Hill makes no pretension to the merit or proposed adoption of the adhesive stamp on his part, for, as will be seen, Mr. Chalmers subsequently returned to Mr. Hill a copy of this very letter for the purpose of pointing out this fact to Mr. Hill. It was not until the propriety, and indeed necessity, of adopting Mr. Chalmers' plan--not until its final official acceptance--that, in a letter dated 18th January, 1840, Mr. Hill, then in despotic power, putting Mr. Chalmers aside upon the pretext afterwards mentioned, assumed the whole merit to himself. FOOTNOTES: [2] Since publishing my evidence specifically proving what is here stated, I have been favoured with the following letter:-- "BRECHIN, _9th October, 1883_ "DEAR SIR, "When I penned my anonymous note to the _Dundee Advertiser_ in August, 1879, expressing the hope that there might be still living some who could corroborate my statement that the late Mr. Chalmers was the inventor of the 'Adhesive Stamp,' I hardly expected it would be followed by such an amount of corroboration. "With regard to the _date_ of the invention, you appear to have received ample proof, and I am able to add thereto. It was in the autumn of 1834 that I left Dundee to reside here, and the Stamp was in existence in Mr. Chalmers' premises before I left. "I may add that when I wrote in 1879, I was not aware of the existence of a son of Mr. C. My sole object in writing was that _Dundee_ might claim and receive the honour of being the place of birth of the 'Adhesive Stamp.' "I am, &c., "(_Signed_) DAVID PRAIN. "P. CHALMERS, Esq., "Wimbledon." A Portrait of Mr. Prain, by the talented Scottish artist, Mr. Irvine, subscribed for by Mr. Prain's fellow-townsmen and former pupils, has just been presented in his honour to the Mechanic's Institute of Brechin. The proceedings upon this occasion, including the able speeches of Provost Lamb and of Mr. Prain, will be found in the _Brechin Advertiser_ of 16th June, 1885. On a former occasion Mr. Prain was presented with a Service of Plate and Testimonial to the value of several hundred pounds, subscribed for by former pupils at home and abroad. It is at the testimony of such men as this, including the late Mr. William Thorns, of Dundee, that my opponents sneer as being "the mere wandering fancies of a few old men!" The general testimony is that of an entire locality. [3] An interesting obituary of Mr. Roberts, lately deceased, will be found in the "_Times_" of 30th September, 1885. Mr. Roberts is there recognised as the pioneer of postal reform and originator of the proposal of a low and uniform postage. SIR HENRY COLE'S PAPERS AND THE ADHESIVE STAMP OF MR. CHALMERS.