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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiimis d des taux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est fiimA i partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 - Dl Gove Tha r A ffiEYIF/W OV *' AN n i- E Rirn' presses and " different lines 01' TELEGHAPil, RESPECTING THE *i TRANSMISSION OF FOIiElGN NEWS:" b:::i:ing ^ L E T T 1] a A': I) ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS, ADDllESSED TO THE Government Comiiiissioiiers of the Nova Gcotia Telegraph, EY TELEGRAPII AGENT N. Y. ASSOCIATED PRE3S. I'ka Pablic Press and Merciinnts are rcspeclfully iuvited to investigate this 8i-i,ii.it without "fear, favor, or partiality.'' HALirAX, N. S. 1850. •• Office of the JVbrth Jlmerican and European ) Telegraphic Commercial Agency, \ Halifax, N. S., Marcli IGth, ISiS. To the Honorable Joseph IIowp, thn Ilonorablu fJooiire I?, Youn? and "^^ illinm Murdooh, Fs, except I, two of f//e 710 so ock tails of the nail Ro- ir satis- ion, at- les now one — ciso of factory pgraph neces- of my of one •ut the as the collfct point, iig his =ent to I'es to , was -who, honid »n the :ee of your them have y the , and ston, who liad been brought over to the views of the two Smiths) with- drew, at about tiiis time, from the Boston Associated Press, and set up businoss upon their own hook. This took place, as appears by Mr. Smith's pamphlet, on the 27lh Novomber. During the succrecJing half iiKUith, no com{)laiiu was made by either of the discontented plnltfrs, proba\iiy from a confi- dent belief in the omnipotency of the Smiths, and their conse- quent ability to give the news first to the three evening papers, which, it was conjectured, would force nil the other Associa- tiotis to come to terms with thcni; and thereby the frrand ob- ject of scmring the agency here to John Smith would be happily consummated. To satisfy you that even up to the 11th of December, Mr. F. O. J. Smith had no intention of (luestioniug the propriety ot the arrangements actually entered into between the different liines and the Associated Press, I beg your particular attention to Mr. Smith's own ciposition of tlie true relation subsisting between the parlies to the present controversy : — Boston, Dficeinber ^l, 1849. To L. R. DAnaow, Esq., Superintendent New Brunswick Telegraph, St. Joliii. :f « 41 « *' By thn contract which I have with the New York Asaocinted Presp, extending from New Vork to Portland, and conciirrwl in by the iNfaiiie Teli-iimph Line to Calais, it is provided, that all despatches lor the press, or anv portion of the press, or for pri- vate persons, that reach the ollice prior to the despatch of the Associated Press, shall be promptly forwarded, each in its turn, up to the moment of the comirig in of the ussociated despatch, atidthen, and then only, does the Line give precedence. *' We have never deemed it the legitimate business of the 'felegraph to suspend ibo working of the liiie, for any price or pi.rson, to enable a despatch not in, to have pre- cedence, or to g:iin advantage, whether for the press or private persons. '* When the lines were extended east of Portland, it was understood, that the same rules and principles of governing the business of the Telegraph, should be adopted by the terminal as well as intermediate ellices. " Without this, there is an end to ail legitimate and all harnionious business be- tween diflerent lines." * » * * I think there is but one rule for your line to adopt, ar.d that is, to send vhose ever and whatever despatch over your line, that first reaches it from the Halifax Line, up to the time when the latter line notijies you, of the reception of the Associ- ated Press despatch. ■> I (Signed) F. O. J. SMITH. You will observe that Mr. Smith wrote the above under the mistaken impression that other parties were not to be allowed to use the wires in advance of the transmission of the despatch to the Associated Press, however much they might reach the Telegraph Office in advance of the agent for the Press — but you will bear me witness that the Associated Press have never ex- pressed a wish through myself or any other person authorised \ to speak for them, that other parties should be deharred the usa of the wires lor tlu; transmission of public or private despatches, provided the same could be got ofn'rom your oflice in advance of the presentation of the despatch for the Associated Press. Mr. (Jiiiborne, as well as yon and myself, liave always under- stood the matter exactly as Mr. Smith, in the foregoing extracts from his letter to the New Brunswick Line, desired that it should be understood, to wit : — " that all despatches for the Press, or any portion of the press, or for private persons, that reach the oflice prior to the despatch of the Associated Press, shall be promptly forwarded, each in its turn, vp to the mo- mrnt of the coming in. of the Associated despatch, and then, and then only, does the line give precedence," Such, then, Gentlemen, was Mr. Smitii's understanding of the obligations under which he and his line were bound, and by which he desired that all other lines should be bound to tho Associated Press on the lllh of December, which was half a month after the three evening papers at Boston had withdrawn from the Association, and before he ascertained the important fact that his agent could not outstrip me in placing the foreign news first in the Telegraph Office, and of course thus failing in ability to give it fir&t to ihe evening papers. After John Smith was repudiated by the Associated Press, his formidable arrangements here for procuring the news from the steamers was, as you are aware, matter of public notoriety, — large drafts were made by him upon the pockets of liis back- ers — beats and boatmen — fishermen and practised bullies and blackguards by scores were employed, and large rewards were ofiered to excite his men to " brave deeds" — horse-Jlesh suffered immensely — and indeed no eltorts were left untried that could by any possibility contribute to his success. But his greatest ej'orts were utter failures, and after satisfying himself of the impossibility of even reaching tho Telegrap'i Office with the news in advance of me, he suddenly left town and returned, like a whining puppy to his master at Boston — turning over, however, before he left, his Telegraphic Agency business to Mr. E. S. Dyer, towards whom, personally, 1 entertain no feel- ings of unkindness, and only regret that he should be found co-operating with parties whose most holy aspirations never yet ascended above the pot- house and brothel. At or about the time Johii Smith returned to Boston — and after having exhausted every false, mean, and unprincipled ar- tifice to supplant me in the foreign news agency — then it was that this immaculate F. O. J. Smith, seeing that my presence here the carrti from I tion " Bui was as it Messral Ihuf ter. II the tele mtttin^ line of I shall d the us« spatches, advance d Press, s iinder- extracts (hat it for th« MS, that 1 Press, the mo- ien, and iding of id, and d to the lialf a hdrawn portant foreign iling in Press, s from ioriety, 3 back- us and were nfftred could "eatest )f the h the irned, over, 3SS to 3 feel- found never —and id ar- was senca here must inevitablj crush his darling scheme of villainy, mad« the astounding discovery that I was the possessor of a few carrier pigeons, and therefore, must be instantly discharged from the employ of the Associated Press, and from all connec- tion with the Telegraph ! With the speed of ligiitniu'; a " Bull" of excommunication against me and ?Tiy 'unocent doves •was sent forth over ten thousand miles of telegraph wires, and as it is a curiosity in the *' Bull" line, 1 beg to transcribe it : — December 3ls^ 1849. Messrs. Hudson &. Raymond, New York : I have waited without any new information from you on llio suhjcct of my last let- ter. I have now all the evidence I can ask, of Craig's reckless system of l)usincssover the telegraph. Until ho totally abandons tlio use of carrier pigeons, 1 siiall refuse trans- mitting any despatches from hnn, over either the Portland, or the lt«)stonand New York line of Telegraph. It is a decision, of both self-defence and public policy, from which I shall not recede. If the Associated Press will employ an atjent of his, — in utter dis- regard of the interests and responsibilitiel o(*our telegraph lines, they must expect •ounter measures of deience will be adopted. They will