Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1898. THE PACIFIC CABLE QUESTION.

Evening Post, Volume LVI, Issue 154, 28 December 1898, Page 4

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1898. THE PACIFIC CABLE QUESTION.

« The agitation for the construction of a trans-Pacific cable is being renewed, and a new consideration has been opened up by the manifest desire of the United States and Great Britain to do even more than live together in harmony. The British idea with reference to the cable was tnat it should be essentially an "all-red" one, that is to say, touching only at British possessions. The desire for this Imperial bond of union found its expression during the 1887 Jubilee year. At that time an Intercolonial Conference met in London, and the Pacific cable was discussed at length. It was generally admitted that the existing system was open to great risks in the event of European disturbances, and although the Pacific scheme was severely criticised by Sir John Pender and others, the result of the Conference was a practical admission of the necessity for the proposed line. The Imperial Government was asked at the conclusion of the Conference to institute a survey of the submarine bottom over which it was proposed to lay the cable, but, unfortunately, nothing was done of a definite character.. The Ottawa Conference of 1894 found the situation almost the same as in 1887, the only difference being that some desultory surveying had led to a slightly improved knowledge of the seabed between Hawaii and the American coast, and that the Sydney Postal Conference of 1888 had signified its approval of a survey being made by the Admiralty, the cost to be defrayed by the Imperial Government, the Government of Canada,

and the Colonies. As the Imp°rial Government had declined to act upon the suggestion of the Sydney Conference unless there were an immediate prospect of the cabla being laid, the Ottawa Conference could do little more than pass resolutions. The resolutions actually passed at Ottawa were as follows: — "1. That immediate steps should be taken to provide telegraphic communication by cable, free from foreign c»ntrol, between the Dominion of Canada and Australasia. 2. That the Imperial Government should be respectfully requested to undertake at the earliest possible moment, and to prosecute with all speed, a thorough survey of the proposed cable route between Canada and Australasia, the expense to be, borne in equal proportions by Great Britain, Canada, and the Australasian colonies." The question of survey was discussed fully, not only at the Conference, but also afterwards, and the ultimate opinion formed seemed to be mainly in accord with the views expressed by Mr. Siemens, the celebrated electrical engineer :— " It may be taken for granted that any technical obstacles which were apprehended in 1887 have now (1894) been overcome, and the cable can be laid as soon as the financial question has been settled." Thus it would seem that about four years ago there was a general desire in the United Kingdom, in Canada, and in Australasia that an all-British transPacific cable should be laid as soon as possible, that experts agreed as to the possibility of promptly putting it in hand, and that the only obstacle was an agreement upon the financial basis of the venture. A further step was taken shortly after by the Canadian Government calling for tenders over eight alternative routes. The lowest of these tenders amounted to only £1,068,000, and the route for which it was made ran from Vancouver, in British Columbia, to Bowen, in Queensland, with stations at Atamama, in the Gilbert Islands, and San Christoval, in the Solomons. The main fact disclosed by these tenders was that previous estimates had been exaggerated, and that with the rapid growth of modern improvements the cost of a new cable would be considerably less than that of former ones. As to finance, it would appear that the annual charge for interest upon the cost would be about £32,500, while the working expenses, as estimated by Mr. Siemens and Sir Sandford Fleming, would amount to some £30,000. This would make in all a fixed charge of £62,500 for the first few years. After three or four years it was hoped the cable would pay its way. At any rate, the initial cost would have to be divided up among the Old Country, Canada, and these colonies: Canada, according to a recent cablegram, has undertaken to share five-ninths of the cost with Great Britain; this would leave four ninths for the Australasian colonies, and New Zealand has intimated its readiness to pay one-ninth as its contribution. When all these estimates were made the dominant idea underlying the movement 1 was that fche cable should touch only at British stations. Hawaii, or at least a port in it was, it is true, mentioned in the alternative routes, but at that time Hawaii was not actually annexed to the United States. Now, however, the brotherly feelings that have at last found expression in the intercourse of John Bull and Cousin Jonathan make it an open question whether it would not be possible to make the cable practically all we want even if it did touch at an American station. Indeed, a joint control of the Pacific cable lines from China, t Canada, the United States, and Australasia — all converging, perhaps, on Hawaii as their central junction — would not improbably be most consistent with Anglo-American sentiment, and with the interests of all concerned. Of the several routes proposed for the Canadian-Australian cable, two stand out most prominently. One is from Vancouver, by Fanning Island, Fiji, and Norfolk Island to Tweedmouth, in Australia: This route would be entirely through British territory. The other proceeds from Vancouver to an island in the Hawaiian Group, and thence through the Gilbert and Solomon Islands to Bowen, in Queensland, as mentioned in connection with the lowest tender submitted to the Canadian Government in 1895. This route would touch at an American station. There is a strong feeling in certain circles at Home and at the Cape that the cable communication with Australia should be strengthened by an African all-red line, as described in an article published early this year in these columns. For our own part, we have consistently advocated, in the interests of New Zealand, a Pacific line, and it is no.t very material whether it is all British or Anglo-American. If possible let us also have the Cape-Mauri-tius-Australia line also, but, in any event, we should do our utmost to urge on the laying of a route across the ocean to Canaaa.