GIRDLING THE GLOBE.

Mataura Ensign, 15 January 1913, Page 2

GIRDLING THE GLOBE.

SYDNEY-TO-AUCKLAND CABLE. A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP. I'EE UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION. AUCKLAND, Jan. 14. _ The completion of the laying of, the direct Sydney-to-Auckland cable was today commemorated in the Town Hall, when a number of leading citizens assembled at luncheon at the invitation of the Pacific Cable Board. Mr John Milward, Australasian manager, presided, and those present included the Postmaster-General (Hon. R. Heaton Rhodes), the Mayor (Mr C. J. Parr) and others. In proposing the toast of "The Post and Telegraph Department," coupled ivitli the name of Hon. R. H. Rhodes, the chairman said that nowhere in the world did the population enjoy greater benefits in the way of postal and telegraphic facilities. New Zealand, in fact, possessed the cheapest and best telegraph service in the world. Hon. R. H. Rhodes, in reply, said that he realised the truth of what Mr Milward had said, and readily admitted that all the credit there was had to be laid at the feet of his predecessors, and most of all to Sir Joseph Ward. The Minister paid a tribute to the very fine work done by the Department and its staff in New Zealand. In proposing the toast- of the Pacific Cable Board the Postmaster-General said that he had to admit that it was only since taking office that he had taken a stimulated interest in cable matters. They knew that the entry of the Pacific Cable Board into the cable business had been welcomed as breaking up an existing monopoly. Speaking of the cable work of the future, the Minister said that the work of the future would be to lay an independent cable across the Atlantic. That would be the final link in the State-owned cable. Hon. Fraser, Postmaster-General of tile Commonwealth, was to meet him in Wellington shortly to further discuss this question. Canada, of course, was every bit as much interested, and he hoped that ere long something definite would be done in regard to an Atlantic cable. Then there was the problem of wireless development, and as long distance trials succeeded there would be an increasing possibility of making greater use of the wireless system. The Minister concluded with a. complimentary reference to the part Sir Joseph Ward and Sir Sandford Fleming had played in securing the Pacific cable, and offered his hearty congratulations to the Pacific Board on the completion of the direct cable to Sydney, i Mr Milward, in responding, said that lie would like to draw attention to the fact that the laying of the Pacific cable was undertaken by a unique partnership of the Imperial, New Zealand,, Australian and Canadian Governments. It represented what he might claim to be the earliest attempt to embody in concrete form the principle of co-opera-tion between the Mother Country and the dominions in regard to practical matters of common Imperial interest. The original capital of £2,000,000 was advanced by the Imperial Treasury, and was benig repaid from the revenue earned by the cable, in 50 yearly instalments of £77,000. In addition revenue was expected to provide £33,000 per annum towards the renewal fund, besides paying all working expenses. This meant that within 50 years the original capital with interest would have been repaid and the sum necessaj-y to lay a second cable throughout the world would have accumulated. Mr Milward briefly dealt with the three principal aims of the cable. The first was to provide an alternative route between the Motherland and the more outlying parts of the British Empire in times of national danger. The second was to bind more closely together the parts of the Empire that up. to that time had no direct telegraphic communication, especially Canada and Australasia. The third object was to give the commercial communities of the Empire the advantage of some competition in cable business. The new cable between Sydney and Auckland, besides providing, a very much quicker and more reliable service between Australia and ,New Zealand generally, and duplicating the connection, would, it was hoped, reduce the working expenses by cutting out one or two transmissions. Similar benefits would result from the new cable laid from Auckland and Doubtless Bay, which enabled them to cut out that station entirely. Mr W. A. Beddoe, Canadian Trade Commissioner, said that he felt proud on this occasion to represent the Canadian Government, because they owed it primarily to the far-seeing Imperialism of the Canadians that the Pacific cable was a completed enterprise. Sir Sandford Fleming, who was known as the father of the Pacific cable, made the first overtures to the Canadian Government in 1879, when he submitted' to it a scheme for spanning the Pacific Ocean by a cable which in connection with the overland telegraph of the Canadian Pacific Railway (of which I he was chief engineer) would complete the electric girdle of the globe and bring Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India into unbroken touch without passing Tor foreign territory. Sir Sandford Fleming was still hale and hearty in his 85th year, and had lived to see his dream realised. He had just sent away the following cable to his Government at Ottawa: "Have participated in function of opening direct Pacific cable Auckland to Sydney, another strand in Imperial bond." Referring to the commercial aspect. Mr Beddoe said that the Pacific cable had played a very important part in bringing the Canadian market within reach of New Zealand produce. The distance was too great to enable business in perishable products to be arranged by mail, and without the cable trade could never have developed to its present magnitude between the two countries.