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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
6
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC
RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
25 November 1896.
Mr. FREDERICK WARD, Manager in England of the Commercial Cable Company, called in:
and Examined.
Chairman,
1563. MR. WARD, I think you are connectedl with the Commercial Cable Company -1 am.
1564. Would you tell the Committee exactly your position on it? I am the manager in England.
1565. We have heard evidence given before the Committee of an experiment which your company made by looping cables at Canso?- Just so.
1566. Can you describe that experiment?- Yes. I requested it to be done, so I think I can explain it. We had two of our main cables looped at Canso, that is, the two were made practically one cable, so that it commenced at Waterville in Ireland, and it finished at Water-
Then messages were ville in Ireland. through this cable to test the speed of it to test the amount of work which could be got out of the cable, whether it was practicable to telegraph through such a long length of cabling under such
conditions.
sent
1567. Was there any repeating station?—No, it would be impossible with none whatever; present known appliances to have a repeating station in long cables.
1568. It was a through message from Ireland and back? From Ireland to Ireland; and it could only be done under those conditions. It is a matter of impossibility with actually known appliances to repeat except taking off actually manually and sending on again manually. There is no automatic repetition possible in a long cable. 1569. Can you tell the Committee what arrangements the Commercial Cable Company have with the C. P. R. Telegraph system as to forwarding messages-I cannot tell you what arrangements we have, because I really do not know what the arrangement is that has been made in New York; but I know there is an arrange- ment to transfer messages from one company to the other, or from one set of lines to the other. There is an understanding, an arrangement, between them, which gives the Commercial Cable Company a clear line through to Van-
couver.
1570. Could you tell the Committee through what stations messages would be forwarded to Vancouver from London ? Well, from London the message would go to Waterville, in Ireland ; from Waterville it would be transmittel to Canso, in Nova Scotia; and from Canso it could be transmitted directly without any break what ever to Vancouver by means of automatic relays being introduced into the land lines.
1571. But if the message was un-routed, what stations would it probably go through after Canso to Vancouver?-It would go over the Canadian Pacific. If it were handed in to the Commercial Cable Company it would certainly go over the Canadian Pacific, and I think, under any circumstances, the message would have to There are to go over the Canadian Pacific. other lines reaching Vancouver.
Chairman-continued.
1572. Do you know what stations it would pass through after leaving Canso? At the present time?
90
1573. Yes? Well, I do not know that posi- tively; I do not know what arrangement they have in Canada for transmitting the traffic from Canso to Vancouver; but I know there would be no difficulty whatever for them to transmit it direct if the traffic was sufficient to warrant it.
1574. Are you in a position to give the Com- mittee any
information as to the kind of arrangements that exist as to the transmission of messages from this side of the water between either of the Atlantic cable companies and the on the other side -The telegraph systemis
far as the Transatlantic arrangements, cable companies are concerned, in respect to the consts of America, are about the same as ours, but beyond that, of course, their connections are different. For instance, the Anglo-American Cable Company lands at North Sydney and there connects with the Western Union' land line, which is a purely American United States com- pany, and they distribute all the business for the Anglo-American Telegraph Company. Direct United States Cable Company land at Halifax in Nova Scotia, and then they have a cable to Ryebeach. They also hand over to the Western Union,
The
ΑΠ un-routed
1575. By what route would telegrain for Vancouver, if handed in to either of those two companies you name, go to Van- couver?-If the message were handed in to the Anglo-American Telegraph Company, I take it, it would be handed to the Canadian Pacific land line to reach Vancouver. I have no knowledge
of the Western Union having any connection themselves with Vancouver.
Sir Donald Smith.
1576. Might I ask at what point it would be handed to the Canadian Pacific?- That I am not positive about; but I should imagine it I am not would be handed over at Montreal.
I do not know sure about that, of course.
The exactly what their arrangements are. Western Union, of course, extends from one side of the United States to the other side, and there may be other points at which it touches with the Canadian Pacific; but I should think myself that Montreal would be the most convenient point to hand it over.
1577. So that it would go through the United States to that point, to Montreal? -
That I cannot answer.
Chairman.
1578 Would it be possible to send a message right through from Waterville to Vancouver without repeating, if necessary? Without re- peating. It must be repeated at Canso.
1579. It must be repeated at Canso?—Yes. It must be received from the cable at Canso, and sent on to the land lines there.
25 November 1896.]
Mr. WARD.
Chairman--continued. 1580. But if you were trying to make a spe cini effort, you could do with one repeating station at Canao ?-From Waterville?
