,transcribed from the #ahdi ,john       
,murray edition by ,david ,price1 email 
ccx#jgdpglaf4org                        
,a                                      
,,letter                                
,,on ,,the ,,late                       
,,post ,,office ,,agitation4            
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,by                                    
,,charles ,,john ,,vaughan1 ,d4,d4      
,,head ,,master ,,of ,,harrow ,,school1 
,,and ,,late ,,fellow ,,of              
,,trinity ,,college1 ,,cambridge4       
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                        ,,john 
,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street3         
,,crossley1 ,,harrow4                   
,,mdcccxlix4                            
99 99 99 99 99            ,,london3     
,,printed ,,by ,w4 ,,nicol1 ,,shakspeare
 ,,press1 ,,pall ,,mall4                
99 99 99 99 99          ,a ,,letter1 c4 
,,my ,,dear ,,sir1    ,we have been     
lately invited to sign a parochial      
remonstrance against some  projected    

changes in the business of the ,london  
,post ,office4  ,i1 for one1  declined  
the invitation4  ,i never thought of    
obtruding upon others my  reasons for   
this refusal4  ,i am not the ,minister  
of the ,parish2 nor  have my opinions1  
therefore1 on such a subject1 any       
particular claim on  the attention of my
 neighbours4    ,you know the           
circumstance which now compels me to    
explain myself4  ,i  regret the         
necessity4  ,but neither ,i1 nor those  
who have agreed with me  on this        
occasion1 can listen in silence to the  
imputation of being  indifferent to the 
national observance of the ,sunday4  ,if
 ,i can show you  that we are not justly
 liable to this suspicion1 it is well   
worth while  to do so4  ,if ,i fail to  
convince you1 ,i shall at least have    
entered a  serious protest1 for myself  
and them1 against such an imputation4   
,i have thoroughly examined the original
 minute 7submitted by ,mr4 ,rowland     
,hill to the ,post ,master ,general in  

,february last7 which formed the basis  
of the late alteration in the ,sunday   
duties of the ,post ,office4  ,i could  
wish that that minute had been more     
generally studied by those who have     
pronounced a judgment upon the question4
  ,it is open to your inspection3  you  
may form1 therefore1 your own opinion   
upon the justice of the  following      
observations4    ,the measure now       
impugned 7the transmission1 namely1 of  
certain provincial  and foreign letters 
through ,london on the ,sunday7 is not  
an isolated one4  ,it is but one part of
 a more general scheme4  ,and what is   
the object of  that scheme1 as described
 in the minute referred to8 #e  ,the    
reduction  of the ,sunday duties of the 
,post ,office4  ,the securing of the    
utmost  possible amount of ,sunday rest 
to all connected with the ,post ,office4
  ,what1 again1 was the first part of   
the same measure8  ,what was that       
earlier step1 taken by the same persons 
in the same direction1 of which  the    

present change is a consequence8  ,the  
total suspension of all  money-order    
business on ,sunday throughout ,england 
and ,wales4  ,and what  are some of     
those ulterior measures1 to which the   
attention of the  originators of this is
 next to be directed8  ,the deferring of
 work now  done on the ,sunday till     
after midnight4 #f;a  ,the reduction of 
,sunday  work1 even at the chief        
,office1 considerably below its present 
amount4 #f;b  ,important measures of    
relief to the rural messengers and      
rural receivers on the ,sunday4 #f;c    
,what1 finally1 is the declared  object 
of the present alteration8  ,further    
relief from ,sunday labour  in the      
provincial ,post ,offices2 and thus1 the
 diminution of ,sunday  work in the     
department as a whole4  ,so far from its
 being correct to  state this as a      
merely accidental result of the measure1
 it is its very  object and purpose1 to 
which all else is subordinate and       
subsidiary4    ,ought not these         

