination 
 worked unsatisfactorily, the criteria not being the best, 
 and the responsibility being so divided that no one is 
 in effect answerable for an appointment made under it. 
 The consequence of its adoption has been in many 
 instances the rejection of men who gave promise of 
 great usefulness, and the admission of others whose 
 usefulness has proved very small. If no way had 
 been open to the public service but through compe- 
 titive examination, as now conducted, I cannot say 
 what might have been my own chance of admission ; 
 since, on the plan adopted, no amount of knowledge 
 or power in other departments is regarded as making 
 up for deficiency in certain prescribed subjects. Under 
 such a system neither George Stephenson nor Brindley 
 would have passed examination as an engineer ; nor, 
 perhaps, would even Napoleon or Wellington have 
 been admitted to any military command. The prin- 
 ciple, if sound, must be equally applicable to manu- 
 facturing and commercial establishments ; but I have 
 heard of none that have adopted it. Indeed, a 
 wealthy merchant lately declared (and I believe most 
 of his brethren would agree with him) that if he had 
 no clerks but such as were chosen for him by others, 
 his name would soon be In the Gazette. I have 
 always been of opinion that the more the appoint- 
 ments to the Post Office, and indeed to other public 
 departments, are regulated on the principles ordi- 
 narily ruling in establishments conducted by private 
 Individuals, the better it will be for the public service. 
 The question to be decided between candidates should 
 be, I think, simply which is best fitted for the duties 
 to be performed, and the decision should be left to 
 
1851-4] TELEGRAPHS. • 25 1 
 
 the person immediately answerable for the right per- 
 formance of the duty.'"' 
 
 Telegraphs. 
 
 In the year 1852 I received (through Mr. Nichol- 
 son, of Waverley Abbey) a paper drawn up by his 
 son-in-law, Captain Galton, recommending that the 
 Post Office should become manager of the whole 
 telegraphic system. As the communication was 
 private, I replied accordingly, giving, however, a 
 favourable opinion of the project, and, of course, 
 leaving Captain Galton to take such further steps 
 as he should think best. I knew nothing further 
 of this matter at the time, but have recently learnt 
 that his plan was submitted by him to the Board 
 of Trade, and thence referred to the Post Office, but 
 objected to by the Postmaster-General of the day. 
 A few years later, however, the project was revived 
 within the office by Mr. Frederick Baines, who had at 
 one time occupied a post of considerable importance 
 under one of the Telegraphic Companies. This 
 gentleman drew up an elaborate memorandum, com- 
 prising a complete plan ; and this was referred by the 
 Postmaster-General to the Treasury, but without any 
 result at the time. I need not add that this important 
 measure is now (1869) on the point of being carried 
 into effect, but must regret that it should be at a cost 
 at once so superfluous and so enormous as to make 
 it very doubtful whether the institution can be self- 
 supporting (that is, paying at once interest on money 
 borrowed, its direct working expenses, and a just 
 
 * Since the above was written, the error, for such I unhesitatingly pronounce it, 
 has been aggravated by admission into the subjects for competitive examination of 
 some quite foreign to the business of the office — as Latin and Greek. 
 
252 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 contribution to the general cost of management), and 
 almost certain that, save at further loss to the revenue, 
 correspondence by its means cannot be cheap."* 
 
 FOREIGN EXTENSION. 
 
 " October nth, 1831. — Mr. Von der Heydt (Prussian Minister of 
 Finance), Chevalier Bunsen, and M. Drouet (Charge d'Affaires for 
 the Belgian Government), met in my room to arrange with me 
 several matters connected with the negotiation for a reduction of 
 rates between this country and the German Postal Union." 
 
 The following general record may render further 
 details unnecessary : — 
 
 " Novet?iber 2Qth, 18^4. — The returns from our Ministers abroad 
 showing the postal improvements in the several foreign countries arc 
 now completed. They show that my plan has been adopted more or 
 less completely in the following States : Austria, Baden, Bavaria, 
 Belgium, Brazil, Bremen, Brunswick, Chili, Denmark, France, 
 Frankfort, Hamburg, Hanover, Lubeck, Naples, New Granada, 
 Netherlands, Oldenburg, Peru, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, 
 Saxony, Spain, Switzerland, Tuscany, United States, Wurtemberg. 
 
 "The results are in most cases similar to our own [similar 
 mistakes, probably, being made in the mode of adoption]. They 
 are generally an increase in gross revenue and in expenses, and a 
 decrease in net revenue. In some instances the revenue is ex- 
 ceedingly small : thus the kingdom of Portugal produces a less 
 gross revenue than the city of Edinburgh : in no instance is the 
 revenue, whether gross or net, so large as with us. The extent 
 to which my plan has been adopted in almost every part of the 
 civilized world is very remarkable, and very gratifying. In Europe, 
 Sweden is the only considerable State which forms an exception." 
 
 Sweden did not very long remain an exception. 
 
 * Sir R. Hill's foreboding has proved only too true. In our high telegraph 
 rate we pay, and shall long pay, for the reckless extravagance with which the 
 purchase of the telegraphs was made. — Ed. 
 
1851-4] MONEY ORDERS. 253 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 MONEY ORDER DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The secretarial charge of this department had been committed, as 
 I have already said, to my brother Frederic. I cannot better 
 describe the state to which it had by this time been brought than 
 by quoting the following passages from an interesting and amusing 
 article in " Household Words " : — * 
 
 *' In 1792, when the true British sailor was stoutly preparing to 
 defy the French in various parts of the globe at thirty shillings a 
 month, and when British military valour was fighting Tippoo Saib in 
 India at a shilling a day, it was felt as a great hardship that the 
 affluent warriors of both services could not transmit, safely and 
 speedily, to their sweethearts and wives, even from one part of the 
 United Kingdom to another, their surplus capital. The Govern- 
 ment, seeing the danger of allowing the savings of its servants to 
 burn holes in their pockets, was good enough to concoct a snug 
 little 'job,' by means of which such pocket-conflagrations might be 
 extinguished. The monopoly of transmitting money from one place 
 to another was conceded to three gentlemen in connection with the 
 Post Office. Their terms were — eightpence for every pound ; but if 
 the sum exceeded two pounds, a stamp duty of one shilling was 
 levied by Government in addition. Five guineas was the highest 
 amount which could be thus remitted ; and the charge for that sum 
 was four shillings and sixpence, or nearly five per cent, besides the 
 price of the postage of the letter which contained the advice — 
 perhaps a shilling more. 
 
 "Now, happily, the days of monopoly have passed, and Mr. 
 Rowland Hill does the same thing for the odd sixpence, with an 
 odd penny, at a profit to the Government of about seven thousand 
 pounds a year, exclusive of the gain derived from the enormous 
 number of letters of advice which Post Office orders have created. 
 
 * Vol. v., p. I, March 20, 1852. 
 
2 54 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 When the privilege was extended from soldiers and sailors to the 
 general public, the three monopolists of the last century could 
 divide between them, on an average, no more than six hundred and 
 fifty pounds per annum. No longer ago than the year 1838, the 
 Money Order Office was absorbed into the Post Office; and, 
 although the charges were reduced to a commission of sixpence 
 for sums not exceeding two pounds, and of one shilling and sixpence 
 for sums up to five pounds (which was, and is still, the limit), a chief 
 clerk and two assistants were appointed to do all the business the 
 public brought to them ; and even they could only do it at a loss to 
 the department. People could not afford to increase even the 
 reduced charges for commission, by the eightpenny and shiUing 
 postages for their letters of advice. 
 
 " Penny postage, therefore, is the parent of the gigantic money- 
 order system, which now flourishes in full activity. In estimating 
 the advantages of that great stroke of economical, administrative, 
 and commercial sense, many of its less prominent agencies for good 
 are overlooked. The facilities it has afforded for epistolary inter- 
 communication are so wonderful and self-evident, that we who 
 benefit by them are blinded to the hidden impulses it has given to 
 social improvement and to commerce. Regarded only as the origin 
 of the present money-order system, penny postage has occasioned the 
 exercise of prudence, benevolence, and self-denial ; it has, in many 
 instances, stopped the sufferings of want by timely remittances ; and 
 it has quickened the undercurrents of trade by causing small trans- 
 actions to be easily and promptly effected. These advantages can 
 only be estimated by a consideration of the following facts. 
 
 " During the advent year of penny postage, the commission on 
 Post Office orders was reduced to threepence and sixpence for 
 sums not exceeding two pounds and not exceeding five pounds 
 respectively. In that year the number of orders granted in the 
 United Kingdom was (in round numbers, which we shall use 
 throughout, for the reader's greater convenience) 1 88, 000, for an 
 aggregate amount of ^f 313,000. Even this was a great advance on 
 the business previously done at the old prices ; but what are the 
 figures for the tenth year of penny postage? During the year 1850 
 the number of orders granted in the United Kingdom was 4,440,000, 
 for amounts making up ^{^8, 495, 000 ; only a million less than the 
 yearly produce of the income and assessed taxes put together ! 
 This marvellous increase can perhaps be better appreciated by being 
 seen through a diminished medium. In the first mo7ith of the 
 penny postage (1840), the issue of orders was about 10,000 in 
 
1851-4] MONEY ORDERS. 255 
 
 number, for something over ;^i 6,000; but in the month of 
 December, 185 1, the number of orders issued was more than 
 367,000, for ^690,000. That is to say, during that single month 
 twice as many orders were taken out and paid for than were issued 
 and paid in 1840 during the whole year. 
 
 * * ^ ^ ^ * 
 
 "The Central Money Order Office in which these remarkable 
 results have been produced and ascertained is in Aldersgate Street, 
 London, hard by the Post Office. It is a large establishment — large 
 enough to be a very considerable post office in itself — with extensive 
 cellarage branching off into interminable groves of letters of advice 
 and receipts, all methodically arranged for reference. The room in 
 which the orders are issued and paid has a flavour of Lombard 
 Street and money. It has its long banker's counter, where clerks sit 
 behind iron gratings, with their wooden bowls of cash, and their little 
 scales for weighing gold ; and vistas of pigeon-holes stretch out 
 behind them — which are not without their pigeons, as we shall 
 presently see. Here, from ten o'clock to four, keeping the swing 
 doors on the swing all day, all sorts and conditions of people come 
 and go. Greasy butchers and salesmen from Newgate Market, with 
 bits of suet in their hair, who loll, and lounge, and cool their 
 foreheads against the grating, like a good-humoured sort of bears ; 
 sharp little clerks not long from school, who have everything 
 requisite and necessary in readiness ; older clerks in shootmg coats, 
 a little sobered down as to official zeal, though possibly not yet as to 
 cigar divans and betting offices ; matrons who wi7l go distractedly 
 wrong, and whom no consideration, human or divine, will induce to 
 declare in plain words what they have come for ; people with small 
 children, which they perch on edges of remote desks, where the 
 children, supposing themselves to be for ever abandoned and lost, 
 present a piteous spectacle; labouring men, merchants, half-pay 
 officers, retired old gentlemen from trim gardens by the New River, 
 excessively impatient of being trodden on, and very persistent as to 
 the poking in of their written demands with tops of canes and 
 handles of umbrellas. The clerks in this office ought to rival the 
 lamented Sir Charles Bell in their knowledge of the expression of 
 the hand. The varieties of hands that hover about the grating, and 
 are thrust through the little doorways in it, are a continual study for 
 them — or would be, if they had any time to spare, which assuredly 
 they have not. The coarse-grained hand which seems all thumb 
 and knuckle, and no nail, and which takes up money or puts it down 
 with such an odd, clumsy, lumbering touch ; the retail trader's hand, 
 
256 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 which chinks it up and tosses it over with a bounce ; the housewife's 
 hand, which has a hngering propensity to keep some of it back, and 
 to drive a bargain by not paying in the last shiUing or so of the sum 
 for which her order is obtained ; the quick, the slow, the coarse, the 
 fine, the sensitive and dull, the ready and unready — they are always 
 at the grating all day long. Hovering behind the owners of these 
 hands, observant of the various transactions in which they engage, 
 is a tall constable (rather potential with the matrons and widows on 
 account of his portly aspect), who assists the bewildered female 
 public, explains the nature of the printed forms put ready to be filled 
 up for the quicker issuing of orders and the greater exactness as 
 to names, and has an eye on the unready one, as he knots his money 
 up in a pocket-handkerchief or crams it into a greasy pocket-book. 
 If you have any bad money by you, be careful not to bring it here. 
 The portly constable will whisk you into a back office before you can 
 say Jack Robinson, will snip your bad half-crown or five-shilling, 
 piece in half directly, and (at the best), after searching inquiry, will 
 fold the pieces in a note of your name and address, and consign 
 them to a bundle of similar trophies for evermore. 
 
 * -x- * * * * 
 
 "This sort of mystification is even more surprising than that 
 under which certain uneducated individuals (Irish) have been known 
 to labour. The belief has more than once been manifested at a 
 money order office window that the mere payment of the commission 
 would be sufficient to procure an order for five pounds ; the form of 
 paying in the five pounds being deemed purely optional. An Irish 
 gentleman (who had left his hod at the door) recently applied in 
 Aldersgate Street for an order for five pounds on a Tipperary post 
 office ; for which he tendered (probably congratulating himself on 
 having hit upon so good an investment) sixpence. It required a 
 lengthened argument to prove to him that he would have to pay the 
 five pounds into the office before his friend could receive that small 
 amount in Tipperary ; and he went away, after all, evidently con- 
 vinced that his not having this order was one of the personal wrongs 
 of Ireland, and one of the particular injustices done to hereditary 
 bondsmen only. 
 
 ****** 
 
 *' Despite the prodigious increase in the business of the depart- 
 ment which we have pointed out, its efficiency has been doubled, 
 and its cost almost halved. By superseding seventy-eight superfluous 
 ledgers, the labour of sixty clerks has been saved ; by simply 
 reducing the size of the money orders and advices, the expense of 
 
1851-4] HONG-KONG POST OFFICE. 257 
 
 paper and print alone has been diminished by ;£ 1,100 per annum ; 
 while the abolition of separate advices of each transaction has 
 economised the number of letters by 46,000 weekly. The upshot 
 is, that these economical reforms have effected a saving in the 
 Money Order Office alone equal to ;£"i 7,000 per a?mu?fi" 
 
 As a supplement to the foregoing extracts I quote from my 
 Journal the following statistical record : — 
 
 ^'■June 'jth^ 18^3. — The accounts of the Money Order Office for 
 1852 show an increase of profit of ;^4,2 2 7, making a total for the 
 year of ;£"i 1,664. In 1847, when I took to the department, there 
 was a loss of ^f 10,600 a year; so that the effective saving is up- 
 wards of ;2^2 2,000 a year." 
 
 GENERAL ECONOMIC MEASURES. 
 
 Various improvements noticeable under this head (some of them 
 of considerable importance) are omitted here as being more con- 
 veniently mentioned under other categories, as Money Orders, 
 Conveyance of Mails, Packet Service, &c. 
 
 The following, though of economic tendency, was, as will be 
 perceived, more beneficial in another respect : — 
 
 " October 2gth^ iS^i- — A clerkship at Hong Kong having become 
 vacant by death, the Postmaster-General has, on my recommendation 
 . . . determined not to fill it up, and to employ part of the saving 
 thus effected in giving to the postmaster and each of the remaining 
 clerks in turn leave of absence for a year and a half, with full salary 
 and an allowance of ;£^ioo towards the expense of the voyage. By 
 these means, while ample force will still be left, the poor fellows will 
 have the opportunity of recruiting their health, and a saving will be 
 effected of ;!^i83 a year." 
 
 By merely entering into negotiations for substituting coach for 
 railway train we obtained from the Belfast and Ballymena Railway 
 Company a voluntary reduction in charge of more than ;£"2ooo 
 a year, and this with some gain in time ; again, by substituting car 
 for coach between Limerick and Galway, we obtained another 
 reduction of ;£" 1,200 a year. 
 
 Another measure provided for some immediate and a large 
 prospective saving in the cost of guards, the duties of many 
 amongst whom I found, on examination, to be so light as not to 
 occupy, on the average, more than three or four hours per day. 
 It is a curious fact that I was led to the examination resulting in 
 this discovery by an application for increased force. 
 
 VOL. II. S 
 
258 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 In the year 1851 prepayment in money of postage on inland 
 letters was abolished at all those provincial offices where it had been 
 thus far allowed. Early in the following year the abolition was 
 extended to Dublin, next to Edinburgh, and last of all to London — 
 thus completing the establishment of prepayment by stamps alone 
 throughout the United Kingdom, and greatly simplifying our pro- 
 ceedings. To save trouble, however, to the senders of large 
 numbers of circulars, a limited exception was still allowed at the 
 chief office in St. Martin's-le-Grand, the rule eventually taking this 
 form, viz., to receive prepayment in money from 10 a. m. to 5 p.m. 
 in sums of not less than £^2 at a time. And thus, with this trifling 
 exception, was carried into full effect, and I believe without a 
 dissentient voice, a mode of payment which it was at one time 
 maintained that the public would regard with such disfavour that its 
 unpopularity would be found a serious obstacle, if not an insuperable 
 bar, to the whole scheme of penny postage. 
 
 MINOR IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 Early Delivery. 
 
 ^^ Deceviber Jisf, 18^1. — Frederic has succeeded in satisfying 
 Smith (President of the London District Office) of the practicability 
 of a considerable improvement in the delivery of the general post 
 letters in those parts of the suburbs of London which are about four 
 or five miles from the Post Office. For the last three or four weeks 
 the delivery at Brixton and in the neighbourhood has been about 
 two hours earlier than theretofore, and the improvement will shortly 
 be extended to Hampstead, Highgate, Stoke Newington, and many 
 other places about equally distant from the Post Office, if the 
 Treasury sanction the small increase of expense necessary. The 
 measure will be a step towards the more perfect plan which I 
 attempted to carry out more than four years ago, but which I 
 was obliged to abandon for the time in consequence of Smith's 
 objections. 
 
 ^'•January 31st, i8j2. — The further improvement in the suburban 
 deliveries commenced this morning. At my house [Hampstead] the 
 general post letters were delivered just before nine o'clock, instead 
 of, as heretofore, about half-past eleven." 
 
 The hour of morning delivery has now, for many years, been as 
 early as eight. This acceleration by three hours and a-half in the 
 principal delivery of the day, especially to the large class resident in 
 
1851-4] NUMBER OF LETTERS. 259 
 
 the suburbs of London, whose occupations require that they shall 
 leave home by nine or ten o'clock in the morning, is obviously very 
 important. In many cases it makes the difference of a day in their 
 ability to reply. 
 
 Facilities for Posting. 
 
 Up to this time pillar-boxes were unknown in England,* though 
 already in use not only in France, where they were an old institution, 
 but also in some of the principal towns of Germany, and even in the 
 villages of the Channel Islands. 
 
 ''^January 8fh, 18^2. — We had a conversation on the subject of 
 street letter-boxes, when I found that the Postmaster-General was 
 not disinclined to a trial of them in the great thoroughfares of 
 London." 
 
 Postal convenience at railway stations was also still unknown. 
 
 " February ijth. — The Postmaster-General has sanctioned a 
 measure of mine which, I expect, will have the effect of converting 
 the railway stations in all the larger towns into gratuitous receiving 
 offices." 
 
 It was still, however, some time before the plan was carried into 
 effect. 
 
 NUMBER OF LETTERS. 
 
 The following entries show the progressive increase of letters 
 during this period : — 
 
 ^'■January igth, i8j2. — The number of letters which passed 
 through the London Office last week is the greatest on record, 
 being 2,597,000 general post, and 850,000 district post letters; in 
 all, 3,447,000, or considerably more than twice the number under 
 the old system for the whole kingdom. It is remarkable that the 
 London general post letters, v/hich increased to the extent of about 
 200,000 a week soon after the opening of the Exhibition [the Great 
 Exhibition of 185 1] continue now that it is closed to be as numerous 
 as ever. 
 
 ^^ January 20th, iSjj. — The usual annual account of letters gives 
 379^ millions for the year 1852, or an increase of 19^ millions 
 on the previous year. The number is exactly five times as great as 
 before reduction. . . . The letters have for the last three 01 
 four months increased very rapidly (one of the many signs of 
 prosperity); the last return (for the week ending 21st December) 
 showed an increase of more than 400,000 in the letters passing 
 
 * See Vol. I., p. 417.— Ed, 
 S 2 
 
260 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1851-4 
 
 weekly through London ; and on Monday morning last Bokenham 
 tells me that the number of letters which passed through his office 
 was greater than in any previous Monday by 40,000. 
 
 ''^January gth^ J^^SS- — The number of letters delivered in the 
 United Kingdom last year was 443^ millions, showing an increase 
 on 1853 of 32^ millions; the largest increase since 1840, the first 
 year of the reduced rates. This great increase is, I think, mainly 
 owing to the extension of rural distribution. In the course of the 
 year, I believe, we have opened more than five hundred offices." 
 
 This large increase of correspondence by the admission of the 
 rural districts to the postal system reminded me of a remark which 
 I had heard from my father many years before, viz., that the result 
 of the first census, while it disappointed expectation as to the 
 population of the towns, exceeded it as to that of the whole 
 country; the rural districts proving to be better inhabited than 
 •had been supposed. 
 
 Occasional Pressure. 
 
 The following entry gives a specimen of the remarkable con- 
 tingencies to which the Post Office was then liable, and for which 
 therefore it had always to stand prepared. By improved arrange- 
 ments the difficulty has in great measure been obviated. 
 
 '■'•July 4th, i8s3' — On Saturday the despatch of the night mails 
 was three-quarters of an hour late ; this was caused by the arrival in 
 the course of the day of heavy mails from the following places, viz., 
 the United States, the West Indies, the East Indies, Australia vid, 
 Singapore, and Australia via the Cape. The total number of letters, 
 including inland, which reached the General Post Office that day, 
 was 458,000, of which 212,000 (chiefly Foreign and Colonial) were 
 unpaid. It was with the greatest difficulty that the work was got 
 through at all" 
 
 Increased Honesty. 
 
 I need not say that I made the following record with great 
 satisfaction : — 
 
 ^'•July 8lh, i8s3. — A recent return to Parliament of the number 
 and cost of prosecutions [for Post Office offences] from 1848 to 1852 
 inclusive shows an enormous decrease, nearly, I think, in the ratio of 
 three to one ; this very satisfactory result is, I believe, mainly owing 
 to the improved arrangements in the Money Order Office." 
 
1851-4] TITUS GATES. 261 
 
 Titus Oates. 
 
 One of my letters of this period refers to a curious document, 
 discovered some time before amongst the records of the Post Office, 
 by which it appears that the infamous Titus Oates received, after the 
 Revolution, by way of recompense, it may be supposed, for the 
 tremendous flagellation he had undergone a few years before, and 
 certainly on recommendation from the House of Commons, a 
 pension of £2>^o per annum, charged on the revenues of the Post 
 Office. Of this document, when first discovered, I had sent a copy 
 to Lord Macaulay, by whom it is noticed, though slightly, in his 
 account of the period."* The document, curious in itself, is too long 
 for insertion, but the following are extracts : — 
 
 "We [William the Third] for divers good causes and consideracons 
 Us hereunto moveing . . . Have given and granted by these 
 presents . . . unto Titus Oates Doctor in Divinity his Executors 
 Administrators and Assignes one Annuity or yearly pencon of Three 
 hundred pounds of lawfull English money . . . payable out of 
 Our Revenues ... of the General Letter Office or Post office 
 . . . for the term of ninety-nine years . . . if he the said Titus 
 Oates and Rebecah his wife or either of them shall soe long live." 
 
 Funeral of the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 ^^ November 22nd., 18^2. — The returns for the last week show that 
 the funeral of the Duke of Wellington on the i8th reduced the 
 letters despatched from London by the evening mails of that day by 
 about 100,000. The next day's mails were probably increased by 
 about 10,000." 
 
 * Macaulay's "History of England," Vol. v., p. 16 (edition in eight volumes.) 
 —Ed. 
 
262 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1854 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 SOLE SECRETARYSHIP FIRST ANNUAL REPORT I 854. 
 
 PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT, 1 85 5-59. 
 
 The statement which will be found on a subsequent 
 page relative to improvements in hand during the last 
 month of 1854, shows, in some measure, the increased 
 progress consequent on the important change effected 
 within the year. Command of the secretary's staff — 
 many of them able officers — enabled me more rapidly 
 to devise and mature measures of improvement, relieved 
 me, to a great extent, from the necessity of dealing 
 with details and from the toil of throwing my concep- 
 tions into the form of well-considered and elaborate 
 minutes, and allowed me, when due authorization had 
 been obtained, to carry them out without impediment 
 or loss of time, or over-watchful care against the intro- 
 duction of some thwarting modification. Provided 
 only I could obtain the approval of the Postmaster- 
 General, and, where needful, of the Treasury, my course 
 henceforth would be uninterrupted so long as health 
 of body and mind should be vouchsafed for its con- 
 tinuance. I did not however, expect, though such 
 a notion seemed to be very common abroad, that 
 the approval of the Postmaster-General and the 
 sanction of the Treasury were to be had for the 
 mere asking. These authorities frequently have views 
 
1854] lORD CANNING. 263 
 
 of their own, and, though they naturally pay much 
 attention to the advice of their highest permanent 
 officers, nevertheless they occasionally delay or modify 
 action, and sometimes, though very rarely, exercise 
 their absolute veto. All who had the pleasure of 
 knowing Lord Canning, the Postmaster-General of the 
 day, must be aware that he was not a man likely to act 
 upon advice in great matters without being first con- 
 vinced of its soundness ; but, at the same time, they 
 will remember that his great ability, diligence, and 
 candour, were likely to bring the means of substantial 
 conviction within his reach. In working under such a 
 man, though one may be sometimes subjected to delay 
 or disappointment, there is, nevertheless, much profit, 
 as the necessity for convincing often leads to closer 
 investigation and more careful consideration than might, 
 at first sight, appear necessary, and occasionally tends, 
 even where measures are perfectly sound in them- 
 selves, to more careful inquiry as to the best mode of 
 presenting them in an acceptable form to the public. 
 I entered now, therefore, upon the most satisfactory 
 period of my whole official career, that in which the 
 course of improvement was steadiest, most rapid, and 
 least chequered. The work of organization, to w^hich 
 I was now able to give most of my time and attention, 
 had long been to me of all occupations the least diffi- 
 cult and the most pleasant ; and perhaps, but for the 
 effect of past struggles, the course now opening to me 
 might have continued, though not without some abate- 
 ment from causes to be mentioned hereafter, unto the 
 present day. 
 
 During such a period personal history naturally 
 loses most of its Interest. For six years there was 
 peace in the Post Office, and the history of peace, 
 though often most important, Is almost proverbially 
 
264 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1854 
 
 uninteresting. Quitting, therefore, for a time, that which 
 more nearly appertains to myself, I proceed at once to 
 describe the improvements effected or attempted within 
 the period. 
 
 ARRANGEMENT OF SECRETARIAL DUTIES. 
 
 The private journal from which I have drawn so 
 largely in narrating the occurrences of my official career 
 was suspended soon after my appointment as sole 
 secretary, partly because I now felt myself relieved 
 from the fear of that antagonism which had rendered 
 exact knowledge of past occurrences a matter of painful 
 necessity, partly because I was no longer obliged to 
 build up and maintain a claim for promotion, and partly 
 because the full liberty now^ allowed for the furtherance 
 of reform required on my part undivided attention to 
 the device and careful consideration of measures, and 
 of the means of carrying them into effect. Hence- 
 forward, therefore, I have for some years to depend 
 mainly upon records of a formal and official character, 
 and prominent among these stand the Annual Reports 
 of the Postmaster-General, the first of which relates, 
 so far as it is special, to the year in which I attained 
 my final position. It describes, therefore, occurrences 
 which partly preceded, partly followed, that change. 
 Much, however, in this First Report is naturally of a 
 more general character. 
 
 I must premise, that one of my earliest steps on 
 becoming sole secretary was to arrange for the meeting 
 of the chief secretary (myself) and the two assistant- 
 secretaries (Mr. Tilley and my brother) in frequent 
 conference, for the consideration of measures in con- 
 templation or in progress, and also of such suggestions 
 on any subject as any one of the three might offer. 
 
l8S4] THE ASSISTANT-SECRETARIES. 265 
 
 This provision proved to be exceedingly useful. Mr. 
 Tilley, who had been between thirty and forty years in 
 the department, and had made good use of his oppor- 
 tunities, was always ready to furnish such information 
 relative to details as occasion might require ; while my 
 brother, who had, for seventeen years, been engaged in 
 duties of a higher order and greater difficulty than those 
 now devolving upon him, brought with him a mastery of 
 general principles, a power of origination, and a habit of 
 constantly striving for improvement, which gave him 
 special fitness for the duty to which, indeed, he was 
 more especially appointed, that of aiding me in the 
 work of amelioration. This conference continued its 
 sittings during the whole of my secretaryship ; and I 
 felt much concern when I learnt that on my withdrawal 
 it came to an end. 
 
 In the division of duties between the assistant-secre- 
 taries, I was guided by my knowledge of their respective 
 powers, as well as by a reference to the speciality 
 of my brother's appointment. Whatever departments 
 required to be efficiently conducted with but mode- 
 rate change in their arrangements were committed 
 to the charge of Mr. Tilley, while those which seemed 
 most susceptible of great improvement, with the ex- 
 ception of such as I retained in my own hands, were 
 given in charge to my brother. The principal of these 
 were the Money Order Department, already mentioned, 
 the mail conveyance by land and by sea, and the Foreign 
 and Colonial Department generally, including, of course, 
 conventions with foreign countries. I need scarcely 
 add, however, that I exercised a general control over 
 the whole; and as the reader will be but little interested 
 in knowing whether particular reforms owe their origin 
 or execution to my brother or myself, I shall, save in a 
 few more marked cases, sink individuality and speak 
 
266 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1854 
 
 only of joint action. I wish, however to state here my 
 conviction that without my brother's able and zealous 
 assistance, the full reform of the Post Office would 
 not and could not have been successfully accom- 
 plished. 
 
 The heads of departments — the immediate subor- 
 dinates of the secretaries — were, for the most part, 
 men whose selection did credit to my predecessor, 
 Colonel Maberly, on whose recommendation they had 
 been appointed. They were, in short, an able staff 
 of officers. I took advantage of their ability to make 
 what proved a valuable change in their mode of pro- 
 ceeding ; for whereas the practice had been for these 
 officers simply to select the cases requiring the judg- 
 ment of the secretary, and to await his instructions 
 before writing their minutes thereon, I gradually 
 induced them to come prepared with an opinion of 
 their own, which might serve in a measure for my 
 guidance. This soon led to a further Improvement; 
 for, as the most convenient way of giving such 
 opinion clearly was to throw it into the form of a 
 minute, it became not uncommon, at least in ordinary 
 cases, to draw the minutes, even before any reference 
 to me. This arrangement not only saved me much 
 valuable time, but also procured for the matters in 
 question a much closer investigation, and more careful 
 consideration from those whose position was most 
 advantageous for the task, than could be obtained 
 without the responsibility pertaining to men called on 
 to advise. 
 
 The Annual Reports already mentioned were in- 
 tended to supply such information to the public as 
 might tend to prevent misapprehension and avert com- 
 plaint, and at the same time to describe the course of 
 improvement. 
 
i8S4] ANNUAL REPORTS. 267 
 
 Construction of Repoj^ts. 
 
 The Reports themselves, though always perused and 
 often curtailed or otherwise modified by the Postmaster- 
 General, were, from the beginning to the close of my 
 secretaryship, substantially the work of my brother, 
 with whom indeed the plan originated, being but the 
 application to the Post Office of a practice which he 
 had very fully maintained during sixteen years as an 
 Inspector of Prisons. It must be observed that the 
 surveyors and heads of departments were called on to 
 supply the necessary materials by reporting each on his 
 own division of the service. This arrangement 
 obviously supplied an additional motive for exertion, 
 and more especially for bringing all matters in hand to 
 a speedy completion. It may be added that in the 
 year 1856, that is to say within two years from our first 
 issue, a letter was addressed by the Treasury to the 
 other departments of the public service, calling atten- 
 tion to the Post Office Reports, and inviting similar 
 reports from them, and that in the following year there 
 appeared a First Annual Report from the Board 
 of Customs, and from the Commissioners of Inland 
 Revenue, each containing a mass of valuable infor- 
 mation. 
 
 RATE OF IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 The following passage in the First Report throws 
 light on the rates of improvement : — 
 
 " On the first day of every month a report is laid before the 
 Postmaster-General, showing the principal improvements in hand, 
 and the stage at which each has arrived. The latest of these reports 
 (which is of the usual length) records one hundred and eighty-three 
 measures, in various stages of progress, or completed, during the 
 month of December, 1854. Minor improvements, such as ex- 
 tension of rural posts, &c., are not noticed in these reports." 
 
268 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 BUILDING. 
 
 At various towns correspondence having far out- 
 grown the space provided for deaHng with it, existing 
 offices were enlarged or new offices erected. Though, 
 at times, there was more or less of contest with 
 influential corporations, naturally inclined to adorn 
 their respective towns at the national expense, yet, 
 so long as the matter was left in our hands, we were 
 able, upon the whole, to effect these changes at 
 moderate cost. 
 
 A far larger outlay than was involved in all these 
 provincial erections and enlargements, however lavishly 
 made, had already been staved off by my brother. 
 He learning, soon after his appointment to the depart- 
 ment, that there was a great demand for room at the 
 chief office (a building originally erected with far 
 more regard to outward appearance than inward con- 
 venience, as w^as found out as work increased), and 
 that the purchase of Smithfield had been suggested, 
 together with the erection of an entirely new building, 
 examined the present office from the roof to the base- 
 ment. He found several rooms filled with old and 
 useless papers, and one large apartment, in the im- 
 mediate neighbourhood of others where clerks were 
 working, employed as a laundry ; while for extin- 
 guishing fire, of which the risk was thus thoughtlessly 
 incurred, there was not then in the whole building any 
 provision whatever. He also found a great deal of 
 unoccupied space available for the construction of 
 large additional rooms. With the assistance of Mr. 
 Gould, the intelligent clerk of the works, he recom- 
 mended alterations which, being carried into effect, 
 greatly added to the capacity of the office. While the 
 danger of fire was diminished, provision was made 
 
1855-9] BOARD OF WORKS. 269 
 
 against its occurrence by the erection of tanks on the 
 roof, with a provision of pipes, cocks, hose, and 
 buckets, in different parts of the building, and by 
 appointing firemen to be on duty, by relays, through- 
 out the day and night. In short, the improvement in 
 the building was so effectual, that when I resigned my 
 post, more than twelve years afterwards, there ap- 
 peared every reason to hope, especially considering 
 the relief afforded by the district offices, that the 
 erection of a new chief office might be indefinitely 
 postponed; though I learn now (1868) that such 
 expectation is disappointed, and that land in the 
 immediate neighbourhood has actually been purchased 
 as an additional site. 
 
 Long before my resignation, however, a change had 
 been made, the benefit of which I have never been able 
 to discover, — the construction and alteration of Post 
 Office buildings being transferred by the Treasury, 
 in the year 1858, from the Post Office to the Board 
 of Works. I attempted to obtain a reversal of this 
 order, knowing that the change by no means tended 
 to economy ; and, in support of my view, I produced 
 the following striking contrast. A new post office had 
 lately been erected at Brighton, the cost, excluding a 
 very moderate sum expended in fitting up a portion of 
 it as a residence, being no more than ^1,600. A 
 similar erection had now to be made at Dundee ; 
 and as the correspondence of this town is not more 
 than about half that of Brighton, the least to be 
 expected was that the cost here should be within the 
 cost there ; instead of which, the estimate sent in by 
 the Board of Works raised it to four- or five-fold the 
 amount ; nor could all the remonstrance I made, 
 and I was not sparing in my representations, bring it 
 lower than ;^5,7oo. My general pleading availed no 
 
2/0 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 more than my special remonstrance, and the duty in 
 question is still attached to the Board of Works, with 
 what aesthetic advantages I cannot pretend to say, but 
 certainly at a greatly increased expense. 
 
 FREE DELIVERY. 
 
 Free delivery was rapidly extending throughout the 
 United Kingdom. At the present day (1868) the 
 work is so far advanced that to many readers the very 
 term ''free delivery" must have lost its significance. 
 Formerly, to every office there were limits, sometimes 
 narrow ones, beyond which delivery was either not 
 made at all, or made only at an additional charge, 
 generally of one penny per letter, an arrangement 
 nowise interfered with by the simple establishment of 
 penny postage. During the period now under con- 
 sideration, however, in addition to much previously 
 done, this immunity was extended to several thousand 
 places, without counting a widening of range or other 
 improvement at places where it already existed in an 
 imperfect state. In short, by the end of this period 
 free delivery was extended so far as to include ninety- 
 three per cent, of the whole correspondence.^ 
 
 LONDON DELIVERY. 
 
 While due attention was thus paid to the pro- 
 vinces, the department did not neglect the interests 
 of London, whose population is one-tenth, and whose 
 correspondence is even one-fourth of that of the 
 United Kingdom. Much as had already been done 
 in accelerating the delivery of letters coming into the 
 district, we saw that additional improvements might be 
 
 « (( 
 
 Sixth Report,' p. lo. 
 
1855-9] LONDON DISTRICT DELIVERY. 2/1 
 
 made to carry this acceleration still further. As early 
 as January, 1856, a hope was expressed, in the Report 
 on the previous year, that the first delivery of the day 
 throughout the metropolis might eventually be com- 
 pleted by nine a.m.,'" instead of eleven, or even later. 
 To effect this, however, and no less to obtain rapid 
 intercommunication between the different parts of the 
 metropolis, required changes so complicated, that their 
 details could not be set forth without w^earying the 
 reader. At the same time, the greatest caution and 
 foresight were required to prevent derangement in 
 transition ; and this, combined with other difficulties, 
 greatly delayed the completion of the plan. Briefly 
 stated, the changes involved were as follows ; and I 
 may remark that they are almost identical with those 
 proposed in my evidence before the Post Office Com- 
 missioners in 1837, already mentioned in this narrative. 
 We had to unite the two corps of letter-carriers (the 
 impracticability of which, under divided authority, had 
 so long delayed the whole measure t) ; to rearrange 
 their "walks;" to divide London into districts, each 
 to be treated in some respects as a separate town ; 
 to procure suitable buildings for district offices, or, 
 failing this, to erect such buildings, first obtaining 
 proper sites (no easy matter) ; to adopt a new 
 plan of sorting at the chief office ; and lastly, to 
 provide for the sorting of mails according to the new 
 districts before reaching London.;]: That everything 
 might be done with the utmost circumspection, I 
 nominated a committee of officers to consider the 
 details involved in the necessary changes, which com- 
 mittee made a very elaborate and able Report. § In 
 
 * "Second Report," p. lo. f See Vol. ii., p. lOO. ij: "Second Report," p. lO. 
 
 § "Second Report," pp. 9, 41. 
 
2/2 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 about three years from the first positive movement the 
 district system, though still imperfect, was in some 
 sort established throughout. The beneficial effect 
 had already distinctly appeared in the augmented 
 rate of increase in the number of district letters ; the 
 annual increment rising from somewhat less than a 
 million and a half to somewhat more than six millions 
 and a quarter.^ Early delivery, meantime, so far 
 advanced as to bring the completion of the first round 
 of the day nearly to the point aimed at, viz., 9 a.m.t 
 The number of deliveries, too, was raised to ten, and 
 communication within the whole suburban district 
 rendered much more frequent and rapid. J These 
 improvements had received some aid from the public 
 in the multiplication of street-door boxes, § and yet 
 more in the use in addresses of initial letters indicating 
 districts, || while the Metropolitan Board of Works also 
 had somewhat amended the nomenclature of streets 
 and the numbering of houses ;1^ but on all three 
 points very much remained then, and, I must add, 
 remains still, to be done. 
 
 Shortly afterwards a similar system was applied to 
 Liverpool, by which means not only the deliveries 
 were much improved, but the cost of erecting a new 
 chief office was avoided."^ ^ 
 
 * "Fifth Report," p. 9. + "Fourth Report," p. 8. 
 
 t "Third Report," p. 5 ; "Fourth Report," p. 9 ; " Sixth Report," p. 9. 
 
 § The following extract from the "Industrial History of Birmingham" 
 supplies some evidence on this point : — 
 
 "The introduction of penny postage by Rowland Hill operated on this branch 
 of trade materially [Birmingham manufactures in brass]. How it did so is strange 
 but true. Immediately on its coming into effect came the demand for letter- 
 weighing machines, which were made in immense quantities ; and letter-box 
 plates were introduced, made, and continue to be made, in very considerable 
 numbers." 
 
 U "Sixth Report," p. 9. 1 "Fourth Report," p. 10. 
 
 * * It appears that the district system is now (1869) introduced into Calcutta. 
 See "Greater Britain," by Sir C. Dilke, Vol. ir., p. 263. (Second Edition). 
 
1855-9] ACCELERATION OF MAILS. 273 
 
 RAILWAY SERVICE. 
 
 Acceleration of Mails. 
 
 While these important improvements were going 
 forward within the London district, measures were 
 also in steady progress for improved communication 
 w^ith all parts of the United Kingdom, partly by the 
 extended use of day mails, partly by an acceleration 
 of speed, and partly by measures for securing greater 
 punctuality. For the further attainment of the latter 
 object, attempts were again made to induce the com- 
 panies to enter into engagements by which they and 
 the Post Office should be mutually bound to penalties 
 in case of unpunctuality, coupled with rewards to 
 the companies (though, of course, not to the Post 
 Ofhce) for punctual performance.''' In the year 1855 
 one company, viz., the North British, accepted this 
 proposal, and the beneficial effect soon showed itself, 
 the instances of irregularity being brought down in 
 one half year from a hundred and twelve to nine, 
 while the company received within the same time 
 ;!^400 in the way of reward. t Notwithstanding this 
 result, however, the Post Office never succeeded in 
 inducing the railway companies generally to agree to 
 the adoption of the plan. 
 
 After awhile, nevertheless, we prevailed on the 
 companies conveying the night mail between London 
 and Edinburgh to limit the ordinary traffic of the 
 mail trains, and at the same time to effect a material 
 acceleration. \ Mainly by these means, the interval 
 between London, on the one hand, and Edinburgh 
 and Glasgow on the other — previously reduced from 
 
 • "Second Report," p. 12. t "Third Report," p, 7. 
 
 X "Fifth Report," p. 11. 
 
 VOL. II. T 
 
2/4 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 time to time — was brought down to less than eleven 
 hours ; and this, with other aids, enabled the depart- 
 ment to deliver the letters at these Important cities 
 before business hours In the morning, and to despatch 
 the return malls after business hours In the evening. 
 To effect this improvement we had to make an 
 additional payment of about ;^i 5,000 a year to the 
 railway companies alone ; but the benefit was so great 
 to Edinburgh and Glasgow — Indeed to the whole of 
 Scotland — that we did not grudge the outlay. 
 
 I cannot say so much for another acceleration 
 effected during this period, viz., that of the mails 
 between London and Dublin ; not that this was less 
 important, but that the annual expense entailed by the 
 change is every way greatly in excess. The object 
 was that the night and day mails should reach Dublin, 
 the one in time for the first delivery of the day and for 
 despatch onwards by the Dublin day mail, the other 
 in time for delivery the same night and for despatch 
 onwards by the Dublin night mail ; and in order that 
 these operations might be regular, it was obviously 
 necessary that there should be a margin of time at 
 Dublin to allow for occasional late arrival there. In 
 1853 a committee of the House of Commons had 
 been appointed to report upon the best means of 
 improving the service In question. The evidence 
 of Captain Hulsh and other authorities connected 
 with the existing service was to the effect that It 
 might be greatly accelerated, and that at a not 
 very immoderate addition to the actual cost. In con- 
 sequence, the committee reported In favour of the 
 measure,"^ and Government decided to give effect to 
 their recommendation ; but, when negotiations were 
 commenced, the companies concerned, disregarding 
 
 * 1853, No. 747. 
 
I85S-9] IRISH MAILS. 275 
 
 their own evidence, demanded at once more time for 
 the trip and a higher rate of remuneration. I strongly 
 urged resistance to both demands, and as the Post- 
 master-General backed my views, I have little doubt 
 that, had the negotiations been left with the Post 
 Office, the quicker and less costly service would have 
 been secured. Unfortunately, the Treasury had taken 
 the matter Into Its own hands, and we were overruled ; 
 so that for Insufficient advantages the country has to 
 pay an annual subsidy of upwards of ;^ 100, 000, in 
 addition to the cost — necessary, however, on either 
 plan — of provision for sorting the letters both on the 
 railway and on board the mail steamers. Unfor- 
 tunately, too, unpunctuality is not so rare as might 
 be desired, the appointed penalties having been 
 suspended on the ground of Insufficient pier accom- 
 modation at Holyhead. Still, with every drawback, 
 the Improvement was Important, reducing the ordinary 
 time of the journey to eleven hours and a half, and 
 obtaining, so far as time was duly kept, all or nearly 
 all the advantages aimed at — advantages extending 
 even to Irish letters for the continental malls."^ The 
 following extract from the Tenth Annual Report, 
 exemplifies the benefit of the change : — 
 
 " Thus the period required for the transmission of a letter from 
 London to Cork, and for the receipt of a reply, has been shortened 
 in all cases by half a day, and in the great majority of cases by 
 more than a day." f 
 
 General Contracts. 
 
 During this period, also, many additional companies 
 entered Into general contracts, such as have already 
 been spoken of ; binding themselves, for a fixed sum 
 
 * " Seventh Annual Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 7. 
 + " Seventh Annual Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 18. 
 
 T 2 
 
276 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [i855-9 
 
 per annum, not only to perform certain specified 
 services at appointed hours and at a given speed, 
 but to place all their trains, without exception, at the 
 service of the department. 
 
 Need of Legislation. 
 
 Nevertheless, all that we could effect as respects 
 railway conveyance of the mails left, and I must add 
 still leaves, much to be desired ; the law being, to 
 this day, in such a state as is exceedingly injurious 
 not only to public convenience and to economy in 
 the Post Office, but, as I conscientiously believe, to 
 the true interests of the companies themselves. The 
 following instances may serve for illustration : — 
 
 Application was made to the Post Office for a 
 day mail to Alton ; and the concession was offered 
 on condition that the London and South Western 
 Company would consent, according to a practice 
 established on some other lines, to carry tHe bag 
 at the ordinary parcel rate, the Post Office under- 
 taking (contrary to the usual practice in respect of 
 parcels) to convey it to and from the stations. Our 
 offer could hardly be considered unreasonable, seeing 
 that the Post Office, as compared with an ordinary 
 customer, would have to pay equally high for less 
 service and for regular instead of occasional custom. 
 The offer, however, was refused ; the Post Office had 
 no power to enforce the demand ; and, as the cor- 
 respondence would not justify the expense of a 
 regular mail train, the desired convenience was 
 delayed for years ; the company thereby losing an 
 increase to its parcel traffic, every penny paid for 
 which would, in effect, have been clear profit. 
 
 In the year 1856, I received an application from Sir 
 
1855-9] THE POST OFFICE AND THE RAILWAYS. 2// 
 
 George Cornewall Lewis, then Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer, for such an acceleration of the mail to Hereford 
 as would enable letters to reach Kington (Radnor- 
 shire), near which he resided, In time for an early 
 morning delivery. As the readiest means of effecting 
 this was by the use of the Gloucester and Hereford 
 Railway, I applied to the company to know on what 
 terms they would perform the duty, the distance upon 
 their line being twenty-three miles. The answer was 
 a very heavy demand (according to my recollection, 
 ;^3,ooo per annum) ; the reason given for this 
 enormous charge being that the line, which was 
 ordinarily closed during the night, would have to 
 be kept open for the special service. Though Sir 
 Cornewall Lewis forbore to urge a demand involving 
 so large a sacrifice, I could not but desire to attain 
 the end, if practicable, knowing how inconvenient it 
 must be for important official correspondence to be 
 delayed. Taking advantage, therefore, of the clear- 
 ness of the line by night, I proposed that the Post 
 Office should itself run a train (as by law any one 
 is entitled to do), paying, however, the appointed tolls, 
 though legally exempted therefrom. This, however, 
 was obviously Impracticable without supplies of coal 
 and water, and standing room for the engine and 
 carriage, which the company alone had the means 
 of furnishing; and for these I offered to pay according 
 to arbitration. This offer the company absolutely 
 declined, though, as a further inducement, I had 
 included In It the tender to the company of a carriage 
 for passengers. Other means being sought for, it was 
 at length suggested that Kington might be reached 
 in sufficient time by another route. If the Shrewsbury 
 and Hereford Company would allow the use of their 
 line on moderate terms ; and, this company agreeing 
 
2/8 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 to perform the duty for ;^iooo a year, the very 
 circuitous route via Shrewsbury was adopted, and 
 is still followed ; the longer route involving, however, 
 no inconvenience, as the conveyance is effected in the 
 night. 
 
 Again, the importance of some definite rule of 
 charge for specific duty, even as a means of facili- 
 tating improvement, is shown by reference to the 
 multiplicity of contracts sometimes requiring to be 
 made or modified before a change can be completed. 
 The following is from the Report of 1859 : — 
 
 " The great number of arrangements still necessary for the con- 
 veyance of letters to long distances, notwithstanding the length of 
 many of the railways for which a single contract suffices, is shown by 
 the fact, that for the transmission of a letter from Land's End to 
 John O'Groat's — exclusive of engagements with rural messengers, 
 and of arrangements for the conveyance of mail-bags between 
 railway stations and post-offices — twenty-one separate contracts are 
 required."* 
 
 Conciliatory Devices — Loans. 
 
 In my anxiety to place our relations with the railway 
 companies on a satisfactory footing, and amidst doubt 
 as to success in any attempt to procure efficient legis- 
 lation on the subject, I devised, in the beginning of 
 1857, what I hoped might prove a means of winning 
 from the companies that which, in spite of what I 
 believed and still believe to be to their true interests, 
 they have almost all refused to concede. My plan was 
 that Government should, on ample security and to a 
 limited extent, advance loans, on the terms on which it 
 could itself borrow, to such companies as were willing 
 to adopt a reasonable tariff of charge for postal services. 
 This arrangement, while costing in effect nothing to 
 
 ♦ "Fifth Report," p. 12. 
 
1855-9] RAILWAYS — GOVERNMENT LOANS. 2/9 
 
 Government, would enable the companies to borrow at 
 a rate much lower than ordinary. As I still consider 
 this suggestion important, I give my memorandum on 
 the subject at length in the Appendix (J). I may state 
 here that I proposed to make the arrangement termi- 
 nable at the end of three years, and that I hoped to 
 reduce our annual payments for railway service by 
 about ^250,000. An inquiry from the Duke of 
 Argyll, then Postmaster-General, led me to add a 
 representation, setting forth strong additional reasons 
 for seeking to obtain, of course on equitable terms, 
 unlimited use of the railways. The following is the 
 most important passage : — 
 
 " I feel assured that if my plan of advances to the railway com- 
 panies were adopted, there would be no financial difficulty, either in 
 using, more or less, every railway now existing, or which may be here- 
 after constructed, or in extending the delivery of letters to every 
 house in the United Kingdom." 
 
 My memorandum was sent by the Duke of Argyll 
 to the Treasury, with a somewhat guarded recommen- 
 dation that it should be favourably considered. By his 
 permission, I also laid it before Mr. Hutchinson, chair- 
 man of the Stock Exchange, who, with some valuable 
 recommendations as to the best mode of giving it 
 effect, expressed his entire approbation of the plan. 
 This being reported in a second memorandum, the 
 whole matter was referred by the Treasury to Sir 
 Alexander Spearman, though with what result I do not 
 know. Meanwhile His Grace suggested that I should 
 obtain also the opinion of Mr. Gladstone, who, it must 
 be remembered, was not then in the Government, 
 having seceded on a question relative to the Russian 
 war ; and on this advice, with the ready permission of 
 Sir G. Cornewall Lewis, Mr. Gladstone's successor in 
 
280 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 office, I was only too happy to act. The result — which, 
 however, I first communicated to the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer — I subsequently stated in the following letter 
 to the Postmaster-General. The reader will here see 
 something of the practical difficulties which even 
 Government, after giving its approbation to a measure, 
 has to apprehend in carrying it, however cautiously, 
 through Parliament : — 
 
 " February 23rd, 1857. 
 
 My dear Lord Duke, — Mr. Gladstone is of opinion that the 
 Post Office interests in connection with the railways have been 
 greatly neglected by the Legislature; that the Government should, 
 if possible, obtain possession of the railways, when all difficulty 
 would, of course, cease ; that this might have been done seven or 
 eight years ago, but that now it would be very difficult, and that some 
 other course must in all probability be resorted to. 
 
 " He likes my plan (though inferior, as being less direct than the 
 other), but considers it too difficult a piece of legislation for Parlia- 
 ment as matters now stand, and advises that, with the consent of the 
 Treasury, we should endeavour to make the arrangement with some 
 one company subject to the confirmation by Parliament, which, for a 
 single bargain, might, he thinks, be counted upon ; and that having 
 done this we should, if the results prove satisfactory, apply to Par- 
 liament for power to deal with other companies. 
 
 " He also thinks well of referring the whole question, including 
 the Bill, to a committee of the House of Commons, provided so?ne 
 able me?nber of the Government can spare time to manage the case ; but 
 not otherwise. 
 
 " Sir George Cornewall Lewis is inclined to the latter alternative ; 
 but the difficulty will be to spare Mr. Wilson or any other able man 
 to attend the committee. He spoke of Mr. Lowe, and promised to 
 consider the whole case. 
 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 ''Rowland Hill. 
 "His Grace the Duke of Argyll." 
 
 While this matter remained under consideration at 
 the Treasury, or, in other words, was forgotten amidst 
 the demands of more pressing business, another attempt 
 
1855-9] RAIIAVAYS — GOVERNxMENT LOANS. 28 1 
 
 was made at general legislation, as will hereafter ap- 
 pear, but still without success ; and in the beginning of 
 1858 I again called the Postmaster-General's attention 
 to the subject. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had 
 suggested, meantime, that Government, instead of 
 lending money, as I had originally proposed, or Con- 
 sols, according to Mr. Hutchinson's judicious modifica- 
 tion, might yield the necessary aid by giving its 
 guarantee for loans to be raised by the companies 
 themselves ; but this suggestion had been condemned 
 by Mr. Hutchinson, as far less beneficial to the com- 
 panies, and as raising what w^ould be felt as an injurious 
 distinction between loan and loan, i.e., guaranteed and 
 unguaranteed. The matter was now referred by the 
 Treasury to the Board of Trade, then presided over by 
 Lord Stanley of Alderley, who called for the opinion 
 of the Secretary, Mr. Booth, which was in effect ad- 
 verse. I had also, with permission, consulted Mr. 
 Locke, the eminent engineer, then M.P. for Honiton ; 
 who, however, though approving of the principle, de- 
 manded that it should be carried out to its full extent, 
 so as not merely to cover ;^30,ooo,ooo, as I had 
 proposed, but to include loans generally. He also 
 required a further amalgamation of companies, and 
 what it may be remembered I had previously urged, 
 but in vain, viz., the concession to each great company 
 of a district or territory, into which other companies 
 should, except in specified contingencies, be forbidden 
 to intrude. In short, through excessive caution on 
 the one hand, and excessive demands on the other, 
 combined with the ordinary dif^culties attending 
 innovation, nothing was done. 
 
 Ten years* have now elapsed since my attempt was 
 
 * Written before 187 1. — Ed. 
 
282 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 abandoned, but my estimate of Its value remains un- 
 diminished ; I see no intrinsic difficulty in the plan, no 
 counterbalancing evil to its benefit, nor any obstacle to 
 its adoption, but the want of a more general and accu- 
 rate knowledge on the subject ; for lack of this, sup- 
 posing my view to be correct, Government has been 
 and still is constantly expending a quarter of a million 
 per annum more than necessary, the railway companies 
 are deprived of a valuable relief, and the postal service 
 is cramped to a degree seriously affecting the interests 
 of the public at large. 
 
 Attempts to procure Legislation. 
 
 My attempt in the same year (1857) to obtain satis- 
 factory legislation was not more successful than my 
 previous efforts. The bill was prepared with every just 
 consideration for railway interests, which, indeed, I was 
 little likely to neglect, but was introduced too late in the 
 session to give it any chance of passing against the 
 opposition which, to my great disappointment, it en- 
 countered.^ 
 
 Two years later, thinking I had found a favourable 
 conjuncture, I proposed a measure on new terms, which 
 I hoped would prove more acceptable. A bill being 
 drawn accordingly at the Post Office, with the sanction 
 of the Treasury, I hoped that it would be introduced 
 early in the session of i860; but before the time 
 arrived, my increasing illness took so serious a form 
 that many months elapsed before I was able to 
 do work of any kind ; and, in short, my direct 
 attempts to obtain railway legislation here came to 
 an end. 
 
 * "Fourth Annual Report," p. 13. The bill in exlenso, with explanatory 
 remarks thereon, will be found at p. 46 of the same report. 
 
1855-9] GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF RAILWAYS. 283 
 
 To what form the relation between the Post Office 
 and the railways will eventually be brought, by legisla- 
 tion or otherwise, must for the present remain matter 
 of conjecture. The purchase of the whole railway 
 system by the State has of late been much talked of; 
 and, of course, if this should be effected, all such legis- 
 lation as I sought to procure would be superseded ; 
 but the difficulties to be surmounted are very great. 
 Reference has been made to a Royal Commission on 
 Railways, of which I was a member. This was 
 appointed in 1865, and I joined it at the earnest request 
 of Mr. Gladstone. Though unable, through the state 
 of my health, to attend all the meetings, I was careful 
 to examine the report of all such evidence as I did not 
 hear, and both evidence and discussion confirmed the 
 opinions I had previously formed on the subject. 
 These had in the main been put forth some time before 
 by my brother Frederic, who also frequently discussed 
 them with me in conversation, and finally gave them 
 concise but distinct expression in his evidence before 
 the commission. I may add that our joint view was 
 supported by evidence from Mr. Edward Page, In- 
 spector-General of Mails, and Mr. Gregory, C.E., the 
 Arbitrator for the Post Office, and afterwards President 
 of the Society of Civil Engineers. 
 
 Adopting the suggestion of Government purchase 
 (originally made, I believe by Mr. Gait, as early as the 
 year 1844), but differing from him as to the mode of 
 proceeding, my brother recommended that the pur- 
 chase should be made gradually ; and this not by com- 
 pulsion, save in a few exceptional cases, but by free 
 covenant between the railway proprietors and the 
 Government; that the purchase should be effected, not 
 by any increase of the National Debt, but on some 
 such arrangement as is now generally adopted when 
 
284 LIFE OF SIR RO\YLAND HILL. [1855 9 
 
 one company becomes possessed of the line of another; 
 lastly, that Government should not attempt to work the 
 railways itself, but lease them to companies or indi- 
 viduals on such conditions as would most tend to public 
 benefit. These views will be found expressed in my 
 separate Report (for I did not succeed in bringing over 
 my brother Commissioners to my opinion) at pp. cxii. 
 and cxxvi.^ Mr. Monsell, M.P. for the county of 
 Limerick also made a separate report concurring in 
 great measure with my own. It is foreign to the pur- 
 pose of this narrative to dwell on the general ad- 
 vantages that might be expected to follow the great 
 change in question ; suffice it to repeat that, if effected, 
 it would put it in the power of the Government to 
 secure to the Post Office the prompt and unimpeded 
 command of all railwav facilities, and that on terms 
 at once equitable in themselves and beneficial to all 
 parties. 
 
 Arbitration with Raihi^ay Com/Sanies. 
 
 In the absence of those fixed rules which legislation 
 alone can establish, frequent recourse is necessarily 
 had to arbitration ; which, however, is unsatisfactory 
 in its results, owing, no doubt, chiefly to the difficulty 
 of procuring an umpire at once sufficiently conversant 
 with the facts and principles that should form the basis 
 of judgment, sufficiently unbiassed to deal with them 
 dispassionately, and at the same time acceptable to the 
 railway companies. In cases of difference between in- 
 dividuals and large companies, the public feeling, as 
 shown by the decision of juries and otherwise, is for 
 the most part unduly favourable towards individuals ; 
 and, in like manner, in cases between companies and 
 
 * (( 
 
 Royal Commission on Railways. Report of the Commissioners, 1867.' 
 
1855-9] TRUE INTERESTS OF RAILWAY COMPANIES. 285 
 
 that largest of corporations the State, the feehng is 
 unduly favourable to the companies ; the more so as 
 the companies can address ex parte statements to the 
 public, while even the highest fixed officers in any 
 Government department are bound by official etiquette 
 to silence. 
 
 Further indication as to the true interest of railway 
 companies in relation to the Post Office will be found 
 in the following passage : — It may be remembered 
 that I had, when chairman of the Brighton Railway 
 Company, induced the directors to offer to the Post 
 Office the almost gratuitous conveyance of an ad- 
 ditional mail by every train between London and 
 Brighton not already retained for postal service, and 
 that this offer had been in part accepted. In the 
 beginning of 1859, however, I learnt that the com- 
 pany, then under the chairmanship of Mr. Schuster, 
 demanded payment for this additional service. Sin- 
 cerely believing the demand to be contrary to the 
 company's true interests, I wrote to the chairman in 
 earnest deprecation. I give the essential part of my 
 letter : — 
 
 "15th February, 1859. 
 "My dear Sir, 
 
 -it -jt ♦ * ♦ ♦ 
 
 " I trust, however, that you will not lightly disturb the existing 
 arrangements. You are mistaken as to the motives which induced 
 the board, at the time I had the honour of being their chairman, 
 to undertake the conveyance of the mails between London and 
 Brighton at the present rates of charge. Our motive was not so 
 much the benefit of the Post Office as that of the railway company ; 
 and the result of fourteen years' experience clearly establishes, I 
 think, the policy of the measure. 
 
 " Beyond the limits of the London District there is no town in 
 England which has equal postal facilities with Brighton; and the 
 board will, I think, on reconsideration, agree with me in opinion 
 that no inconsiderable part of the ^20,000 a year obtained from the 
 sale of season tickets is attributable to this cause. 
 
286 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 " Any attempt to raise the charge upon us would necessarily lead 
 to a diminution of service ; and, in this way, the company as well as 
 the public would suffer. 
 
 "As a shareholder, I am anxious on this point. . . ." 
 
 The consequence, I am happy to say, was the 
 abandonment of the demand, and the maintenance of 
 the previous practice ; which, I understand, remains 
 unchanged to the present time (1868). 
 
 MONEY ORDERS. 
 
 The amount annually transmitted, which before the 
 establishment of penny postage had been less than 
 one-third of a million, but in the fourteen following 
 years had risen to nearly ten millions, rose between 
 1854 and 1859 to more than thirteen millions;^ and 
 the profit, which had been gradually substituted for a 
 loss, and had risen by 1854 to somewhat more than 
 ^16,000, rose by the end of 1859 to more than 
 
 ^29,OOO.t 
 
 Obstacles to Economy. 
 
 Further economy, to the extent of about ;^iooo 
 a year, might have been effected by the adoption of 
 an arrangement prepared by my brother for farming 
 out what is called ''the window duty" (that Is, the 
 direct transaction of ordinary post office business with 
 the public) at the chief money order office, on a plan 
 already in very general use elsewhere ; but, though 
 
 * In 1878-79 the amount was more than twenty-seven millions. This was, 
 however, a decrease on the preceding year, when the amount had been more than 
 twenty-nine millions. — "Twenty-fifth Report," p. 45. The profits for 187S-79 
 were ;!{^39,ooo. In the preceding year, when a much larger business had been 
 done, they were only ;,^6,400. — "Twenty-fifth Report," p. 21. — Ed. 
 
 t "Sixth Report," p. 17. 
 
i855^] CONTRACT WORK. 287 
 
 this was recommended to three several Postmasters- 
 General, its adoption was not obtained."^ Success 
 would have led to a great extension of the recom- 
 mendation ; our joint conviction being that all the 
 duties of postmasters and their subordinates, together 
 with much other business of the department, might be 
 most economically and effectually performed under a 
 system of contracts. At the same time the obstacle 
 to the change was then, as now, far from inconsider- 
 able ; the manifest effect being to diminish, in pro- 
 portion to its extent, the amount of that patronage on 
 which every Administration counts as a means of 
 influence. It must not be forgotten, indeed, that the 
 Liberal Administration under the Earl of Aberdeen 
 made a very handsome sacrifice of patronage, in re- 
 lation to the appointment of provincial postmasters ; 
 and there is ground for believing that this change, 
 instead of being disliked by Members of Parliament, 
 had from most a hearty approval ; relieving them as it 
 did, so far, from the importunities of place-hunting 
 constituents. At the same time, it must be admitted 
 that, until there be a more general enlightenment in 
 the public itself, combined with a more resolute dis- 
 continuance of everything like corrupt practice, it will 
 be difficult for any administration, however liberal, to 
 take those bold steps which alone can put the public 
 service on a sound footing. 
 
