The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-04 00:00:00

ME SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 4, 1E165.

have been affected. The crowded state of some of LATEST INTELLIGENCE
the cowhouses, and their neighbourhood to over-
(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)
populated courts and alleys, cannot be conducive to
the health of a number of persons, and it may very
much be questioned whether any cowhouses should
be allowed in populous neighbourhoods, now that
there are so many facilities for rapid communica-
tion and cheap transit. The report of Dr. WHIT-
MORE was received with great attention, and it was
wisely decided to send a copy forthwith to the Sec-
retary of State, who, we hope, will lose no time in
taking active measures. Meanwhile those cow-
keepers who have as yet escaped should be careful
how they make any fresh purchases.

THE ATLANTIC CABLE.

The announcement of an accident to the cable
which was telegraphed from Valentia at mid-day on
Wednesday, coupled with the long silence since
then, and other collateral circumstances, if pos-
sible, still more grave, all justify the fears which
are now entertained as to the present success of this
great undertaking. Up to mid-day on Wednesday
the signals received were singulary distinct, and the
insulation as nearly perfect as electrical insulation
ever can be. At that time the Great Eastern was
in 51 deg. north latitude, and 39 deg. west longi-
tude—a position which reference to the map will
show was very nearly two-thirds of the way to.'New-
foundland. She was then in the deepest water of
the whole route-2,400 fathoms, or a little over 2f
miles, with a soft oozy bottom of mud on which to
lay the rope. It was at this time the signals to
Valentiabecame unintelligible, and gradually ceased,
leaving no communication between Ireland and the
ship. Since that time no signals have been sent out
and none have been received home, but in their stead
the cable has given warnings of the most ominous
kind—either that it has totally severed from the great
ship, or else is lying in such an injured state at the
bottom of the Atlantic as to be virtually destroyed
for telegraphic purposes, unless it can be hauled in
again from its ocean depth on board the Great Eastern,
the fault found, the piece cut out, and a new splice
made. How the accident has arisen, whether the
end has been buoyed, whether it has been broken,
and the cable staff are now trying to recover it, none
know. All surmises on these points are matters of
vague conjecture. As far as reasonable probabili-
ties can lead to the formation of opinions; it is gene-
rally considered by.plectricians as tolerably certain,
first, that the fault was not caused by stress of.
weather; and secondly, that it occurred after the rope
had left the ship. Bad weather seems out of the
question, for the reason that the amount of slack_
mid out has been so small and so uniform through-
out
the whole voyage. It is true that during the
last 100 miles run it seems to have slightly in-
creased, but not more than might have been ex-
pected from the increasing depth of water. The
instruments used at the Valentia end are of such
exquisite delicacy, also, that they even show by
deflection of the needle when the Great Eastern
rolls, and this so distinctly that special alterations
had to be made in the code of signals to obviate
this possible source of confusion. Yet, up to the
cessation of signals, the needles always indicated
that the great ship had been very steady indeed.
That the disaster occurred after the cable left the
vessel is evident from the fact that it was unknown
to those on board, who were sending their messages
as usual when their messages became unintelligible
at Valentia, and at last ceased entirely. Yesterday
it was stated that the tests applied to the line from
Valentia gave " dead earth," or in other words a
total loss of continuity and insulation—a severed
cable, in fact. We give this statement, however,
merely as a rumour, though we fear it must be re-
garded as having a great deal of truth in it, from
the fact of its being nearly corroborated, on the very
best authority, by the announcement that during
part of yesterday " earth currents " were coming
through the cable to the instruments at Valentia.
The presence of these earth currents in the wire
means either that the cable has parted, or that there
is a considerable piece of its copper conductor ex-
posed, and in communication with the earth or water.
In each case, of course, this is a fatal fault. It was
sought to allay alarm yesterday by advancing the
theory that the cable was influenced by the curious
electrical storm known as " deflections," which
pass from east to west, and which sometimes
affect both land and submarine lines most exten-
sively. One of these " deflection " storms was
certainly present yesterday, as a telegram from
Valentia stated that the working condition of the
land line in the South of Ireland was "much impeded
by strong deflections." This supposition, however,
in the face of the known loss of communication
with the great ship, was counted as of little worth,
and the best test of the feeling of despondency
which existed may be found in the fact that though
hitherto it has been always easy to insure cable
shares at 25 per cent. premium, as much as 60 per
cent. premium offered yesterday found no takers at
Lloyd's.
With regard to the chances of recovering the in-

CHINA AND JAPAN.

STIANGHAE, JUNE 22.

Advices received here from Pekin announce that
fresh edicts published in that city show that Prince
Kung had not entirely recovered from his late dis-
grace.

