The French system of telegraphs comprised, in 1866, 20,628 miles of route, 68,687 miles of wire, and 1,209 stations open to the public. The number of messages amounted to 2,842,554. The gross receipts for the year were 7,707,590, and the expenditures were 8,983,460, showing a loss for the year of 1,275,870.

The receipts are divided as follows:—

301stations collect less than 200francs each.
179stations collect from200to500francs each.
185stations collect from500to1,000francs each.
354stations collect from1,000to5,000francs each.
84stations collect from5,000to10,000francs each.
63stations collect from10,000to30,000francs each.
17stations collect from30,000to50,000francs each.
12stations collect from50,000to100,000francs each.
6stations collect from100,000to200,000francs each.
4stations collect from200,000to300,000francs each.
2stations collect from300,000to400,000francs each.
1stations collect527,000
1stations collect620,000
1,209total.

These stations are situated in 89 departments, viz.:—

1.Départmentde la Seine,collecting2,822,367francs.
2.„Bouches de Rhone,„747,228„
3.„Seine inférieure,„608,737„
4.„Rhone,„348,514„
5.„Nord,„265,705„
6.„Gironde,„260,615„
7.„Loire inférieure,„139,797„
8.„Haut Rhin,„135,483„
9.„Hèrault,„134,388„
10.„Alpes Maritimes,„101,183„

Nine other departments collect annually between 90,000 down to 50,000 francs, the remaining seventy from 49,000 down to 4,653 francs.

Paris (Départment de la Seine) has forty-six stations within the fortifications. The gross receipts amounted, in 1866, to 2,794,768.40 francs, being more than one third of the total receipts of the whole empire.

The receipts in Paris are divided as follows:—

Place de la Bourse,527,906francs.
Rue de la Grenelle,283,972„
Grand Hotel,271,880„
Rue Lafayette,250,967„
Rue J. J. Rousseau,198,465„
Rue St. Cécile,139,916„
Aux Champs Elysées,131,059„

Six other stations collect from 85,000 to 50,000, six from 50,000 to 20,000; the remainder from 19,000 down to 2,123 francs.