of the telegraph not being sufficient even to pay for
the keeping up. This fact should be borne in mind when we give them the
full benefit of the 16,735 miles according to their own statement in
_The Seventh Census_.

The very low tariff of charge renders the use of the telegraph universal
throughout the Union. In Messrs. Whitworth's and Wallis's report, they
mention an instance of a manufacturer in New York, who had his office in
one part of the town and his works in an opposite direction, and who, to
keep up a direct communication between the two, erected a telegraph at
his own expense, obtaining leave to carry it along over the tops of the
intervening houses without any difficulty. The tariff alluded to above
will of course vary according to the extent of the useful pressure of
competition. I subjoin two of their charges as an example. From
Washington to Baltimore is forty miles, and the charge is 10d. for ten
words. From New York to New Orleans is two thousand miles, and the
charge for ten words is ten shillings. It must be remembered that these
ten words are exclusive of the names and addresses of the parties
sending and receiving the message.

The extent to which the telegraph is used in the United States, induced
those interested in the matter in England to send over for the most
competent and practical person that could be obtained, with the view of
ascertaining how far any portion of the system employed by them might be
beneficially introduced into our country. The American system is that of
the complete circuit, and therefore requiring only one wire; and the
patent of Bain was the one experimented with, as requiring the slightest
intensity of current. After considerable expense incurred in trials, the
American system was found decidedly inferior to our own, solely owing to
the humidity of our climate, which, after repeated trials, has been
found to require a far more perfect insulation than is necessary either
in the United States or on the Continent, and therefore requiring a
greater outlay of capital in bringing the telegraphic wire into a
practical working state; 260 miles is the greatest length that a battery
is equal to working in this country in the worst weather.

Bain's system was formerly not sufficiently perfected to work
satisfactorily in our climate; recent improvements are removing those
objections, and the employment of it is now rapidly increasing. The
advantages that Bain's possesses over Mor