The Express.
London, England, 1865-07-22 00:00:00

. THE
;ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH EXPEI►ITION.I

• . •

affirratod wilduMm el the "flies and wings," 110 that
although she much resembled " a painted ship upon
a painted omen," it,was in a widely different sense
from the one in which the quotation is ordinarily used.
Now dipping so that only her topmast yard' were
visible, now madly plunging up so as to bare nearly
her entire hull, she staggered to and fro with a
ponderous recklessness wonderfully suggestive of
danger. • There can be no question but that she
was overladen, and if the Great Eastern had not
fell in with her and lent a helping hand, the ship
carrying the part of the cable without which it is
impossible to commence the enterprise would be
at this moment quietly laying in Falmouth har-
bour, whither it would have waited indefinitely for
better weather. Meanwhile it most not be sup-
posed that as the weather grew worse the great ship
remained absolutely unmoved. Rising and falling
some 12 or 14 feet at stem and stern, she pitched
more and rolled less than was anticipated. But
through her immense size this was to those on
board but slightly perceptible, and did not
affect the comparison between her and the Caroline.
The present cable on board ship ie under water,
and tests are applied constantly. A station was
fitted up on board the Great Eastern to represent
Valentia, and while the ship was sailing round to
the latter spot, the testa between the two cabins
were carried on in the same manner that they
will be during the submergence of the cable.
The electrical staff has thus been prepared for
its work. The insulation was reported by Mr.
C. F. Varley, the electrician of the Atlantic
Company, to be in a most highly satisfactory state.
So great has been the improvement introduced
,in the manufacture of gutty percha that the insula-
tiou of the present Atlantic cable, when compared
with that made for the Electric and International
Telegraph Company, and laid from Zeundvort, in
Holland, iu 1858, is 160 times higher. The tests of
the cable on board the Great Eastern during her
pump showed that this high insulation is wholly
unimpaired ; in fact so small is the whole leakage
through the cable that even with Professor Thom-
son's beautiful instrument, the marine galvano-
meter, it is difficult to get an accurate reading.
The motion of the vessel, by causing the coils of
cable to cut the lines of the earth's
magnetic force, gave rise to magneto-electric
currents, which acting in precisely the
same manner as though a battery of small
force were applied to the cable, and its poles re-
versed everytime the ship swings from aide to side,
renders the operation of testing * cable of such high
insulating power a matter of some difficulty. Each
hour of the journey a whole series of tests were
performed, showing, 1, the insulating power of
the whole cable ; 2, the conductivity of the con-
duct;ng wires ; 3, currents and signals were ex-
changed through the entire cable ; and by the na-
ture of the signals, or rather the duration of them,
will be indicated the number of nautical miles of
cable paid out, and also the number of miles the
Great Eastern has sailed. Should it at any time
be desirable to speak to the shore, a special signal
will inform the staff at Valencia that they are to
put speaking instruments in circuit and communi-
cate by words. It has been calculated that the
effects of a gale of wind upon the Great Eastern
can in no instance reduce her speed more than one-
third, and Captain Anderson gives as the result of
his great experience that no gale at this time of the
year lasts more than three days, and is at its height
for not more than half a day. Thus, then, there Is
very little anxiety as regards weather.
On the Great Eastern passing the Caroline
steamer with the shore-end iu tow, the electrical
staff on board the Great Eastern commenced a con-
versation with those on board the Caroline, using
the motion of a hat to make the signals of the tele-
graph alphabet :--First question. What has de-
tained yon' and where ?" "In Falmouth, heavy
swell." "When did you leave there ?" " This
morning." " How are you getting on ?" "All
right." A number of friendly messages were ex-
changed between those on board the vessels. At ,
night, a lamp on Captain Bolton's principle was
used, and many questions transmitted.
Mr. C. F. Varley, after carefully testing the cable,
stated that when it is submerged the low tempera-
ture and great pressure of the ocean, both of which
are well known to improve the insulation in a great
degree, will so increase the insulation that a cur-
rent when appliei to the one end in Valencia will
give up 99.9 per cent. of the current at Newfound-
land ; and in its present condition on board ship,
it now transmits more than 99.8 per cent. to the
distant station—an amount of perfection never
dreamt of five years ago, and never before attained.

