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Letter to the Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, on the Subject of the Pacific Cable, by Sir Sandford Fleming, 28th December, 1897. [Reprinted from Queen's Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 3.] Sir,— Ottawa, 28th December, 1897. For some months past I have frequently been asked by writers of the Press to furnish information respecting the Pacific cable. I have been so applied to as it is well known that I have long felt the deepest interest in the project, having been appointed by the Canadian Government to take part in the Colonial Conferences of 1887 and 1894, and in the Imperial Committee of 1896. I have invariably declined to comply with the request from the feeling that it was distinctly understood that the proceedings of the investigation by the Imperial Committee should be treated as confidential until made public by Her Majesty's Government. I have in consequence felt debarred from alluding either to the evidence obtained by the Committee or to the conclusions submitted in their report, or in the special reports presented to the Canadian Government by the Canadian Commissioners and by myself. These several documents were presented nearly twelve months ago ; since then questions have arisen which were not considered by the Imperial Committee, and many important facts are also obtainable from other sources, explanations respecting all of which should, I conceive, be communicated to the public. Since the Imperial Committee closed its investigation the Conference of Colonial Premiers has been held in London. Among other matters the Pacific cable was brought before this Conference, and from what has transpired the subject was complicated by a new proposition having been submitted by the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company. Consequently, the consideration of the project was deferred. Six months has since elapsed, and I feel called upon to make known some facts and explanations bearing on the questions which, in my humble judgment, the public should understand. I trust you will approve of the information being given to the public in the form I have now to submit to you. I have, &c, The Eight Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Premier. Sandford Fleming.

The Pacific Cable. Everywhere it is apparent that the British Empire is being formed by a process of growth and development, and there are many forces actively in operation, all tending to give it shape and strength and distinctive character. Lofty ideals are entertained by men of thought, experience, and patriotism ; but the future is veiled from us, and we cannot foretell the precise form of relationship which will eventually be assumed by members of the British family of nations in so many meridians of longitude. If the form of the development to be attained is not clearly foreseen, it can at least be said that the entire British people in all parts of the globe are inspired by a unity of sentiment, and that they are simultaneously moving onwards in one general direction. Progress is the watchword in all quarters. It is impossible not to recognise the advancement perceptible in the colonies of the southern seas, and, equally, the amazing vitality in British Africa. The Dominion of Canada plays an important part in moulding the destiny of her own people and in promoting more intimate relationships between the Motherland and the colonies. It is but thirty years since the scattered provinces of British North America became federated in one Government. The Dominion thus created inherited many remarkable advantages. It can lay claim to the most important geographical position, owing to its extension between the two great oceans; a position which confers the only means of establishing under the British flag communications between the eastern and western territories of the globe. It enjoys the possession of vast fields of the richest virgin soil, with still unexplored mineral regions of immense extent, and presumably of immense value. The population retains the high qualities of the foremost nations of Western Europe, from which it has sprung ; and the wide expanse of unoccupied areas leaves ample room for a large accession to its number. These rich possessions of the Dominion give promise, under wise guidance, of a splendid future. It soon became evident that the development of a country continental in its extent exacted public works of a corresponding magnitude. Lines of railway and telegraph were projected from ocean to ocean, and immediately after confederation both were proceeded with. In 1874 the policy of establishing the telegraph in advance of the railway was determined upon, and, as a corollary to the trans-continental telegraph, the proposal to extend the electric wire across the Pacific naturally followed. It can be said that ever since the telegraph reached the coast of British Columbia the Pacific cable has engaged public attention, and that the necessity of this undertaking has been repeatedly affirmed. It received recognition in the Conference of representative colonial statesmen in London in 1887; in that of Ottawa in 1894; at Telegraph and Postal Conferences in Australasia almost annually; and at various times by chambers of commerce at Home and abroad. The dominant idea with those who have most strongly advocated the establishment of a Pacific cable has been the unity of the Empire. They foresaw the difficulty of effecting any practical union between communities separated by distance so long as they remained without the means of direct and cheap communication. At the same time it was plain to them that a telegraph across the ocean would foster trade and commerce —the life of an Empire such as ours. Among the memorable gatherings of representative men, not the least important was the Conference of Premiers in London on the occasion of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee. Before these statesmen met, hopes had been entertained that some definite action would be determined for the inauguration of the scheme. Preparations had long been made for joint action. It was one of the