After careful perusal and reperusal of the correspondence, Mr. Baring, in the course of several conversations, pronounced my line of conduct very judicious, and the conduct of Government very shabby. He said it was absurd to expect that the Post Office would satisfactorily carry into effect the remaining parts of my plan, and that consequently my dismissal was most unfair towards the measure. He added that, even without reference to my plan, my retention as a permanent officer would be useful as a check upon the proceedings of the Post Office; and that such retention would be in conformity with the system of Treasury management, which consists in having an officer to check each subordinate department. He assured me that it was never his intention that my services should cease as a matter of course at the expiration of the year mentioned in his last letter, the fair interpretation of which was that he considered it advantageous to continue my services indefinitely, but that as he was then leaving office, and as there were rumours of an intention on the part of the next Government to abandon my plan, he did not feel justified in giving me a claim for more than one year’s salary. These opinions he would be prepared to state in Parliament. He thought it probable that Lord Lowther’s jealousy was the cause of the mischief, and that that jealousy was excited by my opposition to his plan of registration, which, he remarked, if carried into effect would have created an uproar throughout the country. He was of opinion that I had a right to publish the correspondence, but feared that by so doing I should bar the door against other employment, to which he regarded me as having a claim, that otherwise would probably be recognised even by the Government then in power; so that he was rather averse to my taking any step before the meeting of Parliament. I replied that, although I, of course, should be glad to obtain other employment under Government, my chief anxiety was to satisfy the public that I had not misled them by holding out expectations which could not be realized, and that, although I would carefully consider his kind advice, my present inclination was to sacrifice all other considerations to the accomplishment of this object; on which he remarked that, if I were not satisfied with the discussion in Parliament, I could still publish the correspondence. He expressed an opinion that it would not be practicable to bring before Parliament copies of my Reports, or those of the Post Office, to the Treasury, inasmuch as such Reports being considered confidential, the rule is to refuse their production. This was a serious disappointment, as I had depended mainly on the publication of these Reports as a means of showing the manner in which my duties had been discharged, and the nature of the opposition of the Post Office.