THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1910. CHEAP CABLES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14472, 12 September 1910, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1910. CHEAP CABLES.

There does not appear to be any very grave cause for the indignation expressed by Sir Win. Hall-Jones at the objection raised by the British Post Office against the, introduction of the " deferred" message system at half-rates upon the Pacific Cable. It, is mu"h more " monstrous" that the management of a State-owned cable should uphold practically prohibitive rates upon a line which is idle the greater part of the time than that the British Post Office should desire to work loyally to the recommendations of the International Electric Convention. When the " deferred" message scheme was introduced the Herald gladly supported it, for the simple and sufficient reason that any change is desirable which accustoms the public to cheaper cable rates. , At the present time the general public, excepting for the cabled news in the daily press and for the occasional references made to the submarine cable, hardly knows that there is such an invention. The son in the colonies commonly waits for the mail to bring him news of his mother's death and his sister's wedding. The travelling New Zealander contents himself with the use of the cable upon extreme emergency. Market news is abbreviated to a confusing degree. Press news passes over the wires in the most condensed form. And all the time this country, and every other country party to the Pacific Cable, is allowing its cable property to rust out more than it wears out, and is paying annually a heavy subsidy for the privilege. These being the circumstances, and the cables being quite out of the range of the daily life of the average citizen, we had no objection to the " deferred" message system, anticipating that it would be a prelude to the " deferred" becoming the ordinary message and the ordinary message becoming the "urgent." But the British Post Office holds a different opinion,- and speaks on the points raised by the other parties to the international telegraphy of the world. The International Electric Convention was against the "deferred" message because it is against any shelving of messages upon any pretence whatever, holding that the telegraph and the cable should serve the public by putting its business through as swiftly and as accurately as possible, only giving precedence

to tliose who pay extra rates for this privilege. Is there anything wrong in this position 1 On the other hand is it not absolutely sound and practical from the point of view of the public as well as from the point of view of public-spirited cable management? Sir Joseph Ward, whose position in the matter is above imputation, will heartily agree with us when we say that the difficulty with the Pacific Cable Board has been the weakness of public spirit in its management. Had it been ably and sincerely managed for the public interest, and for the public interest alone, though we might still be paying annually for a deficit,-the deficit would be spent in subsidising a cheap-rate cable and not a dear-rate cable.

In commenting upon the Pacific Cable question Sir Wm. Hall-Jones himself pointed out the remedy. It is easy to reduce, rates to one-half, and then to charge double-rates for "urgent'' messages. The effect of this would be the same as that under the " deferred" messages scheme, excepting that the " deferred" messages would come through as fast as they were received, only giving way to " urgents" and not being shelved at all. And why, we may ask in the spirit of the International Electric Conference, should they be shelved when the sole object in doing so is to extract double-pay from those whose messages are of importance 1 Sir Joseph Ward has informed the public that, in his opinion, cable messages can be carried to London for Sixpence Per Word and to Australia for One Half-penny Per Word. Yet we pay Threepence Per Word to send messages to our friends and neighbours, the Australians, and to our personal friends and relatives when they are travelling in Australia, and even under the " deferred" cable proposal the charge to London was to be Eighteenpence Per Word. If there is one thing upon which Sir Joseph Ward can speak with authority, and one thing in which the Dominion is profoundly indebted to him for long and arduous and beneficial services, it is postal telegraphy. Based upon what has been done in New Zealand, where a telegraphic message is not only carried, but delivered, from the North Cape to the Bluff for One Half-penny Per Word, we can see that Sir Joseph Ward has sound grounds for his criticism upon cable rates. Deferred" cable messages are no more advantageous than slow mails. They are better than nothing, as slow, mails ; are better than nothing. But to consider them as satisfactory or to place them upon an equality with ordinary messages, or to imagine that in such business as this all- the inventions of the electricians is culminating would be preposterous.