Received by United Kingdom from the British Colonies.
| Year. |
Letters, Postcards,
and
other Articles. |
Circulars, Book
Packets, Patterns,
Newspapers. |
Total
|
|
lb. |
lb. |
lb.
|
| 1897–1898 |
378,700 |
1,637,000 |
2,010,700
|
| 1903–1904. |
792,000 |
2,488,000 |
3,280,000
|
Number of Parcels Interchanged by the United Kingdom with the British Colonies.
| Year. |
From United
Kingdom. |
From Colonies. |
Total
|
| 1897–1898 |
472,613 |
206,985 |
679,598
|
| 1903–1904 |
1,177,981 |
357,836 |
1,536,816
|
What will be the future of our Imperial communications? This question must be answered by master-spirits like Edison and Marconi, who are learning to subdue and tame the mightiest, subtlest, and most abundant of natural forces—electricity. So swift flies the telegraphic message that, at first, the written letter seems fated to disappear. My friend, Mr. Leggo, showed me apparatus by which it is possible to send telegrams at the rate of 2,000 words an hour. The message is written on a paper, which is then attached to a kind of cylinder, and the marked surface is exactly reproduced at the other end of the wire. One is, I say, inclined to bid farewell to the pen, which has served our race so long and so well. But a letter has the inestimable advantage of secrecy. Soul communes with soul. Two minds, as far asunder as the poles, can, by the help of a spot of wax or a smear of gum, enjoy a private interview. And a little reflection will show how much
