TUB PACIFIC CABLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14431, 26 January 1909, Page 6

TUB PACIFIC CABLE

MANAGER. INTERVIEWED. I'EXNT.A-WORD~]MPRACTiCABLE. WELLINGTON, January 25. Jlr John Milward, imimtjjer 'in the Pacific lor tin: Pacific Uabli- Hoard, is visiting Wellington in tin; interests of the board. Wnon seen bv it Dominion reporter lie snii Hint the cable was still working very well indeed, and giving no trouble in any way. Against the popular idea that inon'ey is oeing lost annually. Mr Milward 'coiitended that the gradual repayment of capital ought not to be regarded as a recurring deficit. 'J.lie position was that the imperial Government had advanced two millions sterling, which was being repaid at the rate ol £77.000 per milium, wnile. iiiiUUO per annum in addition was beui" set aside for the renewal of the whole 01 the cable, which would be. necessary ai the end of 50 years. The fact that the Uoveiiuneiits concerned were contributing something annually towards the repayment of the capital did not, Mr Milward contended, jusiily the public in considering that (lie cable was being worked at n loss. In any case, the money whs well spent, as it had led to the lowering of tile rates.

Asked whether, in his opinion, the further lowering of the rates lo a penny a word, as proposed by Air ilenniker llealon, was practicable, .Mr Milward ronlied "No, certainly not, if the cables ate to be worked so as to mee: orcinary expense!!. The carrying captivity of a cui'ile. is limited. We can oniy send lUu„ words an hour over the pacific cable, and no main ocean line lias a much greater capacity than that. It is easy to see that at a penny a word the revenue could not exceed £30,000 a year, ami our present working expenses arc twice that siiiu."

In regard in any less sensational reduction of rates .Mr .Milward was not prepared lo make any definite statement, out he pointed out that the matter was by no means all in the hands of iiis board, because all messages between .Australasia anil Jiritain via. the Pacific cable had to cross Canada and the Atlantic on privately-owned lines. Rather less than half the rales went to the Paciiie Cable Jioard. Mr Milward looks with favour on the proposal to link up llie islands of the Pacific by wireless telegraphy. Such a scheme would provide the Pacific cable with feeders from localities where siibmavn-.e cables v.onki not at present be profitable. At the same time he considered that wireless tele"Tiiphy was not in its present stage of development sufficiently reliable for commercial work over long distances, though it was distinctly useful in its sphere.