IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4^. V 1.0 I.I f^ Vi 12.2 'Sm'^ 2.0 m P|u,j^ M 6" ► /. ^^v ■^ m f °m Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAiN STRHT WiBSTM.N.Y. 14SaO (716)S73-4S03 v^v \^^ ^.4^ ^ . o'^ i, CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series.. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Inatituta for Hiatorical Microraproductiona InatitMt Canadian da microraproductiona liiatoriquaa 1980 Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Nota* tachniquaa at bibliographiqjaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filnting. IFaaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically unlqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may aignlficantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. D D D D D n D Colourad covara/ Couvartura da coulaur I I Covars damagad/ Couvartura andommagia Covars raatorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura rattauria at/ou pallicul^a □ Covar titia misting/ La titra da couvartura manqua I I Colourad maps/ Cartas gAographiquas 9n coulaur Colourad inic (i.a. othar than blua or black)/ Encre da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) r~| Colourad platas and/or illustrations/ Planchas at/ou illustrations an coulaur Bound with othar matarial/ Rail* avac d'autras documents Tight binding may causa shadows or distortion along intarior margin/ La reliura sarria paut causar da I'ombra ou da la distortion la long da la marga IntAriaura Blank laavas addad during rastoration may appaar within tha taxt. Whanavar possibia, thasa hava baan omittad from filming/ II sa paut qua cartainas pagas blanches aJoutAas lors d'una rastauration apparaissant dans la taxta. mais. lorsqua cala itait poasibla. cas pagaa n'ont pas itA filmtes. Additional comments:/ Commentairr j supplAmantairas: L'Institut a microf Ilm4 la meilleur exemplaire qu'll lui a At* possibia de se procurer. Les details da cat exemplaire qui sent peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibiiographique, qui pe^«vant modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modiflcaticn dans la mAthoda nor male de filmage aont indiquAa ci-daaaous. |~~| Coloured pagaa/ D G Pagaa de couleur Pagaa damaged/ Pagaa andommagAas Pagaa restored and/oi Pages restaurAes at/ou pelliculAes Pages discoloured, stained or foxec Pagaa dAcoiorias. tachaties ou piquAas Pagaa detached/ Pagas d*tach*es |~~1 Pagaa damaged/ I I Pagaa restored and/or laminated/ |~~| Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ r~n Pagaa detached/ r~n Showthrough/ Transparence □ Quality of print variaa/ Quaiit* intgaia da I'imprassion I I Includes supplementary material/ Comprand du materiel supplAmentaira Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponibie Pagaa wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., hava been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalament ou partiailamant obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata. una palura. etc.. ont *t* fiimAes h nouveau da fa^on A obtanir la mailleure image possibia. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document eat film* au taux de rMuction indiqu* ci*dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y lax 1SX aox a4x 32X Th* copy film«d h«r« has b««n r«produe«ii thanks to tho gonoroaity of: Library of tha Public Archivaa of Canada L'axamplaira f ilmA f ut raproduit grica i la g4n*roait4 da: La bibliothAqua daa Archivaa publiquat du Canada Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poasibia conaldaring tha condition and laglblllty of tha original copy and In kaaping with tha filming contract tpacificationa. Original copiaa In printad papar covara ara fllmad baglnning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illuatratad impras- •ion, or tha back covar whan approprlata. All othar original copiaa ara fllmad baglnning on tha first paga with » printad or illuatratad impraa- slon, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad Impraaalon. Laa imagaa suivantas ont 4t4 raproduitaa avac la plus grand soin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattatA da l'axamplaira film*, at an conformity avac las conditions du contrat da f!!maga. Las axamplairas originaux dont la couvartura an paplar aat ImprimAa sont filmAs 9n commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illustratlon. soit par la sacond plat, salon la cas. Tous las autras axamplairas originaux sont filmAs an commanpant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'illustratlon ^t an tarminant par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una taiia amprainta. Tha last racordad frama on aach microflcha shall contain tha symbol — ^- (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha syr^bol ▼ (moaning "END"), whichavar appllas. Un das symboiaa suivants apparaftra sur la darnlAra Imaga da chaqua microfiche, salon ia cas: la symbols ^^ sift.ilfia "A SUIVRE ', la symbolo V signifia "FIN". IMaps, platas. charts, ate, may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratios. Thosa too iarga to ba antiraiy includad in ona ax^osura ara fllmad baglnning in tha uppar iaft hand cornar, laft to right and top to bottom, as many framas as raquirad. Tha following diagrams iliustrata tha mathod: Las cartas, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte A das taux de rMuction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un soul clichA, il est film* A partir de Tangle sup4rieur gauche, de gauche A drolte. