Book 2 — APPENDICES.

APPENDIX A.

[See p. 57.]

ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.

[For my Biography, written, chiefly from my dictation, in June, 1874.]

Although a member of the Astronomical Society for more than half a century, and, with the exception of two out of about 430, the oldest now living, I have never contributed to the Society’s transactions.

Yet from boyhood I have been very much attached to astronomical pursuits. My father was well informed on the subject, and eventually, though several years later than myself, became a member of the Society.[364] He had long possessed a reflecting telescope, capable of showing Jupiter’s Moons and Belts, and Saturn’s Rings, though not, according to my recollection, any of the moons, even the rings appearing not severally but as one. He had also a Hadley’s Quadrant, an artificial horizon, and a tolerably good clock, and he regularly took in the “Nautical Almanac.”

By means of this simple apparatus, he not only regulated the clock, but determined the latitude and even the longitude of our house, or rather of the playground, at Hill Top.

In these occupations I was invariably his assistant; and it was in this manner and with the aid of his lectures that I gradually acquired, even while a boy, a taste for Astronomy, and, for my age, no inconsiderable knowledge of the subject.

My father (like myself in youth and early manhood) was a great walker, and we frequently journeyed together. When I was only nine years of age, I walked with him, for the most part after dark, from Birmingham to Stourbridge, a distance of twelve miles, with occasional lifts—no doubt according to usage—on his back. I recollect that it was a brilliant starlight night, and the names of the constellations and of the brighter single stars, their apparent motions and the distinction between the so-called fixed stars and planets, formed then, as on many other similar occasions, never-failing subjects of interesting conversation, and to me of instruction. On the way we passed by the side of a small pool, and, the air being still, the surface of the water gave a perfect reflection of the stars. I have a vivid recollection, after an interval of nearly seventy years, of the fear with which I looked into what appeared to me a vast abyss, and of my clinging to my father to protect me from falling into it.

The remarkable comet of 1811—remarkable from the length of time it continued in sight—interested me greatly. I was then fifteen years of age. I examined it frequently with our telescope, got much information from my father and from such books as were accessible to me; and before the comet had disappeared was, I believe, tolerably familiar with what was then known of cometary astronomy.

As already stated in the “Prefatory Memoir,” the teaching of a subject was with me concurrent, or nearly so, with the learning. I soon began to lecture on Astronomy, first to the boys of our school, and afterwards to a literary and scientific association of which I was a member.

With a view to these lectures, availing myself of the “Transactions of the Royal Society” (taken in by one of the Birmingham libraries to which we subscribed), I read, I believe without exception, all the contributions of Sir William Herschel, then incomparably the first of living English astronomers. My reverence for the man led me to contrive, on the occasion of my second visit to London (1815), to go round by Slough, in order that I might obtain a glimpse—as the coach passed—of his great telescope, which I knew could be seen over the tops of the neighbouring buildings.

In the “Prefatory Memoir” I have already spoken of my teaching navigation, of the planispheres which I constructed for my father’s lectures upon electricity, of my trigonometrical survey, of my visit to Captain Kater and the Greenwich Observatory, and of my Vernier pendulums—all more or less intimately connected with my pursuit of Astronomy. Nor must I omit mention of a popular explanation of the transit of Mercury in May, 1832, which I wrote for the “Penny Magazine.” (See Vol. I., p. 82.)

I may also mention, as a fact worth recording, that in 1817 (I believe) the celebrated mathematician, M. Biot, passed through Birmingham on his return from the Shetland Isles, where he had been engaged in measuring an arc of the meridian.[365] My father was invited to dine with him, I think at the house of Mr. Tertius Galton; and afterwards both he and I, among others, were invited to meet him at the rooms of the Philosophical Institution. Very few obeyed this second summons, perhaps because the day fixed upon was Sunday. He showed us in action a small instrument for the polarization of light—a subject of which my father and I, and I think the others, were up to that time profoundly ignorant. The only individual with whom M. Biot appeared to be previously acquainted was an emigré, Dr. De Lys, a leading physician of Birmingham, whose father, the Marquis De Lys, had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror. In the evening we met again at a coach office in the Market Place, to bid farewell to M. Biot on his departure for London, when he caused some tittering, and put poor Dr. De Lys to the blush by publicly kissing him, in French fashion, on both cheeks.

To return to the Astronomical Society. My attendance at its meetings, so long as I continued to live near Birmingham, was necessarily rare. On my removal to the neighbourhood of London it became more frequent, but even then my time was so fully occupied with more pressing duties that my attendance remained very irregular, and it totally ceased several years ago. I have, however, invariably read the “Monthly Notices” of the Society’s proceedings, and have thus benefited more, perhaps, than by mere attendance.

Still, as already stated, I have never contributed to the Society’s transactions, the truth being that up to the time of my becoming disabled for steady application to any difficult subject, my mind was so entirely engrossed with my official duties, that the little leisure I could obtain was necessarily devoted to recruiting my health.

Nevertheless, as already shown,[366] I have attempted something to promote my favourite science. The following is an instance of the kind:—

VARIABLE STARS.

On the 16th January, 1865, I addressed the following letter to my late excellent friend, Admiral Smyth:—

“My dear Admiral,—I have just completed the perusal of your very interesting volume on ‘The Colours of Double Stars,’ kindly presented to me by Dr. Lee in your name and his; and I thank you for the gratification it has afforded me.

“What you say on the subject of variable stars has called to my recollection an idea which first occurred to me shortly after the discovery of the periodicity of the increase and decrease in the number and frequency of solar spots. I am aware that such increase and decrease is not continuous, and that the variation is not such as materially to affect the Sun’s brightness. Still, in point of fact, is not our own Sun a variable star—however slightly—with a period, tolerably well defined, of about eleven years? And may not the more marked character of other variable stars be owing to similar causes to those which produce the spots in our sun, acting with greater regularity and intensity?

“If you think it deserving attention, pray favour me with your opinion of my theory. Possibly it may have been suggested previously, but if so, I am not aware of the fact.

“I remain, my dear Admiral, yours faithfully,

“Rowland Hill.

“Admiral Smyth, F.R.S., &c., &c., &c.”

Shortly afterwards I received a very friendly letter from Mrs. Smyth, the tenor of which will be sufficiently understood from what follows:—

“Hampstead, 20th January, 1865.

“Dear Mrs. Smyth,—Many thanks for your letter. Pray don’t let the Admiral withdraw himself from his present work. My theory can wait, or I may find an opportunity of consulting some other authority.

“Our kindest regards.

“Very truly yours,

“Rowland Hill.”

I accordingly, on the 14th February following, addressed a letter—similar to the one to Admiral Smyth—to my friend, Mr. Warren De La Rue, then President—as Admiral Smyth had once been—of the Astronomical Society; but although Mr. De La Rue took much trouble to ascertain whether my theory had, as he thought, been suggested before, it was not till long afterwards that he was able to give any definite information on the subject.

In a letter of July 9th, 1866, Mr. De La Rue drew my attention to a paper by Mr. Balfour Stewart in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which, in the opinion of Mr. De La Rue, “gives a very explicit enunciation” of the theory.

On referring to the paper in question (Vol. XXIII, part iii.), I found that it was read on the 18th April, 1864, and the following is an extract from a memorandum which I made on the subject:—“Indirectly, by showing a probable connexion between the maxima and minima of Sun-spots and the rotation of Jupiter about the Sun, and by suggesting that the periodic variations of the stars is caused by the rotation of large planets about them, Mr. Balfour Stewart has, I think, forestalled me.” Perhaps, however, I may be justified in doubting whether the enunciation here given is very explicit.

Before proceeding, it is necessary to digress for a moment. When a boy I was fond of reading books of elementary science. I occasionally met with statements which puzzled me—which appeared to me to be wrong—but assuming, as children do, the infallibility of the author—or perhaps I should say of a printed book—I naturally came to the conclusion that my own understanding was in fault, and became greatly disheartened. After awhile—I forget on what occasion—I applied for solution of the puzzle to my father, who, possessing a large amount of general information, was well qualified to advise. To my great delight, he assured me that I was right and the author wrong. My unqualified faith in printed statements was now, of course, at an end; and a habit was gradually formed of mentally criticising almost everything I read—a habit which, however useful in early life, is, as I have found in old age, a cause of much waste of thinking power when the amount is so reduced as to render economy of essential importance.

Still, through the greater part of my life this habit of reading critically, combined as it was with the power of rapid calculation, has been of great use to me, especially in my contests with the Post Office, and, after I had joined the Department, in the revision of the thousands of Reports, Returns, and Minutes prepared by other officers.

In general literature, if the author attempt to deal with science, the chance of a blunder appears to be great. Even Lord Macaulay could not always do so with safety, as appears from the following passage:—“In America the Spanish territories [in 1698] spread from the equator northward and southward through all the signs of the Zodiac far into the temperate zone.”[367] What can be the meaning of the words which I have marked for Italics?

