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1 2 3

-'^-'•t^A,. ' ' ; *V.'i

LETTER

TO HIS EXCELLENCY

THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF HOPETOUN

GOVERNOR GENERAL OF TBE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALJA

ON A COMPLETE SYSTEM OP

STATE-OWNED CABLES AND TELEGRAPHS

WITHIN THE BRITISH EMPIRE

SIR SANDFORD FLEMING

TO WHICH IS APPENDED A LETTER ON THE SAME BY THE SAME

ADDRESSED TO

THE RT. HON. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN

Feoretary of State for the Colonies

STATE-OWNED TELEGRAPHS FOR THE EMPIRE.

Ottawa, December 3, 1900.

To His Excellency

The Right Honourable The Earl of Hopetoun,
Governor General,

Commonwealth of Australia.

My Lord, — I had the honour, in October, 1898, to address the Right Honourable
Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies, on the subject of a state-
owned system of cables for the British Empire. My letter was made public and the
records of the press show that much interest was awakened and that a singular unani-
mity of opinion was evinced in favour of the proposal. Since that date events have
occurred, which while they have had the effect of diverting attention from the subject,
have at the same time in a remarkable degree emphasized its importance, especially
to Australasia. I venture to think, therefore, that no time could be more opportune for
its consideration than on the occurrence of the inauguration of the Commonwealth of
Australia.

In asking Your Excellency to bf^ good enough to bring the remarks which follow
before the Government of the Commonwealth, I am unable to claim that I hold any
official position. It is merely as a Canadian subject of Her Majesty that I make the
request, and, as such, I feel we in Canada desire to think that we enjoy privileges, and
have interests and rights, in common with our fellow-subjects in Australia. While
1 venture to speak for my countrymen on the subject of this communication, and there
are substantial reasons why I should' do so, it is not without hesitation that I assume
the self-imposed duty ; but all hesitation must be set aside in view of the words of
Your Excellency in bidding farewell a few weeks back at Hopetoun House in Scotland:
* This is no time for any one to hang back when he can serve the Empire. Some can
serve as soldiers, and right well have many done so during the past twelvej mouths,
others can serve in other capacities.'

I appeal then to Your Excellency in this spirit, satisfied that there are none so
humble who cannot do faithful service. I appeal to Your Excellency under the firm
conviction which has been forced on me that the subject of this communication
demands immediate and earnest attention. I venture strenuously and respectfully to
urge that it be one of the first matters brought to the consideration of your Govern-
ment.

In Cnnuda not less than in Australia wo havo an abi<liii}i: desire to serve the Empire.
Soon after Canadians embarked in the eonstitutionnl career in whieh the Australian
pecple are about to enter, they undertook a work of Imperial magnitude — the establish-
ment of a Telegraph and Railway across the continent of North America. Long before
the undertaking was completed it became apparent that the electric wire on reaching
the Pacific from the East should be extended across the Western Ocean. The first
proposal to connect Canada with Australia by a trans-Pacific electric cable was pub-
lished in returns relating to the Canadian Pacific Railway laid before Parliament in
1880. From that date until the present the Canadian Parliamentary records give evi-
dence that the project has always been kept prominently in view.

It has fallen to my lot during these twenty years, unceasingly to take more or less
active interest in the telegraphic connection of Australia with the mother country by
way of Canada. The evidence shows that it has been a long chapter of difficulties
and disappointments, that a series of obstructions raised by strong opposing influences
have been encountered, but that owing to unrelaxed, persistent efforts and the steady ad-
hesion of friends of the enterprise they have one by one been overcome. Tho dominant
reason for desiring to see every obstacle removed and the connection by telegraph
effected by the Canadian route is explained by the vitally important fact, that the
Canadian route is absolutely the only route by which tho globe may be girdled by a
series of all-British cables. Prolonged delays have been caused, but at length success
is assured. An arrangement has now been reached inider which the several govern-
ments immediately concerned shall without further loss of time, establish the Pacific
cable as a State undertaking. The first part of the problem may therefore be regarded
as solved, and the way is opened for entering fully into the consideration of the main
proposal, viz. : The establishment of a complete system of inter-Imperial cables, which
will put each part of the realm of Her Majesty in touch with every other part ; the
whole under state control, so that it can be utilized for the highest good of the Empire.

