The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-25 00:00:00

THE PRINCE OF WALES AND OCEAN
TELEGRAPHY.

" His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Ocean
Telegraphy" was the toast of the evening at Arlington-
street, Piccadilly, on Thursday night. In a spacious and
handsome pavilion built for the purpose, and in the
presence of scme seven hundred of the leading members
of the scientific, the political, and the fashion-
able world, the Heir to the Crown conversed
freely with the King of Portugal, the Khedive of
Egypt, and the Viceroy of India; sending mes-
sages to and receiving answers from, Lisbon, Cairo,
and India, in the course of a few minutes. The comple-
tion of submarine communication between London and
Bombay, by the successful laying of the Falmouth, Gib-
raltar, and Malta, and the British Indian cable lines, was
the immediate cause of the remarkable gathering, which
was successful throughout, and which will be re-
membered hereafter as one of the most brilliant
and interesting soirees of the season of 1870. Mr.
John Pender, the chairman of the two lines
named, and one of the chief promoters of submarine
telegraphy, determined that the opening out of direct
communication with India should be celebrated in a way
fitting the occasion ; and it was on his premises, at 18,
Arlington-street, that a great variety of electrical
experiments were carried on. The pavilion we
have mentioned was erected in and covered the
whole of the court-yard of Mr. Pender's house, and
here, beneath delicate draperies of soft colour were
the batteries, retorts, and wires, by means of which
instantaneous communication was established with the
countries named. Thursday night was the first
time in the history of telegraphy when the Eastern and
Western hemispheres were spanned, and when quasi
public experiments were tried as to the possibility of in-
stantaneous speech between them. Arlington-street has
thus gained another tradition, and henceforth,
when those versed in street-lore point to " the
house in which the famous, or infamous, Duchess
of Cleveland lived after the death of Charles
11., and when she could no longer afford to
reside in Cleveland House ; to that of the neglected
wife of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who was called in
derision, and during her husband's life-time, " the dowager
duchess ;" to that in which Lady Mary Wortley Montague
spent her youth ; to that in which Sir Robert Walpole
lived when he went out of office, and where Horace
Walpole was born ; and to that from which Lady Nelson
left her husband, never to return, after the altercation
about Lady Haanilton, which Charles James Fox
overheard they will add, when talking of Ar-
lington-street, that to No. 18 belongs the honour
of enabling the Heir to these realms to talk
freely with her Majesty's Viceroy in the East.
The Prince of ' Wales arrived shortly before 11 p.m., the
whole company standing up to welcome him. The scene
now was very brilliant. Over one of the doors of the
pavilion a huge cluster of gilded hooks, like one of the
drags of the Humane Society in gold, but four times
their size, was pendant. Behind it was a coil of rope
decorated with laurels. The first was the grapnel which
picked up the cable from the bottom of the Atlantic
in 1866, where it had lain twelve months. The
second was a portion of the cable so rescued, and both
were hung up as appropriate relics. Shortly after his
arrival his Royal Highness signified his wish to send a
message to Lord Mayo, and the following words were
flashed under the ocean to India :—" I congratulate your
Excellency on England and India being now connected
by a submarine cable. I feel assured this great achieve-
ment will be of immense benefit to the welfare of the
Empire, and its success is thus of Imperial
interest." Before the news that this message
had been sent circulated the crowded rooms, its receipt
had been acknowledged by the operators in India. Lady
Mayo had previously to this sent "a message to the
Viceroy in India ; and when the word went round that
his lordship was in bed, but that he would be roused with
all speed to receive her ladyship's and the Prince of
Wales's congratulations, commiseration was expressed,
and the ladies said " Poor man ! " The Prince subse-
quently communicated with the King of Portugal and
the Khedive of Egypt.
Mr. Pender sent messages to Colonel Staunton, her
Majesty's Consul-General in Egypt, to the Governors
of Malta and of Gibraltar ; and to the Governors of the
Presidencies of Bombay and Madras.
The Prince of Wales finally sent a congratulatory mes-
sage to the President of the United States, and answers
were received at short intervals from the King of Portu-
gal, the Khedive, and the President. When Lord Mayo's
message came soon after midnight it was dated Simla,
5.4 a.m., and there was considerable laughter, His Ex-
cellency had been taken from his bed at an unseason-
able hour. The actual time occupied by the mes-
sages from India to London was four minutes and two
seconds.
Amongst the guests present were M. de Lesseps, Sir
William Armstrong, the Duke of Cambridge, and Prince
Teck.

THE COMPETITION FOR THE QUEEN'S PRIZE.-
The National Rifle Association have announced that the
competition (Ist stage) for her Majesty's Prize at the ap-
proaching rifle meeting at Wimbledon shall commence
on Wednesday, July 13, and continue till the following
Friday.
A. POLITICAL INTERREGNUM. The Memorial
Diplamatique says that there has seldom been a more
complete dearth of foreign news than there is at present.
In all the different capitals of Europe the solution of
difficult questions are literally in suspense. The cause
may be partly attributed to the hot weather, which has
scattered diplomatists, ministers and statesmen far and
wide. The momentary interruption in political matters
is also occasioned by the difficulties of certain questions,
for after having spent some pains in seeking to
settle them, the statesmen were fain to leave the result
to Time. Of all the parliamentary assemblies which are
now seeking to be released from the cares of State, the
Spanish Cortes is the most impatient. When Senor
Martos proposed that the sitting of the Cortes should be
suspended until the 31st of October, 91 votes against 41
were readily given in his favour. The Italian Parliament
can ill support the heat of summer, complicated as its
deliberations are by financial questions of exceptional
gravity.