§ MR. A. M'ARTHURasked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, If any steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government, acting in concert with the Colonial authorities, to secure to the Cape Colony and Natal, by way of Mauritius, the advantages of direct telegraphic communication with the mother country?
§ MR. J. LOWTHER,in reply, said, that since the original suggestion for securing telegraphic communication with Cape Colony and Natal, by way of Mauritius, an alternative route had been proposed by Western Africa. The whole subject was now engaging the attention of the Government.