At the close of the nineteenth century it is impossible to form a narrow conception
of the British Empire. It has long since ceased to be confined to the group of islands
on the west coast of Europe. The EVppire has undergone an extraordinai-y expansioii,
and now embraces vast territories in the four quarters of the globe. The subjects of
the Queen are in possession of an immense extent of the earth's surface. The
European home of the British people occupies but a fraction over one per cent of the

superficial area of the whole Empire.

\
The great Ruler of the Kingdoms of the world has brought many lands under one

sovereignty. He has granted to our Queen length of days, and placed Her Majesty

over great multitudes of the human race, comprising various nations and kindreds and

peoples and tongues. We may regard this as evidei^ce of beneficent design, and we are

called upon as human agencies to take every means at our disposal to perfect the union

.1!

of the mother of nations with the daughter states, in order that, united, they may fulfil
their higher destiny.

The countries occupied by the family of British nationa are widely sundered
geographically ; their shores arc washed by the great oceans, and although for purposes
of commerce, inter-ci'mniunicnticn is effected by fleets of steamships and sailing vessels,
more adequate means of intercourse is needed. For general security, for great state
purposes, no less than for the operations of trade and for ordinary social requirements,
all the different parts of this widely scattered empire' demand the freest use of the
most perfect means of communication known to us.

We are familiar with the electric telegraph and its employment by land and sea.
This marvellous agency is at our command, and it only requires to be properly applied,
in order that it may best serve the highest interests of the people of the empire. Al-
ready it is employed in part, but as at present established and administered it is open
to grave objections. It is wanting in essentials to our daily needs, and wo are debarred
from enjoying all the advantages which, if properly applied, it can confer.

There are lines of telegraph established across parts of Europe, Africa and Asia,
connecting Australia with the mother country, but these lines at certain points pass
through foreign territories or touch at foreign ports. At many places on their way
they traverse shallov/ seas in proximity to foreign states, where they are liable at a
critical moment to speedy interruption. Moreover, these telegraph lines are owned
and controlled by private comjnmies, and charges are exacted for the transmission of
messages which are felt by all to be exorbitant, and by most people absolutely pro-
hibitorj'. .

In my letter to Mr. Chamberlain of Oft^^b^r 28, 1898, a revised copy of which is
appended, I have set forth the outlines of a scheme of arrangement for cables and land
telegraphs by which the most ivonderful product of science of the age may be adapted
to tJie peculiar conditions of our empire. The proposal is to establish electric cables,
to and from each British possession ; these cables to be connected wiili the local land
lines in Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and elsewhere ; in this manner link-
ing together the whole empire by a chain of telegraphs without touching the territory of
other nations, at the same time avoiding shallow waters adjacent thereto. Moreover, it is
designed that the whole system of telegraphs, by land as well as by sea, be brought
under state control, in order that the fullest benefit to tlie British people everywhere,
and to the empire, be attained.

In my letter to Mr. Chamberlain, a peculiarity of the electric telegraph of far-
reaching importance is pointed out. It is a peculiarity which, however, cannot be
turned to publife advantage so long as the cables of the empire remain in the hands
of private companies. The cost of sending a message by telegraph is not. as is gen-

erally auppoHed, governed by distance. It is true that the oonipanies charge according
to distance ; but this is simply nn expedient for obtaining from the telegraphing public
larger protii.<^ As a matter of fact, there is practically no more current outlay incurred
in transmitt«'}jf lo.iff ^'lan in transmitting short distance messages. It may br> con-
trary to practice it i><ft,v not agree with preconceived ideas, but it is a fact nevertholesu,
that there is no known muans by which communications may be sent at less actual
cortt than by telegraph. A mail or a letter cannot be conveyed by railway or ocean
Bt<'amer without expenditure on coal, machinery, oil, Wages, and other things, to kei'p
the train or ship in motion. The expenditure is constant for every hour, and con-
tinuous for every mile. The circumstances are entirely different in the case of the tele-
graph ; when once established, equipped with instruments and manned by operators,
meesages may be transmitted one hundred or one thousand miios, with as much ease
and at no greater actual coet than one mile.

