The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, SEPTEMB ER 17, 1858.

CONTRACT FOR STOCKINGS FORIFRE ROYAL
MARINES.

Department of the Comptroller for Victualling,
Somerset-place, 14th September, 1858.
THE COMMISSIONERS for EXECUTING the
OFFICE of LORD HIGH ADMIRAL of the UNITED
KINGDOM of GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND, DQ
HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, that on MONDAY, the 27th
instant, at half-past One o'Clock, they will be ready to treat
with such Persons as may be willing to Contract for supply-
ing and delivering into her Majesty's 'Victualling Stores at
Deptford, all such GREY WORSTED STOCKINGS for
Serjeants of the Royal Marines as shall from time to time be
demanded, under a Contract for twelve months' certain, and
further until the expiration or three months' warning.
A Pattern of the Stockings may be seen at the Royal Marine
Office, New-street, Spring-gardens, between the hours of one
and four o'clock. .

The conditions of the revised contract may be seen at the
said office. No tender will be received after half-past One
o'clock on the day of treaty, nor any noticed, unless made on
the printed form provided for the purpose, and which may be
obtained on application at the said office.
Every tender must be addressed to the Secretary of the
Admiralty, and bear in the left-hand corner the words "Ten-
der for Stockings," and must also be delivered at Somerset-
place.

GLENFIELD PATENT STARCH,
USED IN THE ROYAL LAUNDRY,
AND PRONOUNCED BY ISBN MAJESTY'S LAUNDRESS to be
THE FINEST STARCH SHE EVER USED.
Sold by all Chandlers, Grocers, &a., &c.

GEORGE HOBSON begs to call the attention
of Gentlemen to his New Autumnal Trousers, 21s. to
255. Also his New Partridge Mixture Shooting Coats.

Excellence with Economy.
GEORGE lIOBSON, 57, Lombard-street.
Established 1796.

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

VALENTIA, SEPT 12.

