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1901. NEW ZEALAND.
TELEGRAPH CABLES (FURTHER PAPERS RELATING TO). [In continuation of Paper F.-8, presented on the 21st August, 1900.]
Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.
INDEX. New Zealand-Sydney Cable— Paga. Proposal for Government-owned .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 Pacific Cable— Tenders. ' c The Pacific Cable Act, 1900 " : New Zealand's Proportion of Cost. Signing Contract. AgentGeneral to act generally. Copy of Contraot. Survey. Landing-place in New Zealand. Appointment of Board of Management. Chairmanship of Board. Cable Staff. London Staff. Office Sites and Buildings .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..2 Cape-Austbalia Cable— New South Wales signing Eastern Extension Company's Agreement to secure Reduced Rates. Victoria proposing to sign—later standing out. Terms on which New Zealand would be granted Reduced Rates. Progress of Work of laying Cables. Competition of Companies after Lines complete. Canada and Queensland objecting to action of New South Wales. Conference to discuss that Aotion .. 80
NEW ZEALAND-SYDNEY CABLE.
No. 1. The Hon. Audley Coote, Sydney, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Dear Sir,—- Waverley Park, Sydney, 12th March, 1901. I have the honour to confirm my previous letters on the subject of an independent and Government-owned cable to connect New Zealand with Australia. The newspapers inform us that you are most desirous of having an independent cable, and that the Eastern Extension Cable Company have been approached as to their selling their old cables to the Government. As the Act of Parliament for the first New Zealand cable was in my name and the cable was laid in opposition to my then registered Cable Company, I desire to bring under your notice that it is now twenty-seven years ago, and that the life of a cable is not much over twenty-one years, and, as a fact, the Cable Company's repairing-ship " Becorder " has only returned this morning from cutting and splicing both cables. Consequently it will be seen that cables so old might give the Government much trouble. I enclose copy of a letter on the subject of the route of the main Pacific cable that appeared in last Saturday's newspaper here, and, as it has a reference to the first New Zealand cable negotiations and the cable contract, I send you a copy, thinking it would interest you at this time. Should your Government desire to have an independent cable, please let me again suggest to land it in Queensland. Then I feel sure that the Queensland Government would bear a share in its cost —perhaps one-half —as all messages would pass over their land-lines and so recoup them for the money expended. If you. thought well of Queensland joining in the expense, I feel sure I could arrange it satisfactorily. I am also prepared to make your Government a firm offer to make and lay a Governmentowned cable, or to tender in the usual way if opportunity is given to German cable-manufacturers as well as English. I have, &c, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Audley Coote,
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Enclosure in No. 1. Extract. jK * H' # # >>- The route that I then suggested was from Queensland to Fiji, thence Samoa, thence Honolulu, thence San Francisco; and I still feel sure that route is the best. If the contract that is now signed for the making and laying of the Pacific cable goes by way of Fanning Island to Vancouver, that section of 3,650 miles in one stretch of cable will act as a "toll-gate" to all messages going over the whole cable, without they make such an expensive cable for that section, at a cost almost as much as the whole of the other sections of the cables put together. The experts who have been advising the Pacific Cable Board in London in their negotiations must have known that the 3,650-miles stretch would act as a " toll-gate " on the whole cable for all time. If it is not too late, I would suggest —and I feel sure there is still time — to arrange for a compromise with the manufacturing cable company, and let the cable from Fanning Island be landed at Honolulu, thence Vancouver. In this way the whole undertaking will be much benefited, and at no extra cost but a repeating-station. To this day the concessions for lan ding-rights along the proper route are in my name. * * * * # , *
No. 2, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington, to the Hon. Audley Coote, Sydney. Sib,— General Post Office, Wellington, 4th April, 1901. I have the honour to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of your letter of the 12th ultimo, referring to the question of a State-owned cable between New Zealand and Australia, and forwarding extract from a letter from you, published in a Sydney newspaper, in connection with the route of the Pacific cable. In reply, 1 beg to inform you that consideration is being given to the question of a State-owned cable between New Zealand and Australia, and already this Government has received offers to lay such a cable between La Perouse and Wakapuaka. I have sent so much of your printed matter as affects the Pacific cable —the section between Vancouver and Fanning Island and the landing at Honolulu—to the Agent-General for this colony, for the information of the Pacific Cable Board. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, Postmaster-General. The Hon. Audley Coote, Waverley Park, Sydney.
PACIFIC CABLE.
No. 3. Sir Sandford Fleming, Ottawa, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, Ottawa. Dear Sir, — Ottawa, 22nd February, 1900. I have read the Hansard report of the discussion on the subject of the Pacific cable on the 19th and 20th instant, and have been much interested, especially in the statement which you submitted to the House of Commons on the 19th. The question raised, as you observe, is indeed of far-reaching importance, and I fear that there are those connected with the Home Government and the Governments of some of the Australasian Colonies who are not familiar with the facts, and who have but an inadequate conception of the very great and peculiar importance of the proposed undertaking. Much as a telegraph extending from the shores of Canada to the Australasian Colonies would foster trade and shipping, and would promote business and social intercourse, the project has a far more important outlook than any immediate results in advancing commercial and industrial activity between the Dominion and Australia and New Zealand. These considerations are undoubtedly of high importance, but they form but a portion of the beneficial results to follow the establishment of the Pacific cable. Perhaps the chief importance of the undertaking lies in the fact that it would render possible a great Imperial telegraph system of supreme value to the whole Colonial Empire. If a map of the world be carefully examined and every geographical condition weighed, it will be found that the Pacific cable is the key, and the only key, to a comprehensive British telegraph system encircling the globe. By a cable extending from Canada to Australia, and by no other route, is it possible to establish and maintain such an Imperial means of communication—one which would bring every British possession on both hemispheres into direct telegraphic connection without touching an acre of foreign soil. It is no visionary project that I now allude to, nor does it involve any extraordinary expenditure of capital; but I will not lengthen this letter by enlarging on the scheme or by dilating upon the incalculable advantages to spring from it. For explanations I beg leave to direct your atten-
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tion to a letter which I addressed the Eight Honourable Joseph Chamberlain, of date 28th October, 1898 [Enclosure in No. 28, F.-8, 1899], a copy of which may be found in the Pacific cable return printed last year by order of Parliament [Canadian], page 22. lor proof of its desirability and practicability I would further cite the testimony of the British Press, alluded to in the same return, pages 31-32 [see pages 13-19, F.-8, 1899], and I will add that the project has been the dominant idea in the discussion at the colonial Conferences of 1887 and 1894. In my letter to Mr. Chamberlain I have demonstrated that State ownership of the cables of the Empire is the true principle to adopt, and, among other convincing evidence, I have pointed to the admirable system of land telegraph established throughout the United Kingdom under the control of the Post Office Department. The telegraphs of England, Ireland, and Scotland were at one time the property of private companies, whose chief object was to make as large profits as they were able to at the public expense. These companies adopted the policy of exacting high charges—in some cases twelve times higher than the present rates —and, like other companies of to-day, they made strenuous efforts to perpetuate the monopolistic privileges they enjoyed. Parliament, however, decreed to put an end to a costly and unsatisfactory service by establishing a national telegraphic system, and by extending the wires to the remotest parts of England, Ireland, and Scotland. As a consequence of the action taken there is now under the control of the State a system of telegraphy most perfect in every respect, and so moderate are the charges that any two individuals of the forty millions of a population, however widely sundered within the limits of the four seas, can at any hour of the day interchange their thoughts at the small cost of 1 cent per word. These advantages have been achieved by and through State control. Under State control the utility of the telegraph has been enormously increased. It has been extended to every corner of the three kingdoms, and the charges levied on messages have been reduced in an inverse ratio to its increased utility without entailing any burdens on the public exchequer. Have we not in so perfectly developed and so satisfactory an example a unique model which we would do well to imitate on a larger scale ? Have we not a microcosmic illustration of the electric nervous system which we should strive to create in the farther development of our worldwide Empire? If such a system be worth having, and we desire to possess it, we must never lose sight, of the fact—and at this juncture we must especially bear it in mind—that the laying of a cable from Canada to Australia is the essential initial step, and that to delay taking this step imperils the great Imperial scheme. Six British Governments, after many years of prolonged negotiations, have deliberately entered into a partnership arrangement to unite in taking what may be regarded as the first step in the establishment of the world-encircling system of all-British cables. It is impossible to believe that in order to gain some little local advantage of a temporary character any one of these Governments will depart from the spirit of partnership and assume the grave responsibility of putting an end to the prospect of securing eventually the great Imperial project. Iff is inconceivable that any right-minded British subject with a correct knowledge of the facts, and with an adequate conception of the consequences, would propose or assent to any proposal which would frustrate or endanger the carrying-out of a project so full of promise and in truth so vital to the Empire of the future. I have dealt with this matter in my letter to Sir Wilfrid Laurier of 15th November last [Enclosure 3 in No. 118, F.-8, 1900], and have ventured to recommend what appears to me to be the only safe course for the several Governments to follow. Yours, &c, The Hon. W. Mulock, Postmaster-General, Ottawa. Sandfobd Fleming.
No. 4. The Secretary, Chamber of Commerce,- Wellington, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Sir, — Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Wellington, 17th March, 1900. I have the honour, by direction of the Council of this Chamber, to forward you the accompanying copy of a cable message from the Postmaster-General of Queensland in reference to the proposed Pacific cable, addressed to the President of this Chamber. lam instructed at the same time to say that this Chamber is strongly in favour of the construction of the said cable, and trusts that the New Zealand Government will continue to strongly support that route. I have, &c, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. S. Carroll, Secretary.
Enclosure in No. 4. The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Brisbane, to the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Wellington. (Telegram.) Brisbane, 10th February, 1900. Large and influential deputation from Brisbane Chamber of Commerce waited upon me this morning to present the following resolution passed by the Chamber at their last meeting, namely : "That this meeting confirms its previous resolution as to the necessity of the Pacific cable, and protests against further delay in carrying out its completion, and urges that the Government of this colony should not relax its efforts to secure the immediate completion of Pacific cable, but if necessary act with New Zealand and Canada to obtain the desired end." I should be pleased to have an expression of opinion from you by wire as early as possible.
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No. 5. The Secretary, Board of Trade, Ottawa, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. The Board of Trade of the City of Ottawa, Sir, — Ottawa, Canada, 10th April, 1900. I have been instructed to convey to you the following resolutions assented to at a general meeting of this Board, held on the 2nd instant, in support of the Pacific cable. " Resolution No. 1. —(1.) That, while the proposed Pacific cable would foster trade and intercolonial intercourse, it would at the same time constitute the initial link in a system of cables to all British possessions around the globe, and that such a system would form a new bond of Imperial unity of inestimable value. (2.) That this Board regards it as of vital importance that the Pacific cable should be completed, as a State undertaking, without delay. (3.) That, in view of the great object to be attained, this Board is strongly of the opinion that it would be wise policy to make full provision for ultimate State ownership in any arrangement hereafter made to lay cables by private companies between British possessions in any part of the globe. (4.) That this Board recommends that the principle of State ownership be especially provided for in the cable proposed to be laid by a private company between South Africa and Australia. " Eesolution No. 2.—That this Board attaches so much importance to the resolution respecting the Pacific cable that it especially requests the members for the City of Ottawa to bring the subject before the Government and Parliament. " Eesolution No. 3.—That a copy of the resolution respecting the Pacific cable be transmitted to the principal Chambers of Commerce in the United Kingdom, with the request that they will move the Home Government to reserve the right to Her Majesty to assume possession of the cable in any arrangement for laying a cable by a private company between South Africa and Australia. Trusting the foregoing resolutions may meet with your approval, I have, &c, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Cecil Bethune, Secretary.
No. 6. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Wellington. Sir,— General Post Office, Wellington, 20th April, 1900. I have the honour, by direction, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th ultimo, forwarding copy of a telegram received from the Postmaster-General, Queensland, concerning the Pacific-cable question. I have, &c, Thomas Eose, for the Secretary. The Secretary, Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Wellington.
No. 7. Eesolution passed by the Fourth Congress of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire concerning Imperial Telegraphic Communication. (Eeceived under cover of a letter of the 31st July, 1900, from the London Chamber of Commerce, for the Fourth Congress of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire, to His Excellency the Governor.) That this Congress desires to call special attention to the necessity of completing the all-British Pacific cable, not only on commercial grounds, but in the interests of Imperial security. That this Congress recommends that support should be given to the action which the Imperial Telegraph Committee of the House of Commons is taking with a view of placing the important matter of electrical communication between the United Kingdom, India, and the British colonies and dependencies on a footing commensurate with present conditions of inter-Imperial and colonial relations. That copies of this resolution be addressed to the Prime Minister, the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for India, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Postmaster-General, and the Governors of the self-governing colonies, urging that every reasonable opportunity may be given in Parliament for discussion of the position of the telegraph companies in relation to the Government, with a view to an immediate and satisfactory solution being found for the very serious grievances under which the commercial and industrial communities of the Empire have been labouring for a long time past. That, in view of the great object to be attained, this Congress is strongly of opinion that it would be wise policy to make full provision for ultimate State ownership in any arrangements hereafter made to lay cables by private companies between British possessions in any part of the globe. That this Congress recommends that the principle of State ownership be especially provided for in the cable proposed to be laid by a private company between South Africa and Australia. That this Congress urges upon Her Majesty's Government the importance of instituting a searching investigation by the departmental Committee, promised by the Government, into both the shortcomings and the merits of a private system of cables, and consequently into the desirability
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or otherwise of adopting such a course of policy in the future as would lead to the ultimate expropriation of private cables and the establishment of State-owned cables throughout the Empire, and to report thereon at the earliest opportunity, such report to be accessible to the public."
No. 8. The Hon. the Premier to the Agent-General. (Telegram.) Wellington, 6th September, 1900. What is position Pacific cable? Press message here says tenders opened. Cable lowest, giving exact position. New Zealand Government satisfied accept immediately matter decided. Cable us so that we may amend legislation.
No. 9. The Agent-General to the Hon.. the Premier. (Telegram.) London, 10th September, 1900. In reply to your telegram of 6th, Pacific cable : Negotiations still pending with regard to tenders received. Acting in full accord with Lord Strathcona and Sir Andrew Clarke.
No. 10. The Deputy Postmaster-General, Sydney, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Postal and Electric Telegraph Department, General Post Office, Sir,— Sydney, 2nd October, 1900. I am directed to forward herewith copy of a Bill [not printed] which it is proposed to introduce into the Legislative Assembly in this colony regarding the proposed Pacific cable [to enable the Government to join with other Governments in the cost of constructing and maintaining the Pacific cable]. I have, &c, S. H. Lambton, Deputy Postmaster-General. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington.
No. 11. The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington, to the Hons. the Postmasters-General, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. Sir,— General Post Office, Wellington, 18th October, 1900. I have the honour to forward herewith, for your information, copy of " The Pacific Cable Act, 1900," declaring that New Zealand's proportion of the guarantee referred to in the resolutions set forth in the schedule to " The Pacific Cable Authorisation Act, 1899" (a copy of which was sent you on the 27th October last), shall not exceed one-ninth, of the whole cost, as provided in No. 7 of those resolutions. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, Postmaster-General. The Hon. the Postmaster-General, [Brisbane] [Melbourne] [Sydney].
No. 12. The Hon. the Premier, Wellington, to the Hons. the Premiers, Brisbane, Melbourne, Ottawa, and Sydney ; and to the Agent-General. Sir, — Premier's Office, Wellington, 18th October, 1900. I have the honour to forward herewith, for your information, copy of " The Pacific Cable Act, 1900," declaring that New Zealand's proportion of the guarantee referred to in the resolutions set forth in the schedule to " The Pacific Cable Authorisation Act, 1899 " (copy of which was sent you on the 27th October last) [No. 113, F.-8, 1900], shall not exceed one-ninth of the whole cost, as provided in No. 7 of those resolutions. I have, &c, E. J. Seddon. The Hon. the Premier, [Brisbane] [Melbourne] [Ottawa] [Sydney]. [Letter of the same text and date also to the Agent-General.]
No. 13. The Hon. the Premier to the Agent-Geneßal. Sib, — Premier's Office, Wellington, 25th October, 1900. My letter of the 18th instant will have informed you of the passing of " The Pacific Cable Act, 1900," authorising this Government to pay up to one-ninth of the total cost of the proposed Pacific cable.
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His Excellency the Governor is in receipt of a . . . cablegram giving the result of the tendering for the manufacture and laying of the cable, and this Government has given its consent to the acceptance of the tender of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company. So far I have not received any specifications of the work tendered for, or the terms and conditions on which the offers were invited. These I should be glad to receive as early as possible, as well as one copy or more of the accepted tender itself if procurable. There has been an unusual lack of information about this important matter, and it might be advisable to suggest to the Pacific Cable Board that it would be a great convenience if this colony could be supplied with early copies of important advertisements or documents issued by the Board. No doubt any omission up to this time has been unavoidable. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
No. 14. The Hon. the Premier to the Agent-General. Sir,— Premier's Office, Wellington, 6th December, 1900. I have the honour to forward herewith copy of a communication from the Secretary of State through His Excellency the Governor : — " For convenience of drafting, and other reasons, it is proposed that the Pacific cable contract shall be signed on behalf of Her Majesty's Government by the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, and on behalf of Canada and the Australasian Colonies by High Commissioner and the four Agents-General. I request that Agent-General may be instructed accordingly." As you are aware, the necessary authority was immediately given you to sign the contract on behalf of this colony. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
No. 15. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Premier. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London,'S.W., Sir,— 19th December, 1900. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your cablegram of the 30th November last [not printed] authorising me to sign the Pacific cable contract on behalf of the Government. I understand that the contract will be ready for signature in the course of next week. I transmit herewith copy of letter received from the Colonial Office, enclosing copies of cablegrams which have passed with the Governors of Canada and Australian and New Zealand Colonies [not printed] ; also copies of two letters which I have addressed to the Colonial Office with respect to the matter. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves.
