CHAPTER VI.

PENNY POSTAGE. (1839-40.)

My attention, on my return from France (in October of this year), was mainly directed to the means of introducing the system of penny postage as promptly as was consistent with safety, much care being obviously necessary to put the office in order for the expected flood of letters before the sluices were opened. The Chancellor of the Exchequer suggested that in the outset stamped letters should not be admitted later than 3 p.m.; the time to be extended when practicable. The heads of the two chief departments in the Circulation Office urged, as a preliminary, the erection of the galleries already spoken of; a measure to which I objected, both because of the time that it would take, and because I thought a large outlay at the chief office (the estimate, without including any arrangement for better ventilation, being as high as £8,000) would delay the establishment of those district offices on which I relied so much both for public convenience and for the maintenance of the revenue. As a temporary expedient, I suggested the use of a part of the Bull and Mouth Inn, which happened then to be vacant; a suggestion which, unluckily, found no favour at the Post Office; so that, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer could not make up his mind to adopt the district system, immediate alterations were resolved upon, at the reduced cost, however, of £6,000.

One cause of delay was found in an invitation issued by the Treasury, accompanied with the offer of reward, for plans of collecting the postage, whether by stamps or otherwise; a proceeding which precluded any positive action until all the plans, which poured in from various quarters, should have been duly examined. The communications were more than two thousand five hundred in number, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who had intended to read all himself, was obliged to delegate the task to the Junior Lords of the Treasury, who must have had dry work of it, as I better knew when a considerable portion of the work devolved ultimately upon myself. Foreseeing much delay, I suggested to the Chancellor of the Exchequer the expediency of allowing, in the first instance, prepayment by money, though, as I pointed out, this course might increase the difficulty of introducing the stamp.

A few days later, viz., on November the 2nd, I laid before the Chancellor of the Exchequer the sketch of a plan which I had devised for the gradual introduction of the new system. This was at once to introduce into the London district the penny rate for prepaid letters, and to abolish throughout the district the additional charge of twopence then imposed on every General Post letter delivered beyond certain limits. As to the rest of the country, I proposed immediately to fix fourpence as the maximum single inland rate; with the abolition of all anomalous charges, such as a penny for crossing the Menai Bridge, the halfpenny for crossing the Scottish border, and the penny for delivery beyond certain limits. These recommendations, after having been fully considered by the Post Office and the Treasury, were carried into effect on the 5th December.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer expressed doubts as to both the economy and the safety of prepayment; and though he admitted that stamps must be tried, and though I submitted an elaborate Report on the whole subject, his doubts grew yet stronger; but as I remained confident, he gave way, only declaring that he threw the responsibility of that part of the measure entirely upon me. Even had I felt any misgiving, it was now too late to draw back; but I accepted the responsibility with alacrity.

Amidst these proceedings there were one or two occurrences of some interest.

I received a letter from Mr. Cobden, from which I give an extract, showing that, however favourably I may have thought of my plan, his expectations far outran my own:—

“I am prepared to see all the world sorely puzzled and surprised, to find that the revenue from the penny postage _exceeds_ the first year any former income of the Post Office.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer consulted me as to the policy of taking advantage of the willingness, as reported by Dr. Bowring, of the State of Hamburg to reduce the charge on English transit letters from fourpence to a penny in consideration of their letters being charged a penny for passing through England. I strongly advised that the treaty should be concluded forthwith, which was accordingly done.

When, however, I was consulted as to the policy of further reducing the inland rate on foreign letters generally, before negotiating similar reductions with foreign powers, I advised against that course, as likely to render such negotiations more difficult; and the project was abandoned.

The question of probable forgery of the stamp still causing much anxiety, various conferences were held on the subject. Not to go into tedious details, it may be mentioned that the three kinds of stamps now in use, though in very different degree, viz., stamped letter-paper, stamped envelopes, and adhesive stamps, were agreed upon, and obtained the approval of the Treasury.

In the minute establishing the fourpenny rate, care had been taken to show that the measure was only temporary, and merely intended to give needful practice in the new mode of charge, viz., by weight, before the great expected increase in the number of letters should occur. The explanation, however, did not give universal satisfaction, and I began now practically to feel how great an advantage had been neglected when Government declined to take up postal reform without awaiting the coercion of popular demand. The spontaneous reduction of the existing high rates to a _maximum_ of even sixpence or eightpence, would have been welcomed with joy and gratitude; now so low a maximum as fourpence, though this was the lowest of all General Post rates when my pamphlet was published, was received with no small amount of dissatisfaction. Suspicions arose that the concession would go no further; Government was accused of an intention to cheat the public; and I, too, had a share in the accusation, being charged in some of the newspapers with having betrayed my own cause. Hitherto denunciations had fallen on me from above; my elevation to office now gave opportunity—speedily seized on—for attacks from below. I had learnt, however, before this time that all this was to be expected and endured; that the only chance of escaping obloquy is to avoid prominence; that the thin-skinned should keep within the pale of private life.

