342
1883, relative to the same company's Cable between
Hongkong and Shanghai, in which I explained why
it was desirable to impose
accession
to the Convention
ow
private telegraph companies whose lines linke
contracting States together; and to these reports I
would now add that the effect of not insisting
upon the adherence of the company to the obligatory
clauses would be to leave the Company free to
transmit telegrams in any manner they chose, so
that they might thus give favour or preference to
any particular class of messages it might be to
their interest to expedite, or to the messages of
any
to
individual member of the public; and they
would not be under any obligation to give priority
of transmission to government despatches. There
would also be nothing to prevent their charging
differential rates.
In
fact the effect of not insisting upon
the
observance
of
the obligatory
clauses
would be to
all
relieve the company from the observance
of
the salutary restrictions and regulations which the
parties to the Convention have deemed it necessary
to impose upon themselves for the proper regulation
of the traffic and the general interests of the
public, whilst the effect of insisting upon their
observance is to safeguard those interests and to
ensure the carrying out by the company of
Regulations which must obviously be necessary
an International Telegraph System ·
in
The French Administration, with whom I havė
been in communication in the matter and who
have already granted the company permission to
land at Tonquin, inform
me that it has been
stipulated
as part of the concession that the service
In
}
shall