Towns > Edinburgh > 1846-1975 - Post Office Edinburgh and Leith directory > 1892-1893

POSTAL DIEECTORY— RATES.
797
is delivered free only within the limit of one
mile.
When the terminal office is a sub-office, and
that office is closed, exemption from porterage is
allowed for one mile only if the telegram is de-
livered from the Head Office, even though the
address of the telegram be within the limits of
the town postal delivery.
When the address is beyond the free delivery,
porterage is charged at the rate of 6d. per mile, or
any part thereof, provided the whole distance does
not exceed three miles ; but the charge is calculated
from the boundary within which no porterage is
levied.
If the address is more than 3 miles from the
terminal office, porterage is charged for by mounted
messenger at the rate of Is. per mile, except in
Ireland, where the charge is usually 8d. per mile,
the charge being reckoned from the office.
The sender is responsible for all charges incurred
in delivery. When the exact distance is not known,
a deposit must be paid beyond the free delivery.
If the sender requires his telegram to be for-
warded by post or by train from the terminal office,
he must write the words ' by post 'or 'by train ' at
the end of the address, and in the latter case he
must pay the cost, or deposit Is. if the cost is not
known. If the telegram is to be posted to a place
abroad, he must write ' Post ' at the-end of the
address, and prepay the postage.
A deposit of 5s. is required upon all telegrams
addressed to a ship, unless the ship be alongside a
wharf; any surplus is refunded.
Telegrams may be repeated at the request of the
sender, by being signalled back from office to office,
but no copy is given to the sender. The charge
for repetition is one-half the ordinary tariff ; a
fraction of a halfpenny being reckoned as a half-
penny.
The sender should furnish his address, to enable
the Department to communicate with him if neces-
sary. When not telegraphed, it should be written
on the back of the form.
If the receiver of a telegram doubts its accuracy,
he may have it repeated by depositing half the
amount paid for its transmission, and the amount
will be refunded if found to be incorrectly trans-
mitted, or he may have part of it repeated under
the same conditions, but the minimum charge is 3d.
The cost of a reply to a telegram, not exceeding
forty-eight words, may be prepaid; and a Reply
Form will then be delivered to the addressee, who
will be at liberty to send his reply, from any tele-
graph office, at any time within two months. If the
Form be not used, it may within the same period
be sent to the Secretary, G.P.O., and the value
will be refunded to the sender. A Reply Form
need not necessarily be used for a reply, but may
be used for another message.
Telegrams re-directed to a second address are
liable, if any additional service is performed, to
an additional charge of 6d. if the two addresses
are within the same town, but if the addresses are
in different towns the full inland rate is charged.
Removals are registered free for one month when
this is especially requested ; and instructions for
the re-direction of Telegrams at hours when the
place of business is closed are registered on pay-
ment of £1, Is. per annum ; but in both these
cases the telegrams are subject to the usual
charges for re-direction and porterage.
Persons not wishing to send to a telegraph office
may post a telegram, addressed ' Telegram — Imme-
diate,' in a wall or pillar box, or in the letter-box
of a sub-post office. Telegrams so posted are sent
on to the nearest telegraph office by the next
collection. The period of arrival at the postal tele-
graph office is regarded as the time of receipt from
the public.
Telegrams posted insufficiently prepaid are
forwarded to their destination, the difference of
charge being obtained from the addressee ; but un-
paid telegrams are not forwarded.
No combination of words is counted as one word,
with the exception of those which are ordinarily
coupled by hyphens, such as ' mother - in - law,'
' non-delivery,' 'fifty-one,' etc.
Compound words such as the following are
charged for as one word: — MacDonald, midday,
midnight, noon-day, se'nnight, cannot, to-day, to-
night, to-morrow, yesternight, yesterday, half-
penny, twopence, St Andrews, etc.
Figures are counted at the rate of five to a
word ; and in fractions according to the number of
figures employed, one figure being counted for the
mark of division, — thus J is one word, and 246|-
two words. Groups of figures denoting time are
counted one word, — thus, 12.45, the stop being
counted as a figure. In groups of figures which
do not denote time, a stop is counted as a word, —
thus 45.45 is counted three words.
The symbols o/o, a/c, b/l, and c/o are each
counted as a word.
Ordinal numbers are charged in the same way
as cardinal, with the addition of one word for the
affix st, nd, rd, th.
When a group of figures is followed or preceded
by a letter, thus 123a, the letter is counted as a
word.
When words are underlined, or placed in a
parenthesis, or within inverted commas, two extra
words are charged for ; and when the sender
desires that special instructions be written on the
envelope enclosing the telegram, such is charged
for as part of the message.
Telegrams addressed to a Telegraph Office, to be
called for, are kept for two days, and if not then
claimed are sent to the Chief Office, London.
Any person may register an abbreviated address
on payment of the fee of 21s. a-year.
Telegraph offices are, as a rule, open from 8 a.m.
to 8 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sundays.
There are, however, offices in several of the larger
towns which are open longer; and at various
offices in London and in the country the attend-
ance is continuous. G.P.O., Edinburgh, always
open.
FOREIGN TELEGRAMS.
Foreign telegrams are divided into two kinds —
telegrams in plain language and telegrams in
secret language. Those in plain language are
composed of words, figures, and letters conveying
an intelligible meaning. Those in secret language
are divided into two classes, viz. code and cypher.
Code telegrams are those composed of words,
the context of which has no intelligible meaning.
Proper names are not allowed in the text of code
telegrams, except in their natural sense ; words
of more than ten letters are not allowed. Only
English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portu-
guese, Dutch, and Latin may be employed; but
words of any or all of these languages are allowed
in the same telegram.
Cypher telegrams are those containing series or
groups of figures having a secret meaning. Tele-
grams consisting of groups of letters are not
accepted, but groups of letters denoting trade
marks are allowed, and charged for as figures.
The address of the receiver must be paid for,
and must not consist of less than two words, a
name and town. Example : Hercules, Bombay.