,transcribed from the #ahej ,john ,murray edition by ,david ,price ,a ,,second ,,letter ,,on ,,the ,,late ,,post ,,office ,,agitation4 ,,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 ,,mdcccl4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,printed ,,by ,w4 ,,nicol1 ,,shakspeare ,,press1 ,,pall ,,mall4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,second ,,letter1 c4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 #a ,it has been satisfactory to me to receive1 from many excellent and well-informed persons1 assurances of their entire concurrence in the sentiments of my former ,letter4 ,i am neither surprised nor alarmed to find myself assailed1 in other quarters1 by loud and severe animadversions4 ,you1 ,sir1 have occupied an intermediate ground4 ,you are too well aware of the particular circumstances which occasioned my letter1 to accuse me of a gratuitous interference in a wearisome and unthankful controversy4 ,your strictures1 therefore1 are confined to some particular points in my argument1 which you regard as requiring further elucidation4 ,and you urge me1 not so much for your own satisfaction as for that of others1 to take the same opportunity of clearing away some misapprehensions to which1 in the judgment of persons unacquainted with my opinions1 my former ,letter may have been exposed4 ,half1 and more than half1 the arguments of my ,reviewers would have been felt by themselves to be irrelevant1 if they had taken the trouble to observe the circumstances under which my ,letter was written4 ,it was not to the general question of the observance of the ,sunday1 nor even of the extent to which it may be right that the ,post ,office should observe it1 that my remarks were directed4 ,the question before me was this4 ,i am urged1 as an act of religious duty1 to protest against a particular ,order of the ,government4 ,i am told1 in the most sacred place1 that a particular ,regulation of the ,london ,post ,office is to be regarded no less as an affront to religion1 and a violation of the rights of conscience1 than as an infraction of the liberties of ,england4 ,an examination of the question leads me to an opposite conclusion4 ,i believe that the measure thus stigmatized will1 so far as it extends1 promote rather than impede the interests of religion1 will1 on the whole1 facilitate rather than interfere with the attendance of that class which it concerns upon the ordinances of worship1 while it leaves untouched those wider and more general considerations which would involve1 if seriously and consistently entertained1 a revolution in the management of the whole department4 ,i refuse1 therefore1 to protest4 ,i refuse to assert1 what ,i see no reason to believe1 that the national observance of the ,lord's ,day will suffer from this particular modification of an existing system4 ,i refuse to assert1 what ,i think it a most unchristian malignancy to suspect1 that the object of this new ,regulation was that which is disavowed and repudiated by its authors4 ,i cannot discover in it an insidious but resolute attack upon the holy ordinance of the ,christian ,sunday4 ,it would have been in me an act of ridiculous affectation to express an alarm in which ,i did not participate2 or to remonstrate against a measure of detail1 by way of expressing a principle which was not at issue4 ,so far1 however1 my duty was but negative4 ,it was discharged by refusing my signature4 ,nor was it until ,i heard that refusal 7which had ultimately proved sufficiently general to defeat the remonstrance altogether7 commented upon afterwards1 from the pulpit1 in terms1 to say the least1 of grave disapprobation1 that it ever occurred to me to vindicate myself and others from a suspicion of indifference or of timidity1 by a statement of the real nature and object of the measure thus impugned4 ,it was enough1 therefore1 for my own vindication1 enough1 ,i repeat1 to justify my refusal to protest1 to show that the mere transmission of letters through the ,london ,post ,office on the ,sunday1 taken in connection with its avowed object on the one hand1 and with its concomitant measures of relief on the other1 was not that affront to religion1 that disparagement of ,divine ordinances1 which alone could necessitate the interposition of a ,christian nation for its discomfiture4 ,this was the object of my ,letter4 ,this object1 steadily kept in view1 necessarily confined my argument within narrow limits1 and excluded many topics of discussion to which the opponents of the measure would gladly divert our attention4 ,for example1 a ,clerical antagonist1 #e;a for whose character and evident sincerity ,i entertain great respect1--and whose name1 as he well knows1 is enough to secure for him