So long as this twofold authority continued, it was impracticable for the Postmaster-General, unless endowed with a more exact memory for details than can be reasonably expected in a Cabinet Minister, to avoid inconsistency in his own proceedings. Thus after having obtained his acceptance of an advantageous offer from the Brighton Railway Company, I learnt to my amazement that the offer had been refused. On inquiring into the matter, I found out that this was the result of counter advice of which I knew nothing. It has been seen that errors thus arising found their way into Parliamentary returns; they even affected legislative enactment. In a bill sent up from the Post Office to the Treasury for introduction into Parliament, I had advised the insertion of clauses authorizing the Treasury to relax or abolish the rule fixing a maximum to the weight of a letter, but at the same time establishing restrictions--as, for instance, prepayment of postage on all heavy letters--to prevent abuse of the new rule by the public. The solicitor of the Post Office, however, so drew the bill as to supersede the Treasury exercise of this power by a clause making the abolition absolute, and at the same time omitting the proposed safeguards. As the bill was never submitted to my examination in a complete form, it became law with this defect. Fortunately, the practical consequences were not very serious, the public probably remaining for the most part quite unaware of its new liberty or, rather, licence. Some wag, however, getting hold of the fact, turned it to account for his amusement, posting in Ireland a bundle of old clothes, directed to London, which being of course refused by the addressee, as the postage demanded was no less than £4. 11_s._, had to be carried back according to rule to the place of despatch; the double conveyance being necessarily made gratis, as the sender naturally took care not to be known. I need not say that at the first opportunity the Act was amended. A very far more serious evil was reported to me shortly afterwards; namely, that a clerk in the Money Order Office in Manchester had been detected in several frauds. My informant attributed the loss of letters, &c., mainly to the absence of investigation as to character, arising out of the system of patronage. He added that he pointed out this as the chief cause of the evil to Lord Lowther soon after his appointment. To heedlessness in appointment was unfortunately added laxity in discipline:--