This remarkable anomaly added to the equally remarkable, although better known
fact, that transmissions by the electric wire are instantaneous, point to a system of
State-owned cables and telegraphs as the ideal means of communication for an empire
under such conditions as ours. If it be the case, and it is indisputable, that long-dis-
tance messages can be sent at no more actual working outlay than short-distance
messages, we have happily a means at our command which will greatly tend to unify
and consolidate this widely-scattered empire, provided we have the wisdom and fore-
thought to bring it into use. If the principle of state-ownership of cables generally
be carried into effect as suggested, I do not hesitate to state my belief that the day
is not far removed when oversea messages will be sent from any one British possession
to any other, whatever the distance, at the. u;iiform charge, first of one shilling, and
eventually of six-pence a word.

I have always held the Pacific cable to be the initial link in a great chain of globe-
encircling Imperial telegraphs. The mere advocacy of the Pacific cable has already
benefited Australia by lowering charges levied on messages fully fifty per cent, and any
accountant can estimate the enormous money value of this benefit by the saving which
has accrued during the past ten years. I do not doubt that the advocacy of the
Imperial system will have a similar effect on the policy of the companies in still fur-
ther reducing charges, but any such reduction will be incomparably less important
than the advantages to result from placing the cables and telegraphs of the empire
under state control. At present it is recognized that the empire is inadequately pro-
vided with the means of telegraphic communication, that commerce is unduly taxed in
consequence,- and that an embargo is placed on the free intercourse of the British
people. The circumstances of to-day demand multiplied facilities for sending tele-
grams from any one part to any other part of the empire at greatly ^duced charges,
in order to widen the use of telegraphy to all classes of tLe community. With ar

'l"'W.iH1». ■•«■'•■

Imperiftl chain of cablo« established, incalculable advantages would follow, and Her
Majesty's subjects, in whatever part of the world they may be situated, could inter-
change communications with the greatest possible ease and the greatest possible
economy.

Some words may with propriety be added with respect to the position of Canada
in the matter. It will be borne in mind that it is owing to the unparalleled expansion
of the Empire and the resultant oircumstances that some organization is absolutely
needed to secure unfettered intercourse, nnd that in this respect the subject ooncems
Canada in common with Australia and all other parts of Her Majesty's wide domain.
There is abundant evidence to show that in Canada we have common interests, common
sentiments, common aspirations and common sympathies with our kimlred in Aus-
tralia. Have wo not during tlie pa«t year sent our bravest to fight a common foe ?
and hav(! not our sons fallen on the same field and been laid in a common grave ?
Before these lines reach Australia the world will have revolved into another year.
At this date we in Canada appear to be standing in the old century gazing across the
deep into the dawn of tht) new. We are distant spectators, yet intensely interested in
the starting of the constitutional machinery of a sister nation to dominate for all
time in another quarter of the globe. We recognize and welcome the approaching
gront historical occasion as an epoch to denote the steady evolution of an unique
Empire of many commonwealths.

It will be apparent from the preceding remarks that a complete system of State-
owned telegraphs encircling the globe would in no small degree^ contribute to the
consolidation of the great Oceanic Empire. It will further be obvious that owing to
the position of Australia in the southern seas ar.d her comparative isolation from
other parts of the world, still more by reason of the highly important place she is
destined to fill among the nations, that it would be fitting to signalize the birth of
the new commonwealth by initiating a comprehensive system of cheap and 8peed.y com-
munications of permanent advantage to the whole British people.

Naturally it is felt that the initiative must be taken by Australia. I trust, there-
fore, that Your Excellency's government will see the way clear to take such action as
may be 'expedient.

I have the honour to be,
My Lord,
Your obedient servant,

SANDFORD FLEMING.

(Letter to the Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain on the subject of a State-owntd
System of Electric Cables for the Empire. By Sir Sandford Fleming.)

Ottawa, October 28, 1808.
The Rifcht Honourable

JoSli:iMI ClIAMUKHLAIN,

Socretary of State for the Colonies.

SiH, — I had the honour, on 28th December of last year, to address Sir Wilfrid
Laurier respecting the proposal to establish a state-owned Pacific cable. Circumstances
have since arisen which impel me to ask permission to address you on the subject of a
state-owned system of cables for the British Empire.

In the remarks which follow, the subject will be diHcussed on its merits. I venture
to think that the arguments advaneotl will make it clear that such a service is extremely
desirable and is fast becoming a necessity. The telegraph is an essential ally of com-
merce and is indispensable to the full and satisfactory development of trade and
shipping. The trans-Pacific steamship lines which have' been established are heavily
handicapped by the absence of any direct means of telegraphy between the ports with
which trade is carried on. The Pacific cable would serve the purposes of trade between
Australasia and Canada, but these countries are debarred from establishing independent
telegraphic connection with Hong Kong, the terminal port of oiio of the steamship
lines. Under an agreement, dated 28th October, 189;J, the Eastern Extension Telegraph
Company strengthened its monopoly by having Canada and the Australasian colonies
telegraphically excluded from Hong Kong and forbidden to lay, or assist in laying,
any new cable to that port for a period which does not expire until twenty years from
the present date.

