TELEGRAPHY, AERONAUTICS AND WAR.
[To THE Faaroa or THE "SPECTATOR.")
do not know whether your reviewer is unfavourable, on principle, to all books which happen to mainly consist of collected addresses and papers; but obviously if reproductions are faith- fully carried out and deal with more or less the same subject, any such volume is bound to introduce a material number of what are repetitions in effect. Whilst duly grateful for your reviewer's generous intimation that my book " contains here and there some interesting matter," I am far more concerned with his statements of fact. Thus, the developments in wireless telegraphy have been of such a character lately that I must not be made responsible for the highly importtnt general assertion that wireless ie "slow," without any further explanation of what is precisely meant here. Your reviewer further states " If the American Government take over the Western Union's land system, they will presumably take over the cables also." Whatever his opinions may be, the facts are that the United States Government took over the American telegraph and telephone lines at midnight on July 31st, without touching the trans-Atlantic cables, for the reason that the latter would have involved international considera- tions. I will only add in this connection that, in my opinion, if a permanent and binding English-speaking alliance were actually achieved, the fact of no single Atlantic cable being under British control would be a matter of comparative indifference. The position is, however, that the United States have their " All America " cables, whilst proposing to have more; and our American kinsmen perfectly understand any corresponding feeling in favour of "All British " cables.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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