THE PACIFIC CABLE SCHEME.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2911, 1 March 1893, Page 2

THE PACIFIC CABLE SCHEME.

The Canadian Government having decided to ask the Imperial authorities to appoint a Commission to inquire into the feasibility of the scheme for a Pacific cable, one of Reucer's representatives called upon the various Agents-General cf the Australasian Colonies to ascertain their views on the sul ject, and what support was likely to be forthcoming from their respective Governments in this connection. Mr Westby Perceval, Agent-General for flew Zealand, stated that ; although in receipt of no instructions from hU Government, he would favour the proposal of an alternative cable to Great Britain, which would run entirely through British territory. This he had always regarded as a matter of tha ucmosc importance from a strategical point of view, and he was of opinion that his Government would be prepared to favourably entertain any proposal to join with the Australian Colonies with the object of establishing connection' by post or telegraph with the Mother country across Canada.' This idea had been uppermost jri his mind wh,en pressing, upon the Imperial Government the desirableness of maintaining the San Francisco mail service. He would, however, add that the present communication was sufficient for the traffic, and the cable n»te had recently been reduced by nearly 50 per cent by his colony joining in the cable guarantee with the other colonies. It would be recollected that the matter was fully gone into at the Colonial Conference of 1887, when the definite pro* posal was made by Mr Harold FinchHaitan and Mr Randolph Want tbat a ! cable should be laid from Vancouver to JS'ew Zealand, via the Sandwich Islands, : Samoa and Fiji, and that the Imperialiand ', Colonial and Governments should gran 11' a subsidy of £IOQ,QQO per annual foj: twenty-five years. At that time }t was, ; stated that,, if th.c Imperial (^overnmeqt were ready to discuss the proposal of wi alternative Government line on common grounds for defensive purposes, the scheme would probably he favorably considered in Australia, The survey for the cable had already been completed by Her Majesty's ships, and these details would doubtles* be laid before the proposed commission.