The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

386 LIFE OF SIR ROWLAND HILL. [1864
resignation ; and to request that you will accept my thanks for the
manner in which you have been pleased to speak of my services.
" I have the honour to be,
" The Right Hon.
" LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY, &c."
" Your Lordship's most obedient Servant,
" ROWLAND HILL.
Amongst the numerous notices of my retirement
that appeared in the newspapers there was one* which
showed that, notwithstanding my careful silence on
the subject, suspicion was abroad as to the cause of
my resignation. In it my
retirement was attributed
to opposition in the Department, not to the ill-health
which such opposition, combined with other troubles,
had produced. The day after the appearance of this
notice, a passage occurred in the House of Lords,
which is thus mentioned in my Journal :
"The following tells its own story. I have only to add, that
although I know Lord Truro, who inherits his father's interest in
my success, I have had no communication with him, direct or
indirect :
' RETIREMENT
" Times, March gth.
OF SIR ROWLAND HILL.
'"LordTRURO rose to ask Her Majesty's Postmaster-General whether
the rumour of Sir Rowland Hill's resignation was well-founded; and,
if so, whether he had any objection to state the circumstances under
which that resignation had taken place. The noble lord said he put
the question to satisfy the strongly expressed desire of the public to
know the truth of the rumour to this effect which had got abroad.
He was sure that it would cause general regret to hear of the existence
of any cause for the retirement of a man who had conferred
such an immeasurable benefit upon the country, and, indeed, upon
the whole civilized world. (Hear, hear).
" '
Lord STANLEY OF ALDERLEY said that Sir Rowland had recently
*
In the Morning Star. ED.