Mrs. Oliphant, too, whose admirable stories I never miss reading, says, in one of her latest, “there was a new moon making her way upwards in the pale sky.”[368]

There is no writer to whom I feel more grateful than to Miss Edgeworth. When a boy I read her delightful stories with the greatest possible interest, and I feel sure that they had considerable influence in the formation of my character. Unfortunately, however, they are frequently disfigured by scientific errors. Thus, in her admirable story of “The Good Aunt,” the following passage occurs: “My dearest Aunt,” cried he [Charles], stopping her hand, as she was giving her diamond ear-rings to Mr. Carat—“stay, my dearest aunt, one instant, till I have seen whether this is a good day for selling diamonds.”

“O, my dear young gentleman, no day in the Jewish calendar more proper for de purchase,” said the Jew.

“For the purchase! yes,” said Charles, “but for the sale?”

“My love,” said his aunt, “surely you are not so foolish as to think there are lucky and unlucky days.”

“No, I don’t mean anything about lucky and unlucky days,” said Charles, running up to consult the barometer; “but what I mean is not foolish indeed; in some book I’ve read that the dealers in diamonds buy them when the air is light, and sell them when it is heavy, if they can, because their scales are so nice that they vary with the change in the atmosphere.”

Now, as the metallic weights are of greater specific gravity than the diamonds, the interests of the dealers—so far as they are affected by change of atmosphere—must be to buy when the air is heavy and sell when it is light. An increase of density in the air would, of course, reduce the gravity of both diamonds and weights, but not equally: the diamonds, being the more bulky, would lose gravity more than the weights, and consequently would weigh less. If it were possible that the air should increase in density till it became as heavy, bulk for bulk, as the diamonds, they would float therein, or, in other words, weigh nothing at all.

I well remember when, as a boy, I first read this admirable story, how much I was puzzled by the mistake in question.

An error, occasionally met with in novels, is as follows. A wonderful marksman has to exhibit his powers, which he does thus:—He throws into the air two birds—or perhaps inanimate objects—as two apples; then, waiting till both are in a line with himself, sends his arrow or bullet through both. A slight consideration will show that, in a vast majority of cases, no amount of waiting would suffice.

Another prevailing error is, that a person simply standing by the side of a pool can see his own reflection from the surface—Narcissus must have found some support which enabled him to lean over the fountain.

But it is in books especially intended to teach elementary science that such errors are most to be regretted.

A few years since I purchased for some of my grandchildren the eighth edition of “The Seasons,” by Mrs. Marcet. It is an admirable work, highly interesting and useful; but before placing it in the hands of my grandchildren, I thought it necessary to read it myself—a very pleasing task, by-the-by—and to correct any errors I might find. As examples, I may mention that in Volume I. snow is described as frozen rain; that in Volume IV. both stones in a flour-mill are said to revolve; and that the description in the same volume of a marine steam engine is very incorrect.

Again, few books are better calculated to interest boys than Dr. Parris’s “Philosophy in Sport,” but when, in the year 1829, I bought a copy for the School-Library at Bruce Castle, I found it necessary, before placing it there, to make numerous corrections to which I drew the attention of the author, who, in a letter dated March 18th, 1829, still in my possession, thanks me for my communication, and admits some of the errors, though not all.

As a specimen of the admitted errors, I give the following:—“Mr. Seymour now informed his young pupils that he had an experiment to exhibit, which would further illustrate, in a very pleasing manner, the truth of the doctrine of vis inertiæ. He accordingly inverted a wine-glass, and placed a shilling on its foot; and having pushed it suddenly along the table, the coin flew off towards the operator, or in a direction opposite to that in which the glass was moving.”[369]

My correction is as follows: “The coin would fall nearly in a perpendicular direction, but inclined a little towards the direction in which the glass was moving, owing to the friction between the glass and coin.”

As a specimen of the non-admitted errors, I give the following: “He had ignorantly fired a quantity of oxygen and hydrogen gases in a tin vessel; the consequence of the combustion was the immediate formation of a vacuum; and what happened? Why, the pressure of the external air, not being any longer balanced by elastic matter in the interior of the apparatus, crushed it with violence, as any other enormous weight might have done; and so ended the accident, which report magnified into a most awful catastrophe.”[370]

My correction is as follows: “The first effect of the combustion was to expand the air in the vessel, and this expansion it was that caused the accident.”

On which the author, after quoting my correction, replies, “Now you will allow me to say that here you have fallen into an error; I am perfectly correct in saying that the accident arose from the external pressure of the atmosphere; for remember that the vessel contained a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gases, which, by combustion, immediately combined and formed water, leaving an almost perfect vacuum in the interior.”

If any one entertain a doubt as to which of us is correct, I would suggest his filling a small bladder with the proper mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, and exploding it by electrical means; as I did nearly sixty years ago. The bladder will be destroyed; but, according to Dr. Parris’s view, it should simply collapse.

But even men of unquestionable scientific knowledge are not always correct. The late Professor Phillips, in his able and interesting Address as President of the British Association in 1865, after noticing Foucault’s recent admeasurement of the velocity of light, proceeded as follows:—“By this experiment the velocity of light appears to be less, sensibly less, than was previously admitted; and this conclusion is of the highest interest. For, as by assuming too long a radius for the orbit of Jupiter, the calculated rate of light-movement was too great; so now, by employing the more exact rate and the same measures of time, we can correct the estimated distance of Jupiter and all the other planets from the Sun.”[371]

Professor Phillips’s great forte was geology, not astronomy. To any one familiar with the means by which Römer determined the velocity of light, it is unnecessary to point out that, although his observations were made on the satellites of Jupiter, the radius of Jupiter’s orbit has nothing to do with the problem. The only material facts are, first, the difference between the maximum and minimum distance of Jupiter from the earth,—that is to say (disregarding eccentricity) the diameter of the earth’s orbit; and, secondly, the effect which this varying distance has on the times at which the eclipses apparently take place. This effect Römer found to extend to about 16 minutes—and he thence concluded that light occupied 16 minutes in travelling across the earth’s orbit.

With the view of rendering the above intelligible to those not familiar with the subject, I offer the following illustration:—Suppose it to be known that about a certain hour a gun will be fired at a remote spot, the direction of which, but not the distance, is known, and that two persons (A. and B.) arrange to avail themselves of the opportunity for ascertaining, approximately, the velocity of sound; then, each being furnished with a good watch marking seconds, A. places himself at a certain spot, and B. at a known distance—say a mile—from A., and in a direction opposite to that of the gun, so that B.’s distance from the gun shall be a mile greater than A.’s—the actual distance in either case is unimportant.

Each now records the exact moment at which he hears the report; and if the gun be fired repeatedly, several such records are made, in order to give a more accurate result.

A. and B. then meet and compare notes. They, of course, find that A.’s time is in each instance earlier than B.’s. The average of the several differences would be about 4¾ seconds—showing that sound travels a mile in that time.[372]

The mode of procedure here described is, of course, not that actually adopted for determining the velocity of sound, but it is a practicable mode, and is selected because it is analogous to that adopted by Römer for determining the velocity of light.

A copy of Professor Phillips’s Address was sent to me immediately after its delivery, and, on my detecting the error, I endeavoured to induce a friend of his, deservedly eminent as a practical astronomer, to draw the Professor’s attention thereto, with a view to its correction before the publication of the permanent report of the Society’s proceedings; but, unfortunately, the attempt did not succeed.

In another similar case, however, as appears by the following correspondence between the Astronomer Royal and myself, I was more successful:—

“Hampstead, N.W. “1868—June 17.[373]

“My dear Sir,—Pray accept my thanks for the copy of your Report. It came while I was at Brighton; but, since my return home, I have read it with great interest. I felt it a great privation not to be able to attend the Visitation.

“Will you allow me to request your attention to what appear to me to be serious errors in the recent annual Address of the President of the Astronomical Society? They will be found in the last paragraph of page 119 of the ‘Monthly Notices’ for February. To save you trouble, I have extracted the part in question, and have underlined the words which I think erroneous. ‘At the present time the Earth is about three millions of miles nearer to the Sun in our northerly winter than in our summer; our coldest month is about 60° Fh. colder than our hottest, and our winter lasts for about eight days longer than our summer. M. Leverrier has calculated that 200,000 years ago the Earth approached the Sun by upwards of ten millions of miles nearer in winter than in summer: the winters were then nearly a month longer than the summers, and in the latitude of London there was a difference of about 112° Fh. between the hottest and the coldest periods of the year.’

“If you find that I am right, perhaps you will have the kindness to draw Mr. Pritchard’s attention to the errors, with a view to their correction before the Address is printed in the ‘Transactions.’ I would write to Mr. Pritchard myself, but that, as I could not speak with authority, I might give offence.

“I have watched the subsequent monthly numbers in the expectation of finding a correction, but none has appeared.

“Faithfully yours,

“Rowland Hill.

“The Astronomer Royal, &c., &c., &c.”

