THE ATLANTIC CABLE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1714, 3 April 1913, Page 5

THE ATLANTIC CABLE.

——V" IMPEEIAL CO-OPERATION -NECESSARY. ■ Tho Hon. A. Pisher, Prime Minister for Australia, recently expressed the determination of his Government to secure the laying ' of , a State-owned Atlantic cablo., The. Hon. IR. H. Rhodes .(Post-master-General) stated, when tho subject was mentioned to him yesterday, that the 'position taken up by- New Zealand in the matter had-not altered 'since the' recent visit to tile D6minion of the Hon. C. 'E; Prazer (Commonwealth Postmas-tcr-eGneral). '.In fact, the New Zealand Government .land '.expressed its .willingness, w-liilo Sir ' Joseph Ward was Eost-limster-Geiiernl, to co-operate .in the laying of a State-owned Atlantic cablo in the event of its 'being found impossible ■to .'"arrive" at ..some mort satisfactory arrangement than now exists with; tho companies that, own the existing'cables.' The present Government adheres to this position, and the prospect .of arriving at'a satisfactory' understanding with, tlie cable companies seems to bp as remote as ever. 'The Canadian Government, the Post-' master-General remarked,, had some timo ago. expressed its', willingness to i co-oper-afe in laying a . State-owned Atlantic cable, but'latterly-liad cooled off to some extent regarding the proposal. The real difficulty ,lay in securing the co-operation of the Imperial Government. .Without this' co-operation," the ; Australian, ' New Zealand, arid Canadian ■;■; Governments could do nothing in tho: matter, and tho Imperial Government had not yet consented to join with l tho other. Governments concerned in layifig the cable.