PARTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN POSITION.
If I had been painfully sensible of the evils attending my anomalous
position even before the commencement of the Sunday observance
agitation, the suffering I had gone through during its progress, and
my fear of its recurrence in some other form, impelled me, as soon as
I began to breathe a little freely, to new efforts for relief. Before
the end of 1849 I had again addressed the Postmaster-General, briefly
referring to past correspondence, and showing how my fears had been
confirmed by recent events; how I had been singled out for attack, even
in respect of measures which I had earnestly and successfully opposed;
and how entirely it was out of my power, in the present state of the
office, to render those extended services which were expected of me at
the time of my appointment. Past experience, however, gave me but very
moderate hope of success; and this was fortunate, for, three months
after the delivery of my letter, I learnt, upon inquiry, that all was
in _statu quo_--nothing to be done till some vacancy should occur.
Here then was more disappointment; a continuance of my troubles; the
maintenance of a position subjecting me to constant demands, but
denying me the promised means of satisfying them. Much as I owed to
certain members of the existing administration, and particularly to
my immediate official superior, I have never been able to account
satisfactorily for the constant adjournment of my claims. I had
returned to office, at much personal sacrifice, under a virtual
promise, contingent only on my demonstrating certain powers: and
yet, though neither promise nor demonstration was ever denied or
even questioned, fulfilment was withheld; a second contingency being
introduced, of which I had never dreamed, and which I should have
regarded as an insuperable objection to re-entering the service.
Owing partly to this rebuff, and partly to the demands on my attention
arising out of Lord Ashley's motion for the total abolition of Sunday
work, I took no further active measure towards the improvement of my
position for several months. Perhaps I might have been willing to wait
yet longer, but for two causes; first, that my health, owing to recent
labour, anxiety, and mortification, was now suffering more grievously
than ever before; and, second, that services continued to be demanded
of me which, on my actual footing, I was quite unable to perform. The
failure of my health constrained me during this year, in spite of
every effort, and though I was paying no inconsiderable sum yearly
out of my own pocket for extraneous help,[82] to take frequent rest
sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for a week, and once for more
than a month. My complaint was a tendency of blood to the head. It has
always been my opinion that at this time were sown the seeds of the
disorder which, subsequently aggravated by other painful circumstances,
later on compelled me finally to withdraw from duty at a period when
otherwise there would have remained to me, to the best of my belief,
several years of useful service. Indeed I should have been forced to
retire much earlier had it not been for the subsequent appointment of
my brother Frederic as assistant-secretary.
Being, however, again pressed repeatedly to undertake duties beyond
my power, I at length resolved to make another effort to obtain what
I knew to be the only change that could give me a fair chance of
retaining my health, and at the same time of successfully performing
the important duties for which I was responsible, or even of completing
the reforms which I had held up to public expectation fourteen years
before. Again, therefore, I sought the aid of my ever-zealous friend,
Mr. Warburton; zealous, indeed, he must have been, or long ere this he
would have been tired of my claims, and even of the public interest on
which they were based.
In a letter which I wrote to him (Appendix G), I pointed out that
four years had elapsed since the promise of speedy promotion was
made, and two years since I first claimed its performance; and that
though no objection was raised to the justice of my claim, no steps
had been taken towards its practical acknowledgment. I showed the
utter insufficiency of my present staff for the enormous amount of
work now devolving upon me, and the impracticability of giving me an
adequate force without either making me Chief Secretary or incurring an
unwarrantable expense of several thousands a year. I referred to the
injury done to my health by excessive labour, and the impossibility,
under present circumstances, of my obtaining due rest. I referred to
improvements effected, particularly the reform of the Money Order
Department, to savings actually made, and to others in prospect.
Lastly, I begged that if Government were still of opinion that it
could not immediately fulfil its promise, a period might now be fixed
beyond which the complete performance of the promise should not be
delayed, and that arrangements should be at once made for the nearest
approximation to such performance that might be deemed practicable.
Mr. Warburton, with his usual kind alacrity, promised to see the
Chancellor of the Exchequer without delay, and to let me know the
result. This interview was unsatisfactory; for though the Chancellor
of the Exchequer admitted my claim, spoke highly of me, and said I
was in reality the Chief Secretary, he promised no more than that I
should succeed to the post if there occurred a vacancy at once suitable
and acceptable to Colonel Maberly; though, upon Mr. Warburton's
pressing further, he expressed readiness to give me more assistance,
or to exercise his patronage in favour of any member of my family,
and promised to see me on the subject generally. Upon my showing the
Postmaster-General a copy of my letter to Mr. Warburton, and reporting
all that had passed, he admitted that Government was afraid of being
attacked by the economists for extravagance, if they allowed Colonel
Maberly to retire on full salary. Nevertheless, he cordially approved
of what had been done, and volunteered to speak to the Chancellor of
the Exchequer himself, and to back all that Mr. Warburton had urged.
Two days later he reported progress, informing me that the Chancellor
of the Exchequer wished to see him and me together, but adding that
he had objected to this for himself, partly because he was going
immediately to Ireland. He advised, however, against any attempt to
establish a coequal secretariat, but said there would be no difficulty
about raising my salary, and spoke of my having six month's holiday
before taking Colonel Maberly's place, and of appointing a second
assistant-secretary to relieve me of routine duty. In short, he showed
clearly that he was desirous of the change.
I accordingly wrote next day to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
inquiring when I should wait upon him, and enclosing a copy of the
whole correspondence on the subject of my position, commencing with
my letter to Mr. Hawes of November 3rd, 1846, and ending with that to
Mr. Warburton of November 15th, 1850. I then called on Mr. Warburton
to report progress. He was in high spirits, and now thought we should
succeed.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that, as he was going into the
country, he must postpone seeing me till after his return; but that he
would take the correspondence with him and read it meantime. On the
same day (December 19th) I received a letter from my brother Frederic,
who had gone at my request to Manchester to see Mr. Cobden relative
to any opposition that might be looked for from the economists. He
informed me that he had been received in the most friendly manner, that
Mr. Cobden, on his return to town, would talk over the matter with Mr.
