CHEAPER EMPIRE CABLES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3431, 24 January 1912, Page 7

CHEAPER EMPIRE CABLES.

HAL? RATES FOR SLOW MESSAGES TO CAMADA

MORE NEWS AND MORE 'I KALE

Mr Herbert Samuel, Postmaster-Gen-eral, ‘ announced the following reforms in telegram and cable rates in the House of Commons recently. An experiment will be tried, first from London to Aberdeen and Belfast; if successful it will be extended. The rate will be 6d for 36 words and Jd for every 3 words after. Telegrams will be accepted up to midnight and delivered with the first letters in the morning. From December 15 cables in plain language will be accepted to all places on the Western Union system (United States and Canada) as follows: Cables accepted at night will be delivered by the morning of the second day after, at about one-fourth the present rates, minimum 6s for 20 words. Cables accepted on or before Saturday will be delivered on the following Tuesday at about one-fifth the present rates, minimum 6s for 30 words. From January 1, plain language nonurgent cables will be accepted at half rates to India, the Dominions, the Crown Colonies, and the United States. Other foreign countries are expected soon to agree to the same system. RATES TO CANADA. The Western Union, Anglo-American, and direct United States cables will take non-urgent Press messages for the United States and Canada at 2Jd instead of 5d a word. The limit of delay will be nineteen hours. The Pacific cable rates to Australia and New Zealand will similarly be 4j-d instead of 9d. This does not apply to India and South Africa. Mr Samuel further explained the reforms at a British Empire League meeting at the Mansion House. He said when the Western Union Cable Company took the leases of the cables of the Direct United States Cable Company, he made it a condition of the Government’s consent to the transfer of the landing licenses of those companies’ lines that there should in future be Government control of the cade rates across the Atlantic. CHAIN OF WIRELESS. He had not yet secured similar facilities for India and South Africa, as the Eastern Telegraph Company had not been able to see their way to agree with the reductions, but the Government was pressing forward a scheme for a chain of wireless telegraph stations between the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean, India, Australia, and New Zealand, and by that means, in any event, they hoped to be to cheapen communication along the Empire route. The announcement of reduced cable rates has been received with much satisfaction in Canada. ft is felt that it will result in a much, larger amount of British news; coming direct to Canada, instead of filtering through I nited States channels, as at present. It will largely increase trade relations between British, and Canadian houses, and also, it is expected, result in the carriage of much interesting imperial news impossible hitherto owing to the high rates.