LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
THE POST OFFICE AND HOME RULE.
[To TEl EDITOR. Or TIM "SexareTos."] SIR,—Many Englishmen who would be prepared to acquiesce in a moderate scheme of Home Rule capable of being extended to England, Scotland, and Wales in harmony with the colonial model look with apprehension.on the conduct of opponents of the Bill now before Parliament because they fear that it will create obstinacy and lead to the closing of ears to argument, and so to the passing of an ill-considered measure. They turn wistfully to Conservative statesmen and ask whether there are none ready to set aside abuse. By argument these men might bring to their side, not only thoughtful members of their own party, but many Liberals ; and on some points they might carry the Nationalists with them. Of what use can it be to charge opponents with treachery except to arouse resentment or contempt ? Whether the abusive method of opposition results in unsound legislation, as many fear it will, or leads to the defeat of the Bill, the effect will be equally bad for the country. In either event there will be general unsettlement, and men's minds will be possessed with anger and resentment. Would it not be the part of a states.. man to recognize as sound those portions of the Bill in which Ireland is treated, not like a self-governing commonwealth, but as a constituent part of the United Kingdom, and to strive by argument and illustration to bring into line with them the other portions of the Bill? For example, would it not be wise to make a strong and sustained effort to get the Post Office treated like the Army and the Navy P Since the date of the last Home Rule Bill events in Australia and South Africa have presented us with two fresh object lessons. There was a separate Post Office in each of the six Australian Colonies, but now there is a single united administration for the whole Commonwealth. South Africa had four independent postal and telegraph systems, but under the Union they have become one. The framers of the new Constitutions saw so clearly the necessity for un- divided control that, to gain their end, they went the length of breaking up established and independent organizations which had received recognition all over the world. In our case no such painful process is called for. All that we have to do in order to follow Colonial precedent is to let well alone, and, easy as this is, the reasons for it are tenfold stronger than those which led the Colonial statesmen into their diffi- cult, though prudent, course. The postal and telegraph systems of Ireland and Great Britain are far more inter- dependent than the Colonial systems were, and in their interdependent condition they are far more related to those of foreign States and private companies, and infinitely more essential to the defence and general ad- ministration of the Empire. To take defence alone no Com- mander-in-Chief or Council of Defence could efficiently control the action of the naval and military forces of the kingdom without unity of administration in the telegraphs. To no country in the world is unity of telegraphs so vital in time of war as it is to this country. Look, for example, at the chain of war signalling stations round the coast, whence intelligence has to be sent to headquarters for collation and distribution, and where orders from headquarters and information from other signalling stations have to be communicated to the naval and military commanders. It is the telegraph system which makes these stations of any use. Mere co-operation between Ireland and Great Britain at a critical time would not be sufficient ; nor would even temporary subordination. The tele- graph director, if be is to give efficient help to the Army and the Navy in war, must not merely have the Irish telegraphs at his disposal for the occasion, but must have planned and maintained them from an Imperial point of view, and must possess that mastery of them which can only come through familiar acquaintance and continuous management.
But if this be so, it is equally clear that, for commerce and industry, unity of administration in the telegraphs is an essential condition of efficiency. Experienced administrators know how often they have fallen short when they have tried to secure efficiency in the relations between the telegraphs of this country and those of foreign States—how often they have lamented that they could not go into an important telegraph office abroad and insist on having their wishes carried out. It is unity of administration, extending to every station, whether on British or on foreign territory, which makes the system of a groat cable company so efficient, and enables it to serve the public so mach better than any combination of States ; and it is unity of administration which secures such measure of efficiency as the public now enjoy in the telegraphic communications between this country and Ireland. In telegraph affairs no part of the United Kingdom can live to itself : every part is intimately concerned in the telegraphs of every other part, and they all rejoice or suffer together. It may in truth be said that the telegraphs are the nerves of the State in all its concerns. If the object were to place a certain amount of patronage in the hands of the Irish Government, it might be attained in another way. The system of nomination and limited com- petition might quite reasonably be resorted to and the Irish Government empowered to nominate the candidates for all entrance examinations for the Civil Service in Ireland. Clause 44 of the Bill will no doubt be fully discussed and explained in Parliament. My immediate concern is with one of its sub-clauses (c), which provides that b a y Order in Council "regulations with respect to the relations of the Irish and B. ritish Post Offices" may be made. We shall get further light on the question of unity of administration, I think, if we inquire what are some of the questions which arise in connexion with those relations. Again I limit myself to telegraphs.
l. By the Act 31 and 32 Viet., Section 16, the Postmaster- General is required to set apart for newspapers during the night, whether in Great Britain or in Ireland, special wires, with telegraphists to work them, at a charge not exceeding £500 a year. How will this obligation be met under the Bill ?
2. He is required to provide land wires for the cable com- panies, whether their cables land in Ireland or elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Is he to be relieved by Order in Council of part of this statutory obligation 3. Will the Irish Government have authority to grant licences to infringe the Postmaster-General's monopolies in Ireland?
4. Will it have the power to restrict the free delivery of telegrams, and thus make it more costly in many oases for an Englishman to send a telegram to Ireland than for an Irishman to sena one to England ?
5. Will it control the wireless telegraph stations in Ire- land P 6. Will it be able to displace the Royal Engineers who are employed under the Post Office in the South of Ireland ; and, if so, how will the military authorities secure for them that practical training in telegraph work which they consider so important? (The Post Office maintains the railway telegraphs in Ireland, but not in Great Britain, and could not give the Royal Engineers any training in railway telegraphs elsewhere than in Ireland.) 7. The Board of Trade, after consultation with the Post Office and other Departments, grants or refuses permission for the landing of submarine cables on the shores of the United Kingdom. Is this power to be reserved ? It is a matter on which large questions of policy arise, affecting the position of the United Kingdom as a centre of telegraphic, communication.
8. Will the Irish Government have the power to charge separate terminal and transit rates on telegrams to and from places abroad; and will it have the power to break down the uniform charge for telegrams within the United Kingdom and to prescribe different rules for the counting of words, Ate.? "Regulations" under an "Order in Council" providing for "apportioning any receipts and expenses" and "for facilities being given" would not appear to meet the case.
We might ask more questions, but perhaps these are sufficient to show in what direction the objections to separa- tion in the telegraph service be.—I am, Sir, Sol,
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