Hume, Mr. Villiers, and others, with a view to their acting together,
and that meantime he authorized him (my brother) to say that he would
back me in everything that I might think necessary for carrying out my
plans, including the retirement of Colonel Maberly on full pay. On my
brother's return, I learnt that, though Mr. Cobden engaged to defend
Government in the House if attacked for allowing Colonel Maberly to
retire on full salary, he objected to give in writing a guarantee to
be shown to the Postmaster-General, unless Mr. Hume would move in the
same direction. At all events he advised that Mr. Hume should at once
be applied to,[83] and thought Mr. Warburton the best man to make this
application. Mr. Warburton preferred to do this by letter, and in the
end decided on merely suggesting to Mr. Hume that he should see me on
the subject.
When I saw Mr. Hume, he expressed concurrence with Mr. Cobden, and
undertook to write to him on the subject, but wished to consult other
members before signing any paper to be used by Government. He was
exceedingly earnest in the matter, and reminded me of a speech he made
in 1846, urging on the Whig Government, just then come into power, the
necessity for placing me in the Post Office.
Meanwhile I prepared for use in my expected interview with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer a statement of improvements effected in
the previous two years; a step the more needful, as it might well have
been supposed, seeing how much my attention was occupied during the
main part of this time with the agitation respecting Sunday observance
and with attempts to rectify my own position, that the course of
improvement had been entirely suspended. Serious as was the check from
these causes, and particularly from the former, which had involved
me in a sort of life and death struggle, there was quite enough to
show that time had not been allowed to pass unprofitably; and I may
add that, even when my personal attention was most largely withdrawn,
inquiries and preparations which I had set on foot were constantly
paving the way for the improvements then in hand. On the Chancellor of
the Exchequer's return to town after the absence of nearly a month, I
again applied for an interview, but again met with postponement; and
it was not until a fortnight later that the desired opportunity was
obtained. I looked upon these delays as very unpromising.
Meantime efforts were renewed in another quarter; the
Postmaster-General himself speaking to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
who explained the delay which had occurred, and promised to see me in
a day or two. Lord Clanricarde informed me that a vacancy was expected
in the chairmanship of the Audit Office, to which it was intended
that Colonel Maberly should be appointed. This would have been most
satisfactory could I have relied on prompt action; but as I was not to
allow my knowledge of such expectation to appear even in my conference
with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and as meantime objections on
unsatisfactory grounds were raised against my being at once placed on
full equality with Colonel Maberly, I could feel no confidence in the
result.
After sleeping on the matter I decided that the Chancellor of
the Exchequer must be pressed. A case had just occurred in which
importunity had induced him to yield to claims which I regarded as
at best but illfounded, and I thought that the same expedient might
work as well where the claim was undeniable. I accordingly wrote as
follows:--
"General Post Office, 29th January, 1851.
"DEAR SIR,--It is so very important that my case should be decided
without further delay, that I must beg to be excused for proposing
that, if possible, the interview you were so good as to promise me
may not be any longer deferred.
"Yours faithfully,
"ROWLAND HILL.
"The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, &c. &c."
An immediate reply summoned me for the next day.
"_January 30th._--Went to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's with
documents to sustain my case as set forth in the correspondence.
Asked if he had read the correspondence. He replied he had read
the greater part.... Urged that I had fulfilled the only condition
on which my position depended, and claimed the fulfilment of his
part of the compact. He at once admitted my claim, qualifying the
promise, however, to mean that I am to succeed Maberly on the
occurrence of a vacancy. This is not what was understood at the
time, as I told him. He says that as soon as any office in his
gift suitable for Maberly becomes vacant, M. shall be removed to
it (he did not say that he had any immediate expectations of a
vacancy) but that I must wait patiently, &c.; that he should not
be justified in pensioning M. at his time of life, as this would
violate a rule which, though it acts disadvantageously in some
cases, is on the whole beneficial. On my admitting that there was
truth in this view of the subject, but pressing that all this
should have been considered before the promise was given, and
that it was unfair to induce me to accept office by holding out
expectations unless Government saw their way to their fulfilment
in a reasonable time, he said, standing up and leaning his back
against the wall, as he is accustomed to do, 'We may talk in this
way till we are both black in the face, but it's of no use. I can't
do it yet.' He then said earnestly and cordially that I had fully
realised the expectations of my most sanguine friends, and that
he would do all in his power to show his sense of my services.
He would immediately raise my salary to £1,500 a-year, and 'give
me any amount of assistance I might require.' On my remarking
jocularly that he was scarcely aware of the extent of this promise;
that I wanted such a staff as M.'s, at a cost probably of £10,000
a-year; he replied that he 'would give any reasonable amount of
assistance.'...
"In conclusion, I thanked him especially for his hearty recognition
of my services, but added that I felt it my duty to state, 'in
the plainest language I could use,' that I must consider what
he proposed as only an instalment on my claim, ... and that many
important improvements must be deferred so long as the direct
authority of Secretary to the Post Office is withheld from me."
"Saw Warburton and reported to him the result, which he considers
satisfactory."
"_January 31st._--Received the following from Hume:--
"'Burnley Hall, 30th January, 1851.
"'MY DEAR SIR,--I have had a letter from Mr. Cobden on the subject
I wrote to him about, and on my arrival in London, on the 3rd of
February, I shall have the pleasure of writing to you or seeing
you, after I have had some conversation with Mr. Cobden, and some
other persons.
"'I think your object may be attained, which will give satisfaction
to yours sincerely,
"'JOSEPH HUME.
"'ROWLAND HILL, Esq., General Post Office.'"
"_February 1st._--Moffatt called. Told him in confidence much that
had occurred. He will join Hume and Cobden in doing what I want."
"_February 3rd._--Called on Cobden, who is just returned to town.
Told him in confidence the greater part of what passed between
the Chancellor of the Exchequer and myself. He will see Hume in
the morning, and will try to get him to settle matters without
consulting any one else.... In the course of conversation I said I
feared that the Sunday agitation had injured my influence with the
public, but Cobden replied that it was no such thing; that I was
'the most popular man in the world.'"