The Astronomer Royal promptly replied as follows:—

“Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, S.E. “1868—June 18.

“My dear Sir,—I will duly bring before Mr. Pritchard the substance of your note of yesterday.

“The two clauses which you have cited are, on the face of them, erroneous; and in the first the fault clearly is in the word longer. In the second, the fault may be in the word nearer. For, during the period through which the great eccentricity prevails, the semi-revolution in the precession of the equinoxes may have reversed the seasons.

“It would seem that Mr. Pritchard has had in view the table in ‘Lyell’s Principles of Geology,’ Vol. I., p. 293. In the notes continued on p. 294, the references are to the case of winter in aphelion.

“The subject is a thorny one, but well worth your attention.

“I am, my dear Sir, yours very truly,

“G. B. Airy

“Sir Rowland Hill, K.C.B., &c., &c., &c.”

I am not aware how the passage in question stands in the Society’s Transactions.[374]

The following narrative seems to show that in a progressive science like Astronomy even the highest authority is not infallible.

Some sixty years ago, my attention having been accidentally drawn to a tide-mill for grinding corn, I began to consider what was the source of the power employed, and came to the conclusion that it was the momentum of the earth’s revolution on its axis. The next question I asked myself was—could such power be diverted, in however slight a degree, without drawing, as it were, on the stock? Further consideration showed me that the draught required for grinding the corn was trifling in comparison with that employed in grinding the pebbles on every seashore upon the earth’s surface; and, consequently, that the drain on the earth’s momentum might suffice in the course of ages to effect an appreciable retardation in the earth’s diurnal revolution.

I now, as usual in case of difficulty, applied to my father. He could detect no fault in my reasoning, but informed me that Laplace had demonstrated in his great work (“La Mécanique Céleste”) that the time occupied in the earth’s diurnal revolution is absolutely invariable. Of course both my father and I accepted the authority as unquestionable; but I never could fully satisfy my mind on the subject, and for the greater part of my life it was a standing puzzle.

It may be stated briefly that Laplace’s demonstration appears to have rested mainly on the fact that his Lunar Tables, if employed in calculating backwards certain eclipses of the Sun which happened about 2,000 years ago, give results agreeing so nearly with the ancient records as altogether to exclude the possibility of any appreciable increase in the length of the sidereal day during that long period.

But in the year 1866 Professor Adams (really the first discoverer of the planet Neptune) received the Gold Medal of the Astronomical Society for, among other recent claims, the discovery of an error in the data on which Laplace constructed his Lunar Tables which vitiates the above demonstration.

The details of this important discovery—and the co-operation therein of M. Delaunay—were fully and ably stated by Mr. Warren De La Rue, then President of the Society, on the presentation of the Medal.[375] And the position of the question two years later is concisely stated as follows by the Rev. Charles Pritchard, in an Addendum to his address as President in 1868:—“At present, then, the case stands thus,—the Lunar Tables, if calculated on the principles of gravitation alone, as expounded by Messrs. Adams and Delaunay, and as confirmed by other mathematicians, will not exactly represent the moon’s true place at intervals separated by 2,000 years, provided the length of the day is assumed to be uniform and unaltered during the whole of the intervening period. There are grounds, however, for at least suspecting that, owing to the effects of tidal action, the diurnal rotation is, and has been, in a state of extremely minute retardation; but the mathematical difficulties of the case, owing greatly to the interposition of terrestrial continents, are so great that no definite quantitative results have hitherto been attainable. The solution of the difficulty is one of those questions which are reserved for the Astronomy of the future.”[376]

I need not say that this confirmation of the truth of my early conjecture proved highly gratifying. I have only to add that the increase during the last 2,000 years in the length of the sidereal day is generally estimated at about the eightieth part of a second; but the estimate has, I apprehend, no better foundation than this—namely, that since the recent correction in the Lunar Tables an assumed increase to the extent in question has become necessary in order to make the backward calculation of the ancient eclipses agree with the records as to time.

I have found it very difficult at my age (little less than fourscore), and with my mental powers seriously impaired, to deal, however imperfectly, with a subject so abstruse as that now under consideration; and I think it by no means improbable that there may be some error in my statement of facts or in my argument thereon.

All that I can say is that I have done my best to render intelligible to ordinary readers an important advance in modern Astronomy—interesting in itself, irrespective of its remote and accidental connection with my own biography.

The following very gratifying letter from the Astronomer Royal may perhaps be appropriately given here. It is in reply to my congratulations when, in recognition of his great public services, he was made a K.C.B.:—

“Flamsteed House, Greenwich Park, London, S.E. “1872—June 22.

“My dear Sir,—I could scarcely have had a more gratifying letter in reference to the public compliment just paid to me from any one than that from yourself. I can truly say that it has been my secret pride to do what can be done by a person in my position for public service; and whose recognition of this can be more grateful than that of one who—by efforts in a similar strain, but on an infinitely larger scale—has almost changed the face of the civilized world?

“My wife (I am hesitating between two titles, not knowing which is at the present moment correct, but being quite sure of that which I have written) begs me to convey to you her acknowledgment of your kind message.

“I am, my dear Sir, very truly yours,

“G. B. Airy.”

APPENDIX B.

[See p. 71.]

“PREFACE TO THE LAWS OF THE SOCIETY FOR LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC IMPROVEMENT.

“In presenting to the public ‘The Laws and Regulations of the Society for Literary and Scientific Improvement,’ its members feel it their duty briefly to state the motives which influenced them in the formation of such an establishment, and to explain their reasons for occasionally deviating in the construction of their Laws from the systems which are generally adopted for the governance of similar bodies.

“The experience of almost every one who has passed the time usually devoted to education, but who still feels desirous of improvement, must have convinced him of the difficulty of regularly devoting his leisure hours to the object he has in view, from the want of constantly acting motives, and the absence of regulations which can enforce the observance of stated times. However strong the resolutions he has made, and whatever may be his conviction of the necessity of adhering to them, trivial engagements which might easily be avoided, will furnish him, from time to time, with excuses to himself for his neglect of study: thus may he spend year after year, constantly wishing for improvement, but as constantly neglecting the means of it, and old age may come upon him before he has accomplished the object of his desires; then will he look back with regret on the many opportunities he has lost, and acknowledge in despair that the time is gone by.

“Under these impressions, a few individuals who are desirous of extending their literary and scientific knowledge, have endeavoured to establish a society for that purpose; convinced that by so doing they have provided most powerful motives for mental improvement.

“It has been thought highly desirable, that every member of the society should be, as nearly as possible, upon an equality, that all may feel alike interested in the success of the whole. In order to accomplish this important object, every regular auditor is expected, according to the rules of the society, to deliver a lecture in his turn. Thus, instead of the society being divided into two parties, one consisting of lecturers, the other of critics, every member feels himself called upon to listen to the others with candour and attention, as he is aware that the time will come when he shall require the same consideration from them. It will be observed also, on a perusal of the laws, that each lecture is followed by a discussion. Thus care is insured on the part of the lecturer that he shall not attempt a subject which he has not well studied; and an opportunity is given to every member to obtain an explanation of anything advanced, which he may not have understood, or to express his opinions on the questions that may arise, and, by these means, correct or confirm his own ideas. But the principal advantage of a discussion is, that it calls forth the individual exertion of every member, by inviting each to take a part in the general instruction, and thus affording constant inducements to private reading and study.

“In a town so populous as Birmingham, and which for superiority in art is dependent on the discoveries of science, it cannot be doubted that many individuals may be found who are desirous of intellectual advancement. For such persons ‘The Society for Literary and Scientific Improvement’ was established; and they are respectfully and earnestly invited to lend their assistance towards the promotion of its objects. The society cannot promise that they shall meet with any considerable talent or learning among its members; but in mixing with their equals, with young men of similar tastes and similar pursuits, they may hope to find in a generous emulation most powerful motives for application and perseverance.

“The details of management of a society like this, may, on a superficial view, appear of little importance; those, however, who have had opportunities of closer examination, will, it is presumed, agree with the members of this Institution, in considering an attention to such particulars as necessary, not only to the well-being, but to the permanent existence of an association, for whatever purpose it may be formed.

“With views like these, the ‘Society for Literary and Scientific Improvement’ have been anxious to establish a mode of electing the Committee, that should secure (as nearly as possible), an accurate representation of the whole body; not only because it appeared reasonable that the members would feel interested in the welfare of the Institution, in proportion as the arrangements and regulations met their own views and wishes, but because experience proves that, owing to imperfect methods of choosing those who are to direct the affairs of a society, the whole sway sometimes gets into the hands of a small party, and is exercised, perhaps unconsciously, in a way that renders many persons indifferent, and alienates others, until all becomes listlessness, decay, and dissolution.

“Men of worth and talent, of every denomination in religion and politics, will be welcome members of the society; and to prevent any unpleasant collision of opinions, it has been thought advisable to exclude altogether the discussion of subjects which have reference to peculiarities in religious belief, or to the political speculations of the day; the important questions which respect the wealth of nations, however, as they have no connexion with passing politics, are considered as among the proper objects for the society’s attention.