Enclosure 1 in No. 15. The Agent-General to the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, S.W., Sir, — 3rd December, 1900. I am directed by the Agent-General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Ist instant [not printed], and, in reference thereto, to state that he has received a cablegram from his Government authorising him to sign the Pacific cable contract on behalf of the colony. I am, &c, The Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office. Walter Kennaway.
Enclosure 2 in No. 15. The Agent-General to the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, S.W., Sir,— Bth December, 1900. I am directed by the Agent-General to transmit herewith copy of "The Pacific Cable Act, 1900," declaring that New Zealand's proportion of the guarantee referred to in the resolutions set forth in the schedule to "The Pacific Cable Authorisation Act, 1899" (copy herewith), shall not exceed one-ninth of the whole cost, as provided in No. 7 of those resolutions. I am, &c, The Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office. Walter Kennaway.
No. 16. The Hon. the Premier to the Agent-General. (Telegram.) Wellington, 24th December, 1900. Appoint you do whatever necessary give effect resolutions schedule "Pacific Cable Authorisation Act, 1899," and amending legislation 1900.
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No. 17. The Hon. the Premier to the Agent-General. Sir, — Premier's Office, Wellington, sth January, 1901. I have the honour to confirm my telegram to you of the 24th ultimo as follows : [No. 16] ; and to transmit herewith, for your information, copy of the Order in Council empowering you to act. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
Enclosure in No. 17. Warrant Eanpurly, Governor. Order in Council. —At the Government House, at Wellington, this twenty-fourth day of December, 1900. Present: His Excellency the Governor in Council. In exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 2 of " The Pacific Cable Authorisation Act, 1899," and of all other powers enabling him in this behalf, His Excellency the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, acting by and with the consent of the Executive Council of the said colony, doth hereby appoint the Honourable William Pember Eeeves, the Agent-General of the said colony, to do whatever he deems necessary in order to give effect to the resolutions set forth in the schedule to the said Act. J. F. Andrews, Acting-Clerk of the Executive Council. [Eead here Nos. 47-49, et seqq.}
No. 18. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Premier, Wellington. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sir, — 21st January, 1901. I beg to enclose herewith copy of a letter from the British Empire League containing a resolution, relating to the Pacific cable, which was unanimously adopted at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the League on the 10th instant. I have; &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves.
Enclosure in No. 18. Sib, — British Empire League, 112, Cannon street, E.C. 16th January, 1901. At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the British Empire League, held on the 10th instant, with Sir Eobert Herbert in the chair, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : — " That the Executive Committee of the British Empire League expresses its satisfaction at the acceptance by the Imperial Government of a tender for the construction of the Pacific cable, and congratulates the representatives of Canada, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand, as well as the members of the British Empire League in Canada, upon the success of their efforts." My Committee will esteem it a favour if you will communicate the same to your Government. I am, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. C. Freeman Murray, Secretary.
No. 19. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Premier. • Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sib,— 22nd January, 1901. Referring to my letter of the 21st ultimo [not printed], and to previous correspondence, I beg to enclose herewith a printed copy of the contract as completed with the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company (Limited), on the 31st ultimo, for the construction of the Pacific cable. I have, &c, The Hon, the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves.
Enclosure in No. 19. CONTRACT. Aeticles op Contbact, made the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred, between the Eight Honourable Sir Michael Edward Hicks-Beach, Baronet, and William Hayes Fisher, Esquire, two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, acting on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, of the first part; the Eight Honourable Donald Alexander Lord Stbathcona and Mount Eoyal, G.C.M.C., High Commissioner for the Dominion of Canada, acting on behalf of the Government of the Dominion of Canada, of the second part; the Honourable Heney
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Copeland, Agent-General for the Colony of New South Wales, acting on behalf of the Government of the said colony, of the third part; Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir Andbew Clarke, E.E., G.C.M.G., C.8., CLE., Agent-General for the Colony of Victoria, acting on behalf of the Government of the said colony, of the fourth part; the Honourable William Pembee Eeeves, Agent-General for the Colony'of New Zealand, acting on behalf of the Government of the said colony, of the fifth part; the Honourable Sir Horace Tozer, K.C.M.G., Agent-General for the Colony of Queensland, acting on behalf of the Government of the said colony, of the sixth part (which said several Governments hereinbefore mentioned are hereinafter in these articles of contract and in the schedules hereto collectively referred to as " the contracting Governments "); and the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company (Limited), carrying on business at No. 38, Old Broad Street, in the City of London (hereinafter called " the contractors"), of the seventh part, —Whereby it is mutually agreed as follows : —■ 1. The contractors shall, subject as hereinafter provided, and to the due performance and observance by the contracting Governments of the several agreements and conditions hereinafter mentioned or referred to and on their part to be performed and observed, and for the respective considerations and upon the respective terms and conditions hereinafter mentioned, make and complete submarine telegraph cables of the respective lengths and types described in the specifications hereinafter mentioned and subject to and in accordance with the conditions in the same specifications respectively contained. And the contractors shall lay down so much thereof as shall be necessary for the several lines of telegraph cable respectively hereinafter mentioned. 2. The said submarine telegraph cables shall be laid down from Vancouver (Port San Juan) to Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay), and from Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay), in two directions—that is to say, (1) From Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay) to Queensland (Moreton Bay), and (2) from Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay) to New Zealand. And the said submarine telegraph cables shall be laid down in the following sections, that is to say,— Section A. —From Vancouver (Port San Juan) to Fanning Island. Section B.—From Fanning Island to Fiji (Suva). Section C—From Fiji (Suva) to Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay). Section D.—From Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay) to Queensland (Moreton Bay). Section E.—From Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay) to New Zealand. 3. The aggregate sum to be paid to the contractors for making, completing, and laying down the said submarine telegraph cables shall be one million seven hundred and ninety-five thousand pounds, and such aggregate sum shall be considered as apportioned between the several sections above mentioned as follows, that is to say,— £ For Section A ... ... ■•• .••• ••• ••• 1,067,602 For Section B ... ... ••• ••• ••• •• 388,358 For Sections C, D, and E ... ... 339,040 £1,795,000 Payment shall be made by the contracting Governments to the contractors in London in all respects in accordance with the stipulations in that behalf contained in the first, second, and third parts respectively of the First Schedule hereto annexed. 4. The said several sections of the said submarine telegraph cables shall be manufactured, constructed, and laid down in all respects subject to and in accordance with the conditions in reference or' relating thereto respectively expressed and contained in the first, second, and third parts respectively ol the said First Schedule, and in accordance with the specifications and general conditions in reference or relating thereto respectively comprised and contained in the first, second, third, and fourth parts respectively of the Second Schedule hereto annexed. And the contracting Governments and the contractors hereby respectively undertake to perform and observe the agreements and conditions on their parts respectively to be performed and observed mentioned herein and in the same parts respectively of the same respective schedules. 5. The contractors, for the consideration hereinbefore mentioned, hereby further undertake to carry out and perform in a proper manner, and upon the terms and conditions expressed in the Third Schedule hereto, the sounding and surveying operations in the Pacific Ocean specified in the same Third Schedule, and also any deep-water sounding operations which be required by the engineers of the contracting Governments and which are not provided for in the same Third Schedule, but so that such deep-water soundings additional to those stipulated for in the First Schedule! and the examination of landing-places mentioned in clause 2 of the said Third Schedule, tocethe/shall not delay the ship for a period of more than sixty days beyond the time occupied in'making the soundings mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the said Third Schedule. 6. It being the intention of the contracting Governments, as soon as conveniently may be after the execution of these articles, to appoint certain persons to form a Board, to be called " the Pacific Cable Board," to act as their agents for the purposes of these articles, such Board shall, when constituted and until such agency shall be revoked by the contracting Governments, be the agents of and represent the contracting Governments so as to bind the contracting Governments in all respects for all the purposes of these articles; and after the said Board shall have been constituted, and until such revocation of agency as aforesaid, all agreements and conditions herein or in any of the schedules hereto contained and on the part of the contracting Governments to be performed and observed shall be performed and observed by the said Board as such agents as aforesaid, but without prejudice to any rights or remedies of the contractors under this contract. And all communications, notices, and consents which by the same schedules, or any of them are required to be made or given to or by the contracting Governments shall be deemed to be sufficiently made or given if made or given to or by the said Board,
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7. The several schedules hereto annexed, and the conditions and specifications therein respectively contained, shall be treated and considered as part of these articles of contract and as binding on the parties hereto as any portion hereof. 8. The provisions contained in these articles and in the schedules hereto, or any of them, may from time to time be varied by agreement between the contracting Governments or the said Board as such agents as aforesaid and the contractors. In witness whereof the said parties hereto of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth parts have hereunto set their hands and seals, and the contractors have hereunto caused their common seal to be affixed, the day and year first above written.
The Schedule hereinbefore befeeeed to. THE FIRST SCHEDULE. Part I, Section A : From Vancouver (Port San Juan) to Fanning Island. 1. The cable shall be manufactured and constructed throughout of thoroughly good materials and workmanship, and in all respects in strict accordance with the specification contained in the first part of the Second Schedule, and subject to the general conditions contained in the fourth part of the same schedule. 2. After the cable shall have been manufactured and shall have been tested and approved by the contracting Governments' engineers (hereinafter included under the expression, " the engineer "), the contractors shall cause the whole of the same to be coiled on board a suitable steamship, or suitable steamships, supplied at their own cost and risk, including coals, crews, and provisions. Every such steamship shall be provided for the stowage of cables with iron watertight tanks of suitable dimensions and construction, thoroughly secured; and each steamship shall also be provided with a suitable testing-room, or suitable testing-rooms, and shall be fitted with all necessary machinery for laying and testing the cables, buoying, grappling, picking up, repairing, &c, including electric instruments and batteries ; and such steamship or steamships shall also be equipped with a full and sufficient cable staff. The contractors shall also provide, at their own cost and risk, all steamboats, barges, and appliances necessary for laying the cable. The contractors shall so arrange for the shipment and laying of the cable that the whole length of cable between Vancouver Island (Port San Juan) and Fanning Island shall be laid and completed on one expedition. In accordance with the conditions of the tender, samples of the materials which will be used in the manufacture of the cable shall be submitted to the engineer, as well as a specimen of each type of cable specified for. The whole equipment of the steamship or steamships, and other boats, barges, and appliances as aforesaid, shall be to the satisfaction of the engineer. 3. The engineer and his staff of assistants shall at all reasonable times during the manufacture of the cable be allowed by the contractors free access to their works for the purpose of inspecting and testing the cable during the process of manufacture, and of testing the same after manufacture, and generally for the purpose of satisfying himself and themselves that the core and all materials that go into the cable are in accordance with the specification. Every facility (including batteries and instruments for testing) shall be afforded to the engineer and his assistants to test every part of the cable during shipment and transport. During the laying of the cable the testing shall be in the hands of the contractors, but shall be open to the continuous inspection of the engineer and his assistants, and the principle of testing adopted by the contractors during the laying shall be mutually agreed upon and approved by the engineer before the departure of the expedition. 4. The contractors shall, subject to the due performance by the contracting Governments of the obligations on their part hereinafter contained, proceed with the manufacture of the cable with all reasonable despatch, and shall, unless prevented by any of the causes hereinafter mentioned, complete and finish the manufacture and shipment of the cable mentioned in the specification contained in the first part of the Second Schedule, and shall then transport and lay the said cable between Vancouver (Port San Juan) and Fanning Island and complete the connections thereof in an efficient manner between the terminal point of the cable at Vancouver Island (Port San Juan) and the terminal point of the cable at Fanning Island on or before the 31st day of December, 1902. 5. The contractors shall not be liable for any delay arising from strikes or lock-outs, or any combination affecting the contractors' works, or from accidents to shipping or other causes beyond their control, and should any such delay occur otherwise than by default of the contractors the time for completion shall be extended for such period or periods as shall be certified by the engineer to be reasonable. 6. The terminal points of the cable at Vancouver (Port San Juan) and at Fanning Island respectively shall be at such parts of the coasts or harbours as shall be selected by the engineer in consultation with the contractors, but the engineer shall have the power to finally determine the position where the cable shall be landed, subject to the approval of the contracting Governments. The contractors shall provide and erect at each of the said terminal points a suitable cable-house,
2—F. 8,
F.—B
10
with fixtures, furniture, and appliances in accordance with plans and a list to be approved by the engineer, and shall lead the cable and make the necessary connections from the shore ends of the cable into the said cable-houses in an approved and efficient manner, and to the satisfaction of the engineer. Should the position of the said cable-houses, or either of them, be more than 500 yards from high-water mark the contractors shall carry out the further subterranean connections under the direction of the engineer; but they shall be entitled to an extra payment for such extra work, the amount of such extra payment to be fixed by the engineer. 7. The contracting Governments will obtain in due time and grant all Government and other authorities wayleaves and other easements required for landing the cable at Vancouver (Port San Juan) and at Fanning Island respectively, and procure and permit the contractors to enter upon any land required for the purposes of these articles. 8. The contractors shall effect insurances on the cable, until laid, against fire and river and sea risks by a policy or policies in the form usually taken by the contractors, and shall transfer and deliver such policy or policies to the contracting Governments to the full amount of the payments from time to time made to the contractors. 9. The engineer and the contractors shall agree upon the course over which the cable shall be laid, and the positions in which the various types of cable shall be placed, and such agreement shall (unless the engineer consents to any alteration thereof) be adhered to by the contractors as nearly as practicable. 10. During the laying the engineer shall be supplied with any information which is in the possession of the contractors which he may require in connection with the operations as quickly as possible, and shall be consulted as to the retarding-strains to be applied to the cable, and all the incidental questions that may arise during the process of paying out or picking up, should the latter become necessary. The engineer shall also have the right of inspecting the charts, log, and observations taken during the laying of the cable, and also of having communication on the business of laying the cable forwarded from the ship to the shore, and vice versa, through the cable at reasonable times while the same is being laid. 11. The contractors shall provide victualling aud accommodation for the engineer and his staff (not exceeding in the whole five persons) on board the steamship or steamships during the laying of the cable and until the return of the expedition. 12. The contractors shall, if requested, be prepared to take on board the said steamship or steamships, and transport and discharge, free of cost, at Vancouver (Port San Juan) and Fanning Island respectively such materials and.stores as may be required for the building of stations and staff quarters at the respective terminal points of the cable, and also such stores for the provisioning of the staff as may be necessary, but so that the total weight which the contractors may be required to ship, transport, and discharge without extra payment be limited to 300 tons weight. 13. The contracting Governments shall pay in London to the contractors for the works and matters hereby undertaken by the contractors in this part of this schedule the total sum or contract price of £1,067,602. 14. The said contract price shall be paid at the times, by the instalments, and in the manner following, that is to say,— (a.) £186,830 at such time after the date of these articles as may be convenient to the contracting Governments, but not later than the 31st day of March, 1901. (b.) £106,760 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 600 nautical miles of cable, (c.) £106,760 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 1,200 nautical miles of cable. (d.) £106,760 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 1,800 nautical miles of cable, (c.) £106,760 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 2,400 nautical miles of cable. (/.) £106,760 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 3,000 nautical miles of cable. (g.) £133,450 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture and shipment of the whole of the Vancouver (Port San Juan) and Fanning Island cable, and that the same is in accordance with these articles. (h.) £133,450 on the engineer's certificate of the successful laying and completion of the Vancouver (Port San Juan) and Fanning Island Cable in accordance with these articles. (i.) £80,072 on the engineer's certificate hereinafter mentioned in clause 16 of this part of this schedule. The engineer shall certify from time to time as to the happening of the event on which the respective instalments of the contract price (other than the moneys payable under head (a) of this clause) are payable. 15. On the completion of the laying of the cable the engineer accompanying the expedition shall examine and test the cable between the respective cable-houses at Vancouver (Port San Juan) and Fanning Island, and as soon as practicable thereafter telegraph to the engineer in England and write to him the results of his examination and testing, and shall forthwith deliver a copy of the telegram and letter to the contractors' engineer in charge (who is hereby appointed agent of the contractors to receive the same); and upon the receipt by the engineer in England of such telegram or letter he shall give his certificate that the section therein referred to has been successfully
11
F.—B
laid in accordance with these articles, or shall state in writing his reasons for not giving such certificate, and shall forward a duplicate of such certificate or statement in writing (as the case may be) to the contracting Governments and the contractors respectively. 16. The instalment of the contract price mentioned in clause 14, (i), shall be paid to the contractors upon the certificate of the engineer in England that for thirty consecutive days after the completion of the laying of the cable between the cable-house at Vancouver (Port San Juan) and the cable-house at Fanning Island the same continued in good electrical condition, and that the contract has, as regards such cable, been completed. The contractors during the said period of thirty days shall keep at hand a suitable ship or vessel with approved machinery for such repairs as may possibly be required. For the purpose of testing the laid cable the engineer shall be at liberty as long as the cable remains in good electrical condition to use a battery-power equivalent to 100 volts. Should, however, the cable show signs of electrical defects, all further testing until such defects are removed shall be in the hands of the contractors. 17. Subject to the direction of the engineer, traffic may be worked upon the cable from time to time when the same shall be laid until finally certified under clause 16, and the receipts from working the same shall belong to the contracting governments, who shall bear the expense of working; but the contractors shall, until such final certificate is given, have full liberty to inspect and examine the cable and its connections and the working and testing thereof, and to test the same at reasonable times under the supervision of the engineer. 18. Any surplus cable remaining out of the lengths specified after the completion of the contract shall belong to the contracting Governments, and shall be delivered and coiled into tanks to be erected by the contracting Governments at Fiji (Suva) or Fanning Island, or into the tanks of the maintenance-ship to be provided by the contracting Governments at one of those stations, unless otherwise agreed between the contracting Governments and the contractors. The contracting Governments hereby agree that the said tanks shall be erected or the said maintenance-ship shall be at Fiji (Suva) or Fanning Island, or as otherwise agreed as aforesaid, in readiness to receive such surplus cable at the expiration of the thirty consecutive days mentioned in clause 16. 19. If any part or parts of the cable hereby contracted for, and in respect of which the contracting Governments shall have made payment to the contractors, shall be lost, destroyed, or damaged before being laid, and in consequence thereof money shall be payable under all or any of the policies of insurance referred to in clause 8 hereof, the contracting Governments shall for the purposes of this clause forthwith retransfer and deliver to the contractors the policy or policies in respect of which such money shall be payable, and do all acts necessary to enable the contractors to obtain the full benefit thereof. The contractors shall have full authority to collect and recover the moneys payable under such policy or policies, and to make such settlements or agreements as to the amounts to be paid thereunder as they think fit; and, subject as hereinafter provided, the moneys received under the said policy or policies, after deduction of the expenses of recovery thereof, shall, unless otherwise agreed between the contracting Governments and the contractors, be deposited at interest with Messrs. Barclay and Company, bankers, in the joint names of the contracting Governments and the contractors or their respective nominees. 20. The contractors shall, upon receipt of the said policy or policies, with all practicable despatch, replace the cable so lost, destroyed, or damaged with a similar type or similar types of cable, or other cable certified by the engineer to be suitable for the purposes of these articles, and the contractors shall use and apply the substituted cable (when certified by the engineer as satisfactory) for the purposes of these articles accordingly. 21. The moneys deposited as mentioned in clause 19, and all interest thereon, shall be paid to the contractors upon the certificate of the engineer of the shipment of the whole of the substituted cable and that the condition thereof when shipped was satisfactory, and the contractors shall have no further claim upon the contracting Govenments in respect of the substituted cable. 22. The engineers for the purposes of these articles, and referred to in clause 2 of this part of this schedule, shall be Herbert Arnaud Taylor, Eobert Edward Peake, and Arthur Lovel Dearlove, or any one or more of them, acting in the name of their firm of Clark, Forde, and Taylor, and several members of the firm may act as engineer at the same time in different places. The engineer in England shall, subject as hereinbefore provided, duly sign and give every certificate to which the contractors shall become entitled under these articles when the provisions of these articles upon the performance of which the contractors are entitled to the same respectively shall have been performed. 23. If any dispute or difference shall arise between the contracting Governments or the engineer and the contractors on any electrical, mechanical, or engineering question arising in the course of the manufacture, testing, shipment, or laying of the cable, then and in every such case the matter in difference shall be referred to the arbitration of some person, resident in England, to be appointed by the president for the time being of the Institution of Civil Engineers at the instance of the party first applying for the appointment. In case an arbitrator, who shall be resident in England, appointed under the foregoing or under the power next following in that behalf refuses to act or dies, then the president for the time being of the Institution of Civil Engineers may appoint another arbitrator, resident in England, in his stead upon notice from eithei party; and if in any case such president fails to appoint an arbitrator within twenty-one days after the receipt of notice in that behalf section 5 of " The Arbitration Act, 1889," or the provisions of any modification of the said section for the time being in force, shall apply, and, subject as hereinbefore mentioned, any arbitration under this clause shall be deemed an arbitration upon a submission under the said Act or any modification thereof. If any dispute or difference shall arise concerning any matter not hereinbefore in this clause provided for, the same shall be referred to arbitration in London, and the provisions of the Arbitration Act of 1889, and any modification thereof for the time being in force shall apply to such arbitration.