• 1

(TIM cue IMPIKIAL 001/11truessw...,
‘: ' THE GREAT EASTER,N, BEAMAN/IN HARBOUR,
s• • BANTRY RAY, name Nosarno.
.7 The Great Eastern arrived off Valentin at 8.30
yesterday morning in perfect trim, despite the
:sough weather and heavy seas she met with on her
way. Those beat acquainted with her perform-
ances declare that the heavy weight she now carries
titeadies bee surprisingly, and that never since she
.iras 'IMMObed has she sailed so smoothly as during
the bat few days. After firing guns and making
iguala in vain for the Hawk, we returned to Bear-
*wee, arriving here in the evening of yesterday.
The big ship la to wait here until we heer of the laying
of the shore-end of the cable, which, as will be seen,
:has been unavoidably delayed. We were met off
.theSkelligs by H.M.S. Sphinx and Terrible, who,
more watchful than the vessel chartered by the
• company, made their appearance soon after we
hove in eight, and, after exchanging signals, aocom-
:peeled us as • guard of honour part of our way
' here. The falling in with and taking charge of the
. Caroline was the main incident of the voyage, which
has been as prosperous as the career of a nation
without a history is proverbially said to be.
' It WAR about 2.15 p.m. on Monday, and just es
'Capt. Anderson was pointing out the Land's End and
,Longship Lights to a few gentlemen smoking on the
bridge, and declaring that never in his experience
had the fine bold scenery of the coast been seen to
such advantage as in the bright sunshine of to-day,
that word was passed him that the clumsy steamer
we had all been watching a-head of us was the Caro-
:line, which had left London ten days before the
Great Eastern with the shore end of the Atlantic
"cable, and which was expected to have duly
'laid it long before the latter's arrival off Va-
lencia. I. Incredulity, doubt, astonishment, and
in the end a little indignation, rapidly
manifested themselves as the intelligence spread.
Gradually steaming up to her the captain petitioned
. for a rope directly we were alongside. The contrast
between the two vessels was very fine, and looking
' down from the magnificent giant we were on to the
labouring straining pigmy asking for help, it was
difficult to avoid contempt. The Caroline is •
three-masted iron steamer of more than 350 tons,
! yet from her first appearance at the side of the
Great Eastern to the long hours during which she
MA ignominiously towed iu the big ship's wake, she
. resembled nothing so much as a tor-mat which one''
.of the sailors had made in his leisure, and was now
' pulling through the water for fun. An uglier
vessel it would be impossible to draw, a clumsier
- one it would be difficult to conceive. A canal-boat
,laden to the water's edge suddenly attempting
a pirouette—a Thames dredging machine
long disused and with its hideous ap-
paratus strewed higgledy piggledy along the
surface most exposed to sight—the Nore
Light ship called upon for active service, and ex-
pected to carry weight, and to then beat a steam
yacht in a race—a gunboat trimmed as an out-
rigger, with the crew's luggage on board—such
were the incongruous similes the Caroline's appear-
ance provoked. Overloaded as she was, she seemed
_to possess as much symmetry as a washing-tub, and
when the rope was affixed, and the Great Eastern
-lied her well in tow, we were reminded of that
prison discipline which fastens a heavy and painful
weight to convict feet. Again, as she tossed to and
fro in our wake, while the hawser—.-a new rope of the
thickness of a stout man's arm, and made expressly
for the great ship—was being let down into the
boat she sent off, it seemed as if we were looking
.at a stage craft labouring iu a mimic storm, and
that we were seated in the secure and stable van-
. tags-ground of the upper-boxes. The steam of both
~ vessels was turned off, and nearly an hour was lost
before the necessary fastenings were made. Then
' came the question from Mr. Canning, the chief of
the electric staff, " What have you been about 1"
' " Ooly left Falmouth this morning 1" "Why e No
answer. " Wby ? Why ?" with considerable em-
. -phasis, brought " A strong wind and a heavy sea,
' and couldn't get out," in reply. The opinions
pawed were the reverse of complimentary, and
when the vast importance of prompt action is
considered, it is not wonderful that this unex-
pected episode elicited comments in which dis-
pleasure struggled with disgust. Some allowance
was, of course, made for her weather-beaten,
unseaworthy look, but she bad cheered the Great
Eastern on passing her in the Nore • dozen days
