The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-18 00:00:00

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH,

Mr. Varley, the electrician of the Atlantic Tele-
graph Company, who went with the expedition in
order to prepare for his directors a report of what
took place, describes the events of the voyage in
the following telegram :

" From C. Varley, Great Eastern, off Crookhaven,
to G. Saward, London.

" Partial loss of insulation when 74 miles of cable
paid out; depth, 500 fathoms; recovered 10i miles
of cable ; cut out fault, and started again next after-
noon. Detention, 38 hours.
" July 29. Total loss of insulation when 708
miles paid out ; picked up 24 miles, cut out fault,
and sailed same day ; depth, 2,000 fathoms; deten-
tion, 18 hours : insulation of submerged cable
more than doubled ; conductivity considerably in-
creased.

" August 2. Partial loss of insulation when
1,212 miles paid out ; recovered two miles, depth
1,950 fathoms ; fault still overboard, when cable
fouled hawser pipe and broke in consequence of
damage sustained in clearing it therefrom.
" August 3to 11. Moored two buoys ; grappled
four times for cable, and hooked it three times. On
each occasion after lifting it several hundred fathoms
from the bottom tackle broke close to bow of vessel;
and the grappling rope being lost obliged to return.
" All entertain hopes that the lost end of the
1,200 miles can be recovered, and the line success-
fully completed to Newfoundland."

Now that we are in possession of the principal
facts connected with the failure of the Atlantic
telegraph expedition, it is easy to point out the
mistakes which have been made in the manage-
ment of the undertaking. It is not in con-
sequence of any unlooked-for resistance from the
forces of nature that the Great Eastern has failed
for the moment in accomplishing her task ; she
has not been driven home by storms ; and although,
in laying the cable on the bed of the Atlantic,
it might have been subjected to influences of
whose effects we were ignorant, experience has
shown that its electrical qualities are greatly
improved instead of being injured when it
reaches the bottom of the sea. The cable has been
lost for the present because precautions which might
have been taken were neglected. A little fragment
of wire, probably no longer than the nib of a steel
pen, has defeated the Atlantic expedition, and
brought the Great Eastern home. When we heard the
explanation of the " hitch" which took place a few
days after the ships sailed, many people qualified to
judge the matter refused to believe that a piece of
wire could have been driven into the cable in the
way described. Nevertheless we now hear that the
second alarm was caused by a repetition of the same
accident. On that occasion the cable was cut, passed
from the stern of the Great Eastern to her bow,
hauled in, and set to rights successfully. The time
spent on this work was less than 19 hours, after
which the voyage went on for a time more prospe-
rously than ever. Then, for a third time, defective
insulation was observed. The same symptoms which
were noticed on the two former occasions made
themselves manifest once more. Again, therefore,
arrangements were made for recovering the cable,
but this time it parted after two miles had been
hauled in and the end vanished into the sea. Now
the process of " picking up" is necessarily attended
with danger from which the contrary process of pay-
ing out is exempt. An extra strain on the cable as
it leaves the ship over the stern can be neutralised
by relieving the breaks, and allowing it to run out
freely. This, however, cannot be done in picking
up, and the strain during this operation must inevit-
ably be greater than in the other case. The cable is
wound in slowly, foot by foot, and when it is brought
from a great depth, the friction in the water is im-
mense.' The mere weight of 2,000 fathoms is not
great when the whole length is submerged—not a fifth
of its breaking strain, but the friction in the water
adds to this weight indefinitely. To diminish the
friction as far as possible the picking up machinery
is made to run very slowly. The cable is wound in
at the rate, Ray of 500 yards in an hour, but as
the ship rises on a wave it will be easy to see that
the strain may be increased in such a way as to en-
danger its safety. It will be for the engineers to
consider whether this difficulty cannot be guarded
against for the future, as the cable parted while
being picked up, and might do so again. It is espe-
cially noticeable, moreover, that it parted on board
ten yards from the wheel at the bows. Surely it
might be possible to provide tackle which should
come into play if the cable endeavoured to escape
overboard after it had once been recovered. If it
breaks under water or just at the bows, such an ac-
cident may perhaps be unavoidable ; but once on
board, it ought to be safe. As to the cause of the
fracture in the case before us there is a conflict of
testimony between Mr. Canning and Mr. Varley.
Mr. Canning says it broke because it had been
chafed against the stern of the ship. This is very
unintelligible, because two miles had been recovered
before it broke, and therefore the part supposed to
be chafed must have been two miles from the ship
when the cable was passed round to the bows, and,
if injured at the stern at all, must have been injured
during the process of paying out, when it could not
have touched the stern of the ship, but must have
passed direct from the stern wheel into the sea. Mr.
Varley, on the other hand, says that it was injured
by foulingthehawse-pipe as it came up. The hawse-
pipe is that iron-bound hole in the bow of the ship
through which the anchor chains pass, and it is just
possible that the ship may have forged ahead over
the cable as it slowly rose to the surface so as to
justify this explanation. If this is so here is another
lesson of experience to be made use of, let us hope,
next time.

