MR HENNIKER HEATON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15350, 13 January 1912, Page 4

MR HENNIKER HEATON.

SEEKS HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA. PENNV POSTAGE AND CABLE SERVICES. Mr J. Ilonnihor lloalon, ex-memler of tho lloiiso of Commons, has come on nil ostt'iidcil visit I«i Australia, in search of renewed health and slrcn»tli after liis arduous pulilic fervid*. Prior to his dajiarlLire fro:n England Initio Mantua ho received the following lottor:—"Queen Alexandra hopes tliai ihe ciiaiißO of i'liiiiiili> \yill restore your hoallli, and that KneJand will not lie loni; deprived of your valiia-blo services." In tho coiirs;.' of an interview .Mr Ilcmiiher lloatoti said: ■" I .■'lipposo nvcrvonc hero w\w irlail to jret penny |K>stiif;o \tolh ways; that is. from England to Australia, ami vioo versa. It. nearly broke my heart, wlwn 1 found Austnilia holding out. so loni,' against il, bill I was nlile to rejuice when Mr Jasin.li 'l'liomas wrote infonniiiL' mo thai, penny txistatrc hud been established with the Commonwealth and the rest of the British Empire. At Home troncrai rejoicing followed when Mr Thointis wrote tlx- first letter under tiio m-tiny poslatio rale to mo, for it si|;nilied the end of t.h<> loni!, weary .strliitck I''«r such pari as I have taken in Imperial tjcmiy postal governinput, ti'n! fheuf of letters I have received from all i'.vlions of tJie eonimunity aro sttlhVicni as my reward, for among t!ir=o letters are cotmrunicntions from ncarly rvery groat man in England, as well as in (lie oversea Dominion.*." "Are you eonmbnt that ultimately there will be universal penny postair*?" "Most nxstmdly I nm,'' replied Mr Healon. " I "or one thing. I havo positive knowledge that the prtsvnt Postniastorgcncral has it in view to carry out the s"hoinc hy decrees. He is, I am aware, already anxious to establish penny pnstaci* with Franco, ami I would oven go as far as to propli«y iJiat ho will gradually extend the principle. Hop hv stop, to all parts nf the world. As n matter of fact. Japan it the only place whioh is not included in tho round-the-world penny wslajro schemo at i!k- nroscnt time. "We have penny postage to Gibraltar Malta. Egypt. India.. Singapore, Unnekonc. Chini en route to Vancouver. Canada, and Par. Francisco, the United States, thoncc to Australia, Now Zealand, and Homo via Africa." CAIUKS FOR MILLIONAIRES. " Kvcji with the consummation of the universal pNiny postage, tho quo-lion of Im-rori-'.l communications will not be completed so far u« yon are C-noen:e<lV' "No', «i<! Mto visitor; "not while tho t-aW.o succeed in maintaning tho calihn for th? use of millionaires, and not for tho millionj. When I sco a reform instiluttd hv which 12 words may bo cabled cut from England to Australia or vice rorsn for 3s,

I shall !kV fatisliod. It is now accepted by many leading statesmen of to-dnv lliat we shall never see a porfoclly deveioped. tintK'ailalik' British I'mipiro unlil weannihilalo time ujkl <lipian.«i in rommtiiiieating with every part of it. and iniko it as ea«y_ to speak from London to Ihe people, of New /-eland as Io tlHfse of Ireland. This is a m.'ittor with which I am not connected. I venture to assert that it is ilanirerous to |n>tpoiie any longer the granting of a clicnp. popular cable service nl ft uniform rate to the whole Ktnpiro. 'I'he Creator gave eh-ctrk' telegraphio coiiimiwifalinn to the iXKiple. aivd it is now in lite hands of n cable ring, who pamlor sob'ly to the millionaires. ]!y that word I mean the rich big lim'us as well as actual millionaires, ai:d not the matw,' 1 '•AHOIvI.SU THK MONOPOIdES." "How wou'd you propasn to provide chra|HM' ralos tiy land uiid soa! "Il is ndvinible, at all ensti," wid Mr Iloaion, "io put an immediate end to all cable inonopo.ks. They should be bought put at. market price of tho day by the Governments of the world. The people, of Knglaud, it is estimated, pay from lour to live million sterling annually (or cubic communication, yet the chargrti lire so big thai, as I have .already stated, barely one in a hundred messages is n private ono or of a social nature. Tho amount paid by the British anil colonial liovernmcnta for ollioial 'inoKicje-s would go fur towards dofraying tho inteiest on the coft of purchasing tlio cables from t!:o companies. To show how prohibitive the cable rates are, it might bn mentioned that there are at leant 16' wires from Europe Io America, tho carrying capacity of whioli is 320 million words a year, vet only 20 to 21 million words are transmitted annually. It is alleged that nine or ten wires are kept idlo bv llio cable ring, and i-lio «'ltole cnhlo tvstein ia in (he hands of two concerns— the Eastern Telegraph C:ib!o Company and Urn Western Union Coinixiiiy of America."

AN lIJ.USnitY CONCESSION

"One of the objections against nationalising tho system is: that vested in-toi-Mlt! should not 1m) intorfoieil with. To my mind Mml argument is ridiculous in the extn.'ine. So far as the recent redactions in the cable rates nio concerned, those Irave only baon oonecdi<l out of tho alarm, conseipiont upon tho agitation at Home, but, tne reduction gtantwl-50 ]»r cent, on deferred and uncodid messages— is amusing, and certainly an illusory touceiision. ft will merely bonofit ihe millionaircvs again. Mid will prove unsatisfiiolory Io Australia. Africa, and even Canada. Al'timcfl Iho ixiiiin imd nddrcs.t will take up too many words, and cables wil'. often cc*t n guinea. Then their talk ab»ul deferring tnc<Mf!«i for 21 houi>> only is a joke. It li well kJiown tliat one wire would carry all the :ne£Kab'« <* nl between Australia and Kighuid. Hy Ihe nationalisation of t.lw> cable companies, wa would rot only secure the calico seniecis, but many land wire-i os well, for tho monopolists liavo ta!(o;i good cam to close up all the avenues which tinVJit be used as a meal's of teeuring o!:oup?r een'ices."