the important commission appointed in 1853 to revise the scale of salaries of the post office employees held many sittings and did valuable work.[199] its report was published in the following year. rowland hill's examination alone occupied eight days; and he had the satisfaction of finding the commissioners' views in accordance with his own on the subject of patronage, promotion, and classification.
on the score that the business of the post office is of a kind which peculiarly requires centralisation, the commission condemned the principle of the double secretariate, and recommended that the whole should be placed under the direction of a single secretary; that in order to enable “every deserving person” to have within his reach attainment to “the highest prizes,” the ranks of the secretary's office should be opened to all members of the establishment; and that throughout the department individual salaries should advance by annual increments instead of by larger ones at long intervals: all advancements to be contingent on good conduct. [pg 246] it was also advised that, to attract suitable men, prospects of advancement should be held out; that improvement in provincial offices—then much needed—should be secured by allowing respective postmasters, under approval and in accordance with prescribed rules, to appoint their own clerks; and that promotion should be strictly regulated according to qualification and merit—a rule which in time must raise any department to the highest state of efficiency. the abolition of a crying evil was also advised. at the time in question all appointments to the office rested not with the postmaster-general but with the treasury, the nomination being in effect left to the member of parliament for the district where a vacancy occurred, provided he were a general supporter of the government. it was a system which opened the way to many abuses, and was apt to flood the service with “undesirables.” the commissioners advised the removal of the anomaly both for obvious reasons and “because the power which the postmaster-general would possess of rewarding meritorious officers in his own department by promoting them to the charge of the important provincial offices would materially conduce to the general efficiency of the whole body.” the relinquishment of patronage—a privilege always held dear by politicians—was conceded so far as to allow to the postmaster-general the appointing of all postmasterships where the salary exceeded ￡175 a year, thus avoiding the application in all cases where the post office is held in conjunction with a private business or profession. a subsequent concession reduced the minimum to ￡120. [pg 247] the relinquishment of so much patronage reflected great credit on the administration then in power.[200]
it is pleasant to remember that when, in after years, the postal reform, by its complete success, had proved the soundness of its author's reasoning, the conservatives and “peelites,” who of old had opposed the penny postage bill, seemed sometimes to go out of their way to show him friendliness. one of the kindest of his old opponents was disraeli—not yet earl of beaconsfield—who, as chancellor of the exchequer, invited the reformer to share his hospitality, and especially singled out the new guest for attention. the first postmaster-general to invite rowland hill to his house was his second chief, the tory lord hardwicke, who had also asked colonel maberly, but was careful to put the two men one at each end of the very long table.
when, therefore, at last (in 1854) my father was given the post colonel maberly had so long filled, and became thenceforth known to the world as secretary to the post office, it was with deep gratification that he recorded the fact in his diary that “all those to whom i had on this occasion to return official thanks had been members of the government by which, twelve years before, i had been dismissed from office.[201] i could not but think that the kind and earnest manner in which these gentlemen now acted proceeded in some measure [pg 248] from a desire to compensate me for the injustice of their former leader; and this view made me even more grateful for their consideration.”[202]
the old hostility between colonel maberly and rowland hill was scarcely likely to decrease while they remained, to use the sailor postmaster-general's favourite expression, “two kings of brentford.” colonel maberly had never been sparing of his blows during the long agitation over the postal reform previous to its establishment; and a dual authority is hardly calculated to transform opponents into allies. it was therefore fortunate that the peculiar arrangement, after enduring, with considerable discomfort, for seven and a half years, was brought to a close.
we all have our strong points; and one of colonel maberly's was a happy knack of selecting heads of departments, the chief secretary's immediate subordinates. they were an able staff of officers, unto whom my father always considered that the good reputation the post office enjoyed while he was its permanent head was largely due. with their aid the reformer devised and matured measures of improvement more rapidly than before—more rapidly because there was now far less likelihood, when once authorisation had been obtained for carrying them out, of seeing his proposals subjected to tiresome modifications or indefinite delays, too often leading to entire abandonment. thus he was enabled to give most of his time to the work of organisation, to him always, as he has said, [pg 249] “of all occupations the least difficult and the most pleasant.” he encouraged his newly-acquired staff “to make what proved to be a valuable change in their mode of proceeding; for whereas the practice had been for these officers simply to select the cases requiring the judgment of the secretary, and to await his instructions before writing their minutes thereon, i gradually induced them to come prepared with an opinion of their own which might serve in a measure for my guidance.” this placing of confidence in able and experienced men had, as was but natural, excellent results.
the arrangement of secretarial and other duties being now settled, reforms proceeded satisfactorily; new and greatly improved post offices were erected, and older ones were cleared of accumulated rubbish, and made more habitable in many ways. it was found that at the general post office itself no sort of provision against the risk of fire existed—an extraordinary state of things in a building through which many documents, often of great value and importance, were continually passing. little time was lost in devising measures to remedy this and other defects.
but, strange to say, in 1858 the construction and alteration of post office buildings was transferred by the treasury to the board of works. knowing that the change would lead to extravagance, rowland hill essayed, but quite unsuccessfully, to effect a reversal of this measure; and in support of his views instanced a striking contrast. a new post office had been erected at brighton, the cost, exclusive of a moderate sum expended to fit it up as a residence, [pg 250] being about ￡1,600. a similar building had now to be put up at dundee, whose correspondence was half that of brighton. the board of works' estimate came to four or five times that amount, and all that rowland hill could accomplish was to bring the cost down to ￡5,700.
