§ Mr. HARRY LAWSONasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to 376W the charge of 2½d. per word still imposed by the Indian Government on all ordinary messages passing between countries on either side of India; and whether, seeing that nearly 10,000,000 messages annually are involved and that the extension of telegraphic business is handicapped by that high levy, steps can be taken at an early date to materially reduce the same?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe telegraph transit rate of India for ordinary messages passing via Madras between countries east and west of India is 35 centimes, approximately 3½d. a word. According to the figures given in the Administration Report of the Indian Telegraph Department, 3,751,386 words of traffic including press messages were transmitted in 1910–11 of the kind and by the route indicated. Figures are not available as to the number of messages; but a message may be taken to contain an average of ten words. The approximate number of messages would thus be 375,000, or about 3¾ per cent. of the amount of traffic which is alleged in the question. No steps are at present in contemplation for the reduction of the rates.