“Such gentlemen as may feel desirous of improving their minds by engaging in establishments of a nature similar to this, but who, on account of their residing at a distance from any large town, have not hitherto had the opportunity, will, it is hoped, be induced by the regulations respecting corresponding members, to join the society; and they may depend upon meeting with every attention, whenever the Committee shall be favoured with their communications.”

APPENDIX C.

[See p. 93.]

CUBE ROOTS.

The mode of extracting the roots of exact cubes which I taught the boys, and which was probably that adopted by Zerah Colbourn, will be best shown by an example. Suppose the question to be, What is the cube root of 596,947,688? This looks like a formidable array of figures, and a schoolboy, resorting to the usual mode of extracting the root, would fill his slate with figures, and perhaps occupy an hour in the process. Zerah Colbourn or my class would have solved the question in a minute, and without making any figures at all. My class would have proceeded as follows: They would first fix in their memories the number of millions (596) and the last figure of the cube (8), disregarding all other figures. Then, knowing the cubes of all numbers from 1 to 12 inclusive, they would at once see that the first or left-hand figure of the root must be 8; and deducting the cube of 8 (512) from 596, they would obtain a remainder of 84. This they would compare with the difference between the cube of 8 (512) and the cube of 9 (729), that is to say, with 217; and seeing that it was nearly four-tenths of such difference, they would conclude that the second figure of the root was 4. The third or last figure of the root would require no calculation, the terminal figure of an exact cube always indicating the terminal figure of its root—thus 8 gives 2. The cube root, therefore, is 842. In this process there is some risk of error as regards the second figure of the root, especially when the third figure is large; but with practice an expert calculator is able to pay due regard to that and certain other qualifications which I could not explain without making this note unduly long. As already stated, Zerah Colbourn did occasionally blunder in the second figure; and this circumstance assisted me in discovering the above process, which I have little doubt is the one he followed. If, instead of an exact cube, another number of nine figures be taken, the determination of the third figure of the root, instead of being the easiest, becomes by far the most difficult part of the calculation.

[This part of the explanation was written by Sir Rowland Hill, as a note to the Prefatory Memoir, before the year 1871. What follows was added in 1875.]

Rule for extracting the roots of imperfect cubes divisible into three periods:—

1. Find first and second figures as described above.

2. Deduct cube of first figure from the first period (of the number whose root is to be extracted), modified, if necessary, as hereafter described.

3. Then multiply the number (expressed by both figures) by each figure in succession, and by 3.

4. Deduct the product (or the significant figures thereof—see example), from the remainder obtained as above. (See 2).

5. Divide the remainder now obtained by the square of the number expressed by both figures (see 3), multiplied by 3—dropping insignificant figures (see example),—and the quotient will be the last figure (or 3rd figure) of the root.

I can confidently affirm from experience that there is nothing in the above calculations too difficult for those who, possessing a natural aptitude, are thoroughly well practised in mental arithmetic. I doubt, however, whether the mode just described be exactly that which we followed; our actual mode, looking at the results as described above (which is in exact accordance with my Journal), must, I think, have been more facile; but as it is fully fifty years since I gave any thought to the subject, and as, in the eightieth year of my age, I find my brain unequal to further investigation, I must be contented with the result at which I have arrived.

It must be remarked, however, that cases will arise when some modification of the process will be necessary. As, for instance, when the first period of the cube is comparatively light, it may be necessary to include therein one or more figures of the second period treated as decimals; indeed, if the first period consist of a single figure, it will be better to incorporate it with the second period, and treat both together as one period,[377] relative magnitude in the first period dealt with being important as a means of securing accuracy in the last figure of the root. But expert calculators soon learn to adopt necessary modifications, and by the “give-and-take” process to bring out the correct result. Indeed, I find it recorded in my Journal that “small errors will sometimes arise which, under unfavourable circumstances, will occasionally amount to a unit.” These observations it must be understood to apply only to the extraction of the roots of imperfect cubes, which Zerah Colbourn invariably refused to attempt. When the cube is perfect, the last figure of the root, as shown in the text, requires no calculation at all.

Example.

What is the cube root of 596,947,687?

[Note.—This is the number treated above, except that in the unit’s place 7 is substituted for 8, in order to render the number an imperfect cube; so slight a change, however—though rendering it necessary to calculate the last figure of the root,—will still leave the root as before.]

Following the rule, we find the first and second figures of the root in the manner described above. They are 8 and 4.

We next calculate the third or last figure of the root.

As the first figure of the second period of the cube is so large, it will be unsafe to disregard it. Call the first period, therefore, 596·9; all other figures may be neglected.

596·9 mill.

(2) 8³ = 512 ”

84·9 ”

(3) deduct 84 x 8 x 4 x 3 = (roughly) 80·6 ”

(5) divide by 84² x 3 = (88 x 80 x 3)[378] = 2·1 4·3

2

Quotient—2, which is the third or last figure of the root.

[Note.—I have not encumbered the above figures with the ciphers which should accompany them, as, to the expert calculator, this will be needless.]

The root, therefore, is 842.

It is stated in the text that my pupils could extract the cube roots of numbers ranging as high as 2,000,000,000. In the ordinary mode this number would be divided, as above, into four periods; but my pupils treated the 2,000 as one period, the approximate root of which is of course 12, the cube of 12 being 1,728.

APPENDIX D.

[See p. 202.]

VERNIER PENDULUM.

Bruce Castle, Tottenham, June 7th, 1832.

To the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Gentlemen,—In troubling you with the following sketch of an improvement in astronomical clocks, I have a two-fold object. First, to obtain the loan of the necessary instruments, should you consider the plan worth prosecuting; and, secondly, to avail myself of the suggestions of such members of the Society as are more experienced than myself in the minute details of practical astronomy. The objects of the proposed improvement are: To supply an apparatus capable of measuring time to a small fraction of a second, and to make the determination of the exact time a matter of calm and deliberate inquiry, and thus to avoid the errors which must frequently arise from the hurry attending the present method.

In order to accomplish these objects, I propose to make use of the principle of the Vernier, by suspending in front of the clock an additional pendulum somewhat shorter than that of the clock, and so placed that the coincidence of the two when vertical may be determined by means similar to those used by Captain Kater; this additional or Vernier pendulum to be put in motion at the instant of observation by means of a trigger under the command of the observer at the telescope, and its vibrations reckoned till a coincidence takes place between it and the clock pendulum. This pendulum may have a maintaining power and an index to save the trouble of counting. When at rest, the Vernier pendulum must of course be raised to the extent of its oscillation.

The results of experiments commenced with very imperfect instruments about two years and a-half ago, and continued at intervals to the present time, appear to be as follows:—

When a Vernier pendulum, vibrating once in ·9 second, or 10 times in 9 seconds, is employed, its coincidences with the seconds pendulum of the clock may be determined to a single vibration with the greatest ease by the unassisted eye, and thus, of course, tenths of a second are readily estimated.

When a Vernier pendulum vibrating once in ·99 second, or 100 times in 99 seconds, is employed, its coincidences with the seconds pendulum of the clock may also be determined to a single vibration, but not without the aid of a telescope. By these means hundredths of a second are measured without much difficulty.

In order to avoid the inconvenience of having to suspend sometimes one pendulum and sometimes the other, and also to escape the loss of time which, if the hundredths pendulum were constantly used, would arise when the observer wished to estimate tenths of a second only, I propose to adopt the following arrangement:—To employ a single Vernier pendulum of such a length as to vibrate once in 8·99 second, or a thousand times in 899 seconds. This pendulum differs so slightly from the tenths pendulum (making ten vibrations in 8·99 seconds, instead of 9 seconds), that for estimating tenths of a second it is practically the same, while it affords the means of measuring hundredths of a second also. Its operation will be best understood by an example:—Suppose the interval to be measured by means of the Vernier to be ·24 second. At the second and third vibrations of the Vernier pendulum after its release there would be approximate coincidences between it and the clock pendulum, showing the fraction of time to be between two-tenths and three-tenths of a second. The coincidence at the second vibration would, however, be somewhat nearer than that at the third. At the twelfth vibration there would be another approximate coincidence somewhat closer than the first. At the twenty-second vibration there would be a yet closer coincidence. At the thirty-second one closer still, and at the forty-second vibration the coincidence would be the most accurate of the series. Thus it appears that the tenths of a second may be known by counting single vibrations of the Vernier pendulum till a coincidence of some kind occurs, and that the hundredths of a second may be determined by counting the decades of vibrations, or all the coincidences after the first, until the most exact coincidence arises.

By the use of the Vernier pendulum, when connected with an index, all chance of error in reading the clock will, it is conceived, be avoided. Having touched the trigger at the moment of observation, the observer has, as it were, registered the time, and he may examine the clock at his leisure, for it is manifest that a comparison of the index of the Vernier pendulum with that of the clock will at any time determine the moment of observation. It will also be seen that, should the observer omit to notice the first coincidence of the pendulums, no inconvenience except delay will arise, because the same coincidences will occur in a regular series as long as the pendulums continue in motion.

