The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-21 00:00:00

THE TELEGRAPH TO INDIA.

The last slips of the squadron appointed to con-
vey this cable, which in a few moans will connect
Ectedarsd with the remotest provinces of our Indian
empire, have either sailed this week or will leave
now in a few days snore. Unforeseen causes, stress
of weather, difficulty in obtaieing all the varied
appliances and apparatus necessary for so remote
and important an expedition, have delayed the start-
ing of some of the ships beyond the limo at first
contemplated. The Assaye left Plymouth on Satur-
day, the Tweed dropped down the river on Monday
last, the Marian Moore and Kirkham are well on
their voyage out. Only one more cable ship, the
cospatrick, remains to follow. As they are all ra-
ther behind time, they will touch at no intermediate
ports, but at once make all sail for Bombay. The
public is, therefore, not likely to hear much of them
till the great labour is completed, and the first inti-
metion of success will most probably appear in our
own columns in the telegram that will announce the
state of the Bombay and Calcutta markets of the
previous evening. It is only a few weeks since we
gave a very long account of the mode of manufac-
ture of this cable at Mr. Henley's factory—of the
careful way in which it was almost hourly tested
for insulation and resistance till it finally passed
out from all the machines sheathed with
galvanised
iron wire to protect it from rust, swathed in hemp
and tar over this, and, finally, coated over all with
a mixture of asphalt, tar, and silica, laid on in a
melted state and allowed to cool into a coating hav-
ing almost the hardness of flint, and the flexibility
of rope. In this completed state, nearly 11 in. in
diameter, weighing nearly 4 to the mile, and 2
ions in water, it has been shipped in huge black-
looking coils on board the vessels we have mention-
ed. The Marian Ikloore has taken about 700 tons,
or 174 miles of the cable ; the Kirkham, 183 miles;
the Tweed, 350 miles ; the 'Assaye, 370 miles;
and the Cospatrick will have 173 miles ; or, in all,
1,250 nautical miles of submarine wire. In addition,
each ship takes out complete telegraph stores for
one station in the Persian Gulf. The little steamer
Charente, to be hereafter called the Amber Witch,
and to be permanently employed between the sta-
tions in the Persian Gulf, will carry out some 30 or
40 miles of shore ends of great strength, and this
completes the tale of the scientific expedition, than
which a more perfectly equipped one never left this
country. The whole responsibility of superinten-
dence, from the moment the cable was begun,down
to the proper fitment of every ship chosen to carry
it, has devolved upon Colonel Patrick Stewart, RE.,
as well known for his high militaryservices in India
as for his superintendence of the admirably worked
land lines through that country. Sir Chas, Bright
and Mr. Latimer Clark have been electrical engi-
neers under Colonel Stewart, and have undertaken
the whole responsibility of laying it successfully,
but the principal labour has fallen to Colonel
Stewart's lot, and to him will be due the great merit
of the success of this national achievement.
Each ship, as we have said, has been most per-
fectly fitted out, and each, as far as equipment goes
forms a perfect expedition in itself—a complete link
in the chain of stations which is to connect Bombay
with the head of the Gulf. The Assaye and the
Tweed, the vessels which have just started with the
greatest lengths of cable, may be taken as fair
samples of the whole squadron. These vessels are
sister ships built of Malabar teak, and intended as
frigates for the old India Company. Both are of
great speed, and both are of such prodigious
strength that there are probably no wooden vessels
in her Majesty's navy so strongly bound together.
In each of these, as in all the other ships of the
expedition, three massive wrought-iron tanks have
been built from the bottom up to the main deck
—one forward, one amidships, and one aft. In
these the cable is carefully stowed away in three
coils, the beginning and end of each coil being car-
ried along the ships to the testing room, and the
tanks are then filled with water by a small steam
pump. A member of Sir Charles Bright's electri-
cal staff goes with each ship, and has sole charge of
the cable, which he can thus test through while
under water in the tanks daily, and in case of any
leakage being discovered have time to watch and
localise the fault in the insulation, if any should
occur, long before the time for submerging arrives.
Being thus able to watch the condition of the wire
from day to day was of the utmost possible import-
ance, though from various causes it has not been
practicable till now to adopt the precaution. With
each section-of the cable is also sent the appliances
necessary for paying out and buoying, with a staff
of skilled workmen for making joints and cutting
out faulty places, if any should be discovered in the
voyage out, iron posts for land lines, grappling
irons for raising the wire, and most perfect and
costly sets of instruments, some of the most delicate
kind, which will be kept either at the stations or
at the headquarters at Kurrachee, in case of any un-
foreseen difficulties in working.' As far, however, as
the most anxious care and forethought can guard
against accidents none are likely to arise. In fact,
the same delicate system of testing adopted during
the manufacture, which could detect and record the
loss of one thousandth millionth part of the current
by leakage, shows that, if possible, the cable now
in the tanks on board the Assaye is in even better
electrical condition than when it left Mr. Henley's
works. The Assaye was driven into Plymouth by
desperately heavy weather ; yet so strong was the
ship, and so well was the cable stowed that the
last tess taken before the vessel sailed on Setur•
d,a.y showed each section to be in a higher con-
u'uan• of insulation than any submarine cable
ever exhibited before. On board each of the
Ships go a Certain
hereafter to work the line from station to station
along the Gulf. At each station will be a superin-
tendent and
depat je-sstuperintendent, with six clerks
—the latter the instrumenta hands that could
be procured ; the former gentlemen of from 10 to
12 years' experience at theil arge stations in Eng-
land. At some of the stations
lonelythe staff will have
but a dull time; at Khasab, the
off the Arabian coast, for instance,
,iWhere the hosti-
lity of the Arabs may possibly
to live on
board a hulk moored at some little dilseitbaarinlce from the
aryof about
rocky desolate shore. A well-chosen
2,000 volumes goes out with the
between tabtions.
these will be divided between the five Gulf expedition,
and
The Amber Witch, which will Ply
tions, will bring letters and papers, and none ofe
the-
staff will be kept more than two or three months at
a time at on station, so that there will at least be
canstant change, if there is not much variety.
from Kurrachee to Gvaadel, a
The
five stations will be
distance of 250 miles, from G wadel across the Gulf
to the peninsula of Khasab, from Khasab to Bashire,
and from 13ulhire to a place called Few, a small
eastern township on the estuary at the mouth of the
submarine wire meets the land
Euphrates,liaeswtich wherecarr h
carry tit to e „nag (led, thence to Mossul
(the ancient Nineveh), thence to Diabeker, and
thence to Scutari, on the 802131-I"us' where it joins
a dozen European land routes. Dr. Esselbach, se
well known among scientific men in this country
for his high attainments, is to be chief superinten-
dent in charge of the whole line, and at his disposal
Will be a regular staff of mechanicians,
Sac., at the
head
quarters at Kurrachee. The reason for going
to the
breaks or
expense and trouble of making five
or stations in the Gulf, on a length of le2oo
miles of wt •
re, is, of course, the great difficulty
'which would otherwise be ex erienned in
tele-
graphing through P
of 1 200
unbroken circuit ,
miles. It we for the an
Alexandria line same reason that the .Malta
was laid in three sections. Elec-
tricians are sanguineana
ithinintheir hopes that, in the
course of time,
creased knowledge and
experience in submarine cables, this great difficulty,
or rather obstacle, may be
mitigated. As far, how-
ever, as present knowledge
goessage nothing appears
more certain than that messages cannot be sent
through long, unbroken eircuitsosa 8
with sufficient rapidity and distin
such undertakings profitable, even if theres to make
were
deep seas.
Persian as:tbnniearino wires
no risk of loss while being laid across
Even with the short circuits in which the
Golf line is being laid, Dr. Esselbach is taking out
with him some beautiful instruments specially made
Wheatstone, Professor Thompson 11
by Professorr.
Jeeken, and others, in order to mitigate with them
the influence of the electric wave in the conductor,
which, to a certain extent, will interfere with rapi-