December the 5th, the day appointed for the first change, was of course passed in considerable anxiety as to the result, but of necessity I had to await the next morning for the satisfaction of my curiosity. The following is from my Journal, December 6th:—

“There was an increase of about fifty per cent. in the number of letters despatched from London on Thursday as compared with the previous Thursday, and a loss of about £500 out of £1,600 in the total charges. The number of paid letters in the district post has increased from less than 9,000 to about 23,000; the number of unpaid letters remaining about the same as before, viz., 32,000. No doubt the increase is greater at present than it will be in a day or two, as comparatively few letters were written the day before the reduction; still the result is as yet satisfactory. The Chancellor of the Exchequer thinks very much so.

“_December 7th._—As I expected, the number of letters yesterday was less than on Thursday; the increase as compared with the previous Friday being about twenty-five per cent. only.”

When it was found that the immediate increase was so very moderate, the moment had arrived for exultation in those who had predicted failure; and, like Sir Fretful Plagiary, I was fortunate enough to have more than one “damned good-natured friend” to keep me sufficiently informed of the jubilation.

Whilst, as I have said, angry voices arose at the limited extent of the first reduction, there were at least some persons who, being out of the reach of general information, received the change much as I had once hoped the whole public would do, viz., as a great and unexpected boon. A poor Irishman, for instance, who brought a letter to the Chief Office, with one shilling and fourpence for the postage, upon having the shilling returned to him, with the information that the fourpence was all that was required, broke out in acknowledgment to the window-clerk with a “God bless your honour, and thank you.”

About a week after the change, I had the satisfaction of hearing from Messrs. Bokenham and Smith, the two heads of the Circulation Department, as follows:—

“_Journal, December 13th._—Bokenham says they do not put more than one letter in twenty into the scale, and that a greater saving than he expected results from uniformity of rate; that the increased number of letters has required no increase of strength. Smith gives a similar account (he has two additional men). Both laugh at the notion of the insecurity in the delivery as resulting from prepayment.”

Three days later I proposed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the penny rate should come into operation in three weeks from that day; the prepayment to be made in money until the stamps, now in preparation, could be issued; and the abolition of franking to take place as soon as prepayment should be made compulsory. Mr. Baring approved generally of the plan, but preferred to extend the time to a month, and to abolish franking at once; the former modification being of little moment, the latter, as may be inferred from the event, a very judicious change.

Two days afterwards—that we might complete the necessary arrangements without loss of time—the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on leaving Downing Street, took me with him to his house at Lee, where, after dining, we set to work, and, continuing without interruption, finished our task about one in the morning. When I rose to retire, somewhat fatigued with my long day’s work, I observed, to my surprise, that my host, opening his Treasury box, began to take out papers as if for immediate examination. Upon my expressing surprise, and a hope that he was not going to work more that night, he told me that he should not sleep till all were dealt with. If I had ever supposed that Chancellors of the Exchequer led an easy life, I had abundant opportunity, now and afterwards, for disabuse.

The 10th January,[288] 1840, was determined upon as the day when penny postage should be established throughout the whole kingdom.

I proposed that the scale of weight, as applied to high-priced letters (foreign and colonial), should ascend throughout by the half-ounce. Mr. Baring was favourable to this arrangement, but it was abandoned for the time at the desire of Colonel Maberly, who maintained that trouble would arise from the minuteness of the grade; and, in fact, it was not adopted till more than twenty years afterwards.

Meanwhile, the examination of the multitudinous devices for producing an inimitable stamp having at length been completed, I was called on to prepare a minute on the whole subject, preparatory to issuing orders for the execution of the work. The mode of proceeding in such cases may surprise the uninitiated as much as, in the outset, it had surprised me. By this time, however, I had fallen into the routine. Accordingly, I put my own views on the matter, modified by what I had gathered in conversation with my official superior, into the mouths of “My Lords,” submitting the draft to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for his comments, in accordance with which I altered again and again until he was satisfied; soon learning that when this point was gained, the consent of “My Lords” was as prompt and certain as the facing of a company at the command of the captain.

Few fictions, I suppose, are more complete than the minutes purporting to describe the proceedings of the Treasury Board. There was certainly a large and handsome room containing a suitable table headed with a capacious arm-chair, the back bearing a crown, and the seat prepared, as I was informed, for the reception of the Sovereign, whose visits, however, scarcely seemed to be frequent, as the garniture was in rags. On this table, according to the minutes, the Chancellor laid such and such papers, making such and such remarks; sometimes the First Lord of the Treasury appeared as taking a part, though only on occasions of some little importance, such, for instance, as my appointment; then deliberation seemed to follow, certain conclusions to be arrived at, and corresponding instructions to be given. This had a goodly appearance on paper, while the simple fact was that, two or three Junior Lords being seated for form’s sake, papers were read over which were to go forth as the resultant minutes of the said meeting, but which, having all been prepared beforehand, had received the signature of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or of one of the Secretaries of the Treasury, the attending Lords giving their assent, as a matter of course, without a moment’s thought or hesitation. Once, indeed, while I was yet very new, I did venture to go so far as to inquire, in somewhat hesitating language, whether I was to complete the minute then in hand before it received the confirmation of the Board; nor shall I readily forget the look of perplexity which followed the question. When my meaning was at length perceived, such answer was given that the inquiry never had to be repeated.

