Chapter XVI: Joint Secretaryship. (1846-1848.)

The scene of my labours was henceforth to be in that institution which had so long been the centre of my thoughts; and though the post assigned me would, as I knew, give me but limited power for attaining the ends I had in view, I still hoped by patience and perseverance to make fair progress. I now resumed the Journal which for four years had been suspended:--

"_December 5th, 1846._--Called on the Postmaster-General at his
house.... Drove with him to the Post Office in his cab."

As we passed through Newgate Street, there was a little incident of some amusement. The way being blocked, there arose some of the abusive language usually heard on such occasions against those who, being immediately ahead, seem to stop the way; and the Postmaster-General and his new secretary came in for their full share. Upon looking back we found that the abuse came from the driver of a mail-cart, who was thus unconsciously railing at his official superiors. Lord Clanricarde burst into a hearty laugh; showing, what I have often remarked, that men under heavy official pressure seem more than commonly pleased with a little fun.

"On reaching the Post Office, Mr. Cornwall (the
Postmaster-General's private secretary), who had preceded us, told
me that Colonel Maberly wished to see me. We went together to M.'s
room. M. and I shook hands, &c. All three then proceeded to make
the circuit of the Post Office, and I was introduced to all the
heads of departments.... To commence duty on Wednesday, the 9th."

This was at least a satisfactory beginning, but what was to follow? While I resolved that nothing should be wanting on my part to maintain harmony, I could not but form, from the past, unsatisfactory expectations as to the future. How far these misgivings were justified will appear presently; and yet I should willingly suppress much of the evidence on this point but for fear of misleading future reformers. It is important that any one meditating such a course as mine should know what that course really was; so that before entering on his work he may count the cost. How soon difficulties are forgotten by mere bystanders was curiously shown in my case by an article some few years later in the "Edinburgh Review," on Mr. Charles Dickens's story of "Little Dorrit." Few periodicals rendered me more important service than this--in none did it seem less probable that the nature and extent of my struggles would be underrated; and yet my course was cited as one notoriously demonstrating the injustice of those attacks on official jealousy which have rendered "Circumlocution Office" a familiar term. Mr. Dickens's amusing reply will be found in "Household Words," Vol. XVI, p. 97, and it may be added that it contains a short, but true and lively, sketch of my early struggles. Prior, therefore, to describing the improvements which I was gradually able to introduce, I shall endeavour to give a specimen of the circumstances which, for years after my restoration to office, made progress so tardy:--

"_December 9th._--Commenced duties at the Post Office.

"The Postmaster-General has referred to me by minutes the Railway
Report, and several applications for increase of force or of
salary, but there is some demur in supplying the necessary
papers, and the assistant-secretary (Campbell) showed me a minute
(referred to in a note which I received this morning from the
Postmaster-General, who is not at the office to-day), prescribing
the course of proceeding in my department. It appears to be
unnecessarily restrictive; must see the Postmaster-General on the
subject."

To show how much this minute was likely to hamper me, it is only necessary to state that it forbade me to demand any papers whatever, or to send for any officer, without first enumerating my wants in a minute, which was to receive the sanction of the Postmaster-General, and then be sent to Colonel Maberly for him to give it effect. As it was impracticable for me, when entering on any investigation, to foresee what papers or what officers I should require to consult, or even to know what papers were in existence, it is obvious that by such a rule my proceedings would be so clogged as to render satisfactory progress impracticable:--

"_December 10th._--... seem to think that the minute may be
converted into a means of annoyance. Johnson, the chief clerk, has
refused to show Armstrong [my private secretary] the form of the
letter register without a written order to that effect; but the
Postmaster-General learnt the fact, and set the matter right even
before I could see him. On my calling his attention to the minute,
he explained it to be much less restrictive than I had supposed,
and at once wrote a second minute explanatory of the first."

With regard to the supposed necessity for restriction, I soon learnt that not only the assistant-secretary, but also several of the clerks in the secretary's office, could obtain necessary papers without the least difficulty. I must add that, while at the Treasury, I had similar freedom in relation to the papers there, and even to the officers of the Post Office, and I can truly aver that, so far from abusing the opportunities thus given, I had been careful to avoid everything that could in the least degree infringe the discipline of either department. Subsequent discoveries, however, led me to understand what strong reasons there must have been for obtaining from the Postmaster-General an order rendering access to papers as limited as possible. For, while I really shunned all knowledge on the subject, I could not avoid receiving from casual observation ample confirmation of the suspicions that I entertained three years before as to the extent to which the Parliamentary Committee of 1843 was misled.[34]

Restriction became the more galling because, in the very nature of things, the pressure of work was more than enough.

"_December 15th._--Learnt from Stow that a copy of the minutes as
to the course of proceeding in my department (December 9th and
10th) has been sent to the head of each department in the office.
This needless publicity is not, I fear, without an object. The
minutes desire that a copy may be supplied to me, without naming
any other party."

The reader, who has observed how speedily the withdrawal of my friends from power in 1841 was followed by intrigues to thwart my progress, undermine my credit, and remove me from my post, will be little surprised at the manifestations recorded above. At the time of the first cabal, I was in the weakness of isolation; this, the second, was formed when I was in the weakness of a novel position; and it will be found hereafter that other such seasons were chosen as times for similar proceedings. I felt too truly that a struggle was to come, and I could not yet foretell how far I should be supported in it by the Postmaster-General.

I had scarcely got my department into somewhat smoother working, when I was called upon to deal with applicants of two separate kinds: first, deputations from letter-carriers and stampers, suggesting improvements and applying for increase of wages; all of whom, for the sake of discipline, I declined receiving without the express sanction of the Postmaster-General; and, secondly, from persons claiming compensation for inventions or devices already included more or less explicitly in my published plan. The most remarkable amongst these claimants was a lady, who informed me by letter that the plan of penny postage originated with her, and begged that I would be so obliging as to aid her in obtaining due compensation from Government!

Meantime I went to work with a view to the extension of those facilities on which I had laid so much stress:--

"_January 30th, 1847._--This week engaged chiefly in completing the
instructions to the surveyors, by means of which I hope to effect
important improvements simultaneously in all the large towns in the
kingdom."

