The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-13 00:00:00

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

Yesterday Mr. Cyrus W. Feld, Vice-President of the
New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Com-
pany; Mr. John W. Brett, one of the projectors of the
Submarine Communication; Mr. Bright, of the Magnetic
Telegraph Company, and other gentlefeen, attended at the
Underwriters' Rooms, for the purpose of explaining the
arrangements of the projected line of Submarine Telegraph
between Newfoundland and Ireland, under the auspices of
the company already mentioned. A very large assemblage
gathered around, for the purpose of hearing the explana-
tion.
Mr, Field said that, before the commercial men of the great
commercial eentee of areat Britain, he did not think it
was necessary to expend one montent in attempting to con-
vince them of the vast importance of connecting the eastern
and western worlds by an electric telegraph. All they
wanted to know, he felt sure, was whether it could be dont
If it could be done—if it was in the power of human
beings to accomplish the object—he was sure it would receive
their supnort. The telegraph had been now completed
from St. John's, Newfoundland, to the telegraph station of
British North America, extending all over the latter regions
and the United States—more than 242,000 miles of wire. in
fturope the telegraphic communication was fully completed to
the west coast of Ireland. There was now only wanting the
single line of 1,640 nautical miles, or 1,900 statute miles, to
bring into instant communication with each wher every prin-
cipal commercial town of Europe and of America. Now, was
it possible to connect these two lines ? In the first place, they
would probably ask would a cable lie at the bettor!' of the
Atlantic ocean ? He bad there a profile of the Atlantic
ocean from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Valencia, on the
west coast of Ireland, made by tlee order of the United
States Government. At his instarcs, that government
ordered toe United States steamer Arctic to be fitted out to
make the soundings. This was d ate in the most perfect
manner, and he had there the chart given him by the com-
mander of that vessel. (Mr. Field hero produced and
explained the chart.) The deepest point between the two
coasts was 2,070 fathoms, and that point was within thir-
teen miles of the centre. Now, it w,,s proposed to have
two vessels to lay the cable. These vessels should precee I
together, each having half of the cable on hoard, to some
point mi:fway across the Atlantic, and then, having carefully
connected the ends of the wire together, and having tele-
graphed from one to the other, then the vessels, haviag
each an :end on board, should sail—the one for Newfound-
land, and the other for Ireland. They expected to have all
the cable submerged between Monday morning and Saturday
night—they would not violate the Sabbath for it.
Now, be would show them the simple cable, and
if any one could find fault with it, he should be happy to
hear what could be said. (Mr. Field here produced two
specimens of cable sheathed in wire, twistel with the most
perfect and minute workmanship. The thicker cable, which
is only to be used in shallower water, where vessels anchor,
was about an inch and a quarter in diameter ; the smaller,
to be laid in the deep ocean, was about three quarters of an
inch.) Perhaps some of the gentlemen- present might fear
that such a cable, at the bottom of the ocean, would get
worn away by rocks, or something else. Between New-
foundland and the West Coast of Ireland, they would Pee
that, in taking soundings for the chart, not a single rock
was found. The bottom was brought up at every single
sounding, and it could be shown to them that there were no
rocks at the bottom sufficient to chafe even that slight
cable. The bottom, all the way across, was composed of
shells, brought by the Gulf Stream from the south. When
that stream met the current of the Arctic Ocean, the shells
were sunk to the bottom, and rested, An examination, by
the aid of a powerful microscope, proved that they were
nothing but shells.
A gentleman asked if the wire was a galvanised one ?
Mr. Field said it was not galvanised. They would
have a preparation round it, but they did not care if it came
off one minute after it was lai I down. The cable had
been submitted to the best engineers of England and of
America, and he had never yet found any person to express
a doubt that it was perfectly practicable to lay a wire down
between Newfoundland and Ireland. He never yet found a
captain of a vessel who was not confident that be could do
it in any steamer large enough to carry the cable. Now,
the question was, when they had accomplished that, would
it bring the shareholders a revenue ? The cable was capa-
ble of transmitting, in twenty-four hours, 14,700 words. He
left it to them to say what would be a reasonable price for
words for a message between Americt and England, and
what would he the amount of business to be done by the
cable when laid. They shou'd remember that, at present,
if they wished to communicate with New Orleans, and
write a letter that day, they could not have an anwer back
under forty days. When the cable wont l be laid down, a
communication from here to New Orleans would arrive
there about six hours sooner than they sent it. (Laugh-
ter.) That was owing, of course, to the difference of time.
All the 'lnsie ess transactions of Liverpool, up to the time
when the Liverpool merchants went home in the afternoon,
the merchants of New York would receive on art iving at their
places of business—the difference of time between London
and New York being four hours and forty-eight minutes.
The New York merchants could then transact their business
after they knew what had been done in Liverpool, and
