187
379
תחזז
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TELEC.O. 885
9
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
TWELFTH DAY.
THURSDAY, 3RD DECEMBER 1896.
PRESENT:
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF SELBORNE, CHAIRMAN, Presiding.
The Hon. Sir DONALD SMITH, G.C.M,G. The Hon. Sir SAUL SAMUEL, K.C.M.G., C.B. The Hon. D. GILLIES.
The Hon. A. G. JONES, P.C. Mr. G. H. MURRAY, C.B.
Mr. W. H. MERCER, Secretary.
Mr. JOHN CAMERON LAMB, C.B., C.M.G., Third Secretary of the Post Office, re-called; and further Examined.
Mr. Gillies.
2956. I was thinking, Mr. Lamb, perhaps, if you would prefer it, there are two or three points that I confess I should just like to get together in the evidence, and that is the contemplated Pacific cable, its capacity for sending messages, then the total number of mes- sages that you think it would send in a year, a reasonable estimate to make of revenue, and that if the rate is reduced from what it is to 3., how far that will affect receipts; then cost of construc- tion of the cable, including laying and main- tenance for three years. Of course we have got evidence on all those points right through, and you have given some evidence too, but I would be glad if you would make a short statement which would put all your evidence together. Could you do that, do you think? Well, I will try. I propose to take first the number of words a minute that the cable could carry. Well, I think we arrived at the point that for the model cable proposed by Mr. Preece he cal culated that the maximum capacity was 10-7 words a minute. Then he reduced that to a practical speed of 4-82. I made an estimate of five, including duplex.
Mr. Jones.
2957. Is that five each way?-No, sir, five altogether.
Sir Donald Smith.
2968. Including duplex ?—Including duplex; and that at first sight appears to be rather low as compared with Mr. Preece's estimate of 4.82 for simplex. I took the working day at 15 hours, and I assumed that the period during which the cable would be worked duplex would be equivalent to two hours worked simplex; therefore, if we add two hours for duplex, Mr. Preece's figure of 482 becomes 5:46 as
on
Sir Donald Smith-continued.
against my estimate of five. Perhaps, I ought to go through Mr. Preece's estimate stage by stage. His calculation was based on eight letters to a word, and the distance he took was 3,298 knots, with 10 per cent. added for slack, making 3,628 knots. Then he took 800 lbs. of copper and 500 lbs. of gutta-percha to the knot, and these bases he says that the speed would be 107. It is obvious that the practical speed cannot be so great. 107 assumes that letters and words will be transmitted without intermission; it is thus an absolute maximum arrived at by exact calculation. Leaving exact calculation and theoretic maximum and pro- ceeding to make a practical estimate, Mr. Preece put the working speed of the cable at 4-82. This estimate he arrived at by taking into account time lost in correcting errors, in repeating words, in sending official prefixes and indications of route, in sending the time, and in sending service messages.
He also took into account the fact that the cable would not be worked at full pressure during the hours when it was working. I have obtained independent information about the actual speed on existing cables where a miscellaneous traffic is done, and this tends to confirm the figure at which Mr. Preece arrived by his estimate. When I was under examination I estimated a practical speed of five words a minute, and I assumed that the cable would be worked duplex for a period equivalent to two hours' simplex working. The working day I assumed to be 15 hours, and if I had added two-fifteenths to Mr. Preece's speed figure of 482, I should have arrived at a of 5:46. Now I took into account certain things which Mr. Preece had not taken into account. I
knew that on the 1st of July next the number of letters in plain language would be increased from 10 to 15 per word, and I felt sure that code messages were going to be used more freely in Australasian telegrams, and were going to in-
3 December 1896.]
Mr. LAMB.
Sir Donald Smith-contiqued. crease the average length of the words. There is a specimen taken at random of a commercial code, showing that there are no short words in the code; they are all long, and therefore the more you resort to code the more you lengthen your words. (The Witness handed to the "Com- mittee a leaf cut out of a recently published code.)
Mr. Murray.
