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THE RAILWA YS A.VD TJiE srd TE. 3 57
Oftice, and upon the tascs, fuel, lights, etc., requird in thoso
buildings. The last item, too, was unusually largo during the
year 1872, owing to an exceptional exponditare of 648,000
on new buildings. On the averago of the fift,ccn 3’01fl*~, 1868-
1872, the whole espenditurc on buildings, repairs, and
other requisites has not exceeded ~120,000 per annuu1, in
addition to &-12,000 or L23,OOO a year for mail-bags. Bfuoh
of the recent expenditure on buildings must bo chnrgeJ, too,
on tho money order a,nd snvings bank business of the
department.
The state of things is somewhat different in the Telegraph
Department, ; for tllough telegraphic work is ftLvourably
situated as regards the first, sccond, and fourth conditions, it
involves a considerublo amount of capitul cxpcnditure. ‘I’ll0
cost of the telegraphs in the possession of tIlc I’ostmaster-
General alrcndy amounts to nine or ten millions, and it will
probably have to bo increased froln time t.o tiule. ‘l’ho
working of t’his department mill, 110 doubt, afford us valuable
experience in the course of t~cn years for judging as to the
practicbbility of State interference in other branchcs of cornmunication
; but I hold that the fern ycnrs yet elapsed sinco
the purchase are insufficient to enable us to cstimato tho real
results. A profuse expenditure of capital is still going on,
and large claims against the department arc still outstauding.
If we must draw infcrcnccs, thy will, in my opinion, be of an
unfavourablc cllaracter. IYc learn that in cffccting n compulsory
purchase even from four or five conlpurativcly wcak
companies, a prernjum of about 100 per cent. must bo paid by
the public. Great indignation has bccn espresscd at tho
prices which railway companies have to pay in tho purchase
of land; but equally bad cases might be found in the telegraph
bargains. If the reports in the nowspapera are to bo
trusted, the Isle of Man Telegraph Company received $16,10G
for their business and property, which allowed a distribution
of 211,774 to shareholders, who had paid up g5,OOO : so poor,
however, had been the previous prospects of the company,
that the shares might have been bought some years before at
5s. per g20 share, or less than the 160th part of what