at my hands a degree of forbearance and courtesy which he would think it a dereliction of duty to reciprocate1--complains that ,i have not enunciated in my ,letter any positive opinions of my own as to the grounds of the observance of the ,lord's ,day4 #e;b ,to supply this deficiency1 he has had recourse to my published ,sermons2 and1 selecting from a ,sermon preached on a particular occasion an incidental notice of the question1 continues his complaint that there also my language on this subject is vague and unsatisfactory4 ,i can direct him1 if a time of unwonted leisure should ever permit him to avail himself of the reference1 to three consecutive ,discourses on the ,lord's ,day1 contained in a volume of ,parochial ,sermons1 published four years ago1 in which ,i have entered fully into the discussion1 and expressed myself in language to which ,i still heartily subscribe4 ,you1 my dear ,sir1 will not require to be informed1 that there1 as everywhere1 ,i have spoken of the ,lord's ,day1 as every ,christian man must speak and think of it1 with veneration1 with thankfulness1 with an earnest and watchful jealousy for its honour4 ,the ,author of the 8,reply0 would have expressed himself1 doubtless1 in language more eloquent and more impressive1 but he could scarcely have used any more decisive as to his own convictions1 than that in which the national observance of the ,sunday is there enforced4 ,for his information1 not for yours1 ,i quote the sentences which follow4 #g ,finally1 ,i would desire to press upon you the responsibility under which the possession of such an ordinance places us1 whether we will hear or whether we will forbear4 ,a responsibility to ,god--for which we must1 each and all of us1 give account to ,him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead4 ,but a responsibility also to our country1 and to generations yet perhaps to come4 ,other nations once had this privilege of a ,christian ,sabbath2 but they have almost or utterly sinned it away4 ,they neglected and abused it1 till ,god took away1 by a just retribution1 almost the very name of ,his day from amongst them4 ,there are countries in ,christendom1 in which ,sunday is known almost only as a day of amusement or of common business4 ,england too may one day be brought to this state1 unless our responsibilities are better remembered than they are now4 ,let us1 at all events1 so honour this holy day ourselves1 that our children may inherit it from us as one of the most precious of all the gifts of ,god4 8,if ye know these things1 happy are ye if ye do them40 ,if any later expression of my opinions be demanded by the anxious vigilance of my inquisitor1 let me add a short passage from a ,sermon preached to a more youthful congregation on the ,sunday before my ,letter was written4 #h;a ,and shall we1 a later1 but certainly not a holier generation1 despise and tread underfoot a gift so gracious8 #h;b ,shall we thanklessly weigh and measure the amount of observance by which we may avoid condemnation in the use of it8 ,shall we either count it a weekly burden1 a deprivation of one seventh part of life's legitimate enjoyments2 or else turn it from a day of heavenly into one of earthly pleasure1 and1 because we dare not openly secularize it1 presume to nullify it altogether8 ,my brethren1 be wiser3 wiser as to your own good1 wiser as to your own happiness4 ,be assured that a wasted ,sunday is the precursor of a sinful or an unhappy week4 ,be assured1 on the other hand1 that ,he whose gift it is--a gift of love unspeakable1 even of that love which laid down life for us--will make it a happy as well as a profitable day1 to all who accept it as ,his gift1 and use it for the purpose of growing in the knowledge and love of its ,giver4 ,i have thus far followed the guidance of the ,author of the ,reply into a field which ,i still maintain to be foreign to the subject4 ,i owe it to myself1 and to the office with which ,i am entrusted1 to leave no room for doubt as to my opinions on so serious a question of duty1 even at the risk of embarrassing for the moment a discussion which lies properly in a narrower compass4 ,but the concession1 so far as ,i am concerned1 shall end here4 ,i assumed1 throughout my ,letter1 that the national observance of the ,sunday is a solemn and sacred duty4 ,but we may surely be allowed to discuss the objects and probable results of a particular change in the working of the ,london ,post ,office1 without obtruding upon our readers the enquiry whether the ,lord's ,day is identical with the ,jewish ,sabbath1 whether the sanctity of the ,christian ,sunday is derived from the ,law or from the ,gospel1 from 8the letter which killeth0 or 8the spirit that giveth life40 ,if indeed ,i