The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

1855-9] POSTAGE ON NEWSPAPERS. 347
nine years later, after my
retirement from the Post
Office, the demand for increased newspaper privileges
was revived by articles in various journals and speeches
in Parliament, the Times leading in the one, and Mr.
Graves, M.P. for Liverpool, in the other, I turned my
attention to the quest of means for so far complying
with such demand as might be consistent with justice
to the general tax-payer ; in other words, I sought to
discover whether sufficient facilities might not be
afforded, at a low rate, without increasing the loss
already sustained by the Post Office in dealing with
newspapers. I had the satisfaction to hit upon a
plan, by
which all that wr
as really important might
be effected without subjecting the department to any
loss whatever ; so that its adoption would imply a
double gain, first, in adequate concession to those
immediately interested ; and, secondly, in making the
special service self-supporting. By my plan news-
papers, undirected, not folded for the post, and therefore,
of course, without wrappers, would have been
distributable by the Post Office much as is now done
by newsagents. At the same time I pointed out how
spare revenue might be advantageously employed in
giving additional and very important
facilities to the
conveyance of letters. Throwing my views, as clearly
and concisely as I could, into the form of a memorandum
(see Appendix M), I sent this to Mr. Gladstone, who,
in return, informed me, by his private secretary, that he
had read it "with the greatest interest," and had sent
it on to the Postmaster-General. Hearing nothing
further, and finding that the question would be again
raised in the Session of 1870, I wrote to the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Lowe, telling
him of
the memorandum, and offering to send him a copy.
A letter from His private secretary, accepting this