The Staffordshire and Potteries Examiner. — 1880-07-24 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

MURDER OF MADAME SKOBELEFF.  Madame Strada, the mother of the well-known Russian General, was murdered on Sunday, while driving near Phillippopolis, by a Russia sub-lieutenant, named °mato, and four accompliem, who arc stated to be Montenegrins. The coachman was also murdered, and an aide-de-camp of General ()boleti, who was accompanying the unfortunate lady at the time, coo wounded The latter, however, succeeded in reaching Philippopolis, wherb he at once denounced Ouzatis, with whom he was well aegatinted, as the assasssin had been a frequent-e1:4.: tor at Madanie Skobeleff's house. Oisratis ass findibg hin*lfin danger fled to the neighbouring mountains, but was soon captured by a body of cavalry which was sent in pursuit. Ile has since committed 'suicide, The Montenegrins who are accused of being his ise. complices are in this hands of the police, and his !maser with SeVixal of his personal friends have abu been wrested. Robbery is supposed to have been the motive of the crime, as Madame Skobeleff's moncy and personal ornaments were not to be found when the police arrived at the scene of the murder,  The Queen's prize at Wimbledon has been won by Private Ferguson, of the let Argyll Corps, who see!ed. 74 points. . . _ .  The Qui,en, on the nomination of Lb..' „ „ has appointed Charles 7, Surrey Horrid n. r • .'. r be  eohn Dickson,believed k e the last representative of the famous regiment of the Scots Grt•ys who charged so gallantly with tho heavy cavalry at the battle of Waterloo, is dead.  Ct,ll WhilteNblll V. .11V,LSS,r, nas trial by the Slaaciiester Stiradiary, •!,irge of having embezzled moneys b2longing , mployer.  The army memorial W the Prince Imp, rial, itd by by COunt tiluiehen, and which is to cost £4,000, is to be.erected on the °oath aide of the arsenal at tVoolwieh.  A deputation from the Soci.ity fin the Encouragemint of A rts. nanufactures, t Commerce, has waited Gni a Mr. Fawcett, M.P.; the Postmastia the purpose of urging the establishment of six. -any telegrams. The deputation included Lord A ,t red r hurchill, chairman of the Council of the Scee tatty of Aria; Mr. E. Chadwick, Cit., Admiral Sir I'. Nicolson, Bart., C. 8., Rear-Minna! Mr. A. Cassels, Mr. U. CT. Bartley, and Mr. 11. T. Wood, Secretary.—Lord A. Churchill in explaining the object of the deputation, urged that the time had now arrived when the charge on inland telegrams might he reduced, and a minimum charge of sixpence substituted for the present one of a shilling. lie pointed out that the charges on inland telegraim in this country are higher than in other European countries, the rates in France, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland all being lower than in England; and attention was drawn to the curious anomaly that it telegram could be sent from any part of the tnited Kingdom to Belgium or to France for less than the smailest sum for which a telegram might he sent from one part of London to another—Mr. Chadwick mtered at great length into the advantages which would accrue both to the revenue and to the public by the reduced telegraphic tariff, dwelling particularly on the stimulus which would be given to commerce and to the devel. apment of business generally by cheap facilities of cominunication.—Mr. Fawcett, in replying. said he wished to assure the deputation and the various Chambers of Commerce throughout the country who had memorialised him on the subject, that no one recognised more fully or more strongly than he did the great advantages which would be conferred upon the entire community by a reduction in the price of telegrams, if it were possible, or by the odoption at any other means which would facilitate the means of international communication. So fat as the Po t Office Department was concerned, they had no objection whatever to accept a reduction in the price if telegrams, if such a reduction could be justified on the contemplation of considerations which must be borne in view. In considering what ought lobe the price of a telegram, they ought to keep steadily in view these two important principles—if the price chin ged for a telegram was not sufficient to make the telegraph service commercially remunerative, then the deficit which would arise must be notate up out of the general taxation of the country, and the taxpayer would thus be fined in order to enable the senor, of t elegrams to send them at a lower rate. It seemed to him that that would be as economically indefensible as if they imposed a tax on the general community in order to give a grant in ,aid of wages to Valle special class of labourers, or if they taxed the whole community in order to give a bounty to some particulartrade, with the object of musing the pt oducts of that trade to be sold at a prim less than the cost ol production. On the othou I, it the price now charged for telegrams was sufficient to make the service connnercially remunerative, then the difference between what would be the price which would make it remunerative and the price which was charged was really so much taxation imposed upon the telegrams just in the some way as if the tax-gatherer stood over the sender of the message and levied upon him a tax at the moment of its despatch. If it could be proved that 81. would be a remunerative price for a telegram, and if ls. were charged, Bd. would be pie for the service rendered, and 4d. must be regardie as taxation imposed upon the telegram. It IA at obvious, however, that it was not for him or the department to express an opinion as to what ass the best way in which the taxation of the country could be raised or should be raised, or as to whether it wai advisible that taxation should be imposed upon Oa internal communications of the country. TtIOR ! were questions which must be determined not by the Post Office Department, but by the Chancellor ol Exchequer and by the Government generally. But much though they would all wish to reduce the price of telegrams, it was, after all, a question that must be determined not by their wishes, but by financial considerations, and with a view to ascertaining what would be the effect of adoption of aixpenny telegrams, he had had some interesting estimates &awn till hy Mr. Patey, the head of the Telegraph Departim at. From these it appeared that in 1876 the groat revenue from the telegraph service was £1,287,000, while the outlay for working expenses, repairs, and renewal was £1,000,000, thus showing a profit of £197,000. The same returns for the last financial year ending 31st March, 1880, showed £1,471,000 receipts, with £1,117,000 expenditure, showing a profit of £354,000. Thus the increase of profit in this time was £137,000 tilthough in the same period the increase in the capital outlay was only £1,000,000. Comparing the first three months of the present financial year with the same period last year, the inereace in the receipts woo £BO,