 With regard to the economic tendency of the 
 plan of contracts, I do not think it would be an 
 over-sanguine estimate to fix the annual saving of 
 public money to be ultimately derived from its full 
 
 * Mr. Frederic Ilill succeeded in the end in getting his plan adopted. It 
 works very well, I am informed, and has reduced the cost of "the window duty' 
 by about one-half. — Ed, 
 
288 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 adoption and careful administration, in the Post Office 
 alone, at a quarter of a million sterling. 
 
 PACKET SERVICE. 
 
 Post Office versus Admiralty. 
 
 As the packet service remained during the whole of 
 this period in the hands of the Admiralty, the action 
 of the Post Office upon it was necessarily indirect and 
 limited ; as is strikingly exemplified by the fact that in 
 the year 1857 the contract with the West Indian 
 Packet Company was renewed not only without my 
 knowledge, but without that even of the Postmaster- 
 General. The inconvenience of such a course appeared 
 distinctly enough two years later when Mr. Anthony 
 Trollope, being sent out to the West Indies on other 
 business, was able, although a landsman, to propose a 
 scheme of routes for the mail-packet at once more 
 convenient and more economical than the existing 
 routes, and, in the opinion of the hydrographer to 
 the Admiralty, superior to them even in a nautical 
 point of view. This scheme nevertheless had to 
 wait long for adoption, because no satisfactory ar- 
 rangement could be made with the directors of the 
 company ; and their renewed contract had yet four 
 years to run."^ 
 
 Moreover, the omission to introduce Into the re- 
 newed contract efficient stipulations to secure punc- 
 tuality led to its natural consequence ; some of the 
 packets worked by this company, viz., those be- 
 tween St. Thomas, Colon, and Greytown, being the 
 least punctual in all the mail-packet service ; while 
 
 « i( 
 
 Sixth Report," p. 27. 
 
i855-9l MAIL PACKETS. 289 
 
 the most punctual were those between Devonport and 
 the Cape of Good Hope, belonging to the Union 
 Steamship Company, into whose contract such stipu- 
 lations had been introduced in their strongest form, 
 and which in the year 1859 made every one of its 
 voyages within the appointed time."^ 
 
 The unwise renewal of the West Indian Mail 
 Packet contract naturally led to demands for similar 
 facilities elsewhere. The fact is, as already intimated, 
 that the West Indian packet service was established 
 not for postal, but for political purposes, and the term 
 Royal mail-packets was a misnomer, which, while it 
 could not blind our neighbours, tended much, as has 
 already been shown, to mystify ourselves. The chief 
 effect at this period was that other colonies, less 
 favoured hitherto, began to put in claims to which, 
 under the circumstances, it was difficult to reply ; 
 those of Australia, then rapidly rising in impor- 
 tance through the discovery of their gold-fields, 
 naturally taking the lead. In the consideration of 
 this matter the Post Office was called on to take a 
 part, and it was at length decided that a monthly 
 line of steamers In each direction should be maintained, 
 half the very heavy expense to be defrayed by the 
 mother country, and the other half by the colonies 
 conjointly ; the several contributions of these latter 
 to be proportionate to their respective amounts of 
 correspondence and the distance performed in their 
 respective services. South Australia, indeed, refused 
 at first to bear any part of this expense, save on 
 conditions which we deemed quite madmissible ; but, 
 as the Home Government stood firm, resistance was 
 eventually abandoned. 
 
 * "Sixth Report," p. 30. 
 VOL. IL U 
 
290 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 Pana7na route to Australia. 
 
 Another controversy relative to the AustraHan 
 service was as follows : — 
 
 About the year 1857 a demand arose in this country 
 for sending the Australian mails by way of Panama, a 
 line of steamers across the Pacific having been pro- 
 jected. The projectors hoped to divert a portion of 
 the mail service to that route, which of course it be- 
 came their interest to extol above all others. Their 
 recommendation was based on two alleged advantages ; 
 first, that the new route was the shortest, and second, 
 that its adoption in addition to the existing communi- 
 cation would turn the monthly mail into a bi-monthly 
 one. The comparative shortness of the route seemed 
 to be received by the public as a fact too obvious to 
 admit of question ; and as it was in connection with 
 this route that the suggestion of an intermediate mail 
 was originally made, the two projects became so 
 associated in the popular mind, that the adoption of 
 the one seemed essential to the establishment of the 
 other. Besides the new company, there were other 
 parties interested in the plan, viz., the colonies of 
 New Zealand and New South Wales, which, lying 
 eastward of the other Australian settlements, would, 
 by the proposed arrangement, receive their mails 
 earlier than their neighbours ; thus obtaining what- 
 ever advantage attaches to priority of information. 
 Whether these colonies urged upon their friends in 
 England agitation in favour of the new route, I 
 cannot say. At all events, the demand was strongly 
 backed at home, some of the newspapers becoming 
 quite clamorous for the change, the Government being 
 strongly pressed for immediate action, and all hesi- 
 tation denounced as imbecility or red-tapism. It 
 
1855-9] POPULAR GEOGRAPHY. 29 1 
 
 really seemed as if globes, maps, and gazetteers 
 were unknown or inaccessible, and common sense 
 fast asleep. The outcry increasing in volume and 
 intensity. Government at length expressed its in- 
 tention to call for tenders. How wide-spread was 
 the delusion was curiously exemplified by the following 
 mcident. Happening to meet at the Athenaeum a 
 friend, who had long held an important office in the 
 far East, almost on the shores of the Pacific, a man of 
 great acquirements and extended information,.! was at 
 once challenged with the inquiry of the day, *' Why do 
 you not establish an Australian mail by the Panama 
 route ? " and upon putting the counter-question, *' Why 
 should we ? " was promptly answered, *' Because it is 
 the shortest." I proposed that we should forthwith 
 submit this allegation to the test of measurement, and, 
 obtaining a piece of string, we repaired to the large 
 globe in the drawing-room, where a few moments 
 settled the question. So far as I was able to analyze 
 the popular error, it consisted mainly in practical 
 ignorance of the enormous breadth of the Pacific 
 Ocean. 
 
 Of course It was not sufliicient to convince private 
 friends ; my business being to act upon Government, 
 which seemed to be upon the point of incurring a very 
 large and very useless expense. I accordingly wrote 
 a report on the subject, which, as the project may 
 some day be revived, I give in the Appendix (K). 
 This, being backed by Lord Colchester, was sent to 
 the Treasury, and the plan was given up. A^ line of 
 steamers across the Pacific was, indeed, afterwards 
 established by a special company subsidised by the 
 New Zealand Government, and to this were of 
 course consigned the mails to New Zealand, and 
 such other letters, &c., as were specifically directed for 
 
 u 2 
 
292 LIB'E OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 conveyance by that route. The enterprise, however, 
 was the reverse of profitable, and has at length been 
 abandoned.^ 
 
 Peninsular and Orie?zlal Company. 
 
 It must be added that, in the year 1858, the con- 
 veyance of the Australian mails by the usual route 
 was transferred, with no small public benefit, to the 
 Peninsular and Oriental Company, t by which it 
 has ever since been well performed, the passage to 
 Melbourne via Marseilles being brought within fifty 
 days, while a punctuality is maintained, which, consider- 
 ing the vast distance to be traversed, is extraordinary. 
 This remarkable regularity, however, while proceeding 
 in great measure from the excellent management of 
 the company, is, in this case, as in several others, 
 due in part to the gradual introduction of that system 
 of fines and rewards | to which we so long strove in 
 vain to induce railway companies to consent. 
 
 Indian Mutiny. 
 
 It may well be supposed, however, that during the 
 critical period of the Indian mutiny, when all thoughts 
 
 * Even with the great assistance of the railway to California, it is doubtful if 
 the W^estern Route is the better for any colony except New Zealand. The 
 advantage of a bi-monthly mail is of course a distinct question. 
 
 It is curious how inveterate is the mistake in question. Columbus expected to 
 reach Cathay more quickly by sailing westward, but was stopped by the American 
 continent. The projectors of the " Darien Scheme " hoped to enrich themselves 
 by making their settlement a great entrepot between Europe and the East Indies ; 
 and Macaulay, in his interesting narrative of the enterprise ("History of 
 England," Vol. v., p. 200), considers their mistake to consist mainly in the 
 assumption that Spain would permit a settlement on its territory ; but it seems 
 not to have occurred to him that, in any event, the scheme was intrinsically 
 hopeless, seeing that the old route by the Cape of Good Hope, besides avoiding 
 the cost and delay of transhipment, surpasses the Darien route even in shortness. 
 (October, 1872). 
 
 t "Fifth Report," p. 17. % *' Sixth Report," p. 22. 
 
1855-9] INDIAN MUTINY. 293 
 
 were directed to one great end, and when the rapid 
 conveyance of intelHgence was of the utmost import- 
 ance, the Post Office, so far from being left unconsulted, 
 was called on for every effort that could be made. 
 After careful examination of the packet service as it 
 stood, we discovered the means of doubling the num- 
 ber of mails to Calcutta and Madras (then two per 
 month), with but moderate change of existing arrange- 
 ments, and at comparatively small additional expense.'"' 
 I wrote (Sept. 12th, 1857) to the chairman of the 
 Peninsular and Oriental Company, informing him of our 
 plan, and inviting him to a conference on the subject. 
 I also wrote (Sept. i6th) to Mr. Wilson, then Secretary 
 to the Treasury, to mention what we had done, and to 
 advise the postponement of all other negotiations for 
 the same purpose. Little time was lost in the matter, 
 the company thankfully adopting our recommendation, 
 and the new arrangement being at once approved by 
 the Treasury ; and thus was obtained, at the annual 
 cost of ;^ 1 6,000, a duplication of service, which but 
 for the expedient employed would scarcely have been 
 procured at the rate of ;^ 100, 000. Every effort was 
 also made, even at considerable expense, to shorten 
 the journey between London and Paris. By the cordial 
 assistance of the French Post Office, and the zealous 
 co-operation of the directors of the English and 
 French railway companies, this was frequently brought 
 within nine hours ; t no easy matter, perhaps, even 
 now in 1868, but certainly very difficult in 1857. 
 
 The general result of our efforts during the Indian 
 troubles was briefly stated in a letter to Lord Can- 
 ning, which I give in the Appendix (L), as it may 
 now perhaps be considered to derive some historic 
 
 « (( 
 
 Fourth Report," p. 20. t "Fourth Report," p. 22. 
 
294 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 value from the crisis during which it was written, and 
 the great statesman to whom it was addressed. 
 
 ACCELERATION OF NEWS. 
 
 In addition to the measures taken for accelerating 
 
 the mails, efforts were made to increase, as much as 
 
 possible, postal facilities to the public journals. I had 
 
 previously made various arrangements for this general 
 
 purpose, but the universal demand for early intelligence 
 
 at the time of the Indian mutiny led us to seek further 
 
 improvement. 
 
 The mode of proceeding, when application was made 
 
 to me on the subject, was, so far as I remember, for 
 the managers of the morning journals to send a special 
 messenger to Marseilles to receive there such part of 
 the mail as pertained to them. On arriving at Boulogne 
 the messenger took this on board a steamer specially 
 hired for the purpose, and immediately upon reaching 
 Dover handed it over to writers sent down from 
 London, who returned by a special train, making 
 their abstracts and extracts by the way. The pro- 
 ceeding on this side Dover may, for aught I know, 
 remain unaltered to the present time; but, with some 
 trouble, I devised and established such an arrange- 
 ment as dispensed with the special messenger to Mar- 
 seilles, and that in such a manner as to avoid the delay 
 which had led to the employment of the special 
 steamer ; so that, thenceforth, without trouble or ex- 
 pense to the journalists, their despatches were received 
 at Dover at least as early as before, the saving to each 
 paper being, as I was informed by the editor of one, no 
 less than about ^2,000 per annum. 
 
 About the same time also we revived an arrange- 
 ment, which had fallen into disuse, whereby other 
 
1855-9] CAUSES OF INCREASED EXPENDITURE. 295 
 
 foreign correspondence for the newspapers, from what- 
 ever quarter, might be obtained on application at the 
 office before any dehvery could be made to the general 
 public. The only condition required was that the 
 envelopes used should be of a peculiar tint, so that in 
 sorting they might easily be selected. 
 
 REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. 
 
 Revenue. 
 
 Following, as heretofore, that mode of accounting 
 which for the purpose of comparison it was still neces- 
 sary to retain, viz,, the one in use at the time when 
 penny postage was established, the results, in round 
 numbers, may be briefly stated thus : — 
 
 The gross revenue increased from ^2,700,000 in 
 1854 to ^3,300,000 in 1859; but as the cost of 
 management increased in the same period from 
 ;^i, 500,000 to somewhat more than ;/^i, 900,000, the 
 increase in the net revenue was somewhat less than 
 ^200,000.^ 
 
 Expenditure : Causes of Increase. 
 
 As already shown, the chief increase in the cost of 
 management was referable to the following causes — 
 increase in the staff, consequent on the great multipli- 
 cation of correspondence (by that time seven-fold its 
 original amount) ; increased salaries and allowances ; 
 the extension and ramification of the postal system 
 (already affording collection and delivery to almost 
 every village in the United Kingdom) ; the expense of 
 
 * "Parliamentary Return, 1868," No. 215. 
 
296 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 increased facilities and conveniences afforded to the 
 public ; the costly acceleration of the more important 
 mails ; and, lastly, increase in the charge for mail con- 
 veyance consequent upon its transfer from mail-coaches 
 to railway trains. It is obvious that several of these 
 causes of expenditure have no reference whatever to 
 Penny Postage, but must have arisen had the old 
 rates been maintained. 
 
 It must be remarked here that the multiplication of 
 sub-post offices and receiving-houses, implied in what 
 has just been mentioned, would have been very much 
 more costly had not the expense been controlled by 
 established rules based on sound principles. It has 
 already been shown that the old plan of considering 
 every case *' according to its merits," to use the official 
 expression, that is to say, of fixing the salary of A 
 without ever inquiring how much was paid to B, C, or 
 D, for equal service, had been to a considerable extent 
 superseded by fixed scales. But we now went fully 
 into the matter and brought the system to completion, 
 thus providing a satisfactory guide available not only 
 for new offices but also for any increase of duty at 
 those already established ; an arrangement which re- 
 moved many anomalies and also saved much valuable 
 time. The care with which the work was done is 
 attested by the fact that up to the present time the 
 scales, so far as I am aware, have undergone little or 
 no modification, and have even been used for higher 
 offices than those for which they were originally 
 intended. Like benefit was derived from a scale pre- 
 pared, about the same time, for regulating the amount 
 of security demanded from postmasters according to 
 the extent and frequency of their opportunities for 
 defrauding the revenue ; a scale which is, I believe, 
 still in force. 
 
1855-9] -REVENUE, GROSS AND NET. 297 
 
 Predictions Fulfilled, 
 
 It may be remembered that, in my evidence before 
 the Parhamentary Committee of 1838, I expressed a 
 confident anticipation that, if penny postage were 
 adopted, the pubHc would, after a while, expend as 
 much in postage as under the old system, and con- 
 sequently that the gross revenue would, in the end, be 
 made good. This anticipation was more than realized 
 in the year 1851.^ 
 
 As regards net revenue, I expressed an opinion to 
 the effect that the great increase of letters necessary 
 to make good the gross revenue would require an 
 additional expenditure of about ^300,000 per annum, 
 and, consequently, that the net revenue would be 
 reduced by that amount, or to about ;^ 1,300,000 a 
 year. The actual increase of expenditure, however, 
 owing to causes already mentioned, far exceeded my 
 estimate ; consequently the net revenue of the same 
 year (1851) was only ^i,ii8,ooo,t and it was not till 
 six years later that it rose to ^1,300, 000. J And 
 though, as must be obvious to the attentive peruser 
 of the foregoing pages, these results, but for almost 
 endless obstructions, would have occurred at a much 
 earlier date, it was with deep satisfaction that I at 
 length saw my predictions fulfilled. I may add here 
 that in the year 1862, the net revenue so far exceeded 
 any expectation that I had held out as nearly to 
 equal the largest amount obtained under the old high 
 rates ; § and that ever since that year it has greatly 
 exceeded that amount. Of course these comparative 
 statements are all based on the mode of calculation 
 
 * "First Report," p. dZ. t Ibid. % " Fourth Report," p. 44. 
 
 § " Parliamentary Return, 1S68," No. 215. 
 
298 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 which was in use at the time when penny postage was 
 adopted. 
 
 When, however, my predictions with regard to 
 revenue were fulfilled beyond all question, we thought 
 it would be well, while retaining the old mode of 
 reckoning for the purpose of showing progress under 
 the new system as compared with the old, to introduce 
 a more accurate mode, for the purpose of exhibiting as 
 nearly as possible, the actual financial results of postal 
 operations ; and the results thus arrived at were given, 
 for the first time, in the Report for 1859. By this 
 changed mode of reckoning, which is set forth in 
 some detail in its proper place,^ it appears that the 
 amount to which the Treasury was actually benefited 
 by the Post Office, though rather less than that arrived 
 at by the old mode of reckoning, was still more than 
 ^1,100,000. Of course, when comparison with the 
 past is not in question, the amount thus ascertained is 
 the one which it is best to take. It may be added 
 that the substantial part of this revenue, viz., 
 about ;^ 1, 000,000, was derived from inland cor- 
 respondence ; to which, as the reader may remember, 
 I had always pointed as the main source of actual 
 income. 
 
 STAFF. 
 
 Promotion by 3Ierii. 
 
 During this period the system of promotion by merit 
 was brought into full operation. In the three metro- 
 politan offices, when a vacancy occurred, application 
 for appointment was open to all ; the respective claims 
 were carefully compared, and without the admission or 
 any other consideration whatever, the claim which was 
 
 * <( 
 
 Sixth Report," pp. 32, zz- 
 
i855^] SIR WILLIAM HAYTER. 299 
 
 adjudged to be best carried the day. How strict our 
 practice was may be shown by the following incident. 
 To keep our course free from disturbing influence, it 
 had been laid down that any intercession from without 
 in favour of individual officers should act, if not in- 
 juriously, at least not beneficially, on the advancement 
 of those concerned ; and, as the rule had been sanc- 
 tioned by the Treasury, it certainly was not from that 
 quarter that I should have expected its breach. It is 
 much easier, however, to authorize the establishment 
 of a rule than to bend old habits in conformity with its 
 tenour, or even to remember its very existence; and, 
 not a little to my amusement, I received an interceding 
 letter from the very Secretary of the Treasury, my 
 friend Mr. (now Sir William) Hayter. The following 
 was my reply : — 
 
 " 27th December, 1855. 
 
 " My dear Hayter, — We really do mean to carry out the 
 Treasury regulations as to promotion honestly and with an utter 
 disregard of all conflicting interests, however potent. 
 
 " With this view the inclosed circular has been issued, and every 
 violation of the rule laid down, even though it extend no further 
 than the suggestion of an application such as that which you have 
 forwarded, is punished by reprimand and probable degradation. 
 
 "Fortunately young 's conduct is so good, especially as 
 
 regards the observance of the rules of the office, that I feel justified 
 in assuming that he is not to blame in the present instance, 
 but I cannot communicate the application to the Duke, neither 
 can I allow it to influence any advice I may have to give him. 
 ' I am sure you will concur in these views. 
 
 " I am, &c., 
 
 "Rowland Hill. 
 
 *« The Right Hon. W. G. Hayter, M.P." 
 
 By the transfer to the Post Office of appointment to 
 all the higher postmasterships, opportunity for promo- 
 tion was greatly enlarged, and posts formerly bestowed 
 forpolitical services, now became the rewards of approved 
 
300 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. C1855-9 
 
 merit. This change obviously involved great improve- 
 ment in the quality of the persons thus entrusted with 
 powers and duties of no small importance to the public. 
 In the provincial offices a corresponding improvement 
 was, in great measure, secured by delegating the power 
 of appointing their subordinates, under certain restric- 
 tions, to the respective postmasters; who, being them- 
 selves responsible for the good working of their offices, 
 w^ere naturally led to such selection as w^ould best 
 conduce to that end. This delegation, so far as 
 related to clerks, was made, as already mentioned, on 
 the recommendation of the Civil Service Commis- 
 sioners ; and, the trust being satisfactorily exercised, 
 was subsequently extended to the appointment of 
 letter-carriers also. 
 
 Of the inconveniences arising from confining ad- 
 mission to the service to candidates passing the Civil 
 Service examinations^ of which I have already spoken, 
 some evidence is given by the following extract from a 
 Report of Mr. Abbott, secretary to the Post Office in 
 Scotland : — 
 
 " Considering the different duties of the account, the secretary's, 
 and the sorting branches, I am inclined to believe that the examination 
 should have more special reference to the vacancy the candidate is to 
 fill than to his general knowledge on certain subjects proposed for all 
 in the same class ; more especially as regards persons nominated 
 to the sorting office, where manual dexterity, quick sight, and 
 physical activity, are more valuable than mere educational acquire- 
 ments."* 
 
 But, whatever might be the amount of inconvenience 
 that in the first appointment arose from neglect of such 
 criteria, the system of promotion by merit, being regu- 
 lated entirely by reference to official services, was 
 found to work exceedingly well. From the different 
 
 * << 
 
 Third Report," p. 28. 
 
1855-9] PROMOTION BY MERIT. 3OI 
 
 departments of the metropolitan offices, and from the 
 provincial surveyors, the reports of its operation were 
 almost uniformly satisfactory. Officers were found to 
 take more personal interest in their duties, to do more 
 work without augmentation of force, to make up in 
 some degree by additional zeal for the increased yearly 
 holiday that was granted them, and to discharge their 
 duties with more cheerfulness and spirit, knowing that 
 good service would bring eventual reward/'" In short, 
 almost without exception, good conduct was reported 
 on all sides. 
 
 From Sir Charles Trevelyan, one of the Commis- 
 sioners whose recommendation had led the Treasury 
 to adopt this beneficial change of system, I received 
 the following letter. The italics are the writer's : — 
 
 "Treasury, 26th March, 1856. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Hill, — The good fruits of improvement de- 
 scribed in the Second Annual Report of the Postmaster-General, and 
 especially in the section headed ' Staff of Officers,' are a rich reward 
 to my brother Commissioners and myself for any assistance 
 we may have given in producing them; and it is especially 
 gratifying to know that the anticipated result of giving to this large 
 body of public officers a higher interest in their profession, and an 
 increased- self-respect, and of bringing them more fully under the 
 influence of the wholesome stimulants to human action, has been 
 attained. We did what we could ; but much the largest share belongs 
 to Lord Canning and yourself, and Mr. Tilley f and your brother, and 
 other distinguished officers of the department, who not only cordially 
 co-9perated with the Commissioners of Inquiry in framing the plan, 
 but, what is far more difficult and important, carried it i?iio actual 
 effect with characteristic firmness and prudence. 
 
 " Sincerely yours, 
 
 " C. E. Trevelyan. 
 ** Rowland Hill, Esq., 
 "&c., &c., &c." 
 
 * "Second Report," pp. 27-29; "Third Report," pp. 24-29; "Fifth Report," 
 p. 23 ; " Sixth Report," pp. 38, 39. 
 t O ! si sic omnia. — Ed. 
 
302 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [i855-9 
 
 My own strong feeling of the value of the im- 
 provement I find thus expressed a year and a half 
 later : — 
 
 Extract from a letter to the Duke of Argyll, dated October 2nd, 
 
 1857:— 
 
 " While referring to Treasury authority in justification of the course 
 adopted, I think it right to add that my own opinion is entirely in 
 accordance with that authority ; nay, that I am convinced that some 
 of the more difficult improvements recently effected — that, for in- 
 stance, which has already had so beneficial an effect on the London 
 early delivery — could not have been accomplished under the old 
 system of promotion." 
 
 Health. 
 
 In the midst of proceedings thus tending not more 
 to the public good than to the true interests of the 
 officers of the department, other measures were taken 
 by which the welfare of the latter was yet more 
 directly and obviously promoted. One of these was 
 the formal appointment of a medical gentleman to take, 
 in addition to some other duties, the regular charge of 
 the health of the large number of letter-carriers 
 attached to the chief office. The duties of this officer 
 — of course with proper assistance — were subsequently 
 extended to the homes of invalids, and also to the staff at 
 each of the new district offices. Similar appointments 
 were afterwards made at Dublin and Edinburgh. 
 Means were also taken to supply the men with pure 
 water. Serious mischief had arisen, especially in times 
 w^hen cholera or diarrhoea was epidemic, from their re- 
 sort to a neighbouring pump attached to Goldsmiths' 
 Hall ; the water of which, though most attractive in 
 appearance and taste, was found by analysis to be very 
 deleterious in quality. In the erection of the new 
 district offices much care was taken to avoid those bad 
 
1855-9] HEALTH OF STAFF. 303 
 
 internal arrangements — alike destructive to rapid action 
 and injurious to health — which want of either attention 
 or experience had introduced at St. Martin's-le-Grand. 
 
 The general health of the department was in danger 
 of being lowered by the new standard of acquirement 
 that had been established for admission to the service. 
 The persons best fitted for letter-carriers' duties in a 
 physical point of view are obviously those whose pre- 
 vious occupation has inured them to labour of body 
 and endurance of weather ; but such persons w^ere, in 
 effect, to a great extent excluded by the new educational 
 requirements, which, on the other hand, gave, for the 
 most part, easy admission to shopmen, clerks, domestic 
 servants, and others, but little accustomed to out-door 
 exercise. To remedy this, the Postmaster-General 
 (the Duke of Argyll) requested the Civil Service Com- 
 missioners to adopt a somewhat lower standard of 
 acquirement, and at the same time authorized the 
 chief medical officer to subject all candidates for the 
 office of letter-carrier to stricter test as regards bodily 
 strength. The application of this higher physical 
 standard caused the rejection of at least one can- 
 didate out of four. "^ 
 
 By all these measures, the health of the depart- 
 ment, which, with every allowance for the favourable 
 age of its officers, stood even at the beginning of the 
 period in very advantageous comparison with that of 
 London generally, was gradually raised to a very high 
 standard. 
 
 One further improvement, however, seems very 
 desirable, though the means of effecting it have not 
 yet been found. In the year 1857, Dr. Lewis, the 
 chief medical officer, having reported on the sanitary 
 
 • (( 
 
 Fifth Report," p. 35. 
 
304 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 condition of the dwellings of the letter-carriers, sorters, 
 and messengers attached to the chief office,^ the 
 Annual Report makes this comment : — 
 
 " It is painful to reflect how much sickness must be caused by the 
 small, close, and ill-ventilated houses or rooms in which many of these 
 officers reside ; an amount of sickness much beyond anything that 
 can depend on the regulations of the department itself."! 
 
 A hope was expressed that, as the department had 
 stated its readiness, in case of suitable abodes being 
 provided, to give a guarantee against loss from arrears 
 of rent, provision would be made by commercial enter- 
 prise ; I but this hope still remains unfulfilled ; and it 
 
 must be admitted that no small part of the difficulty 
 rests with the men themselves. 
 
 I^isurance. 
 
 Another measure for the benefit of the staff, and 
 more especially its humbler members, that is to say 
 most of its number, consisted in arrangements for 
 facilitating life insurance, and for placing the security 
 of such investment beyond all doubt ; an improvement 
 of considerable advantage to the public, as it tends to 
 retain in its service a number of careful provident men. 
 At an earlier period, a mutual insurance society had 
 been formed in the London office, but owing to errors 
 in the scale of premiums and payments, this society 
 had fallen into difficulties, such as to show that it 
 would, at no distant period, be unable to meet its 
 liabilities. Attempts had been made from time to 
 time to obtain assistance from the Treasury ; thus, in 
 the year 1849, at Mr. Tilley's request, I spoke urgently 
 
 * " Fourth Report," p. 77. + " Fourth Report," p. 32. 
 
 X " Fourth Report," p. 77. 
 
1855-9] LIFE INSURANCE. 305 
 
 on the subject to Mr. Hayter ; a recent application 
 having been refused. 
 
 Amidst the labour and anxiety that weighed upon 
 me during the period of the Sunday Observance 
 agitation, I had no spare attention for the furtherance of 
 this useful measure, nor was it until the beginning of the 
 year 185 1 that I was able to take the next step. Then, 
 however, I spoke to Sir George Cornewall Lewis on the 
 subject. I proposed that Government should give up 
 to the fund the proceeds of the unclaimed money 
 orders, which I estimated at about ;^ 1,100 a year, and 
 I explained to him a plan which I had in view for 
 extending the utility of the association, by including not 
 only life insurance, but also guarantees for the conduct 
 of the insured. He agreed in the opinion that the 
 association should be helped in its present difficulties, 
 but, objecting to anything in the shape of charity, 
 was not inclined to go further ; and in this position 
 matters remained for the time. On my brother's 
 appointment, however, later in the same year, I 
 directed his attention to the matter, and, in a short 
 time, he produced a plan which, satisfying the 
 Treasury, procured for the society its required 
 assistance. 
 
 The first step in accordance with this sanction was 
 to induce an office of undoubted stability to take upon 
 itself the society's liabilities ; and to this the Atlas 
 Assurance Company assented upon receiving the sum 
 of ^2,000, which was drawn from the void order fund. 
 It was arranged that thenceforth the whole of this fund, 
 amounting at the time to about ^1,400 a year, together 
 with the interest on its previous accumulation, which 
 constituted a principal of about /" 12,000, and lastly, all 
 the money found in such *'dead letters" as could not 
 be returned to the writers, should be applied towards 
 
 VOL. IL X 
 
306 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [185S-9 
 
 assisting officers in payment of insurance fees.'"* In 
 this manner the association in question, '' The Post 
 Office Widows' and Orphans' Fund Society," was 
 placed on a firm footing. 
 
 As, however, the demands thus made on these 
 various funds were not sufficient, in the scale laid down, 
 to absorb the whole, a portion of the void order fund 
 was employed in rescuing from difficulties another 
 society in the London Office, called the '' Letter- 
 Carriers' Burial Fund ; " the rights and claims of which 
 became perplexed and uncertain on the amalgamation 
 of the two sets of letter-carriers ; with only one of 
 which the society had been connected. These measures 
 had the effect of exchanging past contributions into 
 payments for life insurance ; and thus gave to every 
 contributor the full benefit of his former sacrifices. 
 The fund still being by no means exhausted, authority 
 was obtained to apply the remainder towards aiding 
 members of the service throughout the United 
 Kingdom to insure their lives, by using it in part 
 payment of the premiums ; and, even from the best 
 established insurance offices, a considerable reduc- 
 tion of fees was obtained, in consideration of the 
 large amount of business thus thrown into their 
 hands. 
 
 By the end of 1857 the total amount insured for was 
 ;^2 8o,ooo.t As might be expected, the greatest 
 
 * " Before 1871 the money accruing; from unclaimed money orders had, for many 
 years, been used in aiding officers of the department to insure their lives ; but in 
 that year the Lords of the Treasury gave directions for the discontinuance of the 
 practice (except in regard to then existing recipients of the aid), and for the pay- 
 ment of this money into the Exchequer. In obedience to this order, the accumu- 
 lated capital, together with the interest thereon (amounting to £20,']0'j), was paid 
 into the Exchequer. The actual amount of unclaimed money orders for 1871 was 
 ;^3. 390. "—"Twenty-fifth Report," p. 65.— Ed. 
 
 t " Fourth Report,' p. 33. 
 
1855-9] MUTUAL GUARANTEE. 307 
 
 amount of providence was shown in Scotland, England 
 at first lagging much behind, while poor Ireland was 
 fairly distanced. Subsequently, however, England 
 came up with Scotland, and even Ireland amended 
 her relative position. Still, the number of insurers, 
 when compared with that of the whole force, was at 
 best but small : a defect attributed to the premiums 
 having to be paid in quarterly amounts; an arrange- 
 ment unsuited to men in the receipt of weekly or even 
 monthly wages. It was therefore arranged that in- 
 surers should have the option of making their pay- 
 ments by means of a small deduction from their 
 salaries. This improvement was found to produce 
 the desired effect ; the number of insurers increasing 
 by about eighty per cent, within three months after 
 the alteration.^ 
 
 Another beneficial change arose thus. Of course, 
 in these departments of the service where the 
 officers have to be intrusted with the public money, 
 guarantees are required of those who are appointed; 
 a requirement necessarily producing either trouble 
 or expense. Private guarantees were commonly 
 procured, though some nominees got the security 
 of the British Guarantee Association, the fees 
 for obtaining which, however, although moderate, 
 implied a considerable deduction from the smaller 
 salaries. Mr. Banning, the postmaster of Liver- 
 pool, conceived the plan of a mutual guarantee 
 amongst the officers themselves. This proving 
 very successful at Liverpool, was subsequently 
 introduced into the Chief Office, and extended 
 to the offices of some other of the principal 
 towns. t 
 
 * "Sixth Report," p. 43. t "Sixth Report," p. 42. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 Libraries. 
 
 The following is an extract from the Postmaster- 
 General's Report for 1858 : — 
 
 " It is with much pleasure that I have witnessed the establishment, 
 among the clerks in the Chief Office in London, of an institution 
 called the Post Office Library and Literary Association. The large 
 number of clerks who have enrolled their names shows how general 
 among them are a taste for reading and a desire for mental cultivation 
 and pleasures of a superior kind. Besides much support within the 
 department, the institution has received many liberal donations, both 
 of money and books, from without — among others, a munificent gift 
 of ;£5o from His Royal Highness the Prince Consort." * 
 
 In the following year similar institutions on a smaller 
 scale were established at nearly all the London district 
 offices, and also at Glasgow, t In the London office, 
 the institution was aided by the delivery of lectures, 
 a work in which several of the higher officials took 
 part. On the occasion of the annular eclipse of 1858 
 I took my turn by giving a lecture on the subject of 
 that phenomenon, and had the pleasure of addressing 
 a very full and very attentive audience. 
 
 Summary, 
 
 I cannot better close this account of the Post Office 
 staff, numbering at that time more than twenty-four 
 thousand persons in all, of which more than three 
 thousand served in the London district, than by quoting 
 the following passage from the Sixth Annual Report, 
 that for 1859, Issued as usual in the following year, 
 and signed by the Postmaster-General of the day, Lord 
 Elgin: — 
 
 " It is with much satisfaction that I contemplate the many improve- 
 ments made within the last few years in relation to the staff of officers. 
 
 * (< 
 
 Fifth Report," p. 25. t "Sixth Report," p. 43. 
 
T855-9] SUMMARY OF IMPROVEMENTS. 309 
 
 The arrangement under which every person who enters the service is 
 placed on probation before being fully admitted ; the gradual increase 
 of salary within the respective classes according to each officer's good 
 conduct and increasing usefulness ; the promotion from class to class, 
 and from appointment to appointment, according to merit and 
 superior qualification practically demonstrated, and irrespective of all 
 other consideration ; the strengthening of responsibility and of 
 energetic management by giving to the postmasters the choice of 
 their own clerks and letter-carriers ; the improvement that has been 
 made, where necessary, in the sanitary state of the post offices 
 generally, and the appointment at the Metropolitan offices of medical 
 men to attend gratuitously on all employed th^re (except the higher 
 paid officers), and thus to stop disease at an early stage; the extension 
 to all the servants of the Post Office of a pension in old age ; and 
 the arrangement by which every man can obtain aid in insuring his 
 life, and thus provide for his family at his death, — are excellent, and 
 have, I believe, produced the best effects. 
 
 " I have the less hesitation in giving my testimony to these im- 
 provements, because as I have been but a short while in office, 
 most of them were effected during the time of my predecessors."* 
 
 * " Sixth Annual Report," p. 43. 
 
310 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILI. [1854 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 FIRST ANNUAL REPORT, 1854. 
 
 The first of the series of Annual Reports was prefaced with an 
 historical sketch of the Post Office from its origin, written by my 
 nephew, Mr. Alfred Hill. To this interesting narrative I beg to 
 refer such of my readers as may desire to become acquainted with 
 the early history of the department* Like all similar documents, 
 it will be found in any collection of Parliamentary papers. Here, 
 however, I shall only quote one or two statements not previously 
 given, and some few other passages that may interest or amuse. 
 
 Soldiers^ Letters. 
 
 It had formerly been maintained, even by so high an authority as 
 the Duke of Wellington, that British soldiers were but little dis- 
 posed to make use of their long-existing privilege of penny postage. 
 That opinion found little confirmation at this time, since during the 
 first eight months, after arrangements had been made for postal 
 communication during the Crimean War, more than three hundred 
 and fifty thousand letters each way passed between England and the 
 seat of war ; neither did the higher rate attaching to the quicker 
 route through France prevent its engrossing six-sevenths of the 
 whole correspondence. 
 
 Colonial and Foreign Posts. 
 
 Under this head the Report deals with one of a numerous class 
 of misapprehensions. I think I have already referred f to the well- 
 known propensity of Englishmen to make comparisons unfavourable 
 to their own country. The simplified and reduced postage on 
 letters to and from the Colonies, viz., sixpence for the whole 
 distance, had, as respects the Australian Colonies, been unfavourably 
 
 * "First Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 7. 
 t See p. 92. — Ed. 
 
1854] FIRST ANNUAL REPORT. 3II 
 
 contrasted with the charge of t^yopence-halfpenny made for con- 
 veying a letter to AustraUa from the United States, whereas the 
 American charges did not include the colonial postage, by which, 
 even when lowest, the total was raised above our rate. Again, the 
 American mails were despatched only by chance vessels, while the 
 English mails were conveyed by regular packets, bound under heavy 
 penalties to start at fixed times and to perform the voyage within a 
 stipulated period, and therefore engaged at higher rates, the British 
 Post Office paying threepence where the Post Office of the United 
 States paid but one penny. 
 
 It is mentioned that the book-post was now in operation with 
 almost every important colony, and with most of the minor ones ; 
 and that amongst other changes in foreign postage there was an 
 important reduction in that to France, which, from a rate varying 
 between eightpence and tenpence, — itself a very great reduction on 
 earlier rates, — had been reduced to a uniform one of fourpence. 
 By this improvement the postage between any place in the United 
 Kingdom and any place in France, including even Algeria, was 
 made as low as that charged, twenty years before, between the 
 nearest two towns in England, and less than the eighth part of the 
 postage charged at that earlier period on letters between say 
 Manchester and Lyons. 
 
 Street Nomenclature and House Nu7nhering. 
 
 In a note to certain recommendations to the general public, 
 remark was made on the confusion and delay in the delivery of 
 letters arising from the application of the identical names to 
 different streets, the extent of this practice being shown by the 
 fact that in London alone there were found to be fifty King Streets, 
 as many Queen Streets, and sixty John Streets and William Streets. 
 In the Appendix mention is also made of perplexities arising from 
 irregularity in numbering, carried in some instances to such an 
 extent as to have the same number attached to seven different 
 houses in the same street, and, in particular places, exhibiting such 
 further anomalies as would seem altogether incredible. Mr. T. B. 
 Cooke, Inspector of Letter Carriers, who supphed the information, 
 gives the following ludicrous instance : — 
 
 " On arriving at a house in the middle of a street, I observed 
 a brass number, 95, on the door, the houses on each side being 
 numbered respectively 14 and 16. A woman came to the door, 
 when I requested to be informed why 95 should appear between 
 
312 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1854 
 
 14 and 16; she said it was the number of a house she formerly 
 lived at in another street, and it (meaning the brass plate) being 
 a very good one, she thought it would do for her present residence 
 as well as any other." 
 
 Unfounded Complaints. 
 
 Reference was made to serious charges brought against the Post 
 Office without sufficient examination of antecedent facts ; thus it was 
 shown to a newspaper publisher, who complained of repeated losses, 
 that it was his own clerk who was the thief. In another case, a more 
 general complaint on the same subject led to the discovery, near 
 the chief office, of a thriving mart, illicitly supplied by private 
 messengers employed to convey newspapers to the post. 
 
 Early History of the Post Office. 
 
 In an interesting Report from Mr. Scudamore, there is a remark- 
 able passage which shows that general views in accordance with those 
 on which my reforms were founded were incidentally expressed, about 
 a century and a half before, by the Postmasters-General of the day, 
 Sir R. Cotton and Sir F. Frankland. It is as follows : — • 
 
 " We have, indeed, found by experience, that where we have 
 made the correspondence more easie and cheape, the number of 
 letters has been thereby much increased, and therefore do believe 
 such a settlement may be attended with a like effect in those parts 
 [viz., a particular district]." 
 
 I cite also from Mr. Scudamore's Report the following curious 
 passage : — 
 
 "The packets in those times, when war raged for so many years, 
 and when every sea was covered with French privateers, gave our 
 Postmasters-General very great and constant anxiety. Their orders 
 to the captains of such vessels are urgent, that they shall run while 
 they can, fight when they can no longer run, and throw the mails 
 overboard when fighting will no longer avail. . . . [There is] a 
 piteous petition from James Vickers, captain of the Grace Dogger, 
 who, as he lay in Dublin Bay waiting until the tide would take him 
 over the bar, was seized by a French privateer, the captain of which 
 stripped the Grace Dogger of her rigging, sails, spars, and yards, 
 and of all the furniture ' wherewith she had been provided for the 
 due accommodation of passengers, leaving not so much as a spoone 
 or a nail-hooke to hang anything on,' and finally ransomed her to 
 
1854] FIRST ANNUAL REPORT. 313 
 
 the aforesaid James Vickers for fifty guineas, which sum, with the 
 cost of the other losses, our Postmaster-General had to pay." 
 
 Improvement in Accoimts. 
 
 A passage from the Report of the Chief Examiner shows the 
 great improvements which had taken place in the system of 
 accounts, and the strange laxity which had existed before the late 
 reforms. 
 
 By this it appeared that under the old system the accounts of the 
 provincial postmasters were usually from three to six months in 
 arrear; that no vouchers were demanded for the proper disburse- 
 ment of the money with which the postmasters were credited ; that 
 through this dilatoriness they were themselves frequently ignorant 
 of the real state of their affairs, and under temptation to use the 
 public money for their own purposes;* while, at the same time, the 
 revenue was injured by the delay in remitting the balances. This 
 was contrasted with the new system, under which " each post- 
 master renders his account week by week, with all its proper 
 vouchers for every receipt and every payment, and showing the 
 revenue left in his hands at the close of each week to be the 
 smallest possible sum." f 
 
 At the same time, notwithstanding the "many and great struggles 
 made to bring the accounts of the Post Office into a satisfactory 
 state," the force in the offices of the Receiver and Accountant- 
 General had been reduced from ninety-three to fifty-one, and that 
 not only without any demand for extra time, but with a fair 
 allowance of holiday to those engaged. 
 
 PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT FROM 1 85 5 TO 1 85 9. 
 NUMBER OF POST OFFICES, ETC. 
 
 The number of receptacles for letters in the United Kingdom, 
 which before the establishment of penny postage was about 4,500, 
 and which had subsequently been raised to about 10,000, was 
 
 * "April 7, 1849. — Accounts of debts due by late Postmasters not yet dis- 
 charged by the sureties (some many years old) show that, while the amount of 
 revenue collected in Great Britain is about ten times as great as that collected 
 in Ireland, the debts in Ireland more than double those in Great Britain." — Sir 
 R. Hill's Journal. —Ed. 
 
 " First Annual Report," p. 71. 
 
314 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [185S-9 
 
 increased during the period now under consideration to more than 
 13,000,"^ thus nearly tripling the original number, f Of these about 
 2,000 were pillar-boxes. It is to be observed that, while these 
 cannot fulfil all the purposes of post offices, they have the advan- 
 tage over them in one important respect. They can be cleared at 
 all hours of the night, when receiving-houses and sub-post offices 
 are closed ; a convenience especially valuable in London, in refer- 
 ence to the morning mails. Their superiority in respect of economy 
 is obvious ; and this valuable quality so faciUtates their multi- 
 plication that in London, by the close of the period, there was 
 scarcely a house but had a posting-place within a furlong. J 
 
 Some inconvenience arose at first, and probably is still ex- 
 perienced in a less degree, from the greater opportunity for 
 mischief afforded by these isolated boxes, though there is some 
 set-off in the circumstance that the most wanton or malicious act 
 directed against them can extend no further than to the boxes and 
 their contents. An abominable attempt, made in the year 1859, to 
 set fire during the night to the contents of a box at a post office — 
 that of Devonport — besides partially effecting this detestable pur- 
 pose, greatly imperilled the whole building, and even placed in 
 jeopardy the lives of the postmaster and his family. § 
 
 NUMBER OF LETTERS. 
 
 The increase in the number of chargeable letters delivered in the 
 United Kingdom was from 443 miUions in 1854 1| to 545 millions 
 in 1859 ;1I /.(?., from somewhat less than six-fold of the number 
 previously to the establishment of penny postage to somewhat more 
 than seven-fold ; so that the mere increment during these five years 
 far exceeds the total amount under the old rates; the one being 
 102 minions and the other only 76 miUions.* ^ 
 
 RETURNED LETTERS. 
 
 In the Report for 1855 there is striking information as to re- 
 duction in the proportion of returned, missent, and redirected 
 
 * " Sixth Annual Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 7. • 
 + The number of such receptacles in 1878-79 was more than 25,000, of which 
 nearly 12,000 were pillar-boxes. — "Twenty-fifth Report," p. 7. — Ed. 
 Z " Sixth Report," p. 9. § "Sixth Report," p. 7. 
 
 II "First Report," p. 22. H "Sixth Report," p. 14. 
 
 * * For the numbers in 1878-79, see p. 382. — Ed. 
 
1855-9] REGISTRATION 315 
 
 letters which followed the establishment of penny postage. In the 
 year 1838 the postage so lost amounted to 4}( per cent, on the 
 gross postal revenue of Great Britain. In three years it had fallen to 
 2^ per cent, in eleven years more to i per cent., and in three years 
 more to ^ per cent. ; * and the proportion seems to have fallen 
 afterwards still lower, f 
 
 REGISTRATION. 
 
 The proportion of registered letters, too, which under the original 
 high charge had been comparatively small, was now steadily 
 advancing; the Fourth Annual Report showing that in the year 
 1857 it was one out of 400. | In the year 1868 it was as high 
 as one out of 333. The general adoption of registration, however, 
 was, and probably still is, somewhat retarded by the fear that, as 
 the very fact of registration indicates value, which might other- 
 wise remain unobserved, its use tends rather to create danger 
 than to diminish it. This objection is sufficiently disposed of 
 by a statement in the Sixth Annual Report, by which it appears 
 that of the 1,400,000 letters registered within the year, only 785, or 
 one in about 1,750, were reported as not having reached their 
 destination. Further, that all these except 15 were afterwards 
 recovered ; and that of eight, out of this small exceptional number, 
 the loss had occurred after they had left the custody of the British 
 office.§ In contrast with this it may be mentioned that in the same 
 year (1859) no less than ;£"26o found in unregistered letters remained 
 in the hands of the Post Office simply from the want of means to 
 find out either the addressee or the sender. || Such negligence in 
 remitting money is the more blameable because, as remarked in the 
 Postmaster-General's Third Report, it offers temptations to theft 
 which often prove irresistible, " bringing many a man in the service 
 of the Post Office to disgrace and ruin, who, but for the thought- 
 lessness 11 or parsimony of others, might have remained an honest and 
 useful member of society."* "^ As if this were not quite enough, a cry 
 was raised that the dishonesty really due to this blameable conduct on 
 the part of individuals was attributable to parsimony in the depart 
 
 * ** Second Report," p. 18. t "Sixth Report," p. 15. 
 
 + •' Fourth Report," p. 17. § "Sixth Report," p. 15. 
 
 II "Sixth Report," p. 15. 
 H " Macaulay wrote to me at Harrow pretty constantly, sealing his letters with 
 an amorphous mass of red wax, which, in defiance of post-office regulations, not 
 unfrequently concealed a piece of gold." — "The Life and Letters of Lord 
 Macaulay." Second edition. Vol. ii., p. 426 — Ed. 
 
 * * "Third Report," p. 30. 
 
3l6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 ment. It was alleged, though without any justification, as will 
 hereafter be shown, that men were driven to depredation through 
 scantiness of pay. 
 
 Soldiers^ Remiiiances* 
 
 During the time of the Russian War the money order system was 
 carried into active operation amongst our forces serving in the East, 
 who, in the course of the year 1856, sent home by this means more 
 than ;,£'ioo,ooo.* 
 
 Increased Facilities of Re7Jiittance. 
 
 It was in this period that the maximum amount for a single 
 money order was raised from ^^ to ;!^io,t an improvement long 
 urged; that opportunity was given for converting, at an almost 
 nominal charge, a money order into what was in effect a bill 
 payable ten days after date ; and that, to facilitate small remittances, 
 postage stamps were made exchangeable for money at a low com- 
 mission, on application at a post office. % 
 
 Exiefision of Money Order System to Colonies. 
 
 In the year 1857, after overcoming many difficulties, a plan was 
 devised for establishing a money order system between the mother 
 country and the colonies. In fear of opposition on the ground of 
 interference with private enterprise, the plan was arranged with a 
 view to remove objections previously regarded as insuperable on 
 the part of bankers, and succeeded in obtaining the acquiescence 
 of those most likely to be affected by the change. The consent 
 first of the Postmaster-General (Lord Colchester), and afterwards 
 of the Treasury, was obtained ; but when the arrangement was 
 about to come into operation the Treasury sanction was suspended, 
 on that very allegation of interference which it was hoped had been 
 provided against. In 1859, however, taking advantage of an 
 application on the subject from the Canadian Post Office, these 
 views were again urged. With Lord Colchester's approval, appli- 
 cation was again made to the Treasury, which, after some hesitation, 
 agreed to try the experiment. It is only necessary to add that 
 the trial proved so successful that money order communication was 
 gradually extended to all»the other colonies, and to some foreign 
 countries. 
 
 « (( 
 
 Third Report," p. 12. t "Sixth Report," p. 17. % " Sixth Report," p. 18. 
 
1855-91 COLONIAL AND FOREIGN POSTS. 317 
 
 Intra-colonial Rates of Postage. 
 
 By returns obtained from the colonies during the year 1856, it 
 appeared that reduction of rate was universal, or very nearly so, 
 and uniformity of charge almost as general. The lowest rate 
 reported was that in India, where the minimum charge was, and 
 still is, for all distances, as low as three farthings ; and though 
 the weight thereby covered is certainly very small — being only about 
 one-tenth of an ounce — yet on the one hand such restriction appears 
 to produce little or no inconvenience to natives, and on the other 
 hand it is more than counterbalanced by the vast extent of country 
 over which a letter may be conveyed. The new postal system, which 
 involved in effect the complete adoption of my plan, was established 
 on the recommendation of a Commission of Inquiry. I have lately 
 learnt (1870) with great satisfaction, that, whereas before the change, 
 the Indian Post Office was a source of expense, it is now self- 
 supporting. 
 
 Transference of Manage?nenf of Colonial Post Offices. 
 
 As it had been found difficult, or rather impracticable, for the 
 Postmaster-General effectually to superintend postal affairs in distant 
 colonies, measures were taken in the year 1859 — though they could 
 not be completed until the next year — for transferring to the different 
 Colonial Governments in the West Indies (unfortunately, in the 
 case of Jamaica, at least, much against their will) the management 
 of their respective offices. Of course such transfer, following as it 
 did a similar change with regard to all our North American colonies, 
 materially reduced the amount of our revenue, the counterbalancing 
 advantage being the benefits usually arising from autonomy. 
 
 FOREIGN POSTS. 
 
 Prance. 
 
 The reduction of postage between England and France, already 
 mentioned, which extended to the transit rates charged in each 
 country on the letters of the other, having been followed by a large 
 increase of correspondence, further changes were considered de- 
 sirable,* and in the year 1856 my brother was sent to Paris to 
 negotiate with the French Office. The result of the proceedings 
 was the completion of a new postal convention involving large 
 
 • (( 
 
 Third Report," p. 15. 
 
3l8 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 mutual reduction in transit rates and sea postage, an important 
 clause being inserted which empowered the two Offices, by mutual 
 agreement, to make future alterations in most of the provisions 
 of the convention without the delay and formality of ordinary 
 diplomatic action. This important provision, being one on which 
 great stress was justly laid, was carefully included, when practicable, 
 in subsequent treaties with whatever power. 
 
 Other European Countries. 
 
 New postal conventions, having for their object a reduction and 
 simplification of charges, were in the same year (1856) in progress 
 with Belgium, the German Postal Union, and Spain. Even with 
 the first of these powers negotiation advanced but slowly ; with the 
 other two progress was slower still ; while all attempts with Portugal, 
 even to obtain reduction in the excessive rate then charged to 
 Madeira, viz., one shilling and tenpence the quarter ounce, with an 
 additional charge on delivery, a matter of no small importance to 
 many English families, were for the time fruitless.* Indeed, so 
 sluggish were the movements of this power, that no new convention 
 had been effected with it, and consequently no postal improvement 
 made (save in marine transit), for fifty years. Two years later, 
 however, through the efforts of the British ministers at Madrid and 
 Lisbon, aided by Mr. Edward Rea, who had been despatched by the 
 Postmaster-General for the express purpose, better postal treaties 
 with Spain and Portugal were at length concluded.! 
 
 United States. 
 
 Arrangements were also made for the registration of letters 
 between this country and the United States ; | but on other points 
 of far more importance negotiations with that country made no 
 effective progress during the period now under review. Our 
 proposals made in 1856, which involved a reduction in the letter 
 postage from a shilling the half ounce to sixpence, the establishment 
 of a book-post, and the adoption of low transit rates on terms more 
 favourable to the United States than were required by simple equity, 
 were met by a counter-proposal, which, not being regarded as 
 
 • "Third Report," p. 17. f "Fifth Report," p. 19. 
 
 X "Third Report," p. 18. 
 
1S55-9] MR. PLINY MILES. 319 
 
 satisfactory, was replied to with a full statement of objections ; an 
 cffer being made at the same time to submit the whole matter, 
 if needful, to the arbitration of a third party. Instead, however, 
 of making any rejoinder to this, the American Postmaster-General, 
 in his next Annual Report, while entirely passing over the offer of 
 arbitration, represented England as acting so unsatisfactorily, "that 
 for the present no disposition is felt to pursue the matter further."'* 
 Any one wishing to satisfy himself as to the respective merits of the 
 parties in this proceeding will find the necessary documents in the 
 Appendix to the Sixth Report of the British Postmaster-General, 
 
 P- 57. 
 
 Before the English rejoinder could be made, however, the mis- 
 representations so boldly put forth raised an outcry in America, 
 which was partly echoed here. Error in this country, so far as it 
 went, was likely to disappear, or at least to become harmless, as soon 
 as the next Annual Report came out; but in America, correction, 
 if left to ordinary means, would doubtless have been found very 
 slow. Fortunately, as might be expected in so energetic a nation, 
 the need called forth the man ; and so much as one man could do 
 for diffusing sound knowledge on the whole subject was done by 
 the late Mr. Pliny Miles ; who, in his zeal for postal reform — a zeal, 
 I must remark, rarely leading him into any inaccuracy — published 
 more on the general subject in America than ever I did in England, 
 travelled widely also in the Union, to urge his views by word of 
 mouth, and several times crossed the Atlantic for the furtherance 
 of his object. I must forestall events so far as to add that, long as 
 he had to labour, and often as he endured disappointment, he 
 happily lived to see his efforts rewarded with a large measure of 
 success.! I must also so far anticipate here as to express the 
 pleasure with which I have heard during late years of a total 
 change in the spirit of the American Post Office, the new autho- 
 rities of which have, I am informed, shown the utmost readiness 
 
 * " Sixth Report," p. 20. 
 
 + Since the above was written, a passage, though an erroneous one, in an 
 interesting and popular work, has reminded me of another American labourer 
 in the field of postal improvement. One of Miss Mitford's letters would seem 
 to show that as early as 1832, or four years before my pamphlet was written, she 
 went to hear Mr. Elihu Burritt lecture on ocean penny postage. A letter lately 
 received from Mr. Burritt informs me that he never visited England before 1846, 
 and never worked in the cause of postal reform but in sequence to myself. 
 Explanation of the error may easily be found by reference to the difficulty which 
 must have been encountered in piecing together, with even plausible correctness, 
 the scraps of paper on which Miss Mitford's letters were habitually written. 
 
320 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 to concur frankly in any measure of improvement, and an honourable 
 desire to form arrangements equitable to both parties. 
 
 Treaties made easily Terminable. 
 
 As much inconvenience had arisen from past treaties having been 
 made generally for long periods, so that, in case of disagreement as 
 to interpretation on any point, or of serious modification being 
 found needful, nothing could be done save by the slow and 
 cumbrous process of diplomacy through the Foreign Office, a 
 clause was inserted in all these new conventions, in accordance with 
 a general rule previously laid down, whereby they were made 
 terminable by either party at moderate notice. 
 
I85S-9] DISCONTENTS IN THE OFFICE. 32 1 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 DISCONTENTS IN THE OFFICE. {1855-1859.) 
 
 While, however, content thus prevailed at the 
 Post Office, and while reports from all quarters spoke 
 highly of the general conduct of those employed in its 
 service, it was inevitable that amongst so large a body 
 of men discontent should arise somewhere or other. 
 Promotion by merit, however satisfactory to the de- 
 serving, did little to gratify those who had no merit 
 to show, and was yet more distasteful to any whose 
 conduct positively shrunk from examination. Even 
 less gratification was doubtless felt by men who found 
 themselves deprived of extra pay long received but 
 never earned, — nay, accorded where, instead of ad- 
 ditional service, even ordinary duty had been so 
 remitted as to become little more than nominal. 
 
 Of course, too, the officials of the Post Office, high 
 and low, like all other persons employed in whatever 
 service, hold themselves constantly open to an offer of 
 increased salary or other improvement in condition ; 
 and as, in the nature of things, such advancement 
 does not always come so frequently as desired, are not 
 a little disposed to give the matter a helping hand 
 when convenient. It will readily be imagined that 
 such movements are most frequent in the lower 
 branches of the service ; or at least take there their 
 most troublesome form. Sorters and letter-carriers, 
 like other handicraftsmen, are more struck with the 
 amount of their own work than able to appreciate the 
 superior skill and incomparably greater labour required 
 in the higher operations ; and thus their inequality of 
 condition, though the natural result of inferiority in 
 
 VOL. II. Y 
 
322 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 qualifications, is too apt to be regarded as a standing 
 grievance. Unfortunately, the public is somewhat apt 
 to foster the error ; to accept without examination 
 sweeping statements as to excessive labour and in- 
 sufficient recompense ; and, as in the case of other 
 operatives, the evil is prodigiously aggravated by men 
 who in such aggravation find advantage or gratification 
 to themselves, and who unhesitatingly swerve as far 
 from truth and justice as public credulity will allow — 
 no very limited tether. 
 
 In a weekly paper entitled the "Civil Service 
 Gazette " I was subjected, from an early period of my 
 career at the Post Office, to almost constant personal 
 attacks ; many of them written with considerable 
 plausibility, but all void of substantial truth. Every 
 one who has well considered the subject of slander 
 must know how great an advantage the unscrupulous 
 journalist has over the object of his attack, in the 
 dilemma in which he places him of either replying, 
 at much expense of time and dignity, to unfounded 
 charges, or of allowing to them the sanction which a 
 very large, though somewhat thoughtless, portion of 
 the public infers from reticence. The amount of 
 mischief that may be done in any department of 
 manufacturing industry by artful misrepresentation 
 addressed to over-willing ears has been painfully 
 illustrated of late ; and this is by no means without 
 its parallel in that widely-extended department of 
 Government which was so long the scene of my 
 labours. Some notion of the means employed may 
 be formed by a perusal of the following handbill, a 
 copy of which was most properly forwarded to the 
 Chief Office by the postmaster of a large provincial 
 town, who found it in circulation among the clerks 
 of his office : — 
 
POST OFFICE REF ORM. 
 
 AGITATE-AGITATE-AGITATE ! ! ! 
 
 BEAD THE " CIYIL SERVICE GAZETTE," 
 
 Unstamped 5d. — Stamped 6d. 
 
 July 24th, 1858, 
 
 BREAK DOWN OF THE GAGGIN<S SYSTEM ! 
 
 WHITE SLAVES OF THE POST OFFICE. 
 
 3 1st, 
 Rowland Hill's Job Frustrated: 
 
 HIS GREAT REVENGE: 
 
 The Screw and Gragging System of the General Post Office. 
 
 POST OFFICl Elf OHMS 
 
 AND THE WAY TO GET THEM : 
 
 HOPE FOR THE LETTER CARRIERS. 
 Coming Emancipation of the White Niggers, 
 
 August 7th, 
 
 POST BWmi FIMMllllf. 
 
 OUR MISSING LETTERS AND OUR LATE DELIVERIES. 
 
 The Letter Carriers' "Bill of Fare." 
 
 14th, 
 
 0Bt ©fpr^ ^4^m by Merit, 
 
 REVELATIONS FROM ST. MARTINS LE GRAND. 
 
 HOPE FOR THE OPPRESSED. 
 
 THE POST MASTER GENERAL AND THE 
 LONDON LETTER CARRIERS. 
 
 Communications addressed, pre paid, to C. W. No. 9, East Mount Terrace, 
 London. — E. will meet with immediate attention. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 Self-answering as such exaggeration must appear to 
 the thoughtful and well-informed, it is not without its 
 effect on the unthinking and ignorant, particularly 
 when the demands it implies correspond with their 
 own natural desires. In some hope, therefore, of 
 averting, or at least lessening, mischief, I drew the 
 attention of Lord Colchester, then Postmaster-General, 
 to the intrusion of this handbill into the department. 
 It must be added that the copy received at the pro- 
 vincial office was enclosed in a circular signed by a 
 former postmaster who had been dismissed for mis- 
 conduct. His lordship entered into the matter with 
 interest, and suggested further inquiry ; which, being 
 made, showed that the offensive paper had been sent 
 to various other large offices. Nothing, however, 
 resulted from these measures ; and, as I had long 
 ago directed my private secretary to make no report 
 of what appeared in that journal, save in cases of 
 absolute necessity, I was generally able, when a good- 
 natured friend inquired if I had seen the last attack, to 
 reply in all sincerity that I did not read the paper. 
 The attacks, I understand, continued some years 
 longer, many of them being traced to discharged 
 servants of the office. I cannot but express my regret 
 that the Civil Service should not have seen that it was 
 disgraced by the support of a paper which conde- 
 scended to such disreputable means for accomplishing 
 its objects. Be this as it may, it is easier to shut 
 one's eyes to a fire than to put it out or prevent 
 its spreading, and, as will be seen, the sparks thus 
 maliciously scattered were not altogether without 
 effect. 
 
 The eligibility of a letter carrier's position at the 
 time to which I refer was shown, not only by the 
 large number of respectable men constantly applying 
 
1855-9] CONDITION OF LETTER-CARRIERS. 325 
 
 for appointment, but by the advantages attached to 
 the service in respect of rate of wages, supply of 
 clothing, opportunity for rising into the class of 
 sorters, the pension provided for old age (combined 
 with assistance in life assurance), the gratuitous supply 
 to a large portion of the force of medical attendance 
 and medicine, and lastly, the annual holiday granted 
 without loss of wages ; while, with all this remune- 
 ration, the hours of labour, taking one day with 
 another, were limited to eight. I may add that 
 measures were in progress for yet further improving 
 the condition of the letter-carriers."^ 
 
 Every care, moreover, had been taken to provide 
 for the speedy rectification of individual cases of 
 hardship, which in so large and rapidly extending 
 a department might unwittingly arise, by giving 
 the fullest opportunity for legitimate complaint, by 
 guarding all such complainants as took the prescribed 
 mode from any consequent prejudice, however un- 
 founded their allegations might prove, and by allowing 
 to the lowest man in the service the means of appeal 
 to the highest authority, that of the Postmaster- 
 
 * One curious question bearing on the letter-carriers' position, and which 
 occupied some little attention at this time, I must here mention, as it is 
 connected with a popular misconception, sometimes fruitful in trouble, viz., 
 whether public gratuities, such as Christmas-boxes, should be taken into account 
 in estimating a letter-carrier's emoluments or not. These Christmas-boxes, I 
 may observe, average about ^^13 per letter-carrier, and amount in some cases, I 
 am told, to as much as ;C5'^ or ;^6o. At first sight it appears most ungenerous to 
 include them, and yet a short statement will show that to some extent this is 
 unavoidable. A letter-carrier, say, has attained the highest position open to him 
 as such, and is offered admission to the class of sorters, where the minimum pay 
 equals his present maximum, while the maximum is more than double what he is 
 receiving. This offer he declines, because by accepting it he would cease to have 
 direct intercourse with the public, and so lose all opportunity for gratuity. This, 
 of course, he has a perfect right to do ; but when he continues, while rejecting the 
 higher rate, to point to the lower as ground of complaint, either the answer must 
 explain the anomaly by referring to the addition to his salary thus made every 
 Christmas, or a complaint really unfounded remains plausible, and obtains 
 inconsiderate support. 
 
326 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 General. With such provision it might perhaps have 
 been hoped that not only would all motive to such 
 insubordinate proceedings as had frequently troubled - 
 the department in previous years be entirely re- 
 moved, but even that irregular modes of complaint 
 would not have been taken, at least until after full 
 trial of the appointed channel. 
 
