Her Majesty's Mails Part 9

EARLY RESULTS OF THE PENNY-POSTAGE SCHEME.

There are, of course, two aspects in which to contemplate the measure of penny-post reform. The first relates to its social, moral, and commercial results; the second views it in its financial relationship.

When the system had been in operation two years, it was found that the success of the scheme in its first aspect had far surpa.s.sed the most sanguine expectations ever formed of it by any of its advocates. As a financial measure, it cannot be said to have succeeded originally. In this latter respect it disappointed even Mr. Hill, who, though he never mentioned the date when the revenue derivable from the Post-Office would be recovered under the new system, was very emphatic in his a.s.surances that the loss during the first year would not exceed 300,000_l._ Calculating upon a fourfold increase of letters, in his pamphlet[101] he estimated the net revenue, after deducting for franks and newspapers, in round numbers at 1,300,000_l._; a sum only 300,000_l._ less than the revenue of 1837. We do not say that Mr. Hill originally calculated on recovering the absolute _net_ revenue by the collection of postage; but any deficiency which might continue after the scheme was fairly tried, he expected to see supplied, eventually, by increased productiveness in other departments of the revenue, which would be benefited by the stimulus given to commerce by improved communication.[102] Before the Parliamentary Committee he was equally explicit:[103] when asked, if, on a fivefold increase, there would still be a deficiency on the net revenue, he answered in the affirmative, to the extent of, he should think, 300,000_l._ He again, however, stated his conviction that the deficit would be made up by the general improvement of trade and commerce in the country. It is true that events proved that the falling off in the _gross_ revenue was considerably in excess of all the calculations which had been made: but even under this head, much may be said; and in considering the different results of penny postage, we expect to be able to point out that the scheme had intrinsic qualities in it, which, under proper treatment, must have made it in all respects a success. Mr. Hill met another Parliamentary Committee in 1842, when his recommendations--in their princ.i.p.al features, at any rate--had been acted upon for nearly two years. In the course of this further investigation--to the circ.u.mstances attending which we shall presently allude--much information relative to the carrying out of the measure, its successes, and failures, was elicited.

It was shown beyond all dispute, that the scheme had almost entirely prevented breaches of the law, and that if any illicit correspondence was carried on, it was simply and purely in matters where the question of speed was involved; that the evils, amounting to social prohibitions, so prevalent before the change, had been, for the most part, removed.

Commercial transactions, relating even to very small amounts, were now managed through the post. Small orders were constantly transmitted; the business of the Money-order Office having increased almost _twenty-fold_--first, from the reduction of postage in 1840, and then from the reduction of the fees in November of the same year. These orders are generally acknowledged. Printers send their proofs without hesitation;[104] the commercial traveller writes regularly to his princ.i.p.al, and is enabled for the first time to advise his customers of his approach; private individuals and public inst.i.tutions distribute widely their circulars and their accounts of proceedings to every part of the land. Better than any account that we might give of the reception of this boon by the country, and the social and commercial advantages which were immediately seen to follow from it, we may here give some account of the correspondence which flowed in upon Mr. Hill between 1840-1842, and which he read to the select committee appointed to try the merits of his scheme. Ten times the weight of evidence, and far more striking instances of the advantages of the penny-post scheme might _now_ be adduced, but it must be remembered that we are here speaking merely of first results, and when the scheme had been but two years in operation. Numbers of tradesmen wrote to say how their business had increased within the two years. One large merchant now sent the whole of his invoices by post; another increased the number of his "prices current" by 10,000 per annum. Messrs. Pickford and Co. the carriers, despatched by post _eight_ times the number of letters posted in 1839; whilst the letters, had they been liable to be charged as per single sheet, would have numbered 720,000 in 1842 from this one firm, against 30,000 letters in 1839. In this case we have an exemplification of the correctness of the argument upon which Mr. Hill built his scheme; for the increase of money actually paid for postage was at the rate of 33 per cent. Mr. Charles Knight, the London bookseller, said the penny postage stimulated every branch of his trade, and brought the country booksellers into almost daily communication with the London houses. Mr.