There remains only one way of gaining telegraphic connection with Hong Kong
freed from exacting charges, and that is through the Home government. In granting
to the Eastern Extension Company exclusive privileges, Lord Ripon, then Colonial
Secretary, resen'cd to Her Majesty's government the option to take possession of the
cable between Singapore, Labaun and Hong Kong, by giving twelve months' notice and
paying the company £300,000. .'

My letter of December last to Sir Wilfrid Laurier (copy inclosed) sets forth the
position and the attitude, to Canada and the Australasian colonies, of the Eastern
Extension Telegraph Company. The proposal now submitted would undoubtedly
interfere with the rich monopoly which that company enjoys, and to some extent, and
for some time diminish its porfits ; but I venture to hold that no private company,
however rich and influential, should be allowed' to stand in the way when great Im-

pi'rial interests arc at stake. It must bo borno in mind, too, that telegraphy is one
of the* most astonishinK results of soionce, and that the facilitie* which it offers, if
not shackled by hindernnces, may bo rendered of greater and greater value t*t tJio human
race.

The advantngcH of cable connectionn and low charges increase with distance in an
accelerated ratio. It in impossible, thcrefon;, to set a limit to the commercial, social
and political Ix'nefits which would result to the Empirw from a Htnte-con trolled cable
servico reaching every British possesoion. In the following remarks I point out that
the Pacific cable, established as now proposed, will prove to be the key to such a
service, and practically its forerunner.

BRITISH EMPIRE CARLE SERVICE.

The action recently taken in London in adopting the principle of cheap Imperial
pofltnge suggests that the time ha«s arrived when the expediency of ostabliKhing n com-
plete telegraph cable system throughout the Empire may be considered on its merits.
The advantages which will inevitably follow the adoption of universal penny postaffe
appear to be generally rocogniz(vl, and I venture to think the public mind will be
prepared to entertain favourably another proposal not lesa important. It is not neces-
sary in the least to underva)lue cheap postage or detract from its immense import<inco
in order to show that a cheap telegraph service on a comprehcnsiv*; scale is easily
attainable, an<l that it would prove an effective means of speedy communication for an
Empire such as oure.

The transmission of letters has always been &. function of the government; indeed,
it has been wisely held throughout the civilized world that the postal service should
be controlled by the State. The electric telegraph is a comparatively modern intro-
duction. In the mother countrj' private companies were the first to establish lines of
telegraph, but in 1808 it was found to be in the public interest to have them taken
over by the State and placed under the Post Office Department.

A Committee of Inquiry had reported to Parliament: * That the telegraph service
as managed by companies, (1) maintained excessive charges, (2) occasioned frequent
and vexatious delays in the transmission of messages, and inaccuracies in sending
them, (.*5) left a large number of important towns and districts wholly unprovided for,
and (4) placed special difficulties in the way of that newspaper press which had in
the interest of the public a claim, so just and so obvious, to special facilities.' The
transfer was effected in 1870. Changes ami improvements were immediately made ;
the telegraph service, previously confino<l to lines connecting great cities where busi-
ness was lucrative, was extended to many towns and districts previosuly neglected,
and, notwithstanding the fact that the charges on messages were greatly i-eduood, the
business rievelopod to such an extent that the receipts progressiveily increased. Before
the transfer it cost about six shillings to send an ordinary message from London to
Scotland or Ireland. The rate was reduced to a shilling, and subsequently to six
pence (the rate at present ckarged), and for that sum a telegram can be sent from any
one station to any other station within the limits of the United Kingdom, without
regard to distance.

"•H-pu'i/i"'* ^Bwuiw ^j/w.-m %'>

It was early discovered by every country in Europe that so efficient a servant ta
trade and commerce, so important an aid to the State itseK, should become a national
institution. France, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, Italy, Spain, Portugal and
Belgium each established a State telegraph system, and, as in Great Britain, experi-
ence has shown that they have done this, not only with advantage to the various
administrative necessities, but with benefit to the public at large.

