Chapter 7 SIR ROWLAND HILL AND PENNY POSTAGE.

Miss Martineau, in her history of the Thirty Years' Peace, narrates a somewhat romantic incident to account for Mr. Hill's original relation to our subject, tracing the fiscal reform with which his name is indissolubly connected to the "neighbourly shilling" well laid out of a "pedestrian traveller in the Lake District." Unluckily for the historian, the incident never happened to Mr. Hill. The repeated motions of Mr.

Wallace in the House of Commons are proved beyond dispute to have brought home the subject to the consideration of many thoughtful minds, and amongst those, to one who had scholarly leisure and philosophical ingenuity to bring to its service.

Born in 1795, and for many years a tutor in his father's school near Birmingham, Mr. Rowland Hill was, at this time, the secretary of the Commissioners for conducting the Colonization of South Australia, upon the plan of Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield. At this post, according to the testimony of the commissioners themselves, Mr. Hill laboured unweariedly, "evincing," as they said, "considerable powers of organization." Mr. Hill, in one place,[81] gives a clear account of the way he prepared himself for the work he took in hand, when once his attention was arrested by the subject. "The first thing I did was to read very carefully all the reports on post-office subjects. I then put myself in communication with the hon. member for Greenock, who kindly afforded me much assistance. I then applied to the Post-Office for information, with which Lord Lichfield was so good as to supply me. These were the means I took to make myself acquainted with the subject." In January, 1837, Mr. Hill published[82] the results of his investigations, and embodied his scheme in a pamphlet entitled Post Office Reform: its Importance and Practicability. This, the first edition, was circulated privately amongst members of the legislature and official men; the second edition, published two months afterwards, being the first given to the world. The pamphlet, of which we will here attempt a résumé, immediately created a sensation; especially so in the mercantile world. Mr. Hill may be said to have started with the facts to which we have already adverted[83], namely, that the Post-Office was not progressing like other great interests; that its revenue, within the past twenty years, instead of increasing, had actually diminished, though the increase of population had been six millions, and the increase in trade and commerce had been proportionate. The increase in the ratio of stage-coach travellers was still more clear; but this fact need not be pressed, especially as one smart quarterly reviewer answered, that, of course, the more men travelled, the less need of writing.

From the data which Mr. Hill was enabled to gather-for accounts of any sort were not kept as accurately at the Post-Office then as now, and there were no accounts of the number of inland letters-he estimated the number of letters passing through the post. He then took the expenses of management and analysed the gross total amount. He proved pretty clearly, and as nearly as necessary, that the primary distribution, as he termed the cost of receiving and delivering the letters, and also the cost of transit, took two-thirds of the total cost of the management of the Post-Office. Of this sum, the amount which had to do with the distance letters were conveyed, Mr. Hill calculated at 144,000l. out of the total postal expenditure of 700,000l. Applying to this smaller sum the estimated number of letters-deducting franks and taking into account the greater weight of newspapers-he gave the apparent average cost of conveying each letter as less than one-tenth of a penny. The conclusion to which he came from this calculation of the average cost of transit was inevitable, and that was, that if the charge must be made proportionate (except, forsooth, it could be shown how the postage of one-tenth or one-thirty-sixth of a penny could be collected) it must clearly be uniform, and for the sake of argument, and not considering the charge as a tax, or as a tax whose end was drawing near, any packet of an equal weight might be sent throughout the length and breadth of the country at precisely the same rate.

The justice and propriety of a uniform rate was further shown, but in a smaller degree, by the fact that the relative cost of transmission of letters under the old system was not always dependent on the distance the mails were carried. Thus, the Edinburgh mail, the longest and most important of all, cost 5l. for each journey. Calculating the proportionate weight of bags, letters, and newspapers, Mr. Hill[84] arrived at the absolute cost of carrying a newspaper of an average weight of 1? oz. at one-sixth of a penny, and that of a letter of an average weight of ? oz. at one-thirty-sixth of a penny. These sums being the full cost for the whole distance, Mr. Hill assumed, fairly enough, that the same rating would do for any place on the road. It was admitted on all hands, that the chief labour was expended in making up, opening, and delivering the mails; therefore the fact whether it was carried one mile or a hundred made comparatively little difference in the expenditure of the office. The expenses and trouble being much the same, perhaps even less at Edinburgh than at some intermediate point, why should the charges be so different? But the case could be made still stronger. The mail for Louth, containing as it did comparatively few letters, cost the Post-Office authorities, as the simple expense of transit, one penny-farthing per letter. Thus, an Edinburgh letter, costing the Post-Office an infinitesimal fraction of a farthing, was charged one shilling and three-halfpence to the public, while a letter for Louth, costing the Post-Office fifty times as much, was charged to the public at the rate of tenpence! Nothing was clearer, therefore, that if Mr. Hill's propositions were opposed (and his opponents did not advocate the payment according to the actual cost of transit), that those who were adverse to them must fall into the absurdity of recognising as just an arrangement which charged the highest price for the cheapest business! At first sight it looked extravagant, that persons residing at Penzance or near the Giant's Causeway, at Watford or Wick, should pay equal postage for their letters. The intrinsic value of the conveyance of a letter, it must be admitted, is a very different thing from its cost, the value being exactly equal to the time, trouble, and expense saved to the correspondents, of which, perhaps, the only measure appeared to be the actual distance. Looked at more narrowly, however, in the clear light of Mr. Hill's investigations, it became obvious that it was really "a nearer approximation to perfect justice"[85] to allow distant places to feel the benefits of the measure; passing over the little inequalities to which it might give rise; while all might pay such a sum as would cover the expenses in each and every case.[86]