Bagster, the publisher of a Polyglot Bible in twenty-four languages, stated to Mr. Hill that the revision which he was just giving to his work as it was pa.s.sing through the press would, on the old system, have cost him 1,500_l._ in postage alone, and that the Bible could not have been printed but for the penny post. Secretaries of different benevolent and literary societies wrote to say how their machinery had been improved; conductors of educational establishments, how people were everywhere learning to write for the first time in order to enjoy the benefits of a free correspondence, and how night-cla.s.ses for teaching writing to adults were springing up in all large towns for the same object. Mr. Stokes, the honorary secretary of the Parker Society--composed of the princ.i.p.al Church dignitaries and some intelligent laymen--which has done so much for ecclesiastical literature by reprinting the works of the early English reformers, stated that the Society could never have come into existence but for the penny postage.

One of the princ.i.p.al advocates for the repeal of the Corn Laws subsequently gave it as his opinion, that their objects were achieved _two years earlier_ than otherwise would have been the case, owing to the introduction of cheap postage. After a lapse of twenty years, many more useful societies might be mentioned of which the same could be said. An interesting letter from the late Professor Henslow, the then Rector of Hitcham in Suffolk, may be given, as it contains a pretty accurate estimate of the social advantages accruing to the ma.s.ses. The professor had, consequent upon the change at the Post-Office, arranged a scheme of co-operation for advancing among the landed interest of the county the progress of agricultural science. After stating that the mere suggestion of such a thing had involved him in a correspondence which he could not have sustained if it had not been for the penny postage, he goes on to say: "To the importance of the penny postage to those who cultivate science, I can bear most unequivocal testimony, as I am continually receiving and transmitting a variety of specimens by post.

Among them, you will laugh to hear that I have received three living carnivorous slugs, which arrived safely in a pill-box! That the penny postage is an important addition to the comforts of the poor labourer, I can also testify. From my residence in a neighbourhood where scarcely any labourers can read, much less write, I am often employed by them as an amanuensis, and have frequently heard them express their satisfaction at the facility they enjoy of now corresponding with distant relatives.

The rising generation are learning to write, and a most material addition to the circulation of letters may soon be expected. Of the vast domestic comfort which the penny postage has added to homes like my own, I need say nothing more." Miss Harriet Martineau bore testimony to the social advantages of the measure in the neighbourhood where she resided.

A celebrated writer of the period[105] gives it as his opinion, that "the penny-post scheme was a much wiser and more effective measure than the Prussian system of education" just then established. "By the reduction of the postage on letters," adds he, "the use and advantage of education has been brought home to the common man (for it no longer costs him a day's pay to communicate with his family). A state machinery of schoolmasters on the Prussian system would cost far more than the sacrifice of revenue by the reduction of postage. This measure will be the great historical distinction of the reign of Victoria. Every mother in the kingdom who has children earning their bread at a distance lays her head on the pillow at night with a feeling of grat.i.tude for this blessing." Almost all now living, who shared the benefits of the scheme at this early date, could probably relate some anecdote which circ.u.mstances had brought to their knowledge as to the operation of penny postage _on the poorer cla.s.ses especially_. Thus, the then Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, visiting the Shetland Islands in 1842, writes:[106] "The Zetlanders are delighted with cheap postage.

The postmaster told me that the increase in the number of letters is astonishing.... Another gentleman who is well acquainted with the people told me, that although the desire of parents to keep their offspring at home is unusually strong in Zetland, yet that cheap postage has had the effect of reconciling families to the temporary absence of their members, and has thus opened to the islanders the labour-market of the mainland." An American writer,[107] in an admirable pamphlet on cheap postage, says: "The people of England expend now as much money as they did under the old system; but the advantage is, they get more service for their money, and it gives a spring to business, trade, science, literature, philanthropy, social affection, and all plans of public utility." Joseph Hume, writing to Mr. Bancroft, then American minister at the court of St. James's, 1848, says: "I am not aware of any reform, amongst the many which I have promoted during the past forty years, that has had, and will have, better results towards the improvement of the country socially, morally, and politically." And Mr. Hill himself, in addressing the Statistical Society in May, 1841,[108] made a statement which was neither an idle nor a vain boast, when he a.s.sured them that "the postman has now to make long rounds through humble districts where, heretofore, his knock was rarely heard."

