23

R—3a

121. -By Mr. Cuthbert. —How long has the present cable been laid down ?—I think since 1871 — seven years. 122. How long is a cable supposed to last?— That is a thing that it is utterly impossible from any experience to say, whether it may be a long time or a short time, but I have no doubt that, like human life, a cable is influenced by its surroundings. A cable might last in one set of seas a certain time, and under different circumstances, m other seas, a much shorter time; but to say how long our cable may last, or any cable, we have no experience—we have not worn them out yet. 123. Is it not supposed that the usual existence of a cable is from ten to twelve years?— Some people will tell you twenty, but I cannot toll you. I think it must depend upon its surroundings—in some seas they last longer, in some seas shorter —we have no experience to tell how long a cable will last. 124. Not even the cables between America and England ?—They have broken at one spot, and some of them are irrecoverable, in deep water ; but if they could be recovered and joined together again, they would be as good as ever. 125. Is the present cable sufficient for all the messages that have been transmitted —could it accomplish more work ?—Certainly ; if you speak of the Australian line, it certainly could. 126. Then the principal necessity for a duplicate line is to havo more immediate communication ?— More certainty of communication. 127. And for no other cause?— For no other cause that I am aware of. 128. In submitting this offer of £32,400 a year, the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company have intimated that they are willing, in considcratian of an annual subsidy of £32,400, to lay a second cable from Singapore to Banjoewangie, and thence to Port Darwin ?—Yes. 129. Was not it taken into consideration for how many years the subsidy was to be asked for ?— I cannot say. 130. In answer to Sir Jamos Wilson, you said that in your opinion the most direct and best route would be from Port Darwin, as I understood you ? —The present route ? 131. To Singapore ?—Yes. 132. Looking at the map from Ceylon to North-West Cape, would there be any difficulty in the way ■of laying a cable along there ? —Ceylon to North-West Cape ? 133. Yes ?—I think I have it here Galle to North-West Cape is a distance of 3,160 —say 3,200 miles ; it goes through the deepest of water, and would cost probably a million of money. 134. By Mr. Bums. —North-West Cape to Ceylon is 2,520 knots ? —But you have to put a slack into that. When I give you distances, Ido not give you straight distances, I give you the length of cable required ; it is a deep sea you must remember. 135. By Mr. Burns. —Would not that be too long a section for a cable?—lt is a tremendous section. 136. You would have to call at tho Keeling Islands? —I doubt if there is a practicable landing there. I have no knowledge of them ; but I believe it is almost a perpendicular wall of coral rock rising from a vast depth. 137. By Mr. Cuthbert. —Can you form any idea of the expense of laying that line?—l say practically about a million of money, I think. 138. You do not know of any insuperable difficulty in the way of laying it? —I should very much prefer not to do it—very much prefer. 139. In consequence of not knowing anything about the water ?—ln consequence of knowing nothing about it, and the very great risk of the very deep sea, and the difficulty of repair with interruptions, and the maintenance and other difficulties of a large open ocean. 140. By Mr. Burns. —The long section would be an objection ?—A long section of 3,000 miles would be, unless we could get an intermediate landing place. I cannot answer for the Keeling or Cocas Islands. 141. By Mr. Cuthbert.— There is another line from Champion Bay? —The same remarks apply to that as North-West Cape. I have road you Sir James Anderson's and Admiral Richards's opinions. 142. By Mr. Mem.— Have you considered a line from Ceylon to the north-west corner of Sumatra and then down, touching at Java and Timor ? —Yes; from Ceylon to Sumatra you would have the same difficulty that we have now across to Madras, and which we have tried to remedy by a duplicate line to Rangoon; you cross the Bay of Bengal, where the monsoon blows six months the one way and six months the other, and, if you break, you have great difficulty in repairing on account of the monsoons, we have made a duplicate as a precautionary line; then you come to Sumatra—l do not know whether they propose to work by cable or how —if by cable, it will be a very long one—the whole of the Sumatra coast is studded with islands ; you must either go inside tho islands or outside. If you go inside, lam afraid you would be among rock ;if you are outside, it is a lee shore with tho great Southern ocean beating against it. If you work with land lines through Sumatra—yoi* complain now of the bad state of tho Java land lines, but they are comparatively good in comparison with those in Sumatra, which is not nearly so civilized a country as Jay you get to Java, you have the present objections to the Java line; then you go on from there very much the same way as the company's cable, but in the Cape York case you go to a much larger expense, on account of the greater length of cable required than in the Darwin route. 143. When you give the estimate of cost from Cape York to Singapore, what do you estimate per mile ? —Much the same as the other. 144. The same cost per mile as your proposed duplicate line ?—I think so — [referring to a book]. Singapore to Normantown, was it not ? 145. No, that is longer than to Cape York ?—To Macassar ? 146. No, via Timor and Batavia. You said £880,000 ?—Cape York to Banjoowangle, 1,900 miles in one stretch. 147. You make it up to £880,000 —how do you do that ? —This is taken from what I got from our advisers—-they gave me this. I see one part of the cable is at a larger price. 148. A considerably larger price?— No. 149. Have you the mileage that way ?—The mileage from Cape York to Singapore is 2,900 miles, say 3,000 miles. 150. What is the mileage of your proposed duplicate route ?—About 2,000 miles. 151. Two thousand how much ?—2,875 from Cape York via Banjoewangie. 152. That is to Cape York. The proposed duplicate line is 2,150 ?—Yes.

Colonel Glover, continued, 10th May 1878.