The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-16 00:00:00

TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION WITH

INDIA.

(From the Times.)

A bargain—a most foolish and disadvantageous
bargain, as it seems to us—has just been concluded
by the British Government. it has been long evi-
dent that telegraphic communication with our
Eastern possessions is necessary to the well-being
of the empire, and many have been the criticisms
on what seems the inexplicable delay in carrying
out the great enterprise. At last, when the Indian
mutiny is nearly over, we learn that the telegraph
is to be constructed, but on such terms as must '
cripple the development of the system not only for
a generation to come, but absolutely for ever—in
all perpetuity. The Treasury have come to an
agreement with the Austrian authorities that if the
latter will make a submarine line from Ragusa to
Alexandria the Br tish Government will use that
and no other, will send all its telegrams by Ragusa
to Alexandria, and will complete the telegraph from
Suez to Kurrachee or Bombay. The obligation is,
as we have said, in perpetuity, and therefore when
this Austrian line is completed the Government
will be unable to encourage, or even to sanction,
any, other project which maybe formed to facilitate
or extend communication. Now, we have nothing
at all to say against the Austrian line and the use
of it by our Government. On the contrary, we are
very glad to see that Austrian enterprise in the
Mediterranean is equal to such a plan as that of
joining Trieste with Egypt. Nor have we any
predilection for either of the two roads of telegra-
phic communication which have been advocated by
projectors. For the last three or four years a war
has been going on between the partisans of the Eu-
phrates Valley route and the Red Sea route The
former party wish to carry the line from Constanti-
nople through Asia Minor, or from the coast of
Syria into the interior, and in both cases to follow
the course of the Euphrates to the Persian Gulf.
The scheme has this advantage, that it would give
the shortest line, and this drawback, that it would
carry the wire through countries where as yet the
authority of the Porte is limited, where the Kurds
and Arabs are nearly independent, and where the
line would consequently be unsafe unless a kind of
blackmail were paid to the heads of a great num-
ber of tribes. The Red Sea route involves a vast
quantity of submarine wire, the laying of which is
difficult, while great expense is incurred by any
breaking of the line. Still it has only nature and
accidents to contend with. When once submerged
in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, or the Indian
Ocean it need fear nothing dem the bigotry and
barbarism of neighbouring races. The stations
may be fixed ,at Perim, or Aden, or sem() point
near Muscat, and the line worked by our own
authorities. This seems to us a fair statement of
the respective merits of the two plans, and, should
either or both be carried out, they might legiti-
mately receive support. But as yet neither party
has effected anything. The Government has, how-
ever, adopted the Red Sea system, and is prepared
to carry it out. If this were an isolated act we
should have nothing to say. Out of two plans the
Government would have selected one, and the other
must be given up or executed by other means. It
is when we find the Treasury declaring that this
line from Suez to India shall he only used as a
pendant to a certain line from Ragusa to Alexan-
dria, that we are obliged to step in and deneunce
the bargain.
Let Austria make her telegraph, and let us use
it as long as we want it, but let not our freedom
of action be limited. Undoubtedly, the projected
Austrian line will be useful, and if it be con-
structed it may for some time be the principal
means of communication between England and the
East. 'But why should our Government promise
to make it the only means ? Surely, the inter-
course between the United Kingdom and its
greatest dependency onght not to be at the
mercy of any foreign Power ? We presume
that by this line messages to and fro will pass
through Austria, Bavaria, Prussia, and Belgium,
before they reach their destination. Can we not
conceive circumstances arising which may break a
communication which thus depends on the goodwill
of each of a number of distinct sovereignties ?
Surely, it would be only right to have more than
one string to our bow. And not only from political
reasons, but for the sake of economy, for the des-
patch of business, and to guard against accidents,
it would be advisable to encourage the construction
of several lines. The French have a wire to Africa,
which may be extended along the coast to Alexan-
dria; the Turks are contemplating a line to Bagdad,
and an English company has a concession for a sea
line from Constamtinople to Egypt ; one or more of
these schemes may be carried out, and it is the
height of folly for the British Government before-
hand to debar itself by solemn treaty from the use
of them. At the present crisis it is, no doubt, right
to use any means which is likely to facilitate com-
munication with India, but this great advantage is
indeed dearly bought when it limits the expansion
of intercourse for an indefinite time to come.

It is to be hoped that our Government will find
some means of altering the terms of this most im-
provident agreement. ft is due to the political in-
terests of the country, to the private interests of
individuals, to the great communities which will be
affected by any deficiency in the means of trans-
mitting intelligence. We have not only ourselves
to c ,nsider, but the inhabitants of all Europe and
all Eastern and Southern Asia, not to mention the
great colonies of the Antipodes. The line from
Suez to India will connect the whole European and
American system with regions which are every day
entering more and more into close relations with ci-
vilised man. At what rate the progress for the future
will be made must dept ndon circumstances which we
cannot foresee ; but there is every reason to believe
that a period of rapid development has begun in
the Eat, and that in a few years commerce and po-
litical interests will grow to a magnitude of which
there is now hardly a conception. This country is,
of course, the Power which is most deeply inte-
rested, and which must play the most important
part, and it is a most grievous mistake that our Go-
vernment should consent to weaken its authority
and fetter its freedom of action by binding itself for
ever to use but one line of communication, and
that line an Austrian line, which may be inter-
rupted by any change in the political relations of
Central Europe.