were one of those who believe every enactment of the ,mosaic ,sabbath to be of rigid and perpetual authority1 and who yet do and exact on that day1 without scruple or remorse1 acts which1 if so1 are worthy of death2 or if1 while admitting the lawfulness1 on that day1 for an individual or for a family1 of works neither of mercy1 strictly speaking1 nor of necessity1 but only of extreme convenience1 7and what more can be said in defence of many of those domestic arrangements with which1 ,i imagine1 even the ,author of the ,reply1 even on the ,sunday1 can scarcely dispense87 ,i yet denied the possibility of a nations having any such household duties as even the arrival of the ,lord's ,day must rather modify than supersede2 if ,i regarded it as a plain and obvious sin for a nation1 under any circumstances1 to suffer any one of its officers to do any portion of his common work on its holy day2 if1 in short1 ,i regarded the question as thus foreclosed1 by a plain and unequivocal revelation of the ,divine will1 excluding the consideration of motives1 of circumstances1 of consequences1 altogether2--then certainly1 sharing my opponent's principles1 ,i might have used1 with more or less of his severity1 something at least of his language2 though1 even then1 ,i trust ,i might have possessed sufficient discernment to distinguish between a question of principle1 and a question of detail2 sufficient respect for the understandings1 and regard for the consistency1 of my neighbours1 to have invited them to a protest rather against the permission of any ,sunday work in any ,post ,office1 than against a particular adjustment of that burden to which some had always been subjected4 ,there is another region1 besides1 into which ,i must resolutely refuse to follow my opponent2 the region of personalities4 ,he is evidently an adept in the occult science of motives4 ,he speaks1 with the irritation of a baffled magician1 of any one whose spirit he cannot discern4 ,he confesses that ,i have puzzled him4 ,he is unwilling to suspect one motive1 unable to impute another4 ,the question is left doubtful4 #aa;a ,but it is otherwise with ,mr4 ,rowland ,hill4 ,he lies helplessly open to the dissecting knife of the operator4 ,and with unflinching severity is it applied4 #aa;b ,hostility to the ,sabbath1 enmity against religion--these are visibly his principles4 ,all else is a veil1 a cloke1 a mask4 ,when he speaks of desiring rest on the ,sunday for his subordinates1 he means labour4 ,when he prefaces his ,minute with the profession of regard for the ,sunday1 he speaks but to deceive1 and smiles 7vainly smiles1 says my ,reviewer7 at the easy credulity of his victims4 #ab ,when he not only promises1 but effects1 a measure of undeniable relief1--the discontinuance1 for example1 of a second ,sunday delivery1--this is only to disguise his restless spirit of antichristian malignity1 that he may proceed1 more covertly1 but not less surely1 to his real object1 the annihilation of an ordinance of ,god4 ,i am not the apologist of ,mr4 ,rowland ,hill4 ,i know him only1 as all the world knows him1 as the originator and accomplisher of one of the boldest and most beneficial of all the achievements of modern civilization4 ,it will require more than mere assertion1 to attach to his name those odious imputations which it is necessary for the impugners of the late change to suggest and to foster4 ,and what1 after all1 are the grounds on which such imputations rest8 ,mr4 ,rowland ,hill1 says the ,record1 was a ,director of a ,railway which refused ,return tickets extending from ,saturday to ,monday1 and thus compelled its passengers to travel on the ,sunday4 #ac;a ,mr4 ,rowland ,hill1 says the ,author of the ,reply1 is an officer of that department of the ,government1 which is notorious above all others for its desecration of the ,sabbath3 #ac;b a department of the ,government1 we may add1 so beyond all others unfortunate1 that to it alone is denied the possibility of self-reformation1 and every effort after amendment is branded by anticipation as hypocrisy and imposture4 ,my antagonist is fond of recurring to first principles4 ,when he was engaged1 some years ago1 in what he now denominates 8the easy and pleasant task0 #ac;c of a somewhat similar controversy with a very different ,correspondent1 #ac;d he constructed for that ,gentleman1 in a catechetical form1 a sort of ,rudimenta ,minora of ,theology1 #ac;e adapted to what he conceived to be the extent of his religious attainments4 ,starting from the immortality of the soul1 he descended1 by stages judiciously graduated1 to a humbler and more practical question--the ,sunday labours of the ,bath ,post ,office4 ,for me1 a somewhat more advanced pupil1 he has drawn up