an 2
fr. 20.

Attention was soon directed to Sir Rowland Hill's proposals for the
reform of the English system. Before the reform had been introduced in
England, the French Government were urged to improve the French service
on the lines proposed by Sir Rowland Hill. In July 1839 M. Lherbette,
member of the Chamber of Deputies, suggested the introduction of a
Government measure, and in this he met with considerable support. The
Government, however, contented themselves with remarking that it would
be better to await the result of the projected reform in England.

In the following years the question was frequently raised in the French
Parliament, on the Budget, or on reports and petitions, and there was
considerable public feeling in favour of the reform. In 1843, 65
_conseils g['e]n['e]raux_ presented petitions in favour of reduced
postage. In 1844 M. de St. Priest made a proposal to reduce the number
of zones to two, and to fix the rate of postage at 20 centimes for
distances up to 40 kilometres, and 30 centimes for greater distances. A
parliamentary Commission, appointed to examine this proposal, made an
estimate of the actual cost to the Post Office of the transmission of
letters, and found that while the cost of a letter going 40 kilometres
(postage 20 centimes) was 9.75 centimes, the cost of a letter going 900
kilometres (postage 1 fr. 20) was 14.75 centimes. The Commission
reported in favour of a uniform rate of 20 centimes, but the proposal
was not adopted. Other proposals for the introduction of a reformed
system were made in February 1846 and January 1848.

It was left to the Republican Government of 1848 to introduce the
reform.[195] The National Assembly had under consideration at the same
time two propositions for effecting the reform--that of M. de St.
Priest, and that of the Government itself, both proposing a uniform rate
of 25 centimes for single letters. These propositions were referred to a
parliamentary Commission, of which M. de St. Priest was a member, and
the report of the Commission, which recommended the reform, was adopted
by the Assembly.

The Government Bill to give effect to the recommendation of the
Commission was opposed in the National Assembly, mainly on the ground
that the benefit of the reduction of rate would accrue almost entirely
to the business and commercial interests and not to the general public;
and on the ground that a letter was a parcel, and should be charged like
any ot