Mr. Scudamore's data showed that there had been in 1865 not less than 96 towns in which the distance between the Post Office and the nearest telegraph office exceeded one mile. In a foot-note, in the appendix, Mr. Scudamore stated that in 1868, not less than 25 of the 96 towns had been given a railway telegraph office; but no mention of that fact did he make in the main body of the report, the only part of the document likely to be read even by the comparatively small number of the Members of Parliament who took the trouble to read the document at all. As for the writers of the newspaper press, and the general public, they accepted without exception the statement that in 1868 not less than 18 per cent. of the towns in question, with an aggregate population of over 500,000, had no telegraphic service. As a matter of fact the statement applied only to 14.6 per cent. of the towns, with an aggregate population of 388,000;[25] and many of the towns that still were without service in 1868 would not have been in that condition, had not the agitation for the nationalization of the telegraphs arrested the investment of capital in telegraphs in the years 1865 to 1868. Distance of the Telegraph Station Number of Range of Aggregate from the Post Towns Population Population Office, miles 1.25 7 2,000 to 16,000 43,000 1.50 7 2,000 to 65,000 84,000 1.75 2 2,000 to 4,000 6,000 2.00 6 2,000 to 15,000 23,000 2.50 3 3,000 to 5,000 11,000 3.00 6 2,000 to 8,000 23,000 3.25 1 4,000 4,000 3.50 4 2,000 to 4,000 11,000 3.75 1 3,000 3,000 4.00 3 4,000 12,000 4.50 2 3,000 6,000 4.75 2 3,000 to 5,000 8,000 5.00 7 2,000 to 37,000 62,000 5.50 1 5,000 5,000 6.00 4 2,000 to 4,000 12,000 6.75 1 4,000 4,000 7.00 5 4,000 to 7,000 27,000 9.00 2 3,000 to 6,000 9,000 9.25 1 3,000 3,000 10.00 2 3,000 to 6,000 9,000 12.50 1 14,000 14,000 14.00 1 4,000 4,000 17.75 1 3,000 3,000