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THE POST OFFlCE TELGGRAPRS. 30 1
telegrams produce great profit t.0 tho senders; then why
should they not pay a sulrdl part of the profit t,o cover the
expenses? OU the other hand, 11 large part of thc increaqcd
traffic on the Government mires consists of coxnplimentq
rnessa.ges, or other trifling mattcra, which me can hnve no
sufficient motive for promoting. Men have beer1 known to
telegraph for R clean pocket-handkcrchief. 1 mn.y cvOn yellture
to doubt whether the immense qunutit,y of press tolegrnltls
now sent t,hrongh the wires, at n great loss to tho dcp;trt111cllt,
is really requisite. This traffic is n llundrctl times as grcrlt
it was eight or ten yca~s ago, and, of course, if onc newspp~r
largely employs the telegraph, otlwrv must do so in sclf-dofence.
But would not ~nuch of the matter bc just as rlscful if scut by
post ? Whether this be ho or not, others must decide; but I
entirely object on principle to the Government subsiciising
the newspaper prcss, as it practically docs at prossnt. Thu
ruinously low press tariff mas one of the worst features of
the Post Office scheme.
The question still remains, What is to Le done 1 Many
people will deprecate any retrogrado movement, as it is cnllcd,
on the ground that all will come right of itself. 13ut the public
should disabuse themselves of this notion. The ‘J’rrnsury
Commissioners, after a full inquiry, say : “The conclusion
from these figures cannot be avoided, that, unless some check
is put onathe expenditure, or some means devised for augmenting
the receipts, the management of the telegraphs will becolnc
a permanent charge on the finances of tho couutrg ” (p. 11).
My own opinion is, that t’he telegraphs ought to Lo not merely
paying the bare interest on the debt, but hying up n Binking
fund for the redemption of that debt, or for meeting increased
cost of maintenance. A very large sum of money has been
spent by the Post Office during the last seven years on new
posts and mires, which require renewing every fifteen years,
on an average, so that this cost must be re-incurred after
eight ;years more. Is the Post Office providing for this cost
oat of present revenue, or is it leaving the matter till the evil
time comes ? Remembering that, according to the Treasury
Commisviouers, even the stationery required by the Telegmpll