2959. This is a code under existing regula- tions ?—Yes.
2960. And you may assume that these worde would be lengthened by 50 per cent. ? No, that lengthening to 15 letters is for plain language, but I may say in passing that it has always been my opinion that in many messages the adminis- trations cannot possibly distinguish between plain language and code, and the public will send some code words as well as many plain-language words containing 15 letters.
Mr. Jones.
2961. But the length of the code words would not make any difference if it was an estimate of how many letters go to a word ?—I think it makes this difference; f 1 am right in my belief that the Australasian trade is going to be done more in code than it is at present, then it is going to be done more in words of considerable length than at present. Then the second point is, that if the people who are telegraphing in plain language going to be allowed to send 15 letters to a word instead of only 10, those plain-language telegrams will have longer words in them than they have at present, and so they again will raise the average length of a paying word.
are
2962. But under any circumstances they do not allow more than 10 letters to a word, do they?-At present that is the case, but on the 1st of July next 15 letters will be allowed in plain language.
Mr. Murray.
2963. Will there be any alteration in the code regulation?-Practically none.
2963*. The code word will be limited to 10 lettera ? Yes.
Mr. Gillies.
2964. What would the effect of the increase in the number of letters in a word be under the new regulation; how far would that affect revenue and the number of words that could be sent ?-- Well, no exact calculation can be made of that; it is only a general notion that a man can enter- tain with regard to it; no man can make an exact calculation.
2965. No, but you think it will be consider- able. Would it be 5 per cent.? Well, to tell
the truth, I rather took it as one of the things thrown in which would lead you in prudence to suppose that your words in the future will be rather longer than they are now.
Sir Donald Smith.
2966. Take, for example, now a word, eay "signification," two words; there are 15 letters in that word, and at present it counts as two words? --That is so.
[Continued.
Sir Donald Smith-continued. 2967. And from the 1st of July next it will be but one word?--If it is in plain language. 2968. Yes, in plain language?—Yes. 2969. And there are many such_words crop- ping up at all times in messages? That is 80.
2970. And to avoid words of more than ten letters you often have to seek for another word, which, perhaps, does not convey the meaning quite so well as the longer one?-That is so. Well, then, I thought, considering the isolated position of some of the stations and the distance from each other, a larger number of admini- strative messages would be sent than in the fact, which has been referred to here more than case of an ordinary cable. I had before me the
once, that from a financial point of view a press word is four times as long as an ordinary word, and I was under the impression at the time that a Government word was equal to two. All things considered, I came to the conclusion that five words a minute would be a liberal estimate, and the misapprehension under which I now find I was labouring with regard to Govern- ment messages scarcely affects this conclusion, because those messages are so few in number. Moreover, even now I am not sure that I was wrong, because, to produce a total reduction of one-third, I am not sure that the Pacific cable, taking the Pacific cable by itself, the Pacific cable would not have to accept half rates, as the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company have. Why I say that, I may explain in this way. To get at the rate of two-thirds for Government messages, out of 3. you want 2s. Well, to make up that 25., if you allow the full rate across the Atlantic, and the Atlantic cable companies are not under any obligation to take your messages except at full rates-
2971. Do not they, in practice, take the Government messages at a lower rate ?-They do take them at a lower rate to the places at present served, but they are under no binding engagement to do so.
Mr. Gillies.
2972. Have you any doubt whatever that if this cable was to be laid, and you were proposing to enter into an arrangement with any of those companies to take the messages on, do you mean to say they would not do it? I do not know. They are not bound to do it.
2973. Oh, that is another question. However, that is a question that we cannot determine at this present moment. I mean to say, they are no more bound to do it than the Eastern Telegraph The Eastern Company are bound to do it. Telegraph Company do not do it now, and the Atlantic Cable Companies do, but neither the one nor the other are bound.
Mr. Jones.
2974. Are they incorporated under an English 'Act, the Eastern Extension?-They are registered under the Joint Stock Companies Act.
2975. Would not that Act compel them to transmit business from all sources ?-No; I think the agreement between the Australasian Colonies and the Eastern Extension Company binds the Eastern Extension Company to take them at
A A 2
188