Mr. Hill succeeded likewise in proving many of the facts adverted to in the preceding chapter. He showed that the high rates were so excessive (not only varied according to distance, but doubled if there was an enclosure, with fourfold postage if the letter exceeded an ounce in weight) as greatly to diminish, where they did not absolutely prevent, correspondence. Not only so, but the high rate created an illicit traffic, involving all classes of the country in the meshes of a systematically clandestine trade. These facts and their results on the public revenue shine out of the pamphlet as clear as noonday.

But this was not all. The expenses of the department, or the secondary distribution, might be much reduced by simplifications in the various processes. The existing system resulted in a complicated system of accounts, involving great waste of time as well as offering inducements to fraud. The daily work of exposing letters to a strong light, in order to ascertain their contents, also offered a constant temptation to the violation of the first duty of the officers of the State, in respect to the sanctity of correspondence. If, instead of charging letters according to the number of sheets or scraps of paper, a weight should be fixed, below which, whatever the contents of a letter, a certain rate be charged, much trouble would be saved to the office, not to speak of any higher reason. Again, he suggested that if anything could be done to expedite the delivery of letters by doing away with the collection of postage from door to door, a great object would be gained; that five or six times the number of letters might be delivered with the existing machinery, and this even in less time than under the old system. The only requisite was, that some plan for the prepayment of letters should be devised, so that the Post-Office might be relieved from the duty of charging, debiting, &c. and the letter-carriers from collecting the postage. The Post-Office authorities had had the question of prepayment, by means of some kind of stamp or stamped covers, under consideration prior to this time. The Commissioners of Post-Office Inquiry deliberated on the measure in the early part of 1837 (after Mr. Charles Knight had suggested a penny stamp, or stamped cover, for collecting the now reduced postage on newspapers), considering it very favourably. Hence it arose that that part of the proposals relating to prepayment by stamped labels or covers, formed part of Mr. Hill's scheme, and was considered with it.

Mr. Hill, in his able pamphlet, exhausted the subject. By a variety of arguments, he urged upon the nation a trial of his plans-begged for an unobstructed and cheap circulation of letters, expressing his most deliberate conviction,[87] that the Post-Office, "rendered feeble and inefficient by erroneous financial arrangements," was "capable of performing a distinguished part in the great work of national education," and of becoming a benefaction and blessing to mankind. He left the following proposals to the judgment of the nation:-(1) A large diminution in the rates of postage, say even to one penny per letter weighing not more than half an ounce. (2) Increased speed in the delivery of letters. (3) More frequent opportunities for the despatch of letters. And (4) Simplification in the operations of the Post-Office, with the object of economy in the management. The fundamental feature in the new scheme was, of course, the proposal that the rate of postage should be uniform, and charged according to weight.

No wonder that the scheme, of which, in our own order, we have just attempted an outline, roused feelings of delight and approbation from the people at large, throughout the length and breadth of the land. Still less is it a matter of surprise that the Government and the Post-Office authorities, in charge of the revenue, should stand aghast at the prospect of being called upon to sanction what they considered so suicidal a policy. Lord Lichfield, the Postmaster-General at the time, speaking for the Post-Office authorities, as to its practicability, described the proposal in the House of Lords,[88] "of all the wild and visionary schemes which I have ever heard of, it is the most extravagant." On a subsequent occasion, his opinion having been subjected for six months to the mellowing influence of time, he is less confident, but says that, if the plan succeeds (in the anticipated increase of letters), "the walls of the Post-Office would burst-the whole area on which the building stands would not be large enough to receive the clerks and the letters."[89] On the one side, many well-known names[90] were ranked in opposition, who believed that the scheme, among other drawbacks, would not only absorb the existing revenue, but would have to be supported by a ruinous subsidy from the Exchequer. On the other side of the question, however, there were many intelligent writers and great statesmen ready to advocate the sacrifice of revenue altogether, if necessary, rather than not have the reform; while an immense number believed (and Mr. Hill himself shared in this belief) that the diminution would only be temporary, and should be regarded as an outlay which, in the course of years, would yield enormous profits. "Suppose even an average yearly loss of a million for ten years," says a celebrated economist of the period; "it is but half what the country has paid for the abolition of slavery, without the possibility of any money return. Treat the deficit as an outlay of capital. Even if the hope of ultimate profit should altogether fail, let us recur to some other tax ... any tax but this, certain that none can operate so fatally on all the other sources of revenue. Letters are the primordia rerum of the commercial world. To tax them at all is condemned by those who are best acquainted with the operations of finance." Nor was Mr. Hill to be cried down. He admitted, as we have said, that his plans, if carried out, would result in a diminution of revenue for a few years to come. On the reliable data which he had collected, he calculated that, for the first year, this decrease might extend to as much as 300,000l.; but that the scheme would pay in the long run, and pay handsomely, he had no manner of doubt whatever. His case was strengthened by all previous experience. The number of letters would increase in the ratio of reduction of postage. In 1827, the Irish postage-rates were reduced, and an immediate increase of revenue to a large extent was the result. The rate for ship-letters was reduced in 1834. In four years the number increased in Liverpool from fifteen to sixty thousand; in Hull from fifteen to fifty thousand. The postage of letters between Edinburgh and the adjacent towns and villages was reduced in 1837 from twopence to a penny. In rather more than a year the number of letters had more than doubled.

