Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-16 00:00:00

TO THE ZDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES.

Sir,—The imporance of securing, without an hout's
unnecesary delay, the means of tele graphic communication
between England and India becomes more and more a matter
preponderating in national and imperial consequence over any
mere commercial consideration. Mail after mai', the story of
the Sepoy revolt is further and less satisfactorily developed;
public anger and anxiety deep n cn the revelation of every
item of feesh intelligence, and the necessity for prompt and
vigorous action, based upon rapid and correct information,
becomes more and more urgent and imperative at every step
iu this momentous business.

It is with the more regret, therefore, that I perceive the
narrow limits into which so great a question has been allowed
to dwindle. Instead of being largely and resolutely taken
hold of by the government itself, as it should have been, with
a view to carry out the communication at the earliest moment, '
and by the most available means, the whole thing seems at
present not unlikely to be soddenly stifled altogether, or, at
best to die of financial atrophy superinduced by the conflicting
assertions with which rtval jealousies and interests are sur-
rounding it.
Dependent as all suhmarine telegraphic enterprises are upon
certain physical conditions which presuppose peculiar risks, it
has been the custom previous to their inauguration to obtain
from thligovernment interested in their success such advantages
or immunities as would induc3 the forthcoming (Stile financial
assistance necessary for their crimpletion. In the instance of
the Red Ste line to India which (now that the fireman has
hi en at present refused by the Sultan to tire Euphrates Valley
line) is the only company at this time actually in the field, this
assistance consisted of a grant of ,t2O 000 a year, guaranteed
by the East India Company and confirmed by the Board of
Control—a grant liberal enough in itself, but contingent upon
absolute success, the first message through being the sine qua
won of its enjoyment, and the continuance of it in working
order, the co :Anion of its regular payment. Such a guarantee,
therefore, is assailable as an investment upon any ground pre-
sumed to affect the success of the thing guaranteed.. Accord-
no sooner was the indication of the Red Sea proj ct
announce,l, thari the soothsayers of the opposite faction began
to propagate their objections in the most public-spirited manner
imaginable ; every petty statement, wilful, stupid, or mistaken,
that had ever permeated the telegraphic world, in respect to
the difficulties in the way of an Anglo-Indian telegraph were
brought to bear upon the luckless project, in order to throw
dust in the eyes of timid capitalists, and induce them to button
up their breeches pockets.
First we had a disquisition on the physical geography of
the Red Sea and iis con'ents as opposed to telegraphic
cables, introducing the coral formation, and Pharaoh's chariot
wheels.

'Then, when overtures had been made to the Atlantic Com-
pany for the purchase of their present cable, and accepted,
conditionally upon the litter being enabled to get a similar
one ;ready for thi it renewed operations next summer, a
rumour " is forthcoming in the very nick of time, that
the Atlantic cable is absorbing heat, and is already seriously
injured; and an impression is conveyed to the mind that it
will be very fortunate if not only the cable, but her Majesty's
steamer Agamemnon, containing it, should escape spontane-
cue combustion. This statement, however, being rather
too hard upon the already disappointed shareholders in the
Atlantic Company, was officially and flatly contradicted,
after a thorough examination, and turns out to have been a
" mistak,."
The public are next informed that
,gutta percha softens
and loses its insula.ing pioperties in hot climates. A case
is cited where in 1853 some unprotected gutta percha packed
improperly, and allowed -0 remain for months in the hold of
a sailing vessel in the tropics, was seriously damaged; and a
fact is stated which we think will be news to the analytical
chemist, namely, that gutta perch, which is a compound of
the two elementary substa,ces, carbon and hydrogen, when
subjected 7 to the warmth of the tropics, has a tendency to
abso b oxygen, and thereby becomes brittle.
Now, the point to which I desire the etention of the
public and the government is this : that all the while these
disputations are going forward nothing is hi i g done; whereas,
if active measures had been taken, the telegraph m;glat by this
time have been down and at work for at least a priori of the
distenee towards India ; viz., as far as Suez.
Tae pretended obstacles (or rather obstructirn,.) to such a
course appear in themselves unworthy of a moment's consi-
deration ; hut, were it otherwise, their validity or worth-
lessness could have been sufficiently tested by competent
aultorities in a week. They have, however, already had
sufficient influence with the tearful and the uninitiated to
prevent them from assisting to subscribe the rtquisi.e
funds for proceeding with the work, and it is evident that if
we are to have an Indian telegraph at all, something more
will be necessary to bring forward the capital for it than a
mere annual subsidy, payable after
-the lino has been esta-
blished.

What that further aid will be I will presently suggest.
Meanwhile I would point out a course whereby in two monas
from this time the receipt of intelligence may ho has'ened at
least ten days, and by wh.ch the whole communication to
India may be completed at the commencement of April text.
By the middle of oe:ober in the present year the Mediter-
ranean Extension Telegraph Company wi!l have laid their line
from Sardinia re, Malta. Sintultanfotte y with this operation
•

the portion of the Atlantic cable at present on board the
Agamemnon, which is about the length required, might be
laid from Malta to Alexandria. Thus, by these two
preliminary steps alone there would be an immediate gain of
nine or ten days. Further, there are now en board the
United States frigate Niagara upwards of 800 miles of
Atlantic cable. A further length sufficient to make up the
quantity required between Aden and Bombay could be
manufactured and shipped in about thirty days, and by the Ist
of February, at the latest, that important link' in the com-
munication could be completed and at work.
There would then only intervene the length between Aden
and Suez. For this portion, if con'tacts were at once en-
tered into, an entirely new cable could be manufactured,
Shipp: d, and laid by the end of the first week in April, thereby
completing the whole system from London to Bernhay. Thus,
then, there is nothing required but a moderate capital, and
the requisite energy, in order to real'ze in the best manner,
within six months from this time, a public wok, which in its
mete financial and economical aspect, would in all probability
save the country more than its own colt before the suppression
of the Indian mutiny is accomplished. The distances between
Malta and Bombay, by the route we have indicated, amount to
somewhat over 4,000 miles, and allowing for slack cable and
general expenses, the capital n quired to be guaranteed by
government. in older to the thorough carrying out of the
undertaking, would probably be nearly a million sterling.
This guarantee, however, to enable money to bo raised upon
it without delay must be absolute, and not a mere subsidy
commencing at the date of success.

