THE CABLES QUESTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2451, 6 March 1901, Page 15

THE CABLES QUESTION.

MELBOURNE, March 1

The Agent-general has cabled that the Pacific Cable Board considered that the agreement with New South Wales and the Eastern Extension Company prejudiced the Pacific cable, and had recommended to Mr Chamberlain that a conference of the Governments interested be held to discuss its effect.

The Agent-general suggests that he see Mr Chamberlain to urge that Victoria be placed upon the same footing and be permitted the same concessions as New South Wales. Then, in the event of the proposed conference being held, their decisions would apply to Victoria equally with New South Wales.

SYDNEY, February 26

The Daily Telegraph, in condemning the proposed cable pool, says that the cable rates would be kept high, and that cable users would have to pay a high tariff for the benefit of the Eastern Extension lines as well as to maintain the Pacific cable on a basis of purely artificial profitableness. It would be far cheaper and more honest to let the Pacific run on its merits, the Governments concerned footing whatever bills accrued, because if it did not pay the public were always willing to pay in a proj>er way for such works of national necessity as the Pacific cable. The wonder is that a Pacific Cable Board, which represents the Government, should have started the pooling project.

February 27.

Mr Audley Coote, in a letter to the press re the Pacific cable, says that if it goes by way of Fanning Island to Vancouver, that section of 3650 miles in one stretch will act as a tollgate to all messages going over the whole cable unless it is made from such an expensive cable that the section will cost almost as much as the whole of the other sections put together. He suggests arranging a compromise with the Manufacturing Cable Company to let the line from Fanning Island be landed at Honolulu, and thence go to Vancouver. The whole undertaking would thus be much benefited. The only extra cost would be the repeating station.