bo by me, ut least. V. O. J. SMITH." You will, Gentlemen, I apprehend, be puzzled to find any expression in the above that can be tortured into any dissent from the principle upon which your line and other lines were go- verned in the matter of preference in the transmission of the de- spatch to the Associated Press— but Mr. Smith poured out all the vials of his wrath upon my devoted head — and why ? was it really because I chanced to own a few carrier pigeons, or was it because he at last discovered that my superior activity in procuring the foreign news for my employers, was calculated to crush his scheme of villainy, which, it is fair to presume, he -wished to carry on through his subservient tool, John Smith ^ Besides, at the time Smith issued his " Bull" against me, it was well known to you and to every individual in this city who took any interest in the matter, that I had never used nor attempted to use one of my pigeons in this place for any pur- purpose whatever — nor have I to this day made any use of them — and whether I shall ever use them here or not will de- pend upon the necessity that may arise for protecting the in- terests of the Associated Press, and through them, tlic public, from the "piratical" demonstrations of the Smith's and their confederates. To Smith's impertinent demand for my dismissal, the Asso- ciated Press replied as follows : — THE EUROPEAN NEWS— TO THE PUBLIC. Mr. F, O. J. Smith, the President of the New-York and Boston Telegraph line, •nd owner of the Boston and Portland line, has caused to be published two letterg, written br him, one to the Committee of the New- York Associated Press, and th« «tlMr to tb» Comnaiwionen of the Nova Scotia Telegraph line. The first demandi of 9 the Aasocintud Press, the iiniiiRcli:itc (liHiiiiri.sal of tlicir agent at llalilV.x, bocuuM h« owned a fVw carrier pigeoiiH, or the alternative i)f /iiwiiii; all their TeU's:rn})hic met- ^as^er. fioin that point doppH at Portland, altkouifk three xevcral Trle^niph limx intervene betuifii liiH line and Jlr. ('raii^'i operutions. Tlio letter lo tlio Nova S^cotia 'oiiiiiiis^iniierh — (jiixcninienl oIlIcerH — iIcinaii'lH the instant iliseharge of th^ C'hitf Operatiir in their empldv ; l)Ut tlio penult), in thi.s case, of u rd'usul to comply with the deuiaiid, is not ntated. That the puhlio niav not he inisiled in tliid matter, the Associated Press deoni it proper to niaUe lln; rodovviii]!]; HtattMnenI of facts, not with u view to parage their nr- rnn;;t'nients liefore their reailrrs, l)Ul iti oriler that lliey may underatand the power of the magnetic or electric tele<;rapli m the huudd uf one inun, or a iiut ofuion, upon the commercial transactions of the c,om it e tli(!ir nr- i(! power f>f !ii, upon the T, lie mid, wiili Mr. ],. d. :irran;^'!(l piiliit to rit. itifin of hiiv- Boston 11 nd cities. Tho 'ir ilfspalch nt tho vnxt vcvcr, were . ut the tele- V'ork to St. II rpp;nid to Hiiiiii), for •ere signed, I'lgrecineiit 111 alltliose oyed l>y the ;y, and the editors in i;i'iit. the express iHectiiig the cr New ^hoy eu> brought IS'evv-Vork, iiuin, which Commerce, verland ex- iwn, but the of the last f $29,700, ery little tp :lnte to the , they iihall :e the posi- uena Vista amer. He !9 to New- oy brought ection then iculty. with wo days in d no objec- tli knout. M tea* tilt €aaUH piing in the world iojly afiuck vfcarrier-pigeoni aerott [he Ba'f p/ Fundij, hours ahead oj Ihc fxpren^. ft \Mit< not until the wire-* w«to carried to Halifax, licit our ni^ent bocoiiin ko very obnoxious to Mr. F. O. J. Sniilti. It wai then tliiti ihd ytv!*-* were j^iven to understand that another npent iiiuhI be employed. We were informed that our agent would une tho farilities of the Associated I'rent to prey ii|K)n the mercantile cotniminity, and that the wire<« would So cut in the rear of each Aiiierieaii market to which llie piireiin would Ito uispatcliptl. We were ad- vised to employ unotlKsr agent. «iio had br.cii khnlhj frlecUd for us in lio^on. Tliii new agent was indepcd a idngfor t'lc Associated Press or any other party, since Mr. Craig has been aciins; as onr agent. S^uclinn answer was wholly unexpected. We could not believe that any man having control of such a powerful element of communication from distant points would presume to dictate to the public the agents to be employed in sending messages over the wires. Although denying the right of Mr. F. O. J. Smith in thus dictating to us, w<> made iinjuiriis into "Craig's reckless system of business ;" and all that we could ascertain. Was, that a man named Anderson, once in his employ, was detected in St. John in the act of cutting the wires. How far Mr. Craig was connected with this Anderson, in this affair, is to ha ^ieen in the lollowing letter from Mr. L. R. Darrow, the Superintendent of tho St. John and Calias telegraph line : Saint Joiijif, January 4, 1S50. Messrs. Hudson & Raymonp, New-York : A charge has been made against Mr. L>. H. Craig, your agent at Halifax, ns having; been engag.^ with Mr. Anderson, in cutting the wire. The Directors and myself have carefully examined all the evidence, which went to pioduce the charges, and the only foundation we can find to hinge even a doubt upon against Mr. Cruig, i* that he had employed this man Anderson, in connection with Mr. Till, of the JSTevh- 2 It Brunswickcr, (lie one to print, the other to carry his daily dispatches of the New' York and Bo!spatch for the Associated Press of New York and Boston to come over th« PonlaoA . if Una of telegraph— thns subjecting tlie Associated Presa to the trouble and expenss of running an Ezpresa with tliu Steamer a news from Purtliind tu BoHton. liiii first jurititicutiun is, that he will not permit despatches to be sent over his line by any on» who employs carrier pigeons ! Wonderful Mr. Smith ! Has not any man as good a right to send news by carrier pigeons as you have to send it by lightning? — !SIost certainly ; and a better right too ; for there is no monopoly in pigeona ; — any man may purchase pigeons and train them, whereas you cluiin a monopoly of lightning, by reasonof letters patent to Prolbssor Morse. You might as wi.'ll declare that no man ahull use your lightning who runs an engine or draws a handcart. Yuur objection to Mr. Craig, the Agent of the Associated Press, is not that ho has u?ed carrier pigeons. That is merely a prefcxi. He has upset some of ijour schemes of monopolij ; he knows your tricks *^ like a book ;^' you, know that he is able and faithful to hi$ trust; and you are determined to gel him off the track, by fair m- ans or foul. Hy a perverted uso of a private letter, you attempted to injure him with his employers; and failing in that you declare that no message from him or to him shall go over your wires ! Imperious Mr. Smith ! A great time we shall have when Mr. Smith succeeds in a monopoly of l.ightning, and in compelling every one to submit to his dictation in regard to the Agent employed to transmit news. Mr. Craig is acknowledged on all hands io be. the most competent man to make up a synopsis of the foreign news ever employed in that department ; and he is to be turned adrift because he once used carrier pigeons, and declared in a private letter that he would sell the news thus obtained to any one who would pay hini the highest price— just as ho would a " string of onions." And where, we ask, is tlia wrong in this? Has nut Mr. Craig, when obtaining news by means of his ovvu pigeons, as good a right to go into the market with his wares as Mr. Smith has to demand pay for his lighlnini^ ? Mr. Craig did not set himself up as a commor. carrier ; he run his " pigeon expresses" on his own hook, and had as good a right so to do asi any man would have to run a Steamer to England for the purpose of expressing the news. It is a perfectly legal and legitimate business ; and Mr. Smith, v.ho shshiin • self up as a common currier of news, under rules of his own making, has no mora right to exclude the despatches ot Mr. Craig than he has to exclude those of a man who follows the example of Gov, Briggs, and so far sets fashion at defiance as to ap- pear in the streets minus a dickey. We repeat, this appeal and complaint of Mr. Smith is mere pretext for covering his designs in regard to the foreign news east of Boston. — BetwcLMi Boston and'New York there is now a very healthy competition, and Mr. Smith can no longer play his antics upon the business community here. But he controls the wires from Boston to Portland, and