There are a few provisions necessary for extreme accuracy which, in this hasty sketch, it would be out of place to notice. I will just mention, however, that the apparatus contains within itself the means of measuring what may be called the mean error of the observer, or the average interval which, as regards the particular individual, elapses between the instant of observation and the release of the Vernier pendulum.

To subject the plan which I have here attempted hastily to describe to a rigid trial will require instruments of much greater accuracy than those which I can command, and if the Society possess a good clock not now in use, I shall feel extremely obliged if I can obtain the loan of it. An additional pendulum the requisite length, is not, I presume, to be found among the Society’s instruments.

I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,

Your obedient servant,

Rowland Hill.

APPENDIX E.

[See p. 205.]

COACH COMPANY.

Two (or more) principal offices to be established in convenient places for business—say, one near the Bank, and one near the Regent Circus, Piccadilly; these offices to communicate with each other by means of omnibuses.

Coaches and omnibuses to radiate from these offices to all parts of the environs of London.

A country office to be established at the extremity of each route.

The town to be divided into small districts, and the country into larger, each with a house for the receipt and distribution of parcels. (Shopkeepers who have goods to distribute in the neighbourhood may undertake this). These stations to be, as far as practicable, on the routes of the coaches.

The principal and the country offices to be receiving and distributing houses, each for its own district.

Each coach in coming from the country to collect parcels from the stations on its route, bringing them to its principal office. On going out, to carry parcels for distribution from the principal office to the same stations. Thus every parcel will pass through one or other of the principal offices. (Exceptions can be made, if desirable, with respect to parcels which would otherwise pass twice over the ground, viz., those received at stations between the principal office and the place of their destination; but the first arrangement would be by far the most simple).

Stations not on a coach route must transfer parcels to the nearest stations which are on a route, and receive parcels from the same. [Qy. A small extra charge].

Places to be booked at any station for any coach; a memorandum being transmitted to the principal office concerned, with the parcels.

In some cases the passengers themselves may be so transmitted.

The omnibuses passing between the principal offices to carry passengers and parcels from each for the other. Thus every coach will practically start from both principal offices.

Coaches to depart from each principal office all at the same time. Say, for all principal places, once every hour, from —— in the morning till —— at night.

Coaches to arrive at each principal office all at the same time, say a few minutes before the time of departure, the interval being sufficient to transfer passengers and parcels.

The periods of departure and arrival at one office to differ by half-an-hour from the corresponding periods at the other, so as to allow just time enough (calculated at half-an-hour), for a transfer by the omnibuses from one office to the other. Thus the coaches from one office will start at the beginning and from the other in the middle of each hour.

Horses to be kept and changed at the country offices, or at stations about the middle of each route. The latter arrangement will make the stage shorter, and will bring the horse stations more immediately under central revision. It will also require a less number of horse stations, as in many cases one station will serve for two or more roads branching out from each other. (At least one pair of horses must be kept at the extreme station).

Supernumerary coaches and horses to be kept at the central offices for use on any road on which there may be a temporary demand.

Each coachman to pay a certain rent, and with certain deductions to receive the payments for passengers and parcels, but to have no control as to the sum to be charged, the hour of starting, &c.

The masters of the stations to be remunerated by a certain sum (to be paid by the coachman) for each passenger booked, and for each parcel received or distributed.

Contracts to be made in all possible cases. Thus the coachmaker may supply coaches at —— each per annum, or at —— per mile travelled.

The keepers of the horse stations may contract each for the supply of horses required at his station at —— per mile.

In disposing of the shares, a preference to be given to those who would make frequent use of the coaches, especially to those who travel to London daily, as their influence would materially promote the interests of the concern.

A personal right to go to or from town daily, by the same coach, to be sold for a period, say a week, at a considerably reduced rate, or a month at a still lower rate.

Proprietors to be entitled to similar privileges at five per cent. less than others.

Transferable tickets, giving the holder a right to travel by any coach in either direction on a particular road, to be sold (say twenty at a time) at a slightly reduced rate.

All the carriages to be painted alike, and so as readily to distinguish them from those not belonging to the Company.

An establishment on an extensive scale, such as is described in the foregoing sketch, would possess many decided advantages over the little independent establishments now existing. It would be more economically managed; the necessary publicity would be more easily given to its arrangements; the responsibility of the servants would be more efficient; and the extent and permanence of the undertaking would justify the most watchful attention to exact punctuality, to a proper speed, to the safety and comfort of the passengers, and, in short, to all circumstances conducive to a high reputation with the public.

Economy.—This would manifestly result from the great division of labour, and the wholesale demand for every article of expenditure. Also from the power of transferring coaches from any road on which there was less to one on which there was more travelling than usual.

The system of contracts and sub-contracts could not be introduced with advantage into a small concern.

Publicity.—The readiness with which the arrangements could be described would tend greatly to their publicity. Thus, it would be easily said and easily remembered, that from a certain office coaches depart every hour, and from a certain other office at the half-hour, to all the principal places within the limits of the threepenny post. This statement, with a list of the places, fares, &c., would be placarded at every station, and on every coach and omnibus.

Responsibility.—An active and intelligent superintendent, well acquainted with the means of holding others to responsibility, should devote his whole time to the undertaking, visiting the various stations periodically to see that all arrangements are observed, to settle the accounts, &c.

He should require accurate reports to be made, showing at all times the actual state of affairs, and the improvement or deterioration in each department The most exact rules should be laid down and enforced for the conduct of each class of servants. These rules should be placarded in the coaches, at the stations, &c.

Enquiries as to the conduct of all concerned should be made frequently of the proprietors who use the coaches daily, and every possible attention paid to the well-founded complaints of passengers generally. A till might be placed in each carriage, with an inscription requesting passengers having cause to complain to put a statement of such complaint, with name and address, into the till, which should be opened at the central office at least once in each day.

Punctuality and Speed.—The proper time of starting and that of passing each station should be inscribed conspicuously on each coach, as well as at each station. The actual time kept should be recorded at each extreme station and at the horse station, and fines levied on the coachman for deviation beyond certain limits. The allowance of time for the journey should be such as to require the coachman to drive steadily but rapidly, with no stoppage beyond a very short one (say a minute) at each station, and a little more for taking up and putting down passengers on the road.

The coach should never wait nor turn out of the direct road between the extreme stations. To save time, the passengers, in the omnibuses at least, should be requested to pay as they go on. At the inferior stations a signal might be established to show whether the coach need stop or not.

Safety of Passengers.—Coaches of the safest construction, steady horses, and temperate coachmen, only should be employed; and whenever an accident occurs from whatever cause, a heavy fine should be levied on the coachman, allowing him the right to recover the whole or part of the penalty of the coach-contractor or horse-contractor, according to circumstances. No galloping should be allowed.

The coach-contractor should be required to station a man at each central office to examine each coach every time it comes in.

Comfort of Passengers.—Some protection from wet and cold to be provided for the outside passengers. Means of ascending and descending to be improved. A convenient room at each station for those waiting. The stations should not be taverns; but coffee and some other refreshments may be provided—there being no obligation, however, to call for anything. The room should contain a map of London, directory, &c.

The arrangements of the Company would be capable of gradual and almost indefinite extension. Thus they might take in towns more and more distant, or they might comprehend hackney-coaches, cabriolets, and omnibuses to all parts of London. The machinery required for the distribution of parcels might be applied to that of the periodic publications; and a contract might be entered into, advantageous to the public as well as to the Company, for the collection, carriage, and distribution of the twopenny and threepenny post letters.

This distribution might easily take place each hour, the letters being carried by the coaches. No guards would be required, as the bags might be put into a boot, of which keys should be kept at the post-offices only.

APPENDIX F.

[See p. 230.]

[The following letter to The Scotsman was written by Mr. John Forster, late Member for Berwick. In a marginal note Sir R. Hill has written, “I vouch for its accuracy.”]

“SIR ROWLAND HILL AND THE PRINTING PRESS.

“London, February 12, 1872.

