The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-24 00:00:00

THE TELEGRAPHS BILL.

While the fate of the Telegraphs Bill, at present under
examination by a select committee of the House of Com.
mons, is still uncertain, we have to thank the opponents of
the measure for kindly providing us with an unanswerable
argument in its favour. In the fugitive literature which
the companies have issued for public edification, one
great point dwelt upon has been the effect of the
proposed change in the interests of the press. We
were asked to bear in mind how dangerous a
thing moaopoly was ; and we were told that in a
country as this, where political feeling ran high, a Govern.
ment monopoly would be specially objectionable, as
tempting to favouritism and partiality in the selection
and distribution of news. An official department might
intentionally withhold the report of a speech by a political
opponent ; it might favour one journal at the expense
of another ; it might tamper with the sacredness of
privileged communications. Sir James Graham had
opened letters ; the MachiaVelian Scudamore might
pry into telegrams. Q. e. d. We all knew that such
fears were perfectly chimerical ; but we, in addition,
wanted evidence of the actual abuses of the
present system. Just in the nick of time, as if
solicitous to take away from their best friends all excuse
for supporting them, the companies themselves are
obliging enough to give us exactly the illustration we want.
It appears that among the many provincial newspapers
which have advocated the Government measure is the
Belfast Northern Whig. Our contemporary, in a leading
article, had the audacity to complain of the present system,
its charges, the errors in transmission, and other points.
For doing so it received a, missive from the Electric and Inter-
national Telegraph Company, stating that the article would
be submitted to the next meeting of directors, and that the
attack was " most unjustifiable." The letter wound up
with the extraordinary remark, that the time appeared to
have arrived when the directors should seriously consider
whether the contract with the journal should be continued,
and that no doubt they would come to a decision which
would enable the proprietors to make their own news
arrangements on less exorbitant terms. That is to say,
because an independent journal chooses to express an
opinion on a topic of wide public interest, the telegraph
company threatens to take advantage of its power,
as almost the sole distributor of intelligence, to deprive
that journal of the essential aliment needed by the pur-
veyor of news. If this is not " monopoly "of the worst
kind, the word has lost all meaning. To apply the
screw to provincial newspapers, and threaten them with
"no news" unless they see things exactly in the same
way as the magnates of Telegraph-street, is an inde-
fensible abuse of power which has been legally acquired,
but which is tolerated only under certain clearly-
defined conditions. It was never the intention of
the Legislature that one great company should
have such a control over the press ; the business of sending
news, like that of conveying parcels, being looked upon as
a purely commercial speculation, a matter of payment in
cash, not in opinion, for value received. We have now
found out what the wishes and the powers of these com-
panies really are, and we have to thank the proprietors of
the Northern Whig for making us aware that a termina-
tion of existing arrangements is even a more urgent affair
than we had supposed.— Tclerjraph.

Miss Carpenter contributes a letter to the Star on the
subject of female education in India. She found, on het
recent visit to that country, that a strong desire had
sprung up among the enlightened natives of various parts
of the country to promote the education of the female part
of the community, who exercised so important an influence
on their homes. The great obstacle to this is the general
want of female teachers, as there are at present no II indoe
ladies who have been trained to such an office. To
remedy this evil, Miss Carpenter intends going out
shortly to commence a training•school. This scheme she
believes will receive the full co-operation and sympathy
of the enlightened natives. It will be necessary for
her to take out a trained certificated teacher, whose
expenses must be paid, Educated ladies who go out as
voluntaries to train as teachers in the institution with the
mistress will receive board and inesuc43ll in the ver-
nacular.