TELEGRAPH DESPATCHES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 179, 9 June 1864, Page 4

TELEGRAPH DESPATCHES.

I (Troiii the •• lloHiimrne Arms." Miiy 17.) 0 j A Blvs Book, containing copies of till the corres- . pondence regarding tin; Indian and Australian u telegraphic line, published on the Bth of February 1 last, makes us informed of thu present position of c> the question of telegraphic communication between n Australia and Europe. On the wliole, this infor- [. million cannot be considered very satisfactory, so fur 1 us regards any immediate prospect of the realization o of the telegraphic project. The unreini'ting labours r of the indefatigable jlr. V. Gisborue, carried on in o spite of every discouriigcinv.it from lioth of the n parties to be served by Ins si-lienie, have culminated e in a curt reply from Mr. Herman Merivale, dated (he t (sth of February, 1803, to the effect that the Secretary for India " cannot entertain tin , application o for si subvention to :v compiiny undertaking to lay e down u telcgraphie cabh , between Kangooii and V" Singapore." Thus for the present ends this lons;r protracted ncgociation for a telegraphic line lo eonr nect Australia vitli Kurope by wav of (Queensland, 0 the Tories Stmi-.s, .luvii, ami Sii,^, r oiT. Mr. Gisborne hue broken down liimlly in his undertake, ,g ; a and 'lie work, if it is ever to be done, must. l, c ilune f in some other way mid by other mcins. v . The day has been when wo sKon'iil have regretted 1 this summary termin.mou >,f ;11 , - promised to bo of *o much advantage to these "• colonies. V.'i l ihe very papers which' record .Mr. " Oisbonre's failure coiituiii niucli that is encouragim; to those wlio look forward at no distant d:iv to 3 direct communication between Au.-tralm and r.V-ope ! . by means of the telegraphic wire. Every memh brings us nearer to the fullilmvui 'rf Mich a hope. ' Already the wire has advanced several stages eastward, even since the 'lute of Mr. .Merivale's letter. The great network of tiio Indian telegraphic sjmcih is almost upon the point of completion. fa'leutta " t lmsb..-cii joiiud to IJu.i.buy mid H.iml.ay to Oalic. (l iiven while we write, it is probable that the cue greut gap which lay betuec ti Alien and liomljiiy has been iillcd, thus placing Guile in liiivct r-,>nninnn-ealioii with London. Ju two or three months, therefor,-, we may fairly expect !■- receive news from. London in !tr<-,ih/-{<-v days, by the vessel which brings the Kuropcan mails from Galle — news -.vhicli we may hu\e twice u mouth, if it c-j ])lca--eMr M'Cidioch and his Government. ~ But while, in this n'liivier, tlie di.-taiici> which c separates AuMrnlii from Kngland will thus lie ,(■ abridged by o:iu-li:ilf, tiu: wile i.-, slowly ci. i-piit<j , t upon lit* in another direction, VcmiKs Miij 0 moru .startlilii,' and woiiderlul. Alrcaily, l.y t!,i----n eompletion of the line; between Sini^uioiv: inil ]{;ni,r goon, the Jndian sj>tcm oi' Iki.h been L . brought down to CajH. Scdifi'i,';;,<: eMivme casteni s point oftlie island of A-.f-.u l-'rom Java to Timor, a _ distance of si.nro - ';UO miles, there i.s a line projected, ~ if not actually UTidurexeeution, by the- lJuteli (.:'ovemment. i'rom 'J'imor to l'oit is ;j.ji| miles [ and thuncc to the moutli of the Albert Kivcr at the 1 bottom of the Gull of C'a]ientiiriii, 7(K) iniles. The two hist links ist.ll dixvctlv within Hi- -irelc . of Australian iiilhience; i,.,d it \viil wiih tlie 1 Australian colonies to decide Mb-i 1 ,.-!- they shall be 1 taken up, so us to bring tho uTivit chain of telegraphic 3 communication to n )mu\ actually toiicliiug the t - terminus of Anstndian settlement." l'mcti'nilly, f thereforo, tV: only gap lobe bridged over isone about twelve hundred and litty miles in length. The rapid strides which the, cours'e. ol enterprise has taken into the interior of this continent, will, in u very short time connect tin; Gulf of Carpentaria with IWeibuunie d by a continuous line of settlement. The, iutm-e road 1 of the telctrraph-wiio must iollow tins 1i,, c . ; nt!V i s ; t too bold a prediction to say, thitt belorc; majiy ye.'ux we shall have (u consider tin: jirojcct ns a n-:,Vk as necessary to our wjuliliuii us Uic line to Svdnev or 3 to Adelaide. J ■ So rapid, indeed, has )>ee.n the progress of Australian discover}-, and so quick t)i. ; growth of .settlement in the interior, tlmt even since Mr. Gibson (»><, !aid . before us hi.s scheiuu of telegraphic comm-jaii-ation j the wliok: nature of the undertakhg has become idtered. Mr. Gibson, it will be rvmembcred i.roposed to carry his telegraphiv line by- sea along the northern and eastorn ••'■astsofthis eontini-nt, |j\- way I of Tort EMinyt'jii, Capo York, Cleveland liav un\{ Brisbane. Jiut, it is obvious tltut sueli a rou'te can I no longer be maintained as the best or the mo.-t feasible lor our purposes. The labour, expense ■nnl risk of deep sea cables need nut be incurred' I,'v us when we have a short road acrosn the eunti'ihiit 1 from thu Gulf of Carpentaria to McJbounii- The ' length of the lino will bo shortened hv ne-ir'lv one' half by the land route, vhiui the cost of maintaining ■ the communication muet .surely be less than wiln submerged cable. Tho incidental advantages of \ laud line of telegraphs must also be reckoned in it's favour, such us tho facilities it will allord in extending our knowledge of the country, and in promoting the spread of industry and enterprise through the districts of the remote interior. j\ll these considerations, apart from the direct advantage of bein" brought absolutely in contact with the world anil into speaking terms with our ii-iends in J-'iitrl-md ought to induce us to regard the extension of the telegraphic lino eastward of Timor as an object of paramount national importance.