the first of the long series of “annual reports of the postmaster-general” was published in 1854. it was prefaced with an interesting historical sketch of the post office from its origin, written by matthew davenport hill's eldest son alfred, unto whom my father was further beholden for valuable assistance as arbitrator in the already mentioned disputes between the post office and the railway companies. the modern weakness of apathy—most contagious of maladies—seemed after a while to settle even on the post office, for, late in the 'nineties, the issue was for a time discontinued.
one passage alone in the first report shows how satisfactory was the progress made. “on the first day of each month a report is laid before the postmaster-general showing the principal improvements in hand, and the stage at which each has arrived. the latest of these reports (which is of the usual length) records 183 measures, in various stages of progress or completed during the month of december 1854. minor improvements, such as extension of rural posts, etc., are not noticed in these reports.”[203]
another small periodical publication first appeared in 1856, which, revised and issued quarterly, is now a well-known, useful little manual. this was the [pg 251] british postal guide. its acceptability was made evident by its ready sale, amounting, not long after its issue, to 20,000 or 30,000 copies. two years later an old publication known as the daily packet list was rearranged, enlarged, and turned into a weekly edition, which, as the postal circular, accomplished much useful service. had the treasury allowed the extension of the sphere of this little work, as recommended by the postmaster-general and rowland hill, it could have been so extended as to become a postal monitor, correcting any possible misconceptions, and keeping the public constantly informed as to the real proceedings of the post office.
by november 1854 the diarist was able to write that his “plan has been adopted, more or less completely, in the following states: austria, baden, bavaria, belgium, brazil, bremen, brunswick, chile, denmark, france, frankfort, hamburg, hanover, lubeck, naples, new grenada, netherlands, oldenburg, peru, portugal, prussia, russia, sardinia, saxony, spain, switzerland, tuscany, united states, and wurtemberg.” it seems worth while to repeat the long list just as my father gave it, if only to show how much, since that time, the political geography of our own continent has altered, most of the tiny countries and all the “free cities” of mid-nineteenth-century europe having since that date become absorbed by larger or stronger powers. it will be noticed that norway and sweden had not yet followed the example of the other western european countries. but the then “dual kingdom” did not long remain an exception.
[pg 252]
among the first european powers to adopt the postal reform were, strange to say, spain and russia, neither of which was then accounted a progressive country. in september 1843 the spanish ambassador wrote to rowland hill asking for information about postal matters, as his government contemplated introducing the postage stamp, and, presumably, a certain amount of uniformity and low rates. not long after, news came that russia had adopted stamps. the chief motive in each case was, however, understood to be the desire to prevent fraud among the postmasters.
although spain moved early in the matter of postal reform, portugal sadly lagged behind, no new convention having been effected with that country, and, consequently, no postal improvements, save in marine transit, made for fifty years. in 1858, however, mainly through the good offices of the british ministers at madrid and lisbon, and of mr edward rea, who was sent out from london by the postmaster-general for the purpose, better postal treaties were made, both with spain and portugal. even with such countries as belgium, germany (the german postal union), and the united states, progress in the way of treaties was very slow.
the postal revenues of all these european countries were smaller than our own, portugal's being less than that of the city of edinburgh. small indeed is the connection between the amount of a country's correspondence and the number of its population. according to an official return published in the journal de st petersburg in 1855, the letters posted [pg 253] during the year throughout the huge empire of russia were only 16,400,000, or almost the same number as those posted during the same year in manchester and its suburbs.
by 1853 a low uniform rate of postage was established over the length and breadth of our even then vast indian empire; a few outlying portions alone excepted. for many years after the introduction of the new system, involving, as it did, complete adoption of rowland hill's plan, the indian post office did not pay expenses; but by 1870 it became self-supporting.[204]
it has sometimes been asserted that, in his eagerness to make his reform a financial success, rowland hill cut down the wages of the lower strata of employees. nothing could be more untrue. economy, he believed, was to be obtained by simpler methods and better organisation, not by underpaying the workers. while at the post office he did much to improve the lot of these classes of men. their wages were increased, they had greater opportunity of rising in the service, a pension for old age combined with assistance in effecting life assurance, gratuitous medical advice and medicines,[205] and an annual holiday without loss of pay. the number of working hours was limited to a daily average of eight, and a regulation was made that any letter-carrier [pg 254] who, taking one day with another, found his work exceed that limit, should be entitled to call attention to the fact and obtain assistance. an exhaustive enquiry was made as to the scale of wages paid, the hours of work required, etc.; and the report, when published, told the world that the men of similar rank in other callings, such as policemen, railway porters, and several more, were not so well treated as their brethren in the postal service. so clearly, indeed, was this proved that public endorsement of the fact was at once evidenced by a marked increase of applications for situations as sorters, letter-carriers, etc.
a striking proof of this recognition of a truth came at first hand to rowland hill's knowledge. he was consulting an old medical friend, and in the course of conversation the latter said that his footman wished to obtain an appointment as letter-carrier. whereupon my father pointed out that the man was better off as footman, because, in addition to receiving good wages, he had board, lodging, and many other advantages. this, answered the doctor, had already been represented to the man; but his reply was that in the post office there was the certainty of continuity of employment and the pension for old age. the fact that the employees in a public department are not, like many other workers, liable at any moment to be sent adrift by the death or impoverishment of their employers, constitutes one of the strongest attractions to the service. has this circumstance any connection with the growing disinclination of the poorer classes to enter domestic service?