P.—B
12
Part 11. Section B : From Fanning Island to Fiji (Suva). 1. The cable shall be manufactured and constructed throughout of thoroughly good materials and workmanship, and in all respects in strict accordance with the specification contained in the second part of the Second Schedule, and subject to the general conditions contained in the fourth part of the same schedule. 2. After the cable shall have been manufactured and shall have been tested and approved by the contracting Governments' engineers (hereinafter included under the expression " the engineer ") the contractors shall cause the whole of the same to be coiled on board a suitable steamship or suitable steamships, supplied at their own cost and risk, including coals, crews, and provisions. Every such steamship shall be provided for the stowage of cables with iron watertight tanks of suitable dimensions and construction, thoroughly secured; and each steamship shall also be provided with a suitable testing-room or suitable testing-rooms, and shall be fitted with all necessary machinery for laying and testing the cables, buoying, grappling, picking-up, repairing, &c, including electric instruments and batteries; and such steamship or steamships shall also be equipped with a full and sufficient cable staff. The contractors shall also provide at their own cost and risk all steamboats, barges, and appliances necessary for laying the cable. The contractors shall so arrange for the shipment and laying of the cable that the whole length of cable between Fanning Island and Fiji (Suva) shall be laid and completed on one expedition, and the direction of laying, whether from Fanning Island to Fiji (Suva) or from Fiji (Suva) to Fanning Island, shall be decided by the engineer, subject to the approval of the contracting Governments. In accordance with the conditions of the tender, samples of the materials which will be used in the manufacture of the cable, shall be submitted to the engineer, as well as a specimen of each type of cable specified for. The whole equipment of the steamship or steamships, and other boats, barges, and appliances as aforesaid, shall be to the satisfaction of the engineer. 3. The engineer and his staff of assistants shall at all reasonable times during the manufacture of the cable be allowed by the contractors free access to their works for the purpose of inspecting and testing the cable during the process of manufacture, and of testing the same after manufacture, and, generally, for the purpose of satisfying himself and themselves that the core and all materials that go into the cable are in accordance with the specification. Every facility (including batteries and instruments for testing) shall be afforded to the engineer and his assistants to test every part of the cable during shipment and transport. During the laying of the cable the testing shall be in the hands of the contractors, but shall be open to the continuous inspection of the engineer and his assistants, and the principle of testing adopted by the contractors during the laying shall be mutually agreed upon and approved by the engineer before the departure of the expedition. 4. The contractors shall, subject to the due performance by the contracting Governments of the obligations on their part hereinafter contained, proceed with the manufacture of the cable with all reasonable despatch, and shall, unless prevented by any of the causes hereinafter mentioned, complete and finish the manufacture and shipment of the cable mentioned in the specification contained in the second part of the Second Schedule, and shall then transport and lay the said cable between Fanning Island and Fiji (Suva) and complete the connections thereof in an efficient manner between the terminal point of the cable at Fanning Island and the terminal point of the cable at Fiji (Suva) on or before the 31st day of December, 1902. 5. The contractors shall not be liable for any delay arising from strikes or lock-outs, or any combination affecting the contractors' works, or from accidents to shipping, or other causes beyond their control, and should any such delay occur otherwise than by default of the contractors the time for completion shall be extended for such period or periods as shall be certified by the engineer to be reasonable. 6. The terminal points of the cable at Fanning Island and at Fiji (Suva) respectively shall be at such parts of the coasts or harbours as shall be selected by the engineer in consultation with the contractors, but the engineer shall have the power to finally determine the position where the cable shall be landed, subject to the approval of the contracting Governments. The contractors shall provide and erect at one or, if required, at each of the said terminal points a suitable cable-house, with fixtures, furniture, and appliances in accordance with plans and a list to be approved by the engineer, and shall lead the cable and make the necessary connections from the shore ends of the cable into the said cable-house or cable-houses in an approved and efficient manner, and to the satisfaction of the engineer. Should the position of the said cable-houses, or either of them, be more than 500 yards from high-water mark, the contractors shall carry out the further subterranean connections under the direction of the engineer; but they shall be entitled to an extra payment for such extra work, the amount of such extra payment to be fixed by the engineer. 7. The contracting Governments will obtain in due time and grant all Government and other authorities, wayleaves, and other easements required for landing the cable at Fanning Island and at Fiji (Suva), and procure and permit the contractors to enter upon any land required for the purpose of these articles. 8. The contractors shall effect insurances on the cable until laid against fire and river and sea risks by a policy or policies in the form usually taken by the contractors, and shall transfer and deliver such policy or policies to the contracting Governments to the full amount of the payments from time to time made to the contractors. 9. The engineer and the contractors shall agree upon the course over which the cable shall be laid, and the positions in which the various types of cable shall be placed, and such agreement shall (unless the engineer consents to any alteration thereof) be adhered to by the contractors as nearly as practicable.
13
F.—B
10. During the laying the engineer shall be supplied with any information which is in the possession of the contractors which he may require in connection with the operations as quickly as possible, and shall be consulted as to the retarding-strains to be applied to the cable, and all the incidental questions that may arise during the process of paying out or picking up, should the latter become necessary. The engineer shall also have the right of inspecting the charts, log, and observations taken during the laying of the cable, and also of having communication on the business of laying the cable forwarded from the ship to the shore, and vice versa, through the cable at reasonable times while the same is being laid. 11. The contractors shall provide victualling and accommodation for the engineer and his staff (not exceeding in the whole five persons) on board the steamship or steamships during the laying of the cable, and until the return of the expedition. 12. The contractors shall, if requested, be prepared to take on board the said steamship or steamships, and transport and discharge, free of cost, at Fanning Island and Fiji (Suva) respectively such materials and stores as may be required for the building of stations and staff quarters at the respective terminal points of the cable, and also such stores for the provisioning of the staff as may be necessary, but so that the total weight which the contractors may be required to ship, transport, and discharge without extra payment be limited to 300 tons weight. 13. The contracting Governments shall pay in London to the contractors for the works and matters hereby undertaken by the contractors in this part of this schedule the total sum or contract price of £388,358. 14. The said contract price shall be paid at the times, by the instalments, and in the manner following, that is to say,— (a.) £58,253 at such time after the date of these articles as may be convenient to the contracting Governments, but not later than the 31st day of March, 1901. (b.) £38,835 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 333 nautical miles of cable, (c.) £38,835 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 666 nautical miles of cable. (d.) £38,835 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 1,000 nautical miles of cable. (c.) £38,835 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 1,333 nautical miles of cable. (/.) £38,835 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 1,666 nautical miles of cable. (<?.) £38,835 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 2,000 nautical miles of cable. (h.) £29,126 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture and shipment of the whole of the Fanning Island and Fiji (Suva) cable, and that the same is in accordance with these articles. (i.) £38,835 on the engineer's certificate of the successful laying and completion of the Fanning Island and Fiji (Suva) cable in accordance with these articles. (/.) £29,134 on the engineer's certificate mentioned in clause 16 of this part of this schedule. The engineer shall certify from time to time as to the happening of the event on which the respective instalments of the contract price (other than the moneys payable under head (a) of this clause) are payable. 15. On the completion of the laying of the cable the engineer accompanying the expedition shall examine and test the cable between the respective cable-houses at Fanning Island and Fiji (Suva), and as soon as practicable thereafter telegraph to the engineer in England and write to him the results of his examination and testing, and shall forthwith deliver a copy of the telegram and letter to the contractors' engineer in charge (who is hereby appointed agent of the contractors to receive the same); and upon the receipt by the engineer in England of such telegram or letter he shall give his certificate that the section therein referred to has been successfully laid in accordance with these articles, or shall state in writing his reasons for not giving such certificate, and shall forward a duplicate of such certificate or statement in writing (as the case may be) to the contracting Governments and the contractors respectively. 16. The instalment of the contract price mentioned in clause 14, (j), shall be paid to the contractors upon the certificate of the engineer in England that for thirty consecutive days after the completion of the laying of the cable between the cable-house at Fanning Island and the cablehouse at Fiji (Suva) the same continued in good electrical condition, and that the contract has, as regards such cable, been completed. The contractors during the said period of thirty days shall keep at hand a suitable ship or vessel with approved machinery for such repairs as may possibly be required. For the purpose of testing the laid cable the engineer shall be at liberty as long as the cable remains in good electrical condition to use a battery-power equivalent to 100 volts. Should, however, the cable show signs of electrical defects, all further testing until such defects are removed shall be in the hands of the contractors. 17. Subject to the direction of the engineer, traffic may be worked upon the cable from time to time when the same shall be laid until finally certified under clause 16, and the receipts from working the same shall belong to the contracting Governments, who shall bear the expense of working; but the contractors shall, until such final certificate is given, have full liberty to inspect and examine the cable and its connections and the working and testing thereof, and to test the same at reasonable times under the supervision of the engineer. 18. Any surplus cable remaining out of the lengths specified after the completion of the contract shall belong to the contracting Governments, and shall be delivered and coiled into tanks to be erected by the contracting Governments at Fiji (Suva) or Fanning Island, or into the tanks
F.—B
14
of the maintenance-ship to be provided by the contracting Governments at one of those stations, unless otherwise agreed between the contracting Governments and the contractors. The contracting Governments hereby agree that the said tanks shall be erected, or the said maintenance-ship shall be at Fiji (Suva) or Fanning Island, or as otherwise agreed as aforesaid, in readiness to receive such surplus cable at the expiration of the thirty consecutive days mentioned in clause 16. 19. If any part or parts of the cable hereby contracted for, and in respect of which the contracting Governments shall have made payment, to the contractors, shall be lost, destroyed, or damaged before being laid, and in consequence thereof money shall be payable under all or any of the policies of insurance referred to in clause 8 hereof, the contracting Governments shall for the purposes of this clause forthwith retransfer and deliver to the contractors the policy or policies in respect of which such money shall be payable, and do all acts necessary to enable the contractors to obtain the full benefit thereof. The contractors shall have full authority to collect and recover the moneys payable under such policy or policies, and to make such settlements or agreements as to the amounts to be paid thereunder as they think fit; and, subject as hereinafter provided, the moneys received under the said policy or policies, after deduction of the expenses of recovery thereof, shall, unless otherwise agreed between the contracting Governments and the contractors, be deposited at interest with Messrs. Barclay and Company, bankers, in the joint names of the contracting Governments and the contractors or their respective nominees. 20. The contractors shall, upon the receipt of the said policy or policies, with all practicable despatch, replace the cable so lost, destroyed, or damaged with a similar type or similar types of cable, or other cable certified by the engineer to be suitable for the purposes of these articles, and the contractors shall use and apply the substituted cable (when certified by the engineer as satisfactory) for the purposes of these articles accordingly. 21. The moneys deposited as mentioned in clause 19, and all interest thereon, shall be paid to the contractors upon the certificate of the engineer of the shipment of the whole of the substituted cable and that the condition thereof when shipped was satisfactory, and the contractors shall have no further claim upon the contracting Governments in respect of the substituted cable. 22. The engineers for the purposes of these articles, and referred to in clause 2 of this part of this schedule, shall be Herbert Arnaud Taylor, Eobert Edward Peake, and Arthur Lovel Dearlove, or any one or more of them, acting in the name of their firm of Clark, Forde, and Taylor, and several members of the firm may act as engineer at the same time in different places. The engineer in England shall, subject as hereinbefore provided, duly sign and give every certificate to which the contractors shall become entitled under these articles when the provisions of these articles upon the performance of which the contractors are entitled to the same respectively shall have been performed. 23. If any dispute or difference shall arise between the contracting Governments or the engineer and the contractors on any electrical, mechanical, or engineering question arising in the course of the manufacture, testing, shipment, or laying of the cable, then and in every such case the matter in difference shall be referred to the arbitration of some person, resident in England, to be appointed by the president for the time being of the Institution of Civil Engineers at the instance of the party first applying for the appointment. In case an arbitrator, who shall be resident in England, appointed under the foregoing or under the power next following in that behalf, refuses to act or dies, then the president for the time being of the Institution of Civil Engineers may appoint another arbitrator, resident in England, in his stead upon notice from either party ; and if in any case such president fails to appoint an arbitrator within twenty-one days after the receipt of notice in that behalf section 5 of " The Arbitration Act, 1889," or the provisions of any modification of the said section for the time being in force, shall apply, and, subject as hereinbefore mentioned, any arbitration under this clause shall be deemed an arbitration upon a submission under the said Act or any modification thereof. If any dispute or difference shall arise concerning any matter not hereinbefore in this clause provided for, the same shall be referred to arbitration in London, and the provisions of the Arbitration Act of 1889 and any modification thereof for the time being in force shall apply to such arbitration. Part 111. Sections G, D, and E. — Section C : From Fiji (Suva) to Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay). Section D: From Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay) to Queensland (Moreton Bay). Section E : From Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay) to New Zealand. 1. The cable shall be manufactured and constructed throughout of thoroughly good materials and workmanship, and in all respects in strict accordance with the specifications contained in the third part of the Second Schedule, and subject to the general conditions contained in the fourth part of the same schedule. 2. After the cable shall have been manufactured and shall have been tested and approved by the contracting Governments' engineers (heinafter included under the expression " the engineer ") the contractors shall cause the whole of the same to be coiled on board a suitable steamship or suitable steamships, supplied at their own cost and risk, including coals, crews, and provisions. Every such steamship shall be provided for the stowage of cables with iron watertight tanks of suitable dimensions and construction, thoroughly secured ; and each steamship shall also be provided with a suitable testing-room or suitable testing-rooms, and shall be fitted with all necessary machinery for laying and testing the cables, buoying, grappling, picking up, repairing, &c, including electric instruments and batteries; and such steamship or steamships shall also be equipped with a full and sufficient cable staff. The contractors shall also provide at their own cost and risk all steamboats, barges, and appliances necessary for laying the cable. The contractors shall so arrange for the shipment and laying of the cable that the several sections of cable—viz., between
15
