The bill as amended by the Committee was passed on the 20th of June. On this occasion many of its members described the benefit which the bill had received from the inquiry, and none now complained of the limited nature of that inquiry. It originally consisted of three clauses; it came out with seventeen, sixteen of which were new. It provided that no policy of Life Assurance should be granted for more than 100_l._; and, not to interfere unnecessarily with Friendly Societies, that none should be granted for less than 20_l._ _Mr. Estcourt_, especially, warmly espoused the measure. "No one now more desired to see it passed than he did. If a master or employer wished to make a provision by way of annuity for a faithful servant in his old age, he could do so with perfect security under the bill." He also thought, "that if the working classes of this country did not derive great advantage from the measure, it would be their own fault." _Sir M. Farquhar_ was equally hearty in his praise of the scheme, and speaking of Mr. Gladstone said, "The country had every reason to thank him." Mr. Gladstone observed, that it was a matter of great satisfaction to him that as the bill entered the House in peace and quietness, so it was likely to quit it with general expressions of good will. The bill was carried through the Lords under the charge of Lord Stanley of Alderley, and, passing through its several stages without discussion, received the Royal Assent July 14, 1864, and arrangements were ordered to be made to carry its various clauses into practical operation. During the long recess the Tables were prepared under the eye of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt; and, working in harmony with the Commissioners and with a common purpose, the Post Office authorities at the same time arranged the Regulations under which, and the organization by means of which, the whole of the plans should be carried out. The Regulations themselves were, we understand, arranged under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Scudamore, one of the two gentlemen who organized the Post Office Banks; the machinery chosen for the purpose was that of the Receiver and Accountant-General's department. At the commencement of the session of 1865 both the Tables and the Regulations were laid before Parliament and received the proper sanction. The Tables, like all ordinary Insurance Tables, show the various kinds of benefit which Government can now offer to the community, and the price at which these benefits may be purchased. The Regulations, on the other hand, describe the means to be used to obtain these benefits, and give in full the conditions under which any kind of purchase may be made.[202]