TELEGRAPHY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 366, 20 June 1874, Page 3

TELEGRAPHY.

In the matter of telegraphy the Americans set us an example. On the occasion of the delivery of the Presidential message, an experiment was made at the Washington telegraph office, the practical results of which will be of immense importance as regards the future oftelegraphythroughouttheworld. The message, containing 11,500 words, was transmitted from Washington to New York, a distance of 290 miles, over a single wire, in 224 minutes, the speed obtained being over 2,500 letters per minute. At New York, the message was delivered from the automatic instrument, printed in bold type in the presence of the Postmaster of that city. This achievement in telegraphy is the more remarkable as the principle involved is not new, but was well known in 1848. By the new American combination of chemistry and mechanism, the speed is apparently unlimited. The system which was inaugurated in December last has now beenseveral months in operation, and messages at the rate of 1200 words, or 6,000 letters a minute, have been transmitted with the same satisfactory results. Hitherto, the speed attainable over circuits of similar length in England by the Wheatstone automatic system at present in use for the "high speed" service by the postal telegraph department, does not exceed 200 letters in a minute. In New Zealand we have reason, to believe the highest speed obtainable has been at the rate of forty words a minute, which, however, could not be kept up very long. We know that the most skdful operators in the employ of the department — their number is not very large, because little inducement is held out to good men to remain in the service 55 — have, in a couple of instances, attained as high a rate of speed as forty-five words per minute on very short messages. The longest message ever received at the Dunedin station contined about 8,000 words, and was transmitted in four hours. We do no;b require to cite instances of the slowness of our system. Perhaps if Mr. Lemon cannot be induced to take a lesson from America, he will see his way to introducing the English plan, by which the rate of speed attained on our wires may be increased, fourfold. — " Evening Star.'

A 'correspondent writing in the Auckland "Star" of the irrepresihle Mrs. Howard and pauper immigrants, says :—: — " Could not the Government get rid of the difficulty experienced in dealing with the Agent-General by setting the old lady at him and giving her a handsome bonus for waylaying him and shipping him off under the free passage system. This would relieve the Government of a difficult which they seem unaMe tocops with, and give Mrs Howard a chance of unaking some amends for the mischief she has already done. Unless Featherstone is kidnapped by some one there appears every probability of his remaining an incubua ou the colony for t'ae remaider of his. natural life, — Yours truly,, Squewiff.