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:—