These instructions, when completed, were sanctioned by the Postmaster-General, who, however, thought it necessary that they should be issued under the signature of Colonel Maberly. With the Postmaster-General's consent, the document subsequently appeared in the newspapers. Of the Reports called for by this circular, about one-half were received within six months, and these gave information as to the state of things in about one hundred and twenty of the largest provincial towns. They showed all sorts of anomalies, though not quite so much room for improvement as I had expected. I was convinced, however, that the very issue of the circular had caused considerable improvements to be at once made. My progress, nevertheless, continued to be clogged with difficulties:--

"_February 3rd._--The present arrangements do not work well in
some important particulars. I have no ready means of learning what
is being done in Maberly's department, in consequence of which we
sometimes play at cross purposes, and there is much delay.... At
the risk of being considered 'impracticable,' I must try to put
things on a different footing."

"_February 6th._--I feel very uneasy at the slow progress made,
but, circumstanced as I am, it is impossible to go faster."

My moral difficulties found a physical parallel:--

"_February 8th._--Returning to Brighton [where I still continued
to live] by the 5 p.m. express train, was stopped by a sudden
snow-storm. With two engines we were three and a-half hours in
advancing three miles from Three Bridges. We came to a dead stand
near to the Balcombe Tunnel; remained there till 1 a.m., unable
to proceed or return, when, an engine having arrived, and all the
passengers having been crammed into three carriages, we returned
to Three Bridges, leaving the remainder of the train in the snow.
Sat up all night at 'The Fox.' Next morning, the line being open to
London soon after ten, I returned to town. The other passengers, I
found, on my return to Brighton at night, did not complete their
journey till 4 p.m. (having been twenty-three hours on the way)."

A few days later, being invited by the Guardian Society at Liverpool to a public dinner, I took opportunity, in my speech of thanks, to explain to a certain extent the duties and powers of the Post Office, misapprehension as to which led then, and doubtless leads still, to unprofitable correspondence, withdrawing attention from practical improvements to futile discussion. I found it particularly necessary to show why suggestions, however valuable, cannot be suddenly adopted, since, in so vast and complex a machine as the Post Office, which must not for one hour be arrested in its motion, it is indispensable to make such preliminary examination and complete arrangement as will yield full security that the change will throw nothing out of gear, but work smoothly from the first. I showed that, while some of the improvements called for by my Liverpool friends seemed feasible, others could not be made.

Thus, it had been demanded that letters should no longer be carried past the office from which they were to be distributed to some office further on, whence they would have to return, but that the distributing office should receive them at once. This demand, not then new, nor yet worn out, I had to meet by showing that the letters for one office were at such times mixed up with those for other offices, and therefore could not be dropped in passing, while the delay in sorting could not be absolutely prevented unless every post town in the United Kingdom made up a bag for every other post town, which, as there were then about one thousand post towns in all, would involve the daily despatch, transmission, and opening of a million of bags in each direction, an immense majority of which would contain no letters whatever. At the same time I assured my auditors that I should do my best to render the Post Office as useful as possible, and that I would carefully inquire into all the defects in its management which they had brought to my notice.[35] To this task I addressed myself on the morrow.

Even here, however, I found old impediments to the progress of improvement; for when I proposed to Mr. Banning, the postmaster of Liverpool, to keep open the Money Order Office to a later hour without waiting for instructions from London, my advice was met by the presentation, though with many apologies, of the Postmaster-General's restrictive minute, the issue of which had been previously condemned, but unfortunately not revoked. One consequence was that I refrained, for the time, from attempting improvements at Manchester, lest I should encounter another copy of the minute there. On my return I pressed on the Postmaster-General the importance of reconsidering the arrangements affecting my position before his leaving town, which he promised to do, perhaps the more readily because he was much pleased with what I had effected at Liverpool. The consideration, however, produced no immediate result.

"_September 28th._--Banning, who called upon me to-day, reports
that the restriction of the Liverpool receiving-houses to stamped
and unpaid letters, accompanied as it is by an extension of time
for posting, is working very satisfactorily; so are the other
improvements which, not requiring Treasury sanction, have been
carried out; but I find that though the Treasury sanction [to
certain further improvements] has been received a month, no steps
whatever have as yet been taken thereon. The reply to the weekly
inquiry made as to matters in arrears has been, that the papers
were with Colonel Maberly, and beyond this nothing could be learnt
till to-day, when, getting impatient at the delay, I set Armstrong
to learn the cause, when it appeared that the papers were not with
Colonel Maberly at all, but in the first clerk's room, where they
had been 'mislaid' as usual."

This transaction, though apparently but of local importance, I have narrated at some length, because it shows how the progress of improvement was clogged, and how much my time was occupied in watching lest that which I had carefully planned should be marred in working. Other difficulties will appear as I proceed with my narrative:--

"_February 17th._--Requested that he [the Postmaster-General]
would reconsider a minute directing that letters addressed to me
by the subordinates shall pass not only through the heads of the
departments, as I had proposed, but through Maberly's office."

"_February 24th._--Finished a minute calling for copies of many of
the periodic returns made to Maberly, to which I have added several
original ones, with a view of obtaining tolerable statistics. At
present they are lamentably deficient."

"_February 27th._--The Postmaster-General is so much engaged in
his duties as Cabinet Minister that he rarely comes to the office
at present, and I am obliged to defer many points on which it is
necessary to consult him. I am much dissatisfied with the little
progress made."

When, however, the Postmaster-General was more at leisure we sometimes got on apace:--

_March 5th._--Had a long interview with the Postmaster-General,
and got through much business. I never met with a public man who
is less afraid of a novel and decided course of action ... ; _e.g._,
a proposal of mine to require the postmaster at Manchester to
pay out of his fees the salaries of two new clerks, required on
account of his own inefficiency, has been cordially adopted, in
direct opposition to Maberly and the surveyor; and this is the
more important, inasmuch as my minute is a direct attack on a
claim hitherto treated with great reverence, viz., the right of an
officer to continue receiving fees (unless compensated), however
large in amount and mischievous in their tendency, simply because
he has once enjoyed them.