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaira. Las diagrammes suivants iliustrant ia mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^^mnranbum ON THE PROPOSED PACIFIC CABLE FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND TO AUSTRALIA. .1 LONDON. 1887. ILE PRALIA. \ mf( ^'jtk^^k fowpatia* Ximit^i 84, Clement'h Lane, London, E.G., 4th March, 1887. Sir, My attention h&n been drawn to a memorandum, dated 23rd December, 1886, addressed by Mr. Pender, tlie Cliairmau of the Eastern Extension Company, to your Government on the subject of Imperial communications. In the first part of the memorandum referred to, which treats of existing cable communication, propositions so extraordinary are laid down that it is difficult to believe that their author was serious when he wrote them. In the second part, which relates to the proposed Pacific Cable between Vancouver Island and Australia, state- ments most inaccurate and misleading are set foi-th, which cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged. The object of the memorandum is to prove the superiority of the existing lines to Australia and the East over the Pacific route, but apparently Mr. Pender has nothing to advance except arguments, of which the worthlessness will at once be recognised by experts. In the first place, he claims as an advantage for his lines that they are laid in shallow water, while the Pacific cable would have to be laid at a great depth. The whole weight of available evidence, including Mr. Pender's own statements in past years, goes to prove that the deeper a cable is laid, the more secure it is, both from sub- marine disturbances, and from the destructive attacks of insects. In a statement laid before the Cable Conference of New South Wales, 3rd October, 1876, with rejjard to the probable duration of the proposed duplication to Australia, Mr. Pender said : " Taking into consideration the warm shallow seas in " which the greater part of tiiis cable is to be laid, teeming as they do with animal " life, wliich has hitherto proved very destructive to the cables already submerged, it " would not be fair in the present instance to estimate it at too long duration." This is perfectly conect, experience utwing shown that the existing Australian lines are laid in seas the most destructive to cables in the world, abounding in coral reefs and insects, the waters between Singapore and Batavia being infested with a species of boring insect unknown at a depth of over 800 fathoms. The Pacific Cable from Vancouver Island to Australia would be laid at a depth which would effectually protect it from submarine disturbances. The bottom, the whole way, is most favourable for prolonging the life of a cable, being clay and ooze, with the exception of the approaches to the island, which could be easily protected. Mr. Pender's next claim for his Company's lines is that " they have the immense advantage of being under British control, and worked by British operators throughout their entire lengiii," and that " while they are incomparably the most secure in time of peace, they would be the more surely and easily protected in time of war, inasmuch as it is one of the sea routes most frequented by the mercantile marine." ;;;/ (B5) That the existing Une8 are under British control in time of peace is perfectly tme, bnt that they would be so in time of war I entirely deny. Can Mr. Pender really imagine that, if war broke out, his " British operators " would continue to " control " his lines ? A very considerable portion of hib whole system of cables to the East consists of a series of foreign toll-bars, from each and all of which his employes would be summarily ejected at the first outbreaic of any hostilities in Europe, in which England was directly or indirectly involved. The latter part of his argument relating to the Mercantile Marine ia a self-evident fallacy, proving indeed the very reverse of what Mr. Pender wishes to prove. Wherever the Mercantile Marine of any nation is found, there will the enemy's cruisers be gathered together, and it is, of course, from an enemy's cruisers that danger to cable communication is to be apprehended. In the event of war, the Mediterranean