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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 138, 2 June 1876, Page 2

The, Dunedin Star' referring to the ' telegraph tariff, complains of its op- - pressiveness, and says that; concessions' should be made to evening papers during the session, seeing that all the advantages are now ; wtth the, morning papers. We most heartily agree with our contemporary, and, in order to. show how great are the disadvantages under which, the evening journals labor, will quote the rates charged. After 5 p.m. press messages are forwarded "at the rate of sixpence for,, the first 25 words, and threepence for each succeeding 25 words. This, consequently, is the charge' which the morning papers are called upon to pay, and they' are therefore r able ~to,ar- . range for lengthy messages being sent to them, for which they have to pay a comparatively small sum. Qn the other hand all press telegrams (in excess of a total of 200 words during the day which are allowed at evening rates) forwarded between 8 a.m. and ,5 p.m; are charged for at the rate l of a halfpenny a word. In other, wor,ds the, evening papers have to pay for a message of 1000 words — and there are many such during the session •of Parliament — £2 Is Bd, while a similar telegram to a morning paper would cost only 10s 3d.,- Now as the. principal part of theiJParlVamenjtiißify - work is got through after the closing of the telegraph.office&.afr eight p'clock,, and consequently cannot be telegraphed until the following morning it r will be seen how unfairly this tariff must act upon an evening, journal* Either the message must contain a far smaller number of, words or the paper to which it is sent must be' prepared to 'pay four times as much as its more fortunate morning contemporary. As a very large proportion '. of newspaper . headers derive their information from the evening papers this is a matter of public interest, and we feeljthat we are justified : in thus -.referring^ to it.'r. If the authorities can see their way to effecting some alteration in the charges they will be conferring a benefit not only .. on newspaper proprietors, but .on .that much larger section of the: community— , newspaper readers. = I<:!,'1 <:! ,' !