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A STA TE P.4RCEL POST. 351
cheaper mode of t.ranamission. Now, tho originnl value of the
book in Enqland was 10s. Gd.
In the case of small parcels conveyed by steamboat, the
mileage cost must be an almost incalculably stnoll fntotion.
In fact, about ld. per Ib. would bo ample for tho mero bight
to America ; adding, sny M., for collection and delivery on
each side, my book should have been trnnsrnitted for about a
shilling ; or about one-aiglrth part of what it cost. In fnct, all
this kind of traffic, when not superintended by tho Stnto, is
treated as a close monopoly, t,o the great injury of the pul)lic,
nnd in tho long rnn, I am convinced, to the dctritnent, of the
carrying companies thcmselves.
There is plainly, thcn, a world of imp*ovcment to bo
effectcd in this, as in many other directions. But where is
the Rowlsnd Dill to effect it ? Few hnvc, liko him, tho hnppiness
of looking back on a great social reform accomplished by
his single-handed cncrgy. Xen of the youngcr generation
have little idea of thc mannor in which 110 lmd to fight, step by
step against the bureaucracy of the Post Officc. That department,
which now congrntulntes and eulogises itself upon its
wonderful Rchievemcnts, should ncvcr forget that thoso inestimable
improvements mere forced upou it, as it mere, at tho
point of tho sword. 1 mny have some futuro opportunity of
pointing out how obstructive is tho Post Office, or, at least,
the Treasury, in refusing to extend tho benefits of tho Borne
Postal Union to tho wholo world, as tho Englisl~ Government
alone might do it. But one thing is enough at a time. It is
with the infinite bliudnoss, and selfishness, and obstructiveness
of the railway companies in the matter of small goode that w0
have here to deal. I can scarcely comprehend why they should
combine to suppress and strangle this one branch of traffic,
when they so ably develop other branches. When it is a
question of collecting and conveying milk, ur fish, or cockles,
or watercresses, nothing can be moro effective, and in general
economical, than their arrangements. As to the manner in
which the railways distribute the morning London newspapers
over the length and breadth of t.he land, nothing can bo more