would be at once converted into a cruising ground for the ships of all nations, in which cable communications could not by any means be preserved for a week. Besides this, the land lines across Egypt offer the most vulnerable point of attack possible. A chain is no stronger than its weakest part, and even if by any possible means the rest of the existing system could be rendered secure, the transit through Egypt alone would constitute a vital defect which no power could remedy. Another grave defect in the present means of communication so far as Australia is concerned, is the 2,000 miles of land line between Port Darwin and Adelaide, passhig through country, for the most part, an iminhabited desert. The northern portion of this line is exposed to the full fury of the monsoon, and it is here, as stated by Mr. Gracknell, that interruptions most frequently occur. Also large tracts of the country through '.vhich the line passes are subject to floods, which render repairs temporarily impossible. The proposed line from Vancouver Island would establisli communication between Great Britain and Australasia, which would be actually instead of only nominally under British C(mtrol, passing tlirough British Territory, with the exception of the Sandwich Islands, tiiroughout its entire length. The great advantages of this route over any other in time of war are sutficiently obvious. The points of call are few and far between, and could cr.3ily be defended. The cable would be laid through seas, where it would be of no advantage for an enemy's cruisers to be stationed, the line being, as Mr. Pender himself points out, " far away " from the route followed by merchant ships." Added to this must be considered the great depth of the ocean, which would render any attempts to cut the cable exceed- ingly difficult and cosdy. The asseHion that the line is " practically unsurveyed " is quite incorrect. The whole line from San Francisco to Sydney via Hawaii has been surveyed by the " Tuscaroora " — the bottom being reported as clay and ooze all the way, with the exception, as above stated, of the approaches to the islands. This is further corroborated by the soundings of the " Challrnger " to the north of Hawaii. The Chairman of the Eastern Extension Company next proceeds to attack the proposed Pacific cable from a commercial point of view. He says, •' I believe that *' the laying of such a Une would only benefit the promoters, and would be inimical to *' the interests of the telegraphing public, as it would inevitably lead to a war of " tariffs, which would eventually impoverish both the Pacific and the existing cables, " and result in a starved and inefficient service." w B XfS£> * Here is a commercial tiieory which has, at all eveiitH, the merit of being entirely now. It is probably the first time that a man of any commorcial standing has ventured seriously to aHsert that a " war of tariffs," in other Viords, competition, is inimical to the interests of the public, and likely to lead to an inoi!Qcient service. On the question of the benefit likely to accrue to promoters, no one will deny Mr. Pender's right to form a judgment, but any comparison upon this point between existmg lines and the proposed Pacific cable is strongly deprecated. The laying of the Eastern extension, a distance of 2,150 miles, was handed over to the Telegraph Construction Company (of which Mr. Pender was at one time a Director), and carried out at a cost of £000,000, l)eiug at the rate of nearly l'30O per mile, wliile il is notorious that the cost of such construction ought not to exceed i:200 per mile at the very outside. That there is profit in a transaction such as the above is evident, and we must all concur with the chairman of the Eastern Extension Company in regretting that it has not found its way in the shape of dividends into the pockets of the Shareholders. In attempting to deal with the question of tariffs, Mr. Pender shows un> disguised alarm lest the proposed Pacific Cable should " impoverish the existing lines." His alarm is so far justi6abU>, in that the Pacific Telegraph Company has been formed for the express purpose of very largely reducing the tariffs to iiustralia. That the new Company will be in an infinitely better position to do so than ever the Eastern Extension Company can hope to be, will readily be seen from the following considerations. Before the Eastern Extension Company can reach India, where their lines to Australia begin, they have to pay 4s. per word for messages. The Pacific Telegra'h Company, oa the other hand, can get their messages transmitted from England to VancoHver IsliMid, a distance of 5,700 miles, at an out- side cost of 8 id. per word. The number of toll-bars at which Mr. Pender has to pay toll before reaching India, make it impossible, as he has himself repeatedly and recently stated, that