Mr. Hill's proposals were instantly hailed with intense satisfaction, especially by the mercantile and manufacturing classes of the community. Whatever might be said in Parliament, public opinion in the country was decided on the question, that if the success of the new scheme was sufficient to cover the charges of the Post-Office establishment, it ought by all means to be carried out. Scarcely ever was public sympathy so soon and so universally excited in any matter. The progress of the question of post-reform was in this, and some other respects, very remarkable, and shows in a strong light how long a kind of extortion may be borne quietly, and then what may be accomplished by prompt and conjoint action. Before Mr. Hill's pamphlet appeared no complaints reached the Legislature of the high rates of postage. During the year in which it did appear five petitions reached the House of Commons, praying that its author's scheme might at least be considered. In the next year 320, and in the first half of the year 1839 no fewer than 830, petitions were presented in favour of the measure. Within a few, the same number were sent up to the House of Lords. During the agitation, it is calculated that no less than 5,000 petitions reached St. Stephen's, including 400 from town-councils and other public bodies-the Common Council of London, and the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, among the number.

During the month of February, 1838, Mr. Wallace moved for a Select Committee of the Commons to investigate and report upon Mr. Hill's proposals; but the Government resisted the motion.[91] They intimated that the matter was under their consideration, and they intended to deal with it themselves. But the community were dissatisfied. They continued to petition till Ministers were compelled to show a greater interest in the subject, which they did "by proposing little schemes, and alterations, and devices of their own, which only proved that they were courageous in one direction, if not in another."[92] Meanwhile, the "Merchandise Committee"-formed of a number of the most influential and extensive merchants and bankers in London, with Mr. Bates, of the house of Baring & Co. for chairman-was called into existence through the manifested opposition to reasonable reform. Large sums were subscribed by this committee for the purpose of distributing information on the subject by means of pamphlets and papers, and for the general purposes of the agitation. So great and irresistible, in fact, was the pressure applied in this and other ways, that the Government found it impossible any longer to refuse an inquiry. A month or two after Mr. Wallace's motion, Mr. Baring, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposed a Committee "to inquire into the present rates or modes of charging postage, with a view to such reduction thereof as may be made without injury to the revenue; and for this purpose, to examine especially into the mode recommended, of charging and collecting postage, in a pamphlet by Mr. Rowland Hill." It was noticed that most of the members nominated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer were favourable to the Government, all but two-Lord Lowther and Sir Thomas Fremantle-having voted for the Ballot. The Conservatives did not grumble, however, as on this subject the Government was conservative enough. The Committee sat sixty-three days, concluding their deliberations in August, 1838. They examined all the principal officers of the Post-Office and the Stamp Department, and eighty-three independent witnesses of different pursuits and various grades. The Post-Office authorities were specially invited to send any witnesses they might choose; and as the Postmaster-General and the Secretary of the Post-Office objected to the penny rate as likely to be ruinous to the revenue, and to the principle of uniformity as unfair and impossible, we may be certain that the witnesses sent were judiciously chosen. The examination was by no means ex parte, but seems to have been carried on with the greatest fairness. Those members of the Committee who were particularly pledged to the protection of the revenue, as well as Lord Lowther-who had a thorough knowledge of the subject from having sat on a previous Commission-appear to have missed no opportunity of sifting the opinions and the statements of each witness. The members of the Committee did their work, altogether, with zeal, great discrimination, and ability. The plan and the favourable witnesses stood the scrutiny with wonderful success; and Mr. Hill himself bore up, under what George Stephenson regarded as the greatest crucial test to which mortal man can be subjected, with tact and firmness, fully proving, in evidence, the soundness of the conclusions on which judgment had to be passed.

