CO885-(16-18) — Page 528

6711.

SIR,

132

No. 5.

COLONIAL OFFICE to THE PACIFIC CABLE BOARD.

[Answered by No. 6.]

Downing Street, March 8, 1906, I AM directed by the Earl of Elgin to transmit to you, to be laid before the Pacific Cable Board for any observations they may have to offer, a despatch from the Governor-General of Canada, forwarding a letter from Sir Sandford Fleming, advocating the establishment of a continuous chain of State-owned and State-controlled telegraph cables uniting all the self- governing British Colonies.

I am to request that the enclosures to Lord Grey's despatch, which are sent in original, may be returned with your reply.

I am, &c.,

133

(d) The 4d. or 10d. tariffs deduced by Sir Sandford Fleming from premises which the Board are thus unable to accept, are, moreover, misleading when compared with the through rate between the United Kingdom and Australia, inasmuch as they do not include the Australian terminal rate of 5d., or the Atlantic and Canadian charge of 18., for transmission, and Id. (approximately) for "date and time."

(e) With respect to the suggested transmission of 10,000 or 12,000 words for simultaneous publication in the chief centres of the Empire,

I am to state that it seems unnecessary to deal with a proposal for the gratuitous transmission of a mass of business over a costly cable.

I am, &c.,

HUGH LATHAM,

Secretary.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

C.O.8

Reference:--

•885

17 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

9858.

SIR,

No. 6.

H. BERTRAM COX.

THE PACIFIC CABLE BOARD to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received March 22, 1906.)

[Copy to Governor-General, Canada, March 26, 1906, L.F.]

Queen Anne's Chambers, S.W., March 21, 1906.

I AM directed by the Pacific Cable Board to acknowledge the receipt of your letter (6711/1906) of the 8th instant, forwarding, for any observations which the Board may have to offer, a communication and enclosures (herewith returned) from Sir Sandford Fleming advocating the establishment of a continuous chain of State cables uniting all the self- governing British Colonies.

2. In reply, I am directed to state, for the information of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, that the question of the establishment of such a chain of cables as suggested in Sir Sandford Fleming's letter of January 27th, does not appear to be one upon which it is within the Board's province to express an opinion, but rather a matter for the consideration of the Governments concerned in it.

་

3. With regard to the figures used by Sir Sandford Fleming in support of the arguments brought forward in his article upon "State Cables and Cheap Telegraphy" in the "Empire Review for August 1905, I am directed by the Pacific Cable Board to make the following observations :—-

(a) Sir Sandford Fleming's estimate of the carrying capacity of the Pacific cable appears to be based on the assumption that the speed attainable by a specially selected operator working in one direction for 60 seconds can be maintained by the whole of the Board's staff working continuously in both directions day and night throughout the week. The experience of cable administrations does not support this assumption.

(b) As the actual Eastward traffic is nearly 50 per cent. higher than the Westward, it follows that, if the cable was filled to its utmost capacity in one direction, it could not be filled to the same extent in the other direction.

(c) Taking into account the necessary transmission of unpaid traffic which amounts to about 30 per cent. of the whole, the Board's existing staff could not satisfactorily handle more than 30,000 paying words per week (some 50 per cent. more than the maximum at present carried in ordinary circumstances), and, consequently, such a traffic as that suggested in Sir Sandford Fleming's article would involve very large additions to the staff, and a further capital expenditure upon buildings for their accommodation.

• No. 4.

† No. 5.

No. XIII.

Universal Penny Postage.

(NOTE.-Paper circulated on this subject will be found on pp. 498-500 of

14122.

[Cd. 3524].)

No. 1.

The GOVERNOR OF NEW ZEALAND to the SECRETARY OF

STATE.

(Received 7.50 a.m., April 23, 1906.)

TELEGRAM.

[Answered by No. 4.]

My responsible advisers inform me that my Government and people of New Zealand would be much pleased if Imperial Government saw their way to support penny postage through British Representative Postal Conference, --PLUNKET.

14122.

SIR,

No. 2.

COLONIAL OFFICE to GENERAL POST OFFICE. [Answered by No. 3.]

Downing Street, April 24, 1906. WITH reference to the letter from this Department of the 10th January last, and your reply of the 13th idem, respecting the proposals put forward by the Government of New Zealand for discussion at the Postal Union Congress now holding its sittings at Rome, I am directed by the Earl of Elgin to transmit to you to be laid before the Postmaster-General a copy of a telegramt from the Governor of New Zealand with regard to the proposal made by his Government for universal penny postage.

14688.

SIR,

No. 3.

am, &c.,

H. BERTRAM COX,

GENERAL POST OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received April 27, 1906.) [Answered by No. 6.]

General Post Office, London, April 27, 1906.

WITH reference to your letter of the 24th of this month, No. 14122/1906,‡ enclosing a copy of a telegramt from the Governor of New Zealand with regard to the proposal made by his Government for universal penny postage, I am

365 and 1562; uot printed.

45018.

† No. 1.

‡ No. 2.

I 3

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