Page:Notes by the Way.djvu/291

 NOTES BY THE WAY.

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��tion of one or two small islands), and also to Egypt and the Soudan. It is strange that it should have taken so many years to bring about this result.

From a communication printed in ' N. & Q.' on the 23rd of November, 1907, from Mr. Edward Peacock, it appears that the desire for an Ocean Penny Post originated about 1847 or 1848. Mr. Peacock states that a friend of his " who was finishing his education at Putney College for Civil Engineers, when he came home for his summer vacation, brought with him some envelopes with a ' floreated border around the place for the Queen's head,' enclosing the inscription, ' England, the world expects from thee an ocean penny postage.' I had for several years one of these which he gave me, but it is gone now. If it were in existence, it would not be without interest."

On the 15th of September, 1849, The Athenceum devoted an article to the subject, and inserted a letter from Thomas Beazley, the President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, to Elihu Burritt, in which he states that to establish an Ocean Penny Ocean Penny Postage " is practicable, and would be exceedingly beneficial to the people of every country." The Athenceum considered that, with the stamp of the members of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce upon it,

" the scheme of Ocean Penny Postage may be removed from the category of empirical agitations, and regarded as one of those ideas which require time only to perfect them. Peace and free postage are the pet ' impossibilities ' of the hour. Steam and lightning con- ductors have had their days of denial and of victory."

In the early fight for Penny Postage Hill had many kind helpers, whose aid was " gladly accepted by him." One of the foremost among these was Henry Cole. On the 9th of May, 1837, Lord Duncannon, in the House of Lords, informed Lord Brougham, who presented a petition from the City in favour of Penny Postage, " that the Government did not intend to try the experiment of Mr. Hill's plan, but had determined to issue penny stamp covers for short distances, and to reduce the fourpenny post to twopence." It was evident that this important experiment would be fatal to Hill's scheme, and that it was necessary to lead the public to support Penny Postage. Mr. George Moffatt, a large tea merchant in the George City, who had made his fortune by selling tea to all retailers and Moffatt. dealers at the uniform price of the market daily, adding one half- penny a pound to such price as his profit, formed a mercantile committee, to which Cole became secretary and W. H. Ashurst acted gratuitously as solicitor. Of the good work of this com- mittee full particulars are given in Sir Henry Cole's ' Fifty Years of Public Life ' (Bell & Sons). It contains many curious illustrations including Mulready's design.

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