With regard, however, to the competing plans for collecting the postage, though valuable suggestions were afforded by several, no one was deemed sufficient in itself. In the end there were selected, from the whole number of competitors, four whose suggestions appeared to evince most ingenuity. The reward that had been offered was divided amongst them in equal shares, each receiving £100.

By this minute the plan of prepayment was at length definitely adopted, as was also the use of stamps; and this in the three forms which I had recommended before the Treasury issued their invitation for suggestions; together with the addition recommended at the same time, that stamps should be impressed upon paper of any kind sent to the Stamp Office by the public. It was also ordered that the penny rate should be adopted forthwith; the stamps to be introduced as soon as they could be got ready. Charge by weight having been previously adopted, there was now added the rule doubling the charge on letters not paid for in advance.

The Queen having been graciously pleased (and here the words were no mere form) to abandon her privilege of franking, thus submitting her letters to the same rule as those of her humblest subject, it was determined that all other such privilege should cease at the same time. And here it may be observed, that though the obligation then extended to all Government offices, viz., to have their letters taxed like those of private persons, might seem to be only formal, since their so-called payment of postage was little more than matter of account between one department and another, yet, as no department likes to see its postage charge in excess, it constituted, in effect, to a considerable extent, a real check.[289] At the same time, it was essential for showing the real earnings of the Post Office.

In anticipation of a large influx of letters, it was ordered that, for a time, the free receipt of letters at the London offices should cease one hour earlier than before, with a corresponding arrangement at the country offices; but that the time for the receipt of late letters should extend to as late an hour as before.

The warrant for this minute appeared in a supplementary _Gazette_ the same evening, December 28th; and this is the last event I have to mention in the year 1839, the third of the penny postage movement.

A question soon arose as to the hour for posting _newspapers_, a subject accidentally omitted in the minute. Here I may observe that, though I was constantly striving to anticipate all contingencies, and that for the most part with success, it would now and then occur that something escaped observation, and that, in a minute elaborately framed to meet all cases, some little flaw would still appear to give trouble. Often, however, the explanation was that a draft liable to extraneous modification would sometimes be materially changed by the substitution of a phrase, which, without careful comparison with the whole document, seemed a just equivalent for that which it replaced. However, as already said, here was certainly an omission. I had supposed that no change would be made in respect of newspapers, while Colonel Maberly considered these as included in the term letters. While we were discussing the point before the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Colonel Maberly contending that the restriction would be indispensable, I urging that it would be very unpopular, we were interrupted by the Chancellor, who meantime had been opening his letters, and now suddenly exclaimed, “My Exchequer Bills are at one per cent. premium; so I don’t care for a little unpopularity.” And thus the matter ended.

All being resolved upon, we did not hold it necessary to pursue the cautious policy observed on some previous occasions, but took means to make the coming change as widely known as practicable. Accordingly, a form of notification having been agreed upon, I ordered half-a-million of copies to be printed, and at the same time inserted a short advertisement in every newspaper throughout the kingdom.

On the day before that appointed for the establishment of Penny Postage, came information as to the effect of the fourpenny rate, showing that the numerical increase in the letters affected by the reduction was, for England and Wales, 33 per cent.; for Scotland, 51; and for Ireland, 52; the increase on the whole being 36 per cent.

At length the great day arrived. The following are the entries in my Journal:—

“_January 10th._—Penny Postage extended to the whole kingdom this day![290] ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer much pleased with Matthew’s admirable article on postage in the ‘Edinburgh Review,’ published yesterday.

“I have abstained from going to the Post Office to-night lest I should embarrass their proceedings. I hear of large numbers of circulars being sent, and the _Globe_ of to-night says the Post Office has been quite besieged by people prepaying their letters.[291] I guess that the number despatched to-night will not be less than 100,000, or more than three times what it was this day twelvemonths. If less, I shall be disappointed.

“_January 11th._—The number of letters despatched last night exceeded all expectation. It was 112,000, of which all but 13,000 or 14,000 were prepaid. Great confusion in the hall of the Post Office, owing to the insufficiency of means for receiving the postage. The number received this morning from the country was nearly 80,000, part, of course, at the old rate. Mr. Baring is in high spirits. It cannot be expected, however, that this great number will be sustained at present.

“_January 13th._—As was expected, the number of letters despatched on Saturday was less than on Friday. It was about 70,000. I did not expect so great a falling off.”

I must not omit to mention that I received a large number of letters—mostly from strangers—but all dated on this, the opening day, thanking me for the great boon of Penny Postage.

“_January 14th._—The number of letters yesterday somewhat increased. About 90,000 each way. Mr. Baring, on my report that many persons were unable to get to the windows to post their letters in time, promised to write to Mr. D. W. Harvey, the superintendent of police, to direct that the thoroughfares may be kept clear.”

I learnt that on the first evening of the penny rate, notwithstanding the crush and inconvenience, three hearty cheers were given in the great hall for Rowland Hill, followed by three others for the officers of the department.