In reference to my conversation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer
I spoke to the Postmaster-General on the subject of assistance. I
proposed that I should have as assistant-secretary some one in whom I
had entire confidence, and who would be able to take my place in case
of my absence, and I pointed out that for such duty a knowledge of
Post Office details was unnecessary. His lordship expressed general
concurrence, but said that he must speak on the subject with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. My wish was to obtain the appointment of
my brother Frederic, but I forbore at the time to mention his name, as
the Postmaster-General was in haste to reach the House of Lords.
To justify my selection I need only recount a few facts. My brother had
been for sixteen years one of the Inspectors of Prisons; for twelve
years in Scotland, and the remaining time in England. He was one of
the first appointed under the Act of 1835, by which the office was
created; and Lord John Russell, then Secretary of State for the Home
Department, when assigning to the inspectors their districts, paid him
the compliment of saying that he had given him Scotland because he knew
that in that part of the kingdom there was most need of improvement.
On examination, my brother found that, with the almost sole exception
of the Glasgow Bridewell, which was under the governorship of an
admirable prison reformer, Mr. Brebner, the Scottish prisons were
as bad as Lord John Russell had stated, and that indeed the great
majority, instead of being places of reform, were the abodes of
idleness and disorder, and not unfrequently of drunkenness and riot;
in a word, of general demoralization. Although invested with no other
power than that of inspection, and of making Reports to the Secretary
of State, and, through him, to Parliament and the country, my brother,
in a short time, effected a great change. He obtained the removal of
a large number of bad officers, the appointment in their stead of
persons qualified for their duties, including matrons (of whom till his
nomination there had been only two or three in the whole of Scotland),
with a proper corps of female assistants, and without waiting for
the erection of new prisons, he succeeded, in most instances, in
inducing the local authorities at once to turn to the best account the
buildings at their command.
After a time he was authorized by Government to frame a bill for
remodelling the whole system of prison government in Scotland in
accordance with his recommendations. Although this bill was a good deal
altered, and, as we both thought, much injured, in its passage through
Parliament, the new system adopted under it was a great improvement
on what had existed before. By the appointment of a general board, of
which he was chosen a member, a directing authority was established
which removed many obstacles to improvement. Thus, long before he
quitted Scotland to take an English district, every prison there had
either been so altered as to become well fitted for its use, or, if
beyond improvement, had been replaced by a new building. In every
prison productive work had been introduced, motives to diligence
supplied, tread-mills and all other unproductive employment abolished,
flogging and every kind of degrading punishment discontinued; good
chaplains had everywhere been appointed, and provision made for
ordinary elementary instruction; the health of the prisoners had much
improved, good conduct had become the general rule, and, in many
cases, means had been provided for maintaining some amount at least
of supervision and friendly assistance after liberation. Finally, my
brother practically showed that, under good arrangements, all prisoners
of ordinary health and strength, and committed for even a moderate
period, may be made to defray the entire cost of their maintenance and
custody.
Any one who compares the most enlightened demands of the present
day with this statement of facts, and yet more, the series of
recommendations contained in my brother's Reports, or more summarily
in his work entitled "Crime; its Amount, Causes, and Remedies," will
find that my account of his services contains no exaggeration.
Having carried the work of prison reform thus far in Scotland, he
exchanged his Scottish for an English district; but although he was
able to accomplish a good deal there, he found among the country
justices of the peace, who have the general charge of the county
prisons, far more of _vis inertiæ_ than he had encountered in Scotland.
In the belief that in the Post Office, in conjunction with myself, he
should have a new and wide field for the exercise of his knowledge of
the principles of government and his powers of administration, and that
he should be able to render me effectual assistance, he was ready to
accept an appointment, should it be made, as assistant-secretary.
Of course I was well pleased with the prospect of constant aid from
one of whose ability and trustworthiness I was so well assured; a
prospect which, as the sequel will show, was amply realised. Upon my
speaking more explicitly, the Postmaster-General made no objection to
the appointment,[84] but feared that the Chancellor of the Exchequer
would object to the necessary expense; an apprehension at which I
could not but feel disappointed after all that had passed, but which,
nevertheless, was confirmed on inquiry. Coupled with the announcement
of this result, came new cause of anxiety, viz., a warning that
Ministers would resign if beaten on an impending motion of Mr.
Disraeli's. Though, on the division, there was a majority in their
favour, yet, as the difference was only fourteen, it was but too
clear that the administration was by no means firm. It was important,
therefore, to press on at once. I again called upon Mr. Hume; but
though I found him very friendly, he still objected to giving me the
letter I wanted, intimating that he should shortly effect the object by
something which he was to say in the House. Naturally I could not share
Mr. Hume's confidence, particularly as I could at best but conjecture
the tenour of his proposed remarks; and I must add, that though I
have not the slightest doubt of Mr. Hume's perfect good faith and
earnestness in the matter, I cannot find, either in my records or in my
recollection, that the intention was ever fulfilled.
The following passage shows how kindly earnest Lord Clanricarde was on
my behalf, even at a season of critical importance to himself:--
"_February 22nd._--On reaching the office, found a note from the
Postmaster-General, desiring to see me at once. Went to his house
and found him busy writing a letter to the Treasury, recommending
the advance of my salary. He tells me that Lord John Russell has
tendered his resignation, and that they are all going out as soon
as their successors are appointed."
At my request he made an addition to his letter, for the purpose of
securing the position of my clerks in the event of my being driven from
office. After using every means to hasten action in the Treasury, he
sent in the letter (which was very complimentary to me) by his private
secretary. The Treasury promptly replied, authorizing the advancement
of my salary in a letter, from which the following is an extract:--
"I am directed to acquaint your lordship that, in consideration of
the services which Mr. Hill has rendered to the country, and the
meritorious manner in which he has discharged his official duties,
my Lords are pleased to sanction the additional salary recommended
by your lordship."
