TELEGRAPHS. An act of 1870 empowered the post-office to acquire the existing electric tele graphs: and the telegraphic communication of the country is now in the hands of the post-office. As a result of governmental control the rates charged have been greatly reduced and the num ber of messages sent greatly increased. Since I885 the charges have been half a penny per word. with a minimum charge of sixpence for each telegram. Above S9 millions of telegraphic mes sages were sent in the year ending IMarch 31, 1001. about ten times the number sent in 1870. The gross revenue was 1'3.459.153: working expenses, 13,512.569. By an act of 1898 the Post-Office Department was further authorized to assume control of the telephone service of the United Kingdom.
A fee of 24.—in addition to the ordinary post age—prepaid in stamps. secures careful handling of any letter. newspaper, or look-packet, and ren ders its transmission more secure, by enabling it to be traced from its receipt to its delivery. Let
ters may be registered for a fee of twopence to any place in the British colonies, and for various rates of charge to different foreign countries. Letters eontaining coin, if not registered. are treated as if they were. and charged on delivery with a registration fee of eightpence; the same fee is charged on letters marked 'Registered' and posted in the usual way instead of being given to a post-office servant. For the fiscal year 1899-1900, 16.256.852 letters were registered in the United Kingdom. Recently a system of insurance against loss or damage to letters has been estab lished. The registration fee of 2d. entitles the sender to compensation up to £5, a fee of 3d. £10, and so on up to £120. Still more recently a railway and express letter service has been es tablished by which letters may be intrusted to the railroad companies for dispatch upon pay ment of an additional fee.