[pg 255]
in 1854 rural distribution was greatly extended, 500 new offices being opened. this extension, it may be remembered, was one of several measures which were persistently opposed by the enemies of the postal reform. how much the measure was needed, and, when granted, how beneficial were its results, is shown by the fact that it was followed by the largest increase of letters which had taken place in any year since 1840, or a gain on 1853 of 32,500,000.
the measure affected several hundreds of different places and a very large percentage of the entire correspondence of the united kingdom. formerly there were to every office limits, sometimes narrow, sometimes wide, beyond which there was either no delivery, or one made only at additional charge, generally of a penny a letter: an arrangement which, in spite of my father's repeated efforts to amend it, outlived the introduction of the new postal system for more than fourteen years, and in the districts thus affected partially nullified its benefits. not until this and other survivals of the older state of things were swept away could his plan be rightly said to be established.
london—whose then population formed one-tenth and its correspondence one-fourth of the united kingdom—was also not neglected. it was divided into ten postal districts,[206] each of which was treated as a separate town with a local chief office in addition to its many minor offices. the two corps of letter-carriers—the general postmen and those who belonged to the old “twopenny post”—which till this time [pg 256] existed as distinct bodies of employees, were at last amalgamated; their “walks” were rearranged, and a new plan of sorting at the chief office was instituted, while the letters and other missives intended for the different districts, being sorted before they reached london, were no longer, as of old, sent to st martin's-le-grand, but were at once dispatched for distribution to the local chief office whose initials corresponded with those upon the covers. door letter-boxes increased in number in the houses of the poorer as well as of the richer classes; and the use, in addition to the address, on the printed heading of a letter of the initials denoting the postal district from which it emanated, and on the envelope of that where it should be delivered—a use to which the public generally accustomed itself kindly—greatly facilitated and expedited communication within the 12 miles circuit, so that thenceforth it became possible to post a letter and receive its reply within the space of a few hours—a heartily appreciated boon in the days when the telephone was not. as a natural consequence, the number of district letters grew apace, and the congestion at st martin's-le-grand was perceptibly lessened. at the same time, the board of works to some extent amended the nomenclature of the streets and the numbering of houses. the most important delivery of the day, the first, was accelerated by two hours; in some of the suburbs by two and a half hours. that is, the morning's letters were distributed at nine o'clock instead of at half-past eleven. since that time, and for many years now, the delivery has been made at [pg 257] or before eight o'clock. nothing facilitated these earlier deliveries more than the sorting of letters en route; and the practice also enabled more frequent deliveries to be made. improved communication with the colonies and foreign countries, through better treaties, was likewise effected; and each improvement was rendered easier by the rapid growth everywhere of railways and shipping companies, and the increased speed of trains and steamships.
in 1855 “the system of promotion by merit,” recommended by my father and endorsed with approval by the civil service commissioners “was brought into full operation. in the three metropolitan offices, when a vacancy occurred application for appointment was open to all; the respective claims were carefully compared, and, without the admission of any other consideration whatever, the claim which was adjudged to be best carried the day. to keep our course free from disturbing influences, it was laid down that any intercession from without in favour of individual officers should act, if not injuriously, at least not beneficially, on the advancement of those concerned.” ... “by the transfer to the post office of appointment to all the higher postmasterships, opportunity for promotion was greatly enlarged, and posts formally bestowed for political services now became the rewards of approved merit. this change obviously involved great improvement in the quality of the persons thus entrusted with powers and duties of no small importance to the public. in the provincial offices a corresponding improvement was, in great measure, secured by [pg 258] delegating the power of appointing their subordinates, under certain restrictions, to the respective postmasters, who, being themselves responsible for the good working of their offices, were naturally led to such selection as would best conduce to that end. this delegation, so far as related to clerks, was made on the recommendation of the civil service commissioners; and the trust being satisfactorily exercised, was subsequently extended to the appointment of letter-carriers also.” the measure worked well. “from the different departments of the metropolitan offices, and from the provincial surveyors the reports of its operation were almost uniformly satisfactory. officers were found to take more personal interest in their duties, to do more work without augmentation of force, to make up in some degree by additional zeal for the increased yearly holiday that was granted them, and to discharge their duties with more cheerfulness and spirit, knowing that good service would bring eventual reward.”[207]
the new system of promotion by merit worked far better than that of the commissioners' examinations for admission to the civil service. as regards the letter-carriers, it has always been found that the men best fitted for this duty were those whose previous life had inured them to bodily labour and endurance of all kinds of weather. the new educational requirements in many instances excluded these people, while giving easy admission to shopmen, clerks, servants, and others accustomed to indoor and even sedentary life, who were little fitted to [pg 259] perform a postman's rounds. the duke of argyll, then postmaster-general, requested the commissioners to adopt a somewhat lower standard of acquirement. at the same time he authorised the subjection of candidates for the office of letter-carriers to a stricter test as regards bodily strength, with the result that about one man in every four was rejected. by these means, and the greater attention paid to the laws of sanitation in offices and private dwellings, the health of the department gradually reached a high standard.