We have yet the second, or financial, aspect of the measure to consider.

In two years a tolerably correct idea might be formed as to the results of the scheme financially; but it would certainly not be fair to attempt any full estimate of such a thorough reform within a more circ.u.mscribed period. Not that this was not attempted. Colonel Maberly discovered, at the end of the _first week_, that Mr. Hill's plan had failed, at any rate, as a question of revenue. No doubt the wish was father to the thought. He not only thought so, however, but proceeded to take timely action and shield himself and his congeners against some probable future attack. In his own words, he charged "the officials to take care that no obstacle was thrown in the way of the scheme, so as to give a colour to the allegation"--which the prophetic colonel was only too sure would be made--"that its failure was owing to the unwillingness of the authorities to carry it fairly into execution."[109]

In the first year of penny postage, notwithstanding all the confident prophecies to the contrary from those who might have been supposed to have had means of judging, the net proceeds of the Post-Office were between four and five hundred thousand pounds, whilst the number of letters actually sent was _tripled_. Against a million and a half yearly revenue of the previous year, there certainly appeared an enormous deficit; but till all other arguments were exhausted, it ought not to have been considered either evidence or proof of the failure of cheap postage. In the first instance, the Post-Office authorities said the scheme would not pay its expenses: a year sufficed to prove their mistake. It was then said that the revenue sacrificed would never be recovered, and accidental circ.u.mstances, of which we shall presently speak, favoured for a time this view: the argument, however, was based on erroneous views, as subsequent events have sufficiently shown. Bad as things appeared, there were, nevertheless, many significant signs at the end of two years that the _gross_ revenue under the old would soon be reached under the new system, and even prospects that the past _net_ revenue might still be recoverable. Both these antic.i.p.ations have now been entirely realized. With a tenfold--nay, in many cases, a hundredfold--gain to different cla.s.ses of the community--with the Post-Office supplying more situations by thousands than under the _ancien regime_, the old gross revenue was pa.s.sed in 1850-1, and the net revenue was reached last year. Moreover, every complaint under this head has long since been silenced. Many considerations went to hinder the early growth of the revenue; and it is to some of these considerations that we must now turn for a moment.

It is of primary importance that the reader should remember that Mr.

Hill, in his pamphlet and elsewhere, expressed a decided opinion that the maintenance of the Post-Office revenue depended upon the carrying out of _all his plans_.[110] In a speech which he delivered at Wolverhampton, September 7th, 1839, he said: "The mere reduction in the rates of postage will, of course, greatly increase the number of letters; but much will still depend on the extent to which the facilities for despatching letters are improved by a careful employment of the many economical and speedy modes of conveyance which now exist, and by a solicitous attention to all the minute ramifications of distribution. If, on the one hand, due attention is paid to the increasing demands of the public for the more frequent and more speedy despatch of letters, and, on the other hand, pains are taken to keep down the cost of management, though some temporary loss of revenue will arise, I see no reason to fear that the loss will be either great or permanent." Mr. Hill's proposals, it will be remembered, were embraced under four princ.i.p.al heads. The first, a uniform and low rate of postage, was fully carried out; but it was the only part of the measure which was realized at this time. The second, increased speed in the delivery of letters; and the third, consisting of provisions for greater facility in the despatch of letters, were not attempted, or, if attempted, only in the slightest degree. With regard to the simplifications of the operations of the Post-Office, which formed the fourth great item, little or nothing was done, though that little was rendered easy of accomplishment by the uniformity of postage-rates. Not only was the scheme not fairly worked, and the improvements only partially carried out, but they were crippled in their operation by officials who, if not hostile, were half-hearted and far from anxious for a successful issue. The natural difficulties in the way of the measure were numerous enough without the addition of official opposition. Trade was flourishing when the Postage Bill was carried; it was fearfully depressed in the first year of penny postage. It is well, as Miss Martineau points out, that none foreknew the heavy reverse which was at hand, and the long and painful depression that ensued after the pa.s.sing of the Act, for none might then have had the courage to go into the enterprise.