Liverpool merchants would have their replies back in the
morning. The cable could be manufactured and laid down
for an expense of £350,000. They hoped there would be I
even a saving in that. The persons who took an interest in I
the enterprise, would not be charged one farthing for pres I
liminary expenses up to the rresent moment, although I
years had been spent upon it. It was at one time expected
that the New York, Newfoundland, and London Company
would have extendedtheirVires from New Yorkto the coast of I
Ireland, They had completed 1,710 miles, of which almost 1
1,100 miles were in a straight line to Europe. But it was pro- 1
posed, by Persons who had spent much time and thought
upon the subject, that, as it was an enternrise to cross the
Atlantic, it should be composed of Englishmen and
Americans. It was an enterprise in which the whole world
felt an interest. The company to which he belonged readily
realised that view, and agreed that a company should be
formed, to' be called the Atlantic Telegraph Company, to
connect the west coast of Ireland with the eastern shores of
Newfoundland. The expense of maintaining the cable,
after it was laid down, would be, as they could judge for
themselves, comparatively nothing. If they kept the cable
employed every moment of the twenty-four hours, the
additional expense would be nothing more than the keeping
a_proper staff and offices at the two ends; and he honed that,
before long, so many messages would he seat that the price
could be reduced. He hoped the cable would be kept
employed every moment, and that in another year a demand
would be made upon the directors to lay down another
Cable. There were present other gentlemen also interested I
in the enterprise. Mr. Brett was there, who had laid down
the first submarine telegraph, and it' they wished to hear
him no doubt he would be ready to make some remark.. 1
Mr. Brett said he was sure his friend Mr. Field had so 1
ably explained the objects and the purport of the enterprise,
that it was not necessary for him to add one word to con-
vince the meeting of its great' value. Mr. Field had spoken
to them of the nalure of the cable, and it might be interest-
ing to some gentleman to hear something upon that point,
looking at the slender thing which was ,to tie together
America and England. In that very town, during the
early part of the submarine telegraph enterprise, some
eight or nine years ago, he had a very re-
markable confirmation of the advantage of the oxydis-
ing of the cable, and of its forming rather a protec-
tion than otherwise. It was in the shop of Mr. Mayer,
a man very much respected in this town, and whose great
antiquarian and other valuable knowledge, gave him
a world-wide reputation, that he saw an anchor which had
been found somewhere in the neighbourhood. The oxide
of the iron had attracted a mass of concrete, almost solid
brachia, around it. lie recollected, also, seeing a
cable, by the oxide passing from it, literally covered
with a miss of stone. Now, supposing this cord to
be indestructible from salt water, and supposing it to
lie safely at the bottom, where they were assured the bed
was soft and level, he believed, after it had rusted for a
considerable time, it would attract all the lime and shells of
the bottom, and form one solid mass of concrete, which
would be a protection to it for, one might say very safely, a
hundred years. He had heard one of their most clever sub-
marine scientific men asked, when he had last tested the
cable between Dover and Calais, whether it was likely to last,
and the answer given, seriously and solemnly, was that he
had tested it a week before, and he saw no reason to doubt
that it would last 100 years. There was, then, every pro-
bability that the rust of the outer covering would enable
that little cord to lie for 100 years. The cables between
Dover and Calais, and Dover and Ostend, were as good that
day as when first they were laid down ; and the two in the
Mediterranean never required one single sixpence outlay.
The expense of making the cable was not considerable when
they recollected that, for each mile, about 120 miles of wire
had to be worked up for the outer covering, and that the
central cord was composed of seven copper wires twisted
into one. Everything had been thought of to render it a
perfect thing for the' purpose. He believed he might
venture to say that nothing so perfect had hitherto been
introduced. It had been ;hewn upon all sides, to ascer-
tain if any objection could be brought against it ;
and he believed that even those who had the
greatest objections to the scheme at first, could see none to
it, They had, therefore, everything to hope. By th%
energy of Mr. Field and others, on Monday, before they
left London, ;they had assured themselves, by the con-
tractors, that the work would be done ; and he had great I
confidence that next summer they would have a communi-
cation between Europe and America. It would be,
undoubtedly, the greatest workeever accomplished in so
short a time. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Charles Bright, at the request of Mr. Field, reed an
article from the Times, of yesterday, strongly advocating the
project. Mr. Bright added, that recent experiments had
been carried on, in which they spoke distinctly through a
length of 2,000 miles. He said that he would stake his
whole reputation upon the electric working of the Atlantic
line being perfect in every respect.
Mr. Field stated, in answer to a question, that there was
no difficulty in splicing the ends of the cables—that they
had done so frequently, and could even make them stronger
at the junction than anywhere else. lie mentioned that
the English Government, as well as the American, took the
greatest interest in the scheme. The English Government,
at his request, at once ordered a vessel to be fitted out to

