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THE TELEGRAPH IN NEW ZEALAND.

(From the Southland Tildes, Sept. 6, 186-4.) It is so often repeated that the present is an age of progress, and so many novelties are constantly being presented to the view, that we are very apt to become, as it were, callous to the multitude of improvements going on in the civilised world. Discoveries which, a century ago would have created a furor of excitement, and events on which hang the destinies of nations, are discussed with as little interest as though they were of but very small importance. Almost every year that passes over us is stamped by some great advancement in scieuce, and by its adaptation to the requirements of the human race. The rapid strides which have been made within the last quarter of a century in the means of communication between distant points of the globe will be the wonder of future ages. ■ The railways, the ocean steamers, and last but not least, the electric telegraph, will remain as monuments to the world of a race of giants. Without taking into account the immense improvements which are being so frequently made in the application of the principles which guide us in the use of those two great agents, steam and the electric fluid, their extension — the mere mileage over which they hold sway — is one of the most remarkable phenomena of the present day. Europe is a perfect network of telegraphs, and fresh lilies are still being proposed and carried out with fair prospects of success. Nor are these good things confined to the older and more settled portions of the world. Already the Colonies have to a certain extent partaken of the benefits arising from the rapid transmission of intelligence, and it is not too much to predict that in a very few years, the electric wires will pass in one unbroken line from London to the cities of Australia. The last mail brought us news that the Anglo-Australian and China Telegraph Company were about to place their prospectus before the public, and the names spoken of in connection with the undertaking, are a sufficient guarantee for the efficient performance of the work J they have taken in hand. In Australia itself the advisibility of running a line of telegraph from the colonies on the south side of the continent to the Gulf of Carpentaria is being seriously talked' of, and the very rapid manner in which settlement is going on, and .the growing importance of the com.flierce. between the mother country and Australia, seems to point to the conclusion that what is now merely talked of will, before long, become a reality. . -iTo; coxne nearer liome, jSTew Zenland , cannot at present boast of any great? length of electric telegraph. iS Witiv ; the iexcoption . of . the i line from Dunedin to Port Chalmers, a distance of about eeten miles, the work of a private

company ; the Canterbury line connecting Lytteltqn with. Ohristchurch ; and our own line from Invercargill. to Bluff Harbor, there, are no , other lines in operation in the colony. The subject, however, has not. been treated with neglect. It was in the first place proposed 'to entrust the work to the various Provinces, each constructing the necessary ', portion within its own boundaries," and taking the managements of it after construction. Subsequently the General Grovernment took the matter in hand, partly owing, it is' said, to the fact that the Provinces could. not .agree' amongst. themselves as to the necessary extensions. and points of juncture. At the last Session of the G-eneral Assembly a' sum of, Sve think, £75,000 was voted .for. telegraphic purposes, and active measures are now being taken for the construction of a line the entire length of the two Islands. The Province of Canterbury has made over its line to the. General Grovernment, and we believe Otago has adopted a like course. The whole ofthe posts Avill be erected between Invercargill and Dunedin, in the course of a month, and the work is being pushed a-head to the North. As far as we can gather there will be a delay caused by the want of telegraphic material. At present there is not the necessary quantity in the Colony. The Provincial Government of Southland received a supply of eighty or ninety miles, a portion of which has been used in the construction of the telegraph to the Bluff. There is therefore a very considerable surplus on hand, but whether it is intended to apply this to the formation of a portion of the line to the Lake, or to make it over to the General Government to be employed on the line to Dunedin via the East Road (the line they have adopted) we are not in a position to state. Speaking of the Telegraph to the Lake, it may be interesting to our readers to know that the posts for that line as far as Winton have been cut, and are now undergoing the process of rotting by exposure on the ground. It seems to us that Otago would never be willing to continue a line of telegraph in this direction beyond Queenstown, or Kingston at. the farthest, so that in the event of a line from Invercargill to the Lake being constructed, the Southland Government would have to bear the whole expense, a thing which they will not be able to do for a long time to come. To make a line to Winton, or even as far as the Mataura, at Roger's Station, would be a waste of money. The line to the Lake is, decidedly, of great importance to this Province, but Avhatever may be the intention of the Southland Government in this matter, it is certain they have not now the money to erect the posts already on the ground. We have before saicV that it is the intention of the General Government to run a line throughout the entire, length of the Colony, and, we suppose, to make such branches and cross lines as shall from time to time appear necessary. This will not, of course, preclude any Provincial Government from also constructing lines out of its own resources ; but it would be far better were the whole system placed under the hands of the Genei-al Government. We would recommend that the Bluff and Invercargill line should at once be given over. If that is not done, it follows either that the General Government must have a second staff of officials at Invercargill, or that the present Provincial Government staff will have to serve two masters — a state of things which would never answer. The importance of these works can scarcely be overrated. Anything tending to diminish the distance between the seat of Government and the various Provinces, and between the Provinces themselves, is a substantial gain to the whole colony. The completion of a line of telegraph throughout the length of New Zealand w-ill strike a death-blow at the Provincial system, for it will remove the most weighty argiiment which can be adduced in favor of so many petty Governments, viz. — the difficulty of communication with head-quarters. The disappearance of the Provincial Governments and the establishment of one Government for each Island, would have the happiest effect, for the cost to the governed would be very greatly reduced, and the jealousies, which now in too many cases exist between the rival settlements, would be almost entirely done away with. Without, however, looking at the establishment of the telegraph as likely to lead to the subversion of the Provincial Governments, the advantage to the mercantile class, and indeed to the whole community, will be very great, and quite sufficient to warrant us in wishing for its speedy and extensive development.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST18640917.2.10

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 47, 17 September 1864, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,290

THE TELEGRAPH IN NEW ZEALAND. Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 47, 17 September 1864, Page 3

THE TELEGRAPH IN NEW ZEALAND. Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 47, 17 September 1864, Page 3

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