After pointing out that the present Sunday duties at the chief office ordinarily occupied twenty-six persons for six hours, even a greater force being sometimes required, I proposed, with a view of diminishing the amount of Sunday work in the department as a whole--provincial as well as metropolitan--that the existing mail trains should bring up on the Sunday, in addition to the present bags, the forward stamped letters, and the forward stamped letters alone, so that there might be neither any possibility of a Sunday delivery of letters to the London public nor any unnecessary addition to the Sunday accounts. In order that the men employed might be able to attend divine service, I proposed that the whole interval from 10 A.M. till 5 P.M. should be left perfectly free, and that the same arrangement should be extended, as far as possible, to the duties already existing. After glancing at the obvious fact that for any temporary increase in force required at the chief office, there would be at least a large and permanent set-off elsewhere, I pointed out that the existing arrangements led to a great amount of Sunday despatch and delivery in the provinces, and consequently of Sunday letter-writing and letter-reading there; so that, taking the whole country through, Sunday work would be undoubtedly lessened. I further stated that there were means by which, after the contemplated change, it would be possible to reduce the Sunday labour even at the chief office considerably below its actual amount. I next stated the large reduction in Sunday labour which in a recent minute I had proposed at the provincial offices of England and Wales, and again advised its adoption, and its extension in some of its features to Ireland and Scotland. I added that its effect would be to "release a very large number of persons now engaged even during the hours of divine service," and thus to "afford to many hundreds, perhaps even to some thousands, needful rest, and the opportunity of attending the services of the day." This minute was referred by the Postmaster-General to Colonel Maberly, who, as I had the satisfaction of learning two days later, promptly declared his intention to report in favour of the measure, saying that it ought to have been adopted long ago. This he accordingly did, and I have the pleasure to say that, amidst the troubles which subsequently arose from the measure, Colonel Maberly stood by his first decision.