Page:The life and letters of Sir John Henniker Heaton bt. (IA lifelettersofsi00port).pdf/16

viii I suppose no man outside ministerial circles exercised a stronger or more useful influence upon "red tape" administration during the past thirty years than did this great Postal Reformer.

In many ways the tremendous obstacles to human intercourse, which distance involves, have been lessened by modern invention and commercial enterprise. But for the labours of Sir John the splendid successes that have been slowly but surely won by that David of Reform over the Goliath of Post Office routine might have been indefinitely postponed. Sometimes such humanizing victories are dearly bought. Not so with a system of penny postages covering world-wide distances. Not so with the marvellous expansion of electrified messages between mind and mind and market and market, which means the creation of new worlds of intellectual as well as industrial progress.

Those great achievements have been a source of wealth beyond "the dreams of avarice" in the case of private enterprise, and the fears of ruin which daunted the custodians of postal revenues have been converted into magnificent profits.

The bodily presence of our friend has returned to dust, but his spirit may often look down gladly upon world-wide spheres which have been brightened by his devoted dauntless labours—labours that contain germs of even greater blessings in the years to come