The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-31 00:00:00

INDIA.

Lord WODEHOUSE in rising, pursuant to notice,
to ask her Majesty's Government their intentions re-
specting the establishment of telegraphic communication
with India, said, that three distinct lines of communi-
cation had been proposed, of which that from Ragusa to
Corfu and Alexandria seemed free from many of the ob-
jections to which the others were exposed. At the same
time it was desirable that as many of these lines shout,'
be constructed as possible in order that we might have
several independent means of communication with India.
In the Eastern portions of the route our choice seemed
to lie between two lines—one from Bussora to Kurra-
elute, and the other along the line of the Red Sea. The
efficiency of the first depended upon the Turkish Go-
vernment, and he was not convinced that it would be a
satisfactory mode of communication with India, the
main objection being that the line was at the mercy of
the Arabs who inhabited the wild country through which
it passed. He did not mean to say that the telegraph
was not carried through districts in India where the
tribes were quite as wild, but there was a great difference
between the Governments of Turkey and India. It was
said that the safety of this line might be secured by sub-
sidising the Arab tribes. If the line were being mad«
by an English company the Arabs might be subsidised
'y them, but at present the Turkish Government were
constructing the line, which was an object of jealousy to
the Arabs, and the Ottoman Government might not
have the influence necessary to maintain it. If the
Turkish Government could succeed in making the line
it was very desirable that it should be constructed, yet,
of the two, the line by way of the Red Sea seemed mast
likely to form an efficient mode of communication with
India. The ojections were principally of an engineer-
ing character. (A Noble Lord—Jeddah 'I) The Arabs
on the Red Sea might be unfriendly, but the line would
be carried along the bottom of the sea. The engineer-
ing difficulties in the Red Sea being surmounted he be-
lieved there would be oo great difficulty in carrying the
line from the south-east end of the peninsula to Kurra-

chee in Bimbay,•~nd this he had no doubt would be
the most satisfactory and secure mode of communicating
vith India. The question wag, how this line was to b
made ? He believed that the proper course would be for
be Government to make it at the public expense. Tbey
would then hold in their bands the key of the communi-
cation between India and Europe. It was not very credit-
anle to the energy and enterprise of this country and of
the Government that, at a time when telegraphic coca-
miunication with India was of vital importance to the
interests of this country, not only was no line in course
of construction, but no project had been adopted which
Promised the speedy execution of a line of telegraphic

communication (Hear.)
The Earl of DONOUGH MORE agreed with the noble
lord in the importance of the subject, but he was unable
to give him any special information that had not been
already laid before Parliament. It was, no doubt, desir.
able that as many lines should be made as possib!e, but
it was important that there should be one line, and the
question was which line of telegraphic communication
with India cAild be secured in the shortest time. When
the line of the Austrian Government from Ragusa to

Alexaudria should be completed there would be a tele•

graphic communication from London to Suez, because a
line now existed between Alexandria and Suez. Unfor-
tunately the Government bad not been able to make an
arrangement with the Austrian Government with regaro
to thie line. There were some points in dispute betwee,
the two Governments, and no absolute agreement had yet
been come to. Tne teiegraphic communication bet weer.

Constantinople and Bussorah was to be made by an E±lg
fish compu y, which bad obtained the coro,en t and suppor.
of the Ottoman Government. He admitted that portions
. .

of the line might be exposed to theattacks of hostile Arabs;
but he believed that between Constantinople and Mosul
no such difficulties would be encountered. The danger
lay between Mosul and Bagdad, from the latter of which
places it was intended to carry the telegraph in the bed
of the Tigris to Bussorah, and thence by a submarine
cable through the' Persian Gulf t) Burrachee. For his
own part he was disposed to think that the route by the
Persian Gulf was preferable to that by the Red Sea. In
the first place, it was much shorter; and the experience
with the Atlantic cable hardly warranted the anticipa-
tion that a submarine line could be laid down for so great
a length as that of the Red Sea. In addition to this the
depth of water in that sea was very various, and its bed
was full of coral reefs. The Persian Gulf presented none
of these difficulties. There were no great inequalities of
bott3m, and no coral reefs ; and the gull was studded
with islands, on which, as they were under the authority
of our ally the Imaum of Muscat, we might easily esta-
blish repeating stations, and over which the telegraph
might be carried on poles—an advantage which we
should not possess in the Red Sea. There was under the
consideration of the Government another project—viz.,
to lay a submarine mole from the southern coast of Eng.
land to Gibraltar, from Gibraltar to Malta, and thence
to Alexandria, so that the whole line might be under
our own control. This was a subsidiary project, and one
which could not be expected to be carried out immedi-
ately ; but under all the circutnstances, we should,
within a reasonable pPriod, have established telegraphic
communication between London and Bombay and Cal-
cutta.

Lord STRA FFORD DE REDCLIFFE was glad to
bear that her Majeety's Government intended to encou-
rage, and as far as possible to facilitate, the construction
of an independent line of telegraphic communication.
The noble lord referred to the engagements made by the
rarkish Government f ir the establishment of telegraphic
communication in chat country, but as he spoke wan his
back to the gallery his remarks were almost entirely in
audible. He was understood to say that it was desirable
that the Government should encourage the conArucrion
of a telegraph by the Red Sea route as we 1 as by that of
Persia, and to impress upon their lordships the import-
ance of our having more than one line of communication
with India,
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY said that if he was
rightly informed, the Directors of the East India Com-
pany had consented to take under their own manage-
ment the construction of the submarine line from Busso-
rah to Kurrachee, and probably the new Indian Govern-
ment would adopt a similar course. For his ow❑
part he was inclined to think that, notwithstanding the
danger from the A'abs, which there was reason to ~ope
would he diminished by the presence at B gdad i•f so
energetic a governor as Omar Pasha, the line by the Per-
sian Gmlf would be the best of those proposed. At the
same time he agreed with the noble lord that it aas de-
sirable that we should base more than one line of com-
munication with India. The question then arose how we
could best communicate with Alexandria, whi-ther from
Malta or by means of the Au-trian line from Ragusa to
C irfu If he understood the noble earl rightly ❑egotta-
tions were sill pending with the Austrian Government
as to our use of the last mentioned line, and nothing had
yet been settled. In the event of the t-legraphic line in
the Mediterranean going through British possessions, he
trusted that the entire control would be placed in the
hands of the English, and not in those of any foreign
Government. If the attempt to lay the rleetric cable in
the Atlantic again failed, and the Agamemnon should
return home with a sufficient length of wire for the pur-
pose, he would recommend that she should be at once
sent out to lay it down between Malta and Alexandria.
This could be accomplished in a very economical manner
and he should be glad to see such a line in the possession
of her Majesty's Government. It had always seemed tu
him a mistake not to make telegraphic communication
part of the postal system of this country. Those lines
could be maintained at a very moderate expense, and
made even to contribu•e to the national resources.