607

A.—s

Mr. BUXTON : I would like to say, as emphatically as I can, that the Board of Admiralty, who, after all, are the people most concerned in this matter, think it would be a very serious matter if this Convention were not ratified. That they have stated publicly; and they have sent their experts and other witnesses to say so, and very emphatically, to the Select Committee. Putting aside the question of naval defence—on which I think they are satisfied —any naval" station is absolutely outside the Convention if it is intended to be purely a naval station. Then comes this question from your point of view : as to a commercial station which can only, unless intercommunication is made, communicate with certain ships, it would surely be to your advantage, in Australia, that if you have a wireless station at all, it should be able to communicate with every system and every ship, whether British or foreign. Recollect that all British ships are not fitted with the Marconi system; there is the De Forrest and other British systems. It would surely be to the disadvantage of Australia, from the commercial point of view, if a ship comes out there fitted with the De Forrest system and finds a Marconi station and cannot communicate; whereas it would be greatly to the advantage of Australia, from the commercial point of view, that whatever the ship's system might be it should be able to communicate with the station. Mr. DEAKIN : Your argument would apply equally if we adopt the De Forrest or any other system. Mr. BUXTON : Yes. The only company which objects to inter-com-munication is the Marconi Company. They consider they have, though Ido not think they have, to a certain extent a monopoly, and would like to keep it. Ido not think they have a monopoly, and every month and every year is reducing this monopoly, because the De Forrest and other big companies are coming to the fore. They want you no doubt to agree to put up a station which will prevent any ships coming to Australia fitted with any wireless apparatus except Marconi, because they will not communicate with anyone. That cannot be, I should have thought, to the advantage of Australia, or to the advantage of the commercial community. Mr. DEAKIN : The only advantage is from a naval defence point of view. Mr. BUXTON : That I can safely say has been entirely met, and the Admiralty are absolutely satisfied with regard to it Mr. DEAKIN : Our two points are, first, as to representation, we seemed to be in danger of entering a conference in which the chances were we should be outvoted by communities far smaller than ourselves, and with far less developed systems of intercommunication. They would get all the benefit of having intercommunication throughout the British Dominions in this way, and practically do nothing or next to nothing in exchange. Our second point was whether, as there are parts of" Australia where communication for all ordinary commercial purposes would be rather rare and inconsiderable, but where stations would be justified from a defence point of view, this conference would not oblige us to place them at the service, in time of peace at all events, of all ships, and by that means deprive us of some advantage in time of war. I am criticising generally from memory the substance of the memorandum which came before me last year. Mr. BUXTON : I think lioth those fears are met by the terms of the Convention as passed.

(Fifteenth Day. 14 May 1907.

Wireless Telegraphy.