 Nevertheless, about two months after the circu- 
 lation of the inflammatory paper given above, amidst 
 an almost total absence of formal complaint, and 
 certainly without substantiation of any grievance in 
 respect of a class, or even of individuals, a meeting of 
 letter-carriers was held in the South Western district, 
 and reported in the newspapers, at which " Speeches 
 were made containing statements which the men who 
 uttered them must have known to be false, but from 
 the consequences of which they endeavoured to screen 
 themselves by concealing their names." ^ For the 
 time the misconduct was repressed ; but we felt that 
 without either such a course of concession as would 
 gradually raise salaries far beyond true remuneration 
 (thus tending to serious waste and other evils, not less 
 certain though less patent), or such union of firmness 
 and energy In all the authorities of the department as 
 would render even an approach to mutiny unsafe to 
 those concerned, recurrence of trouble was certain, 
 and its imminence could not but remain a source of 
 anxiety. This will further appear in a later period of 
 my narrative. 
 
 Slander, however, was not the only means resorted 
 to by malcontents ; threats being added. Of these no 
 mention appears In my Journal, as of course I wished 
 
 * "Fifth Report," p. 40. In the admonitory address from which the above 
 quotation is made, and which was afterwards published in the Annual Report, 
 tJie position of a letter-carrier is distinctly set forth. 
 
1855-9] THREATS OF ASSASSINATION. 32/ 
 
 to keep off all apprehension on my account from my 
 family, and particularly from my wife, who generally 
 acted as my amanuensis. At least three times, how- 
 ever, notice was sent me that unless the wages of 
 the letter-carriers were raised I should be assassinated. 
 The first of these occurrences was, I believe, in 1854, 
 when I was summoned from a holiday sojourn at 
 Brighton, in consequence of a letter to this effect 
 being received at the office, where, in my absence, 
 it had been opened by my brother. On arriving at 
 the London Station, I found my brother, Mr. Peacock, 
 the solicitor to the Post Office, Mr. (now Sir William) 
 Bodkin, its standing counsel, and, I believe, Mr. 
 Bokenham, head of the Circulation Department, who 
 had all come to meet me, thinking it better that for 
 the time I should not go to the office. The threaten- 
 ing letter was produced, and I was informed that the 
 writing was identified by an expert with that of a 
 certain letter-carrier in the Chief Office, who had 
 lately been giving considerable trouble. In short, 
 Mr. Peacock, in kind concern for my safety, advised 
 immediate arrest and prosecution. Upon a careful 
 comparison, however, of the anonymous letter (which 
 of course was written in a disguised hand) with 
 a specimen of the suspected man's usual handwriting, 
 I felt so much doubt as to the evidence of identity 
 that I declined to concur in the proceeding, which was 
 consequently abandoned ; and I must add that circum- 
 stances (though of what nature I cannot now recollect) 
 seemed afterwards to show that my doubt was well 
 founded. 
 
 Another letter, received a year or two afterwards, 
 was more precise in its warning, naming a particular 
 day on which, supposing demands to remain un- 
 granted, execution would take place, notifying also 
 
328 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 the mode of death fixed upon, viz., by shooting. 
 To allow reasonable time for effecting the change, the 
 interval was somewhat long ; and, oddly enough, the 
 day again happened to fall w^ithin the period of my 
 holiday, though near its end. As, however, the notice 
 was so definite, I thought it well to show myself, lest 
 absence, being misinterpreted, should lead to further 
 trouble. Accordingly, returning home the evening 
 before, I went the next morning, at my usual hour and 
 by my usual route, to the office ; my practice at that 
 time being to walk the last half-mile of the way.^ I 
 carried no weapon but my umbrella, but of this I 
 determined to make, if necessary, good use, believing 
 that if properly handled it would prove a very formid- 
 able, not to say deadly, weapon. I scarcely need say 
 my resolution was not put to its trial. 
 
 The last letter I received on such a subject is shown 
 by the postmark to have been sent on December 23rd, 
 1858. It certainly was rather ill-timed, for in the 
 previous month I had induced the Treasury to aban- 
 don its intention of issuing an order forbidding the 
 receipt of Christmas-boxes, and also had obtained for 
 the letter-carriers some improvement in their scale of 
 wages, the Treasury granting even more than was 
 applied for. Of course I took no more notice of this 
 threat than of its predecessors ; and the age to which 
 I have lived is an instance of the longevity proverbially 
 attained by threatened men. 
 
 * Among some "miscellaneous anecdotes" recorded by Sir R. Hill I find the 
 following : " I used at one time to walk to Camden Town, take an omnibus as 
 far as the corner of Gray's Inn Lane and Holborn, and thence walk to St. 
 Martin's Le Grand. One day, while sitting in the omnibus, I overheard one 
 gentleman say to another, ' I understand that Mr. Rowland Hill often travels in 
 these omnibuses.' ' Oh, yes,' replied the other, who chanced to sit nearly opposite 
 me, * I very often meet him — I know him quite well.' Of course I held my 
 peace, not deeming it necessary to disconcert my familiar acquaintance." — Ed. 
 
i8S5-9] I'OST OFFICE PUBLICATIONS. 329 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS FROM 1 855 TO 1 859. 
 
 Various occurrences remain to be mentioned before 
 I proceed to that portion of my narrative with which I 
 shall close the history of this period. 
 
 In order to give the public, in a cheap and con- 
 venient form, such information regarding the Post 
 Office as is of general interest, we established that 
 small periodical publication which is now so well known 
 by the name of the '' British Postal Guide." The 
 first number appeared in the year 1856, and its accept- 
 ability was shown by the sale soon rising to between 
 twenty and thirty thousand. From that time to this 
 a revised edition has been regularly issued every 
 quarter. 
 
 About two years later a valuable improvement was 
 effected in a publication which had for many years 
 existed under the direction of the Post Office by the 
 name of the *' Daily Packet List." This was now 
 rearranged, enlarged, and made to convey much infor- 
 mation beyond its former meagre contents ; a weekly 
 edition was added ; and the '' Postal Official Circular," 
 as it is now called, has performed much useful service. 
 Had the recommendation, however, which was actually 
 adopted by the Postmaster-General, been sanctioned in 
 full by the Treasury, the sphere of this publication 
 would have been so extended as to render it a 
 
330 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. ' [1855-9 
 
 kind of postal monitor ; correcting misconception as 
 it arose, and keeping the public constantly informed as 
 to the real proceedings of the department. 
 
 STAMPING. 
 
 The Post Office stamp indicating date had never 
 been renowned for clearness, and perhaps the constant 
 increase in the number of letters may have tended to 
 make the dark darker still. At all events means for 
 improvement had been for some time in earnest con- 
 sideration, when circumstances drew public atten- 
 tion pointedly to the defect. At a trial presided over 
 by Lord Campbell, towards the end of 1856, a question 
 of some importance turned upon the precise date at 
 which a letter was posted ; and the stamp being too 
 obscure to supply the necessary evidence, his lordship, 
 though in a tone of general friendliness to the Post 
 Office, animadverted rather sharply upon the failure. 
 This brought me a letter from the Duke of Argyll, 
 who was then absent from town, to which I replied as 
 follows : — 
 
 "17th December, 1856. 
 
 " My dear Lord Duke, — Active measures for the improvement 
 of the date stamp have long been in progress, and much has aheady 
 been accompUshed ; a further minute on the subject will be ready, I 
 hope, by to-morrow night's post ; Lord Campbell's censures are there- 
 fore, to say the least, ill-timed. 
 
 " The foreign stamping is on the whole somewhat better than ours, 
 but the difference is not great, and Mr. Bokenham thinks it will dis- 
 appear when we have a better ink. The foreign stamping is, I 
 believe in most cases similar to our own, but the work is done more 
 leisurely. 
 
 " We have tried various machines, but as yet without success. My 
 son thinks he can overcome the difficulties, and he has for a long 
 
1855-9] SAVINGS BANKS. 33 1 
 
 time been at work at a model ; but your Grace is aware that 
 mechanical inventions are slow of realization ; still I hope something 
 may be accomplished before very long. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 "Rowland Hill. 
 " His Grace the Duke of Argyll." 
 
 More than two years elapsed before a satisfactory 
 result was arrived at. Amongst the various machines 
 tried, there were several that would do the work, but 
 such as produced legible marks w^ere deficient in speed, 
 and vice versa ; so that the human hand, imperfect as 
 was its operation, still retained its superiority. In the 
 year 1859, however, machines devised by my son were 
 '* at length constructed, which are found," says the 
 Report, ''to perform the work of stamping and oblite- 
 rating more quickly and perfectly than by hand." ^ My 
 son, however, laboured hard for further improvement 
 so successfully that at the present time, with much 
 increased legibility in the impression, the speed of 
 operation as compared with the best handwork is at 
 least fifty per cent, higher. The value of his invention 
 was, two or three years after my resignation, on Mr. 
 Tilley's recommendation, handsomely recognised by 
 a special grant of ;^ 1,500; of which, however, about 
 ;^650 w^as in remuneration for actual outlay. 
 
 SAVINGS BANKS. 
 
 In the year 1859 the first move was made towards 
 that important improvement, the establishment of the 
 Post Ofhce Savings Bank; Mr. Edward Baines, M.P. 
 for Leeds, enclosing to me unofficially, but with a re- 
 quest for attention, a paper on the subject, drawn up 
 by Mr. Charles William Sikes, of Huddersfield, the 
 
 % (< 
 
 Sixth Report," p. 9. 
 
 O 
 
332 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 originator of the plan. I wrote on August 2nd to 
 express my concurrence in Mr. Sikes's views, and my 
 readiness to do what I could towards giving them 
 effect. My letter was as follows : — 
 
 "August 2nd, 1859. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — Pray excuse the unavoidable delay in replying to 
 your letter of the 30th ult. 
 
 " With modifications which could readily be introduced, Mr, Sikes's 
 plan is, in my opinion, practicable so far as the Post Office is con- 
 cerned. 
 
 " The plan also appears to me to be practicable in its other parts •, 
 but on these I would suggest the expediency of taking the opinion of 
 some one thoroughly conversant with ordinary banking business, and 
 who is acquainted also with Savings Banks. 
 
 " I need not add that, if carried into effect, the plan would in my 
 opinion, prove highly useful to the public, and, in some degree, 
 advantageous to the revenue. 
 
 *' I shall be most happy, when the time arrives for so doing, to 
 submit it for the approval of the Postmaster-General 
 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 "Rowland Hill. 
 
 "E. Baines, Esq., M.P., Reform Club." 
 
 Mr. Sikes, I must not omit to say, never received 
 nor ever sought any advantage, pecuniary or otherwise, 
 in recompense for his admirable suggestion, contenting 
 himself with the deep gratification of having done what 
 lay in his power to confer an inestimable benefit on the 
 humbler classes of his countrymen. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 at once took up the scheme warmly,^ and subsequently 
 
 * Mr. Gladstone wrote to Mr. Sikes the following letter : — 
 
 "14, Downing Street, Whitehall, 30th November, 1859. 
 
 "Dear Sir, — I have read with much interest your tract on Post Office Savings' 
 Banks, and have discussed the subject with Sir A. Spearman, who has also had 
 some communication with the Post Office authorities. 
 
 "The difficulties are very serious, chiefly in connection with the question of 
 interest and the mode of account for it. 
 
1855-9] SALARIES. 333 
 
 carried the measure through Parliament, the machinery 
 for giving it effect being devised by Messrs. Scudamore 
 and Chetwynd. 
 
 SALARIES. 
 
 I have already implied an opinion that, if any of the 
 officers in the Department are underpaid, it is rather in 
 the higher walks than the lower. For the lower offices 
 fit men are to be found in abundance, while for the 
 higher there is certainly no superfluity. Many of the 
 higher officers are, indeed, paid more than their 
 services deserve, but this is due to a previous bad mode 
 of promotion. On the other hand the talent, zeal, 
 energy and integrity, with which some of the higher 
 duties are actually filled, obtain but scanty recompense, 
 even when every allowance is made for certainty, early 
 income, and claim to pension, in comparison with the 
 emoluments obtained by equal qualifications in the com- 
 mercial or manufacturing world, so that there is a 
 danger, and something more than a danger, of good 
 men being allured from the service by offers or pros- 
 pects based on the powers and qualities they have 
 therein demonstrated. With this feeline I induced the 
 Postmaster-General to apply to the Treasury early in 
 1859 for a moderate increase of salary to the Assistant 
 Secretaries, and some few others who had distinguished 
 
 * ' At the same time there is so much of promise in the plan on the face of it, 
 that we are unwilling to let it drop without a most careful examination. 
 
 '* If you are likely to be in London, or were disposed to come hither, personal 
 communication on details might be of advantage. Sir A. Spearman would be 
 most ready to see you for the purpose of entering into them full}', and I should be 
 very desirous myself to give any aid in my power at the proper time. 
 
 " I remain, Dear Sir, yours very faithfully, 
 
 "W. E. Gladstone. 
 *'C. W. SiKEs, Esq." —Ed. 
 
334 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 themselves by efficient discharge of their duties. Sir 
 Stafford Northcote, then Secretary to the Treasury, 
 after calhng for more information, and considering the 
 question at an interview appointed for the purpose, 
 obtained the adoption of this recommendation, though 
 not to its full extent. 
 
 VOLUNTEER CORPS. 
 
 In the same year, the Volunteer movement having 
 begun, we thought it important that a corps should 
 be raised in the Post Office, trusting that such a 
 move might act as an example to the Civil Service 
 generally. Accordingly, on May 4th, I wrote to the 
 Postmaster-General, Lord Colchester, on the subject, 
 and obtained his ready sanction. Upon my communi- 
 cating with the heads of departments, I was told that 
 there would be readiness enough to volunteer if only 
 the expenses could be provided for, or reduced to a low 
 rate ; that the men would willingly give their time, but 
 thought it somewhat unreasonable that there should be 
 a demand for their money also. The difficulty was 
 overcome by the same means, and I suppose to about 
 the same extent, as in other corps ; but from that day 
 to this I have been unable to understand the policy or 
 propriety of making men pay for liberty to serve their 
 country, a practice which must, in the nature of things, 
 debar large numbers from enrolment. The movement 
 was not limited to the Chief Office, and was especially 
 satisfactory at Edinburgh. 
 
 I have now to mention some attempts at Improve- 
 ment which did not succeed at the time, and yet 
 remain to be effected. 
 
1855-9] COMPULSORY PREPAYMENT. 335 
 
 COMPULSORY PREPAYMENT. 
 
 In my original plan, as may be remembered, I 
 counted upon universal prepayment as an important 
 means towards the simplification of accounts, and con- 
 sequent economy of time and expense ; the expedient 
 of double postage on postpayment being regarded by 
 me as a temporary mode of avoiding the difficulties 
 naturally attending a transition state; and though 
 hitherto postponing the measure to more pressing 
 matters, I had always looked forward to a time suitable 
 for taking the step necessary to the completion of 
 my plan. Of course, the almost universal resort to 
 prepayment had rendered accounts of postage very 
 short and easy, but obviously universal practice alone 
 could render them altogether unnecessary. 
 
 In the year 1859, upon a review of all circumstances, 
 we hoped that the fitting time had at length arrived, 
 the proportion of unpaid letters having become ex- 
 ceedingly small ; and we made the attempt. Such a 
 change, however, could not be effected without pro- 
 ducing a certaint amount of inconvenience ; and un- 
 fortunately, while those annoyed were loud in their 
 complaints, the general public could not readily be made 
 very sensible of the benefits, economical and otherwise, 
 thence to be derived, and still less could they be made 
 as earnest in defence as opponents were in attack. Not 
 a little to my regret, I found it my duty to recommend 
 to the Postmaster-General that the measure should be 
 indefinitely postponed. My own feelings and opinions 
 on the subject will be shown in the following extract 
 from a letter w^hich I addressed shordy afterwards 
 to my sister in South Australia : — 
 
 " You will learn by the newspapers, perhaps, that we have been in 
 hot water with the public, t.e.^ with the majority of the public, in 
 
33^ LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 consequence of an attempt to make prepayment of inland letters 
 compulsory to the extent of one penny. By this post I send you a 
 parliamentary return, showing our reasons for the measure, and the 
 grounds of its abandonment. 
 
 *' This is the first time I have had to retrace a step ; and to confess 
 the truth, I don't like it. Since the measure was abandoned, many 
 have come forward to defend the restriction ; had they done so 
 in the first instance the result might, perhaps, have been different" 
 
 PARCELS POST. 
 
 As early as 1842 '" I had recommended the estab- 
 Hshment of a parcels post, but was prevented from any 
 immediate action by my dismissal in that year from the 
 Treasury ; and for a long time after my recall to office, 
 measures of more pressing importance, combined with 
 the difficulties of my position, compelled further delay. 
 Even when I had more leisure, and was on firmer 
 ground, the ill-judged opposition of the railway com- 
 panies remained a constant obstacle. In the year 1858 
 the question was taken up by the Society of Arts, a 
 meeting being held on the subject, with Lord 
 Ebrington, now Earl Fortescue, in the chair, and an 
 able Report, drawn up by my friend, Mr. Chadwick, 
 was adopted. Nevertheless, this valuable addition to 
 public convenience is still a desideratum. 
 
 TUBULAR CONVEYANCE. 
 
 The division of London into districts naturally 
 induced inquiry as to the swiftest and cheapest means 
 of conveyance over the comparatively short distances 
 between office and office. Mail-carts were at once put 
 in use, but I was inclined to hope that a swifter mode 
 
 • i< 
 
 Report of Select Committee on Postage (1843)," P- 4i« 
 
T855-9] TUBULAR CONVEYANCE. 337 
 
 might be found — one, too, less liable to interruption. 
 I called to mind an attempt made thirty or forty years 
 before by a Mr. Vallance, to propel a vehicle containing 
 passengers through a partially exhausted tube ; the 
 project then in view being the construction of an air- 
 tight tunnel between London and Brighton. Of this 
 I had received some account from my friend, the late 
 Mr. Moses Ricardo, who had been a passenger in a 
 short experimental trip. He told me, indeed, that on 
 reaching the terminus he and those with him ''got a 
 bang" by the abrupt stoppage of the vehicle, no 
 arrangement having been made for its gradual check ; 
 but knowing that such arrangement was very feasible, 
 and apprehending no severe consequences in any case 
 to letters or newspapers, I hoped a similar plan might 
 prove applicable to the purpose in hand. I therefore 
 called in the assistance of two able engineers, viz., Mr. 
 Charles Hutton Gregory, and Mr. Edward Alfred 
 Cowper, who jointly made, with great care and skill, a 
 full investigation into the practicability of the scheme. 
 To avoid needless expense, they conducted their experi- 
 ments on a small scale, nor was any line of tubes of a 
 size for actual use ever laid down, though Mr. Cowper 
 devised and constructed a very ingenious air-pump, 
 especially applicable to the exhaustion of the tubes, as 
 was attested by its complete success. The conclusion 
 arrived at was that the plan was perfectly practicable, 
 but that for distances so short the economy in time 
 would not be sufficient to justify the additional expense 
 involved in the innovation. 
 
 Some years later, remembering this ground of con- 
 demnation, I inquired whether the plan could not be 
 made available for a larger purpose. Up to that time 
 it had not been found practicable to convey the mail 
 from London to Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, or Paris, 
 
 VOL. n. z 
 
338 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855^ 
 
 within the compass of a night ; acceleration, therefore, 
 up to this point was highly desirable. Even now 
 (1868), much as has been done, the work is not abso- 
 lutely perfect ; while the increased expense by which 
 the last abridgement, though of not more than two or 
 three hours, has been effected, exceeds ^15,000 per 
 annum. Now my hope was that by the establishment 
 of tubular conveyance so far as Dover on the one 
 hand, and Crewe on the other, the necessary accele- 
 ration in all the three services — Irish, Scotch, and 
 French — might be obtained ; and judging from the 
 estimate made with reference to the London District, I 
 hoped that the cost would not greatly exceed the actual 
 payment for the railway service to be superseded. To 
 these larger questions, therefore, the attention of 
 Messrs. Gregory and Cowper was now turned. 
 
 I must confess, however, my views were not alto- 
 gether limited to increased speed : I saw that tubular 
 conveyance, if successful, would facilitate frequent 
 despatch ; indeed, that a rapid succession of mails 
 would probably be the most economical way of using 
 the apparatus ; again, that as the tubes could without 
 inconvenience keep the line of ordinary roads, pass 
 through the heart of towns, and even be carried, when 
 necessary, through the very post offices along the route, 
 I hoped for no small economy, both of time and 
 money, in the disuse of the mail-carts plying between 
 such offices and the various railway stations. I further 
 thought that, if railway companies saw a successful 
 competitor for postal service, they would moderate their 
 demands, or, if remaining unreasonable, would be con- 
 trolled by arbitrators, who would of course take the 
 new rival into account. Lastly, I hoped that the great 
 acceleration consequent upon the adoption of the new 
 plan would prove highly acceptable to newspaper 
 
1855-9] INVENTORS. 339 
 
 proprietors, by expediting the distribution of their 
 journals. 
 
 In due time I received a very able report upon the 
 subject. This was drawn up by Mr. Cowper, but 
 received Mr. Gregory's sanction. The substance is 
 given in the following passage : — 
 
 " I find that with pipes of sufficient diameter, and a vacuum of 
 II lbs., a speed of 120 to 150 miles an hour might be obtained, but 
 at a very great cost, both in first outlay and in working expenses." 
 
 I may add that the means recommended was ex- 
 haustion of the tube, not the injection of air ; that 
 powerful engines would have had to be erected at in- 
 tervals of only four miles ; that the chief weight to be 
 dealt with was not that of the piston and the mail — 
 which really constituted only a small fraction of the 
 whole — but that of the air itself within the tube ; that 
 the annual expense, including four per cent, interest on 
 outlay, would be, for a tube ten inches in diameter, 
 about ^32,000 the hundred miles, but for a fifteen-inch 
 tube, which I regarded as indispensable, no less than 
 /"8o,ooo. 
 
 As this latter amount largely exceeds even the high 
 payments for railway conveyance over the same dis- 
 tance, the project was indefinitely postponed, without 
 its very entertainment, so far as I am aware, ever having 
 reached the public ear. And here, I may remark, that 
 almost every improvement, mechanical or otherwise, is 
 preceded by more or less of inquiry, cogitation, and 
 experiment, sometimes involving serious labour and 
 expense, which, ending only in disappointment, remains 
 unknown ; w^hile the public, through absence of infor- 
 mation, naturally makes its estimate of labour by 
 reference to that only which produces manifest results ; 
 an error often productive of great injustice to inventors, 
 
 z 2 
 
340 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 who are thus regarded rather as men that have made 
 lucky hits than as those who by energy, perseverance, 
 and generally great pecuniary sacrifice, have, after 
 many failures, worked their way to valuable results. 
 I, indeed, was now able to make needful experiments 
 without any risk to myself, or even much outlay by the 
 department ; but projectors are seldom so fortunately 
 placed. 
 
 When, some time afterwards, a company was formed 
 for reducing the plan of tubular conveyance to practice, 
 all the information on the subject acquired by the Post 
 Office was handed over for its use. Though greatly 
 pressed we declined to enter into either partnership or 
 covenant with the company until the successful working 
 of the scheme should be established. One line was so 
 laid down as to be available for our purpose, viz., that 
 from the Euston Station to the North Western dis- 
 trict Post Office, a distance of about half a mile, and 
 was used accordingly. Unfortunately, however, the 
 whole enterprise proved unprofitable, and for the time, 
 at least, tubular conveyance of mails came to an end. 
 Still, what is recorded here may one day prove useful, 
 since the day may arrive — perhaps is now come — 
 when, on some one line at least, the expense involved, 
 prodigious as it must be, will be justified by the amount 
 of correspondence and the importance of speed. 
 Perhaps the approaching termination of the contract 
 for the Irish mail service may afford convenient op- 
 portunity for the trial. '^ 
 
 * For further information on this subject, see Appendix M. — ** Pneumatic tubes 
 for the conveyance of telegrams are in use," I am informed, "between the Central 
 Telegraph Office in St. Martin's-le-Grand and many branch offices, the longest 
 line of tube being that to the House of Parliament — upwards of two miles. They 
 are also in use in Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle, and 
 Dublin. In Berlin a costly tube service has been established for the distribution 
 ol letters to the various parts of that city." — Ed. 
 
i855~9] MR. ROBERT STEPHENSON. 34 1 
 
 CONTROVERSY WITH MR. ROBERT STEPHENSON. 
 
 In the course of this period I was reluctantly 
 drawn into controversy with the eminent engineer, 
 Mr. Robert Stephenson, then President of the Society 
 of Civil Engineers, who, in his inaugural address, 
 in defiance of facts, with which, at his request, I 
 had supplied him, represented the railway system as 
 essential to the fiscal success of penny postage, and 
 even to the conveyance of the mails : and then pro- 
 ceeded to charge the Post Office with harsh and 
 unjust dealing in relation to the railway companies, 
 and with uncertainty, irregularity, and delay in its 
 own proceedings. The dissatisfaction which I natu- 
 rally felt and expressed at statements and charges so 
 unfounded, being reported to Mr. Stephenson, drew 
 from him a letter in which he expressed regret at 
 my annoyance, thanked me for the information 
 supplied to him, admitted *'all the principal facts 
 therein stated," but retained his own conclusions ; at 
 the same time deprecating controversy, and speaking 
 in the highest terms of my public services. To 
 remove, as far as practicable, the erroneous impression 
 necessarily produced by Mr. Stephenson's address, 
 which of course could not be affected by his private 
 letter, I requested Mr. Edward Page, the Inspector- 
 General of Mails, as the officer most conversant with 
 the whole subject, to prepare a complete exposition 
 of the facts of the case ; and this, drawn up with 
 Mr. Page's usual care and ability, appeared in the 
 Appendix to the Second Report of the Postmaster- 
 General (p. 45), and, I may add, will still repay 
 perusal. In a subsequent address, however, to the 
 Institution, Mr. Stephenson, without any effectual 
 answer to Mr. Page's definite and accurate statements, 
 
342 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 repeated his former asseverations. Holding it un- 
 profitable to argue against declamation, I allowed 
 the controversy to drop ; nor should I now have 
 thoucrht it needful to trouble the reader with this 
 statement, had not a recent biographer of Mr. 
 Stephenson reopened the question. 
 
 NEWSPAPER PRIVILEGES. 
 
 I now come to a question on which, I fear, sound 
 views will at no time receive much commendation or 
 support from the newspaper press. Inestimable as is 
 the benefit conferred by the action of the fourth estate^ 
 taken as a whole, it is nevertheless unquestionable 
 that this estate, like those more formally recognised, 
 is at times swayed more or less by considerations not 
 relating altogether to the highest public interest. 
 Naturally conscious of its own high merits, it is a 
 little apt to forget that its good work proceeds, for 
 the most part, from the same motive that impels other 
 caterers to the general welfare and convenience, and 
 to suppose that it has claims which itself would be 
 prompt to deny to other crafts. These claims it has 
 great power of enforcing, for bold indeed must be 
 the minister who should maintain to the full the public 
 right against so powerful a brotherhood. 
 
 The real question is, whether the conveyance of 
 a newspaper at a lower rate than other printed 
 matter, and, indeed, at a rate too low to cover the 
 cost, be not a sort of bounty or protection granted 
 to a section — in fact, a small section — of newspaper 
 readers at the expense of the general public. My 
 own opinion being strongly in the af^rmative — be- 
 lieving, moreover, that such a departure from the 
 principles of free trade is unwarrantable — I found it 
 
i855-^] POSTAGE ON NEWSPAPERS. 343 
 
 my duty to prevent, if possible, the establishment of 
 such an anomaly. The better, however, to set forth 
 my proceedings on this point, I must mention some 
 antecedent circumstances. 
 
 First, it must be borne in mind that while news- 
 papers had been gradually relieved of all special 
 taxation, the postal privileges originally conferred 
 upon them in consideration of such special taxation 
 had been not only maintained, but greatly extended. 
 Thus, whereas under the old system free delivery, 
 even of stamped newspapers, extended only to such 
 as passed between post town and post town, such 
 towns being but about nine hundred in number, while 
 a charge, varying from one penny to twopence, was 
 levied in all other cases, they were now almost every- 
 where delivered free. Of course, too, newspapers 
 shared with letters the advantage of that rapid 
 transmission which was maintained at great expense.^ 
 
 All this, and much more to the same general pur- 
 pose, was set forth In an elaborate minute which 
 I had to prepare some time afterwards. Never- 
 . theless, in the year 1858, Government was called on 
 ^Ijjt to extend these privileges still further, and this 
 unreasonable demand I felt bound. In the Interest 
 of the public, to resist. As the correspondence, 
 pro and con, will be found at full In Parliamentary 
 Return No. 302, i860, a short notice here will 
 suffice. 
 
 In a minute there given, after dwelling on the 
 Important changes mentioned above, I pointed out 
 that the actual rate charged on newspapers, was, in 
 respect of the heavier newspapers, only one-eighth 
 of that charQ:ed on letters. I referred to the known 
 
 * More detailed information on this subject will be found in Appendix I. 
 
344 ^IFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 impracticability of defining a newspaper, and the 
 consequent necessity of extending the privileges now 
 applied for, if conceded at all, to much other matter ; 
 and I indicated the obstacles that would thence arise 
 to the rapid conveyance of the mails, through the 
 difficulty and danger of giving out or receiving heavy 
 bags without stopping the trains. 
 
 The Treasury, however, deciding in favour of the 
 memorialists, all that could be done was to devise 
 means to reduce the evil to a minimum ; and in this, 
 as indeed in the whole transaction, I had Lord 
 Colchester's thorough support. The plan I devised 
 received the approbation of the Treasury, but the 
 whole matter was for the time set aside by the 
 change of Government which speedily followed. Lord 
 Colchester was followed by Lord Elgin, thus con- 
 tinuing the succession of excellent Postmasters- 
 General. Before this time, however, the Times, 
 generally so friendly to me, and so often affording 
 my plans a support on which I set a high value, 
 began a series of attacks on the Post Office, and 
 more particularly on myself, which continued, at 
 short intervals, for some months, and became the 
 source of much trouble. This evil, however, brought 
 its consolation. Letters of sympathy, not unmixed 
 with indignation, came in from various quarters, 
 amongst others from the Duke of Argyll, my late 
 official superior, and from that tried friend of truth 
 and justice, the late Lord Radnor. 
 
 It is with much regret that I say anything in dis- 
 paragement of the leading journal ; omission, how- 
 ever, would impair the truth of this narrative, and 
 would so far leave others that may tread in my path 
 unwarned as to what, in like circumstances, they must 
 expect. As I have already said, the Tiriies has much 
 
1855-9] POSTAGE ON NEWSPAPERS. 345 
 
 oftener afforded me support than subjected me to 
 attack ; frequently, too, bringing a salve for the very 
 sore it had made, and ably maintaining those views 
 which, in its moments of irritation, it had scornfully 
 disparaged. On one of the very points on which 
 it attacked the ofhce about this time, viz., the com- 
 parative amount of work and wages in the depart- 
 ment, it subsequently wrote in an admirable manner ; 
 nor can I refer my readers to an abler exposition of 
 sound principles than is to be found in its article of 
 July 24th, 1862. I cannot touch upon this subject 
 without mentioning the remarkable fact that, whereas 
 the introduction of penny postage was really followed 
 by a reduction in the hours of work, and at the same 
 time by an increase in the remuneration to almost 
 every man in the department, save only the Post- 
 master-General and the Secretary, an impression has 
 very generally prevailed, and still, I believe, remains 
 in many quarters, that the truth is the very reverse. 
 
 Early in the year i860, Mr. Gladstone requested 
 me to attend at his office to meet the manager of the 
 Times and another gentleman, who wished to make 
 some representations on the part of the journals. The 
 interview took place accordingly, when I found that 
 the demand was for a reduction of the newspaper rate 
 in all cases, however heavy or light the paper, to one 
 penny. The argument chiefly relied on by the appli- 
 cants was that the railway companies were happy to 
 convey the papers at half the charge ; to this I merely 
 replied that, if such were the case, there could be no 
 reason, seeing that there was no monopoly in the 
 conveyance of newspapers, to make any application 
 at the Post Office, the whole matter being already 
 provided for. I need not say, however, that this 
 reply, though it remained unrefuted, was held to be 
 
34^ LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 quite unsatisfactory. Of course, the rejoinder was 
 that the faclhty In question was Hmlted to places 
 served by railway lines ; but I had no difficulty in 
 showing that this destroyed the whole value of the 
 argument, since it was the very relief from the expense 
 of extended and ramified operation w^hich enabled 
 railway companies to do their work at so low a rate. 
 
 It was almost immediately after this Interview that I 
 was attacked with the severe illness which for a long 
 period disabled me for duty, and from which. Indeed, I 
 have never fully recovered. The proceedings closed 
 for the time with a statement made by Mr. Gladstone 
 on May 14th, i860, when, In reply to an inquiry from 
 Mr. Balnes, member for Leeds, In relation to a bill 
 which had been introduced on the subject, he stated 
 that differences of opinion had arisen between those 
 interested and the Post Office on certain points which 
 Parliament would have to consider, and then proceeded 
 as follows : — 
 
 " We are, however, met by this difficulty. Sir Rowland Hill, the 
 Secretary to the Post Office, I regret to say, has been labouring 
 under a severe illness, and an intimation has been made to him on 
 medical authority that it is absolutely requisite, in order to the public 
 retaining his invaluable services, that he should have leave of absence 
 for no less a period than six months. I think, therefore, it will be 
 impossible for the department to state its case on a subject of this 
 kind in the absence of one who, I may say, has been the life and 
 soul of all the Post Office arrangements in this country for the last 
 twenty years. Under these circumstances, I have no alternative but 
 to postpone that inquiry which I admit to be fairly demanded ; and 
 as it is uncertain whether or not Sir Rowland Hill may recover 
 before the end of the Session, I think it best to drop the bill, 
 reserving to myself the renewal of it at a future period, after this 
 inquiry shall have been made."* 
 
 To conclude this subject, I must mention that when, 
 
 * "Hansard," Vol. CLViii., p. 1205. 
 
1855-9] POSTAGE ON NEWSPAPERS. 34/ 
 
 nine years later, after my retirement from the Post 
 Office, the demand for increased newspaper privileges 
 was revived by articles in various journals and speeches 
 in Parliament, the Times leading in the one, and Mr. 
 Graves, i\I.P. for Liverpool, in the other, I turned my 
 attention to the quest of means for so far complying 
 with such demand as might be consistent with justice 
 to the general tax-payer ; in other words, I sought to 
 discover whether sufficient facilities might not be 
 afforded, at a low rate, without increasing the loss 
 already sustained by the Post Office in dealing with 
 newspapers. I had the satisfaction to hit upon a 
 plan, by which all that was really important might 
 be effected without subjecting the department to any 
 loss whatever ; so that its adoption would imply a 
 double gain, first, in adequate concession to those 
 immediately interested ; and, secondly, in making the 
 special service self-supporting. By my plan news- 
 papers, undirected, not folded for the post, and there- 
 fore, of course, without wrappers, would have been 
 distributable by the Post Office much as is now done 
 by newsagents. At the same time I pointed out how 
 spare revenue might be advantageously employed in 
 giving additional and very important facilities to the 
 conveyance of letters. Throwing my views, as clearly 
 and concisely as I could, into the form of a memorandum 
 (see Appendix jNI), I sent this to Mr. Gladstone, who, 
 in return, informed me, by his private secretary, that he 
 had read it ''with the greatest interest," and had sent 
 it on to the Postmaster-General. Hearing nothing 
 further, and finding that the question would be again 
 raised in the Session of 1870, I wrote to the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Lowe, telling him of 
 the memorandum, and offering to send him a copy. 
 A letter from his private secretary, accepting this 
 
348 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [i8S5~9 
 
 offer, is the last communication I ever received on 
 the subject. 
 
 The course actually taken, viz., that of abolishing 
 the limitation on weight and halving the postage, with 
 no arrangement for economy in operation and no set-off, 
 save what is implied in the abolition of the impressed 
 stamp (in itself an important advantage, I acknowledge 
 — one, indeed, for which I had often striven), largely 
 increases a loss already great, and, what is still worse, 
 greatly strengthens an example already mischievous. 
 Its ultimate consequences it is impossible to predict. 
 Demand has already arisen for the conveyance of 
 other printed matter at the same rate, a demand 
 which can plead in its support that such matter 
 may, by existing rules, be detained to suit the 
 convenience of the office, while newspapers must, 
 of course, be forwarded at once. In short, I am 
 myself quite unacquainted with any logic by which it 
 can be maintained that while a newspaper weighing 
 six or eight ounces is conveyed for a halfpenny, a 
 letter weighing but half an ounce should be chargeable 
 with a penny, or, in other words, why the lightest 
 letter should be charged twice as much as the heaviest 
 newspaper. 
 
 On a careful comparison of the two plans, I cannot 
 but think that mine would have proved not only better 
 for the Post Office, but also more acceptable to the 
 publishers and newsvenders, because, while the cost of 
 transmission would have been practically the same, 
 they could have been saved the great trouble of 
 folding, covering, and addressing each separate copy ; 
 processes necessarily performed at a time when every 
 minute is of great value. I may add that, as my 
 plan is, in its essential features, independent of rates 
 of postage, it may still be adopted without interfering 
 
1855-9] WRECK OF THE "VIOLET." 349 
 
 with recent changes ; nay, by relieving the Post Office 
 cf railway conveyance and sorting, the cost of both 
 of which is seriously augmented by increased weight 
 and bulk, it would go far towards justifying the late 
 innovation. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 One of the most striking and impressive events 
 of this period is thus mentioned in the Report for 
 
 1856:— 
 
 " In recording the chief events of last year, I must not omit the 
 melancholy loss, by ship\vTeck, of the ' Violet ' mail-packet, between 
 Ostend and Dover ; a catastrophe attributed at the time, in one of 
 our public journals, to an undue strictness by the department in 
 requiring mail-packets to put to sea at the appointed time, even in a 
 violent storm. 
 
 " I need scarcely say that no such rule exists, and that no such 
 orders had been given. It would certainly be the duty of the captain 
 of a mail-packet not to allow slight obstacles to cause delay ; but on 
 this point we may always fully rely on the courage and sense of duty 
 of a British commander. 
 
 " Mr. Mortleman, the officer in immediate charge of the mail-bags, 
 acted on the occasion with a presence of mind and forethought 
 which reflect honour on his memory. On seeing that the vessel 
 could not be saved, he must have removed the cases containing the 
 mail-bags from the hold, and have so placed them, that when the ship 
 went down they might float ; a proceeding which ultimately led to the 
 recovery of all the bags, except one containing despatches, of which, 
 from their nature, it was possible to obtain copies. I may add, that 
 a similar spirit of determination to perform their duty to the last has, 
 on several previous occasions of exposure to imminent danger, dis- 
 tinguished the conduct of our officers."* 
 
 The following passage from the same page records, 
 not for the first time, foreign aid kindly given to one of 
 our mail-steamers in distress : — 
 
 " An instance, calling for grateful acknowledgment on my part [it 
 is the Duke of Argyll who speaks], occurred last year, of prompt and 
 
 * (< 
 
 Third Annual Report," p. 33. 
 
350 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 gratuitous assistance given by two foreign Governments in the con- 
 veyance of a large mail from India, which was on board a ship 
 belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company 
 bound for Southampton, when, owing to an accident to the ma- 
 chinery, the vessel became unable to proceed. The casualty 
 happened near Tunis ; and the Bey gave immediate orders for 
 a steam-vessel in his own service to be got ready to convey both 
 the mail and passengers, without cost, to Marseilles, which was 
 accordingly done ; and from Marseilles the mail was, by the French 
 Government, forwarded gratuitously to Calais ; whereas, under 
 ordinary circumstances, a mail of the same weight would for this 
 part of the journey alone have entailed a charge of more than 
 ^800." 
 
 It has been mentioned that our number of letters 
 In 1857 was more than 500,000,000; the following 
 passage shows very strikingly that the correspondence 
 of a .country is not always according to its popu- 
 lation : — 
 
 "According to an official return in a recent number of the 
 * Journal de Saint Petersbourg," giving various Russian postal 
 statistics for the year 1855, the whole number of letters posted in 
 Russia was about 16,400,000, or almost exactly the same as the 
 number posted in the single city of Manchester and its suburbs.""^ 
 
 It will be remembered that one of the changes 
 made on the establishment of penny postage was the 
 total abolition of franking, and some account has been 
 given of the monstrous abuses which existed under 
 that pernicious system. As germane to the matter, 
 I quote the following from " Hansard ; " the passage 
 being also curious as recording, I believe, the last 
 attack ever made on penny postage within the walls 
 of Parliament : — 
 
 ^'•June 22nd, i8jy. — Government Postage. 
 
 *' On the motion that ;£^88, 045 be voted for the postage of Govern- 
 ment letters, 
 
 " Mr. Bejitinck suggested that it would be better to return to the 
 
 • (< 
 
 Fourth Annual Report," p. 17. 
 
1855-9] GOVERNMENT FRANKING. 35 1 
 
 system of franking, adding that he had always thought that the 
 Penny Post Act was one of the greatest jobs ever perpetrated, and 
 one of the greatest financial mistakes ever committed by the country. 
 
 *' Sir Francis Barings in reply, suggested that the hon. gentleman 
 should try to bring back the old rates of postage, and he would then 
 see what was the feeling of the country with regard to the penny 
 rate ; . . . that the accounts ought to show the amount of 
 service performed by the Post Office, and the charge was brought 
 into the estimates in order to put a stop at once to the gross abuse of 
 official franks. He was inclined to think that abuse was carried to 
 an enormous extent, and he was afraid if they gave the public offices 
 the right of franking the same abuse would recur. 
 
 *' Mr. Roehick said there were two objects in voting this money, to 
 know what was expended and to check persons spending more than 
 necessary. The appearance of this item prevented any abuse of 
 the Post Office machinery. The ' Ambassadors' bag ' in past times 
 had been sadly weighted. Coats, lace, boots, and other articles were 
 sent by it, even a pianoforte; and not only a pianoforte, but a" 
 horse."* 
 
 I hear with much regret that In the present year 
 (1868) the old practice has been In some sort restored 
 at the various Government offices previously enjoying 
 the privilege, and even extended to such as never had 
 it before ; the whole change being doubly injurious, 
 since, in addition to the evil tendencies already ad- 
 verted to,t it gives to the estimates of expenditure In 
 the various offices a delusive appearance, to the extent, 
 in the aggregate, of about ^200,000 a year, the annual 
 expenses of those offices, and the real earnings of the 
 Post Office, being alike understated by that amount.;}; 
 
 Before quitting the Reports from which I have 
 drawn so largely, I must mention that the historic 
 
 * "Hansard," Vol. CXLVI., pp. i88, 189. 
 
 t Some of the old abuses of the franking system have reappeared. Private 
 letters are often sent under the Government frank ; especially is this the case with 
 private letters for the colonies. — Ed. 
 
 X It is important to observe that the amount actually paid by Government for 
 its postage before the abolition of franking was less, in proportion to the amount 
 of its correspondence, than that paid after the abolition. 
 
352 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-9 
 
 sketch of the EngHsh Post Office already referred to 
 is followed in the Second and Third Reports by an 
 equally curious account of the old postal system in 
 Scotland and Ireland ; and I can safely add that each 
 of the three will well repay perusal. 
 
1855-60] LORD CANNING. 353 
 
 ODD 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 POSTMASTERS-GENERAL, 1 855 TO 1860. 
 LORD CANNING. 
 
 Towards the close of 1855 I learnt with extreme 
 regret of the approaching withdrawal of Lord Canning, 
 just then appointed Governor-General of India ; my 
 only consolation being the conviction that in the high 
 and arduous duties to w^hich he was now called, the 
 great talents, high principles, strict conscientiousness, 
 and unwearied industry, with which I had happily 
 been brought into such intimate relation, would extend 
 to a vast empire the benefits they had conferred on a 
 single department. 
 
 The close of his career as Postmaster-General was 
 highly characteristic. For some reason it was con- 
 venient to the Government that he should retain his 
 office until the very day of his departure for the East. 
 Doubtless it was expected that this retention would be 
 little more than nominal, or that, at most, he would 
 attend to none but the most pressing business, leaving 
 to his successor all such affairs as admitted of delay. 
 When I found that he continued to transact business 
 just as usual, while I knew that he must be encum- 
 bered with every kind of preparation, official, personal 
 and domestic, I earnestly pressed that course upon 
 him, but in vain ; he would leave no arrears, and 
 every question, great or small, which he had been 
 
 VOL. II. A A 
 
354 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-60 
 
 accustomed to decide, was submitted to him as usual, 
 to the last hour of his remaining In the country. Nor 
 was decision even then made heedlessly or hurriedly, 
 but, as before, after full understanding. This was, 
 howev^er, the easier to him because of his remarkable 
 quickness of apprehension, which enabled him to seize 
 one's conceptions almost more rapidly than they could 
 be set forth ; and I may add that with this happy 
 quality he combined the invaluable powder of per- 
 ceiving, as it were by intuition, how ideas supplied 
 for a special case might be made applicable to general 
 purposes. 
 
 Of his eminent services in India it is not for me to 
 speak, but, as an instance of attention to matters of 
 detail, I may mention what I afterwards learnt from 
 Lord Elgin, that at the period of his greatest labour 
 and anxiety, viz., in the very height of the mutiny, 
 he wrote long minutes with his own hand. I had 
 always remarked his very strict attention to the precise 
 wording of the papers he was called upon to sign, and 
 indeed often thought it overstrained ; but I believe he 
 had at once an earnest desire that his exact meaning 
 should be made clear, and a most delicate perception 
 of the difference produced by the slightest variation of 
 terms. In common with the whole world, I regarded 
 his premature death as a severe national calamity. 
 He was earnest and energetic in the moral reform 
 of the Post Office, and, had his life been longer 
 spared, might perhaps have been the moral reformer 
 of Indla."^ 
 
 * The following note on Lord Canning was added by Sir Rowland Hill in 
 June, 1876: — "In an able article in the last 'Edinburgh Review,' on Lord 
 Mayo's Indian administration, the writer thus speaks of Lord Canning: — 'And 
 then we come to Earl Canning, who, almost without exception among English 
 statesmen, presents the grandest picture of unswerving firmness, courage and 
 magnanimity in the midst of the most appalling dangers ; who, without losing 
 
1855-60] DUKE OF ARGYLL. 355 
 
 DUKE OF ARGYLL. 
 
 I must not be supposed, however, to imply that the 
 department was unhappy in its new chief, since the 
 Duke of Argyll showed in his office powers not 
 unworthy of his distinguished predecessor, combined 
 with equal diligence and equal conscientiousness. In 
 him I found a no less striking quickness of appre- 
 hension and promptitude in generalization, while his 
 facility in composition struck me with amazement. It 
 would sometimes happen that in a case where he 
 deemed it indispensable to reply to an application by 
 an autograph letter, he received from me a long and 
 complicated verbal explanation, involving much of 
 technicality and detail, and then sat down and wrote 
 off sheet after sheet, which, when handed to me for 
 perusal, showed that he had completely mastered the 
 subject, and had set it forth with admirable force and 
 clearness. This latter part of his performance w^as the 
 more wonderful to me because of my own deficiency ; 
 for I have always found the satisfactory exposition of 
 a new plan far more difficult than its device or its 
 
 hope and strong resolve, saw the fabric of an empire fading away from his vision 
 like an iceberg in the Gulf Stream; who at the same time had to confront a 
 native rebellion, the panic fear and disaffection of his countr}-men, and the 
 opinion at home which was the reverberation of the latter. He met the rebellion, 
 and he put it down. He met the panic fear, and he triumphed over it. When 
 blood and punishment and cruelty were preached, he stepped forward as a grand 
 and magnanimous ruler, as the representative of British humanity and civilization, 
 and with mild but absolute accent proclaimed, "This shall not be," and it was 
 not. The greatness of the man who could so speak and so act, at such a time as 
 the crisis of the mutiny and rebellion in India in 1857, is not to be measured by 
 the ordinary deeds of war and peace, however grand in execution the former, 
 however wise and beneficent the latter may be.' That such a man, after acquiring 
 a thorough knowledge of myself, should have selected me for the difficult and 
 responsible post of Secretary to the Post Office, and have continued throughout 
 my attached friend, is to me a source of the highest gratification." — Ed. 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-60 
 
 elaboration.^ I have only to add that I was sorry 
 when his tenure of office came to a close. He left 
 what is, I believe, very unusual, a written expression 
 of regret at separation. His letter was as follows : — 
 
 ** Post Office, February 27, 1858. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I hope to see you on Monday at the Office, 
 when I shall probably introduce my successor to yourself and the 
 assistant secretaries. 
 
 " Meanwhile I must express to you my regret on account of the 
 change which removes me from official intercourse with you. 
 I have had much satisfaction in that intercourse. It is a great 
 pleasure to work in an office where every question is so thoroughly 
 and carefully considered as by you ; and you have every reason to be 
 satisfied with the invaluable social benefits which you have been the 
 means of conferring upon the people through the Office with which 
 you have been so long connected. 
 
 " I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 "Argyll." 
 
 LORD COLCHESTER. 
 
 Lord Colchester, who succeeded the Duke of Argyll 
 on the change of administration in March, 1858, I 
 found an earnest and painstaking man, diligent in the 
 careful perusal of all minutes submitted to him, and 
 even of the enclosures (often dry and long) with 
 which they were necessarily accompanied ; patient in 
 listening to any suggestion, however new, and to any 
 details, however complicated ; and ready to adopt any 
 improvement. Of all those under whom I served no 
 
 * " Tbe trace of Marlborough's neglected education was seen to the last in his 
 reluctance to write. ' Of all things,' he said to his wife, * I do not love writing.' 
 To pen a despatch, indeed, was a far greater trouble to him than to plan a 
 campaign. But nature had given him qualities which in other men spring 
 specially from culture. His capacity for business was immense." — " Green's 
 Short History of the English People," p. 691. — Ed. 
 
1855-60] LORD COLCHESTER. LORD ELGIN. 357 
 
 one was kinder In manner, or showed more conside- 
 ration for the feehngs of others. Lastly, he had a 
 positive detestation for every kind of job, and never 
 hesitated to resist pressure on this subject from 
 whatever quarter. 
 
 LORD ELGIN. 
 
 Of the high administrative powers of Lord Elgin, 
 who entered office in June, 1859, it would be quite 
 superfluous to speak ; suffice it to say that I found 
 him equally diligent, candid, and trustful with his pre- 
 decessor, and remarkably calm and dispassionate in 
 his judgments. On entering upon his office, he said 
 he wished to explain what he thought should be the 
 relation between himself and me. In details he did 
 not intend to interfere at all, thinking that the head 
 of a department might better employ his time than 
 in dealing with these ; but, before determining to go 
 further, he had thought it his duty to make careful 
 inquiry as to whether I were a man on whose advice 
 full reliance could be placed, and being satisfied on 
 that point, he intended to throw the responsibility 
 upon me — at least until he should have performed 
 the long, difficult, and perhaps impossible task of 
 making himself acquainted with the immense details 
 of the department — by acting on my recommendation 
 on all points, save perhaps in some exceptional case, 
 where he should see strong reason to the contrary. 
 Happily, to the best of my recollection, no such 
 exception ever occurred. I have only to add that 
 his kindness of manner accorded with the fulness of 
 his confidence. 
 
 With 1859 closed the twentieth year since my 
 entrance into the service of the Government in 
 
358 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-60 
 
 relation to Post Office management ; or, striking 
 out the years during which I had been excluded 
 from my work, the sixteenth of my actual service 
 in that department. During this time, as may be 
 remembered, I had served under Mr. Baring and 
 Mr. Goulburn at the Treasury, Lord Clanricarde, 
 Lord Hardwicke, Lord Canning, the Duke of Argyll, 
 Lord Colchester, and Lord Elgin, at the Post Office. 
 Whoever has followed me thus far will have perceived 
 that my estimation of my successive superiors, whether 
 correct or otherwise, has varied considerably ; but I 
 believe all will agree that I may justly regard myself 
 as having been, on the whole, very fortunate ; as 
 having had to deal, for the most part, with great 
 intelligence, zeal, and honour, and as having met 
 with almost unvarying courtesy and kindness, and not 
 unfrequently enjoyed firm and earnest support. I 
 must add my full belief that, had the power rested 
 with my immediate superiors, I should have escaped 
 the long interruption to my tenure of office, and have 
 been spared the greater part of that protracted and 
 exhausting contest which undermined my health. 
 
 It was not, however, until the last year of this 
 period that I began to feel that permanent failure in 
 strength which, combined with other circumstances, 
 compelled me five years afterwards to withdraw at 
 once and finally from my post. In this year (1859) 
 after a careful consultation on my case by three 
 eminent medical men, it was laid down that hence- 
 forth I must limit my days of work to four in the 
 week. Amidst anxiety on this point, however, I had 
 the satisfaction of believing myself pretty firmly estab- 
 lished in public opinion, and in the confidence of 
 Government. Two years before I had, without any 
 movement whatever on my part, been elected a 
 
1855-60] K.C.B. 359 
 
 member of the Royal Society, my recommendation 
 being signed by the Duke of Argyll, the Astronomer 
 Royal, Sir Roderick Murchlson, and several other 
 distinguished members ; this honour being followed 
 a year later by my admission to that inner circle, 
 the Royal Society Club. Later still, viz., in 1867, 
 I had the honour to be elected a member of the 
 Council of the Royal Society, though increasing in- 
 firmity soon compelled me to withdraw. 
 
 Early in i860, — the tw^enty-fourth year, I may 
 observe, from that In which my attention was first 
 seriously turned to the reform of the Post Office, — 
 Her Majesty was pleased to confer upon me the 
 honour of Knight Commander of the Bath ; an 
 honour at once unsolicited and unexpected. The 
 first notification of this gracious intention was 
 received in the following letter from Lord Elgin, 
 then Postmaster-General : — 
 
 " 30th January, i860. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Hill, — I beg leave to enclose for your perusal a 
 note which I have received from Lord Palmerston. 
 
 " Permit me at the same time to assure you of the great pleasure 
 which I experience in conveying to you this proof of Her Majesty's 
 appreciation of your distinguished services. 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 "Elgin and Kincardine." 
 
 \_Enclostire?^ 
 
 "94, Piccadilly, 30th January, i860. 
 
 " My dear Lord Elgin, — I have much pleasure in informing 
 
 you that the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve of 
 
 Mr. Rowland Hill being made a Knight Commander of the Civil 
 
 Order of the Bath. 
 
 *' Yours sincerely, 
 
 " Palmerston." 
 
 By a pleasing coincidence, of which I was, however, 
 at the moment quite unaware, the honour of C.B. 
 
360 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-60 
 
 was conferred at the time of my formal installation 
 on one of my former pupils, Major Beecher, for im- 
 portant services in India. 
 
 The close of the period which I have been describ- 
 ing found the department in a highly satisfactory state. 
 The various improvements which had been effected 
 since progress had become unembarrassed were already 
 producing very manifest results. The public con- 
 venience had been in many ways promoted, and . 
 various arrangements for its further extension were 
 in steady progress ; the revenue, already large, gave 
 every promise of continued increase ; the numerous 
 improvements in relation to the health, comfort, and 
 remuneration of the staff, and above all the rule of 
 promotion by absolute merit — modified only by 
 seniority in cases where merit was equal — now 
 recognised as in full force, had gradually diffused 
 such a spirit throughout the department as seemed 
 to have secured vigorous and harmonious action. 
 All, in short, was working smoothly ; ^ and I well 
 remember the satisfaction which Mr. Tilley, the senior 
 Assistant Secretary, who up to this time had uniformly 
 given me earnest and efficient support, expressed at 
 the general state of the service, so different from w^hat 
 he had once known ; remarking that now every one 
 seemed to do his duty as a matter of course. I did 
 not then foresee how serious a change was at hand. 
 Of this, however, I shall speak but very briefly. 
 
 LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY. 
 
 In February, i860, there came upon me that severe 
 illness of which I have more than once spoken by 
 anticipation ; an illness which, commencing with 
 
 * " Sixth Aniiual Report," pp. 38 and 39. 
 
1855-60] LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY. 36 1 
 
 forty-eight hours of nearly continuous insensibility,^ 
 not only confined me to my house and prostrated my 
 bodily strength, but, what was far worse, rendered 
 me for a long time quite incapable of any serious 
 mental action, save by such spasmodic effort as was 
 at once both painful and injurious for the present, 
 and hazardous for the future. In short, I was com- 
 pelled to be absent from duty, with but little excep- 
 tion, and that only under imperative necessity, for 
 several months. Fondly believing that the peaceful 
 state just spoken of would endure, I did not anticipate 
 any very serious positive consequences from my 
 absence, though, of course, I knew it must delay the 
 progress of improvement. Circumstances, however, 
 proved untoward. Lurking discontent was fanned 
 into a flame by a breath from without; and this, 
 occurring during my disability — no accidental coin- 
 cidence, as I believe — gave opportunity for the 
 revival of those cabals, higher up in the office, 
 which had so frequently interfered with good order, 
 and made improvement difficult. At this critical 
 period the office of Postmaster- General unfortu- 
 nately became vacant, by the appointment of Lord 
 Elgin to the direction of our expedition to China, 
 and for a time there was a sort of interregnum, 
 during which the duties of the office were pro- 
 visionally discharged by the Duke of Argyll, who, 
 however, had at the same time other demands on his 
 attention. When, at length, a permanent appointment 
 was made, in the person of Lord Stanley of Alderley, 
 I had not the good fortune to obtain from him that 
 
 * "I must confess," wrote his eldest brother to one of his friends, " I must 
 confess that the thought of that noble intellect paralyzed and all but extinguished, 
 struck me with a grief of greater intensity than I ever felt before in all the 
 bereavements which have been my lot." — Ed. 
 
362 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1855-60 
 
 confidence and support which I had enjoyed with 
 his predecessors. I will not now dwell upon what 
 followed. The facts are upon record, and the time 
 may come when it will be proper that they should 
 appear. Let it suffice for the present to say that I 
 had to oppose a fourth cabal, occurring, like its pre- 
 decessors, at a period of temporary weakness on my 
 part ; had again — and now without the support from 
 the head of the department which I had previously 
 received — to enter into contests — contests ever in- 
 creasing in severity, which I had no longer the 
 strength to maintain ; and that, after a series of 
 fruitless efforts, I found my health so grievously and 
 hopelessly impaired as to compel me seriously to 
 consider the question of final retirement from that 
 important and almost absorbing task in which I had 
 so long been engaged. 
 
 Before proceeding, however, to the concluding part 
 of my narrative I must give some account of the 
 improvements effected in the interim. Of course, in 
 a period of such difficulty the progress of improve- 
 ment w^as comparatively slow ; and though the 
 Department continued steadily to advance in its 
 fiscal results, and in its beneficial effects on public 
 convenience, this was due in a much higher degree 
 to past reforms than to changes made at the time. 
 
 It is due, however, to Mr. Gladstone, then Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer, to state that during these 
 contests I had the advantage of his support and 
 countenance so far as he was able to exercise inde- 
 pendent action, and I received from him the following 
 very gratifying letter : — 
 
 ** II, Downing Street, 
 
 •'Whitehall, Jan. 24, 1861. 
 
 " Dear Sir R. Hill, — I have read your completed Minute, and 
 though I am to see you to-morrow, I must, without waiting, say 
 
1855-60] MR. GLADSTONE. 363 
 
 I have read it with a deep sense of pain, and some of shame, in 
 reviewing what has happened. 
 
 " If you are at present under odium for the gallant stand you 
 make on behalf of the public interests, at a period too when 
 chivalry of that kind by no means 'pays,' I believe that I have 
 and I hope still to have, the honour of sharing it with you. 
 
 " I hope you have sent your Minute to the Duke of Argyll. 
 
 " I am very thankful that you are once more at your post, and 
 remain, 
 
 *' Most truly yours, 
 
 "W. E. Gladstone." 
 
364 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1860-3 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 PROGRESS AFTER 1 859. 
 SAVINGS BANKS. 
 
 The plan of Post Office Savings Banks, already 
 mentioned as having been brought before the public 
 and the Government most prominently by Mr. Sikes, 
 had, through the energetic efforts of Mr. Gladstone, 
 been provided for, in the year i860, by Act of Par- 
 liament. It was speedily brought into operation in 
 England and Wales, and was extended early in the 
 following year to Scotland and Ireland. As this new 
 department was closely connected with the Money 
 Order Office, its secretarial management devolved, in 
 the ordinary course, on my brother ; who, before 
 proceeding to the work of organization, recommended 
 that this should be based upon the contract system ; 
 a measure which would have been highly economical, 
 but would obviously have involved the abandonment 
 of patronage. This recommendation, however, did 
 not find favour with the Postmaster-General, Lord 
 Stanley of Alderley, and the department was soon 
 afterwards transferred to Mr. Tilley. Together with 
 this great measure of economy were rejected other 
 means proposed by myself. In short, operation was 
 made so expensive, that while a money order costs 
 
i86o-3] SAVINGS BANKS. 365 
 
 the department in issue or payment but three-halfpence, 
 every transaction in the savings bank, whether of 
 deposit or withdrawal, costs sevenpence.^ 
 
 The full evil of such increase in current expense 
 will appear when it is considered w^hat, under strictly 
 economical management, these savings' banks might 
 become. Their chief avowed object is, and most 
 assuredly should be, to give the largest justifiable 
 encouragement to popular thrift ; and to this, as I 
 conceive, every other aim should be completely sub- 
 ordinated. To this end it is important to induce, by 
 all reasonable means, the greatest amount of deposit, 
 but incomparably less important, if indeed at all 
 desirable, to give more than reasonable facility for 
 withdrawal. Certainly there is no just ground for 
 extending and multiplying such facility at the expense 
 of the department ; especially seeing that the neces- 
 sary consequence is a reduction in that rate of interest 
 whose amount constitutes a main inducement to de- 
 positors ; so that the effect is to mulct the steady 
 depositors for the convenience of the more changeable. 
 Had the Post Office been able to offer the same rate 
 of interest as the old savings banks, its absolute 
 security, combined with a reasonable and inexpensive 
 increase of facility for the transaction of business, 
 would not only have soon brought to it the whole 
 actual amount of the savings bank business, but in all 
 probability would have so extended that increase in 
 thrift, which, with all defects, it has actually produced, as 
 to make it correspond with the hopes of the most zealous 
 advocates of the new scheme, and in particular of the 
 
 * According to the Postmaster-General's Report for 1879, every transaction 
 costs 7*55^. exclusive of postage; while "the Yorkshire Penny Bank (an old- 
 established, widely-spread and very thriving institution) does its work (I am 
 informed) at 2d. per transaction." — Ed. 
 
366 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1860-3 
 
 benevolent gentleman in whose earnest suggestion It 
 took its rise. Before the arrangements were finally 
 adopted, I urged my views as to excess of expense 
 and consequent prejudice to revenue, in an elaborate 
 letter to the Postmaster-General. Some small change 
 for the better was made, but, high as the estimate still 
 remained, it has been exceeded by the actual expense, 
 though the Annual Reports would seem to show 
 otherwise."^ 
 
 With all drawbacks, however, the Institution may 
 safely be pronounced to be a great national benefit. 
 The number of Post Office Savings Banks in the United 
 Kingdom by the end of the year 1861 was nearly four- 
 fold the maximum number of savings banks existing 
 under the old system,t and is now (1869) as high as 
 six-fold. J It is important also to observe that the 
 number of small deposits is more than proportionately 
 increased ; a fact obviously tending to show that this 
 important means of thrift has been made more available 
 to that class in which economy is at once most difficult 
 and yet most desirable. 
 
 " ' This gratifying result,' says the eighth Annual Report, ' is doubt- 
 less attributable to the superior facilities given by the Post Office 
 banks ; and especially to the fact that they are open daily and for 
 several hours, and that they are situated almost at the door of the 
 depositor.' "§ 
 
 The new Institution also proves very convenient to 
 friendly societies, charitable societies, and penny banks, 
 which avail themselves of its benefits in considerable 
 numbers. 
 
 * The recent large reduction in cost is owing to the non-charge of postage. — 
 Note by Sir R. Hill in October, 1872. 
 t "Eighth Annual Report," pp. 12-14. 
 X " Fifteenth Annual Report," p. 16. 
 § " Eighth Annual Report," p. 14. 
 
i86a-3] REGISTRATION. 367 
 
 Fear had been expressed during the progress of the 
 bill through ParHament that the sub-postmasters would 
 fail to carry out the details of the measure ; but it was 
 found that — 
 
 " The postmasters throughout the country have lent themselves 
 cheerfully and readily to the work, and instead of merely carrying out 
 their instructions perfunctorily, and in ordinary course, have exerted 
 themselves to make known and to explain the advantages of the Post 
 Office Savings Banks, and to facilitate, so far as lay in their power, the 
 transactions of the poorer depositors.""^ 
 
 REGISTRATION. 
 
 In the year 1862 an important improvement was 
 made in the matter of registration. It may be re- 
 membered that my urgent advocacy of the lowering of 
 the fee from one shilling to sixpence, In opposition to 
 the opinion of Lord Lowther, appeared to be the im- 
 mediate cause of my dismissal from the Treasury by 
 the Government of Sir Robert Peel.t I had easily 
 succeeded in obtaining that important reduction after 
 my appointment to the Post Office by the Govern- 
 ment of Lord John Russell, and the change had been 
 followed by a large increase in the number of regis- 
 tered letters, and a corresponding diminution in the 
 amount of loss by dishonesty or negligence within 
 the Office.;]; Of course, however, even the low^er fee 
 proved a stumbling-block to some persons, and, not- 
 withstanding all remonstrance from the Post Office, the 
 
 * a 
 
 Eighth Annual Report," p. 15. Any of my readers desirous of further 
 information on this subject may refer with advantage to an interesting work on 
 the "History of Savings Banks," by Mr. William Lewins, author of "Her 
 Majesty's Mails." (Sampson Low and Co.) 
 
