TELEGRAPHIC BLUNDERS.

Westport Times, Volume VII, Issue 1117, 21 October 1873, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC BLUNDERS.

The telegraph does such magical work for us day by day that its errors are apt to be forgotton in our admiration of its celerity and general accuracy. Yet. when the wires are affected by storms, or its clerks by carelessness, the telegraph makes dreadful blunders, In one case, the mere misplacing of a point was like to have embroiled two com* mercial firms in a lawsuit. The case was this: A message was sent—" Tou can have the hundred pieces at sixteen and nine thousand more at same rate," —on which understanding or misunderstanding, the goods were ordered. At a meeting of the Liverpool Cb rber of Commerce, Mr Horsfall, y m complaining of the irregularity anc? ' | correctness of the Anglo-Indian telegu.ph fl instanced a message sent to one gentle-1 man in Calcutta, to inform hiui that I his wife (in England) had presented! him " with a fine daughter." The I message informed him instead that his I wife had presented him "with five I daughters." In another case, a husband, anxiously I awaiting news of an interesting event at home, received, per wire, the staggering announcement — " Your wife had a fine I box this morning!" A curious case [ occurred some years since in Canada. A [ well-known politician being ill at Toronto, the message Was sent by wire to his family—" Mr Brown is no worse." The family got it—" Mr Brown is no I more," and at once sent on a special train for his remains. In another wise, I a gentleman who had ordered his " gig " | to await him at the station, was under- | stood from the telegram to require the B attendance of his " pig." The following good story is told of a clergyman in Philadelphia. A preacher who had accepted a call to a pastoral j charge in a Western State, was prevented ! from starting on the day appointed, by reason of the want of a quorum to proceed with his ordination. A telegram | was accordingly despatched to the deacons—*' Presbytery lacked a quorum to ordain." Before these words reached I their destination they had got themselves f twisted into the following extraordinary I shape : —" Presbytery tacked a worm on to Adam." The deacons, on receipt of this message, were utterly bamboozled—could make nothing of it; but, after long consultation, came to the conclusion I that their new minister had got marred, | and that this was his facetious way of j making them aware of it. They accord- I ingly took the supposed hint, and j provided lodgings for two instead of one.

Reference has already been made to the telegraphic service between this country and India. It is now, all circumstances considered, wrought with wonderful accuracy; but for some months at first, the despatches having to pass through the hands of foreign clerks, arrived in a state of confusion sufficiently ludicrous to those who had not to pay for them and were not required make sense of them. The following, which appeared in the Bombay Gazette a few weeks after the opening of the line, is worth preserving :—" It is due to this new line of communication, says the Gazette, " tha<i we should acknowledge in our overland summary the remarkable service it has rendered to India as a means of transmitting public news and private advices. The following telegrams, printed as received, speak for themselves, they are Reuter's: • " London, 17th—Alderman Salomon titus salt baromds crawfords refused corranclay another agriablan assination ireland carecton butury catholic archbishop Armach." " 22nd—letter popp Bumming Cumming contat allapnon—Catholics auter encomical Council for discussion from already contend abitury generally chained hoals. Nopoleon audience to Lord Clarendyn prince prussian coming Constantinople after chctir suez brashop excited." " 29th—Spisow clarundas al ounheral •association . . . influence on bestiwos Europe and believe at no time since Prussians austrian paer existed faviar pans pant monte montement blessing peace." It would be interesting to know what the Bombay Gazette make of these remarkable announcements.