The sound of, rejoicing for the completion of the
telegraphic co,mmunication. between England and
America had hardly ceased on both sides of the
ocean which has been so wonderfully intersected by
the wire, and the ovations and festivities in honour
of those who were instrumental in achieving the
great work were still at their height at this side of
the Channel, when a gloom was cast upon all by
the sudden and unexpected announcement that in-
telligible signals lad ceased to come through the
cable. The public and those interested in the suc-
cess of the undertaking have doubtless been much
surprised that so many days should have been al-
lowed to elapse since the announcement of the fail-
ure of the signals -without their being acquainted,
either through the company or newspaper corre-
spondence, of the progress of affairs at this terminal
of the Atlantic wire. But the fact is, that, beyond
the bare fact that signals were not received, there
has been nothing to communicate until the results
of the investigations of Prof. Thomson, Mr. Edward
Bright, Mr. Varley, and other scientific gentlemen,
who have been experimenting upon the cable for the
past few days, have transpired. Those experiments
have not yet been completed, but sufficient has been
done towards pointing out the exact position and
probable nature of the fault to justify the public
being made acquainted with the facts. In order to
make the present condition of the cable perfectly
understood it will be necessary to trace its history
from previous to the landing of the end at Valentia
down to the present time. In a former communi•
cation containing the particulars of the last success-
ful cruise of the Agamemnon, it will be remembered
that reference was made to a very serious electrical
fault having occurred in the cable on Sunday, Ist
August, after about one-half of the distance from
mid-ocean to the shores of Ireland had been tra-
versed. - Though that fault (which was apparently
a break in the continuity of the conductor) gradu-
ally recovered itself after having caused great trou-
ble and anxiety for some 13 hours, yet the electrical
condition of the cable had , evidently received a
shock from which it never completely recovered.
This was, however, regarded as a matter of very
little consequence, as the currents which were both
received and transmitted were sufficiently good for
all the purposes of telegraphing. During the re-
maining three or four days which were occupied in
submerging the remainder of the wire, its electrical
condition was very variable, being at times very
good- and occasionally indifferent. These variations
were at the time referred to the effects of magnetic
storms and earth currents, but at no time was its
condition so defective as in any degree to impair
the telegraphic communication. From the time of
landing the end, on the sth August,to Monday, the
9th, the cable continued in fair condition, though a
slight defect, of no consequence in working, was
observed in the insulation. Up to that evening
nothing but alternate positive and negative cur-
rents had been received from Newfoundland, though
words and adjustment messages had from soon after
the landing been continually sent from Valentia.
That evening, however, coil currents came with the
words " Send slower and repeat" from Newfoundland
being sent by Mr. Whitehouse's instruments, and re-
ceived upon his beautifully constructed recording re-
lay. It was soon found that Mr. Whitehouse's receiv-
ing relay, though admirably adapted for receiving
messages through the cable, had been adjusted and
constructed under the very natural belief that the
cable if landed at all, would have suffered little in
its electrical condition, and it was found not to work
with certainty with the comparatively feeble sig-
nals which arrived from the American continent.
Professor Thomson's delicate reflecting galvano-
meter was accordingly substituted for it, though
messages were transmitted from both ends as usual
by Mr. Whitehouse's patent. It is necessary to
mention these apparently trifling circumstances, in
order to correct an erroneous impression which has
doubtless unintentionally been created by a letter
recently published by Mr. Whitehouse. No one can
deny the inestimable services rendered to the cause
of Atlantic telegraphy by Mr. Whitehouse in his
capacity of electrician, or the energy and perse-
verance with which he pursued his electrical expe-
riments through a long period, when it was more
than doubtful whether the cable, would ever be laid
to render practical his discoveries and inventions.
Whatever may be the merits of the dispute between
Mr. Whitehouse and the Atlantic Telegraph Com-
pany, whether he has or has not been harshly
treated, is a question between him and the direc-
tors, with which the public have no concern. It is
necessary here to enter thus far into the question
to correct the impression which Mr. Whitehouse's
letter no doubt unintentionally conveyed, that his
instruments alone were used in the receipt and
transmission of all the messages which passed
through the Atlantic cable. , During the whole of
the week, from Monday, the 9th, to Saturday, the
14th, various adjustment messages were received
and sent through the line, though, in consequence
of their constantly requiring messages from Valen-
tia to be repeated several times, it was evident that
in Newfoundland the signals were not read with
the same facility as those in the contrary direction
to Valentin. This circumstance tended to prove
that the fault which was observable was somewhere
near .the Irish coast, for any defect more than 300
miles from either coast would affect the trans-
mission and reception of signals equally at
both ends. Accordingly the cable was underrun for
the distance of about three miles from Valentia
Island by Mr. Canning, cut, and tested through by
Mr. Bartholomew, the electrical superintendent,
who found that whatever fault existed was far out
to sea. The ends were accordingly joined up again
without a new piece of cable being laid between
Dowlas-head and the shore. From this to Satur-
day, Aug. 21, the fault was very variable both in
its nature and its apparent distance from the Irish
coast, it first appearing something like 500 miles
distant, and gradually diminishing until it became
stationary at a point calculated with great accuracy
to be nearly 270 statute miles from the Valentia
end of the cable. All this period the electrical con-
dition became daily worse and worse, and it was
only with the greatest difficulty and by constant
repetitions that the various official and congratu-
latory messages between the English and American
authorities were transmitted to Newfoundland, the
messages back to Valentia being in almost every
case clear and distinct. The condition of the wire
became daily more faulty until Aug. 31, -when
Government message was despatched through the
cable for the North American colonies, and on the