he is now attempting to control them all the way to Halifax, and to place creatures of his own in tlie news department at the latter place, in order to have a monopoly of the trade, and an o'^portuniiy io speculate on the news by means of cyphers i?i advance of the regular dispatch. Those who recollect the exposures we made of the dishonorable practices of the Telegrapii Monopoly of Mr. Smith, in its incipient business as a "common carrier of news," will smile at the *' liigii and honorable ground" attributed to him by the Evening Trancript. We are aware that the Transcript feels rather sore about these days,— but we did not suppose it was so far diseased us to attribute anything "high and honorable" to F. O. .J. Smith. It has sung a very dift'erent tune in regard to that redoubiable porsonage ; and it may have occasion to do so again before a year expires. [From the Boston Mail, Jan. 29, 1850.] :.) The fact is, Mr. Smith, instead of exposing any delinquency on the part of Mr, Craig, only exposes his own desire to have all the appliapces connected with the Tele- graph in his own hands. He wishes to get rid of he "outsiders," and hi ve every- thing m his own hands ; and a beautiful monopoly it will be, when a ptrsoiage so notpriously tricky as Mr. Smith can control the telegraph wires, and tiave tho benefit of all the commercial news which arrives at Halifax at least thirty-six hours inadvuuco •f th« regular merchants of Boston and New York ! In contesting your remark that " the managers of all other « lines, being a nriajority of the whole," concurred with you iii civing the Associated Press the rights conceded to them, Smith says, (referring to the Maine Line): — • "One of these lines, to which you refer, receives your messagefl, not because it tlects to do so ; but, becuuse its charter compels it to receive such messages, regard- less of their origin, their character, or their consequences." In reference to the New Brunswick Line, SniitU continues : ** It is so fur from aciin; under any sense of independent judgment, in saifering th* Crais* agency to monopolize the wires of that line, it acts from an almost discredita- ble sttrrc///ance to au agency which it /ears more than it respects or ha^ reasiontu •jntide in." * , ' •. ' " In answer to the slander upon the New Brunswiqk line, con-: gained in the above extract, happily you are too well aware of the materials of which the Superintendency of that Line is composed, to believe that anything human or divine could in- spire any such humiliating feelings as Smith describes. In regard to the Maine Line, I have the best reason to know that Smith's allusion to the views of its managers is without any adequate foundation, in order that you may form an opi- nion as to the probabilities in the case, it is proper that you should be advised that F. O. J. Smith is a Director in that Line, and that the office of the Line at Portland is in Smith's building, and in the same room with the office of Smith's owa Line between Portland and Boston. The position ot the Maine Line is such therefore that its only safe policy lies in maintain- ing neutral ground. This, Mr. Eddy, the gentlemanly Super- intendent, fully appreciates, and as the following correspon- dence will show, intends to adhere to. That Mr. Eddy, how- ever, is perfectly satisfied with your present arrangements with the Associated Press I have the best reason to know, because he ha§ frequently and unqualifiedly expressed to me his satis-, faction with the arrangements that existed before the Line was extended East of St. John, and therefore, in the absence of any testimony to the contrary, it is faii^ to assume that he is satis- fied now, as it will be shewn, I trust to your entire satisfaction, that the present arrangement between the Associated Press and the several Lines of Telegraph is substantially the same as ha^ always existed — all the difierence being against the Jpress and, in favor of the Telegraph Lines and the Public : — • .! ^ ' To James Ebdy, Esq., Halifax, March 12, 1850. Superintendent Maine Telegraph, Bangor. "■ ' • If you were untrammelled by your charter, would you refuse to allow the AsiO«i<» |kted Press the advantages they now possess ia the use of your iioe ? I i i >s Buftg^r^ March. Iff, iBSIk J 'fi> D. H. Craig, Esq. Under the circuiUittanGei, allunr me to deolinft ao$weriog year interrogatory. J. EDDY. •I I shall not detain you with lengthy comments upon the false and scandalous charges and insinuations made by Smith on the fifth page of his pamphlet, concerning the manner in which I, discharged my duties to the Press and the JPublic during the time I superintended the Express between Halifax apd St. John ; but I cannot forbear laying before you the annexed cer-. tificate, which is from a party wholly disinterested, and who had better means of judging of my fidelity than any other perr. son or set of persons connected with the Telegraph. It will be found to contain a complete refutation of Smith's charges, and also pointedly contradicts every material statement contained in Rogers's letter to Smitn, upon the subjects to which it refers : — Office of ^[Ew Brunswick Telegraph, > ' Sackville, March 12, 1850. 5 This is to certify, that I officiated as Operator in the transmission of tlie foreign' news despatches to the Associated Preas dating nearly all the time the news was re- ceived by Mr. D. H. Craig's express ut St. John and SacUville, and I have no hesita- tion in saying that, to the best of my knowledge and belief the despatch was never delayed one 7aome;i/ from any inattention on his part,— so far from it, he always evenced the utmost ^esire to have it go through the instant the Express arrived. From my recollection of the Express, I should say that the news was in the Tele- graph office in a majority of cases so that it reached Boston between twelve o'clock at night and twelve o'clock in the day. I should say, also, tha,t the news was much more frequently detained between Bangor and Uoslon than it was between St. John and Bangor. , .i-, jt' ■•' f»v V^'^' v _ ; ■ JfOIIN A. RAYMONP. Having, as I trust, Gentlemen, satisfied you that F. O. J. Smith was perfectly content to give precedence to the despatch for the Associated Press, from the moment it was placed in the office, (which is all that the Associated Press have ever asked for and all that you have evej^ conceded to them) and as he offers you no evinenoe of his own dissatisfaction, nor even hints at any on the part of- the three evening papers for some two or three weeks after they voluntarilyi withdrew from the Boston Association ; and as I have shewn, I respectfully submit, suffi- cient evidence that neither Smith nor his protoges thought of finding fault with existing arrangements until they become sa-. tisfied that they could neither command the ingenuity, activity nor enterprize necessary to accomplish their purpose in opposi-' tion to the Associated Press, I beg to pass to the next scene in the drama, which, though it is wholly personal to myself, hasj nevertheless, an important bearing upon the whole subject undeii co'Wii/1«=^mtioii, 14 It is known to yon that during the time John Smith wa» here, he took an office under that occupied by the Telegraph, and advertised himself as a general Telegraph agent — that he was guaranteed, by the " Hon. F. O. J. Smith, President of the New York and Portland Telegraph Lines" exclusive privi- leges in the transmission of private communications over the Boston and Halifax Lines— and this Honorable, conscientious, public-protecting F. O. J. Smith took pains to publish to the world the extraordinary qualifications possessed by the preco- cious John — and lest the Public and Press should not discover the great truth, he kindly informed ihem of tiieir wants through all the Boston papers, as follows : — . jk • , r [Extract from Certificate from F. O. J. Smith, attached to John Smith's Circular, ii- sued at Boston, Dec. 6.] " To ALL Persons interested. — The establishment of a reliable commercial agency at Halifax, N. S., to act conjointly with the Telegraph as the joint conduitn of private and newspaper correspondence between merclhuits on opposite sides of ths Atlantic, is indispensable to t!ie safety of merchants, and most needed fur the reputa» lion of tile Telegraph." Then, after certifying to the fact that he " had encouraged'* his namesake to establish himself at Halifax *' - > • ' - -Wp I * - •»J 4# John Smith and his friends went much beyond