§ SIR ANDREW AGNEW (Edinburgh, S.)To ask the Postmaster-General if he will state how much of the underground telegraph cable between London and Edinburgh and Glasgow has been actually laid; what further progress will be made with it during the present year; and when he expects that the work will be completed.
(Answered by Lord Stanley.) The line of pipes for the underground cable now runs continuously from London to Carlisle, and a section of nineteen miles has also been laid over the Beattock incline in Scotland. By the end of the financial year a double line of pipes will also have been laid from Manchester to Leeds. The permanent cable will be ready for use as far as Warrington. I cannot at present state when the underground line will be completed, but I fully appreciate the importance of pushing on the work as rapidly as possible, and a large sum has been included in next year's Estimates to provide for the extension of the line.