company were generally favourable to them. It was shown that the number of subscribers in English and Scotch cities was fewer than in most continental cities, and that, comparing the population of the United Kingdom with that of the United States, the number of subscribers in the former should be about 145,000 instead of about 50,000; but nothing was said of the superior postal and telegraphic facilities of the United Kingdom as compared with the majority of foreign countries, facilities which would naturally reduce the demand for a comparatively new and in many cases unpopular method of communication. The rate of the company in the Metropolitan area for a business connection was £20 for a yearly agreement, with substantial reductions for second and additional connections, and £12 for private houses. On a five years' agreement the rates were £17 and £10 respectively. The rate in Paris at the same time was £16. For the provincial cities in England, such as Manchester, Liverpool, etc., the rate was £10 for a first connection and £8 10_s._ for second and additional connections, and for the large towns, such as Norwich, Chester, Exeter, etc., £8 within half a mile of the exchange, £9 within three quarters of a mile, £10 within one mile, and an additional £2 10_s._ for each additional half-mile, with reductions for extra connections. For small outlying and isolated towns the half-mile rate was £6 10_s._, one mile £8, and £2 10_s._ for every additional half-mile.[832] [831] _Ibid._, 4th ser., iii, coll. 166 f. [832] _Rep. Com._, 1895, xiii, 350, pp. iii, 25-27, 60-62, 87, 90-91, 163, 176, 221, 223, 275, 281-82, 321-22; _Parl. Deb._, 4th ser., xxxi, coll. 207 f.; xlviii, coll. 463-66.