10th Nov. dorp seems to have been even more 'Tue high rates that we have to pay successful than we knew at first. It for telegrams in the Far East, and was mentioned some time ago, before that are charged in Australia—artifithe war began, that the Boers' tradicially high as far as we in the Far tional terror in battle is that East are concerned, because the Great they will be outflanked, this Northern Telegraph Company could manceuvre being the principal one continue to make handsome profits ofall South African native strategy. with a very much lower tariff, but The infantry, we learn, drove the for its "combine" with the Eastern Boers into the plain, where they are Company—these high rates and the as helpless as a seagull on a ship's fact that the existing wires are not deck, and the cavalry outflanked entirely under British control, have them and nearly wiped them out. decided the British, Canadian, and The Boers are still in overwhelming Australasian Governments to lay a numbers, however, but this disparity cable from British Columbia to Aus-will soon be rectified, the first transtral asia across the Pacific. The East-orts from home with reinforcements ern Extension Telegraph Company cing due at Durban to-day, while having opposed the proposition as far our evident inferiority in artillery is as they were able without success, now sion of the Terrible's big guns, prob-being partly made up by the conver-propose to lay anew cable themselves to Australia. They are laying, or ably her six-inch quick-firers, into have completed the laying of, a new field-pieces. all-British cable to the Cape of Good It is pleasant to see that the Hope vid St. Helena, and they now Mafeking garrison is holding out: propose to continue this to Durban—this place was originally fortified by Captain Purvis, LO, lately of the as we pointed out a few days there is no cable now between the Peking Sydicate here, but only Cape and Durban—and thence vid against rifle fire, the Boers having no the Rodriguez and Cocos Islands and artillery at that time. Kimberley is Perth to Glenelg near Adelaide, thus holding out too, but itis not in avery establishing an entirely new, all-happy case apparently, the garrison British, and very direct means of and population having to be put on cable communication between the allowance. The blowing up of the mother country, South Africa, and De Beers store of dynamite must Australia, without the intervention have been a magnificent spectacle of 3 lo land lines through We gather that the store was sufii-It will be readily and ciently far enough from the mines and correctly surmised that these last are the town to preclude any great loss the words of the cable company. of life. We mentioned a few days ago The Eastern Extension Company that there were fears that the Boers do not ask for any subsidy or gua-might possibly try to mask General rentee, the only condition they make White and make 2 raid on Durban being that they should have the before the reinforcements could [right to establish their own offices in rive, The Pictermaritzburgers Adelaide, Perth, and Melbourne for evidently have some fears of this kind, the collection and delivery of tele-and the Natal naval volunteers with grams and thus deal direct. with the artillery who were going to the front public. They will then be sure that all have been called back to alleviate messages intended for their line will the apprehensions of Pietermaritz~ go by their cable and not vid the burg, which, after all, is not eighty Pacific line. This concession, we miles as the crow flies from Colenso. read, is no more than is granted by We have nothing more about the the British Post Office as a matter movements or intentions of Sir of course to British or foreign cable Redvers Buller, but, as we said before, companies whenever requested. If he is not the kind of man to let peo-this concession is granted, and the ple know what he is going to do; we proposal adopted by the Australian must be content to wait to know Governments, the Australian tariff will what he has done, and we shall be at once reduced to four shillings a probably not be disappointed. Our word, even before preparations are native correspondent at Peking hints that our areal there have kept the made for laying the cable. Provision is also made for a sliding scale by Chinese' well informed of the tempora which it is quite possible that four ary reverses that we have suffered in years hence the rate will be reduced the Transvaal. We trust that -they. to half-a-crown a word. For telegrams will be as ready to inform the Chinese to Hongkong, a much shorter distance, of the successes that we expect soon to the charge in London now is five-be able-to chronicle, so that they may and-sixpence a word.
The Eastern Extension Company formally pledge themselves to lay this new cable and make the promised reduction to four shillings a word, whether the proposed Pacific cable is laid or not, and this pledge having been given, it is needless to enquire whether the scheme would have been adopted but for the threatened competition on the part of the Pacific cable. To the concession asked by the Company, namely, the right of dealing directly with the public at Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne, the only opposition comes from the Postmaster-General at Melbourne, while the public, the Press, and the Chamber of Commerce are all in favour, of its being granted. The Sydney Telegraph says:—*It is reported that the Postmasters-General of New South Wales and Victoria have come to the extraordinary decision that if the proposals for a Cape cable be officially recognised there must be no un-deroutting of the rates vid the Pacific; in other words the long-standing complaints that the Eastern Extension Company's rates are too high is to be ignored and the tariff is to j be kept up because the interested Governments wish to lay a strategic and money-making cable across the Pacific; This means that those who use the cable are expected to pay highly for the privilege of having a second cable when they might pay less and have increased facilities if the third cable were laid.
"'There is no good reason why the Eastern Extension Company should not lay its Cape-Australia cable and the Government lay its Pacific cable, each charging' rates to suit themselves. The Government should
tion. If they are not and the present, be Prepared to withstand competi-tariff be maintained, doubling or trebling cable connections will be of no benefit to those who now complain of the charges being too high."
Of course the Governments that have agreed to lay a Pacific cable will be disappointed if it does not. pay, owing to a lowering of rates by the present monopolists. But there is a third party to be considered, the public who provide the traffic, which indeed very seldom is considered by the managers of great industrial enterprises, railways, steamship lines, telegraph lines, etcetera. 'I'he public are the gainers in the end by cheap rates even if their governments, which are a devolution from themselves, lose a little by providing the competition which produces cheap rates. The policy favoured by the Melbourne Postmaster-General is evidently a short-sighted one, and the British Government was right in promising that the State cable shall have no undue preference over the cable companies' lines; and there can therefore be no valid objection to the Eastern Extension Company being allowed to deal directly with
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.