"Spoke again of the absolute necessity of my being better
informed as to what is going on, and proposed that he [the
Postmaster-General] should direct that all communications to
and from the Treasury should pass through my hands. He at once
concurred in the necessity of the thing, but proposed that, instead
of writing a minute on the subject, he would himself take care that
I saw such papers before they left his own hands. I fear that the
arrangement will frequently be forgotten, but I could not object to
try it. He again expressed a wish that I would not disturb existing
arrangements, at least so far as they appear in writing; but on my
telling him that the rule requiring me to obtain papers through him
caused much inconvenience and delay, he told me in confidence that
he did not desire that I should regard it, but send for any papers
that I wanted."

Not liking this anomalous state of things, I consulted confidentially with Mr. Jones Loyd, mentioning also my uneasiness at the slow progress of improvement, and referring to the expectations held out to me through him and Mr. Warburton before I entered the Post Office.[36] These expectations, however, I did not suppose were likely soon to be fulfilled, as I had just learnt that a large addition was about to be made to Colonel Maberly's staff. Mr. Loyd, while recognising the expectations held out to me, advised me temperately to press the Postmaster-General to assign to me a department, or at least to leave in my hands till ripe for his own decision all matters connected with any specific improvement which may be assigned to me. On this advice I resolved to act as occasions arose. I presently had further evidence that I was advancing in the confidence of my official superiors. The Postmaster-General placed the secretarial management of the Money Order Department in my hands, and directed that all returns to Parliament should be submitted to me before being sent to the Treasury, with free leave for me to attack any such as seemed unfair to penny postage, while the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his place in Parliament, spoke highly of my services.

At the same time, I felt obliged to remind the Postmaster-General of our slow progress. I again called his attention to the delay of my measures after their leaving my hands; showed, in short, that all my measures were standing still, and told him I was very anxious to bring some one improvement to a successful issue, a view in which he agreed, thinking, however, that much had already been effected. As regards minor matters this was true enough, but my continued anxiety was justified by the fact that I had now been nearly four months in office without being able to bring into effect any improvement important enough to require the sanction of the Treasury.

On April 1st of this year, in accordance with the wish of the Postmaster-General, I went to Bristol. As what I found there may be regarded as a specimen, by no means an unfavourable one, of the state of things at the provincial offices generally, I describe it. The first delivery of the day, by far the most important of all, was not completed until twelve o'clock; the letter-carriers, as I was informed, often staying after departure from the office to take their breakfast before commencing their rounds. I was able to show how at a small cost (only £125 a year) it might be completed by nine. The office itself I found small, badly lighted, and worse ventilated. The day mail thence to London was nearly useless, its contents for London delivery being on the morning of my inquiry only sixty-four letters, thirty-seven of which might have been sent by the previous mail on the mere payment of the extra penny. The impression regarding this mail, both in and out of the office, agreed exactly with my evidence in 1843, viz., that all day mails, to be efficient for their purpose, should start as late as is consistent with their reaching London in time for their letters to be forwarded by the evening mails. The satisfaction I felt in such improvements as I had been able to make on the spot was much enhanced by my receiving at the termination of my visit the thanks of both clerks and letter-carriers for the new arrangements.

To return to the subject of obstruction:--

"_April 20th._--A letter from Mr. Lettis, a senior clerk of the
Money Order Office, written on the 12th instant, and forwarded
the same day by Mr. Barth, instead of being sent at once to me,
was forwarded, by Colonel Maberly's own endorsement, to the
Postmaster-General, then in the west of Ireland, in consequence of
which it did not reach me till yesterday, I being all the while
engaged on the subject to which it relates."

The paper thus retarded I soon found was one amongst many, all of them more or less important to a right understanding of the work on which I was specially engaged. Application, however, to the Postmaster-General for the maintenance of direct communication produced no other effect than an injunction to Colonel Maberly's department against further delay.

In the midst of these troubles, petty in themselves, but trying to my health and very injurious in the delay they produced, I saw, for the first time, a fellow-labourer in the great cause of postal improvement, who, in establishing the overland route to India, had surmounted formidable difficulties and rendered invaluable services, without, I fear, securing either to himself or his family any proportionate recompense. My record of the interview is very brief:--

"Lieutenant Waghorn called. He is a man of singularly energetic
appearance."

A means of preventing, to a considerable extent, injurious measures in the Post Office being taken without my knowledge was hit upon almost accidentally. Upon my mentioning to Mr. Parker, then Secretary to the Treasury, that many of the applications from the Post Office to his department were made without my cognizance, and offering, with the sanction of the Postmaster-General, to go down once a week or so to the Treasury to assist him in his decisions upon them, the offer was gladly accepted, the more so as the augmentations recently made in the Post Office salaries were producing corresponding demands from other quarters. Yet further confidence was shown when the new practice at the Treasury started a fresh difficulty, viz., as to what was to be done when my opinion was against measures which the Postmaster-General had recommended without consulting me. Upon my applying to Lord Clanricarde for instructions, he told me that he wished me to have no scruples as to any measures, but to advise against them unhesitatingly if so inclined.

Notwithstanding this confidence, however, the anomalous arrangement of the department remained fruitful in mischief; indeed every practised man knows that where proceedings are vitiated at their source no subsequent vigilance suffices for their effectual correction. In my case, moreover, vigilance on such points was maintained at the sacrifice of progress in improvement. Parliamentary returns moved for about this time by members hostile to my plans, and demanded in such form as to mislead, were accelerated, while one moved for by Mr. Warburton in such form as to secure a true statement was kept back. Though, by great effort, I procured from the Postmaster-General an order for modification in two of the fallacious returns, yet, after all, one of them actually went forth with all its errors retained.

After many details on this vexatious topic, my Journal proceeds as follows:--

"I feel ashamed, as well as annoyed, in having to record these
vexations, and I must put an end to them by some means or other. I
would gladly omit these records altogether, but former experience
has shown that it would be unsafe so to do. I am obliged,
therefore, with a view to my own justification hereafter, to
continue them, though I cannot but fear that (should this Journal
ever be read by those who do not know me intimately) such daily
complainings may be considered as evidence of querulousness on my
part."[37]

So long as this twofold authority continued, it was impracticable for the Postmaster-General, unless endowed with a more exact memory for details than can be reasonably expected in a Cabinet Minister, to avoid inconsistency in his own proceedings. Thus after having obtained his acceptance of an advantageous offer from the Brighton Railway Company, I learnt to my amazement that the offer had been refused. On inquiring into the matter, I found out that this was the result of counter advice of which I knew nothing.

