The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-28 00:00:00

PRUSSIA.

BERLIN, JAN. 27, Evening.
In the Chamber of Deputies to-thy the debate
upon the Address was commenced.
Herr von Sybel said that Herr von Bismark-
Schonhausen, in denying the statement of the
Chamber that no identity existed between the King
and the Ministry, had insulted the honour of the
Ring.

Herr von Waldeck said that Herr von Grabow,
n his opening speech, had deserved well of his

country.

The Minister-President, Herr von Bismark-
Schonhausen, stated that the Address made mani-
fest the relation between the Chamber and the
Government. It demanded of the House of Hohen-
zollern to renounce rights belonging to it by the
constitution. He maintained that there could be
no distinction between the Ministry and the Crown,
and said that the position occupied by the Ministry
was based upon constitutional rights. The co ope-
ration of the three principal bodies of the State—the
Crown, the Upper House, and the Lower House—
was necessary for the establishment of the budget.
The constitution made no provision for the case of
the non-voting of the budget. Compromises were
therefore necessary to obviate conflicts between the
Chamber and the Government, which raise the
question in whom the actual power lies. The Chamber
by refusing the supplies requisite for the reorgani-
sation of the army, had abused its constitutional
rights, and the Upper House was therefore justified
in rejecting the budget. The Ministry was deter-
' mined to resist the demands of the Chamber to en-
large its constitutional privileges, and to maintain
unimpaired the rights of the House of Hohen-
zollern.
The debate continues.

SERVIA.
PARIS, JAN. 27.

The Presse of this evening says :—" The Turkish
Ambassador at Vienna has handed to Count Rech-
berg a despatch upon the subject of the arms sent
to Servia, pointing out the complicity of Russia,
whose constant aim it was to incite Servia to attack
the Turkish frontier. The despatch states that
Russia has assembled considerable parks of artil-
lery in the southern provinces, especially in Bes-
sarabia, and that numbers of Russian agents, sup-
plied with money, had been sent into Servia.
" The despatch expresses the thanks of the
Turkish Government to Austria for having asso-
ciated an Austrian commissioner with the Turkish
commission for a pacific settlement of the question
which has arisen out of the transport of arms to
Servia."
The Presse says that the Turkish Ambassador
has made a similar communication to the English
Cabinet.