We may say here, as we have not before referred to the circumstance, that it was necessary to make it clear to the Committee, the amount of increase in correspondence necessary to the success of the scheme. In opposition to the views of official men,[93] Mr. Hill held that a fivefold increase in the number of letters would suffice to preserve the existing revenue, and he hazarded a prediction that that increase would soon be reached. As regarded the means of conveyance, he showed that the stage-coaches, &c. already in existence could carry twenty-seven times the number of letters they had ever yet done; and this statement passed without dispute. The evidence was clear and convincing as to the vast amount of contraband letters daily conveyed; and no less certainly was it shown that, if Mr. Hill's schemes were carried out, the temptation to evasion of postage would be at once abolished, inasmuch as there would then be no sufficient inducement to resort to illegal mediums. A Glasgow merchant stated before the Committee, that he knew five manufacturers in that city whose correspondence was transmitted illegally in the following proportions, viz.-(1) three to one; (2) eighteen to one; (3) sixteen to one; (4) eight to one; and (5) fifteen to one. Manchester merchants-among whom was Mr. Cobden-stated that they had no doubt that four-fifths of the letters written in that town did not pass through the Post-Office. No member of the Committee had any idea of the extent to which the illicit conveyance of letters was carried. A carrier in Scotland was examined, and confessed to having carried sixty letters daily, on the average, for a number of years-knew other carriers who conveyed, on an average, five hundred daily. He assured the Committee that the smuggling was alone done to save the postage. "There might be cases when it was more convenient, or done to save time, but the great object was cheapness." The labouring classes, especially, had no other reason. "They avail themselves of every possible opportunity for getting their letters conveyed cheaply or free." In his opinion, the practice could not be put a stop to until the Post-Office authorities followed the example that was set them in putting down illicit distillation in Scotland. "I would reduce the duty, and that would put an end to it, by bringing it down to the expense of conveyance by carriers and others." Mr. John Reid-an extensive bookseller and publisher in Glasgow-sent and received, illicitly, about fifty letters or circulars daily. "I was not caught," he said, "till I had sent twenty thousand letters, &c. otherwise than through the post." He constantly sent his letters by carriers; he also sent and received letters for himself and friends, inclosed in his booksellers' parcels. Any customer might have his letters so sent, by simply asking the favour. It also came out in evidence, that twelve walking-carriers were engaged exclusively in conveying letters between Birmingham and Walsall and the district, a penny being charged for each letter. The most curious modes of procedure, and the oddest expedients[94] for escaping postage, were exhibited during the sitting of the Committee. One, largely patronized by mercantile houses, consisted in having a number of circulars printed on one large sheet, when, on its arrival at a certain town, a mutual friend or agent would cut it up, and either post or deliver the parts. Nay, matters had been brought to such a state, that a leading journal, commenting on the matter of illicit letter-conveyance just previous to the sittings of the Committee, went the length of saying, that, "fortunately for trade and commerce, the operation of the Government monopoly is counteracted by the clandestine conveyance of letters."... "The means of evasion are so obvious and frequent, and the power of prevention so ineffectual, that the post has become only the extraordinary, instead of the usual, channel for the conveyance of letters." Notwithstanding this testimony, the evidence of the Post-Office officials on this and the other heads of inquiry betrayed fully the usual degree of official jealousy of interference, and quite an average amount of official partiality. Thus, Colonel Maberly argued, that if the postage of letters were reduced to a penny it would not stop smuggling: in which case they might as well have smuggling under the one system as the other. But his zeal on this point overcame his discretion. "For," he continued, "1,000 letters might still be sent as a coach-parcel for seven shillings, whereas the Post-Office charge for them would be four guineas." But the gallant colonel seems altogether to have forgotten that the item of delivery is, after all, the chief item in all Post-Office charges. A few more examples of the statements of the authorities may here be given. Thus, the Secretary said, relative to an increase of letters, that "the poor were not disposed to write letters" (10,851). He thought that, during the first year, the letters would not double, even if franking were not abolished (2,949). "If the postage be reduced to one penny, I think the revenue would not recover itself for forty or fifty years." Lord Lichfield said that he had ascertained that each letter then cost "within the smallest fraction of twopence-halfpenny" (2,795). With regard to the principle of the uniform rate, Colonel Maberly thought it might be "desirable, but impracticable" (10,939). "Most excellent for foreign postage, but impracticable for inland letters" (3,019). He also said that the public would object to pay in advance whatever the rate (10,932-3).

The Committee next had their attention called to still more important facts, viz. that the number of letters conveyed illegally bore no proportion to the number which were not written at all on account of the high rates of postage. On the poor the Post-Office charges pressed grievously, and there seemed no other course open to them than that, if their letters could not be received without the payment of exorbitant rates, they must lie in the hands of the authorities. It is only necessary to compare the income of a labouring man with his pressing wants to see that it was idle to suppose that he would apply his little surplus to the enjoyment of post-letters other than in cases of life and death. The Committee were absolutely flooded with instances in which the Post-Office charges seriously interfered with the wants and reasonable enjoyments of the poor. On the general question involved, nearly all the witnesses, of whatever rank or grade, evidenced that the public, to an enormous extent, were deterred from writing letters and sending communications, which otherwise, under a cheaper tariff, they would write and send. That this part of the case was proved may be concluded from the language of the Committee themselves:-"The multitude of transactions which, owing to the high rates of postage, are prevented from being done, or which, if done, are not announced, is quite astonishing. Bills for moderate amounts are not drawn; small orders for goods are not given or received; remittances of money are not acknowledged; the expediting of goods by sea and land, and the sailing or arrival of ships not advised; printers do not send their proofs; the country attorney delays writing to his London agent, the commercial traveller to his principal, the town-banker to his agent in the country. In all these, and many other cases, regularity and punctuality is neglected in attempts to save the expenses of exorbitant rates of postage."