 + See Vol. I., p. 459.— Ed. 
 
 X See Vol. II., p. 315.— Ed. 
 
368 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1^60-3 
 
 practice of sending coin in unregistered letters, though 
 diminished, was by no means extinct ; so that losses 
 were still reported ; and, what was far worse, sorters 
 and letter-carriers were exposed to needless temptation, 
 and individuals of their number occasionally subjected 
 to undue suspicion. It was consequently resolved, 
 with the sanction of the Treasury, to make the regis- 
 tration of coin-bearing letters compulsory ; a double 
 fee being charged where the duty was omitted by the 
 sender ; while, to give a compensatory advantage, the 
 registration fee was reduced from sixpence to fourpence. 
 Even with this mitigation, however, there was con- 
 siderable anxiety in the Department as to the light in 
 which compulsory registration would be viewed by the 
 public; but Lord Stanley of Alderley, then Postmaster- 
 General, being anything rather than deficient in courage, 
 readily encountered the risk, and the result justified his 
 boldness ; the speedy consequence being a large in- 
 crease in the number of registered letters, and a 
 very great decrease in the number of alleged losses. 
 It may be added that the near approach to absolute 
 security obtained by registration was shown by the fact 
 that outof about nine hundred thousand registered letters 
 posted in the United Kingdom, whether for delivery at 
 home or abroad, during the latter half of 1862, the 
 whole number lost was only twelve.^ 
 
 PATTERN POST, 
 
 In the last year of this period the pattern post was 
 established. This was done at the express desire of 
 the Postmaster-General. My own wish was to make 
 it part of that more extensive arrangement which I 
 
 • (( 
 
 Ninth Annual Report," p. 10. 
 
l86o-3] PACKET SERVICE. 369 
 
 have already mentioned under the name of Parcels 
 Post ; my chief objection to the more partial scheme 
 being the difficulty sure to arise as to the definition of a 
 pattern. As, however, I was not then in a state of 
 health to surmount immediately the many obstacles to 
 the more comprehensive scheme, and as Lord Stanley 
 was impatient of delay, the more limited plan was 
 adopted and carried into effect. 
 
 PACKET SERVICE. 
 
 Ti'ansference from Admiralty, 
 
 The last improvements of which I shall speak here 
 are those connected with the Packet Service. This 
 service, it will be remembered, had, under the manage- 
 ment of the Admiralty, become a source of very great 
 expense ; attributable partly to the fact of its extension, 
 for political reasons, very far beyond the requirements 
 of the Post Office. As this extension had ceased, it 
 was desirable, as fast as possible, to bring the expense 
 within such limits as would render the service self- 
 supporting, and thereby relieve the British tax-payer 
 from a needless burden. Opportunity was given for 
 such improvement by the transference of the service 
 from the Admiralty to the Post Office ; a change made 
 in the year i860. Of course progress could be but 
 slow, seeing that existing contracts had to be respected ; 
 but steps were promptly taken to put the department in 
 readiness for availing itself of opportunities as they 
 should occur. The secretarial charge of the depart- 
 ment was from the first placed in the hands of my 
 brother, who already had like charge of the foreign and 
 colonial departments, and had previously performed 
 such secretarial duties relative to this service as even 
 then devolved on the Post Office. 
 
 VOL. II. B B 
 
370 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1860-3 
 
 Improvement in Tenders. 
 
 His first move was, so to frame the tenders as, in 
 effect, to analyze the charges hitherto made in the 
 gross ; to show how much was demanded for the main 
 duty, and how much for its various adjuncts ; and by 
 this means to ascertain how far the various details of 
 any particular service justified the expense of their 
 additional maintenance. The value of such analysis 
 may be exemplified by stating that by abandoning 
 stipulations which were really of little or no practical 
 utility, either to the Post Office or to the public at 
 large, we were able to reduce the annual expense to the 
 Home Government of conveying the mails to and from 
 Honduras from ^8,000 to £2,oqo\ eventually, indeed, 
 to ^1,500. 
 
 Discontinuance of Surveys. 
 
 A yet more important measure, however, as being 
 even more general in its operation, was to relieve con- 
 tractors from the admiralty surveys of the vessels, 
 previously insisted upon, and to limit the demand to a 
 stipulation — under adequate penalties — that the mail 
 service should be regularly performed within a given 
 time. It was not without much difficulty that the 
 sanction of the Postmaster-General was obtained to so 
 great an innovation. The measure, however, was in 
 full accordance with the spirit of Lord Canning's 
 Report on the packet service ; and, before it was recom- 
 mended, good assurance had been received that the 
 alterations required by the Admiralty, though often 
 attended with heavy expense, really tended to render 
 the vessels employed less fit for the performance of 
 their special service. In short, the measure was, prac- 
 tically speaking, carried into effect ; and, so far as I can 
 
i86o-3] PACKET SERVICE. 37 1 
 
 learn,* has never given rise to a single complaint. Its 
 pecuniary benefit was exemplified by a tender sub- 
 sequently made for a particular service by Sir Edward 
 Cunard ; the effect being to reduce the annual charge, 
 in this one contract alone, from ;i^2 3,000 to ;^ 19,000, 
 a rate of saving, which, when applied to the whole cost 
 of the packet service, would amount to about ;^200,ooo 
 a year. 
 
 Readjustment of Transmarine Rates. 
 
 Concurrently with these and other measures for 
 reducing the cost of the service, my brother sought to 
 do something towards meeting its inevitable expense 
 by a moderate increase of postage in quarters where 
 the charges for conveyance were proportionately the 
 heaviest. Experience had shown that, where trans- 
 mission necessarily occupies a long time, increase of 
 correspondence depends far less on lowered rates than 
 on increased speed and frequency of transmission. He 
 felt, moreover that it could not be just to call upon the 
 British tax-payers generally to pay exorbitantly for 
 advantages specially appertaining to the comparatively 
 few persons who were directly interested in foreign 
 and colonial correspondence; that every branch of the 
 postal service ought to be self-supporting, and the false 
 principle of protection to particular interests entirely 
 shut out. At the same time, to meet the convenience 
 of those who required cheapness rather than speed, he 
 proposed a concurrent reduction on all letters sent by 
 ordinary trading vessels ; a mode of conveyance in- 
 volving very little expense. A change so doubtful 
 of acceptance, though so sound in principle, Lord 
 Stanley of Alderley had the courage to adopt ; and it 
 
 B B 2 
 
3/2 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1860-3 
 
 received the cordial approbation of Mr. Gladstone, 
 then Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 Fiscal Benefits. 
 
 The effect of these combined measures is most 
 strongly exemplified in the service to the Cape of 
 Good Hope and Natal ; the loss on which was reduced 
 in six years from about ;^2 8,000 to about ;^5,400 per 
 annum. In short, I believe that the large annual loss 
 involved in the foreign and colonial packet service was 
 actually reduced during the time that the department 
 was in my brother's hands by more than ;^200,ooo ; 
 ;^ 1 00,000 being saved by reduced expenditure, and the 
 like sum gained by increased yield from the corre- 
 spondence ; while the cost to the British taxpayer was 
 further diminished by the extension of arrangements 
 previously adopted for calling upon the colonies, once 
 exempt from all expense of transmission, to bear their 
 just share of the charge. 
 
 Increased Punctuality. 
 
 Whilst thus successfully striving for increased eco- 
 nomy, my brother also took measures for improving the 
 service. By a system of exact accounts he obtained 
 quarterly tables showing at a glance how each line of 
 packets stood with respect to punctuality, together 
 with the length of its quickest and of its slowest 
 voyage ; so as to have ground of comparison with sub- 
 sequent performances. He also introduced into all 
 new contracts a stipulation for penalties to be levied in 
 cases of over time. Lastly, while the Annual Report 
 was in his hands, he was careful that, whenever a 
 
i86o-3 PACKET SERVICE. 373 
 
 service was performed with great credit, the Post- 
 master-General's Annual Report should contain due 
 notice of the fact. The directors showed the value 
 they attached to such recognitions by quoting them in 
 their reports to the shareholders. To complete this 
 matter, I may here state that so striking was the effect 
 gradually produced by these various measures, that, in 
 the last quarter during which the department was 
 under my brother's superintendence, viz., that ending 
 September 30th, 1867, there were, as I Team, only 
 twenty instances of a packet arriving after its time ; 
 while those of arrival before time were no less than two 
 hundred and twenty-seven. 
 
 Large Expenditure Prevented, 
 
 The last great service performed by my brother in this 
 department, which, for the sake of completing the sub- 
 ject, I mention here, consisted in the defeat of an attempt 
 to draw the British Government into the adoption of 
 such changes in the Australian service as, without any 
 appreciable improvement in its efficiency, would have 
 subjected the mother country to an increased annual 
 expense of about ^i 14,000. The proposal was drawn 
 up with great art, and under show of certain advan- 
 tages, really aimed at diverting the main burden of 
 expense from certain of the colonies to the mother 
 country. My brother, after a careful consideration of 
 the whole subject, prepared a minute exposing the 
 fallacies of the plan and justifying its rejection. This 
 minute being approved by the Postmaster-General of 
 the day (the Duke of Montrose), and confirmed by the 
 Treasury, was sent out with but little change in its 
 words to the colonies concerned, where it appears to 
 have settled the question. 
 
374 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1867 
 
 Reward for Faithful Services. 
 
 This important minute was written in the year 1867, 
 about three years after my resignation. While, how- 
 ever, my brother was quietly rejoicing at the success 
 with which he had surmounted these serious difficulties, 
 and dwelling, perhaps, with some natural gratification 
 on two recent minutes in which the Duke of Montrose 
 had recorded his satisfaction with the financial results 
 of the packet service during the time it had been 
 under his management, and with the state of perfection 
 into which that service had been brought ; while, more- 
 over, he was taking measures for further improvements 
 of great importance, for which opportunity was rapidly 
 approaching, through the termination of existing con- 
 tracts, a change was preparing which soon put all such 
 thoughts to flight. Will it be believed that in the 
 course of the same year, nay, within a few months from 
 the date alike of the despatch to Australia and of the 
 Postmaster-General's gratifying minutes, the whole 
 packet service was withdrawn from my brothers charge 
 and placed in other hands. The motive assigned by 
 his Grace was that Mr. Frederic Hill's views were 
 opposed to those of the Postmaster-General, Mr. Tilley, 
 and the Treasury. No positive act of opposition was 
 alleged or even hinted at, my brother's proceedings in 
 the matter having been limited to statements and 
 arguments set forth in minutes to his Grace ; while, to 
 judge by all his antecedents, he was ready, as indeed 
 he was bound, to obey any injunction, and to carry out 
 any announced wish of his official superior, however 
 little these might be in accordance with his own 
 opinion. The consequences of the change, it must be 
 added, were far more speedy than satisfactory. Within 
 a year, the cost of the service, which under his 
 
l867] MR. FREDERIC HILL. 375 
 
 management had been gradually reduced by about 
 ;^* 100,000, was augmented by little less than ;^30o,ooo; 
 and I may add that but for such interposition as for a 
 short time he was still allowed to make, the increase, 
 great as it was, would in all probability have been 
 greater still."^ 
 
 * The following passage from Sir C. W. Dilke's valuable work "Greater 
 Britain," published since the above was written, throws further light on the retro- 
 gressive course in question : — 
 
 "Writing for the Englishmen of Old England, it is not necessary for me to 
 defend free trade by any arguments. As far as we in our island are concerned, it 
 is so manifestly to the pocket-interest of almost all of us, and, at the same time, on 
 account of the minuteness of our territory, so little dangerous, politically, that for 
 Britain there can be no fear of a deliberate relapse into protection, although we 
 have but little right to talk about free trade so long as we continue our enormous 
 subsidies to the Cunard liners. 
 
 "The American argument in favour of prohibition is in the main, it will be 
 seen, political ; the economical objection being admitted, but outweighed. Our 
 action in the matter of our postal contracts, and in the case of the Factory Acts, 
 at all events shows that we are not ourselves invariably averse to distinguish 
 between the political and the economical aspect of certain questions." — (" Greater 
 Britain," second edition, p. 69.) 
 
3/6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 RESIGNATION. (1864.) 
 
 I RETURN to the year 1864, and to my personal 
 narrative. 
 
 The necessity for my withdrawal was the more 
 disappointing because I knew that I had the full 
 confidence and even sympathy of the head of that 
 department to which the Post Office Is subordinate. 
 This confidence, however, was not sufficiently near 
 for my support ; and In my immediate department 
 the ground was slipping from beneath my feet. The 
 chief point I was striving to maintain was that of 
 promotion at once by absolute merit, and In faithful 
 accordance with the requirements of the department. 
 The rules by which this was maintained had to an 
 important extent been of late set aside ; all my 
 resistance to the change being overborne. My 
 appointment having been made by the Treasury, I 
 had thought myself justified in appealing directly to 
 that higher authority ; and I now learnt, for the first 
 time (February 6th, 1 864), that such appeal had been 
 condemned by the Postmaster-General, who at the 
 same time denied In general terms my alleged ap- 
 pointment by the Treasury,^ maintaining that ''all 
 appointments in the Post Office, without distinction, 
 
 * See my Letter of Appointment, Vol. ii., p. 224. 
 
1864] INTERVIEWS WITH LORD PALMERSTON. 377 
 
 are made by the Postmaster-General, and him alone." 
 I had even gone so far (on the suggestion of Mr. 
 Gladstone) as twice to solicit and obtain an interview 
 with the Premier, Lord Palmerston. Though, on the 
 first occasion, I was received in the most friendly 
 manner, and listened to with great patience, and even 
 obtained some little support, I became convinced, on 
 the second interview, that I had no hope of effectual 
 aid from that quarter. In short, matters had ere this 
 come into such a state that it was in effect imprac- 
 ticable for me to retain my actual position ; and, 
 indeed, at the time of which I am now writing, viz., 
 the beginning of 1864, no change, I am afraid, would 
 have availed, my strength being already exhausted. 
 The last six months I had passed in vacation, for 
 which I had applied, in the hope that such a period 
 of rest might so far recruit my health as to enable 
 me to hold on in the hope of better times ; but at 
 the close of the period I was but too sensible that this 
 end had not been attained. I therefore procured a 
 consultation of all my medical advisers, four in 
 number ; their opinion, communicated to me through 
 the mouth of their senior. Sir Thomas Watson, is 
 thus recorded in my Journal : — 
 
 " They were unanimously of opinion that for me to return to the 
 Post Office would be attended with serious risk of life, and they 
 hoped that I would altogether abandon any such intention ; that I 
 had accomplished a great work, and they hoped that I would make up 
 my mind to rest for the future ; that with rest, and with such pleasant 
 occupation as they had no doubt I could find, they had every reason 
 to believe I should, to a considerable extent, regain my health and 
 strength. He added that he had been informed by the others, con- 
 fidentially, that certain changes had been made at the Post Office, 
 which, in my opinion, would add to my difficulties if I returned , 
 but that, under any circumstances, their opinion was against such 
 return. The question of an extension of leave of absence having 
 
378 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 been raised, Dr. Watson, supported by the others, earnestly advised 
 that the main question should now be finally decided, as they con- 
 sidered it very important, in the state of my health, that all doubt on 
 the subject should be removed. They afterwards gave the following 
 certificate : — 
 
 ** * 16, Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square, 
 " 'February i8th, 1864. 
 
 " ' We certify that the state of Sir Rowland Hill's health is such as 
 to render it unsafe for him to resume his duties at the Post Office.'" 
 
 In yielding to the necessity thus falling upon me, 
 I had some comfort in knowing that I left behind 
 me. In addition to several men of tried zeal and 
 ability In their respective stations, a few on whose 
 zeal, talent, and earnest support of my plans, I could 
 Implicitly rely ; for though I feared that under existing 
 circumstances their efforts would be comparatively un- 
 availing, yet I trusted they would have strength to 
 endure until the return of better times. Unfor- 
 tunately while my trust in their firmness has been 
 fully justified, my hope seems as far as ever from 
 fulfilment. 
 
 My whole family concurring in the necessity of the 
 contemplated step, I called on the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer : my interview with him is thus re- 
 corded in my Journal : — 
 
 " Gladstone greatly regrets my determination to resign. Presses 
 upon me an offer to arrange for another six months' absence, with a 
 clear understanding that I do not return to the Post Office while 
 Lord Stanley of Alderley is there. At his urgent request, promised to 
 reconsider the question." 
 
 I fulfilled this promise, but could not venture to 
 change my determination. Before sending In my 
 resignation, however, I thought it due to Mr. Glad- 
 stone to wait upon him, and state the reasons which 
 
1864] MR. GLADSTONE. 379 
 
 compelled me to take this step, as also to warn him 
 of the evils that must follow some of the changes 
 then in progress at the Post Office Mr. Gladstone, 
 receiving me with much kindness and evincing great 
 sympathy, expressed his readiness to do anything in 
 his power that might enable me to remain ; but, while 
 sincerely thanking him for all his kindness past and 
 present, I was obliged to say that measures of relief, 
 even if practicable, were now too late. Thus ended 
 my last official interview with that distinguished 
 statesman."^ 
 
 My letter of resignation, which was addressed to 
 the Lords of the Treasury, a copy being also sent 
 to the Postmaster-General, was as follows : — 
 
 "Hampstead, 29th February, 1864. 
 
 " My Lords, — Referring to my letter to your lordships of the 
 12th March last for explanation of the circumstances which rendered 
 my position at the Post Ofifice so difficult, especially in the impaired 
 state of my health, I regret to say that the leave of absence subse- 
 quently accorded me having elapsed without any satisfactory result, 
 I have no course left but to resign my appointment as Secretary to 
 the Post Office into your lordships' hands, which I now accordingly 
 beg leave to do. The necessity for this step will at once appear on 
 reference to the enclosed medical certificate. 
 
 " I will not, my lords, attempt to conceal the extreme regret with 
 which I have come to the resolution to retire from a pursuit which 
 has been the absorbing occupation of so many years of my life. I 
 had once hoped to assist, for some considerable time to come, in the 
 great work of perfecting our postal system. My disappointment, 
 severe as your lordships will feel it must be, is nevertheless greatly 
 mitigated by the consolation of knowing that all the expectations I 
 ever held out to Parliament and the country have been surpassed by 
 the results. Of these, I beg leave to enclose a brief and necessarily 
 imperfect statement. 
 
 * In a paper drawn up some years after this passage was written, Sir R. Hill 
 has thus expressed himself as regards Mr. Gladstone : — "There are few public 
 men with whom I have been on such intimate terms, from whom I have received 
 so much kindness, and for whom I entertain so high a respect." — Ed. 
 
380 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 " Sincerely thanking your lordships for the ready support you have 
 so frequently afforded me in the performance of my arduous duties, 
 
 "I have, &c., 
 
 "Rowland Hill. 
 *' The Right Hon. 
 *' The Lords Commissioners of H.M, Treasury, &c." 
 
 Of the brief and imperfect statement of results 
 referred to above, the following is a copy. A few 
 notes, however, are appended for the purpose of 
 giving later results : — 
 
 " RESULTS OF POSTAL REFORM. 
 
 " Before stating the results of postal reform, it may be convenient 
 that I should briefly enumerate the more important organic improve- 
 ments effected. They are as follows : 
 
 " I. A very large reduction in the rates of postage on all corres- 
 pondence, whether inland, foreign, or colonial. As instances in point, 
 it may be stated that letters are now conveyed from any part of the 
 United Kingdom to any other part — even from the Channel Islands 
 to the Shetland Isles — at one-fourth of the charge previously levied 
 on letters passing between post towns only a few miles apart ;* and 
 that the rate formerly charged for this slight distance — viz., fourpence 
 — now suffices to carry a letter from any part of the United Kingdom 
 to any part of France, Algeria included. 
 
 "2. The adoption of charge by weight, which, by abolishing the 
 charge for mere enclosures, in effect largely extended the reduction 
 of rates. 
 
 " 3. Arrangements which have led to the almost universal resort to 
 prepayment of correspondence, and that by means of stamps. 
 
 "4. The simplification of the mechanism and accounts of the 
 department generally, by the above and other means. 
 
 " 5. The establishment of the book-post (including in its operation 
 all printed and much MS. matter), at very low rates ; and its modified 
 extension to our colonies, and to many foreign countries. 
 
 " 6. Increased security in the transmission of valuable letters 
 afforded, and temptation to the letter-carriers and others greatly 
 
 * When my plan was published, the lowest General Post rate was fourpence ; 
 but while the plan was under the consideration of Government the rate between 
 post towns not more than eight miles asunder was reduced from fourpence to 
 twopence. 
 
1864] RESULTS OF POSTAL REFORM. 38 1 
 
 diminished, by reducing the registration fee from is. to 4^., by 
 making registration of letters containing coin compulsory, and by 
 other means. 
 
 " 7. A reduction to about one-third in the cost — including postage 
 — of money orders ; combined with a great extension and improve- 
 ment of the system. 
 
 " 8. More frequent and more rapid communication between the 
 Metropolis and the larger provincial towns ; as also between one pro- 
 vincial town and another. 
 
 " 9. A vast extension of the rural distribution — many thousands 
 of places, and probably some millions of inhabitants, having, for the 
 first time, been included within the postal system. 
 
 " 10. A great extension of free deliveries. Before the adoption of 
 penny postage, many considerable towns, and portions of nearly all 
 the larger towns, had either no delivery at all, or deliveries on con- 
 dition of an extra charge. 
 
 *' 1 1. Greatly increased facilities afforded for the transmission of 
 foreign and colonial correspondence ; by improved treaties with 
 foreign countries, by a better arrangement of the packet service, by 
 sorting on board, and other means. 
 
 "12. A more prompt despatch of letters when posted, and a more 
 prompt delivery on arrival. 
 
 " 13. The division of London and its suburbs into ten postal 
 districts — by which, and other measures, communication within the 
 twelve -miles circle has been greatly facilitated, and the most impor- 
 tant delivery of the day has, generally speaking, been accelerated as 
 much as two hours. 
 
 " 14. Concurrently with these improvements, the condition of the 
 employes has been materially improved ; their labours, especially on 
 the Sunday, having been very generally reduced, their salaries in- 
 creased, their chances of promotion augmented, and other important 
 advantages afforded them. 
 
 *' RESULTS. 
 
 " My pamphlet on ' Post Office Reform ' was written in the year 
 1836. During the preceding twenty years — viz., from 1815 to 1835, 
 inclusive — ^/lere was no i?icrease whatever in the Post Office Revenue^ 
 whether gross or 7iet ; and therefore, in all probability, none in the 
 number of letters : and though there was a slight increase in the 
 revenue, and doubtless in the number of letters, between 1835 and 
 the establishment of penny postage early in 1840 — an increase chiefly 
 
382 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 due, in my opinion, to the adoption of part of my plan, viz., the 
 estabhshment of day mails to and from London — yet, during the 
 whole period of twenty-four years immediately preceding the adoption 
 of penny postage, the revenue, whether gross or net, and the number 
 of letters, were, in effect, stationary. 
 
 *' Contrast with this the rate of increase under the new system, 
 which has been in operation during a period of about equal length. 
 In the first year of penny postage, the letters more than doubled ; 
 and though since then the increase has, of course, been less rapid, 
 yet it has been so steady that, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of 
 trade, every year, without exception, has shown a considerable 
 advance on the preceding year, and the first year's number is now 
 nearly quadrupled. As regards revenue, there was, of course, at first 
 a large falling off — about a million in gross and still more in net 
 revenue. Since then, however, the revenue, whether gross or net, has 
 rapidly advanced, till now it even exceeds its former amount ; the 
 rate of increase, both of letters and revenue, still remaining un- 
 diminished. 
 
 " In short, a comparison of the year 1863 with 1838 (the last com- 
 plete year under the old system) shows that the number of chargeable 
 letters has risen from 76 millions to 642 millions (See Note A) ; and 
 that the revenue, at first so much impaired, has not only recovered 
 its original amount, but risen, the gross from ;j^2, 346,000, to about 
 ;j^3, 870,000, and the net from ;£"i, 660,000 to about ;£"i, 790,000.* 
 (See Note B). 
 
 " The expectations I held out before the change were, that even- 
 tually, under the operation of my plans, the number of letters would 
 increase five-fold, the gross revenue would be the same as before, 
 
 * In this comparison of revenue, the mode of calculation in use before the 
 adoption of Penny Postage has of course been retained — that is to say, the cost 
 of the packets on the one hand, and the produce of the impressed newspaper 
 stamps on the other, have been excluded. The amounts for 1863 are, to some 
 extent, estimated, the accounts not having as yet been fully made up. 
 
 (a) In 1868 the number had increased to 808,000,000. — ("Fifteenth Report 
 of the Postmaster-General," p. 4.) [In 1878 the number had increased to 
 1,097,000,000 — nearly fourteen and a-half fold the number sent in 1838. In 
 addition there were sent through the post in 1878, 111,000,000 post-cards 
 197,000,000 book packets and circulars, and 130,000,000 newspapers. — Ed.] 
 
 (b) Return 1868, No. 215, the latest account rendered in this form shows that 
 in 1867 the gross revenue had advanced to ;i{^4, 548,000, and the net revenue to 
 /"2, 127,000. [According to the form now in use, the gross revenue for 1878-9 
 was ;^6,274,ooo, and the net revenue £2,42>A,ooo. — Ed.] 
 
1864] RESULTS OF POSTAL REFORM. 383 
 
 while the net revenue would sustain a loss of about ;2^3oo,ooo. The 
 preceding statement shows that the letters have increased, not five- 
 fold, but nearly eight and a-half fold ; that the gross revenue, instead 
 of remaining the same, has increased by about ;j^i, 500,000 ; while 
 the net revenue, instead of falling ;!£^3oo,ooo, has risen more than 
 ;;{^ioo,ooo. (See Note C). 
 
 "While the revenue of the Post Office has thus more than 
 recovered its former amount, the indirect benefit to the general 
 revenue of the country arising from the greatly increased facilities 
 afforded to commercial transactions, though incapable of exact 
 estimate, must be very large. Perhaps it is not too much to assume 
 that, all things considered, the vast benefit of cheap, rapid, and ex- 
 tended postal communication has been obtained, even as regards the 
 past, without fiscal loss. For the future there must be a large and 
 ever-increasing gain. 
 
 " The indirect benefit referred to above is partly manifested in the 
 development of the money-order system ; under which, since the year 
 1839, the annual amount transmitted has risen from ;3^3 13,000 to 
 ;^i6,494,ooo; that is, fifty-two-fold (See Note D). 
 
 " An important collateral benefit of the new system is to be found 
 in the cessation of that contraband conveyance which once prevailed 
 so far that habitual breach of the postal law had become a thing of 
 course. 
 
 *' It may be added that the organization thus so greatly improved 
 and extended for postal purposes, stands available for other objects ; 
 and passing over minor matters, has already been applied with great 
 advantage to the new system of Savings Banks. 
 
 " Lastly, the improvements briefly referred to above, with all their 
 commercial, educational, and social benefits, have now been adopted, 
 in greater or less degree — and that through the mere force of 
 example — by the whole civilized world. 
 
 " I cannot conclude this summary without gratefully acknowledging 
 the cordial co-operation and zealous aid afforded me in the discharge 
 of my arduous duties. I must especially refer to many among the 
 
 (c) In 1868 the letters had increased more than ten and a-half fold. In 
 1867 the gross revenue had increased by ;i{^2, 202,000, and the net revenue by 
 ;^467,ooo. 
 
 (d) In 1868 the amount transmitted had risen to ;i^i9,o79,ooo, or more than 
 sixty fold — (" Fifteenth Report of the Postmaster-General," p. 4.) [In 1878-79 it 
 had risen to ;iC27, 303,000. In the preceding year, however, it had been as high 
 as ;^29, 153,000. See Vol. 11. p. 286.— Eu.] 
 
384 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1S64 
 
 superior officers of the department — men whose ability would do 
 credit to any service, and whose zeal could not be greater if their 
 object were private instead of public benefit. 
 
 *' Rowland Hill. 
 *' Hampstead, Feb. 23rd, 1864." 
 
 RESIGNATION. 
 
 In consequence of further communication from the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, I wrote to him as 
 follows : — 
 
 "Hampstead, March 4th, 1864. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Gladstone, — Mr. Moffatt has communicated to 
 me your expressions of desire that I should, if possible, still continue 
 my connection with the Post Office. 
 
 " Though much gratified with this further proof of friendly feeling 
 towards myself, and deeply regretting that your earnest and repeated 
 efforts to remove the obstacles to my continuance at the Post Office 
 should have proved unavailing, I am reluctantly obliged — having 
 regard to the opinions so emphatically expressed by my medical 
 advisers, confirmed as they are by my own conviction — to abide by 
 the decision already announced. 
 
 " If, however, the expectation entertained by my medical friends of 
 improved health from rest should be realized, I need scarcely say 
 that I shall be most happy to afford Government any advice or assist- 
 ance it may be in my power to give ; and I may remind you that my 
 first official connection with the Post Office was as adviser to Sir 
 Francis Baring, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 ***** 
 
 *' I remain, &c., 
 
 "Rowland Hill." 
 
 A few days later I received the subjoined from the 
 Postmaster-General : — 
 
 "General Post Office, March 7th, 1864. 
 
 " Dear Sir Rowland, — I have to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter, informing me that you have resigned your situation as 
 Secretary to the Post Office. 
 
1864] LETTER FROM LORD STANLEY. 385 
 
 " It is with great concern I hear the state of your health is such as 
 to prevent you from resuming your duties. 
 
 " I enclose a copy of the letter I have sent to the Treasury on the 
 subject of your resignation, which expresses my opinion of the great 
 value of your services, and I have only again to assure you how 
 sensible I am of the loss which the Department has sustained, and of 
 my sincere regret at the cause of your retirement." 
 
 The enclosure was as follows : — 
 
 "4th March, 1864. 
 
 " My Lords, — I have received a communication from Sir R. Hill, 
 together with a medical certificate, from which it appears that he has 
 derived no benefit from his leave of absence ; and that the state of 
 his health is such as to render it unsafe for him to resume his 
 duties ; and in which I am informed that he has already forwarded 
 his resignation of the office as Secretary of the Post Office. 
 
 *' Under these circumstances, I have-no choice left but to accept 
 his resignation ; but I cannot do so without expressing my regret 
 that the country should be deprived of the services of this dis- 
 tinguished public servant. 
 
 " For the introduction of penny postage alone — a measure which, 
 in itself, and in all its ramifications, has conferred such vast benefits 
 on all classes of the community, and with which the name of Sir 
 Rowland Hill will ever be identified — he deserves the gratitude of his 
 country — indeed of the civilized world, which, no doubt, will not be 
 niggardly expressed. 
 
 " But it is rather my province as Postmaster-General to state 
 simply the high opinion I entertain of the able manner in which Sir 
 Rowland Hill, so long as his health permitted, performed his duties 
 in this Department, and feeling satisfied that your lordships will 
 concur with me, I have no hesitation in recommending you to grant 
 him at once a retiring allowance equal to his full salary, a step which 
 the Superannuation Act enables you to take." 
 
 My reply, written on the same day, was as 
 follows : — 
 
 "Hampstead, 8th March, 1864. 
 
 *' My dear Lord, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your lordship's letter of yesterday enclosing a copy of the letter 
 you have addressed to the Treasury on the subject of my 
 
 VOL. II. C C 
 
386 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 resignation ; and to request that you will accept my thanks for the 
 manner in which you have been pleased to speak of my services. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 
 "Your Lordship's most obedient Servant, 
 
 " Rowland Hill. 
 "The Right Hon. 
 "Lord Stanley of Alderley, &c." 
 
 Amongst the numerous notices of my retirement 
 that appeared in the newspapers there was one"^ which 
 showed that, notwithstanding my careful silence on 
 the subject, suspicion was abroad as to the cause of 
 my resignation. In it my retirement was attributed 
 to opposition in the Department, — not to the ill-health 
 which such opposition, combined with other troubles, 
 had produced. The day after the appearance of this 
 notice, a passage occurred in the House of Lords, 
 which is thus mentioned in my Journal : — 
 
 " The following tells its own story. I have only to add, that 
 although I know Lord Truro, who inherits his father's interest in 
 my success, I have had no communication with him, direct or 
 indirect : — ■ 
 
 " Ti7neSy March 9th. 
 
 " ♦ RETIREMENT OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 " ' Lord Truro rose to ask Her Majesty's Postmaster-General whether 
 the rumour of Sir Rowland Hill's resignation was well-founded; and, 
 if so, whether he had any objection to state the circumstances under 
 which that resignation had taken place. The noble lord said he put 
 the question to satisfy the strongly expressed desire of the public to 
 know the truth of the rumour to this effect which had got abroad. 
 He was sure that it would cause general regret to hear of the exist- 
 ence of any cause for the retirement of a man who had conferred 
 such an immeasurable benefit upon the country, and, indeed, upon 
 the whole civilized world. (Hear, hear). 
 
 " * Lord Stanley of Alderley said that Sir Rowland had recently 
 
 * In the Morning Star. — Ed. 
 
1864] STATUE IN BIRMINGHAM. 387 
 
 resigned his position in the Post Office in consequence of the state of 
 his health. Six months ago he appHed for six months' leave of 
 absence, in the hope that he might then be enabled to resume his 
 duties, but at the end of that period — the beginning of this month — 
 he forwarded his resignation, saying that the six months' leave of 
 absence had not restored him, and accompanying it with a medical 
 certificate that it would not be safe for him to resume his duties. 
 Those were the whole circumstances connected with Sir Rowland 
 Hill's resignation, as far as he was acquainted with them. He was 
 sure that he should meet with their lordships' concurrence in express- 
 ing the deepest regret at the retirement of this able public servant. 
 (Hear, hear.) The name of Sir R. Hill would be inseparably con- 
 nected with the establishment of the penny post system — one of the 
 greatest improvements of the present age — which had, perhaps, con- 
 ferred more benefit on mankind than any other invention. (Hear, 
 hear.) Those who recollected the state of things before the penny 
 post would know that to the poorer classes correspondence by letter 
 was practically interdicted, that to the class above them the cost of a 
 letter was a very serious matter, and that, in the commercial and 
 mercantile world, intercourse was very much restricted by the expense 
 of correspondence. Since its first introduction, the penny post 
 system had been greatly extended ; facilities of all sorts were given ; 
 money orders and savings banks had been connected with it, and in 
 every way it had been largely developed. It had become popular all 
 over the civilized world, and with it the name of Hill would be for 
 ever connected. Their lordships would confirm him in expressing 
 the general regret which would be felt by the public at his retirement, 
 and the universal acknowledgment of the value of his services would, 
 no doubt, be a great satisfaction to Sir R. Hill. (Hear, hear.)'" 
 
 Amongst the numerous manifestations at this 
 time, not the least gratifying was the meeting at 
 Birmingham, at which it was determined to raise 
 subscriptions for the purpose of erecting a statue 
 to me in some pubhc part of that town, in which I 
 had passed so many of my early years. My pleasure 
 at this movement was not a little enhanced by the 
 fact that the originator of the project, the late Mr. 
 James Lloyd, had been, some forty years before, my 
 pupil. 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 A few days after the meeting at Birmingham I 
 received, through my steady and valued friend the 
 late Mr. Matthew Forster, the following communi- 
 cation from the late Mr. Joseph Parkes, whom I had 
 known almost from boyhood, and to whom I could 
 not but feel much indebted for his spontaneous and 
 earnest efforts in my behalf: — • 
 
 ** loth March, 1864. R. C. 5^ P.M. 
 
 " Dear Mr. Forster, — I could not leave my office till 5. I 
 
 thought my interview with Sir F. Baring so good a chapter in Hill's 
 
 life, and so important a testimony to his public services, that I 
 
 penned the wTitten minute in a note to you before I left Staple Inn. 
 
 In fact. Sir Francis is the best, and a wilHng, witness of Hill's 
 
 deserts. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 "Joseph Parkes." 
 
 " Sir Francis Baring'' s opitiion of Rowland Hill. 
 
 "Staple Inn, loth March, 1864. 
 
 " Dear Mr. Forster, — I found Sir Francis Baring at his rooms 
 after breakfast this morning, and I sat an hour with him on the 
 subject of our friend Sir Rowland Hill's deserts and claims on his 
 country. No one could be more kind or sensible in all his views of 
 the subject, and on the proper course for Sir Rowland Hill's friends 
 to pursue in the matter. 
 
 " I detailed to him the particulars of my interview with Moffatt 
 yesterday, and who. Sir Francis thinks, has not injudiciously broken 
 ground with Mr. Gladstone ; and Sir Francis cheerfully agrees to be 
 one of three, i.e.^ with Mr. Wilson Patten and Moffatt, in a depu- 
 tation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 " Sir Francis at first doubted whether he himself should be one 
 of the best persons to promote the object of Hill's friends in 
 seeing Mr. Gladstone, as he said he and the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer had each a7igles that possibly might not quite square. 
 However, afterwards, he agreed with me that such were of no moment, 
 and that he felt it was due to himself, equally as to Hill, that he 
 should "unite with Mr. W. Patten and Moffatt. He said really 
 emphatically, ' No public man can so well or naturally impress Hill's 
 deserts on the Chancellor of the Exchequer as myself, and it is my 
 
1S64] SIR FRANCIS BARING. 389 
 
 duty to do it. Hill was long in office under me, or rather I under 
 hi??i. For months, I may say, he was little out of my own room. I 
 have the highest estimate of his public services on the postal changes, 
 of his talent and good judgment throughout many difficult con- 
 siderations and decisions ; and his integrity was unimpeachable in 
 carrying out his plans. Further, I always found him open-minded 
 in regard to objections made to his own individual propositions on 
 some points, often material, on which we individually differed, and in 
 which, now and then, I overruled him ; he always made due 
 allowance for viy disagreement with him, and all proper consideration 
 for 7?ty difficulties and views as Chancellor of the Exchequer. And I 
 formed not only this high opinion of his character and public service, 
 but I also formed a friendship for him which would induce me always 
 to promote his interest in any matter in my power.' 
 
 " I really thus pen his almost exact words as due to Hill, and 
 because they much impressed me. And you know Sir Francis is not 
 a man of many words, or, in manner, of overflowing heart. . . . 
 He considers that at Hill's age, and considering the immense benefits 
 his country has derived at his hands, a retiring pension on full salary 
 only would be a ' mockery ' (Sir Francis's own expression) ; and he 
 considers that either his bare official pension, or, say ;zf 1000 per 
 annum, might be asked of Gladstone, with a grant of a proper sum 
 as a public reward or a just gift to him. We talked awhile on the 
 
 amount of that sum. 
 
 * -x- 'k ^ * - * 
 
 " But we both thought the figure an after consideration. He said 
 the pressure of the proposed deputation to Gladstone must be placed 
 on Mr. Gladstone, as all Chancellors of the Exchequer naturally 
 were given to be scared when such exceptional claims were made on 
 the public's purse. But he spoke highly of Gladstone's generosity of 
 mind as a public and private man ; and he said he was certain the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer would be sincerely glad to give full 
 consideration to Hill's most peculiar case and public claims, and to 
 do all in his power officially, and within his public duty. Sir Francis 
 mentioned the Twies article among others as particularly useful, and 
 as having placed Hill's services on the proper and full basis. He 
 did not know of the Birmingham statue meeting, and w^as much 
 struck by the fact. I send you my Birmingham Daily Post with 
 the report, and the deputation should be armed with it to show 
 Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 " Sir Francis thought no two better men than Mr. W. Patten and 
 Moffatt could be selected as his colleagues ; Moffatt also having 
 
390 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 been an original strong promoter of Hill's postal reforms and early 
 
 movement. 
 
 ^ * ^ ^ * * 
 
 "It is no question of what Hill's pecuniary private position may 
 or may not be. It is simply the appreciation of his singular services 
 to his country, and the gains of his countrymen by his mind and 
 labours — of the unquestionable success of Ais plans of postal reform 
 — of the vast beneficial results. 
 
 " I will only add that I cannot sufficiently appreciate Sir Francis 
 Baring's kind and earnest interest in your good object. 
 
 " Truly yours, 
 
 "Joseph Parkes. 
 
 "P.S. — I will only repeat that Sir Francis was decided that Mr. 
 Gladstone should be seen at once, and before the Treasury decide 
 on Hill's retiring pension, and that Gladstone, by such a deputation, 
 must be backed up to a full act of justice. Sir Francis said he was 
 confident Lord Palmerston would agree to any course Gladstone 
 approves. 
 
 "The proper decision would be to give Hill the full salary as 
 retiring pension, and the sum of money. But we shall see how 
 matters work as they progress." 
 
 " Extract from the Daily News of March 12th. 
 
 " House of Commons. 
 
 " Pension to Lady Hill. Notice by Lord Palmerston. 
 
 " Sir Rowland Hill. 
 
 "Lord Palmerston. — Sir, I believe it is well known that that 
 valuable and deserving public servant, Sir Rowland Hill, is about 
 to retire from the public service, and that in the ordinary course of 
 things he will be entitled to a pension for life. I beg to move that 
 this House resolve itself into a committee of supply, on Monday 
 next, for the purpose of considering whether that pension should 
 not be extended for the life of Lady Hill should she survive her 
 husband." 
 
 On the 15th I received a minute of the Treasury, of 
 which the following is a copy. There are some errors 
 in the minute, of which the most important was noticed 
 
1864] TREASURY MINUTE. 39I 
 
 in my letter to Mr. Gladstone of this day (also sub- 
 joined), but nothing could be more gratifying than the 
 minute as a whole : — 
 
 "Treasury Minute, dated nth March, 1864. 
 
 "Read letter from Sir Rowland Hill, K.C.B., dated the 29th 
 February, stating that six months' absence having elapsed without 
 any satisfactory results as regards the state of his health, he has now 
 no course left but to resign his appointment as Secretary to the Post 
 Office. 
 
 "Read also letter from the Postmaster-General of the fourth 
 instant, stating that Sir Rowland Hill has, in consequence of the 
 state of his health, been compelled to retire from the public 
 service, and bearing his testimony to the eminent services which 
 Sir Rowland Hill has rendered. 
 
 " The retirement of Sir Rowland Hill from the office of Secretary 
 to the Post Office would, if treated under the ordinary machinery of 
 the Superannuation Act, afford to my Lords the power of granting 
 him no more than a pension of ;£s^^ ^3^' 4^-j ^^ to the utmost 
 ;4666 13^. 4^., but it supplies, in the judgment of my Lords, an 
 occasion of peculiar fitness for calling into action the 9th or special 
 clause of the Superannuation Act, and thus, by a proceeding which 
 marks their sense of his services, of drawing to those services the 
 attention of Parliament. 
 
 " The period during which Sir Rowland Hill has held office, either 
 by a temporary or a permanent appointment, is but little in excess of 
 twenty years ; yet my Lords have to regret that while he remains 
 full as ever of ability, energy, and resources, and of disposition to 
 expend them for the public good, the state of his health, due, 
 without doubt, in great part to his* indefatigable labours, compels 
 him to solicit a retirement. 
 
 " It is not, however, by length of service that the merits and 
 claims of such a man are to be measured. It is not even by any 
 acknowledgment or reward which the Executive Government, in the 
 exercise of the powers confided to it, can confer. 
 • "The postal system, one of the most powerful organs which 
 modern civilisation has placed at the command of Government, has, 
 mainly under the auspices and by the agency of Sir Rowland Hill, 
 been, within the last quarter of a century, not merely improved but 
 transformed. The letters transmitted have increased nearly nine- 
 fold, and have been carried at what may be estimated as little more 
 
392 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 than one-ninth of the former charge. In numerous respects con- 
 venience has been consulted and provided for even more than 
 cheapness. 
 
 *' Upon the machinery for the transmission of letters there have 
 been grafted other schemes, which, at a former period, would justly 
 have been deemed visionary, for the transmission of books with 
 other printed matter, and of money, and for receiving and storing 
 the savings of the people. 
 
 " While these arduous duties have been undertaken, the condition 
 of the persons employed in this vast department has been improved, 
 and, could attention be adequately drawn to what lies beneath the 
 surface, my Lords are persuaded that the methods of communication 
 by letter which are now in action have produced for the mass of the 
 population social and moral benefits which might well have thrown 
 even these brilliant results into the shade. 
 
 " As respects purely fiscal interests, advantages so great as those 
 which have been recited were, of course, not to be obtained without 
 some effort or sacrifice. But the receipts on account of postal 
 service, which on the first adoption of the change were reduced by 
 above a million sterling, have now more than recovered themselves ; 
 and if computed on the same basis as under the old system, the 
 gross sum realised is about ;^3, 870,000 instead of ;j^2, 346,000, and 
 the net about ;£'i, 790,000 in lieu of ;^i, 660,000; at the same time 
 contraband in letters may be stated to have ceased, and instead of 
 a stationary revenue, such as that derived from letters between 18 15 
 and 1835, t^^ State has one which is steadily and even rapidly 
 progressive. 
 
 " My Lords do not forget that it has been by the powerful agency 
 of the railway system that these results have been rendered prac> 
 ticable. Neither do they enter into the question, as foreign to the 
 occasion, what honour may be due to those who, before the develop- 
 ment of the plans of Sir Rowland Hill, urged the adoption of the 
 uniform penny postage.* Nor are they insensible to the fact that 
 the co-operation of many able public servants has been essential to 
 the work performed. But after all justice has been done to others. 
 Sir Rowland Hill is beyond doubt the person to whom it was given 
 to surmount every kind of obstacle, and to bring what had been 
 theretofore matter of speculation into the world of practice, without 
 whom the country would not have enjoyed the boon, or would only 
 have enjoyed it at a later date, and to whom, accordingly, its enjoy- 
 ment may justly be deemed due. 
 
 * See in correction of this mistake, p. 393 and Appendix N. 
 
1864] AUTHORSHIP OF PENNY POSTAGE. 393 
 
 " Nor is it in this country alone that are to be perceived the happy 
 fruits of his labours ; the recognition of his plans has spread with a 
 rapidity to be accounted for only by their excellence from land to 
 land, and truly may now be said to have met with acceptance 
 throughout the civilised world. 
 
 "Under these circumstances, it may justly be averred that my 
 Lords are deaUng on the present occasion with the case not merely 
 of a meritorious public servant, but of a benefactor of his race ; and 
 that his fitting reward is to be found not in this or that amount of 
 pension, but in the grateful recollection of his country. 
 
 " But my Lords discharge the portion of duty which belongs to 
 them with cordial satisfaction, in awarding to Sir Rowland Hill, for 
 Hfe, his full salary of ;£2,ooo per annum. 
 
 " Let a copy of this Minute be laid before Parliament. 
 
 " Transmit copy to the Postmaster-General, with a request that it 
 may be communicated to Sir Rowland Hill." 
 
 The following Is my letter to Mr. Gladstone : — 
 
 ** (Private and immediate.) 
 
 "Hampstead, March 15th, 1864. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Gladstone, — I have just received through the 
 Postmaster-General a copy of the Treasury minute of the nth inst. 
 
 " I need not say how much I feel indebted for the very handsome 
 terms in which my services are acknowledged, and for the hberal 
 retiring allowance which the Treasury has granted me. 
 
 " There is, however, one part of the minute which I trust their 
 lordships may be induced to reconsider. It is that in which the 
 original conception of the uniform penny rate is attributed to others 
 than myself As this forms the main feature of my plan, and as its 
 discovery and first proposal were wholly my own, you will, I am sure, 
 pardon me if I press that in a formal document like the one in 
 question a mistake on so important a point may be corrected. 
 
 " But perhaps I ought to address an official letter to the Treasury, 
 stating more formally and fully the facts of the case. Will you 
 favour me with your wishes in this respect ? My immediate object 
 is to request that the copy of the minute to be laid before Parlia- 
 ment may not be issued until the point in question shall have been 
 
 investigated. 
 
 "I remain, &:c., in haste, 
 
 "Rowland Hill. 
 "The Right Hon. 
 "The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Src." 
 
394 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 Upon receiving Mr. Gladstone's reply I wrote to 
 the Treasury a letter in which I requested attention to 
 the point in question. I also enclosed a memorandum 
 recapitulating the facts of the case. Both documents 
 w^ill be found in the Appendix (N). My object in 
 marking as ''Immediate" the letter containing the 
 above memorandum was that it might be laid before 
 Parliament as soon as possible after the publication of 
 the unfortunate error which it was intended to correct ; 
 and more particularly that this might be done before 
 the Easter holidays, then close at hand. This point 
 Mr. Gladstone was kind enough to secure ; and in a 
 few days my letter, with the memorandum, appeared 
 in the public papers. Moreover, he assured me, 
 in a private letter, that it was not intended in the 
 Treasury minute to put a negation on my claim to 
 originality. 
 
 Lord Palmerston's notice relative to a pension to 
 my wife produced a good deal of discussion amongst 
 my friends ; and owing to their earnest advice an 
 address from Lady Hill to the Queen was prepared, 
 and a communication made to Lord Palmerston on the 
 subject. A meeting was then held, and arrangements 
 were made for postponing further ' proceedings in 
 Parliament till after Easter. With these and the 
 after proceedings connected with the Parliamentary 
 grant, except as to my unavoidable correspondence 
 with Mr. Moffatt, I took no part whatever, but left the 
 matter entirely in the hands of my friends.^ The 
 purport of Lady Hill's address to the Queen was to 
 
 * In Sir R. Hill's Journal for June 23rd there is the following entry : — " Received 
 a letter from Mr. Joseph Parkes, giving a brief account of the negociations with 
 Government on the subject of the Parliamentary grant, in which he states that a 
 Baronetcy, in lieu of the grant, was offered, but declined by my friends. This is 
 the first intimation I have had of the kind. Wrote to say that I fully confirm the 
 views taken by himself and Mr. Forster as to the Baronetcy." — Ed. 
 
1864] GRANT FROM PARLIAMENT. 395 
 
 pray that any reward to which Her Majesty might 
 consider me entitled should take a form which should 
 be beneficial to our children. A deputation, with 
 Sir Francis Baring at its head, then waited upon 
 Lord Palmerston, and in consequence of the re- 
 presentations then made to him, the motion of 
 which he had given notice was postponed, and, when 
 actually brought forward, was greatly modified. 
 
 Lord Palmerston's motion was finally made on 
 June nth, the following message from the Queen 
 having been brought up by his lordship on the 
 6th:— 
 
 " Victoria Regina. — Her Majesty, taking into consideration the 
 eminent services of Sir Rowland Hill, the late Secretary of the Post 
 Office, in devising and carrying out various important improvements 
 in the postal administration, and being desirous, in recognition of 
 such services, to confer some signal mark of her favour upon him, 
 recommends to the House to concur in enabling Her Majesty to 
 grant Sir Rowland Hill the sum of ;£2o,ooo." 
 
 The following report of the proceedings is taken 
 from the Ti?nes : — 
 
 Mr. Massey having read Her Majesty's message, recommending the 
 grant of a sum of ;£2o,ooo to Sir Rowland Hill, K.C.B., in recog- 
 nition of his services in connection with postal reforms, 
 
 " Lord Palmerston rose and said : I trust that the Committee will 
 be disposed to concur without any objection in the recommendation 
 which her Majesty has been graciously pleased to make. (Cheers.) 
 Sir Rowland Hill is a man of great genius, of great sagacity, of great 
 perseverance and industry, and he has rendered great services both to 
 this and other countries. He formed the opinion that the Post Office 
 was more properly a department for the performance of service than for 
 the mere collection of revenue, and with a boldness which staggered 
 a great number of persons who had not looked at the matter from the 
 same point of view, he recommended a very large reduction in the 
 rate of postage, with the confidence that it would in the end bring 
 up the revenue to the same amount to which it had previously 
 stood, and would in the mean time confer the greatest possible 
 
396 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 benefit upon the community. (Hear, hear.) Many people 
 thought that he was too sanguine in his calculations, and that, 
 although the number of letters might increase, the revenue 
 would not recover the great shock which the introduction of 
 the penny postage would inflict upon it. Those anticipations have 
 been falsified, and the calculations of Sir R. Hill have turned out to 
 be correct. Sir R. Hill had for nearly a quarter of a century per- 
 formed, with some slight interval, the arduous duties which had 
 devolved upon him in connection with the scheme, and he is now at 
 a time of life when his health must have suffered from the gi-eat labour 
 which attaches to his of^ce. The Treasury have on that ground, 
 given him permission to retire, and have done that which I am sure this 
 house will not think too much — they have given him his full salary for 
 life. He is now, I believe, in the seventieth year of his age, and his 
 health has been shattered by the labours which he has had to perform. 
 Under these circumstances, Her Majesty thought that this House 
 would be of opinion that the great services which he has performed 
 would recommend him for a grant which should enable him to make 
 those arrangements for his family which the short period during which 
 he may probably enjoy his pension would not otherwise permit him 
 to make. His labours have produced more beneficial results than 
 may strike persons at first sight. It is quite clear that the facilities 
 which the penny postage has given to the transactions of commerce, 
 and to all communications connected with business, must have been 
 infinitely advantageous to the industry, and, by that means, to the 
 general revenue of the country. (Hear, hear.) In that view Sir R. 
 Hill has performed great services to the country ; but there is another 
 view in which he has produced still more startling results, namely, in 
 the amount of happiness and comfort which his invention — if I may 
 call it an invention — his plan, has conferred upon millions of the 
 poorer classes of the community. (Hear.) When the rate of postage 
 was as high as it was before that plan was introduced, communication 
 between the members of a poor family who were scattered about the 
 country was impossible. How could a poor labouring man pay a 
 shilling or sixpence for a letter? Communication between the 
 members of such families was more difificult than the communication 
 between England and Australia is now. (Hear, hear.) The culti- 
 vation of the affections raises men in their own estimation and in the 
 standing which they occupy in society. It improves their morals, and 
 develops all those qualities which tend to make useful members of 
 the community. Therefore I say that Sir R. Hill, independently of 
 the benefits which his plan has conferred upon the general interests 
 
1864] LORD PALMERSTON'S SPEECH. 397 
 
 and prosperity of the country, has the merit of having conferred a 
 great benefit upon the labouring and poorer classes of the people, 
 which would of itself entitle him to any mark of approbation 
 and reward which the House may be disposed to confer upon 
 him. In the year 1838, before the penny postage was intro- 
 duced, the number of letters transmitted through the Post Office 
 was 76,000,000; in 1863 the number was 642,000,000. (Hear, 
 hear). That is a measure of the extent to which that plan 
 has assisted the industry and contributed to the comfort and 
 happiness of the community. There are many matters connected 
 with the plan which are independent of the mere reduction of the 
 amount paid for the postage of letters. Among others, there is the 
 faciUty which his arrangements have given for the transmission of 
 money in small sums from one part of the country to another. The 
 amount of the money orders taken out in 1838 was ;£^3i3,ooo; in 
 1863 it was ;^i 6,494,000. (Hear, hear.) What an immense advan- 
 tage must have resulted from the facility for the safe transmission of 
 so large an amount of small sums, which it would otherwise have 
 been very difficult and expensive to transmit. Then there is the book- 
 post. It is greatly conducive to the interests of literature, and the 
 arrangements have been most extensively taken advantage of The 
 gross revenue of the Post Office has increased very considerably, but of 
 course the increase of facilities has led to the multiplication of estab- 
 lishments and officers, and has therefore largely increased the out- 
 goings. In 1838 the gross receipts were ;;{^2,436,ooo; in 1863 they 
 were ;^3,87o,ooo ; showing that Sir R. Hill was perfectly right in 
 anticipating that at no distant period the receipts of the Post Office 
 would recover from the diminution which the first introduction of his 
 plan naturally produced. In point of fact everybody is so well 
 acquainted with the merits of Sir R. Hill's plan and the good effects 
 which it has produced, that I shall content myself with moving the 
 resolution of which I have given notice. (Cheers.) The noble 
 Viscount concluded by moving that a sum not exceeding ;j^2o,ooo 
 should be granted to Her Majesty as a provision for Sir Rowland 
 
 Hill." 
 
 ****** -x- 
 
 " Sir F. Baring, having been Chancellor of the Exchequer at the 
 time when Sir R Hill's plan was introduced (hear, hear), wished to 
 bear testimony to the ability of that eminent public servant, and to 
 the good sense, inteUigence, and good humour with which he met and 
 surmounted the innumerable difficulties that it was then thought right 
 to throw in his way." ^.^ 
 
398 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 Mr. Neate, who had been at the time Sir Francis 
 Baring's private Secretary, most justly dwelt on the 
 support given to me by Sir Francis, when my official 
 superior. 
 
 Mr. Hennessy asked why Sir Rowland Hill had not 
 been created Postmaster-General ; to which Lord 
 Palmerston remarked that had he been appointed to 
 that post he would have had to go out on a change of 
 Government. 
 
 The motion was carried without a division. 
 
 A few days afterwards, Lord Granville brought 
 the question before the House of Lords in a very kind 
 and graceful speech. 
 
 " Lord Brougham said there was this peculiarity in Sir Rowland 
 
 Hill — that whereas inventors in general were the most sanguine of 
 
 men,* who saw no difficulties in the way, and who exaggerated the 
 
 probable results of their novelty, he understated the value of his 
 
 invention and over-estimated the difficulties and the expense of 
 
 adopting it. 
 
 * » • * * * * 
 
 " The Marquis of Clanricarde had the satisfaction of remembering 
 that under him and through him, in some degree. Sir Rowland Hill 
 had entered the Post Office ; and bore testimony to the extraordinary 
 zeal for the public service, the judgment, the discretion, the temper, 
 and unvarying urbanity with which he met all the difficulties that he 
 had to encounter. Of course those who had been accustomed to the 
 old system viewed the innovation proposed with great alarm apd 
 suspicion. He attributed no blame to these officers, believing that 
 the opinions given by them against the new system were founded 
 upon very natural fears and bias. But penny postage, as his noble 
 friend had said, was not the only improvement for which the nation 
 had to thank Sir Rowland Hill. His belief was that, if it had not 
 been for Sir Rowland Hill, the business in the Money Order Office 
 would not have reached to one-sixteenth of its present proportions, and 
 he doubted, indeed, whether that business would have been carried 
 on any longer. No balance had been struck, and no one could tell 
 what assets were in hand. He then asked Mr. Hill, who at that time had 
 
 * "Projectors see no difficulties, and critics see nothing else." — Edmund Burke. 
 " Correspondence of Edmund Burke." Vol. ii., p. 332. — Ed. 
 
1864] MARQUIS OF CLANRICARDE'S SPEECH. 399 
 
 introduced some important improvements in the circulation of letters, 
 to take this subject in hand. The result of that gentleman's efforts was 
 to establish, if not an exact balance, at least what practically amounted 
 to it ; the system was materially altered, and instead of eleven entries 
 for every money order, the number was reduced to four or five ; and 
 since that time he had heard of no defalcation or fraud on the part of 
 postmasters, such as had frequently occurred before that time. 
 During the time that he had the honour to be connected with the 
 Post Office he always found that jSIi. Hill laboured zealously and 
 efficiently, and always to his satisfaction. When objections to his 
 plans were raised, Mr. Hill always received them in a fair and tem- 
 perate manner, and never complained of being overruled when fair 
 grounds for so doing had been shown. Upon the whole, this country 
 had never rewarded by a grant of money any public servant who 
 more richly deserved it. Mr. Hill's name would live in every country, 
 for every country had derived benefit from his labours."* 
 
 I need not say that the parHamentary recognition of 
 my services, so handsomely made, was and is regarded 
 by myself and my family as the crowning honour of my 
 life. 
 
 I wrote as follows to Mr. Gladstone : — • 
 
 "Hampstead, 15th June, 1S64. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Gladstone, — \\Tiile I have written to Lord 
 Palmerston and Lord Granville to thank them for the favour they 
 have publicly shown me, I cannot but feel that my chief acknowledg- 
 ments for the very handsome and gratifying manner in which my 
 services have been recognised must be due to yourself, who, from 
 first to last, have lent me your powerful aid in my efforts to perform 
 the duties committed to me, and have given to all my suggestions and 
 representations a kind, candid, and careful consideration. 
 
 " Believe me, &:c., 
 
 " Rowland Hill. 
 '.* The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 "&c., &c., &c." 
 
 * The above report is taken, with abridgments, from the Tunes of June 15th, 
 1864. 
 
400 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864 
 
 To the above letter Mr. Gladstone replied as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 ** II, Carlton House Terrace, June 15th, 1864. 
 
 "My dear Sir R. Hill, — The support you have had from me 
 has been the very best that I could give ; but had it been much 
 better and more effective, it would not have been equal to your 
 deserts and claims. 
 
 I sincerely hope you are deriving much benefit from a lightened 
 mind, 
 
 "And remain, 
 
 " Always sincerely yours, 
 
 "W. E. Gladstone." 
 
 Amidst the above transactions some events occurred 
 of no small interest to myself; the first being that I 
 had the gratification of receiving from the University 
 of Oxford the honorary degree of D.C.L. ;'" and the 
 second an address voted at a town's meeting at Liver- 
 pool, followed by a valuable presentation of pictures. 
 I will also mention here that, a year later, the town 
 of Longton presented me with two fine china vases, 
 specimens of its manufacture. About a week after 
 the date of Mr. Gladstone's letter I had the 
 honour of receiving the Albert Gold Medal of the 
 Society of Arts from the hands of the Prince of 
 Wales.t 
 
 Some time afterwards I received a letter from the 
 
 * "June 9th, 1864. — Yesterday, received at Oxford the Honorary Degree of 
 D.C.L. Undergraduates most enthusiastic." — SirR. Hill's Journal. — Ed. 
 
 t The following year Sir R. Hill dined at Marlborough House: — " The Prince 
 of Wales," he wrote, "reminded me of the pleasure he had had, during the pre- 
 vious year, in presenting me with the Albert Medal, on which I told him that he 
 really presented me with an empty box, and explained the cause, viz., that the 
 successive blows required for obtaining high relief of the medal had broken the die 
 before the work was completed. The interval being too short for the engraving of 
 another die, the Council of the Society had judged it better not to delay matters ; 
 consequently the presentation took place *in dummy.' The Prince laughed 
 heartily at the story." — Ed. 
 
HAPPY AMONG REFORMERS. 4OI 
 
 Treasury stating that their lordships had ** cordial 
 satisfaction in giving directions to the Paymaster- 
 General to issue to me the amount of the Parliamentary 
 grant, ;^20,ooo." 
 
 Such was the final close of my official career ; and, 
 without forgetting the struggles, delays, disappoint- 
 ments, or mortifications attending it, I cannot but 
 acknowledge that when I compare my experience with 
 that of other reformers or inventors, I ought to regard 
 myself as supremely fortunate. Amongst those who 
 have laboured to effect great improvements, how many 
 have felt their success limited to the fact that by their 
 efforts seed was sown which in another age would 
 germinate and bear fruit ! how many have by their 
 innovations exposed themselves to obloquy, ridicule, 
 perhaps even to the scorn and abhorrence of at least 
 their own generation; and, alas! how few have lived 
 to see their predictions more than verified, their success 
 amply acknowledged, and their deeds formally and 
 gracefully rewarded ! 
 
 Here, then, closes my narrative of postal reforms. 
 It must not be supposed, however, that no work will 
 remain for a future historian ; for not only is the 
 course of postal improvement, like that of any other 
 great department of human affairs, absolutely without 
 limit, but various important changes may be regarded 
 as distinctly in prospect, however uncertain may be 
 the time of their accomplishment. As much has 
 been achieved of which in the outset I had but a 
 dim conception, and much also of which I had never 
 thought at all — every advancement opening a field for 
 yet further progress, and every difficulty surmounted 
 affording encouragement to further effort and facili- 
 ties for further achievement — so the point now 
 attained enables us to look onward to points yet to 
 
 VOL. II. D D 
 
402 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 be reached, and to conceive of others as still beyond 
 our sight. 
 
 Thus, it yet remains to carry into full effect the 
 principles for regulating the packet service recom- 
 mended in Lord Canning's Report already referred 
 to ; principles in accordance with those of economy 
 and free trade ; a task unfortunately rendered at once 
 more difficult and far longer than it should have been 
 by the retrogressive measures lately mentioned. To 
 accomplish this, it is necessary that every branch of 
 the packet service should be rendered at least self- 
 supporting, except, indeed, in any special case, if any 
 such there be, where other national interests, yet 
 greater than those of the Post Office, require an 
 expenditure beyond receipts ; and even there I would 
 submit that such additional expenditure should be 
 charged not to the Post Office, but to that department 
 of state to which it really pertains ; clear accounts 
 being obviously important to economy, and all attempt 
 to hide political action under the mask of postal facility 
 being, to say the least, absolutely futile. 
 
 Of course, the rule of self-support should, in like 
 manner be maintained in every other department 
 of postal service. And this, I may remark, would 
 furnish the means for a just increase of advantages 
 in those districts or departments in which receipts 
 may be found to be much in excess of expenditure ; 
 an arrangement which would perhaps include the 
 establishment of tubular conveyance "* to a limited 
 extent in certain directions, and would certainly give 
 to many of our great manufacturing and commercial 
 towns either an increase in the number of deliveries, 
 or of mails. 
 