Again, however, the immediate alarm passed away. After fruitless
attempts to form an administration, Lord Stanley withdrew, and the
old ministers returned to office. My great pleasure at this relief
was, however, soon damped by the revival of former difficulties, the
Treasury again pressing for that amalgamation of the two corps of
letter-carriers which, without undivided authority, it would be, as
I well knew and had often represented, impossible for me to effect,
and highly dangerous to attempt. The Postmaster-General admitted
the difficulty,[85] and undertook to speak to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer on the subject. In the meantime I pointed out to his lordship
that the question of assistance had been left to him, and I urged
immediate action in this matter. He replied that, notwithstanding the
power that had been given him, he must still consult the Chancellor
of the Exchequer. He intimated that the Ministry were still in a
precarious position. This appeared to me anything rather than a
reason for delay; and I particularly pressed the appointment of an
assistant-secretary, strengthening my former reasons with others of
great weight.
"_March 24th._--The Postmaster-General has spoken to the Chancellor
of the Exchequer on the subject of assistance. He thinks the
Chancellor of the Exchequer will not object; but nothing can be
decided till after the Budget has been brought forward."
It will easily be believed that I was not a little impatient at these
inexplicable and hazardous delays; but happily relief was coming.
"_April 8th._--Last night the Ministers had an unexpectedly large
majority on the question of the income tax, and they are now
considered safe for the session. Spoke to the Postmaster-General on
the subject of assistance."
"_April 28th._--The Postmaster-General, who is returned to town, is
much pleased with my success in the North Western negotiation [to
be explained hereafter], which I think has hastened the decision
as to Frederic. He has seen the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
intimates that the matter is satisfactorily settled; but I am to
see the Postmaster-General at his house to-morrow."
"_April 29th._--At the Postmaster-General's house. I am to prepare
a letter to the Treasury, and a minute recommending the appointment
of an assistant-secretary to the Postmaster-General, and let
the Postmaster-General see both in draft. Frederic is virtually
appointed."
"_May 5th._--The Postmaster-General has returned the drafts with
some verbal alterations only."
"_May 6th._--At the Postmaster-General's house. He was going to
the Drawing Room, and could do no more than sign a fair copy of
the letter to the Treasury. Will see minute to-morrow. Authorizes
me to say that he will appoint Frederic. Intends to transfer the
secretarial management of the Railway Department to me."
"_June 2nd._--The Treasury authority for the appointment of an
assistant-secretary to the Postmaster-General having been received,
I lost no time in submitting it to the Postmaster-General, who, on
my stating the anxiety on the subject of my poor father (now, I
fear, on his death-bed), kindly filled up Frederic's appointment
on the instant; and I immediately despatched Pearson [my son] to
Tottenham with the news."
"_June 7th._--Thanked the Postmaster-General in my father's name
for his kindness with reference to Frederic's appointment. Obtained
leave of absence for Frederic, in order that he may continue in
attendance on my father. I have sent him work which he can do at
Tottenham."
"_June 13th._--Attending the death-bed of my dear father. Till
within a few hours of his dissolution he retained the command of
his faculties, and took evident pains by signs (for he was too
feeble to speak more than a word or two) to show his recognition
of us all, and to satisfy us that he was quite happy. He died,
apparently without any pain, about half-past eight in the evening.
I shall sadly miss his warm and intelligent sympathy. Nothing was
so acceptable to him, even up to the time of my visiting him last
night, as an account of any improvements in progress in the Post
Office.[86]
My father died in his eighty-ninth year--a longevity not unprecedented
in our family. So remarkable was his retention of mental power, that in
this, his last illness, he devised a new process for ascertaining, by
mental arithmetic, the incidence of Easter Sunday in any given year;
a process which, at his desire, I put to the test of practice, with a
result completely satisfactory.
To return to the subject of this narrative. In thus accepting the
offer of assistance, I could not but feel that, notwithstanding all my
protestations, I weakened my present claim to that great change, so
long the object of my desire, since concession, however insufficient,
could not be closely followed by further demand. Nevertheless, so great
was the pressure upon me, so serious the danger of my breaking down
altogether, that I had no alternative. Some estimate of my difficulties
may be formed from the following simple statement. Though reference
was made to me in all cases of serious difficulty, whatever their
nature, and though the secretarial charge of the Money-Order Department
was exclusively in my hands, the amount of assistance at my command
hitherto was limited to my private secretary and four or five clerks,
while that under Colonel Maberly consisted of a private secretary,
an assistant-secretary, competent to act as an occasional deputy,
and probably not less than fifty or sixty clerks. Still I naturally
regarded the late accession to my force,--particularly as it gave me
the aid of my brother--with great satisfaction.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIX.
PROGRESS OF REFORM FROM THE BEGINNING OF 1849 TO
THE MIDDLE OF 1851.
Having thus carried the general narrative to this important point, I
pause to describe those concurrent proceedings[87] which could not
be conveniently mentioned in their chronological order, remarking,
however, that the chief improvements effected within the period have
been mentioned as they took place, and that those of my readers who
have little desire to know more on the subject may easily pass over
so much as they please of what follows. For convenience I resort to
classification.
MONEY ORDER DEPARTMENT.
_Economy, Self Support._
Various measures of economy were adopted; not, for the most part, of
sufficient importance to be mentioned in detail, though of considerable
value in their aggregate effect. One, however, by its magnitude, claims
distincter record, being the release for other duties of such a number
of clerks as reduced the Money Order staff, in proportion to its amount
of business, by nearly forty per cent.; an economy effected by the
mere simplification of accounts and modes of procedure. Two others may
be mentioned as curious, the first being a saving of probably about
£800 a-year through the substitution for "guard books" of an apparatus
invented by Mr. Walliker, one of the clerks (now Postmaster of Hull),
and the second the saving of £700 a year by a mere reduction, and that
not the first, in the size of the letter of advice. By the various
improvements thus introduced into the Money Order Office since it came
under my superintendence it was found--the accounts being at length
for the first time balanced--that the annual loss of more than £10,000
had been converted into a small gain. It should be mentioned that, in
fetching up the arrear of accounts, debts, which ought long since to
have been claimed, were found owing by various deputy postmasters, and
had to be recovered, in some instances, of their sureties; a proceeding
sometimes involving much hardship. In one case, at Bilston, where the
payment thus enforced amounted to £230, the postmaster had been dead
some years.
