The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 1909. CABLES AND, THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 280, 7 August 1909, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 1909. CABLES AND, THE EMPIRE.

■■■ ■': ' ! ""••.', ■ ■ '■ ' ''jl'. In his statement to the Daily Chronicle. upon the prospects of cheap cables within the Empire Sir Joseph Ward was both sound; and 'cautious. He is optimistic, of course, for, although he cannot as yet support penny-a-word cables he 'is convinced that' sixpence a word would "pay over and over again," and. he urges a gradual reduction of the'existing charges so as to stimulate the confidence -of'.the administrators of the cable" systems.. When Sir Joseph's,, optimism concerns postal and telegraph : affairs, we arc unable to disagree with him, since he has abundantly justified'h'is" right to expect better-things, iron) cheap rates.'- It will'be remembered that the cable reported some time ; ago that the:'-London Times had published an article to. demonstrate .the feasibility of ponny-a,-word / wireloss Vipessages within, the Empire.-, Full particulars of the 'Tiniti'i scheme arc now available by mail, and they make very interesting reading. If the Times relies too. much on hypothesis in its endeavour•" to ; show- that "penny - wireless" is ."no longer a pious hope practically impossible' of realisation, but one that can be realised "immediately',"; it at. a'nyrate makes olit a' .good case for its bold proposal. Ever since 1902, when the first wireless message was sent from Canada to Britain, Mr. Marconi has been conducting experiments and making new. discoveries and improvements. He, has overcome the limitations of the system as to distance of transmission and trustworthiness, and- a regular,wireless" traffic has been proceeding between Montrealand London since October, 1907. During the past year 300,000 words have been transmitted, the majority being code-words, and it is considered safe to prophesy that during the next twelve fionths the number, of words transmitted will be at least five millions. It is expected that the speed of transmission will shortly be increased to 60 words a.minute., . The.scheme described in the Times is a network of stations connecting'all the British; ppssessions. The routo from England to New Zealand would bo as follows :-rEngland to Malta (1), Malta to Cairo (2), Cairo to Aden (3), Aden to Bombay (4), Bombay to Colombo (5), Colombo to Singapore (0), Singapore to Perth (7), Perth to Adelaide (8), Adelaide to Sydney (9), and Sydney to Wellington (10). -..-The .-routo; to China would be from Singapore to Hong-Kong, (li), and there.would be two routes to Africa: on the east coast from Aden to Mombasa (12), Mombasa to' Durban (13), and Durban to Cape Town (14); and on the west coast, England to j Bathurst (15), Bathurst.to Sierra Leone (16), Sierra Leone to St. Helena (17), St. Helena, to Cape Town (18). . Other stations at Mauritius, Nelson- Island, Montreal, Jamaica, British Guiana and Vancouver would complete the Bystem. To erect and equip a station for operation over 2000 miles would cost £55,000, and it could bo worked for £10,000 per annum. The suggestion is that the Imperial and Colonial Governments should combine and erect these stations, or should make arrangements for bheir construction and oporation on a penny : a-wOrd basis by private companies. The cost of working of the wholo system would be £250,000 a year, tho"initial outlay being £1,320,000. If the average number of words handled were 15,000 per day per station—not an extravagant figure—the income from tho system would be £22,500 per station, • or £540,000 in the aggrogato for the year/ The chief objection .to.the establishment of the system proposed is the undesirablcness of ÜBing Stato enterprise against the existing cable companies. But it is quite clear that the existence 'of submarine cables cannot be regarded as a final and decisive argument against resort being had to the economical system of Marconi.

Not much attention has been paid by anybody to the changes that would take place in the newspapers, in commercial methods, and in the public's outlook upon events, ii poany cables within tho Umpire

came to pass. The best way to soundness in the growth of the Empire is the provision of full knowledge of what fcbd Empire is doing and thinking. With all the best will in the world the daily press of the Empire cannot properly meet this need for knowledge. But the benefits of penny cables, so far as the outposts of the Empire are concerned, would not stop with the provision of full and prompt records of the transactions of the peoples • and Parliaments under the Union Jack. Almost more than "Imperial intelligence," the people of Australasia, require full current advices as to (lie movement of events in tho countries outside the Em-pire-in Europe and America and Asia. The horizon of the average New Zealandor is sharply contracted. Ho can read the foreign magazines and newspapers, to be sure—we aire afraid, though, that he docs not do this overmuch—but he sorely needs a steady supply of dry facts. To take full advantage of the new. system, which we may be sure will inevitably arrive, though its, 'arrival may bo long, deferred, the daily newspaper will have cither to enlarge itself or io curtail the space which it devotes to the happenings at its doors.. But there is a limit to the sizo of the newspaper—for one thing, the raw material from which paper is made is becoming yearly scarcer —and the development to corne will therefore lake place' at the expense of "local news." newspapers the change will not matter, at all.. Their business is to-make, the, best picture of the world's doings that is possible with their materials and their opportunities. Under a new order of things, which will enable them to give as much space to'a speech by, say,. Lord Morley, as they can at present givo to a speech by .Dk. Fikduy or Mr. Hogg, wo shall have more Mohley and less Findlay; and the public, which is wonderfully adaptable, will accept the Mokleian excess as the natural thing, v ancl the better thing.- . ' j

Not only Imperial .ends will be served by the burning out\of the spirit of parochialism by the light of the world. When they find that they can learn, without' delay, and from' something better than a three-line : cable, what this great man has said, or what that Government has done, or how this and that event have been received in Europe, in Britain, and in America, the New Zealand newspaperreading public will speedily agree to lift their eyes fronrthe ground at their feet, and look abroad. 'What they find vague and only partly intelligible they will discover to be'clear and : interesting. We shall have a new .perspective—the correct perspective. It is want of a correct perspective that is responsible for the'long acquiescence of .New Zealanders in such political doctrines, and. long acceptance of such customs and.situations, ! as in almost any other country would be regarded with, the deepest, distrust. Penny .cables will do as much for New Zealand.as transplantation to': a, .large metropolis would do for the remotely rural family .which has never known any society, or any point of view; excepting the society; and the point of''view' of. their, little ■neighbourhood.; If; the world is : ignorant, of our affairs, New .Zealand has still more to learn of the affairs of tho : world. • ! >