 In order that economic improvement may not be 
 
 * See p. 336. 
 
REFORMS OF THE FUTURE. 403 
 
 unduly encumbered with fixed arrangements, it would 
 be well to limit the duration of all future contracts to 
 some moderate period, say three years ; but, under 
 this restriction, it is very desirable for the sake of 
 economy, and for other important considerations, 
 that the contract system should be greatly, though 
 gradually, extended. Experience may show that it 
 may safely and advantageously be made to include 
 the whole postal work at the provincial offices, and 
 various separate departments in the offices within the 
 metropolitan districts, not wholly excluding the Chief 
 Office itself. I may add that the benefit of this 
 change would be greatly increased if the proposed 
 contractors, adopting views now gradually gaining 
 ground, should arrange to give their respective sub- 
 ordinates a direct interest in the energetic and 
 economical performance of the service. 
 
 Independently of the moral benefits consequent 
 upon the abolition of private patronage, I believe the 
 direct financial advantage, which might be expected 
 from the faithful adoption and rigorous execution 
 of this principle, would be, as I have already said, 
 an eventual saving of probably not less than ^250,000 
 a year. 
 
 Judging by what has been done at the various 
 telegraphic offices and elsewhere, and bearing in 
 mind the change now steadily progressing in public 
 opinion, I should hope that one beneficial effect of an 
 extension of the contract system would be that female 
 labour would be admitted to a much larger share in 
 postal employment — an improvement which my brother 
 and I always had much at heart. "^ 
 
 Of a Parcels Post I have already spoken ; and I 
 
 * I have lately learnt (1870) with much pleasure, that this improvement has 
 been adopted in the new department of Telegraphy. 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 am confident that, whenever estabhshed, provided of 
 course that it be on good arrangements, its benefit 
 will be great. 
 
 I have already indicated the desirableness of lower- 
 ing the rate of inland letter postage from a penny 
 per half-ounce to a penny per ounce — a change which 
 would obviously give much relief as regards heavy 
 letters. 
 
 My brother Frederic twice formally proposed, once 
 under Lord Stanley of Alderley, and once under the 
 Duke of Montrose, that negotiations should be entered 
 into with a view to establishing throughout Europe 
 an international postage on a low uniform rate, sub- 
 mitting, to that end, a complete plan ; I need not 
 enlarge upon the political, moral, and commercial 
 advantages of so comprehensive an improvement.^ 
 
 Concurrent negotiations should be entered into for 
 extending our outer money order system to many 
 foreign countries not yet brought within its range. 
 
 It has been repeatedly urged In Parliament and In 
 the public press that the office of Postmaster-General 
 should cease to be political and become permanent; 
 and, as already intimated, I cannot but consider such 
 change highly desirable ; seeing that a permanent 
 head of the Department would have ample time and 
 motive to make himself thoroughly acquainted with 
 the business of the office, and would naturally be led 
 to select his subordinates with more direct reference 
 to their probable efficiency ; his duration in office 
 making it probable that the fruits of his own selection, 
 whether good or bad, would be reaped by himself. 
 
 Supposing this change to be made, it would be- 
 come even more desirable than it is at present that 
 
 * In the Postal Union Mr. Frederic Hill's plan was at length brought to 
 effect. — Ed. 
 
REFORMS OF THE FUTURE. 405 
 
 the Postmaster-General should have the disposal of 
 that very numerous class of Post Office appointments 
 still retained by the Treasury ; seeing that, in addition 
 to his being in more direct communication with those 
 on whose advice it is important that he should act, 
 he would also, as a matter of course, have better 
 information on the whole subject than the Treasury 
 can command. Such transference would also mani- 
 festly tend to that concentration of responsibility 
 which all who have rightly studied the principles of 
 administration agree with Jeremy Bentham in re- 
 garding as of primary importance. 
 
 These organic changes being made, there would 
 be good ground to hope that, in due time, the all- 
 important rule of promotion by simple and exclusive 
 reference to demonstrated fitness would be strictly 
 followed. 
 
 One more change may be spoken of, but on this 
 point I rather suggest inquiry than advise action. 
 The abandonment of the Post Office monopoly has 
 much to recommend it, but yet is not a one-sided 
 question. On the one hand, it implies the removal 
 of an offence from our statute book, and the probable 
 rise of a wholesome competition wherever the service 
 is performed with less than the greatest efficiency 
 and cheapness ; a competition which, more perhaps 
 than any other external circumstance, w^ould tend to 
 compel the department to have due regard to simple 
 merit in its officers, and economic efficiency in all its 
 arrangements.^ On the other hand, it must be 
 
 * In 1867, proceedings were taken against the Circular Deliver^' Company "for 
 delivering letters contrary to the privilege of the Postmaster- General." This 
 Company delivered circulars at a very low rate. " The proper mode of proceeding," 
 Sir Rowland Hill recorded in his Journal, "would have been to adopt a plan which 
 I long ago frequently discussed with the Assistant-Secretaries, and which has, I 
 believe, been recently proposed in writing by my son, viz., to undertake the 
 
406 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 remembered that the operations of the Post Office, 
 extending over the whole country, provide for the 
 correspondence of many districts where the popu- 
 lation is too small or too sparse to yield any profit 
 whatever ; and that although its general rule is not 
 to go further than this, by providing for districts 
 which cannot be served without loss, yet for purposes 
 of Government the rule is in many instances set aside. 
 It must be added that there are many reasons in 
 favour of affording a service, not indeed day by day, 
 but at least week by week, to every house in the 
 United Kingdom (a completeness already attained in 
 France, Prussia,^ and Switzerland) ; and it would seem 
 hard that the Post Office, while called upon to con- 
 tinue all this ill-remunerated or non-remunerated 
 service, should be exposed to competition in that 
 more profitable part of its business, which alone rival 
 establishments would undertake. 
 
 Upon the whole, however, I am so impressed with 
 the evils attaching to every monopoly, that I cannot 
 but regard the abandonment in question, after due 
 preparation, as a desirable step. 
 
 Before taking leave of my readers, I would express 
 an earnest hope that my narrative, besides describing 
 the progress of a remarkable change, may prove 
 especially useful to all who may at any time con- 
 template a devotion of their powers to the cause of 
 departmental reform ; that it may be serviceable alike 
 for encouragement and for warning — for encourage- 
 ment, as showing that the field is open, and success, 
 
 delivery of circulars at reduced rates (say a halfpenny), on certain conditions 
 made with a view to the convenience of the Post-Office. ♦ * * ^^ I do not like 
 an enforcement of the monopoly. It covers mismanagement.'" — Ed. 
 
 * In Prussia this is effected by means similar to my plan of secondary dis- 
 tribution (see Vol. I., p. 251). The same means might be resorted to here. 
 
THE LOT OF A REFORMER. 407 
 
 with its rewards, not unattainable ; for warning, as 
 showing with what difficulties it is beset, how serious 
 the obstacles, how long the delays, how galling the 
 mortifications, and how deep the disappointments, to 
 be encountered even by one who is happy enough 
 to attain at length the goal towards which his long, 
 laborious, and anxious race has been directed. 
 
BOOK III. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 " He that dies in an earnest pursuit is like one that is 
 wounded in hot blood; ivho^ Jor the tirne^ scarce feels the 
 hurt ; and therefore a mind fixed and bent up07i someivJiat 
 that is good doth avert the dolours of death; but^ above all, 
 believe it, the sweetest canticle is ' Nunc dimittis,' when a 
 man hath obtained worthy ends and expectations.'''' — BacON. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 -♦o«- 
 
 SiR Rowland Hill, at the time of his retirement, 
 " remained," in the words of the Treasury Minute, 
 " full as ever of ability, energy, and resources, and of 
 disposition to expend them for the public good." He 
 was broken down in health — broken down, not so 
 much by the great work that he had done, as by the 
 hindrances that, time after time, had been wantonly 
 and cruelly piled up against him in the discharge of 
 his duty. *' Men will one day think of the force they 
 squander in every generation, and the fatal damage 
 they encounter by this neglect."'" '' He stands," wrote 
 Mr. Gladstone a few months before he left the Post 
 Office, ''pre-eminent and alone among all the members 
 of the Civil Service as a benefactor to the nation." 
 He had not been two years in the service of his 
 country when the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 
 that day, ''a man not of many words, or, in manner, 
 of overflowing heart," t told him that, were the 
 Secretaryship to the Post Office vacant, he was the 
 man whom he should recommend to fill it. In a most 
 trying and severe apprenticeship he had proved his 
 thorough fitness for the post, and had convinced Mr. 
 Baring that there was, at all events, one inventor who 
 
 * Carlyle's **Life of Sterling" (edition of 1857), p. 221. 
 t See Vol. II., p. 389. 
 
412 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 could be a man of business.^ But before long his 
 force was squandered by Sir Robert Peel. For the 
 next four years his work lay outside the Post Office. 
 With the return of the Whigs to power, he was once 
 more brought back to the great work of his life. Un- 
 happily the squandering of force did not come to an 
 end. Seven years more had to pass before he was 
 made sole Secretary, and placed in a position of real 
 and undoubted power. For these seven years he 
 had been, to use his own words, ''a general almost 
 without an army." For the next six years his work 
 went on smoothly and rapidly under a happy suc- 
 cession of able and high-minded Postmasters-General. 
 But a change came all too soon. In the Post Office 
 certainly he should have had no master over him 
 at any time. There even the ablest of our statesmen 
 might well have sat at his feet. " He is King of 
 Postal Reform," wrote a Postmaster-General of a 
 later date, "and I felt myself a very small subject 
 in waiting upon him." But under the able chiefs 
 under whom he served from 1854 to i860 he 
 worked with full contentment. This happy period 
 came to an end, as has been seen, with the appoint- 
 ment of Lord Stanley of Alderley. His force was 
 once more, and for the last time, squandered. 
 
 How strangely and how sadly was this man thwarted 
 In the high aim of his life. He longed for power, but 
 it was for the power to carry through his great scheme. 
 For the mere shows — the trappings — of authority he 
 cared but little. Such outward things dwelt not in his 
 desires. *' My plan " was often on his lips, and ever in 
 his thoughts. His strong mind was made up that it 
 should succeed. He looked upon it with all the fond- 
 
 * See Vol. I., p. 438. 
 
A FINELY BALANCED MIND. 413 
 
 ness and the pride with which a father looks upon his 
 only boy. Take it from him, and his life was done. 
 There was in him a rare combination of enthusiasm 
 and practical power — such a combination as the world 
 has not often seen, and may not again see for many a 
 long day. He had ''the usual concomitant of great 
 abilities, a lofty and steady confidence in himself;"^ 
 but together with this confidence was found a cautious- 
 ness that, for the most part, is only seen in those who 
 are far too timid for any great undertaking. He 
 clearly saw every dif^culty that lay in his path, and 
 yet he went on with unshaken firmness. To the 
 simple pleasures of life he was by no means indifferent ; 
 but he had in his early years attained a thorough self- 
 mastery. In everything but in work he was the most 
 temperate of men. He never repined over the past, 
 or, when once he had taken a step, fretted at the 
 result. His health was greatly shattered by his 
 excessive toils and his long struggles. For the last 
 years of his life he never left his house, and never 
 even left the floor on which his sleeping-room was. 
 But in the midst of this confinement, in all the weak- 
 ness of old age and sickness, he wrote, '' I accept the 
 evil with the good, and frankly regard the latter as by 
 far the weightier of the two. Could I repeat my 
 course, I should sacrifice as much as before, and 
 regard myself as richly repaid by the result." 
 
 With these high qualities was united perfect in- 
 tegrity. He was the most upright and the most 
 truthful of men. He hated By-ends and all his 
 companions. He was often careless of any gain to 
 himself, but the good of the state never for one 
 moment did he disregard. He watched over the 
 
 * Johnson's "Life of Milton." 
 
414 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 public money with a carefulness which few men show 
 even in watching over their own private hoards. He 
 was never even so much as tempted for a single 
 moment to purchase popularity by swerving by a 
 hair's breadth from the narrow path of duty. More 
 than once a slight sacrifice of public money would 
 have saved him from attack. To public censure he 
 was by no means indifferent. He suffered beneath it 
 even though he knew that it was unjust. Yet he was 
 always ready to brave it in a good cause. One of the 
 men who long served under him bore this high testi- 
 mony to the character of his old chief: — " Sir Rowland 
 Hill was very generous with his own money, and very 
 close with public money. He would have been more 
 popular had he been generous with the public money 
 and close with his own." Of his generosity I dis- 
 covered a striking instance in looking through his 
 private Journal for his last year in office. For one of 
 his subordinates, on whose ability and devotion to 
 himself and zeal in the public service he set a high 
 value, he had not been able to obtain from the 
 Government the recompense which, in his opinion, 
 that gentleman deserved. '' I have compensated him 
 to some extent," he records, **by a gift of ^300." 
 Beneath a manner that was cold beat one of the 
 warmest and even tenderest of hearts. He had, in 
 earlier life, known what it was to bear the proud man's 
 contumely. The lesson that he had learnt in that 
 hard school was one of forbearance. His rule was 
 stern, yet never without consideration for the feelings 
 of others. No one who was under him ever felt his 
 self-respect wounded by his chief. It is not yet for- 
 gotten in the Post Office how, many years ago, one of 
 the higher officers was summoned to the room of the 
 Postmaster-General to give an explanation on some 
 
HIGH STANDARD OF DUTY. 415 
 
 difficult matter. He found his Lordship and the 
 Secretary sitting at the table, but he himself, though 
 he was likely to be kept some time, was not invited 
 to take a chair. Sir Rowland Hill stood up, and 
 remained standing, till his Lordship requested both 
 to be seated. 
 
 He had not the fault of most enthusiasts, who look 
 in others for a zeal as ardent as that which animates 
 themselves. He found it somewhat hard, indeed, to 
 understand how any one could be indifferent to the 
 statistics of Penny Postage, and help watching the 
 rise in the number of letters and the postal revenue 
 with as much interest as Englishmen, on a wet day, 
 watch the rise in the weather-glass. But though he 
 did not ask for the same enthusiasm in those who 
 were set under him, he did look for the same care- 
 fulness, the same exactness, the same integrity, and 
 the same constant thought for the public good. He 
 forgot that they had not been trained in the same 
 stern school with himself, and he failed to make due 
 allowance for the weakness of man's nature. By 
 asking too much from men he got from them, 
 perhaps, less than they might otherwise have given. 
 Yet the better natures were not a little raised by the 
 high standard of duty that he ever set before them. 
 He left behind him, in all ranks of the service, a 
 strong sense of public duty, which has managed to 
 outlive even the evil days which came after him. 
 
 The history of his declining years I shall but touch 
 on. His work was well-nigh done on the day when he 
 left the Post Office ; yet prolonged rest gave him back 
 some small part of his old strength. " Much improved 
 during the winter," he noted down at the end of his 
 first year in retirement ; *' rest and cool weather suit 
 me." In his labours as a member of the Royal 
 
41 6 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 Commission on Railways'^ he showed that his mind, 
 however much it had been strained, had yet lost none 
 of its clearness. Not less did it show its power in 
 the years when he was employed in writing '* The 
 History of Penny Postage." He managed, he could 
 long boast, to keep himself '' au courant with the 
 progress of science and mechanical invention." For 
 a while he had strength enough from time to time to 
 attend the meetings of the Political Economy Club. 
 From a short paper that he drew up I extract the 
 following passage : — 
 
 " When I became a member of the Political Economy Club, I soon 
 marked a questionable assumption there — viz., that whatever is in ac- 
 cordance with the laws of political economy is necessarily right and 
 expedient, and vice versa. Question on this point happened to be raised 
 one evening by a remark from a member that the position maintained 
 on one side in the debate then going on was hostile to general happi- 
 ness; the answer to which was, not that the objector was mistaken, 
 but that the objection was irrelative; seeing that the aim of political 
 economy was not the general happiness, but the wealth of nations. 
 I took the liberty to point out that while political economists might, 
 of course, define their science as they pleased, they must remember 
 that under such restriction its unaided conclusions could not claim 
 to guide legislative action ; since it was at least conceivable, and 
 perhaps not improbable, that in certain cases the course most tending 
 to a nation's wealth might differ from that most tending to its weal. 
 I am much inclined to think that neglect of this distinction is 
 amongst the causes which have at different times brought this 
 important science into discredit, led the world to regard its professors 
 as hard — nay, heartless — and in a measure invalidated their plea that 
 they are not inventors, but only discoverers ; that they create no 
 laws, but merely set forth the logic of facts. So far, however, as I 
 can observe in my retirement, such distinction is in the way to 
 acquire recognition." 
 
 He took a strong interest in politics ; and no long 
 time before his death he was heard to say that he 
 
 * See Vol. II., p, 283. 
 
HIS HEART STILL IN HIS WORK. 417 
 
 should gladly live two or three years longer, that he 
 might see how the arrangements made under the 
 Treaty of Berlin would work. It was, however, in 
 watching the operations of the Post Office that his 
 chief interest still lay. I remember how I called 
 upon him one day about eighteen months before his 
 death. On my coming into his room he turned with 
 a smile of pleasure to his son, who happened to be 
 present, and said, " Has your cousin heard of the 
 discovery ? " I pricked up my ears, and at once 
 thought of some curious old family record that might 
 have been found hidden away in an old chest or 
 cupboard. " This year," he continued, with proud 
 exultation, '' the postal revenue is larger than the 
 revenue produced by the income tax. I was quite 
 startled to find this out." Many years earlier he had 
 written to tell his brother how he had met Garibaldi. 
 ''On Thursday (April 21, 1864) Caroline (Lady 
 Hill) and I dined at Fishmongers' Hall 'to meet 
 Garibaldi.' I was a little afraid of the undertaking ; 
 but I enjoyed the meeting, and am, to say the least, 
 none the worse for it. I had some conversation with 
 Garibaldi about the state of the Italian Post Office ; 
 but it was evident that he felt but little interest in the 
 matter. There is something very pleasing, not to say 
 fascinating, in his appearance and manner." Mr. 
 M. D. Hill replied, " I was very glad to hear you 
 were able to go to the Fishmongers', and very much 
 amused to find that you consulted Garibaldi on Italian 
 Penny Postage. When you go to heaven, I foresee 
 that you will stop at the gate to inquire of St. Peter 
 how many deliveries they have per day, and how the 
 expense of postal communication between heaven and 
 the other place is defrayed." 
 
 When, by the 'establishment of School Boards, 
 
 VOL. II. E E 
 
41 8 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 primary education was so widely extended, he foresaw 
 at once the effect that would be thereby produced on 
 the postal revenue. " Is there," he wrote, " in addition 
 to the moral, intellectual, and commercial benefits 
 more directly aimed at, any set-off to this increased 
 expense ? For this I naturally turn to its effect on 
 the number of letters, which will obviously be enlarged 
 by diffusion of the power to write and read ; though 
 the extent to which this will operate is at present 
 matter for conjecture rather than for estimate. I hold 
 it, however, not quite impossible that in this manner 
 the outlay will eventually repay itself, though I am by 
 no means so sanguine as to expect so rich a result." 
 That knowledge might be more readily brought 
 within the reach of all, he was eager to see a reform 
 of what, to use his own words, ** is grossly misnamed 
 orthography." '' For myself," he writes, " I frankly 
 confess that I have always made it a practice to have 
 a spelling dictionary at hand, and have not infrequently 
 to turn to its pages. My education must, then, it will 
 be said, have been defective ! True enough ! but of 
 how many has the education been more defective ! 
 And even in those who have attained proficiency, 
 how great has been the sacrifice of time else ap- 
 plicable to beneficial study ! " 
 
 While his mind thus constantly turned to any subject 
 that in any way bore on his great plan, he found, 
 unhappily, much that distressed him in the government 
 of the Post Office. He grieved over the changes that 
 after his retirement were too often made in disregard 
 of the great principles on which he had steadily acted. ^ 
 More than once he addressed warnings to the govern- 
 
 * It is foreign to my present purpose to describe the after administration of 
 the Post Office. I would refer my readers to "The Edinburgh Review," 
 Nos. 263 and 291, for articles on the Postal Telegraph's. 
 
THE SPREAD OF HIS GREAT PLAN. 419 
 
 ment. But at the very close of his Journal he records,"* 
 •* I have made myself seriously ill — having brought on 
 renewed threats of apoplexy — by what I have already 
 done." He could do no more. He had lifted up his 
 voice, and lifted it up in vain. There was happily 
 another side to this sad picture. Wrong-doings and 
 blunders he could often forget, while he contemplated 
 the perfection with which the great machine still 
 worked, though there was no master-hand to govern it. 
 He had the delight, too, of watching his plan as it 
 spread from country to country. *' In some respects," 
 to quote the words that Mr. Gladstone used on his 
 death, " his lot was one peculiarly happy even as 
 among public benefactors ; for his great plan ran 
 like wildfire through the civilised world, and never 
 perhaps was a local invention (for such it was) and 
 improvement applied in the lifetime of its author to 
 the advantage of such vast multitudes of his fellow- 
 creatures." He had aimed at doing something for 
 the world, and he lived to know that his success had 
 been far greater than his hopes, and that the world 
 was not ungrateful. 
 
 In the quiet course of his private life there Is but 
 little on which I shall dwell. Each year saw his 
 range narrowed more and more till at last he was 
 confined to one floor. In an interesting paper, which 
 he drew up in the summer of 1874, he thus describes 
 the state of his health : — 
 
 " Some description of my present illness, and of the causes 
 thereof, may perhaps prove useful to young persons who may be 
 inclined to follow a career with energy beyond their strength. 
 
 " My present position is this : — The ordinary state of my health 
 does not prevent considerable enjoyment of life, provided that I 
 take certain precautions and observe certain rules which experience 
 
 * The journal closes in the year 1S69. 
 E E 2 
 
420 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 has dictated, and, further, that I am not disturbed by others ; but 
 herein lies the difficulty. To control myself is easy enough, but 
 effectually to control others is beyond my power. 
 
 " Under the former head, I find that any kind of locomotion, 
 except within certain narrow limits, invariably proves hurtful — 
 producing pain in the head, a feeling of incapacity for self- 
 guidance, and, if persisted in, downright vertigo — the most perfect 
 rest during some hours being necessary to restore me to the 
 normal state. It is more than five years since I was in a railway- 
 carriage, and I dare not venture on a further trial, even could I get 
 to the stations, which, with a few unimportant exceptions, are 
 beyond my reach ; my drives, even under the most favourable 
 circumstances, being limited to twenty or, at the utmost, to twenty- 
 five minutes. Soon after its completion I managed to reach the 
 Holborn Viaduct ; but the Thames Embankment and the new Post 
 Office I have never seen. As to walking, a few yards to and from 
 the carriage is all that I can attempt. In my own rooms, indeed, 
 and in an adjoining balcony constructed for the purpose, I am able, 
 at certain hours, neither long after nor shortly before a meal, to pace 
 a little every day. The restriction is not owing to any lack of 
 muscular strength, but simply to the painful effect on my head." 
 
 It was, he says, so far back as the year 1839 that he 
 could trace the first indications of this coming inabihty 
 to walk. It had grown upon him till, about the year 
 1868, he fell into the state which he has thus de- 
 scribed, from which he never recovered. " This is the 
 more remarkable," he adds, '* because, when a young 
 man, I was the best walker of the brotherhood, and 
 could *do' my thirty miles a day for, I believe; any 
 number of days in succession." He managed, never- 
 theless, for many years to dine with the Royal Society 
 Club. 
 
 " I cannot explain, fully at least, why I can visit one club and not 
 the others, the distance from home being practically the same for 
 all. One reason, no doubt, is the pleasure and excitement afforded 
 by meeting men of eminence whose conversation greatly interests 
 me. Another, the rest and reinvigoration resulting from the dinner ; 
 and lastly, and perhaps chiefly, that the meetings are so frequent as 
 
AN OVERWROUGHT BRAIN. 42 1 
 
 to admit of my selecting days when the weather, my health, and all 
 other circumstances are favourable." 
 
 He next describes the mode In which he suffered 
 through the action of others : — 
 
 "The disturbances from which I most frequently suffer are noises, 
 especially when unexpected ; as, for instance, the sudden opening or 
 closing of a door, the dropping of any article on the floor. 
 Some protection is afforded me by increasing deafness, whatever the 
 inconvenience of such infirmity. Again, I am painfully sensible to 
 a shake so slight as to be imperceptible to one in ordinary health ; 
 such, for instance, as is produced by any one walking across the 
 room save with an almost cat-like tread, or by a touch to my chair 
 so slight as even the mere brush of the servant's clothes against it 
 as he waits at table. Further, I am annoyed by any of those 
 repeated movements of hands or fingers which are habitual to some 
 people, though against this particular annoyance I find some pro- 
 tection in taking a book or newspaper and interposing it as a 
 screen." 
 
 I may mention here, as an instance of his dehcate 
 consideration for the feehngs of others, that I had 
 often noticed when I went to see him how he thus 
 screened his eyes. It was not till I read this account 
 of his health that I was in the least aware that it was 
 against my restlessness that he was screening himself. 
 
 Beneath the balcony that he had built for himself, 
 wherein he hoped, each year as the suns grew warm, 
 to breathe the fresh air, the Metropolitan Asylums 
 Board set up a Small-Pox Hospital. Within a few 
 yards of the old man's only walk ran the road along 
 which, day after day for many a month, passed a sad 
 train of ambulances and a still sadder train of hearses. 
 For the signal benefit that he had conferred not 
 only on England, but on the whole world, he had been 
 hitherto rewarded and honoured by a gratitude that 
 was as strong as it was general, by the free gifts of 
 his countrymen and the vote of Parliament. The 
 
422 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 University of Oxford had made him a Doctor of 
 Laws, and the Queen had made him a Knight Com- 
 mander of the Bath. Before many years had passed 
 the City of London was to give him its freedom, and 
 Westminster Abbey a grave. The Asylums Board 
 cared for none of those things. PubHc benefactors 
 and pubHc honours did not enter into its world. It 
 knew of nothing but ratepayers. But ratepayers, it 
 should have remembered, are after all only men, and 
 men, in these islands at least, are neither ungrateful 
 nor pitiless. 
 
 There was a striking regularity in the order of his 
 household. Everything went on almost as if by clock- 
 work. He asked me one day whether I had ever 
 noticed that the sound of a bell was scarcely ever 
 heard in his house, save when someone came to the 
 hall-door. He was, he said, strictly punctual himself, 
 and he had trained his servants to habits of the 
 strictest punctuality. He could afford, I knew, to take 
 some trouble with them, for they were very slow to leave 
 his service. His visitors saw year after year the best 
 proof of a good master in the familiar faces of those 
 by whom he was served. As everything was done at 
 its appointed time, there was no need for a bell to 
 be rung. His meals, his medicine, everything was 
 brought to the exact minute. No one was summoned, 
 for no one was ever late. In the days when he was 
 still strong enough to drive out, he had been often 
 troubled by the unpunctuality of his coachman : — 
 
 *' I advised him to aiin at being five minutes before the appointed 
 time. Of course I only advised this — to have ordered it would 
 merely have changed the appointed hour. Just as the allowance of 
 five minutes' grace at the Post Office simply alters the hour of 
 attendance from lo.o to 10.5 a.m., and does nothing to secure 
 punctuality. 
 
AN OLD AGE NOT WITHOUT RESOURCES. 423 
 
 "Still the result was unsatisfactory, and I was irritated and 
 annoyed by the man's persistence. He was honest and sober, 
 and had a wife and several children. Dismissal, therefore, was 
 out of the question. I thought of fines, with rewards for con- 
 tinued punctuality ; but I have small faith in either fines or 
 rewards. 
 
 "At last it occurred to me to adopt the Post Office rule, under 
 which any one accused of misconduct is called upon to give such 
 written explanation *as he may desire.' 
 
 " The duty was entrusted to the footman, with instructions to call 
 for explanation in every instance of lateness, even when no more 
 than a fraction of a minute, the hall clock being taken as an indis- 
 putable standard." 
 
 The result was that the man became so exact to 
 his time that in twelve months *' there were only six 
 cases of lateness, amounting in the aggregate to eight 
 minutes." 
 
 Confined though he so much was to one room, yet 
 time did not hang on his hands. His eyesight happily 
 remained strong, and he was a great reader. In the 
 pages of a novel for many years he found pleasant 
 repose. Few men, indeed, were more deeply read 
 than he in fiction. Science, too, as I have shown, 
 took up much of his time. Astronomy remained to 
 the last his favourite study. Poetry did not throw 
 her charm over him — at least to any great extent. Yet 
 one day he told me that he had just finished " Paradise 
 Lost." ** Milton," he said with a smile, *'does not, in 
 my opinion, prove his case." His money accounts he 
 kept with the utmost exactness, even to a late age. 
 Two years before his death he told me that he could 
 not expect to live much longer, for his mental strength 
 was steadily failing. He had been obliged to give up 
 even his account-keeping, which had been a pleasure 
 to him from a very early age. A day or two before, he 
 added with an air of great vexation, he had had to 
 
424 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 make an entry of money received, and he had entered 
 it as money paid. 
 
 Few things pleased him more than to talk over his 
 past life. I find the following record among the notes 
 that I took of his talk. '* As he told me this day the 
 story of his youth, and the difficulties that he had 
 overcome, the old man grew eloquent. If his words 
 could have been taken down, they w^ould have read 
 like a chapter of De Foe. I was filled with admiration 
 of his powers." Nothing touched him more than the 
 memory of some kindness that had been done him. 
 He was grateful to all who had at any time, in any 
 way, helped him ; but his gratitude overflowed towards 
 those who had rendered him help in the struggles of 
 his youth. A year before his death he could not be 
 satisfied till he had put on record the names of those 
 who, more than seventy years before, had lent his father 
 money in the time of his greatest straits. The loans 
 had been long since paid off — mainly by the son's 
 efforts as I have shown — but the memory of these 
 benefactors was not to be suffered to pass away from 
 his father s family. At no time was his thoughtfulness 
 for others more shown than in the winter of 1876, 
 when he was suddenly struck down by an attack that 
 threatened paralysis. Forgetful of himself at so awful 
 a time, he thought only of others. It so happened 
 that in a few weeks' time he would have had to make 
 me a certain payment. He remembered that I had been 
 suffering from a long illness, and he feared that I 
 might be put to some inconvenience should payment 
 be delayed. He sent to ask me to let him know at 
 once the amount that would be due, so that he might 
 sign the cheque before his hand was paralysed. 
 During the same attack his son asked him whether he 
 would like to consult one of his nephews — a surgeon 
 
DEATH IN THE FAMILY GROUP. 425 
 
 in whose skill he had great trust. He had, indeed, he 
 answered, wished to send for him. As, however, his 
 own doctor had not suggested it, he had not said 
 anything for fear of hurting his feelings. A day 
 or two later he begged me to go and see him. I 
 found him in bed, and very weak. He did not think, 
 he said, that he was dying, but it might be that he 
 really was. It had always been his habit, he added, 
 throughout life to prepare for every contingency, and 
 therefore he wished to see me now. What he said 
 could not, for the present at least, fitly be set before 
 the reader. He showed, however, that in the blow 
 that had thus suddenly fallen upon himself, his feelings 
 and his fears were all for those who had so long been 
 dear to him. 
 
 Such a life as this, secluded though it was, could 
 not be free from the losses that are common to 
 the race. The old family group began to grow 
 thin before his eyes. His two elder brothers went 
 first, to be followed before long by his only surviving 
 sister. They, however, had all reached a ripe age. 
 In the death of his eldest daughter, and of more than 
 one of his grandchildren, he felt the far deeper sorrow 
 that comes on the old when they see the young 
 gathered to the grave before them. He would tell 
 with sad pride how one of these little ones had once 
 had the courage to call him to account. The child, 
 who was but three years old, one day when playing 
 with his elder brother, had seen his grandfather give a 
 little dog a slight blow with a switch : — 
 
 "The hall being rather dusk, their grandfather did not perceive 
 that the two boys were there, or he would not, in their presence, 
 have struck Trottie. Later in the evening the children came to say 
 good-night, and were leaving the room when he noticed signs of 
 hesitation, followed by a whispered consultation outside the half- 
 
426 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 closed door. They were evidently settling which should be spokes- 
 man. Probably F., although much the junior, volunteered his 
 services, as, when they re-appeared holding one another by the 
 hand, in a tone of deep solemnity, as befitted the occasion, he 
 said, ' Grandpapa, why did you beat Trottie ? ' The old man was 
 delighted with the child's courage in thus calling him to account ; 
 and, bidding the lads come close to him, reminded them that any 
 noise made his head ache ; that, should either of them make any 
 noise, he should never think of beating them, but should ask them 
 to be more careful for the future, well knowing that they would 
 attend to his wishes ; but that it would be of no use to talk to 
 Trottie, who must either be kept out of his room altogether, which 
 their grandmamma would not like, or must be taught, by means of 
 the little switch, not to bark there. The boys retired fully satisfied 
 with the explanation." 
 
 Outside his own circle. Death, while it so long 
 passed him by, was very busy. Old friends, men 
 eminent in science or in public life, he saw pass away 
 before him. He once spoke to me with deep feeling 
 of certain old men who, whenever they met him, had 
 always received him with the greatest warmth. Of 
 his friend Colonel Torrens, whom he had known years 
 before as the chairman of the South Australian Com- 
 mission, he has left the following brief record : — *' He 
 was eminent as a writer on political economy, and was 
 one of the founders of the Political Economy Club. 
 He was many years in Parliament, and was chairman 
 of the South Australian Commission when I was 
 secretary. I had known him previously, but this 
 made our acquaintance Intimate, and led to a friend- 
 ship which continued till his death. When on his 
 death-bed, at the age of eighty-four, he wrote me a 
 most affectionate letter, expressing his desire that a 
 connection even then contemplated between his family 
 and mine should be realised ; and a year or two later 
 this was done, to the great satisfaction of my wife and 
 myself, by the marriage of my son with one of the 
 
NOT FORGOTTEN OF MEN. 427 
 
 Coloners granddaughters." Colonel Torrens, I may 
 add, had early in the century distinguished himself as 
 a brave soldier. His descendants show with pride a 
 sword of honour which was presented to him for his 
 gallant defence of the Island of Anholt. 
 
 With all its losses, its seclusion, and its deprivations, 
 the old man's life was far from being unhappy. He 
 had resources in himself, and he had the never-failing 
 past on which to dwell. His strength failed, and his 
 mind began to lose somewhat of its old vigour. '' Yet 
 hath my night of life some memory," he might well 
 have said. He had, moreover, a hearty love of fame, 
 and he was doubly happy in this, that honours followed 
 him even into his retirement. He passed away from 
 the sight of men, but he was never made to feel that 
 he was forgotten. Now in one grateful acknow- 
 ledgment, now in another, he was shown that the 
 world was not indifferent to the man who had con- 
 ferred on it so signal a benefit. In some newspaper, 
 or in some book, would appear from time to time a 
 kindly and generous mention of his services which 
 would warm up his heart even in the chill of age. I 
 am reminded how Johnson, one day in the last summer 
 of his life, ''called out with a sudden air of exultation, 
 as the thought started into his mind, ' O ! Gentlemen, 
 I must tell you a very great thing. The Empress of 
 Russia has ordered the ' Rambler' to be translated 
 into the Russian language ; so I shall be read on the 
 banks of the Wolga.' Boswell, — ' You must certainly 
 be pleased with this. Sir.' Johnson — ' I am pleased. 
 Sir, to be sure. A man is pleased to find he has 
 succeeded in that which he has endeavoured to do.' " 
 In like manner Sir Rowland Hill often exulted at the 
 news that his great plan had won yet another triumph 
 on some distant shore. 
 
428 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 Fresh honours were done to him in his own country. 
 Birmingham, the town in which he had spent his 
 youth and early manhood, had already set up his 
 statue. A short time before he died he heard that 
 Kidderminster, his birth-place, was going to pay him 
 a like honour. And now, at the very close of his 
 life, the City of London granted him its Freedom. 
 He w^as far too weak to attend at the Guildhall, 
 in accordance with ancient custom, to receive this 
 high distinction. The Court of Common Council, 
 with a kindness that gave a double grace to the 
 honour that they rendered, appointed a deputation 
 to wait on him at his residence. "^ He received it in 
 his bed-chamber. It was the 6th day of June, 1879, 
 less than three months before his death. " I offer 
 you," said the City Chamberlain at the conclusion of 
 an eloquent address, '' the right hand of fellowship in 
 the name of the Corporation whom we represent, and 
 who deeply regret that they cannot receive you in 
 person, as is their wont on such occasions as the 
 present. We congratulate you that, notwithstanding 
 the * labour and sorrow ' inevitable to the weight of 
 eighty-three years, you have been spared to witness 
 the complete triumph of your postal principles, to 
 receive acknowledgments from the State, and honours 
 from your Sovereign. Detractors and obstructors you 
 have outlived, or they only survive to swell the ranks 
 of those who applaud. May your remaining days be 
 consoled by the thought that your name and services 
 can never be forgotten, and may the sunset of your 
 life be brightened by the reflection that you have been 
 
 * The deputation consisted of Mr. Washington Lyon, mover of the resolution ; 
 Sir John Bennett, the seconder; Mr. Peter McKinlay, the Chairman of General 
 Purposes Committee; Mr. Scott, F.R.A.S., the Chamberlain; and Mr. Monck- 
 ton, F.S.A. (now Sir John Monckton), the Town Clerk. 
 
A LAST HONOUR, AND THEN DEATH. 429 
 
 permitted to become one of the greatest benefactors of 
 mankind." It was a touching sight how the old man 
 was moved by this, the last honour, that he w^as to 
 receive In his life-time from his fellow-countrymen. 
 The tears streamed down his venerable face, and he 
 was scarcely able to utter a word. I stood close by 
 him, and I heard him say, " I cannot listen to it as 
 } ought." When the address was finished he could 
 only say, " I wish It were in my power to thank you." 
 His son had to read his answer. More than once he 
 was distressed to see the members standing while 
 their Chamberlain was addressing him. "It would 
 be a relief to me," he said, " if you would sit down. 
 I cannot bear to see you standing." This is a trifling 
 matter in itself, but it had its rise in that tender and 
 anxious thoughtfulness for others which I had so often 
 marked in him. Before leaving the house I went 
 once more up to his room, and through the open door 
 gazed at the man whom I had so honoured. I did 
 not venture to break on his repose by going in. He 
 had on his face a look of great peacefulness. That 
 which should accompany old age was Indeed on that 
 day seen to accompany him. I never saw him again. 
 
 His strength failed daily, and it was soon seen that 
 the end was not far off. In the beginning of July 
 death seemed close at hand, but he rallied once more. 
 Happily his sufferings were at no time very severe. 
 His mind often wandered, and at last he sank into 
 a state of stupor. For hours he lay motionless, giving 
 no signs of life but by his quiet breathing. His aged 
 wife sat holding his beloved hand In hers. He gave 
 one last sign that he was still of this world. He felt 
 for her wedding-ring — that ring which he had put 
 round her finger more than fifty years before. Finding 
 it, he knew whose dear hand it was that he was 
 
430 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 holding, and with one gende pressure he showed that 
 the love that he had always borne her from the 
 beginning he bore her to the end. He never moved 
 again. He died on the 27th day of August, in the 
 year 1879. Hitherto this day had always been held 
 a festival in our family ; for on it his brother Arthur 
 had, for eighty-one years, kept his birthday. 
 
 It had been Rowland Hill's hope that his country- 
 men would think him not unworthy to find his last 
 resting-place in Westminster Abbey. It was, indeed, 
 with singular agreement that the voice of the people 
 awarded to him the last great honour which we 
 Englishmen render to our famous dead. There, 
 followed by his children and his children's children, 
 by his two aged brothers, who had shared in his 
 struggles and his triumphs, by his brothers' children 
 and their children's children, he was laid in his glorious 
 place of rest. It was the burial of a man of the 
 people, and the people came together to do him 
 honour. Men came, too, who had worked under him 
 and worked with him — men who knew well what 
 manner of man he w^as who was now laid amongf the 
 great ones of the land. There was but one left of the 
 good line of Postmasters-General under whom it had 
 been his happiness to serve. He unhappily was on 
 the wide Atlantic the day that we were gathered 
 round the open grave. *' I can truly say," wrote the 
 Duke of Argyll, " that no one among his many 
 friends and admirers would have joined more sin- 
 cerely than I should in the mourning of that day. I 
 had the highest admiration of him, and the strongest 
 feeling of personal regard and affection towards him." 
 The City of London, which he had so signally served, 
 was represented by its chief magistrate, and the great 
 Liberal party, to which he had been so long attached, 
 
WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 43 1 
 
 by his old friend Mr. Charles Villiers and Earl Gran- 
 ville. His native town sent its Mayor and a depu- 
 tation of citizens, while his county was represented 
 by its Lord-Lieutenant. The presence of the vene- 
 rable Astronomer- Royal, for whom the dead man had 
 long entertained a feeling of high regard, reminded 
 those who had known him how he had always spoken 
 of astronomy as ''my favourite science." 
 
 There came into my mind the words in which 
 Edmund Burke told of the funeral of our great 
 English painter : — " Everything, I think, was just as 
 our deceased friend would, if living, have wished it 
 to be ; for he was, as you know, not altogether in- 
 different to this kind of observances." The solemn, 
 glorious, and beautiful scene does not easily lend itself 
 to the poor words of mine. Yet I would willingly let 
 those who are to come after us know something of 
 that which was felt by more than one on this day that 
 was so great in our house. One who was present among 
 the mourners writes to me : *' It was not a state cere- 
 monial, — it was a people's payment of honour. There 
 was not grief ; but there was a solemn sense of recog- 
 nition of a great deed. As I saw from the window of 
 the Jerusalem Chamber the approach of the hearse, and 
 * heard,' if one may say so, the sudden hush, the one 
 feeling was not grief, or that the country had sustained 
 a loss, as when Macaulay was buried with his work 
 half done, but that the crown was being put on a 
 noble career. Sir Rowland, in his coffin, seemed to 
 be making a triumphal progress. What struck me 
 most was, if you will put a kind construction on the 
 first part of the antithesis, this absence of sorrow, this 
 presence of reverence." From another account that 
 was written down at the time I take the following : 
 " There were few touches of solemnity or mortality 
 
432 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 till we were close on the Abbey. There we heard the 
 great bell tolling over head. I had heard it last when 
 it tolled for Macaulay. There a great crowd was 
 gathered, very quiet and very orderly. It was not till 
 the carriage turned into Dean's Yard, that I first felt in 
 all its force what it was that we had come to see and 
 do. The band of the Post Office Volunteers was 
 playing the Portuguese Hymn. The men, all in 
 black, were drawn up on each side of the roadway 
 with their arms reversed, and their faces resting on 
 the stocks of their rifles. The notes of the band at 
 once woke up the tenderest and most solemn feelings. 
 The tears started into my eyes. On getting out of 
 the carriage I saw, for the first time, the coffin with 
 its beautiful shroud covered with wreaths of flowers. 
 We marched through the cloisters with the sad music 
 of the soldiers still in our ears. As we turned round 
 a corner we saw the door into the Abbey open before 
 us. . . . Here we caught the notes of the organ. 
 Wonderful feelings swept through me — the ancient 
 cloisters, the Abbey with its thousand memories, the 
 dead man borne before us, we following after him 
 who had known him and revered him, the sight of 
 his two aged brothers waiting in front to fall in with 
 the other mourners, — the priest in his white surplice. 
 I remember how here it burst upon me how noble and 
 how glorious is the thought that man has made to 
 himself of his own immortality. . . . We entered 
 the Abbey, and slowly moved along. If only a man 
 could keep at their height the lofty thoughts that filled 
 him in such a scene, who might not hope to find his 
 last resting-place there ? But, alas, the swell will 
 soon sink. As I passed up I heard my name men- 
 tioned — I know not by whom. I recognised also an 
 old servant of our family. I mention this to show 
 
WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 433 
 
 how the swift glances of the mind never rest, even 
 amidst the rush of feehngs strong as these. . 
 
 I saw my children, too. W gazed at me with 
 
 wonder in his dark eyes, E with pleasure at 
 
 discovering me. ... At the grave, as I looked 
 down on the coffin and read, 'Sir Rowland Hill. 
 Born December 3rd, 1795. Died August 27, 1879/ 
 I thought how much there was contained within those 
 dates. The whole life of the dead man seemed to 
 rise before me, from his childhood at Wolverhampton, 
 when he played with her who was one day to be 
 his wife and was now his widow ; through his hard 
 struggles, his poverty, the neglect under which he 
 had suffered, up to the present glorious day when his 
 countrymen thus honoured him. ... I found the 
 tears rising in my eyes ; but they were not so much 
 tears for him, as tears over our common humanity and 
 mortality. The music flooded the soul with the sense 
 of man's nothingness and his short stay on earth. I 
 never once, as I looked down into the grave, thought 
 that the dead man might now be living in some other 
 world. Had he been a great writer, that thought 
 would have come most naturally to me. But ' or- 
 ganisation is my forte,' he was wont to say ; and what 
 place is there for organisation in heaven ? His, in- 
 deed, was a mind whose work lay in this working-day 
 world. And yet, had I remembered his love of astro- 
 nomy, I might have pictured him to myself as learning 
 with delight the secret of the stars. ' Organisation is 
 some one else s forte,' he might now be softly whisper- 
 ing to himself." 
 
 We saw him then laid to rest in the little chapel in 
 the venerable Abbey, beneath the statue of Watt. A 
 memorial will one day be set up in this quiet spot, to 
 show the stranger and the passer-by where Rowland 
 
 VOL. II. F F 
 
434 I'IFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 Hill lies buried. In the great city hard by his statue 
 will, before long, stand in the very centre of the trade 
 of the world. In the charity that so many of his 
 countrymen have founded for the relief of the widows 
 and orphans of the servants of the Post Office his 
 memory will be kept alive. But so long as men keep 
 warm feelings, and the name of home has still its 
 charm ; so long as there are sorrowful partings and 
 hearts that need comforting ; so long as our high aim 
 is towards peace on earth, good will toward men, 
 Rowland Hill is not likely to be forgotten. For he 
 has done almost more than any other man to bring 
 near those who are far off, to bind the nations together, 
 and to make the whole world kin. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 F F 2 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 [See p. loi.] 
 
 Letter to Postmaster-General Lord Clanrkarde. 
 
 Hampstead, 3rd January, 1849. 
 
 My dear Lord, — Referring to the various representations which 
 I have at different times taken the liberty of making to your 
 Lordship, relative to my position, and to the difficulties arising 
 out of it which still impede the course of improvement in the 
 Post Office, I find myself called upon by present circumstances to 
 request your kind attention to a review of the whole subject 
 
 Your Lordship will remember that my present duties were 
 undertaken with great reluctance, because of the doubt I felt 
 whether in the position I was to occupy I should be able to 
 secure those great objects whose attainment would naturally be 
 expected of me, as well by the Government as the public, and that 
 one of the most weighty of the considerations influencing me to 
 accept the appointment, was the prospect which was held out of 
 such reorganization in the official arrangements of the Department, 
 as would at no distant time place in my hands such prompt and 
 direct means of acquiring information and exercising control as I 
 have always deemed necessary for the full realization of my plans. 
 
 These views, your Lordship will recollect, are fully set forth in my 
 letter to Mr. Hawes, of 23rd November, 1846. 
 
 I feel sure that your Lordship will bear witness to my having used, 
 to the best of my ability, all such authority as was placed in my 
 hands, and to my having made every possible effort to surmount or 
 avoid the obstacles incident to my present position. 
 
 It was with this view that I selected and submitted to your 
 Lordship those improvements which, from their comparative sim- 
 plicity, or from the concurrence of the practical officers in my 
 views, were most readily carried into effect, deferring others, either 
 in whole or in part, where the measures, however important and 
 
438 APPENDIX A. 
 
 even urgent in themselves, presented great complexity or appeared 
 to be, on whatever grounds, very repugnant to those who had to 
 carry them into effect. 
 
 Among the improvements thus effected are the following : — 
 
 I St. The time for posting letters at the London receiving houses 
 extended. 
 
 2nd. The limitation of weight abolished. 
 
 3rd. An additional daily despatch to London from the principal 
 villages in the vicinity established without additional expense. 
 
 4th. As one step among others towards the extinction of money 
 prepayment, the business of all new receiving houses restricted to 
 stamped and unpaid letters. A lower scale of salaries being also 
 consequently introduced. 
 
 5th. The postal arrangements of 120 of the largest towns in the 
 United Kingdom revised and completed. 
 
 6th. Unlimited writing on inland newspapers authorised on pay- 
 ment of id. fee. 
 
 7 th. The public and the Department better protected from annoy- 
 ance and loss in respect of unpaid letters, by the establishment of a 
 summary process for recovering postage from the senders. 
 
 8th. The book-post established. 
 
 9th. The advantage of cheap registration secured to the public 
 (by reducing the charge from is. to 6^.), without inconvenience to 
 the Department. 
 
 loth. An important extension of the time of posting late letters 
 for a great part of the United Kingdom afforded by arrangements 
 at the Euston Railway Station. 
 
 nth. As a step towards more frequent communication between 
 large towns, a third mail per day established from Birmingham 
 and other towns on the North Western Railway to London ; this 
 addition being made by the North Western Company without 
 payment. 
 
 1 2 th. Day mails extended to several smaller towns in a circuit 
 of about twenty miles round London. 
 
 13th. The number of mail-guards reduced by placing the smaller 
 mails under the charge of the railway guards. 
 
 14th. The service of parliamentary returns for private bills pro- 
 vided for. 
 
 15 th. The despatch of mails at the country offices facilitated, and 
 the late letter fees secured to the revenue by requiring both fee and 
 postage to be paid in stamps. This improvement is about to take 
 effect. 
 
APPENDIX A. 439 
 
 Some of the improvements in the money order department also 
 belong to this class. 
 
 Upwards of twelve months ago, this class of improvements being, 
 as I thought, nearly exhausted, I was preparing to address your 
 Lordship as at present, when my design was postponed through the 
 following circumstance : — The money-order department being of such 
 a nature as to admit of separation, in a great degree, from the other 
 business of the ofifice, and Colonel Maberly having declined to 
 undertake the responsibility thereof under the retrenchments and 
 other improvements adopted on my recommendation by your Lord- 
 ship and the Treasury, you were pleased to transfer the secretarial 
 management of that department to me. 
 
 Of the change which has followed this transfer I need not speak 
 in detail. By a report of Mr. Barth, the head of the department, 
 dated 31st January, 1848, it appears that the accounts were then 
 in an almost hopeless state of arrears ; great doubt was entertained 
 whether they ever could be made complete, and the expense of 
 their completion, supposing it to be possible, was estimated at 
 ;j^i 0,000. No general balance had ever been struck since the 
 institution of the department in 1839, and the liabilities were of 
 unknown amount. To avoid the enormous expense of bringing 
 up the arrears, and to ensure the extinction of unknown liabilities, 
 it was necessary to obtain an Act of Parliament calling in the 
 outstanding money orders. Concurrent efforts were made to bring 
 up the more recent arrears, and to prevent the possibility of new 
 ones arising; and, in consequence of these measures, affairs are 
 now in such a state that, at the end of August next, the liabilities 
 of the department will be fully known, and the materials obtained 
 for a general balance, which will then be struck forthwith. 
 
 On investigating the accounts, I found, to my great concern, that 
 the department was not only, as I had anticipated, unprofitable, 
 but that it involved an annual loss of no less than ;£i 0,000. It 
 has, however, been found practicable, even with greatly increased 
 perfection in the accounts, to introduce, by successive improve- 
 ments, such simplification as will save the salaries of 50 clerks in 
 the London Office alone ; and this, combined with other important 
 savings already effected, will, in all probability, render the depart- 
 ment self-supporting in the course of the present year. 
 
 But your Lordship is aware that further important improvements 
 are now in progress, by means of which I confidently expect the 
 money-order department will be made to afford a satisfactory profit. 
 
 I may remark that the savings effected in this department have 
 
440 APPENDIX A. 
 
 already exceeded my estimate as laid before the select committee 
 of the House of Commons on Postage of 1843 (P- 9°)- 
 
 From the facility with which the necessary changes, many of 
 them difficult and complicated, have been effected in this depart- 
 ment since it came under my immediate and exclusive direction, 
 your Lordship will, perhaps, deem it not unreasonable to infer that, 
 with similar means at my command, a like success may be obtained 
 elsewhere ; and the encouragement hence derived has augmented 
 my earnest desire to attempt without delay improvements in other 
 departments, for years contemplated, which, while they present 
 many difficulties, are of no slight importance to the public 
 service. 
 
 The complete consolidation of the two corps of letter-carriers 
 is a promised measure of this description. This consolidation I 
 first recommended in the year 1837, submitted to the Treasury 
 in the year 1842, laid before the select committee on postage of 
 1843, ^^^ sustained through a severe examination. Up to that 
 time it was opposed by the Post Office authorities, and not sup- 
 ported by the Treasury; but at the commencement of 1847 ^ 
 decided step was taken in that direction, and with advantageous 
 results. 
 
 My opinion of the value of the measure has never varied, and 
 my desire for its adoption is, of course, greatly strengthened by 
 finding it pressed on the Office by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 whose exhortations to the same effect have now, for twelve months, 
 been from time to time earnestly given. 
 
 But, after the maturest deliberation, I still feel impressed with the 
 painful conviction that unless I could be placed, with reference to 
 the departments concerned in the change, in a position similar to 
 that which I hold with regard to the Money Order Office, the 
 attempt would not only fail, but might produce a state of serious 
 insubordination. 
 
 Your Lordship will bear in mind that the improvement in 
 question involves other changes, some of them of a very com- 
 plicated nature, and such as could be effected only by a delicate 
 and difficult process ; I need not say that where the ramifications 
 are so numerous, it is quite impossible to frame, in prospectu^ any 
 detailed plan which will not require very much of subsequent 
 modification. The experience derived from each step of the process, 
 will be required to govern the succeeding step. The improvements 
 must be introduced on the tentative principle, and extended or 
 varied, hastened or delayed, according as the peculiar feelings and 
 
APPENDIX A. 441 
 
 opinions of parties concerned, or other circumstances, may require. 
 In fine, the management will constantly demand immediate, con- 
 fidential, and uninterrupted intercourse with those most conversant 
 with details, or on whom the duty of immediate execution will 
 devolve, as well as the exercise of an influence and authority limited 
 only by due subordination to your Lordship. 
 
 In the absence of these aids, any attempt to effect the improve- 
 ment in question would, in my opinion, be most inexpedient. 
 
 In the same category with this measure are various others, some 
 of wiiich are of pressing importance, at a time when there is so 
 great a demand on the part of the Government for retrenchment 
 and economy in every department of the public service ; and, 
 considering that every delay renders such improvement more and 
 more difficult, I respectfully submit the importance of my being 
 early placed in a position for entering upon them with safety and 
 success. 
 
 I trust, my Lord, that in earnestly dwelling on these con- 
 siderations as affecting the public interest, I advance no improper 
 claim as regards myself Your Lordship will, I am sure, remember 
 that expectation of such promotion was held out to me, contingent 
 only on my demonstrating that I possess the requisite administrative 
 capabilities, and that one object in placing the Money-Order 
 Department under my immediate direction was to bring these 
 capabilities to the test. With the result of this experiment your 
 Lordship has been pleased to express entire satisfaction, and, com- 
 bining this testimonial with the repeated expressions of approval 
 with which your Lordship has honoured me during the two years 
 of my service, I trust I am not assuming too much in regarding the 
 conditions as fulfilled. 
 
 I am the more strongly impelled to ask for the fulfilment of the 
 contingent expectation, because, in addition to the Treasury's 
 demand and your Lordship's exercise for economy, there is, from 
 time to time, a manifestation of some disappointment in the public 
 mind. It is naturally expected that, under your Lordship's sanction, 
 I should effect the improvements in reference to which my appoint- 
 ment was made. And as the public is far from being fully aware 
 of the difficulties under which I labour, and as I am of course 
 precluded by my position from giving explanations, I am exposed 
 to attacks which I must not repel, and suffer in my reputation, 
 without being conscious of blame. 
 
 I have now finished a task which I began with reluctance, and 
 which I feel much relieved to have drawn to a close. A more 
 
442 APPENDIX A. 
 
 agreeable duty remains to be performed : it is to express my 
 sincere thanks for the kind support with which your Lordship has 
 been pleased to honour my efforts. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 The Most Noble 
 The Marquis of Clanricarde, 
 &c., &c., &c. 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 [ See p. 105.] 
 
 Further letter to Postmaster-General (Lord Clanricarde). 
 
 Hampstead, August 13th, 1849. 
 
 My dear Lord, — Knowing how fully your lordship's time and 
 that of other ministers is occupied during the session of Parliament, 
 I have hitherto refrained from again requesting attention to my letter 
 of January 3rd, but now that a period of comparative leisure has 
 arrived, I feel that I ought no longer to postpone the irksome tasL 
 
 I have enclosed a copy of the letter for the purpose of inviting a 
 reperusal of it, and I think I may confidently appeal to your Lord- 
 ship's knowledge of the state of the department for supporting me 
 when I say that the experience of the seven months which have 
 elapsed since that letter was written has strengthened the grounds, 
 both public and private, on which my application was based. 
 
 The various interviews with which I have been honoured by your 
 lordship on nice and difficult points, arising in the course of business, 
 would enable me to refer to many cases in which the public service 
 has suffered from the continuance of the existing arrangements, while, 
 though this is doubtless a matter of inferior importance, such arrange- 
 ments are inconsistent both with my personal comfort and my 
 pecuniary interests. 
 
 On these, however, I will not dwell, nor even with respect to the 
 public service will I intrude on your attention as to more than one 
 point out of the many which occupy my thoughts. I refer to the 
 necessity for a general revision of salaries in the metropolitan offices, 
 which after being so long delayed now presses with great urgency. 
 It is due in justice to the clerks that their claims, whether well or ill 
 founded, should be set at rest by adjudication; but; notwithstanding 
 your Lordship's earnest desire that the task should be accomplished, 
 I have, I believe, satisfied you that in my present position it would 
 
444 APPENDIX A. 
 
 be unsafe to attempt even those improvements which are necesssarily 
 preliminary to the still more difficult task ot revising the salaries. 
 
 Earnestly begging your Lordship will be pleased to take the neces- 
 sary steps for effecting a decision on my letter of January 3rd, 
 
 I have, &c., &c., 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 The Most Noble 
 
 The Marquis of Clanricarde, 
 
 &c., &c., &c. 
 
APPENDIX C 
 
 [See p. 105.] 
 
 Lord Clanricarde '5 reply. 
 
 Brighton, August 23rd, 1849. 
 
 My dear Sir, — I have read your letter reverting to that which 
 you addressed to me on the 3rd of last January with much regret. 
 
 I am sorry you consider our existing official arrangements incon- 
 sistent with your comfort and your interest. I see no possibility of 
 their being changed at present. 
 
 I could not alter them myself, and I could not send forward to the 
 Treasury your letter of the 3rd of January without previously com- 
 municating with Colonel Maberly. 
 
 I have no reason to believe the Treasury would take at this 
 moment any steps to put you in the position you desire to hold. 
 And my own opinion is that, constituted as the office now is, we can 
 proceed gradually and steadily to carry into effect many improve- 
 ments which you have suggested or which may hereafter occur to you. 
 You enumerate in your letter of January 3rd several of importance 
 which we have achieved without even temporary inconvenience or 
 failure, — others have been effected since that date, and I have little 
 fear of not being able to have properly executed almost any alteration 
 of the result of which we might be well assured. 
 
 I see no reason why you should not complete a scale of salaries 
 for country offices and messengers as soon as the returns you have 
 called for may be perfected, or why such a scale should not be at 
 once adopted, and gradually, and not slowly, enforced. And in like 
 manner, the metropolitan offices might afterwards be dealt with. 
 
 With respect to your personal feelings and interests I can of course 
 say nothing. I am only gratified that you should feel satisfied with. 
 the support which it has been my duty, and I assure you a sincere 
 pleasure, to me to afford you. 
 
 I remain, &:c., &c., 
 
 Clanricarde. 
 R. Hill, Esq., 
 &c., &c., &c. 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 [ See p. III.] 
 
 Minute on the Sunday Duties of the Post Office, 
 To the Postmaster- General, 
 
 1. In obedience to your Lordship's instructions, I beg to submit 
 my views as to further measures for reducing the Sunday duties of 
 the Post Office, and as to other improvements connected therewith. 
 
 2. The importance of affording to all connected with the Post 
 Office the utmost amount of rest on Sunday that is consistent with a 
 due regard to public convenience having led to measures for the 
 total suspension of money-order business on that day throughout 
 England and Wales, it is very satisfactory to remark, that neither the 
 announcement of the change, nor the experience of it thus far, has 
 brought on the department a single complaint from the public ; and 
 I confidently anticipate like satisfactory results should the Treasury 
 concur in your Lordship's recent recommendation of a similar measure 
 in Ireland and Scotland. 
 
 3. Your Lordship will recollect that, in considering the above im- 
 provement, the importance of a similar relief as respects other duties 
 was kept in mind; and, from the investigations which have been 
 made, there can be no doubt that a further very important relief as 
 relates to Sunday work may be effected in all the provincial offices. 
 
 4. The consideration of this question, however, is closely con- 
 nected with that of a measure mainly relating to public convenience, 
 but which, contrary to first appearances, proves on investigation to 
 have a direct tendency towards the same object of Sunday relief. 
 
 5. The transmission of letters through London on the Sunday, 
 your Lordship is aware, has long been a desideratum, having been 
 recommmended by the Commissioners of Post Office Inquiry in 
 1836 (7 Report, p. 9); and by a committee of the House of 
 Commons in 1818 (3 Report, p. x.); and again suggested by several 
 members of a committee of the House of Lords in 1847 (Report of 
 the Select Committee. Ev. 430 — 445). 
 
 6. The obstacles to the adoption of these recommendations were, 
 first, an assumption that it would increase the Sunday work of the 
 
APPENDIX D. 447 
 
 department ; second, a fear that it would lead to a Sunday delivery 
 in London. 
 
 7. Both these apprehensions, as will be shown hereafter, are 
 groundless. 
 
 8. Since the time when the above recommendations were made, 
 the importance of the change has greatly increased, the Sunday 
 average letters involved in the consideration having advanced since 
 1836 from 5000 or 6000 to 50,000 or 60,000, or ten-fold. 
 
 9. The importance of the change will be still more manifest on 
 reference to the fact, that this present number of London " forward 
 letters" for a single day much exceeds what was in 1836 the corre- 
 sponding number for a whole week, for the expediting of which it 
 was determined by Government, on the recommendation of the 
 Commissioners of Post Office Inquiry, to estabHsh day mails at an 
 estimated cost of ^^15,000 a year (7 Report, pp. 5 and 121). 
 
 10. The evil of the present arrangement, already so great, is 
 constantly increasing, partly because of the general increase of 
 letters, but mainly because of the centralising tendency of the 
 railways. The greatly increased speed of conveyance, too, obviously 
 tends to make any detention more severely felt; and the incon- 
 venience is particularly serious when, as occasionally happens, the 
 detention falls on a mail from the East or West Indies. 
 
 11. The evil of detention has been found so serious, that in several 
 cases the rule has been evaded, either by making use of other existing 
 channels for the conveyance of the mails sent on ordinary days 
 through London, or by the actual establishment of Sunday cross- 
 posts; either of which arrangements obviously involves increased 
 expense, trouble, liability to error, perplexity to the public, and 
 additional Sunday work. Thus the mail between Winchester and 
 Birmingham is sent on the Sunday through Exeter ; and again, the 
 correspondence between the towns served by the North-Eastern 
 Railway and those served by the North-Western Railway is conveyed 
 on a Sunday by a mail-cart, expressly running on that day between 
 Cambridge and Wolverton, through Newport Pagnel, a distance of 
 47 miles — an arrangement involving an expense of ;£i48 per annum 
 (j£gS for the cart and ;£"5o for additional sorting at Newport Pagnel), 
 besides a direct increase in Sunday occupation. 
 
 12. Meantime the mail trains, excepting a few of the day mails, 
 run as on other days, and, save as regards London, convey letters as 
 usual Even to London nearly all letters from Ireland, Scotland, 
 and the out-ports, as also all foreign and colonial letters whatever, are 
 brought, as on other days, the same being partly assorted at the chief 
 
448 APPENDIX D. 
 
 office on the Sunday, for delivery or for forwarding, as the case may 
 be, the next morning. 
 
 13. For the performance of these duties and for the selection and 
 delivery of the "States" (letters addressed chiefly to the higher 
 offices of Government), twenty-six persons are ordinarily employed 
 at the chief office on Sunday, their time of occupation being, on the 
 average, six hours. The arrival of a heavy mail from abroad requires 
 a greater force. 
 
 14. To remove the evils of this weekly suspension of the ordinary 
 transmission through London, and the anomalies arising out of it, 
 and with the view of diminishing the amount of Sunday work in the 
 department as a whole, I propose that the existing mail trains should 
 bring up on the Sunday, in addition to the present bags, the forward 
 stamped letters — excluding, however, newspapers, parliamentary pro- 
 ceedings, and all documents not paying the full letter rates. These 
 limitations will avert, on the one hand, any possibility of a Sunday 
 delivery of letters to the London public, and, on the other, any un- 
 necessary addition to the Sunday accounts. 
 
