111
340
25 November 1896.]
Mr. Murray-continued.
Mr. WARD.
is in it As I said, as far as the Commercial Cable Company is concerned, we have plenty of means of transmitting our traffic, and the ques- tion does not arise with us; but if a cable com- have no pany were so inclined they could, I doubt they could, certainly discriminate between a Stock Exchange message and a message of an ordinary business person. They could do that.
1676. Could they?--I should think so. They get so accustomed to the messages and the senders, and that kind of thing. -
1677-8. How would they distinguish? By the person who sends it, or the person it is addressed to, or the matter?-They know who send these messages as a rule.
-
1879. Always? Well, I should think so, The question you are putting to me has never presented itself to my mind in that before.
way The rule is that each message shall go in turn- take their turn.
1680. Practically, that is the universal rule, is it not? That is the universal rule, and I take it that universal rule is followed. That is the rule that is followed, but of course what is possible and what is done are quite two different things altogether.
1681. Have you ever noticed that there is any relation between the development of telegraphic business and the volume of trade -I think the development of telegraphic business has a very great deal of relation to the volume of trade. Where trade is wrong telegraphic business be comes slack. It is a sort of barometer, I think, to a certain extent, to the condition of things between the countries, at least between the United States and Great Britain.
1682. Have you noticed, for instance, that in a year when the trade between the United States and Great Britain is large the telegraphic business has gone up, and that it has fallen when the trade has gone down? I have not gone into the figures with regard to trade particularly, but when trade is generally felt to be brisk then telegraphic business is brisk alın,
1683. You notice that as matter of fact ?— You must remember that it is trade affecting the two countries joined by the cables. For instance, before the Presidential election there was not so much telegraphing as there was immediately afterwards. Things like that affect telegraphy; and when trade is brisk, and buying and selling is active, there is necessarily more telegraphic there are necessarily more people wire over to the States to purchase or to sell, as the case may be, and the United States people wire over to this side to do the same thing.
messages;
1684. Do you notice a real proportion between those two things?—I have not noticed very closely the proportion, but there is not the least doubt that the relations between the two are very very close.
1685. And it would be safe to say, then, that as business increases telegraphy would increase! -Oh, yes, I think so.
1686-7. And possibly even in a greater pro- portion than trade? Well, I cannot any that, you know. There is one thing, you know, people do not spend money on expensive cablegrams for sentimental purposes.
As a rule, unless people
[Continued.
Mr. Murray-continued. have got a very great deal of money, and have a very sincere affection for somebody, they do to Australia to say, not send a message over "I wish you many happy returns of the day." That is just confined to a letter, and they generally expect to make something out of the telegrams they send one way or another.
1888. But should you imagine that supposing trade was to remain at the present level, it would be likely that there would be more tele- graphy in proportion or not?—If trade were to remain at its present level whether telegraphy would increase?
1689. Is the tendency, I mean, to use more tele- grams in proportion to the business transacted or less The tendency is, I think, to communicate between the two parties to a contract as quickly as they possibly can, that is, between people in different countries that have business relations with each other. They wish to understand each: other as quickly as they possibly can. I daresay that is open to some certain amount of develop- ment; but if trade were stationary-I do not know, of course-I suppose telegraphic business would, to a certain extent, be stationary too.
1690. You do not see any tendency to in- crease it out of proportion to the increase in the amount of trade?—No, I do not know that I do. There may be a slight tendency in that direction. The tendency is all the time, I think, to quicken the means of communication, same time, merchants do not but, at spend any more money than they conveniently can help. They want some sort of a quid pro
quo.
the
1691. Which of your two cables was it that you looped for that experiment-Which ex- periment was that?
1692.
were
At Canso. Two experiments made; the two longer ones, in the first instance. 1693. Were they the 1884 cables?—Yes. The two 1884 cables, in the first instance, and afterwards the shorter one and the longer one.
1694. Was there any difference in the speed? -h, considerable.
1695. What speed did you get out of the best? -We worked up to about 27 letters a minute over 4511.832; that was the length of cable.
1696. Then you only got a little more than five words a minute out of it? Yes, but then you must remember the conditions could be im- proved, You must remember, in the first place, that the distance was 4,511 knots; and every 100 miles on the end of a cable makes a lot of difference when you get over 3,000 miles; but we only allow a certain battery power and a certain condenser capacity in sending on our cables, and this was done nnder these conditions. And then you must bear in mind, again, that one of our cables in the second span was a cable with a conductor only of about 300 lbs. of copper to the mile. That would make a considerable difference, you see; but under these conditions we worked up to something like 27, I think it was, letters a minute, and we thought the results were very good.
