The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1889-09-10
SAN FRANCISCO TRANs-PACIFIC CABLE.

August oath says: The committee
appointed by the Chamber of Com
merce to investigate the cost and
feasibility of laying an oceanic cable
between this port and Australia by
the way of the islands of the Pacific
ocean, has submitted its report. The
committee consisted of Charles Mel
son, Charles R. Allen, ]. G. Jackson
and Hugh Craig. They find upon
the authority of competent naviga-
tors that the distance from San
Francisco to Honolulu is about
210G miles, from Honolulu to Tutu-
lila 2371 miles, from Tutuila to
North Cape, New Zealand, 100
miles. Allowing for slack and irreg-
ularities of the ocean bottom 5 per
cent, or 300 miles, would make a
total of 6371 miles. An alternate
line by the way of New Caledonia,
which has been suggested, would
measure 6S99 miles.
The report says that the line by
way of North Cape, N. T., would
meet with the New Zealand system,
which is connected by cable at
Cooks straits to the southern end of
Van Dieman's Land. The route by
way of New Caledonia would con-
meet with the Australian system at
Brisbane.
The soundings which are obtained
through the photographic Office of
this city, are from surveys furnished
by the United States steamship Tus-
carora, and are not on the shortest
route. The deepest point is in lati-
tude SO deg. So min. north, longi-
tude 100 deg. 45 min. west, between
San Francisco and Honolulu, and is
1852 fathoms. Between Honolulu
and Fiji soundings have been made,
and they will be used as sufficiently
close for present purposes. On the
route between Honolulu and Tutu-
lila the greatest depth is 3448 faith
oms. Between Tutuila and New
Zealand the deepest point is given
at 442S fathoms.
By the courtesy of the managers
of the Pacific Postal Telegraph Ca
BILE Company, the committee was en-
abled to obtain samples of various
submarine cables used the world
over, as manufactured by the Silver
town Submarine Cable Company of
London, England. The most recent
of these have been laid down along
the coast of South America. The
deep-sea sections have a diameter of
eleven-sixteenths of an inch, the
intermediate one and one eighth
inches, and the shore ends two and
one-fourth inches. The cable across
the bay of San Francisco has dia-
meter of one and one-half inches,
and cost IS cents foot. A rough
estimate of the cost of the line from
San Francisco to New Zealand by
the way of Honolulu and Tutuila, a
distance of 6270 miles, is S., 595, 900.
The added costs of depositing on
the bottom, landings, franchises,
concessions and contingent expenses
make a grand total of $10,000,000.
A cable covering the routes re-
ferred to, the committee declares,
would secure the whole of the Hawa-
iian business, all the business of the
Hawaiian Islands centering at the
Samoan group, and all the United
States business of the Australian
Colonies and New Zealand and with
it large share of the colonial bus
mess with the United Kingdom and
Europe.
1t is urged that the line will be a
paying investment, as it would be
in active competition with the lines
which now monopolize the business
of the colonies, and which have been
doing profitable business for years.
The cost of cabling from San
Francisco to New Zealand by the
present routes varies from 50 "a to
So 40 word. 1t is estimated that
the proposed cable would make the
cost from Sydney to London about
81 cents word. By this apparent
reduction, business would be pro-
noted, as there are many products
of this country which might be
traded in at the antipodes if the
facilities for quotations were cheaper
and more expeditions. 1t requires
sixty-three days for replies to cores
pondence from San Francisco to
Auckland and Sydney, which SER
iously interferes with business.
After giving elaborate statistics in
relation to the population of the
United States and the Pacific ISL
ands and the commerce that would
Justify the undertaking, the com
nittee says:
''It will be seen that a cable from
5he United States to the Australian
is absolutely necessary for
5he promotion of the business inter
ssts of our country, putting aside
,he question as to its uses by the
and naval departments of
OUR government. It would put the
people Of this vast country in instant
with an English
speaking population of 100000,
them by bonds of interest
% the 65,OOO,OOO, of American peo-
Die. 1t is only a question of time
when the islands of the Pacific, known
IS Oceanica, will be populated by
English-speaking people, with ulti-
nate business connections with both
he Pacific Coast of the United States
md the ports of Australia and New
l..-~ II