Three days later the Duke of Richmond, who had formerly filled the office of Postmaster-General, in presenting a petition from Elgin, took occasion to recommend at least a considerable reduction of postage rates. Lord Lichfield, in reply, declared that “were the plan [of penny postage] adopted, instead of a million and a half of money being added to the revenue, after the expenditure of the establishment was provided for, he was quite certain that such a loss would be sustained as would compel them to have recourse to Parliament for money to maintain the establishment.”
On the same day (December 15th, 1837), Mr. Hawes having asked in the House of Commons whether Government had decided to give effect to the recommendation of the Commissioners with regard to stamped covers, the Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that it was intended to introduce them in the twopenny post department. In thus first mentioning the name of Mr. (afterwards Sir Benjamin) Hawes, I feel bound to add that the interest which he showed thus early in my plan became warmer and warmer as time advanced, and never ceased till his death. The same may be said of Lord Brougham, of Mr. Hume, and yet more emphatically of Mr. Warburton. The real purport of the announcement now made, though it does not clearly appear so in the words quoted, was that the stamped cover should be used within the range of the twopenny and threepenny post, but without any reduction of postage there, so that it would be merely a mode of payment in advance (such payment not being then customary), without any motive to its use. Sir Robert Peel pertinently asked whether the two plans of reducing the postage and using stamped covers could not be combined; but the Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that “they would try the latter experiment first on the twopenny post. If it succeeded they would try it on an extended scale; at the same time he was bound to say that while he did not wish to speak disparagingly of an attempt he was himself about to try, he must add he was not very sanguine as to the result.”[147]
Three days later Lord Brougham, in presenting the petition from the Lord Mayor and Common Council of the City of London, after having given some account of Palmer’s great improvement, and spoken of the opposition which it encountered, of the gloomy predictions made as to its inevitable consequences, and of the grand results obtained by its adoption, proceeded to comment on the intention of Government to deviate so widely from the recommendation of the Commissioners of Post Office Enquiry as to adopt a plan “totally different in its nature, and which might fail over and over again without the possibility of even a Post Office speculator pretending that it was a failure of Mr. Hill’s plan, because it was to be confined to the twopenny post.” Lord Duncannon replied that, “after mature consideration, it was found to be inexpedient to try the experiment of Mr. Hill’s plan to the full extent that had been proposed. The Chancellor of the Exchequer did not intend to carry the suggestions of the Commissioners into effect in the way proposed, but he determined on the issue of penny[148] stamp covers for the short distances, and to reduce the fourpenny post to twopence. He admitted that this could not be considered as a trial of Mr. Hill’s plan, but he thought it the safer course in the first instance.”[149]
The Postmaster-General, after having stated the annual number of chargeable letters passing through the Post Office (previously given by himself as 170,000,000) to be only 42,000,000, charged me with having entirely omitted to provide for the greater bulk of additional letters required by my plan, and alleged that “if the postage charge were generally reduced to a penny per letter, it would require twelve times the present circulation of letters to produce the revenue now derived from the Post Office charges.”[150] He added, “The mails will have to carry twelve times as much in weight, and therefore the charge for transmission, instead of £100,000 as now, must be twelve times that amount.”[151]
The day after this announcement—alarmed at the notion of an experiment whose inevitable failure was sure, in spite of Lord Duncannon’s disclaimer, to be viewed as, so far, a failure of my plan—I wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, asking whether, before the change was made, I might be afforded an opportunity of stating my views on the subject; at the same time I expressed a hope that as I had in the first instance submitted my plan to Government, had taken pains to secure accuracy in all my statements, and had, while attacking a system, carefully avoided all personalities, I might be considered as entitled to some attention, and even indulgence. The Chancellor politely replied that he should have much pleasure in seeing me, but was unable at present to fix a day for doing so; I cannot find, however, either in my memory or in my memoranda, that this day ever came.
So closed the year 1837, one of the busiest and most important in my life; comprising my first application to Government, the publication and republication and second republication of my pamphlet, my examination before the Commissioners of Post Office Enquiry, my hope founded on their recommendation, its disappointment, my appeal to the public, the appointment of a parliamentary committee, and the earnest and various support which had been accorded.
Considering that less than eighteen months had elapsed from my first earnest attention to the subject, and that I had not only worked with all the difficulties and disadvantages of an outsider, but with the duties of my post as South Australian Secretary pressing heavily upon me, I had every reason to be satisfied with my progress, though I will not undertake to say that I thought so at the time. However, I had full encouragement to proceed, the more so as I could not then foresee that two more years of incessant toil would precede the adoption of my plan—a toil which would have been beyond my strength but for the constant assistance received from the various members of my family.