a series--indeed two series #ad--of rather less elementary propositions1 ending with this revolting 7though certainly unquestionable7 truism1 8,that it is better for sixty thousand letters to be burned1 unopened1 than for one ,post ,office ,clerk to perish in hell for ever40 ,now1 if ,i might be permitted to assume for a moment an office which my opponent appears to regard as peculiarly his own1 that of a theological preceptor of adults1 ,i would start1 like him1 from some elementary axiom1 such as the authority of ,revelation1 or the ,inspiration of the ,bible1 and1 leading him1 by an easy train of reasoning1 through a few brief truisms on the properties of ,christian charity1 ,i should not despair of gaining his acquiescence at last in this singularly startling paradox1 ,that it is the duty of every ,christian to believe his neighbour's word until it is proved to be false1 and to put upon his conduct1 not the least but the most favourable construction of which it is reasonably capable4 ,tried by this test1 the personalities of this question would be scattered to the winds4 ,it might remain to be considered1 whether in the measure of the ,government there had been anything of mistake or miscalculation2 whether their hopes had been too sanguine1 or their assertions too positive2 but for imputations of malignant design1 of intentional deception1 no place whatever could have been found4 ,when the opponents of a measure turn aside from the consideration of its inherent merits1 to that of the secret motives and intentions of its author1 the attempt injures their cause far more than the success of the attempt could aid it4 ,no man would resort to such an argument1 till all else had been exhausted4 ,and if unhappily such outrages upon common honour and morality be excused1 as here1 by the plea of zeal for religion1 it is well if the cause of religion itself do not suffer by its association with practices so unworthy4 ,but even upon the merits of the case my ,reviewers are ready to join issue4 ,i am accused of the grossest ignorance of the facts involved in the discussion4 ,the ,record1 refraining with an unwonted tenderness from the imputation of a more corrupt motive1 or unwilling to expend upon a less formidable enemy any portion of that artillery which must be reserved entire for the devoted head of ,mr4 ,rowland ,hill1 is contented to represent me as 8a respectable man1 occupied for the last three months in reading nothing but the ,times10 and an instructive example of the pernicious influence of its 8suppressions40 #af ,now1 if the burden of this charge is a preference of the ,times to the ,record as a channel of political information1 ,i must plead guilty4 ,but1 if it be intended1 as the context implies1 that ,i borrowed from that or any other ,newspaper the statements of facts contained in my ,letter1 ,i can only reply that the charge is false4 ,not one assertion is there made1 which was not obtained by explicit information from what every candid enquirer would regard as the most authentic source4 ,i do not for one moment hesitate to confess that ,i regard an official ,government return as better evidence on a question of fact than the irresponsible publications of a 8,lord's ,day ,society40 ,if the latter informs me that 8the new ,sabbath labour already employs a considerably larger number of men on the ,sabbath than was professed by ,mr4 ,hill's ,minute20 and if ,i learn from what ,i must regard as higher authority that the amount of extra-work to be done on ,sundays in the ,london ,office will1 in all probability1 be very shortly reduced to the employment of six persons1 and may ultimately be accomplished even without any such addition1 nay1 with an actual diminution of the original number2 while1 at the same time1 more than one hundred and ninety persons1 who have hitherto performed regular work on ,sundays1 are set entirely free1 within the ,london ,district itself2 can ,i hesitate which to follow8 ,but1 on other points1 the conflict of evidence is less real than nominal4 ,the ,society for ,promoting the ,observance of the ,lord's ,day has forwarded to me a table of returns from its ,secretaries and ,correspondents1 showing the hours of labour in seventy-three ,country ,post ,offices1 both before and since the recent ,order4 ,it is there stated1 that1 8putting together all these seventy-three ,post ,towns1 the aggregate number of additional hours for which the ,post ,offices are now closed1 does not exceed one hundred and ten hours1 being on an average one hour and a half for each place40 ,even in that document are contained the names of several ,towns in which the relief thus afforded has amounted to four hours of additional rest on the ,sunday4 ,but ,i will