Page:The life and letters of Sir John Henniker Heaton bt. (IA lifelettersofsi00port).pdf/260

 son reading a letter from home. Many a time in his young life in the Colonies, H. H. was among a group gathered round the camp fire listening to the letters from Home read aloud. During his wanderings in Australia, he one day entered a Court House and was given a seat on the Bench. A young Irishman was charged with cheating and defrauding Her Britannic Majesty's Postmaster-General. Newspaper postage to England was one penny, but letters sixpence each. He wrote inside the newspaper: "My dear Mother, The long drought has ended in Australia, and I have got a situation at last on Mr B——'s station at a pound a week. Please God I will send you two pounds at the end of the month. Your affectionate son——" The newspaper was addressed to his mother in Limerick, Ireland. The postmaster discovered the message, and the man was arrested on Mr B——'s station for defrauding the revenue. He was sentenced to three weeks' imprisonment, and of course the loss of his billet followed.

These and other scenes, impressing themselves upon H. H., built up his determination to secure cheap postage at all costs.

A Speech in favour of penny postage was made by Lord Rosebery at Paisley, in 1885, in the course of which he said:

"Anybody who has to open the letter-bag of an estate, as I have to do very often, will notice the enormous number of letters with the Colonial stamp and postmark coming to the families living on the estate; and it is perfectly futile for people to believe, whether Liberals or Conservatives, that with these letters passing and repassing between members of the same family in England and the Colonies, the