The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

266 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1854
only of joint action. I wish, however to state here my
conviction that without my brother's able and zealous
assistance, the full reform of the Post Office would
not and could not have been successfully accom-
plished.
The heads of departments the immediate subor-
dinates of the secretaries were, for the most part,
men whose selection did credit to my predecessor,
Colonel Maberly, on whose recommendation they had
been appointed. They were, in short, an able staff
of officers. I took advantage of their ability to make
what proved a valuable change in their mode of proceeding
; for whereas the practice had been for these
officers simply to select the cases requiring the judgment
of the secretary, and to await his instructions
before writing their minutes thereon, I
induced them to come prepared with an
gradually
opinion of
their own, which might serve in a measure for my
guidance. This soon led to a further improvement;
for, as the most convenient way of giving such
was to throw it into the form of a
opinion clearly
minute, it became not uncommon, at least in ordinary
cases, to draw the minutes, even before any reference
to me. This arrangement not only saved me much
valuable time, but also procured for the matters in
question a much closer investigation, and more careful
consideration from those whose position was most
advantageous for the task, than could be obtained
without the responsibility pertaining to men called on
to advise.
The Annual Reports already mentioned were intended
to supply such information to the public as
might tend to prevent misapprehension and avert complaint,
and at the same time to describe the course of
improvement.