allow1 for argument's sake1 the entire correctness of their calculations4 ,in seventy-three ,country ,post ,offices the average of relief amounts but to one hour and a half4 ,the ,government1 in the meantime1 has received returns1 not from seventy-three1 but from upwards of four hundred and eighty ,towns1 in which the amount of relief has varied from one half-hour to seven hours on the ,sunday1 and the average has amounted to between three and four hours4 ,where is the real inconsistency of these statements8 ,the ,lord's ,day ,society1 on a much smaller induction1 and with materials 7it may be7 carefully selected1 arrives at one result2 the ,government1 on larger and less partial information1 presents another4 ,but in this case again1 ,i ask1 can ,i doubt for one moment which to follow8 ,you express some hesitation as to the justice of one statement contained in my ,letter1 that the new ,regulation involves no change of principle4 #ai;a ,you consider that the attendance on ,sunday in the ,london ,post ,office1 whatever its extent1 has been hitherto private and unnoticed1 whereas in future it will be public and notorious4 ,nor can ,i deny that the publicity which has been given to the subject by the recent agitation has attracted to the proceedings of the ,post ,office a degree of public attention to which they were never before exposed4 ,but the distinction you draw1 though ,i understand it1 seems to me somewhat arbitrary4 ,the attendance of the twenty-six #ai;b will henceforth1 at all events1 be as notorious as that of the twenty-five1 #bj;a or the six4 #bj;b ,henceforth1 at all events1 the two objects of ,sunday attendance will be separated by no such line of distinction4 ,if the one does not involve publicity1 does not constitute what can fairly be called an opening of the ,london ,post ,office1 neither will the other4 ,the ,public will have no admission4 ,the ,london ,public will be unaffected by the change4 ,as far as ,london is concerned1 the ,office will still be closed4 ,if the former attendance was not enough to open it1 the present ,regulation1 when the tumult of this agitation has once subsided1 will work no less privately4 ,if it is otherwise now1 whose fault is it8 ,the ,author of the ,reply1 with singular inconsistency1 has thus disposed of this part of the question4 8,the ,office in ,london has been considered as uniformly at rest1 and always spoken of as such by both parties1 the slight exceptions being not of a nature to be cited honestly against that position40 #bj;c ,slight exceptions6 ,is this the same hand which penned the ninth axiom8 #ba;a ,twenty-six ,post ,office clerks1 involved in perils such as he has painted1 a slight exception1 not of a nature to be cited honestly6 ,why then the twenty-five1 or the six1 or the gradually vanishing number1 of additional clerks required by the new measure8 ,again1 you can see no obvious connection between the additional ,sunday labour in ,london and the additional ,sunday rest in the country ,offices4 ,is it fair1 you ask1 to append to a measure of relief a condition of an opposite kind8 ,you would be the last man in the world1 ,i well know1 to impute to me 7even as 8an elegant close to a period0 #ba;b7 the horrid and impious crime of 8striking a balance with ,jehovah0 by 8offering ,him a lesser sin instead of a greater40 #ba;c ,you would not call it a sin in one member of a family to endeavour to lighten the ,sunday labour of another by the sacrifice of a portion of his own ,sunday leisure4 ,you would not call it a violation of the consciences of others1 or an exchange of sin for sin1 if the ,master of a family proposed to his servants such an equalization of their ,sunday employments4 ,and on the same principle1 if there be any connection between ,sunday work in ,london and ,sunday relief in the country1 ,i cannot admit for one moment that it is a sin to propose to a clerk in the ,london ,post ,office the discharge of a duty which shall lighten the work elsewhere1 not of one1 but of tens and perhaps hundreds1 of his fellow-servants2 and this1 without forfeiting for himself the opportunity of attending ,divine service twice on the ,lord's ,day1 with all comfort and quietness1 and with leisure1 besides1 for reflection and repose4 #bb;a ,are domestic servants1 to speak generally1 even in ,christian families1 in a more favourable position than this for their religious welfare8 ,the ,author of the ,reply objects to these 8national0 views of the question4 ,with him1 8national0 is the opposite of 8scriptural0 and 8spiritual40 #bb;b ,he can see nothing but the individual2 the 8one ,post ,office clerk40 ,he would deny the applicability to a nation of the command to 8bear one another's burdens40 ,what in a family