Sir Rowland Hill

uable work.[199] Its report was published in the following year. Rowland Hill's examination alone occupied eight days; and he had the

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

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

t 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 a

rentford.” 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

as 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

mulated 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 t

fect 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

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 ra

ng 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 vari

e, 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 spher

ortugal, 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

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h 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 uniform

it, 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 pu

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

ew outlying portions alone excepted. For many years after the introduction of the new system, involving, as it did, comple

rvice, 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 wa

man, 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

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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

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

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 t

ment 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 rela

ements 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

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 kno

all.[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 m

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evitable 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 p

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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 t

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

ced 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,

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

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 (“

s own, whose exploits were humorously related by “Ensign” Edmund Yates, under the heading “The Grimgribber Rifle Volunteers,” in several [Pg 267] numbers of A

rovided 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

ited 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 a

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

ves, 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 prepay

lthough renewing his efforts both in 1858 and 1863, he was forced to leave accomplishment of thi

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 thei

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partment, 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 wa

ne 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 box

dings, 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

s, 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. I

father in his diary, “we were often debarred from so doing by the trick

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 comin

hat whereas at one time she always received her letters in the morning, they now only reached her in the evening. The fact was that, thr

stal 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 the

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

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 loyal

ent's translation to another sphere of usefulness, the old hostility to the reform a

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 ove

ficial 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 hydrograp

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 un

y 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,

s kindness and courtesy, his aptitude for work, his good sense and evident sincerity, had caused the “Secretary

laimed 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,

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 se

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nsion, 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 ad

rd-working, high-minded, remarkably winning in manner, cherishing a positive detestation of every kind of job, and never hesitating to

n alike as regarded his administrative powers, his calm and dispassionate judgment, and his transparent straightforwardness of character.

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 a

xties—everything was working harmoniously, so that Mr (afterwards Sir John) Tilly, the then Senior Assistant Secretary, when contr

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,”

ked far harder than do most people. “He had,” said an old friend, “pa