the aasuF- ances given him in the foregoing extracts from F. O. J. Smithes certificate, and in conversation boasted of his ability, through the omnipotent agency of his master^ to render it impossible for me to compete with him in the Transatlantic Telegraph Agency business. It was whilst smarting under the unjust taunts and gross falsehoods of Smith and his friends that 1 ad- dressed the following letter to him, which, as soon as received, true to his instinctive meanness and dishonor, he immediately passed over to his co-laborers, the man Rogers and F. O. 3. Smith, and through their instrumentality mutilated portions of it were given to the public, and a vain effort was made, to manufacture much virtuous indignation against me :— Halifax, Dec. 14, 1849. John T. Smith, Esq. : Dear Sir, — Certain of your friends in Boston, as I have reason to know, are rot only exerting themselves to benefit you, but they are doing so under the apprehension, apparently, that it is absolutely necessary that 1 should be sacrificed, and fairly hooted from the field to make room for you. And, to effect their purposes, they have re- sorted, among other expedients, to a system of the most outrageous mean, and con- temptible falsehoods— falsehoods so base that a common highwayman or the mid- night assassin would dush to be the author of, — to parties here, who are presumed to occupy positions that enable them to exert a controlling injlvence to my disadvan- tage. I am very reluctant to believe that these things are being done at the instiga- tion of yourself, but the degree of intimacy that is known to exist between you and the base scoundrels of whom I complain, forces upon ine very unpleasant suspicions, ol which I would gladly be relieved. Fair, leghimate opposition I expect from you, and am perfectly willin■ e of tne persons who seems willing to evince his friendly feuli; gs towards you, by publishing to the world that he is not less a big ass, than he is know." to be, a big Ro- man, unmitigated scoundrel. Now, sir, you and your friends may say, do, or attempt to do whatever yon or they please ; but there is one fixed fact that will always remain, and that is, that you will find me here — and neither F. O. .T. Smith, any portion of the public press, yourself or friends, nor the devil himself, shall ever drive me from any position that I may see fit to assume. I am now here as the agent of the New York Associated Press,— a posi- tion which I have labored with my whole heart to fill in an acceptable manner, and in the faithful discharge of which, since last February, is found the only real causo that certain telegraph gentry now have for their contemptible Jiings at me. Whilst the committee of the New York Press se" fit to confide their business to me, I shall not wilhngly nor knowingly disappoint their reasonable expectations, — among the very first of which, is strict fidelity and superior activity. Of the first of these requisites, I am sole master, and am sure that I never have been or shall be deficient of the se- cond. I have only to say, that I will cheerfully resign the field to you when you prove your ability to serve them with more general success than I have done, or may nereafter do. I observe, that you and your friends are laboring to make much capital out of the fact, that I was formerly engaged in expressing the news into Boston for speculative pnrpoaen, and also, out of the further fact, that I have now placed my carriers over th« ttlegraph ofiice in this city. My good fallow, yon and your willing tooh, . ar* '#Mtifig y6\ltr pb'wdttr ti]ion this subject, And. tti bIiuw von the Insincerity of at leasl^ two of your friends, who are raHkiug fools of themselvHs by trying to frigliten growo' up children by the terrible sound of carrier pigeon exprcRHes, it amy be well to Hay to yon, that one of them only declined to join nie in this " defrauding the public" ope- ration, a year rir two ago, " because." as he said to me, " of my (Iv-i) position," butwishudtme "entire success in your (my) legitimate and spirited en^ .priso." Your other friend, who now affects sucli a holy horror of nil speculations, (except, I sup- pose, when, as formerly, he has n chance to swindle a few hnrd-earned dollars from some poor, ignorant, John Bull skipper,^ was a direct applicant, on two different occasions, for the use of the foreign news,/or speculative purposes, when I was in a. position, at Boston, to gratify hit* v.ishes. That I have my pigeons here is very true. I have neVer songht, nor desired any feecrccy about the matter, nor do I wish to disguise the fact, that I intend to make my birds available, for procuring foreign news from every steamer that passes tvithin one hundred miles of the coast of jyova Scotia. But this is a personal and private enterprise, and in the results of which, the press and the public wiW fully und fairly participate, if they choose to pay me a quid pro quo ; if not, I shall as- r.ume it as a right to sell my news, as I would a string of onions, i. c., to the highest bidder. Neither do I wish to disguise the fact, that I intend to make my piseons a means, whereby 1 may successfully compete with you, and finally drive you into re- tirement from the transatlantic general telegraphic business -a business that I consid- er you to have unfai""ly entered upon— and I tell you, candidly, that I intend, and further, I xcill not fail, to beat you in placing the despatch for the press first in thn telegraph office ; and by the same process, I will also place on file, in the oflice, cojd/cs of all the commercial despatches that may be confided to my agents in England, fur transmission to the United States, so that they will be first in order ^ after the des- patch for the press shall have gbne forwai'd. Now, if you wish to renew your exertions, by letters and otherwise, to and with the officers of the steamers, in order to defeat, if possible, my inientions, I have not the least disposition to find fault. You shall be quite welcome to throw all the stumbling blocks of that kind in my way that you please, and I shall regard them now, as formerly, only as being thrown in to create for me a little pleasurable excitement, in planning and executing the dull details of my operations. Neither do I cafe a straw what amount of *' exclusiVeness" you secure, on paper or otherwise, from F. O. J. Smith, or other superintendents ; but if my communica- tions, placed on file here in advance of yours, do not also go into the hands of the par- ties to whom they may be addressed^ in advance of yours, I now give yon and all your friends, in or out of telegraph otKces, distinct assurance that no communications shall pass over the telegraph to Bostoa, ai\er the news to the Associated Press shall have gone forward, tintil after the arrival there of ihe steamers ; nor shall any des- patches of mine, placed first in the office at Boston, be set aside, or passed over with impunity to make room for yours, I ask no monopoly, except what I can legitimate- ly command by my own hands and my own activity, and I never again will submit to any. If jou and F. O. J. Smith do not comprehend the full force of these words, you may both of you live long enough to get examples that will divest your minds of all doubt. In conclusion, I beg to awiure you that I entertain not the least unkind feelings towards you personally, and shall really be glad to haVe you return here. We shall all d'le without your presence. ]>..,, ,. Youi-s, very truly, - ' '" D. H. CRAIG. This kttef has formed a fruitful subject of comment, from tialifax to New Orleans — it has been hashed up and cut up iti all manner of ways and shapes — turned inside out and outside in — misquoted, misjudged and villified, — but I confess that after tnature reflection, 1 see very little in the spirit of the letter that I would wish toamfend. I havfe yet to find the first disinter- 'f7 tsled person who dissents from the broad ground assumed in the letter, that early news, legitimately obtained, is as much a marketable commodity as " a string of onions" — and I am pre- pared to maintain at all times and under all circumstances, that the business of transmitting early intelligence between distant points by the agency of carrier pigeons, is as honorable, as pro- per, and, under some circumstances, a far superior mode to that of the electric telegraph. The threat^ if threat there is, in the letter, I am perfectly content should go for what it is worth. — I cannot, however, withhold my deliberate conviction, that should Smith or any other man, having the control of a line of telegraph, which was amenable to no law (as is the case with the line owned by F. O. J. Smith, between Portland and Bos- ton) attempt to enforce the exclusiveness in private despatches to which alone my " threats" had reference, it would be the boundcn duty of the public to raze every such telegraph post to the ground. The second material position assumed by Mr. Smith in his pamphlet, is — ».