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1
435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
147
But
this
was
not
all.
The
expenses
of
the
department,
or
the
secondary
distribution,
might
be
much
reduced
by
simplifications
in
the
various
processes.
The
existing
system
resulted
in
a
complicated
system
of
accounts,
involving
great
waste
of
time
as
well
as
offering
inducements
to
fraud.
The
daily
work
of
exposing
letters
to
a
strong
light,
in
order
to
ascertain
their
contents,
also
offered
a
constant
temptation
to
the
violation
of
the
first
duty
of
the
officers
of
the
State,
in
respect
to
the
sanctity
of
correspondence.
If,
instead
of
charging
letters
according
to
the
number
of
sheets
or
scraps
of
paper,
a
weight
should
be
fixed,
below
which,
whatever
the
contents
of
a
letter,
a
certain
rate
be
charged,
much
trouble
would
be
saved
to
the
office,
not
to
speak
of
any
higher
reason.
Again,
he
suggested
that
if
anything
could
be
done
to
expedite
the
delivery
of
letters
by
doing
away
with
the
collection
of
postage
from
door
to
door,
a
great
object
would
be
gained;
that
five
or
six
times
the
number
of
letters
might
be
delivered
with
the
existing
machinery,
and
this
even
in
less
time
than
under
the
old
system.
The
only
requisite
was,
that
some
plan
for
the
prepayment
of
letters
should
be
devised,
so
that
the
Post-Office
might
be
relieved
from
the
duty
of
charging,
debiting,
&c.
and
the
letter-carriers
from
collecting
the
postage.
The
Post-Office
authorities
had
had
the
question
of
prepayment,
by
means
of
some
kind
of
stamp
or
stamped
covers,
under
consideration
prior
to
this
time.
The
Commissioners
of
Post-Office
Inquiry
deliberated
on
the
measure
in
the
early
part
of
1837
(after
Mr.
Charles
Knight
had
suggested
a
penny
stamp,
or
stamped
cover,
for
collecting
the
now
reduced
postage
on
newspapers),
considering
it
very
favourably.
Hence
it
arose
that
that
part
of
the
proposals
relating
to
prepayment
by
stamped
labels
or
covers,
formed
part
of
Mr.
Hill's
scheme,
and
was
considered
with
it.
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