New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-03-30
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.
GREAT BRITAIN.
nun ooxr,xrrp FAILURE OF THE GOVERNMENT
-,,pCpApu SYSTEM.

coming in from all quarters. 10 register .nei" "i'
vonld be TO rewrte my former narrative Inc p'o-
vincial papers are still the victims OF pioEok'ns
;rrecrlar,,v They 20 to press sometimes with their
@us.,o - to,oorams sometimes with half, some |
,;os with almost none. The Leeds Mercury OF March
,r,oars without any report Of the speech OF the
ri,st Lord Of the Admiralty on the navy estimates
finished before the preceding evening. In 'he
s manor of the 2d and the 4th. the Parliamentary
rnorts are mere fragments, while the issue OF the
9Th contains the speeches of the Lord Chancellor OH
naturalization and &C Mr. CardweH on tue army
estimates which were not received tn season ,"o
nreyious day. The Manchester Examiner OF Marcn
is unable to give the most important palV VI '
debate on State aid to emigration the hlgn. Te.C'o
The speeches of Sir Charles Dixie Mr. McCuilagh LOT
rens and Mr. Gladstone could not get over the "ires
On the 4th the same paper had only portion Vi
the speech of the Secretary OF Na oh '"o '
,stimates and none of the subsequent debate.
These three debates. on Emigration INC N"r"
rst;,,a,os and fine Army Estimates, have been the
most important Of the week. On the 9TH IL had Only
mart Of the debate on the Malt Tax and no part OF
that ON tbe Navy Estimates. The Manchester Guar
dian of March gives the continuation of the report
Of Mr. Cardwclrs speech on the Army Estimates,
which should have been in tho paper OF the 4th'
like The Examiner it received only part OF the
Malt Tax debate-subject, need say. OF enormous
interest TO the beerlovng Britonand no part OF the
Navy Estimates debate. Under the old system, SUCH
debates reported in the provincial papers with
regularity and fullness. They put no extraordinary
pressure on the wires Theirtransmission may always
be Anticipated. Everybody knows when an I'M
portant debate is to come oh-except. apparently
the postal telegraph authorities The weather is no
longer exceptional, and that convenient excuse,
after having been worked by Lord Harrington and
Mr. ScudamOre with a good deal moro energy than
they work the wires has at last TO be dropped. If
tho telegraphing were a. good as the weather. we
should have no cause to complain.
The Dailg Ne,rS of March has long article from
which cannot do better than make some extracts.
Admitting some Improvement it says g. the Post
Office officials have not yet succeeded in getting the
system into working Order
The Postmaster General is hopeful, Mr.. scudamore
is apologize and confident but the public. who are suf
ferug immense Inconvenience while the officials are
learning tie business, tired Of apologies and viii soon
begin to ocOld"
1t rcmaIks that provincial papers areno longer com.
PEELED to appear with their Parliamentary reports cut
short IN the middle; but the instances have given
above show that belief to be i'll founded. The fol-
lowing is still worse
Complaints OF an entire break down are, however, not
altogether at an end. Belfast newspapers of Monday
had received Geographic dispatches from o'clock
Saturday afternoon till Monday morning. and then
only mcager sheet or two had come III when they went
TO press"
And if YOU have any doubt what is the general
character of the service here is passage sufficiently
precise and explicit:
THE ordinary complaints are however much Of
the soppagc communications as OF ineiciency and
delay. Ihce is no certainty about the telegraph II
may take your message correctly and as quickly Of
old bat there about equal chances that viii either
buuder delay it. Nor this inefciency confined
any particular district 1t is the metropolis
elsewhere. 1t affects the London papers much as
does tho papers published in other part OF the
Everywhere Geographic intelligence is scanty
and what there is comes in bad FORM great system
Of internal communication has been smten with palsy.
and communication has become hang and ftiu."
The Dailg NdrS is paper of great crcumspcction.
When it brings an indictment like that against a
great Government enterprise. it does not speak with
ont book. Such q statement is not merely forcibe-
il is conclusive.
The management of the Post Office telegraphs is
then subjected by The Daily Ners to elaborate and
minute criticism, which have not room to quote
II is shown that efficiency of service is made sec
ondary consideration; revenue the first; which is
the point have before dwelt 1t is shown that
distinct Offices have been consolidated, and the
number of clerks distributed over wider extent of
country; that the Offices are unable to deal with
rush of business that the clerks are beginning to
put on leisurey airs; that, in a word, eve have all
the elements Of inefficient administration; GOr is
there any hope of better things till efficiency has
been put first and second in the thoughts of
the Heads of the Department, and underlings have
everywhere been impressed with the supreme i'm
portancc OF pIOmptitude and efficiency
In the House of Commons there have been four
fresh inquiries of the Postmaster General followed
bv four responses of the usual official nature. In
neither any satisfaction given to the public
Last week occurred the Tppcrary election. The
Dublin correspondent of The Times writes, Feb. %:
Tne result Of the Tpperary election to-day is not yet
known. but is anxiously expected Conflicting reports
are flying about, unsatisfactory OF the tel
egraphc system leaves yet without any positive
information 1t was rumOred that the wires cut in
places but the receipt OF kilograms dproved
Che statement"
The memorials of Glasgow and Liverpool have
Deen followed by q memorial from the merchants of |
Dundee, complaining of the rregularlty and delay |
in the transmission of telegraphic messages. The
Dundee Town Council .have taken the matter up
officially.
Some Of the railways dependent the Govern
ment service are equally embarrassed, and it is
stated that the directors of the North Eastern Rail-
way will shortly establish Geographic system Of
their own, with separate wires and under the con-
troll of an electrician of their own staff.
close with two statements more significant than |
ALL Dr. Callahan, chairman of Mr. Kickhanl's COM |
mittee for the Tpperary election has written to the
Cork papers asserting that kilograms regarding the
election were detained suppressed by the Govern |
ment officials If this charge is true, don't doubt
that whatever subordnates may have been guilty of
such an oflense will be promptly dismissed. No high
official connected with the Government is to be sus-
pected of practicing tolerating base maneuyer
as that. But true or not the charge needs to be |
met and have not been able TO learn that il has