This circ.u.mstance, accounting, as it does, for some of the deficit in the first and second years, also served to test the real principles of the reform.[111] Mr. Hill's plan, though given over to the apathy and _vis inertiae_ of the authorities--to "the unwilling horses of the Post-Office," as Mr. Baring subsequently designated them--really worked well, though at a loss, when everything else was working ill. Moreover, the tendency of cheap communication to improve the general revenue of the country was clearly apparent so early as 1842; and this is a fact which ought not to be lost sight of for a moment. The reduction of postage-rates was to the community a reduction of taxation; the capital released was driven into other and perhaps more legitimate channels. The Exchequer lost revenue from one source, but it gained it in other ways, as a consequence on the outlay at the Post-Office. In 1842, there was an acknowledged loss to the Post-Office revenue of 900,000_l._ In the same year, no serious defalcation appeared in the general accounts of the country, notwithstanding the extent of the depression in trade.

There were special as well as general considerations entering into the question of the acknowledged deficiency in the revenue. It is clear that Mr. Hill--who did not foresee that so much money would be sacrificed, and who was sanguine of recovering it at no distant date--likewise could have had but an indefinite idea of the vast amount of extra machinery which would be called into operation by the full development of his plans; the extent of the measures that must follow if the country was to be equally privileged with cheap correspondence; and the concessions that would have to be granted when the wedge was driven in by this, his princ.i.p.al measure. As one only of the causes leading to the extra heavy expenses of the Post-Office department, we may mention the changes in the system of mail-conveyance consequent on the introduction of railways. Dating from 1838, railways had been gradually absorbing all the stage-coach traffic. Mr. Hill, when making his original proposals, calculated that the number of chargeable letters might be increased twenty-four fold without overloading the mails, and without any material addition to the sums paid to contractors. So great and important--we would almost say vital--was the question of _speed_ to the Post-Office, that railways were almost immediately brought into requisition, although the cost of the carriage of the mails was, at the outset, doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled! Many striking examples of the great difference in the cost of the two services are furnished in different Post-Office Reports. For instance:[112] In 1844, a coach proprietor in the North of England actually _paid_ to the Post-Office Department the sum of 200_l._ annually for what he regarded as the privilege of conveying the mails, twice a-day, between Lancaster and Carlisle. Now the Post-Office _pays_ the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway the sum of 18,000_l._ annually for the same service. The items of charges for mail-conveyance by railway at the present time--if they could have been known by any means, or even guessed at, by the enterprising post-reformer of 1837--might have had the effect of deterring him from offering his suggestions when he did. Certain it is, that the proposals would have had small chance of success, if those who had charge of the fiscal concerns of the country could have known that the sum which would have to be paid by the Post-Office to railway companies alone, in the year 1863, would not fall far short of the whole amount standing for the entire postal expenses of 1839.

In 1842 Mr. Hill left the Treasury, and was thus cut off from all active supervision of his measures. The Post-Office authorities found a friend in Mr. Goulbourn, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was known to sympathise with their views. It had been arranged that Mr. Hill should continue his services for some short time longer in his improvised place at the Treasury Offices. The divergence in the views of the new chiefs and the reformer made his position more and more unpleasant. On his being bowed out of office, Mr. Hill pet.i.tioned the House of Commons. The pet.i.tion--which was presented by Mr. Baring, the ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer--described briefly the Post-Office measures of 1839; his own appointment to the Treasury; the fact of his appointment being annulled; the benefit of the new measures in spite of their partial execution; the obstructive policy of the Post-Office officials; and thus concludes:--

"That the opinion adopted by Her Majesty's Government, that the further progress in Post-Office improvements may be left to the Post-Office itself, is contrary to all past experience, and is contradicted by measures recently adopted by that establishment.

