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In the tenth year of Meiji, a spy affair arose between young men strongly opposed to the government. They had gone to Kyushu following Saigo, who had returned to Satsuma. The Seinan War broke out, with government troops having the advantage of the telegraph lines between Tokyo and Nagasaki and in various parts of Kyushu. Rebel armies attacked telegraphers whenever they found them and cut telegraph lines wherever they found them. Engineers were sent to the front to secure the telegraph service and to expand telegraph lines.Since then, the utility of the telegraph became more clearly recognized. The number of telegrams before the War ran between 400,000 and 500,000, but within a year after the war this increased to between 900,000 and 1,500,000. By winning this war, the Meiji government consolidated its position, samurai revolts gave way to a movement demanding democratic rights by appealing to speech. | ||
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