F.—No. 4.

14

REPORT OE THE SUBMARINE

No. 8. Eepoet of E. C. Cracknell, Superintendent of Telegraphs, in reference to the establishment of Telegraphic Communication between Australia and Great Britain, as proposed by Mr. Alexander Fraser, of Batavia. The information contained in the accompanying letter and enclosures from Mr. Alexander Fraser, of Batavia, places the establishment of telegraphic communication between Australia and Great Britain in so simple and favourable a form to Australia, that there should be as little delay as possible on the part of the several Colonies in entering into negotiations for the speedy completion of so desirable an undertaking. The matter now stands as follows : —The telegraphs in India are now working as far as Eangoon and Moulmein, leaving a gap to be filled up from either of the above places to Malacca or Singapore (say 1,100 or 1,200 knots), concessions for which were granted to the Eastern Asia Telegraph Company, who have now disposed of their interest to the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, London, which Company has undertaken to carry the same into effect without loss of time, and to extend tho line to Saigon under special agreement with and subsidy from the French Government. The Netherlands-India Government have also granted the exclusive right to Mr. Alexander Fraser, of Batavia, to land submarine cables within the territories of Netherlands-India, for a period of thirty years, for the purpose of connecting with tho telegraphs in Europe and Australia, subject to the approval of the Imperial Dutch Government. The Netherlands-India Government further binds itself to pay to the concessionaire, for thirty years, the annual subsidy of 200,000 florins (equal to £16,666 sterling), provided that within three years the terminus of the lines connecting Europe shall be extended to Malacca and Singapore, and the Australian lines to Burke Town, Gulf of Carpentaria. Simultaneously with the above, cables must be laid between Malacca and Siak, and between Pampang Bay to Poeloe, close to Timor, from thence to Burke Town, or other more convenient place on the North coast of Australia. The Netherlands-India Government also binds itself, that, simultaneously with the laying of these submarine cables, the land lines now in course of construction to Siak, with the necessary cable or cables across the Straits of Sunda, shall be completed, and that they will provide a special wire from Siak to Pampang Bay, exclusively for the transmission of Australian messages. The tariff over the Netherlands-India lines (say, 1,500 miles) is not to exceed 3f. (equal to 55.) for each message of twenty words. The Queensland Government have now called for tenders for the completion of their land lines to the Gulf of Carpentaria, to be handed over to the Government by the end of 1870. This leaves a mere nominal responsibility to be undertaken by the Colonies respectively, amounting in all to about £17,500 per annum, to be contributed only in the event of the line not paying 7 per cent, interest on the capital; this would place the liability of this Colony, if the guarantee be divided on the basis of population, at £4,375 per annum. Mr. Eraser's proposal appears to me a bona fide one, and the concession on the part of the Nether-lands-India Government most liberal; and I feel satisfied, from the manner in which Mr. Eraser is spoken of by several highly influential residents in this city, who have known him and transacted business with him for a number of years, that he is in a position to carry out in every particular the proposals set forth in his letters and enclosures, if supported by the Governments of the Australian Colonies, subject, of course, to the approval of the Government at the Hague, where Mr. Eraser is personally urging their favourable consideration. The other proposals which have been placed before me to report upon are not, in my opinion, to be compared to those of Mr. Eraser's for cheapness cither in first cost or the advantages to be derived after completion. The propositions of Mr. Sherard Osborne, the Managing Director of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, are too expensive, being for the most part deep-sea lines —that via Ceylon to cost £1,100,000, with an aunual subsidy of £55,000, which must be defrayed by the Australian Colonies. Another proposal to carry a line via King George's Sound is still more objectional, and would necessitate the construction of a land line, by a Company, of 2,560 miles, without a single paying intermediate station, whereas the Northern Queensland line to the Gulf of Carpentaria may now be considered an accomplished fact, leaving only the submarine portion to be provided for; and Mr. Fraser, possessing, as he now does, the exclusive right to land cables in Netherlands-India, will render it necessary for the King George's Sound advocates to find another route, which can only be via Keeling's Islands to Ceylon, which I fear will prove too expensive a luxury to be indulged in at present. As it appears to me desirable to carry tho line through Northern Australia as far as practicable by land, which would have the effect of opening up and developing the resources of that portion of tho Continent, I would prefer that Port Darwin be made the terminus for the submarine cable from Java. Although the cost of working and maintenance will, by shortening the submarine cable, be increased, it is more than counterbalanced by the saving of interest, which will be seen by the following statement: — Cost of submarine cable and laying from East Java to Gulf of Carpentaria, varying the construction of the cable according to depth of water and sea bottom, £494,000, £ £ or in round figures, say ... ... ... ... ... 500,000 By terminating the submarine line at Port Darwin, reducing length of the cable to 1,000 miles ... ... ... 266,000 Land line from Port Darwin to the Gulf, about 900 miles, at £60 per mile ... ... ... ... ... 54,000 • — 320,000 Eeducing the cost of construction in favour of the combined submarine and land line by £180,000.