Such being the unanimous conclusion, is not the application of the principle of
State ownership on a larger scale than hitherto attempted a fit subject for inquiry ?
Is it not desirable and expedient that the whole British Empire should have a State-
controlled cable system?

The conditions of the Empire are totally different to what they were some years
back. When Her Majesty ascended the throne there was not a single mile of electric
telegraph anywhere. There was not an iron ship of any class afloat, and mail steam-
ships were practically unknown. From that period the conditions have been continu-
ally changing and the process of growth and dtevelopment still goes on. True, change
has met with resistance from individuals and companies and classes, but resist it who
may, the law of development follows its steady course and continually makes demands
on science and skill to meet the ever-clianging conditions. We are living in an age of
transformation; the spirit of discovery and enterprise, of invention and achievement,
has extended and expanded the British Empire from the small islands on the coast of
Europe to new territories, continental in extent, in both hemispheres. The develop-
ment of the mercantile marine has carried the flag of our country over every mile of
sea to meridians far distant from the motherland. In these distant territories, com-
munities have established themselves under the protection of that fla^. They hav^
drawn riches from the forest, the soil and the mine. They have caused noble cities to
spring up, rivalling in the splendour of their streets and buildings the finest cities of
the Old World. These young nations, full of hope and vigour, have made progress in
every di.i'ection; they are imbued with lofty aspirations, and their most ardent desire
is to give their energy and strength to the building up of a greater British Empire, on
the finn foundation of conunon interest and common sentiment.

At an earlier period of the world's history it would have been difficult to conceive
the possibility of any lasting political union between countries so widely separated by
intervening seas. The problem is, however, being solved, not by old methods, but
by the application of wise principles of government, aided in a wonderful way by the
highest resources of modern science. Steam has made the separating oceans no longer
barriers, but the general medium of union. Electricity has furnished the means by
which the British people in all parts of the globe may exchange thought as freely as
those within speaking distance. These twin agencies of civilization are pregnant with
stupendous possibilities. Already the one, as the prime factor in sea-carriage, has ren-
dered luiiversal penny postage possible. The other has made it equally possible to
bring the British i)eople, so widely sundered geographically, within the same neigh-
bourhood telegraphically.

Imperial penny postage will have far-reaching consequences; it is tmdoubtedly a
great onward movement in the career of civilization, and in the development of wider
national sympathy and sentiment. But great as are the benefits to follow the adoption

jervant to
I national
tugal and
n, experi-
le various

inciple of

inquiry ?

} a State-

>me years
)f electric
ail steam-
L continu-
le, change
ist it who
1 demands
an age of
lievement,
e coast of
} develop-
•y mile of
riea, com-
'hey havxi
5 cities to
t cities of
regress in
3nt desire
mpire, on

> conceive
arated by
hods, but
ay by the
no longer
means by
freely as
lant with
, has ren-
ossible to
ae neigh-

ubtedly a
of wider
adoption

of universal cheap postage, the first result, and not the least, will be to make plain
that a postal service, however cheap and comprehensive, is in itself insufficient for
the increasing daily needs of the now widely-distributed British peoples. It will be
Been tliat in addition to an ocean penny postal service, the circumstances of our world-
wide empire demand a cheap ocean cable service, extending to every possession of Her
Majesty.

The carriage of letters at any known speed consumes time, and the length of time
consumed depends on the distance traversed. The telegraph, on the other hand,
practically annihilates space, and in this one respect has immeasurably the advantage
over the ordinary postal service, especially in the case of correspondents who are
separated by the greatest distances.

We can as yet but) faintly appreciate the extent to which the telegraph may be
employed, because its use heretofore has bec,<i restricted, on long-distance messages,
by almost prohibitory charges. If messages be exchanged between places not far
apart, let us say between London and Edinburgh, or Toronto and Montreal, the gain
in time by the use of the telegraph is inconsiderable. But if the points of connection
be far separated, such as London and Melbourne, or Ottawa and Capetown, the com-
parison between a postal and a telegraph service brings out the distinct value of the
latter. In either of the cases last mentioned, while it would require the lapse of eight
or ten weeks to obtain an answer to a letter by post; if the teilegraph be employed, a
reply may be returned next day, or even the same day.