 15. The restriction to stamped letters may perhaps cause some 
 inconvenience to the public, especially at first, arising out of their 
 difficulty of knowing what correspondence passes through London 
 and what does not ; but as it is in contemplation to confine the 
 receipt of money-paid letters to the chief office of each provincial 
 town, and as the deputies can be instructed whenever the want of a 
 stamp would cause the detention of a letter to state as much when it 
 is presented for prepayment (an arrangement which will be facilitated 
 by the comparative leisure of blank post day), it appears to me that 
 the danger of inconvenience to the public will be small, and certainly 
 far less than that which now results from the doubt as to whether 
 even stamped letters posted on blank post day will be detained 
 or not. 
 
 16. The inland letters thus brought in, as they would require no 
 accounts either to be examined or made out, would be despatched 
 by the existing day mails in those cases where this would be necessary 
 to secure their earlier delivery on the Monday. All the other letters, 
 whether inland or not, would be sent by the night mails. It is 
 obvious that, under this arrangement, none of the letters in question 
 could be delivered anywhere on the Sunday. 
 
 17. I should also strongly advise that in the performance of the 
 above-mentioned duties at the London office no infringement should 
 be allowed on the hours of divine service ; the whole interval from 
 ten in the morning till five in the afternoon being left perfectly free ; 
 
APPENDIX D. 
 
 449 
 
 and I should propose to extend this arrangement, as far as practicable, 
 to the existing duties at that office. 
 
 1 8. By avaihng ourselves of the time now occupied by the clerks 
 of the travelHng post office in assorting such of the letters in question 
 as now reach them by the special cross-posts, I am of opinion that a 
 force of twenty-five men, at the expense of ;£^3oo per annum, will 
 suffice for the duties now proposed ; and when it is considered that 
 in the single anomaly referred to above the plan will effect a saving 
 of ;£"i48 a year, it appears highly probable that the total reductions 
 effected by the improvement will fully compensate such additional 
 expense. 
 
 19. I should add that, although Mr. Bokenham, whom I have 
 consulted, sees no difficulty as regards the practicability of the 
 general measure, he is of opinion that little aid can be afforded by 
 the clerks of the travelling post office ; consequently, though willing 
 to try with twenty-five additional men, his impression is that a some- 
 what larger number will be necessary. 
 
 20. As regards the effect of the proposed change on the amount 
 of Sunday occupation, it is manifest, from what has already been 
 stated, that for the increased force at the chief office there is, to say 
 the least, a large set-off elsewhere. A further examination, however, 
 will put the matter in a light still more satisfactory. 
 
 21. It is notorious that a blank post is everywhere preceded and 
 followed by a greater amount of correspondence than usual. Thus, 
 in London, the average number of letters is greater on Saturday by 
 six per cent., and on Monday by 25 per cent., than on other days. 
 But, as respects the correspondence sent through London, Saturday 
 evening is at present in most towns a blank post time. It therefore 
 follows that such correspondence is despatched from the provinces 
 in unusual amount on Saturday morning, and on Sunday morning or 
 evening, according as there may or may not be a Sunday day mail. 
 
 22. Now each of these augmentations tends to produce additional 
 Sunday work, both to the department and to the public. For the 
 letters in the first category are for the most part distributed by the 
 Post Office and read by the public on the Sunday, and those in the 
 second are for the most part written by the public and despatched 
 by the office on Sunday. 
 
 23. It is obvious therefore that, as far as relates to the letters in 
 question, the proposed change would entirely get rid of Sunday 
 work, as respects the public ; while, as respects the department, it 
 would exchange work now dispersed through nearly a thousand 
 offices for concentrated occupation in one — the latter requiring a 
 
 VOL. II G G 
 
450 APPENDIX D. 
 
 less proportionate force, and falling on such time as to be dealt with 
 without infringement on the hours of divine service. It is manifest 
 therefore that, as respects general supersession of Sunday work, the 
 balance is in favour of the proposed plan. 
 
 24. The advantage, however, by no means rests here. The plan 
 will be an important aid, as will be shown hereafter, to measures for 
 relieving the provincial offices as regards Sunday business in general. 
 
 25. As regards the chief office, the force now proposed to be 
 employed on the Sunday would suffice for nearly all the ordinary 
 duties necessarily belonging to that day, and thus it would be 
 possible to defer most of the work now done on the Sunday till 
 after midnight; and thus to avoid any material increase in the 
 Sunday force. This latter change, however, implies the previous 
 consolidation of the inland and district post offices. 
 
 26. Nay, were it thought necessary, there are means, arising in 
 part out of the comparative leisure at most country offices on the 
 Saturday, by which Sunday work at the chief office might be reduced 
 considerably below its present amount. As, however, these means 
 involve some complexity, and possibly additional expense, I do not 
 propose them at present. But hereafter, should they prove suffi- 
 ciently simple to be reduced to practice, and not too expensive for 
 adoption, there can be no doubt that this prevention of the weekly 
 delay or irregularity in the vast correspondence which ordinarily 
 passes through London, so far from involving any increase in the 
 amount of Sunday work, would, independently of its aid to other 
 measures of relief, directly produce a material diminution of the 
 same. 
 
 27. I now come to the special question of relief to the provincial 
 offices. The measures in contemplation appear in the following 
 extract from my minute of Dec. 6, 1848 : — 
 
 " That every office in England and Wales be closed for all pur- 
 poses from ten to five o'clock on the Sunday, except for the receipt 
 and despatch of any mails in the interval ; but that a box be left 
 open for the posting of stamped and unpaid letters. Further, that 
 there be only one delivery of letters on that day." 
 
 28. This proposal, having been referred by your Lordship to the 
 English surveyors, has met with their unanimous and earnest con- 
 currence. It appears, however, that although the general rule is to 
 have only one delivery on the Sunday, there are several towns in 
 which there are two. The discontinuance of the additional delivery, 
 although, with one doubtful exception, approved of by the surveyors, 
 might, nevertheless, in the absence of other alterations, produce 
 
APPENDIX D. 451 
 
 serious complaint from the public : the Sunday transmission of 
 letters through London, however, would, as regards most towns in 
 England and Wales, withdraw so large a proportion of letters from 
 the second delivery (already very light), that the little delay in the 
 delivery of the residuum would be of no moment. Such withdrawal, 
 however, it must be admitted, is, in relation to public convenience, 
 an objection, pro tanto^ to the plan ; but, as the delivery of these 
 letters on the Monday morning would be made conjointly with that 
 of many letters now detained till Monday afternoon, or, in some 
 instances, till the next day, the measure, as a whole, would probably 
 give satisfaction even in the comparatively few towns where the 
 delay would occur. Everywhere else it would certainly be felt as a 
 great boon. 
 
 29. This change, therefore, being considered as part of the general 
 measure, I have no hesitation in recommending that (with possibly 
 one or two exceptions, which, if necessary, will be submitted here- 
 after) the second delivery be abolished throughout England and 
 Wales ; Ireland and Scotland being left for after-consideration ; and 
 that the plan, as proposed in my minute of December 6th, be now 
 carried into effect. The reports of the surveyors are submitted. 
 
 30. It may perhaps assist your Lordship in deciding the important 
 question now submitted, if I briefly recapitulate the results, negative 
 as well as positive, of the whole of the measure. 
 
 31. First, It will prevent irregularity or delay (often amounting to 
 twenty-four hours) in the transmission of probably 50,000 letters 
 a week. 
 
 32. Second, It will add little or nothing to the expenses of the 
 department. 
 
 33. Third, It will cause no increase whatever of mail-trains or 
 other means of transmission, to or from London, on the Sunday. 
 
 34. Fourth, It will neither bring in nor take out a single London 
 letter, and therefore cannot cause either a Sunday delivery or a 
 Sunday collection in London. 
 
 35. Fifth, While it will not affect the number of Sunday collections 
 elsewhere, it will materially reduce the number of Sunday deliveries. 
 
 36. Sixth, While, so far as the public is concerned, it will leave 
 matters precisely as they now stand in London and the vicinity, it 
 \vill tend greatly to reduce Sunday letter-writing and reading else- 
 where. 
 
 37. Seventh, It is true that as regards the London Post OfHce, it 
 will, in the first instance require the attendance of about twenty-five 
 persons on the Sunday, but these will not be allowed in the slightest 
 
 G G 2 
 
452 APPENDIX D. 
 
 degree to infringe on the hours of divine service ; and I am of 
 opinion that eventually even this limited attendance may be avoided, 
 and the Sunday work in the London office reduced much below its 
 present amount. On the other hand, as regards the provincial 
 offices, it will release a very large body of persons now engaged even 
 during the hours of divine service, and will thus afford to many 
 hundreds, perhaps even to some thousands, needful rest, and the 
 opportunity of attending the services of the day. 
 
 38. Should your Lordship approve of these proposals, I submit 
 that the necessary application be made to the Treasury. 
 
 39. Some important measures of relief to the rural messengers 
 and rural receivers on the Sunday, which have been suggested by 
 Mr. W. Johnson, will still remain for your Lordship's consideration ; 
 but, as they are not essential parts of the main plan, I propose to 
 submit them hereafter in a separate minute. 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 February 3, 1849. 
 
APPENDIX E. 
 
 [See p. 126.] 
 
 Letter to Postmaster- Gene7-al deprecating Compulsory Employment 
 
 on the Su7iday. 
 
 [Private and Confidential.) 
 
 General Post Office, October i8th, 1849. 
 
 My dear Lord, — I am greatly alarmed at your Lordship's note, 
 and earnestly entreat that you will not authorize Mr. Bokenham to 
 compel the attendance of a single man. During your Lordship's 
 absence in Ireland, the excited state of the public mind made it 
 necessary to take a decided course relative to this matter ; and as it 
 was always intended and fully understood by Mr. Bokenham that 
 none but volunteers were to be employed on the Sunday duties, I 
 did not hesitate to contradict the report which had been most 
 unjustly raised to the effect that the men, notwithstanding con- 
 scientious objections to the work, were to be forced to engage in it. 
 
 The pledge which, under the circumstances, I felt warranted and 
 compelled to give, I trust your Lordship will enable me fully to main- 
 tain. 
 
 I am still ready to undertake the responsibility of the sorting by 
 volunteers, provided your Lordship will give me the powers which, by 
 your approval of my minute of the 15th inst., were conferred on Mr. 
 Bokenham. I submit, therefore, that there can be no necessity for 
 resorting to any compulsion ; and considering the manner in which 
 the public has held me responsible for this measure, I trust I may be 
 permitted to say that, so far as my own feelings are concerned, I 
 would rather abandon the improvement altogether than run the risk 
 of compelling any one to do that to which he has a conscientious ob- 
 jection. 
 
 Until I received your Lordship's note I had no conception of any 
 difficulty or hesitation on Mr. Bokenham's part. Mr. Tilley was 
 present when Mr. Bokenham expressed his readiness to undertake 
 
454 APPENDIX E. 
 
 the duty on the conditions stated in my minute of the 15th. Mr. 
 Tilley read the minute a few hours later, and confirmed the accuracy 
 of its statements. 
 
 I need hardly say that I shall carefully follow the advice with which 
 your Lordship has honoured me ; but, as I am most anxious that this 
 matter should be settled without delay, I beg that should you be 
 unable to fulfil your intention of coming to town to-morrow, I 
 may be favoured with immediate instructions to wait upon you at 
 Brighton. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 ■ Rowland Hill. 
 The Most Noble the Marquis of Clanricarde, 
 &c., &c., &c. 
 
APPENDIX F. 
 
 [Seep. 134.] 
 
 Anonymous Letter from a Sub-Sorter. 
 
 October iilh, 1849. 
 
 Sir, — Before taking up too much of your time, it is but fair to state 
 that I shall not conform to the usage of society nor to the regulations 
 of the. Post Office. My communication will be anonymous, and, as 
 you perceive, in the handwTiting of a female. The dangers which 
 beset the " usual channel," have forced me to take this course in 
 offering an observation or two on the opposition to the extension of 
 Sunday duty. This opposition in the office is not really against the 
 duty, but is a strong attempt to level the author of Penny Postage, 
 
 and was originated in Mr. 's room ! The Clerks received the 
 
 cue, and artfully led the Subsorters, Letter-carriers, and Messengers 
 to believe that the duty was to be performed without pay. The 
 Inspector of Letter-carriers lent assistance by expressing a determi- 
 nation to resign if the order came into operation. Old tales of cutting 
 down of salaries on railway lines were revived, and anecdotes manu- 
 factured telling of meanness in private matters. The men saw what 
 was expected from them, and were soon employed on their walks in 
 announcing their doleful prospects and looking up mawworms to 
 protest against such a prophane decree. Of the success of this plan 
 out of doors, Sir, you are aware. In the office, the pretensions to 
 piety are quite sickening. Fellows who have broken nearly every 
 commandment are now fearful of causing ever so slight a flaw on the 
 fourth. Still, there are plenty of men willing and able to carry out 
 your object if certain of protection. That this is wanted, the following 
 instance will show. The first man who made application for the 
 Sunday duty was told it must be in writing. Before, however, he 
 could put the few words required to paper, it was known all over the 
 office. A system of annoyance was commenced, strong enough to 
 deter him from proceeding further in the matter. He was hooted at 
 inside the building and insulted in the street. 
 
456 APPENDIX F. 
 
 Last night a report was in circulation that the morning despatch 
 had been abandoned from the difficulty of obtaining hands. I hope, 
 Sir, that this will not be the case with the evening duty, but that you 
 will persist in the determination to benefit the public, in spite of 
 in door opposition and out-of-door twaddle. Never mind if every letter 
 is not got off on the first attempt — it will soon improve. Give the 
 clerks an intimation that if they refuse this modification, it will be 
 offered to the Subsorters on the same terms. They are afraid of us 
 now. Educated in a better school — the Newspaper Office — for 
 becoming officially dexterous, we could beat them at their own duties, 
 and not one of them could accept a challenge to play the return match 
 at those which we perform. 
 
 I will not trespass longer on your patience than to state that the 
 hostility, portrayed by Mr. M. D. Hill in 1839 as likely to exist, is 
 now in full vigour. In the ten years which have elapsed since then, 
 they have not become reconciled to the name of Rowland Hill, but 
 hate it worse than ever. The soothing system is of no use. A stronger 
 motive in future must rule the Inland Office. 
 
 I am 
 
 Sir, most respectfully, 
 
 My poverty and not my will consenting to the omission of my name, 
 
 A SUBSORTER. 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 [ See p. 164.] 
 
 Letter to Mr. Warhurton. 
 
 Hampstead, November i6th, 1850. 
 
 My dear Sir, — As you have kindly undertaken to see the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer on my behalf, I beg to trouble you with a 
 brief recapitulation of the case. 
 
 You will recollect that in my late correspondence with the Post- 
 master-General I took the liberty to remind his Lordship of the 
 promise under which I was induced to accept my present post, of 
 the serious obstacles to improvements as well as of the great danger 
 of insubordination in the office arising from my present anomalous 
 position, and of the acknowledged fulfilment of the only condition on 
 which my promotion was to depend. 
 
 It is now four years since the promise was made — two years have 
 elapsed since I first claimed its performance ; and though no objec- 
 tion is raised to the justness of the claim, no steps have been taken 
 towards its practical acknowledgment. Additional circumstances, 
 which I shall shortly state, now compel me to press for an immediate 
 change. 
 
 According to present arrangements, Colonel Maberly has a staff 
 of about fifty clerks, formed into departments, each department 
 having a head, familiar with all the details thereof, and capable, under 
 instructions, of preparing nearly all the necessary minutes, thus 
 relieving Colonel Maberly himself of what would otherwise be an 
 insupportable amount of drudgery. As regards the Money Order 
 Department, I am similarly circumstanced ; but for the transaction of 
 general business, though I believe most of the difficult cases, par- 
 ticularly the obnoxious ones, devolve upon me, my whole staff 
 consists of but three clerks, at comparatively low salaries. Nor 
 could I be supplied with an efficient corps, save at the unwarrantable 
 
458 APPENDIX G. 
 
 expense of several thousands a year — i.e.^ an amount making some 
 approach to the actual cost of Colonel Maberly's staff. 
 
 Neither would it avail to withhold the above cases from me, as all 
 are more or less connected with those improvements which it is my 
 especial duty to effect and maintain. 
 
 Viewing my position as temporary, I have endeavoured to meet 
 the exigence by great personal exertion, and by obtaining competent 
 assistance at my own cost, in which latter course, limited and imper- 
 fect as any such arrangements must necessarily be, I have already ex 
 pended several hundred pounds. 
 
 Still I am obliged to investigate each case myself, and substantially 
 to prepare the necessary minutes ; and when, in addition to all this, 
 it is considered that from the first I have rarely had less than five or 
 six important and difficult improvements in hand at once, I scarcely 
 need assure you that the labour has been very severe. Indeed it has 
 proved quite too much for my health, and, according to the opinion 
 of my medical attendant (Mr. Hodgson) it has induced a disorder, 
 which, though yet but incipient, threatens the most serious con- 
 sequences, unless promptly and effectually checked. 
 
 Effectual rest, the remedy prescribed, however, is incompatible 
 with my present position. For though the Postmaster-General has 
 most kindly acceded to every request I have made for leave of 
 absence, yet, seeing that I have no assistant capable of undertaking 
 my duties (as is done for Colonel Maberly by the assistant-secretary) 
 any partial rest thus obtained entails a serious accumulation of work 
 at its close. These are the considerations which oblige me to press 
 for immediate change, though independently of them, and even of 
 the promise adverted to above, I trust a consideration of what has 
 been effected during the last four years will show my claim to be well 
 founded. 
 
 To pass over numerous improvements, many of which have failed 
 to excite attention, not so much from any want of importance, as 
 from their smoothness in operation (the only case of trouble being the 
 recent improvement in the Sunday duties, when a temporary outcry 
 arose from a cabal within the office), I may particularise the reform 
 of the Money Order Department, the only department consigned to 
 my charge, a reform by which, with increased convenience to the 
 public, increased accuracy in the accounts, better pay, and more 
 relaxation to the clerks, a saving has been effected, already amounting, 
 all things duly considered, to a total of about;£'37,ooo, and which is 
 now going on at the rate probably of about ;^ 13,000 a year, with a 
 clear prospect of increase. 
 
APPENDIX G. 459 
 
 This, however, constitutes but a small portion of what, even with 
 the very limited means at my command, I have been able to save 
 positively or negatively in the Post Office generally. 
 
 In addition to the injury to health involved in the labour by which 
 these improvements have been achieved, I have had to submit to a 
 sacrifice of income. Mine is, I believe, the only important office in 
 the whole department with no scale of increase of salary ; but for 
 the special limitation which my promised promotion would remove, I 
 should be now in the receipt of ^^1,500 a year — that is ;!^4oo a year 
 less than Colonel Maberly had during his first five years of office, 
 and ^^500 a year less than he has at present. 
 
 If Government is still of opinion that it cannot immediately fulfil 
 its promise, I beg that you will urge my claim at least so far as to 
 press that a period may now be fixed beyond which the complete 
 performance of the promise shall not be delayed ; and that, seeing 
 the impossibility of continuing the present state of things, arrange- 
 ments be at once made for the nearest approximation to such per- 
 formance that may be deemed practicable. 
 
 I remain. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 P.S. — I have enclosed a copy of a letter with which you favoured 
 me on the 27th of November, 1846, and which bears strongly on 
 the case. 
 
 Henry Warburton, Esq. 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 [See p. 215.] 
 
 Letter to Fostmaster-General (Lord Cafinifig). 
 
 General Post Office, iSth June, 1853. 
 
 My dear Lord, — As your Lordship is already acquainted with 
 many of the statements I am about to make, you will at once per- 
 ceive that in writing at such length my view is in accordance with 
 your understood wish so to prepare the case for the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer as to supersede the necessity of reference to former 
 correspondence on the subject. 
 
 In September 1842, in the midst of what the Treasury was pleased 
 to consider an able discharge of duties connected with the institution 
 of my system of Penny Postage, I learnt that my services were no 
 longer required, and I spent the next four years in private life, except 
 so much of the year 1843 as was occupied in preparing and laying 
 before a committee of the House of Commons a full exposition of 
 the operation of the Post Office as then conducted, in the course of 
 which I demonstrated that the existing system of management, besides 
 depriving the public of many reasonable facilities, involved an enor- 
 mous loss of revenue. 
 
 In December, 1846, my friend Mr. Warburton intimated to me the 
 desire of Her Majesty's Government again to employ me in develop- 
 ing and perfecting my plans, and that they were prepared to offer me 
 a permanent engagement at the Post Office. 
 
 Although I was then engaged in avocations more highly remune- 
 rative than the proffered appointment, I at once avowed myself ready 
 to accept it if I could be assured of sufficient authority to secure the 
 success of my measures — a stipulation which, while reasonable under 
 any circumstances, was rendered imperative by my former experience 
 of the obstructions and injury that improvements were exposed to 
 in consequence of the state of feeling which prevailed at the Post 
 Office. 
 
APPENDIX H. 461 
 
 I was given to understand that I might count on the support of 
 the Postmaster-General and the Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and 
 that if r showed that I possessed the requisite administrative powers, 
 (the subsequent full acknowledgment of which happily relieves me 
 from the necessity of entering on that part of the subject) I might 
 look forward to be promoted at no distant period to a position of 
 higher authority, which was understood at the time and subsequently 
 admitted to mean the post of sole secretary. 
 
 Without for a single moment doubting the sincerity with which these 
 promises were made, I nevertheless, after much anxious deliberation, 
 arrived at the conclusion that they were not sufficiently explicit to 
 justify me in placing myself in a position so liable to failure, which in 
 the public mind would naturally be attributed to defects in the 
 system itself, or to mismanagement on my part, rather than to op- 
 posing influences which could not be generally known. 
 
 My prospects of effecting improvements under the discouraging 
 circumstances in which I knew I should be placed did not seem 
 clear enough to justify me in incurring the risk of becoming myself 
 an instrument for destroying that universal reliance on the soundness 
 of my project, w^hich I felt to be my surest means of obtaining ultimate 
 success. 
 
 But I was in the hands of my friends, and I shall not be censured 
 for deferring to . the opinion of such men as Mr. Warburton, Lord 
 Overstone, Mr. Hawes, and Mr. Raikes Currie. 
 
 I consequently entered on my present office, and have now served 
 under three Postmasters-General ; and I gladly avail myself of this 
 opportunity to express my deep sense of the kindness and confidence 
 with which I have been treated, and my full recognition of the efforts 
 made from time to time, with more or less of success, to remove im- 
 pediments and to give freer scope to my exertions ; but the evils 
 which I foresaw and which have come upon me in full measure are 
 beyond the reach of palliatives. The system on which we are pro- 
 ceeding is radically bad, and stands scarcely more strongly condemned 
 by myself than by my colleague Colonel Maberly. 
 
 Though possessed of secretarial authority, I am, if I may so 
 express myself, a general almost without an army — when I entered 
 the office I found, of course, the clerks regarding the senior 
 secretary as having the first if not the only claim on their services ; 
 and without desiring for a moment to reflect on them or on any one 
 else, I become every day more convinced that without harmonious 
 views, a joint jurisdiction, even supposing equahty to be fully and 
 
462 APPENDIX H. 
 
 practically admitted, is utterly incompatible with the requirements 
 of the office. 
 
 Looking then back upon the events of the six years during which 
 my promised promotion has been delayed, I feel bound to state 
 that if in December, 1846, I could have foreseen what has occurred 
 I could not have accepted the offer then made, nor do I believe 
 that, under like circumstances, my friends would have advised me 
 to the step. 
 
 That much has been done is, of course, not to be denied by 
 me ; but it has been accomplished amidst sore trials, and with 
 risks to health which my duty to my family would not have allowed 
 me to incur. 
 
 Let me then stand acquitted before your Lordship and the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer of either impatience or presumption, 
 when I urge in the strongest manner, consistent with the respect 
 which I owe to my superiors, my claim to the prompt fulfilment 
 of the understanding on which alone I consented to take my seat 
 at the Post Office. 
 
 As every statement like that which I am called upon by your 
 Lordship to make is, of necessity, tinctured with egotism, I gladly 
 quit that part of the task which relates to my own personal interests, 
 and proceed to show that the change which I claim is equally 
 demanded by the public service. 
 
 In 1847 I was directed by the Postmaster-General to report on 
 the state of the Money Order Office, which resulted in my recom- 
 mending several large retrenchments and other improvements, 
 which were adopted by his Lordship and the Treasury, but which 
 Colonel Maberly declined to take the responsibility of carrying 
 into effect; in consequence of which the secretarial authority of 
 that Department was consigned to me alone. 
 
 By a report of Mr. Earth, the head of the Department, which 
 I called for soon afterwards, it appears that the accounts were 
 then so deeply in arrear that great doubt was entertained whether 
 they ever could be made complete, and the expense of their 
 completion, supposing it to be possible, was estimated at ;^i 0,000. 
 No general balance had ever been struck since the institution 
 of the Department in 1839, and the liabilities were of unknown 
 amount. 
 
 To avoid the great expense of bringing up the arrears, and to 
 insure the extinction of unknown liabilities, it was found necessary 
 to obtain an Act of Parliament calling in the outstanding Money 
 Orders. Concurrent efforts were made to bring up the more recent 
 
APPENDIX H. 463 
 
 arrears, and to prevent the possibility of new ones arising. And 
 eventually the liabilities of the department were ascertained, and 
 a general balance was struck, which has since been repeated 
 quarterly. 
 
 On a full investigation of the accounts I found that the 
 Department was not only, as I had anticipated, unprofitable, but 
 involved an annual loss of no less than ;!ri 0,000. 
 
 I, however, found it practicable to introduce, by successive 
 improvements, such simplification in the arrangements as, with 
 increased convenience to the public, and increased accuracy in 
 the accounts, with better pay and more relaxation to the clerks, 
 to convert this loss into a gain, which amounted for the year 
 1850 to ^^3,236, and which, under my brother, Mr. Frederic Hill, 
 who has subsequently carried on the Departm.ent in the same spirit 
 of improvement, amounted last year to ;£ii,664, making an 
 effective saving within five years of upwards of ;£"2 1,000 per 
 annum. 
 
 As regards the Post Office generally, the amount of saving which 
 may still be effected is a matter of so much uncertainty, that I 
 hesitate to offer any estimate. I can only say that it may be 
 assumed, as I think it may, that every Department of the service 
 can be gradually improved to the same extent as the Money Order 
 Office (the only one which has been confided entirely to my care), 
 it follows that in the course of a few years, not only may the 
 public be better served, and the men, if necessary, better paid, 
 but savings may be effected to an extent of about ^f 200,000 a 
 year, in addition to the saving of ^^100,000 a year, which, if re- 
 quired, I should be prepared to show has already been made. 
 
 But of late a new motive has arisen for the proposed change. 
 The augmentation of letters is not only in constant progress, but has 
 for some time moved forward with increasing celerity. Without 
 some change, no doubt is entertained in the office, that the present 
 building will soon be not only too small for the transaction of the 
 business, but so much too small, as that no increase of its limits 
 by practicable additions will answer the requirements of the service ; 
 and consequently that a most expensive outlay — probably not less 
 than half a milUon — will be required for a new Post Office. 
 
 If placed, however, in the position contemplated, I shall be 
 enabled, as I confidently expect, to make, under your Lordship's 
 sanction, such improvements as will avert this impending necessity 
 for years, if not remove it altogether. 
 
 The result of my experiments in the Money Order Office has 
 
464 APPENDIX H. 
 
 been to show the great power which the simpHfication of arrange- 
 ments has in lessening the quantity of labour, and, as a consequence, 
 the quantity of space required for its performance. 
 
 When, five years ago, I took the secretarial control of the Money 
 Order department, the building appropriated thereto was fully occu- 
 pied, and negotiations were in progress for purchasing land to 
 extend the accommodations. At present, notwithstanding an in- 
 crease of business to the amount of one-third, there is such ample 
 room that no extension is likely to be required for many years to 
 come. 
 
 My knowledge of the other departments of the Post Office 
 enables me to state, with some confidence, my opinion, that similar 
 improvements may be extended to those also, and with the like 
 beneficial results. At the present time, a postponement of building, 
 though but for a few years, is of great importance. Several projects 
 for bringing railways into the heart of the metropolis, so as to make 
 them available for mere local transit, are on foot. And from some 
 years' experience, first as a director and afterwards as chairman, 
 of the Brighton Railway Company, I feel justified in predicting 
 that in some shape or other, some such project will be realized : 
 I also foresee that such change must produce results in which 
 both the Post Office authorities and the proprietors of the railways 
 will have a common interest, and from overtures which have been 
 made to the Department by some of the projectors, I think it 
 highly probable, that whatever changes in the Post Office may be 
 thereby rendered necessary or desirable, will not have to be made 
 altogether, perhaps not mainly, at the cost of Government. 
 
 But however this may be, it can scarcely be doubted that the 
 effect of such railways must be to reduce the value of any outlay 
 made irrespective of this disturbance in the present system of 
 Metropolitan communication, since it is hardly possible that any 
 buildings that might now be put up would be found adapted, either 
 in position or arrangement, to the altered state of things. 
 
 Having now concluded the financial part of the subject, I beg 
 your Lordship's attention to the new sources of anxiety which have 
 been opened, and to the possibility of allaying that anxiety by 
 substituting a unity of executive power for its present divided 
 state. 
 
 The vast increase which has taken place of late years in the 
 facilities for locomotion and the conveyance of merchandise, has led 
 to a wide-spread desire — I might almost say a clamorous demand — 
 for further facilities in the transmission of letters. On some points 
 
APPENDIX H. 465 
 
 this is the result of ignorance as to what is practicable or even 
 possible, while on others it relates to changes which I have long 
 had in view, but which, under present impediments, I cannot 
 undertake. 
 
 The experience of the last thirteen years has satisfied me, that 
 if our Post Office is to retain its present position, and to remain 
 the model for those of other nations, and still more if it is to attain 
 that high perfection to which your Lordship's enlightened and 
 vigorous administration seems to open the way, we must not only 
 continue in the course of improvement, but increase our speed. 
 I do not allude to reduction of rates ; but to what, in the present 
 cheapness of postage, the public mind is much more intent upon, 
 viz., frequency, celerity, and exact regularity in transmission and 
 delivery. Inconveniences which, while the whole system of com- 
 mercial intercourse was characterised by dearness, infrequency, and 
 slowness, attracted but little attention, now rise to importance in 
 the eyes of the sufferer by the effect of comparison, and remedy 
 is demanded with a promptitude quite unheard of in former times, 
 and which is unattainable without energetic and cordial co-operation 
 in the higher departments of the executive, and ready obedience 
 and zealous activity in all the subordinates. 
 
 Having wTitten thus far, and having also carefully considered 
 every statement and every remark I have made, I feel it my duty 
 to say, that after all the deliberation required by so grave a question, 
 I have arrived at the settled conviction that the existing state of 
 things cannot continue ; and I therefore respectfully request that, 
 in considering the present application, such continuance may not 
 be regarded as a possible alternative. 
 
 I am sure your Lordship will believe me incapable of dealing 
 lightly with that connection with the Post Office on which I set 
 so great and just a value. To devise and bring into operation, so 
 far as it has been effected, my system of Penny Postage, has been 
 the cherished object of the best years of my life, interest in its 
 progress, whether I am an instrument or not in promoting it, will 
 ever retain the firmest hold on my mind, and would suffice to keep 
 me in any course, but one which I feel to be inconsistent alike with 
 my private and my public duty.* 
 
 * * * ■)«• * ♦ 
 
 The Right Hon. Viscount CAxXNING, &c., Sec, Sec. 
 
 * Before sending this letter Sir R. Hill read it to his eldest brother. "I 
 remember," says one who was present at the time, "Mr. M. D. Hill saying, 
 ' Mind, Rowland, if you send this, and if they do not do what you ask, you must 
 resign.' Sir Rowland answered, * I know that, and I am ready to resign.' " — Ed. 
 
 VOL. n. H H 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 [See p. 238.] 
 
 Memorandum by Sir Rowland Hill on the Net Revenue of the 
 
 Post Office. 
 
 Much difference of opinion has arisen as to the amount of net 
 revenue or profit of the Post Office department, i.e.^ the excess of 
 receipt above expenditure ; some estimating it at upwards of 
 ^jTi, 500,000 per annum, others affirming that it is really less than 
 ;^4oo,ooo. 
 
 This difference of opinion appears to arise from different views 
 being entertained on the two following points : — 
 
 1. As to whether certain items should be included in the receipt 
 
 2. As to whether certain other items should be included in the 
 expenditure. 
 
 I may premise, that the subject of net revenue has to be viewed 
 in two aspects. First, as to its absolute amount, and, secondly, as 
 to its comparative amount when contrasted with the net revenue 
 obtained before the establishment of Penny Postage. I propose, 
 therefore, to consider the question from both points of view. 
 
 First. — As to the absolute amount of net revenue. 
 
 Under the head of receipt^ the items regarding which there is a 
 difference of opinion are : — 
 
 (a.) The postage of the Government correspondence. 
 
 {b^ The proceeds of the impressed stamps on newspapers. 
 
 {a.) The postage of the Government correspondence is included 
 in the ordinary amount of gross receipt, but it is contended by some 
 that it ought to be excluded. 
 
APPENDIX I. 467 
 
 The amount of Government postage is, on 
 
 the average, about .... ;^i 50,000 per annum." 
 Of which that of the Post Office itself is 
 
 about ...... 40,000 „ 
 
 Leaving for the other Departments about ^110,000 
 
 j> 
 
 The postage of the Post Office itself cannot affect the Net 
 Revenue, seeing that it is included in the expenditure as well as 
 in the gross receipt. It may, therefore, be left out of consideration. 
 
 As regards the correspondence of the other Government depart- 
 ments, if it were right to deduct the postage of it from the revenue 
 of the Post Office, it is obvious that it would also be right to deduct 
 the cost of its conveyance and delivery from the expenditure of the 
 Post Office. The net revenue would therefore be reduced, not by 
 the full sum of ;^i 10,000 above mentioned, but by that amount less 
 the cost of conveyance and delivery ; in other words, by the profit 
 the Post Office obtains on the official correspondence. It is to be 
 borne in mind, however, that official postage is, in nearly all cases, 
 charged by weighing the letters not individually, but in the gross ; a 
 mode of procedure which, if applied to private correspondence, 
 would reduce the rate of charge for such correspondence by about 
 one-half; and although, owing to the greater average weight of 
 official letters, the reduction of charge is not so great as one-half, 
 it may be doubted whether the remaining charge be sufficient to 
 leave any profit to the Post Office, so that, whether the amount 
 received and the cost incurred for the conveyance and delivery of 
 official correspondence be, or be not, included in the calculation, the 
 net revenue of the Post Office could be but very slightly affected. 
 It may be added that the postage charged against the various 
 Government departments is actually paid into the coffers of the 
 Post Office, and is not merely a statistical record. 
 
 {b.) The proceeds of the impressed stamp on newspapers is an 
 item regarding which the claim of the Post Office to include it in the 
 receipts is sufficiently established by reference to the fact that, 
 though this part of the revenue is collected by another department, 
 the sole purpose for which the stamp is now resorted to is to obtain 
 for the newspaper the advantage of postal transmission. At the 
 same time, it may be added, that the proceeds in question, amounting 
 for the year 1861, to ;£ 134,571,! are by no means a remuneration 
 
 * "Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p. 31. 
 t '* Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p. 20. 
 
 H II 2 
 
468 APPENDIX I. 
 
 for the service performed. Divided by the number of such news- 
 papers conveyed (viz., about 41 millions,"^ this amount gives only 
 four-fifths of a penny per paper ; so that, as newspapers weigh on 
 the average 2)^ ozs. each,t the rate of charge for a newspaper is 
 less than one-seventh of that for a letter of the same weight. 
 
 An argument in favour of the sufficiency, and even more than 
 sufficiency, of the postage on newspapers to defray their postal 
 expense, has been drawn from the fact that the railway companies 
 actually convey them at a lower rate. But two important circum- 
 stances have to be borne in mind, ist, that railway companies, 
 instead of delivering the newspapers individually, merely hand them 
 in bulk to the newspaper agents ; and 2ndly, that the companies 
 make little or no provision for conveyance to villages and hamlets, 
 thus performing only the least expensive portion of the service, and 
 leaving the more costly work to the Post Office. 
 
 After what has been said, it must be obvious, that even when 
 newspapers are prepaid with a postage stamp (the charge being 
 thereby raised to a penny for each transmission!), the payment is too 
 low to be remunerative. Moreover, the privilege accorded to news 
 papers indirectly forces another loss on the department, since the 
 difficulty of discriminating between newspapers and other printed 
 matter has, in fact, compelled a reduction of the book postage to the 
 same rate. So that, whereas formerly no book-parcel was carried for 
 less than sixpence, the charge on light book-parcels is now as low as 
 a penny. Instead, therefore, of any part of the receipts from news- 
 papers being withheld from the Post Office, as it is alleged ought to 
 be done, an equitable adjustment would have the effect of placing to 
 the credit of the department something additional for the unprofitable 
 service thus thrown upon it. 
 
 Under the head of expenditure^ the only material item regarding 
 which a difference of view prevails, is the expense of the packet 
 
 * The number of free newspapers delivered in the United Kingdom, in 1861, 
 was about 45,700,000. — Vide "Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p. 28. — 
 But of these about 4^ millions were newspapers from abroad. 
 
 t "Seventh Report of Postmaster-General," p. 12. 
 
 X It is true that some few newspapers exceed the limit of weight (4 ozs.) which 
 is carried for one penny, and they are therefore charged higher rates ; but, on the 
 other hand, two or more of the lighter newspapers — the aggregate weight of 
 which does not exceed the 4 ozs. — are frequently sent under the same cover, and 
 only one penny is charged on the packet. The average postage of each news- 
 paper, when prepaid with the postage stamp, will therefore, in all probability, 
 not exceed one penny per transmission. 
 
APPENDIX I. 469 
 
 service, which expense, it is maintained by some, should be charged 
 to the Post Office. 
 
 The claim that the Post Office should be charged with the whole 
 expense must be considered as barred by the simple fact, that few of 
 the mail-packets were established either by the Post Office, or for 
 merely postal purposes, their expense being far beyond what such 
 requirements could justify. "To assume that those packets were 
 really established for Post Office purposes is to charge the Govern- 
 ment with the most absurd extravagance. The West India packets, 
 for instance, were established at a cost of ;£"24o,ooo per annum, 
 though the utmost return that was expected from letters was 
 ^40,000, leaving the ;^2oo,ooo a clear deficit. 
 
 " Nor is this comparative uselessness for Post Office purposes 
 confined to the packets to remote places ; the great cost, even of the 
 home packets, results from causes independent of the Post Office."* 
 
 Indeed, as was stated in the House of Lords by Lord Monteagle, 
 who, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, arranged the first contracts 
 for the mail steamers, "the expense of the packet service, which 
 was said to swallow up the whole of the revenue now derived from 
 the Post Office, had no more to do with the Penny Postage than the 
 expense of the war in Afghanistan or China. It was as distinct 
 from the Post Office as the expense of the army or navy. The great 
 packet communication between Great Britain and the British North 
 American Colonies was undertaken upon much higher principles 
 than any connected with mere consideration of revenue. It was 
 felt by the Government of Lord Melbourne that it was not wise to 
 allow the only rapid mode of communication between the British 
 possessions in North America and the mother country to be de- 
 pendent upon the means afforded by the United States. Means 
 were accordingly taken to establish a line of communication of our 
 own. He admitted that this was not done, except at a very heavy 
 expense ; but it was not right to place that expense to the account of 
 the Post Office."! 
 
 Still, it is obvious that, as these packets do postal work, some 
 portion of their expense ought to be charged to the Post Office, and 
 the question of amount \% what has really to be determined. 
 
 Upon this question it is necessary to explain that, upon a sug- 
 gestion from the Treasury, viz., that the amount should be " measured 
 
 * " Report of Select Committee on Postage (1843)," ^^''- ^' Hill's evidence, 
 p. 46. 
 
 t "Hansard" — Debate in Lords, June 21, 1S42. 
 
470 APPENDIX I. 
 
 in each case by the amount of ocean postage received,""^ the following 
 is the rule observed : — 
 
 Whenever the amount of ocean postage is below the cost of the 
 line of packets by which the service is performed, the Post Office 
 debits itself, for packet service, with a charge just equal to the ocean 
 postage received. In the only two lines of packets (viz., those 
 between England and France, and England and Belgium), in which 
 the ocean postage exceeds the cost, the department debits itself with 
 the whole expense of the packet service. 
 
 Whatever may be thought of this arrangement, it will scarcely be 
 maintained that it is too favourable to the Post Office, which, save in 
 respect of the two packet services just mentioned (which now jointly 
 yield a surplus of about ^^56,000 per annum), is debited with an 
 amount equal to its whole receipts (viz., ;£"47o,ooo), without even 
 any allowance for the expense it incurs in that portion of the 
 packet administration which is necessarily carried on within the 
 department. 
 
 The Eighth Annual Report of the Postmaster-General f contains an 
 estimate of the net revenue of the Post Office for the year 186 1, 
 prepared on the principles laid down in the foregoing remarks, but 
 including some less important adjustments shown in the document 
 itself. 
 
 The net revenue thus determined is ^1,161,985, the whole, save 
 the ;£^56,ooo mentioned above, and about ;£"3o,ooo derived from 
 money-order transactions, being the produce of inland postage, which 
 thus yields a net revenue of about ;^i,o76,ooo. 
 
 Second. I now proceed to consider the question of net revenue 
 as to its co7Tiparative amount, when contrasted with the net revenue 
 obtained before the establishment of Penny Postage, the object being 
 to ascertain the loss consequent on the reduction of the rate. When 
 proposing Penny Postage, I estimated this loss (under different cir- 
 cumstances, however,) at about ;^3oo,ooo, | 
 
 The amount of net revenue in the year 1838, the last year 
 throughout which the old rates were maintained, was, according to 
 the mode of account then in use, ;£i,659,5io.§ For the purpose of 
 comparison, it is obvious that a similar mode of account must be 
 applied to the present state of things. 
 
 Bearing this in mind, we have now once more to consider the two 
 
 * Letter to Postmaster-General, lotli January, i860. f Pp. 20-22. 
 
 X " Second Report of Select Committee on Postage (1843)," question 11,070. 
 
 § "Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p. 31. 
 
APPENDIX I. 471 
 
 points affecting receipt, viz., the postage of the Government corre- 
 spondence, and the proceeds of the impressed stamps on newspapers, 
 and the one point affecting expenditure, viz., the expense of the 
 packet service. 
 
 As regards the Government correspondence. 
 
 It is alleged that, under the old system, this was carried free. 
 Now the fact is, that under that system the departments of probably 
 the largest correspondence, viz., the Customs, the Excise, and the 
 Stamps and Taxes, paid the postage of all their letters, while some 
 other departments, though less strictly dealt with, paid at least for 
 their foreign correspondence. The aggregate of such payments 
 amounted, on the average, to about ;£45,ooo per annum. ■*" 
 
 Now, seeing that, since the adoption of Penny Postage, the non- 
 official correspondence has increased nearly eight-fold, it may well be 
 doubted whether, had the old system continued, the official corre- 
 spondence would not have so increased as to raise the expenditure 
 from ;£"45,ooo per annum to at least equality with the ;^i 10,000, 
 the present average.! 
 
 As regards Newspapers. 
 
 As, under the old system, the proceeds of the impressed stamp 
 did not enter into the accounts of the Post Office, so, for the pur- 
 pose of comparison, they must be excluded now ; the only question, 
 therefore, is, whether the Post Office should now be credited with 
 the revenue derived from the adhesive stamp as applied to news- 
 papers. This claim has "been contested on the ground that, as under 
 the old system newspapers were carried free, so the same service 
 should be reckoned as performed now on the same terms ; and it has 
 been naturally supposed that the effect of recent changes has been to 
 reduce the number of newspapers transmitted under the impressed 
 stamp, the decrease being counterbalanced by the use of the adhe- 
 sive stamp for which, therefore, in the comparison, no claim should 
 be made. 
 
 Now, the fact is that, notwithstanding the option now gi\en, the 
 
 * "Eighth Report of Postmaster-General," p, 31. 
 
 t The ;(C45,ooo and ;[^i 10,000 charged for Government postage (exclusive of 
 that of the Post Office itself) for the year 1838 and the present time, do not show 
 the whole amounts received, the charges on the official foreign correspondence 
 being omitted from the first amount, and that for the official bye and cross post 
 letters from both. In the " Second Report of the Select Committee on Postage " 
 (Appendix, p. 115) is a table showing with greater accuracy the amounts received 
 for postage on the official inland correspondence for each year from 1833 to 1S37. 
 The amounts given above, however, will suffice for comparison. 
 
472 APPENDIX I. 
 
 number of newspapers freed by the impressed stamp at the present 
 time is not only as great as the number so conveyed in 1838, but is 
 even somewhat larger ; whilst a considerable increase has also taken 
 place in the weight and bulk of the individual papers ; so that the 
 amount of gratuitous service, instead of being diminished, has been 
 largely increased, and consequently, the sum derived from the adhe- 
 sive stamp is, to say the least, a mere payment for additional duty. 
 
 Again, it is a mistake to suppose that, under the old system, the 
 conveyance of newspapers was altogether free. In fact, there were 
 numerous and important exceptions, since the impressed stamp, to 
 which all newspapers were then subjected, freed the paper only when 
 transmitted from one post-town to another; moreover, in nearly 
 every town there were extensive districts beyond the free-delivery, in 
 which not only letters, but newspapers, were subjected to an ad- 
 ditional charge. From this charge both are now relieved. Again, 
 in addition to the towns that were then post-towns, there are at 
 present more than 10,000 places having sub-offices. Before the 
 introduction of Penny Postage, a newspaper transmitted by post 
 between a post-town and, with few exceptions, any of the 10,000 
 places which have now sub-offices, was subjected to a charge of at 
 least one penny ; and when transmitted between any two of the 
 above 10,000 places, with but few exceptions, to a charge of at 
 least twopence. 
 
 At present a newspaper, even without the impressed stamp, if 
 posted at any one of the 11,400 places at which head or sub-offices 
 are now established, provided only that it does not exceed 4 ozs. in 
 weight, is delivered at any other for a single penny. 
 
 No doubt, the number of newspapers directly charged with 
 postage is larger now than under the old system ; but as the charge 
 is far from being remunerative, this is anything but a gain to the 
 department. 
 
 As regards the expense of the Packet Service. 
 
 For the year 1838, the last year, as has been said, throughout 
 which the old rates were maintained, the Post Office accounts, 
 excepting a trifling amount of arrears, contain no charge for packet 
 service, that service having been transferred from the Post Office to 
 the Admiralty, partly in 1823, and the remainder in 1837,"^ so that, 
 for the purpose of comparison, such charge must of course be 
 excluded from the present account. 
 
 In the Postmaster-General's Report for 1861 is a table (p. 31) 
 
 * " Report of Select Committee of Lords (1847)," question 352. 
 
APPENDIX I. 473 
 
 prepared with a view to a comparison such as that now under con- 
 sideration. It is proper to state, however, that a certain change of 
 circumstances has led to a corresponding change in the mode of 
 presenting the account. Formerly, when the year's disbursements 
 were almost identical with its liabilities, their unmodified appearance 
 in the account was sufficient for practical purposes ; but, of late 
 years, when, owing to unavoidable irregularities in the large pay- 
 ments made to railway companies, the disbursements and liabilities 
 have often been largely at variance, the latter have been presented in 
 the account in preference to the former, as obviously affording better 
 means for determining the net revenue of the year. 
 
 The amount arrived at by this mode of proceeding is ^1,525,311, 
 or ;^i34,i99 less than the net revenue of 1838. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be objected to the above comparison, that the 
 revenue derived from the packets is greater now than heretofore, and 
 that equity requires a corresponding adjustment of the account. 
 There can be no doubt that the revenue in question has considerably 
 mcreased, although such increase is not wholly attributable to the 
 improvements in the packet service. If, however, the adjustment . 
 thus called for should be made, equity would require corresponding 
 adjustments on other points. Thus, allowance would have to be 
 made, ist, for a considerable amount of net revenue formerly 
 accruing from various colonial post offices, as, for instance, those 
 of British North America and the West Indies, which have recently 
 been made independent. 2nd, for the great increase in the expense 
 of conveying the mails, which increase, contrary to all that might 
 have been expected, has arisen from the establishment and extension 
 of the railway system. And, 3rd, for the additional expenditure 
 caused by a general increase of salary and by a reduction of indi- 
 vidual labour, both made to remedy admitted evils under the old 
 system. It would, indeed, be very difficult, if not wholly imprac- 
 ticable, now to ascertain the result of all these adjustments; but it 
 may safely be maintained that it would leave the account at least as 
 favourable to the Post Office as at present. 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 December 18, 1862. 
 
APPENDIX J. 
 
 [ See p. 279.] 
 
 Conveyance of Mails by Railway. Memorandum thereo7i. 
 
 As doubts appear to exist as to the expediency of proceeding with 
 the proposed Raihvay Bill, at least in the present comprehensive 
 form, I have been induced to consider whether the object in view 
 may not be attained by other means ; and I am inclined to think 
 that this may be done not only without the opposition, but even 
 with the cordial co-operation of the railway companies ; and that, 
 concurrent with this, an important saving of revenue may be effected. 
 The means which I would suggest are that the Exchequer Loan 
 Commissioners be authorised and required to advance loans, within 
 certain limits, to such railway companies as can give ample security, 
 on the following conditions : — • 
 
 I St. The amount of loan in each case to be proportionate to the 
 postal service performed by the company. If thought 
 necessary it might also be limited to a certain per- 
 centage on the sum which the company is legally 
 empowered to borrow. 
 2nd. The rate of interest to be the market rate at the time as 
 determined by the terms on which the Government may 
 actually raise the necessary loan. At the present time this 
 would probably be about three and a quarter per cent. 
 3rd. The company to engage to carry the mails according to a fixed 
 tariff of rates to be framed beforehand by the Post Office. 
 Such tariff to include all possible varieties of service, 
 whether by trains " under notice," or otherwise ; and the 
 rates to be calculated so as, under ordinary circumstances, 
 to afford the companies a small profit. 
 4th. All the existing powers of the Postmaster-General to be 
 maintained, and some additional powers to be secured, 
 e.g.^ the right to demand trains exclusively devoted to the 
 
APPENDIX J. 
 
 475 
 
 mail service. The right to levy certain fines for irregularity 
 
 on condition of paying certain premiums for punctuality. 
 
 The right to erect the apparatus for the exchange of bags. 
 5th. The engagement to be for three years certain, terminable 
 
 afterwards by either party on twelve months' notice. 
 The following table exhibits the amount of debentures issued by 
 the several companies enumerated, and the average rates of interest 
 on such debentures, as shown by the last published accounts.* It 
 also exhibits the sum which each company would save if the whole 
 of their loans were raised at three and a quarter per cent, and the 
 amount, according to the latest award, payable by the Post Office 
 for postal service. A comparison of the two last items shows that if 
 the Government advanced the whole of the loans, the companies in 
 question would be considerable gainers, even though they carried the 
 mails for nothing. Such an arrangement, however, is not contem- 
 plated, and the comparison is made merely with a view of showing 
 the capabilities of the plan. 
 
 The companies have been selected, not wdth a view of exhibiting 
 the results in a favourable light, but simply because they have a 
 large postal service. 
 
 Railway Company. 
 
 Total amount 
 
 of Debenture 
 
 Loans. 
 
 Average 
 
 rate of 
 
 Interest. 
 
 Saving of the 
 Companies 
 
 .by , 
 
 paying only 
 3i per cent. 
 
 Amount annually 
 payable by the 
 Post Office for 
 Conveyance of 
 the Mails under 
 the latest awards 
 or agreements. 
 
 Caledonian 
 
 2,262,426 
 
 Per Cent. 
 4-5 
 
 28,280 
 
 23,710 
 
 Great Western 
 
 10,083,710 
 
 4-57 
 
 133,104 
 
 18,252 
 
 London and North- ) 
 Western ) 
 
 10,975,589 
 
 4-3 
 
 115,243 
 
 56,500 
 
 London and South- \ 
 Western \ 
 
 2,400,416 
 
 4-31 
 
 25,444 
 
 14,780 
 
 Ivlidland 
 
 4,151,556 
 
 4-28 
 
 42,761 
 
 23,412 
 
 North-Eastern 
 
 6,833,642 
 
 4'36 
 
 75,853 
 
 34,380 
 
 South-Eastern 
 
 2,709,468 
 
 4-61 
 
 36,848 
 
 14,624 
 
 The annual payments for the railway postal service amount to 
 about ;^4oo,ooo. The general adoption of the above plan would 
 
 * " Railway Intelligence for the Period," ending 31st December, 1856. Pub- 
 lished " under the Sanction of the Committee of the Stock Exchange." 
 
47^ APPENDIX J. 
 
 (the service remaining the same) reduce this amount probably to 
 about p^ 1 5 0,000. To obtain the concurrence of the companies it 
 would be necessary, probably, for the Government to advance 
 gradually, as the existing bonds fall due, about ;!^3o,ooo,ooo in the 
 aggregate, or rather less than two-fifths of the present amount of 
 railway debentures. This advance, taking the saving of the com- 
 panies at only one per cent, on the average, would reduce their 
 expenses by ;^3oo,ooo. And as their receipts from the Post Office 
 would be reduced, say by ;£"25o,ooo, the balance would give a direct 
 gain to the companies of ;^5o,ooo per annum. But I am assured 
 by gentlemen well informed on the subject, that the companies would 
 also be benefited indirectly as regards the terms on which they 
 would be enabled to raise the remainder of their loans. 
 
 The question naturally arises, why, seeing that a larger advance 
 (say of ;£"45, 000,000 instead of ;^3o,ooo,ooo) would probably 
 suffice to relieve the Post Office of all payments for railway service, 
 I have not proposed the larger amount ? The reason is that I have 
 not felt justified in asking Government to do more than is necessary 
 to supply the defects of early legislation, by placing the Post Office 
 in a position similar to that in which it would probably have stood, 
 had its interests (and through it those of the public) received due 
 attention from the legislature when railways were first established. 
 It is unnecessary to add that, should Government feel disposed to 
 extend the advances to railways beyond the limit I have proposed, 
 the saving which would result from such extension might go to the 
 further relief of the Post Office, or be carried direct to the credit of 
 the general revenue of the state, as Government might determine. 
 In arriving at this conclusion, I have not overlooked the importance 
 of neutralising the unwillingness sometimes manifested by the com- 
 panies now under agreement with the Post Office to afford additional 
 service without additional pay. Against this inconvenience I con- 
 sider the Post Office may be tolerably well secured by making the 
 agreement terminable by the Government, without notice, in the 
 event of the conditions not being fully performed by the company. 
 
 I may add that advances, such as those now suggested (except 
 that they were unfortunately unaccompanied by any stipulations as 
 to the postal service), have already been made to several of the 
 Irish railway companies. 
 
 Should the above plan be adopted by Government, I have little 
 doubt that almost every railway company would speedily avail itself 
 of the advantages it affords ; and, if so, while both parties would be 
 saved the trouble, expense, delay, and uncertainty of arbitrations, 
 
APPENDIX J. 477 
 
 the Postmaster-General would be enabled, more effectually even 
 than by the proposed bill, to grant many important postal facilities 
 earnestly desired by the public, which he is now obliged to withhold, 
 a most acceptable boon would be conferred on the railway com- 
 panies, and a large saving — estimated above at ;^25o,ooo a year — 
 would be effected in the Post Office expenditure. 
 
 R. H. 
 6th January, 1857. 
 
APPENDIX K 
 
 [See p. 291.] 
 
 Mi?ude relative to Panama Route to Australia. 
 The Postmaster-General. 
 
 1. In my minute of the 15th instant, on the subject of the 
 Treasury Minute of the nth (referred to your Lordship for report), 
 I recommended that the consideration of that part of the Treasury 
 Minute which relates to an additional postal service to Australia, by 
 way of Panama, should be postponed, in order to admit of the 
 immediate call for tenders for the continuance of the service by way 
 of Suez. 
 
 2. Your Tordship and the Treasury having been pleased to adopt 
 this recommendation, and the advertisements for tenders for the 
 latter service having been issued, I now beg to submit my views on 
 the proposed additional monthly service by way of Panama. 
 
 3. The question is divisible under two heads — 
 
 I St. Whether it is necessary that the postal communication 
 with Australia should be more frequent than at present, viz., 
 once a month ? and 
 
 2nd. If so, is the Panama route the best for the additional 
 mails ? 
 
 4. As regards the first of these questions, I need not remind your 
 Lordship that the sea postage of all the correspondence with the 
 Austrahan colonies, including New Zealand, falls very far short of 
 the cost of even a single line of packets. Such cost under the late 
 contract having been ;zf 185,000 a year, while the total sea postage 
 cannot be estimated at more than about ;z{^5o,ooo a year. 
 
 5. Having regard to the enormous additional loss which would 
 result from the establishment of a second line of packets, and 
 bearing in mind that the dissatisfaction so strongly felt, both here 
 and in Australia, is not as to the infrequency of communication so 
 much as to its irregularity, I am of opinion that the wishes of the 
 
APPENDIX K. 479 
 
 public, whether at home or in the colonies, would be more effec- 
 tually met by doing all that is practicable to improve the existing 
 monthly service than by doubling the frequency of communi- 
 cation. 
 
 6. As regards the second question, viz., as to the best route for 
 the additional Hne of packets (should Government decide to establish 
 one), the points for consideration appear to be mainly as to the ports 
 to which the distances shall be reckoned, and the comparative length 
 of route. 
 
 7. The advocates of the Panama route generally select Sydney as 
 the right port ; but this is manifestly unfair, inasmuch as, while by 
 the Panama route it is the nearest of the continental Australian 
 ports, by the Suez route it is the most distant. Neither can this 
 port claim preference by amount of correspondence, since the 
 enclosed statement of the correspondence between this country and 
 the several Australian colonies, including New Zealand, shows that 
 that of New South Wales is only 23 per cent, of the whole, while 
 that of Victoria is as much as 58 per cent. The latter colony is also 
 centrally situated, having Tasmania on the south, South Australia 
 and Western Australia on the west, and New South Wales and New 
 Zealand on the east. It is clear, therefore, that Melbourne is the 
 port to which the distances should be reckoned. 
 
 8. It will, of course, be for the Admiralty to state exactly the 
 comparative lengths of the two routes ; but, from the best infor- 
 mation I have been able to obtain, it appears that the distance to 
 Melbourne is less by way of Gibraltar and Suez than by way of 
 Panama, to the extent of about 1,500 nautical miles, making a 
 difference, according to the average speed of the packets, of at least 
 six days in favour of the Suez route. 
 
 9. Though the contrary has often been assumed, even Sydney is 
 nearer by the Suez route than by the Panama route, and that to the 
 extent of about 300 nautical miles ; so that the only colony which 
 would be brought nearer by the adoption of the Panama route is 
 New Zealand, whose correspondence, however, amounts to only six 
 per cent, of the whole. 
 
 10. The comparative absence of storms in the Pacific may, to 
 some extent, counterbalance greater distance, but not, I presume, so 
 far as to leave any doubt that the communication via Suez will remain 
 the quickest — to Melbourne at least. This, however, is a point on 
 which, no doubt, the Admiralty will report. 
 
 11. But, by the foregoing statement, the superiority of the Suez 
 route is by no means fully shown, since, as respects the mails sent 
 
480 APPENDIX K. 
 
 through France, the time is further shortened by four days and 
 a-half :* while the Panama route admits of no such acceleration. 
 
 The real advantage, therefore, of the Suez route, when speed is 
 important, cannot be estimated, as regards Melbourne, at less than 
 ten days. And as the saving, via France, of course extends to all 
 the Australian colonies, it may be doubted whether even New 
 Zealand would be materially benefited by adopting the Panama 
 route. 
 
 12. Again, by a slight sacrifice of time (not more, probably, than 
 one or two days) the Suez route might be made to take in either Point 
 de Galle or the Mauritius ; thus in either case affording important 
 postal facilities, not only to the colony so included, but also to this 
 country and to the Australian colonies in their correspondence there- 
 with. The Panama route affords no similar facilities. 
 
 13. But the Suez route has also an important pecuniary advantage 
 over that by Panama. Our mails are conveyed across the Isthmus 
 of Suez by the Egyptian Government, for a fixed annual payment, 
 which amounts to not more than fourpence per pound weight ; 
 whereas the charge by the railway company for crossing the Isthmus 
 of Panama is elevenpence per pound, in addition to which we have 
 to pay the local government the exorbitant rate of one shilling an 
 ounce for letters for the mere privilege of passing through their 
 territory. These charges would add, say twopence, to the postage 
 of each newspaper, and sixpence to the postage of each half-ounce 
 letter. Or, should the quarter-ounce scale be applied, then three- 
 pence for each quarter-ounce letter, making a total charge of 
 ninepence ; so that there could be no cheap mail by this route, the 
 letters via Panama being all charged as highly as those sent through 
 France. 
 
 14. There is still another circumstance which should not be over- 
 looked in a comparison between the two routes — at both ends of the 
 Suez route the electric telegraph is being rapidly extended. It 
 already reaches from England to Malta; and, even if not yet 
 completed, is in rapid progress from Sydney via Melbourne to 
 Adelaide. Already, therefore, as regards the transmission of news, 
 the distance to and from Sydney by this route is reduced by one- 
 fourth ; and, supposing that at any future time the telegraph should 
 be extended on the one side to Point de Galle, and on the other to 
 King George's Sound (neither, perhaps, an improbable event), that 
 distance would be so greatly reduced that Sydney would be brought 
 (by telegraph) within fifteen days of Eondon. 
 
 * Now (1868) eYz days. 
 
APPENDIX K. 481 
 
 15. The Panama route, as yet, possesses no similar advantage; 
 and even if the difficulties of crossing the Atlantic be mastered, and 
 the telegraph extended to Panama, there will yet remain the whole 
 time occupied in crossing the Pacific — probably more than thirty 
 days. 
 
 16. These several considerations appear to be conclusive as to the 
 decided superiority of the route by Suez over that by Panama ; and 
 consequently, even if a monthly service be deemed insufficient, the 
 additional packets should be placed on the Suez route. 
 
 1 7. Should similar views be adopted in the Australian colonies — 
 as I expect they will when the facts of the case are understood — the 
 several governments, excepting that of New Zealand, and perhaps 
 that of New South Wales, will probably decline to provide their 
 share of the cost of any service which may be attempted by way of 
 Panama. It is very important, therefore, that, as indicated in the 
 Treasury Minute, the concurrence of the colonies should be ascer- 
 tained before any tender is finally accepted. 
 
 18. But if, as fairness seems to require, it be made a condition of 
 the tender that the total time from London to Melbourne, via 
 Panama, shall not exceed that which may be allowed via France and 
 Suez, then it may be doubted if any responsible parties will be found 
 to undertake the contract. 
 
 19. In another minute, when submitting a letter from the Treasury 
 on the subject of postal communication with British Columbia, I 
 propose to consider the question (raised in that letter) as to the best 
 mode of conducting the service on this side the Isthmus of Panama ; 
 but, as the effect on the Australian service would be much the same 
 whether one of the two monthly lines now existing be employed 
 (and that service is so direct that little would, I presume, be gained 
 by adopting another route), or whether a new and independent 
 service be established, I do not consider it necessary to trouble 
 your Lordship on this point at present. 
 
 20. Should your Lordship concur in these views, I would suggest 
 that a copy of this minute, accompanied by a letter from yourself, 
 expressive of such concurrence, be forwarded to the Treasury. 
 
 (Signed) R. H. 
 
 27th September, 1858. 
 
 Approved. 
 
 (Signed) C 
 
 29th September, 1858. 
 
 VOL. II. I I 
 
APPENDIX L. 
 
 [See p. 293.] 
 
 Letter to Lord Cannings Governor-General of Lndia. 
 
 October 24th, 1857. 
 
 Dear Lord Canning, — I hope it may do some little to relieve 
 your Lordship's anxiety to learn that Government has adopted a plan 
 of mine for giving to Calcutta and Madras four mails a month, to and 
 from England, instead of two. 
 
 The plan is fully described in the enclosed copy of a minute ; but, 
 to save you the trouble of reference, I beg to say that the principle 
 of the measure is as follows : — Leaving the Calcutta, Madras, and 
 China mails, whether via Southampton or Marseilles, unaltered, I 
 despatch the Bombay mail from hence, via Marseilles, about a week 
 (a quarter of a month) after the despatch of the Calcutta mail by 
 that route ; and arrange the despatch from Bombay of the return 
 mail, so that it may reach London, via Marseilles, also about a week 
 after the arrival of the Calcutta mail by that route. 
 
 Under this arrangement, the despatch across the peninsula, be- 
 tween Calcutta and Bombay, being fitted, in each direction, to the 
 Bombay line of packets, will afford to Calcutta two good mails, each 
 way, per month, via Bombay, in addition to the two per month she 
 now has by her own packets ; and, as to cross the peninsula requires 
 about a week, the arrivals, as well as the departures, will be at nearly 
 equal intervals, i.e.^ one per week, or rather quarter of a month. 
 