_Condition of Clerks Improved._
The Money Order Department being thus made self-supporting, I felt
justified in recommending not only a considerable increase in the
salaries of the probationary clerks, but also an addition to those
of the lowest grade on the staff. I was also enabled to extend
and regulate the leave of absence in the department. A few months
afterwards, the Postmaster-General thus described the latter measure in
the Upper House, reporting afterwards that the Lords were much struck
with it:--
"The clerks in the Money Order Office were divided into classes,
and twelve were counted in a class where it was calculated that
eleven could do the work, so that by this means one might be always
absent, and thus every clerk enjoy a month's leave of absence in
the year. Now that was not an unjust nor a severe arrangement, but
much more just and impartial than the old system, by which one
clerk might be away for a considerable time, and another could
get no leave of absence at all. They were allowed to work for one
another, and in case of illness, if the absentee was away more than
a month, he might have his work done by paying for it. This had
been agreed to by all the classes but two; and there was now in the
Money Order Department of the Post Office a case of a gentleman who
had been ill for eleven months during the last two years, and his
colleagues worked for him without a penny of remuneration, knowing
that he really was ill and unable to attend himself."[88]
_New Head of Department._
In the course of this period, on the sudden death of Mr. Barth, the
President of the Money Order Office, the vacancy was filled, much to
my satisfaction, by the appointment of Mr. Jackson, who had zealously
seconded me in improving the department, and who, I am glad to say,
retained his post many years, much to the advantage of the service and
the benefit of the public.
_A Paradox._
There remains to mention a ludicrous perplexity, showing how easy
it is, amidst complicated changes, for even those who have best
opportunity of judging, and are most interested in arriving at the
truth, to fall into misconception. In the early part of 1850, when we
confidently believed that correspondence of all kinds was, as usual,
on the increase, we remarked, to our surprise, a falling-off in the
number of letters passing through the Inland Office, and speculated
much as to its cause. Mr. Bokenham attributed it to a decrease in
Sunday letter-writing; but the mystery was at length explained by our
simply calling to mind that the natural effect of a recent improvement
in the Money Order Department was to relieve the Inland Office of about
forty-six thousand packets per week, a number somewhat more than enough
to account for the decrease.
GENERAL ECONOMIC MEASURES.
_Clerks in Charge._
There was an abuse demanding correction, of which the following is a
specimen. A clerk in the chief office, in receipt of about £82 per
annum, was sent to act temporarily as clerk to one of the surveyors,
and, for one cause or other, his exceptional employment was prolonged
from two months to fourteen. Further, it happened that during two
months of the fourteen he had charge of the Gloucester Post Office.
By this lucky combination of circumstances, his emoluments for the
time were at the annual rate of £452, or between five or six times his
ordinary income. I took some steps with a view of putting things on a
juster footing, but found the abuse too strongly sustained to allow
me much hope of removing it until I should obtain more uncontested
authority.
_Prepayment._
I again considered the question of totally abolishing prepayments in
money. Both Mr. Tilley and Mr. Johnson (the excellent surveyor of the
home district), whom I consulted, agreed in the practicability of the
measure, and spoke strongly of its importance, as greatly simplifying,
and therefore economising, the mechanism of the department; but, for
fear of inconvenience to the public, I hesitated to take the step
all at once. To Mr. Tilley, however, I mentioned, in confidence, a
plan which I had conceived for dealing with unpaid letters, viz.,
that wherever posted they should be sent in the first instance to
the Metropolitan office, thence to be forwarded to their respective
destinations. This arrangement would have tended much to economy, as it
would have wholly superseded the "by-accounts," _i.e._, the accounts
between one provincial office and another. This device I must myself
have afterwards forgotten, for certainly it was never acted upon. Some
years later, it was attempted to make prepayment in respect of inland
letters absolutely compulsory, but public objection proving too strong,
the attempt was abandoned. I believe that this forgotten plan would
still be the best step towards attaining the desired end.
_Mail Conveyance._
I discovered instances in which the serious expense of railway
conveyance was incurred, when, speed being unimportant, a cheaper
mode served equally well. It is obviously of no use to a place that
its letters should arrive in the middle of the night, every purpose
being answered if they come in time to be included in the earliest
practicable delivery. Consideration of this led me to propose, in such
cases, the substitution of mail-carts. In one such case this year the
effect was an annual saving of about £800, and in one in the following
year more than £2000.[89]
_A Summary._
A statement of the savings which, without counting the rejection of
applications for needless increase of force or salary, I had secured
by the end of 1850, either by prevention of unnecessary augmentation
in expenditure, or by positive reductions, showed an amount of nearly
£40,000 a year; although I believe my clerks, in hastily preparing the
statement (for it was suddenly required) had made several omissions.
_Further Economy in Conveyance._
The surveyor for the South of Ireland had recommended that the night
mails to Waterford should be conveyed by a new line of railway between
Carlow and that city. The entry on the subject in my Journal (13th of
January, 1851) thus concludes:--
"On the Postmaster-General calling for my opinion, I was able to
show that the adoption of such recommendation would cost about
£10,000 a-year, that it would afford scarcely any convenience, ...
but that a day-mail ... might be established at a comparatively
small cost, and would be of great service to Waterford. The
Postmaster-General has adopted my view.
"_May 22nd, 1851._--A short time since certain towns in the West
Riding memorialized the Postmaster-General to despatch a mail
by an existing express train direct to Boston. The Company (the
Great Northern) refused to undertake the service for less than a
first-class fare each trip, or £540 a-year. The Postmaster-General
called for my opinion. I offered the Company £200 a-year; they
refused, and the memorialists were informed that, owing to the
excessive demands of the Company, the mail [a very small one] must
be withheld. This brought public opinion to act on the Company,
and, as I expected, they became suitors to us, first offering to
reduce the charge to about £340 a-year, and ultimately consenting
to charge the bags as parcels. On these terms we shall give a mail
in both directions for about £200 a-year, or for little more than
the third part of what was originally demanded for a mail in one
direction."
