CHEAP CABLES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2354, 21 November 1908, Page 6

CHEAP CABLES.

HENNiKER HEATON’S PROPOSALS. 14-

THE PR EAUER’S VIEAVS

Speaking at Christchurch last Alonday regarding Air Henniker Heaton’s advocacy of penny-a-word .cable messages, the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph AVat’d) said: —“I am in hearty accord with Mr. Henniker Heaton in his advocacy of cheap cables and of cables being owned and controlled by the Governments of England, India, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It takes time for a proposal of that kind to fructify, but in years to come I am quite satisfied that either tli©"cables will be owned and controlled by the Governments I have mentioned, or, as the outcome ot the competition of the Pacific cable, the lowering of rates must come. The reduction of cable rates would be one of the greatest factors in bringing the peoples of the older countries and of the newer countries in closer touch. Though the present cable rates, compared with those of several years ago, are low, yet the cable service is open only to those who require to use it for business purposes generally; but for social communications with the teeming millions at the other side of the world the rates are almost prohibitory. I think I am pretty right in saying that not one person in one hundred thousand cables what maybe termed social communications, and until distance is -annihilated by the cheapening of rates to the extent of making the cable service -available for people of small means, the usefulness of the service from that point- of view must be of the most, limited kind. 1 am glad to see that Alr--Heniiiker Heaton (whom I know from (conversations with him, is in dead earnest in advocating groat cable reforms) lias behind him .in this matter, both in the Old Country- aiid in the British Dominions beyond the st as a healthy' and growing public opinion favoring the object that- he is so vigorously espousing.” “Financially, do you think that the cheapening of cable rates would -bo as successful as the cheapening of postal rates has been?” the Premier was asked.

“Once the facilities for carrying the increased traffic were provided,” Sir Joseph Ward said in reply, “it ‘would inevitably result in .quite as great results as have followed the cheapening of the postal service. There is, of course, this difficulty which cannot he ignored : The initial cost of laying cables is n heavy one, whereas in the case of penny 7 postage, the initial cost of providing the machinery to carry on the increased work is comparatively slight ; on the other hand, the geneiY.il cost of the conveyance of letters is much heavier, in proportion, than the conveyance of telegrams,once yon have the cables available , for transmitting the* messages. The real difficulty in the way of the consummation of what Air. Henniker Heaton is advocating is the capital cost of the cables in the first instance, and the further requisite ,for increasing the number of them .to provide for the transmission of what would bo, inevitably, a tremendously increased traffic. I do nojb think, myself, that sufficient allowance is made by some of the opponents of the proposal, for the development to which science Oias brought the utilisation of the single core cable. I have no -doubt whatever that the cable service could be duplexed, if not quadrupled, on many sections of them where the distance is not too great, and' a much greater volume of work could he obtained from them than has been necessary up to the present. One is pretty right in saying that none of the cable services" have- had more work offered them than tlie-y could carry ; in other words, the capacity of tho cables existing between, this country and the Old Country is very much greater than the amount of work sent ovffr them annually. Then, there can be no doubt, also, that tho development of wireless telegraphy is going to be a greater factor in the future than some people imagine. I think that it is only a matter of timo, and non a very lengthy time at that, when wireless telegraphy between Canada -and England and between the United States and England, will fie perfected to such an extent that ordinary commercial and Press messages will be regularly and accurately transmitted, and that all spells reduced rates. Like any other great competitive commercial concern the cable proprietors will find that in order to preserve their business they must come into line upon a much lower scale of charges than exist at present. Whilst I believe that Mr Henniker Heaton’s advocacy of cheaper rates is right, I do not anticipate that it is possible to get the rates down as low as he wishes them; yet I am quite satisfied that in the best interests of the British Empire not only is the reduction of rates desirable, but that it must inevitably take placo. I -am strongly of the opinion that the cable services of the Empire should be owned by the country,; and should not he in the hands of private companies. As an instance of the undesirability of a tolegraph system’being owned privately just look at the charges made by the public telegraph companies in the ’United States, where the rates are much higher than those charged hy the State-owned telegraphs of the United Kingdom ppcl of Notv Zealand. TLc -people of

this Dominion would not .tolerate the American system . for . twenty-four hours.”