that the plan of confining admission to the service to candidates who have passed the civil service examinations is not without its drawbacks, is seen by the following extract from a report by mr abbott, secretary to the post office in scotland. “considering,” he says, “the different duties of the account, the secretary's and the sorting branches, i am inclined to believe that the examination should have more special reference to the vacancy the candidate is to fill than to his general knowledge on certain subjects proposed for all in the same class, more especially as regards persons nominated to the sorting office, where manual dexterity, quick sight, and physical activity are more valuable than mere educational requirements.”[208]
as may be surmised by the foregoing, rowland hill was one of the many clear-sighted men who declined to yield unquestioning approbation to the system of competitive examinations introduced by the civil service commissioners; nor did longer [pg 260] acquaintance with it tend to modify his opinion on the subject. the scheme, he thought, “worked unsatisfactorily, the criteria not being the best, and the responsibility being so divided that no one is in effect answerable for an appointment made under it. the consequence of its adoption has been, in many instances, the rejection of men who gave promise of great usefulness, and the admission of others whose usefulness has proved very small.[209] if no way had been open to the public service but through competitive examination as now conducted, i cannot say what might have been my own chance of admission, since on the plan adopted, no amount of knowledge or power in other departments is regarded as making up for deficiency in certain prescribed subjects. under such a system neither george stephenson nor brindley would have passed examination as an engineer, nor perhaps would napoleon or wellington have been admitted to any military command. the principle, if sound, must be equally applicable to manufacturing and commercial [pg 261] establishments, but i have heard of none that have adopted it. indeed, a wealthy merchant lately declared (and i believe most of his brethren would agree with him) that if he had no clerks but such as were chosen for him by others, his name would soon be in the gazette. i have always been of opinion that the more the appointments to the post office, and indeed to other departments, are regulated on the principles ordinarily ruling in establishments conducted by private individuals, the better it will be for the public service. the question to be decided between candidates should be, i think, simply which is best fitted for the duties to be performed; and the decision should be left to the person immediately answerable for the right performance of the duty.”[210]
[pg 262]
while tranquillity reigned at st martin's-le-grand from, and long after, 1854, not only among the heads of departments, but generally throughout the office, and while reports from all quarters, metropolitan and provincial, bore testimony to efficient work accomplished and good conduct maintained, it was inevitable that in a body so numerous as was that of the lower grade employees some amount of discontent should arise. promotion by merit, in whatever class, has few charms in the eyes of those who are deficient in the very quality which insures promotion, and who, perhaps for many years, have drawn steady payment for ordinary duty so performed as to become scarcely more than nominal. in every large community there are certain to be some “bad bargains” who, though practically useless as workers, have often abundant capacity for giving trouble, especially, maybe, in the way of fomenting a spirit of mutiny.[211]
[pg 263]
at the post office this spirit manifested itself even while every care was being taken to ameliorate the condition of this multitudinous class of employees, and to rectify individual cases of hardship, and while, even during the time of insubordination, many respectable men outside the postal walls were showing their appreciation of the advantage of a letter-carrier's position over that of men of like class in other callings, by applying for appointment to that corps. misrepresentation is a principal factor in stimulating disaffection, and, for reasons other than sympathy with the alleged victims of supposed tyrannical employers, is sometimes, though, happily, rarely, employed by those who, as non-officials, are sheltered by anonymity as well as by extraneity from participation in such punishment as may befall the better-known disaffected.
from an early period of rowland hill's career at the post office he was subjected to almost constant personal attacks on the part of a certain weekly newspaper. many were written with considerable plausibility, but all were void of substantial truth, while others were entire fabrications. all too were of the sort which no self-respecting man condescends to answer, yet which, perhaps all the more on account of that contemptuous silence, do infinite harm, and by an unthinking public are readily believed. many of these attacks were traced to men who had left [pg 264] the postal service—to the no small advantage of that service—and whose dismissal was supposed to be the work of the permanent postal head; and one such man at least, a scribe with a ready pen, and ink in which the ingredient gall was over-liberally mingled, vented his spleen during a long succession of years with a perseverance worthy a better cause. as the newspaper in question had rather a wide circulation—since when did harmful literature fail to meet ready sale?—and the postal employees were, in many cases, no wiser than their fellow-readers, it was perhaps not unnatural that the attacks, which were directed more frequently and angrily against the postal reformer than against his colleagues, should meet with credence. “it certainly was rather ill-timed,” says rowland hill, on hearing[212] of a particularly vicious libel, “for in the previous month (november 1858) i had induced the treasury to abandon its intention of issuing an order forbidding the receipt of christmas boxes, and also had obtained some improvement in their scale of wages, the treasury granting even more than was applied for.”[213]
it was not long before the agitation assumed a still more serious form, no fewer than three anonymous letters threatening assassination being received at short intervals by the harassed reformer. the heads of the different postal departments, becoming alarmed [pg 265] for the safety of the permanent chief's life, advised his temporary absence from the office; and mr peacock, its solicitor, who knew that an expert had satisfied himself and others that the handwriting of the first of these letters could be traced to a certain postman who had been giving much trouble of late, proposed immediate arrest and prosecution. but, on comparing the suspected man's actual handwriting with that, disguised though it was, of the anonymous letter, rowland hill disagreed with the expert's view, and refused assent to so drastic a proceeding; happily so, for later circumstances seemed to point to justification of the adverse opinion. my father also declined to absent himself from the office, and even when a fourth letter appeared, in which were mentioned the place, day, and hour when the fatal blow would be struck, he still, as was his custom, walked the last half mile of his way to work, armed only with his umbrella, and on the fateful occasion passed the indicated spot without encountering harm of any kind. later than this, somehow, word of the anonymous letters reached my mother's ears, though not, of course, through her husband; and thenceforth she made it her daily practice to drive down to the post office, and accompany him home.
