The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

1855-9] HEALTH OF STAFF. 303
internal arrangements alike destructive to rapid action
and injurious to health which want of either attention
or experience had introduced at St. Martin's-le-Grand.
The general health of the department was in danger
of being lowered by the new standard ^acquirement
that had been established for admission to the service.
The persons best fitted for letter-carriers' duties in a
physical point of view are obviously those whose previous
occupation has inured them to labour of body
and endurance of weather ; but such persons were, in
effect, to a great extent excluded by the new educational
requirements, which, on the other hand, gave, for the
most part, easy admission to shopmen, clerks, domestic
servants, and others, but little accustomed to out-door
exercise. To remedy this, the Postmaster-General
(the Duke of Argyll) requested the Civil Service Commissioners
to adopt a somewhat lower standard of
and at the same time authorized the
acquirement,
chief medical officer to subject all candidates for the
office of letter-carrier to stricter test as regards bodily
strength. The application of this higher physical
standard caused the rejection of at least one can-
didate out of four.*
By all these measures, the health of the department,
which, with every allowance for the favourable
age of its officers, stood even at the beginning of the
period in very advantageous comparison with that of
London generally, was gradually raised to a very high
standard.
One further improvement, however, seems very
desirable, though the means of effecting
yet been found. In the year 1857, Dr. 'Lewis, the
chief medical officer, having reported on the sanitary
* "Fifth Report, "p. 35.
it have not