HO [Proc. B. N. F. C, 



cal Section of the British Association, at the present year's 

 meeting, gave some interesting particulars regarding the deve- 

 lopment of multiplex telegraphy. He stated that while Cooke 

 & Wheatstone's instrument required five wires, and transmitted 

 four words per minute, now one wire transmits six messages at 

 ten times the speed. In 1875, it was thought wonderful to 

 transmit to Ireland 80 words per minute ; but in Belfast, Mr. 

 Preece timed messages coming in at the rate of 461 words per 

 minute. I believe that this record was exceeded on the occasion 

 of the Marquis of Hartington's first visit here. To give a fur- 

 ther instance of the vast increase in telegraphy, Mr. Preece 

 stated that on the occasion of Mr. Gladstone's introduction of 

 his Home Rule Bill, in April, 1886, no less than 1,500,000 

 words were transmitted from the Central Telegraph Office in 

 London in one night. 



In connection with the subject of Press telegrams, it is inte- 

 resting to note, incidentally, the progress made in the issue of 

 our daily papers. The adoption of the rotary press, the use of 

 stereotype plates, the printing from a continuous roll of paper, 

 and the possession of a private wire, enable a paper to go to 

 press at a much later hour than before, and still be in time for 

 the early morning trains. On the occasion of the visit of the 

 Marquis of Hartington, to which I have already referred, a full 

 report of his speech — in fact, I believe, the full text — was trans- 

 mitted to the London papers ; while in the second edition of 

 our local dailies, ready upon our breakfast tables, we had, along- 

 side the complete report of the meeting, the opinions of the 

 London Press upon it. 



Rapid and enormous as the increase of telegraphing has 

 been, that of telephoning has been still more marked. It was 

 only at the Plymouth meeting of the British Association, in 

 1877, that the telephone was first shown at work in Britain, 

 and now every town of importance has its exchange. In the 

 earlier years of its use, it was considered that this means of 

 communication was only available for short distances. This 

 has not, however, been found to be the case, and by the adop- 



