The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-25 00:00:00

FINANCE AND METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.

Mr. DouLTON, pursuant to notice, moved that the
following information should be given as instruc-
..

tions to the finance committee in reference to
metropolitan improvements : " The various
sources of revenue available to other corporations
for puposes of improvement and public works,
including the municipality of Paris and other bodies.
The amount of money granted by Government to
metropolitan improvements during the present cen-
tury, stating to what purpose and from what
source. The amount collected annually from the
metropolitan area by direct and indirect taxation ;
total amount raised by Government and the City
from the trade of the port of London ; an approxi-
mate estimate of the expenses of the board, includ-
ing main drainage, metropolitan communications,
parks, Thames embankment, and other improve-
ments ; a statement of the sources available in
the opinion of the committee for metropolitan
revenue applicable to public improvements ; an
estimate . of. their probable annual amount ;
amount of local taxation raised on the metropolitan
area." He (Mr. Doulton) contended that the board
ought to have powers for indirect as well as direct
taxation. They ought to have the benefit arising
from taxation on the coal duties, cabs, omnibuses,
and other things. This was adopted in the pro-
vincial towns of Liverpool, Birmingham, and Man-
chester, and found to be successful, and ought to be
adopted in London. He concluded by moving that
the above recommendations be adopted.
Mr. DALTON seconded the motion.
After a considerable discussion it was carried
unanimously.
The board then adjourned.

EMPLOYMENT OF NATIVES ON THE

INDIAN TELEGRAPHS.

(From the Bombay Telegraph and Courier,.)
There is an article in the Rast Goftar of Sunday,
containing some ill-conditioned remarks with re-
gard to Mr. Owen's exclusion of natives from em-
ployment in the Electric Telegraph department.
We thought that we had sufficiently shown that
men who were either going to drink water or re-
turning from prayer, or ablution, were not the sort
of people to be entrusted with the working. of such
an .institution, as the Electric Telegraph. We
refrained touching upon the real objection from
motives which may be understood. As, however,
our native friends do not seem to understand our
delicacy, we must at once enlighten them as to the
reason of their exclusion from an establishment,
where secrecy, confidence, and fidelity, are the pri-
mary elements. Mr. Owen has discovered that
natives cannot be trusted in the department. He
has carefully tried them, and found them wanting.
Scarcely one of them was above a bribe ; and those
that were honest were so devoid of all prudence that
a message, after it had passed through their hands,
was no longer a secret. It was a native signaller
that precipitated the revolt at Kolapoor, last
year, by disclosing the preparations which were
'being made to throw troops into Southern
Maharastra. There are many other instances which
might be adduced, but we have shown sufficient
to prove that Mr. Owen is perfectly justified in
making a distinction, invidious although it may
appear to thoie interested. The names of many
wealthy men who have endeavoured to tamper with
the telegraph are well known to us, and we would
advise our friends of the Rast Goftar to pernut Mr.
Owen to manage his establishment as he sees best.
He knows the materials that are best suited for his
purpose ; and so long as he performs his work satis-
factorily, Government have about as much right to
interfere with him as the Rast Goftar has. He
has had sufficient experience to be able to judge
what kind of men suit him best ; and it would be
a nice thing indeed, were Government to adopt our
coitemporary's advice, and compel him to engage
people in whom he has no confidence. These are
disagreeable truths, and we would rather not have
been forced, as it were, to give them publicity ; but
we cannot permit the head of a department to be
blamed without a cause. Since Mr. Owen assumed
charge of the electric telegraph, we have scarcely
had a single complaint from the public. Delays, it
is true, have occurred ; but when we look to the
unsettled state of the country, the wonder is that
we have had any telegraphic communication at all.
Everywhere a marked improvement is observable.
A system has been introduced and established, and
owing to this the confidence of the public has been
obtained. We have no doubt, however, now that
the howl has been commenced, that it will be pro-
longed. But Mr. Owen need not regard it; he has
so firmly established himself in the good opinion of
all whose good opinion is valuable, that the cla-
mouring of a few raw and uneducated boys will do
him but little harm. As we have more than once
stated, natives will have to compete with Europeans
upon a footing of equality, or not at all. They will
no longer be.promoted over the heads of deserving
men, simply because they arc natives, and can read
and write English tolerably well. They must rise
above prejudice, show themselves the equals of
Europeans in all that contributes to success in life ;
respect the feelings of all beneath them ; and ab-
stain from servility to those above them. By these
means they will be enabled to enter the arena of
strife ; contend for the prize for all and sundry ;
and compete with the European for the highest
honours the State can bestow. Before they can
reach this altitude, however, they must learn to
refrain from shuddering at the sight of a Mhar ;
and, if need be, learn wisdom from the experience
of a Mhang. They must cease to believe that
the touch of a Christian is pollution: they had
better refrain from prayer except in their closets
and temple;' and, as much possible, abstain from
all extravagance in red-raddle and yell ow-ochre.
When they can eat and drink like men ; treat their
wives and daughters like ladies ; and conduct them-
selves, generally, after the manner and civilisation
of the West ; there will be far higher appointments
open for them than clerkships in public offices. As
we have before stated, these are disagreeable things
for us to publish ; but our friends who are repre-
sented by the Rast Goftar seem to forget, when
they hold the Englishman up to scorn, that there
are often two sides to a picture. Let them cultivate
the virtues which we inculcate, and they will reap
a richer reward than by 'declaiming upon the few
vices which we practise. By doing the first, they
may in time rise above us ; but in continuing in
their present course they merely exhibit the ambi-
tion of vulgar minds—a desire to reduce all above
them to their own level.

TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION IN
FRANCE.

The Constitutionnel publishes an article on the
development of communication by the electric tele-
graph. Looking at the number of despatches
sent, it says—lt is interesting to ascertain to what
account the public has turned this means of corre-
spondence. In 1852 the number of despatches sent
for the public was 48,000 ; in 1856 it rose
to 360,000 ; and in 1857 to 413,000. It is true,
that in 1852 there were only 43 stations, whereas
in 1856 there were 167, and in 1857, 171* But still
the increase is remarkable; it was, for example,
53,000 more in 1857 than in 1856, though the
number of stations was only four more. Referring
to the electric telegraph as a source of revenue to
the State, the article observes:—The Government,
in placing telegraphs at the disposal of the public,
has created a new branch of revenue. In 1852 the
receipts from telegraphs were only 542,000 f. ; in
1856 they were 3,191,000 f., and in 1857, 3,333,000 f.
These, it will be seen, are not to be disdained. No
doubt, the expenses of the functionaries employed
absorb the largest part of them ; but notwithstand.-
ing telegraphs already present net pr.ofits, and they.
cannot fail to increase by the extension which tele-
graphic communications are destined to take all
over the country. The 3,333,000 f. of 1857 were di-
vided amongst the different stations in this man-
ner :—Paris alone for 1,466,000 f. ; Marseilles for
455,000 f. ; and the towns which followed in order
of importance, were Lyons, Bordeaux, Havre,
Nantes, Toulouse, Lille, Rouen, Strasburg, and
r of
Bayonne. The numbewhichnpossfsr:sms
alviticl
Bourse the
and
a
re-
ceipts exceed 10,000 f. is 30. It will be noticed that the
sTtiaithioulnlsalofof omthCesemapeoric'et wh
are amongst the most im-
portant. The average sum received for each de-
spatch whilst in 1856 it
was
s 8 wasf.B3c.in
BlBust7itonmlyosBtfb.
e6c.,
remem
bered that the
Government for the sake of commerce has made
several reductions in the charge for despatches.
The Treasury, however, has lost nothing ; its re-
ceipts, on the contrary, have increased ; thus whilst
the average charge fotra despatch was in 1857,
less thanfrom in 1856, h283,000f.e
kilo-
metre e
rose
augmen-
tation of more than 8 per tcent.o29 averagel
291,000 f„ an a yieldn
per

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