would be virtues1 in a wider sphere are sins4 ,your view1 ,i am persuaded1 is not thus microscopic4 ,you will grant the conclusion1 if the premises are established4 ,your only doubt is as to the effect of the labour here upon the labour there4 ,the ,government have coupled the burden and the relief2 but is there any real and natural connection8 ,it was the object of my ,letter to indicate1 chiefly by references to ,mr4 ,hill's ,minute1 the existence of this connection4 ,i will not repeat now the obvious statement that the cessation of the ,sunday detention of letters in ,london will obviate at once those circuitous methods of communication by which the detention was formerly evaded1 and ,sunday labour1 in various ways1 materially increased4 #bc ,i will rather select the point to which you particularly direct my attention4 ,and ,i would show you1 as briefly as possible1 the operation of the new ,order in diminishing the amount of letters delivered and read1 written and posted1 in the country on the ,sunday4 #bd ,under the old system1 the average number of letters passing through the ,london ,office was greater by six per cent4 on ,saturday than on other days4 ,why8 ,because it was known that the following was a blank post4 ,if not transmitted before ,sunday1 they must wait in ,london throughout that day4 ,now the augmentation of letters passing through ,london on ,saturday caused an augmentation of letters delivered and read in the country on ,sunday4 ,the effect of the new ,regulation is at least to obviate this excess1 and to reduce the ,sunday morning delivery in the country to the measure of an ordinary day4 ,the labours of sorting and of distribution will be diminished obviously to a proportionate extent4 ,again1 the average number of letters passing through ,london on ,monday was greater1 not by six1 but by twenty-five per cent41 than on other days4 ,such letters must have been posted in the country either on ,saturday evening or on ,sunday4 ,but ,saturday evening1 under the old system1 was in most ,towns a blank post time4 ,sunday1 therefore1 was the day to which the excess was to be attributed4 ,the knowledge that letters posted on ,saturday evening would lie in ,london till the ,monday1 led to a very general habit of either writing1 or at least posting1 letters on the ,sunday4 ,the latter habit1 equally with the former1 involved a corresponding increase of the ,sunday labours of the country ,offices4 ,under the present system1 the temptation to prefer ,sunday for either purpose is removed4 ,saturday now offers equal advantages with any other day for sending letters from the country through ,london4 ,in the same degree1 the burdens of the country ,offices on ,sunday are lightened3 the excess1 at least1 of those burdens1 a marked and heavy excess1 above those of common days1 is effectually removed4 ,and1 beyond this1 the religious feeling which leads so many to shrink from such an employment of the ,lord's ,day cannot but operate in diminishing the ,sunday occupations 7in this respect7 of the country ,offices even below those of other days4 ,of the actual result1 the relief actually experienced in the provincial ,offices1 ,i have before spoken4 #bf ,and it is the cessation of the ,sunday detention--in other words1 the introduction of a ,sunday transmission through ,london--to which1 as you have seen1 the result1 whatever it be1 is strictly and wholly due4 ,i believe that a similar examination of other details would establish with equal certainty this connection of cause and effect between the ,regulation itself and the beneficial result4 ,but1 were it otherwise1 is it a reasonable demand that the connection between the different sections of the new ,order should be1 in every point1 capable of mathematical demonstration8 ,is every complex measure to be stigmatized as a fraud1 because its component parts1 however perfect their harmony1 do not arise out of each other by a logical sequence8 ,might not even an apparently extraneous appendage 7though ,i am far from regarding this as a just description of any part of the present ,regulation7 be accepted as at least an indication of the spirit and object of the framer8 ,there is yet another point1 which has left on your mind1 as on that of others1 an unfavourable impression4 ,the attendance of the additional ,clerks on ,sunday in the ,london ,post ,office is voluntary4 ,in other words1 a man whose conscience forbids him to attend on the ,sunday shall not forfeit his situation by refusal4 ,does this imply1 on the part of the ,government1 any mis-giving as to the lawfulness of the duties proposed8 ,it merely recognizes the possibility of such scruples1 and extends to them the amplest toleration4 ,that there are men who