The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-15 00:00:00

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and in July of the
these difficulties with the assistance of Schweigget) ank-.. Arnn)Te's inventions, and those gentlemenlii 1837 took .natent for a needle instrument,
Aear it was laid down between Euston-square and
"..,ainden-town stations, and although apparently success-
ful it was ordered to be again removed.
,The baffled, but not disheartened inventors, sues ceeded, however, in having in 1839 an experimental
length on the Great Western Railway from London to
Slough ; but here it remained for some years without
exciting public attention, and was considered a failure
by the two most important railways in the kingdom,
while the Government had previously, in reply to an
application, stated that " the telegraph was of no use in
time of peace, and that the Semaphore in time of war
answered all the required purposes."
In 1844 I examined carefully its action on the Great
Western Railway, in order to form a judgment of how
far it admitted of certain action, and was not liable to
interruption ; and being satisfied on these points I re-
commended its adoption on the South-Eastern Railway,
when I was the principal engineer, and described, in
addition to its advantages of safety, that of the economy
which would arise from the saving in pilot engines,
plant, &0., and my recommendation was carried into
effect ; and without claiming any merit to myself beyond
pointing out its advantages, I confidently believed that
had not the South-Eastern directors adopted it, and
had they placed the invention in the hands of a less
able and scientific manager than Mr. C. V. Walker, it
alight still have been years before the electric telegraph
had arrived at its present perfection and extensive appli-
cation, or even before capital could have been raised to
25
carrY out the Telegraph Company, which has now above
,000 miles of wire.
tythtrits
With reference to the submarine telegraph my claims
are equally humble, and consist simply in recommending
lilityrand4athe directors moake experiments. to test its practice-
The great difficulty advantages.overcome
insu-
lation of thewires, Which was accomplished by Mr. Wal-
ker who succeeded in sendingsubmarine messaes by vitt&
was the perfect
percha wire at Folkestone before the wagscabl proposed ;
and it is therefore the more to be regretted by the
South-Eastern Railway that the
submarine telegraph
has fallen into other hands, from the effect it would have
exercised cm the continental traffic; and it is to be
equally regretted that an arrangement
was not made
with the Submarine Company when they had first esta-
blished the water communication, and before they had
obtained the power to extend it on land from Dover 4e
London—an arrangement which would bamlaben mu-
tually advantageous to both companies.
I accompanied the expedition to lay the submarine
cable as a visitor only, and was no less delighted at the
end of that anxious day to be able, in a gale of wind, to
send a message to England, than were Mr. Wollaston
and Mr. Crampton, the engineers ; but I have not in-
tended to imply for an instant that the successful result
of that difficult operation was otherwise than due alone
to these gentlemen.
It will be satisfactory to me, and is, I think, due to
the engineers above-mentioned, that you should publish
this communication.

PETER W. BARLOW.
26, Great George-street, Westminster, Sept. 14.