plain language, would consist of no less than 189 ordinary plain language words. This important fact should go far to modify criticisms as to the nature of rates.
As regards social messages, codes have hitherto been far less in use. An examination of ten pages of one of the most popular public codes of this nature, the A. B.C. code, shows that, on an average, nearly 5·95 plain language words are represented by one code word. But Sir John Wolfe Barry, Chairman of the Eastern Telegraph Company, decided a few years ago to afford the public considerably greater facilities than they had hitherto enjoyed as regards social messages. Accordingly he has arranged for the preparation of a social code of 16,000 words. A copy has been placed at each of the offices of the companies, in towns at home and abroad, in which they are permitted to deal directly with the public; and the officers of the companies have received instructions to assist the public in coding and decoding their telegrams. Also, wherever the companies deal directly with the public, receivers of telegrams are able to register their names and addresses free of charge. The full title of the volume is 'Viâ Eastern Telegraphic Social Code.'
Cable Finance.
The principles regulating the financial management of cables have almost always been widely misunderstood by the popular writers on such subjects. Indeed, I have heard an eminent statesman gravely rebuke the practice of maintaining large Reserve Funds. The maintenance of apparently large Reserve Funds is, however, absolutely vital. So far from existing Reserve Funds being too large, when, in 1902, the Government inquired into the subject, it found that, taking the three leading cable companies, the reserve of one was 'about the right amount,' that of the next was 'considerably below what it should be,' while that of the third and leading com-
