The Express.
London, England, 1858-04-10 00:00:00

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LONDON, sAruzDAr. APRIL 10.

LAST September we °Wed the attention of our
readers to the failure of the first attempt to lay
down an electric to egraph cable for the purpose of
uniting Europe and America in almost instanta-
neous communication with each other. The under-
taking had been so far suocemful, its practicability had
been so far indicated, that we expressed a hope that
there would be no delay, consistent with the safety of
the enterprise, in renewing the difEcult undertaking.
We are glad to find the Atlantic Telegraph Com-
pany have not been idle. The preparations for a
renewed, and we hope a successful, endeavour to
unite the Old and New World in immediate intellec-
tual communication are rapidly approaching com-
pletion. Four hundred and seven miles of new
sable, lately manufactured at Greenwich, ham been
added to the 2,186 miles of the old cable which ham
been stared at I)evooport during the winter.
In addition to the external coating of tar which
the old cable had previous to its being stored, it has
been covered with a mating of tar, linseed oil, pitch,
and beeswax. This varnish has most completely pre-
served the cable from rust and all other accidents.
In spite of all sinister forebodings we believe that
the cable has been satisfactorily proved to be intact
throughout its whole extent. No injury has been
sustained from over-heating, spontaneous combus-
tion, or any other canoe.
It will be a matter of great interest for our readers
to learn that so lea a quantity of the submerged
portion of the ea►le than 63 miles has been recovered
from the depths of the ocean in an uninjured state.
This is a very satishotory result. It shows the great
strength of the cable, and its fitness for the purpose
lbe which it has been manufactured. Four miles of
the large or shore-end cable still lie submerged in
comparatively shallow water on the Ballycarbcrry
strand, Valentia Bay, ready to be joined to the new
cable when once it reaches the shore. of Ireland.

It is the intentioo, we believe, to depart from the
method pursued last year, and to recur to the plan
at first proposed. The two portions of the sable
contained in the English and American ships are to
be joined in mid-ocean, at a point aa nearly as pos-
sible equi-diatant from both shores. The two ships
will then make for their respective destinations,
each paying out its own portion of its important
burden. There are many advantages which suggest
themselves in favour of this arrangement. The
cable will be deposited in half the time that would
have been occupied by the former method, of
laying it down from one shore to the other.
The splicing midway between the two extremes can
be made it, favourable weather, and if even more
than once " unsuccessfully performed" can be re-
peated with little inconvenience. Last year, had
the Agamemnon deposited the whole of her
share of the cable, the splice between her por-
tion and that of the Niagara must have been made
at once, irrespective of the state of the weather,
and any flaw would have canoed imminent danger
to the whole undertaking. There is this apparent
disadvantage, however, that a fair wind for one ship
will be unfavourable for the other. But this may
not be so important, when we reflect that neither
ship will be required to sail with greater speed than
about five miles per hour. An erroneous impression
seems to have been formed, that there wen • danger
of one-half the cable untwisting the other, because
the strands of the one were twisted in one direction
and the strands of the other in an opposite direction.,
This could only have arisen from a misconception of
the structure of the cable : the core of seven copper
wires is not twisted like the strands of an ordinary
rope. By an ingenious method, called the sun and
planetary motion, the six wires are laid round
• central wire in such a manner as not
to twist one of the wires, the motion of
the revolving bobbins being such that their
length is always parallel to itself, imitating, in fact,
the motion of the earth's axis in its revolution round
the sun, or the moon's motion round the earth, as it
would be, if it did not—as Itr..ILLLINGEI SYMONS
Samurai us it does not—rotate on its axis once a
month. The gutta perch& covering is without
twist, and the iron wire sheath is also laid round it
by the same sun and planet motion without twist.
The conditions of the cable are utterly different from
those of an ordinary repe, the twisting of the
metallic portion being avoided, as it necessarily im-
pairs the strength of the wires, and all apprehen-
sions, therefore, of untwisting may be laid aside as
groundless. The splice which will unite the two
portions of the rope will be strengthened by being
firmly lashed over with strong wire. The lashing
will be continued a long distance on both sides the
point. This alone would be sulßcient to prevent any
untwisting, were that danger apprehensible, even
'apposing the cable to be subjected to much greater
strain in lowering the splice than need be antici-
pated.

The paying-out apparatus has been considerably
improved, experience haring taught the dangers
which should be avoided. TM checking principle
will he made self-acting and dependent on the strain
to which the cable is subjected. It is anticipated
that both portions of the cable wriU be on board their
respective ships by about the 15th of May. The
now paying-out machinery, it is hoped, will be fitted
up in both vessels by the first week in June, Thep
will then proceed to sea, not for the purpose of
finally laying down the cable, but for making expe-
rimental trials. The matter has excited so malt
Interest among men of mechanical genius, that the
Atlantic Telegraph Company have been dotard
with plane tor facilitating the laying down el the