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.