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Fiji (Suva) and Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay), between Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay) and Queensland (Moreton Bay), and between Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay) and New Zealand—shall be laid on one expedition, and the direction of laying of Section C, whether to or from Norfolk Island, shall be decided by the engineer, subject to the approval of the contracting Governments. In accordance with the conditions of the tender, samples of the materials which will be used in the manufacture of the cable shall be submitted to the engineer, as well as a specimen of each type of cable specified for. The whole of the equipment of the steamship or steamships and other boats, barges, and appliances as aforesaid shall be to the satisfaction of the engineer. 3. The engineer and his staff of assistants shall at all reasonable times during the manufacture of the cable be allowed by the contractors free access to their works for the purpose of inspecting and testing the cable during the process of manufacture, and of testing the same after manufacture, and generally for the purpose of satisfying himself and themselves that the core and all the materials that go into the cable are in accordance with the specifications. Every facility batteries and instruments for testing) shall be afforded to the engineer and his assistants to test every part of the cable during shipment and transport. During the laying of the cable the testing shall be in the hands of the contractors, but shall be open to the continuous inspection of the engineer and his assistants, and the principle of testing adopted by the contractors during the laying shall be mutually agreed upon, and approved by the engineer before the departure of the expedition. 4. The contractors shall, subject to the due performance by the contracting Governments of the obligations on their part hereinafter contained, proceed with the manufacture of the cable with all reasonable despatch, and shall, unless prevented by any of the causes hereinafter mentioned, complete and finish the manufacture and shipment of the cable mentioned in the specifications contained in the third part of the Second Schedule, and shall then transport and lay the said cables, Section C, Section D, and Section E, and complete the connections thereof in an efficient manner, between the several terminal points of the cables—viz., at Fiji (Suva), Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay), Queensland (Moreton Bay), and New Zealand—on or before the 30th day of June, 1902. 5. The contractors shall not be liable for any delay arising from strikes or lock-outs, or any combination affecting the contractors' works, or from accidents to shipping, or other causes beyond their control, and should any such delay occur otherwise than by default of the contractors the time for completion shall be extended for such period or periods as shall be certified by the engineer to be reasonable. 6. The terminal points of the cables at Fiji (Suva), Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay), Queensland (Moreton Bay), and New Zealand respectively shall be at such parts of the coasts or harbours as shall be selected by the engineer in consultation with the contractors, but the engineer shall have the power to finally determine the position where the cable shall be landed, subject to the approval of the contracting Governments. The contractors shall provide and erect at each of the landingplaces of the cables a suitable cable-house, with fixtures, furniture, and appliances in accordance with plans and a list to be approved by the engineer, and shall lead the cable and make the necessary connections from the shore ends of the cable into the said cable-houses in an approved and efficient manner, and to the satisfaction of the engineer. Should the position of the said cablehouses, or any of them, be more than 500 yards from high-water mark, tha contractors shall carry out the further subterranean connections under the direction of the engineeer; but they shall be entitled to an extra payment for such extra work, the amount of such extra payment to be fixed by the engineer. 7. The contracting Governments will obtain in due time and grant all Government and other authorities, wayleaves, and other easements required for landing the cable at Fiji (Suva), Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay), Queensland (Moreton Bay), and New Zealand, and procure and permit the contractors to enter upon any land required for the purposes of these articles. 8. The contractors shall effect insurances on the cable until laid against fire and river and sea risks by a policy or policies in the form usually taken by the contractors, and shall transfer and deliver such policy or policies to the contracting Governments to the full amount of the payments from time to time made to the contractors. 9. The engineer and the contractors shall agree upon the course over which the cable shall be laid, and the positions in which the various types of cable shall be placed, and such agreement shall (unless the engineer consents to any alteration thereof) be adhered to by the contractors as nearly as practicable. iO. During the laying the engineer shall be supplied with any information which is in the possession of the contractors which he may require in connection with the operations as quickly as possible, and shall be consulted as to the retarding-strains to be applied to the cable, and all the incidental questions that may arise during the process of paying out or picking up, should the latter become necessary. The engineer shall also have the right of inspecting the charts, log, and observations taken during the laying of the cable, and also of having communication on the business of laying the cable forwarded from the ship to the shore, and vice versa, through the cable at reasonable times while the same is being laid. 11. The contractors shall provide victualling and accommodation for the engineer and his staff (not exceeding in the whole five persons) on board the steamship or steamships during the laying of the cable and until the return of the expedition. 12. The contractors shall, if requested, be prepared to take on board the said steamship or steamships, and transport and discharge, free of cost, at Fiji (Suva), Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay), Queensland (Moreton Ba,y), and New Zealand respectively, such materials and stores as may be required for the building of stations and staff quarters at the respective terminal points of the cable, and also such stores for the provisioning of the staff as may be necessary, but so that the total weight that the contractors may be required to ship, transport, and discharge without extra, payment be limited to 100 tons weight,
F.—B
16
13. The contracting Governments shall pay in London to the contractors for the works and matters hereby undertaken by the contractors in this part of this schedule the total sum or contract price of £339,040. 14. The said contract price shall be paid at the times, by the instalments, and in the manner following, that is to say, — (a.) £42,380 at such time after the date of these articles as may be convenient to the contracting Governments but not later than the 31st day of March, 1901. (b.) £33,900 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 400 nautical miles of cable, (c.) £33,900 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 800 nautical miles of cable. (d.) £33,900 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 1,200 nautical miles of cable. (c.) £33,900 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture, in accordance with these articles of 1,600 nautical miles of cable. (/.) £33,900 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture in accordance with these articles of 2,000 nautical miles of cable. (g.) £42,380 on the engineer's certificate of the manufacture and shipment of the whole of the cable for Sections C, D, and E, and that the same is in accordance with these articles. (h.) £16,950 on the engineer's certificate of the successful laying and completion of the Fiji (Suva)-Norfolk Island cable in accordance with these articles. (i.) £16,950 on the engineer's certificate of the successful laying and completion of the Norfolk Island-Queensland cable in accordance with these articles. (J.) £16,950 on the engineer's certificate of the successful laying and completion of the Norfolk Island-New Zealand cable in accordance with these articles. (k.) £33,930 on the engineer's certificate mentioned in clause 16 of this part of this schedule. The engineer shall certify from time to time as to the happening of the event on which the respective instalments of the contract price (other that the moneys payable under head (a) of this clause) are payable. 15. On the completion of the laying of the respective Sections C, D, and E of the cable, the engineer accompanying the expedition shall examine and test the cables between the respective cable-houses of the said sections, and as soon as practicable thereafter telegraph to the engineer in England and write to him the results of his examination and testing, and shall forthwith deliver a copy of the telegram and letter to the contractors' engineer in charge (who is hereby appointed agent of the contractors to receive the same); and upon the receipt by the engineer in England of such telegram or letter, he shall give his certificate that the section therein referred to has been successfully laid in accordance with these articles, or shall state in writing his reasons for not giving such certificate, and shall forward a duplicate of such certificate or statement in writing, as the case may be, to the contracting Governments and the contractors respectively. 16. The instalment of the contract price mentioned in clause 14, (k), shall be paid to the contractors upon the certificate of the engineer in England that for thirty consecutive days after the completion of the laying of the cables between the cable-houses of the respective sections C, D, and E the same continued in good electrical condition and in accordance with these articles. The contractors during the said period of thirty days shall keep at hand a suitable ship or vessel with approved machinery for such repairs as may possibly be required. For the purpose of testing the laid cable the engineer shall be at liberty as long as the cable remains in good electrical condition to use a battery-power equivalent to 100 volts. Should, however, the cable show signs of electrical defects, all further testing until such defects are removed shall be in the hands of the contractors. 17. Subject to the direction of the engineer, traffic may be worked upon the cable from time to time when the same shall be laid until finally certified under clause 16, and the receipts from working the same shall belong to the contracting Governments, who shall bear the expense of working; but the contractors shall, until such final certificate is given, have full liberty to inspect and examine the cable and its connections, and the working and testing thereof, and to test the same at reasonable times under the supervision of the engineer. 18. Any surplus cable remaining out of the lengths specified after the completion of the contract shall belong to the contracting Governments, and shall be delivered and coiled into tanks to be erected by the contracting Governments at Fiji (Suva) or Fanning Island, or into the tanks of the maintenance-ship to be provided by the contracting Governments at one of those stations, unless otherwise agreed between the contracting Governments and the contractors. The contracting Governments hereby agree that the said tanks shall be erected or the said maintenance-ship shall be at Fiji (Suva) or Fanning Island, or as otherwise agreed as aforesaid, in readiness to receive such surplus cable at the expiration of the thirty consecutive days mentioned in clause 16. 19. If any part or parts of the cable hereby contracted for, and in respect of which the contracting Governments shall have made payment to the contractors, shall be lost, destroyed, or damaged before being laid, and in consequence thereof money shall be payable under all or any of the policies of insurance referred to in clause 8 hereof, the contracting Governments shall for the purpose of this clause forthwith retransfer and deliver to the contractors the policy or policies in respect of which such money shall be payable, and do all acts necessary to enable the contractors to obtain the full benefit thereof. The contractors shall have full authority to collect and recover the moneys payable under such policy or policies, and to make such settlements or agreements as
17
F.—B,
to the amounts to be paid thereunder as they think fit; and, subject as hereinafter provided, the moneys received under the said policy or policies, after deduction of the expenses of recovery thereof, shall, unless otherwise agreed between the contracting Governments and the contractors, be deposited at interest with Messrs. Barclay and Co., bankers, in the joint names of the contracting Governments and the contractors or their respective nominees. 20. The conti'actors shall, upon receipt of the said policy or policies, with all practicable despatch, replace the cable so lost, destroyed, or damaged with a similar type or similar types of cable, or other cable certified by the engineer to be suitable for the purposes of these articles, and the contractors shall use and apply the substituted cable (when certified by the engineer as satisfactory) for the purposes of these articles accordingly. 21. The moneys deposited as mentioned in clause 19, and all interest thereon, shall be paid to the contractors upon the certificate of the engineer of the shipment of the whole of the substituted cable and that the condition thereof when shipped was satisfactory, and the contractors shall have no further claim upon the contracting Governments in respect of the substituted cable. 22. The engineers for the purposes of these articles, and referred to in clause 2 of this part of this schedule, shall be Herbert Arnaud Taylor, Eobert Edward Peake, and Arthur Lovel Dearlove, or any one or more of them, acting in the name of their firm of Clarke, Forde, and Taylor, and several members of the firm may act as engineer at the same time in different places. The engineer in England shall, subject as hereinbefore provided, duly sign and give every certificate to which the contractors shall become entitled under these articles when the provisions of these articles upon the performance of which the contractors are entitled to the same respectively shall have been performed. 23. If any dispute or difference shall arise between the contracting Governments or the engineer and the contractors on any electrical, mechanical, or engineering question arising in the course of the manufacture, testing, shipment, or laying of the cable, then and in every such case the matter in difference shall be referred to the arbitration of some person, resident in England, to be appointed by the president for the time being of the Institution of Civil Engineers at the instance of the party first applying for the appointment. In case of an arbitrator, who shall be resident in England, appointed under the foregoing or under the power next following in that behalf refuses to act or dies, then the president for the time being of the Institution of CivilEngineers may appoint another arbitrator, resident in England, in his stead upon notice from either party ; and if in any case such president fails to appoint an arbitrator within twenty-one days after the receipt of notice in that behalf section 5 of " The Arbitration Act, 1889," or the provisions of any modification of the said section for the time being in force, shall apply, and, subject as hereinbefore mentioned, any arbitration under this clause shall be deemed an arbitration upon a submission under the said Act or any modification thereof. If any dispute or difference shall arise concerning any matter not hereinbefore in this clause provided for, the same shall be referred to arbitration in London, and the provisions of the Arbitration Act of 1889 and any modification thereof for the time being in force shall apply to such arbitration.
THE SECOND SCHEDULE. Part I. Section A: Vancouver (Port San Juan)-Fanning Island Cable. Specification for the Manufacture of the Lengths and Types of Cable to be furnished by the Contractors under the Contract.
Total contract length of cable, 3,653-50 nautical miles. Core : 600 lb. copper, 340 lb. guttapercha. (a.) The conductor to consist of a central copper wire 149 mils, in diameter, surrounded oy four copper strips each of 125 mils, by 17 mils., the completed conductor to weigh 6001b. per nautical mile or within 2| per cent, thereof, but the average weight per nautical mile shall not be less than that specified. The interstices of the strips to be completely filled with Chatterton's
3—F. 8.
Length in ] to be raai STaufcioal Miles lufactured. Description. Type. Sheathing. Gore Brasssheathed. Core not Brass-sheathed. Heavy shore end Heavy intermediate ... Light intermediate AA E B Type B, twelve No. 6 reclosed with fourteen No. 1 (0-300), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Ten No. 2 (0-280), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Twelve No. 6 (0-200), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Eighteen No. 14 (0-083J, galvanised, each wire taped and compounded 1-25 3-25 60-00 Main cable ... D 3,589-00 64-50 3,589-00
F.—B
18
compound. The resistance per nautical mile of the conductor at a temperature of 75° Fahr. shall not be more than 2-03 B.A. ohms. (b.) The conductor to be iusulated with three or more coatings of gutta-percha, of uniform radial thickness and of the best description and manufacture, and such coatings may be applied with or without the use of compound between the successive coatings of gutta-percha. The average weight of the dielectric shall not be less than 340 lb. per nautical mile, and no coil of core shall have a less weight of dielectric than 332 lb. per nautical mile. The core, seven days after manufacture, and not before that period has elapsed, shall be submitted for testing to the engineer or his representative. For the purpose of these tests the core shall bo immersed for at least twenty-four hours in water having as nearly as practicable a temperature of 75° Fahr., and when tested at this temperature the resistance of the dielectric, after one minute's electrification, shall not be less than 500 nor more than 1,500 megohms per nautical mile on the average, and its average inductive capacity shall not exceed 0440 microfarads per nautical mile, and the maximum variation in the capacity of any coil is not to be higher than 5 per cent, above the average value specified. The total weight of the core when completed to be 9401b. per nautical mile or within 2-| per cent, thereof, but the mean weight of the whole must be at least equal to the specified weight. (c.) The cores of types AA, E, and B, specified as to be brass-sheathed, are to be covered with a sheathing of brass tape 4 mils, thick, laid on spirally with a sufficient overlap, and further covered with an ozokerited woven tape, the whole to be done in an approved manner. (d.) Each coil of core shall, if required, be submitted to an alternating E.M.F. of at least 5,000 volts, this electrical-pressure test to last fifteen minutes on each coil. The coils of core to be delivered in lengths of not less than 1-0 nautical mile without joint, and the length and weight of conductor and dielectric of each coil shall be given in writing to the engineer. No coil can be accepted that does not comply with the electrical conditions before mentioned. («,) The completed core to be covered with an ample and sufficient serving of jute yarn steeped in cutch or other approved preservative mixture, of such strength to have the best preservative effect, and applied wet. The yarn to be of good quality, of even size, free from lumps, so as to give a uniform gauge to the served core, and of sufficient strength to avoid breakages when being laid up. This serving is to be sufficient to prevent the sheathing-wires being laid up so close as to render the cable too springy. OUTEB COVERINGS. (/.) Type A A (heavy shore end) : Type B, light intermediate cable, to be further served with tarred jute yarn, and again closed with fourteen galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 1 8.W.G.) equal to -300 in. when galvanised, or within 2| per cent, thereof. Average breaking-strain of No. 1 B.W.G. wires to be not less than 25 tons per square inch nor more than 30 tons per square inch, and to bear twelve twists in lengths of 6 in. (g.) Type E (heavy intermediate) : The served core to be covered with ten galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 2 B.W G.) equal to -280 in. when galvanised, or within 2-| per cent, thereof. Average breaking-strain to be not less than 27 tons to the square inch nor more than 32 tons to the square inch, with an elongation of 10 per cent, in lengths of 10 in., and to bear ten twists in lengths of 6 in. (h.) Type B (light intermediate): The served core to be covered with twelve galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 6 8.W.G.) equal to -200 in. when galvanised, or within 2-J- per cent, thereof. Average breaking-strain to be not less than 28 tons to the square inch nor more than 35 tons to tho square inch, with an elongation of not less than 12 per cent., and to stand not less than fifteen twists in lengths of 6 in. (j.) Type D (main cable) : The served core to be covered with eighteen galvanised-steel wires, each wire being well covered with a bituminous compound, and taped to a diameter of -100 in. The galvanised-steel wires to be No. 14 8.W.G., equal to -083 in. when galvanised, or within 2J per cent, thereof, and to bear a breaking-strain of not less than 84 tons to the square inch, with an elongation of not less than 4 per cent. The wire to be capable of being bent round its own diameter three times and unbent three times without breaking. The wire to be in bundles of not less than 2 cwt., and to have no more than one weld in each bundle. (j.) The wire to be free from splinters and irregularities. No. brittle wire to be put in the cable, nor weld made within 12 ft. of any other weld. All joints in the sheathing-wires to be welded either electrically or by efficient workmen; no brazed or soldered joints to be made. (k.) The galvanised wire to withstand four immersions of one minute each in a solution of sulphate of copper (1 sulphate to 5 water by weight) without showing a trace of copper coating. (1.) Before being used for the sheathing of the cables the galvanised wire for the types AA, E, and B is to be heated in a kiln or oven just sufficiently to drive off all moisture, and whilst warm is to be dipped into a hot compound, not containing anything deleterious to the core, and so prepared as to adhere to the wire and form, when set, a perfectly fixed preservative coating that wiil not come off in passing through the closing-machine. OUTER SERVING (m.) Types AA, E, and B, manufactured as above, to be covered with two servings of jute yarn steeped in " freed " coal-tar, and laid on spirally in opposite directions, alternating with three coatings of Clark's compound, applied hot. (ra.) Type D, manufactured as above, to be covered with two Hessian canvas tapes soaked in an approved preservative compound, and laid on spirally in opposite directions, alternating with three coatings of Clark's compound.