this episode would hardly be worth the telling did it not serve to show how little need there generally is to pay attention to letters, however threatening, when written by persons who dare not reveal their identity. on occasions of this sort memory brings back to mind the story of the brave frenchman who at the time of the franco-german war wrote [pg 266] to the then newly-proclaimed german emperor, william i., at versailles, to remind him of sundry ugly passages in his life, and to threaten him with condign punishment—the writer being a near neighbour, and appending to his letter his actual name and address. this man at least had the courage of his opinions. the anonymous scribbler is seldom so valorous.
in 1858 “the post office library and literary association” was established, the institution being aided by the delivery of lectures, an enterprise in which several of the leading officials participated. mr west gave a fascinating discourse on etymology; and rowland hill took his turn by lecturing on the annular eclipse of the sun (“visible at greenwich”) which happened in that year.[214] in 1859 similar institutions were started at most of the london district offices, and in some provincial towns.
when the volunteer movement was in the heyday of its youth, the post office was one of the earliest of the great public departments to establish a corps of its own, whose exploits were humorously related by “ensign” edmund yates, under the heading “the grimgribber rifle volunteers,” in several [pg 267] numbers of all the year round of the period. the corps became amalgamated with the “civil service” volunteer force, of which fine body it was perhaps the pioneer company.
“i wrote,” says rowland hill, “to the postmaster-general, lord colchester, on the subject (of raising a volunteer corps), and obtained his ready sanction. upon my communicating with the heads of departments, i was told that there would be readiness enough to volunteer if only the expenses could be provided for, or reduced to a low rate; that the men would willingly give their time, but thought it somewhat unreasonable that there should be a demand for their money also. the difficulty was overcome by the same means, and i suppose to about the same extent, as in other corps; but from that day to this i have been unable to understand the policy or propriety of making men pay for liberty to serve their country, a practice which must, in the nature of things, debar large numbers from enrolment. the movement was not limited to the chief office, and was especially satisfactory at edinburgh.”[215]
in july 1859 sir edward baines, proprietor of the leeds mercury, wrote to introduce to rowland hill the inventor of the post office savings[216] bank scheme, mr (afterwards sir) charles sikes, a banker [pg 268] of huddersfield—a scheme which has been a great convenience to people of limited means. depositors and deposits have increased, till the modest venture launched in 1860, under the auspices of the chancellor of the exchequer, mr gladstone, has grown into a colossal undertaking. sir charles, with characteristic lack of self-advertisement, never sought reward of any kind for the good work he had initiated. he was satisfied with the knowledge that it had proved of immense benefit to his fellow-men. he long survived the carrying into practical shape of his scheme; and now that he is dead, his invention has, of course, been claimed by or for others.
the postal reform is one which, save as regards its most salient features, has been established somewhat on the “gradual instalment system,” each instalment, as a rule, coming into operation after a hard struggle on the part of its promoter, and several years later than when first proposed. prepayment of postage, for example, one of the most essential parts of my father's plan, was long allowed to remain optional, although he had “counted upon universal prepayment as an important means towards [pg 269] simplifying the accounts, with consequent economy of time and expense, the expedient of double postage on post-payment being regarded as a temporary mode of avoiding the difficulties naturally attending a transition state; and though hitherto deferring the measure to more pressing matters, i had always looked forward to a time suitable for taking the step necessary to the completion of my plan. the almost universal resort to prepayment had rendered accounts of postage very short and easy, but obviously universal practice alone could render them altogether unnecessary.”[217]
the attempt to make prepayment compulsory was renewed in 1859, the proportion of unpaid letters having by that date become very small. but the public generally were insensible to the advantage to the service which economy of time and labour must secure, while the few active malcontents who thought themselves qualified to be a law unto themselves, if not to others, raised so much clamour that it was considered advisable to postpone issue of the edict. an error of judgment, perhaps, since the public soon becomes accustomed to any rule that is at once just and easy to follow; as indeed had already been shown by the readiness—entirely contrary to official prediction—with which prepayment had, from the first, been accepted. after all, submission to compulsory prepayment of our postage is not one whit more slavish than submission to compulsory prepayment of our railway and other vehicular fares, a gentle form of coercion to which even those of us who are the [pg 270] most revolutionary of mind assent with exemplary meekness.
so far back as 1842[218] rowland hill had recommended the establishment of a parcel post, but, although renewing his efforts both in 1858 and 1863, he was forced to leave accomplishment of this boon to later reformers. in the last-named year, however, the pattern post came into operation.
in 1862 he was able to make important alterations in the registration of letters. allusion has already been made to the ancient quarrel between a former postmaster-general and my father over the amount of fee, the political head of the office wishing to keep it at 1s., rowland hill to reduce it to 6d., a reduction easily obtained when in 1846 the latter entered the post office. a largely increased number of registered letters had been the result. the fee was now still further reduced, the reduction being followed by an even larger increase of registered letters; while the registration of coin-bearing letters was at last made compulsory. before 1862 coins had often been enclosed in unregistered letters, at times so carelessly that their presence was evident, and abstraction easy. as a natural consequence, misappropriation was not infrequent. after the passing of this necessary enactment the losses diminished rapidly; the number of letters containing money posted in the second half of that year increased to about 900,000, and the number of those which failed to reach their destination was only twelve.