before, and it was at first held that with moderate
judgment and pluck she should have arrived at her
destination and bad the 25 miles of shore-end laid.
As it is theeutireezpedition will probably bedelayed
at least 48 hours, as the splicing cannot take place
until after the laying, which will occupy that time,
assuming favourable weather. This lose of two
days, when every moment is of importance, is most
unfortunate, and makes one regret that too fact of
' the Caroline being already fitted up with paying-
out machinery, from a previous cable-laying expe-
dition, was allowed to condone her manifest ineffi-
ciency as a sea-going vessel fir the cargo sus has
been called upon to carry. And one more of the
many comparisons her lamentable appearance gave
rise to may be here stated. Her deck is so blocked up
• with wheels and chaotic masses of metal as to make
walking there a palpable impossibility. Standing
: on the aide of the paddle-bridge of the Great
Eastern, opposite the one down which the paying-
ont trough runs, there is absolutely nothing to
show you that the Atlantic cable is on board.
From the last after-mast to the one nearest the bow-
sprit there is not now a hut, or outbuilding, or crank, 1
or wheel, or coil visible from the point I name.
. The deck is flush and clean, and promeuaders pass
• without restriction from one end to the other. The
" three tanks holding the cable are covered in, and
: as their tops do not rise above the usual deck level
• it is only by exploring the distant regions behind
' the mizeurnast and about the bowsprit that the I TAE ..,, V...
AEIICE AND LOCK -OUT IN TIM BUILDING
stranger can discover the forges, steam engines, TRADt—The notice awned by the large building firme on
and machinery which make that portion of the Tuporin..-Tattgt tinhusartw7k
bi t' mentlZeritthablirenis gcessetrorr ae
"triukeg
,vessel resemble a huge blacksmith's shop or iron of the masters on Mooday oast a Neel nth). would be pro-
factory, even while they leave the rest of it free pawed for elosieg all their establishments oaths following
'Saturday, unless by the former day Cubi ta's shoes were
and open to the eye. I filled by the amid complement d men, has op ty this date
But the smart breeze which sprang up on Mon-1 not had the dolma effect Oat of the 400 man who struck
day evening, and which gathered strength during al°4
firm°: loigarieto ;NV:saw:Take ,paroadrodths almegooertta roadde bY
The
the tight, made the mere ungraoefulness and dill-- tarn at a mssuog yesterday one and all declared then.
comfort of the Caroline matters of secondary atrirelenantinn to mare" untili th::f'adtvtiese4 asked I?:
moment. Dragging helplessly by the monster' Lading firms have ben bad !luring Thursday and
cable at our heels, sea after sea rolled over her, 1 yesterday, and have moulted Is an almost unanimous dater-
', washing her deck from stem to stern, as she madly ; Tatrpi the threat le, itkl-eovjt. foilhothmeeral foro sa ad-
plunged plunged and tossed, now before, Dow almost under I yams of three-farthises per boar on the Ist at a
August
waves over which the Great Fut*ra was sailing msessrswohflow• an; half penny re.rollowureictotttheei.e
Qgcrag;
- with placid ease. Indeed, from the end of the trade think that if madam were to meet the men by
latter vessel spectators could indulge in the Lucre-' oftat'lld the Wynne* of ass holiPonn, per how in a•Ptwn•
I brit, and the oilier lathing is Jemmy or the sprig, it
-
um" pleasure of watching in comfort and safety the
, would probably be acea-ceDtea by the men, the strike would
moist misery and more than possible peril of their ' sad, sad the took-out averted; bat, is the absence of any
neighbours and friends. Between 4 and 5 5.03, on ime.tebffiwilith:alcial It-mast would appearp tewitaparle.;:firherliat
. the morning of Tuesday, when the breeze height- i = Les net appear the remotest chasm of Cabin's Arm
coed, and the angry mama lashed themselves into , mint any amber I.lo.7.byakitd7rnuallegrtim."--,31012.-
what the seamen termed "a nasty dirty sea." it ram,„m7:ll,,radtS neon of the whole of the tarts.
Weil waist-deep on the desk of the Omahas. The A the metropolio.
Itirtos
very ladiaatomasthautiaii thne
Argo simile occurred with redoubled fora, now. Itletrummagan „ham pe",:na to most Dien as °Lebow
wee almost ii4oisiide to believe that the apparent *win 1859.

YALENTIA, Jut,- 2L
The cable was landed to-day for the earth con-
nexion, and two miles were paid out to sea.
The main shore end of the cable will be landed
to-morrow, if the weather continues favourable.