TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION FOR COUNTRY SETTLERS.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sib,— Becognising that Marlborough is much behind many other parts of the Colony in the matter of country telephones, I have been in communication ■with the postal authorities at Wellington to ascertain the cheapest system to adopt to enable settlers to te connected with the Blenheim exchange, Mr Richardson (who is also much interested in this matter) and myself recently interviewed the PostmasterGeneral and Mr Logan, Superintendent of the Telegraph Department. We also interviewed Sir Wm. Russell and Mr McNab, M.H.R., to ascertain the systems of private telephones which are greatly used in Hawke's Bay and Southland. We are now in a position to give definite information as to cost, etc. The departmental rates lor a country connection are so high as to be prohibitive; for instance, to connect my own residence with Blenheim ■via Renwick, 8f miles, using existing poles for, say, six miles—there would be a capital cost of £90 and an annual charge of £23 10s. The system I would recommend is as follows:—(1) For the Road Boards to erect the poles along the main lines of road (they have power to do this under sub-sec-tion 1 of 20 and section 241 of the Counties Act 1886). The cost of poles (railway iron) 24 feet long, five chains apart, would be about £16 per mile. (2) That the settlers subscribing provide and erect the wire, fix insulators, etc., on the poles and maintain the line. In the road district in wlichl live the scheme would work out as follows :—The private line would start at the borough boundary, joining into the Blenheim - Awatere line near Mr Smith's residence, \\ miles from the Blenheim exchange, and would extend along the New Renwick and Dog Point Roads. Subscribers living near these roads would connect to the main wire at the nearest point to their respective residences. The Department would charge £6 per annum for the first conneotion and £5 per annum for every additional subscriber, and would for this sum provide and maintain a telephone. The following estimate for a subscriber living say eigbt miles from the exchange and one mile frcn the road on which the main wire would be erected, will illustrate the above :— Capital cost— One mile of private line, say ... */ Share of common wire (mainline) ... •-. — £3 j Total £1° Annual subscription ... ... &> Annual share of maintenance ... *i Total annual charge •■• 6 If the Road Boards erect the poles, then any ratepayer should have the right to use the telephone on payment ol to. Of course the consent of the ratepayers to the scheme would have

to be obtained. It would not be necessary to increase the rate. Already six settlers have intimated their willing* ness to subscribe to the system in the Waihopai and Fairhall sub-divisions of the Wairau Foad Board, and no daunt more will join, The many advantages to a farmer of being in touch with the business firms in town and with tne markets of the world are manifest. Anyone desirous of joining the above should communicate with Mr Richardson or myself at an early date.—l am, eto R. F. Goulter.