[pg 271]
while it is undeniable that occasionally a letter-carrier or sorter has been responsible for the disappearance of some articles—at times of great value—entrusted to the care of the department, the public itself is frequently very far from blameless. as has already been shown, carelessness that can only be called culpable sometimes throws temptation in the men's way. in the course of a single twelvemonths, nearly 31,000 letters entirely unaddressed were posted, many of which contained money whose sum total amounted to several thousands of pounds.
the number of things lost in the post through negligence to enclose them in properly secured covers, or through placing them in covers which are imperfectly addressed or not addressed at all, so that sometimes neither sender nor intended recipient can be traced, is very great. in one twelvemonths alone the accumulations at the dead letter office sold at auction by order of the postmaster-general comprised almost every description of wearing apparel from socks up to sealskin jackets and suits of clothing, afghan, egyptian, and south african war medals, a khedive's star, a pearl necklace, some boxes of chocolate, a curious transvaal coin, and several thousands of postage stamps. did none of the losers dream of applying for repossession of their property ere it passed under the auctioneer's hammer; or did they resign themselves to the less troublesome assumption that the things had been stolen?
simply to avoid payment of the registration fee—whose present amount can hardly be found burdensome—people will hide money or other valuables in [pg 272] some covering material that is inexpensive, or that may be useful to the recipient, such as butter, puddings, etc., which are sent off by the yet cheaper parcel post. one of the most flagrant cases of deception was that of a lady living in siam, who dispatched to the old country several packages said to contain stationery and walking-sticks, and valued at ￡7, 10s. 0d. suspicion was aroused—perhaps by the odd combination of treasures—and the parcels were opened, when the “stationery and walking-sticks” of modest value resolved themselves into a superb collection of diamonds and other jewels worth about ￡25,000.
the post office is often reproached for slowness or unwillingness to adopt new ways; and, as a rule, the accusations are accompanied by brilliant and highly original witticisms, in which figure the contemptuous words “red tape.” for the apparent lack of official zeal, the reproaching public itself is often to blame. its passion—dating from long past times, yet far from moribund—for defrauding the department which, on the whole, serves it so well, yet with so few thanks and so many scoldings, is one chief bar to possible reforms. when, for example, the book-post was established in 1846,[219] all sorts of things which [pg 273] had no right to be where they were found used to be hidden between the pages. in one instance, a watch was concealed in an old volume, within whose middle leaves a deep hole had been excavated which was artfully covered over by the outside binding and by several pages at the beginning and end of the book. to the casual observer it therefore presented an innocent appearance, but fell victim to post-official, lynx-eyed investigation.
“with every desire to give the public all possible facilities,” wrote my father in his diary, “we were often debarred from so doing by the tricks and evasions which too frequently followed any relaxation of our rules.”
even the great macaulay transgressed strict postal regulations, being in the habit, as his nephew tells us in one of the most delightful biographies [pg 274] ever written, of sending him, when a school-boy, letters fastened with sealing-wax, the seal hiding the welcome golden “tip.” as the use of seals has almost entirely died out, and sealed missives, even in macaulay's time, were coming to be looked at with suspicion—as probably containing something worth investigation—by those through whose hands they pass, the boy was fortunate in that his uncle's letters reached him safely.
very unreasonable, and sometimes downright absurd, are many complaints made by the public. a lady once wrote to the authorities saying that whereas at one time she always received her letters in the morning, they now only reached her in the evening. the fact was that, through the making of better arrangements, the letters which used to come in with the matutinal tea and toast were now delivered over-night.
the following is a rather curious story of theft. the cook in a gentleman's family residing at harrow one day received an unregistered letter from hagley, near birmingham, which, when posted, contained a watch. on reaching its destination the cover was found to enclose a couple of pebbles only. she at once went to her master for advice. an eminent geologist was dining at the house. when he saw the enclosures, he said: “these are harrow pebbles; no such stones could be found at hagley.” this showed that the letter must have been tampered with at the harrow end of the journey. the postal authorities were communicated with, and an official detective was sent to harrow to make enquiries. [pg 275] something about the letter had, it seems, attracted notice at the local post office—perhaps the watch had ticked—which proved that the packet was intact when handed to the letter-carrier for delivery. he had not, however, given the letter to the cook, but to the butler, who passed it on to the cook. the delinquent, then, must be either the letter-carrier or the butler. the letter-carrier had been long in the postal service, and bore an excellent character. suspicion therefore pointed to the butler. he was called into the dining-room, and interrogated. he denied all knowledge of the watch, and declared he had given the packet to the cook exactly as he had received it. but while the interrogation was proceeding, his boxes were being examined; and, although no watch was found in any, the searchers came upon some things belonging to his master. taxed with their theft, the man pleaded guilty, but once more disclaimed all knowledge of the watch. on some pretext he was allowed to leave the room, when he retired to the pantry, and there committed suicide.
