The Padded Wire-Count at Calcutta Central

≈ 4 min

Calcutta Central Telegraph Exchange submits a monthly message tariff log to the Postal and Telegraph Department in Simla, claiming reimbursement for transmission fees collected on behalf of the Crown on inter-provincial wires. Head Operator Reginald Mott filed the log for June 1899, itemising the number of messages transmitted per rate class and the corresponding fees due. The Postal and Telegraph Department has flagged irregularities in the totals and asked an auditor to cross-check the log against available records. You must identify which line in the tariff log is discrepant and which reference record reveals the contradiction.

The scene

Calcutta Central Telegraph Exchange, British India, 1899

Source documents

Calcutta Central Exchange — June 1899 Transmission Register
Indian Telegraph Act Rate Schedule, 1885 (revised 1897)
Letter from Bombay Circuit Supervisor to Calcutta Central, 5 July 1899
Postal and Telegraph Department Monthly Audit Manifest, June 1899

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