7. A reduction to about one-third in the cost—including postage—of Money Orders, combined with a great extension and improvement of the system.
8. More frequent and more rapid communication between the Metropolis and the larger provincial towns; as also between one provincial town and another.
9. A vast extension of the Rural Distribution—many thousands of places, and probably some millions of inhabitants having for the first time been included within the Postal System.
10. A great extension of free deliveries. Before the adoption of Penny Postage, many considerable towns, and portions of nearly all the larger towns, had either no delivery at all, or deliveries on condition of an extra charge.
11. Greatly increased facilities afforded for the transmission of Foreign and Colonial Correspondence; by improved treaties with foreign countries, by a better arrangement of the Packet service, by sorting on board and other means.
12. A more prompt dispatch of letters when posted, and a more prompt delivery on arrival.
13. The division of London and its suburbs into Ten Postal Districts, by which, and other measures, communication within the 12-miles circle has been greatly facilitated, and the most important delivery of the day has, generally speaking, been accelerated as much as two hours.
14. Concurrently with these improvements, the condition of the employees has been materially improved; their labours, especially on the Sunday, having been very generally reduced, their salaries increased, their chances of promotion augmented, and other important advantages afforded them.
RESULTS
My pamphlet on “Post Office Reform” was written in the year 1836. During the preceding twenty years—viz., from 1815 to 1835 inclusive—there was no increase whatever in the Post Office revenue, whether gross or net, and therefore, in all probability, none in the number of letters; and though there was a slight increase in the revenue, and doubtless in the number of letters, between 1835 and the establishment of Penny Postage early in 1840—an increase chiefly due, in my opinion, to the adoption of part of my plan, viz., the establishment of Day Mails to and from London—yet, during the whole period of twenty-four years immediately preceding the adoption of Penny Postage, the revenue, whether gross or net, and the number of letters, were, in effect, stationary.