THE CABLE & THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1648, 15 January 1913, Page 7

THE CABLE & THE EMPIRE.

SYDNEY-AUCKLAND CON- , .':.;.;.,-NECTipN;;.;;;',-;.' ■ INTERESTING FACTS. AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES, (By Teleuraph.-l'rcss Association.? '■;.■■'' ■ Auckland, January H. J.b.o completion .oi tne laying «'■ wo direct byuney to Auckluud vuuu was to-' uay comiUeiuoraVeu'utvne'jLo'wnllall,when; •a number : ul leauiug ciuaW-assembled ,• . ' at lUucliooli ut tuo invitation of the i'aei- ■ no uiuio Isoard.. aw, oohn' Milward ' lAUbtiuiasiaii: manager) presided, anil . tnoso present inciu'ucd Uuo l'ostmastol'- "■■ Ueneral (tue/Hon. '«,' ' 11:'■ Modes), the kuyor (Miv C. 'J: Parr), and others, .'.ilu proposing, tho toast ot ', "Xlio Post !'■' and Telegraph 'coupled with the nunio of tho Hon. -lt.-'ll. Modes, , the chairman said that nowhere in the . world ,'did the population 'enjoy, greater . ■benefits, in the wuy .of, postal and telegrapiuo facilities. 'New Zealand, in/his opinion, possessed the and best ' U'lcgraph'scrvice in tho'world.'."'' . , Mr. < Modes, >in reply,.said lib realised : <- the. truth of what. Mr. Milward had Baid, and readily: admitted ■■ that all the .'•' credit tuere was had to. bo laid at the ■ feet of'his' predecessors;' and J m'o'st 'of all.. ■ ■to Sir Joscpn Ward. ,Tho Minister paid , a tribute to the vcry.fino work done by. ' tho Department' and its staff in Now Zca-,." landv : ■' • ' :.'.:.-.- ..-■■;. ■> ./";.'.'-.' In proposing tho toastof' "The Pacific;.' ■ Cable-; Board," ,tho said that ho had to: admit that it was i. only, since taking office that he; had taken" ; a stimulated, interest-in. cablo/Walters. '."'. They knew .'that tho cnh,]. Of tho Pacific.. * , Cable, Board into tho 'cable business'; had..' been welcomed; as,tho, breaking up of an . existing monopoly," , Speaking- of , ;thocable work, of the. future",. the. Minister ■ 6aid the work of the future'would bo to'-/ lay an independent cablo across the At-, :. lantio; That would bo tho final link in,'. the ,State-owncd cable. The' Hoi. Mr. 1 Fraser, Postmaster-General of tho Com- ' 1 lnonwealth,'was,to.meet Jijni,in Wiling-';:' '•■. ton .shortly,, to further discuss this qucs-%,!' ;, Hon;; Canada, of course, was, every'.bit V • | as much: interested, and 'no. hoped that',1 ero long something definite.would bo done'•':■.'. ' ill-:.regard-to ah Atlantic cable.. Then there was the problem, cf Wireless devel- / opment,,.and as long-distance trials, sjicvjy deeded, there would, bo tho, increasing : ;, possibility of/making' greater use of; tht /-' .wireless'system. The Minister:.concluded ; '.frith, a complimentary reference, to -the :. part Sir Joseph, Ward and Sir Sandford .' i' -Flcming.had played;in securing the/I'aci..,,;: ; ;fio .cable,' and iffo'rod his; hearty .congratu..',; lations. to the Pacific Board on The.coni-,; pletion of the 'direct cable, to Sydney. ■ ■ '"Mr. Milward; inßesponding to tho toast ; .■' of "The Pacific Cable' Board," proposed by, tho Postmaster-General,' Baid'h6(W,6uld; .. ' like to draw attention to the fact that tS 1 the laying of/the Pacific cablo.was 'Under*-.',/: taken by a unique partnership of,the lin* ~..' perial.vNew Zealand,,,, Australian,.:, and'',; Canadian; Governments. , It : represented;,: what', he might claim to be thoearliest &t>' '~ tempt to..embody,in : concrete,'/foi'in the, •-! /principle of- co-operation' l between' the: > < '. Mother Country and tho Dominions in • regard: to!-practical matters 1 ' of 'common ' Imperial'interest... 'The original, capital of .