ABSTRACT
A submarine telegraph cable was a different proposition, however, provided that the line was direct or that the intermediate cable-stations were in the hands of the imperial power. Cable communications were not absolutely secure, though, if constructed as part of a land telegraphic system. Atlantic cable which was laid in 1858 received some backing from the United States and British governments, little thought was given to its uses in the military sphere. The strategic situation in the West Indies was also under consideration in this period. There a cable laid in 1870 had established a connection between London and Jamaica, but this ran through New York, Florida and Havanna. In many cases French colonies were solely dependent upon British cables and could be isolated easily, while the Committee also felt that the capture of the island of St Pierre would be more useful than severing the important French cable touching it on the way to New York.
