EMPIRE COMMUNICATIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17828, 8 July 1921, Page 7

EMPIRE COMMUNICATIONS.

VITAL FACTOR IN DEFENC3?.

CASE FOR WIRELESS NETWORK ME,. HUGHES' ST&ONG PLEA. By Telegraph—Prees Association —Copyright. A. and N.Z. LONDON. July 5. Mr. W. M. Hughes, speaking to-day on sea, land, and air communications before the conference of Prime Ministers, said the vitsd. need of the present was closer communication between the Dominions and Britain and between the Dominions themselves. The Empire was a collection of free nations, distributed widely, and it was a remarkable fact that just when this free and great people faced the question of closer association, applied science and engineering knowledge had developed a most effective and elastic means of communication to a stage whera it was commercially practicable to exchange views between any two points of the globes while future developments would oertainly add to existing benefits, and there was a possibility of carrying the human voice ail-round the world. The new status of the Dominions had produced the necessity of a common policy, both in international councils and in defence, which made it imperative for close and constant consultation. The Imperial Conference was the only practical machinery at present existing, and it could not be said to be sufficient to assure effective participation by the Dominions in the government of the Empire as a whole. Some suggested a permanent Imperial Cabinet to be constituted by a Minister from each Dominion residing in London, armed with authority to speak on behalf of his country. Quite apart from other objections to such a scneme this Dominion Minister could not speak with authority on matters of policy binding upon the Dominions; that could not be done even ! by a Prime Minister, much less by any other Minister. The Dominion Parliaments would not agree to surrender their rights of self-government. In order that the voice of the Dominions should have the influence it was entitled to, the decisions must be by the Cabinets, and in most cases a vote by the Parliament was essential. Constant and efficient ' communications, in his opinion, were inevitable. The cable system was far from adequate. A really efficient wireiess scheme must be agreed to, such as would enable us to have real Empire Government, instead of the shadowy 6ubstance now existing. Distribution of Empire News.

Political stability was also largely strengthened according to the degree in which each country understood the affairs and appreciated the special problems of other parts of the Empire, and also according to the degree of their social and commercial relationships. The only efiectivo avenue through which mutual understanding could be gained was that of the press, and the only practical means 6i a wide distribution of news was by means of high-power wireless stations. This brought him to the point upon which it was impossible to lay too much emphasis ; the most important factor in the modern world was public opinion. The voice of the people could not be ignored, =ind the opinion of the people on a question was largely dependent on the facts placed before them through the press. Public opinion was the dominant factor in determining the future of the wide Empire which itself was a world within a world. Nothing struck the visitor from the Dominions and India more than the meagre information about his country in the British press. Even in Australia news from Britain and other parts of tl.e Empire precluded the citizen from forming an .accurate opinion on those matters upon which his prosperity, and, indeed, his very existence depended. The cause of this was largely found in the excessive rates charged by the cable companies, who | stood at the toll-gates through which news passed, exacting such heavy tribute as to reduce traffic to the irreducible minimum. Cable rates between Australia and England ranged from 7£d to 9s a word, yet one Australian news service spent more than £15,000 a year, while English newspapers probably .spent twice as much. In the circumstances it was no wonder that British opinion was so ill-informed of the real position in Australia and vice versa. The United States and France were developing great wirefess services, and using them continuously for press ! purposes. The experience of American j newspapers showed that not only was : wireless of incomparable cheapness, com-j bined almost with immunity from delays or mutilations, but that it also possessed remarkable speed. Wireless as Factor in Defence. Turning to the bearing of wireless communication upon defence, Mr. Hughes said that strategically the main factors of defence for each self-governing Dominion were the strength and mobility of the com- j bined Imperial and Dominion navies and j the area which they could control. Once ! more, almost spontaneously, the advance! of science had arrived at a stage supplying means by which a huge navy could be ' distributed all over the world, yet directed j as at compact unit. Modern wireless de- j velopment rendered it possible for Aus- j tralia to communicate direct with a war- i ship in the North Sea, and for the Ad- i miralty to communicate direct with a! vessel at Invercargill. Another aspect' was the defence and self-protection of ; | each Dominion from invasion. It was i easily recognised that, no matter how well j organised any Dominion might be for de- j j fence, and no matter how gallantly it j might resist an invader, r.o Dominion had a population large enough to prevent in- J evitable defeat if left to its own re- I sources. It was only possible for a Do- j minion to hold an invader to enable assist- j ance to arrive from other parts of the Empire. This possibility depended solelv ' and exclusively on effective Imperial com- j mnnication. The war showed that the first act of i | an enemy was to destroy cables. With-1 out high-power wireless local Dominion defence' was of no value. Similarly cities | separated by great distances, as in Aus- i tralia, for defence purposes should main- j j tain wireless communication with high- i power stations, which in turn would com- ' municate with all parts of the Empire. ' Aviation was another important phase j ! of local and Dominion defence, particu- j ; larlv in the Dominions which had great i i coastlines, great internal distances, and j ! few railways. The effectiveness of avia- j | tion depended upon co-operation and effi- ; cient wireless communication. Since the j defence of all the Dominions was dependent j on (a) Imperial communication, (b) naval \ communication, local and distant, (c) in- 1 ternal communication, and (d) aircTaft j communication, it was equally important J that provision shonid be made for main- j | taining wireless communication in war. 1 | when the trade routes were hampered and i when one or more of the Dominions might be iaqUtted. Xhs -eUy jssiho-dL

was fo foster the production within the Dominions of the essential parts of wireless apparatus. The commercial development and expan- j sion of every primary and secondary industry in every part of the Empire was of more vital importance to-day than at any other period in our national history. If we were to relieve ourselves of the burden of war debt, to meet the great cost of Imperial and local defence, and to promote the general welfare of the millions living under the British flag, we must develop the Empire's resources and trade to the utmost limits. In commerce the first consideration must be trade within the Em-

