CO129-241 - Governor Des Voeus - 1889 [1-7] — Page 540

of Communication at Saïfon, would make up for many

t qual subsidies of £ 15,000

au

>

Cable communication with Hong Kong would be worth at least one vessel.

The annual cost of a torpedo- gucchoat in Commission is fully

£12,000.

Yours sincuely-

lybrian al, Bridgr.

Dear Sir Robert,

538

Eastern Extension Telegraph Company.

Winchester House,

50, 0ld Broad Street, E. 0.

26th. March, 1889.

Since my interview with you last week on the

subject of extending the Company's system from Singapore

to North British Borneo, joining up Sarawak and Labaun

en route, I have had worked out the cost of carrying on

the connection to Hongkong, and find that the additional

extension would nearly double the expenditure. On the

other hand, however, it would give an alternative and

practically direct route to Hongkong entirely under

British control, a great advantage compared with the

existing line which touches French Territory at Cape

Saint James (Cochin China).

The total length of the Cables required

would be about 2,500 Nautical Milos, for the most part

of exceptionally heavy types owing to the unfavorable

nature of the seas through which they would pass-

costing about £420,000 consequently, to cover Working Expenses, cost ed Maintenance, Amortization and Interest

on Capital, a Subsidy of say £41,000 would be necessary.

The Company would be quite prepared to participate in

the financial burden by foregoing a fourth part of the

Subsidy, looking to the Traffic that would eventually be developed to recoup itself, and I would suggest that the remaining three fourths of the Subsidy should be

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