Existing long-distance cables are little used by the general public ; it may be said,
not at all except in emergencies. They are used' iu connection with commerce, the
growing needs of which demand more and more the employment of the telegraph, but
owing to the high charges exacted its use is limited to business which would siiffer by
delay. These cables are in the hands of private companies striving chiofly to earn
large dividends, and who adopt the policy of charging high rates, in consequence of
which trade and commerce is unduly taxed, and its free development retarded. Were
the cables owaied by the State, large profits would not be the main object, and precisely
as in the case of the land lines of the United Kingdom, it would be possible to reduce
charges so as to remove restrictions on trade, and bring the telegraph service within
reach of many now debarred from using it.

When the government assumed control of the inland telegraphs of the United
Kingdom it was found possible greatly to reduce charges. In 1869, the year before the
transfer, less than seven million messages were carried. At the transfer the rate was
reduced to one shilling per message ; the traflfic immediately increased nearly 50 per
cent, and continued increasing until, in the tenth year, twenty-nme million messages
were transmitted, with a surplus of revenue over expenditure of £354,060. In another
decade the total annual business equalled ninety-four millions, the operations still
resulting in a surplus of £251,806 although the charge for a message had been mean-
while reduced from one shilling to six pence. It is indisputable that high charges
restrict the utility of sea cables as well as of land lines, while low charges have the
opposite effect. A few years ago the tariff of charges between Australia and London
was nine shillings and four pence per word. The proposal to establish the Pacific cable
and the discussion which followed, led to the cheapening of the rate to four shillings

and nine pence per word. In 1890, the year before the rates were lowered, the gross
business consisted of 827,278 words. Last year (1897) it had increased to 2,349,901
wcrds. In 1890, with high charges, the revenue was £331,468. In 1897, with reduced
charges, the revenue was £507,852, or £236,384 in excess of 1890, when the highest rates
were exacted.

The utility of the telegraph may be measured by the time gained over the post,
and the success of the telegraph service of the United Kingdom must be accepted as
convincing evidence of its utility and value, for the gain in time is, in this case,
measured by hours only. Its striking success in this instance may be largely owing to
State control, but whatever the cause, it is obvious that if, under similar conditions,
weeks were gained instead of hours, the utility of the telegraph would be proportion-
ately increased and its value as a means of communication correspondingly enhanced.
There is another immense advantage, not generally kown to the public, which can be
claimed for telegraphy : It is the fact, that within certain limitations the actual cost
of transmission is but little aflFected by distance. While the cost of carrying letters is
in proportion to the distance traversed, the same rule does not apply to the electric
wire. With a properly equipped telegraph system, the actual expenditure incurred in
transmitting a message thousands of miles is practically no greater than in sending it
ten miles. Obviously, therefore, the principle of ' penny postage,' that is to say, a low
uiiiform charge for all distances, is applicable even more fully to ocean telegraphy than
to the Imperial postal service. With these considerations before us, a moment's re-
flection leads to the conviction that this wonderful agency — the electric wire — places
within our reach, if we have the wisdom to accept it, an ideal means of communication
for the world-wide British Empire.

Thirty years ago the British Parliament for reasons, the soundness of which
experience has fully confirmed, determined that the State should assume control of the
inland telegraph system of the United Kingdom. To-day there are incomparably
stronger reasons for State control being exercised over a cable system for the whole
Empire.

The proposal is not altogether new. If the proceedings of the Colonial Conference
of 1887 be referred to, it will be found that an Imperial telegraph service was fore-
shadowed in the discussions. To these I would refer, and especially pages 225 to 228,
339 to 341, and 513 to 520. In these discussions the delegates from the Cape of Good
Hope, Natal, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland and Canada took part. Again,
at the Colonial Conference of 1894 the proposal was set forth in some detail, and the
advantages of an all-British system of telegraphy aroun 1 the globe pointed out. On
that point I beg leave to direct attention to the proceedings of the Ottawa Conference,
and more particularly to pages 88 to 90, inclusive. Likewise to the proceedings of the
second Congress of the Chambers of Commerce of the Empire, and more especially to a
letter from the Ottawa delegate (July 1, 18( 2) to the President, Sirl John Lubbock.

