85. Sir J. D. REESasked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the heavy losses incurred in business owing to delays in delivery of cables to and from India; and whether any, and, if so, what, steps are being taken to avoid in future such delays?
The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. lllingworth)I am aware of the delay sustained by telegrams to and from India. It has been due to a series of interruptions on the cables of the Eastern Telegraph Company and to the fact that the traffic has enormously increased, being now about three times as great as before the War. The routes to India and the Far East viá Germany and Russia, which carried a considerable amount of traffic before the War, are still out of use, with the result that the whole traffic has to be carried by the Eastern Company's cables.
The Company have just laid new cables between this country and Gibraltar and between Malta and Alexandria, and hope to lay another between Aden and Bombay during the spring. They also hope to increase the capacity of the existing cables by the introduction of new apparatus.
In order to provide a more expeditious service for the most pressing telegrams during the period of stress on the cables, the Company are introducing from to-day an urgent service of telegrams at triple rates to India nad other countries on their system.
§ Colonel YATEIs it impossible now to use the old line through Tiflis and Batum?
§ Mr. ILLINGWORTHI am afraid that I am not in a position to answer that question. So far as the Eastern Telegraph Company are concerned, they are doing everything they possibly can, without any regard to the question of expense