On all the other parts of the scheme, and on the scheme itself as a whole, the Committee spoke no less decisively. Generally and briefly, they considered that Mr. Hill's strange and startling facts had been brought out in evidence. They gave their opinion that the rates of postage were so high as materially to interfere with and prejudice trade and commerce; that the trading and commercial classes had sought, and successfully, illicit means of evading the payment of these heavy charges, and that all classes, for the self-same reason, corresponded free of postage when possible; that the rate of postage exceeded the cost of the business in a manifold proportion; and that, altogether, the existing state of things acted most prejudicially to commerce and to the social habits and moral condition of the people. They conclude, therefore,-

That the only remedy is a reduction of the rates, the more frequent despatch of letters, and additional deliveries.

That the extension of railways makes these changes urgently necessary.

That a moderate reduction in the rates would occasion loss, without diminishing the peculiar evils of the present state of things, or giving rise to much increased correspondence, and,

That the principle of a low, uniform rate, is just in itself, and when combined with prepayment and collection by stamp, would be exceedingly convenient and highly satisfactory to the public.

So far, their finding, point by point, was in favour of Mr. Hill's scheme. They reported further that, in their opinion, the establishment of a penny rate would not, after a temporary depression, result in any ultimate loss to the revenue. As, however, the terms of their appointment precluded them from recommending any plan which involved an immediate loss, they restricted themselves to suggesting an uniform twopenny rate.

The Commissioners of Post-Office Inquiry,-consisting of Lord Seymour, Lord Duncannon, and Mr. Labouchere,-who were charged with an "inquiry into the management of the Post-Office," had already concluded their sittings, and had decided upon recommending Mr. Hill's plan as far as it concerned the "twopenny post" department; that being the only branch then under consideration. "We propose," say they, and the words are significant, "that the distinction in the rates and districts, which now applies to letters delivered in the twopenny and threepenny post, shall not in any way affect correspondence transmitted under stamped covers; and that any letter not exceeding half an ounce shall be conveyed free within the metropolis, and the district to which the town and country deliveries extend, if inclosed in an envelope bearing a penny stamp."

With these important recommendations in its favour, the scheme was submitted to Parliament. It had met with so much approval, and the subject seemed so important, that the Government took charge of the measure. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had the project of a uniform rate of postage embodied in a Bill, which passed in the session of 1839. This Act, which was affirmed by a majority of 102 members, conferred temporarily the necessary powers on the Lords of the Treasury. Many of the Conservative party opposed the Government proposals. Sir Robert Peel's chief argument against the change was, that it would necessitate a resort to a direct tax on income. In order, however, to strengthen the hands of the Government, now that the question was narrowed in all minds to the single one of revenue, the majority in the House of Commons pledged themselves to vote for some substituted tax, if, upon experiment, any substitute should be needed.-(Hansard, vol. xlix.)

No one out of Parliament, at any rate, who read Mr. Hill's pamphlet attentively, but was convinced of the practicability of the measure, and the careful perusal of the evidence collected by the Committee appointed, determined any waverer as to the necessity of its being adopted. Still there existed serious misgivings in the country as to the steps which the Melbourne administration must soon announce. That there were some few objections to Mr. Hill's plan, and some difficulties about it, cannot be doubted; the nation at large had decided for it, however, and some of the principal men in the country, not favourable to the existing ministry, decided for it also. The Duke of Wellington was "disposed to admit that that which was called Mr. R. Hill's plan, was, if it was adopted as it was proposed, of all the plans, that which was most likely to be successful."[95] The Duke of Richmond pressed upon the ministers, that if they gave their sanction to any uniform plan, it should be to Mr. Hill's, "for that alone, and not the twopenny postage, seems to me to give hope of ultimate success."[96]

On the 12th of November, 1839, the Lords of the Treasury issued a minute, under the authority of the Act before referred to, reducing the postage of all inland letters to the uniform rate of fourpence.