he can reduce his tariff. It is obvious, therefore, that he can never hope to work upon anything like such favourable terms as a line operating from Vancouver Island. In attempting to block the construction of a Pacific cable, Mr. Pender has entered upon a hopeless task. If anything were wanting to show that he is himself conscious of the desperate nature of his case, it would be the proposition contained in his memorandum to the Colonial Governments. The " telegraphing public " will be delighted to hear that " The Eastern " Extension Company has, 8ubj(3ct to the assent and co-operation of the other " interested administrations, offered to make the rate any figure acceptable to " the Colonies, down to the limit of their outjtayments (at present 2s. 4d. per word), " provided that the average receipts for the last three years are guaranteed to them " by the Colonies. The acceptance of this offer," Mr. Pender adds, with a touch of humour, of which he is apparently quite unconscious, *' would reduce the Company's " risk to a minimum." What the otiier '• interested administrations " may have to say in the matter, I do not pretend to know, but that the Colonies will /alue this concession at its true worth there is not a shadow of doubt. There are probably few Companies who would not be glad to enter into similai' arrangements. With regard to the cost of construction and working, and probable receipts of the proposed Pacific cable, Mr. Pender's estimates are such as no evidence can be found to justify. For instance, his estimate of the cost of two repairing steamers is f 40,000 per annwn. ly . ColuQul Olovor'H ostiinato (hh atated in \m evidence before a Committee uf the House of Assembly, New South Wales, 10th May, 1878), is £10,000 per annum fur each steanior. It is certainly not from " past exiiorienco " that Mr. Pender is enabled to estimate the necessary sum for amortization to renew cables at £76,000 per annum. The Directors of the Pacific Telegraph Company have perfect confidence in the success of their undertaking from a commercial point of view, the calculations upon which their estimates are based having heeu most carefully made by the best possible authorities. In estimating roccipts, no allowimco whatever has boon made for the vant increase of traffic, which cannot fail to be the conHequcncu of bringing ('anada, the United States, South America and the Pacific Islands into direct communication with Australia. But, indeed, no arguments which can be advanced in favour of tlie exiHting systems of cables, havi; any bearing whatever upon tiie question of constructing a line across the Pacific. From a commercial point of view, it is absolutely esHential that the various parts of the Empire should be connected by lines as far as popuiblo frov. from interruption, both in peace and war. Further, it is most desirable that the existing tariffs should be greatly reduced. Both these objects, it is submitted, can be better effected by a Pacific cable than by any other means, with the additional advantage, which no other route could offer, of connecting Canada with Australia, and so completing the girdle of the world's telegraphic communications. From a strategic point of view, the advantages are, if possible, stronger. Military authorities are now unanimously of opinicm that, in the event of a European war, the Suez Canal could not possibly be relied on as a means of transport to the East. The mihtar}' road to India and the East, therefore, must undoubtedly be via the Canadian Pacific Railway to Esijuimult, and thence by steamer across the Pacific. The importance of establishing telegraphic communication in this ocean cannot be overrated, as a cable from Vancouver Island to Australia would supply an alternative means of communication with India and the East, in the event of the lines through the Mediterranean and Egypt being severed, as they infallibly must be in time of war. These are considerations which have appareuiiy escaped the notice of Mr. Pender, though they are not likely to be overlooked by anyone who has a just appre- ciation of the bearing of Imperial communications upon the science of Imperial Defence. A cable from Vancouver Island to Australia would not only be of great commercial advantage to the nation, but it would also be a move of paramount importance in Imperial strategy. It is, in fact, a development which must inevitably take place, in obedience to the laws of expanding civilization. No one can deny that the scheme is one of vital importance to the whole British Empire, and its accomplishment is not likely to bo materially retarded by Mr. Pender's appeal '• ad misericordiam " for the continuance of a monopoly, in the advantages of which not even his own shareholders have been allowed to participate fully. I am. Sir, Your obedient servant, HAROLD FINCH HATTON, Secretary.