as time wore on, during the ten years which followed 1854 and my father's appointment as secretary to the post office, he sometimes found that his earlier estimate of former opponents was a mistake. when on the eve of entering the post office in 1846, he was, for instance, especially advised to get rid of mr bokenham, the head of the circulation department.[220] the new-comer, however, soon learned to [pg 276] appreciate at their just value mr bokenham's sterling qualities both in official and private life. so far from “inviting him to resign,” my father, unasked, moved for and obtained that improvement in position and salary which his ex-adversary so thoroughly well deserved, and which any less disinterested man would probably have secured for himself long before. nor was mr bokenham's the only instance of genuine worth rewarded by well-merited promotion in position or salary, or both.
another former strong opponent had been mr william page, unto whose efforts the successful conclusion of that treaty, known as “the postal union,” which enables us to correspond with foreign nations for 2-?d. the half-ounce, was largely due. at the present day 2-?d. seems scarcely to deserve the term “cheap” postage, but in the middle of the nineteenth century it was a reduction to rejoice over. no visitor was more welcome to our house than mr page, who was one of the most genial and least self-seeking of men. he was a staunch “maberlyite,” and, even when most friendly with us, never concealed his attachment to the man to whom he owed much kindness, as well as his own well-deserved advancement, and the appointment to the postal service of his two younger brothers. this unswerving loyalty to a former chief naturally made [pg 277] us hold mr page in still warmer esteem, since the worship of the risen sun is much more common and much less heroic than is that of the luminary which has definitely set. when my father died, mr page, at once and uninvited, cut short an interesting and much-needed holiday in normandy because he knew we should all wish him to be present at the funeral.
but although the situation at the post office greatly improved after the chief opponent's translation to another sphere of usefulness, the old hostility to the reform and reformer did not die out, being in some directions scotched merely, and not killed.
one of the most prominent among the irreconcilables was the novelist, anthony trollope. but as he was a surveyor, which means a postal bird of passage or official comet of moderate orbit regularly moving on its prescribed course, with only periodic appearances at st martin's-le-grand, he did not frequently come into contact with the heads there. he was an indefatigable worker; and many of his novels were partly written in railway carriages while he was journeying from one post town to another, on official inspection bent. on one occasion he was brought to our house, and a most entertaining and lively talker we found him to be. but somehow our rooms seemed too small for his large, vigorous frame, and big, almost stentorian voice. indeed, he reminded us of dickens's mr boythorn, minus the canary, and gave us the impression that the one slightly-built chair on which he rashly seated himself during a great part of the interview, must infallibly end in collapse, and sooner rather than [pg 278] later. after about a couple of hours of our society, he apparently found us uncongenial company; and perhaps we did not take over kindly to him, however keen our enjoyment, then and afterwards, of his novels and his talk. he has left a record in print of the fact that he heartily detested the hills, who have consoled themselves by remembering that when a man has spent many years in writing romance, the trying of his hand, late in life, at history, is an exceedingly hazardous undertaking. in fact, trollope's old associates at the post office were in the habit of declaring that his “autobiography” was one of the greatest, and certainly not the least amusing, of his many works of fiction.
but anthony trollope had quite another side to his character beside that of novelist and hill-hater, a side which should not be lost sight of. in 1859 he was sent out to the west indies on official business; and, although a landsman, he was able to propose a scheme of steamer routes more convenient and more economical than those in existence, “and, in the opinion of the hydrographer to the admiralty, superior to them even in a nautical point of view.”[221] nevertheless, the scheme had to wait long for adoption. indeed, what scheme for betterment has not to wait long?
whenever my father met with any foreign visitors of distinction, he was bound, sooner or later, to ask them about postal matters in their own country. the examined were of all ranks, from the king of the belgians to garibaldi, the italian patriot, whom [pg 279] he met at a public banquet, and presently questioned as to the prospects of penny postage in italy. garibaldi's interest in the subject was but languid; the sword with him was evidently a more congenial weapon than the pen—or postage stamp. when, later, rowland hill told his eldest brother of the unsatisfactory interview, the latter was greatly amused, and said: “when you go to heaven i foresee that you will stop at the gate to enquire of st peter how many deliveries they have a day, and how the expense of postal communication between heaven and the other place is defrayed.”
to the year 1862 belongs a veracious anecdote, which, although it has no relation to postal history, is worth preserving from oblivion because its heroine is a lady of exalted rank, who is held in universal respect. in connection with the great exhibition of that year, whose transplanted building has since been known as the alexandra palace of north london, my father came to know the danish professor forchammer; and, when bound for the post office, often took his way through the exhibition, then in hyde park, and the danish section in particular. one morning he found the professor very busy superintending a rearrangement of the pictures there. a portrait had just been taken from the line in order that another, representing a very attractive-looking young lady, which had previously been “skied,” might be put into the more important place. the young lady's father had not yet become a king, and the family was by no means wealthy, which combination of circumstances perhaps accounted [pg 280] for the portrait's former inconspicuous position. on my father's asking the reason for the change, professor forchammer replied that a great number of people was expected to visit that section to-day to look at the portrait, and it was imperative that it should be given the best place there, in consequence of the announcement just made public that the original was “engaged to marry your prince of wales.”
