The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

1846] APPOINTMENT OFFERED. 41
Meantime, the negotiation was carried on by Mr.
Hawes, who was at once a member of the Govern-
ment, and exceedingly zealous for my interests ;
but in
the course of it a vexatious mistake occurred, which
was by no means without injurious effect. Knowing
how difficult it would be for me, after all that had
passed, to co-operate either harmoniously or success-
fully with Colonel Maberly, I urged the importance
of the step actually taken eight years later, viz., of
him to some other office. To this it was
removing
replied that there was no post available for the
purpose, save at lower salary than he was then re-
ceiving ; and as the loss involved was said to be ^300
to sacrifice
a-year, I expressed my perfect willingness
that sum for the purpose of indemnification. My
salary at the Treasury, it may be remembered, was
^1,500 a-year (the same as that of the Secretary to the
Post Office) ; and I now said that I was ready to accept
,1,200, provided only that my position
were such as
would enable me to carry out promptly and efficiently
the remaining parts of my plan. Unluckily for me,
it came to pass that, while my offer as to salary was
caught at, the accompanying stipulation was somehow
set aside ; the definite proposal being that I should
take office as Secretary to the Postmaster-General
with a salary of ,1,200 a-year; thus placing me in
a lower position than that which I had previously
occupied at the Treasury. When I pointed out this
to Mr, Hawes, he expressed his regret at the perverse
form the thing had taken, but saying that the error
could not now be retrieved, gave
it as his earnest
advice that I should accept the proposal as it stood.
Upon my objecting to this, he urged that the arrangement
was but temporary ; for that as soon as I should
have demonstrated my fitness for the entire control of