The Express.
London, England, 1868-04-16 00:00:00

N
• T

THE POST-OFFICE AND THE ELECTRIC

TILLEGRAPHS.

The report of Mr. F. I. Scudamore to Lord Stan-
ley of Alderley upon the advisability of working
the electric telegraphs by the Post-office has been
printed, with its appendices, as a parliamentary
paper. In his letter to the Treasury forwarding
the report, Lord Stanley states that he had for
many years been of opinion that the telegraphic
system of the country ought to be under the con-
trol of the government, and worked by the Post-
office, of which it is the legitimate auxiliary ; and
finding that his view was shared by many public
men, he gave Mr. Scudamore who is one of the
assistant-secretaries of the Post-office, instructions
to make the necessary investigations as long ago as
September 1865.
Mr. Scudamore begins his report by noticing the
various proposals which have been made from time
to time for the annexation of the telegraphs to the
Post-office. Mr. Baines, a member of the depart-
ments, appears to have been the first who submitted
a developed and practicable plan for carrying the
conception into effect., proposing to adopt a uniform
charge of 6d. for each message of 20 words between
any two post towns. Mr. Baines made his sugges-
tions in 11356. In 1861 a memorandum " in support
of the expediency of the telegraphic communica-
tion of the kingdom being placed in the hands of
the government" was received by the then Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, and has since been
found to have been written by Mr. Ricardo,
formerly member for Stoke, and for many years
Chairman of the Electric and International Tele-
graph Company, of which he was the founder.
Considering the very severe remarks which Mr.
Grimston, the present Chairman of the same
company, has published upon the government
proposal, this fact is remarkable.
Mr. Scudamore's first inquiries appear to have
been directed to the working of the telegraphic
systems of Belgium and Switzerland, countries in
which this means of communication is in the hands
of the State.
A comparison of the Belgian telegraphic system
with the area and population of the country gives
the following results : there is one mile of tele-
graphic line to five and a half square miles of
territory, and one telegraphic office to 15,000 per-
sons. Until the month of December, 1862, the
charge for the transmission of a message of 20
words from one part of Belgium to another was. 1
franc 50 cents, or, roughly, fifteenpence. It was
then reduced to 1 franc, or tenpenee, at which
point it remained until let December, 1865, when
it was again reduced, for what are called " or-
dinary" messages, to half a franc, or fivepenoe.
Ordinary messages, which are said to form 93 per
cent. of the whole number of messages, are those
which do not involve any complicated operations,
such as repetition to insure accuracy, payment for
reply, the following the addressees from place to
place, the delivery of copies to more than
one addressee, and so forth. Ordinary tele-
grams, moreover, must be paid for in stamps, or,
which comes to the same thing, must be written on
stamped paper. For fivepence then, an ordinary
message of twenty words may be sent from any part
to any other part of Belgium. For the " extraor-
dinary" telegrams, the old tariff of tenpence for
twenty words, with an addition of fivepence for
every addition of ten words, or part of ten words,
has been retained. The sender of such a telegram
has the right, on payment of a double charge, i.e.,
on payment of twenty pence for twenty words, to
require a record of its receipt. When he does this,
the receiving office transmits to him by tele-
graph an exact oopy of his message, to-
gether with a note of the hour at which
his message was delivered, and of the name of
the person to whom it was deliverd. The sender
of an extraordinary" telegram may have copies
thereof delivered to any number of persons residing
within the delivery of the receiving office, at a
charge of fivepence per copy. The administrators
of the Belgian telegraphs undertake to return to
the sender the charge on a message when, through

