, 1885-08-22

vi Il oJS GAO Ob8A WIZ
dition of the finances of st. Oroix,-to bring
forward the present Draft of Ordinance,
the purport of which is that the Colonial
Treasury of st. Croix shall also for the
future contribute a proportionate share
towards the maintenance of telegraphic
communication.
With regard to the conditions on which
the subsidy depends, reference is made to
the several paragraphs OF the draft.
S 1 and 2 treat of the amount of the
subsidy, the mode of payment, and the
main condition, that st. Croix shall be kept
in telegraphic communication with the rest
of the world.
3 provides that the same daily des.
patches, which are at the present time
published in st. Thomas, and which,
besides furnishing political news contain
also quotations of prices in the worlds
markets, should also be published here.
4, treats of the COmpany's obligation
to allow, by means of the cable to st.
Thomas, such a communication by electric
signal between the Police guards i'm the
forts al Christiansted and in st. Thomas,
that thereby a means may be had of getting
operators quickly at the telegraph stations
outside the hours in which these are kept
open, which in certain cases could be of
unusually great Importance consider in
UuIS COuH6CtlOu Uu0 pOSlIIOn Ill 1000 WuOu
the Vice Governor was not able during
the night of 1st October to put himself
in Geographic communication with the
Governor).
5 contains a provision that in case of
need the Company shall, at the request
of the Government, take over the working
Of the telegraph line between Christiansted
and Frederiksted. The intention here is
that if it should at any time 0efall that the
Government should not be able to procure
practised telegraphists for the service of
the line, that service should not on such
account be stopped.
1t is not, however, likely that this even.
tuality can easily occur.
So far as the Company should come to
fulfil this obligation, it is presumably II
matter Of course that it should not DO in.
volved in any expense on that account.
6 merely confirms the right which the
Company already has to have a place
for its station in ChriStiansted free of
charge.
The Governor in introducing the Draft
begged to state what he thought was al.
ready we'll known to honorable Members,
that the island of st. Croix has never paid
any subsidy towards the West India AMI
Panama Telegraph Company. All the
English West India Islands which are in.
cluded in the COmpany'S telegrapblc sys-
TEN have paid and are paying a subsidy
and are therefore in receipt Of the daily
news sc. sc. ST. Thomas has also for the
past 10 years paid a subsidy Of $4,000 pa,
but owing to the bad financial condition Of
said municipality. it has been found eces'
sary to seek to have the subsidy lessened.
The reduced amount agreed upon be.
tween the Government and the Company OF
$4,000, having proved itself even too much
for the acceptance of the municipality OF
St. Thomas, the Ministry of Finances, has
authorized the GOvernment-notwithStand.
ing the had condition of the finances of ST.
(roix-to bring forward the present Draft
OF Ordinance, the purport OF which is, that
also the Colonial Treasury of St. Croix shall
for the future contribute a proportionate
share towards the maintenance of tele-
graphic communication, not exceeding $500
D. a.; while ST Thomas pays $4,000 pa
If st. Cr0ix therefore pays the $500 pa,
as proposed, we will continue as hitherto
to have Geographic communication with
the outer world and enjoy the same advan-
tages as all the other islands, which by
paying a yearly subsidy, obtain daily,
from abroad, not only commercial bnt p"..
litical news. The intelligence 40 received
bv us here in Christiansted, would then be
transmitted through our local line to Ere.
I,r1loFnI