RURAL DISTRIBUTION.
On July 15th, 1850, I learned that the Postmaster-General had
sanctioned what I regarded as a very important measure:--
"Hitherto no posts have been given except daily posts; henceforth,
when the correspondence will not justify a daily post, one is to be
given thrice, or twice, or once a week, according to a fixed scale,
under which the amount of correspondence is compared with the cost
of the post. Thus, at a comparatively small cost, the postal system
will, I hope, be extended to nearly every house in the kingdom."
This measure, however, though sanctioned by the Treasury, and ordered
to be carried into immediate effect, to this day, notwithstanding
constant progress, still incomplete, mainly, I believe, through
objections on the part of the surveyors to the apparent anomaly of
intermittent posts; though the necessary consequence is that many
houses, and perhaps even some hamlets, must remain altogether unvisited
by the postman.
PACKET SERVICE.
I was asked to prepare a confidential memorandum on the subject of
an experimental despatch of the mails to North America from Galway,
which I did accordingly, the results of my investigation, however, not
being such as, in my opinion, to justify the experiment. I scarcely
need add that some years later the course thus deprecated was taken
by Government, not indeed in expectation of profitable results, but
as a concession to Irish demands; that the attempt was altogether
unsuccessful, and besides absorbing a large sum from the revenue,
occasioned disastrous loss to all who held shares in the packets.
POSTAL TREATIES.
Although postal treaties with foreign countries had but little direct
connection with my particular reforms, yet their indirect bearing was
important; and still greater their relation to the general postal
interests of the country; so that though, ever since my removal from
the Treasury they had been managed for the most part without reference
to me, I nevertheless had now frequent opportunities of suggesting
improvements, and in the end the arrangement fell almost entirely into
my hands.
The Postmaster-General directed my attention to the state of our treaty
with France. The British Office had proposed that the international
rate should be reduced from tenpence to sixpence, but this was objected
to by the French Government, because it was coupled with a demand for
an equitable division of postage between the two Offices. It may be
remembered that through a blunder made by our Office in 1843 an undue
advantage was given to France, which I then estimated at £4000 per
annum; but by a modification made subsequently to my reappointment,
but entirely without my knowledge, our annual loss had been raised to
£8000. I explained all this to the Postmaster-General, and he regretted
that I had not been consulted in the matter; he thought, however, that
the French Government could not refuse such concession as would at
least rectify the latter error.
"_March 15th, 1850._--At the Postmaster-General's house. He is
about to visit Paris, and intends to treat for a reduction in the
international rate. He is anxious at the same time to correct the
blunder in the treaty exposed by me in 1843, under which we lose
many thousands a year in accounting with France for our share of
the postage collected there. After a careful consideration of
the subject, we are both obliged to admit that, if the French
Government should insist upon continuing this part of the treaty,
as they doubtless will, there is now no escape."
The Postmaster-General had been led to suppose that the original error
was committed at the Treasury; but I was able to satisfy him that, so
far from that being the case, the Treasury had on my report, carefully
warned the Post Office on the very point. As the matter stands at the
present time (1868), the annual loss in our transactions with the
French Post Office, by irretrievable errors, is probably not less than
£10,000.
SALARIES AND PROMOTIONS.
On the subject of salaries I found a strange, not to say absurd,
discrepancy between form and practice. The clerks were, indeed, very
properly arranged in classes, the salaries varying according to
position, and promotion taking place as vacancies occurred, on formal
attestation of a candidate's fitness for the duties of the higher
class; but all this classification, whatever merit it apparently had,
was rendered worthless by the simple fact that difficulty of duties
did not correspond with rank of class. Thus the Government was really
paying £300 or £400 a year to clerks whose work was nowise superior in
quality or quantity to that performed by others whose annual salary
was but £70.[90] All this I pointed out to Mr. Hayter.[91] He admitted
that the odium of rectification, so far as Government usage would allow
rectification to be made, should not rest upon me alone, and promised
to use his influence to get a Commission appointed for the revision of
salaries generally. The Chancellor of the Exchequer hesitated to adopt
the suggestion; but, as applications were coming in for particular
augmentations which could not be satisfactorily dealt with until
some general principle was adopted and reduced to a rule, I obtained
authority to press the matter on the Treasury. Although, however, this
was done, and although after the lapse of a year the Postmaster-General
himself wrote a minute on the subject, yet a second year passed before
this important step was taken.
RECTIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS.
As already shown, I had striven to present to the public mind a true
statement as to the fiscal results of my reforms, or, to speak yet
more comprehensively, as to the real earnings of the Post Office. This
struggle was forced upon me by constant attempts to lead the public
mind into error on this important point. That which I have repeatedly
spoken of as the fallacious return[92] was, in one form or other, ever
and anon revived, nor is misconception altogether removed even at the
present moment. Of other corrections, also, I have already spoken, and
I purpose now to continue the narrative.
"_January 30th, 1849._--Showed the Postmaster-General a requisition
which I have prepared for a return to Parliament, showing the real
earnings of the Post Office by including in the revenue the net
proceeds of the newspaper stamps, and in the expenditure so much
of the packet service as is fairly chargeable against the Post
Office. He has no objection to its being moved for. My object is to
neutralize, if I can, the mischief which Lord Seymour and others
have done by getting returns charging the whole packet-service
against the Post Office."
Notice of motion having been accordingly given by my friend Mr.
Thornley, M.P. for Wolverhampton, the Treasury, as usual, referred to
the Post Office, to learn whether there were any objection to granting
the return. The consequence being that Mr. Tilley came to me, by
Colonel Maberly's desire, to show me a note written in reply, in which,
to my amusement, I found the opinion given that the return should be
withheld, "in fairness to Mr. Hill." Of course I explained the whole
matter to Mr. Tilley, and, the supposed obstacle being removed, the
return was ordered without opposition, and the duty of preparing it was
committed by the Postmaster-General to me.
