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9th Day.] Nationalization of the Atlantic Cable. [15 June, 191 L Sir JOSEPH WARD— cont. Empire as the State-owning of all these cables. It would bring South Africa, by a great cheapening of rates, probably half as close again to England as it is to-day ; it would bring New Zealand half as close to England as it is to-day; and certainly bring Canada very much closer to England than it is to-day—l mean, of course, figuratively speaking. In my judgment—and I have gone into the thing myself, but I do not want to weary the Conference by details l —if the Old World and the New World owned these cables we could put a penny-a-word system in operation before we knew where we were, and it would result profitably to all portions of the Empire by filling these cables and utilising them day and night, and I have no hesitation in saying that in my opinion this will come about; but the whole trouble is to make a start, and I would look upon it myself with intense satisfaction if, having already, with the exception of South Africa, given effect to a Stateowned cable system across the Pacific, we were, by way of a commencement and as a matter of business, to say we are going to complete that State-owned system by a cable across the Atlantic. If an Atlantic cable is not to be owned by the respective Governments owning the Pacific cable, it would be looked upon, outside the respective countries and Governments owning the Pacific cable, as a very left-handed position which exists, unless we complete the Atlantic end of it, because the Atlantic end is controlling the whole of the rates across the Pacific to and from the Motherland and the southern seas. When we have spent some two million pounds sterling in round figures upon the Pacific cable and have a proposition put before us that for another we could lay down an Atlantic cable and complete the natural connection across that route to the Old Country, looking upon it as a business matter in the general interests of the people of our respective countries it has everything, in my opinion, to commend it. The question of wireless telegraphy was referred to by Mr. Samuel. I think, and probably the majority of the members of this Conference agree, that nothing is going to stop wireless telegraph stations from practically going round the British world. We shall have wireless stations throughout the Pacific. We are getting them now. We shall all have our wireless stations to other parts of the British Empire. While it is only right that we should conform to our undertaking made with the Pacific Cable Board to do all in our power to give that particular line they control the commercial business of the respective countries, I do not believe even the Pacific Cable Board will be so retrogressive as to suggest that we should not establish wireless stations in the Pacific Islands for commercial purposes. If the wireless system goes along the route of the Pacific cable itself I think the proper thing for those controlling the wireless stations to do is to see that those wireless messages are received and transmitted at the charges the Pacific Cable Board is entitled to across their main line ; but to keep all these islands in the Pacific where a good deal of trading is going on outside the area of the commercial world, on the ground that you were going to injure the Pacific cable line, would be expecting us to go too far. I think between New Zealand and Australia, where we are establishing wireless stations, we are in duty bound to see all the commercial business and the Government business comes across the Pacific cable and that it gets the full benefit of it. But I think it would be a very unhappy position of affairs if we were to go from here on the supposition that the wireless stations established in the Pacific were not to be used for general commercial purposes on the assumption that it would interfere detrimentally with the Pacific Cable Board. There are places where we should loyally stand by them and see they get the whole of the business even if wireless stations are established. But irrespective of wireless stations being established—and they ought to be and no doubt will be owned by the respective Governments —I, personally, strongly advocate the resolution moved by Mr. Pearce. I think we ought to have an Atlantic cable. It would take some time to do it, and I believe myself that the putting down of an Atlantic cable would not derogate in the slightest from the splendid advance Mr. Samuel has made in the other directions; so for my part I heartily support the resolution. Dr. FINDLAY : I should like to say a word or two supplemental to what Sir Joseph Ward has said, for the purpose of impressing the observations made by