The country, generally, was greatly dissatisfied. Mr. Hill's measure was what was required, and the fourpenny rate was in no respect his plan, nor did it even touch the question of the practicability of the uniform postage proposed by the reformer. This quarter measure of the Government did not even suffice to exhibit the benefits of a low rate of postage; was consequently a most improper test, and likely to be prejudicial to the interest of the penny post. The increase of letters was in no place more than fifty per cent., whilst the decrease in the Post-Office revenue was at the rate of forty per cent. In London, for instance, the diminution of receipts was at the lowest computation, 450l. a day, and the number of letters were only just doubled. The plan did not abolish the franking system. It did not abolish smuggling, inasmuch as a letter might be sent illicitly for a penny. How, therefore, it was argued, can it be expected that in the interior of the country, at any rate, and without Custom House officers, or any other responsible officers, a duty of 300 per cent. can be levied on the carriage of an article so easily transported as a letter? For a few weeks all was dissatisfaction. More than that, business men trembled for the success of the whole scheme, and lest the Government should return to the old régime. The Treasury Lords were convinced, however, that they had made a mistake, and they resolved to give the measure a full and fair trial. On the 10th of January, 1840, another minute was issued, ordering the adoption of a uniform penny rate. By adopting Mr. Hill's plan, the Government simply placed itself in the position of a trader, who declared that he intended for a time to be satisfied with a part of his former profits; but hoped eventually to secure himself against loss by increased business, greater attractiveness, and diminished cost of management. In six months, the policy of the Government was acknowledged on all hands to be the correct one, for on the 10th of August the Treasury had its minute confirmed by the Statute 3 & 4 Vict. chap. 96. The Quarterly Review,[97] as an exception to the general feeling, stigmatizes the measure "as one of the most inconsiderate jumps in the dark ever made by that very inconsiderate assembly." It is "distinguished by weakness and rashness," &c. But the judgment of posterity is sadly against the reviewer.

A Treasury appointment was given to Mr. Hill to enable him to work out his plans, or, in the wording of the said appointment, "to assist in carrying into effect the penny postage." He only held his office about two years, for when the Conservative party came into power in 1841, he was politely bowed out of it on the plea that his work was finished; that his nursling had found its legs, and might now be taken into the peculiar care of the Post-Office authorities themselves. A study of the past history of the Post-Office might have enlightened the minds of the members of the Executive Government as to the advisability or otherwise, of leaving entirely the progress of Post-Office improvement in the hands of the authorities. Mr. Hill intreated the new premier, Sir Robert Peel, to let him remain at any pecuniary sacrifice to himself, but his entreaties were unavailing. He must watch his scheme from a distance.[98]

Speaking of the hindrances which Mr. Hill met with in official circles, we are reminded of a pamphlet which appeared shortly after this period, evidently from some Post-Office official, "On the Administration of the Post-Office." This precious pamphlet has been long consigned to well-merited oblivion, and we only rescue it for a moment from the limbo of all worthless things, to show the spirit which then actuated some of those in office. It reminds us forcibly of the criticism which Mr. Palmer's scheme called forth from the leading spirits of the Post-Office of his day. The pamphlet, illogical and abusive throughout, laid it down as a principle that "the Post-Office is not under any obligation to convey the correspondence of the public." Again, that "the Post-Office is a Government monopoly for the benefit of the public revenue, and exists for the sole purpose of profit." Then there are praises for the old, and abuses for the new régime. "The celerity, the certainty, the security with which so vast a machine executed such an infinite complexity of details, were truly admirable!" Mr. Hill comes in for a good share of detraction. He is counselled to leave his "pet scheme" to the "practical men" of the Post-Office. In the following flowery language he is recommended "to behold it (his project) as a spectator from the shore, viewing his little bark in safety, navigated by those who are practically best acquainted with the chart, wind, and waves."

Mr. Hill's popularity outside the Post-Office contrasted favourably with the estimation in which he was held inside. The whole community had become impressed with the value of his measures and the important services he had rendered. Spurred on to exertions by the treatment he had received at the hands of an administration, which, to use the fine expression of Lord Halifax in reference to another public benefactor, "refused to supply the oil for a lamp which gave so much light," a public subscription was opened throughout the country, which, joined in by all classes, was quickly represented by a handsome sum. The money, which amounted to over thirteen thousand pounds, and which was only considered an expression of national gratitude, and by no means a full requital for his services, was presented to him at a public banquet got up in London under the auspices of the "Merchandise Committee." In an address which accompanied the testimonial, Mr. Hill's measure of reform was pronounced one "which had opened the blessings of a free correspondence to the teacher of religion, the man of science and literature, the merchant and trader, and the whole British nation-especially the poorest and most defenceless portions of it-a measure which is the greatest boon conferred in modern times on all the social interests of the civilized world." Mr. Hill's bearing on the occasion in question is described as most modest and unassuming. He expressed his gratitude for the national testimonial in few but telling phrases. He delicately alluded to his proscription from office, regretting that he could not watch the progress of his measure narrowly, and pointed out improvements which were still necessary to give complete efficiency to his reform. Mr. Hill gave ample credit to those who had sustained him in his efforts to carry his plans through Parliament, and especially named Messrs. Wallace and Warburton, members of the special Committee of 1838, Mr. Baring the Ex-chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lords Ashburton and Brougham.

