The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-09-03

1
this language?"
The novelist now proceeds to the reviewers
msprint. The reviewer, in his laudation of the
great ofhcial departments, and in his indignant
denial OF there being any trace of Circumlo
cution office to be detected among them all.
begs to know " what does Mr.. Dickens think of
the whole organization of the Post Office, and of
the system of cheap postage7" Taking St.
Martins lie Grand in tow, the wrathful Circum-
iocution steamer, putting at Mr.. Dickens, to
crush him with all the weight of that frst-rate
vessel, demands, "to take single and we'll
known example," how does he account for the
career of Mr.. Rowland Hill? A gentleman in
private and not very conspicuous position
writes pamphlet recommending what amount
ed to revolution in most important depart
ment of the Government. Did the Circumlo-
cution office neglect him, traduce him, break
his heart, and ruin his fortune? They adopted
his scheme, and gave him the leading share in
| carrying it out and yet this is the Government
| which Mr.. Dickens declares to be a sworn foe
to talent, and systematic enemy to ingenuity
The curious misprint here is the name of Mr.
Rowland Hill. Some other and perfectly.dif
ferent name must have been sent to the print.
er: Mr.. Rowland Hill Why, if Mr.. Rowland
Hill were not, In toughness, a man of hun.
dred thousand if he had not had in the strug-
giles of his career a steadfastness of purpose
overriding all sensitiveness, and steadily staring
grim DESPAIR out of countenance, the Circumlo-
cution office would have made a dead man of
him long and long ago. Mr.. Dickens, among
his other darings, dares to state that the Cir
cumlocution office most heartily hated Mr..
Rowland Hill that the Circumlocution office
most Enthusiastically opposed him, as long as
opposition was In any way possible that the
Circumlocution Office would have been most
devoutly glad if it could have hurried Mr.. Row
land Hills soul out of his body, and consigned
him and his troublesome penny project to the
grave together.
Mr.. Rowland Hill Now, see the impossi.
bility of Mr.. Rowland Hill being the name
which the Edinburgh Rerie,o sent to the print
er. 1t may have relied on the forbearance of
Mr.. Dickens towards living gentlemen, for his
being mute on a mighty job that was jobbed in
that very Post Office when Mr.. Rowland Hill was
taboo there; and it shall not rely upon his cour-
tesy in vain, though there be breezes on the
southern side of Mid-Strand, London, in which
the scent of it is yet strong On quarter-dsys.
But the Edinburgh Rerie,c never can have put
up Mr.. Rowland Hill for the putting down of
MIR. Dickens's idle fiction Of Circumlocution
office. The "license" would have been too
great, the absurdity would have been too trans
parent, the Circumlocution- office dctation and
partisanship would have been much too mani.
fest.
"The Crcumlocution Office adopted his
scheme, and gave him the leading share in car
rylng 1t out" The words are clearly not ap.
plicable to Mr.. Rowland Hill. Does the Re.
viewer remember the history of Mr.. Rowland
Hills scheme? The Novelist does, and will
state it here, exactly, in spite of its being one
of the eternal DEGREES that the Reviewer, in
virtue of his license, shall know everything,
and that the Novelist, in virtue Of his license
shall know nothing.
Mr.. Rowland Hill published his pamphlet on
the establishment of one uniform penny post
age in the beginning of the year 1887. Mr.
wallace, member from Greenock, who had long
been opposed to the then existing post Office
system, moved for committee on the subject.
Its appointment was opposed by the Govern:
ment, or, let US say the Circumlocuton office,
but was afterwards conceded. Before that
committee, the Circumlocution Office and Mr..
Rowland Hill were perpetually in conflict on
questions of fact; and it invariably turned out
that Mr.. Rowland Hill was always right in his
facts, and that the Circumlocution Office was
always wrong. Even on so plain a point as
the average number of letters at that very time
passing through the post Office, Mr.. Rowland
Hill was right, and the Circumlocution office
wrong.
Says the Edinburgh Reriep, in what it calls
general" way, the Circumlocution Office
adopted this scheme" Did it? Not Just then,
certainly; for nothing whatever was done, ari.
sing out of the inquiries of that committee.
But it happened that the Wing Government
afterwards came to be beaten on the Jamaica
question, by reason Of the Radicals voting
against them. Sir Robert Peel was command
ed to form Government, but failed, in conse.
of he 81
ers will remember them) about the ladies of the
bedchamber. The ladies of the bedchamber
brought the Wings in again, and then the Rad
icals (being always for the destruction of ev-
erything) made it one of the conditions of their
rendering their support to the new Wing Gov
eminent, that the penny-postage system should
De adopted. This was two years after the APP
pointment of the committee, that is to say, in
1899. The Circumlocution Office had, to that
time, done nothing towards the penny postage,
but oppose, delay, contradict, and show itself
uniformly wrong.
They adopted his scheme, and gave him
the leading share in carrying it out" Of course
they gave him the leading share in carrying it
out, then, at the time when they adopted it, and
took the credit and popularity of it2 Not 30.
In 1889, Mr. Rowland Hill was appointed-not
to the Post Office, but to the Treasury. Was he
appointed to the Treasury to carry out his own
scheme? No. He was appointed to advise"
In other words, to instruct the ignorant Circum.
locution Office how to do without him, if it by any
means could. On the 10th of January, 1910,
the penny postage system was adopted. Then,
of course, the Circumlocution Office gave Mr..
Rowland Hill "the leading share in carrying it
out 7" Not exactly; but it gave him the lead,
ing share in carrying himself out, for, in 1912,
it summarily dismissed Mr.. Rowland Hill alto
gether.
When the Circumlocution Office had come to
that pass in its patriotic course, 30 much ad-
mired by the Edinburgh Rerieao, of protecting
and patronizing Mr. Rowland Hill, whom any
child, who is not novelist, can perceive to have
been its peculiar protege, the public mind (sl.
ways perverse) became much excited on the
subject. Sir Thomas Wilde moved for another
committee; Circumlocution Office interposed
Nothing was done, The public subscribed and
presented to Mr.. Rowland Hill El6.O0O. Cir.
cumlocution Office remained true to itself and
its functions. Did nothing; would do nothing.
1t was not till 1916, four years afterwards that
Mr.. Rowland Hill was appointed to place in
the Post Office. Was he appointed, even then,
to the leading share in carrying out !" his
scheme? He was permitted to creep into the
Post Office up the back stairs, through having
q place created for him. This post of dignity
and honor, this Circumlocution Office crown,
was called "Secretary to the Postmaster Gen
eral;" there being already Secretary to the
Post Office, of whom the Circumlocution Office
had declared, as its reason for Diminishing Mr.
Rowland Hill, that his functions and Mr. Row.
land Hills could not be made to harmonic.
They did not harmonic. They were in per-
petual discord. Penny postage is but one re-
form of number of Post Office reforms effect
l.