THE PACIFIC CABLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14486, 28 September 1910, Page 8

THE PACIFIC CABLE.

PROPOSED DEVIATION. CANADIAN LAND LINE. [137 TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington, Tuesday. In- the Legislative Council this afternoon tho Attorney-General (Dr. Findlay), asked for leave to move as follows, without notice :— That whereas it has been represented to this Council that the Pacific Cable Board desires to construct a deviation of the Pacific cable, authorised by the Pacific Cable Authorisation Act, 1889, and it appears to this Council that tho deviation should be permitted, this Council approves in pursuance of the Post and Telegraph Act, 1908, of tho Pacific Cable Board, constructing and laying a. cable to be u6od in the transmission of messages between New Zealand and Australia in place, if required, of a portion of the Pacific cable at present used for the purpose, the new cable to bo directly between Doubtless Bay and some point in Australia, without touching at any intermediate points." The Attorney-General remarked that the Post- and Telegraph Act, of 1908, made it obligatory to obtain the consent of both Houses of Parliament before any deviation or alteration could be made. Hon. J. E. Jenkinson (Wellington) : " Is there any hurry?" The Attorney-General said lie was told there was' some hurry. Ho could not say that it was imperatively necessary that the matter should be put through that day, but he understood that it was only a formal matter, merely authorising deviation for the better working of the cable.. A Voice : " What is tho increased cost?" Tho Attorney-General : " I am not instructed that thero is any increased cost." Hon. T. Kelly (Taranaki) did not think there was any hurry for the matter. He considered notice should be given so that the Council might have time to go into the question. Tho debate was adjourned- until tomorrow. In the House of Representatives the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph' Ward) gave notice of a similar motion. Correspondence laid on the table of the House of Representatives to-day showed that Sir Joseph Ward has been strongly urging a State-owned telegraph lino across Canada, and that the lease of the line recently entered into by the Pacific Cable Board resulted from tho suggestions for purchase made by Sir Joseph Ward. Sir Joseph Ward had written to the Prime Minister of Canada pointing out that the land transmission was the weakest feature in the Pacific cable service. Messages were not only unnecessarily mutilated, but delays were of too frequent occurrence, with the result that the Pacific cable was losing many of its best customers. Although he had no exact data before him as to the cost of a suitable telegraph line across Canada, ho thought he was well within the mark in putting it down as under £150,000, which should surely be a small matter for the partners in the Pacific cable scheme to provide for, apart from its valuo as a link in the Imperial cable scheme. Following on this, the High Commissioner for New Zealand notified Sir Joseph Ward of the arrangement for leasing the land lines for five years, to which Sir Joseph Ward replied —" While I am of opinion that tho land une owned by the several countries will be preferable, I concur in the proposal for five years, as it will give time in the interval to endeavour to have tho requisite co-operation secured to bring about a state-owned line."