The proposal to complete the telegraphic curcuit of the globe has no doubt sug-
gested itself to many persons. Among tho&a who have written on the subject may be
mentioned. Sir Julius Vogel, at one time Postmaster General of New Zealand ; the
late Mr. F. N. Gisbome, Superintendent of Telegraphs for the Canadian government ;
Sir George Baden-Powell, M.P., London ; Mr, J. C. Lockley, of Nhill, Australia ; and

T1I»'»'"T*T'T*^

the veteran postal reformer, Mr. Henniker Heaton. At the Cape, Mr. Jan Hendrich
Hofmeyer has given the matter his strongest support.

PROJECTED CABLE SYSTEM.

It may be laid down as an essential condition of an Imperial cable service, that
Qonf, of the lines should touch foreign soil, and that they should bi' placed so as to avoid
shallow seas, more especially those seas in proximity to any country likely at any time
to prove unfriendly. In describing generally the route which would best comply with
these conditions, I shall commence at Vancouver, for the reason that up to this point*
telecrraphic connection with the Imperial centre in London is already assured, without
being dependent on any foreign power. First, we have directed telegraphic connection
across the Atlantic by a number of cables, and it is a mere question of cost to lay
additional trans-Atlantic cables to be state-controlled, whenever they are wanted.
Secondly, we have a transcontinental telegraph from tlu; Atlantic coast to Vancouver,
extending along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and all practical telegraphers
will recognize the great advantage of this position. By having the wires hung within
sight of passing trains, the telegraph can be frequently inspected with the greatest
possible ease, and faults when they occur, can speedily be repaired.

Commencing at Vancouver the cable would cross the Pacific to New Zealand and
Australia, from Australia the main line would cross the Indian Ocean to South Africa,
from South Africa it would traverse the Atlantic to Canada, where it would connect
with the trans-Atlantic lines. Such a system of cables would complete the telegraphic
circuit of the globe, and would constitute a base for connecting every one of Her
Majesty's possessions and naval coaling stations (Gibraltar and Malta excepted) by the
most perfect means of conveying intelligence at our disposal. Moreover, the connection
would be formed by a system of all-British deep-sea cables in the position where they
would be least vulnerable. This Imperial cable system may be considered in three
divisions.

(1.) Cables in the Pacific Ocean.

The cable from Vancouver would first find a mid-ocean station at Fanning Island,
second at Fiji Islands, third at Norfolk Island ; at Norfolk Island it would bifurcate,
one branch extending to New Zealand, the other to the eastern coast of Australia.

There are many islands in the Pacific, some under British, others under foreign
flags ; in course of time these islands could be served by branches as circumstances
may require. The land lines of Australia would complete telegraphic connection with
the western coast, or it may be deemed expedient to substitute a cable for the land
lines over that portion of the interior between Adelaide and King George's Sound.

(2.) Cables in the Indian Ocean.

From King George's Sound, or other point in Western Australia, the cable would
extend to Cocos Island, thence to Mauritius, and thence to Natal or Capetown, as may
be found expedient. Cocos would become an important telegraphic centre ; it would

be a conveiiieiit point for connecting Singapore by a branch cable. Singapore is already
in connection with Hong Kong by an all-British cable via Labuan, and Her Majesty's
gOTernment Oan take possession by giving 12 months' notice. India could be reached
by a branch from Cocos to Ooloiubo or Trincomalee in Ceylon. At Mauritius a connec-
tion would be formed with the existing cable to Seychelles, Aden and Bombay.

(8.) Cables in the Atlantic Ocean.

In order to avoid the shallow seas along the west coast of Africa, Spain, Portugal
*and France, it is proposed that the cable should extend from Capetown to Bermuda,
touching at St. Helena, Ascension and Barbados as mid-ocean stations. At Bermuda
\ a connection would be formed with the existing cable to Halifax, and at that point

with the Canadian and trans-Atlantic lines, or a cable could be laid from Bermuda
derect to England.

Much prominence has been given to a proposal to connect England with the Cape
by a line of cable touching at Gibraltar, Sierre Leone or Bathurst, Ascension and St.
Helena. I pointed out in my letter of last December to Sir Wilfrid Lnurier, that there
are grave objections to the northern half of that route, as " the cable, of necessity,
would be laid for some distance in shallow seas where it would be exposed to injury
from various causes, and where, too, the agent of an iinf riendly nation or, indeed, an
evil-disposed fisherman, would have it in his power to destroy the cable with ease,
totally unobserved. For hundreds of miles it would be exposed to such risks."

The route now proposed from Ascension to Great Britain is certainly less direct,
but the cables would be much less in jeopardy, and to this may be added, the advantage
which would result in brinigng the West Indian poisessions within the Imperial
telegraphic circle.