It has been seen that errors thus arising found their way into Parliamentary returns; they even affected legislative enactment. In a bill sent up from the Post Office to the Treasury for introduction into Parliament, I had advised the insertion of clauses authorizing the Treasury to relax or abolish the rule fixing a maximum to the weight of a letter, but at the same time establishing restrictions--as, for instance, prepayment of postage on all heavy letters--to prevent abuse of the new rule by the public. The solicitor of the Post Office, however, so drew the bill as to supersede the Treasury exercise of this power by a clause making the abolition absolute, and at the same time omitting the proposed safeguards. As the bill was never submitted to my examination in a complete form, it became law with this defect. Fortunately, the practical consequences were not very serious, the public probably remaining for the most part quite unaware of its new liberty or, rather, licence. Some wag, however, getting hold of the fact, turned it to account for his amusement, posting in Ireland a bundle of old clothes, directed to London, which being of course refused by the addressee, as the postage demanded was no less than £4. 11_s._, had to be carried back according to rule to the place of despatch; the double conveyance being necessarily made gratis, as the sender naturally took care not to be known. I need not say that at the first opportunity the Act was amended.

A very far more serious evil was reported to me shortly afterwards; namely, that a clerk in the Money Order Office in Manchester had been detected in several frauds. My informant attributed the loss of letters, &c., mainly to the absence of investigation as to character, arising out of the system of patronage. He added that he pointed out this as the chief cause of the evil to Lord Lowther soon after his appointment.

To heedlessness in appointment was unfortunately added laxity in discipline:--

"_September 30th._--At ---- the postmaster, who gets £15 a year as
compensation for [his loss of] late-letter fees has remitted till
lately only 7_s._ or 8_s._ a year [for such fees]; but on a stir
being made the remittances at once advanced to as much per week:
the explanation given is that he omitted to demand the fee, not
that he fraudulently appropriated it; and on this ground he has
escaped dismissal, I think very improperly; but I have not been
consulted in either case, and know the facts only from conversation
with the Postmaster-General."

About the same time I was engaged in devising means for a partial introduction of the plan of district offices in the London delivery, but was led to abandon the attempt, in some measure, by the inconveniences attending a partial arrangement, and yet more by fear of serious disorder likely to arise from the imperfect manner in which I knew, by past experience, the necessary instructions would be carried into effect, unless I could myself superintend their execution; and thus it was that several years had to elapse before this great improvement could be made.

Soon after arriving at this conclusion I attempted to remove a strange anomaly which was producing a certain amount of trouble in the office, leading occasionally even to delay in the despatch of the mails. This was that while letters brought to the chief office after 7 P.M. were not received for that night's mail without an additional fee of sixpence, late newspapers were received up to that hour on payment of a halfpenny:--[38]

"_October 5th._--To-day I consulted Bokenham[39] on the expediency
of advancing the fee [on newspapers] at seven o'clock, but
he strongly advises against it, on the ground of its certain
unpopularity with the press."

So difficult is it to recall concession, however mischievous and absurd. In the end, however, a compromise was adopted which, while it greatly relieved the department, proved satisfactory to the newspaper publishers. I abstain from further narration of mere obstructions, not for want of matter, but because enough has been done to show the difficulties, annoyances, and delays ever crossing the path of my improvements; the like of which must, I fear, be expected by all whose zeal for reform leads them to intrude amidst men of routine.

A trouble of another kind, however, began now to show itself, which later on produced serious consequences. Applications for increase of salary, backed by the recommendation of Colonel Maberly, were referred to me for consideration, the circumstances being such that, without unscrupulous disregard of the public interest, I could do nothing but advise their rejection. I found that in one instance, instead of the applicants being simply informed of the Postmaster-General's decision, which was in conformity with my opinion, they had also been told--contrary to official rule--of our conflicting recommendations. The consequence was a renewal of the application, accompanied with a letter of thanks to Colonel Maberly, and an appeal from my judgment as being opposed to that of "the Secretary." I could not but foresee that if, without any opportunity of recommending merited concession, I were to be held up as a bar to concessions recommended by others, I should, in course of time, find myself in a position very unfavourable alike to the maintenance of my just authority and the progress of good measures. After noticing the above facts, my Journal proceeds as follows:--

"_October 16th._--I tried to avoid this collision of opinion,
representing to the Postmaster-General the probable result when
the papers were first referred to me; but his reply was that his
opinion coincided with my own, but that he could not act in direct
opposition to Maberly's earnest advice without support from me,
consequently I had no escape; luckily the Treasury, as well as the
Postmaster-General, take my view of the question."

Accordingly, I wrote a somewhat severe minute on the subject, and this was approved by the Postmaster-General. I must add that my foreboding was, on both points, justified by the sequel, the usual course being, for a long time, that the duty of rejecting such applications fell almost exclusively upon me, while the popularity that arose when an application was granted was almost engrossed by Colonel Maberly. The natural, nay, inevitable result was that great difficulties were raised in the way of the improvements that I attempted to make.

Under all these circumstances, it is little to be wondered at that, on looking back on the progress made during the first year since my appointment at the Post Office, I was much dissatisfied with what I found, nor could I feel surprised that symptoms of discontent began to appear in the public, which, knowing nothing of impediments, naturally expected the fulfilment of those expectations which my admission to office had raised.

Among the improvements that I effected this year, the following is, I conceive, of great importance:--

Exorbitant claims having been advanced and admitted for compensation in respect of abolished fees, perquisites, &c., I made arrangements for such returns as to the current amount of those irregular emoluments as would keep these claims thenceforth within due bounds. The efficiency of this plan will be evident when it is considered that, though at the period of abolition claimants would naturally seek to make this amount appear as large as possible, yet, in ordinary times, when the receipt of large fees might act as a bar to demand for augmented salary, the interest would lie in the opposite direction. All, therefore, that was necessary was to get the ordinary estimate on indisputable record. This had been provided for before I left the Treasury, but, in the interim, the plan had been abandoned.

