§ 98. Mr. HARRY LAWSONasked the Postmaster-General if an invitation was recently conveyed by the Australian Premier to the New Zealand Government to appoint a representative to a conference to consider the acquisition of a cable in the Atlantic which shall be under British control, and has been accepted; whether, in view of the opinions recently expressed by the Canadian Postmaster-General and the Canadian branch of the Chamber of Commerce in favour of an All-British Atlantic cable, he intends to call the subsidiary conference he promised at the last Imperial Conference; and, if so, when?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELI am not aware of any subsequent steps that may have been taken in Australia since the date of the Governor-General's dispatch of July last urging that a conference should be called. As I informed the hon. Member for Central Finsbury on 21st November the reply to that letter is being suspended in anticipation of the early completion of 2100 arrangements for further reductions of rates to Australia. I may, perhaps, add that the reductions cannot be so large as might otherwise have been expected because of the high terminal rate charged by Australia. The United Kingdom terminal charge is ½d. a word, that of New Zealand 1d., and of Australia 5d.