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 surpassed 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 assurances
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 principal features, at any rate--had been
acted upon for nearly two years. In the course of this further
investigation--to the circumstances 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
principal, and is enabled for the first time to advise his customers of
his approach; private individuals and public institutions 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 passing 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-classes 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 principal 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 principal 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 masses. 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 gratitude for this
blessing." Almost all now living, who shared the benefits of the scheme
at this early date, could probably relate some anecdote which
circumstances had brought to their knowledge as to the operation of
penny postage _on the poorer classes 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 assured 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 circumscribed
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 circumstances, 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 anticipations have now
been entirely realized. With a tenfold--nay, in many cases, a
hundredfold--gain to different classes of the community--with the
Post-Office supplying more situations by thousands than under the
_ancien régime_, the old gross revenue was passed 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 principal 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
passing of the Act, for none might then have had the courage to go into
the enterprise.
This circumstance, 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 inertiæ_ 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 principal 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 petitioned the House of Commons. The
petition--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
Petitioner'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 Petitioner desires to submit the truth of the foregoing
allegations to the severest scrutiny, and therefore humbly prays
your honourable House will be pleased to institute 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
Petitioner's plans of Post-Office improvement, and thus realizing
the undoubted intentions of the Legislature."
The prayer of the petition 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 _résumé_ of the principal 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 principal railway-lines running
out of London, thus giving some of the principal 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 passing 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
petitioned 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 circumstances, 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 _régime_ 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 minutiæ 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 space 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 principal 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 assorting
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 manuscripts 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 manuscripts 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.
[111] "The first result of the scheme amply vindicated the policy of the
new system, but it required progressive and striking evidence to exhaust
all opposition."--_Ency. Brit._ Eighth Edition.
[112] Postmaster-General's _First Report_.
[113] Select Committee on the Post-Office, 1843.
[114] In the last month of high charges, of two and a half million
letters passing through the London Office, nearly two millions were
unpaid, and few more than half a million paid. Twelve months afterwards,
the proportion of paid to unpaid letters was entirely changed, the
latter had run up to the enormous number of five and a half millions;
the former had shrunk to about half a million.
[115] Select Committee on Postage, 1843, p. 93.