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

LONDON, SA7URDAY, JUNE 25, 1870

The well-known Nine Wonders of the World have
long since been replaced by others far more marvel-
lous, but to these latter a tenth, the most marvellous
of them all, has been added. The Nine Wonders of
the World are no longer old world wonders like the
Colossus of Rhodes and the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon. They are far rather such marvels for
admiration as the telescope and the mariner's com-
pass, the steam-engine and the art of the photo-
grapher, spectrum analysis and the oxy-hydrogen
microscope, the printing press, and the sewing
machine, and the electric telegraph. But, beyond
all these, there is the tenth, we are now
referring to, and which has grown out of
the one last-mentioned. There is that as-
tounding marvel by which the ends of the earth
are brought together, that is into instantaneous
communication with one another, as in the twinkling
of an eye, with the speed of light or of thought, at the
thrill of an acid, on the wings of the lightning. The
globe we inhabit has already its girdle, like that of
Puck or Ariel—only that instead of its being a fairy
gossamer filament spun from the dreams of a poet's
imagination, it takes shape in the form of a substan-
tial and tenacious submarine cable, trailed along the
bed of the ocean, knitting continent to continent.
From across the Atlantic we have tidings just now
of the projection by Mr. CYRUS FIELD, of the
grandest enterprize in this way upon which even
his daring genius has as yet adventured. His
project is this time to " pay out " a line between
China and California, a line that will, by way of
the Sandwich Islands and Japan, enable the Chinese
and the Americans to converse freely with each
other in spite of the intervening Pacific. Scarcely
has the programme of this magnificent undertaking
come to our knowledge, when, within the four walls
of a room in a house in Arlington-street, Piccadilly,
as recently as the evening before last, we have
brought to view, through a series of startling demon-
strations, the like of which has certainly not till
now been witnessed, the extraordinary powers
brought within the human grasp by the
agency of the British - Indian Submarine
Telegraph Association. Surrounded by men
of science and others interested in the
development of this astonishing contrivance, the
Prince of WALES was present, there, on Thursday
night, not merely to witness, but to preside over and
personally participate in, this unparalleled series of
achievements. Rapidly, one after another, mes-
sages of friendly congratulation were flashed by
his Royal Highness, from within the four walls of
the room in Arlington-street, to the King of POR-
TUGAL in Lisbon, to the Viceroy of EGYPT at Alex-
andria, to the PRESIDENT of the United States at
Washington, to the Viceroy of INDIA at Simla.
These congratulations being reciprocated with
amazing rapidity by messages flashed back to the
Prince, there in Arlington-street, from King Lum,
from the Khedive ISMAIL, from General GRANT, and
from Lord MAYO. Intermediately placed here in
London, the Prince of Wales and those around him
became aware of a message of upwards of forty words
being flashed in less than as many minutes, from
point to point, about a distance of 8,442 miles from
the Indian Viceroy to the American President : in
other words across two oceans and three continents,
from Simla to Washington, the answer being flashed
back from Washington to Simla with similar velocity.
Lord and Lady MAYO exchanged affectionate greet-
ings to and fro between Simla and London. As if
stirred up with a long pole like the bears in the
Zoo, the Governor of the Bombay Presidency was
roused out of his bed by a very long wire, and so,
with a laugh at Sir SEYMOUR FITZGERALD'S expense.
these astounding demonstrations were brought to a
conclusion.

THOSE of us who have supported the Government
Education Bill from the outset, must be pleased to
see that the limes, which a week ago was denouncing
the measure, blaming the Ministry for making altera-
tions which pleased neither party, and prophesying
all kinds of disaster, now finds -that the amended
bill " is the only possible compromise, and it is fair
to all parties." This avowal of a journal, which
believes that before all things it is necessary.
to be on the winning side, shews that, as
we have all along maintained, noisy and energetic as
the League has been, and it had the most perfect right
to be both, it does not represent, and has never repre-
sented, any large portion of the community. Given
a fund of £50,000, and it is always easy to create a
factitious agitation, which may be mistaken by
superficial observers for the voice of the nation.
But only let the agitation continue long
enough, and its true nature is sure to
appear. Ministers thoroughly understood the position
when Mr. FORSTER declared on Monday night that
the Government could make no further concessions.
At the same time they have shewn no disposition to
stifle the debate. In truth they had very good reason
for not doing so. The longer the debate continued
the more clear it became that the opponents of the
Education Bill were not at unity among them-
selves. When Mr. RICHARD opened the discus-
sion he claimed to speak in the name of
the Nonconformists generally, and he laid
down what he considered to be the first elements
of Nonconfoimity, and which must ever prevent his
co-religionists from accepting denominational educa-
tion. He had even the temerity to cite the testis
mony of Mr. BAINES in support of these views. Mr.
BAINES had repudiated them long before. He
repudiated them again on Thursday night.
Nor was he alone among Dissenters in doing so.