ALL-BRITISH CABLES

Evening Star, Issue 19006, 30 July 1925, Page 4

ALL-BRITISH CABLES

NECESSITY FOR FOR STRATEGIC REASONS Sir diaries Bright, ilia submarine cable expert, in an address to the Gropius Society in London recently, emphasised the unsatisfactory position of international law with regard to cables, reports the London correspondent of the ‘Manchester Guardian.’ hie said there had never hc.Qn much licsitation o-i the part of bclTiiierents to interrupt any cables if they could. He had therefore always maintained life desirability of a system of cables connecting tho British Empire by independent means—i.e.. without touching on foreign soil. When the bombardment. of Alexandria began the cables were immediately cut by the Egyptians, thus confining British communication to the land lines. Again, some years ago, when great political tension existed with Russia, all tho cables which united New Zealand and Australia with tho rest of tllo world were interrupted. This caused great uneasiness in Australia, and led' to the mobilisation of the troops stationed there, the manning of butteries, and the putting in active wuai'.iissi.'U of the Australian defence ships. Messages passing through cables touching toieign territory were insecure, ho wont on. If the cable lauded on enemy soil the message was stopned or read, all codes being decipherable, and if on neutral soil it ran the chance of finding its way to the enemy. Unless a stint neutralisation of cab! 33 became the order of the day, under the League of Nations, or otherwise, all countries should, if only for strategic reasons, establish for themselves man/ more cables on a variety of routes, well clear of foreign sail. They should he pnppbuiientcd by wireless, which was already in use as a feeder to the cable systems. It was a great mistake to suppose in looking at the development of radio that cable telegraphy had reached finality. Just recently further Atlantic cables had been laid of a much imprcied pattern from the electrical point of view, which afforded far greater speed of transmission than before. Similar lines were being laid elsewhere. It would be unwise to rely on any wireless chain as a solo means of war-reaching communication, owing to the lack of secrecy, dependence on atmospheric conditions, and the vulner ability of wireless antennae.