£2,000,000 was;, advanced by tho . lin: -, ; porial Treasury,v and was being:, i"cpajd,, ■■ from' I 'rei'onudi-carhcd'l'by"tho*'Cablo m,' 1 fifty-year.instalments of JC77.000. ' In ad- : ■ dition tho tevenuo\:was;oxpcctod;to';jpro. , vide JE33.000 per-annum towards c a- to-. npwal fund, .lifeides' all' working , expenses.. •'. This: meant that within.'-iifty; , ; years tho original .capital,, .with' .interest,, ; i would hiive been ; ;repaid, - dud', necessary' to. lay a 1 second- cablo- through-';■, i out would haye accumulated, Coutfivii- ■■ ihg, ■ Mr;'Milward 'dealt briefly witli:>,tho > three principal,aims of lb6,.cable. •'.Th«, .-,.■ first;was to provido-an altoi'dative, I .route ~.. bohVeen the Motherland and tho More '. ■' outlying\parts of-tho British Empire in ,;, ' times-of :national danger. The .Eccondv : '•■ was to bind more closely. together --tho ..: 1 parts of tho Empirb that up to that tune',:: 1 had 'ho direct'. telcgraphio commuftica- ;. .'.' I tion;;; osjiociall)VCanada,- and Australin. ■■',; The third'object,Vas to give thte commcrv-. cial communities of' the Empire the! Ad. ~ vantage' bf'somo competition,in tho fcabw ; i business. Tho new cablo between Syd- , ; ncy andvAnckland, added Mr. Milward, -: . i besides /providing, a very■ much quicker,, j and liioro "reliable'- service "between •, Ausj ■.-.- " tralia' ah'd<JJc*' Zealand-': ge'il'etally. ttnd ■ ; : - duplicating 'tho'connectiony would, it was hoped,; reduoe i the 1 Srorklng expenses by , cuttihg out OfioK/br-stwo-■'.transmissions.-,,- : Similar benefit''Avould* result froni 'the . ' new cable laid from Auckland to Doubt. : less Bay, /which enabled thcin to cut out ; that 6tatibn' entirely.!': ,■ '•■' .;.;■, y ; ■-'■' '•■ ■: ■ ■ "■•-The'.'Moj'dr'responded,to tho toastot "The"Guests.';;:,. " ' .-;'•' . • Mr. W.-A.-'Bedddo '• (Canadian!.., Trade' . Commissioner)'said ho:felt ptoud .; . occasiontoropresentthoCanadian.Gov-: ; crnhient, because'. they 'owed»it.; pnmar-, ' ily to tho far-seeing Impenalism -of ~, Canada that the'Pacifio : pleted enterprise. Sir Sandford, Flcuiv,... uig, who was known tx tho father of th« . Pacific cable; - made tho, first .overture!. ;■■ to the Canadian Government; in/' }?A :■ when bo submitted' to them a scheino. fo> , spanning tho/Pacific; Occhny.by'a' liable whicli, in-connection, with' the'.ovprlaiia > telegraph'of the Canadian-Pacific Railway(of which, he was,chief engineer);would complete the electric 'girdle of.-tlio globe,; ~ and bring Great .Britain, Cahadft,' Ans- , ~ tralia/ ! New,/Zealand,,South'^Africa,' 'and. - India : into unbroken .touch,.without pass-•..,; iug over .foreign ■ territory. ~' .'Sir' Stiiid-'j ford Fleming was-still hale,and; hearty ;. in his 85th year, and had.l Wed to Sco : liis dream realised. Mr.-.. ; Bcddoe fiaul • that ho had just sent away the-following ' cablegram to■hisGovoruinerit ht Ottanas -~ "Have 'participated in the function c o!,. opening direct cable :; Auckland, to' Sjd.. ney; another strand in the Impbnal,-' bond.'* ■ Referring to tho r commercial as., .; pect; Mr. Beddoo; said, the Pacific: cablo ; had 'played a. very.. important ; .part, in . bringing the Canadian market within the./; reach of New, Zealaud produce. -Tho , distance was.too great'to'enable business in perishable products to bo.arranged by, mail,' and without'.the'cablo.,,'Ulie, trade;.-. i' could never have'developed to'its. present... I. magnitude between': tho two" .countries. ■ -. (Applause.);, , J' 1 ."-.' '.:■ ; ;!■;'.iVC j'<" ','■■ Tho toast.bf "The proposed i by the 'Secretary 'to tho'.-PostC-flice; (Mr,, i Morris),' and responded, to by - Mr. ; U/ | : . , Horton.; .;:,:.:'- ::■■'-' - ; ':- ; : '--,.l' : .>'-.]