_
make further soundings, to ascertain the best possible point
for laying the cable. The American Government sent out
the Artie, without any cost to the company. The English
Government were going to do the same, and were going to
de still further—but they should not count their chickens
before they were hatched. (Laughter.)
• Mr. Charles B. Wright observed that it should also he
borne in mind that, at dangerous parts, or where vessels
anchored, the cable laid would be of the larger size.
Mr. Titterington asked, how it was intended to over
corns the currents on the coast of Newfoundland ?
Mr. Field replied, that the current, which had its rise in
the Gulf of Mexico, and flowed northward as far as the
Banks of Newfoundland, washed the eastern shores of the
United States willa great force; and that the precipitous
hollows existing in its course, would render a route to the
south of the banks impracticable for telegraphic purposes.
They had, however, carried a cable across the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, despite of equally strong currents. •
Mr. E. Heath did not doubt but that there were means
by which that difficulty could be met, but there was another
danger with which he would wish to know how they meant
to deal. In the spring of the year numerous icebergs were
washed down.on the banks, and, not unfrequently, many Of
these took the ground and swept the banks.
Mr. Field replied, that they avoided that danger by
keeping to the north of the banks of Newfoundland. The
current swept to the south, and carried the icebergs along
the edge of the banks. They, however, avoided any danger
from that circumstance, by going tb the north of the banks,
and by layieg the cable in a depth of never less than 200
fathoms, until it was sheltered by the bay. He intended
fully to deal with the point in a pamphlet, which he had in
the press, and which would be published in London in a few
days, showing all the. accidents that had arisen from ice-
bergs since 1785. Mr. Field then continued to say, that the
Gavernmante of England and America had given the coma
pany all the protection they could. The Colonid Legisla-
tere of Newfmndlancl conferred upon the company, in
ad lain to important privileges of grants of land and
subsidy, the sole a,,;1 exclusive right of landing a telmraphic
line on the shoredtheir jurisdiction, comprising, hi
addition to tbo3e of Newieundland, the whole Atlantiti
coast of Labrador, from the entraace of Hudson's Straits td
the Straits of Belle Tale, for fifty venni.... the only seaboird
eligible for the terminus of a European and American cable.
That grant the English Government confirmed, go that, in
every respect, the company was fully protected.
Mr. Brett observed that the probability of the btealring
of the cable bad been referred to, and that he tnizhti thdea
fore, be expected. to say a few words on tad subjepi:
(Hear, hear.) It was said that the cable in the 131a6: Sea
had broken.; but it should be understood, that it was off?
which should never have been laid down. He .had bad
nothing to do with it, nor did he think that the parties who
had were to blame. It bad been laid down to serve the
purposes of the war, and with the foreknowledge that it could
not last for any time. It was nothing more than a gutta percha
covered wire, very little larger thin a quarter of an inch in
diameter, and his surprise was, not that it had broken, but
that it had lasted so long. It lasted nearly twelve months,
but he would not have expected it to have lasted more than
three months. In the laying of the Mediterranean cable, a
difficulty was occasioned by the French commander mistak-
ing his latitude for two successive days, and running west-
ward to get south. They found the bottom like the Alps—
now they got as it were, on the top of a mountain, and
then at once descended to its base ; the depth changing
almost immediately from one mile to two miles. The reverse
was the case with the Atlantic. The bottom piedented an
almost even surface, and the difficulties were not greater
than those of even the shortcut

