The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the History of Penny Postage, Vol. 1 (of 2)Hill, Rowland, Sir
History
The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the History of Penny Postage, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Hill, Rowland, Sir
Hill, Rowland, Sir, 1795-1879; Postal service -- Great Britain -- Rates
“_January 26th, 1842._—Received a letter from Mr. George
Stokes, Hon. Secretary of the Parker Society (a Society of more
than 4,000 members, the object of which is to reprint the works
of the early Reformers), stating that the very existence of the
Society is owing to penny postage.”
I must now trace the chain of circumstances which more immediately
preceded my dismissal, though the connection will in the outset be
scarcely more visible to the reader than it was, at the time, to
myself. I have already spoken of the letter which I had addressed to
the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the day when he succeeded Mr. Baring
in office. I have also spoken of my attempts relative to registration,
and the offer of my services, subject to the Chancellor’s approval, and
that of the Postmaster-General, for the organization, and, “till fully
established,” the execution of the measures proposed.
The letter in which this offer was made, and which is dated November
24th, 1841, having received no reply, was followed, on December 2nd, by a
short note, covering a further report on the same subject.[323]
On January 27th, 1842, no reply having yet been received to either of
these letters, I again wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging
that, if registration could not be dealt with, I might be allowed to
proceed with some other part of my plan, giving at the same time a list
of measures out of which one or more might be selected.[324]
This letter also obtaining no reply, I wrote again on March 7th,
mentioning other parts of my plan which might be introduced pending
the question of registration, adverting to fresh evidence of their
feasibility and advantage, and again requesting that I might be
allowed to proceed in their introduction under the authority of the
Postmaster-General.
I added the actual results thus far obtained, viz., that the chargeable
letters annually delivered in the United Kingdom had already increased
from 75 millions to 208 millions, the increase in the London district
post letters being from about 13 to 23 millions; that the illicit
conveyance of letters was in effect suppressed; that the gross revenue
was about two-thirds of the largest amount ever obtained, and nearly,
if not fully, as great as that under the fourpenny rate; that the net
revenue amounted to about £565,000, showing an increase, notwithstanding
many counteracting causes, of £100,000 upon that for the first year of
penny postage; and lastly, that the inland, or penny post letters, were
decidedly the most profitable, if not the only profitable, part of the
Post Office business.[325]
The letter concluded as follows:—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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