“Sir,—In your interesting article on the ‘Walter Press’ it was stated that the idea of a Rotatory Machine printing newspapers on a continuous sheet of paper was not novel; that Sir Rowland Hill had worked at it many years before, as had other persons in America. As to most of your readers this mention of a benefactor of theirs in another way as a mechanical inventor was no doubt something new and curious, it may be interesting to them to learn what Sir Rowland Hill’s share of merit in this matter was. I send with this a copy of the specification of his patent for letter-press printing machines, taken out in 1835 (No. 6762, printed by the Patent Office in 1857), and an account of it given in the ‘Repertory of Patent Inventions,’ No. 35. By these it will be seen that the most important achievements of modern printing were effected by Sir Rowland Hill thirty-seven years ago. His machine was to print either with stereotype-plates or movable type (the difficulty of fastening the last securely to cylinders revolving at great speed was met by special contrivances); was itself to keep the printing surfaces inked; to print a continuous roll of paper, of any length, and both sides, while passing once through the apparatus; to cut up the roll into sheets; and means were contrived of performing those operations on two rolls at once, so that at one revolution of the printing cylinders two copies could be struck off. Such a machine was actually constructed (at an expense of about £2,000), and was frequently shown at work at No. 44, Chancery Lane, as many persons must remember. Though driven by hand, it could produce at the rate of seven or eight thousand impressions in an hour. One great difficulty of most printing machines is that of securing perfect register (the exact coincidence of the printing on opposite sides of the paper). This was anticipated and met by the patent. The one thing the inventor failed to do was to overcome the resistance the collectors of the stamp duty presented to this printing on a continuous roll, and to the affixing of the stamps to the newspapers at the proper intervals during their passage through the machine. Many years afterwards they allowed this to be done by machinery contrived by Mr. Edwin Hill (who had assisted his brother in the preparation of the printing machine), which was affixed to the presses of the Times and other papers, and which itself registered, for the security of the revenue, the number of impressions made. In 1835, the task of satisfying the Treasury that this could be done with safety to it was too formidable to be overcome,—at least it was not overcome. Sir Rowland Hill’s attention was soon afterwards absorbed by his plans of postal reform; and no one can regret this, seeing what work he did in the Post Office, which probably no one but himself could have done so well; while if the fourteen years of his patent passed unprofitably to the inventor, other hands have carried to extraordinary perfection the scheme of a printing machine. Of course the Americans and the ‘Walter Press’ have greatly advanced on ‘Hill’s Machine’ of 1835; especially by the preparation of stereotype plates for this particular service. In his specification, Sir Rowland Hill made due mention of his predecessors, recording that an imitation of the process of printing calico by cylinders revolving rapidly was proposed for letter-press printing as early as 1790, by Mr. William Nicholson, and that this was applied to stereotype plates bent to a cylindrical surface by Mr. Edward Cowper in 1816. But the first practical scheme of newspaper printing on a continuous roll of paper by revolving cylinders was produced and set to work by Rowland Hill in 1835.

“I am, &c.,

“J. F.

“The Editor, The Scotsman.”

[Two years later Sir Rowland Hill wrote the following letter to the Journal of the Society of Arts:]—

“TYPE-PRINTING MACHINERY

“Sir,—In the interesting paper ‘On Type-printing Machinery,’ by the Rev. Arthur Rigg, which appeared in your Journal of the 13th inst., there are certain errors affecting myself which I request permission to correct.

“It is stated that rotating cylinders and continuous rolls of paper were principles first introduced into type-printing machinery by Mr. Nicholson in 1790, and further on it is asserted, in reference no doubt to the printing machine which I invented in 1835, that I ‘revived a proposal of Nicholson’s.’

“Now, so far from Mr. Nicholson proposing to print from types on continuous rolls of paper, a reference to the specification of his invention (A.D. 1790, No. 1,748) will show that, excluding his proposals for calico and wall-paper printing, which have nothing to do with type-printing machinery, he invariably speaks of printing on sheets of paper; indeed, the means of producing continuous rolls of paper were not invented till several years later. Again, it will be seen that the means he proposes for attaching the types to his cylinder, the real difficulty to be overcome, are clearly insufficient for the purpose; indeed, as stated in the specification of my patent (A.D. 1835, No. 6,762), which was drawn by the late Mr. Farey—a man thoroughly conversant with the subject—‘on account of deficiencies and imperfections in the machinery described in that specification [Mr. Nicholson’s] the same has never been practised or brought into use.’

“Towards the close of his paper, Mr. Rigg seems to imply that hitherto all schemes for fixing moveable types on a cylinder have failed. I can only say that in my machine this difficulty was entirely overcome. Indeed, in a letter which appeared in the Mechanics’ Magazine of November 12th, 1836 (when the subject was before the public), I was enabled to state that ‘in the opinion of many eminent printers who have seen my machine the end in view has been fully accomplished, for while any portion of type may be detached from the cylinder with a facility even greater than that with which a similar change can be made in an ordinary form, each letter can be so firmly locked in its place that there is no danger whatever of its being loosened by centrifugal force or by any other cause.’

“While upon this subject, I may as well add that a comparison of my specification with that of the ‘Walter Press’ (A.D. 1866, No. 3,222) will show that, except as regards the apparatus for cutting and distributing the printed sheets, and excepting further that the ‘Walter Press’ is only adapted for printing from stereotype plates, while mine would not only print from stereotype plates, but, what was far more difficult, from moveable types also, the two machines are almost identical. I gladly admit, however, that the enormous difficulty of bringing a complex machine into practical use—a difficulty familiar to every inventor—has been most successfully overcome by Messrs. Calverley and MacDonald, the patentees of the ‘Walter Press.’

“I am, &c.,

“Rowland Hill.

“Hampstead, February 26, 1874.”

APPENDIX G.

[See p. 260.]

EXTRACT FROM THE “GREENOCK ADVERTISER,” OF FRIDAY, MARCH 8th, 1850.

Testimonial to Robert Wallace, Esq., late M.P. for Greenock. The Pioneer of Postage Reform.