We shall have frequent occasion as we advance, to mention Mr. Hill's name in connexion with Post-Office history during the past twenty years; but we may here notice the remaining particulars of Mr. Hill's personal history. On the restoration of the Whigs to power in 1846, Mr. Hill was brought back into office, or rather first placed in office at St. Martin's-le-Grand, as secretary to the Postmaster-General, the present Marquis of Clanricarde. In 1854, on Colonel Maberly's removal to the Audit Office, Mr. Hill attained the deserved honour of Secretary to the Post-Office under the late Lord Canning-the highest fixed appointment in the department, and second only in responsibility to that of Postmaster-General. In 1860 Mr. Hill was further honoured with the approval of his sovereign, and few will question it, when we say it was a worthy exercise of the royal prerogative, when he was called to receive the dignity of Knight Commander of the Bath.

The arduous exertions, extending over a quarter of a century, and the ever-increasing duties of the Secretary of the Post-Office have, within the last few years, begun to tell upon the physical system of Sir Rowland Hill, and have more than once caused him to absent himself from the post which he has made so honourable and responsible. During the autumn of last year he obtained leave of absence from active duty for six months-his place being filled by Mr. Tilley, the senior assistant secretary of the Post-Office-a step which was generally understood to be preparatory to his resignation, should no improvement be manifest in his health. Now (March, 1864) his retirement is announced, and he leaves us and passes "not into obscurity, but into deserved repose." May he be long spared to enjoy the rest and quiet which he has so well earned, and the gratitude and sympathy which must be universally felt for him. His early work, that would have been Herculean, even if he had not been assailed by foes without and foes within, must have caused him immense labour of hand and labour of brain; the carrying out also of many important subsequent measures, which may be said to have followed as necessary corollaries of his great reform, must have occasioned him an amount of bodily and mental toil and excitement of which the "roll of common men" have neither experience nor conception. Not to speak of his services to commerce, Sir Rowland Hill, more than any living individual, has succeeded in drawing close the domestic ties of the nation, and extending in innumerable ways the best interests of social life. He deserves well of his country, and we are only giving expression to a feeling which is uppermost at this moment in most men's minds, when we add the hope that a debt of gratitude may soon be discharged by some gracious national tribute.[99]

The Executive Government, on its part, has shown a just and highly appreciative estimate of Sir Rowland Hill's remarkable services in the provision which has been made for him on his retirement. By a Treasury minute, dated March 11th, 1864, advantage is taken of the special clause in the Superannuation Act, relating to extraordinary services, to grant him a pension of three times the usual retiring allowance. The language in which this resolution is couched-doubtless from the pen of Mr. Gladstone-is unusually complimentary for this class of official documents. After recounting Sir Rowland Hill's eminent services-the facts of which are based upon a statement just presented by the veteran reformer himself, (see Appendix H)-and stating the amount of his pension if treated on the ordinary superannuation allowance, the Lords of the Treasury say that they consider the present a fitting case for special arrangement. "Under the circumstances, it may justly be averred that my Lords are dealing on the present occasion with the case not merely of a meritorious public servant, but of a benefactor of his race; and that his fitting reward is to be found not in this or that amount of pension, but in the grateful recollection of his country. But my Lords discharge the portion of duty which belongs to them with cordial satisfaction, in awarding to Sir Rowland Hill for life his full salary of 2,000l. per annum." Lord Palmerston has further given notice that he will move in the House of Commons, that the pension be continued to Lady Hill, in the event of her surviving her husband.[100]

One thing only mars the gracefulness of the minute in question. A vague and indefinite attempt is made towards partitioning the merit of the original suggestion of the penny postage scheme between Sir R. Hill and some other nameless projector or projectors. On the contrary, we have not been more definitely led to any conclusion in the range of postal subjects which have claimed our attention, than to the one which gives to Sir Rowland Hill the entire merit of the suggestion, and the chief merit in the carrying out, of penny-post reform. It would, of course, have been impossible to carry out and perfect the system without the cordial assistance and co-operation of the other principal officers of the Post-Office; for the past twenty years that assistance seems to have been faithfully rendered; and Sir Rowland Hill, in retiring, pays a just tribute to those who have laboured to promote the new measures, and into whose able hands they have now fallen.

FOOTNOTES:

[81] Select Committee of Postage, 1843, p. 133.

[82] Miss Martineau, quoting from the Political Dictionary, vol. ii. p. 563, says that Mr. Hill first offered his scheme to the Government of Lord Melbourne before it was presented to the country. However this may be, Mr. Hill makes no mention of the fact in his frequent appearances before Committees of the House of Commons, &c.

[83] Post-Office Reform, p. 2, third edition.

[84] Post-Office Reform, p. 14, third edition.

[85] Our Exemplars, Poor and Rich, edited by Matthew Davenport Hill. London, 1851, p. 317.