considerations to preclude at least a   
precipitate  sentence of condemnation8  
,may we not be permitted to learn the   
object of  a measure from its author8   
,are we justified in imputing to any    
man1 ,i do  not say1 motives which he   
disavows1 but motives of which he       
professes the  very opposite1 and       
against which his own previous and      
subsequent acts  obviously militate8    
,but the change1 however well meant1 may
 be practically injurious4  ,it may     
cause more harm than it obviates4  ,it  
may introduce more ,sunday labour  than 
it supersedes4  ,this is1 of course1    
conceivable4  ,it is just  possible1    
doubtless1 that an able and experienced 
officer of this  department of the      
,government may be found1 on this one   
occasion1 so  unskilful or so           
short-sighted1 as to have effected1 not 
less than he  proposed1 but the very    
opposite of that which he designed4     
,but is it  so8    ,it is admitted that1
 at first sight1 the alteration in      

question may seem  to increase the      
,sunday duties of the ,post ,office4    
,in ,london1 to a  certain extent1 it   
does4  ,it will require1 at the outset1 
the additional  attendance of           
twenty-five persons 7hereafter1         
possibly1 of a somewhat  larger number7 
on ,sunday in the ,london ,post ,office4
 #g  ,that attendance1  you will observe
 is voluntary4  ,nor is it allowed1 in  
any case1 to  infringe upon the hours of
 divine service4  ,it is proposed that  
the whole  interval from ten in the     
morning till five in the afternoon be   
left  perfectly free4 #h;a  ,nor yet    
would it be correct to represent the    
alteration as involving any change of   
principle4  ,the attendance and         
employment of certain persons1 the      
reception and assortment of  certain    
letters1 on the ,sunday1 even in the    
,london ,post ,office1 is no  new thing4
 #h;b  ,the conscience of the ,christian
 community has left  these practices    
unchallenged and unnoticed until now4   

,such  considerations ought to have some
 weight in our estimate of the present  
innovation4  ,still1 so far as it goes1 
and taken alone1 the augmentation  of   
the ,sunday force in the ,london ,post  
,office is admitted to be an evil4  ,is 
it counterbalanced by any greater good8 
,it is necessary to take a national view
 of such a question4  ,the ,post        
,office system throughout ,england is   
one1 not many4  ,the ,london ,office1   
and the provincial ,offices1 are but    
several parts of one connected whole4   
,the question1 therefore1 is1 not       
whether this ,office1 or that ,office1  
separately regarded1 will be a gainer or
 a loser by the change2 but  whether1 on
 the whole1 the aggregate of gain or of 
loss will  preponderate2 whether1 so to 
say1 the ,post ,office of ,england1 as  
distinguished from that of ,london      
separately1 or that of ,york or of      
,manchester separately1 will thus be    
relieved on the ,sunday1 or burdened4   
,if twenty-five additional servants are 

required in the ,london ,office  on the 
,sunday1 and twice twenty-five can be   
relieved on that day in  the provincial 
,offices2 the change1 so far as it      
extends1 is salutary4  ,now1 if this    
obvious principle be granted1 the       
question is decided at  once4  ,beyond  
all contradiction1 the present measure  
is one of relief  from ,sunday labour to
 the department as a whole4  ,but the   
opponents of  the measure argue thus3   
,taking the ,london ,office by itself1  
an addition  is proposed to the labours 
of the ,sunday3 this is a sinful        
project3 and  if it be urged1 on the    
other side1 that a tenfold relief will  
thus be  afforded to the provincial     
,offices1 they answer1 that this is but 
doing evil that good may come4  ,yet is 
not this argument capable of an  easy   
inversion8  ,are you not1 in resisting  
the proposed relief of the  country     
,offices1 on the plea of regard for that
 of ,london1 doing1 in  fact1 a great   
evil--not that a small good may come1   

