The only reply sent in by the sturdy agitator was that the entire matter of his recent interview with the postmaster having been truthfully communicated by him to the rest of the suspended men, there was nothing to submit for Mr. Scudamore’s consideration but the grievances of the telegraph operators, which led to the formation of an association. While his fate was trembling in the balance, he still maintained, in the most respectful terms, however, that this combination of telegraphists meant nothing more than an endeavour to obtain, not only their fair and equitable demands, but the performance of promises given by Mr. Scudamore himself. Further, Mulholland vigorously maintained that only the absence of an association at the time of the transfer was responsible for their being neglected for so long by the State department. During the whole time that these overtures were being made by the Manchester officials desirous of obtaining possession of the papers which would implicate others, Mulholland never for a moment lost his self-respect, or was tempted to forget what was due to himself as an honest man. On his refusal to deliver up the coveted documents, the official whose duty it had been to negotiate the bargain of betrayal attempted to deny that he had “either insisted on it or made a condition of it.” Immediately following on this came a request for an explanation in writing as to why he should not be dismissed the service. The “explanation” was furnished promptly enough. But whether the official mind was ashamed to carry the matter so far, or the authorities felt bound to respect the honourable consistency of the man, Mulholland was not dismissed after all; at the end of six weeks’ suspension being quietly allowed to resume his place. The rest of the Manchester staff meanwhile, misled by the false and contradictory reports that the clerks in other towns were wavering or willingly returning to duty, gradually themselves resumed work. While most of the men who comprised the committees in the various towns were still under suspension, a grand concert was organised at Liverpool on their behalf, and to help to defray the expenses that had been incurred. The concert took place at the Concert Hall, Lord Nelson Street, on December 22nd, 1871. It was highly successful; Mr. Osmond Tearle, the well-known actor, who in his earlier days had been a Liverpool telegraph clerk in the old “Magnetic Company,” rendering great assistance with his recitations of “Eugene Aram” and other pieces. A special prologue was spoken on this occasion, in which the following lines occurred:—