The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-04 00:00:00

fierce is the conflict waged, and so desperate are
the capturers that it is computed that the seizure
of one slave costs four lives. Can anything
possibly be more atrocious and outrageous
than this, and all who peruse these
disastrous details must concur in the remarks
made by Captain SPEKE that " the cost of our
present system of suppression was something like
£150,000 annually, and so large a sum ought to
realise much greater results." In pursuance of this
idea he proposed several resolutions, which were
agreed to by the meeting, and which appear to be
very desirable, and it is to be greatly wished that
the Committee may be able to carry them out, at all
events to some extent. After proposing that
our Government should be petitioned to use its
influence in various quarters to suppress the slave
trade, and to form an alliance with the natives for
that purpose, it is further suggested that a mission
be sent out, supported by our Government and other
European Governments. The objects of this mission
are twofold ; it is intended not only that these
envoys should preach to the negroes, bat also that
they should impart general instruction. As they
progress and prove the beneficial effects of their
labours, their efforts may be extended to other
places than the immediate objects of their expedi-
tion. This plan of the missionaries teaching
secular as well as sacred things, is a very admirable
one, and the consequence of enlarging their minds
and stimulating their powers of thought and reflec-

tion will be that they will bo more fitted to com-
prehend and better calculated to feel the sublimity
of the great truths taught to thorn. Doubtless
there will be great difficulties in the way of carry-

ing out the concluding portions of Captain SPEKE'S
plan, but nothing great or lasting is ever effected
without much trouble and anxiety, and,what is still
worse,much contradiction and opposition. It is so easy
to find fault, and to say that this plan will not do,
and that suggestion cannot possibly produce the
desired effect. The great reformers of the world in
all ages have had to contend against the pernicious
effects of this opposition, and it will still remain, as
long as the world lasts, the stumbling block to the
timid, the unwary, or the hesitating. A nobler work
cannot possibly be undertaken than this of putting
down the inhuman traffic of slavery. It is the
scourge of the uncivilised races, it is the disgrace
and scandal of the civilised ones. The proposals
made by Captain SPEKE are far more likely to
prove efficacious than any that have lately been
put forward, and it is to be hoped that the prestige
that surrounds his name will impart a greater effect
to his suggestions, and induce waverers to join the
standard and silence the objections that would in-
fallibly have been urged ageinst a man of lower
standing. Great as has been the renown acquired
by the zealous explorer of Africa the credit due to
the suppression of the slave-trade will be still
greater; It will be a higher and a holier triumph,
one that men must appreciate who have a spark of
kindly feeling in their hearts, and that cannot fail
to gain a reward greater than any other work in
science or arms can win, in the consciousness of a
noble undertaking, and the satisfaction that must
accrue from having performed a service to the gene-
ration now living and also to that which come after.

The public will learn with sincere regret that
they are about to lose the active services of cne to
whom they are very largely indebted. The name
of ROWLAND HILL claims grateful acknowledg-
ment from everyone who holds communication with
his fellows or concerns himself in any degree with
the concerns of this lower world. Does he live in a
remote place, where news agents and reading-rooms
are inaccessible? Thanks to ROWLAND HILL, his
daily paper, faithfully delivered, will let him know
the saying and doings of the world at large. Does
he need a bulky volume for which he has no ready
means of carriage ? The red-collared officials will
bring it to his door at a very moderate charge.
Does he wish to hear of the fortunes of far-distant
friends, in the Himalayas, perhaps, or in New Zea-
land, or in New York ? ROWLAND HILL has been
busy in securing a safe and rapid transit for his
letters at a price little more than would have been
charged last century for transmission'from one part
of England to another. Or if a man be such a
SIMoN or a hermit as to regard public affairs with
indifference, and to have neither friend nor foe
with whom he wishes to correspond, he can yet be
scarcely so superior to the ordinary wants of human
nature as not sometimes to avail himself of the
facilities offered by the Post Office for sending
orders to tradesmen and
paying for *their goods by
the same means. To the busy world of commercial
life the Postal system offers incalculable advan-
tages, and parliamentary, literary, and professional
men of all classes partake largely of its benefits.
Itjis no longer a serious thing for a person of
limited means to keep up an extended correspon-
dence, and how quickly the public have availed
themselves of the conveniences offered to them is
proved by the immense increase in the postage.
The number of chargeable letters at the time when
the new system was inaugurated was 76 millions,
it is now 600 millions ! During the same 27 years
the annual amount transmitted through the post
has risen from £313.000 to considerably more than
£15,000,000! This astonishing change is of course
not only due to the cheapness and facility of the
postage, but to the conveniences afforded by the in-
troduction of money orders and by the security of
the registration system now in vogue. Notwith-
standing the increased expenses and the diminished
charges, the revenue of the Post-office is now
greatly enlarged. With all the additional posts,
the vast establishment, and army of emp/o/tes ren-
dered necessary by such an amount of business, the
annual income is much higher than it was 30 years
years ago. Sir ROWLAND HILL has at least the
satisfaction of seeing
the great work he set on foot
thoroughly Well done; its accuracy, efficiency, and
extent being an absolute marvel. Perhaps the best
compliment we can
pay to the management of the
Post-office is that we take its regular working as a
matter of course, only expressing surprise if a letter
should fail to reaoh its destination. Yet,when we con.
eider the vast extent of its work, aad the rarity of
its blunders or delays, we must certainly rank the
Postal system inaugurated and for so many years
superintended by ROWLAND HILL among the
greatest of our modern improvements. It is cer-
tainly one of our public offices which is carried to
the greatest perfection; but, however the nominal
heads of the office may change with political changes,
however great may be the zeal or ability of succes-
sive Postmasters-General,
the public know that
their thanks for the successive reforms and additions
to the original scheme are primarily due to the able
and indefatigable secretary who
is now exhausted
by his long labours, and compelled to withdraw into
private life. Year by year some improvement has
been thought of at home or abroad. It is not very
long since two very
important branches were added
to the system. The Book Post, whose marvellous
convenience we have all appreciated, and the divi-
sion of the metropolis and its suburbs into postal
districts, have both proved most satisfactory in prac-
tical working. All Sir ROWLAND Hi4L's schemes
have indeed been practical. He is none of those
theoretical reformers or inventors whose projects
will not stand the wear and tear of everyday life.
This great reform has now endured the daily trial
of a quarter of a century in the busiest country in
the world, only to be crowned with unimpeachable
success, and to rank its author among the public
ellefaCt9rls of hie time.