Tha amount of guarantee need not be largo, provided there
is no contingency about ; and its payment might be divided
between the East India Company and the Imperial Treasury.
Four-and-a-half per cent., or forty-five thousand a year, cJrn-
pletely guaranteed during the construction of the work, and
until a limited period after the establishment of through
communication ; then to cease as an absolute grans, and be
converted into such annual sum as may be agreed on for
transacting governunn- business ; this, or a similar arrange-
ment, viould readily produce in a few days the necessary
funds.

In the ordina'y time of peace an annual expenditure of
£45,000, even were it to be coatinuad year by year, for esta-
blishing immediate intercourse between England and India,
would be la more than compensated in the saving that would
accrue to the public purse from its regular use ; but at a time
like the present, without for a moment looking at dr, suhj et
from any loftier point of view th in as a mere matter of
money, it is far more than probable that the use of the tele-
graph i❑ the suppression of the existing ditcurbances would in
the end effect a saving equal to more than the whole capital
emple}•ed to construct and lay the cable.
On these grounds, therefore, I would urge the Administra-
tion to do without delay the little that is necessary on their
part, in order to bring about the accomplishment of complete
Anglo-Indian communication.
I say nothing of the higher considerations attached to the
subject, which, of thems,lves, would overbalance the money
question—nothing of t''.e love of country—of the safety of our
banished countrymen—of the speedier cessatio❑ of nameless
outrages upon defenceless women and children, or of the
advancement of science, aid peace, and civilisation ; but I
content myself with the rtmaik the, in a petunia y point
of view alone, the completion of the Indian telecraph, in the
manner I have indicated, would repay with interest the
annual expenditure Lvulved in its inception.—l am, &c.,

At LEWIS & COH?ANrs, Ranelsgh-,treet,
BOYS are CLOTHED fron'the Ages of Six to Twenty Years.

SSIZURE OF CORPORATION EFFECTS FM DOUBLE IN-
COME TAL—The collectors of income tax for the Tyne.
mouth in disttict have seized up:os the baths and washhouseq
belonging to the corporation of this twough, for their
share of re-assessment of double iccome.'-i.x, to make up a
dofalcf,tion of T. Briggs, a tobacconist who collected
f 1,700, for which he has not accounted. The seizure has
k•een made under instructions fr,,rn the authorities at
Somersat House ; but the corporation has already given
notice that thty interd to proceed against the collectors
for trespass. The re-assessment hi- which they have s&z-
ed was made upon the debenturis on the new cemetery,
whioh were entered into sutstquent to Briggs' defalcation
and bankruptcy. As there are many parties in the borough
who refuse to pay the re-lssrssment, and as the collectors
have received instructions to seize upon all defaulters,
mule dis'raints are expe.ettel to be made in few days.

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL.

LIVERPOOL, Tuesday Evening.

A fair derAland continues to prevail for Cotton,
and the fri,il rates of Friday are freely paid. The
sales to—day were about 8,000 bales, including 2,000
on speculation and for export.
The Liverpool Share Market has been dull and
drooping to-day, and closed at a decline of from
to 1 per cent. Sheffields and Dovers show the
greatest decline. The following were the trans-
actions to-day. Eastern Counties, 11 5-16, 111;
Lancashire and Yorkshire, 971, 97k, 97*, 971;
London and North Western, 991, 991, 991- Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 411, 4 411;
Midland, 811, 814; North British, 121, 12 9-16 ;
North Eastern, 231, 231 c ; Grand Trunk of j
Canada, 12i, 12 5.16 ; Great Western of
Canada, 201 21; Manchester, Sheffield, and
Lincolnshire, 101 shares, 114; Northern Union,
A, 220, The following were the closing prices:—
Blackburn, 8, 8 ; Chester and Birkenhead,
6-12 xd, 651 ; Caledonian, 42, 421; Chester and
H.olyhead, 16,1, 17 ; Eastern Counties, 111,
11• ; East Lancashire, 931 xd, 93; ; Do. 91. shares,
1, xd 9-16 p ; Great Northern, 231 24; Do. A, 131,
11 ; Great Western, 541. 55 ; Lancashire and
Yorkshire Stock, 978 xd, 971 ; Do. 91. shares, 4 xd,
p; Liverpool, Crosby, and Southport, 181 xd, 181
London and North Western Stock, 991, pgi ;
Manchester, Sheffield. and Lincolnshire, 40i, 40a ;
Midland Stock, 811 811 ; North British, 122,
12 ; North StaffotiLhire, 41, 4 d ; North Eastern
—Berwick, 231. 23! ; York and North Midland,
391, 391; Leeds Capital Stock, 241, 241 ; South
Eastern and Dover, 20 5 16 xd, 20 7-16 ; Scottish
North Eastern, 122,121 ; Buffalo, and Lake Huron,
51, 5 d ; Do. New Shares, 51, 5 d ; Dutch Rhenish.
d ; Great Western of Canada, 21, 21 1-16 ;
Do. New Shares, par, kp ; Great Luxembourg,
677, xn, 7 ; Grand Trunk of Canada, 12 3-16,
12 5-16.