The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-07-17 00:00:00

THE POST OFFICE AND THE
TELEGRAPHS.

The text of the Telegraphs Bill has been published.
The ninth clause empowers the Treasury to raise for
the purposes of the Act any sum not exceeding in the
whole seven million pounds sterling, by the creation of
terminable annuities for any period of years not
exceeding thirty. or by the creation of Exchequer Bills,
or Exchequer Bonds, or of three per cent. capital
stocks of annuities, or by all or any of these niodss.
The amount so raised, or the stock so created, is to be
placed to an account at the Bank of England in the
names of the Commission-fl fir the Reduction of the
National Debt. The terminable annuities are to be
consolidated with the terminable annuities created
under the authority of the Act 30 and 31 Viet.
c. 145, and preceding Acts, and be transfer-
able in like manner as other terminable annuities
in the books of the Governor and Company of the
Bank of England. The Exchequer Bills and Ex-
chequer Bonds are to be paid off at par at any perii id
not exceeding five years. The three per cent, stocks
are to be consolidated in the hooks of the Bank of
' England with the capitol stocks of annuities hearing
the like rate of interest, the interest mina which is
payable upon the sth of January and sth of July in
each year, and are to he tr insferrable in the lmokii in
like manner as the capital stocks of annuities with
which they are consolidated, and to have the like
rights and be subject to the like conditions as the said
annuities.
The "monopoly "clause in the bill is the fourth. By
Clause 5 the following exceptions to the postal mono-
poly are specified :
There shall its excepted from the 8111.1 exelesive privileges of
the Postmaster-General all telegrams of the follow Eng des-
ciipt VMS (that is to say, :
Teleurama in respect of the transmission of which no
charge is made, transmitted by a telegraph maintained
or used solely for private use, and relating to the busi-
ness or private affairs Id the owner thereof.
Telegrams trammitted, with the written licence or con-
sent, either special or general, of the Postmaster-
General, under the hand of any ofilcrr of the Post
Nike, authorized for that purpose by the Postmaster-
General.
Telegrams transmitted by an existing telegraph company
the undertaking of which shall not fm the time being
have been acquired by the Piintmastcr.GcneraL and for
the purposes of this Act "a,i existing telegraph COM-
pany "shall mean only a company which, by the seventh
section of the Telegraph Act, 186,1, is authorised to re-
quire the Postmaster-General, in the event therein men-
tioned, to purchase its undertaking
Telegrams transmitted by a railway or canal company in
conforniity with the provisions of "The Telegraph Act,
1868," or any agreement coon med thereby, Sr made or
to be made in pursuance thereof.
Clause 6is the penal clause. It enacts:—
Any company, corporation, or person who transmits or
Mils, or is concerned in transmitting any telegram in
contravention of the exclusive privilege conferred on
the Postmaster- General by this Act, or who receives,
collects, or delivers any telegram' in contravention of
such exclusive privilege or aids, or is concerned in the
receipt, erllectim, or delivery of soch telegram in
contravention rof such privilege, shall, on summary
conviction, be liable for every such offence to a penalty
not exc.:rhea five pounds, and where any person
offending against this Act is a servant or person hired
to do the Act complained of, the roaster or other
person employing such servant shall be subject to a
like penalty.
Every written or printed message or communication de-
livered stalest office fir the purpose of being transmitted
by a postal telegraph, arid every transcript thereof made by
any permit liCtlng in pursuance of tile orders of the Post,
mister General, shall be a post letter within the meaning of
the add net passed in the first year of the reign of her
present Majesty, chapter 26.

THE GREAT PEACE JUBILEE
AT BOSTON.
The American Correspondent of The Times, writing from
New York, Julie 24, has thus described the monster concert
which was designed to celebrate the return of peace to
the United States," and it is to he hoped that peace will pre-
vail with that great people, until the time arrives for another

jubilee"
The grandest musical festival the world has ever wit-
nessed has just closed. It has been honoured by the
presence ,of all the great men in the land, from Presi-
dent Grant and Commodore Farragutt.i the Governors
of the States and the mayors of the cities. Hundreds
of thousands ,if people have flocked from all parts of
tile United States and the Canadaa to attend the exer-
cises.
This great concert commenced on the 15th of June
and closed on the 19th. A building of twice the
capacity of any of the amphitheatres of ancient Rome
or Athens was erected and fill,d daily to overflowing '
with audience', of from 50,000 to 60,000 people, while
as many as twice that number surged about the doors
unsoile to gain admittance. And siihow:h the tickets
of admission ranged in price from 2 dole. tot dole., yet
they readily sold at a premium of from 15 dole. to
25 itolo. The whole American people, as it were, have
been music-mad for the past two weeks, and they are
by no means fairly over it yet. If the "Year of Ju-
bilee" has not COMP, certainly the month of Jubilee
has. This is the first great mad demonstration of
delight at the close of the rebellion. . . .
It was in June, 1867, that this great festival was
first thought of, so that it has taken two years to
perfect it. Mr. Patrick Stephen Gilmore, an Ameri-
can citizen, who was born in Dublin in 1829, was the
projector of the enterprise. He is the gentle-
man who got up the great Jubilee in New Orleans on
the 4th of March, 1884, upon the occasion of the in-
auguration of Governor Hahn, the first Free State
Governor of that State. At this time he had the
active co-nperation of General Banks. It was at first
proposed to build the Colosseum in New York, but the
c,t,zens of that town thought it too great an under-
taking. They told Mr. Gilmore that it was an idea lit
for an Emperor, and that it would take an Emperor
to carry it Init. "Then," replied Mr. Gilmore, "I
must bec ime an Emperor." The great musicians of
America see' nded Mr. Gilmore in his monster under-
taking, and lent him their sympathy ',lid hearty co-
operation. . .
' Strauss, the famous waltz writer woo invited by
telegi alai to come over and bring 1,-. I. inch but a pre-
vious engagement in St. Petershorg hre,. nted him from
gcoepting the invitation. Ole E • M., lame Parepa-
Rosa, and Carl Rosa volunteered their services, and all
the principal musicians in the country did the same.
Then came the din of preparation, the collecting of
the orchestra, the drilling of choruses, the erecting of
buildings. An army of men worked day and
night to perfect the arrangements, sail every one who
, could aided in the enterprise....
Architects were engaged for months in perfecting
the plans f or.the Coloneuro. The di-notate was 500 ft.