Old Hampshire Mapped
Cobbett's Hampshire
Transcription (104)telegraphs
semaphore telegraph
[1823]
... Thence I came on, turning upon the left upon the sand-hills of Hambledon (in Surrey, mind). On one of these hills is one of those precious jobs, called 'Semaphores.' For what reason this pretty name is given to a sort of Telegraph house, stuck up at public expense upon a high hill; for what reason this outlandish name is given to the thing, I must leave the reader to guess; but as to thing itself; I know that it means this: a pretence for giving a good sum of the public money away every year to some one that the Borough-system has condemned this labouring and toiling nation to provide for. The Dead Weight of nearly about six million sterling a year; that is to say, this curse entailed upon the country on account of the late wars against the liberties of the French people, this Dead Weight is, however, falling, in part, at least, upon the landed jolterheads who were so eager to create it, and who thought that no part of it would fall upon themselves. ... The jolterheads have now found, however, that a pretty good share of the expense is to fall upon themselves. Their mortgagees are letting them know that Semaphores and such pretty things cost something, and that it is unreasonable for a loyal country gentleman, a friend of social order and of the 'blessed comforts of religion' to expect to have Semaphores and to keep his estate too.
[1825]
... Being out a-coursing to-day, I saw a queer-looking building upon one of the thousands of hills that nature has tossed up in endless variety of form round the skirts of the lofty Hindhead. This building is, it seems, called a Semaphore, or Semiphare, or something of that sort. What this word may have been hatched out of I cannot say; but it means a job, I am sure. To call it an alarm-post would not have been so convenient; for, people not endued with Scotch intellect, might have wondered why the devil we should have to pay for alarm-posts; and might have thought, that, with all our 'glorious victories,' we had 'brought our hogs to a fine market,' if our dread of the enemy were such as to induce us to have alarm posts all over the country! Such unintellectual people might have thought that we had 'conquered France by the immortal Wellington,' to little purpose, if we were still in such fear as to build alarm-posts; and they might, in addition, have observed, that, for many hundreds of years, England stood in need of neither signal posts nor standing army of mercenaries; but relied safely on the courage and public spirit of the people themselves. By calling the thing by an outlandish name, these reflections amongst the unintellectual are obviated. Alarm-posts would be nasty name; and it would puzzle people exceedingly, when they saw one of these at a place like ASHE, a little village on the north side of the chalk-ridge (called the hog's back) going from Guildford to Farnham! What can this be for? Why are these expensive things put up all over the country? Respecting the movements of whom is wanted this alarm-system? ...
