The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-17 00:00:00

THE ATLANTIC CABIIE.

The Tralee Chronicle, under date of Valentia,
Nov. 11, publishes the following :
" The steamer Robert Bruce arrived here on
Tuesday to assist in laying down the shore end of
the cable, the completion of which has been
looked forward to with so much anxiety. The
schooner Stag, of Yarmouth, has been employed
in the work for the last 16 days, but such is the
inactivity and. want of- energy displayed by those
to whom, the work is entrusted that not a mile
of it has been yet laid down. It is now 31
days since this vessel left Greenwich, and from
the representations made at the time by the
directors, through their secretary, the public were
led to expect a speedy and effective method had been
preconcerted to secure the laying down of the shore
end before the winter, and thus satisfy the wishes of
the shareholders, and put to a practical test the
assertions of those who maintain that the defeat is
at the Valentia end of the wire. The weather had
been remarkably fine since the arrival of the shore
end, but strange to say, with the exception of a few
manoeuvres for an hour or two each day, the vessel
has more the appearance of a ship waiting for orders
at our port than one engaged in a work of the
greatest public importance and of the deepest inte-
rest to the shareholders. In calling attention to this
matter through your columns a fortnight ago, I
alluded to the necessity that existed of taking ad-
vantage of the fine weather. Bad weather has now
set in, and the work will probably have to be dis-
continued. Both vessels are lying at anchor off
Begnish Island, the steamer, (to use the words of
the peasantry) ' helping the other to do nothing.'
Those proceedings have given rise to a great deal of
comment, and it is naturally asked, ' Where are the
directors, and why are the shareholders silent spec-
tators of the farce that is being'enacted in Valentia ?'
It is time these questions should be boldly put and
answered.'

TRICKS OF TRAVELLERS.
Before the Prince Albert sailed from Galway on
Thursday there was the usual God-speed banquet
on board the steamer, and towards the close of the
festivities a discovery was made which created some
amusement :
" Mr. Weir called the attention of Capt. Waters
to the fact that he had received a letter from one of
their agents in America, stating that in every ship
of the line that had arrived from Galway there
were a number of persons who had no tickets, and
who had contrived to stow ,themselves away wLeu
the vessels were leaving—as many as 15 or 20 in
some of the vessels. Capt. Waters said he had no
doubt there were some on board at that moment,
but it would be next to impossible to discover
them. However, it was resolved to make
a close search, and for that purpose three ' foraging
parties' were formed—one incharge of Capt. Thom-
son,W. another in charge of Mr. H. Butler,l andte chief
the third in charge of Mr. Nicholson,
officer of the ship, but now promoted to command
one of the new ships. They Were
not long thus
engaged when Mr. Biller discovered the first
stow-away' in the person of a -very good-looking
and respectably-dressed young woman, who was
hidden behind some che ,tis and packrps in the
second cabin. On being brought into the saloonshe appeared a good deal abashed, but prop ply
tendered six sovereigns to pay for a steerage pa s ige
which was accepted, and she was let off. Some
men ant boys were discovered in other parts of the
ship and put on board the Vesper, but it was an-
nounc d by Mr. Weir that in future any pel so
attemi,ti-g to conceal themselves on board any 0
the vessels would be prosecuted with the utmost
rigour of the law."

In the general business of the port of London
during the la it week there has been considerable activity.
The number of ships reported inward was 351, and those
cleared outward amounted to 129, including, 19 in ballast.
Of thoSe now on the berth loading outward 58 are for the
.AUStralian colonies, 4 for Vancouver Island, 1 for San Fran-
cisco, and 5 for Clfn

The stationary -ships-in POrtsmouth-harbour have
struck lower. yards and topmasts for the winter.
The Urgent, 6, iron steam trcopship Commander .
M'Donald, at Portsmouth, has hauled. out of the
steam-basin and gone to the dockyard jetty to pre-
pare for the embarkation of Captain H.
.Sidley's
(the 3d) Company of Royal Engineers and other
troops for Gibraltar and the Mediterranean sta-
tions, about the 21st inst.
The steam sloop Virago, 6, Commander Dunn,
embarked a number of supernumeraries from the
Pigmy steam tender yesterday, and left Spithcad
in the
evening for DeVouport.
The Vulcan, 6, iron steam. troopship, 'got up,
steam yesterday in the basin at Portsmouth, to try"
her engines.
Very strong gales blew on the south coast all
Sunday night, Monday, and the early part of yes-
day, -
rendering communication from the harbour of
Portsmouth w th Spithead, and vice versa, dan-
gerous for small craft. About two a.m. yesterday
a watennan, named John Barton, of Gosport, in
putting an offieer on board her Majesty's ship Ex-
cellent, either missed- hi footing Or was blown off
his balance. and fell over the gunwale of his -
wherry and was drowned. His body was dragged
up yesterday. He has left a widow and four chil-
dren, for whom and the funeral expenses, we are
informed; the officers of the Excellent are making-
up a purse, as the deceased was waterman to the
ship.
The guns on the fortifications of Portsmouth have
been scaled and painted, a pyramid of shot placed near
each, and much attention has been given of late to
the extension of the outworks of the town, a profile
of new lines intended to be thrown up from Ilillsea
to Port Cumberland having been for some months
standing. For these new lines alone-a vote is asked
for £135,000. At Gosport, also, much attention has
for some time been devoted to rendering that shore
thoroughly protected by advanced lines, extending
from Elson, above Hardway, down to Browndown,
nearly opposite to Osborne. Fort Elson, at the first-
named place, has been built at a cost of nearly
£46,000, and Fort Gomer, at the latter place, at an -
expense of £92,000, while a chain of intermediate
forts have been erected, or are in process of comple-
tion, at an expense of £300,000, as on the estimate.
Fort Gomer will be 'speedily garrisoned by artillery.
The steam transport Melbourne, Captain Jolliffe,
arrived in Queenstown harbour on Thursday morn-
ing from London and Portsmouth. She has an ,
board about 250 men of the Royal Artillery and
41st Regt., who were embarked at Gravesend and
Portsmouth, and with whom, after taking in some
detachments at Queenstown, she will proceed to
Barbadoes and Jamaica.