19
F.—B
Part II. Section B: Fanning Island-Fiji (Suva) Cable. Specification for the Manufacture of the Length and Types of Cable to be furnished by the Contractors under the Contract.
Total contract length of cable, 2,181-00 nautical miles. Core: 2201b. copper, 1801b. guttapercha. (a.) The conductor to consist of a central copper wire of 82 mils, in diameter, surrounded by three copper strips each 97 mils, by 15 mils., the completed conductor to weigh 2201b. per nautical mile or within 2 \ per cent, thereof, but the average weight per nautical mile shall not be less than that specified. The interstices of the strips to be completely filled with Chatterton's compound. The resistance per nautical mile of the conductor at a temperature 75° Fahr. shall not be more than 5-54 B.A. ohms. (b.) The conductor to be insulated with three or more coatings of gutta-percha, of uniform radial thickness and of the best description and manufacture, and such coatings may be applied with or without the use of compound between the successive coatings of gutta-percha. The average weight of the dielectric shall be not less than 180 lb. per nautical mile, and no coil of core shall have a less weight of dielectric than 175 lb. per nautical mile. The core, seven days after manufacture, and not before that period has elapsed, shall be submitted for testing to the engineer or his representative. For the purpose of these tests the core shall be immersed for at least twenty-four hours in water having as nearly as practicable a temperature of 75° Fahr., and when tested at this temperature the resistance of the dielectric, after one minute's electrification, shall not be less than 500 nor more than 1,500 megohms per nautical mile on the average, and its average inductive capacity shall not exceed 0-385 microfarads per nautical mile, and the maximum variation in the capacity of any coil is not to be higher than 5 per cent, above the average value specified. The total weight of the core when completed to be 400 lb. per nautical mile or within 2-|- per cent, thereof, but the mean weight of the whole must be at least equal to the specified weight. (c.) The cores of types AA, E, and B, specified as to be brass-sheathed, are to be covered with a sheathing of brass tape 4 mils, thick, laid on spirally with a sufficient overlap, and further covered with an ozokerited woven tape, the whole to be done in an approved manner. (d.) Each coil of core shall, if required, be submitted to an alternating E.M.F. of at least 5,000 volts, this electrical-pressure test to last fifteen minutes on each coil. The coils of core to be delivered in lengths of not less than 1-5 nautical mile without joint, and the length and weight of conductor and dielectric of each coil shall be given in writing to the engineer. No coil can be accepted that does not comply with the electrical conditions before mentioned. (<?.) The completed core to be covered with an ample and sufficient serving of jute yarn steeped in cutch or other approved preservative mixture, of such strength as to have the best preservative effect, and applied wet. The yarn to be of good quality, of even size, free from lumps, so as to give a uniform gauge to the served core, and of sufficient strength to avoid breakages when being laid up. This serving is to be sufficient to prevent the sheathing-wires being laid up so close as to render the cable too springy. OUTER COVERINGS. (/.) Type AA (heavy shore end) : Type B, light intermediate cable, to be further served with tarred jute yarn and again closed with fourteen galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 1 8.W.G.) equal to -300 in. when galvanised, or within 2| per cent, thereof. Average breakingstrain of the No. 1 B.W.G. wires to be not less than 25 tons per square inch, nor more than 30 tons per square inch, and to bear twelve twists in lengths of 6 in. (</.) Type E (heavy intermediate): The served core to be covered with ten galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 2 8.W.G.) equal to -280 in. when galvanised, or within per cent, thereof. Average breaking-strain to be not less than 27 tons to the square inch nor more than
Description. Type. Sheathing. Length in Nautical Miles to be manufactured. Core Brass- Core not sheathed. Brass-sheathed. Heavy shore end AA Type B, ten No. 6 reclosed, with fourteen No. 1 (-300), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Ten No. 2 (-280), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Ten No. 6 (-200), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Seventeen No. 13 (-095), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Sixteen No. 14 (-083), galvanised, each wire taped, and compounded 1-75 Heavy intermediate ... E 1.25 Light intermediate B 5-00 Heavy deep sea D 1 649-00 Light deep sea D 1,524-00 8-00 2,173-00
F.—B
20
32 tons to the square inch, with an elongation of 10 per cent, in lengths of 10in., and to bear ten twists in lengths of 6 in. (h.) Type B (light intermediate) : The served core to be covered with ten galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 6 B.W'.G.) equal to -200 in. when galvanised, or within 2-J- cent, thereof. Average breaking-strain to be not less than 28 tons to the square inch nor more than 35 tons to the square inch, with an elongation of not less than 12 per cent., and to stand not less than fifteen twists in lengths of 6 in. (i.) Type D 1 (heavy deep sea): The served core to be covered with seventeen galvanised-steel wires, each wire being well covered with a bituminous compound. The galvanised-steel wires to be No. 13 S.W.G., equal to -095 in. when galvanised, or within 2| per cent, thereof, and to bear a breaking-strain of not less than 85 tons to the square inch, with an elongation of not less than 4 per cent. The wire to be capable of being bent round its own diameter three times and unbent three times without breaking. The wire to be in bundles of not less than 2 cwt., and to have no more than one weld in each bundle. (j.) Type D (light deep sea) : The served core to be covered with sixteen galvanised-steel wires, each wire being well covered with a preservative compound and taped to a diameter of -100 in. The galvanised-steel wires to be No. 14 8.W.G., equal to -083 in. when galvanised, or within 2f per cent, thereof, and to bear a breaking-strain of not less than 84 tons per square inch, with an elongation of not less than 4 per cent. The wire to be capable of being bent round its own diameter three times and unbent three times without breaking. The wire to be in bundles of not less than 2 cwt., and to have no more than one weld in each bundle. (k.) The wire to be free from splinters and irregularities. No brittle wire to be put in the cable, nor weld made within 12 ft. of any other weld. All joints in the sheathing-wires to be welded either electrically or by efficient workmen ; no brazed or soldered joints to be made. (I.) The galvanised wire to withstand four immersions of one minute each in a solution of sulphate of copper (1 sulphate to 5 water by weight) without showing a trace of copper coating. (m.) Before being used for the sheathing of the cables, the galvanised wire for the types AA, E, B, and D lis to be heated in a kiln or oven just sufficiently to drive off all moisture, and whilst warm is to be dipped into a hot compound, not containing anything deleterious to the core, and so prepared as to adhere to the wire and form, when set, a perfectly fixed preservative coating that will not come off in passing through the closing-machine. OUTEE SERVING. (n.) Types AA, E, B, and D l , manufactured as above, to be covered with two servings of jute yarn steeped in " freed " coal tar, and laid on spirally in opposite directions, alternating with three coatings of Clark's compound, applied hot. (o.) Type D, manufactured as above, to be covered with two Hessian canvas tapes soaked in an approved preservative compound and laid on spirally in opposite directions, alternating with three coatings of Clark's compound.
Part III. Section C: Fiji (Suva)-Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay). Specification for the Manufacture of the Lengths and Types of Cable to be furnished by the Contractors under the Contract.
Contract length of cable, 1,019 nautical miles. Core : 1301b. copper, 1301b. gutta-percha.
Length in Nautical Miles to be manufactured. Description. Type. Sheathing. Core Brass- Core not Brasssheathed, sheathed. I lock cable ... G Type E, ten No. 2 reclosed with six No. 00 (-380), galvanised and compounded Type B\ twelve No. 8 reclosed with fourteen No. 1 (-300), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Ten No. 2 (-280), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Twelve No. 8 (-165), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Sixteen No. 13 (-095), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served 0-75 [eavy shore end AA 1-50 leavy intermediate ... E 4-50 light intermediate ... B 1 43-25 >eep sea D 1 969-00 5000 969-00
F.—B
21
Section D: Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay)-Queensland (Moreton Bay). Specification for the Manufacture of the Lengths and Types of Cable to be furnished by the Contractors under the Contract.
Section E: Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay)-New Zealand. Specification for the Manufacture of the Lengths and Types of Cable to be furnished by the Contractors under the Contract.
Contract length of cable, 513 nautical miles. Core : 1301b. copper, 1301b. gutta-percha. Grand total of nautical miles of cable to be furnished by the contractors under the contract for Sections C, D, and E, 2,438. Section G: Fiji (Suva)-Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay). Section D: Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay)-Queensland (Moreton Bay). Section E: Norfolk Island (Sydney Bay)-Netv Zealand. Core : 130 lb. copper, 130 lb. gutta-percha. (a.) The conductor to consist of a strand of seven copper wires; the completed conductor to weigh 1301b. per nautical mile or within 2-J per cent, thereof, but the average weight per nautical mile shall not be less than that specified. The resistance per nautical mile of the conductor at a temperature of 75° Fahr. shall not be more than 9-35 B.A. ohms. The central wire to be drawn through compound before the surrounding wires are laid round it. (b.) The conductor to be insulated with three or more coatings of gutta-percha, of uniform radial thickness and of the best description and manufacture, and such coatings may be applied with or without the use of compound between the successive coatings of gutta-percha; the dielectric shall weigh 130 lb. per nautical mile or within 2\ per cent, thereof, but the average weight of the insulator shall not be less than that specified. The core, seven days after manufacture, and not before that period has elapsed, shall be submitted for testing to the engineer or his representative. For the purpose of these tests the core shall be immersed for at least twenty-four hours in water having as nearly as practicable a temperature of 75° Fahr., and when tested at this temperature the resistance of the dielectric, after one minute's electrification, shall not be less than 500 nor more than 1,500 megohms per nautical mile on the average, and its average inductive capacity shall not
Length in Nautical Miles to be manufactured. Description. Type. Sheathing. I Core Brass- Core not sheathed. Brass-sheathed. Sock cable ... G Type E, ten No. 2 reclosed with six No. 00 (-380), galvanised and compounded Type B 1 twelve No. 8 reclosed with fourteen No. 1 (-300), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Ten No. 2 (-280) galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Twelve No. 8 (-165), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Sixteen No. 13 (-095), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served 0-75 [eavy shore end AA 5-75 leavy intermediate ... E 23-50 light intermediate B 1 24-00 >eep sea D 1 852-00 54-00 852-00 Contract length of lable : 908-00 nautical miles. Core : 1301b. copper, 1301b. gutta-percha.
Length in Nautical Miles to be manufactured. Sheathing. Description. Type. Core Brass- Core not Brasssheathed, sheathed. iock cable ... G Type E, ten No. 2 reclosed with six No. 00 (-380), galvanised and compounded Type B 1 , twelve No. 8 reclosed with fourteen No. 1 (-300), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Ten No. 2 (-280), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Twelve No. 8 (-165), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served Sixteen No. 13 (-095), galvanised, compounded, and yarn-served 0-75 leavy shore end AA 5-50 leavy intermediate ... E 11-50 aght intermediate ... B 1 55-25 >eep sea D 1 440-00 73-00 440-00
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exceed 0-355 microfarads per nautical mile, and the maximum variation in the capacity of any coil is not to be higher than 5 per cent, above the average value specified. The total weight of the core when completed to be 260 lb. per nautical mile or within 2-| per cent, thereof. The mean weight of the whole must be at least equal to the specified weight. (c.) The cores of types G, AA, E, and 81,B 1 , specified as to be brass-sheathed, are to be covered with a sheathing of brass tape 4 mils, thick, laid on spirally with a sufficient overlap, and further covered with an ozokerited woven tape, the whole to be done in an approved manner. (d.) Each coil of core shall, if required, be submitted to an alternating E.M.F. of at least 5,000 volts, this electrical-pressure test to last fifteen minutes on each coil. The coils of core to be delivered in lengths of not less than 1-5 nautical miles without joint, and the length and weight of conductor and dielectric of each coil shall be given in writing to the engineer. No coil can be accepted that does not comply with the electrical conditions before mentioned. (c.) The completed core to be covered with an ample and sufficient serving of jute yarn steeped in cutch or other approved preservative mixture, of such strength as to have the best preservative effect, and applied wet. The yarn to be of good quality, of even size, free from lumps, so as to give a uniform gauge to the served core, and of sufficient strength to avoid breakages when being laid up. This serving is to be sufficient to prevent the sheathing-wires being laid up so close as to render the cable too springy. OUTER COVERINGS. (/.) Type G (rock cable) : Type E, as completed with outer serving, to be again served with tarred jute yarn and again closed with six galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 00 8.W.G.) equal to -380 in. diameter when galvanised, or within 2\ per cent, thereof. The No. 00 wire of this outer sheathing to be specially soft and the lay to be sufficiently short to form a close covering round the inner cable. (g.) Type AA (heavy shore end): Type 81,B 1 , light intermediate cable, to be served with tarred jute yarn and again closed with fourteen galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 1 8.W.G.) equal to -300 in. when galvanised, or within 2-J per cent, thereof. Average breaking-strain of No. 1 B.W.G. to be not less than 25 tons to the square inch nor more than 30 tons to the square inch, and to bear twelve twists in lengths of 6 in. (h.) Type E (heavy intermediate) : The served core to be covered with ten galvanised low carbon basic iron wires (No. 2 8.W.G.) equal to -280 in. when galvanised, or within 2-|- per cent, thereof. Average breaking-strain to be not less than 27 tons to the square inch nor more than 32 tons to the square inch, with an elongation of not less than 10 per cent, in lengths of 10 in., and to stand not less than ten twists in lengths of 6 in. (i.) Type B 1 (light intermediate) : The served core to be covered with twelve galvanised low carbon basic iron-wires (No. 8 8.W.G.) equal to -165 in. when galvanised or within 2\ per cent, thereof. Average breaking-strain to be not less than 28 tons to the square inch, nor more than 33 tons to the square inch with an elongation of not less than 14 per cent, and to stand not less than fifteen twists in lengths of 6 in. (j.) Type D 1 (deep sea) : The served core to be covered with sixteen galvanised-steel wires, each wire being well covered with a bituminous compound. The galvanised steel wires to be No. 13 (S.W.G.) equal to -095 in. when galvanised, or within per cent, thereof, and to bear a breakingstrain of not less than 85 tons per square inch, with an elongation of not less than 4 per cent. The wire to be capable of being bent round its own diameter three times and unbent three times without breaking. The wire to be in bundles of not less than 2 cwt., and to have no more than one weld in each bundle. (fc.) The wire to be free from splinters and irregularities. No brittle wire to be put in the cable, nor weld made within 12 ft. of any other weld. All joints in the sheathing-wires to be welded either electrically or by efficient workmen; no brazed or soldered joints to be made. (I.) The galvanised wire to withstand four immersions of one minute each in a solution of sulphate of copper (1 sulphate to 5 water by weight) without showing a trace of copper coating. (ra.) Before being used for the sheathing of the cables the galvanised wire for all the types is to be heated in a kiln or oven just sufficiently to drive off all moisture, and whilst warm is to be dipped into a hot compound, not containing anything deleterious to the core, and so prepared as to adhere to the wire and form, when set, a perfectly fixed preservative coating that will not come off in passing through the closing-machine. OUTER SERVING. (n.) Types AA, E, 81,B 1 , and D l , manufactured as above, to be covered with two servings of jute yarn steeped in " freed " coal tar and laid on spirally in opposite directions, alternating with three coatings of Clark's compound, applied hot. Part IV. General Conditions applicable to all the Specifications contained in the First, Second, and Third Parts of this Schedule. The manufacture of the cable shall not be carried on at night without the consent of the engineer. No coils of core shall be sheathed before they have been tested and approved by the engineer or his representative appointed for that duty. All coils shall be labelled, numbered, and registered, and as the manufacture of the cable proceeds the engineer or his representative shall be supplied with a complete list showing the order in which they are placed in the cable. The joints in the core are to be made by experienced workmen. In every case one joint-maker is to be employed to join the conducting-wire, and another to apply the insulating covering. Each joint shall, if required, be inspected, tested, and passed by the engineer or his assistant before it is allowed
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to pass into the cable. Eeasonable notice shall be given to the engineer or his assistant when each joint is to be made to enable him to be present at its making, if he so desires, and ample time shall be allowed for a satisfactory test six hours after it has been immersed in water. The manufacture of the cable in every stage, as well as the materials and compounds used therein, shall be of the best, and be satisfactory to the engineer. The sections of the cable under manufacture shall be handed over for daily testing to the engineer, with a memorandum for each showing the numbers, weights, and lengths of the coils jointed on during the previous twenty-four hours, the total length in circuit, and the length completed, and sufficient time shall be given for proper and satisfactory tests to be taken. Every nautical mile of cable shall be carefully marked with a leather tally, on which the number is stamped, and securely fixed at the end of each mile. The cable, when manufactured, shall be coiled in suitable watertight tanks, receiving at the same time a good coating of whitewash, and shall be kept as far as practicable constantly under water. A separate and convenient room for testing the core and cable, with instruments and batteries, is to be provided by the contractors at their works for the engineer's electrician, and free access to the works is to be given to the" engineer or his representative, and also every facility for testing and examining the cable and materials. The cable shall be shipped from the contractors' works direct into the tanks of the ship. It shall receive at the same time a thorough coating of chalk-and-water. The vessel on which the cable is shipped for transport shall not leave her moorings until the cable has been tested from the shore by the engineer or his representative to his satisfaction, and ample time shall be allowed after the completion of the shipment for this purpose. During the transport the cable shall as far as practicable be kept under water and tested each day by the contractors' electricians, and a complete copy of the tests shall be supplied to the engineer. No damaged cable shall be laid, and the engineer shall be entitled to refuse to allow any portion of the cable to be laid which, in his opinion, is damaged and unfit for use. The electrical condition of every portion of the cable when manufactured, and of the entire cable when shipped, and also of the completed cable when laid, shall be such as, having regard to its previous condition, and making due allowance for the mean actual temperature of the water, as shown by the resistance of the conductor, to give no good grounds for believing that any fault exists in the insulator or conductor.