would think such attendance wrong1 is a matter of fact3 the ,government tolerates1 though it does not share1 the opinion1 and would prevent its operating harshly upon the fortunes of the conscientious recusant4 ,how loud an outcry1 from the very same quarters1 would have followed a system of compulsion1 may be inferred from the strange contradiction which 8closes a period0 in the 8,reply40 8,he must be a very prejudiced man who calls the poor clerk a voluntary agent in the matter1 when he is enticed by a bribe1 which his small salary makes an irresistible temptation1 or compelled by the fear of the loss of his only means of subsistence40 #bh 8,the poor clerk0 is not threatened with the loss of his subsistence3 that he is not1 was urged just now against the authors of the measure as a proof of conscious guilt or weakness4 ,but is it not1 you ask1 too strong a temptation to a man of infirm religious principles1 to offer him a reward for ,sunday labour8 ,can you expect him to resist the 8bribe80 ,and if afterwards this voluntary labour should lie heavily on his conscience1 how could you justify to yourself your own share in his transgression8 ,now1 if the act proposed be in itself1 and of necessity1 a sin2 if no consideration of motives or circumstances can justify the occupation of any portion of the ,sunday in the most urgent of worldly concerns2 he1 certainly1 is deeply guilty1 who proposes it1 even with an alternative1 to the choice of his neighbour4 ,but1 if this be one of those questions on which ,god's ,word leaves scope1 within certain limits1 for the exercise of an individual judgment2 if1 in reducing to practical detail the admitted duty of a religious observance of the ,sunday1 one man may conscientiously approve what another no less conscientiously condemns1 and it remains only that 8every man be fully persuaded in his own mind20 then the demand made by this ,regulation upon the candour and courage of those to whom it offers the work and the wages1 is no greater than that which must daily be encountered by all who labour for their own bread1 and would do so in the fear of ,god4 ,to none does it propose1 as the ,author of the ,reply would lead us to imagine1 the surrender of religious instruction and worship1 the abandonment of all opportunity of serious meditation1 or the devotion of the ,lord's ,day to the service of a 8godless or thoughtless multitude40 #bi;a ,on the contrary1 the possibility of such profanation1 within the precincts to which its authority extends1 the ,order in question expressly and peremptorily precludes4 #bi;b ,there remains1 however1 on the minds of many1 an impression1 scarcely affected by the most conclusive reply to individual objections1 that the result1 if not the object1 of the late alteration will be a delivery of letters on the ,sunday in ,london4 ,hitherto1 it is said1 the merchants of ,london have enjoyed1 and have thought themselves entitled to enjoy1 an advantage in this respect over the merchants of ,bristol or of ,liverpool4 ,letters arriving in ,london on the ,sunday were in their possession at a far earlier hour on the ,monday than that at which they could reach the hands of their provincial rivals4 ,can it be expected that the loss of this advantage will be borne with patience8 ,will not an irresistible clamour demand some compensation8 ,and what can this compensation be1 but a ,sunday delivery of letters in ,london8 ,now let it be remembered1 in the first place1 that the advantage lost by ,london is not given to the country4 ,no one pretends to say that by means of the ,sunday transmission through ,london the provincial merchant will receive his letters earlier than the metropolitan4 ,the injury complained of is at last but equality4 ,the complaint rests only on the supposition that the ,london merchant has a right to an advantage over his provincial competitor4 ,and1 if this advantage has been once lost2 if the claim to superiority has once been set aside2 if the interests of every country merchant throughout ,england are now concerned in preventing its restoration2 may it not be expected that the clamours of ,london for the reestablishment of inequality will be balanced by the clamours of the provinces for the maintenance of equality8 ,but1 again1 from what quarter shall we expect the demand for a ,sunday delivery in ,london8 ,the merchants of ,london have pledged themselves1 by the terms of their late remonstrances1 to the principle of ,sunday observance4 ,they have availed themselves of the religious argument in their recent agitation4 ,they have urged the sacred right of every ,englishman to his seventh day of rest4 ,is it to be supposed1 that they who have resisted1 on religious grounds1 the slightest possible