14. Concurrently with these improvements, the condition of the employees has been materially improved; their labours, especially on the Sunday, having been very generally reduced, their salaries increased, their chances of promotion augmented, and other important advantages afforded them. RESULTS My pamphlet on “Post Office Reform” was written in the year 1836. During the preceding twenty years—viz., from 1815 to 1835 inclusive—_there was no increase whatever in the Post Office revenue, whether gross or net_, and therefore, in all probability, none in the number of letters; and though there was a slight increase in the revenue, and doubtless in the number of letters, between 1835 and the establishment of Penny Postage early in 1840—an increase chiefly due, in my opinion, to the adoption of part of my plan, viz., the establishment of Day Mails to and from London—yet, during the whole period of twenty-four years immediately preceding the adoption of Penny Postage, the revenue, whether gross or net, and the number of letters, were, in effect, stationary. Contrast with this the rate of increase under the new system which has been in operation during a period of about equal length. In the first year of Penny Postage the letters more than doubled, and though since then the increase has, of course, been less rapid, yet it has been so steady that, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of trade, every year, without exception, has shown a considerable advance on the preceding year, and the first year's number is now nearly quadrupled. As regards revenue, there was, of course, at first a large falling off—about a million in gross and still more in net revenue. Since then, however, the revenue, whether gross or net, has rapidly advanced, till now it even exceeds its former amount, the rate of increase, both of letters and revenue, still remaining undiminished. In short, a comparison of the year 1863 with 1838 (the last complete year under the old system) shows that the number of chargeable letters has risen from 76,000,000 to 642,000,000; and that the revenue, at first so much impaired, has not only recovered its original amount, but risen, the gross from £2,346,000 to about £3,870,000, and the net from £1,660,000 to about £1,790,000.[241] The expectations I held out before the change were, that eventually, under the operation of my plans, the number of letters would increase fivefold, the gross revenue would be the same as before, while the net revenue would sustain a loss of about £300,000. The preceding statement shows that the letters have increased, not fivefold, but nearly eight-and-a-half-fold; that the gross revenue, instead of remaining the same, has increased by about £1,500,000; while the net revenue, instead of falling £300,000, has risen more than £100,000.