The Scudamore scheme of classification, which should have stood self-condemned by this time even from a departmental point of view, was nevertheless tenaciously clung to by the officials as a parent clings to its child. Yet opposed as they were to all modification towards bettering the condition of the telegraphists, it was at length driven home to the authorities that something was needed to allay the daily growing discontent caused mainly by this detested scheme. But only a slight modification was made, and that with timidity and reluctance. The Scudamore system had egregiously failed of its purpose, but its authors were yet slow to see it. Not even the patent fact that it was false economy and a waste of public profits to spend large sums in training telegraph operators who, one out of every three, ultimately took their knowledge and experience elsewhere, was sufficient to convince them. The improvement that they were at last compelled to make consisted of a sixpence increase in the year—an eighteenpence increment instead of a shilling—and one or two barriers to promotion were removed. But tinkering and botching of this kind were of no avail in mitigating the real sterner hardships and injustices for which “Scudamore’s Folly” was responsible. When it was seen that the department were bent on doing nothing further, the most cautious became indifferent to consequences, and their loyalty to the public service was put to the severest strain. Men who before had held back, with no stomach for agitation in any shape or form, now began to feel that it was their duty to take up arms in the common cause; the most conservative felt that what they were risking was scarcely worth preserving. The dissatisfaction became so general and so acute towards the beginning of 1880 that it was evident it could no longer be kept within bounds. That the Post-Office had persistently ignored what was averred to be a direct instruction of the Legislature as signified in the particular clause of the Telegraph Act of 1868, was the mainspring of the agitation of this period. On that clause the hopes of the telegraph service were centred, and the renewed agitation which was now to commence was mainly to be directed towards the attainment of this object and the fulfilment of this clause. Great uneasiness had existed among telegraph clerks for some time with regard to their position and future prospects; but it was not till the beginning of December 1880 that their grievances found open expression; and only then in isolated petitions from various offices, which failed to secure attention. The third-class clerks of Birmingham had endeavoured, by means of correspondence in the _Civil Service Gazette_ and communication with other towns, to establish an understanding as to a plan of future action among telegraph clerks throughout the country. These efforts were, however, only partly successful, few towns responding to the call to co-operate.