The Dumfries Post Office, 1642-1910. 107 



VIII.— The Telegraph and Telephone. 



Perhaps it was only to be expected that a department which 

 had served the community so faithfully in the conveyance and 

 delivery of letters and parcels should be called upon to undertake 

 the transmission of messages by means of the electric telegraph 

 and telephone, but like other great reforms of which we have 

 already ,poken the change only came in response to continued 

 public agitation. 



An Act empowering the Postmaster-General to purchase 

 existing electric telegraphs was passed on the 3rd Tulv, 1868 and 

 in the year 1870 the transfer was completed 



18.4 ^rf "'\^'' .^'^ '^' "^^"'^"^"Se of the Telegraph since 

 1854, but at that time the business was in the hands of private 

 companies. "The first Dumfries Telegraph Office," we believe, 

 was located at the unpretentious wooden structure which served 

 as the original railway station, and which adjoined the Annan 

 Road, on Its north side. Mr William Wright was in charge of it • 

 but owing to thehighrateschargedformessageshisworkconsisted 

 chiefly of signalling the departure of trains to stations north and 

 south of Dumfries. Quite a number of stations were on the one 

 wire, VIZ. : Carlisle, Annan, Dumfries, Thornhill, Sanquhar, the 

 Cumnocks, Auchinleck, Hurlford, Mauchline, Kilmarnock, and 

 Glasgow, and many a quarrel occurred as to who should get their 

 message off first. * 



A considerable reduction was made in the charges after the 

 erection of the new station, and corre.spondingly greater advan- 

 tage was taken of the telegraph hy the general public, with the 

 result that a second clerk was appointed. Then rival companies 

 appeared in the field. The Electric opened an office in Bank 



whTn hJ^T" ''u ^"'"^ "^^ '"^' ^^^"^^^^ Companv, 

 «hicl had Its office at the railway station, opened another in High 

 street, in premises opposite to Assembly Street "5i 



control" '""MTf ''"''"' '^ ^'^ ^'^^^Sraph lines to Government 



ZfLZT-^T'"' '.'''' ^'^ '"•^""■^^ ''■'' consolidated in 

 the Post Office m Queen Street, and an allowance of £10 a year 



Sr th! tk'^^"^^"^ ^^ '-"''' ''' ~y — 



51. " Dumfries and Galloway Standard," Oct. 27th, 1906 