"That, notwithstanding the extreme depression of trade which existed when the penny rate was established, and has prevailed ever since; and notwithstanding the very imperfect manner in which your Pet.i.tioner's plans have been carried into effect, the want of due economy in the Post-Office, the well-known dislike entertained by many of those persons to whom its execution has been entrusted, and the influence such dislike must necessarily have upon its success, yet the results of the third year of partial trial, as shown by a recent return made to the House of Lords, is a gross revenue of two-thirds, and a net revenue of one-third, the former amount.

"That your Pet.i.tioner desires to submit the truth of the foregoing allegations to the severest scrutiny, and therefore humbly prays your honourable House will be pleased to inst.i.tute an inquiry into the state of the Post-Office, with the view of adopting such measures as may seem best for fully carrying into effect your Pet.i.tioner's plans of Post-Office improvement, and thus realizing the undoubted intentions of the Legislature."

The prayer of the pet.i.tion was granted, and its proceedings are duly chronicled.[113] The object of this committee was "to inquire into the measures which have been adopted for the general introduction of a penny rate of postage, and for facilitating the conveyance of letters; the results of such measures, as far as relates to the revenue and expenditure of the Post-Office and the general convenience of the country; and to report their observations thereon to the House." Before proceeding to give any account of the further measures brought under discussion in connexion with this committee, we must give, in a few sentences, a _resume_ of the princ.i.p.al improvements which had actually been carried out during the interval of the sittings of the two committees.

1. The uniform rate of one penny for a letter not above half an ounce, with weight adopted as the standard for increase of charge.

2. The value of a system of prepayment was established,[114] the necessary facility being afforded by the introduction of postage-stamps. Double postage was levied on letters not prepaid _in London only_.

3. Day-mails were established on the princ.i.p.al railway-lines running out of London, thus giving some of the princ.i.p.al towns in the provinces one additional delivery, with two mails from the metropolis in one day.

4. An additional delivery was established in London, and two were given to some of the suburbs.

5. Colonial and foreign rates for letters were greatly lowered, the inland rates--viz. the rates paid for those letters pa.s.sing through this country--being abandoned altogether in some cases, as Mr. Hill had recommended.

6. The privilege of franking, private and official, was abolished, and low charges made for the transmission of parliamentary papers.

7. Arrangements were made for the registration of letters.

8. The Money-order Office was rendered available to a fourfold extent. And--

9. The number of letters increased from 75 millions in 1838-9, to 219 millions in 1842-3.[115]

This was certainly a large instalment of the improvements which the promoters of penny-post reform hoped to see realized; but, at the same time, it was only an instalment. The committee for which Mr. Hill had pet.i.tioned must now judge for themselves whether all had been done that might and ought to have been done to enhance the merits of the measure, and make it as profitable to the country as possible. In addition, it was requisite that they should consider several further suggestions which Mr. Hill had, since the introduction of his plan, proposed as likely to improve it, as well as hear him on some of the objections that had been raised to it. Thus, with regard to the latter, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Goulbourn) had stated; just before the committee was appointed, that "the Post-Office did not now pay its expenses." This statement was startling, inasmuch as Colonel Maberly himself had given 500,000_l._ or 600,000_l._ as the proceeds of the penny postage rates in the advent year of the measure. But Mr. Hill resolved the difficulty.

The inconsistency was explained quite simply, that in a return furnished by the Post-Office, the whole of the cost of the packet-service--a little over 600,000_l._--was charged against the Post-Office revenue.

Though the cost of the packets had not been charged against the Post-Office for twenty years previously, this new item was here debited in the accounts to the prejudice of the scheme; and Mr. Goulbourn, who disclaimed any hostility to the new measure, thought himself justified, under the circ.u.mstances, in making the statement in question.

