The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-24 00:00:00

7HE A7LAIV2IC 7ELEG.RAPH.

(From the Times City Article.) •
Subjoined is a communication from the Atlantic
Telegraph Company. It refers, in what seems to
be an unjustifiably harsh tone, to a letter signed
" Mercator," inserted the day before yesterday, and
which was temperately written, and contained no-
thing that could be regarded as an attempt, either
direct or indirect, to cast a personal imputation of
any kind :

" 22, Old Broad-street, London, Dec. 23.
Sir,—By publishing a letter signed Mercator,' in your
Money Article of yesterday you have given to it an import-
ance which neither the real name of the writer or its sub -
stance could command.

I will not occupy your space in exposing the inaccuracy
of ' Mercator's' figures, all of which are wide of the truth,
or in rectifying his facts, some of which are erroneous.
Still less would it be becoming in me to undertake the de-
fence of our chairman against the unworthy insinuation of
dishonestly concealing the fact of the temporary interrup-
tion of the Toulon and Algiers line of telegraph when he
referred to it at the late meeting of our shareholders. The
honour of our chairman is safe in his own hands, and I
believe it would be offensive to him to say more on this
point.

" But it may be important to point out that, though it be
the fact, as we are now informed, that the Algerian cable
has, after two years, been temporarily interrupted in the
midst of its successful working by an accident probably re-
sulting from one of those terrific hurricanes which have
lately visited Marseilles and the whole Gulf of Lyons, yet
its history is encouraging as an instance of what would now
be considered a very imperfect cable, laid more than two
years ago, over a volcanic and rocky bottom, without any
survey and without much of the experience and scientific
organisation now at the command of electricians and con-
tractors ; but, in spite of these disadvantages, working effi•
ciently and profitably at a rate of 18 words a minute for two
years, instead of ' a short period.' In this sense down to the
time of the present accidental interruption it might well be
quoted by our chairman as one of the many proofs of the
facility with which telegraph cables can be laid and worked
in depths approaching to those of the Atlantic, with the
present improved means and increased experience; and it
may be remarked in passing that even two years' revenue
only from an Atlantic cable would be in all probability more
than sufficient to recoup the whole capital of the share-
holders.

"The greateEt depth of the Algerian line itt no less than
L 585 fathoms (not 1,500, as stated by Mercator'), its length
550 miles, not 500 (as again stated) ; and ' Mercator,' if his
object were truth, might have mentioned that, according to
the only information published, the injury it has received
has occurred, not in deep water, but in the comparatively
shallow depths in the offing of the French coast.

"The Algerian cable was starved in its vital points, as
was noticed even at the time of its manufacture, three years
ago; but it was laid, as even Mercator' shows, in spite of
terrible and exceptional weather. It has been injured in a
hurricane—net irrevocably, as I have good reason to believe,
on the authority of a French scientific journal, and when
that portion of it which has been found too fragile for shal-
low water shall have been replaced by the massive sheath
which experience has shown to be necessary in such cases,
it is to be hoped that no more difficulty will occur.
"As to the other failures cited by Mercator' it is well
known to every telegraphist that they never were deserving
of success, and as was admirably shown by the late Presi-
dent of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in summing up
a somewhat recent discussion on the subject at that institu-
tion, their want of success was a case for the consideration
of the moralist far more than the man of science.

" Your correspondent is right in suggesting the weather
to be encountered' as the most serious risk in laying cables,
whether in shallow or deep water ; but this danger, instead
of being diminished, would have others superadded to it, by
going, as he suggests, to the North or South Atlantic to
meet the icebergs and icebound coasts of the one, or the vol-
canic bottom and tropical heats of the other. His sugges-
tion, however, betrays the source from whence his letter
comes, which is well known to our directors, even through
the mask of an assumed signature, which is indeed wisely
chosen, as the real one would probably be the best antidote
to the writer's attempt to obstruct a great national under-
taking.—Yours truly,

" GEO. SAWARD, Secretary."

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF SELF-MUTILATION.
A remarkable case of self-mutilation occurred yesterday by
the wife a barman, named Jane Brickland, aged 38, living
in York-street, Camden Town. It appeareed that the
woman for some time past had given way to drinking
habits, and while under such she deliberately chopped off
beautiful
taken
d,
and
some
she was her left hand and wrist. She then wrapped up her arm,
and in proceeding to the University College Hospital she
rt wgah3 t i a
it, as they might called in at the Lord Wellington/ and, having
ha n
brandy, she walked into the hospital, and told the porter
she had cut herself. Unwrapping her arm, she said she
ha d left
hand
she h
at a
dnothome;
b i
brought
put it on again. During the exhibition of chgh t have
e limb, she
maintained a remarkable degree of coolness,
house surgeon, immediately attended, but he Mr.Gee,
found it
necessary to send for Mr. Quail; the ter the armwas head surgeon, and
shortly of
operated
believe, will recover. en. The woman, it is
importing tea Without colour on the leaf pre-
vents the Chinese passing off inferior leaves as in the usual
kinds. Rornimairs
04
aw e,.
Sold in
Tea is uncoloured, therefore away:
IC Sold la packets by 2,280 agents.