dity and clearness of telegraphing, even along a
wire where the longest unbroken submarine stretch
is only 400 miles.

The work of submerging this line writ. it is ex-
pected, commence about the end of next January.
The wire will be laid from the sailing ships on
which it is on board, towed by steamers lashed
alongside. The mere work of sinking is not likely
to take :note than a fortnight, but to land the three
ends and make all the connections perfect may pro-
bably occupy a fortnight or so more. The weak
point of the line is decidedly that which passes
from the head of the Galf to Scutari—the land line.
The first length up to Bagdad is acrossr
the Arabs,acountr37
which may be said to be in possession of
and
a
length,
l fther omßagdadworsefor the
to
soecoe
tuapr ey, a
i s ,
innd
th tehiesecond
hands
d sof
Turkish operators, who work only as
as long
Unless andasoften as it pleases them, and no mthese
stationsin
Asia
Eng-
lish operators are sent out to
yuctho expectantiai-
Minor
th that,
asi t
great
rl ae raitn
egx
teanntg derp r
ohvaisd
eodf
course
h be
eoevne r l a n
foreseend maand
itl ho
as
against by Col. Stewart taking another land line
from Bushire to Teheran, and from Teheran to Bag-
dad. This length, therefore, renders the line partly
independent of the Arabs, though it leaves the evil
of the Turks as rampant as ever. But to have some
check on these latter also another land-tine is being
set up from Teheran to Teflis, and from Teflis it
will be in communication with the Russian lines.
These routes, however, are really valuable only as
auxiliaries, the great object to be arrived at being,
of course, to get English operators along the Asia
Minor route, as we have already succeeded in get-
ting English operators along the Persian routes
from Bushire to Bagdad and Tans. A little diplo-
matic management at Constantinople would be suf-
ficient, one would think, to secure this slight favour,
from which the Turks would reap as much benefit as
ourselves in the quick transmission of messages and
all the benefits in a pecuniary point of view.
In a few days Col. Stewart leaves for Constanti-
nople, to see that their Asia Minor lines are all in
good working order before starting overland for
India to meet the cable ships at Bombay. Sir Chas.
Bright and Mr. Latimer Clark, with the rest of the
staff, will also start early next month to make all
the arrangements for their responsibility of laying
the wire. Most heartily do we wish Col. Stewart
and his able engineers all the success to which their
unwearied care so justly entitles them.