The Express.
London, England, 1858-08-09 00:00:00

SPORTING LNTELLICIENCL

A SPECIAL ELMON of the " EXPRESS,"
sistaising the results of the day's Races, is pub-
lished every erecting during the Sporting Seism, at
six o'clock.

THE successful submerging of the Atlantic Cable
Is such a gigantic stride in the science of Telegraphy,
that it requires some time for the mind to appre-
ciate the full significance of the event. Now that
the possibility of laying a cable two thousand miles
in the depths of the Atlantic is established, England
can no longer suffer France of Austria to hold the
key of instantaneous communication with her Indian
Empire. A French garrison in Gibraltar and an
Austrian one in Malta would be scarcely more
significant in ► political point of view than the taw
tinued dependence of England on France or Austria
for the carriage of her telegraphic messages from
India.

The question is not less important economically
and commercially than politically. Why should
• message require nearly eight hours to be
conveyed from Malta to London, when it
might be transmitted in less than half-an-
hour? Our Indian Telegrams, upon which so
much depends, are sow obliged to travel through
foreign lands. They must be transmitted again
and again by clerks ignorant of our language-
A menage from Malta must pass through the hands
and the heads of Sardinian, Conical), Italian, and
French clerks before it reaches England. The majo-
rity of these clerks are entirely ignorant of the lan-
guage of the message they are transmitting—every
blunder committed by one is perpetuated along the
line. Each clerk who does not understand the
words he telegraphs, or interprets from an in-
strument, multiplies the sources of error and con-
fusion. No wonder, then, that Telegrams should be
so full of blunders that all who receive them through
these foreign sources should heartily wish that
Telegraphy had nesse bee• i•eeatad: The trans-
formation of " a native officer was slain " into "a
" native of Ricer was slain" is bat a slight mystifi-
cation nadir such a system; and a regiment "cut
" up" instead of " shut up" a most venial error.
The multiplication of stations, at each of which
a message must be repeated, is a source of expense
both in time and money, as well as of error. Had
we a line from Falmouth to Gibraltar, and from
Gibraltar to Malta, the message which now pares
through the Sardiaian, Corsican, Italian, and French
Telegraphic Clerks might be transmitted by two
English Clerks. A message might be telegraphed
from Malta to London direct, with the same ease
that a message can be forwarded from Newfound-
land to Valentin Bay.

The waste of money and time in the transmission
of oar Mediterrane►n and Indian messages from one
Continental line to another is not the only draw-
back. The Continental lines are the roads of com-
munication for their own merchants and people, as
well se for ourselves. Oely onernemsge at a time 0112
be transmitted eking the Telegraph Wire. The Tele-
graph is not like a Mail-Packet or Coach, into which
you may bundle as many letters or menages as yen
please. Every letter of •very message, speedy
though the abereagor may be, most past through
every station is single Lk. Hence the merchant in
London who would transmit a message to Trieste
cannot tell whether his correspondent will receive it
in one hour or in three days. We hare ourselves
ere now had a Telegraphic Despatch anticipated by
the ordinary Mail.

The communication of England with her Medi-
terranean Dependencies would be quite sufficient to
occupy a Telegraphic Line without interruption, if the
charges were moderate and the transmission speedy
and trustworthy. India could find more work than
one hoe could carry. if, therefore, we still remain
dependent upon the foreign route, the lines of that
route most be increased, or else the stoppages and
slowness of progress will render steam preferable to
electricity. The tortoise will beat the hare. Expe-
rience shows that them foreign lines will be increased
only by British capital, to carry British messages.
Why, thee, should we rennin dependent en
foreign routes ? We lose every way. In political
inasesee, in secrecy, in accuracy, in time, and in
money. Oar esommercialiets and legislators might
resasaa►ly shrink from the idea of Bea Tele-
raphy from England to India or Australia while
the ♦tlantic communication waa still in abeyant*.
Now they have no excuse. The public, however,
mut watch the Legislature with a jealous eye.
Railway jobs, and blunders, and plundering*, must not
be imported into Telegraphy. Much has already been
done to cripple en►rgy, to *sours monopoly, and to
retard progress.

If free scope be given to invention and enterprise,
we can see no r►ason why Submarine Telegraphs
should not be laid down at leas cost than land wins.
The Atlantic cable is the lightest and the cheapest
of the long submarine cables yet submerged. It is •
question s heather its weight and its cost have sot
far exceeded the limier of neoesefty. Mr. ALinneffers
to unite the Old and the New World with a cable
less than half the weight and half the price. It yet
remains to he tried whether a rope so light that
one ship could carry the whole length necemsry for
uniting England to America could not be laid down
with fewer failures than the cable in whose ultimate
success we so heartily rejoice.
The necessity for increased amuses of electrical
communication with the Continent program's every
day. We have one cable tiostaining four wires, or
what may be better called electrical roadways, be-
tween London and Calais ; a cable with six electrical
roadways, uniting London with Ostend ; and three or
four cables with single wires, for which a cable
with fear wire. is &boat to be substituted, bring the
Magee into communication with England. On the
Ist of October a line will be submerged from near
Hall to Emden, to connect London with Hamburg.