my father parted with great regret from lord clanricarde when the russell administration went out of office. his kindness and courtesy, his aptitude for work, his good sense and evident sincerity, had caused the “secretary to the postmaster-general,” after a service of nearly six years, to form a very high opinion of his chief.[222]
lord clanricarde's successor, lord hardwicke, belonged to the rough diamond species; yet he tried his hardest to fulfil intelligently and conscientiously the duties of his novel and far from congenial office. he had a cordial dislike to jobbery of any kind, though once at least he came near to acquiescing in a parliamentary candidate's artfully-laid plot suggesting the perpetration of a piece of lavish and unnecessary expenditure in a certain town, the outlay to synchronise with the candidate's election, and the merit to be claimed by him. happily, lord hardwicke's habitual lack of reticence gave wiser heads the weapon with which to prevent so flagrant a job from getting beyond the stage of mere suggestion. [pg 281] it was the man's kind heart and dislike to give offence which doubtless led him into indiscretions of the sort; but amiable as he was, he had at times a knack of making people feel extremely uncomfortable, as when, in conformity with his own ideas on the subject, he sought to regulate the mutual relations of the two chief secretaries, when he called in all latchkeys—his own, however, included—and when, during his first inspection of his new kingdom, he audibly asked, on entering a large room full of employees, if he had “the power to dismiss all these men.” the old sailor aimed at ruling the post office as he had doubtless ruled his man-of-war, wasted time and elaborate minutes on trivial matters—such as a return of the number of housemaids employed—when important reforms needed attention, and had none of the ability or breadth of view of his predecessor.
lord canning was my father's next chief, and soon showed himself to be an earnest friend to postal reform. it was while he was postmaster-general, and mainly owing to his exertions, that in 1854 fulfilment was at last made of the promise given by lord john russell's government, to place the author of penny postage at the head of the great department which controlled the country's correspondence—a promise in consideration of which rowland hill, in 1846, had willingly sacrificed so much. when lord canning left the post office to become governor-general of india, my father felt as if he had lost a lifelong friend; and he followed with deep interest his former chiefs career in the far [pg 282] east. during the anxious time of struggle with the mutiny, nothing pained my father more than the virulent abuse which was often levelled at the far-seeing statesman whose wise and temperate rule contributed so largely to preserve to his country possession of that “brightest jewel of the crown” at a season when most people in britain lost their senses in a wild outburst of fury. lord canning's management of india won, from the first, his ex-lieutenant's warmest admiration. the judgment of posterity—often more discerning, because less heated, than contemporaneous opinion—has long since decided that “clemency canning” did rightly. the nickname was used as a reproach at the time, but the later title of “the lord durham of india” is meant as a genuine compliment, or, better still, appreciation.[223]
[pg 283]
the duke of argyll—he of the “silvern tongue”—succeeded lord canning, and showed the same aptitude for hard work which had distinguished his predecessors. his quickness of apprehension, promptitude in generalisation, and that facility in composition which made of his minutes models of literary style, were unusually great. when he left the post office he addressed to its secretary a letter of regret at parting—an act of courtesy said to be rare. the letter was couched in the friendliest terms, and the regret was by no means one-sided.
lord colchester, the postmaster-general in lord derby's short-lived second administration, was another excellent chief, painstaking, hard-working, high-minded, remarkably winning in manner, cherishing a positive detestation of every kind of job, and never hesitating to resist pressure on that score from whatever quarter it might come. his early death was a distinct loss to the party to which he belonged.
for lord elgin, who, like lord canning, left the post office to become governor-general of india, my father entertained the highest opinion alike as regarded his administrative powers, his calm and dispassionate judgment, and his transparent straightforwardness of character. “he is another lord canning,” the postal reformer used [pg 284] to say; and that was paying his new chief the greatest compliment possible.
so far, then, as my father's experience entitled him to judge, there are few beliefs more erroneous than that which pictures these political, and therefore temporary masters of the post office—or, indeed, of other governmental departments—as mere “ornamental figure-heads,” drawing a handsome salary, and doing very little to earn it. the same remark applies to my father's last chief, who was certainly no drone, and who was ever bold in adopting any improvement which seemed to him likely to benefit the service and the public.
hitherto the reformer had been fortunate in the postmasters-general he had served under; and by this time—the beginning of the 'sixties—everything was working harmoniously, so that mr (afterwards sir john) tilly, the then senior assistant secretary, when contrasting the present with the past, was justified when he remarked that, “now every one seems to do his duty as a matter of course.”
but with the advent to power in 1860 of the seventh chief under whom my father, while at the post office, served, there came a change; and the era of peace was at an end. the new head may, like lord canning, have had knowledge of that hostility to which the earlier postmaster-general, in conversation with rowland hill, alluded. but if so, the effect on the later chief was very different from that upon lord canning. at this long interval of time, there can be no necessity to disinter the forgotten details of a quarrel that lasted for four [pg 285] years, but which will soon be half a century old. perhaps the situation may be best expressed in the brief, and very far from vindictive reference to it in my father's diary. “i had not,” he wrote, “the good fortune to obtain from him that confidence and support which i had enjoyed with his predecessors.” too old, too utterly wearied out with long years of almost incessant toil and frequently recurring obstruction, too hopelessly out of health[224] to cope with the new difficulties, the harassed postal reformer struggled on awhile, and in 1864 resigned.
he was sixty-eight years of age, and from early youth upward, had worked far harder than do most people. “he had,” said an old friend, “packed into one man's life the life's work of two men.”