I pire. It was an axiom of elementary ■ | economics that trade was impossible with-' j out proper communications; it was i equally important that foreign trade be I cultivated and extended by every part of j the Empire, every available avenue of | cheap and rapid communication being used. ! | The present world-wide fluctuations of the j ■ markets and the unstable financial con- 1 | ditions provided a vital need for close ! | contact and rapid communication with i ! other countries. No doubt Australia sufj fered for the scantiness of facilities in this ! direction. i

International Rivalry Foreshadowed. j Communications, however, must be con- | sidered from a commercial standpoint;! I unless commercially profitable there was , j no hope of finding the money to establish : j and maintain a system of the highest effi- ! , ciencv. It was possible for a considerable ' | number of wireless stations to operate I j simultaneously without interfering with | j one another, owing to the progress made j j in the tuning of the sending and receiving i | apparatus. There was, of course, a limit ' j to the number of wave lengths that could jbe used within a given area. This question was one of serious importance to tho i Empire. I£ ours were likely to be the ! only long distance stations the problem I would be delightfully simple, but one must j j consider the fact that other great nations 1 | were already operating high power sta- j | tions of wide range, and were busily j erecting more of greater power and range. I If we stood idly by and watched these i developments we would find the long range j stations of other nations crowding the j ether and using all the available wave i lengths while we would have to occupy ! a secondary position, working only at ! their pleasura An international regula- ( tion agreement was ultimately inevitable, j but the advantages that would rest with j existing stations would be very great | compared with those in contemplation.

If each Dominion pledged itself to provide communications as early as possible we should automatically arrive at a scheme which would be characteristic of all other important Imperial arrangements. If all the Dominions arranged to equip stations as part of the general scheme they would practically cover the whole world, the smaller territories linking with the nearest Dominion. The only stipulation should be that each Dominion carrying out its share should act along lines ensuring the fullest benefit of modern scientific knowledge, and use as far as possible British labour and materials.

Retrogression in Steamer Services. Australia dared not have its communications dependent on relay stations in other countries; it could not entertain a scheme dependent on political or even upon meteorological and atmospheric conditions of some other country. There must be at least one station capable of speaking to any part of the world with a corresponding station in Britain capable of communicating direct with Australia upon all questions of foreign policy. The voice of the whole Empire could then be heard, not merely the voice of Britain. He. had no exact figures, but at a rough estimate a capital of £1,000,000 would meet Australia's requirements. On that basis Mr. Hughes believed that the cost of the entire scheme would be less than the cost of one modern battleship. Mr. Hughes said that if a motion were submitted at a later stage it might be in the following form: That each Dominion here represented pledges itself to establish direct wireless communication with the United Kingdom, and with the other Dominions at the earliest moment, and to maintain such communication on a;i efficient commercial basis so that the whole Empire may be linked by wireless stations which would be immediately available for strategic use when required. Touching upon sea and air communications, Mr. Hughes said that the steamer services to Australia were slower than a quarter of a centuiy back, and pointed out the effect of this on a Dominion like Australia, whose vast rich territories needed people to develop and defend them, and capital to bring them to full production. The most serious reason why the bulk of immigration for the last s*o years had gone to the United States and Canada was not only because of the shorter distance, but also on account of the immense advances in speed and accommodation. Speed in the Atlantic during 25 years had nearly doubled, while on the Australian run the steamers actually took longer. One of the lessons from the war was the possibilities of traffic by air. He could not speak as an expert, but one thing he said definitely was that whatever the expert view of the commercial possibilities of air services between Australia and England, Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith, with a single machine, had shown that the journey was possible, and when relays were available who would say that it was not within the bounds of practicability. Potentialities of the Airship. Leaving aeroplanes on one side there were airships. With the erection of mooring masts and oil depots at suitable intervals, there should be rio reason whv an airship service should not be established which would be commercially advantageous. To this Mr. Hughes directed the attention of Air-Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard, who agreed to investigate and report. Mr. Hughes added that air transport service could not be substituted for an improved steamer service, but it could be considered apart from any other question, as it was very desirable that a scheme should be agreed upon within the financial scope of Britain and the Dominions. After discussion, in which the Prime Ministers and Mr. Winston Churchill took pari, Mr. Hughes suggested that a concrete scheme should be put before the conference, the matter being referred to a committee. Mr. Lloyd George approved, and agreed that the matter be taken up at once. Mr. Hughes said that he was not committed to any particular scheme, and did not care what was agreed upon provided only that the matter was promptly dealt with and settled before the conference adjourned and work pushed on without delay. The conference appointed a committee, consisting of Mr. Churchill, chairman, and one representative of each Dominion and India, to consult with British Ministers to consider practical means available at the present time for the development of Imperial communications by land, sea, and air, and by cable, radiotelegraphy, and telephony. After conversational' discussion various questions raised on defence were referred to experts and committees, who will report when the matter is next resumed. The next discussion is on reparations, tor which the conference is meeting on Wednesday at the Treacaij.