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F.—B

EASTERN EXTENSION COMPANY'S CABLES.

AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND.

No. 1. The Manager in Australasia, Eastern Extension Company, Melbournje, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. The Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company (Limited), Sib,— Melbourne, 19th May, 1905. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th instant [No. 4, F.-8, 1905], and to say that a copy of it will be forwarded "to our Head Office, London; also that' no doubt, our traffic department will consult with the Pacific Board on the matter. I have, &c, W. Waeken, The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Manager in Australasia. [E.E. Misc. 05/55.]

No. 2. The General Manager, Pacific Cable Board, London, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. The Pacific Cable Board, Queen Anne's Chambers, Totbill Street, Westminster, Sir,— London, S.W., 7th July, 1905. With reference to your letter of the 13th May [No. 5, F.-8, 1905], I forward for your information copy of the correspondence between the Eastern Telegraph Company and the International Office at Berne on the point whether a terminal administration should, on the occasion of an interruption, divert messages to a more expensive route only after collecting from the sender the higher charge. , The correspondence speaks for itself, and I have only to add that the decision of the Berne Office will largely reduce the number of cases where the pro rata reduction rules need be applied. These rules, of which we have already had troublesome experience, are most difficult of application, especially in the case of administrations such as those in America, which do not observe the rules of the International Convention in their entirety. It is therefore satisfactory that the rules will not be called into use except in the cases when an interruption occurs after the transmission of a telegram by the terminal (original) administration has been completed and the telegram has been transmitted to the next administration. In the case of an interruption for " via Pacific " messages south of Norfolk Island, either on the Australian or New Zealand side, in which cases there is a short alternative route available, it is not the Board's desire that the cost of the detour due to such an interruption should fall on the sender under the above decision, but that the rate " via Pacific " should remain unchanged during such partial interruption. I am still in correspondence with the PostmasterGeneral of the Commonwealth on the subject of a special transit rate of Id. between La Perouse and Southport for diverted messages in such cases, but I have been informed that the Australian Post Office would prefer to secure this end by a pro rata reduction of shares under the Convention, as has already been done on some occasions. On this subject I will address you again later, merely expressing the hope that during such partial interruptions, whether on the land lines or the cables, our traffic will be sent round to Norfolk Island by the route open, and not diverted to the Eastern Company. I am, &c, C. H. Reynolds, General Manager. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. [E.E. Misc. 05/85.]

Enclosure 1 in No. 2. The Traffic Accountant, Eastern Extension Company, London, to the Director, International Telegraph Bureau, Berne. The Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company (Limited), Sir,— London, 22nd May, 1905. I beg to refer to paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article XLII and paragraph 5 of Article LXXVI of the London (1903) Revision of the Convention, regarding the diversion of telegrams to a more