New-York tribune., 1874-05-20
inst a. Francis Gillette's led the way to twenty
wears of Republican rule in the State.
FINANCIAL FAILURE or TIE BRITISH
TELEGRdPH.

The financial outlook of tho British Tele-
oraph under Government auspices and man
ocement is anything but encouraging. For
long time 1t has been impossible to obtain any
adconate or comprehensive statement as to
what the system cost the British Treasury in
the Outset, or what have been the annual ex-
penditures for construction, maintenance, ana
working; inquiries in this direction having
been generally met with the response that IL
was not yet possible to separate capital from
expenditure; and that, therefore, the public
must be content with knowing that messages
were transmitted at tho rate of shilling for
twenty words, no matter whether tho distance
traversed was half mile or five hundred.
AT last, however, we are in possession OF IN
formation that enables us to discern some-
thing definite concerning the actual situation.
When the purchase and State control OF the
Telegraph was first brought before Parliament,
the estimate of cost, founded on the judg-
ment of experts, was E2,2OO,OOO, or S11, 100000.
When the business, however, had been assumed
by tho State, it was found that the Govern
ment had in reality bound itself to much
greater expenditure. and that the actual cost
would not be less than f7,5O0,000 or $37, 900 900.
This was about all the information that
Parliament or its Committees could get until
Sir Lyon Playfar came in as Post
master-Genera and successor of Mr.. Mon
sell, in the last days of the Gladstone Ad-
ministration. This new official being OF
an eminently practical turn of mind, and withal
taking warning perhaps by the fate of his prede-
cessor, who retired under cloud for allowing
Mr.. Scudamorc, the Telegraph superintendent.
to expend some four millions of dollars with
ont the authority or knowledge of Parliament,
determined 20 know accurately what there
was to be known, and as the result of such
determination we have before us a British
Treasury document bearing date March, 1874,
which brings up the account of the Telegraph
to the 1st of January, 1873, the latest date
for which Parliament or the Treasury has any
exact returns-a fact in itself not little sim
gular and suggestive. The figures tabulated
are as follows:
Gio.' Gio rtcp les .aoant paid to sub
narne Telegraph compsles........ 970O53 4,S5Ofl5
Expenditures in respect to salaries rents o,
piIinto l.T appIcaslo for interest ,ii sink.
Aaa, s sssi: for interest j.a 1873 1886 la5iS5c
D-dceny OF telegr'ph revenue to meet
eaIip: Dee 81, 1872 ............. 1888 or 6679l5
I'm other words, the financial result of the
British Telegraph under State management up
to the commencement of 1873 showed def
cheney of receipts adequate to meet expenses
and interest (the latter calculated at three per
cent, the rate on cOnsols by which the capital
il represented) of nearly six hundred thousand
dollars. Had fUe per cent been paid-the
lowest rate at which the United States has
been able to borrow, and lower rate than
France or the best railroad corporation in the
United States can Obtaln-the deficit would
have been increased to nearly one million five
hundred thousand dollars.
1t is also to be observed that the capital ac-
count of the British Government Telegraph is
not yet closed, but further addition, on ac-
count Of arrearages, of at least $lO,0OO,OOO is
anticipated. At the same time, many of the
expenses actually incurred in the manage
mont of the Telegraph are charged to the ac-
count of the Post Office, and so go to swell
the cost of the Mail Department of the Post
Office, and diminish that of the Telegraph
Department. For example, tho Telegraph
Manager receives salary from the Telegraph
Bureau of f300, and another from
the Post-Ofice of f1,5OO, although his
duties are exclusively telegraphic. In a
similar way, many of the extensions
and alterations of buildings to accommodate
the Telegraph are charged upon the Post-0fiice
In short, the whole showing is most singular
one, not at all creditable to official manage
mcnt 1t is likely to prove also, we should
think, something of wet blanket on Mr..
Creswells pet project that the Government in
this country should, in addition to all its other
ill-performed work, take upon itself the busi-
ness of constructing, operating and leasing
Telcgraphs.