San Kollinson has been killed in an engagement
with the Nieufei rebels. Zsengknofen succeeds

him.
Burgevine has been captured near-Amoy, while
attempting to join the rebels. He is detained pri-
soner by the Viceroy at Foochow.
The silk and tea trade have opened briskly at
Shanghae and Foochow.
Intelligence from Japan announces that com-
mercial affairs are progressing satisfactorily.
The Tycoon had determined to attack Prince
Nagato, and had reviewed 10,000 troops.
It was rumoured that Prince Satsuma intended to
join Nagato.
The French Government steamer Echo has been
lost near Point Romania. The crew were saved.

EGYPT.

ALEXADNRIA, AUG. 3.

The Viceroy of Egypt arrived here this morning.
After having received some official visits his High-
ness left for Cairo direct, at 11 o'clock.

MADRID, AUG. 3.

The Marquis of Molins and Prince Anglona have
been appointed Spanish Ministers, the former at the
Court of London and the latter at Vienna.

The Epoca asserts that orders have been trans-
mitted to General Gandara to declare war against

Santo Domingo.

This news is considered very doubtful.

jured part and repairing it, it is almost impossible to
speculate. At the depth of water in which the Great
Eastern now is, hauling up three miles of rope would,
under the most favourable circumstances, be a slow
and most precarious undertaking. Carried on with
all the care which such an operation would require,
it could hardly be recovered at the rate of more than
a quarter of a mile an hour, while the slightest wind
or rough sea would at once put an end to it, and
the rope would have to be buoyed and cut adrift to
avoid the, certainty of its breaking if it continued
fast to the great ship. For such eventualities the
Great Eastern is amply provided. She has many
buoys on board equal altogether to a weight of 50
tons, and she has at least four or five miles of powerful
wire buoy-ropes which can support all that the buoys
themselves can float. This effort to buoy, however,
will not be resorted to till the last extremity, as,
apart from the special dangers of such an expedient,
the greatest of all is the extreme uncertainty of ever
finding the buoy again when once cast loose in the
middle of the Atlantic. If the Great Eastern is
making a successful effort to haul in the cable and
repair it, a clear renewal of signals may be looked

for at latest within a couple of days. If, on the con-
trary, that time should pass by without the cable
giving any signs of life, we fear the case must be
considered hopeless as far as regards success this year.

THE BOMBAY MAILS.
MARSEILLES, AUG. 3.
The Euxine, with the above mails, arrived here at

noon to-day.
The mails leave for London at 5 p.m.

The ship will be in quarantine until. Saturday
morning, but will start on her regular turn that day
from the quarantine harbour.

The Great Eastern left with about 2,350 knots of
cable on board, of which, up to the time of the
aecident, 1,200 miles, or about one-half, had been
laid. It is known, from the rate of paying out and
the distance run, that there must have been at least
250 miles still in the forward tank when the fault
arose. The break was evidently, therefore, not
caused by passing the rope from the forward tank to
that amidships which contains 870 miles of wire.
Supposing, then, that the worst has happened, and
the cable is broken, at least 400 if not 500 miles may
be still recovered by underrunning and hauling it in

from the shore end at Valentia. This would leave
a deficit of 700 or 800 miles necessary to be supplied
before again commencing the work—not a very
great amount, certainly, considering what is at
stake, but quite enough to put an end to any chance
of the attempt being renewed before next year. Of
course, all that we have now stated is mere conjec-
ture, based upon the most reliable information. In
a day or Boat most the public will be able with cer-
tainty to judge for themselves, for if, as we have
said, at the end of that time there are still no sig-
nals, they will need none to tell them how total and
irremediable has been the third failure to lay a tele-
graph under one
seas in th
e ofthe deepest,
world.
pest,and certainly one
of the

RAM SALE ON THE SANDRINGHAM ESTATE.—
An important sale of long-woolled shearling rams,
trracaent
on
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ofT
hWeraeles was's
the property of, and bred by, Mr. Charles Bradfield, the
Baal ignrge laety
imFparr
envl ,e
intook
place on Wednesday. There was a great improvement
manifest in the rams, they blending increased sub-
stance with good fleece, fine heavy wool, and excellent
symmetry of shape. A large number of flockmasters at-
tended from various parts of Norfolk and elsewhere, and
after a luncheon, at which " the health of the Prince and
Princess of Wales, in the character of landlord and land-
lady," was enthusiastically drunk Mr. E. Beek commenced
business in a ring surrounded by a large number of in-
tending buyers. The 50 shearlings realised £382. The
first ten averaged £6 10s. Gd. each. The prices of the
other p,uimalgi gold from £l7 St. to about £5.