[86] The Westminster Review, July, 1860, p. 78, in an able but exceedingly ex parte article on "The Post-Office Monopoly," doubts whether Mr. Hill's system is a near approximation to perfect justice, being, in its opinion, "by no means the summum bonum of letter-rates." "A charge of one penny for the carriage of all letters of a certain weight within the United Kingdom, irrespective of distance, is eminently arbitrary."... "No one in London who has written two letters, one to a friend residing in the same town as himself, and another to one in Edinburgh, can have failed, in affixing the stamps to them, to observe the unfairness of charging the same sum for carrying the one 400 yards and the other 400 miles, when the cost of transmission must in the one case be so much more than in the other." These quotations plainly show that Mr. Hill's early arguments have been lost upon the reviewer. If Mr. Hill demonstrated one thing more plainly than another, it was that the absolute cost of the transmission of each letter was so infinitesimally small, that if charged according to that cost, the postage could not be collected. Besides, it is not certain that the one letter would cost the Post-Office more than the other. Moreover, to the sender the value of the conveyance of the local letter was equal to its cost, or he would have forwarded it by other means. No doubt a strong argument might be based on these grounds, as to the justice of a lower rate for letters posted and delivered in the same town. Such a measure might be supported on Mr. Hill's principles; but the apparent anomaly is surely no argument against a State monopoly of letter-carrying.

[87] Post-Office Reform, p. 8.

[88] Mirror of Parliament, 15th June, 1837.

[89] Ibid. 18th December, 1837.

[90] Rev. Sydney Smith, Mr. McCullagh.

[91] Hansard, xxxviii. p. 1099.

[92] Miss Martineau, vol. ii. p. 429.

[93] Lord Lichfield said it would require a twelvefold increase, "and I maintain," said he, "that our calculations are more likely to be right than his."-(Report, 2821.)

[94] Mr. Hill related some of these in his pamphlet. Thus, at page 91, we read:-"Some years ago when it was the practice to write the name of a Member of Parliament for the purpose of franking a newspaper, a friend of mine, previous to starting on a tour into Scotland, arranged with his family a plan of informing them of his progress and state of health, without putting them to the expense of postage. It was managed thus: he carried with him a number of old newspapers, one of which he put into the post daily. The postmark, with the date, showed his progress; and the state of his health was evinced by the selection of the name, from a list previously agreed upon, with which the newspaper was franked. 'Sir Francis Burdett,' I recollect, denoted vigorous health." Better known is the anecdote of a postal adventure of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, already adverted to at the commencement of the present chapter. The story is told originally, in Mr. Hill's pamphlet also:-Once, on the poet's visits to the Lake district, he halted at the door of a wayside inn at the moment when the rural postman was delivering a letter to the barmaid of the place. Upon receiving it she turned it over and over in her hand and then asked the postage of it. The postman demanded a shilling. Sighing deeply, however, the girl handed the letter back, saying she was too poor to pay the required sum. The poet at once offered to pay the postage, and in spite of some resistance on the part of the girl, which he deemed quite natural, did so. The messenger had scarcely left the place, when the young barmaid confessed that she had learnt all she was likely to learn from the letter; that she had only been practising a pre-conceived trick: she and her brother having agreed that a few hieroglyphics on the back of the letter should tell her all she wanted to know, whilst the letter would contain no writing. "We are so poor," she added, "that we have invented this manner of corresponding and franking our letters."

[95] Select Committee on Postage, 1843.

[96] Ibid.

[97] October, 1859, Art 9. See also Raikes' Diary, vol. iii.

[98] "Lord Lowther," so Mr. Hill was told, "was a steady friend to Post reform, and was well acquainted with the department." Without doubt the new Postmaster-General's feelings, however ridiculous, were consulted in this matter. Mr. Hill's anxiety for the general scheme, and for subsequent minor proposals, was quite natural. When refused the Treasury appointment, he asked to be taken into the Post-Office there to see his plans worked out. Lord Lowther, when he comes to speak on the proposal, somewhat indignantly asks the Treasury Lords if "the character and fortunes of the thousands employed in the Post-Office are to be placed at the mercy of an individual who confesses that he is 'not very familiar with the details of the methods now practised.'" "It is easy to imagine," continued Lord Lowther, "the damage the community might sustain from his tampering with a vast machine interwoven with all the details of Government and necessary to the daily habits and events of this great Empire!" The matter is not one of "detail," but of "principle;" if their Lordships want this or that carried into execution, they have only to say so, and Lord Lowther will see that it is done, "though it may be in opposition to my own opinion."

[99] We find that Birmingham, at which town Sir Rowland Hill spent some of the earlier years of his life, has been the first to move in the matter. At a meeting held March 3, a statue was voted to cost 2,000l. to be placed in the new public hall. A petition to the House of Commons was likewise adopted.

[100] This motion has twice been deferred, owing, it is said, to representations made by members of both sides of the House of Commons. A few days ago, an influential deputation from the House met the First Lord of the Treasury at his official residence, the members of which strongly urged, that in place of the deferred pension to Lady Hill, a Parliamentary Grant, sufficient though reasonable, be made to Sir Rowland Hill at once. It is considered certain that, when the House resumes after Easter, Lord Palmerston will propose a grant, most probably, of 30,000l.