but that a small evil  may not come8    
,what1 then1 are some of the advantages 
7speaking merely with reference to  the 
observance of the ,sunday7 by which this
 admitted evil is  counterbalanced8  ,i 
will enumerate three only4    #a4  ,the 
cessation of several ,sunday            
cross-posts1 by which the detention  of 
letters in ,london throughout that day  
has been hitherto evaded or  obviated3  
#aj and this1 without any addition to   
the existing number of  mail-trains1 or 
other means of transmission1 to or from 
,london1 on the  ,sunday4 #aa;a    #b4  
,a great diminution of the former amount
 of letters written and read  in the    
country on that day4 #aa;b    #c4  ,the 
entire discontinuance of a second       
delivery of letters on ,sunday          
throughout ,england and ,wales3 #ab a   
measure affecting considerably more     
than two hundred ,towns1 and affording  
direct and immediate relief to a  very  
far larger number of persons4    ,nor is
 it1 perhaps1 altogether presumptuous to

 express a hope that the  unrestricted  
transmission of letters on the ,sunday  
may eventually be  followed by an       
equally general suspension of their     
delivery2 by which  ,london and the     
country would be placed1 in this        
respect1 on a footing of  perfect       
equality2 the due observance of the     
,sunday being alike in both  secured1   
with no injurious consequences1 in      
either1 to the business of  the         
following day4    ,meanwhile1 it is     
ascertained that1 by the alterations    
already effected1 a  very large body    
7amounting to some hundreds at least7 of
 persons now  occupied on the ,sunday in
 the provincial ,offices1 even during   
the hours  of public worship1 will be   
enabled to obtain rest on that day1 and 
to  enjoy without interruption the      
benefit of its religious services4 #ac  
,the number of principal ,post ,offices 
thus benefited1 in a greater or less    
degree1--some to the extent of seven    
hours of additional suspension of       

business on every ,sunday1--amounts very
 nearly to five hundred4  ,a very  far  
larger number1 at present imperfectly   
ascertained1 of ,sub-offices  throughout
 the country1 will partake of the same  
advantage4  ,the total  number of       
persons thus relieved will obviously far
 exceed that of the  aggregate of       
,offices4  ,and who will say that these 
great benefits1 the  direct and         
principal object 7be it remembered7 of  
the whole measure1  are utterly vitiated
 by their unavoidable accompaniment--the
 employment1  namely1 of a small        
additional force in one1 the            
,metropolitan ,office1  on the same day8
    ,what1 then1 remains1 to justify the
 agitation occasioned by this measure1  
but a vague and indefinite suspicion    
that a change in one direction may  lead
 to a change in the other8 that a       
measure which proposes neither to  bring
 in nor take out a single ,london letter
 on the ,sunday1 #ad may  eventually    
cause1 in ,london itself1 both a ,sunday

 collection and a ,sunday  delivery8    
that he who now seeks to lighten ,sunday
 labour1 to diminish  ,sunday           
deliveries1 ,sunday letter-writing and  
letter-reading1 may  hereafter lend his 
aid to their augmentation and diffusion8
  ,let these  evils be met1 on their    
proper ground1 and at the proper time4  
,let the  good sense and the religious  
feeling of the country be appealed to   
when  the danger really threatens4  ,at 
present1 it is as remote as ever4  ,it  
will not be brought one step nearer by  
this measure4  ,but it may be  increased
 by a premature and unreasonable outcry1
 to be succeeded1 as  usual1 by a very  
natural recoil4                         
,i remain1 my dear ,sir1                
,yours very truly1                      
,c4 ,j4 ,,vaughan4    ,,harrow1         
,november #af1 #ahdi          ,by the   
,same ,author4      ,,sermons1 chiefly  
,parochial4  #hvo4 #ahde4    ,,sermons1 
preached in the ,chapel of ,harrow      
,school4  #hvo4  #ahdg4    ,,nine       