The Sardinia and Sicily Telegraph Cable,

To secure a more immediate and closer connexion
with Sicily and Southern Italy, and to have a route
for the Indian telegraphic traffic other than that
through the disturbed district of the Calabrias, the
Indian Government decided to lay a cable from the
south-west part of the Island of Sardinia, near Cag-
liari, to a point in Sicily between Trapani and
Marsala; and Messrs, Glass, Elliot, and Co., the
well-known contractors for submarine telegraphs,
engaged to make, lay, and maintain a submarine
communication between those places.
The main cable consists of a seven-strand copper
wire covered with three coats of gutta percha and
three of compound to a diameter of three-eighths of
an inch, then served with tarred yarn, and closed
with 14 No. 10 gauge best charcoal bright iron
wire. Its weight in air is two tons per nautical
mile, with a specific gravity of 2.68, and it bears a
strain of nearly seven tons. The shore end is the
same core, served with tarred yarn, and closed with
12 No. 2 gauge best annealed iron wire. It eighs
seven tons per nautical mile, and will bear a strain
of about 20 tons.
The screw steamer Hawthorns, 1,000 tons burden,
which had just completed the Zaudvoort cable for
the same firm, having had an iron tank 24ft. in
diameter and 14ft. deep fitted in her, and the
cable coiled into it, left Greenhithe on the sth
of December last, and arrived at C agliari on the
17th. Mr. Canning joined her on the 22d, having
travelled by Turin, and after several soundings
had been taken along the proposed route, and wait-
ing for favourable weather, on Monday, the 29th
of December, at 11 a.m., the end was landed
at Porto Gionco, a little to the northward of the
Cavali light, Cape Carbonara, where there was a
fine sandy beach, and deep water half a mile from it.
The paddle war steamer Malfatano had been de-
tailed by the Italian Government to pilot the course,
as the compasses of a ship paying out cable cannot
be relied upon, owing to the constant changing of
the mass of iron cable on board, and to assist the
Hawthorns in case it was required. The captain
of the Malfatano having some further soundings to
take left on the 28th of December, having notice
that the work of laying would commence on the
following morning if it was fine. Accordingly at
2 p.m., with a smooth sea, the Hawthorns began
paying out, although the Malfatano had not re-
turned, as a fine day could not be risked, owing to
the weather being so very changeable and bois-
terous at this season. After three miles of the
heavy shore-end cable had been laid (depth of
water 150 fathoms) the change was made to the
main cable, and the course set S.S.E., to bring the
cable into the shoal water north of the Keith Reef,
on the Skerki or Esquerquis Bank, distant 100
miles, after which it was intended to steer E. until
abreast of the island of Maritime.
This course was selected, as accurate soundings
have been taken on it at various times by the Eng-
lish Hydrographical Department, and no one but
those actually engaged can appreciate the full ad-
vantages of laying a cable over a route which has
been thoroughly and carefully sounded.
At daybreak next morning a buoy which had
been placed on the Keith shoal ought to have been
in sight. The ship during the night went about
six knots, and it was very interesting to note by
the varying indications of the dynamometer the
different changes in the depth. From 9. p.m. on
the 29th to 2 a.m. on the 30th the greatest depth
was met with, and at 11 p.m., in the middle of it,
a barque gave great anxiety by constantly crossing
the bows and keeping abreast of the Hawthorns,
curious to know what was doing with so many lights
about the ship. Had she known the trouble
she was causing she would no doubt have altered
her course. It is a pity that the excellent arrange-
meats of the Board of Trade for the protection of
telegraph ships when engaged with cables are not
better known among shipping, as a cable ship,when
at work is unable to go out of her course without
great risk and danger to the cable.
The regulations are—" That a telegraph ship
shall, when at work, carry at night two bright red
lights, hung vertically below the white light at the
foremast head, each of the intervals between the
lights to be four feet. By day—two opaque black
balls hung vertically from the foremast head. The
lower ball to be four feet from the upper, and each
ball to be three feet in diameter."
At midnight a steamer was sighted, apparently
brought up; the Hawthorns sent up a rocket, hop-
ing it was her lost consort, the Malfatano, but no
reply was received.
At 8 a.m. it was found by observation that the
ship bad been out of her course. A sounding gave
150 fathoms, sandy bottom ; and the ship was
headed to the eastward. At noon it was found that
the ship had been cairied by the very uncertain
currents which prevail here between 14 and 15 miles
to the south-west of the arranged course, and also
that there was not sufficient cable in the ship to
reach the destination. " Imray's ,Sailing Direc-
tions for the Mediterranean," at page 140, speaking
of the Skerki Bank, &c., says :—" The currents run-
ning so strongly, and without any positive direc-
tion, render this part of the Mediterranean ex-
tremely difficult to navigate," &c.
At 12 30 p.m. the island of Maritimo was sighted,
distant by observation 43 miles, and Mr. Canning
decided to run the cable into shoal water there. Set-
ting the course for Maritimo direct, it was found
that more currents were running; but, having the
island in sight, the helm was altered accordingly.
At 3 p.m. there was a heavy and increasing
swell. At 7 p.m. the ship was abreast of Ma-
ritimo, and, as the wind and sea were increasing,
with signs of bad weather, the eud of the cable was
sealed and buoyed about 11- mile from the shore, in
60 fathoms water, and the ship stood off and on
until daylight, intending to land the end ; but next
morning it blew a gale of wind, and she went
for
shelter to Farignano, where the Malfatano, her in-
tended escort, joined her, and both steamed into
Trapani to wait answer to a request transmitted
through the cable to London, that the surplus
Malta and Alexandria cable, which was landed at
Malta in Sept., 1861, might be used to complete
this work.
On Saturday, January 3, the Hawthorns left for
Malta, shipped the extra cable required, returned
here, and after waiting for flue weather until Jan.
12, it was thought a fine day had been secured. The
end of the cable was picked up, the splice made, and
paying out recommenced, but the ship had not gone
many miles before she met a very heavy short beam
sea, making the proposed landing place a lee shore.
At 10 p.m. it was very dark, with a low shore and
reefs about the Hawthorns, so she let go her anchor.
At daybreak she ran within a mile of the lauding
place, but, as there were too muzh wind and sea to
trust the boats in landing the end, the cable was
cut and buoyed.
In England we hear about the beautiful smooth
sea that is always to be met with in the Mediter-
ranean at this season, but unfortunately this is not
the case. You do get a very fine day now and then,
but it changes very suddenly, and a nasty sea soon
gets up.
The sea on Wednesday was really smooth, and
the Hawthorns appreciated it, tor the cable had:to
be carried by her raft of boats over very shallow
water to the landing place. At four p.m. the end
was put into an old Saracenic tower called Torre
Nubia, distant about one and a half miles from
Trapani and twelve from Marsala. A message
from the agents of the Italian Government,
who were on board • during the operations, was
sent through the cable, via Cagliari, to the Director-
General of Telegraphs at Turin, announcing the
successful completion and the very satisfactory state
of the tests.
The electrical arrangements during the paying
out of the cable were superintended by Mr. C, V.
de Sauty, and were similar to those used in the- Al-
gerine, Corsican, Malta, Wexford, Zaudvoort, and
previous cables, and everything went well during
the work.
The cable has from the first tested very
twheell;it
has slightly but steadily improved during
epro-
cessver
yo f the fie naa l
permanentteststher ea
and
riemasmonertsoionhoapnedthfrisomwitlhl
lasting cable. The length payed out was 211 nau-

tical
It could have been wished that a cable with a less
specific gravity had been chosen for the depths which
were encountered in this route, as unless careful ex-
periments are previously made to determine the pro-
per materials with which the cable shall be con-
structed, having a due regard to the depth of water
and the strength of the cable, the risk of successful
immersion and of its permanent durability is very