TELEGRAPH CABLE COMMUNICATION.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1308, 29 May 1878, Page 3

TELEGRAPH CABLE COMMUNICATION.

The Batavian “Dabglad” of the 22nd February has the following:—• “We understand that very serious complaints have been made to the Netherlands India Government by the Government of South Australia regarding the manner in which telegrams -which have passed from Anger to Banjoewangie along the Java line arrive in Australia. Specimens of them have been brought forward, from which it appears that the English language becomes often wholly unrecognisable. If an apparently imperfect telegram could be again signalled gratis on the the evil would not bo so great, but opr telegraphic regulations do not allow of this, and it is this circumstance that chiefly excites the indignation of the Australian public and newspapers. People say that there has been expressed a desire to have an English telegraphic line in Java, whereby we with our NetherlandsIndian telegraphic lino would be shut out from international traffic in this corner cf ths world, and, moreover, would Ipqe a large portion of our telegraphi?, income- We hear that people i,n the British colony raise objection!} to the custom which we have here of fastening in some districts our telegraphic lines to living trees, because the growth of the branches continually brings about dellection of electric currents, and hence makes also necessary the receiving and signalling of enfeebled telegrams by officials not fully qualified for the purpose, which results in deplorable mutilation. The Australian newspapers are full of all this. But it has often been pointed out that the necessity for the receiving and signalling of frequently exceseively enfeebled telegrams will greatly increase the work of officials at several offices. Another grievance of the Australian Government is the impossibility to forward telegrams over Java between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Matters have gone on somewhat the same way with the telegraph here as with so many other things—such as education, or the regulating of the land revenue- the existence of the new institution is decreed, but the taking of necessary preparatory measures is neglected. International telegraph connection has been in being for six years, bpt we have not yet an efficient personnel for it. It is to bo hoped that our Government may vigorously oppose the establishment or an English line across Java, but may not be too obstinate ' against other requests, namely, to p\it in good order and keep efficient tho international lino, and may not ho afraid to incur expense for it. The nan- regulation of telegraph examination is cheap, and comes into operation in time. As to complaints from foreign countries, it may servo to gain time to make those changes whereby the international line on Netherlands territory may become no longer a stumbling-block for the electric current on its journey round the earth,” The “Dagblad ” of Feb. 28th has a further reference to the maftpr Regarding tho telegraphic difficulties with Australia, we may f urther state that we understand that the telegraphic administration here is of opinion that the complaints are much exaggerated. We hope so. But wo believe, notwithstanding, that prudence will be necessary in this affair,

and that it will be better to do too much than too little in meeting these complaints. In Britain and Australia assurances that matters are not so bad will naturally have little influence , and should people succeed in persuading Australian public opinion on more or less good grounds, of the desirableness of a direct purely British submarine cable from Singapore, or from Q-alle to Port Darwin, then wo in Java will lie outside the telegraph network, and the Singapore-Java cable, which costs its owners treasures in upkeep, will no longer be the way to a British colony, and will undoubtedly be neglected by the company to which it belongs. The consequence will be that the N. I. Government will have themselves to provide for this submarine connection in a rocky bottom which continually requires repair. Taking this point of view, it may perhaps become advisable to do something to stop the mouths of the complainers. That several of their complaints are groundless appears from the complaint that mutilated telegrams cannot be repeated without payment in consequence of the Dutch regulation, while it is not the Netherlands-lndia regulations, but those of the general telegraph convention that forbid it.”