New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-08-01
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.
GOVERNMENT TELEGRAPHs.
lie POSTAL TELEGRAPH-ITs FAILURE IN GREAT
BRITAIN.
IFRoM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENCE


The advocates Of Postal Telegraph In America, not k
ing my accounts wrote TO the PostOfce people here,
and got most excellent certificates Of the good working
Of the English system. The only faults IN that testimony
were that the people who gave the certificates ana the
people in whose behalf they were given were the same
MT scudamore, the manager Of the Postal TeegrapS'
on trial and the verdict Of the public had gone do
cisvey against him, whcTcupon Mr.. Washburn apPHeu
to Mr. scudamore TO say whether the verdict was just
and Mr.. Scudamore did what most accused persons
would have done. He said he was Innocent
and that it was the jury which was to blame mat
might do for America but here in Parliament the foS'
was compelled to admit over ana over
again the imperfecton of the system, and to take
refuge in pledges of Improvement Yet now that the
tcegraphs have been in the hands Of the Government
than six months, the complaints are renewed as
theoretically rs ever.
The service between London and Dublin has proved
inter failure in Government hands that for some time
past printed notices have been put up in the telegraph
offices warning the public that messages subject to
delay and they in fact accepted az the risk Of the
sender The PostOlee has always fulfilled one part Of
jts duties with punctuahty. 1t will take as much money
any body likes to pay IT, after having paid for your
dispatch you find il has not been sent, or has
been so long delayed to be worthless that
is your affair." The POst-OAice has got your
money and knows how TO keep it. When Lord HaItinS
ton was asked time ago in Parliament whether
money was returned in such cases lie treated it as
Joke saving I'm substance that if the public chose TO pay
after being notified Of probable delay, they had no
ground Of complaint 1t is in similar spirit that the
PosOice hes dealt with the whole questionable spirit
Of the CircumlOcutou ONCE dus unusual amount Of
official insOenco), applied to business which demands
the utmost speed and neviiiity in it, management Mr.
Pm the member for Dublin, sharply attacked the POST
ONCE in the House of Commons Tuesday night for its
continued mbccity and msmapa cement. The dssatis-
faction in Ireland and especially in Dublin is extreme.
Meetings have!becn held and strong resolutions passed
no
only one in the kingdom except London, and the YeIy
existence Of such institution is dependent on
perfect tecuuphic communication. Under the
Old system business done promptly
and wen. Since the olegraphs came into the hands of
the Once there had been delays uncertainty, and
losses. The stock Exchange had been driven to pass
resolution saying they could no longer refrain from
expressing their strong dsapprobation of the utterly in
gfcient marnor in which the Geographic communication
between England and ireland had been carried since
the transfer OF the tclceTaphs TO the Government" MI
PIN showed by examples how messages were delayed
and rendered useless. There existed he said, but
feeling Of disappointment and annoyance at the mode in
which the clegr3phs had been worked by the Post Office
Nor is tho IS the difficulty Irish merely. Mr.. Crawford,
one OF the members for London, said he lad received
many representations from his constituents as TO the
nresept inporfect state of tclecrapic communication
and assured the PosmasterGoneral that the community
felt this was not what they had right to expect. He
suggested that one reason for the difficulty might be
found I'm the effort Of the POstOce TO carry too
extended service at too low rates lie had recently had
20 wait four hours for answer 20 telegram sent 10
Liverpool while le received answer in hrce hours TO
bombay dispatch Tleldeliyery in London itself was
badly managed Formerly, messages were sent ont as
soon as received; each boy received penny for each
message delivered and OF course hurried back to get
many messages and as many pennies as he could.
Now on the contrary tie boys not only got no pennies,
put were Kept the offices till number of messages had
"a and all sent off together.
It would difficult TO find better illustration Of the
par.imouious spirit and clumsy routine under Which the
PostOmce acts. Again, said Mr.. Crawford each COM
pany had formerly its Offices and there were four in
Niuciueluc alone; now the Offices are consolidated
and there are sometimes so many people at one riee
Niugto give i'm messages that tho crush like That
l.thc door 90 a t'catcr benefit night The Depart
ucut has not got rid and apparently docs notmeant
aJ, OF its IostOnco notions believing, as said last
February That because one Office receive and trans
OF, amy number of letters Office cam in the same
way receive and transmit any number of kilograms.
lily own experience more than confirms what Mr.
Crawford sass. Ny dispatches ordinarily arrive lat
and are carcloss'y written out. Sometimes they have
been uniuttlIEbe Sometimes the meaning Of them has
oaen wholly changed correspondent sent me o tee-
gram from Paris, saying he could do certain thing for
aLuudred francs III the London Office they seem never
30 have heard Of French currency, and in the dispatch
Ercached Iuc, pounds substituted for francs The
bland COSTUME journey 90 Paris. Apparently tie pro-
Vlcai press is letter served tan in the beginning.
T.elapars Of Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh, and the
other great cities usc when the cle graphs I'm pri-
vate hands, 10 print u reports of the Parliamentary
C'..es the J. ST morning, aa the London papers DO.
E.ty found themselves 40 tie beginning Of the year
ilddcuy cut off from their usual supply of news. They
complained, ana / have before related how MF.
lcudamore, with an assurance more than Off
Ma, replied that they wanted too much news.
Those papers ToFeF-ey insisted on knowing their own
ir.ncs, better ll8u Dir scUdar orc and it under
stood u.t t-y were to DE accommodated, but tie
{. ra,,h Of 81 Martins lie Grand 70 have adhered
IDS original opinion At any rac, be has kept down
r news with admirable regularity have just looked
LIore flo % Tic Iiuactcser Examiner for month
past. Is parliamentary reports are mere fragments
Except when Uo-se has omitted It's evening sitting
Tie ElGBDC Aa, uvt once been able to publish full re-
r.rt Continuation not received" is the inyariable
~, uunceIlort.
The Postmostor-Ceueral replying to Mr. PIN and Mr.
Crawford, did not undertake 10 deny that their COM
pants are 'e and ought t. he Temcdiei, and had not
been remcl..d lie ursd,ia eXtcuuaou OF the sins Of
his department, that lero had been great incTea VI
Lu.inc am great efforts o. do the business, and great
Hue. in lr.uu rrcs TIE weather which used TO DO
duty Last February, could NOT well DE held responsible
Tor tho t .r1rtod ilut of the Summer business, ard
We hear 0ctAgO OF II this occasion. No doubt ID is
left I'm reserve 70 be brought out with new effect and
fresb uatfO. whom The Autumn and Winter storms set
H.. But what concerns tic public IS not how ingenious
an excuse Lord Harrington and Nh Scudalnore can
lanc for not doing the duty they undertook Their adj
missions Of failure ar. the thing important to the
American public, which docs lot want 70 run blind
fold into the same enaro which cntrapped the English
Lord Harrington said that lie Obliged 10 admit that
since the transfer OF the graphs % the Government
uefe had been consart, Trough not daily delays, which
we're much be regretted They had not made allowance
FOR The leat increase ia tie business. The department
t1 dome II best 10 meet the increase had not sue