1697. What would be the ordinary working over one of those cables, for instance?-I was speaking about that a little while ago, and I said
25 November 1896.]
Mr. WARD.
Mr. Musroy-continued. about 34 words a minute, the one of the largest circuit the small one would be a few words less a minute.
Mr. Gillies.
[Continued.
Sir Donald Smith-continued. have an answer to it within four or five minutes ? -Yes, I think so.
1708. It would be quite ?—Oh, yes.
1709. You could depend on having it? 1698. That is duplex ?—That is duplex; Everything being clear, and everybody being simplex would be still more.
ready, I could get you an answer from Vancouver in five minutes.
Mr. Murray.
1699. Then by doubling the line you reduce its capacity from 34 words to 27 letters ?- Doubling the length of the line, yes Doubling the length of the line; but if the conductor had been of the same character all the way through
1700. Five hundred pounds of copper all the through The same all the way through, the results would have been very different. Of course to our would think of putting a cable of 3,000 or 4,000 miles in length with a conductor of 300 lbs. that was made for the Atlantic work, and it does very well.
Mr. Jones.
way
1701. You mentioned here that your company had an arrangement with the C. P. R. ?—Yes, we have an arrangement with the C. P. R.
1702. For the work of the past, one way or another. You mentioned also that you have three cables in working order ?—Yes.
to
1703. So that if this arrangement were continue with the C. P. R.. they would practi- cally have three cables, not one-I mean what they call the Commercial cable; they would have three cables to work ? Oh, yes. They have three cables now.
1704. Yes, exactly; they have three cables now. Could you give the Committee any idea as to the extent of traffic that passes from America to Australia under existing circum- stances. Have you any way of estimating that? – No, no, I could not tell yom that, because there is such a great portion of it goes over the other lines. I could not give you an idea what it
was.
1705. Have you any idea how the business would aggregate in time, compared with the business from this side to Australia. What estimate, if any, could he formed? No, I could not; but, of course, if there was a cable from America to Australia it would have a tendency to develop business there. The rates would necessarily be very much cheaper than they are coming right round three-quarters of the globe;
that is self-evident.
1706. You think the tendency would be to increase the business from America with Aus tralia? Yes, I think, so far as I can see, there is a tendency, and it is natural that it should be so, for trade to develop between the Australian Colonies and the United States and Canada, and it will grow, as the population grows and the requirements grow.
Sir Donald Smith.
1707. Having an entirely clear line from your office in London to Vancouver, would it be pos- sible to transmit a message to Vancouver and to
1710. And supposing they have a cable from Vancouver to Austrahu-say to Moreton Bay- equal to your 1894 cable, or rather stronger than that in copper, to meet the larger stretch to Famming Island, how long do you think it would take from Vancouver 10
Australia - From You where would you lay after Fanning? would lay a cable from Vancouver to Fan-
ing what is the distance of that cable, may
I ask?
1711. About 3,000 odd miles.-Three thou- sand two hundred miles; and from Fanning, where would you go?
1712. On to Fiji and to Norfolk Island.— Would you take simply an ordinary message of about 20 words?
1713. Oh, any message; no matter say a message of fire words, which is a good cable message, or five to eight words ?—Of course, if you specially laid yourself out to send that message just as you suggested with regard to the message from London to Vancouver-well, you ought to be able, I should think, to get your reply back from Australia in six to seven minutes; I do not see why you should not. I am assuming that you have prepared yourself to do the very best You will have the man here ready, and as soon as the message comes off from Vancouver it will be sent on to Fanning, and from Fanning to Fiji, and from Fiji to Norfolk, and Norfolk to Australia. Well, of course, then, a message coming in from one side of the cable would be passed through in to the other almost as soon a it was finished, and you ought to get a reply in a few minutes.
you can.
1714. So, from London to Australia you could have a reply within 12 minutes! — Fifteen minutes; yes. I think you ought to get a reply, laying yourself out like that, and having every- thing prepared, you ought to have a reply from Australia in 15 minutes, providing the message is not too long.
1715. And in the ordinary course of business, for a short message, within 20 minutes-1 am it? It would depend very much on the amount looking to the possibility-the practicability of
of business you had on the cable itself. the point.
That is
1716. But at any rate you would have a message within 15 minutes, everything being ready-If the Colonial Office wished to ask the Governor at Sydney, where this cable lands- wished to know immediately some news that would cover, perhaps, 10 or 15 words-and he specially sent a service to make special arrange ments to get it through, I should think he would get an answer in 15 minutes, provided the Governor was there to answer it on the spot at the office. Oh, yes; that could be done easily enough. Perhaps some of you may have seen
04
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference -
CO. 885
6
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
112