1.581. From Waterville. Certainly. It would not require much special effort for that if the traffic warranted it. From Canso to Vancouver It would be to the certainly they would do it. interests of the Canadian Pacific Telegraph Company to give that facility. There is no di- culty about it, and no expense attached to it.
1582. Assuming a traffic at Vancouver for Australia that would be worth your while to pay attention to how many repeating stations prob ably in general practice would there be between London and Vancouver? Well, there need be only two; that is Waterville in Ireland, and Canso.
1583. What would be the time taken by such a through message? That would depend, of course, upon the pressure of traffic. You quite see you can only send one message one way at a time, they have to follow each other; but a mes- sage sent with the line comparatively clear would only take a few minutes to go to Van- For instance, we send messages con- stantly from London to New York, which means very nearly as much work us from London to Vancouver, and we get an answer back in five or I wish six minutes; but that is special work. you to understand, if you had a very great pres- sure of traffic you could not do that unless you had
line for each message.
a
couver.
1584. Have you considered at all the kind of rate from Vancouver to London that would be practicable, supposing there was an Australian traffic vid a Pacific cable that you thought important to your traffic?-Do you mean rate of speed?
1585. No; rate of tariff?—No; I have never gone into that question. I have never had occa- sion to think the matter out at all.
1586. You are not prepared to offer an opinion as to what, for a new business of that kind, your company would be prepared to take for through Vancouver?-Of messages from London to course our company would take the proportion that they get now for messages, and the matter of tariffs beyond that would rest with the people concerned.
1587. Would you be prepared, do you think, to make a special arrangement, we will say, with the Canadian Pacific Railway, in order to attract such new business ?-I cannot answer that question.
1588. Can you give the Committee any figures to show the growth of telegraphic business over the Atlantic in recent years?-I cannot do that. I cannot give you anything accurate about that, because I have not thought the matter over. I am not prepared for that. Of course, that is a matter that is very easily attained, but I should think the Commercial Cable Company's business has increased within the last 10 years by one- third at least; mind you, I am speaking roughly. I could not tell you exactly; by one-third, perhaps more.
1589. Is your experience that the annual per centage of increase is fairly steady Yes, it has been with us; up to a certain point it has
Chairman-continued.
[Continued.
been with us fairly steady. It seems to me not only with us, but from what I can judge of the receipts of the Atlantic cable companies all round, that there is a strong tendency to an expansion of traffic. The Atlantic companies from their annual reports, which you can obtain just as well as myself, show that there is an increase, but· it varies.
Some years there is a tendency in an upward direction, but it Ructuates some- what, according to the conditions of trade and the necessity of the commercial world.
1590. How many different companies are there across the Atlantic ?-There are five. There is the Anglo-American, the Western Union, aud the Direct, who are combined in a joint-purse arrangement; then there is the Commercial, and the French have a cable across.
1591. So that there are five competing cables, and, speaking generally, there is in each case a steady and gradual expansion of business?- The business is expanding; undoubtedly it is ex- panding. Of course, it is very difficult to give any clear figures respecting the expansion. The expansion is not regular. Now, for last year, or the beginning of this year, things were very slack, comparatively speaking; but towards the end of the year they have become very brisk again,
Last so that it would balance itself. year was an exceptional year; the year before that was not so good, but the general tendency is to increase.
1592. Have you any experience of the effect on business of a lowering of rates?—Well, we had some experience of that when we came into Transatlantic telegraphy. We had to fight for our existence, and the rates were lowered, and it culminated in the general rate being lowered, and we are still doing very well all round, I think. The rate when we came into the field was 28. a word. There was no opposition at that time. We came in, and made the rate la. 8d. The opposition endeavoured to bring us to their terms, and lowered it to 6d, but they did not bring us to their terms, and we made an undertaking with the public that it should never go beyond 1s. 8d. if we were supported, and we were sup- ported we got very good support, and finally they came to the conclusion to fix the rate at That is the tariff over the Atlantic at the present time-1s. per word.
1s.
1393. Therefore, since the Commercial Cable Company started, the rate per word has fallen from 28. to 1s, ?-Exactly.
1594. Has that had a marked effect on the amount of the increase of business?—Well, the business must have increased somewhat, because the Anglo-American shares-Preference shares -to-day are standing at about 95 or 96, that is nearly par. Their par value is 100, and they stand at 96, and their ordinary shares stand at 50, something which is about the value that was given for them by the original holders of them when the stock was split up, so I think it must have had a marked effect; the value of shares is governed pretty much by the dividends they get, except, perhaps, in mining shares, and the fact of these shares being pretty nearly at par-1 think, so far as I recollect, but you will be able to prove this fact if you wish to-when they had
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