The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-29 00:00:00

AN INTERNATIONAL NUISANCE.

We have very little doubt that if either the news-
papers or the telegraph company cannot make ar-
rangements to have the European news collated, or
condensed, or boiled down, or whatever it is that
telegraph operators do to news, by more competent
persons than those who now perform the duty, it
will be generally agreed, a year or two hence, that
the Cable not only does not fulfil its mission of
bringing the two continents into closer relation, but
acts as a positive breeder of misunderstanding. The
habit of telegraphing his own vague impressions and
guesses as positive facts, by which Reuter's operator
on this side of the water did so much mischief during
our war, is evidently growing on the gentleman who
collects news for the Associated Press on the other.
A despatch appeared a few days ago, after the
announcement of the Russian treaty, announcing
that " regret was generally expressed by the press
and in political circles at the proposed sale of the
Russian possessions in North America to the United
States." An attempt was made by some of the
papers by using such sensational headings as
" Excitement in England over the Proposed Sale,"
&c., to use this utterly worthless announcement to
give the treaty popularity here. But it will be
seen, on a moment's consideration, that the report
of a man of whose judgment, or acumen, or social
position, or education nobody knows anything, as
to what is expressed in " the pri_ss" of a particular
morning, or as to the feelings of people in " politi-
cal circles" during the twenty-four hours last past
in a place like London or Paris is not only good for
nothing, but, when factitious weight is given to it by
telegraphing it along the bed of the ocean for 3,000
miles, may prove positively mischievous. We know
nothing of the facilities which the agent of the As-
sociated Press has for forming correct impressions,
but we infer from his despatches that these are ex-
ceedingly small. On Sunday last he telegraphed :
'There is a general distrust in political and finan-
cial circles all over Europe ;" a statement the
entire value of which depends on the character and
position of the man who makes it. It would take
Rothschild himself or Count Bismark to say, with
any approwth to accuracy, what the feeling is in
political and financial circles " all over Europe."
We may be quite sure the opinion of the gentleman
who compounds these little despatches for the press

here, on a subject of such vast range, is not vit3ll3l
more than that of the first man one nigh
happen to see in a Cheapside chop-house. Oa M°llt
day he went to work again, and telegraphed
The feeling of distrust in financial and Pni
teal circles has increased to a war panic. Thel
uncertainty in regard to the future action ,of the
Emperor Napoleon, and the fears that he will adopt
a warlike policy, create widespread distrust ana°cl3eg.,
business men, and great depression in c°. n
quence exists in commercial and financial circles
both in this city and in Paris." be fi
cllO
ure
effect of this stuff was, of course, to prod
depression and alarm here, which is the 111°.„
surprising as a refutation of it was to be found 10" f
the same batch of despatches. The true gauge.. 0
the feeling in financial circles in London is the 14%
of the funds. We find on looking at this that ft)dr
week before last Monday, Ce,nsols stool at 91 ;ilin
re-
the influence of the " panic" described by to.
porter
.they fell to 901, which shows what,,lllB,,:e,
t.ormation is worth. if a "panic" pervaded r-xtryth)
the. present state of English politics and 01 Icl
English army and navy, the stock exchange w°l_lo-
- a very different story to tell. The 41,er
elated
_Press ought to do one of two things, elt-,
by a large salary tempt a first-class man in Lc'
don, whose political and financial judgmentstrle
worth. something, and who does know bow P 7,0
feel. in political and financial circles, to rnaii`,e+o
their. news for them, or else rigidly reject all 'lr.
portion of the despatches of the present worthyl d
cumb. ent which consists of his own guesses, al:10
predictions, and publish nothing but his
Otherwise the Cable will become a pest at w
nuisance as far as the public is concerned----"91)e
great a pest and a nuisance nobody can inlagihe
who does not know how many people get an Lie
foreign news they ever read from the telegraP"
despatches.— The Nation.