THE THIRD SCHEDULE. 1. Schedule of Soundings to be made by the Contractors.
2. In addition to the above soundings, the contractors shall, subject to the direction of the contracting Governments' engineer (in this schedule referred to as "the engineer"), make profile soundings at positions where the routes of the cables approach the land, in order that the slope may be determined, and a suitable approach to the landing-place of the cable may be selected. The approximate positions where such profile soundings shall be made are as follows : The approach to the selected landing-place in Queensland; the approach to the selected landing-place in Fiji ; the approach to the selected landing-place in New Zealand. 3. For the purpose of examining and reporting upon the most suitable landing-places for the cables, the sites of stations, and obtaining local information upon these points, the contractors shall, if necessary, and subject to the engineer's direction, afford the engineer all reasonable opportunity for such examination at the following places : Queensland, Norfolk Island, New Zealand, Fiji, Fanning Island. 4. The steamship provided by the contractors for the carrying-out of the work specified shall be capable of maintaining on a voyage a speed of not less than ten nautical miles per hour, and shall be properly found and fitted with all necessary sounding machinery, and appliances of the most modern type and description, the contractors supplying at their own cost all the necessary coals, crew, and provisions for the steamship employed, as well as paying all port dues and suchlike expenses. 5. The ship shall also have a full and competent staff for the proper carrying out of the survey, and shall be despatched, if required, not later than six weeks from the signing of the contract.
SeotloI) - be taken on each Section. Number o£ Soundings to be taken on each Section. Approximate Positions bi to be ] itween which Soundings nade. Vancouver-Fanning ... ... 20 (Lat. 8 (Long. 157 J Lat. 3 (Long. 165 (Lat. 18 (Long. 178 J Lat. 29 (Long. 167 (Lat. 29 (Long. 167 30 00 00 40 20 18 4 55 5 58 00 N. 00 w. 00 S. 00 w. 00 s. 00 E. 00 s. 00 E. 00 s. 00 E, Lat. Long. Lat. Long. Lat. Long. Lat. Long. Lat. Long. o 4 159 18 178 28 168 27 153 34 173 00 20 20 00 57 40 19 51 00 24 00 N. 00 W. 00 S. 00 E. 00 s. 00 E. 00 S. 00 E. 00 s. 00 E. Fanning-Fiji ... . . ... 47 Fiji-Norfolk Island 65 Norfolk Island-Queensland ... i 53 Norfolk Island-New Zealand... 30 Total 215
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6. The ship and her whole equipment shall be approved by the engineer, or, in case of difference between him and the contractors, by such other engineer as the contracting Governments and the contractors shall mutually appoint, and the decision of such engineer shall be final. 7. The contractors shall provide victualling and suitable accommodation for the engineer and his staff (not exceeding in the whole three persons) on board the vessel during the survey and until the return of the expedition. 8. During the operations and survey the engineer shall be supplied with any information which is in the possession of the contractors which he may require in connection with the work. He shall also have the right of inspecting the charts, log, and observations taken during the survey. 9. The engineers for the purposes of these articles, and referred to in clause 2 of this schedule, shall be Herbert Arnaud Taylor, Eobert Edward Peake, and Arthur Lovel Dearlove, or any one or more of them, acting in the name of their firm of Clark, Forde, and Taylor, and several members of the firm may act as engineer at the same time in different places. 10. Should any difference arise between the contracting Governments or the engineer and the contractors under or in relation to any of the provisions of the contract mentioned in this schedule, the same shall be referred to arbitration by a single arbitrator, in manner provided by " The Arbitration Act, 1889," or any statutory modification thereof for the time being in force. Signed, sealed, and delivered by the Eight Honourable \ Sir Michael Edward Hicks-Beach, being one of the ._ _ „ . . T -, .~ • ■ ftj M- , 9 rp M, E. Hicks-Beach. (1.5.) Lords Commissioners ot Her Majesty s Treasury, v ' in the presence of— J Francis Mowatt, Treasury. L. J. Hewby, Clerk, Treasury. Signed, sealed, and delivered by William Hayes Fisher,] being one of the Lords Commissioners of Her[ W. H. Fisher. (1.5.) Majesty's Treasury, in the presence of— j Frank Green, 13, Buckingham Palace Gardens, S.W., Butler. F. W. Holness, Treasury Messenger, Whitehall. Signed, sealed, and delivered by the before-named the] Eight Honourable Lord Strathcona and Mount Eoyal, I Stbathcona and Mount Eoyal. (1.5.) in the presence of— J Francis Mowatt, Treasury. T. G. Colmeb, 17, Victoria Street, S.W. Signed, sealed,' and delivered by the before-named the] tt„„„„ rt«™,,'.~™ v „\ tt vi -on i a ■ 4.v t r Henry Copeland. (1.5.) Honourable Henry Copeland, in the presence ot— ) v ' S. Yabdeey, 9, Victoria Street, Westminster. W. F. Addey, Solicitor's Department, Treasury, London. Signed, sealed, and delivered by the before-named | Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir Andrew I And. Clabke. (1.5.) Clarke, in the presence of— ) C. Lewis, 42, Portland Place, Butler. W. F. Addey, Solicitor's Department, Treasury, London. Signed, sealed, and delivered by the before-named the) Honourable William Pember Eeeves, in the presence I W. P. Eeeves. (1.5.) of- ) Walter Kennaway, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W. W. F. Addey, Solicitor's Department, Treasury, London. Signed, sealed, and delivered by the before-named the) jj Tozfr ( t Honourable Sir Horace Tozer, in the presence of— f ' \ ' J. M. Grant, 1, Victoria Street, S.W. W. F. Addey, Solicitor's Department, Treasury, London. The common seal of the Telegraph Construction and] Maintenance Company (Limited) was hereunto affixed L in the presence of— ) (seal.) W. Shuteb, Director. E. Dickens, Secretary,
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No. 20. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Peemiee. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sir,— 28th January, 1901. I beg to transmit herewith copy of letter received from Messrs. Clark, Forde, and Taylor, in which a request is made that an official representing the New Zealand Government shall meet the surveying expedition for the Pacific cable, at any place that may be convenient, for the purpose of deciding on the most suitable landing-place—a request which I beg to recommend for your favourable consideration. I understand that the contractors are inclined to prefer Mangonui or some more southern harbour to that of Parengarenga. Personally, it would appear to me that the nearer the landingplace is to Auckland the more convenient it will be, so far as the Government is concerned. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves.
Enclosure in No. 20. Messrs. Clark, Forde, and Taylob to the Colonial Office. 4, Great Winchester Street, London, E.C., Dear Sir, — 24th January, 1901. As the departure of the surveying expedition for the Pacific cable will take place in about a month's time, we are.anxious to receive, as soon as possible, some instructions with regard to the landing-places for.the different sections of the cable. These landing-places, as you are aware, have to be selected by ourselves, in consultation with the contractors, subject to the approval of the contracting Governments. In order, therefore, to avoid delay to the survey and in the erection of the cable-houses, which will be taken out in the ship, it is of importance that matters may be so arranged that the landing-places can be definitely decided on by the expedition without having to refer any points in connection therewith to the Board in London. As regards New Zealand, therefore, we would ask you to lay this communication before the Hon. W. P. Eeeves, the Agent-General for that colony, and to request him to arrange, if possible, that an official empowered to act for the New Zealand Government shall meet the surveying-ship at any place that may be convenient, say, the Bay of Islands, and decide in conjunction with ourselves on the most suitable landing-place. The survey will be carried out from Queensland to Norfolk Island, and froria thence to New Zealand, but before the ship leaves Queensland, Mr. E. E. Peake, a member of our firm accompanying the expedition, will telegraph to the New Zealand Government giving the probable date of her arrival in that colony. We are, &c, C. T. Davis, Esq., Colonial Office. Clark, Fobde, and Taylor.
No. 21. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Premier. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sib,— Bth February, 1901. Eeferring to my letter of the 30th January last [not printed], I beg herewith to transmit copy of letter from the Imperial Treasury, enclosing copy of a Treasury minute appointing the members of the Board of Management of the Pacific cable. I have, &c, The Bon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves.
Enclosure in No. 21. The Assistant Seceetaey to the Tbeasuby, London, to the Agent-Geneeae. Sir, Treasury Chambers, sth February, 1901. 1 am directed by the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury to forward herewith a copy of a Treasury minute, appointing you and other gentlemen to the Board of Management of the Pacific cable. I am to add that the Chairman of the Board has been requested to call a meeting of the Board as soon as possible, and to notify the time and place of meeting to each member. I am, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. E. W. Hamilton.
Sub-enclosure to Enclosure in No. 21. Waeeant. The Treasury, in agreement with the Governments of Canada and of the States of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, and of the Colony of New Zealand, being the Governments contributing with His Majesty's Government to the cost of the construction, laying, and management of the Pacific cable, in respect of which a contract was entered into with the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company on the 31st December, 1900, hereby appoint the following persons to constitute the Board of Management of the said cable, namely ; Sir Spencer Walpole,
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K.C.B. (Chairman), G. E. Y. Gleadowe, Esq., C.M.G., W. H. Mercer, Esq., representing His Majesty's Government; Lord Strathcona and Mount Eoyal, G.C.M.G., Alexander Lang, Esq., representing the Government of Canada ; the Agents-General for New South Wales and Victoria, representing the Governments of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland; the Agent-General for New Zealand, representing the Government of New Zealand. The Board is empowered to provide an office, to appoint or employ a manager, secretary, and such officers and persons, and to take such steps as they deem necessary for the business of the cable. The Chairman shall have a second or casting vote in any matter in which the votes of the Board are equally divided, and, so long as he does not hold any office of profit under the Crown, or under any of the above-mentioned Governments, he shall receive a salary of £600 a year, to commence from the Ist February, 1901. Any vacancy in the office of Chairman or of other representative of His Majesty's Government shall be filled by the Board of Treasury for the time being. Any vacancy in the office of a representative of any of the other Governments above mentioned shall be filled by the Government or Governments immediately concerned. There shall be paid to any officer or person appointed or employed by the Board on the business of the cable such fee, remuneration, or salary as the Board may think fit, and, until Parliament has made provision on that behalf, the said payment, together with any payment made for the purposes of the cable, shall be charged upon such moneys as the Treasury shall direct. The Board shall keep such accounts of receipts and expenditure, and the accounts shall be examined and audited at such times, in such manner, and by such persons, as the Treasury shall direct, and copies of such accounts so audited shall be furnished to each of the contributing Governments. Aiewyn E. Fellowes. February, 1901. W. H. Fishee.
No. 22. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Premier. Westminister Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., 21st February, 1901. (Memorandum.) Pacific Cable. In reply to the Hon. Minister's memo, of the sth December last [not printed], I beg to enclose herewith for the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, two copies each of the under-mentioned papers: (1) Copies of the forms of specification and contract issued by Messrs. Clark, Forde, and Taylor in calling for tenders; (2) copies of the tenders received, together with the reports of Messrs. Clark, Forde, and Taylor thereon. These papers have not yet been printed for Parliament, and are, therefore, only obtainable in the shape enclosed. [Not printed; but see contract at No. 19 (Enclosure).] The Hon. the Premier. W. P. Eeeves.
No. 23. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Premier. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W. Sir,— 22nd February 1901. In continuation of my letter of the Bth instant I beg to enclose herewith copy of a letter from the Colonial Office relating to the constitution and chairmanship of the Board of Management of the Pacific cable. The Treasury minute forwarded by the Colonial Office is the same as accompanied my above-mentioned letter. The first meeting of the Board is to be held on Monday next, the 25th instant, so that nothing definite has been done as regards the steps taken in connection with the Eastern Telegraph Company and other matters. I will take care and report as to proceedings of the Board by the mail of next week. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Welllington. W. P. Eeeves.
Enclosure in No. 23. The Colonial Office to the Agent-General. Sib,— Colonial Office, S.W., 15th February, 1901. With reference to the letter from this department of the 28th ultimo [not printed], I am directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to transmit to you, for your information and that of your Government, copy of a Treasury minute constituting the Board of Management of the Pacific cable. 2. Mr. Chamberlain is informed by the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury that the Chairman has been requested to call a meeting of the Board as soon as possible. 3. The appointment of Sir Spencer Walpoie to the chairmanship, with a salary of £600 per annum, has received the assent of all the contributing colonial Governments, with the exception of that of Victoria, which has not yet replied to Mr. Chamberlain's telegram of the 24th ultimo. In
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view of the urgency of the various matters requiring consideration by the Board, it has not been found possible to defer its appointment until the receipt of the reply of the Victorian Government to that telegram. I am, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. M. F. Ommanney.
No. 24. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Peemieb. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sib,— Ist March, 1901. Eeferring to my letter of the 28th January last, I beg to transmit herewith copy of letter of introduction which I have given to Mr. E. E. Peake, C.E., who, as member of the firm of Messrs. Clark, Forde, and Taylor, is proceeding in the "Britannia" with the Pacific cable surveying expedition. I trust that the Government will be able to arrange so that the " Britannia" may be met at the Bay of Islands by their representative, and that he will be authorised to acquire, with as little delay as possible, the land required for the cable-house and station. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Beeves,
Enclosure in No. 24. The Agent-Genebal to the Hons. the Premier and the Postmaster-General. Sir,— 13, Victoria Street, S.W., 26th February, 1901. Mr. E. E. Peake, to whom I am giving this letter for presentation to yourself, is proceeding with the surveying expedition which is being sent out for the purpose, inter alia, of selecting the landing-place of the Pacific cable at the most convenient point on the New Zealand coast. I therefore beg that you will give Mr. Peake, who is a member of the firm of Messrs. Clark, Forde, and Taylor, the consulting engineers of the Pacific Cable Board, every facility and assistance in your power in the performance of the work with which he has been intrusted. I have, &c, [The Hon. the Premier, Wellington.] W. P. Eeeves. [The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington.] [Bead here No. I.]
No. 25. The Hon. the Peemieb to the Agent-General. Pacific Cable. Sir,— Premier's Office, Wellington, 21st March, 1901. I have the honour to inform you that it has been observed, from a newspaper extract giving specifications of the cable, that the proposed landing-place in New Zealand is Parenga, near the North Cape. I desire to bring under notice that, assuming the cable must be landed approximately far north, it would be a material convenience to the Post and Telegraph Department of this colony were Ahipara substituted. This place is probably little further from Norfolk Island than Parenga. Its position is indicated in the accompanying map. The main advantage arising from the change would be that the cable would be brought from sixty to seventy miles nearer to Auckland, thus reducing the distance of the land-line between the cable-station and that centre. I shall, therefore, be glad if you will bring this matter to the notice of the Pacific Cable Board, and ask that, if not already done, a preliminary survey might be made with a view to choosing the best possible place for landing a cable. Another matter to which I should like the Board's attention called is the provision for a cablestaff in New Zealand. No doubt, as the cable belongs to the different British Governments, a Government staff will have charge of it. It is obvious that with only one staff the expenditure would be considerably minimised, and the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department would be prepared to take charge of the cable and find the necessary operating and electrical staff at the cable-station in this colony, if desired. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, for the Premier. : The Hon, W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
No. 26. The Hon. the Postmaster - General, Wellington, to the Hon. the Postmastee - Genebal, Sydney. (Telegram.) Wellington, 28th March, 1901. Pacific cable and . . . telegram [not printed] from Secretary of State for Colonies giving outline London Committee's report: This Government agrees with proposals so far as relate cost of manufacturing and laying cable, estimated annual expenditure, and proposed cable-rate of two shillings a word ; but I should be glad to learn views other colonies before forwarding reply to Secretary of State. Consideration of the above questions may, I think, be deferred until receipt of the full report. You are no doubt aware that we passed Act last session fixing New Zealand's proportion of guarantee at one-ninth of the whole cost and total cost of cable at £1,700.000. Will you kindly forward copies of this message to Postmasters-General, Victoria and Queensland, for reply ?