In order that some estimate may be formed of the cost of such an undertaking, I
submit the following approximate distances which each group of cables would require
to cover : —

(1.) In the Pacific Ocean, from Vancouver to Australia and

New Zealand 7,150 knots.

(2.) In the Indian Ocean, from Western Australia to South

Africa —

Maine line 6,500

Branch to Singapore 1,100

" Colombo 1,500

9,100 knots.

(8.) In the Atlantic Ocean, from South Africa to Bermuda. . 6,600 "

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The total distance for which new cables would be required (of which 20,250 knots
would bo in the| main line, and 2,600 knots in branches) may be roughly placed at
23,000 knots, and the cost (including the branch to Hong Kong) between £5,000,000
and £6,000,000 sterling.

I have long advocated the first division of the proposal, — the establishment of a
cable from Canada to Australasia as a state work. I have felt that it would be the
forerunner of an all-British telegraph system embracing the whole empire. As a state
undertaking I am satisfied that the Pacific cable would be a complete commercial
success, and that so soon as it so proved, the cable extension to South Africa and India
would follow. ■ •

One advantage peculiar to a globe-encircling system of cables will be apparent,
each point touched would be in connection with every other point by two routes
extending in opposite directions. This feature is of special value, as it practically
constitutes a double connection in each case. The projected system of all-British cables
with itai branches would thus doubly connect the following fortified and garrisoned
c(»aling stations, namely : — Hong Kong, Singapore, Trincomalee, Colombo, Aden, Cape-
town, Simons Bay, St. Helena, Ascension, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Bermuda, Halifax,
Esquimalt, King George's Sound and Thursday Island. The following " defended
ports " would likewise be connected, viz. : — Durban, Karachi, Bombay, Madras,
Calcutta, Eangoon, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane,
Townsville, Auckland, Wellington, Lyttletown and Dunedin.

Would it not be in the interest of a great commercial people to have these and all
such points in the outer Empire connected by a means of communication so perfect as
the electric telegraph ? Is it not u matter which vitally concerns every British com-
munity around the globe ? Is it not in their common interest that they all should be
placed in possession of the speediest means of conveying intelligence the one to the
other, free from the burden of high charges ?

That a State owned Pacific cable is the key to the situation, I am firmly convinced.
Exhaustive examinations have proved its entire practicability. Its financial aspect has
been minutely investigated by business men of the highest rank. The Canadian gov-
ernment appointed Lord Strathcona and the Honourable A. G. Jones for the purpose,
than whom there are no men with stronger business insight. Their report is in the pos-
session of the government, and it takes the most favourable view of the project. As a
State undertaking it would be self-supporting from the first year of its establishment,
and would admit of charges being lowered year by year. That the final outcome of the
laying of this cable would be an Imperial telegraph service there can be little doubt. I
am satisfied that the Pacific cable would prove to be the entering wedge to remove for
ever all monopoly in ocean telegraphy, and free the public from excessive charges ; that
it would be the initial link in a chain of State cables encircling the globe, with branches
ramifying wherever the British Empire extends, and that it would be the means* of
bringing into momentary electric touch every possession of Her Majesty.

In 1837, Rowland Hill, in advocating uniform penny postage for the United King-
dom, pointed out how desirable it would be to have the same low rates as on inland

letters charged on letters passing to and from the colonies. This remarkable man con-
cluded with the memorable words : " There is perhaps scarcely any measure which would
tend so effectually to remove the obstacles to emigration, and maintain that sympathy
between the cclouies and the mother country which is the only sure bond of connection,
as the proposed reduction on the postage of colonial letters."

Had Sir Eowland E^llknownof themeauflof instantaneous communication which,
since his day, has been placed at our comman i, ho assuredly would have viewed it as
the most civilizing agency of the century. He would have seen that while promoting
the activities of trade and commerce and improving the well-being of the human race,
nothing would more tend to deepen the sympathies of om* people and make firm the
foimdationa of the Empire, than the adding to a universal penny postage, the incalcul-
able advantage of a State-controlled ocean telegraph system encircling the globe.

Holding the views which I have ventured to submit, I feel that in the public
interest I should greatly err if I failed to "eek an opportunity of giving expression to
them.

I have the honour to be, sir.

Your obedient servant,

SANDFORD FLEMING.

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