,,sermons1 preached for the most part in
 the ,chapel of ,harrow ,school4  #abmo4
  #ahdi4                                
99 99 99 99 99    ,,an ,,earnest        
,,appeal to the ,master and ,seniors of 
,trinity ,college1  ,cambridge1 on the  
,revision of the ,statutes4  ,by ,,two  
,,of ,,the ,,fellows1 #hvo4  #ahdj4     
,,footnotes4      #e  ,see ,minute1 #a1 
#b1 #c4  8,i beg to submit my views as  
to further  measures for reducing the   
,sunday duties of the ,post ,office4    
,the  importance of affording to all    
connected with the ,post ,office the    
utmost  amount of rest on the ,sunday   
that is consistent with a due regard to 
public convenience1 having led to       
measures for the suspension of          
money-order business on that day        
throughout ,england and ,wales1 it is   
very  satisfactory to remark1 c4 c4     
,and ,i confidently anticipate like     
satisfactory results1 should the        
,treasury concur in your ,lordship's    
recent recommendation of a similar      

measure in ,ireland and ,scotland 4 4 4 
,in considering the above improvement1  
the importance of similar relief as     
respects other duties was kept in mind2 
and1 from the investigations  which have
 been made1 there can be no doubt that a
 further very important  relief as      
relates to ,sunday work may be effected 
in all the provincial  offices40    #f;a
  ,minute1 #be4    #f;b  ,minute1 #bf4  
#f;c  ,minute1 #ci4    #g  ,minute1 #ah1
 #ai4    #h;a  ,minute1 #ag4    #h;b    
,minute1 #ab1 #ac4  8,even to ,london   
under the old system nearly all  letters
 from ,ireland1 ,scotland1 and the      
out-ports1 as also all foreign  and     
colonial letters whatever1 are brought1 
as on other days2 the same  being partly
 assorted at the chief office on the    
,sunday1 for delivery or  for           
forwarding1 as the case may be1 the next
 morning4  ,for the  performance of     
these duties1 and for the selection and 
delivery of the  #8,states' 7letters    
addressed chiefly to the higher offices 

of ,government71  twenty-six persons are
 ordinarily employed at the chief office
 on the  ,sunday1 their time of         
occupation being1 on the average1 six   
hours4  ,the  arrival of a heavy mail   
from abroad requires a greater force40  
#aj  ,minute1 #aa4  8,the evil of       
detention has been found so serious1    
that  in several cases the rule has been
 evaded1 either by making use of other  
existing channels for the conveyance of 
the mails sent on ordinary days  through
 ,london1 or by the actual establishment
 of ,sunday cross-posts2  either of     
which arrangements obviously involves   
increased expence1  trouble1 liability  
to error1 perplexity to the public1 and 
additional  ,sunday work40    #aa;a     
,minute1 #ad1 #cc4    #aa;b  ,minute1   
#ba1 #bb1 #bc4  8,it is notorious that a
 blank post is  everywhere preceded and 
followed by a greater amount of         
correspondence  than usual4  ,thus1 in  
,london1 the average number of letters  
is greater on  ,saturday by #f per      

cent41 and on ,monday by #be per cent41 
than on other  days4  ,but1 as respects 
the correspondence sent through ,london1
 ,saturday  evening is at present in    
most towns a blank post time4  ,it      
therefore  follows that such            
correspondence is despatched from the   
provinces in  unusual amount on         
,saturday morning1 and on ,sunday       
morning or evening1  according as there 
may or may not be a ,sunday day mail4   
,now each of  these augmentations tends 
to produce additional ,sunday work1 both
 to the  department and to the public4  
,for the letters in the first category  
are  for the most part distributed by   
the ,post ,office and read by the public
  on the ,sunday1 and those in the      
second are for the most part written by 
the public and despatched by the office 
on ,sunday4  ,it is obvious  therefore  
that1 as far as relates to the letters  
in question1 the  proposed change would 
entirely get rid of ,sunday work1 as    
respects the  public2 while1 as respects

 the department1 it would exchange work 
now  dispersed through nearly a thousand
 offices for concentrated employment  in
 one2 the latter requiring a less       
proportionate force1 and falling on     
such time as to be dealt with without   
infringement on the hours of divine     
service40    #ab  ,minute1 #bg1 #bh2    
where the connection of this measure    
with that  now under consideration is   
more fully illustrated4    #ac  ,minute1
 #cg4    #ad  ,minute1 #cd4