The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

1855-9] LONDON DISTRICT DELIVERY. 2/1
made to carry this acceleration still further. As early
as January, 1856, a hope was expressed, in the Report
on the previous year, that the first delivery of the day
throughout the metropolis might eventually be com-
pleted by nine a.m.,'''" instead of eleven, or even later.
To effect this, however, and no less to obtain rapid
intercommunication between the different parts of the
metropolis, required changes so complicated, that their
details could not be set forth without wearying the
reader. At the same time, the greatest caution and
foresight were required to prevent derangement in
transition ; and this, combined with other difficulties,
greatly delayed the completion of the plan. Briefly
stated, the changes involved were as follows ; and I
may remark that they are almost identical with those
proposed in my evidence before the Post OfHce Commissioners
in 1837, already mentioned in this narrative.
We had to unite the two corps of letter-carriers (the
impracticability of which, under divided authority, had
so long delayed the whole measure t) ; to rearrange
their " walks ;
" to divide London into districts, each
to be treated in some respects as a separate town ;
to procure suitable buildings for district offices, or,
failing this, to erect such buildings, first obtaining
proper sites (no easy matter) ; to adopt a new
plan of sorting at the chief office ; and lastly, to
provide for the sorting of mails according to the new
districts before reaching London. J That everything
might be done with the utmost circumspection, I
nominated a committee of officers to consider the
details involved in the necessary changes, which com-
mittee made a very elaborate and able Report. In
* "Second Report," p. 10. f See Vol. n.,p. too. J "Second Report," p. 10.
"Second Report," pp. 9, 41.