-;-., . That the existing arrangement between the Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine Lines and the Associated Press is con- trary to all precedent. In the outset of this branch of the investigation, it is impor- tant to ascertain what were the rules and usages by which F. O. J. Smith w< governed before the *• march of mind," as evinced in the efficient telegraph systems of Messrs. Baine and House, knocked the stilts from under him, and he ceased to reign as the " Autocrat of all the" Telegraphs,— the supreme director of all lightning intelligence on the North American continent. We may approximate the truth upon this point, by reference to the evidence which is supplied by Smith in his communication to you. - ..... , < .. ^ j .. On page 27 of his pa nphlet he gives you, under date, New York, May 13, 1848, v. copy of a letter addressed to him by H. J. Raymond, Esq., then and now one of the Committee of the Associated Press. In that letter, Mr. Raymond says : — " The Journal of Commerce, Express, Courier and Enquirer, Herald, Sun, and Tribune of this city, have agreed to procure foreign news by telegraph from Boston in common, and have appointed a committee to make arrangements with you for its transmission. " Acting in behalf of that Committee of the Association, I beg to propose that you give us, from tliu moment our despatch shall be received at tho telegraph office in Boston, the use of all the wires that may be in working order, for the uninterrvpted transmission of all the Tiews we may wish to receive. " Upon what terms will you secure to ua, for one year from the present date, the use of the telegraph as specified above ?*' 3 18 Two days alter, to wit, May 16, (as also appears by Smith's pamphlet, pages 28 and ?9) F. O. J. Smith re- plied to Mr. Raymond's letter, and the following are the material portions of it, to which 1 beg your particular attention : — " I will coijtract the service of the Telegraph in respect to foreign news on this line, to tlio proprietors ot the papers you name, for one year from this date, on the following terms. " To give tiieir despatch, on each arrival of a foreign steamer, priority on any one wire wJiich may be in order for work through to New York, and on all other wires tliat shall be worked through to New York, from the time the Des- patch shall be delivered at the Boston office, until its transmission shall have been completed. # » # # " You shall have the exclusive right to admit and to dismiss other parties to, and from the benefits of the arrangement, on giving the President of the Asso- ciation, for the time being, written notice of the admission and discontinuance of each, as it shall occur. " If you give other parties, private individuals, reporters, or presses, the use of news before put into public circulation in good faith, payment shall be made, as for a copy of the excess over 3000 words, be the same more or less, by each party so furnished, at the usual newspaper rates of transmission. " I will accord to you the desired authority to prevent any part of the news from leaving the office at New York until you choose to send it out." !. '.'4i ti . til k. 4: •i-' Such, then, Gentlemen, was the arrangement between F. O. J. Smith and the Associated Press, deliberately entered into by said Smith at a time when he had sole controul of all tele- graphic facilities north of New York. That the arrangement was regaided at the time as an odious monopoly by papers which were excluded from obtaining the news in New York, I well remember — but no one, to my knowledge, ever found fault with the Association — they dictated no terms of mono- poly — but Smith, unasked^ conceded the monopoly, and they would have been recreant to their own interest if they had not accepted it. By thj terms of the contract, some half dozen New York papers were utterly excluded from the right to en- ter the Association tr to receive the news upon any terms. At that time my interests were in conflict with those of the Associated Press, and the outside papers in New York, know- ing my ability to get on the news in advance of the arrival of the steamers at Boston, applied to me repeatedly to aid them in their extremities* I did attempt to serve them, but, though I placed the foreign news in Smith's office hours in advance of all others, and hours in advance, even, of the arrival of the English steamers, yet, by the cunning knavery of Smith and a subservient slave or understrapper of his of the name of Sad* ler, he was always equal to the emergency, and I could never • ct ml 19 got a word )[ news oil' to New York unless it was addressed to the AssocJEted Press. I respectfully ask your especiarattention, Gentlemen, to the 3rd, 1th and /»th extracts above quoted, and I also ask you to bear constantly in niind that those conditions were voluntarily conceded to a select Association oi six out of the then existing twelve ox fifteen Daily Papers in New York. — " You shall have the exclusive right to admit and to dismiss other parties." You will be astonished to observe that by the 4th paragraph those six papers were unrestrained in the use to which they should apply the news — indeed, they were almost enjoined to use it for speculative purposes ;— ■ U Smith asked was, that if, at any time, they saw fit to give the news to " other PARTtEs or PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS, he claimed a portion of the ''plun- der^^"* as therein set forth ; — and, lest a doubt should arise r.s to the length of time the Association were to be allowed to prey upon the merchants, this man Smith, who now affects such a holy horror of all speculations, was particular to attach the fol- lowing significant condition : — " / will accord to you the de- sired authority to prevent any part of the news from leaving the office at New York until you choose to send it out." I beg you will not misunderstand me — I never had reason to believe and I do not believe, that the Association, or any mem- ber of it, ever converted the news to any speculative purpose — the character and position of the gentlemen composing the As- sociation forbids the base thought — but that F. O. J. Smith freely conceded to them the I'ight to do so, so far as he was con- cerned, cannot be doubted nor gainsayed. Now, Gentlemen, how does this contract, entered into be- tween the Associated Press and this immaculate F. O. J. Smith, contrast with that which at present exists between you and the Associated Press ? The Committee's proposition, to which you have in all essential particulars assented, is as follows : — ■ "'■''■'" ' ' ■ ' ' • New YoPK, Dec. 29, JS49. To the Superintendents of the Telegraph Lines between JlaliJ'ax and JVeto York : GentlemExV, — Acting as u Committee of the New York Associated Press in connection with the morning papers of Boston and the Press of Pliiladelpliia, Baltimore, and other Southern and Western cities, w** aio desirous of making arrangernenis for the receipt of foreign news from the steamers touching at Halifax, that may prove satisfactory to the public and to the parties directly concerned. We beg leave, therefore, to submit to you the following proposi- tions : — 1. We will agree to have a despatch of at least 3000 words for each steamer delivered at the' Halifax station, for transmission to us — and to pay for its trans- mission the following sums. For the line from Halifax to Sackvilie, Jj^75; from Sackvillo to Calais, |lt»r) ; from Calais to Portland, $12'* ; from Portland to Bos- ton, $r,(\ : from Boston to New York, ^100,— making in all 1*47.'