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No. 27. The Hon. the Peemieb to the Agent-Geneeal. (Memorandum.) Premier's Office, Wellington, Ist April, 1901. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st January last, forwarding copy of a letter from the British Empire League containing a resolution adopted at a meeting of the Executive Committee relating to the Pacific cable. J. G. Waed, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
No. 28. The Hon. the Peemieb to the Agent-Genebal. (Memorandum.) Premier's Office, Wellington, Ist April, 1901. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth February last, forwarding copy of a letter from the Imperial Treasury enclosing copy of a Treasury minute appointing the members of the Board of Management of the Pacific cable. J. G. Ward, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
No. 29. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Premier. Sib, — Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., 4th April, 1901. I have the honour to report that since my last letter to you in reference to the Pacific cable two further meetings of the Board have been held—namely, on Monday, the 18th, and the 25th March respectively. The Chairman, Sir Spencer Walpole, was absent from the second meeting, having been called away to the Continent owing to the very serious illness of Lady Walpole. Sir Andrew Clarke, the Agent-General for Victoria, was also absent owing to illness. The main business done by the Board related to the departure of Mr. Peake, the representative of Messrs. Clark, Forde, and Taylor, the engineers to the cable, to the colonies, for the purpose of selecting landing-places and making other arrangements connected with the laying of the cable. Mr. Peake is now at Vancouver, and leaves to-morrow for Australia. The enclosed letter, which I have just received [not printed] will show you that he has succeeded in selecting to his satisfaction the British Columbian landing-place. He has also, I believe, made satisfactory arrangements with the Canadian Government with regard to acquiring land in the Dominion for the purposes of the cable. The Board has decided to engage offices in Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, a position which is conveniently situated as regards both the Imperial Government offices and also the offices of the Agents-General in Victoria Street. These offices are commodious, but it is only proposed to take them on a three-years lease, with power to sublet, in case it may be deemed desirable before the three years expire to transfer the Board's headquarters to the city, as it is possible that when the line is at work offices in the city may be found to be necessary. As the services of Mr. Davis, of the Colonial Office, who had been acting as secretary to the Cable Committee, were no longer available, the Board has engaged Mr. H. Lathom to act as secretary temporarily, with a view of testing his competence for the post. Temporary arrangements have been made by which the Imperial Treasury have undertaken to provide the Board with sufficient funds to meet the first heavy payment to the contractors, as well as any other expenses which may from to time be incurred. I shall be glad to receive from you in future copies of any public statements made by yourself or by the Postmaster-General upon the subject of the Pacific cable. It is exceedingly important that I should know what your own and the Postmaster-General's views are upon all questions connected therewith as they may arise from time to time. I have always made it my business to endeavour to ascertain from the colonial newspapers what your views are in respect thereto ; but, of course, I cannot feel sure that I come across all that is reported, or that the reports themselves are always correct; in fact, it has been quite clear that in one or two cases they have been incorrect and misleading. As it would strengthen my hands greatly if I were put in possession here of the Government's views, I venture to suggest that the Post and Telegraph Department should be asked to systematically furnish me with the reports of all that is said by yourself and the Postmaster-General concerning the Pacific cable, and also all papers and debates which may from time to time be published with respect thereto. I may say that had this been done during the last three years it would have been a great help to me and would have prevented some misunderstanding. For the information of the Postmaster-General, I also append copy of a memorandum [not printed] addressed by the engineers to the Board immediately before Mr. Peake's departure, as it shows the objects for which Mr. Peake is proceeding to the colonies. Of course, all papers forwarded by me in this way are sent by me merely for the information of the Government, and should be regarded as confidential unless otherwise marked. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves.
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No. 30. The Hon. the Peemieb to the Agent-Genebal. Sir, Premier's Office, Wellington, 4th April, 1901. I have the honour to forward herewith extract from a letter from the Hon. Audley Coote [No. I], published in a Sydney newspaper of the 9th ultimo, which deals with the question of making Honolulu a landing-place for the Pacific cable. I shall be glad if you will submit the extract for the information of the Pacific Cable Board. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
No. 31, The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Peemieb. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., 30th April, 1901. Sir, — Pacific Gable. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st March last, and in reference to the first paragraph thereof, relating to the subject of the landing-place for the cable, I beg to state that on the 28th January I addressed a letter (copy herewith) intimating that a surveying expedition was coming to New Zealand for the purpose of selecting the landing-place, and asking that a representative of the New Zealand Government be appointed to meet the expedition on its arrival. This letter went by the San Francisco mail which was due at Auckland on the 4th March, and should therefore have been before you at least a fortnight prior to the date of your letter under reply. As advised by my letter of the Ist March last, the surveying expedition, accompanied by Mr. E. E. Peake, C.E., as representative of the Board's consulting engineers, has since left for Canada and Australia, and will proceed on to New Zealand. I am bringing under the notice of the Board your proposal as regards the provision for a cable staff in New Zealand. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves. [For Enclosures 1 and 2 in No. 31, see No. 20 and Enclosure therein.]
No. 32. The Superintendent of Electric Lines to the Secbetaby, Marine Department, and the Undeb-Secbetaby for Public Woeks. (Memorandum.) General Post Office, Wellington, 9th May, 1901. In connection with the proposed survey of the Pacific cable route, I have to inform you that the following telegram has been received from the Hon. Mr. Ward : — " Peake, representative Pacific Cable Board, expects arrive New Zealand with ' Britannia' third week June. Wants to know if you and Captain Grey could meet him Bay Islands, or would it be more convenient steamer go Auckland. Suggests an architect accompany you. Eeply promptly, as he leaves here immediately." I should be obliged if you could conveniently arrange for [Captain Grey] [Mr. Vickerman] to accompany me. J. K. Logan, Superintendent of Electric Lines. [The Secretary, Marine Department, Wellington.] [The Under-Secretary, Public Works Department, Wellington.]
No. 33. The Hon. the Peemieb to the Agent-Genebal. g IB Premier's Office, Wellington, 10th June, 1901. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th April last, reporting on matters connected with the Pacific cable. I note your request for the transmission to you of copies of any Ministerial statements published in the Press of the colony on the Pacific cable question, and have arranged for the despatch of newspaper extracts on the subject. I have, &c, W. C. Walkee, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, -London.
No. 34. The Hon. the Pbemiee to the Agent-Genebal. Premier's Office, Wellington, 3rd July, 1901. g m Pacific Gable. With regard to the proposals for the provision of a cable-station in New Zealand, which you informed me in your letter of the 30th April last you were bringing under the notice of the Board, I have the honour to forward herewith copy of memorandum on the subject which Mr. E. E. Peake, representative of the Pacific Cable Board, has submitted to the Postmaster-General by telegraph from Eussell for approval. Mr. Peake arrived at Eussell in the " Britannia "on the 29th ultimo, and was met by the Superintendent of Electric Lines, Captain Grey, our cable pilot, and an architect of the Public Works Department.
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The memorandum is the outcome of a proposed arrangement, discussed at Melbourne between Mr. Peake and Sir Joseph Ward, in connection with the control of the cable-station and Government staff by one superintendent, instead of having two supervising officers. It can be decided later whether the superintendent shall be appointed by the Pacific Cable Board, or by this Government, but the matter of land and buildings is of immediate concern. I shall be glad if you will submit the memorandum to the Board, with an indication that the proposals generally have the approval of this colony. Mr. Peake has been telegraphed to at Auckland informing him to this effect, and he will no doubt forward a similar memorandum to the Board. I have, &c, E. J. Seddon. The Hon. W. P. Eeeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
Enclosure in No. 34. Copy of Memobandum from Mr. Eobeet Edwabd Peake, representative of Pacific Cable Board, to Sir Joseph George Wabd, Postmaster-General. Telegraphed from Eussell on Ist July, 1901. To be submitted to Pacific Cable Board for approval. 1. The Government of New Zealand agree to acquire sufficient land for the erection of a cablehouse near the landing-place selected for the Pacific cable, and also to acquire suitable land at that place on which to erect the necessary telegraph buildings. 2. The plans for the offices and quarters to be drawn up by a New Zealand Government architect, and approved by the New Zealand Government and the engineers to the Pacific Cable Board. 3 The cost of all land and buildings to be borne in equal shares by the New Zealand Government and the Pacific Cable Board. 4. The future proprietorship of the land and buildings to be the subject of an agreement to be made between the New Zealand Government and the Pacific Cable Board. 5. The land and buildings to be held jointly, or become the property of either the New Zealand Government or the Pacific Cable Board by payment of the total cost; in the latter case rent, based on half the capital cost, to be paid by the non-contributing party.
No. 35. The Hon. the Postmasteb - Geneeae, Wellington, to Mr. E. E. Peake, Cable Steamer " Britannia," Auckland. (Telegram.) Wellington, 3rd July, 1901. Pacific cable: Be proposals of Ist instant, forwarded by Mr. Logan on your behalf, as to land and buildings, have much pleasure in approving. Copy has been sent to Agent - General by to-day's mail, with a request that proposals be laid before the Pacific Cable Board. Agent-General also informed that you will submit similar memorandum to the Board.
No. 36. Mr. E. E. Peake, Mangoiiui, to the Hon. the Postmaster-Genebal, Wellington, (Telegram.) Mangonui, sth July, 1901. Thanks for your telegram. Will forward copy of memorandum to Board. Arrangements here carried out very satisfactorily.
CAPE-AUSTEALIA CABLE. No. 37. The Deputy Postmastee-Geneeae, Sydney, to the Seceetary, General Post Office, Wellington. Postal and Electric Telegraph Department, General Post Office, Sir,— Sydney, 24th August, 1900. In compliance with the request contained in your communication of the 17th instant [not printed], I have the honour to forward herewith four copies of papers [New South Wales parliamentary papers : not printed] respecting proposed submarine cables between Great Britain and the Australasian Colonies, via the Cape of Good and vid the Pacific Ocean. I have, &c, S. H. Lambton, Deputy Postmaster-General. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington.
No. 38. The Officer in Chaege, Telegraph Office, Wakapuaka, to the Secbetaby, General Post Office, Wellington. (Telegram.) Wakapuaka, 13th December, 1900. New rates South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania to Europe : All three and sixpence, ordinary ; two and sixpence, Government ; one and fourpence, Press.
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No. 39. The Offtceb in Chaege, Telegraph Office, Wakapuaka, to the Secbetaby, General Post Office, Wellington. (Telegram.) Wakapuaka, 18th December, 1900. Bebne advises that the Eastern Extension, Australasia, and China Telegraph Company notify that the tariff will be reduced from the Ist January next for telegrams between all countries in Europe or in transit by Europe and South Australia, West Australia, and Tasmania. The rates for ordinary and Press telegrams for the other colonies and New Caledonia will remain as they are.
No. 40. The Hon. the Postmasteb - Geneeal, Wellington, to the Hon. the Postmastee - General, Melbourne. (Telegram.) Wellington, 28th December, 1900. Can you inform me of the intention of New South Wales and Victoria re Eastern Extension Telegraph Company's cable proposals ? Do they intend to come in, and, if so, on what conditions ? [A telegram of the same text and date was sent to the Hon. the Postmaster-Geneeal, Sydney.] ________________
No. 41. The Hon. the Postmaster - General, Sydney, to the Hon. the Postmaster - Geneeal, Wellington. (Telegram.) Sydney, 29th December, 1900. At an interview between Victorian Postmaster-General and myself it was arranged to do nothing in matter of Eastern Extension Company's proposals until Pacific cable contract signed.
No. 42. The Hon. the Postmaster - Geneeal, Melbourne, to the Hon. the Postmasteb - Geneeal, Wellington. (Telegram.) Melbourne, 31st December, 1900. At a recent interview Postmaster-General, New South Wales, and myself it was arranged to do nothing in matter of Eastern Extension Company's proposals until Pacific cable contract signed.
No. 43. The Hon. the Postmasteb - Geneeal, Wellington, to the Manages in Australasia, Eastern Extension Company, Melbourne. (Telegram.) Wellington, 10th January, 1901. Does your company propose to extend the reduced international cable rates to New Zealand ?
No. 44. The Manages in Austealasia, Eastern Extension Company, Melbourne, to the Hon. the Postmasteb-Genebal, Wellington. (Telegram.) Melbourne, 10th January, 1901. If you are prepared to accept the Adelaide agreement, I will wire the alterations to be inserted in a supplemental agreement to admit New Zealand ; otherwise present international New Zealand rates will remain in force. On the other hand, if Adelaide agreement accepted, the tariff will be reduced to 3s. 6d., plus New Zealand cable and New Zealand terminal rates. Prompt decision necessary if reduced tariff to come into operation on Ist February, as supplemental agreement with New South Wales and Victoria now about to be signed.
No. 45. The Hons. the Postmastees-Genebal, Sydney and Melbourne, to the Hon. the PostmasterGeneral, Wellington. (Telegram.) Sydney, 11th January, 1901. We have received following telegram from Warren : " If you and the Honourable the PostmasterGeneral of Victoria are prepared to accept the Adelaide agreement [No. 176, F.-8, 1900], and the Agents-General for the two States are promptly instructed to sign the supplemental agreement, the two States can have the reduced rates as per schedule B from Ist February next [see page b9, F.-8, 1900] —namely, three and six (3s. 6d.) ordinary, two and six (2s. 6d.) Government, and one and four (Is. 4d.) Press. The following alterations and amendments will be inserted in the said supplemental agreement: In third recital, Adelaide agreement referred to, Article 5, Table B, dispensed with; Article 14 entirely omitted, as company will provide their own offices at Sydney and Melbourne ; Articles 15 and 16 remodelled to suit altered circumstances; Table A struck out of schedule. Other alterations are only dates and names, to admit New South Wales and Victoria." We have sent following reply: "We are prepared to accept Adelaide agreement with such alterations as are necessary by reason of New Soutn Wales and Victoria coming in at the present
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time. Article 14 of Adelaide agreement omitted. Bates from Ist February to be as in your telegram. We will instruct our Agents-General to sign amended agreement in London at once in these terms. Will you take necessary steps to inform Berne?"
No. 46. The Hon. the Postmaster-Geneeal, Wellington, to the Manager in Australasia, Eastern Extension Company, Melbourne. (Telegram.) Wellington, 18th January, 1901. Have perused Adelaide agreement, 14th April. It would now be convenient were you to indicate for my consideration the amendments proposed to be inserted in supplemental agreement as applying to this colony.
No. 47. The Hon. the Peemieb, Melbourne, to the Hon. the Pbemiee, Wellington. (Telegram.) Melbourne, 19th January, 1901. Pacific cable: Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania some months ago agreed with the Eastern Extension Company to grant permission to at once open offices for direct transaction of business, and have obtained considerable reduction in charges. Postmasters-General of New South Wales and Victoria had a conference, and agreed in writing to give similar privileges from date of completion of Pacific cable, but getting reduction at once—that is, from Ist proximo—PostmasterGeneral of Victoria being under a misapprehension of exact position of matter. New South Wales has instructed Agent-General, and he has signed agreement, but on matter being reported to Victorian Cabinet it was determined not to do anything which would be a breach of the terms on which the contributing parties entered into contract. However, New South Wales having obtained the advantage, we are naturally desirous that our people should be in as good a position as the other States, if other parties interested do not consider we are breaking faith with them. I shall, therefore, be glad to know whether, under the circumstances as they now exist, you will object to Victoria entering into the proposed agreement. The matter of allowing the Eastern Extension Company to have separate offices was not thought of or taken into consideration at the time of the negotiations, and a large number of our people consider that the proposed agreement is justifiable, and therefore I shall be glad if you can give your consent. Telegraph reply.
No. 48. The Hon. the Acting-Peemieb Wellington, to the Hon. the Peemieb, Brisbane. (Telegram.) Wellington, 20th January, 1901. Pacific cable : Premier, Victoria, wishes to know whether it would be considered breach of faith with other interested Governments if his colony, in making agreement with Eastern Extension Telegraph Company for reduction international cable rates, agreed that company should have separate office in Melbourne from date opening Pacific cable. New South Wales has already consented to separate office in Sydney. Sir George Turner, however, does not feel justified in going so far in respect of his" colony until he obtains views other Governments. As we have been acting in concert with you, I shall be obliged if you will favour me with your views, so that I may advise our Premier, who will be in Melbourne this week.
No. 49. The Hon. the Acting-Pbemier, Wellington, to Hon. the Premier, Melbourne. (Telegram.) Wellington, 21st January, 1901. Pacific cable and your telegram of nineteenth. Am in communication with Premier, Brisbane, and when his views ascertained, will telegraph our Premier, who should be in Melbourne to-day.
No. 50. The Manages in Austbalasia, Eastern Extension Company, Melbourne, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington, (Telegram.) Melbourne, 23rd January, 1901. Principal amendments to admit New Zealand in Adelaide agreement are roughly as follows : Ist, in third recital Adelaide agreement referred to : 2nd, in Article 5 reference to table B omitted : 3rd, Article 14 entirely omitted, as company will provide their own offices in principal towns of New Zealand : 4th, Articles 15 and 16 remodelled to suit altered circumstances —namely, in Article 15, Government to provide and maintain a special wire between Wellington and Wakapuaka for company's exclusive use which will be worked by company's staff, Government receiving their terminal charges between as defined in the schedule ; Article 16, company entitled open their own office in Wellington for collecting from and delivering to the public all cable messages, and also entitled to establish agencies for collection of international and inter-State traffic at Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Nelson, and messages so collected and marked via Extension shall have precedence over ordinary local traffic where Convention Article 4 impracticable : sth, Article 19, proviso in latter part referring to South Australia and Tasmania Agreement omitted: 6th, Table A struck out of schedule. Other alterations are only dates and name, to admit New Zealand. If you approve pf these amendments, London will wire out exact working of Articles 15 and 16.
