46 On the Electric Telegraph between England and India. 



the whole world, I propose to place before you this evening, in as 

 concise a form as possible, the progress already made, and what 

 remains to be done to attain the object we are all more or less 

 interested in. 



As you are aware, the telegraph has for several years been in 

 operation between England and our East Indian possessions, as 

 far as [Rangoon and Moulmein, and of late, so satisfactorily, that 

 telegrams have been despatched from Calcutta and Bombay, 

 arriving in London within a few hours ; now as the lines in daily 

 work cover more than four-fifths of the distance between England 

 and Australia, but little is required of us, and that little, as I 

 will presently show, can be secured at a mere nominal outlay. 



To commence with, there are three distinct means of commu- 

 nication greater part of the way to India, one which we will call 

 the Submarine Company's Circuit, via Paris, Turin, down the 

 Eastern Coast of Italy, Brindisi, or Otranto across the Adriatic 

 to Valona, and Salonica to Constantinople. 



Ar other, the Electric and International route, that Company's 

 messages being transmitted through one of their cables to the 

 Hague, from thence either via Berlin or Erankfort to Vienna, 

 Belgrade, and Constantinople. 



The third route is through Russia, which at present, is I believe, 

 but little patronised. The messages by this circuit find their 

 way to Berlin through one or other of the Russian circuits to 

 Tiflis, and on through the Persian system to Bushire. 



But to return to Constantinople where the telegrams trans- 

 mitted by the two English lines converge, they are taken in hand 

 by the Indo-Ottoman Convention, and are sent on by an exclusive 

 wire to Diarbekir, Bagdad, and Fao, at the head of the Persian 

 Crulf, or by an alternative land line through Teheran, Ispahan, 

 to Bushire. 



The Persian Gulf cable then completes the distance to Kur- 

 rachee, from which point the messages are distributed throughout 

 the Indian system, those for Australia being sent to Galle, where 

 they are posted to Adelaide for re-transmission over our inter- 

 colonial lines, — a most unsatisfactory process, occupying now as 

 many days as will presently be performed in fewer hours. 



I have roughly travelled over the existing lines as far as they 

 are available, and will now explain more fully how the telegrams 

 are convey ed from station to station or circuit to circuit A 

 telegram handed into the Lothbury Office in London, to be for- 

 warded over the International route, is first transmitted direct 

 without a break or stoppage either to Erankfort or Berlin, then 

 it is copied and sent on by hand to Vienna, where it is again 

 repeated by hand to Belgrade, at which place it falls into the 

 hands of the Turkish authorities who send it to Constantinople. 



The Submarine Company's messages undergo a similar process, 