. I'Toridcd the 20 dcNpalch shall be fui warded without interruption from ths time o( ili receipt, b/ day or night, until its transiniMion is completed. M. If no despatch is delivered at the Halifax station by our agent, the stipu- Ir.tt'U 811111 filiall be paid nevertheless, — except when the telegraph shall not be in working ordi r, — ;it any point between Halifax and Boston. And in that case, lie Khali have the option to send the despatch over part of the line or not ; and the transmitiyiun of tliu despatch shall not be paid for on any 1'"^ ver which it is not sonl. I). If only part of tho despatch is sent over any line in jquenoe of the inability of the line to Hcnd the whole, payments shall be mude pro rata for the part pent, and for no r.iorc. 4. Any excess over 3000 words in the despatch, shall be paid for at the same rate. 5. The quotations of cotton, corn, flour, consols, and American stocks, shall be published by the papers interested in the arrangement, immediately on their receipt, — ii'it be olany time in the day before 3 o'clock, P. M. 6. TJie time of the delivery of the Despatch at the Halifax station, shall be announced to the papers at once. 7. Any failure to transmit the news within a reasonable time after its reception, shall constit'ite ground for a reduction of the sum to be paid, — the amount of hucli reduction to be at the rate of 10 per cent, for every hour of such unrea- sonable delay. 8. Payments shall be made by drafts on the Committee at three days sight. 9. Any newspaper shall be admitted to this arrangement, on paying, or secur- ing payment of its proper proportion of Ihe expenses involved, and on agreeing to abide by such regulations as the Association may find it necessary to make for the protection of the parties to the arrangement. Vou will oblige by stating, before the 15th day of January, whether you are willing, on behalf of the lines under your charge, to assent to this arrangement. If we do not receive your assent before that date, our agent at Halifax has instructions to send very brief summaries of the foreign news, on the usual terms of your private correspondence. ■> ' \ , • '•. ■■'■ We ore very truly, , ,, ,r , .' ' Your obedient servants, '' ■ ■ H.J.RAYMOND, Xr^r^r^ut.^ - • - FREDERIC HUDSON, 5 ^*""'"'^^®' The existing arrangements between the Boston and New York Associations, will be sufficiently understood by reference to the following Letter, from the Committee at New York to t!^^ Committee at Boston : JVew Yorky 3d January^ 1850. Dear Sir — We duly received your Letter of the 31st i)lt.,and delayed an answer, in order to ascertain as fully as possible, the wants of the Boston Presfj. We think we now understand them, We have no desire to exclude any Paper from whatever arrangements wo have made, or may make, to receive tijeir foreign news over the Avires from Ha- lifax, and in our Letters to the Superintendents of the several Telegraph Lines between New York and Halifax, we have stated that any paper paying its share of the'expenses, sucli as tolls, boats, horses, &c,, can join the Association, and if the Evening Papers of your city wish to partake of the advantages we are supposed to enjoy, they can do so. All we desire of them is to conform to our Rules and Regulations, Avhich are very few and very fair. It is our intention to announce on our Bulletin, the arrival of Ihe Steamers at Halifax, the moment it is known to us, and to announce as publicly, the prices «f Cotton, Corn, Flour, Consols, American Stocks, &c. ; to publish in o'lr after- noon editions, the commorcial news and Uic leading political points uf the iff- telligence, and to publish tho remainder of tlio news, if there happens to be any, in our Morning Editions. These are all the Rules and Regulationd we have respecting tho foreign news, and we think they are fair and just. Tho cost of getting tl)e foreign news from Halifax, is, as you are aware, very great. It is a regular outlay, to be borne by tho New York Papers, if no othora join them in the enterprise. We fed sure, however, that tho Boston Journals will continue to be a parly to the arrangements. They now pay us $ 100 per Stea- mer, and we propose to adhere to tliat price — they taking as many Papers in Boston as they please into the Association. We believe Oiat the Lvening Pa- pers will see that this is fair to them, and much better than any arrangement they can make. It is however, for them to decide — we make the offer. To shew you that we have no wish to exclude Papers, wo will here mention, that within the last two weeks we have added two New York City Journals to our Association, and our arrangement with the Press of Philadelphia is, that the news shall be offered to all alike. Witli the hope tliat this will be satisfactory to you and your Association, We are, very truly, , ' Your obedient Servants, i . . ,, .. , (Signed) FREDERIC HUDSON, . GEO. H. ANDREWS, Committee of Now York Association. E. B. FoRSTER, Esq., Committee Boston Association. ., Pursuing our enquiries relative to the past usages of the western lines of telegraph, we find, by the evidence furnished in Smith's pamphlet, that in February, 1£'9, the line was opened between Boston and St. John, and that, by general consent, the contract then existing between Mr. Smith and the New York Association (the leading features of which I have given you in foregoing extracts) was abrogated, and L. R. Darbow, Esq , who was then as he is now the Superintendent of the New Brunswick line, was empowered by all the lines to enter into a new arrangement with the Associated Press; for which purpose he visited New York, and on the 9th day of February, entered into a contract with the same Committee and with the same Papers as Smith had contracted with on the 16th of May, 1848. The material conditions of Mr. Darrow's contract are contained in the following extracts : — . y^. - " That it is fully understood and agreed, by and between tlie parties hereto, that the foreign despatch for the Public Press, furnished by the said Raymond and Hudson, or other agents of the Papers above named, presented at the office of the telegraph at SL John's shall have priority over all other despatches, (ex- cept that of the Government) from the time it is delivered at said office, until the whole message shall have been transmitted to Boston. " The said Raymond and Hudson, or their agents, shall have permission to exclude from the offices, all persons not necessarily engaged in the transmission of the messages, during the time their despatch is being tranpmitted. But it is expressly uilSerstood that tlie news so transmitted, shall be placed before the public by such papers as shall have arranged to receive such despatch, as soon Ot> QuiHpructicablu, and that such iiL'U'riHlmll not bo niadu knuwii, stilJ, or in iiii^ way used by thoni, ho as to bo mndo the buwis of sprculation by private indivi- duals or othorwjdu, to Ihu pubhc injury, whihj tho nuws in withheld by Ihcmfroin public circulation." • " This contract did not meet Mr. Smith's views and he refused to ratiiy it, as far as hjs lines were concerned ; which he made known to the committee of the New York Association in a letter, under date, Boston, Fehruary 15, 1849 ; in which, after stating at some U-ngth his ob- jections to Mr. Darrow's arrangement, he made? the fol- lowing proposition — (vide his pamphlet, page 33) : — ^'' • " Tliis 1 am ready to do, — to consider your existing contract for tho press be- tween this and Now York, elongated to Portland, in terms and duration, varied only so as to allow Boston papers to come in by payinnr their share of expenses, and adding fifty dollars for the first three thousand words to the price of the contract, the distance being from this to Portland, very precisely one-half an much as the distance over our line, as now constructed, from this to New York — reserving the right to a copy, or synopsis of the news at Portland station. For all over three thousand words, there shall be added a pro rata price of one-half of charges on such excess, between this and New York. These are the terms 1 authorized Mr. Darrow to make, and carry through the entire lines,— and these 1 am confident will prove most satisfactory in practice to all parlies concerned." Under date. New York, Feb. 18, 1849, the Committee of the Associated Press accepted Mr. Smith's proposition in the following terms : — Dear Sir, — I received your Letter of the 1.5th inst., and have consulted with Mr. Hudson in regard to its contents, — we acting on behalf of the Associated Press of this city. We understand you to offer to transmit, from l*ortland to this city, without interruption,froni tbe time of its receipt at the telegraph oiKco in Portland, until it shall be finished, whatever summary of the foreign news may be prepared for us, — for the sum ot $1.50 for 3000 words or less ; — the Bos- ton Papers to have the use of