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

PRICE. 4D. STAMPED, SD.

land and America will not verify the first line of
the stanza—

" Lands intersected by a narrow firth
Abhor each °the',
but that they will, by mutual intercourse, arrive
at the last line of that stai.La, ar_a_ " like k: Aired
drops, be mingled into one." (Warm applause.)
The CHAIRMAN next proposed the " Health of
the President of the United States."
The next toast was " The Army and Navy,"
which was responded to by Major-General STOKES.
The CHAIRMAN, in complimentary terms, pro-
posed the " Health of Mr. Gurney, Mr. Cyrus Field,
and the Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Com-
pany." Although they might for a time be dis-
couraged by the fact of the interruption of the
communication which had lately occurred, still
the broad fact remained, that a message had flashed
from one hemisphere to another, and what had
occurred already would occur again. They had
present, Mr. Gurney, the chairman of the company,
and they had Professor Thompson—(cheers)—who
was the director chiefly concerned in the manage-
ment of the undertaking, and who accompanied
the Agamemnon in her perilous voyage. He had
reason to believe this gentleman would be able to
give explanations that would in a great way mo-
dify that damp which had naturally been cast on
the spirit of all present on hearing that some diffi-
culty had interfered with the completion of the
triumph. He was sure they would give an assur-
ance that should the present undertaking, like its
predecessor, prove futile, they had still energy
sufficient to carry out the great undertaking which
they had commenced. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. GURNEY, who was received with loud ap-
plause, briefly returned thanks on behalf of him-
self and the directors of the Atlantic Telegraph
Company, for the honours which had been done
them by that assembly, and expressed his grati-
fication at being offered the opportunity of being
present at that splendid banquet in the presence-of
his excellency on the occasion.
Professor THOMPSON also responded, and said
that he lock u upon it as a great honour to have
been at all connected with an undertaking of such
importance. He was proud to say that he had
been a director of the Atlantic Telegraph from the
beginning. (Applause.) They should feel rejoiced
at the great success which had been achieved.
Arduous labours and great skill had been bestowed
on the carrying out of the works of the company by
those in whose hands the execution of the tasks had
been put. The day before the work was completed
it was said to be a chimera. Electricians doubted
the possibility of sending the current through a
wire of 2,000 miles long, and submerged in a sea to
a depth of more than two miles, but the genius of a
great man anticipated that difficulty, and to Mr.
Whitehouse they must look as the man who had
removed the barrier between Great Britain and
America. (Cheers.) Professor Thompson then
alluded to a subject which he confessed was a pain-
ful one—namely the probability of getting over the
difficulty which was at present felt m continuing
the communication. He was unable to give any
decided answer to the question, but greater difficul-
ties had been overcome. Day after day, during the
expedition, the cable had failed, but again the con-
tinuity had been restored. There could be no doubt
that a most serious defect now existed in the cable,
and the only question was whether that defect
would be remedied at the defective point, so as not
to have it necessary to furnish a new piece of cable ;
but great as the discouragement was, the fact of
having accomplished telegraphic communication
between Great Britain and America remained, and
all difficulties sank into insignificance before that fact.
In conclusion, he expressed a confident hope that
what had thus been accomplished would in the end
be attended with a complete and lasting success.
(Applause.)
His Excellency the LORD-LIEUTENANT then rose
and said it afforded him much pleasure to propose
" The health of Colonel Herbert."
The CHAIRMAN briefly returned thanks, and pro-
posed " The health of Sir Charles Bright, Mr.

~~, ,

Whitehouse, and the other scientific gentlemen
connected with the laying of the cable."
_ The toast was duly honoured amidst loud
applause,
A series of complimentary toasts closed the pro-
ceedings.