Again: It was strongly and frequently urged that correspondence was less secure than under the old system. It was said by the Post-Office officials, that the system of prepayment operated prejudicially against the security of valuable letters. Under the old _regime_ it was argued, the postman was charged with a certain number of unpaid letters, and every such letter, so taxed, was a check upon him. "What security," it was now asked, "can there be for the delivery of letters for which the letter-carriers are to bring back no return?" With prepaid letters, it was said, there was great temptation, unbounded opportunity for dishonesty, and no check. To some extent, and so far as letters containing coin or other articles of value were concerned, there were some grounds for these remarks. It is a great question whether, in the case of valuable letters, the dishonest postman would be discouraged from a depredation by the thought that he would have the postage of the letter to account for; but still, freedom from all such considerations, under the new system, would clearly seem to increase the risks which the public would have to run. Previously to the penny postage era, all letters containing, or supposed to contain, coin or jewellery, were registered gratuitously at the Post-Office as a security against their loss. Under the new system, it was considered impracticable to continue the service, and the Post-Office authorities, with the sanction of the Treasury, dropped it altogether. The Money-order Office was available; the fees had been greatly reduced, and the officials, in warning persons against sending coin in letters, strongly recommended that this Office should be used for the purpose. Still, the number of coin-letters increased, and the number of depredations increased with them, to the great prejudice of the measure. Mr. Hill, whilst in the Treasury, recommended a system of registration of letters, which appears to have been somewhat similar to a plan proposed by the Post-Office authorities themselves in 1838. A system of registration was the result; but the rate of charge of one shilling per letter was enough in itself to render the entire arrangement nugatory. In October, 1841, Lord Lowther proposed to the Treasury that they should let him put down the evil in another way, viz. that they should allow him to use his powers, under the 3 & 4 Vict. c. 96, sec. 39, to establish a _compulsory_ registration of letters supposed to contain coin or jewellery, and to make the charge for such compulsory registration a shilling per letter. The Treasury Lords referred the proposal to Mr. Hill. He concurred in the opinion of the Postmaster-General, and thought the principle of compulsory registration quite fair. He pointed out, however, in a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, many objections to the plan, and contended that, so long as the registration fee was fixed at the high rate of a shilling, inducements enough were not held out to the public to register their letters _voluntarily_. Mr. Hill, therefore, suggested that the fee should be at once lowered to sixpence, to be reduced still further as soon as practicable. The public, under a lower rate, would have little excuse for continuing a bad practice; but if it was continued, restrictive measures might _then_ be tried, as the only remaining method of protecting the public from the consequences of their own imprudence.

The sixpenny rate would, he thought, be remunerative; nor would the letters increase to a much greater number than that reached under the old system when they were registered gratuitously. This subject was still under discussion when the special committee was granted, when, of course, all the proposals relative to the registration of letters were laid before it and investigated. Strong objections were made to Mr.

Hill's proposition to lower the rate. It was contended that the number of registered letters would so increase, that other Post-Office work could not be accomplished. The Postmaster-General, for example, contested the principle of registration altogether, admitting, however, that it was useful in reducing the number of ordinary letters containing coin, and the consequent temptations to the officers of the Post-Office.

Like many of the additional proposals, this subject was left undecided; but no one at this date questions the propriety of the recommendations made under this head. The charge for registration has, within the last few years, been twice reduced, with benefit to the revenue, and no hindrance to the general efficiency of the Post-Office. Not only so, but the compulsory registration clause is now in active operation.

We cannot enter far into the minutiae of the Committee's deliberations.

Mr. Hill endeavoured to show that economy in the management of the Post-Office had been neglected. The number of clerks and letter-carriers which had sufficed for the complex system that had been superseded, must more than suffice for the work of the Office under his simplified arrangements: yet no reduction had been made. Economy, he said, had been neglected in the way contracts had been let; in the manner railway companies were remunerated for carrying mails. He computed that the sum of 10,000_l._ a-year had been paid to these companies for s.p.a.ce in the trains that had never been occupied. He also endeavoured to show that the salaries of nearly all the postmasters in the country needed revision; that the establishments of each should also be revised. The changes under the new system, taken together with the changes which railways had made, had had the effect of increasing the work of some offices, but greatly decreasing that of many more. He proposed that there should be a complete revision of work and wages; that postmasters should be paid on fixed salaries; and that all perquisites, with the exception of a poundage on the sale of postage-stamps, should be given up. Late-letter fees had, up to the year 1840, been received by the postmasters themselves. Under the Penny Postage Act, however, these fees went to the revenue, and compensation, at a certain fixed rate, was granted to the postmasters in lieu of them. Mr. Hill stated that the amount of compensation granted was generally too much, and was to be accounted for on the ground that the postmasters had, in all the cases, made their own returns.

