If it was the higher grade of civil servants who for their own protection threw away their right to the franchise, it was the same class who recovered it, and who were instrumental in procuring it even for their humbler subordinates in the postal service and elsewhere. During the progress of the agitation among nearly all Civil Service bodies to obtain the franchise, discontent was becoming all the more acute in the Post-Office. Doubtless the contemplation of practically the whole Civil Service engaged in furthering a united demand, in no small degree gave an impetus to the growing postal movement, and helped to develop the forces of discontent within. CHAPTER V FORMATION OF AN ORGANISATION—BOOTH, THE LETTER-CARRIER—CONDITION OF THE LETTER-CARRIERS—PROPOSED PETITION TO PARLIAMENT. It was scarcely to be expected that, with the spirit of discontent so widespread among every class and section, that discontent would remain altogether dumb and inarticulate. If the authorities imagined that by putting their veto on the right of public meeting discontent would in consequence die a natural death, they were mistaken. It may have slumbered for a while, only that there were already a few active spirits at work among the letter-carriers. Secretly and quietly, and almost unrecognised even among those whom he was slowly organising, one man particularly at this period was actively at work. His name was William Booth, a City letter-carrier. He began by convening little hole-and-corner meetings in all sorts of out-of-the-way places. And what was a source of no little annoyance to the authorities, those smuggled meetings of postal employés were more often than not reported in the public press, though the names of the speakers were not always given. Nor did it stop at smuggled meetings outside the official domain; for Booth called several meetings, with the official permission as well as without, in the letter-carriers’ kitchens. Some were impromptu meetings, carefully planned by the indefatigable Booth, and, as usual, reported next morning. Such meetings were generally for the purpose of shaping a policy, and for discussing the best means of drawing the attention of Parliament to their grievances. They were always well attended, not only by the letter-carriers themselves, but by every other class and section of postal employé in the Post-Office buildings. But spies and overseers were frequently present to see that no one used a pencil to scribble a surreptitious note. Yet, even with this precaution, to the chagrin of the authorities, the morning papers had accurate accounts of the proceedings. The invisible reporters were never looked for in the proper place, for they stationed themselves by one of the open windows of the underground kitchens which looked into the Post-Office yard; and through these windows every word of the speakers floated upward to be deftly caught by the eager reporter in waiting.