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No. 51. The Hon. the Premiee, Brisbane, to the Hon. the Peemieb, Wellington. (Telegram.) Brisbane, 23rd January, 1901. Eefebeing to your telegram of 20th instant, I have already advised Premier of Victoria as follows: " Re agreement with Eastern Extension Company : Although Government of Queensland could not reasonably object to the action taken by those States which were not parties to agreement respecting Pacific cable, they most decidedly object to any State which has virtually entered into a partnership with Queensland, Canada, New Zealand, and Imperial Government for the joint ownership of Pacific cable granting any concession to Eastern Extension Company, which must be detrimental to owners of Pacific cable, for the purpose of securing a temporary advantage. Our position in this matter is supported by the telegram of Secretary of State to Governor of Victoria of 25th February last, page 41 of correspondence published by Victorian Government, and the further telegram of the Secretary of State of sth May last, published at page 49 same correspondence. Moreover, I consider it unfortunate that precipitate action should have been taken by any of the Australian States concerned, as the matter is one of federal interests, and should have been dealt with by Federal Government."
No. 52. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Peemieb. (Telegram.) London, 28th January, 1901. Have written to Colonial Office expressing dissatisfaction New South Wales Government entering into agreement with Eastern Telegraph Company. Agent-General for Government Queensland shares in view. Secretary of State for Colonies arranging for meeting of Pacific Cable Board, give the matter full consideration.
■No. 53. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Peemieb. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sib,— 30th January, 1901. 1 beg herewith to transmit copy of cablegrams and correspondence which have been supplied to me by the Colonial Office relative to, the action taken by the New South Wales Government in entering into the agreement referred to therein with the Eastern Telegraph Company. I also attach copy of my letter to the Colonial Office, expressing regret that such action had been taken, and expressing my willingness to co-operate in any step which might be taken to bring about a reconsideration of the matter. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves.
Enclosure 1 in No. 53. The Secketaey of State for the Colonies to the Agent-Genebal. Sib, — Colonial Office, Downing Street, S.W., 23rd January, 1901. I am directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to transmit to you, for your information and for the information of the New Zealand Government, copy of a telegram which has been received from the Officer Administering the Government of New South Wales, on the subject of the agreement entered into by the Government of that State with the Eastern Telegraph Company. I am, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. H. Beetbam Cox.
Sub-enclosure 1 in Enclosure 1 in No. 53. Mr. Chambeelain to the Offices Administering the Govebnment of New South Wales. (Telegram.) . Downing Street, Bth January, 1901. Eefebbing to my telegram of the 2nd July, Canadian Government are informed that New South Wales will probably accept proposals of Eastern Telegraph Company. Presume that this is not correct, and that matter will be kept open till Pacific Cable Board is in position to deal with it.
Sub-enclosure 2 in Enclosure 1 in No. 53. The Offices Administering the Government of New South Wales to Mr. Chambeelain. (Telegram.) Sydney, 17th January, 1901. Eefeesing to your telegram of Sth January, my Ministers advise that Pacific Cable Board has no power to deal with any matter affecting Post Office except Pacific cable. Our Post Office will probably pass to Federal Government at the end of next month, when cable-rates would necessarily be uniform. At present this State pays 4s. lid. per word, while the adjoining State pays 3s. 6d. Paving the way for uniformity in the Federal service, my Government has entered into agreement with Eastern Extension Company for uniformity of rate from Ist February.
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Enclosure 2 in No. 53. The Secbetaby to the Agent-Genebal to the Undee-Secbetaby of State for the Colonies. Sir,— 13, Victoria Street, S.W., 25th January, 1901. I am directed by the Agent-General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 23rd instant, enclosing copy of a telegram which had been received from the Officer Administering the Government of New South Wales, on the subject of the agreement entered into by the Government of that State with the Eastern Telegraph Company, and, in reference thereto, to express his regret at the action taken by the New South Wales Government. I am to add that the Agent-General would be glad to co-operate in any steps which might possibly be taken with a view to the reconsideration of the question at issue. I am, &c, The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. Waltee Kennaway.
Enclosure 3 in No. 53. The Undeb-Secbetaey of State for the Colonies to the Agent-Genebal. Sib, — Colonial Office, Downing Street, S.W., 26th January, 1901. With reference to your letter of the 25th instant, I am directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to transmit to you, for your information, copy of a correspondence with the Agent-General for Victoria with reference to the proposals made to his Government by the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company for the conclusion of an agreement similar to that recently entered into by the Government of New South Wales. I am, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. H. Bebteam Cox.
Sub-enclosure 1 in Enclosure 3 in No. 53. The Agent-Genebal for Victoeia to the Under- Secretary of State for the Colonies. Sib,— Victoria Office, 15, Victoria Street, S.W., 22nd January, 1901. I have the honour to inform you that I have received the following telegram from my Government. [Text as in No. 47.] I have, &c, The Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office. Andrew Clarke.
Sub-enclosure 2 in Enclosure 3 in No. 53. The Undee-Secbetaby of State for the Colonies to the Agent-Genebal for Victoeia. Sib, — Downing Street, 26th January, 1901. I am directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant, communicating the text of a telegram which you have received from the Government of Victoria with reference to the proposals made to them by the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company for the conclusion of an agreement similar to that recently entered into by the Government of New South Wales. Mr. Chamberlain is endeavouring to arrange for the immediate assembly of the Pacific Cable Board in order that His Majesty's Government may have the benefit of the advice of that body, as representing all the partners in the Pacific cable, before expressing a definite opinion on the subject. A letter from the Agent-General for New Zealand respecting the action of the Government of New South Wales is enclosed. Copies of this correspondence have been communicated to the High Commissioner for Canada, and the Agents-General for New South Wales, Queensland, and New Zealand. I am,&c, The Agent-General for Victoria. H. Bebteam Cox.
[For Enclosure 4 in No. 53 see No. 52.] Enclosure 5 in No. 53. The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies to the Agent-General. Sib, — Colonial Office, Downing Street, S.W., 29th January, 1901. With reference to the letter from this department of the 26th instant, I am directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to transmit to you, for your information, copy of a letter from the High Commissioner for Canada respecting the agreement recently concluded by the Government of New South Wales with the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company. I am, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, H. Bebteam Cox.
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Sub-enclosure in Enclosure 5 in No. 53. The High Commissioner for Canada to the Under-Secbetaby of State for the Colonies. Sir,— 17, Victoria Street, S.W., 26th January, 1901. I beg to acknowledge your letter of the 23rd instant, respecting the reported acceptance by the Government of New South Wales of the proposals of the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company, and transmitting copy of a telegram received from the Officer Administering the Government of that colony on the subject. Your further letter of the 25th instant, with a copy of Mr. Chamberlain's telegram to the Government of New South Wales dated the Bth instant, has also reached me. I had no doubt that the action of the New South Wales Government would cause grave disappointment among the other partners in the Pacific cable scheme. After all the correspondence that has passed, it was never deemed possible that any one of the partners in the construction of the Pacific cable would enter into any agreement with a competing line without the consent and approval of Her Majesty's Government and the other colonies associated with them. Sir Andrew Clarke, a few days ago, handed to me a copy of a telegram received by him from the Government of Victoria stating that, although they had agreed with the New South Wales Government recently to sign the agreement with the Eastern Extension Company, their action in the matter was the result of a misapprehension, and that they did not wish to proceed further or to do anything that could possibly be regarded as a breach of the terms on which the contributing parties had entered into the contract for the Pacific cable. At the same time, the telegram gave expression to the desire of the Government, should no objection be raised, to participate in the temporary advantages which the people of New South Wales would secure by the action of its Government. I at once took the opportunity of cabling to Canada both the telegram received by Mr. Chamberlain from New South Wales and the effect of the telegram adressed to Sir Andrew Clarke by the Government of Victoria. 1 have now to transmit, for the information of Mr. Chamberlain, the following telegram, which reached me to-day from Sir Wilfrid Laurier : " Canadian Government entered into Pacific cable partnership in full confidence no partner Government would alter conditions then existing to prejudice of scheme. Consider concessions asked for Eastern Extension would, if granted, materially alter conditions and seriously prejudice scheme. Canada certainly will be unwilling to continue its adherence if co-partners, without mutual consent, change basis on which partnership formed. Last Saturday received cable from Premier Victoria asking views and cabled reply to above effect." I venture to believe that His Majesty's Government will use their best endeavours with New South Wales and with the Government of Victoria to bring about a reconsideration of the matter, in the hope that it may still be possible to avoid the consequence of the action of the former Government, which is certainly calculated to seriously prejudice both the construction and successful operation of the Pacific cable. I am, &c, The Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office, S.W. Steathcona.
No. 54. The Manages in Australasia, Eastern Extension Company, Melbourne, to the Secbetaby, General Post Office, Wellington. (Telegram.) Melbourne, 4th February, 1901. The remaining sections—between Cornwall, Madeira, and St. Vincent—of the Eastern Telegraph Company's new direct cable to South Africa, which is to connect with the Eastern Extension Company's Cape-Australian cable, are now completed and open for traffic. The Telegraph Construction Company's steamer "Britannia" is to leave the Thames during the current month for Adelaide to lay the shore ends and intermediate cable of the Adelaide-Fremantle section of the Cape cable, and after the completion of this work she will proceed to the Pacific and start surveying the route for the all-British cable.
No. 55. The Hon. the Peemieb, Brisbane, to the Hon. the Peemieb, Wellington. (Telegram.) Brisbane, 6th February, 1901. We have received following telegram from our Agent-General:—" Pacific cable : Canada has given to Secretary of State notice consider concessions to Eastern Extension materially alter conditions, seriously prejudice scheme. Unwilling continue adherence if partners without mutual consent change basis on which partnership formed."
No. 56. The Hon. the Peemieb, Wellington, to the Hon. the Peemieb, Melbourne, (Telegram.) Wellington, 7th February, 1901. Peesumed you had kept copy of draft letter to Eastern Extension Company. Retained draft you sent and notified you personally approved on behalf New Zealand. If you have not copy will telegraph your original save time. Officially notify you approve.
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(Draft.) Pboposed Letteb to the Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company (Limited). In order to settle the difficulty which has arisen in regard to the reduction of the present cablerates, we desire to assure you that on the completion of the Pacific cable nothing will be done by our respective Governments or any of our officers which will unfairly take away from the company business which otherwise would be transacted through it, and that where cablegrams are handed to any officer without being marked for either line the officer will ask the sender which line he desires to use, and have the cablegram so marked. We do not in any way desire to have any competition with the company which is not legitimate, so long as the company acts in a similar way, and maintains without exception its published tariff of rates. We are prepared also to advise those who are associated with us in the Pacific cable scheme to ask the Committee in London to negotiate with the company for a joint promise, as suggested by the Committee, and any understanding arrived at will be favourably considered by our Governments. We trust that the company will be satisfied with this proposal, and thus put an end to the difficulties which have arisen, and prevent any further unpleasantness.
No. 57. The Hon. the Peemieb, Melbourne, to the Hon. the Peemieb, Wellington. (Telegram.) Melbourne, Bth February, 1901. Sib George Turner did keep a copy of draft letter to Eastern Extension Company, therefore unnecessary trouble you for copy, fie was in doubt as to what became of copy which he handed to you. Sir George Turner yesterday sent copy to Premier of Queensland with request to be informed of views of that Government with regard thereto.
No. 58. The Hon. the Peemieb to the Agent-Genebal. (Telegram.) Wellington, Bth February, 1901. Please inform Canada at once that New Zealand is in harmony with Victoria and Queensland, and has no intention of agreeing to concessions asked by Eastern Extension, and will be no party, unless with consent of partners, to alter conditions or knowingly do anything prejudicial to Pacific scheme.
No. 59. The Hon. the Premier, Wellington, to the Hon. the" Premier, Brisbane. (Telegram.) Wellington, Bth February, 1901. Pacific cable: New Zealand has no intention of making any concessions to Eastern Extension. Our Agent-General requested inform Canada.
No. 60. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Peemieb. Westminister Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sir,- . 15th February, 1901. In continuation of my letter of 30th ultimo, I beg to enclose herewith copy of a letter which I addressed to the High Commissioner for Canada upon receipt of your cablegram of Bth instant, relating to the Eastern Telegraph Company's agreement with New South Wales, together with a copy of the High Commissioner's reply. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Reeves.
Enclosure 1 in No. 60. The Agent-General to the High Commissioner for Canada. Dear Loed Strathcona, — 13, Victoria Street, S.W., Bth February, 1901. Referring to your letter of the 26th ultimo, and in confirmation of the assurance which I have already given to you that my Government would co-operate with Canada in disapproving the step taken by the New South Wales Government, I beg to quote for your information a copy of a cablegram which I have this day received from my Government. [See No. 58.] I am, &c, Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal. W. P. Reeves.
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Enclosure 2 in No. 60. The High Commissionee for Canada to the Agent-Genebal. Dear Me. Reeves,— 17, Victoria Street, S.W., 11th February, 1901. I am in receipt of your letter of the Sth instant, and am greatly obliged to you for acquainting me with the text of the cablegram received by you from your Government, in which they state their attitude in regard to the concession asked for by the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company. I have noted this message with much satisfaction, and am glad to say that I have also recently received a letter from Sir Horace Tozer, in which he assured me that both the Queensland Government and himself were entirely in accord with the views held by the Canadian Government in regard to the action taken by the New South Wales Government in this matter. I remain, &c, The Hon. W. P. Reeves. Strathcona.
No. 61. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Peemieb. (Telegram.) London, 12th April, 1901. I am desired by Colonial Office to ascertain opitiion of Government of New Zealand as to resolution passed by Cable Board recommending special conference discuss position caused by New South Wales agreement signed with Eastern Telegraph Company. I believe that Imperial Government favourable to holding conference, and advise your assent.
No. 62. The Hon. the Pbemiee to the Agent-Geneeal. (Telegram.) Wellington, 13th April, 1901. Recommendation Cable Board : Approve conference being held to discuss position caused by New South Wales agreement signed Eastern Telegraph Company, it being clearly understood that, so far as this colony is concerned, there must be no departure from the original arrangements. Sincerely hope result conference will be that New South Wales be able to go back to same position as other contracting parties.
No. 63. The Hon. the Pbemieb, Wellington, to the Hon. the Pbemiee, Melbourne. Premier's Office, Wellington, 19th April, 1901. Sis, — Reduction of Cable-rates. Referring to previous correspondence, and more particularly to the Hon. Mr. Peacock's telegram to me of the Sth February last, I have the honour to inquire what further action has been taken in respect of the joint letter proposed to be sent the Eastern Extension Australasian and China Telegraph Company, the draft of which Sir George Turner forwarded to the Premier of Queensland the day before you telegraphed me. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Melbourne. W. C. Walkee, for the Premier.
No. 64. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Peemieb. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sib— 25th April, 1901. I beg to transmit herewith copy of correspondence with the Colonial Office [not printed] relating to the proposal to hold a conference representing the Governments interested in the Pacific cable, for the purpose of discussing the effect of the agreement concluded on the 16th January last between the Government of New South Wales and the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company, and for considering how the disturbance brought about thereby can be readjusted. I have, &c. The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Eeeves.
No. 65. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Phemiee. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, London, S.W., Sib,— 9th May, 1901. In continuation of my letter of 25th ultimo, I beg to transmit copy of further correspondence [not printed] relating to the agreement made between the Government of New South Wales and the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. W. P. Reeves.
F.—B
38
No. 66. The Hon. the Pbemiee to the Agent-Geneeal, Sib, — Premier's Office, Wellington, 31st May, 1901, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letters of the 30th January and 15th February last, forwarding copies of cablegrams and correspondence supplied to you by the Colonial Office relative to the action taken by the New South Wales Government in entering into an agreement with the Eastern Telegraph Company, and your reply, together with a copy of your letter to the High Commissioner for Canada in connection with the said agreement, and of the reply thereto. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Reeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
No. 67. The Hon. the Peemiee to the Agent-General. Premier's Office, Wellington, 6th June, 1901. Sib, — Pacific Gable. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th April last, transmitting copy of correspondence with the Colonial Office relating to the proposal to hold a conference representing the Governments interested in the Pacific cable, for the purpose of discussing the effect of the agreement concluded on the 16th January last between the Government of New South Wales and the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company, and for considering how the disturbance brought about thereby may be readjusted. I have, &c, W. C. Walkeb, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Reeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
No. 68. The Hon. the Peemieb to the Agent-Geneeal. Premier's Office, Wellington, 15th July, 1901. Sib, — Gape Cable. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th May last, transmitting copy of further correspondence relating to the agreement made between the Government of New South Wales and the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company. I have, &c, J. G. Wabd, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Reeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.
Approximate Cost of Paper. —Preparation, not given ; printing (1,440 copies), £21 16s.
By Authority: John Mackay, Government Printer, Wellington.—l9ol.
Price Is.]
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Bibliographic details
TELEGRAPH CABLES (FURTHER PAPERS RELATING TO). [In continuation of Paper F.-8, presented on the 21st August, 1900.], Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1901 Session I, F-08
Word Count
29,547TELEGRAPH CABLES (FURTHER PAPERS RELATING TO). [In continuation of Paper F.-8, presented on the 21st August, 1900.] Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1901 Session I, F-08
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