For the most part all the telegraph apparatus belonging to the railway companies and all belonging to the telegraph companies on the railway lines necessary for the private business of the railways were handed over to the railways by the Postmaster-General free of charge. He was given the use, from telegraph stations not on the railway lines, of all the wires of the telegraph companies on the lines employed exclusively in the public telegraph business. The railways might affix wires to the posts of the Postmaster-General on the line, and in like manner he might require the railways to affix wires to their own posts for the use of the Post Office or erect new posts and wires. Finally the railways were required to act as agents of the Postmaster-General, if required, for receiving and transmitting messages. The railways as a rule succeeded in driving a very sharp bargain with the Government for the purchase of their interests in the public telegraph business. The price paid was twenty years' purchase of the net receipts from public telegrams reckoned for the year ending 30th June, 1868, plus twenty times the increase in net receipts for the three preceding years or for such shorter period as the business of transmitting public telegrams had been undertaken. In addition, compensation was made for the rents, etc., payable to the railways by the telegraph companies, for the unexpired period of their respective agreements, for the right of way obtained by the Postmaster-General over the lands of the railways, for the loss of power on the part of the railways to grant way-leaves, for the value of the railways' reversionary interests (if any) in the transmission of public messages on the expiration of the agreements with the telegraph companies, and for any loss the railways might suffer in working their telegraph business as a separate concern. Finally the Postmaster-General was required to convey free of charge to any part of the United Kingdom all messages of the railways relating to their own private business.[805] The act empowering the Postmaster-General to purchase the undertakings of the telegraph companies did not confer upon the Post Office a monopoly in the transmission of telegrams, Mr. Scudamore himself declaring that such a monopoly was neither desirable nor did the Post Office wish it. The second act, however, declared that no telegraphic messages, except those sent from or to any place outside of the United Kingdom, should be transmitted by any telegraphic company for gain unless the company was in existence on the 22d of June, 1869, and was not for the time being acquired by the Postmaster-General, who should be required to purchase its undertaking upon demand.[806] [805] 31 and 32 Vict., c. 110. [806] 32 and 33 Vict., c. 75.