morning of Sept. 1 a second Government message
was safely transmitted, but after it had been duly
acknowledged the insulation of the wire became
suddenly worse, and it was found impossible to
t make them understand at Newfoundland. Words
and messages were continually transmitted, but it
was soon evident that on the American shore they
could only just distinguish that signals were being
sent, for the only answer received at Valentia was
" Repeat" and " Don't understand," and even those
small phrases were only distinguishable at inter-
vals ; and since half-past lon the morning of Fri-
day, Sept. 4, no intelligible signal whatever has
been received. Occasionally, however, very distinct
reversals (as regularly alternating positive and ne-
gative currents are termed) have been received,
sometimes so strong and good that had they been
sending words from Newfoundland they might
have been distinctly read on the reflecting galvano-
master of Professor Thomson. When the line is
not in use for the purpose of testing words, short
messages are continually despatched through the
wire for an hour at a time, and then for the next
hour the galvanometer is watched for the answers,
which, excepting the reversals already alluded to,
-never come.- From the,time of the first cessation of
the signals up to the present time Professor W.
Thomson, Mr. Varley, and Mr. Edward Bright have
been engaged day and night in testing, and have
come to the conclusion that the defect is a loss of
insulation about 270 miles (along the cable) from
Valentia. This, Calculating the amount of slack-
cable paid out during the latter days of the sub-
merging operations, would place the fault about
220 statute miles from shore, or somewhere,,pon
the mountain range which divides 46-16pths of
the Atlantic from the comparatively sfiallow water
leading from the Irish coast. Reference to log%
and diaries kept by those on board the Agamemnon
during the submerging operations show that this
bank was crossed between 4. and 5 o'clock on the
afternoon of the 3d of August, more than an hour
before the expected time. It had been intended by
Sir Chas. Bright to OW a great quantity of slack
cable to run out while crossing this point, in order
that it might reach the bottom of all the inequali-
ties which might exist there undiscovered by the
sounding line. But, from some unexplained cause,
the Agamemnon throughout the whole cruise
steamed at a greater speed than was registered by
the log-line. Owing to this circumstance the bank
was reached at least an hour before the expected
time, the first intimation received by those on board
being a sudden decrease in the registered strain
upon the dynamometer and an equally sudden fall-
ing off in the speed of the cable, the ship maintain-
ing the same rate, as registered by the log-line.
Sir C. Bright's attention was called to the circum-
stance, and he, seeing at once that the shallow
water was approaching, or had actually been
reached, ordered the weight to be taken off the
breaks, and allowed a large quantity of slack
cable to go overboard. It must always remain a
matter of doubt, however, whether the falling
off of the strain on and speed of the cable was
observable at all until the top- of the bank had been
reached, and had this been the case it is quite pos-
sible that the cable may have remained suspended
upon some projecting points in the steep, and its ,
insulation sooner become gradually injured by its
own weight, This is, of course, only a probable i
conjecture, based upon the facts aboved stated. But 1

at the same time it is impossible to account in any
way for the gable having become damaged since its
submersion. Should the fault have originated in
this way not the least blame is nttributable either
to Sir: Charles Bright, his assistants, or the officers
of the Agamemnon, the occurrence being solely re-
ferable to the defective and uncertain method of
ascertaining the. speed of a ship at present in vogue
in the Royal navy. The stecp range above alluded
to is often mentioned as a sloping bank, upon what
ground it is difficult to say, for but two soundings
were -taken upon ity-enrelet-Cai bottom and another
at the top, and these two soundings, though only
eight miles apart, show a difference in elevation of

