F—No. 4.

26

REPORT OE SUBMARINE CABLE COMMITTEE.

VI.-PROPOSAL ON BEHALF OP THE TELEGRAPH CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE COMPANY. No. 16. Exteact feom Oedee Papee. Petitions and Papers presented, 26th July, 1870. Coeeespondence between the Hon. the Postmaster-General and J. W. Blackett, Esq., Manager of M Jt efwSw° n 7 rU<i °? andMalntenance Company, concerning a Proposal to lay a Submarine table between New Zealand and Tasmania.— (By Command.)

VII.—PREPAYMENT OE TELEGRAMS. No. 17. Memoeandum for His Excellency the Goteenoe. The Commissioner of Telegraphs respectfully requests His Excellency to move the Secretary of State for the Colonies to communicate with the Post Office and Telegraph authorities at Home, with the view of ascertaining whether some facilities cannot be afforded for the receipt and transmission of telegrams to or Irom the Mother Country. b The Commissioner believes that very extensive use would be made of the telegraph if persons could feel assured that without the necessity for writing to a special or other correspondent, in each case telegrams would be conveyed to the nearest port in Great Britain or in a Colony, and be thence at once forwarded to their respective destinations. Such an arrangement would be especially valuable to Now Zealand, which may be entered at so many different ports from so many different points. It has been the object of the New Zealand Government to enable residents in other countries to forward[telegrams to the Colony through tho nearest station, to be thence transmitted to their destinations, lo effect this purpose three things are necessary :— 1. That the rates of charge should be generally known. 2. That a convenient means of paying for the telegrams should be afforded 3. That separate post bags, containing such telegrams, should be made up and be forwarded n v. i 0 ~c n°arest telegraph station in New Zealand, for transmission to their destinations On the other hand, it would doubtless be a great convenience to residents in the Colonies, if ba^s of telegrams could, m a similar manner, be sent to Great Britain, under an arrangement for their delivery to the telegraphist at the nearest station, and for their being duly transmitted thence The Commissioner for Telegraphs suggests that the rates of charge for telegraphic messages within Great Britain should be made known m New Zealand, and that New Zealand stamps should be declared receivable as payment of telegraphic charges, such stamps, uncancelled, to be returned to the Colony and payment to the amount of the same to be made by the Colonial Government. In the same way the Colonial Government would be willing that telegrams from Great Britain, for any part of the Co ony, should be paid for m English stamps, if the English authorities would agree to refund to the nffl 7 a™olmt of fich stamps on their being forwarded home uncancelled. The English Post Office authorities should also agree to make up a special bag of telegrams as already described milJJf, Commif 10T futures to suggest that it would be a very great boon, and very greatly calculated to promote interchange of communication throughout .the world, if the Imperial authorities would endeavour to arrange with all countries possessing interior lines of telegraph for the affording ot such facilities as are herein proposed; and the Commissioner thinks that the matter would be a simple one as regards any country in which postal or other stamps are used wi C°mf 18S10*er encloses herewith copies of the rates of charge adopted in New Zealand forms sh^ 5 h^/T the °f m6SSageS- ¥ W°uld not < Wyer ' be necessai T those SU^ h In ! f dA° m Car^ m? S °Ut the Pkn Pro Posed. It would be well that the authorities at home should be asked to state whether they would make it a condition of entering into be rennSTo' f fo™\ Sh°Uld be ad °Pted' and if so' the authorities should be requested to send out to the Colony a considerable supply of such forms. Julius Vogel, Commissioner of Telegraphs.