interference with the completeness of the ,sabbatical rest1 are prepared now to revenge their disappointment by clamouring for a wide and sweeping desecration8 ,if any examples of so lamentable an inconsistency should unhappily be presented1 nothing more can be required1 as an exposure of the new agitation1 than a reference to the recorded principles of the old4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have now discharged1 however imperfectly1 the task imposed upon me by circumstances which ,i must still deplore4 ,earnestly1 most earnestly1 do ,i desire the thankful and reverent observance of the ,lord's ,day1 with which ,i believe our national as well as individual welfare to be closely1 inseparably linked4 ,deeply do ,i lament the condition of those weary and comfortless labourers1 who are cut off from the inestimable blessings to be derived from its holy rest4 ,it is because ,i believe that many of the provincial officers of our national ,post ,office are involved in this calamity1 and that the present measure contemplates1 and in part effects1 their emancipation1 that ,i have condemned the blind hostility with which it has been assailed1 and laboured to expose the misrepresentations by which that hostility has been fostered4 ,while1 however1 the late alteration has been1 in my opinion1 a measure of relief1 for which many will have cause to be thankful1 it is not a final measure4 ,the ,government itself has not so regarded it4 ,other measures of ,sunday relief have followed and are following it in quick succession4 ,already the order is given for the final closing 7as a general rule7 of every country ,post ,office on the ,sunday1 at ten o'clock in the morning4 ,i have intimated in my former ,letter the particular hopes which ,i entertain of a still further reform4 #cc ,i do not despair of the arrival of a day when every ,post ,office throughout ,england and ,wales shall have followed yet more completely the example of the ,post ,office of ,london2 when the ordinary delivery of letters shall be totally suspended every where on the ,sunday1 while at the same time1 from a due regard to the infinite necessities of a great country in an advanced stage of civilization1 the sanctity of the day of rest is not so interpreted as to shorten practically by one the six days of labour4 ,to this extent1 at least1 my own hopes and wishes are carried4 ,if it should prove that even more than this can safely be attempted2 that the transmission1 as well as the delivery1 of letters may from the ,saturday to the ,monday be suspended2 far be it from me to raise a finger in hindrance of so unexpected1 yet theoretically so desirable1 a result4 ,let me only express a hope1 that1 if this demand be seriously urged upon the attention of the ,government and the ,legislature1 it may not be made in a spirit which must rouse the just indignation of those to whom it is addressed1 while it alienates the sympathy of every candid and reasonable mind4 ,believe me1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours very truly1 ,c4 ,j4 ,,vaughan4 ,,lapworth ,,rectory1 ,december #bi1 #ahdi4 ,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 ,,fellows4 #hvo4 #ahdj4 ,,footnotes4 #a ,lest another inference should possibly be drawn1 it is right to state that this ,letter 7like the former7 is addressed to no one whose name is known to the ,public4 #e;a ,reply to ,dr4 ,vaughan's ,letter on the late ,post ,office ,agitation4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,r4 ,pears1 ,m4,a41 ,master of the ,bath ,grammar ,school4 #e;b ,reply1 page #aj4 #g ,parochial ,sermons1 page #bia4 #h;a ,,ms4 ,sermon1 preached in the ,chapel of ,harrow ,school1 ,nov4 #aa1 #ahdi4 #h;b ,the ,lord's ,day4 #aa;a ,reply1 page #ba4 #aa;b ,reply1 page #af1 c4 #ab ,reply1 page #ai4 #ac;a ,the ,record1 ,december #c1 #ahdi4 #ac;b ,reply1 page #ai4 #ac;c ,reply1 page #d4 #ac;d ,letter to the ,hon4 ,grantley ,f4 ,berkeley1 on the ,delivery of ,letters on the ,lord's ,day4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,r4 ,pears1 ,m4,a4 #ac;e ,ibid1 page #aj4 #ad ,reply1 pages #ab1 #bj4 #af ,the ,record1 as above4 #ai;a ,letter ,i4 page #h4 #ai;b ,letter ,i4 ,note #g1 page #h4 #bj;a ,letter ,i4 page #g4 #bj;b ,see above1 page #ag4 #bj;c ,reply1 page #ah4 #ba;a ,see above1 page #ad4 ,reply1 page #ac4 #ba;b ,reply1 page #g4 #ba;c ,reply1 page #f4 #bb;a ,letter ,i4 pages #g1 #h4 #bb;b ,reply1 page #h4 #bc ,letter ,i4 note #h1 page #aj4 #bd ,letter ,i4 note #aj1 pages #aa1 #ab4 #bf ,letter ,i4 page #ac4 ,see above1 page #ah4 #bh ,reply1 page #ai4 #bi;a ,reply1 pages #ac1 #ad4 #bi;b ,letter ,i4 pages #g1 #h4 #cc ,letter ,i4 page #ab4 ,nor is it perhaps 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