A gentleman asked—lf the Calais cable broke, why shctl4
not the Atlantic cable break ?

Mr. Brett replied that the Calais cable never broke.
There was a line laid down, he might say very much in
opposition to his wishes, by the engineer, simply of gutta
percha. It was an experimental line—the feeling at the
time being that they could not sink a telegraphic cable.
The wire, however, was run across, and he (Hr. Brett,)
printed the first message that was telegraphed from this
country to the continent. It lasted during a week, and
would have continued to last, had not a fisherman on the
English coast fished it up, and cut it to clear his hooks,
An-iron covered cable was then taken across, and had never
failed from that day to the present. The average depth in
which it is sunk, was only thirty fathoms ; and though he
had seen upwards of forty vessels anchored over it in shallow
water, and had trembled for its safety, yet not one had ever
yet interferred with ir. (Hear, hear )
Mr. E. Heath, in moving the thanks of the meeting to'
the gentlemen who attended ou behalf of the company, said;
that they could not allow those :4entlernen to depart without,
thanking them for the kindness with which they bad'
explained this great enterprise. (Hear, hear.) An enter-
prise which was pregnant with the largest results—nation-
ally, morally, and commercially, He would not go into
the commercial aspect of the enterprise, bee iuse, on that,
each gentleman present would form his own judgment; but
be should say, that it deserved their admiration, when they
looked on it as the means of connecting the two continents
of Europe and America. (Hear, hear.) The results which
had been arrived at, in regard to the soundings of the
Atlantic, astonished him. As one who had often crossed
the Atlantic, he had believed the thing to be altogether im-
possible, and that the depths were far greater than they
turned out to be. They should approve, as well as admire,
the manliness and candour with which the gentlemen, who
attended on behalf of the promoters of the company, had
explained all the circumstances connected with it, and
answered the questions put to them touching the matter.
(Hear, hear.) Mader these circumstances, be begged to
move that the thanks of the meeting be given to them—a
motion which, he was sure, would be unanimously as-
sented to. (Hear, hear.)
The motion was carried by acclamation; after which tb3
assembly broke up.

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The Vaster of the Workhouse said that a few months
since he had had a similar case, and then he was dir
eeted by Mr. Man.field to apply to Captain Schomberg.
He did so, and that gentleman fully investigated the
case, and he would recommend the board to adopt the

a trite course.
On the motion of Mr. Canis, the suggestion vac
agreed to, anl tl,e clerk was instructed to writ, on behalf
of the hoard to Captain Sc'ornberg.

THE *kNT OF ACCOMMODATION FOR THE rAuPEr.

PRESENT W,.!11R HOES

IN TH:

The report of the

ingcommittEe was then brought
‘, We recommend' that

d• It was as folioiv