“September 30th.—At —— the postmaster, who gets £15 a year as compensation for [his loss of] late-letter fees has remitted till lately only 7s. or 8s. a year [for such fees]; but on a stir being made the remittances at once advanced to as much per week: the explanation given is that he omitted to demand the fee, not that he fraudulently appropriated it; and on this ground he has escaped dismissal, I think very improperly; but I have not been consulted in either case, and know the facts only from conversation with the Postmaster-General.”
About the same time I was engaged in devising means for a partial introduction of the plan of district offices in the London delivery, but was led to abandon the attempt, in some measure, by the inconveniences attending a partial arrangement, and yet more by fear of serious disorder likely to arise from the imperfect manner in which I knew, by past experience, the necessary instructions would be carried into effect, unless I could myself superintend their execution; and thus it was that several years had to elapse before this great improvement could be made.
Soon after arriving at this conclusion I attempted to remove a strange anomaly which was producing a certain amount of trouble in the office, leading occasionally even to delay in the despatch of the mails. This was that while letters brought to the chief office after 7 P.M. were not received for that night’s mail without an additional fee of sixpence, late newspapers were received up to that hour on payment of a halfpenny:—[38]
“October 5th.—To-day I consulted Bokenham[39] on the expediency of advancing the fee [on newspapers] at seven o’clock, but he strongly advises against it, on the ground of its certain unpopularity with the press.”
So difficult is it to recall concession, however mischievous and absurd. In the end, however, a compromise was adopted which, while it greatly relieved the department, proved satisfactory to the newspaper publishers. I abstain from further narration of mere obstructions, not for want of matter, but because enough has been done to show the difficulties, annoyances, and delays ever crossing the path of my improvements; the like of which must, I fear, be expected by all whose zeal for reform leads them to intrude amidst men of routine.
A trouble of another kind, however, began now to show itself, which later on produced serious consequences. Applications for increase of salary, backed by the recommendation of Colonel Maberly, were referred to me for consideration, the circumstances being such that, without unscrupulous disregard of the public interest, I could do nothing but advise their rejection. I found that in one instance, instead of the applicants being simply informed of the Postmaster-General’s decision, which was in conformity with my opinion, they had also been told—contrary to official rule—of our conflicting recommendations. The consequence was a renewal of the application, accompanied with a letter of thanks to Colonel Maberly, and an appeal from my judgment as being opposed to that of “the Secretary.” I could not but foresee that if, without any opportunity of recommending merited concession, I were to be held up as a bar to concessions recommended by others, I should, in course of time, find myself in a position very unfavourable alike to the maintenance of my just authority and the progress of good measures. After noticing the above facts, my Journal proceeds as follows:—
“October 16th.—I tried to avoid this collision of opinion, representing to the Postmaster-General the probable result when the papers were first referred to me; but his reply was that his opinion coincided with my own, but that he could not act in direct opposition to Maberly’s earnest advice without support from me, consequently I had no escape; luckily the Treasury, as well as the Postmaster-General, take my view of the question.”
Accordingly, I wrote a somewhat severe minute on the subject, and this was approved by the Postmaster-General. I must add that my foreboding was, on both points, justified by the sequel, the usual course being, for a long time, that the duty of rejecting such applications fell almost exclusively upon me, while the popularity that arose when an application was granted was almost engrossed by Colonel Maberly. The natural, nay, inevitable result was that great difficulties were raised in the way of the improvements that I attempted to make.
Under all these circumstances, it is little to be wondered at that, on looking back on the progress made during the first year since my appointment at the Post Office, I was much dissatisfied with what I found, nor could I feel surprised that symptoms of discontent began to appear in the public, which, knowing nothing of impediments, naturally expected the fulfilment of those expectations which my admission to office had raised.