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1
435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
149
On
the
other
side
of
the
question,
however,
there
were
many
intelligent
writers
and
great
statesmen
ready
to
advocate
the
sacrifice
of
revenue
altogether,
if
necessary,
rather
than
not
have
the
reform;
while
an
immense
number
believed
(and
Mr.
Hill
himself
shared
in
this
belief)
that
the
diminution
would
only
be
temporary,
and
should
be
regarded
as
an
outlay
which,
in
the
course
of
years,
would
yield
enormous
profits.
"Suppose
even
an
average
yearly
loss
of
a
million
for
ten
years,"
says
a
celebrated
economist
of
the
period;
"it
is
but
half
what
the
country
has
paid
for
the
abolition
of
slavery,
without
the
possibility
of
any
money
return.
Treat
the
deficit
as
an
outlay
of
capital.
Even
if
the
hope
of
ultimate
profit
should
altogether
fail,
let
us
recur
to
some
other
tax
...
any
tax
but
this,
certain
that
none
can
operate
so
fatally
on
all
the
other
sources
of
revenue.
Letters
are
the
primordia
rerum
of
the
commercial
world.
To
tax
them
at
all
is
condemned
by
those
who
are
best
acquainted
with
the
operations
of
finance."
Nor
was
Mr.
Hill
to
be
cried
down.
He
admitted,
as
we
have
said,
that
his
plans,
if
carried
out,
would
result
in
a
diminution
of
revenue
for
a
few
years
to
come.
On
the
reliable
data
which
he
had
collected,
he
calculated
that,
for
the
first
year,
this
decrease
might
extend
to
as
much
as
300,000l.;
but
that
the
scheme
would
pay
in
the
long
run,
and
pay
handsomely,
he
had
no
manner
of
doubt
whatever.
His
case
was
strengthened
by
all
previous
experience.
The
number
of
letters
would
increase
in
the
ratio
of
reduction
of
postage.
In
1827,
the
Irish
postage-rates
were
reduced,
and
an
immediate
increase
of
revenue
to
a
large
extent
was
the
result.
The
rate
for
ship-letters
was
reduced
in
1834.
In
four
years
the
number
increased
in
Liverpool
from
fifteen
to
sixty
thousand;
in
Hull
from
fifteen
to
fifty
thousand.
The
postage
of
letters
between
Edinburgh
and
the
adjacent
towns
and
villages
was
reduced
in
1837
from
twopence
to
a
penny.
In
rather
more
than
a
year
the
number
of
letters
had
more
than
doubled.
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