Finding that any attempt to establish a parcel post, which I had formerly suggested, would raise more opposition in the railway companies than I thought it prudent just then to encounter, I suggested the establishment of a book post, pointing out how much such a measure would promote education, and how acceptable it would be to the public. The Postmaster-General expressed apprehensions of the department being overloaded on magazine days, and I had to point out the means by which all such difficulties could be surmounted. Vehement objections came from the usual quarter, but these were overruled.

Before closing the account of the year, I must mention two attempts at improvements which have met with no success.

Upon an application from Colonel Maberly's extra clerks for an increase of salary, I proposed instead a regular system of promotion, whereby all vacancies in the establishment should be filled by selection from the extra clerks instead of from without, an arrangement which would have obtained the collateral advantage of submitting every candidate for regular clerkship to a probation in the extra corps. The Postmaster-General seemed favourable to the principle, which, indeed, had been occasionally recognised in practice, but unfortunately I never succeeded in obtaining its adoption as a rule, the real obstacle being, no doubt, that it would have acted as an impediment to patronage.

My second abortive measure I regarded as of great importance, nor has my opinion of it undergone any change; though how far it may be applicable to the circumstances of the present day is another question. Wishing to procure for the Post Office the unrestricted use of all the railway trains, and that at a moderate fixed rate, I suggested that Government, as a means of procuring the ready acquiescence of the railway companies, should include in a bill then preparing for Parliament a provision in their favour, which seemed to me to be in strict accordance with justice, and with the true interests of the public. In my Report[40] on this subject, I first showed that in order to enable the Post Office effectually to serve the public, it was necessary that the department should make far greater use of the railways. Under the existing law, owing to uncertainty as to the rate of payment, the excessive awards frequently made, and other causes, this was impracticable. I therefore proposed that an attempt should be made to obtain an Act empowering the Railway Commissioners, at that time an organised Board, with the present Lord Belper at its head, to take the following steps:--

1st. To issue a general tariff of charges for the conveyance of mails, such tariff to be constructed so as to afford the companies a moderate profit.

2nd. To decide all questions which might arise between the Post Office and any railway company.

3rd. To issue a general tariff of maximum fares for passengers and charges for goods, minerals, &c., to be demanded of the public; and

4th. To revise such general tariffs from time to time.

By way of compensation to the companies, and with a view also to the advantage of the public, I proposed, "subject to such regulations as Parliament may impose for securing fairness towards all parties interested, to adopt a territorial division of the surface of the kingdom, reserving, as open to new companies, any district in which the public interests would be served by the construction of new and independent lines, but assigning to each existing company"--on certain specified conditions--"so much of the district on each side of its line as can be most advantageously served by such company; a provision being made that, if at any time the Railway Commissioners should be of opinion that the public interests require that a railway of a given description should be made within such assigned territory, it shall be competent to the Commissioners to call upon the company to which the district is so assigned to construct the line, with the consent of Parliament; and if the company refuse or neglect so to do within a given time, to offer the line to the public at large."

I further proposed that these arrangements should apply compulsorily to all companies hereafter to be formed, but that "each existing company should have the option, within a certain period, to accept the same conditions, or to continue in its present condition."

The following advantages, among others, would, I expected, result from the proposed arrangements:--

1. It would secure the cheap conveyance of the mails, and greatly promote the extension and perfection of the system of Post Office distribution.

2. It would secure the establishment of moderate fares, without resorting to competition, which it is now generally admitted would be as injurious to the public as to the companies.

3. It would secure the completion of the railway system at the least expenditure of capital, and in a manner most conducive to economy in working.

4. It would repress rash and unprincipled speculation; and

5. It would relieve Parliament from the drudgery of investigating hastily-devised and useless projects.

As regards the interests of the companies, I pointed out that--

1. It would relieve them from the ruinous expenditure now necessary to defend their property from aggression.

2. It would enable them to take advantage of the cheapness of labour or materials, and abundance of capital, gradually to extend the ramifications of their lines to all places capable of affording a remunerative traffic.

And, finally, it would greatly benefit both the public and the companies, by enabling the directors and other officers to devote their time and energy (now mainly absorbed in Parliamentary contests) to the internal management of their affairs, thus conducing to economy, and to the comfort and safety of their passengers.

All these important results, I was of opinion, would be obtained without any sacrifice on the part of the public or of the companies.

In a Report, the primary object of which was to facilitate the use of railways by the Post Office, it may appear out of place to deal with the questions of charges for passengers and goods, railway extension, &c., but I found one part of the subject so linked with every other as to render separate treatment impracticable.

Had this plan been adopted when originally proposed (more than twenty[41] years ago), the following results, I firmly believe, would have been obtained:--

1st. The postal system would have been enormously improved.

2nd. The conveyance of passengers and goods would have been considerably cheapened.

3rd. The railway system would have been far more extended than it now is.

4th. A vast waste of capital would have been avoided. And,

5th. Railway property, instead of being almost a byword for depression and insecurity, would, under tolerable management, have been placed on a firm basis.

Unhappily, the advantage which would have been gained by the adoption of my plan is now for ever lost. The contests it might have prevented during the last twenty years have done their disastrous work; but the future remains, and I believe it still possible to amend our railway system and even to adopt a plan more comprehensive than the one just described. My views on the subject appear in a separate Report, which I made as a member of the Commission on Railways appointed in the year 1865, the substance of which, I may remark, will be found in a summary appended thereto.[42]

I have now brought the year 1847, the first which I passed at the Post Office, to a general close. I have yet to speak of proceedings relative to one improvement, which, however, was not carried into effect until the following year. I narrate this at some length, not only because of its importance, but also because it serves well as a specimen of my course of proceeding during the long period which I passed in the anomalous position to which I had been appointed.

The Postmaster-General having requested me to examine the state of the Money Order Department, with a view to its improvement and extension, I succeeded in devising a plan which, while it effected many improvements, provided for a very large extension, and that without increasing the number of accounts with the chief office. I learnt now that a plan which I proposed when at the Treasury would have simplified operations exceedingly, but that its adoption, though earnestly pressed by Mr. Jackson (then at the head of the department), had been successfully resisted; and that, though some part of this plan had been superseded by other improvements, much yet remained which Mr. Jackson thought would be highly useful.