the Despatch on paying to us their share ot the expenses of procuring it, and we receive nothing for the use of the news at Port- land. The same regulations which have hitherto prevailed between Boston and New York, under our Contract with you, are to be adopted between Portland and this city. Here, then, Gentlemen, you have the exact understanding of the agreement entered into between Mr. Smith and the Associa- ted Piess a little over one year ago, which was continued with mutual satisfaction till about the 1st of January last, at which time, and since, Mr. Smith, in the most unjust, arbitrary and offensive manner, has peremptorily refused to allow any com- munication, to or from myself, to or from the Association to pass over his line — thereby subjecting me, personally, to great loss and inconvenience, and compelling the Associated Press to 23 maintain at an enormous expense, a locomotive express from Portland to Boston — also subjecting the whole commercial community of the United States and Canada, who rely upon the dilferent Presses concerned in the enterprise for the foreign news, to great inconvenience, loss of time, hazard and vexa- tion. There is no pretence on the part of Smith or others, that the New Vork Association have ever violated their obligations in the slightest degree in that city or elsewhere, except in Boston. The question at issue, therefore, is brought down to a narrow compass, and may be stated thus: — what were the obligations assumed by the New York Association in regard to the publica- tion of the news in Boston ? This important question can be answered in no better way than in the language of Smith him- self, and here it is : " This I am ready to do. — to consider your existing contract" [i. c. that of l.'jth May, 1848, before quoted, in which no allusion whatever was made to the Boston Press] "for the Press between Boston and New York, elongated to Portland, in terms and duration, varied only no as to allow Boston papers to come in by paying their share of expenses.^' — I beg, Gentlemen, that you will note Mr. Smith's conditions. Another question here arises, and that is, what was understood by the term " Boston Papers 7" There can, 1 appre'iend, be no difference of opinion, that it was the imdcrstanding oetween Mr. Smith and the Committee, that there should be one Association (not several) of Boston Papers, to which all should be admitted to share in the publication of the news upon paying " their share of expenses." A Boston Association was, accordingly, formed, and nine of the then twelve daily papers in that city immediately joined it, and through their Committee, (as you are informed by Mr. Smith, at page 12 of his pamphlet) effected a satisfactory arrangement with the New York Association, and ever after, to the present time, have been content to receive the news through the agency of the latter Association. The nine original members of the Boston Associat'on are still members, except the Evening Journal and Evening Traveller — the Evening Transcript not having been in the Association for some months after it was first formed. The New York Asso- ciation have never had any dealings with individual presses in Boston, and it must, I think be apparent to your minds that it never was contemplated that they should have anything to do with the private or local differences that might arise between different members of the Boston Association — which Association, as I have before remarked, is now composed of the same members (with the exception of two never-io-be-saiisjied spirits) as it was 24 when first formed. The seven remaining members compose a large majority in numbers, and in character, influence and res- pectability, are iiijinitehj superior to their traducers. Both the Boston and New Yorlt Association have always recognised, to the fullest extent, the />e?7iocv«^/c' principle — ike majority must rule — and the officers are willing disciples of " Responsible Oovervmeiity Other officers besides the Committee of the As- sociated Press have experienced a difficulty in prescribing a universal panacea, whereby every discontented spirit might be put to rest — but either the New York or Boston Association may safely challenge Mr. Smith to name a single instance wherein the majority have not treated with considerate respect the feel- ings and wants of the minority. The Letter of the Committee of the New York Association to the Committee of the Boston Association (before quoted), is the best commentary that I can offer to Smith and Rogers's charge of unfairness. It is certainly amusing to see how these two worthies account for the acts of the majority, and I her to quote for you a single example, out of many, from Smith's pam- phlet. At page 9, after spreading himself for a knock-down ar- gument \x\toii the '* confederated injustice" of the Association towards the evening papers at Boston, Smith says : — " So in Boston ; the only papers that now yield to this dictation of terms by the New York Associated Press, are morning papers, exclusively, and publish no evening edition.** — Vide Pamphlet, Page 9. ; , Then Mr. Smith's " fast" witness and bosom friend Rogers comes before you and says : — " T\m of the morning papers, which send terms to us, publish evening edi- tions at the same time we do."— Fi'rfc Pamphlet, Page 26. You will observe a material difference in the statements of these gentlemen, but, singular as it may appear they are both false — there being, as every Bostonian will readily inform you, who has no sinister ends to meet, three morning papers, connected with the Association, that issue evening editions, either one of which, probably circulate as many thousands of copies every day as the exclusively evening papers circulate in two, three, or half a dozen days. The statement made by Mr. Rogers is of some importance in another aspect. He, with ..the address of a common trickster, evidently designs to have you understand much more than he has expressed. The impression is conveyed that whilst the ex- clusively Evening Papers are required to pay $40 for news re- ceived up to 2 o'clock, yet they do not have it exclusively, be- cause a portion of the morning papers also issue evening edi- tions. But I most positively deny the specious falsehood which The true meaning and Rogers attempts to smuggle before you. 25 edi- inlent of the proposition on the part of the Association is that the exclusively Evening Papers shall iiave the exclusive right to the Jirst publication of the news, up to 2 o'clock, in the same sense, exactly, as the exclusively morning Papers have the right to the firsi piihlication of the news, when it is received during the evening or night. I have had, before, as I do now. Gentlemen, to regret that my situation here, forces nie to forego the wish 1 feel to lay before you documentary evidence to substantiate all my positions. The urgency of an immediate reply to Smith's pamphlet leaves me no alternative but to employ such weapons of defence, and such only, as he has placed within my reach. I ask you to receive no statements from me that have not a reasonable foundation in fact — and I entreat that you will suspend your judgment, if you have doubt upon any important contested statement, until I can have time to produce unequivocal evidence, which 1 pledge my- self to do upon any and every required point. Mr. Smith has seen fit to attack the statements contained in my letter to you. of January 24, and by resorting to the trick of misquoting my language, he certainly makes out a plausible story. As to the honesty of this speeiesof warfare, that^ of course, never entered into his calculations. For the purpose of conve- nient reference, I here annex a copy of my note to you. u.Tf Halifax, January 22, 1850. To the Honorable J. Howe, G. R. Young fy W. Murdoch : Gentlemen: — Your note is received, and in reply to your enquiry would say, the Boston Associated Press have, by consent of J^etv York Associated Press, exactly the same right to control the news in Boston, that the New York Press have in New York. And both Associations are pledged to give all the material points of the news to the whole public, immediately on their receipt of their copy from the telegraph office. And this tliey do, invariably, when the news reaches them in bvJnness hours. The evening papers of Boston have been invited to join the Boston Association, repeatedly, with the privilege of publishing, exclu- sively, the entire despatch, when received previous to the close of business hours, (which is the hour tnat they go to press,) and all this for the paltry sum of $40, which is not one foicrteenth part of the ordinary expense of every despatch to the Associated Press. Very truly, &c. f I ''. V .