Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-09-18
BY TELEGRAPH.
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Amaefcsn OF Bsisish DIRECTION

WAss1sGrox, Sept. II The sfsAf fsaf
Of rsuld transportation reee..siy performed
In carving the mails from Yokohsm. to
London, which made even the exploits Of
Pn;ness Fogx seem tlov bv comparison,
has main air n vived the subject Of spsed-
Ter ,sans.Pscfc communication ard esfee-
ixly tie D oisc.s Of . Pacific cable. In
tsre,s, saefeiors{ attaches io the fact 10 II
the AIp.tfoss, nov at Maze island, is to set
out a OF c. to make surveys for cable
fror, San Ffaaciseo 10 Honolulu. in &C
CO, d anes win the provisions Of III. last
Coagtess.
OF csurss the srex. drawback to ths COM
merc1sl success of . submarine wire be-
tween Asia and America is that YokohAma
in nos In sslesraphie communications With
the ports Of China, these in turn with west
EN- Europe. while the Atlantic cable conf
pistes The circuit with the New World But
While few thousand miles more or lsss OF
trs.el 10 . trlfis in the mx.ser OF time for
elecsric messenger, such . roundabout:
course between Japan and California or
bstx cen Australia and British Columbia il
hardly in aesordsnce with modern methods.
congress q its last Sc ss.on made 81 sp-
propsission fer preliminary surveys of pro
po.ea routes for Pscif, ocean cable. II
mus, be confessed that the souniinss made
on the AsiStic side by Admiral Belknap's
g ,u.mand are not eacoufagio g 90 thu project.
so far from discovering = plateau when
would lend itself TO the scheme. an enor-
nous valley Vas found to exist east OF
Js pan and the Kurils islsnds, which extend
north from Japsn 10 KsmehAtka. A depth
Of more than five miies wks found jus. east
- al AEg1 fafhnnna hal hfPn
run OUT, the wire broke and bottom had
not been touched. Deep-sea Thermometers
welded TO pressures such - had never be-
fore been known IN soundinss.
But while these soundings are not prom
isir for cable from SAL Francisco to
Honolulu and thence TO Yokohams, Great
Britain has project which would not be
affected by them. lis route, starting from
Vancouver, would make fret for the Hs-
uaiian Islands, then to the Tanning group.
then to Samoa ard the FIjis, and 80 on to
Australia or New Zealand, the two laiter
being slready come cted by wire. In Con-
gress, also, last winter, the bill introduced
for the incorporation Of the Pacific Gable
Company provided for laying wire from
San Francisco to Honolulu, and thence via
Samoa to Auckland. Thus the disclosures
as TO the unsounded trough east Of
japan would only affect one Of
the routes under possible considerA-
ton. and not the particular route
which both the British and American enter
prises prefer for Commercial reasons should
there be no obstacles on other grounds. Il
was 9 company which received a charter
from Congress in 1876, expiring three
years later. that proposed the northerly
route ending at Shanghai. Besides, Ad-
mirsl Belknsp's soundirgs were only pre-
iminafy and more favorable results might
be found south Of The 30h parallel Of
north latitude. One element IN favor of
the route by Samoa and Auckland 10 that it
would call for no single ssretch of cable
exceeding 2C)0 miles.
Last whit Congress. besides appiop'i
ating S25 coo TO make the preliminary sur
veys for q cable route from San Francisco
to Honolulu, had before it = proposal to
pay 9 large subsidy to company for cont
structiug such q wire. The Senate intro
dpcsd an item in-) the Diplomatic and
Consular Appropriation bill Tor pay 1g The
company tuus not exceeding $3.50 0G0 q
yesr during not less than fourteen and no.
u ore than twenty yeas, the total smonnt
to be paid nos exceeding $4,000 600, The
House refused by an Overwhelming vote 10
concur in his provision. A conference
CO mmitiee then reduced the proposed sub
sidy to $3.50, 900 year for fifteen yesrs,
conditioned on Hawci's fu-nishiog ona-
third OF much subsidy as the United SIXTIES.
But even this reduction was nc. acceptable
to the House.
Apart from the question Of the proper
leg slaiion, it is entirely reasonable &c ex
pect that Asia and America will DO co.,
Dec'ed by c.ble before the close Of the
pre- sent century. England has a special
reason for forwarding such scheme in The
military advantage of oonnec ing Canada
ar d Australia. Sill, since such a connec-
ton ia already open BIZ way Of The Atlantic
she has not pushed TIE pre- j CT as srdentiy
as her CO o ,iesmight desire. 1t is conceiva-
BILE thst in dus time our country may have
felegraphic communication, by land or
wafer, from Seattle TO Sitka, thence TO
other pniuts in Alaska, and SO across to Ihs
eastern coast Of asia.