The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1883.

Kumara Times, Issue 2057, 3 April 1883, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1883.

Some time ago we had occasion to draw the attention of the Telegraph Department to the laxity displayed in the transmission of Renter's cablegrams to this office after their receipt in Wei-

lington. It is a wise provision that when a telegram is received at any office for transmission, the time at which it is so received must be made known in the telegram to the person to whom it is sent, whether the telegram be of a private character or press message intended for publication. This is done free by the department, and serves to act as a check, if need be, in keeping all operators at the terminal and intermediate repeating stations alive to their work during office hours. Yesterday, at about 5.10 p.m. (allowing two minutes for its despatch from the local office, where the message was timed to have been completed at 5.8 p.m.) we received messages from Melbourne and Adelaide which were received at Wellington at 1.30 p.m., by which a period of 3 hours and 35 minutes was taken in its transmission from Wellington. Fortunately the telegrams were not of very great moment, being chiefly in reference to the revenues of the colonies from whence the messages came ; yet that does not affect our complaint; important cablegrams have for the same reason, had to be held over till next day's publication, ft is sometimes urged that the department have a great pressure of private messages. But it must be borne in mind that one press telegram may be for the benefit of hundreds of subscribers or readers, and therefore, some activity should be employed in causing such messages to reach their destination at the earliest possible moment. The fault, we know, is not in our local office; we have had plenty of proofs that the most prompt, despatch has been accorded to our messages by the local master, Mr MacDermott, who has always evinced a desire to place them in our hands at the earliest possible moment. We simply make these remarks in the hope that sufficient activity will in future be displayed at the stations where it* has been least exhibited, and our readers made acquainted with the latest news, for which we yearly pay to Reuter a good round sum in addition to the actual cost of the.messages.