The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 11. THE PACIFIC CABLE.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 25 November 1911, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 11. THE PACIFIC CABLE.

The pros and cons of a, Pacific cable service as contrasted with that of the Eastern Extention Cable Company are of no great public interest, but the benefit of having two ibC.rvicoa available is clear enough. To us it seems in the public interest that both ventures should progress and prove profitable, and for that reason we arc pleased to know that the newer venture—the Pacific Cable Board—is "making good." This service is of immense, though incidental, importance to the British Empire, and it is in recogntion of this fact that Australia, Canada and New Zealand guarantee it against loss. On the point as to tihe cheapening of cable rates—a step tihat has yieldedi antipodean newspaper readers a much fuller supply of cable news this year than was previously their portion—a Parliamentary Paper which reached l us yesterday supplies the following details:— "In deference to the opinion in favour of a cheapening of cable rates for Press messages, which was expressed with so much force and so much unanimity at the Imperia l Press Conference, held in London last yeaa", the Board offered to reduce by one-half its change on Press messages between Austrlasia and Vancouver, provided the Australian and New Zealand Governments would do fhe same, and so allow of a reduction from Is to 9d per word of the total charge betweeal the United Kingdom and Australasia. Those Governments at once gave their assent, andi the new rates w ere brought into force as from August, 1909. The effect of the change has been to increase substantially the amount of Press traffic carried ty the Pacific cable. In the first place, although it does not appear that there has been any very marked increase in the total volume of international Press messages between the United Kingdom and Australasia, a fair proportion of it has been given . to our mute • and in the second place, tihe reduction in rates has been instrumental in encouraging ] the establishment of a new Press service between Canada, and' Austra- i lasia, which was started in Febru- : ary last by a new Australian agency, ] . and of which. l the whole is carried ■ by the Pacific cable. As a conse- 1 quence, the Board's revenue from < Press business, which formerly was almost a negligible .quantity, has risen to some £250 a $ionth." ■! The increasing use tfliiat is made 1 of tihe cable for press messages is < shown in the following table, which " covers all the years from the time j of opening:— | Ordinary. Govt. Press. Total I 1002-3 18,494 915 35 19,444 I 1903-4 64,595 3,128 890 68,613 ] 1904-5 67,677 3,018 387 71,082 1 1905-6 77,517 3,109 259 80,699 l 1906-7 93,533 3,983 302 97,818 ? 1907-8 98,964 4,292 1,918 105,174 I 1908-9 98,186 4,617 1,009 103,812 J '09-10 109,384 4,841 1,438 115,663 11 r As a result of tihe latest year's j operations the sum of £17,965 was b | tlijus available for reduction of the ° amount (77,544) contributed annual- ® ly for interest and sinking fund on the capital advanced by the 'National Debt Commissioners. The amount h payable by the Governments associa- s< ted in the enterprise is this £59,- * 588, as againsit the sum of £60,888 J payable by them for the previous Ti year. During the year some »n- p crease in business from the Oontin- ? ent has been "obtained through the' employment of a. canvassing agent e T in Germany, aoid good results have a« also followed from increased 1 activity in canvassing i n England," " The annual expenses of the cable,-as <fcfowW in section 8 (2) of the Pacific Aot - 1901, so far as they were not met out lof the-receipts arising " m connection ' with. , theJ«aMe, t

amounted in the year ended 31st March, 1910, to £59,588 6s 7d and a sum of £43,036 0s 3d, representing thirteen-eighteenths of the net expenditure, is, therefore, recoveraole froxn tho contributing Governments, viz.

£ s. d. Australia. (6-18ths) ... 19,826 15 6 Canada (5-18ths) ... 16,552 6 3 New Zealand (2-18tlis) 6,620 18 6