17,200 feet. Of the nature of the intervening space
no one can of course form any conjecture. Whether
the sides of this submarine mountain (for it can be
called nothing else) are broken by ravines and pre-
cipitous cliffs in the same way as the sides of
the mountains on land are, nothing but a
close and careful series of soundings can ever deter-
mine. That such a series of soundings were not
made by Commander Dayman at the point in ques-
tion, when he sounded across the Atlantic from the
Cyclops, was, we believe, due to the prevalence of
bad weather at the time. It is perfectly conclu-
sive, according to the experiments of Professor
Thomson and Mr. Varley, that the water has
reached the conducting wire in at least one place
not less than 220 miles from the shore, and as the
currents received from Newfoundland vary from
one two-hundrdth to only one nine-hundredth part
of the strength they should be, it would be deceiving
the public to state that the fault is other than of
the most serious nature. • But still it is believed
possible by some, with more delicate instruments,and
with proper concert at both ends of the line, to work
through during part of each day, provided the con-
dition of the wire becomes no worse. Negative
currents of electricity are now used as much as
possible in the transmission of signals, for were
positive currents used the exposed portion of the
wire, by decompotsing the salt water in contact
with it, would be oxidised through in a very short
time. Mr. Henley, who has been for some days
experimenting upon the cable, is sanguine of
making the line again serviceable, by the use of his
powerful magneto-electric machines, which are now
on their way from London. It is as well that every
expedient for working the line in its present de-
fective condition be tried, as the chances of success-
fully underrunning the cable as far as the point of
injury are unfortunately very small indeed. The
extraordinary phenomena of the natural currents
of electricity, which are continually traversing the
surface of the earth in various directions, act by
their inductive effects upon the great length of cable
submerged, and disturb the needles and galvano-
meters at both ends of the line to a considerable
degree. This nature and action, if properly ob-
served and studied by means of the Atlantic cable,
would, no doubt, throw considerable light upon the
phenomena of diurnal magnetic variations, to ac-
count for which no satisfactory law has been pro-
posed. On the night of Monday, the 6th Sept., one
of those extraordinary phenomena called magnetic
storms must have passed over the. track of the cable,
for from half-past 11 to half-past 12 the reflecting
galvanometer in connexion with the line was most
violently disturbed: The reflections were so rapid
and violent that it was only occasionally that the
reflected ray of light could be distinguished upon
the reading
scale. These magnetic storms are by
no means of rare occurrence, and, as well as the
earth currents already mentioned, sometimes cause
great delay and annoyance on long lines of tele-
graphic communication.
There is still a very generally prevalent idea that
one of the principal faults in the cable is compara-
tively near shore, and though this supposition is
opposed to the very conclusive experiments of
Professor Thomson and Mr. Varley, yet it is a
question whether, for the full satisfaction of the
shareholders, it would not be worth while taking up
the cable for a few miles from either shore, and then
testing through the middle. portion. These opera-
tions would undoubtedly be attended with consi-
derable expense, and it'is, therefore, probably, not
thought advisable to engage in them until it has
been ascertained how matters stand at the Ameri-
can terminus of the cable. Mr. Lundy, one of the
electric assistants, proceeds to Newfoundland on
Tuesday, by the Prince Albert, from Galway, for
the purpose of ascertaining the condition of the wire
at the other terminus; and also 'for the purpose of•
arranging a day on which a certain known code of
signals are to be sent at concerted time from both

ends, and to mdeavour thus to re-establish intelli-
gible commur tication. Even looking at matters in
the worst lig ht, and supposing the cable, as far as
practical working goes, a failure, not only has the
practicability of submerging it been demonstrated,
but also the practicability of working and signal-
ling through it. Therefore, it is not to be supposed
for one moment -that the public, both on this and
the other side of the Atlantic, will ever allow the
grand scheme for connecting together the Old and
the New World to fall to the ground, even if ten
cables instead of one be sacrificed in its accomplish-
ment. At the sr tme time, private enterprise, unless
adequately encouraged by the two Governments,
cannot be expo eted to come forward and expend
vast sums of money in the manufacture and sub-
merging of anfAher cable, with a fair chance against
them of losin.g both capital and interest.. The At-
lantic Telegraph Company have expended nearly
half-a-million in the manufacture and laying of the
present cable, for which the English and American
Government guarantee £28,000 a-year for a certain
period, contingent upon success. But should the pre-
sent prove a failure, both the capital and the Go-
vernment subsidy are lost, and the shareholders are
expected to subscribe another half-million for ano-
ther wire on the self-same basis as before, and with
the same chance of losing all before them. Under
these circumstances it is not surprising the difficul-
ties of raising the capital for a new cable are looked
upon as almost insurmountable. If the English and
American Governments are really anxious for an ef-
fective telegraphic communication between the twe
countries, they have but to guarantee a certain
though small percentage on the total capital ex-
pended in the completion of the line, and money
will be forthcoming for new wires should five or
six be lost before one is successfully completed.