The Star. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1900. THE RIVAL CABLES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6728, 24 February 1900, Page 4

The Star. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1900. THE RIVAL CABLES.

The action of the New Zealand Government in protesting against the granting of [ a concession by the Imperial Government to j the Eastern Extension Company will not I come as a surprise to those -who have watched the progress of the negotiations concerning the Cape and Pacific cables. The New Zealand Government always has been extremely hostile to the Eastern Extension Company's proposal, because it believes that the Cape cable will prejudice the success of the Pacific cable, in which this colony is directly interested. Queensland shares New Zealand's animosity, but the remaining colonies, while not opposed to the Pacific scheme, are distinctly favourable to the Cape route. Already Victoria and New South Wales have practically accepted the terms offered by the Eastern Extension Company, and they will give their formal consent in the course of ai few days. This being so, it appears unlikely that the objections of the New Zealand Government will achieve the object for which they" have been raised, and it may be taken for granted that the Pacific cable will be forced to put up with a very formidable rival. How much it will suffer owing to this competition it is impossible to estimate at present, but the harm will probably be serious. Opinions, of course, differ respecting the amount of harm that is likely to bs done, but the estimate is usually a considerable one. For instance, the Postmaster-General of Canada declares that if the concessions asked for are granted to the Eastern Extension Company, the success of the Pacific cable will be, endangered. Other high officials interested in the future of -the Pacific schemeare equally positive, and some even go so far as to contend that one of the results of subsidising the rival scheme will be complete failure of their own. We hope that this pessimistic view will prove to be incorrect, and that since the Cape route has been practically sanctioned, there will be sufficient business for both lines. We confess, however, thai the payment of subsidies, to cable companies is a question which seems to us to need a very thorough investigation. As the position is at present, the public are first of all obliged to subscribe large sums to the <• funds of the cable companies, and then to pay exorbitant cable rates in order to inflate the dividends of the companies.