Of the unfairness of charging the whole cost of the packet-service to
the Post Office, I had striking evidence shortly afterwards.
"_March 3rd, 1849._--The newspapers having stated that Government
had contracted with the West India Steam-packet Company for
carrying the mails to the Brazils, I asked the Postmaster-General
if he had been consulted in the matter, and found that he had not;
and further, that there had been no communication with the Office
on the subject."
So that, according to the practice of which I complained, the Post
Office was made chargeable with heavy expenses, incurred not only
without its request, but without its consent or even knowledge.
The inexpediency of such proceedings happened to receive further
illustration on the same day; Mr. Cunard calling upon me (of course
now too late) to say that he had come to England for the purpose of
proposing to undertake the West Indian mails at half the price then
paid for their conveyance, thus tantalising us by proving that an
opportunity had been lost of saving £120,000 per annum.
In a return called for by the House of Lords, I found that the number
of letters for the year had been arrived at by treating the year as
consisting of twelve months of four weeks each, so that the total given
was that for forty-eight weeks instead of fifty-two. It would have
been hardly fair to mislead the House of Lords without doing the same
good office to the House of Commons. Accordingly, upon the Lower House
calling for a return of the amount of transit postage paid to France,
the sum reported, without any note to prevent misunderstanding, instead
of being the total amount, was merely the balance of account between
the two Offices. After recording this fact, my Journal proceeds as
follows:--
"It is a very rare thing for a return to reach me which does not
contain some egregious error."
Fortunately I saw the return before its issue, and it was of course
corrected.
"_July 18th, 1850._--Every now and then something almost incredibly
absurd and mischievous in the management of the Post Office turns
up. Some investigations in which I have lately been engaged have
brought to light the astounding fact that for the payment of a
large part of our expenses (hundreds of thousands a year probably)
we have no vouchers, and yet there is a pretence of auditing our
accounts. The fact is, that the salaries and wages of the clerks,
letter-carriers, &c., at the country offices, together with heavy
expenses for carrying mails, &c., are paid by the postmasters,
and allowed in their accounts, but no evidence is required that
the payments are actually made; and instances have occurred in
which postmasters have gone on taking credit year after year for
payments on account of mails, &c., which have been suppressed. The
postmasters at ---- and ---- were both detected in this fraud."
The following shows that, six months later, blundering remained
unabated:--
"_January 23rd, 1851._--A _balanced_ account of revenue for the
quarter ending 10th October last has been sent to me containing a
gross error; an advance from the English to the Irish Office being
so managed as apparently to increase the balance in hand for the
_United Kingdom_ by £40,000!"
"_January 25th._--The Accountant General persists in it that his
account is correct. (I wish it were; a means would then have been
devised by which we might readily increase the balance in hand to
any extent.) He will, however, alter it, if I 'desire it!'--as
though it could be a matter of choice whether the balance can be
increased by £40,000 or not."
FOREIGN AND COLONIAL EXTENSION.
_United States._
While my attention was, of course, mainly absorbed in the improvement
of our own postal system, I was always glad to hear of corresponding
progress abroad, whether in the colonies or in foreign countries.
"_January 8th, 1849._--Some one has sent me, from New York, a copy
of the American Postmaster-General's Annual Report. Their reduction
to two rates at Midsummer, 1845, has been very successful.
Previously to that time the Post Office did not pay its expenses,
and the distribution was curtailed from year to year in a vain
attempt to make it pay. Now with extended distribution and reduced
rates (on the average about half the preceding rates) the Post
Office has a surplus income. The Postmaster-General recommends
making the lower rate (5 cents = 2-1/2_d._) general, and requiring
prepayment. This is the more satisfactory as he opposed the
reduction in 1845."
In short, Congress was so well satisfied with the result of its
previous reductions, that, early in the year 1851, it changed what had
been its minimum rate, viz., twopence-halfpenny, into its maximum,
establishing a three-halfpenny rate for distances under three thousand
miles.[93]
_India._
"_December 21st, 1849._--Mr. Porter (Secretary to the Board of
Trade) called with a letter which he had received from Lord
Dalhousie, requesting him to see me with reference to the
introduction of a low uniform rate of postage into British India.
I, of course, promised to assist."
Mr. Porter showed me the letter, and I learnt, much to my amusement,
the reason why Lord Dalhousie had not addressed me more directly. He
mentioned that he had formerly been acquainted with me; but feared I
might by this time have forgotten him. It will be seen hereafter how
successfully this first move was followed up.
_France._
Early in 1850 I received from M. Piron a copy of a report showing the
results obtained during the past year, the first in France of reduced
postage. Though it was a time of great commercial depression, the gross
postal revenue had fallen but twenty-two per cent., while the number
of letters had increased by thirty per cent. At the same time the
proportion of prepayments had risen from ten per cent. to twenty-five,
notwithstanding that the charge was alike on prepaid and post paid.
This was a remarkable indication of the convenience of stamps, showing
that when, in 1839, Mr. Spring Rice proposed, without any reduction
of postage, to try "the principle of stamps," his proposal might have
proved not so absolute a mockery as I then supposed it to be.
_General Summary._
In short, progress was so general and so rapid that, as I was able
truly to remark in my speech at Greenock already referred to, cheap
postage was gradually extending throughout the civilized world.
NUMBER OF LETTERS.
In 1849 the year's increase of letters was unusually small, though,
perhaps, as great as could be expected in a time of so much political
agitation and commercial depression. The increase next year (1850) was
but little larger; the two years, however, making up a total of three
hundred and forty-seven millions, and raising the increase under penny
postage to about 4-2/3-fold.
REVENUE.