Mr. Hill's princ.i.p.al recommendations to this Committee were--

(1) The plan of a cheap registration of letters. (2) That _all_ inland letters should be prepaid (care being taken that postmasters should be supplied with a sufficient stock of postage-stamps), and double postage charged for all unpaid letters. (3) Reduction in the staff of officers till the number of letters increased to five or sixfold; that the London officers should be fully and not only partially employed; and that female employment might be encouraged in the provinces. (4) Simplification in the mode of a.s.sorting letters. (5) The adoption of measures to induce the public to facilitate the operations of the Post-Office--by giving complete and legible addresses to letters, by making slits in house-doors, and other means. (6) The establishment of a greater number of rural post-offices, till, eventually, there should be one set up in every village. (7) All restrictions as to the weight of parcels to be removed, and a book-packet rate to be established, with arrangements for conveying prints, maps, &c. &c. That railway stations should have post-offices connected with them, and that letter-sorting should be done on board the packets, were among his miscellaneous suggestions.

With especial reference to the London Office, Mr. Hill recommended (1) the union of the two corps of general and district letter-carriers; (2) the establishment of district offices; (3) an hourly delivery of letters instead of one every two hours, the first delivery to be finished by nine o'clock.

Nearly the whole of these recommendations were combated by the officers of the Post-Office during their examination--and successfully so--though it is certainly remarkable that, in the face of their opinions, the great majority of the proposals have subsequently been carried out with unquestioned advantage to the service. It would be a weary business to relate the objections made, and the exceptions taken to each recommendation as it came up to be considered. Of course the _non possumus_ argument was frequently introduced. Colonel Maberly said it was an impossibility that there should be hourly deliveries in London. A post-office in every village was thought equally absurd. We need only add, that the labours of the Committee led to little practical result.

They decided, by a majority of four, not to report any judgment on the matter. Though this result must have been eminently unsatisfactory to Mr. Hill, especially on account of their not having expressed themselves on his grievances, yet, by refusing to exonerate the Post-Office from the charges which he had brought against it, the Committee may be said to have found for the reformer. With regard to Mr. Hill's further suggestions, they refer to the evidence, and, "entertain no doubt that his propositions will receive the fullest consideration" from the Treasury and the Post-Office. So they did eventually, after some weary years of waiting. Fifty years before, Mr. Palmer, writing to Mr. Pitt, said, "I have had every possible opposition from the Office." Mr. Hill might truly have said the same. Thus it is that history repeats itself, and "the thing which hath been, it is that which shall be."

FOOTNOTES:

[101] _Post-Office Reform_, p. 26.

[102] _Results of the New Postal Arrangements_, read before the Statistical Society of London, 1841.

[103] Second Report, p. 365.

[104] The reader of such books as Cowper's _Life and Letters_, and Moore's _Correspondence_, will find that the means of obtaining franks, or carriage for their ma.n.u.scripts or proofs, gave the poets frequent uneasiness, and lost them much time. So with many needy literary men, in what Professor de Morgan somewhat absurdly calls the "Prerowlandian days." The Professor himself gives an instance of an author sending up some dry ma.n.u.scripts to him, under cover to a member of Parliament, expressing a hope, we think, that the representative would feel some interest in the subject.

[105] Laing's _Notes of a Traveller_.

[106] _Fraser's Magazine_, September, 1862.

[107] Mr. Joshua Leavitt.

[108] Page 96.

[109] Select Committee on Postage, 1843, p. 246.

[110] Parliamentary Committee, _Third Report_, p. 64.