In my consequent preparations I was impeded frequently for hours, sometimes for days, by the want of necessary papers, the registration and arrangement being so defective that, according to the registering clerk, his death would leave the office in absolute perplexity. When the papers came they were sometimes exceedingly imperfect, the omission being in one instance that of a very important report; and of course fresh delays occurred while these omissions were supplied. Again, when, in reference to a proposed measure of economy, I called upon the head of the department and his immediate subordinate to support my views by expressing in writing opinions which they had given in conversation, they excused themselves by pleading that they should thereby incur serious displeasure.

The omitted report was one made some time before by Mr. Jackson, recommending an improvement calculated to save the department between £2,000 and £3,000 per annum. Taking up this rejected measure, I was enabled, after long elaboration, to procure its adoption, and in a few months more its beneficial results were placed beyond question; the head of the department reporting that the accounts were more complete and the checks more efficient, and that the annual saving was even greater than had been reckoned upon, amounting to nearly £3,500.

In the meantime, however, these various obstructions, combined with the fact that both in public estimation and by Colonel Maberly's distinct renunciation I was now solely responsible for the right administration of this special department, led me to take a decided step. I accordingly wrote a minute, proposing that all minutes and instructions regarding the Money Order Department of England and Wales should proceed exclusively from myself; that all reports from the department should be addressed to me; in short, that the secretarial control of that department should thenceforth be entirely in my hands.

In consequence of this, the Postmaster-General wrote a minute on the subject, which, however, being modified by the Chancellor of the Exchequer,[43] to whom it was shown in draft, still left things in an unsatisfactory state. Upon my pointing out the insufficiency of the measure, Lord Clanricarde proposed that I should myself see the Chancellor of the Exchequer. While awaiting this interview, which took place about a fortnight later, I felt so much doubt as to the result, and consequently as to my ability to retain office, that I deemed it my duty to explain to my private secretary and my only clerk that they might have to look out for other appointments.

When at length I saw the Chancellor of the Exchequer difficulties seemed to vanish. He had no objection to the Money Order Department being placed under my exclusive management, having merely disapproved of the mode in which it was proposed that the change should be effected. He at once recognised the danger of divided responsibility, and, in short, undertook to arrange the whole matter with the Postmaster-General. Four days later the Postmaster-General informed me that he had decided to place the Money Order Department entirely under my management, but that he wished to consider further as to the mode. He thought of speaking to Maberly, with a view, if possible, of doing the thing quietly. My new powers were called into requisition the same day by a little symptom of insubordination in the Money Order Department. Confident of authority, I now felt justified in giving such warning to the offender[44] as produced instant submission, with abundance of promise for the future.

The difficulty, however, was not yet solved, for I presently found that the Postmaster-General, instead of himself drawing the minute transferring the secretarial authority over the Money Order Department to me, had remitted the task to Colonel Maberly. The result was such an instrument as would have both crippled my authority and lowered me in the eyes of each of the some twenty officers to whom the minute was to be communicated.[45] Unfortunately this minute, without any opportunity being allowed for objection, had been confirmed, not only by the Postmaster-General but also by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The course I took was to draw up a new minute, in the name, not of Colonel Maberly, but of the Postmaster-General himself, substantially the same as regarded the powers that were given me, but free from all offensive expression and unnecessary restriction. This I submitted to the Postmaster-General, urging its adoption; but, though he admitted the objectionable character of some parts of Colonel Maberly's minute, I saw that he was disappointed and annoyed at my application.

In my renewed difficulty, I perceived that I must further consider my ground:--

"_December 17th, 1847._--Called on Mr. Cobden; described my
position at the Post Office, and asked his advice as to the course
I should adopt; more especially seeking his opinion as to whether I
should be justified in public opinion in resigning my appointment,
if circumstances should induce me so to act. He thinks that,
except on some great and simple question, I should not be justified
in resigning, as, though harassed by the obstacles thrown in my way
by Maberly, I have nevertheless been able to introduce important
improvements; his advice, therefore, is patience. He recommends
that I should see other M.P.'s, and represent to them Maberly's
conduct, with a view of forming a party in the House; ... but I
replied that I considered such a course would be justly viewed
as a breach of confidence, though I felt at liberty to consult
my personal friends, among whom I counted himself. He proffered
assistance in any way, and promised to take an opportunity of
speaking to the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to the necessity of
extending my powers."

The same day, having learnt that a circular to postmasters and others, to give effect to the new money-order arrangements, was in the printer's hands, I sent my private secretary to apply for a suspension of proceedings until the Postmaster-General's further pleasure should be known. This brought the Postmaster-General's private secretary with a copy of the circular, in which, as I expected, I found an unnecessary and offensive restriction.[46] All the officers to whom it was addressed were informed that, while they were to obey me in matters connected with the Money Order Department, they were not to obey me on any other subject. My subordinates were thus called on to watch my proceedings, while a disposition on my part was implied to do that which, from the first, I had most scrupulously avoided. I also learnt that copies had already been sent to Dublin and Edinburgh. I insisted on their recall. Mr. Cornwall, after conferring with Colonel Maberly, promised the withdrawal of the objectionable clause, hoping that I would then raise no further obstacle to the issue of the circular. I was obliged, however, still to object to this, as the circular would give effect to the minute against which I had protested, and thus pledge me to duties without awarding me the necessary power.

The result of Mr. Cornwall's application was communicated to me in a private letter from the Postmaster-General, by which I learnt that, though he intended to draw a fresh minute in place of Colonel Maberly's, he had found nothing to object to in the circular, and consequently had directed its issue without further delay. He added that his own view was confirmed by that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of whose opinion he sent me a memorandum. By this, however, I perceived that the nature of my objection had been misunderstood, probably by both.

My Journal proceeds as follows:--

"On inquiry I found that the circular about to be despatched
retained the objectionable clause. It was not, I think, asking too
much to be heard before any irretrievable step was taken."

However, the Postmaster-General's intention was soon fulfilled; and the new minute (written in his own hand) differed in no material point from the draft which I had prepared. I had also some little satisfaction in finding that, though the circular had now been issued, yet, in the new minute, all authority for the offensive part of it had been removed. Anxiety as to my true position relative to the Money Order Department being now sufficiently relieved I advanced in good spirits, and at once entered on my new duties.