Mr' Metm' the secretary of the Society for the Pre' thefaultof the office, the telegramdoes 'not reach
Motion of Women, 20, Harmarket, attended for the pro-
locution, and Mr. W. Edwin defended the prisoner. its destination, or when it does not reach its desti-
Timothy Edgdy, a publican out of business, said that he nation so soon as it would if it had been sent by
resided at No. 151, Drury.lane. On Tuesday afternoon, post, or when it is so incorrectly rendered as not to
shortly after three o'clock, be was passing along Benkside, accomplish its object. Supposing the claim for
when he saw the prisoner coming towards him with a
little girl, well dressed, just behind him, crying very much. restitution to be made and allowed in all snob caries
When the archway of Southwark-bridge the primrose no throe delosibed above, the administration of
turned round nd said something when witness based the telegraphs in Belgium would appear to be very
child call out, " Don't, father,"". and seemed very much free from error, since there is only one restitution
afraid of him* The Ilium' Ulm took the child up and of charge to every 5,000 telegrams. As a compe-
ted her under his right arm, and proceeded down the quepee of the facilities which the government has
stela* loading to the river. SaVer."! something was ' to the bli the business of the telegraphic
wrong, witness followed him, and saw the prisoner walk *Tea Pu Bele
into the river and throw the child from him into deep I delisrement m um has immensely Morseled.
water, about • yard or a yard and a half from him, arial In 1880 the proportion of telegrams to letters was
USW re he fell down. Previous to his doing that, he tea a 1 to 218 ;in 1883, Ito 114 ;in the first four
i bin cap and coat and laid them on the shore. Witham months of 1866, Ito 48.
rescued the child, and gave prisoner into custody. We may nowtr Liars at the Swim telegraphic
This evidence was confirmed by another witness, and
the child herself. system. Swi had, at the close of 1885,
Mr. Edwin here said he was instructed to say that the one mile of telegraphic wire to seven square miles
was a lionatt respectable, hard-working men, aof territory, and one telegraphic office to 10,000
husband, good father, and attended to his family pram,. Besides the 252 telegraphic offices, the
with groat care. The appointees of the little girl in court
would show that he did not neglect her,
el her and his other children. He did not think, under , !Aro%
Nit woo my food great major.ity of which were located at the post-
hsa 28
Switzerland, at the close of 1865,
them eiroumataurees, that be had any intention to harm !offices of deposit.
her. It was a drunken freak. The charge for the transmission of a telegram
Mr. Buchan obeervel that with the evidence before from one part to arty other part of Switzerland is,
him he had no abethative but to email* the
tell far aster to wader his shirelteerhOruktfer uniformly irrespective of distance, one franc
however, nmand bine for a few dye for Weber biquiries, 'or Ise Wi ... ”da------orrith an addition of a quarter
THANES. of a franc for each addition of 10 words or part of
lrederiek Manic, a ass about 35 yeses et lags, sadist* 10 words. This charge secures the imme-
dwelling in Limehoune, was brought before Mr. Benson, en diets delivery of the telegram at the residence
Inman& charged with obtaining various esma of wag jof the addressee, when that residence is ,within
1 fraudulent pretences of Mr. John Dicker,
_pawnbrolorr. 1 a quarter of a league (i.e. within three-quarters of
Limehouse, adjoining the parish church. inc sobetersee , a mile) of the • office, or the delivery
of the charge againethim was,siitZ: • that , . .., free of e when tuts addrainga,
he had pawned sheets of eleotro- sower 'DT Fon
bag them to be silver. Five pot maw trey ; residence is not within that distance. In ihe
been advanced to him upon to ceases, the utmost vile' of ! latter abbe the has the option of requiriog ,
which was fr. or Si. Thlr'erianW &ft" receiving the ' that his ni Adhered by exprem. The I
usual caution from the wagasrase, 'said lam guilty of i oho. for an emelt on foot is at the rate .of
obtaining money, but net frandelestly, or with a frauds- iTaiTtrsne far a taheatd a ham The charge for
lent intent. For the led two years I have been
for the mad Sam Cowpony, and far the loose= ! w zamated express is it the rate of one franc for
months bars been 'replayed as a diver plater for the : tits Bite distance.
above esiapsay. My hoes* is apart from the maim 1 In almost all ether respects this arrangemeitt.
Short! after
" after that the esuipany wee Ia Chansely, . a eha soma tagamarhioargam are similar to thaw
"a ee6re".. a wages bate." "1' hrrar ; which have been adopted in Belgium. The tikrilis
some no monen,--eaher weeks part .11: .
wide. waywere row Pisa I riiiiived no mow / was system has, however, one vary important advantage
in the hallt et *moths( piano of silver with a paws ' over the Belgian erten, and an advantage
1--- I .
broker bibs hewed ti wales_
__dee to ass. ..., _Wine was ils entirely due to the flexion which in Switzer
plaid my miaow I used to rearm mom. Ka* wee the , boa_ a, in Bakawmoiatam, between the maw and
"chleillal a es, .mot of •7 Imiluietik.; *lda ea ' --'
• aaminimnAkes. In SiriiMliand
wet unreel ever two yens. Whoa I was short of eflthir I
bays taken phase of ahead eleetre-plated, similar to the
1 de poste (mew ceders) may, if the minder
pieces of diver I pawned earl ninon& Be it west ea ' desire t%, be sent by telepaph instead of by post.
until the latter sad et February, when the pa tel I In BO the ptepoitioa. of ,It' to to Latins
sumo by the MOW Ober o=olo7 wand • twaasseitted was lto 118 ;in 1869 i wan Ito lla ;in
Soon after that I lemma as any piers produced to Glints ~... it was 3. be is.
the wads assegai of mum e. !,e. me. I atterowle I lawwe,_
Pawed mere at Ilk . sass serisa te ash' up the 74llellesse NIP gist we axe mask behind
mount wing in ea liketaLllible =paw. 'Swat akDA at 1 a
Oa a pr a ' maw
Mr. Hires primer ftc it lon, t:Yed
FlAlimißMl7ll,,jr rind'..
lee
The sumFolesoisEisst ifK *Orli :.. 'F' rade fort 14/12n,
beat• n •litean the Rev. a. is ziesemia_ ,me innin• •,,„„...-..J a„.,
,0670)67, and ,dm tatogiama to
of St. Vs, Nothing-MR; was edged on fee fen '''','"'"'"
Mier invedigatica. 4,882,687. The following tabbserlulits lie Ma- •
. . .6J alit yr nerac:c., ',rower attee,u 6.1.:i 14 6444 1 .4.1