 Madras will enjoy a similar advantage. 
 
 Bombay will not benefit by the change (except by electric tele- 
 graph to and from Madras). On the contrary, she will be somewhat 
 injured in respect of her slow mails, which must be conveyed between 
 Southampton and Malta or Alexandria, by the Calcutta, or by the 
 Australian packets, whichever will serve best, there to await the 
 arrival of the Bombay packets ; but, as the payment of an additional 
 postage of threepence will not only avoid this delay, but will save 
 
APPENDIX L. 483 
 
 several days, as compared with the existing state of things, I attach 
 little importance to the objection. 
 
 As the plan involves comparatively little additional service, the 
 Peninsula and Oriental Company have undertaken it for a further 
 payment of ;^i 6,000 a year. I cannot, as yet, say when the change 
 will be made. 
 
 I beg your Lordship will not think of replying to this letter. If 
 the plan prove acceptable to you, a word to that effect from your 
 private secretary will be welcome, more especially if he can add that 
 your health, and that of Lady Canning, — to whom I beg to be most 
 respectfully remembered — have not greatly suffered from the terrible 
 anxieties to which you must have been exposed. 
 
 Under the trying circumstances to which I have alluded, I venture 
 to think that your Lordship will not consider it obtrusive if I assure 
 you that you have the earnest sympathy of every one at the Post 
 Office — of every one at least who had the honour of knowing you — • 
 a sympathy accompanied, however, by the most entire conviction 
 that under your able and energetic administration all that is possible 
 to restore order and to prevent future outbreak will be accomplished. 
 
 In our small way we have done our best to expedite the arrival of 
 the Indian mails. The last was conveyed from Paris to London, vicL 
 Boulogne and Folkestone, all circumstances being favourable, in 
 eight and a-half hours. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) Rowland Hill. 
 
 The Right Hon. 
 Viscount Canning 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 I I 2 
 
APPENDIX M. 
 
 [See p. 347.] 
 
 Proposed Reduction in the Postage on Newspapers and other 
 
 Printed Matter. 
 
 Of the importance of distributing our cheap and excellent 
 newspapers and other periodicals and serials over the whole face 
 of the country there can be but one opinion amongst enlightened 
 men. The aim of this memorandum is to show to what extent, 
 and by what means, this great end can be attained, without undue 
 sacrifice of other equally great interests. 
 
 With respect to the allegations made as to the cheaper conveyance 
 of such matter in other countries, it is important to remark that no 
 argument can be safely drawn from them, even when they are found 
 literally correct, without careful examination into all the appertaining 
 circumstances.* 
 
 • This caveat is abundantly justified by information published in the "Journal 
 of the Society of Arts" (October 28th, 1870), by which it appears that in North 
 Germany, one of the countries pointed to for our example, newspapers are 
 subject to a regular stamp duty, such as was formerly paid in England, but the 
 amount of which is not easily stated, since it depends upon the size of the paper 
 and other circumstances; and, further, that the compulsory stamp has not the 
 franking power it possessed here, so that the postage constitutes an additional 
 charge ; and it is with the sum of these two charges that our postage should in 
 fairness be compared. But the postage alone {\d. for rather less than i\ oz., 
 with a proportionate increase for greater weights) is higher than that which was 
 charged in this country on many papers of large circulation, e.g.^ the Times {•^'x'Cti 
 its supplement of four pages, or, under the impressed stamp, with its supplement 
 of eight pages), the Spectator, the Economist, and the Athenceum. While, besides 
 exemption from stamp duty, other important advantages were enjoyed by the 
 British, as compared with the North German, papers, e.g., under the adhesive 
 stamp, permission to write upon them anything except a letter, and, with the 
 like exception, to enclose with them either one or more additional newspapers, or 
 other printed or written matter, on paying book postage according to the total 
 
APPENDIX M. 485 
 
 And here it may be observed, that forty years ago our own 
 journals, though laden with heavy duties, viz., the stamp duty and 
 those on advertisements and paper, were constantly spoken of as 
 carried free. An anomaly the more remarkable because if addressed 
 anywhere beyond the narrow limits of what was termed the " free 
 delivery," every newspaper bore a postal charge. It scarcely need 
 be said that to the "freedom" of those earHer days, no one, least 
 of all the applicants in this case, would wish to return."* 
 
 It must, therefore, be inquired as respect the countries referred 
 to — 
 
 I St. Whether the postage be in addition to a stamp duty. 
 
 2nd. Whether the post office undertakes house-to-house delivery, 
 and that free of charge. 
 
 3rd. What are the restrictions as to weight, as to writing or other 
 marks, and as to time and place of posting. Whether, in short, the 
 cheap transmission be not made under regulations which would not 
 be tolerated here. 
 
 4th. Whether the governments concerned have not either the 
 free use of the railways for the conveyance of mails, or at least 
 their use on very much lower terms than are conceded here. 
 
 5 th. Whether lowness of postage on printed matter be not ob- 
 tained at the cost of high postage on letters. 
 
 6th. What in the countries referred to is the fiscal result of the 
 postal system ? whether, as here, the production of a large net 
 revenue (whose diminution would have to be made good by some 
 
 weight ; or again, under the impressed stamp, the power of repeated retrans- 
 mission. But, above all, the right to resort to other and cheaper means of con- 
 veyance, a right barred in North Germany by postal monopoly. In short, all 
 things considered, there can scarcely be a doubt, that even before the reductions 
 of 1870, our much depreciated newspaper arrangements were more favourable, 
 alike to publishers and the public, than those of North Germany, which are held 
 up as our example. Further, that the North German Post Office, instead of 
 having to pay, like the British Post Office, ;i^6oo,ooo a year for the railway 
 conveyance of its mails, has the use of all railways without subjecting itself to any 
 charge whatever, though its operations include parcels up to the individual weight 
 of twenty pounds ; lastly, that with all these advantages, and with a higher 
 postage rate on the prevailing class of letters, the North German Post Office, 
 though serving a population about equal to our own, yields in annual net revenue 
 only about ;[^6o,ooo, while the British Post Office, with all its burdens and its 
 lower rate of postage, yields, even if debited with the whole expense of the mail 
 packet service, more than ;^i, 400,000, of course relieving taxpayers to that extent. 
 — Vide Fifteenth Report of the Postmaster-General — the latest issued — p. 14). 
 
 * Full information of this subject may be found in a minute of mine dated 
 13th July, 1858, and included in a Parliamentary Return, No. 302, i860. 
 
486 APPENDIX M. 
 
 Other impost) ; whether, as in various other countries, a bare self- 
 support, or, as in the United States, a deficiency to be suppHed from 
 the general taxation. 
 
 7th. Whether, in fine, there be not some circumstance, or set 
 of circumstances, which vitiates the example. 
 
 It is at least highly probable that when the various examples held 
 up have been subjected to the proposed scrutiny, their validity will 
 shrink into very small dimensions. 
 
 Without, however, laying too much stress either way on foreign 
 example, it is manifestly important to consider the present question 
 in relation to other home interests; in recognising the claims of 
 newspapers we must not forget those of letters ; the less so as the 
 former are already by far the more favoured class of the two, the 
 allowance of weight of a newspaper being eightfold that of a letter. 
 It must be borne in mind, therefore, that in case of any surplus 
 in revenue, equality, if not priority of claim, whether for increased 
 weight, increased facilities, or other advantage, may be fairly set 
 up in favour of letters ; further, that this claim is prodigiously 
 strengthened by the fact that it is to letters alone (almost exclu- 
 sively to home letters) that the Post Office is indebted for its net 
 revenue. 
 
 Returning, however, for the moment to the separate question of 
 newspapers, it must be remarked that any lowering of that unit of 
 charge which has hitherto been strictly maintained is open to so many 
 objections as to demand that the change, if made, should be made 
 with extreme caution. 
 
 I St. The postal conveyance of printed matter — especially of news- 
 papers, since these admit of no delay — is, even at the present rates, 
 under existing circumstances, unremunerative, a fact which becomes 
 very intelligible when the eightfold allowance of weight is con- 
 sidered, and which of itself overthrows the expectation held out by 
 some that the fiscal loss by reduction would be compensated by 
 increase in the number of packets sent. 
 
 2nd. The proposed reduction, if made simply, would inevitably 
 lead to increased demands on the part of the railway companies, 
 and that upon two grounds, (a) augmented weight of the mails, 
 and (d) alleged interference with their parcel traffic. All this will be 
 found to have followed the reduction to the present rates. 
 
 3rd. The temptation to use printed matter as a cover, or fraudu- 
 lent substitute for written letters, which even now is unduly strong, 
 would, without safeguards far beyond any yet known, be enormously 
 strengthened. 
 
APPENDIX M. 487 
 
 4th. As the power of mechanically exchanging bags en route is, 
 as mentioned by the Postmaster-General in the House of Commons, 
 but limited, augmentation in weight may, by rendering stoppage 
 necessary, retard the progress of the mails. 
 
 Under the first of the above heads it must be added that the 
 sound commercial principle on which the Post Office should be 
 conducted — the full establishment of which was kept steadily in 
 view, and towards which a nearer and nearer approach was made 
 so long as I held the office of secretary — is that each part of the 
 business should be at least self-supporting ; every deviation from 
 this principle not only producing direct injury to fiscal results, but 
 becoming prolific as an example. Further, that deviation as respects 
 printed matter is the more objectionable because, as the Post Office 
 has there no monopoly of conveyance, the inevitable result is to 
 saddle it with whatever has to be conveyed at a loss, while aught 
 that is profitable is sure to pass into other hands. 
 
 In relation to the third head, that concerning temptation to fraud, 
 it may be remarked that, if the change can be so made as to render 
 fraud under its operation impracticable, objection on this score 
 will of course be removed ; and, further, that if the modification 
 necessary for securing this can be made at the same time to reduce 
 labour at the Post Office as regards this special duty, ground for 
 reduction in charge may be established. 
 
 Thus then we come to a consideration of means ; and, first, 
 it is assumed that the application under review relates only to 
 the pri?nary distribution of newspapers, &c., viz., that from the 
 hands of the publishers or of the vendors ; and it is for that alone 
 that just provision seems practicable or is here attempted. 
 
 Now it is well known that such distribution in towns, as now 
 performed by newsvendors themselves, is very inexpensive, partly 
 because the cost of railway conveyance is less to them than to the 
 Post Office, partly because the delivery is generally performed by 
 boys, but mainly because the netvspapers are not individually 
 addressed^ each copy of a particular paper serving as well for 
 one individual as another. The first and perhaps only desideratum, 
 therefore, is a means for performing the same duty, viz., the dis- 
 tribution of papers not individually addressed at small cost in the 
 rural districts. 
 
 Now the need of individual addresses may be superseded in 
 the country by use of the means found available in towns : in other 
 words, if lists similar to those which doubtless guide the boys in 
 the town delivery be put into the hands of the Post Office rural 
 
488 APPENDIX M. 
 
 messengers, the latter will be able to perform the duty of distribution 
 with as little difficulty as the former. 
 
 Supposing this plan to be adopted, it becomes practicable to save 
 labour in the Post Office to a much greater extent than at first sight 
 appears. 
 
 At present, newspapers posted for rural districts have to be 
 assorted from a mass of papers for all parts of the United Kingdom, 
 and, indeed, of the world. Such as are for a distance have to 
 undergo a like operation at one or more offices on their way to that 
 where, by a final assortment, they are arranged according to the 
 walks of the several messengers. Lastly, of course, each paper has 
 to be delivered according to its particular address. 
 
 Now, upon the proposed plan, the publishers or the newsvendors 
 of the metropolis, or other centre, instead of folding, addressing, 
 and posting the journals intended for the rural districts, would, 
 as is now done to a great extent — naturally send them in bulk, 
 in the parcels containing journals for the post towns ; an arrange- 
 ment which would relieve the Post Office, not only of the first 
 assortment, but also of the duty of conveyance ; thereby avoiding 
 at once increased difficulty as to exchange of bags, and also inter- 
 ference or quasi interference, with parcel-traffic, unless in the 
 acceptable way of augmentation ; and the provincial newsvendors, 
 on receiving these parcels, would, while themselves dealing with 
 the journals intended for town-delivery, and for such of the rural 
 districts as they might prefer to serve, convey the remainder, still 
 unfolded and unaddressed, to the local post office (which they would 
 have previously supplied with corresponding lists, variable, say once 
 a month), thus superseding the intermediate assortments ; and, lastly, 
 the postmasters would only have to arrange the journals, by number 
 and kind, according to the rounds of the messengers ; thus reducing 
 the trouble of even the final assortment to a minimum. 
 
 Still further to lessen trouble to the Post Office, as likewise for 
 just security, it would be well to require that payment for the 
 month should be made in advance, viz., on delivery of the lists. 
 It would also be necessary to rule that the sum to be so paid should 
 in no case be below a certain amount. 
 
 And thus, by an actual reduction in Post Office labour, unattended 
 with any counterbalancing disadvantage, the desired reduction in 
 postage would be warranted. 
 
 It is obvious that papers thus dealt with would present no 
 temptation to fraud, since the absence of particular address would 
 altogether prevent their being used as substitutes for letters. 
 
APPENDIX M. 489 
 
 On the plan set forth above, if taken as a whole, I think it would 
 be safe and justifiable to reduce the charge for what I have called 
 the primary distribution of newspapers, &c., to one halfpenny the 
 four ounces, that is to say to one-half the present rate. 
 
 Security against fraud generally, it may be pointed out, would be 
 immeasurably increased if the proposed boon were accompanied 
 with the entire abolition of the impressed stamp, the use of which, 
 besides maintaining a constant temptation to dishonesty, demands, 
 on the part of the Post Office and the public, the observance of a 
 highly complicated set of rules, involving so much trouble that they 
 are constantly violated with impunity. 
 
 This change, however, would have to be accompanied with the 
 issue of a three-halfpenny adhesive stamp"^ (a measure actually con- 
 templated some years ago) to supply the place of the impressed 
 stamp of the same value now used by newspapers which, like the 
 Times or Illustrated London News occasionally range in weight 
 between four and six ounces. The use of the new stamp might 
 very properly be extended to all other printed matter of like 
 weight. 
 
 Before touching on further possibilities as respects newspapers, 
 I return to the subject of letters, in relation to which much 
 additional improvement is desirable. This might be arranged 
 under the following heads : — 
 
 {a) Increase in the number of deliveries ; at least in the large 
 towns. 
 
 ip) The extension of periodic (not necessarily daily) delivery to 
 every house, however remote, as in France, Prussia, and 
 Switzerland ; an improvement important, not only to com- 
 mercial interests and social intercourse, but to jurisprudence, 
 legislation, and political action. 
 
 {c) The establishment on one or two of the great routes — say 
 after a trial for a short distance — of a mode of conveyance 
 far more rapid than any yet employed, but delayed on 
 account of its great expense, viz., tubular conveyance ; by 
 the use of which, in the opinion of the eminent engineers, 
 Mr. C. H. Gregory and Mr. E. A. Cowper (as set forth 
 by them in a report to myself dated October, 1859), a speed 
 of from 120 to 150 miles an hour might be attained, though 
 at a total annual cost (interest of capital inclusive) of 
 about ;!^8oo per mile, from which, however, there would be 
 
 * This was written at a time when, as yet, there were no halfpenny stamps. — Ed. 
 
490 APPENDIX M. 
 
 a set-off of probably about two-thirds for present expenses 
 saved. The use of such conveyance so far as Crewe on 
 the one hand and Dover on the other, would bring Dublin, 
 Edinburgh, Glasgow and Paris wholly within the reach of 
 the London night mail, at the same time, of course, greatly 
 lessening the effective distance to all places beyond. It 
 W'Ould also, for reasons not necessary to be stated here, both 
 facilitate the frequent despatch of mails, and aid greatly in 
 the prompt distribution of newspapers to places directly or 
 indirectly served ; would, for instance, make it practicable 
 to place the London morning newspapers on the breakfast 
 tables of Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. 
 
 {d) Increase in the standard of weight, say, from half an ounce 
 to an ounce, a change which would reduce the postage 
 of heavy letters by about a half, besides avoiding much 
 weighing of letters and vexatious overcharge for excess of 
 weight. 
 
 ie.) A reduced rate of postage, on certain conditions, for circulars. 
 In most towns there is a time in every day at which the work 
 in the post office is light, as also a delivery at which the 
 amount of letters, &c., might be considerably increased 
 without inconvenience, and circulars so posted as best to suit 
 these opportunities, provided always they came in sufficient 
 numbers and were taken to the head office, might reasonably 
 be dealt with on lower terms, perhaps at half the present 
 rate. 
 
 A plan in accordance with what is here set forth was drawn 
 up by my son, Mr. Pearson Hill, and laid before the Secre- 
 tary of the Post Office some time ago, but, as I understand, 
 awaits decision. His plan is limited to local distribution ; 
 but, should it be adopted and prove successful, I should be 
 ready to suggest means for giving it general effect. 
 
 Now beneficial concessions in the case both of letters and news- 
 papers would be greatly facilitated by the establishment of more 
 equitable and more equable arrangements than the present between 
 the Post Office and the railway companies. Opportunity for this is 
 likely soon to arise through inevitable demand for the extension to 
 railway traffic of that abolition of tax on locomotion which is now 
 imminent in respect of other modes of conveyance, a concession 
 which may fairly be accompanied with the legal enactment of the 
 tariff of charges, and other modifications in the laws affecting the 
 
APPENDIX M. 491 
 
 Post Office proposed in paragraphs 23 and 24 of my Report on 
 E ail ways, dated 7 th May, 1867, which forms part of the Report of 
 the Royal Commission on Railways laid before Parliament in the 
 same year. 
 
 Perhaps, also, means may be devised for such further improve- 
 ment of the apparatus used in exchanging bags as to remove the 
 present objection to increased weight. 
 
 Supposing these two important advantages to be secured, the Post 
 Office would then be able, without injustice to other interests, to 
 receive the newspapers (of course still in bulk and unaddressed, 
 though assorted according to districts and accompanied with re- 
 spective lists) directly from the metropolitan or other central 
 publishers or vendors, and to forward them, without further inter- 
 vention, to their ultimate destination ; thus, in effect, reducing still 
 further the charge for their distribution throughout the country. 
 
 As reduction in labour, not only to the Post Office but also to 
 senders, will obviously attend every reduction in number of packets, 
 perhaps two or more publishers or vendors may, under either of the 
 above arrangements, send combined packets, lists, &c., a course 
 which will not in any way impede or modify distribution. 
 
 The operation of the plans recommended in this paper would, I 
 believe, open the way to additional advantages which it would now 
 be premature to mention. 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 June 12, 1869. 
 
APPENDIX N 
 
 [Seep. 394.] 
 
 Letter to the Lords of the Treasury — Superannuation Grant. 
 
 Hampstead, 17th March, 1864. 
 
 My Lords, — The Postmaster-General, as requested by your 
 Lordships, has done me the favour to furnish me with a copy 
 of your minute of nth instant, granting me a special super- 
 annuation allowance on retiring from my office as Secretary to 
 the Post Office, and conveying to me the very favourable opinion, 
 which your Lordships are pleased to express, of the manner in 
 which I have discharged my duties. 
 
 It cannot be necessary to assure your Lordships of the deep 
 gratification with which I have received so handsome and elaborate 
 a recognition of my services. I have only to beg that you will be 
 pleased to accept my most respectful thanks. 
 
 In a document so highly complimentary, I hesitate to notice what 
 would appear to be an admission, inadvertently made, to the effect 
 that the adoption of the uniform penny postage was urged by others 
 before the development of my plans. This, I assure your Lordships, 
 is an error ; and, as uniformity of rate constitutes the main feature 
 of my plan, I am naturally anxious to place before you the real facts 
 of the case. I trust, therefore, you will pardon me if I request 
 attention to the enclosed memorandum on the subject. 
 
 I need scarcely add that, should the expectations of my medical 
 friends, of improved health from rest, be realised, and any occasion 
 arise in which it may appear to your Lordships that my assistance or 
 advice in further postal improvements may be of advantage, I shall 
 feel honoured by being permitted to place them at your disposal. 
 
 I have, (Sec, 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 The Right lion. 
 The Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, 
 
 &c., &c., &c. 
 
APPENDIX N. 493 
 
 Memorandum. 
 
 A low and uniform rate of postage forms the most essential 
 feature of my plan of postal reform, and I have no hesitation in 
 stating that its conception originated wholly with myself. To guard 
 against future error I ask permission to place on record a brief 
 statement of facts. 
 
 The principle of uniformity of rate, now that it has been in 
 successful operation for nearly a quarter of a century, appears, 
 perhaps, simple and obvious ; but so far from its having been, as 
 it is sometimes supposed, the happy thought of a moment, it was 
 the result of most laborious investigation on my part. Indeed, a 
 slight consideration will show that its conception necessarily involved 
 a previous discovery — viz., that the cost per letter of mere transit 
 within the limits of the United Kingdom was practically inappre- 
 ciable, or, at least, that it was not dependent mainly on distance ; 
 being, in fact, quite as much dependent on the number of letters 
 contained in the particular mail as on the distance that mail was 
 carried. Indeed, it was shown, from careful investigation, that the 
 cost of mere conveyance, even for so great a distance as from 
 London to Edinburgh, was only the thirty-sixth part of a penny per 
 letter. From this and other facts, it followed that a uniform rate 
 was more just than one varying according to distance. The con- 
 venience of uniformity was obvious. 
 
 I may add that when I first entered on the investigations pre- 
 paratory to the construction of my plan, I myself had no conception 
 of the practicability of a uniform rate, and that the discovery re- 
 ferred to above was as startling to myself as it proved when 
 announced to the public at large. 
 
 A reference to my original pamphlet — a copy of which is, I 
 presume, still in your Lordships' possession — or to my evidence 
 before the Select Committee of 1838, appointed to inquire into the 
 practicability of my plans, will show the various steps by which I 
 arrived at the conclusion that a uniform penny rate was at once just 
 and practicable. 
 
 There is but one other person, so far as I am aware, to whom the 
 suggestion of a uniform penny rate has, with even the slightest 
 plausibility, ever been assigned — I refer to the late Mr. Wallace, 
 formerly Member for Greenock, and Chairman of the Select Com- 
 mittee on Postage in 1838; but though Mr. Wallace frequently 
 urged, among other useful reforms, a great reduction in the postal 
 charges, I can say from personal knowledge that he had no idea 
 
494 APPENDIX N. 
 
 whatever of a uniform rate until after the publication of my 
 
 pamphlet. Indeed, this sufficiently appears from his speech in 
 
 Parliament in July, 1836, the last occasion on which, before the 
 
 publication of my pamphlet, he referred to the rates of postage. 
 
 The following is an extract from " Hansard " (Vol. xxxv., 3rd series, 
 
 p. 422) : — 
 
 * ***** 
 
 " At the same time the rates of postage ought to be reduced. It 
 
 would be proper not to charge more than 3^! for any letter sent a 
 
 distance of 50 miles; for 100 miles, 4^. ; 200 miles, dd. ; and the 
 
 highest rate of postage ought not to be more than Zd. or 9^. at 
 
 most." 
 
 ****** 
 
 Further evidence upon this point is also in my possession, which 
 can be submitted, should it be deemed necessary. 
 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 Hampstead, 17th March, 1864. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 THOS. DE LA RUE AND CO. PRINTERS. BUNHILL ROW LONDON. 
 
INDEX. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abbott, Mr., vol. ii. 300 
 
 Aberdeen, Earl of, vol. ii. 217, 218, 
 222-5, 287 
 
 Accounts. See Post Office 
 
 Admiralty, vol. ii. 369. See also 
 Packet Service 
 
 Ady, Joseph, vol. ii. 82 
 
 Airy, Sir G. B., correction of state- 
 ment about M. Biot, vol. i. 499; 
 R. H.'s letter to him, 506; letters 
 to R. H., 507, 509; signs R. H.'s 
 recommendation for the Royal 
 Society, vol. ii. 359; present at his 
 funeral, 431 
 
 Alarum water-clock, vol. i. 83, 157 
 
 Algeria, vol. ii. 311 
 
 Algerine ambassador, vol. i. 172 
 
 Allen, Ralph, vol. ii. 9 
 
 Alton, vol. ii. 276 
 
 Amiens, peace of, vol. i. 19, 38 
 
 Angas, I\Ir. G. F., vol. i. 221 
 
 Anson, General, vol. i. 279 
 
 Applegarth, Mr., vol. i. 224 
 
 Architecture, study of, vol. i. 61, 128 
 
 Argj'll, Duke of, vol. ii. 349; Govern- 
 ment loans to railways, vol. ii. 279, 
 280 ; Civil Service examination, 303 ; 
 his character ; facility of composition, 
 355; signs recommendation of R. H.'s 
 admission to Royal Society, 359; pro- 
 visionally Postmaster-General, 361; 
 letters to R. H., 344, 356; R. H.'s 
 letters to him, 280, 302, 330; out of 
 England at the time of R. H.'s funeral 
 — his affection towards him, 430 
 
 Arithmetic, mental, vol. i. 92, 12S 
 
 Armstrong, Sir W., vol. i. 242 
 
 Armstrong, Mr., vol. ii. 49, 72 
 
 Arnold, Dr., vol. i. 100, loi, 115, 124 
 
 Arnott, Dr., vol. i. 210 
 
 Ashburton, Lord, vol. i. 279, 469; 
 evidence before Parliamentary Com- 
 mittee (1838) 310, 317, 321; letter 
 to R. H., 362 
 
 Ashford, Mary, vol. i. 85 
 
 Ashley, Lord (Earl of Shaftesbur}-), 
 presents a memorial from Bath, 
 vol. ii. 108 ; motion for abolition 
 of Sunday duty, 155, 156, 158, 160, 
 163; writes to R. H., 156; partial 
 retractation, 150, 159 
 
 Ashurst, Mr., vol. i. 294, 486 
 
 Assassination, threats of, vol. ii. 327 
 
 Assay Office, Birmingham, vol. i. 55 
 
 Astronomy, vol. i. 57-9, 68, 69, 495-508 
 
 Attwood, Mr., vol. i. 150 
 
 Auditing, Post Office, vol. i. 454, 
 vol. ii. 186, 313 
 
 Australia, colonisation, vol. i. 217, 219; 
 correspondence, 485, vol. ii. 10, 396; 
 mails, 242, 289-92, 310, 373, 480 ; 
 postage charges, 243, 310, 371 
 
 Austria, postal reform, vol. ii. 35, 252 
 
 Ayr, vol. ii. 230 
 
 B 
 
 Baines, Mr. Edward, vol. ii. 331, 346 
 
 Baines, Mr. Frederick, vol. ii. 251 
 
 Ballaghaderin, vol. i. 413 
 
 Bancroft, Mr., vol. ii. 92 
 
 Banning, Mr., vol. ii. 54, 307 
 
 Banwell, vol. i. 306 
 
 Bar Beacon, vol. i. 97 
 
 Barbauld, Mrs., vol. i. 54 
 
 Baring, Sir Francis (Lord Northbrook), 
 vol. i. 355, 371, 374 376, 380, 381, 
 384, 386, 390, 391, 392, 401, 406, 
 411, 416, 424, 426, 428, 429, 432, 
 434, 435. 450, 45 1» 466, vol. ii. 358, 
 384; first interview with R. H., 
 vol. i. 365; gives R. H. appoint- 
 ment in Treasury, 369; doubts of 
 prepayment and use of stamp, 382, 
 396, vol. ii. 86 ; does not care for a 
 little unpopularity, vol. i. 389; long 
 hours of work, 385, 398, 415, 4I7, 431 ; 
 remark on the French Government, 
 410; friendship with R. H. and 
 trust in him, 422, 423, 437-41, 490, 
 
 VOL. n. 
 
 K K 
 
498 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 vol. ii. 388, 397, 411; budget of 
 1841, vol. i. 436; resigns office, 439; 
 consulted by R. H., 475-7 ; pre- 
 sents R. H.'s petition, 483; defends 
 publication of correspondence, 485; 
 moves for return on rural distri- 
 bution, 486; speeches in House of 
 Commons, 489, vol. ii. 351, 397 ; 
 congratulates R. H, on his appoint- 
 ment, vol. ii. 225; opinion of R. H. 
 388-90, 411; heads deputation to 
 Lord Palmerston, 395; letters to 
 R. H., vol. i. 369, 439, 475, vol. ii. 
 86; letters from R. H., vol. i. 440, 
 542, vol. ii. 85 
 
 Earth, Mr., vol. ii. 179, 462 
 
 Bath, vol. ii. 108 
 
 Bates, Mr., vol. i. 294 
 
 Beasley, Mr. Michael, 57, 61, 62, 79, 
 134; his "utility," 63 
 
 Beecher, Major, vol. ii. 360 
 
 Belgium, postal reform in, vol. ii. 94; 
 postal treaty, 252, 318 
 
 Belper, Lord, vol. ii. 66 
 
 Benevolent Society, vol. i. 109 
 
 Bentham, Jeremy, reads "Public Edu- 
 cation," sends two Greeks to Hazel- 
 wood and a contribution to the 
 Magazine, vol. i. 171; visits Bruce 
 Castle, 172; suggests "a sucker 
 from Hazelwood School," 180; his 
 "greatest happiness" principle, 193; 
 concentration of responsibility, 
 vol. ii. 405 
 
 Bentinck, Mr., the last of the assailants 
 of Penny Postage, vol. ii. 350 
 
 Bentley, Dr., vol. ii. 235 
 
 Berlin, vol. ii. 340 
 
 Biot, M., vol. i. 499 
 
 Birmingham riots, vol. i. 2, 1 1, 33, 47 ; 
 Philosophical Institution, 12, 80; 
 Mercury newspaper, 1 7 ; volunteers, 
 38 ; gun-making, 38 ; tokens, 40 ; 
 police, 42; exhibitions, 75; Hamp- 
 den Club, 139; New Hall Hill 
 meeting ; legislatorial attorneys ; 
 exclusive musical society, 149 ; 
 represented in Parliament, 150; 
 Sunday question, vol. ii. 109, 128; 
 brass trade, vol. ii. 272; pneumatic 
 tubes, 340; raises a statue to R. H., 
 387, 389, 428 
 
 Blair, Dr., vol. i. 98 
 
 Blomfield, Bishop, vol. ii. 116 
 
 Board of Trade, vol. ii. 251, 281 
 
 Board of Works, vol. ii. 269 
 
 Bodkin, Sir W., vol. ii. 327 
 
 Bokenham*, Mr., vol. i. 385, 400, 
 vol. ii. 62, 120-41, 155, 180, 190, 
 260, 327, 330, 453 
 
 Bookbinding, vol. i. 54 
 Book post, a kind of, in France in 
 1839, vol. i. 376 ; established in 
 England, vol. ii. 65, 87, 382, 397; 
 Foreign and Colonial, 244, 311 
 Booth, Mr., vol. ii. 281 
 Booth the forger, vol. i. 40 
 Boulogne, vol. ii. 294 
 Bowring, Dr. (Sir John), vol. i. 174, 382 
 Bradley, the letter-carrier, vol. ii. 79 
 Brankston, Mr., vol. i. 308 
 Brebner, Mr., vol. ii. 171 
 Brewin, Mr., vol. i. 301, 305, 308 
 Brierley Hill, vol. i. 282 
 Bright, Mr. John, vol. i. 477 
 Brighton, vol. ii. 22, 269, 285 
 Brighton Railway. See Railways. 
 Brindley, vol. ii. 250 
 Bristol, vol. i. 307, vol. ii. 57 
 British Association, vol. ii. 244 
 Brooks, Mr., vol. ii. 91 
 Brougham, Lord, interested in Hazel- 
 wood, vol. i. 173; intends to found 
 a school on the Hazelwood Plan, 
 180; R. H. prepares for him " Home 
 Colonies," 202; approves of Owen's 
 plan, 210; R. H. addresses to him a 
 letter on pauper education, 218; 
 character described by R. H., 219; 
 interest in Penny Postage, 288, 
 vol. ii. 225; presents City petition 
 in its favour, vol. i. 289 ; conduct on 
 R. H.'s dismissal, 467, 468, 473; 
 story of "I is the plaintiff," 492; 
 takes part in the Sunday question, 
 vol. ii. 149, 159; speech on R. H.'s 
 retirement, 398 
 Brown, Mr. (Sir William), vol. I, 310, 
 
 317, 336, vol. ii. 198 
 Bruce Castle, vol. i. 181, 201, 204, 214 
 Bunsen, Chevalier, negotiates postal 
 treaty, vol. ii. 208, 252 ; at the 
 Queen's drawing room, 245 
 Burdett, Sir Francis, vol. i. 180, 240 
 Burgoyne, Sir John, vol. i. 277 
 Burke, Edmund, vol. ii. 398, 431 
 Burns, Robert, vol. i. 19 
 Burritt, Mr. Elihu, vol. ii. 319 
 Butler, Samuel, vol. i. 2 
 
 Caermarthen, vol. ii. 190 
 Calcutta, vol. ii. 272, 293 
 Cambridge, University of, vol. i. d"] 
 Campbell, Thomas, vol. i. 149 
 Campbell, Lord, vol. ii. 330 
 Canada, vol. ii. 244, 316 
 
INDEX. 
 
 499 
 
 Canning, Earl, vol. ii. 242, 275, 358; 
 pillar letter-box at Allahabad, vol. i. 
 417; postage rate during Crimean 
 War, 436 ; Postmaster-General, vol. ii. 
 213; question of R. H.'s promotion, 
 215-25; railway legislation, 229; 
 Packet Service Commission, 238-40, 
 370; promotion by merit, 249, 301; 
 his character, 263, 353-5 ; appointed 
 Governor-General of India, 353; 
 article on him in the "Edinburgh 
 Review," 354; letters to R. H., 218, 
 224; R. H.'s letters to him, 215, 
 217, 225, 460, 478 
 Canning, Lady, vol. ii. 222 
 Canterbury, vol. i. 136, 218 
 Cape of Good Hope, vol. ii. 289 
 Cardwell, Mr. (Viscount Cardwell), 
 
 vol. ii. 228 
 Carlyle, Mr. vol. i. xiv., vol. ii. 41 1 
 Cartwright, Major, vol. i. 150 
 Caxton Exhibition, vol. i. 229 
 Census, First, vol. ii. 260 
 Chadwick, Mr. Edwin, vol. i. 210, vol. 
 
 ii. 336 
 Channel Islands, vol. ii. 259 
 Chantrey, Sir Francis, vol. i. 145 
 Charter House, vol. i. loi 
 Chartists, vol. ii. 84 
 Chester, vol. i. 140 
 Chetwynd, Mr., vol. ii. 333 
 Christmas-boxes, vol. ii. 325, 328 
 Circular Delivery Company, vol. ii. 405 
 Circumlocution Office, vol. ii. 48 
 Cirencester, vol. i. 301 
 Civil Service Commission. See Com- 
 mission 
 Civil Service Examinations. See Com- 
 petitive Examinations 
 Civil Se}~i'ice Gazette, vol. ii. 322-4 
 Clanricarde, Marquis of, vol. ii. 51, 56, 
 57, 59, 66, 70, 72, 78, 90, 92, 97, 
 98, 108, 109, III, 113, 120-9, 131-6, 
 138, 139, 141, 145, 147, 149, 150, 157, 
 158, 160, 173, 174, 176, 181-7, 194, 
 203, 204, 209, 213, 214, 218, 241, 
 259, 358; appointed Postmaster- 
 General, vol. ii. 38; appointment of 
 R. H. as his secretary, 39, 40, 45, 46 ; 
 abused by mail-cart driver, 47 ; not 
 afraid of a novel course of action, 
 55; appealed to by R. H., 49, 54, 
 55, 58, 60, 64, 72-5, 96, 99, 100-6, 
 162-4, 168, 170, 175, 193, 196; con- 
 fidence in R. H., 59, 99, 165, 174, 
 195, 199, 200, 201, 216, 222; ceases 
 to be Postmaster-General, 200; letters 
 to R. H., 102, 445 ; letters from 
 R. H., 437, 443, 453; speech on 
 R. H.'s retirement, 398 
 
 Clark, Dr., vol. i. 401 
 Clark, Mr. Francis, vol. i. 278 
 Clark, Mrs. Francis (Caroline Hill), 
 marriage, vol. i. 47 ; her fine cha- 
 racter, 195; departure for Australia, 
 vol. ii. 143; R. H.'s letter to her, 
 
 
 Clark, Mr. Thomas, vol. i. 47 
 
 Clayton Tunnel, vol. ii. 22 
 
 Clerk, Sir George, Bart., vol. i. 444, 
 445, 447, 454, 465, 485 ; announces 
 in Parliament R. H.'s dismissal, 
 467 ; Chairman of Committee of 
 Inquiry, 492; R. H.'s letter to him, 
 
 493 
 Clerks, Post Office, classification of, 
 
 vol. ii. 179, 184, 249_. 308; improved 
 
 condition of, 179, 190, 257, 30S, 
 
 345, 381 ; clerks in charge, 180 
 
 Clowes, Mr. W., vol. i. 230 
 
 Coach Company, project for, vol. i. 
 205, 520 
 
 Cobbett & Co., vol. i. 21 
 
 Cobden, Mr., offers to assist in pub- 
 lishing R. H.'s pamphlet, vol. i. 276; 
 examined before Parliamentary Com- 
 mittee, 301, 307, 324; consulted by 
 R. H., vol. ii. 73, 166, 170, 197; 
 letters to R. H., vol. i. 382, 477, 
 478, vol. ii. 31, 194, 198; congratu- 
 lates R. H. on his appointment, 225 
 
 Colbourn, Zerah, vol. i. 92, 512 
 
 Colby, General, vol. i. 268, 319, 332 
 
 Colchester, Lord, vol. ii. 291, 316, 
 324, 334, 344; "an excellent Post- 
 master-General," 344; his character, 
 356, 358 
 
 Cole, Mr. (Sir Henry Cole, K.C.B.), 
 vol. i. 210, 374, 426, 436 ; his 
 ingenuity, 295 ; editor of Post Cir- 
 cular, 339 ; his valuable services, 447 
 
 Coleridge, S. T., his Pantisocracy, 
 vol. i. 213; paid poor woman's 
 postage, 239 
 
 College, R. H.'s plan for establishing 
 a great one, vol. i. 87, 104 
 
 Colonial Postage, vol. ii. 241-5, 310, 
 316, 317, 371 
 
 Commission, South Australian, vol. i. 
 220 
 
 Commission of Revenue Inquiry, vol. i. 
 .246,258,315,527 
 
 Commission of Post Office Inquiry, 
 vol. i. 259, 268-74, "^'o^- ii- 60 
 
 Commission of Post Office Inquiry in 
 the East Indies, vol. ii. 245, 317 
 
 Commission for Regulating Salaries, 
 vol. ii. 89, 184, 221 ; its report, 246-9, 
 
 301 
 
 Commission on Sunday Labour, vol. ii. 
 160 
 
 K K 2 
 
500 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Commission, Lord Canning's (Packet 
 
 Service), vol. ii. 238, 370, 402 
 Commission on Railways, Royal, vol. ii. 
 
 69, 283, 416, 491 
 Committee, School, vol. i. 108, 116 
 Committee, Mercantile, vol. i. 294, 
 
 353, 462, 474, 484, vol. ii. 29 
 Committee of Enquir}', Select (1843), 
 
 vol. i. 489, vol. ii. I, 50 
 Committee on Postage, Select (1837-8), 
 
 vol. i. 287, 295 
 Committee on Railway and Canal Bills 
 
 (1853), vol. ii. 228 
 Common Council of London, vol. i. 
 
 280, 289, vol. ii. 428 
 Competitive Examinations — their evils, 
 
 vol. ii. 249, 300, 303 
 Compton, Mr., vol. i. 4. 
 Conference of Teachers, vol. i. 114 
 Congresbury, vol. i. 306 
 Constitution," "Origin of the, vol. i. 115 
 Contract Work, economy of plan of, 
 
 vol. ii. 286-8, 403 
 Conway, vol. i. 297 
 Coode, Mr., vol. i. 209, 210 
 Cooke, Mr. T. B., vol. ii. 311 
 Cornwall, Mr., vol. ii. 48, 211 
 Corporal Punishment, vol. i. 1 12 
 Cotton, Sir R., vol. ii. 312 
 Court IDress, vol. ii. 207 
 Court of Justice, School, vol. i. 107, 
 
 109, no 
 Covent Garden Theatre — its loyal 
 
 audience, vol. i. 143 
 Cowan, Mr., vol. ii. 113 
 Cowper, Professor, vol. i. 224, 524 
 Cowper, Mr. E. A., vol. ii. 337-9, 489 
 Creswick, Mr., vol. i. 118 
 Crimean War — proposed increase of 
 
 postal rate, vol. i. 435 ; soldiers' 
 
 letters and remittances, vol. ii. 310, 
 
 316 
 Croker, Mr. J. W., vol. i. 377 
 Cube Roots, vol. i. 92, 512 
 Cubitt, Sir William, vol. ii. 236, 237 
 Cunard, Sir Edward, vol. ii. 186, 371 
 Cupar-Fife, vol. i. 442 
 Currency, vol. i. 40 
 Currie, Mr. Raikes, vol. i. 268, 325, 
 
 327, vol. ii. 216, 225, 461 
 
 D 
 
 Daily Ne7vs, vol. ii. 241 
 Dalhousie, Earl of, vol. ii. 188 
 Davidson, Mr., vol. i. 309 
 De Foe, vol. ii. 424 
 De La Rue, Dr. Warren, vol. i. 419, 
 501, 508 
 
 De Lys, Dr., vol. i. 499 
 
 De Morgan, Professor, vol. ii. 88 
 
 De Quincey, Thomas, interested in 
 Hazelwood, vol. i. 173; reviews 
 "Public Education," 174, 178 
 
 Denman, Mr. (Lord Denman), vol. i. 
 150 
 
 Deal, vol. i. 276 
 
 Derby, Earl of, vol. ii. 200, 203, 206, 
 228, 241 
 
 Derbyshire, R. H.'s Tour in, vol. i. 137 
 
 Devonport, vol. ii. 289, 314 
 
 Dickens', Charles, reply to the "Edin- 
 burgh Review," vol. ii. 48; article 
 on the Post Office, 192; article on 
 the Money Order Office, 253 
 
 Dickinson, Mr., vol. i. 316 
 
 Diet, Experiments in, vol. i. 143, 147 
 
 Dilke, Sir C, vol. i. 210 
 
 Dilke, Sir C, vol. ii. 272, 375 
 
 Dillon, Mr. John, vol. i. 300, 313 
 
 Disraeli, Mr. (Earl of Beaconsfield), 
 vol. ii. 174 
 
 Dockwra, Mr., vol. ii. 9 
 
 Donovan, Mr., vol. i. 401 
 
 Dover — Castle, vol. i. 133; proposed 
 tubular conveyance to, vol. ii. 338 
 
 Drawing, R. H.'s prize for, vol. i. 74 
 
 Drouet, Mr., vol. ii. 252 
 
 Dublin in 182 1, vol. i. 160; postal 
 service, vol. ii. 258, 274, t^t,-], 340 
 
 Dubost, Mr., vol. ii. 93 
 
 Dudley, vol. i. 282 
 
 Duncan, Viscount, vol. ii. 108 
 
 Duncannon, Lord (Earl of Bess- 
 borough), vol. i. 268, 272, 289, 290, 
 357. 360 
 
 Duncombe, Mr. Thomas, vol. ii. 28, "1% 
 
 Dundee, vol. ii. 269 
 
 Dunlop, Mr., vol. i. 308 
 
 E 
 
 Early Rising, vol. i. 143 
 East Indies, vol. i. 303. See also India 
 Easthope, Sir John, vol. ii. 120 
 Ebrington, Lord (Earl Fortescue), vol. 
 
 ii. 336 
 
 Edgeworth, Mr. Lovell, vol. i. 160, 
 162-7 
 
 Edgeworth, Miss, R. H.'s debt to her, 
 vol. i. 50, 164, 421, 502 ; intro- 
 duction to her, 163; reads "Public 
 Education," speaks of her father, 
 165; letter to R. H., 421; scientific 
 errors, 502 
 
 Edgeworth-Town assisting school, vol i. 
 160, 162-7. 
 
 Edinburgh, vol. ii. 258, 302; cost of 
 
INDEX. 
 
 501 
 
 conveying a letter to, vol. i. 249, 
 280, 339; Sunday agitation, vol. ii. 
 149 ; Mails, 273, 337 ; volunteer 
 corps, 334 
 
 "Edinburgh Review," vol. i. 68; re- 
 views " Public Education," 121, 174, 
 178; article on Penny Postage, 378, 
 390; article on " Little Dorrit " and 
 the "Circumlocution Office," vol. ii. 
 48 ; article on Lord Canning, 354 
 
 Eldon, Earl of, vol. i. 212, 240, vol. ii. 
 
 Electrical Machine, vol. 1. 55, 81 
 Electricity, lectures on, vol. i. 55, 80, 
 
 134 
 
 Elgin and Kincardine, Earl of, vol. 
 
 ii. 308; "an excellent Postmaster- 
 General," 344 ; his account of 
 Lord Canning, 354; his character, 
 357, 358; letter to R. H., 359; 
 resignation, 361 
 Elgin, vol. i. 288 
 Ellenborough, Lord, vol. ii. 35 
 Emery, Mr., vol. i. 306 
 Emigrant ships, vol. i. 221 
 Empson, Professor, vol. i. 268 
 Enclosures, charge by, vol. i. 238, 282, 
 
 295 
 Envelopes, vol. i. 393, 418, 419 
 
 Estcott, Mr., vol. ii. 8 
 
 Esquires in low life, vol. ii. 81 
 
 Estlin, Mr., vol. ii. 29 
 
 Euclid, vol. i. II, 60 
 
 Eversley, Viscount, vol. ii. 91 
 
 Excursion trains, vol. ii. 21 
 
 " Exhibitions, " School, vol. i. 91,93, 
 
 113, 127, 170 
 Exhibition, Great (1851), vol. i. 26; 
 
 vol. ii. 259 
 Express trains, vol. ii. 21 
 
 " Facts AND Estimates," vol. i. 347, 
 
 534 , .. 
 
 Fagan, Mr., vol. 11. 154 
 
 Family council, vol. i. 191, 192, 262 
 
 Family fund, vol. i. 188-90. 
 
 Faraday, Professor, vol. i. 3, 402 
 
 Female labour, vol, ii. 403 
 
 Ferguson, James, vol. i. 12 
 
 Fielding, Henry, vol. i. 3 
 
 Fights regulated, vol. i. 118 
 
 Fire at Hazelwood, vol. i. 95, 151; 
 origin of, 158; question of in- 
 surance, 158 
 
 Fire, precautions agninst, at Post Office, 
 vol. ii. 268 
 
 Fitzgerald, Lord, vol. i. 460 
 
 Flood, walk through a, vol. i. 138 
 
 Forge, model of a, vol. i. 45 
 
 Forger, a, vol. i. 40 
 
 Forster, Mr. John, vol. i. 230, 525 
 
 Forster, Mr. Matthew, a steady friend, 
 vol. ii. 149, 388, 394; on the Sun- 
 day question, 157, 158; Mr. Parkes's 
 letter to him, 388 
 
 Foster, John, the essayist, vol. i. 141 
 
 Fourdrinier, vol. i. 224 
 
 France, revolution of 1789, vol. i. 
 19; peace with, 38, 134; Mrs. 
 Hill's uneasiness at being so near 
 to its coast, 133; postal revenue, 
 245; reduction of postage in, 341, 
 vol. ii. 93, 188, 252; Post Office 
 inspected by R. H. vol. i. 376 ; early 
 use of post-paid envelopes in, 377 ; 
 pillar letter-boxes, 417, vol. ii. 259; 
 treaty with, vol. i. 410, vol. ii. 6, 
 183, 214, 317 ; assistance during 
 Indian Mutiny, vol. ii. 293; gra- 
 tuitous conveyance of a mail, 350; 
 reduction in postage to France, 311 ; 
 proposed use of tubular conveyance 
 for mail, 338 ; universal delivery, 406 
 
 Frankland, Sir F., vol. ii. 312 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, vol. i. 8, 12 
 
 Franks (Post Office) on newspapers, 
 vol. i. 240; abuses of, 240, 322, vol. 
 ii. 350; number of, vol. i. 321; 
 " Worth to some Mercantile Houses," 
 355; abolished, 385, 388; official 
 franking, 355, 388, vol. ii. 351, 
 471 ; revived, vol ii. 351 
 
 Freshwater Bay, vol. i. 146 
 
 Frolich, Count, vol. i. 173 
 
 Frome, General, vol. i. 221 
 
 Gaisford, Dean, vol. i. 17 
 
 Gait, Mr., vol. ii. 283 
 
 Galton, Mr. Tertius, vol. i. 499 
 
 Galton, Captain, vol. ii. 236, 251 
 
 Galway line of mail-packets, vol. ii. 
 
 183 
 
 Gardiner, Mr., vol. i. 375 
 
 Garibaldi, vol. ii. 417 
 
 Garrick trained in careful habits, vol. i. 
 34; his house in the Adelphi, 223 
 
 Gas, streets lighted by, vol. i. 42, 160 
 
 Germany, vol. i. 253, vol. ii. 252, 259, 
 318, 484 
 
 Gibbon, Edward, "the tyranny of 
 lawyers," vol. i. 9; "independence, 
 that first earthly blessing," 67; "3 
 man designed to think as he pleased, 
 &c.," 213; his early training, 217 
 
502 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gibson, Mr. Milner, vol. ii. 198 
 
 Gilchrist, Dr., vol. i. 174 
 
 Gladstone, Mr., budget of, 1854, vol. 
 i. 436 ; budget of 1853, vol. ii. 214; 
 R. H.'s- promotion, 215-25; Govern- 
 ment railway loans, 279, 280; Sa- 
 vings Banks, letter to Mr. Sikes, 
 332 ; newspaper ^ postage, 345-7 ; 
 foreign and colonial postage, 372; 
 support to R. H. and confidence in 
 him, 362, 376, 377, 379; R. H.'s 
 resignation, 378; R. H.'s high re- 
 gard for him, 379; pension and par- 
 liamentary grant to R. H., 388-91, 
 399; treasury minute, 391, 411; 
 R. H.'s letters to him, 384, 393, 
 399; his letters to R. H. 362, 400; 
 description of R. H.'s services and 
 plan, 411, 419. 
 
 Glasgow "family boxes," vol. i. 302; 
 testimonial to R. H., 442; R. H.'s 
 visit, vol. ii. 148; Bridewell, 171; 
 mails, 273, 337 ; library, 308 ; 
 pneumatic tubes, 340 
 
 Globe, The, vol. ii. 120 
 
 Godby, Mr., vol. ii. 191, 194 
 
 Gordon, Mr., vol. i. 395, 416 
 
 Gouger, Mr., vol. i. 216 
 
 Goulburn, Mr., vol. i. 350, 439, 446, 
 455, vol. ii. 5, 14, 33, 358; motion 
 against Penny Postage, vol. i. 351; 
 "talks nonsense," 436, 490; Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer, 441, 443; 
 suspends Mr. Baring's minute, 452; 
 appealed to by R. H., 454, 456-9, 
 463-5; does not answer R. H.'s 
 letters, 465 ; dismisses R. H., 
 466-71; publishes garbled corres- 
 pondence, 482 ; condemns R. H. for 
 publishing the whole correspon- 
 dence, 485 ; excuses his own conduct, 
 488; answered by Mr. Baring, 489 
 
 Gould, Mr., vol. ii. 268 
 
 "Grace Dogger" packet, vol. ii. 312 
 
 Graham, Sir James, vol i. 473 ; has 
 Mazzini's letters opened ("Graham- 
 izing "), vol. ii. 28 ; packet-service 
 account, 238 
 
 Granville, first Earl, vol. i. 410; 
 second Earl, his speech on the par- 
 liamentary grant to R. H., vol. ii. 
 398, 399; present at his funeral, 
 
 431 
 Grasset, Mr., vol. ii. 93 
 
 Graves, Mr., vol. ii. 347 
 
 Gravesend, vol. i. 282 
 
 Gray, Dr., vol. ii. 29 
 
 Greeks at Hazelwood, vol. i. 171, 172 
 
 Green, Mr. J. R., vol. ii. 356 
 
 Greenock, vol. i. 260, 527, vol. ii. 148 
 
 Gregory, Mr., Evidence, before Railway 
 Commission, vol. ii. 283 ; report on 
 tubular conveyance, 337-9, 489 
 
 Grenfell, Mr. P., vol. ii. 17 
 
 Grey, Earl, vol. ii. 244 
 
 Grote, George, interest in Hazelwood 
 School, vol. i. 172, 173; a supporter 
 of penny postage, 263, 279 
 
 Guarantee, mutual, vol. ii. 307 
 
 Guards, mail, vol. i. 161, 453, vol. 
 ii. 89, 257 
 
 Guest, Dr., vol. i., 12, 55 
 
 Gunboat, French, vol. i. 38 
 
 Gunpowder, vol. i. 242 
 
 H 
 
 Habeas Corpus Act suspended, vol. 
 i. 22, 139; damned in ignorance, 
 144 
 Hagley, vol. i. 62, 97, 134 
 Hall, Captain Basil, vol. i. 173; De- 
 scribes Hazelwood in "Edinburgh 
 Review," 122; letter to R. H., sug- 
 gests gummed envelopes, 418 
 Hampden, John, vol. i. i 
 Hampden Club, vol. i. 139 
 Hamburg, treaty with, vol. i. 382 
 Hardinge, Viscount, vol. ii. 222 
 Hardwicke, Earl of, vol. ii. 213, 228, 
 229, 238, 358; Postmaster-General, 
 vol. ii. 203; a disciplinarian, 204, 
 207; "two kings in Brentford," 
 205, 209; "intends to be Postmaster- 
 General," 206; dinner party, 207; 
 peculiar spelling, 210; patronage, 
 211; dislike of "Hill's book-post," 
 
 245 
 Hare, Mr. Thomas, vol. i., 24, 223 
 
 Harmony, New, vol. i. 206 
 
 Harness, Colonel, vol. i. 452 
 
 Harrowby, Earl of, vol. ii. 149 
 
 Hatchard, Mr., vol. ii. 190 
 
 Hawes, Mr. (Sir Benjamin), vol. i. 483 ; 
 interest in Penny Postage, 288; a 
 member of the Ministry of 1846, vol. 
 ii. 37; induces R. H. to accept ap- 
 pointment, 41, 216, 461; R. H.'s 
 letter to, 43, 166, 437 
 
 Playter, Mr. (Sir William), secretary to 
 the Treasury— R. H. and he "get 
 on swimmingly," vol. ii. 114; the 
 Sunday question, 1 14, 117, 118, 121, 
 154; learns from R. H. the abuses 
 as to promotion, 184; forgets his 
 own regulations — R. H.'s letter to 
 him, 299; Post Office Mutual In- 
 surance, 305 
 
 Hazelwood. See School. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 503 
 
 Head, Sir Francis, vol. ii. 192 
 
 Health of Post Office staff, vol. ii. 302 
 
 Henderson, Dr., vol. ii. 29 
 
 Hennessy, Mr., vol. ii. 398 
 
 Henslow, Professor, vol. ii. 145 
 
 Henson, Mr. G., vol. i. 305, 308, 309 
 
 Herald, Alorning, vol. i. 483, vol. ii. 
 115, 120, 123, 160 
 
 Hermit's Cave, vol. i. 169 
 
 Herries, Mr., vol. i. 435 
 
 Herries, Sir W., vol. ii. 218, 222-4 
 
 Herschel, Sir William, vol. i. 58, 497 
 
 Highgate, vol. i. 282 
 
 Hill, James, ** a substantial freeholder," 
 vol. i. 2 
 
 Hill, John, tract on "A Penny Post" 
 (1659), vol. ii. 29 
 
 Hill, John, a volunteer against the 
 young Pretender, vol. i. 3, 6 
 
 Hill, Mr. Alfred ; writes an historical 
 sketch of the Post Office, vol. ii. 
 310 
 
 Hill, Mr. Arthur ; a young trader, 
 vol. i. 50 ; a young actor and 
 author, 77 ; injures his eyesight, 
 127; v-isits the Edge worths, 160; his 
 brother's successor in the school, 
 203; the Arthur Hill lifeboat, 203; 
 constant aid to his brother, preface, 
 234, 292, 487, vol. ii. 99, III, 
 116; his eighty-first birthday, 430 
 
 Hill, Mr. Edwin; a night alarm, vol. 
 i. 37 ; makes a model forge, 45 ; at the 
 assay office, 55; his courage, 154; 
 family arbitrator, 187; a partner in 
 the school, 187; joins Sir J. Le- 
 fevre's society, 210; helps in the 
 printing machine, 225 ; superinten- 
 dent of stamp machinery, 392, 405 ; 
 invents envelope-folding machine, 
 419; attestations to his services, 
 539 ; consulted by his brother, vol. 
 ii. 99 
 
 Hill, Mr. Frederic, vol. i. 169, 263, 
 vol. ii. 213; in his boyhood fond of 
 calculating, vol. i. 128; his great 
 services as an inspector of prisons, 
 215, and vol. ii. 171 ; consulted by 
 his brother, vol. ii. 99 ; consults Mr. 
 Cobden, 166; appointed assistant- 
 secretary to the Post Office, 176, 
 196; reforms the system of mail 
 packet contracts, 240, 369-73; ad- 
 justs the salaries of the rural post- 
 masters, 245 ; his views on patron- 
 age and promotion, 246; manages 
 the Money Order Department, 253, 
 463 ; his measure for early de- 
 liveries, 258 ; aids his brother in the 
 more difficult part of his duties, 
 
 265 ; his able and zealous assis- 
 tance, 266; originates the annual 
 reports, 267 ; remodels the central 
 office, 268 ; his evidence before the 
 Royal Commission on Railways, 283 ; 
 introduces contract work, 286; a 
 supporter of promotion by merit, 
 301 ; draws up a plan for life in- 
 surance, 305; tries to introduce the 
 contract system into the savings 
 banks, 364; his reward for faith- 
 ful services, 374; wishes to employ 
 female labour in the office, 403 
 
 Hill, Mr. Howard, his untimely death, 
 vol. i, 8, 14, 195, 203; his fine 
 character, 196 
 
 Hill, Mr. Matthew Davenport, vol. ii. 
 91, 465 ; life of him by his daughters, 
 vol. i. preface xiv. ; describes his 
 father, vol. i. 9, 19, and his mother, 
 30 ; account of the Birmingham 
 riots, 33; a night alarm, 37; a 
 young trader, 49 ; reforms his 
 father's school, 63, 87, 88; gives 
 lessons at another school, 64, 65 ; 
 advice on a point of law, 86; goes 
 to the bar, 87, 126; drills boys for 
 "exhibition day," 91; writes "Pub- 
 lic Education," 103; discussions with 
 his brother, 105, 106 ; lectures on 
 electricity, 134; defends Major Cart- 
 wright, 150; M.P. for Hull, 220,240; 
 introduces his brother to Mr. Parker, 
 243 ; talk with Lord King, 362 ; 
 letter on Mr. Baring's offer, 366, vol. 
 ii. 456; article in "Edinburgh Re- 
 view, "vol. i. 378, 390; assists his bro- 
 ther on his dismissal, 467, 469, 473, 
 477 — and in the Sunday agitation, 
 vol. ii. 116, 118; letter on his 
 brother's illness, 361 ; his brother's 
 letters to him, vol. i. 175, 179, 185, 
 191, 220, vol. ii. 417; letters to his 
 brother, vol. i. 176, 367, vol. ii. 417 
 
 Hill, Mr. Pearson, vol. ii. 176, 194, 
 417, 424; his account of his father's 
 printing press, vol. i. 226; appoint- 
 ment in the Post Office, vol. ii. 191 ; 
 improves the mail-bag apparatus, 
 237 ; invents a stamping machine, 
 331 ; his plan for the deliver^' of 
 circulars, 405, 490; his marriage, 426 
 
 Hill, .Sir Rowland ; birth, vol. i. i, 34; 
 ancestors, 1-7; parents, 8-33; com- 
 bines the strong qualities of each 
 parent, 31; early life at Horse- 
 hills, 35-46; intimacy with the Pear- 
 son family, 42; feeble health, 44; 
 makes a water-wheel, 44; a model 
 forge, 45 ; removes to Birmingham, 
 
504 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 47; attends his father's school, 48; 
 a young trader, 49 ; buys Miss 
 Edgeworth's "Parent's Assistant," 
 50 ; ambition, 50, 67, 87, 203 ; 
 builds a boat, 51 ; helps in house- 
 hold work, 51; feeling of respon- 
 sibility, 51, 52, 76, 129; shares in 
 his mother's troubles, 52; works a 
 ruling -machine, 53; turns book- 
 binder, 54; assists in teaching, 54; 
 works at the assay office, 55 ; 
 makes an electrical machine, 55 ; 
 love of astronomy, 57-9; habit of 
 criticism, 58, 499; studies mathe- 
 matics, 60 ; — navigation — architec- 
 ture — would have puzzled an exami- 
 ner, 61 ; learns his deficiencies, 62, 
 65; teaches at a neighbouring school, 
 65 ; forms literary and scientific 
 societies, 68-72; studies French, 73, 
 74; wins a prize for drawing, 74; 
 becomes a theatrical manager, ']'] ; 
 begins a school atlas, 79; makes 
 a planisphere, 82; a water-alarum, 
 "^T^ ; learns surveying, 85 ; makes a 
 map of the scene of a murder, 
 86; scheme of a large college, 87, 
 104, 179, 180; reforms his father's 
 school, %%', establishes punctuality, 
 89; enforces penalties incurred, 90; 
 keeps the accounts and pays off his 
 father's debts, 90; corrects Shakes- 
 peare, 91 ; rivals Zerah Colbourn, 92 ; 
 makes a trigonometrical survey, 94; 
 his audacity as a school -reformer, 
 102; his plans always worked, 103; 
 helps in writing "Public Education," 
 103 ; his faith in his system shaken 
 in old age, 104; over-worked, 105; 
 describes his system, 107-22 ; a 
 stern schoolmaster, 124; plan for 
 controlling his temper ; his courage, 
 125; becomes his father's partner, 
 128, 186; plans Hazelwood School; 
 is his own architect, 128; and clerk 
 of the works, 129; love of long 
 walks, 131; sees a criminal trial, 
 132; love of feats, 133; sketches 
 Dover Castle, 133; lectures on elec- 
 tricity, 134; sees a steamboat, 135; 
 becomes sub-secretary to Deaf and 
 Dumb Institution, 136; visits Derby- 
 shire, 137; describes a Hampden 
 club, 139; visits Liverpool, 140; 
 his need of trips, 141 ; describes 
 his parents, 142 ; early rising ; sees 
 John Kemble, 143; hears a debate, 
 144; sketches Netley Abbey, 145; 
 sees Stonehenge, 146; experiments 
 on diet, 147; attends the New Hall 
 
 Hill meeting, 149 ; describes the fire 
 at Hazelwood, 151; saves a woman 
 from burning, 152; discusses the 
 question of fire insurance, 158; 
 visits Edgeworth-town, 160; climbs 
 down to the Hermit's Cave, 168; 
 publishes "Public Education," 170; 
 thinks the celebrity of Hazelwood 
 excessive, 174; over-worked, 1 75-7; 
 trip to Scotland, 175; Paris, 176; 
 his fortitude, 177; intends to open a 
 school near London, 1 80; Bruce Castle, 
 181 ; his marriage, 182 ; helps his bro- 
 thers, and is helped by them, 184, 
 191 ; holds property in common, 
 186; articles of partnership, 187 ; 
 family fund, 188 ; family council, 
 191; trained to reason, 194; his 
 early friends, 198; his youthful 
 iudgments, 199; gets rid of preju- 
 dices, 200; one of the founders 
 of the Society for the Diffusion of 
 Useful Knowledge, 201; the "Ver- 
 nier pendulum," 201 ; health 
 again breaks down, 202; writes 
 "Home Colonies," 202; gives up 
 school-keeping ; confidence in him- 
 self, 203 ; forms various schemes, 205 ; 
 visits Robert Owen, 206 ; scheme 
 for a social community, 207-14; 
 Sir J. Shaw-Lefevre and he form 
 a small society, 209; his friendship 
 with Mr. Roebuck, 214; few careers 
 open to him, 215; tour in France ; 
 describes his own character, 216; 
 joins the South Australian Associa- 
 tion, 217; works at abolishing the 
 stamp duty on newspapers, 217; 
 his "Letter on Pauper Education," 
 218; becomes secretary to the South 
 Australian Commission, 220; turns 
 his mind towards postal reform, 223, 
 229; invents a printing-machine, 224; 
 offered a partnership by Mr. Clowes, 
 230; corrects error of Miss Mar- 
 tineau's, 239; devises a travelling 
 post office, 241; examines the ef- 
 fects of reduction of taxation, 243 ; 
 analyses postal accounts, 246 ; as- 
 certains cost of conveying a letter, 
 248; the conclusions at which he 
 arrives, 256; writes "Post Office 
 Reform," 262; lays it before Govern- 
 ment, 263, 266; publishes it, 267, 276; 
 examined before Commission of Post 
 Office Enquiry," 268; proposes use of 
 stamps, 270; appeals to the public, 
 275 ; present at a meeting of the 
 Common Council, 280; his caution 
 in statement, 286; parliamentary 
 
INDEX. 
 