It is curious to find that the last fault of in-
sulation was not observed till the ship had left
it six miles behind. The Great Eastern did not
steam more than six knots an hour while pay-
ing out, and as the miles spoken of are of
course nautical miles, equal to knots, it fol-
lows that for a whole hour the electricians on
board were ignorant of the electric state of the
cable. Considering that no verbal messages were
allowed through it, because they would interfere
with the continuity of the tests, and the constant
vigilance of the electric staff, this discovery is suffi-
ciently remarkable. In each case the faults passed
some distance astern before they were observed, and
one of the morals to be drawn from the events of
this unfortunate voyage certainly is that the cable
tests should be applied in such constant succession
that it would be impossible for a fault to pass 500
yards from the ship without being observed. It is
impossible to say what subtle causes may not inter- ,
fere with the insulation of an electric wire whilst
it is being immersed in the sea. After our present
experience with the morsels of wire which have
done so much mischief, anything seems possible—
and one is led to feel vaguely that, in spite of the
utmost care, accidents may happen which it is im-
possible to foresee. As it is clear, therefore, that
with every chance in favour of a cable-laying expe-
dition it may still be necessary to pick up, it be-
comes of immense importance that the electric state
should be watched closely, so that no fault may
escape far, rendering it necessary to pick up from a
great depth. The attempts at grappling for the
cable, which we described as rather desperate, have,
as we supposed, detained the ships in the Atlantic
during this long delay, when their absence has
given rise to so much speculation and so
failed,many
but
ab-
surd conjectures. Those attempts have
the engineers draw great comfort from their belief
that on three occasions they laid hold of the cable,
and only failed in bringing it to the surface through
the fracture of the grapnel-rope. The rope used was
probably that which has been described as the
buoy rope ;" it was made of iron wire, and the
Great Eastern had about five miles of it on board.
Its breaking strain could have been very little below
that of the cable itself—a reflection which is rather
discouraging, because it seems to imply that the re-
sistance offered by the cable, as it nears the surface,
becomes so great that either it or the grappling-
rope must give way. It will be easy to make a steel
wire rope to use with the grapnel, which will bear
twice the strain that can be put on it by the resist-
ance of the electric cable. There will be danger,
however, where such a rope comes to be used of
breaking the cable under water. •The Great Eastern
will be back in the Medway on Saturday or Sunday.

IL
ill t
(IJ putt

The Prince and Princess of Wales•

Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess
of Wales ate expected to leave Germany for Aber-
geldie, N. 8., on the day after the uncovering of the
Prince Consort's statue on the 26th inst. at Coburg.
In all probability the prince and princess will reach
Abergeldie about the 6th proximo. It is under-
stood that their royal highnesses will this autumn
visit the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland at Dun-
robin Castle, Sutherlandshire, and will stay there
before returning south.

The Marquis of Northampton is staying at Castle
Ashby, Northamptonshire. The noble marquis is enjoying
rather better health.

The Earl of Dalhousie is entertaining a select
party at Invermark for grouse shooting.

The Earl and Countess of Winehilsea and Lady
Constance Finch-Hatton have left the St. George's Hotel.
The Right Hon. Sir George Grey, Bart., has
left his seat Falloden, Northumberand, on a tour of visits
in Scotland.

Craniology.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sin,—l have taken some interest in this subject
for some years past, as you are aware, and, there-
fore, I was glad to read the letter of the experienced
practical phrenologist, Dr. Donovan, which was
contained in The Sun, on the 14th inst., respecting
Dr. Pritchard. I believe that, as in the case of
Palmer, poisoners generally have much secretive-
ness. Dr. Donovan's statement shows that, as I
have before suggested, criminals should be examined,
phrenologically, only by properly qualified persons,
and pro bono publico, which course was advised by
many medical men nearly 30 years ago. I have
now before me the sketch of Catherine Welsh,
hanged at Newgate, in the month of April, 1828,
for child-murder. She was much affected when she
visited the spot where the child was murdered, and
at other times. This conduct seemed inconsistent,
but the fact was that she possessed large philopro-
genitiveness, and she had been tempted to commit
the act partly on account of the threats of her para-
mour. In cases of apparent inconsistency of cha-
racter phrenology is an invaluable index.
Yours obediently,
Bloomsbury-street, W. C. , CH R. COOKE.
Aug. 16, 1865.