The postal revenue also had, by this time, as measured by the gross
amount, nearly fulfilled my original prediction, being within £82,000,
or less than four per cent., of that received in 1838. That the net
revenue had not kept pace with my expectations was due, not only to
the various errors in management and obstacles to economy already
mentioned, but also, in great degree, to the abandonment of charge
for secondary distribution, and the increasing demands of the railway
companies.
This subject has been more than once touched on in this narrative,
but, perhaps, scarcely enough has been said to make the public fully
aware how much the establishment of railways, so beneficial in regard
to celerity and exactitude, has increased the expense of conveying the
mails. To many the following entry will doubtless be startling, to
some, perhaps, incredible:--
"_March 28th, 1851._--I find on a comparison of accounts, that
although the payments to railway companies for 1850 exceed
£400,000, the payments for mail conveyance by ordinary roads were
rather greater in 1850 than in 1838, when there was nothing paid
to the railways; so that the whole expenditure in railways is an
addition to the former cost of carrying the mails. This is the
main cause of the _net_ revenue falling below my estimate--indeed
it accounts for nearly the whole deficiency. The explanation is
not so much the increased weight and frequency of mails (for off
the railway such increase is not great) as the increased celerity
of all our movements, the greater expense of conveyance on the
bye-roads caused by the railways having absorbed their traffic,
and the greater number of branch night mails, owing to the great
extension of the limits of the night-work caused by the use of
railways."
INCIDENTS.
_Mail Robbery._
"_January 2nd, 1849._--Last night a serious robbery, chiefly of
registered letters, one of which contained, it is said, £4,000,
took place between Bridgewater and Bristol, in the up mail."
"_January 3rd._--The thieves (two) are taken; one is a discharged
railway guard. They had the impudence to rob the down mail also the
same night, and the Post Office guard having heard of the previous
robbery, kept a good look-out. The property stolen from the down
mail, including a packet of diamonds, is recovered--not that stolen
from the up mail. There is an interval of about two hours between
the two mails at Bristol, which the thieves probably employed in
secreting the property first stolen. The newspapers are full of the
particulars."
_Theft at Caermarthen._
"_February 2nd, 1849._--Went upstairs to Mr. Ramsey's room to
see the articles which have been stolen by the daughter of the
Caermarthen postmaster. There is jewellery and haberdashery enough
to stock a small shop, and £95 in money. The woman has kept the
letters (200 or 300) from which the articles were taken, so that
many can be restored. It seems that she has indulged her thieving
propensities for seven years."
It appeared afterwards that her object had been to amass such a dowry
as would give her good matrimonial prospects.
_Anonymous Contribution._
"_January 23rd, 1849._--Received an anonymous letter (postmarked
Birmingham) containing 10s. in postage stamps 'Towards
penny-postage memorial from a man to (_sic_) poor at the time to
subscribe.'"
_A Striking Result._
The following shows one of the extraordinary results of cheap postage:--
"_June 14th, 1849._--Last week's returns show that 3,100,000
letters [an unprecedented number] passed through the London office
(general and district) in that period. On asking Bokenham for an
explanation, he states that Hatchard, the publisher in Piccadilly,
and a city house connected with him in the publication of a
valuable Bible, are sending out 300,000 prospectuses of their
Bible; they are all in penny envelopes; the postage would exceed
£1,200."
_Improved condition of Officials._
I received the following striking indications as to the amount of
relief afforded within the last eleven years to Post Office officials:--
"_September 10th, 1849._--Having occasion to refer to some papers
connected with the Liverpool office of the year 1838, I find it
stated that, after a proposed increase of force, the clerks would
be engaged from ten to twelve hours a day, besides occasional
night-work; also that none of the letter-carriers would walk less
than twenty miles a day, Sundays included. Such a state of things
would now be viewed as monstrous."
_Source of Dishonesty._
It has often been alleged that dishonesty in Post Office servants
arises from insufficiency in their salaries. A better explanation
would be found in the fact that under a system of patronage[94] men
are too often admitted into the service without sufficient inquiry as
to character, and are retained there after their conduct has furnished
such ground for suspicion as would lead to their being discarded from
any well-conducted private establishment. And here it should be pointed
out that the evils inherent in the system are often greatly aggravated
by injudicious interference from the public, who regard such dismissals
as a punishment which ought not to be inflicted without formal proof of
some positive offence.
"_February 11th, 1850._--Some months ago I caused ----, an
Inland Office clerk, employed at the Charing Cross office in
money-order business as extra clerk, to be removed therefrom under
circumstances which raised a strong suspicion against his honesty.
As there was no absolute proof of fraud, the proceeding was viewed
as a harsh one, and the man was still continued as an Inland Office
clerk, and very imprudently employed in the registration duties. He
has now been detected in stealing five or six remittances from the
deputy post-masters, amounting in all to about £200."
_A Worthy Promotion._
I had the misfortune in this period to lose one of my best officers;
but happily my loss was his gain.
"_December 31st, 1850._--To-morrow Godby succeeds to the vacant
appointment of chief clerk in Colonel Maberly's office. I shall be
sorry to lose him from the Money Order Department, but it would
have been the height of injustice to oppose his promotion."
_My Son's Appointment._
This year (1850) my only son was nominated by the Postmaster-General to
a junior clerkship in the Secretary's Department.
_"Household Words" and "Quarterly Review."_
There appeared in the course of the next year (1851), two interesting
articles on postal proceedings. The first a lively description from
the pen of Mr. Charles Dickens, published in the first number of
"Household Words;" the second a much longer and more elaborate
treatise, though scarcely less amusing, from the pen of Sir Francis
Head, published in the "Quarterly Review;" an ample amends for the
attack in the same publication ten years before. With both gentlemen
I had pleasing intercourse on the occasion, particularly so with the
latter, who, requiring more extensive information, and taking great
pains to get a correct notion of the leading principles of the whole
system, necessarily passed more time in my company. His conversation I
found as amusing as his writings.
I may add that his article deals ably with the question of Sunday
labour, and very clearly sets forth the mechanism of the office. It
will be found in No. 177 of the "Review," or in Sir Francis Head's
"Descriptive Essays," Vol II., p. 286.