The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

l86o--3] PACKET SERVICE. 369
have already mentioned
Post ; my
under the name of Parcels
chief objection to the more partial scheme
being the difficulty sure to arise as to the definition of a
pattern. As, however, I was not then in a state of
health to surmount immediately the many obstacles to
the more comprehensive scheme, and as Lord Stanley
was impatient of delay, the more limited plan was
adopted and carried into effect.
PACKET SERVICE.
Transference from Admiralty.
The last improvements of which I shall speak here
are those connected with the Packet Service. This
service, it will be remembered, had, under the management
of the Admiralty, become a source of very great
expense ;
attributable partly to the fact of its extension,
for political reasons, very far beyond the requirements
of the Post Office. As this extension had ceased, it
was desirable, as fast as possible, to bring the expense
within such limits as would render the service self-
supporting, and thereby relieve the British tax-payer
from a needless burden. Opportunity was given for
such improvement by the transference of the service
from the Admiralty to the Post Office ; a change made
in the year 1860. Of course progress could be but
slow, seeing that existing contracts had to be respected ;
but steps were promptly taken to put the department in
readiness for availing itself of opportunities as they
should occur. The secretarial charge of the department
was from the first placed in the hands of my
brother, who already had like charge of the foreign and
colonial departments, and had previously performed
such secretarial duties relative to this service as even
then devolved on the Post Office.
VOL. II. B B