Rowland Hill, Esq., said,—Ladies and Gentlemen, the Committee for promoting Mr. Wallace’s Testimonial having done me the honour to invite me to take a part in this day’s proceedings, I felt bound, at whatever inconvenience to myself, to attend and to repeat the testimony which I have always gladly borne to the great and important aid afforded by your late representative, my esteemed and venerable friend Mr. Wallace, in the promotion of Penny Postage. (Applause.) With the view of enabling you fairly to estimate the value of Mr. Wallace’s important services, it will be necessary to take a brief review of his career as a Post Office Reformer. I need not remind you that Mr. Wallace entered the House of Commons as your representative in the year 1833. At this time the Post Office was considered by the public nearly perfect. But although several improvements had been effected under the administration of the Duke of Richmond, probably no department of government had, during the previous twenty years, improved so little, and yet no department had been so free from attack and complaint. It is true that the Commissioners of Revenue Inquiry had a short time before, with great ability, exposed much mismanagement in the Post Office, and had recommended various improvements (some of which were afterwards taken up by Mr. Wallace, and some still later by myself), but these exposures and recommendations, buried as they were in ponderous parliamentary reports, attracted little attention from the public, who still continued to view the Post Office as a vast and mysterious, but nearly perfect, machine. (Hear, hear.) I can scarcely think, however, that it could have been so viewed by the Government. They must, one would think, have been impressed with the remarkable fact that, since the close of the war, notwithstanding the great increase of population, and the still greater increase of commercial activity, the revenue of the Post Office, whether gross or net, had not increased at all. (Hear.) Such was the state of things when Mr. Wallace, in the year 1833, first roused the attention of Parliament and the public to the urgent necessity for reform in the Post Office, which he attacked with that perseverance and energy which distinguished all his proceedings; and, not satisfied with attacking abuses, Mr. Wallace, even at this early period of his parliamentary career, recommended an important improvement, which subsequently, as part of the plan of Penny Postage, was carried into effect with great advantage to the public. The improvement to which I allude was the substitution of charge by weight for charge by enclosure. (Applause.) In the year 1834 Mr. Wallace proposed in Parliament several other important measures, among which were the following:—1st. The opening to public competition of the contract for the construction of the mail coaches. This measure, which was soon after adopted, effected a saving of £17,218 a-year. 2nd. The consolidation of the London General and District Post Offices. This measure subsequently formed part of the plan of Penny Postage, and was partially carried into effect, with most advantageous results, about three years ago. Much, however, still remains to be accomplished. 3rd. The appointment of a Commission of Inquiry into the management of the Post Office. This recommendation was acted upon early in the next year (1835), and the Commission continued its labours till 1838. In the interval the Commission issued no less than ten reports, and it is fairly entitled to the credit of much of the subsequent improvement in the Post Office. During the year 1835, Mr. Wallace appears to have suspended his exertions in Parliament, thinking probably that he should more effectually serve the cause to which he had devoted himself by assisting in the investigations of the Commission. Accordingly, I find him giving evidence before that body, in the course of which he recommended the following improvements among others:—1st. The establishment of day mails, which subsequently formed part of my plan, and has been carried into effect with great advantage to the public and to the revenue. 2nd. A reduction in the rates of postage. 3rd. More frequent communication between places, Mr. Wallace expressing an opinion, since confirmed by experience, that the revenue, as well as the public, would be benefited thereby. In 1836 Mr. Wallace resumed his labours in Parliament, recommending among other measures:—1st. A reduction of the rates of postage, naming 8d. or 9d. as a maximum. 2nd. The registration of letters, since carried into effect with advantage both to the public and to the revenue. (Applause.) 3rd. That the postage charge should be regulated by the distance along the shortest practicable road, instead of being determined, as it then was, by the circuitous route through which the Post Office might, for its own convenience, carry the letter. It is now difficult to believe that only a few years since a system so monstrous as that which Mr. Wallace successfully attacked should have been suffered to exist for a single day—a system under which 6d. or 8d. was sometimes charged on letters passing between places not more than as many miles asunder, merely because the Post Office, for its own convenience, preferred to carry the letters round about. (Hear.) I have now arrived at the period when my intercourse with Mr. Wallace commenced; and in order that you may form a just appreciation of the valuable aid afforded me by Mr. Wallace, it is necessary to consider well his position and that of the Post Office at this time. By four years of incessant attacks, Mr. Wallace had destroyed the prestige once enjoyed by the Post Office, and had thus exposed it to the wholesome influence of public opinion; in addition to which he had effected some important improvements. By these means he had made the subject of the Post Office his own, and was by general consent the Post Office Reformer of the day. It was therefore in his power greatly to aid, or greatly to discourage, the exertions of others. (Cheers.) In this year (1836), through the intervention of one of my brothers, then Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, I applied to Mr. Wallace for the loan of any books he might possess relating to the Post Office, and he very kindly lent me various Parliamentary reports and returns. (Hear, hear.) These documents afforded me essential aid in the work which I had long meditated, but in which I then for the first time earnestly engaged. The result was a thorough conviction in my own mind that the inland rate of postage ought to be the same for all distances, and that provided the postage of letters were prepaid, the rate might be reduced as low as 1d. throughout the United Kingdom. (Applause.) I did not, however, (and I distinctly stated as much at the time), reckon on effecting so vast a reduction without a considerable loss of net revenue, though I did calculate on eventually obtaining as large a gross revenue as before. But the greatest difficulty of my task had still to be overcome. That difficulty consisted in the apparent hopelessness of convincing others that results so startling, and primâ facie so paradoxical, could really be derived from a careful examination and accurate appreciation of the facts of the case. Entertaining these apprehensions, and having regard to Mr. Wallace’s position as the leading Post Office Reformer of the day, I was exceedingly anxious as to the view which he might take of my plan. I felt that its success or failure would greatly depend on his verdict. Accordingly, at the beginning of 1837, I sent Mr. Wallace a copy of my pamphlet (which, in the first instance, was printed for private circulation), and waited in the greatest anxiety for his opinion. It came couched in kind and encouraging language, conveying his hearty concurrence in the main features of the plan, and I at once felt that a most important advance had been made. It is impossible to speak too strongly of my obligations to Mr. Wallace at this time. Many a man circumstanced as he was would have treated me as an intruder—as one coming to poach on his warren; but Mr. Wallace, so far from evincing any jealousy, at once gave me all the advantage of his position, and before the public had declared in favour of my plan, he had adopted it with all his accustomed heartiness. (Applause.) Almost immediately on the issue of my pamphlet, both Mr. Wallace and myself were examined by the Post-Office Commissioners with reference to the application of my plan to the London District post—a measure which the Commissioners recommended, though unfortunately their recommendation was not adopted by the Government. From this time the progress of public opinion in favour of the plan of Penny Postage was so rapid, that before the end of the year Mr. Wallace had succeeded in obtaining the appointment of a committee of the House to investigate its merits. Of this committee Mr. Wallace was the active and indefatigable chairman. It continued to sit throughout the session of 1838, in the course of which it examined no less than eighty-three witnesses; and the labour to the chairman, whose duties were by no means confined to the sittings of the committee, was most severe. The result of the investigation is well known, but it may not be in the recollection of this meeting that the committee having been nominated by Government, which was then unfavourable to Penny Postage, contained several members who were, ex officio, opponents of the measure, and that the resolution establishing the vital principle of uniformity of rate was carried only by the casting vote of the chairman. (Hear, hear, and applause.) Had Mr. Wallace given his casting vote on the other side, or even withheld it, the adoption of Penny Postage would probably have been delayed for years,—possibly the plan might have been altogether abandoned. The Report of the committee, one of the ablest documents ever laid before Parliament, gave an extraordinary impetus to the demand for Penny Postage, and in the session of 1839 upwards of 2,000 petitions, with more than a quarter of a million of signatures (though a large proportion of the petitions being from corporate bodies bore only a single signature each), were presented to the House of Commons alone; and before the end of the session, and within the short space of two years and a-half from its announcement, Penny Postage became the law of the land. (Applause.) During the greater part of this period (at least so long as Parliament was sitting) I was in almost daily communication with Mr. Wallace. The labour which we both had to go through was enormous; and I never shall forget how much I felt cheered and encouraged to persevere, by his own hearty, earnest, and confident manner of encountering the difficulties and disappointments necessarily incidental to so vast an undertaking. (Loud applause.) It would ill become me to speak of the commercial and social advantages which have resulted from Penny Postage. Under its operation, the number of chargeable letters has increased from 76 millions to 337 millions per annum, and though the net revenue, owing to the enormous cost of railway conveyance and other causes into which I cannot with propriety enter, is much less than my estimate, the gross revenue has realized that estimate, being now nearly, if not quite, as great as before the reduction of the rates. But whatever may have been the sacrifice of revenue, most people now readily admit the benefit to the nation at large has been cheaply purchased. (Cheers.) The advantages of cheap Postage however are by no means confined to this country. Our example has been followed, more or less closely, by several of the nations of Europe, and by the United States of America; and it is most gratifying to know that cheap Postage is gradually extending over the civilized world. The manner in which Mr. Wallace, the earliest Post Office Reformer of the present generation, has laboured zealously and successfully to bring about these happy results, has been shown by the statement of facts with which I have felt it my duty to trouble this meeting, and I earnestly hope that the people of this great country, who so munificently rewarded my exertions, will recognise also the claims of Mr. Wallace, and will step forward to cheer in the decline of life a man so justly entitled to our respect and gratitude. Mr. Hill then sat down amid hearty demonstrations of applause.

APPENDIX H.

[See p. 347.]

UNIFORM PENNY POSTAGE. Facts and Estimates as to the Increase of Letters.

The only point connected with uniform Penny Postage on which there appears to be any material difference of opinion is as to whether or not the revenue will suffer by the proposed reduction.

The plan will stimulate the increase of letters in two ways. First, by the increased facilities of despatch of letters;—second, by the great reduction of postage.

Increased Facilities.

Many facts were proved in evidence before the Postage Committee which render it clear that even at the same or higher rates of postage, increasing the opportunities of despatching letters, and the rapidity with which they are transmitted and delivered, always increases the number sent.

1. Palmer’s adoption of mail-coaches, though accompanied with repeated advances of postage, increased the number of letters three-fold in twenty years. And

2. The new facilities of transmission afforded by the Manchester and Liverpool railway, increased the number of letters between the termini nearly fifty per cent. in six years; postage remaining the same.

3. Although not substantiated before the Postage Committee, it is understood that the recent establishment of a morning mail from London to Brighton has produced a similar effect.

4. It appears from the valuable work of M. Piron “Sous Directeur des Postes aux Lettres,” that a reduction in the time of transmission from Paris to Marseilles, from 118 to 68 hours, has doubled the number of letters.

Reduction of Postage.

This is relied upon as by far the most efficient cause of increase in the number of letters.

It has been found that the decrease of price in any article of general demand, so far from lessening the amount of the public expenditure on such article, has always increased it.

1. “The price of soap, for instance, has recently fallen by about one-eighth; the consumption in the same time has increased by one-third. Tea, again, the price of which, since the opening of the China trade, has fallen by about one-sixth, has increased in consumption by almost a half. The consumption of silk goods, which, subsequently to the year 1823, have fallen in price by about one-fifth, has more than doubled. The consumption of coffee, the price of which, subsequently to 1823, has fallen about one-fourth, has more than tripled. And the consumption of cotton goods, the price of which, during the last twenty years, has fallen by nearly one-half, has in the same time been fourfolded.”—Post Office Reform, p. 70.

2. The sale of newspapers for the twelve months before the late reduction in stamps was—

35,576,056,[379] at an average price, say of 7d., costing the public £1,037,634.

For the twelve months subsequent to the reduction, it was—

53,496,207,[379] at an average price, say of 4¾d., costing the public £1,058,779.

3. The annual number of advertisements before the late reduction in the advertisement duty, was—

1,010,000[380] at an average price, say of 6s., costing the public £303,000.

It is now—

1,670,000, at an average price, say of 4s., costing the public £334,000.

4. The number of persons paying for admission to the Tower was, in the ten months prior to the late reduction—

9,508, at 3s., each (including the Warder’s fee), = £1,426.

In the ten months subsequent to the reduction it was—

37,431, at 1s. each, = £1,871.

The rule established by these facts, viz., that the demand for the article increases in a greater proportion than the price decreases, so that if one thousand are sold at 1s. many more than two thousand would be sold at 6d., is, it is believed, without exception. Certainly the article of postage does not furnish one.

