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No. 59. The Chief Electrician and Inspecting Officer, Pacific Cable Board, Sydney, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Pacific Cable Board, Devon Chambers, 40 Hunter Street, Sydney, Sir,— 29th July, 1907. By direction of the General Manager to the Pacific Cable Board, I have the honour to attach, for your information, a copy of a letter received from him on the subject of suggestions to be put forward by the associated telegraph companies for consideration at the Congress of the Administrations of the Telegraphic Union, to be held at Lisbon during the year 1908. I have, Ac, J. Milward, Chief Electrician and Inspecting Officer. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. [Tel. 07/1001.]

Enclosure 1 in No. 59. The General Manager, Pacific Cable Board, London, to the Chief Electrician, Sydney. Pacific Cable Board, Queen Anne's Chambers, Tothill Street, Westminster, Sir, — London, S.W., 17th June, 1907. Your letter dated the 3rd May [not printed] : I send for your information, and for communication to Mr. Scott and to the New Zealand Post Office, copy of some proposals adopted by a number of cable companies, including the Eastern group, which has been laid before the General Post Office. You will notice that I attended the meeting (by invitation). Except Canada, all the Governments owning the Pacific cable are represented in the International Telegraph Union, and I explained to the meeting that those Governments would no doubt put forward their own proposals for the Conference in due course, and that I could not co-operate in putting forward those joint proposals on behalf of the Board in the way a cable company would. I stated, however, that in my opinion the proposals of the companies were generally in the right direction, and that they would tend, if adopted, to remove many causes of friction and trouble that both the public and the cable administration laboured under, under the regulations now in force. I yesterday called at the General Post Office, and was informed that the proposals of the companies were being studied, and that later on some meetings and discussions would be held to which I would be invited. Meanwhile, it was recognised it could only do good for the proposals of the companies to be brought to the notice of the Australian and New Zealand Governments, if not already done. No doubt the British Post Office will put forward later on some modifications and proposals of their own, and the Australian and New Zealand Governments will also do so. I think you will agree with me that it will be very satisfactory if the rules are relaxed so as to allow the public in code messages to combine ordinary words, or parts of words, into tenletter or less groups, even if the meaning of the group is pretty obvious. Such amateur coding of trading terms, Ac, is much easier for us to transmit than the code-words now so largely adopted, and will involve fewer errors and telegraphic correction services. The public, too, will be glad to be relieved of elaborately coding every word of their messages by being allowed to use such combinations, and the general opinion is that cablers will often send a few words extra in their messages if such easily made combinations are allowed, to the benefit of cable finances. I have, Ac, C. H. Reynolds, J. Milward, Esq., Chief Electrician, Sydney. General Manager.

Enclosure 2 in No. 59. Mr. W. Hibberdine, London, to the Secretary, General Post Office, London. Electra House, Finsbury Pavement, London, E.C., 13th May, 1907. Sir, — Lisbon Conference. In further reference to your letter [not printed] of the 2nd February last, I am directed to inform you that a meeting of the representatives of various Administrations carrying on telegraph business with the East was held at these offices on Thursday, the 2nd instant, when the enclosed propositions for the modification of the London Revision (1903) of the Telegraph Regulations were unanimously adopted. I should point out that the proposals would necessitate various other alterations in the wording of the regulations besides those mentioned. The companies represented at the meeting were Eastern Telegraph Company, Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Eastern and South African Telegraph Company, West Africa Telegraph Company, Black Sea Telegraph Company, Indo-European Telegraph Company, Great Northern Telegraph Company. Mr. Reynolds, General Manager of the Pacific Cable Board, was also present. It was arranged that these propositions should be sent to the Secretary of the General Post Office, and also to the Director-in-Chief of the Indo-European Telegraph Department, in order that they might be submitted to the British and Indian Governments. The associated companies carrying traffic with South America are also in agreement with the propositions put forward. I have, Ac, The Secretary, General Post Office, London. W. Hibbf.rdine.