By the transfer to the Post Office of appointment to all the higher postmasterships, opportunity for promotion was greatly enlarged, and posts formerly bestowed for political services, now became the rewards of approved merit. This change obviously involved great improvement in the quality of the persons thus entrusted with powers and duties of no small importance to the public. In the provincial offices a corresponding improvement was, in great measure, secured by delegating the power of appointing their subordinates, under certain restrictions, to the respective postmasters; who, being themselves responsible for the good working of their offices, were naturally led to such selection as would best conduce to that end. This delegation, so far as related to clerks, was made, as already mentioned, on the recommendation of the Civil Service Commissioners; and, the trust being satisfactorily exercised, was subsequently extended to the appointment of letter-carriers also. Of the inconveniences arising from confining admission to the service to candidates passing the Civil Service examinations, of which I have already spoken, some evidence is given by the following extract from a Report of Mr. Abbott, secretary to the Post Office in Scotland:-- "Considering the different duties of the account, the secretary's, and the sorting branches, I am inclined to believe that the examination should have more special reference to the vacancy the candidate is to fill than to his general knowledge on certain subjects proposed for all in the same class; more especially as regards persons nominated to the sorting office, where manual dexterity, quick sight, and physical activity, are more valuable than mere educational acquirements."[161] But, whatever might be the amount of inconvenience that in the first appointment arose from neglect of such criteria, the system of promotion by merit, being regulated entirely by reference to official services, was found to work exceedingly well. From the different departments of the metropolitan offices, and from the provincial surveyors, the reports of its operation were almost uniformly satisfactory. Officers were found to take more personal interest in their duties, to do more work without augmentation of force, to make up in some degree by additional zeal for the increased yearly holiday that was granted them, and to discharge their duties with more cheerfulness and spirit, knowing that good service would bring eventual reward.[162] In short, almost without exception, good conduct was reported on all sides. From Sir Charles Trevelyan, one of the Commissioners whose recommendation had led the Treasury to adopt this beneficial change of system, I received the following letter. The italics are the writer's:-- "Treasury, 26th March, 1856.