“The reduction of the Irish postage rates which was made in 1827, was immediately followed by a considerable increase in the Irish Post Office revenue, though precisely to what extent it would be difficult to state, owing to a transfer that was made at the same time of certain receipts from the English to the Irish Post Office revenue. An alteration was made in the year 1831, which was equivalent to a partial reduction, by exempting the correspondence of a portion of the metropolis, which had paid the General-post rate, from paying an additional Twopenny-post rate. Consequent on this reduction, though at first attended with some loss, the Post Office revenue was improved to the amount of £10,000 a year, instead of there being a loss of £20,000 a year as had been expected by the Post Office. A reduction made in 1835, on the rates of ship-letters, has been followed by a considerable increase in that branch of the revenue.”[381]—Third Report of the Select Committee on Postage, p. 29.

Practical Effect of Reduction to One Penny.

The postage of letters between Edinburgh and the adjacent towns and villages was, in 1837, reduced from 2d. to 1d. In rather more than a year the letters had more than doubled, and were on the increase when the last returns were made.[382]

Postage between Stroud and Nailsworth in Gloucestershire was recently reduced from 4d. to 1d. The number of letters has already increased about sixfold.

Future Gross Revenue of the Post Office.

There seems, then, no rational ground of fear that the gross revenue of the Post Office will be diminished.

On the contrary, its increase might be safely predicted, even if no other change was contemplated than the proposed reduction. But taking the proposed additional facilities for the despatch of letters into account, the increase of the gross revenue may, at no distant period, be fairly expected to be considerable. Many persons, competent to form a sound opinion, think such increase will be very large.

Future Expenses of the Post Office.

The proposed changes will operate partly to increase, and partly to decrease, the cost of the Post Office.

The increase will arise out of the additional number of letters passing through the post.

The decrease, chiefly from the postage being paid in advance, by means of stamps.

The balance will probably be a comparatively slight augmentation of expense, which, it is confidently expected, will be more than compensated by the increase of the customs, excise, &c., produced by the stimulus to commerce, consequent on the cheapness of postage.

There is, then, no just reason for believing that the proposed reduction in Postage will at all diminish the revenue of the country.

Below I have drawn out an estimate of the course which things may probably take after the proposed change, on the supposition of the gross revenue remaining the same as at present. I have perhaps undervalued some sources of increase, and overestimated others. I do not place much reliance on the details, but I have great confidence that the general result will hereafter be found below the truth.

Estimate of the Mode in which the required Increase of General Post Letters may be presumed to take place.

From the present Letter-writing Class—

Present number of chargeable General Post Letters, call this 1

Contraband Letters, and evasions by writing in newspapers, &c. (Estimated by many at double the Posted Letters, but consider it equal only) 1

Total of Letters now written 2

Assume the rate of increase to be only 2 to 1 2

Estimated Return General Post Letters, from the present Letter-writing class 4

Invoices—(Estimated by Mr. Cobden, and other mercantile men, as equal to the present Post Letters—say half only) ½

Additional printed circulars, catalogues, small parcels, &c., say ¾

Letters from numerous classes, who may now be said not to use the Post Office at all, say ¾

Required increase of General Post Letters to sustain the gross revenue (Vide Third Report, p. 55.) 6

That is to say, an addition of five fold.

ROWLAND HILL.

Bayswater, July 1, 1839.

APPENDIX I.

[See p. 406.]

EXTRACT FROM FIRST REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE, ON THE INLAND REVENUE.

Under the head “Discount at the Offices of Distributors in the Country.”

“It is only just to our stamping department, and more especially to Mr. Edwin Hill, under whose supervision it is placed, that we should mention the constant improvements which are every day being introduced in the machinery for impressing or manufacturing stamps, although it is impossible to enumerate or explain them in detail.

“The most remarkable of Mr. Hill’s inventions was one which has now become of comparatively minor importance, namely, the application of steam power to newspaper stamping. By a very ingenious contrivance, the unwieldy sheets of paper for newspapers, which used to be presented for stamping in immense quantities at a time, were separated, turned over, and stamped, with a dispatch and accuracy which had previously been considered as unattainable; and the superior execution of the work, instead of increasing the expense, was attended with a saving of at least £2,000 a-year.”

EXTRACT FROM SECOND REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE, ON THE INLAND REVENUE.

(Dated 12th of May, 1858.)

Under the head “Stamp Duties.”

“The efficiency of our stamping department continues to be maintained, and to keep pace with the demands of the public, through the watchfulness and inventive ingenuity of Mr. Edwin Hill. His most recent addition to our machinery, a contrivance for fixing the blue paper and metal guard on parchment, is a substitute for two operations in different departments, and the labour of three men. This small improvement effects a saving of £300 a-year.”

EXTRACT FROM THIRD REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE, ON THE INLAND REVENUE.

(Dated May, 1859.)

Under the head “Stamps.”

... “The pressure on our stamping department was at first very great, and the administrative and mechanical resources of Mr. Edwin Hill were taxed to the utmost to keep pace with the demands of the public. By the invention of new and more rapidly performing machines, and the employment of a large number of extra hands, he was able to dispose of the immense stock of cheques thus suddenly poured in, without giving rise to any complaint of delay or inconvenience.”

Minute of the Board of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue on the retirement of Mr. Edwin Hill.

[Dated the 6th May, 1872.]

“The Board, in accepting this resignation, desire to place on record their sense of the exemplary manner in which Mr. Hill has at all times discharged his official duties, and their great regret at the termination of a career which has been of so much advantage to the public service.

“Mr. Hill has proved himself to be a most valuable servant of the public, not merely in the general conduct of the business confided to his superintendence, but also, and more especially in the application of his inventive mechanical skill to numerous contrivances which he has from time to time introduced, by which the work of his department has been greatly facilitated and improved.

“The saving of time, labour, and expense which has accrued to the public benefit by means of these appliances, some of which are more particularly referred to by Mr. Hill, can scarcely be overestimated: and there can be no doubt that these important results have been attained at the cost of much independent thought and labour on the part of Mr. Hill, whilst no personal benefit has been derived from them by himself.

“Their Lordships have been pleased, under the powers conferred upon them by the Superannuation Act, to mark, on certain occasions, their sense of eminent and exceptional service by the award of a special allowance. The Board are impressed with a conviction that few more fitting cases could be found for the exercise of this power than that which is now presented to their Lordships, and which the Board desire to support with their strongest recommendation.”

APPENDIX J.

[See p. 437.]

LETTER TO THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER, SUGGESTING TRANSFERENCE OF COLONEL MABERLY TO ANOTHER POST.

Downing Street, June 23, 1841.

Dear Sir,—I have to apologize for troubling you at such a time with considerations which may appear personal. Nothing but the conviction that they are not really so, and further, that they do not admit of delay, can justify the present application.

It has occurred to me as possible that the official changes now in progress may afford an opportunity of placing me (without injury to any one) in a position more favourable to the success of the measure in which I am engaged.

I think you will agree that to complete the introduction of my plan requires a careful consideration of numerous measures of detail, and a close and constant watchfulness over their working. Also, that its financial success depends on a rigid and searching economy in every branch of management.

I am sure you will do me the justice to admit that I have patiently and anxiously sought to accomplish these objects under the existing arrangements, and yet a review of the last twelve months (that is to say, of the period since we entered on the details of the measure) shows, I fear, that little of this kind has been effected.

If progress is thus slow while I enjoy your powerful support (and for the kindness and constancy with which it has been afforded I shall always feel most grateful), what will be the result if, unfortunately, that support should be even temporarily withdrawn?

Will you therefore excuse the liberty I take in respectfully suggesting for your consideration whether it is not highly important to the success of the measure that I should henceforward take a position in the Post Office, and whether the official changes now in progress may not afford opportunity for creating the necessary vacancy without any injury to Colonel Maberly? Such a change could not, I presume, be otherwise than agreeable to him; it would relieve him from the unpleasant task of working out a measure which he dislikes, and which he has repeatedly affirmed cannot succeed; a measure, therefore, whose success cannot add to his reputation, and whose failure is not unlikely to be attributed, however undeservedly, to his mode of conducting it.

At the same time the proposed change would put an end to a divided, unacknowledged, and therefore ineffectual responsibility, without, I should hope, depriving me of the great advantage I have hitherto enjoyed of submitting every important question to your judgment.

Permit me to add that, as I have no desire to advance my own emoluments, the suggested change would effect a saving to the revenue of Colonel Maberly’s present salary and allowances.

May I be allowed to hope that, whatever may be your decision on the arrangement I have ventured to suggest, you will excuse the liberty I have taken, and attribute my conduct to the motive by which alone I am influenced, viz., an earnest and anxious desire to establish speedily and beyond all question the success of a measure on which not only my whole reputation is at stake, but which, in case of failure, or even of partial success, is sure to be used as a ground of attack against the Government by which it has been adopted.

Let me beg that you will not take the trouble to answer this letter till you return to town. In bringing the matter under your notice before the completion of the official arrangements referred to above, the immediate object which I have in view is accomplished.

I have, &c.,

Rowland Hill.