Telegraph Act 1869
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
Telegraph Act, 1869
(32 & 33 Vict.) CHAP. 73.
An Act to alter and amend ‘The Telegraph Act, 1868.’
[9th August 1869]
Whereas by ‘The Telegraph Act, 1868,’ Her Majesty's Postmaster General is empowered to purchase, in the manner therein mentioned, the whole or any part of the undertaking of any telegraph or other company authorized to transmit telegraphic messages in the United Kingdom except the undertakings of the Atlantic Telegraph Company and the Anglo-American Telegraph Company (Limited):
And whereas the Postmaster General is required by the said Act to make one uniform charge for the transmission of telegraphic messages throughout the United Kingdom:
And whereas by the said Act it is provided that in case no Act be passed in that or the next session of Parliament, putting at the disposal of the Postmaster General such monies as may be requisite for carrying into effect the objects and purposes of the said Act, the provisions contained therein or in the agreements thereby confirmed relating to the arrangements with railway and telegraph companies, and all proceedings thereunder, should become void; and the Postmaster General is required in that event to pay to the several companies therein mentioned all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by them in relation to any proceedings under the said Act:
And whereas, in order to protect the public revenue, it is expedient that similar powers to those conferred upon the Postmaster General with respect to the exclusive privilege of conveying letters should be enacted with reference to the transmission of public telegraphic messages within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; and that the said Act should be amended in other respects:
And whereas agreements have been entered into by or on behalf of the said Postmaster General for the acquisition of the undertakings of the several telegraph companies enumerated in the schedule to this Act, on payment to such companies respectively of the amounts set forth in such schedule, amounting in the whole to the sum of five millions seven hundred and fifteen thousand and forty-eight pounds eight shillings and eleven pence:
And whereas in further pursuance of the said Telegraph Act, 1868, the Postmaster General has entered into arrangements with divers railway companies, and negotiations are now pending between him and other railway companies as to their interest in telegraphic business, and it is estimated that the amount which will be required for the purchase by the Postmaster General on behalf of Her Majesty of the interest of such railway companies in telegraphic business will not exceed the sum of seven hundred thousand pounds:
And whereas it is estimated that the amount which will be required for the other purposes of the said recited Act and of this Act will not exceed the sum of three hundred thousand pounds:
And whereas it is necessary to give authority to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury to raise the funds which will be required to enable the Postmaster General to carry into effect the arrangements herein-before mentioned and the other purposes of the recited Act and of this Act:
Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Short title.
1. This Act maybe cited as ‘TheTelegraph Act, 1869,’ and this Act and ‘The Telegraph Act, 1868,’ may be cited together as ‘The Telegraph Acts, 1868-1869.’
2 & 32 Vict. c. 110. and this Act to form one.
2. The provisions of ‘The Telegraph Act, 1868,’ save so far as they are expressly repealed or varied by or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall be incorporated and construed as one with this Act.
3 Interpretation of terms.
3. The following terms shall in this Act have the meanings herein-after assigned to them, unless there is something in the context repugnant to such construction; (that is to say,)
The term ‘telegraph’ shall, in addition to the meaning assigned to it in ‘The Telegraph Act, 1863,’ mean and include any apparatus for transmitting messages or other communications by means of electric signals:
The term ‘telegram’ shall mean any message or other communication transmitted or intended for transmission by a telegraph:
The term ‘telegraph company’ shall mean any company, corporation, or persons for the time being engaged in transmitting, or by any instrument incorporating the same, authorized to transmit telegrams within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for money or other consideration:
The term ‘undertaking,’ when used with reference to a telegraph company, shall mean all the rights, powers, privileges, works, and other property of such company acquired or used for the transmission of telegrams within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for money or other consideration.
4 The Postmaster General to have exclusive privilege of sending messages, with certain exceptions.
4. The Postmaster General, by himself or by his deputies, and his and their respective servants and agents, shall, from and after the passing of this Act, have the exclusive privilege of transmitting telegrams within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, except as herein-after provided; and shall also within that kingdom have the exclusive privilege of performing all the incidental services of receiving, collecting, or delivering telegrams, except as herein-after provided.
5 Exceptions.
5. There shall be excepted from the said exclusive privileges of the Postmaster General all telegrams of the following descriptions; (that is to say,)
Telegrams in respect of the transmission of which no charge is made, transmitted by a telegraph maintained or used solely for private use, and relating to the business or private affairs of the owner thereof:
Telegrams transmitted by a telegraph maintained for the private use of a corporation, company, or person, and in respect of which, or of the collection, receipt, and transmission or delivery of which no money or valuable consideration shall be or promised to be made or given:
Telegrams transmitted, with the written licence or consent, either special or general, of the Postmaster General, under the hand of any officer of the Post Office, authorized for that purpose by the Postmaster General:
Telegrams transmitted by a telegraph company existing on the twenty-second day of July one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, the undertaking of which shall not for the time being have been acquired by the Postmaster General:
Telegrams the transmission of which is authorized by the provisions of ‘The Telegraph Act, 1868,’ or any agreement confirmed thereby, or made or to be made in pursuance thereof:
Telegrams transmitted to or from any place out of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
6 Penalty on contravention of Act.
6. Any company, corporation, or person who transmits, or aids, or is concerned in transmitting any telegram in contravention of the exclusive privilege conferred on the Postmaster General by this Act, or who receives, collects, or delivers any telegram in contravention of such exclusive privilege, or aids or is concerned in the receipt, collection, or delivery of such telegram in contravention of such privilege, shall, on summary conviction, be liable for every such offence to a penalty not exceeding five pounds; and where any person offending against this Act is a servant or person hired to do the act complained of, the master or other person employing such servant shall be subject to a like penalty.
7 Purchase of undertakings other than those referred to...
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