^ D. H.CRAIG. Mr. Smith's comments on this letter, on pages 6 and 7 of his pamphlet, are as follows : — (!■ , .;.;.!• .. ii> " By turning to liiat letter again, you will see, that it proves so much, the wonder is, you had not deemed ^e truth of it questionable, on the face of it. " It asserts, that the Boston evening papers have been offered, not only the privilege of participating in the news of the New York Associated Press, pro- vided mey would pay " a ratable proportion of the cost," — but, provided, tiiey would pay a sum " which is not one fourteenth part of the average expense of eveiy despatch." " It M not true, what Mr. Craig says in his letter to you of the 14th ult, that the Associated Press in Boston have " the same right to control the news in Boeton, that the New York Press have in New York." ., . ,, >. . . , •/ c 26 " It is not true, that the Boston Press have a right to publish the news, at any hmir of the day or evening, without the consent of the New York Press ; and, it is true, that the New York Press can publisli it any hour of the day or even- ing, without tlie consent of the Boston Press." I think it would puzzle any less ingenious individual than I\Ir. Smith to extract from my letter to you any such incongrui- ty of expression as is set forth in the second paragraph above. — Had the bare truth served Mr. Smith's purpose, he might have stated it in my own words in half the space that it required to twist it into a position that would afford him an opportunity to attack it to advantage. You observe that I said the evening papers had been invited to join the Association, and had been offered the entire despatch of 3000 words, or " so much of it as should arrive up to the close of business hours," (i. e. 2 o'clock, at about which hour the Evening papers go to press. Banks and Insurance offices close, and merchants retire to their homes), • for forty dollars, wh\c\\ '\s woi one fourter and glory of publishing the foreign news exclusively to the Boston Evening Papers. It is no part of my business to defend the different Telegraph Lines from the impertinent interference of Smith, — they, through their officers, are abundantly able to defend themselves ; and I hazar^ little in the belief that they will spurn his impudent at- tempts to control the free exercise of their own sense of what is right and proper. I think I know them too well not to feel sure they will manage theirown business in theirown way — regardless of Smith's impotent threats, as of the senseless bowlings of those 26 who call pvery thing a monopoly that interferes with their pri- ;•»' t-.v . 1 *^» \xt.H*&i^'"' 'j.V»i vate gains. v,.*. ..» v. The justice and expediency of Ihe present arrangement be- tween the Associated Press and the different Lines of Telegraph, has, I am well aware, been questioned by other parties besides Mr. Smith — but I believe it to be quite true that ihere are few in- deed, who understand the true merits of the case, or who have not some personal end to ansij^er, who now object to the ar- rangement. It is admitted upon all hands, that, without the patronage of the United States Press, the Telegraph Lines be- tween Halifax and Portland could not be sustained. Mr. Darrow the Superintendent of the New Brunswick Line, in his letter to Mr. Smith, remonstrating against Smith's threat of breaking off the arrangement with the Associated Press, says: — " We are dependant, almost wholly, on your decision ; and if you detennine to adopt the rules you speak of, we shall be obliged to bow to your decision, and to do so, we are satisfied, will be death to this line. There is no alterna- tive that we can see. And for aiyself, I beg my friend, that you will take into consideration, that I have expended a very large sum from my own purse on this line, and if the measures you object to in your letter, are not sjistained, I shall lose the whole sum, together with my services for two years, as the stock will not be worth one penny, under the circumstances you seem disposed to place it m"—{Vide Smiih^s Pamphlet, Page 21.) '■ ■>*•,' . Again, in another letter to Smith, page 23, Mr. Darrow says : — " Of one thing, sir, we feel certain. That whether you cut us off at Portland as you propose, or we accede to your demands, as a company we arc equally ruined Our stocks would not be worth one fraction either way, and we shall have the satisfaction of knowing that the dicta of a single individual has done this for us." The above facts, it is believed, apply with far greater force to the Maine Line than to the New Brunswick Line, ?ind though I am well aware that the Nova Scotia Line, being the pro;-firty of the Government, can afford to discard all considerations of profit, yet, who will say that because your Line is placed above the want of dividends, that you should not have some respect for the necessities of those Lines with which yours is connected, and which are less favored by fortune that yours is? Certain it is, that if there had not been a confident reliance upon the patronage of the Press, by those who invested* their money, the Lines between Nova Scotia and Boston would nc . have been built, and of course your Line, even if it had been constructed, would have been, practically, of no avail. [nn ■ : ;- If, then, the patronage of the Press is indispensable to sustain the Lines with which yours is connected, what more equitable arrangement can bo devised than the present one with the As- sociated Press? The idea that more than one public despatch will be sent over the wires is a perfect fallacy — and not leas so, in my judgment, is the idea that expediency or propriety requires ., t 29 . that you should break off your connection with all the leading commercial journals of the United States, because two or three insignificant Evening Papers in Boston have seen fit to withdraw from the Association, without any suflicient reason, unless it is to be found in the fact that Charles O. Rogers, one of the pro- prietors of the Evening Journal, is not permitted to ride, rough- shod, over the seven morning papers, and dictate to the Asso- ciation in the same imperious style that his friend Smith has attempted in regard to the management of your line of Telegraph. In conclusion. Gentlemen, I cannot doubt but that you will spurn the senseless remarks of Mr. Smith relative to the specu- lative objects of myself and of the Associated Press. He offers you no proof, nor can he offer you any, that every existing obli- gation of the Associated Press is not cheerfully, fairly, and promptly complied with ; and no person, save a knave or a fool, would presume to urge objections against the arrangements between the Telegraph and the Press, on the score of the news being used for speculative purposes — when the fact is not denied by their most bitter enemies that they comply in strict good faith with their obligations to publish in a conspicuous form, the European prices of cotton, flour, corn, English consols, Amer- ican slocks, &c., &c., the moment the news reaches them. Gentlemen, it is easier to throw a brick than to mend the glass that may be broken — so, too, it is easier to make charges than to refute them, however false they may be. 1 have felt the force of these truisms more than once since I set down to reply to Smith's pamphlet. I have intended to take up only such portions of his remarks to you as were most important, or as appeared most likely to mislead your judgment and the feel- ings of Honorable Members of the Assembly, who, it* is under- stood, have been appealed to in various ways, by Smith and his friends, and who, I understand, will soon be called upon to indicate their views upon your official conduct — in the favorable opinion of which, sofar,especially,asthe interest of the Associated Press is concerned, I cannot but feel, and trust that I may, with- out appearing impertinent, rightfully express, some solicitude. With an apology for the length of this communication, which has been prepared in great haste, and consequently without an opportunity to condense and arrange my ideas as I could have wished, I have the honor to remain, Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, D. H. CRAIG. JIgent Aeif York and Boston Jlssocicded Press.