"_December 23rd._--The newspapers are reporting the new
arrangement, each after its own fashion. The _Times_ and
_Chronicle_ have useful notices on the subject; the _Morning Post_
tells the world that I have been _promoted_ to the superintendence
of the Money Order Office, but carefully quotes the circular to
show that my authority is confined thereto."

Unfortunately, in coming for the first time close to any department one always has to learn abuses:--

"_January 8th, 1848._[47]--It is distressing to find that forgeries
and other frauds connected with money orders are frequent.... I
have already had to deal with six or eight cases of this kind."

The subjoined is a striking instance of the economy that may be produced in large operations by even a small change. I found that although the old money-order forms were supplied at a very low rate (about ten for a penny), yet, by reducing the size, I could save about £700 per annum; and this notwithstanding an improvement in the form, which the Comptroller of the Stationery Office alleged would involve an _additional_ expense of nearly £1500 a-year. To remove this objection, however, I had to resort to a mechanical device derived from former experience in constructing my printing machine.[48] This saving was soon afterwards followed by a larger one, consequent on reduction in the size of the "letter of advice" and the abolition of what were called duplicate advices. Both these economical measures had the collateral advantage of diminishing labour in the chief office, while the total annual saving in stationery alone, even on the consumption at that time, was thus raised to about £2500.[49]

Not less important was it to obtain prompt and complete accounts. One desideratum was a complete registration of papers, the necessity for which happened to be exemplified in the midst of my arrangements on the subject by the discovery, in the desk of the late chief clerk at a town in Yorkshire, of more than forty unanswered letters from the chief office, some of them already six months old. Money-order accounts in the London office, too, I found in great disorder; arrears so long as, in the opinion of the head of the department, would require for bringing them up a force of thirty-five men for four years; in other words, an outlay of at least £10,000, with a doubt whether even then the outstanding money orders could be correctly ascertained. To avoid so great an outlay, I suggested an Act of Parliament protecting the department, after due notice, from _legal_ claims on orders issued before 1847. This course was in the end adopted, though the practice was still to discharge any claim which appeared to be just; nor do I remember that the restriction ever led to complaint.

At the same time there was prospect of great economy:--

"_February 16th, 1848._--Jackson now thinks that other improvements
now in progress will enable the Money Order Office to undertake all
the additional work likely to arise in the next two or three years,
including the extension of the system throughout England and Wales,
without any increased force. If so, the effective saving will be
enormous."

It may be added that this expectation was confirmed by the event.

"_March 8th, 1848._--The Postmaster-General, in speaking of the
many improvements which I have effected, remarked the singular
absence of all complaints from the public, though some [of the
improvements] are more or less restrictive."

Among the means formerly taken to account for the existence of a revenue under what it regarded as the ruinous system of penny postage, the Post Office had uniformly maintained that a large profit was obtained in the Money Order Department. A return now made to Parliament showed that, so far from this being the case, the expenditure of the previous year, the last before that department came under my control, exceeded the receipts by about £10,000.

A summary of the improvements effected thus far in this department will be found in a letter addressed by me to the Postmaster-General on January 3rd, 1849, which is given in the Appendix.

Some incidents of the years 1847 and 1848, which for convenience I have hitherto omitted, are yet worthy of record:--

_Carelessness in Remittance._

"_May 27th, 1847._--Mr. Ramsey (missing-letter clerk) brought me
a packet containing whole bank-notes to the amount of £1500, so
carelessly made up that they had all slipped out; and to add to the
carelessness the packet was imperfectly addressed to some country
house in Herefordshire, no post town being named. It had found its
way, after much delay, into the post office at Ross, and had been
sent to London by the postmistress. Instances of such carelessness
are not infrequent."

I may add that, some years afterwards, there was sent to the office for the book-post a large sum in bank-notes, the ends of the packet being left open, according to book post rule, so as to expose the contents. It is much to be wished that all persons inclined to such carelessness would pause to think how grievous is the temptation to which the humbler servants of the Post Office are thereby exposed.

_Attempted Robbery._

"_July 7th, 1847._--There was a serious attempt this morning
(fortunately unsuccessful) to rob a letter-carrier who was taking
out a large number of bankers' parcels for delivery. It is said in
the office that they contained nearly half-a-million of money."

The circumstances of this extraordinary proceeding are thus described in the "Annual Register":--

_From the "Annual Register" for 1847. Chronicle, p. 82._

"July 7. MURDEROUS ATTACK ON A LETTER-CARRIER.

"A most atrocious attack was made upon one of the letter deliverers
employed by the General Post Office, named Bradley. He is one of
those whose particular duty it is to make the early delivery at
the different bankers and merchants in Lombard Street of what
are called the 'registered letters.' He had received his bag of
letters as usual from the chief office, St. Martin's-le-Grand, at
eight o'clock, and was proceeding through Mitre Court, which leads
from Wood Street to Milk Street. After passing through the gate,
which at night closes the entrance to the court in Wood Street,
he noticed two or three men in the passage, one of whom suddenly
locked the gate; and when Bradley had nearly reached the iron posts
in the middle of the court he was struck a violent blow with a
life-preserver, which stunned him for a moment; he nevertheless
called out for assistance, keeping his bag of letters firmly
grasped in his hand and under his arm. The villains, alarmed by
his cries, rapidly made off into Milk Street, leaving behind them
their deadly weapon. Bradley was severely injured about the head,
and being an old man, was, in consideration of his resistance to
this attack, _allowed to retire on full pay_. A reward of £300 was
offered for the detection of the perpetrators; but as Bradley could
give no description of them, and no other person had observed them,
the police did not get any clue to their detection."

I am glad to learn (1867) that this faithful veteran is still living.