 505 
 
 committee granted, 287 ; writes 
 "Letters to Lord Lichfield;" mode 
 of composition, 292; examined be- 
 fore parliamentary committee, 295, 
 316, 325; regards low postage as no 
 tax, 311; assists in preparing com- 
 mittee's report, 331; examines rival 
 claims to the authorship of Penny 
 Postage, 332; learns that Penny 
 Postage is to be granted, 343; 
 writes "On the Collection of Pos- 
 tage by Means of Stamps," 345; 
 "Facts and Estimates," 347; pre- 
 sent at the di\-i5ion, 352 ; let- 
 ter to the Duke of Wellington, 
 354; in the "kitchen" of the 
 House of Commons, 356 ; interview 
 with Lord Melbourne, 357 ; present 
 in House of Lords, 360 ; described 
 by Miss Martineau, 361 ; testi- 
 monials, 363, 442; offered appoint- 
 ment in Treasury', 365 ; consults Mr. 
 M. D. Hill thereon, 366; accepts 
 appointment, 369; first visit to 
 the Post Office, 371 ; hours of work, 
 374; inspects the French Post Office, 
 376; prepares for introduction of 
 penny postage, 380; \-isits Mr. 
 Baring, 385; learns who "My 
 Lords " are, 386 ; first day of penny 
 postage, 390; difficulties with the 
 Stamp Office, 397; obliteration of 
 stamps, 399; resists needless ex- 
 penditure, 411; proposes to set up 
 pillar-boxes, 417; wins Mr. Barings 
 confidence, 422; detects errors in 
 accounts, 429; meets with constant 
 opposition at the Post Office ; over- 
 worked, 431; plan of rural distri- 
 bution, 433, 451; sets a high value 
 on statistics, 434; consulted about 
 a twopenny rate, 435; applies for 
 office of secretary to the Post Office, 
 437; alarmed by the change of 
 ministry, 439 ; under Mr. Goulburn, 
 443 ; thwarted in his work, 444-7 ; 
 investigates railway charges, 452; 
 Lord Lowther's hostility, 459; dis- 
 missal impending, 462 ; his mother's 
 death, 465; notice of dismissal, 
 466 ; correspondence with Sir Robert 
 Peel, 469; question of publishing 
 correspondence with Treasury, 473 ; 
 offer of help from " the men of the 
 League," 477; cuts down personal 
 expenditure, 480; interview with 
 Mr. Stephen, 481 ; official publi- 
 cation of garbled correspondence, 
 482 ; petitions Parliament, 483 ; 
 publishes all the correspondence, 
 
 484; select committee moved for, 
 487 ; committee granted, 492 ; letter 
 to Sir G. Clerk, 493; publishes 
 "State and Prospects of Penny 
 Postage," vol. ii. I, 14; examined 
 before the committee, i-io; director 
 and then chairman of the Brighton 
 Railway Company, 16; resigns, 
 23 ; offered appointment on the 
 South-Westem Railway, 24; re- 
 ceives the national testimonial, 29 ; 
 takes the longest holiday he had 
 ever known, 38 ; offered appoint- 
 ment as secretary to the Postmaster- 
 General, 39 ; letter to Mr. Hawes, 
 43 ; accepts the appointment, 45 ; 
 enters upon office, 47 ; encounters 
 obstructions, 49; snowed-up, 52; 
 speech at Liverpool, 53 ; undertakes 
 Money Order Department, 56; \dsits 
 Bristol, 57 ; assists at the Treasur}-, 
 59; vexations tell upon his health, 
 60; encounters unpopularity in the 
 office, 63 ; proposes a book post ; 
 also a system of promotion, 65 ; 
 proposes railway legislation, 66 ; 
 reforms Money Order Office, 70, 
 178; resists an offensive minute, 
 73; a special constable, 84; estal> 
 lishes book post, Sy ; claims pro- 
 motion, 95-106; reduces Sunday 
 labour, 108; his measure for 
 transmission of "forward letters," 
 no; receives deputation from 
 Lord's Day Society, 113; attacked 
 by Sabbatarians; treachery in the 
 Post Office, 115; objects to the use 
 of compulsion, 120; slandered by 
 Lord's Day Society, 129; complete 
 success of his measure, 135; device 
 for railway sorting, 137; establishes 
 meeting of surveyors, 140; reports 
 on demand for total abolition of 
 Sunday labour, 145; visits Glas- 
 gow and Greenock, 148 ; defended 
 by the Times, 151; Lord Ashley's 
 motion, 155; health again failing, 
 163; claims promotion, 164; con- 
 sults Mr. Cobden and Mr. Hume, 
 166; interview with Sir C. Wood, 
 169; asks for appointment of Mr. F. 
 Hill as assistant-secretar}', 170; his 
 father's death, 176; his limited 
 staff of clerks, 177; proposes a 
 commission for revising salaries, 
 184; manages the Railway Depart- 
 ment, 193; seeks Mr. Cobden's aid; 
 visits towns in West Riding, 194; 
 claims promotion, 196; consults his 
 friends in Parliament, 198; "a 
 
5o6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 mysterious allusion in Mr. Cobden's 
 letter," 199; Lord Hardwicke Post- 
 master-General, 203 ; Court-dress, 
 207 ; discussion with Lord Hard- 
 wicke, 209 ; does not expose his 
 lordship's spelling, 210 ; Tory 
 ministry thrown out, 211 ; Lord 
 Canning Postmaster-General, 213; 
 letter to Lord Canning, 215; pro- 
 motion or resignation, 217 ; dan- 
 gerous state of health, 219 ; meets 
 Mr. Gladstone, 222; sole secretary, 
 224; proposes railway legislation, 
 227 ; accelerates northern mails, 
 231; replies to attacks, 235; his 
 minute on the true revenue of the 
 Post Office, 238 ; reduces Colonial 
 postage, 241 ; his evidence before 
 the Commission for Revising Salaries, 
 246 ; upholds promotion by merit ; 
 dislikes competitive examinations, 
 249 ; purchase of telegraphs, 25 1 ; 
 accelerates deliveries in London 
 district, 258, 272 ; arranges secre- 
 tarial duties, 264 ; establishes con- 
 ference of secretary and assistant- 
 secretaries, 265 ; gives more power 
 to the heads of departments, 266; 
 opposes the Board of Works, 269 ; 
 divides London into districts, 270; 
 accelerates mails, 273 ; need of 
 railway legislation, 276 ; proposes 
 Government loans to railway com- 
 panies, 278 ; a member of the Royal 
 Commission on Railways, 283 ; in 
 favour of contract work, 286; 
 opposed to Panama route, 290 ; 
 doubles the mail to India, 292 ; 
 arranges scale of salaries, 296; 
 upholds promotion by merit, 298; 
 supports a system of life insurance 
 in the office, 304 ; lectures on the 
 eclipse of 1858, 308; encounters dis- 
 content in the office, 321 ; threatened 
 with assassination, 327 ; approves of 
 Mr.Sikes's scheme of savings banks, 
 332 ; and of the volunteer corps, 
 334 ; attempts compulsory prepay- 
 ment, 335 ; has for the first time to 
 retrace a step, 336 ; his plan of 
 tubular conveyance, 336; describes 
 the lost labour of inventors, 339; 
 controversy with Mr. R. Stephenson, 
 341 ; opposes the newspaper pro- 
 prietors, 342 ; attacked by the Times, 
 344 ; his plan for the delivery of 
 newspapers, 347 ; condemns official 
 franking, 351 ; his account of the 
 Postmasters-General from 1853-60, 
 353 ; his difficulty of composition. 
 
 355 ; his work limited to four days 
 a week, 358; F.R.S., K.C.B., 359; 
 peace in the office ; dangerous 
 illness, 360; has not the confidence 
 of Lord Stanley of Alderley, 361 ; 
 receives Mr. Gladstone's support, 
 362 ; censures the management of 
 the Post Office Savings Banks, 365 ; 
 wishes to establish parcels post, 368 ; 
 reforms the packet service, 369 ; 
 upholds promotion by merit ; ap- 
 peals to the Treasury, 376 ; inter- 
 views with Lord Palmerston, 377 ; 
 resigns, 379 ; his character described 
 by Sir F. Baring, 388 ; receives copy 
 of Treasury Minute, 390; asserts his 
 claim to the sole authorship of 
 Penny Postage, 393 ; receives a 
 grant from Parliament, 399 ; made 
 D.C.L., receives presents from Liver- 
 pool and Longton, and the Albert 
 Gold Medal, 400; looks upon him- 
 self as happy among reformers ; 
 considers future postal reforms, 
 401; his character, 41 1-5; attends 
 the Political Economy Club, 416; 
 meets Garibaldi, 417; grieved by 
 the state of the Post Office, 418; 
 describes the state of his health, 
 419; suffers from the Metropolitan 
 Asylums Board, 421 ; regularity of 
 his household, 422 ; resources of 
 his old age, 423; thoughtfulness for 
 others, 424 ; death thins his family, 
 425 ; his son's marriage, 426 ; not 
 forgotten of men, 427 ; receives the 
 freedom of the City, 428; death, 
 429 ; Westminster Abbey, 430 
 Hill, Sir Rowland : letters to Sir 
 G. B. Airy, vol. i. 506 ; Duke of 
 Arg)dl, vol. ii. 280, 330; Mr. E. 
 Baines, vol. ii. 332; Sir F. Baring, 
 vol. i. 440, 542, vol. ii. 85 ; a bro- 
 ther, vol. i. 206, 211 ; Lord Canning, 
 vol. ii. 225, 460, 478 ; Mrs. F. Clark, 
 vol. ii. 335 ; Lord Clanricarde, vol. ii. 
 437. 443. 453 5 Sir G. Clerk (a draft 
 letter) vol. i. 493 ; Council of the 
 Royal Astronomical Society, vol. i. 
 515; Mr. Gladstone, vol. ii. 384, 
 393, 399; Mr. Goulburn, vol. i. 464; 
 Sir B. Hawes, vol. ii. 43 ; Sir W. 
 Hayter, vol. ii. 299; Lady Hill, 
 vol. i. 201, 230; Mr. M. D. Hill, 
 vol. i. 175, 179, 185, 191, 220, vol. ii. 
 417; "Journal of the Society of 
 Arts," vol. i. 525; Lords of the 
 Treasury, vol. ii. 379, 492; Colonel 
 Maberly, vol. i. 445; Sir R. Peel, 
 vol. i. 471 ; Mr. Schuster, vol. ii. 285; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 507 
 
 Lord Stanley of Alderley, vol. ii. 3S5 ; 
 Admiral Smyth, vol. i. 500; Mr. War- 
 burton, vol. ii, 457; Duke of Wel- 
 lington, vol. i. 354; Sir C. Wood, 
 vol. ii. 168 
 
 Letters to him from Sir G. B. Airy, 
 vol. i. 507, 509 ; Duke of Argyll, 
 vol. ii. 356; Lord Ashburton, vol. i. 
 362 ; Sir F. Baring, vol. i. 369, 439, 
 475, vol. ii. 86; a brother, vol. i. 
 184; Lord Canning, vol. ii. 218; Lord 
 Clanricarde, vol. ii. 40, 102, 445 ; 
 Mr. Cobden, vol. i. 382, 477, 478, 
 vol. ii. 31, 194, 198; Miss Edge- 
 worth, vol. i. 421 ; Lord Elgin, vol. ii. 
 359; Mr. Gladstone, vol. ii. 362, 400; 
 Mr. Goulburn, vol. i. 466; Captain 
 Basil Hall, vol. i. 418 ; Lord Hard- 
 wicke, vol. ii. 207; Mr. T. W. Hill, 
 vol. i. 173, 185, 213; Mr. M. D. Hill, 
 vol. i. 176, 366, vol. ii. 417; Thomas 
 Hood, vol. i. 479 ; Mr. Hume, vol. ii. 
 170; MissMartineau, vol ii. 14; Mr. 
 Mofifatt, vol. i. 467; Sir R. Peel, 
 vol. i. 469 ; Sir A. G. Spearman, 
 vol. i. 228; Rev. Sydney Smith, 
 vol. ii. 14; Lord Stanley of Alderley, 
 vol. ii. 384 ; a sub-sorter, vol. ii. 
 455; Colonel Torrens, vol. i. 223; 
 Sir C. E. Trevelyan, vol. ii. 301 ; 
 Mr. Warburton, vol. i. 343, 344, 
 vol. ii. 38 
 
 I [ill, Lady, childhood, vol. i. 43 ; 
 marriage, 182 ; devotion to her 
 Imsband, 183 ; hears from her hus- 
 band about his Vernier pendulum, 
 201, and his printing press, 230 ; 
 congratulated by Mr. Wallace, 360 ; 
 conversation with Sir F. Baring, 441 ; 
 assists her husband in reducing his 
 expenditure, 480 ; her twenty-second 
 wedding-day, vol. ii. 115; her hus- 
 band's amanuensis, 327 ; proposed 
 pension to her, 390 ; address to the 
 Queen, 394; meets Garibaldi, 417; 
 her husband's death, 429 
 
 Hill, Thomas Wright (Rowland Hill's 
 father), hurt in the Birmingham 
 riots, vol. i. 2, 34 ; unusual charac- 
 ter, 7 ; relish of life, 8, 25 ; wish 
 to be a lawyer, 9 ; knowledge of 
 the Bible, 10; an astronomer, 1 1, 
 57, 498; under Priestley, ii ; lec- 
 tures on natural philosophy, 12, 55 ; 
 on the formation of letter-sounds, 
 12 ; short-hand, 13 ; matchless 
 benevolence, 13 ; character as a 
 schoolmaster, 14- 19, 62 ; a mathema- 
 tician, 15, vol. ii. 177 ; love of theo- 
 ries, vol. i. 18; admirable as a father. 
 
 19, 55, 59; a staunch Liberal, 19; 
 a student of Adam Smith, 23 ; 
 scheme for representing minorities, 
 
 24, 69 ; imperfect side, 24 ; death, 
 
 25, vol. ii. 176 ; marriage, vol. i. 32 ; 
 children, 34 ; opens a school, 47 ; 
 money difficulties, 52, 90 ; buys a 
 horse, 64 ; not jealous of his sons, 
 88 ; described by his son, 142 ; 
 chairman of Attwood's Committee, 
 150; recommends spirit of co-ope- 
 ration, 185 ; consolation in his 
 children, 197 ; discusses postal 
 matters, 237, 241, 275 ; present at 
 presentation of national testimonial, 
 vol. ii. 32 ; remark on the first cen- 
 sus, 260 ; letters to one of his sons, 
 vol. i. 13, 24; his brother-in-law, 52 ; 
 Mr. M. D. Hill, 20, 105, 127, 172, 
 177 ; Sir Rowland Hill, 185, 213 
 
 Hill, Sarah (Rowland Hill's mother), 
 girlhood, 7 ; character, 27 ; moves 
 her husband to turn schoolmaster, 
 30, 47 ; economy, 30, 34, 52 ; mar- 
 riage, 32; a "notable" woman, 43; 
 described by her son, 142 ; death, 
 
 465 
 Hill Top. See School. 
 Hillska Skola, vol. i. 173 
 Hinks, Rev. W., vol. ii. 30 
 Hinde, Mr., vol. i. 465 
 Hodgson, Mr. Joseph, attends R. H. 
 
 in times of illness, vol. i. 177, vol. 
 
 ii. 163, 219-21, 458 
 Hoffay, Mr., vol. ii. 221 
 Hogarth, William, vol. i. 39 
 Holgate, Mr., vol. i., 324 
 Holyhead, vol. ii. 275 
 Home Colonies, vol. i. 202 
 Honduras, vol. ii. 370 
 Hong-Kong Post Office, vol. ii. 257 
 Hood, Thomas, vol. i. 479 
 Horsehills, vol. i. 35, 45 
 Horsfall, Mr., vol. i. 429 
 "Household Words," vol. ii. 48, 192, 
 
 253 
 Howard, John, vol. i. 4, 141, 196 
 
 Huish, Captain, vol. ii. 231, 232, 274 
 Hull, vol. i. 150 
 
 Hume, Mr. Joseph, vol. i. 171, 173, 
 34i> 357j vol. ii. 225; visits Hazel- 
 wood, vol. i. 174; a supporter of 
 postal reform, 263, 288, 342, 350, 
 vol. ii. 38; consulted by R. H., vol. 
 ii. 166, 167, 174, 198, 199; letter to 
 R. IL, vol. ii. 170 
 Hunt, Leigh, vol. i. 276 
 Huskisson, Mr., vol. i. 198, 242 
 Hutchinson, Mr., vol. ii. 279, 281 
 Hutt, Sir W., vol. i. 220, 482 
 
5o8 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Income-Tax Commissioners, vol. ii. 30 
 
 India, postal reform in, vol. ii. 187, 
 212, 317; postage to, 242; book- 
 post to, 245 ; mutiny,_ 292, 354, 478 
 
 Inglis, Sir Robert, vol. i. 355 
 
 Inventors, not men who merely make 
 lucky hits, vol. ii. 339; described by 
 Lord Brougham, 398 ; their common 
 lot, 401 
 
 Ireland in 1821, vol. i. 160, 161 ; let- 
 ters to (before 1840), 297 ; Sunday 
 labour, vol. ii. 112, 154; mails to, 
 274> 338, 340; life insurance, 307; 
 debts ow^ing by postmasters, 313 ; 
 early history of Post Office, 352 
 
 Isle of Wight, vol. i. 146, 168 
 
 Jackson, Mr., vol. ii. 70, 77, 179 
 Jefferson, ex-President, vol. i. 174 
 Jeffrey, Lord, reviews " Public Educa- 
 tion," vol. i. 178 
 "Jerusalem Coffee-house," vol. i. 303 
 Johnson, Dr., knew how to bind a 
 book, vol. i. 54 ; reads aloud the 
 "Vanity of Human Wishes," 106; 
 receives a packet from Lisbon, 276 ; 
 rendering of a passage in IMilton, 
 vol. ii. 225 ; quotes Bentley, 235 ; 
 to be read on the banks of the 
 Wolga, 427 
 Johnson, Mr., vol. ii. 49, 74 
 Johnstone, Dr., vol. i. 64 
 Jones-Loyd, Mr. (Lord Overstone), 
 evidence before committee (1838), 
 vol. i. 310, 312; consulted by R. H., 
 vol. ii. 43, 56, 216, 461 
 JuUien, M., vol. i. 174 
 
 K 
 
 Kater, Captain, vol. i. 95, 499 
 
 Kean, Edmund, vol. i. 135 
 
 Keble, Mr., vol. i. 194 
 
 Kemble, John, vol. i. 143 
 
 Kennedy, Dr., vol. i. 55 
 
 Keswick, vol. i. 339 
 
 Kidderminster, vol. i. 150; I^' H's. 
 
 birth-place, I, 2, 34; his statue to 
 
 be set up there, vol. ii. 428 
 King, Lord, vol. i. 362 
 Kingston-on-Thames, vol. ii. 14I 
 Kington, vol. ii. 277 
 Knight, Mr. Charles, suggests stamped 
 
 covers for newspapers, vol. i. 218, 
 
 265, 270, 377 
 Knowles, Sheridan, vol. i. 2CX) 
 
 Labouchere, Mr. (Lord Taunton), 
 vol. i. 267, 268, vol. ii. 160 
 
 Land's End to John O'Groat's, vol. ii. 
 278 
 
 Laplace, vol. i. 59, 506 
 
 Lardner, Dr., vol. i. 173, 312, 322 
 
 Larpent, Sir George, vol. ii. 30 
 
 Lawrence, Mr. William, vol. i. 431 
 
 Lawrence, ISIr. (of the Post Office), 
 vol. i. 303 
 
 Lea, William, vol. i. 6 
 
 Lea, Bailie, vol. i. 7, 31, vol. ii. 148 
 
 Ledingham, Mr., vol. i. 374, 404, 448 
 
 Lee, Mr. James, vol. ii. 92 
 
 Leeds, vol. ii. 109, 194 
 
 Leeds Mercury, vol. ii. 150 
 
 Lees, Sir Edward, vol. i. 318 
 
 Leicester, vol. i. 366 
 
 Letters, postage rate before Penny 
 Postage, vol. i. 238, 239, 247, 252, 
 276, 277, 281, 282, 295-7, 339, 381, 
 vol. ii. 380, 396 ; charges by enclo- 
 sures, vol. i. 238, 282, 295 ; effects 
 of high rates on the poor, 239, 305-9, 
 342; taxing, 247, 283, 372; deli- 
 veries few and slow, 269, 281 ; in 
 large districts no deliveries, 253, 324, 
 451, vol. ii. 381 ; illegal conveyance, 
 vol. i, 238, 254, 300-4 ; number 
 as stated by government, 279, 290, 
 298, 299; as stated by R. H., 298, 
 299 ; average weight of London 
 mail, 319, 339; R. II. 's reforms; 
 proposed sorting in coaches, vol. i. 
 241 ; actual cost of conveyance, 249, 
 280, vol. ii. 242, 493 ; cost of dis- 
 tributing, vol. i. 248, 354 ; uniform 
 rate, 250, 312 ; primary and second- 
 ary distribution, 251, vol. ii. 406; 
 rates suggested, vol. i. 251, 264, 269, 
 284, vol. ii. 404; charges by weight, 
 vol. i. 264, 318, 376, 386; low 
 postage no tax, 311; prepayment, 
 250. 314, 378, vol. ii. 180, 258, 
 335; uniform fourpenny rate, vol. i. 
 381, 384; penny rate begins, 390; 
 number of letters after 1839, 395, 
 418, 435, 463, vol. ii. 86, 188, 190, 
 214, 259, 260, 314, 350, 382, 397 ; 
 registration, vol. i. 410, 455-9, vol. ii. 
 7. 315. 367, 381 ; thefts, vol. i. 283, 
 410, 411, 455, vol. ii. 190, 315, 368 ; 
 forward letters, vol. i. 457, vol. ii. 
 1 10 ; free delivery, vol. i. 252, vol. ii. 
 270, 381 ; returned letters, vol. ii. 
 314; increase of correspondence to 
 distant places, vol. ii. 241, 371 ; effect 
 of school boards on letter writing, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 509 
 
 418. See also Penny Postage and 
 Post Office. 
 
 Letter-Boxes (hall door), vol. ii. 90. 
 See Pillar Letter-Boxes. 
 
 I^etter carriers, union of two corps of, 
 vol. i. 258, 373, 375, vol. ii. 100, 103, 
 247, 271 ; improved condition of, 
 190, 345, 381 ; life insurance and 
 burial fund, 304-7 ; discontents, 321 ; 
 eligibility of their position, 309, 324 ; 
 Christmas boxes, 325, 328; mutinous 
 meeting, 326 
 
 Lewins, Mr. W. vol. ii. 367 
 
 Lewis, Sir G. C, passage in "Notes 
 and Queries," vol. i. 239; commis- 
 sion of inquiry into Sunday labour, 
 vol. ii. 160 ; mail service to Kington, 
 277 ; R. H.'s device of government 
 railway loans, 279-81 ; Post Office 
 insurance fund, 305 
 
 Lewis, Dr. vol. ii. 303 
 
 Libraries, Post Office, vol. ii. 308 
 
 Lichfield, vol. i. 138, vol. ii. 191 
 
 Lichfield, Earl of, Postmaster-General ; 
 his Post Office Consolidation Act, 
 vol. i. 281 ; opposed to penny postage, 
 279, 288, 293, 314, 325.. 351. 427, 
 vol. ii. 3 ; goes into a passion over il, 
 vol. i. 359 ; R. H.'s letters to, 292, 293 
 
 Life insurance of Post Office staff, 
 vol. ii. 304-7 
 
 Lines, Mr., vol. i. 74, 391 
 
 Liverpool, R. H.'s first visit, vol. i. 
 140; newspapers in 1834, 218; tes- 
 timonials, 442, vol. ii. 400 ; speech 
 at a public dinner, vol. ii. 53 ; com- 
 mittee of the town council, 54 ; 
 district system, 272 ; mutual gua- 
 rantee, 307 ; pneumatic tubes, 340 
 
 Lloyd, Mr. James, vol. ii. 387 
 
 Loans to railway companies. See Rail- 
 ways. 
 
 Locke, Mr., vol. ii. 159, 281 
 
 London, R. H.'s early visits, vol. i. 
 58, 134-6, 145, 200; removal to, 
 180-2, 200 ; daily newspapers, 218 ; 
 deliveries, 269, 282, vol. ii. 34, 258, 
 272 ; petition for Penny Postage, 
 vol. i. 280, 289; number of Post 
 Offices, 376, vol. ii. 314; amount of 
 correspondence, vol. ii. 94, 270 ; 
 Sunday agitation, 1 18; grant of its 
 Freedom, 428 ; represented by its 
 chief magistrate in Westminster 
 Abbey, 430. See also Post Office. 
 
 Londonderry, Marquis of, vol. ii. 91 
 
 Longton, vol. ii. 400 
 
 Lord's Day Society, foolish deputa- 
 tion from, vol, ii. 113 ; its course of 
 slandering, 129, 136, 154, 155; a 
 
 proof of conscious weakness, 149 ; 
 Professor Henslow's reply to, 145 
 Lord Mayor's English, vol. i. 144 
 Lords of the Treasury, vol. i. 386 
 Lowe, Mr. (Viscount Sherbrooke), 
 
 vol. ii. 280, 347. 
 Lowther, Viscount (Earl of Lonsdale), 
 vol. i. 436, 439, 448, 462, 465, 492, 
 vol. ii. 61 ; member of committee 
 (1838), vol. i. 287; votes against 
 . Penny Postage, 327 ; Postmaster 
 General, his cold and suspicious man- 
 ner, 444, 458; his ignorance, 453, 
 vol. ii. 10 ; plan of registration, vol. i. 
 455» 456, 459. 476; his pride 
 offended, 459, 476 ; claims to the 
 origination of Penny Postage, 488 
 Lyons, vol. ii. 311 
 
 M. 
 
 Maberly, Lieut. -Colonel, vol. i. 374, 
 386, 424, 426, 428, 430, 444, 455, 
 487, 491, vol. ii. 48, 49, 55, 56, 58, 
 63, 64, 65, 71, TZ, 75, 84, 89, 113, 
 120, 121, 122, 129, 177, 185, 
 201 ; examined before parliamentary 
 committee of 1838, vol. i. 300, 
 302, 313, 314, 316, 323; vol. ii. 
 10 ; his opinion of Penny Postage, 
 vol. i. 326, vol. ii. 10 ; examined 
 before Committee of Enquiry, 1843, 
 vol. ii. I, 3, 5, 7, 10 ; question 
 of his retirement, vol. i. 362, 427, 
 437, vol. ii. 41, 43, 74, 96, 98, 99, 
 itJ3-5. 165-9, 194-200, 206, 209, 
 210, 215, 218, 219, 221, 437, 445, 
 457,461 ; appointed to the Board 
 of Audit, 224 ; his selection of heads 
 of departments, 266 
 
 Macaulay, Lord, vol. i. 333, vol. ii. 
 151 ; a man of "imperfect sym- 
 pathies," vol. i. 199 ; an error in 
 his history, 500 ; R. H. sends him a 
 document about Titus Oates, vol. ii. 
 261; "defiance of Post Office re- 
 gulations," 315 ; funeral, 431, 432 
 
 Madeira, vol. ii. 318 
 
 Magistrate, School, vol. i. no 
 
 Magna Charta, vol. i. 145 
 
 Mails. See Railways. 
 
 Mail-bag apparatus, vol. ii. 237 
 
 Malmesbury, Earl of, vol. ii. 149 
 
 Maltby, Dr. vol. i. 173 
 
 Malthus, Mr., vol. i. 173, 188 
 
 Manchester in 1821, vol. i. 160 ; Cham- 
 ber of Commerce, 301, 307 ; postage 
 to Lyons, vol. ii. 311 ; pneumatic 
 tubes, 340 ; correspondence equal 
 that of Russia, 350 
 
510 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Arap-making, vol. i. 79, 86 
 Marcet, Mrs., vol. i. 501 
 Margate, vol. i. 133-5 
 Marks, School, vol. i. 107 
 Marlborough, Duke of, vol. i. 38, vol. 
 
 ii- 356 
 
 Marseilles, vol. ii. 294 
 
 Martineau, Miss, error in her History 
 of England, vol. i. 239 ; passage in 
 her Autobiography about Sydney 
 Smith and Lord ^Nlonteagle, 361 ; 
 describes R. H., 361, 390; letter to 
 R. H., vol. ii. 14 
 
 Massey, Mr., vol. ii. 395 
 
 Matthews, Mr. William, vol. i. "j:^, 89 
 
 Maury, Mr., vol. i. 303 _ 
 
 May, Sir Erskine, vol. ii. 91 
 
 Mayer, Mr., vol. i. 442 
 
 Mazzini, vol. ii. 28 
 
 McCulloch, Mr., voL i. 245, 338 
 
 Mediterranean, vol. i. 281 
 
 Melbourne, Viscount, vol. i. 344, 416, 
 438 ; receives deputation, 341 ; 
 adopts Penny Postage, 343, 346 ; 
 R. H's interview with, 357; on 
 "moral-force men," 358; moves 
 second reading of Penny Postage 
 
 Bill, 359 
 
 Menai Straits, vol. i. 297, 381 
 
 Mercantile committee. See Committee. 
 
 Messengers, Post Office, vol. i. 425 
 
 Metropolitan Asylums Board, vol. ii. 
 421 
 
 Miles, Mr. Pliny, vol. ii. 319 
 
 "Milford, vol. i. 297 
 
 Mill, James, vol. i. 180 
 
 Millington's Hospital, vol. i. 4 
 
 Milton, John, quotation from his " De- 
 fensio Secunda," vol. ii. 225 ; " Para- 
 dise Lost " read by R. H., 423 
 
 Minorities, representation of, vol. i. 
 24, 69, 223 
 
 Mitford, Miss, vol. ii. 319 
 
 Moffatt, Mr., vol. i. 277, 436, vol. ii. 
 225 ; supporter of Penny Postage, 
 vol. i. 294, 342, 469, vol. ii. 389 ; 
 corresponds with Duke of Wellington, 
 vol. i. 353; letter to R. H., 467; 
 consulted by R. H., vol. ii. 170, 
 198, 200; R. H.'s resignation of 
 office, 384, 388, 389, 394 
 
 ^loney Order Office, similar institu- 
 tion in France, vol. i. 376; early 
 State of English Office, vol. i. 377, 
 411, 454, vol. ii. 254, 398; re- 
 duction of charges, vol. i. 411, vol. ii. 
 316 ; increase in business, vol. i. 
 411, vol. ii. 254, 286; mismanage- 
 ment of, vol. i. 454, vol. ii. 70, 77, 
 439; frauds, vol. i. 454, vol. ii. 61, 
 
 76, 80 ; economies and improvements 
 in, vol. ii. 56, 71, 76-8, 178, 216, 
 257, 286, 381, 399, 439, 458, 463; 
 losses and profits, 78, 179, 257, 286 ; 
 Sunday business, 108 ; clerks classi- 
 fied, 179; salaries, 245; amount 
 yearly transmitted, 286, 383, 397 ; 
 contract work, 286 ; extended to 
 colonies, 316 ; foreign countries, 404 ; 
 described in " Household Words," 
 
 253 
 Monopoly, Post Office, vol. i. 238, 246, 
 
 vol. ii. 405 
 Monsell, Mr. (Lord Emly), vol, ii. 284 
 Monsoons, premature setting in of the, 
 
 vol. i. 168 
 Montagu, Mr. Basil, vol. i. 43 
 Monteagle, Lord. See Rice. 
 Montrose, Duke of, vol. ii. 373, 374, 404 
 JSIorning Chronicle, vol. ii. 120, 122 
 ]\lo7-ning Post, vol. i. 449, vol. ii. 76, 
 
 116 
 Mortleman, Mr., vol. ii. 349 
 Mudge, Colonel, vol. i. 94, 96 
 Mulready envelope, vol. i. 393, 419 
 Murchison, Sir Roderick, vol. ii. 359 
 
 N. 
 
 Napier, Messrs., vol. ii. 148 
 
 Neate, Mr., vol. ii. 398 
 
 Netley Abbey, vol. i. 145 
 
 New South Wales, vol. ii, 290, 481 
 
 New York, vol, i, 206, 303, vol, ii. 93, 
 
 New Zealand, vol. ii. 290, 480 
 
 Newcastle, vol. i, 452, 465, vol, ii, 340 
 
 Newspapers, stamp duty on, vol, i. 
 217, 226-30, 524, vol. ii. 238, 343, 
 466-73 ; reduced, vol. i. 218 ; 
 number of in 1834, 218 ; made to 
 serve for letters, vol. i. 240 ; privi- 
 lege of late posting, vol. ii. 62 ; 
 acceleration of news, 294 ; tubular 
 conveyance, 338 ; claims for lower 
 postal rate, 342-9; R. H.'s plan 
 for their distribution, 347, 4S4-91 ; 
 number sent by post, 382 
 
 Newman, Cardinal, vol. i. 194 
 
 Nicholson, Mr., vol, ii, 251 
 
 "North and South American Coftee- 
 Plouse," vol. i. 303 
 
 " Notes and Queries," vol. i. 239 
 
 Northcote, Sir Stafford, vol. ii. 334 ; 
 commissioner on Post Office salaries, 
 vol. ii, 221 ; commissioner on packet 
 service, 239 
 
 Nottingham Shoemakers' Society, vol, i. 
 308 
 
 Numbering of streets, vol. ii. 311 
 
INDEX. 
 
 511 
 
 O. 
 
 Gates, Titus, his slanders paralleled, 
 
 vol. ii. 117 ; pensioned, 261 
 Ocean Penny Postage, vol. ii. 241, 319, 
 
 371 
 O'Connell, Daniel, vol. i. 27S ; on the 
 
 deputation to Lord Melbourne, 342 
 O'Connell, Mr. M. J., vol. i. 287, 327 
 Oliphant, Mrs., vol. i. 500 
 Orthography, vol. ii. 418 
 Ostend and Dover mail packet, vol. ii. 
 
 349 
 
 Overstone, Lord. See Jones-Loyd. 
 
 Owen, Robert, interested in Hazelwood, 
 vol. i. 173 ; R. H.'s visit to him at 
 New Lanark, 175, 206 ; description of 
 New Harmony, 206 ; his plan, 206, 
 210, 214 
 
 Oxford, University of, vol. ii. 400, 422 
 
 Oxford, vol. ii. 181 
 
 P. 
 
 Pacific Ocean, vol. ii. 291 
 Packet service. Admiralty versus Post 
 Office, vol. ii. 5, 183, 238, 288, 369-75, 
 402, 466-73. See also Post Office 
 and Commission. 
 Page, Mr. Edward, vol. ii. 283, 341 
 Palmer, John, his postal reforms, vol. i. 
 237, 257, 2S9 ; defrauded by govern- 
 ment, vol. ii. 9 ; Surveyor General, 40 
 Palmer, Mr., vol. i. 426 
 Palmerston, Viscount, vol. ii. 399 ; 
 letter to Lord Elgin, 359; R. H.'s 
 interviews with, 377 ; notice in 
 House of Commons on a pension 
 to Lady Hill, 390, 394 ; deputation 
 to him, 395 ; brings up message 
 from the Queen, 395 ; speech in 
 House, 395-8 
 Panama route, vol. ii. 290, 481 
 Parcels Post, vol. ii. 65, 336, 369, 403 
 Paris, R. PL's visits to, vol. i. 176, 
 376 ; number of post offices in 1839, 
 
 376 
 
 Parker, Mr. (^LP. for Sheffield), vol. i. 
 243, 2S7, 327, 344; secretary to the 
 Treasury, vol. ii. 38, 59, 98 
 
 "Parker Society," vol. i. 462 
 
 Parkes, Mr. Joseph, vol, ii. 3S8, 394 
 
 Parnell, Sir H., vol. i. 245 
 
 Parr, Dr., vol. i. 172 
 
 Parris, Dr., vol. i. 504 
 
 Parsons, Mr. J. M., vol. ii. 16 
 
 Parsons, Mr., vol. i. 401 
 
 Partnership, articles of, vol. i. 187 
 Patronage, vol. ii. 61, 184, 191, 211, 
 
 247-50, 287, 299, 364, 403, 405 
 Patten, Mr.\Vilson (LordWinmarleigh), 
 
 vol. ii. 388, 389 
 Pattern post, vol. ii. 368 
 Pauper education, vol. i. 218 
 Peacock, Mr., vol. i. 302, 325, vol. ii. 
 
 327 
 Pearson, Mr. Joseph, vol. i. 42, 279 
 
 Peel, Sir Robert, vol. i. 289, 343, 436, 
 445».473> 482, vol. ii. 14, 23; gives 
 qualified support to Penny Postage, 
 350, 351 ; opposes immediate adop- 
 tion, 351, 355; supports abolition 
 of franking, 355 ; does not intend 
 to advance penny rate, 449 ; mis- 
 states postal revenue, 449, 460, 
 485, vol. ii. 5 ; R. H. appeals to 
 him, vol. i. 469, vol. ii. 36 ; his 
 reply, vol. i. 469; R. H.'s rejoin- 
 der, 471 ; speech on motion for com- 
 mittee of enquiry-, 491 ; subscribes 
 to R. H.'s testimonial, vol. ii. 32, 36 ; 
 resigns, 37; the "Peelites" com- 
 pensate R. H. for his injustice, 226 ; 
 squanders force, 412 
 
 Penalties, enforcement of, vol. i. 90, 
 vol ii. 19 
 
 Peninsular and Oriental Company, 
 vol. ii. 292, 293 
 
 Penny postage ; claimants to invention 
 of, vol. i. 332, vol. ii. 51, 392-4, 493: 
 accepted by government, vol. i. 
 343-5 ; obstacles to its full success, 
 347 ; included in the budget, 348-53 ; 
 Bill passes the House of Commons, 
 355-6 ; the House of Lords, 359-60 ; 
 plans for collecting, 381, 3S7 ; to 
 begin on January loth, 1840, 3S6 ; 
 first day of, 390 ; question of 
 twopenny rate, 435, 436 ; last attack 
 on, vol. ii. 350 ; results of, 380, 
 438 ; ocean Penny Postage, 241. 
 See also Letters and Post Office. 
 
 Perkins, Messrs. vol. i. 402, 407 
 
 Perpetual motion, vol. i. 45 
 
 Persian Ambassador, vol. i. 172 
 
 Petitions in favour of Penny Postage, 
 vol. i. 280, 288, 289, 307, 339, 349, 
 356; R. H.'s petition, 483; mer- 
 cantile committee's, 484 
 
 Phillips, Professor John, vol. i. 503 
 
 Phillips, Professor Richard, vol. i. 
 400-2 
 
 Pickford, Messrs., vol. ii. 3 
 
 Pillar letter-boxes, first used in France, 
 one set up at Allahabad, vol. i. 417 ; 
 R. H. introduces them into England. 
 417, vol. ii. 259 ; number of, 314 
 
512 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Piron, M., vol. i. 341, 377, vol. ii. 94, 
 
 188, 225 
 Pitt, William, vol. i. 19, 200 
 Place, Mr. Francis, vol. i. 277 
 Playfair, Dr. Lyon, vol. i. 2io 
 Plymouth, vol. ii. 129, 133 
 Political economy, discussions on, 
 
 vol. i. 23, 198 
 Political Economy Club, vol. ii. 416 
 Polk, President, vol. ii. 93 
 Polytechnic Institution, vol. i. 426 
 Porter, Mr., vol. ii. 187 
 Portugal, its gross postal revenue, 
 
 vol. ii. 252 ; its slowness to reform, 
 
 Post cards, vol. ii. 382 
 
 "Post Circular," vol. i. 339 
 
 Postmaster-General, office should be 
 permanent, vol. ii. 404 
 
 Postmasters, emoluments ot, vol. i. 
 433, vol. ii. 245 ; should be empowered 
 to appoint their clerks, 247 ; ap- 
 pointment of, 248, 299, 405 ; in 
 arrear with accounts, vol. i. 454, vol. 
 
 ii- 313 
 
 Postage. See Letters. 
 
 Post Office Consolidation Act, vol. i. 
 281 ; number of offices, 376, vol. ii. 
 313, 314 ; London district offices, 
 vol. i. 258, 269, 376, vol. ii. 62, 
 100, 258, 271, 381 ; rural offices, 
 vol. i. 430, 433, 451, 486, vol. ii. 
 182, 260, 381 ; "a vast machine," 
 vol. ii. 53, 233, 271 ; errors in 
 accounts, vol. i. 249, 298, 429-30, 
 448, 449, 475, 490, vol. ii. 5, 50, 78, 
 2)7, 186, 187 ; errors as regards 
 packet-service accounts, vol. i. 449, 
 460, 485, vol. ii. 4, 185, 238, 402 ; 
 audit, vol. i. 454, vol. ii. 186, 313 ; 
 statistics, vol. i. 414, 434, vol. ii. 55, 
 65; chief office, vol. ii. 216, 268-70; 
 widows' and orphans' fund, 306 ; mu- 
 tual guarantee, 307 ; libraries, 308 ; 
 volunteer corps, 334 ; revenue (before 
 1839), vol. i. 244, 256, 283, 286, 534, 
 vol. ii. 382; (after 1839), vol. i. 416, 
 432, 459, 460, 464, 468, vol. ii. 5, 
 2>T„ 85, 188, 295, 297, 382, 392, 397, 
 417; causes of increased expendi- 
 ture, vol. i. 411-13, 419. 427> vol. ii. 
 295 ; R. H.'s calculations as to 
 recovery of revenue, vol. i. 256, 
 325. 347, 396, vol. ii. 214, 297 ; true 
 mode of arriving at net revenue, 
 vol. ii. 237, 298, 466 ; every branch 
 ought to be self-supporting, 371, 
 402 ; postal union, 404 ; monopoly, 
 vol. i. 238, 246, vol. ii. 405 ; effect 
 of school boards on the revenue, 417; 
 
 " Post Office reform," vol. i. 262, 276, 
 283 
 
 Postage of government departments, 
 vol. i. 355, 388, vol. ii. 351 
 
 "Postal Guide" and "Postal Official 
 Circular," vol. ii. 329 
 
 Pratt, Mr., vol. i. 352 
 
 Prepayment. See Letters. 
 
 Pressly, Sir Charles, vol. i. 400, 429 
 
 Priestley, Dr., T. W. Hill one of his 
 congregation, vol. i. 1 1 ; his house 
 destroyed by rioters, 33 ; his 
 greatest-happiness principle, 193 
 
 Prince Consort. Gift to the Post 
 Office Libraiy, vol. ii. 308 
 
 "A Princess Royal," vol. i. 420 
 
 Prince of Wales presents Albert Gold 
 Medal to R. H., vol. ii. 400 
 
 Printing-machine, vol. i. 224-30, 525-8, 
 vol. ii. 76 
 
 Pritchard, Mr., vol. i. 280 
 
 Pritchard, Professor, vol. i. 504 
 
 Promotion, vol. ii. 65, 184, 191, 246-51, 
 298-302, 321, 376 
 
 Prussia, postal reform in, vol. ii. 35, 
 252, 406 ; treaty with, 208 
 
 * ' Public Education, " written by M. D. H. 
 and R. H. vol. i. 103 ; preface to it, 
 105 ; makes Hazel wood famous, 130, 
 170, 178; read in M.S. by Miss 
 Edgeworth, 165 ; praised by Bentham, 
 171; reviewed by Jeffrey and De 
 Quincey, 174, 178 
 
 Punctuality — school, vol. i. 89, 113, 120; 
 premiums offered to railway com- 
 panies for, vol. ii. 235, 273 ; to 
 steam-ship companies, 292 ; R. H.'s 
 household, 422 
 
 Q. 
 
 "Quarterly Revievv," vol. i. 377; 
 vol. ii. 192 
 
 Queen Victoria — abandons her privi- 
 lege of franking, vol, i. 388 ; disap- 
 proves of Lord Ashley's motion, vol. 
 ii. 158; her " Drawing Room," 245 ; 
 confers a K.C.B. on R. H. 359, 422; 
 Lady Hill's address to her, 394 ; 
 message to the House of Commons, 
 
 395 
 
 Radcliffe, Mrs. vol. i. 79 
 
 Radnor, Earl of, vol. i. 346, vol. ii. 
 
 344 
 
INDEX. 
 
 513 
 
 E.ailways — cost of conveyance of mails, 
 vol. i. 329, 412, 452, vol. ii. 181, 
 182, 189, 257, 296 ; examination of 
 officers, vol. ii. 18 ; enforcement of 
 penalties, causes of accidents, 19 ; 
 variety of signals, 20 ; excursion 
 and express trains, 21 ; " railway 
 mania," 23; Parliament and the 
 railways, 25 ; competition, 26 ; need 
 of legislation, 66, 227-31, 276, 282; 
 Commission of 1865, 69, 283, 491; 
 notices, 91 ; to be brought into the 
 heart of London, 217, 464; com- 
 mittee of 1853, 228 ; acceleration of 
 mails, 58, 231-37,273; premiums for 
 punctuality, 235, 273 ; general con- 
 tracts, 275 ; Government loans, 278- 
 282, 474 ; Government purchase, 
 283 ; arbitration, 284 ; true interests, 
 22, 23, 285 ; London and Brighton, 
 vol. i. 90, vol. ii. 16-26, 52, 60, 285; 
 South-Eastern, 23,25; South-Western, 
 24, 276 ; North-Western, 176, 232, 
 274; Great Northern, 182, 232; 
 North British, 273 ; Gloucester and 
 Hereford, 277 ; Shrewsbury and 
 Hereford, 277 
 
 Rathbone, Mr., vol. ii. 92 
 
 Rea, Mr. Edward, vol. ii. 318 
 
 Record, The, vol. ii. 115 
 
 Registration. See Letters. 
 
 Reports, Postmaster-General's Annual, 
 vol. ii. 264, 267, 310, 351 
 
 Revenue (General) uninjured by ju- 
 dicious reductions of taxation, vol. i. 
 242, 244, 255, 535 ; postal revenue. 
 See Post Office. 
 
 Ricardo, Mr. J. L., vol. ii. ^2> 
 
 Ricardo, Mr. Moses, vol. ii. 337 
 
 Rice, Mr. Spring (Lord Monteagle), vol. 
 i. 218, 220, 267, 278, 289, 348, 365, 
 460, vol. ii. 188, 469 ; R. H.'s inter- 
 view with, vol. i. 263, 265 ; includes 
 Penny Postage in the budget, 348, 
 351, 355 ; described by Miss Mar- 
 tineau, 361 
 
 Richmond, Duke of, vol. i. 288 
 
 Rintoul, Mr., vol. i. 278 
 
 Robbery, Attempted, of a letter-carrier, 
 vol. ii. 79 ; of a Western mail, 189. 
 See also Letters. 
 
 Robinson, Mr. H. C, vol. i. 36 
 
 Robinson Crusoe, vol. i. 10, 51 
 
 Rochefoucauld, La, vol. i. 192 
 
 Roebuck, Mr. J. A., early friendship 
 with R. H., vol. i. 214; on the 
 Sunday question, vol. ii. 129 ; 
 official franking, 351 
 
 Roman road, vol. i. 98 
 
 Romilly, Sir Samuel, his sole in- 
 
 heritance, vol. i. 2 ; effect of the 
 French Revolution, 21 ; reform of 
 the criminal law, vol. ii. 35 
 
 Romilly, Mr. Edward, vol. ii. 224 
 
 Rousseau, J. J., vol. i. 124 
 
 Roy, General, vol. i. 94 
 
 Royal Observatory, vol. i. 95 
 
 Royal Society, vol. ii. 359, 420 
 
 Rugby School, vol. i. 100, 115 
 
 Ruling Machine, vol. i. 53 
 
 Russell, Lord John (Earl Russell), vol. 
 i- 278, 355, 400, vol. ii. 38, 98, 103, 
 171, 174; extract from his "Recol- 
 lections," vol. i. 343; announces adop- 
 tion of Penny Postage, 345 ; the 
 Sunday question, vol. ii. 11 1, 118. 
 121, 127, 133, 135, 147, 156, 157', 
 
 159 
 Russia, vol. ii. 1 18; postal reforms, 
 vol. ii. 13, 35, 252 J number of 
 letters (1855), 350 
 
 S. 
 
 Sabden, vol. i. 324 
 
 Salaries — demand for increase of, vol. i. 
 413, 450, vol. ii. 55, 63, 321, 326, 327 ; 
 statistics for arriving at, vol. i. 414, 
 433. vol. ii. 65 ; scale of, vol. ii. 89, 
 245, 296 ; commission for revision 
 of, vol. ii. 89, 184, 221, 246-9; 
 salaries of higher officers, 333 ; of 
 Postmaster-General and Secretary, 
 345 ; of officers generally, 345 
 
 Sargant, Mr. W. L., his account of 
 Mr. T. W. Hill, vol. i. 15, 16; of 
 Hazel wood School, 93, 123 
 
 Save, Professor, vol. i. 173 
 
 Savings Banks, vol. ii. 331, 364-7, 3S3 
 
 Scholefield, Mr., vol. i. 339 
 
 School, opened at Hill Top, vol. i. 47; 
 Hazelwood, built, 128; opened, 129; 
 on fire, 151; "a sucker from it," 
 180; Bruce Castle opened, 181; 
 Hazelwood, given up, 202 ; moral 
 tone, 15 ; teaching, 15-18, 63, 65-7, 
 91-4,127,212; theatre, 77 ; survey 
 ing, 85, 94 ; system of government 
 'i'], 100-28; punctuality, 89, 120; 
 "exhibitions," 91, 1 13, 127, 170; 
 benevolent society, 109 ; band of 
 music, 112, 122; "a little world," 
 113; magazine, 116, 171; "school 
 fund," 119; described by Mr. Sar- 
 gant, 15, 16, 93, 123; by Captain 
 Basil Hall, 122 ; becomes famous, 
 130, 170-4, 178 ; its fame ex- 
 cessive, 174; number of pupils, 178 
 
 School Boards, vol. ii. 417 
 
 VOL. n. 
 
 L L 
 
514 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Schuster, Mr., vol. ii. 285 
 
 Scotland, charge on letters to, vol. i. 
 238, 249, 297, 381 ; Sunday labour, 
 vol. ii. 109, 112, 148, 157; mails, 
 232-4, 273, 338 ; life insurances, 
 307 ; early history of Post Office, 352 
 
 Screw steamboat, vol. i. 84 
 
 Scudamore, Mr., vol. ii. 312, 333 
 
 Severn, the, vol. i. 131 
 
 Seymour, Lord (Duke of Somerset), 
 vol. i. 268, 287, 327-30, vol. ii. 185 
 
 Shakespeare corrected, vol. i. 91 
 
 Shaw-Lefevre, Sir J., letter to R. H., 
 vol. i. 209 ; South-Australian com- 
 missioner, 220 ; his account of Mr. 
 Goulburn, 443 
 
 Shoemakers' Society, vol. i. 308 
 
 Short-hand, vol. i. 13 
 
 Shrewsbury, vol. i. 4, 131, 132, 140, 141 
 
 Sibthorpe, Colonel, vol. i. 352, 467, 
 vol. ii. 98 
 
 Sikes, Mr. C. W., the originator of 
 Post Office Savings Banks, vol. ii. 
 331, 364, 366; his disinterestedness, 
 Mr. Gladstone's letter to him, 332 
 
 Small-pox, vol. i. 305 
 
 Smith, Adam, vol. i. 23, 198 
 
 Smith, Mr. Egerton, vol. i. 442 
 
 Smith, Mr. John, vol. i. 180 
 
 Smith, Mr. Robert, vol. i. 272, 385, 
 vol. ii. 139, 258 
 
 Smith, Dr. Southwood, vol. i. 214, 
 vol. ii. 76 
 
 Smith, Rev. Sydney, ridiculed Penny 
 Postage, vol. i. 361 ; letter to R. H., 
 vol. ii. 14 
 
 Smyth, Admiral, vol. i. 498 
 
 Social Community, scheme for a, vol. i. 
 207, 210 
 
 Society, Mutual Improvement, vol. i. 
 68, 72 ; literary improvement, 69 ; 
 philosophical, 80 ; one founded by 
 Sir J. Shaw-Lefevre and R. H., 209, 
 226 
 
 Society of Arts, vol. ii. 336, 400 
 
 Society for the Diffusion of Useful 
 Knowledge, vol. i. 201, 219 
 
 Soldiers' letters and remittances, vol. 
 ii. 253, 310, 316 
 
 South-Australian Association and Com- 
 mission, vol. i. 216, 219-24; vol. ii. 
 426 ; mail service, 289 
 
 Southey, Robert, hatred of Bonapart- 
 ism, vol. i. 19 ; description of the 
 Charter House, loi ; Pantisocracy, 
 
 213 
 
 Spain, Postal reform in, vol. ii. 13, 
 
 35, 252; treaty with, 318 
 Spearman, Sir Alexander, vol. i. 228, 
 
 vol. ii. 279, 3^3 
 
 Spectator, The, vol. i. 278 
 
 Spencer, Earl, advice on publication 
 of correspondence with Treasury, 
 vol. i. 474, 477 
 
 St. Germans, Earl of, vol. ii. 99 
 
 St. Priest, M., vol. ii. 93 
 
 Stamps — Newspaper stamps impressed 
 at the Stamp Office, vol. i. 226 ; first 
 suggested by Mr. Knight, 265 ; for 
 letters proposed by R. H., 265, 270, 
 345; adhesive, 271, 346; stamped 
 covers, 271, 383, 393 ; objection to 
 use of stamps, 314, 316, 378,382,396, 
 vol. ii. 86 ; devised in France, vol. i. 
 y]'] ; machinery for manufacture of, 
 392, 406-9; prepayment by stamps 
 begins May 6th, 1840, 396 ; supply in- 
 sufficient, 397 ; forgery and frauds, 
 399-401 ; obliteration, 399-404 ; 
 number issued, 407 ; electrotype 
 imitations, 426 ; introduced into 
 Spain and Russia, vol. ii. 13 
 
 Stamps, general distribution of, by 
 Post Office, vol. i. 429 
 
 Stamping, illegibility, vol. ii. 330 ; Mr. 
 Pearson Hill's machine, 331 
 
 Standard, The, vol. ii. 120 
 
 Stanley of Alderley, Lord, vol. ii. 281 ; 
 R. H. has not his confidence, 361, 
 362, 376, 378, 412; disapproves of 
 contract system, 364 ; not defi- 
 cient in courage, 368, 371 ; esta- 
 blishes pattern post, 368 ; letter to 
 R. H. on his resignation, 384 ; 
 R. H.'s answer, 385 ; letter to 
 Treasury, 385 ; speech in House of 
 Lords, 386 
 
 "State and Prospects of Penny Post- 
 age," vol. ii. I, 13 
 
 "States," letters for Government, &c., 
 vol. ii. 107 
 
 Stationers, deputation of, vol. i. 348 
 
 Statistics, Postal, vol. i. 414, 434, vol. 
 
 ii- 55. 65 
 
 Steamboat, plan for working one by a 
 screw, vol. i. 84 ; by the hydrogen 
 of sea water, 210; R. H.'s first 
 sight of, 135 ; run only in the sum- 
 mer, 160, 168 
 
 Stephen, Sir James, vol. i. 443, 481 ; 
 R. H.'s opinion of, 482 
 
 Stephenson, George, vol. i. 242, vol. ii. 
 250 
 
 Stephenson, Robert, controversy with, 
 vol. ii. 341 
 
 Sterling, life of, vol. i. xii., vol. ii. 
 411 
 
 Stonehenge, vol. i. 131, 146 
 
 Stourbridge, vol. i. 57, 133 
 
 Street nomenclature, vol. ii. 31 1 
 
INDEX. 
 
 515 
 
 Sunday observance agitation, vol. ii. 
 
 107-61, 305, 446-56 
 Surveying, Land, vol. i. 85 
 Survey, Trigonometrical, vol. i. 94, 
 
 175, 221 
 Survey of mail-packets, Admiralty, 
 
 vol. ii. 370 
 Surveyors, Meeting of Post Office, vol. 
 
 ii. 140 ; reports from, 267 
 Sweden slow to adopt postal reform, 
 
 vol. ii. 252 
 Swinford, vol. i. 413 
 Switzerland, vol. ii. 252, 406 
 Symonds family, the, vol. i. i, 4, 141 
 Symonds, Mr. Arthur, vol. i. 210, 281 
 
 T. 
 
 Talma, vol. I. 144 
 
 Taxation, reduction of. See Revenue. 
 
 Telegraph brought to the Post Office, 
 vol. ii. 83 ; Government purchase, 
 251, 418; pneumatic tube service, 
 340 ; female labour, 403 
 
 Testimonials to R. H. from Wolver- 
 hampton, vol. i. 363 ; Glasgow and 
 Cupar- Fife, 442 ; Liverpool, 442, 
 vol. ii. 400 ; Longton, 400 ; national, 
 
 Thayer, M., vol. ii. 94 
 
 Theatre, School, vol. i. 75, 77, 91 
 
 Theodolite, improved use of, vol. i. 
 
 95 
 Thiers, M., vol. i. 410 
 
 Thomas a Becket, vol. i. 136 
 
 Thompson, General, vol. i. 477, vol. ii. 
 
 Thorneley, Mr., vol. i. 287, 327, vol. ii. 
 185, 198 
 
 Thornton, demanded wager of battle, 
 vol. i. 86 
 
 Thrale, Mrs., vol. i. 54, 106 
 
 Tilley, Mr. (Sir John), vol. ii. 119, 
 122. 125, 134, "139, 181, 185, 193, 
 203, 331, 374. 453; his duties as 
 assistant-secretary, 264 ; mentioned 
 in Sir C. E. Trevelyan's letter, 301 ; 
 interested in life assurance of 
 officials, 304 ; gave R. H. earnest 
 support up to i860, 360; managed 
 Savings Bank Department, 364 
 
 Timm, Mr., vol. i. 401 
 
 Times, The, vol. ii. 76 ; strong support 
 to Penny Postage, vol. i. 331, 334, 
 340; Sunday agitation, vol. ii. 116, 
 117, 120, 132, 151 ; colonial postage, 
 242 ; competitive examinations, 
 249; attack on R. H., 344; re- 
 
 duction of postage on newspapers, 
 345-7 ; R. H.'s resignation, 389 
 
 Torrens, Colonel, chairman of South 
 Australian Commission, vol. i. 220, 
 224; an intimate friend of R. H., 
 vol. ii. 426 ; a gallant soldier, 427 
 
 Trafalgar, vol. i. 39 
 
 Travelling post office, vol. i. 205, 24I, 
 vol. ii. 137, 236 
 
 Tremenheere, Mr., vol. ii. 31 
 
 Trevelyan, Sir Charles, vol. i. 447 ; 
 friendliness towards R. H., vol. i. 
 445> 457> vol. ii. 30 ; one of the 
 Treasury Commission on salaries, 
 vol. ii. 221, 301 ; letters from, 224, 
 
 301 
 Tripolitan Ambassador, vol. i. 172 
 Trollope, Mr. Anthony, vol. ii. 288 
 Truro, First Lord. See Sir T. Wilde. 
 Truro, Second Lord, vol. ii. 386 
 Tubular conveyance, vol. ii. 337-40, 
 
 402, 489 
 Tunis, Bey of, vol. ii. 350 
 Turner, J. M. W., vol. i. 135 
 
 U. 
 
 United States, Contraband letters 
 to, vol. i. 303 ; postal reform in, 336, 
 vol. ii. 27, 35, 93, 187, 319; nego- 
 tiations with, 92, 244, 318; mail- 
 packet charges, 310 ; unjustly blames 
 England, 319 
 
 Uriconium, vol. i. 141 
 
 Uxbridge, vol. i. 282 
 
 V. 
 
 Vallance, Mr., vol. ii. '^y] 
 
 Valayer, ^L de, vol. i. 2)11 
 
 Vaughan, Rev. Dr., vol. ii. 139, 144 
 
 Vernier pendulum, vol. i. 201, 517 
 
 Vickers, James, vol. ii. 312 
 
 Villiers, Mr. C. P., describes R. H.'s 
 "great disinterestedness, "vol. i. 263 ; 
 a supporter of Penny Postage, 263, 
 467, vol. ii. 166 ; a member of the 
 committee of 1838, vol. i. 287; 
 present at the funeral, vol. ii. 431 
 
 "Violet" mail-packet, wreck of, vol. 
 
 ii- 349 
 Voluntary work, vol. i. 116 
 Volunteer Corps, Post Office, vol. ii. 
 
 334 
 Von der Heydt, Mr., vol. ii. 252 
 
 W. 
 
 Waghorn, Lieutenant, vol. ii. 59 
 Wakefield, Mr. E. G., vol. i. 216, 219, 
 278 
 
 L L 2 
 
5i6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Wallace, Mr. Robert, vol. i. 272, 330, 
 33 1> 334, 337, 338, 360, 361, 436, 
 480 ; an early Postal Reformer, 245, 
 246, 257-60 ; national testimonial 
 to, 260, 529, vol. ii. 147 ; moves 
 for committee, vol. i. 278, 287 ; 
 chairman of committee, 295 ; his 
 casting vote carries uniform rate, 
 328 ; never claimed authorship of 
 Penny Postage, 332, 344, 446, vol. ii. 
 
 493 
 Walliker, Mr., vol. ii. 178 
 
 Walsall, vol. i. 301 
 
 Warburton, Mr. Henry, a supporter of 
 Postal Reform, vol. i. 263, 288, 299, 
 327, 477 ; writes report of com- 
 mittee of 1838, 333, 337 ; his house, 
 333 '} deputation to Lord Melbourne, 
 342; "a. moral-force man," 358; 
 presides at presentation of testi- 
 monial, vol. ii. 32 ; communicates 
 with the Government about R. H.'s 
 acceptance of office, vol. ii. 37, 43, 
 45, 56, 164, 166, 170, 198, 200, 206, 
 460 ; letters to R. H., vol. i. 343, 
 344, vol. ii. 38 ; R. H.'s letter to 
 him, vol. ii. 457 
 Warwick, vol. i. 42, 150 
 Water-clock alarum, vol. i. 83 
 Water-wheel, vol. i. 44 
 Waterloo, illumination for, vol. i. 135 
 Watson, Mr., vol. i. 403 
 Watson, Sir Thomas, vol. ii. 377 
 Watt, James, vol. i. 23, vol. ii. 433 
 Wellington, Duke of, vol. ii. 25, 30, 
 250 ; letter to Mr. Moffatt, vol. i. 
 353 ; R. H.'s letter to, 354 ; votes 
 for Penny Postage Bill, 359 ; urges 
 adoption of R. H.'s plan as a whole, 
 vol. i. 359, 362, vol. ii. 9 ; funeral, 
 261 ; maintains that soldiers are not 
 given to letter- writing, 310 
 West, Benjamin, vol. i. 136 
 West Indies, packet service, vol. ii. 
 
 288 ; each Government manages its 
 
 own Postal Service, 317 
 Westminster Abbey, vol. ii. 430 
 Weymouth, vol. ii. 87 
 Wheatley, Mr. Henry B., vol. ii. 29 
 Wheatstone, Professor, vol. i. 210 
 Whitmore, Mr., vol. i. 220 
 Wight, Isle of, vol. i. 145, 146, 168 
 Wilberforce, Mr., vol. i. 4, 172 
 Wilberforce, Bishop, vol. ii. 149 
 Wilde, Sir Thomas (Lord Truro), vol. L 
 
 467 ; undertakes R. H.'s case before 
 
 Parliament, 469, 480, 482, 483 ; 
 
 moves for Select Committee, 487 ; 
 
 congratulates R. H., vol. ii. 225 
 Wilkes, John, vol. i. 40 
 William the Third, vol. ii. 261 
 Williams, Mr., "a tradesman and a 
 
 scholar," vol. i. 52 
 Williams, Mr. (door-keeper to the 
 
 House of Commons), vol. i. 352 
 Wilson, Mr., vol. ii. 213, 280, 293 
 Wolseley, Sir Charles, vol. i. 149 
 Wolverhampton, vol. i. 34-8, 42, 46, 
 
 140, 282 ; testimonial from, 363 
 Wood, Sir Charles (Viscount Halifax), 
 
 vol. ii. 37, 43, 57, 73, 7S, 87, 113, 
 
 114, 118, 121, 142, 155, 156, 157, 
 
 173, 175. 176, 184, 213, 214, 215; 
 
 question of R. H.'s promotion, 72, 
 
 97, 165, 166, 168, 194, 196, 197, 
 
 200 ; unreasonable demands, 100, 
 
 103, 104, 132 
 Wood, Mr John, vol. i. 315, vol. ii. 
 
 214 
 Wrottesley, Lord, vol. ii. 244 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yatton, vol. i. 307 
 
 Yorke, Hon. and Rev. Grantham, vol. 
 
 ii. 128 
 Yorkshire Penny Bank, vol. ii. 365 
 Young, Mr. Thomas, vol. ii. 96 
 
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