'Telegraph and travel. A narrative of the formation and development of telegraphic communication between England and India, under the orders of Her Majesty's Government, with incidental notices of the countries traversed by the lines.' [‎3] (34/782)

INTRODUCTORY.
safest junction that could be found, not between England
and India, as heretofore, but between England and a
cable station in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . In Asia, Persian as
well as Turkish lines were formed and brought into re
quisition by British workers, either separate from or
supplementary to native lines already in existence. In
Europe, negotiations with Governments and Administra
tions were opened, conducted, and concluded; Inter
national Conferences were participated in ; and every
measure was taken which appeared likely to promote the
scheme contemplated. From 1865 to 1870, or for more
than five years, attention was given to supply wants, to
remedy failings, and to remove obstacles.
Experiences in such matters may be useful in the
record. In any case, a full report of progress, when
sufficiently mature, is due to the State, and should be
satisfactory to the reporters themselves. Nor is the
necessity less obvious, in a public sense, that there should
be a reference showing the circumstances under which a
great work like the Telegraph to India was undertaken
at all; and what have been and what now are its value
and cost to the country from whose coffers it has been
carried out and carried on. Hence arose the suoxrestion
oo
that a narrative of the institution and development of
Telegraphic Communication between England and India
under the orders of her Majesty's Government should be
prepared and submitted: and hence was it ruled by the
Secretary of State for India in Council, so far back as
September 1868, that such relation, when completed,
should be published in a quasi-popular form.
More, however, remains to be said on this head. It is
not always pleasant to call spades by their proper names;
but it is often essential to do so, and the present is an