_Singular Frauds._

In the early days of money-order transactions, it was the lenient custom of the office, in cases where an order had been paid to a forged signature, still to pay it to the right party. This dangerous indulgence did not fail to become known to the knavish class, who made profitable use of the opportunity. Thus two persons, perhaps lodging at the same house, would purposely arrange that an order obtained in favour of one should fall into the hands of the other; and when the latter, by forging the signature of the former, had obtained payment, the former, applying in his own name, and showing that the signature given was not his, was able to obtain payment a second time. To put a stop to this systematic fraud, which had become a thing of daily practice, it became necessary so to modify the existing law as to provide that when an order had once been paid, even though to the wrong person, no _legal claim_ should remain against the Post Office. In accordance with the old practice, the order was still paid where it appeared that the blame rested with the Post Office itself. This new rule, though regarded by many as a great stretch of power, not only put an immediate stop to the fraud against which it was directed, but produced so little complaint from any quarter as to make it clear that the previous indulgence had been almost as superfluous as it was dangerous. Nevertheless the exceptional authority of the Postmaster-General was soon afterwards put in requisition in the following case:--

In a large provincial town a person applied in haste at the post office, stating that on his way thither he seemed to have dropped an order which he was bringing for payment; at the same time giving in his name, and begging that no order might be paid to that name until his return, as he would go back to his house to examine whether he might perchance have left it there. Some time after his departure, however, a second person came to the window, saying that Mr. ---- had recovered the order, having in fact left it at home, and had sent him with it to obtain payment, he himself being unexpectedly detained. The clerk, satisfied with this plausible statement, fitting in so well with antecedent circumstances, delivered the money accordingly, but was startled a few minutes later by the reappearance of the first claimant, with the declaration that, as he had not been able to find the order at home, it must of course have been lost, and a request that nothing might be done until a new order was obtained. Upon the clerk's reporting what had meanwhile occurred, and mentioning the new rule, the applicant, after some remarks not particularly flattering to postal sagacity, announced his intention to appeal in the highest quarter. The decision there made was that in so extraordinary a case the strict rule should not be fully maintained, but that the department must, nevertheless, be secured from loss. This was thrown in equal shares on the two parties immediately concerned, each having shown negligence, the one in losing the order, the other in paying it against injunction.

_Esquires in Low Life._

An angry letter was received at the General Office relative to alleged misconduct in an officer at the Charing Cross office, who had refused to pay a money order, because of irregularity in the signature of the payee. The complainant reported that the ground of objection was that when he gave his signature he appended the term Esq., adding, "The silly fellow does not know that in a certain rank of life every one signs himself Esq."

_Complaints._

It is curious, and would at first sight seem inexplicable, that acceleration of the mails, though effected solely for the public benefit, often too at great cost, and always with much trouble, led in some instances to angry complaint. Perhaps the most whimsical instance of this was that of a lady in a northern town, at which the night mail from London had previously arrived somewhat too late for the last delivery of the day, so that the letters could not be distributed until the following morning, whereas by this acceleration they were delivered the same evening. The allegation was that, whereas complainant used always to get her letters early in the morning, she never received them now till late at night.

_Joseph Ady._

Among miscellaneous incidents of the year 1848 the following may be mentioned. The office and the public had long been troubled with a restless adventurer named Joseph Ady, a man who maintained the language and dress of a Quaker, but who, I apprehend, was no real member of the Society of Friends. This person was for ever posting a number of letters to inform individuals that he knew of something to their advantage, which, for a stated fee, he was ready to mention. As all these letters were unpaid, and many consequently rejected, Mr. Ady was called on to pay no small amount of postage; but, by representations of his poverty, age, and feeble health, and promises to offend no more, he had again and again obtained very lenient treatment; while no sooner was he out of one scrape than, by a return to his former practice, he plunged into a new one. On one occasion, having been let off lightly on condition of his entering into a formal written engagement not to repeat the offence, he showed the inveteracy of his habit by inserting after his signature words to the following effect:--

"If Mr. Peacock [the solicitor to the Post Office] is any relation
to the Mr. Peacock who, about twenty years ago, lived at [such a
place], I can, on receiving the usual fee of twenty-one shillings,
tell him something to his advantage."

Presently afterwards he resorted to a new device. This was to post his letters, really unstamped, but each one bearing the mark as of a stamp removed, so as to furnish ground for an asseveration, of course ready at hand, that a stamp had really been affixed to each. It is needless to say that so shallow a pretext was of no avail, and a conviction was obtained against him which threw him into prison, and though, by his usual wiles, he soon contrived to obtain release, he seemed at length to feel himself beaten, gave up his singular trade, and, indeed, soon afterwards died.

_Communication by Telegraph._

The following entry records as a wonder what would now be regarded as a very trivial incident:--

"_April 4th, 1848._--The payment of a money order has been
countermanded from Manchester by electric telegraph."[50]

_Chartist Movement._

The Chartist movement of the year 1848 affected the Post Office as well as other public departments:--

"_April 6th._--Went to the Mansion House to be sworn in a special
constable with all the other officials. Serious apprehensions are
entertained of an attack from the Chartists on Monday next, when
they hold a great meeting on Kennington Common, and intend to
march in procession to the Houses of Parliament to present their
petition. Arms are being provided for the Post Office, which is
being put into a state of defence, in common with other Government
offices."

At Colonel Maberly's suggestion, I placed my own clerks, and those of the Money Order Office, in all about two hundred and thirty, under his command; thus making a total force of upwards of thirteen hundred men.

"_April 8th._--Iron bars are being put to the lower windows, and
special precautions taken against fire. Goldsmiths' Hall, and other
buildings which command the entrances to the Post Office, will be
occupied with our people. These preparations, and the excitement
they produce, are a sad hindrance to business."

"_April 10th._--In coming to the office accompanied the Chartist
procession down Holborn Hill, crossing it without difficulty at the
bottom. The lower windows and doors of the office are defended by
bars of iron and planks. Upwards of thirteen hundred of our people,
a large portion of whom are well armed, are divided into small
parties, each with its officer, and written instructions have been
issued for their guidance. The excitement is too great for much
work to be done. About one o'clock the Postmaster-General told me
that Fergus O'Connor was arrested, but this afterwards proved to be
a mistake. Another report, which for a while received credit, spoke
of the disaffection of the Guards, but about two o'clock certain
information arrived to the effect that the meeting had quietly
dispersed, and that the threatened processions were abandoned. Soon
after four I left, but the clerks and others were detained till
the mails had been despatched. On my return home I noticed much
excitement in the streets, and nearly all the shops were closed."