The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-09-27 00:00:00

THE PENNY POSTAGE ACT.

(From the Observer)
In the last number of The Observer, it was stated that a
deputation from the Stationers and Paper Manufacturers of
London hod wai:e:d upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
with the view of ieducing him to abandon that portion of the
Penny Postage plan which requires that the money shall be
paid in advance, and that it shall be collected by means of
stamped envelopes. The proposed substitute for this portion
of the plan is, that the writers and forwarders of letters shall
be allowed to use, for the purposes of writing, what paper
they please ; and that they shall, as at present, be at liberty
either to pay the postage in advance, or leave it to be paid by
the parties to whom the letters are addressed.
Any suggestions, coming from so respectable a body of indi-
viduals, are, unquestionably, entitled to grave conisderation,
and will, there is no doubt, receive from the Government of
the country that degree of attention to which they lay claim.
It may be well, however, Lefore expressing an opinion on
this subject, to examine the objections urged by these par-
ties reriatins, and see whether they are in reality as formida-
ble as they may at first sight appear. The principal objec-
tions then urged by these parties against the use of the
stamped envelope are these :—First, that the introduction of
this plan will establish an effective and unjust monopoly in
the trade ;--secondly, that it will inflict an injury upon the
stationers and manufacturers by lessening the consumption of
paper.;—and thirdly, that it will throw embarrassments in
the way of-a successful trial of the Penny Postage principle
itself. One word upon each of these objections.
First, it is said that the adoption of the stamped envelope,
as a means of collecting the Penny Postage, will establish an
extensive and unjust monopoly in the trade. Now, mono-
polies in all cases—whether in the hands of Government, in
the hands of public companies, or in the hands of private
individuals—ought not, except under peculiar circumstances,
to be tolerated; and even where circumstances may seem to
justify them, they ought not to be tolerated to any greater
extent, or for any longer period of time, than their existence
or continuance can clearly be shown to be conducive to the
public good. The Penny Postage Act, as it now stands, is
an untried experiment-ean experiment, in some measure,
forced upon the Government; and an experiment which,
whether it be viewed in its moral, educational, or commer-
cial bearings, must, if ultimately successful, be of immense
advantage to the country. Should it be necessary for the
Government, therefore, in order to test the efficacy of this
plan, to enter into a contract with a single individual to sup-
ply the whole of theme envelopes for a given time, the end to
be obtained would, in our view, sufficiently justify the means.
By the adoption of such a step, no injustice would be inflicted
upon any individual, or upon any class of individuals; for
this contract, like all other Government contracts, might be
open to the fair conmetition of the capitalist ; and the Go-
vern:net might be left to choose that which, in the exercise
of their discretion, would contribute most to the success of
the experiment. should the experiment, however, as we
have no doubt, prove a successful one, there is little reason
to suppose, and especially in an enterprising country like
this, that a monopoly even of this limited kind would be
permitted to continue one hour longer than its practical uti-
lity could be shown. But, as yet, the intentions of the Go-
vernment are unknown ; and it would be idle, therefore, to
dwell upon this objection at greater length.
As to the second objection—namely, that the adoption of
the stamped envelope would inflict an injury upon trade, by
lessening the consumption of paper—it appears to us to have
been taken up without sufficient regard to the practical work-
ing of the system. If, say the paper-makers and stationers,
the stamped envelopes, as it has been suggested by Mr. Hill,
be adopted, one-half of the letters being letters of business,
and requiring no more than one side, will be written upon
the envelopes themselves; enclosures will therefore be ren-
dered unnecessary, sad the supply of paper proportionably
decreased. Now, for the sake of argument, we admit that
one-half of the letters may be written on the envelopes, but
io this we can perceive no grievous indiction upon the trade.
To ensure the success of the projected plan of Penny Post-
age it is calculated, on the lowest scale, that there must be
an eightfold increase is the number of letters transmitted ;
so that, even upon the showing of the opponents of this
measure, namely, that one-half of the letters are written on
the envelopes themselves, there will still be a fourfold in-
crease upon the present consumption of paper. But, should
the transmission of letters increase in a higher ratio than
that of eightfold, which is more than probable, the consump.
tion of paper will be increased in an equal degree. Nor is
the pretext that it will repress the ingenuity of the manufac-
turer, and diminish the variety in the present assortment of
paper, entitled to inors consbleration ; for on what conceiv-
able ground caa it be imagined, that persons who now exer-
cise their taste as to the materials on which they write, will
be debarred its exercise merely because their communications
are to be inclosed in a stamped envelope? View the matter,
indeed, in whatever light we may, milt regard* the consump-
tion of Raper, the proposed change, instead of being an
infliction upon the trade, can be nothing but a positive and
unequivocal goad—a good, too, which must necessarily keep
pace with the progressive advance and success of the plan.
The re amuse abjection---namely, that the adoption of
the envelope will present obstacles to a successful trial of the
principle itself—may he considered at greater length. For
instance, we may consider this objection, as it has sometimes
been employed, as involving the plan in the charge of com-
plexity, or as-imposiag a restraint upon the manufacturer or
tradesman who may wish to address his correspondents by
circular. On neither of these grounds, however, do we
think it can be fairly sustained.
The object of Mr. Rowland Hill in suggesting the enve-
lope is, to relieve the Post Orlice from the collection of the
revenue—one of the most tedious operations—and to dimin-
ish the number of letter carriers, the salaries of whom, though
small in themselves, form no inconsiderable item in the Post
(Mice expenditure. Upon this reduction of labour, and upon
this proportionate diminution in the number of those who are
employed, the success of hit plan must mainly depend. The
force which is employed to execute the external and internal
arrangements of ttie Poet Office is no greater at present than
that which the extent of labour requires ; but were the trans-
mission of letters, as has been supposed, to increase in an
eightfold ratio, it is easy to perceive, without some such di-
minution or labour, as that which it is proposed to effect, by
means of envelopes, or stamped paper, that the Post Office
establishment, and Post Office expenditure, must be increased
to a fearfully enormous extent. It is to keep this establish-
ment, as far as possible, within its present prescribed limits,
and yet to enable it to perform, with little additional expense,
a progressively increasing amount of labour, that the substi-
tution of the envelope for pre arid post payment has been
prp pose d : and any departure from this principle therefore,
however plausible it may seem, must undermine the calcula-
tions upon which the system is based, and ultimately prove
fatal to the plan.
As to the restraint which it is alleged would be imposed
upon malinfactures, tradesmen, and others, who might be
disposed to issue circulars, catalogues, or addresses, there is
every provision made in the plan proposed. For instance, it
has been suggested, that for general distribution, the envelope
should carry half an ounce ; while for local distribution,
where Circulars and catalogues would be more likely to be
distributed, it should carry an ounce. These are details,
however, which can occasion no practical difficulty, and which
may be safely left in the hands of the Government, who, of
course, will feel themse'res, to a considerable extent, respon-
sible fur the success of the measure. That all parties should
be satisfied with a measure, involving such sweeping and
practical reforms, is hardly to be expected ; but to us, after
a careful and minute examinetion, it does appear, that the
paper manufacturers and stationers are a class above all others
who have least reason to complain ; for, upon the calculations
which have been rinse, it intuit be evident to the most super-
ficial observer, that in proportion to the success of this plan,
in that exact proportion will be the demand of the article
which form the staple of their trade,