STATE TELEGRAPHS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 734, 5 February 1910, Page 5

STATE TELEGRAPHS.

.; LEASED LAND LINE, .'■'. . PACIFIC TO THE ATLANTIC. By TeleeraphT-Preas Association—Ooovrlebt. ; Melbourne, February 1. ; In connection,with the leasing by the Pacific Cable Board of a Canadian land line Bamfield to Montreal, bringing : the' State-owned. 'Pacific . cablo in touch with the Atlantic) the annual rental to bo paid by the Board to the Canadian Pacific Eailway Company is 55,000 dollars (£11,000)., not ,£55,000.

Atlantic state-cable the next . .;;step. ... ; -.sir'joseph .ward's .views; . ' Sir Joseph Ward, Prime Minister and Postmaster-General, when'.questioned' by a Dominion reporter last evening, said he Was quite familiar with the whole .matter of the overland line; across Canada, and he had some time ago .made representations to the Canadian and British Governments, as well as to the Pacifio Cable Board, upon the matter. He knew that it had so far proceeded satisfactorily in the direction of the Pacifio Cable Proprietary/having.control of its own land lines across Canada.. ' ..

-Sir Joseph said he had given instructions to the High, Commissioner, who was. the representative of New Zealand on the Pacific Cable Board, to agree l to the leas; ihg of an overland Canadian": line for; a period of'five years,'for the sum of iSII.OOO' per. annum. This will enable the-Pacific Cable.Board to' have exclusive .use ,6i an overland line from Montreal to Bamfield, the Canadian-Pacific .Railway Company supplying and "maintaining a. 2101b.'. per infle copper wire, and. also, granting office accommodation..for .'.the Pacifio, Cable Board's' staff at .Montreal' and', at;.all Pacific Board repeating stations.. 'The carrying -into effect of these, arrangements,"., the Prime Minister explained,' "extends the Pacifio cable practically, from New Zealand to the Atlantic, 'and what is to be done now. is to. secure for {the Pacifio Board 'its own service across : the'Atlantic;Ocean; too.".'He fur-, the'r/stated that'strong representations, to this end were; made by him recently to the; British Prime Minister; the PostmasterrGeherali .and otlier Ministers',/ as well as ,to .the Canadian' Prime; Minister,/ Sir!-Wilfrid-Laurier. - The/ logical ■'. corollary to the r present State-owned cable andleasing of a land line-across Canada was, hf said,' to complete the link- between;Eng.i land and Canada, arid' it /was ■ quite, evident that to; let it remain; in': its present position.was,: to say: the least,'; not busi- : nesslike,' and he .was looking forward -with confidence to seeing ■ the consummation of what .the/supporters of. the Pacific cable link-fight, through to England had looked forward-to,'fromr'its: inception. The arrangement just completed was,, in :■' his opinion, a'distiriotmove forward."'