The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-22 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OP THE SUN.

Sir,—l am instructed by the directors to forward
for publication the annexed report from Mr. Var-
ley, the electrician to the Electric and International
Telegraph Company. He is one of the gentlemen
who has been consulted by the Board in reference
to the present state of the Atlantic Cable.
Yours truly,
GEORGE SWARD, Secretary.
Atlantic Telegraph Company, 22, Old
Broad-street, Sept. 21.

London, Sept. 18.

Strong com-plaints are made in the city of the
delay in the publication of the Chinese treaty, consequent,
it is presumed, upon the Cabinet Ministers being all absent
from their post.
[AttiVtittisrmErr.] SIGHT AND ITEAltntd,..a' SPEC.
TACLES.—POIVEItra TkLESCOPES.—OPERA, RAM AND
PERSPECTIVE GLASSES. Messrs. 8. and B. Solomons,
opticians, 89, Albermarle-Street, Piccadilly. Observe—
opposite the Vork Hotel, W.—Opera„ Race-course, Field,
and. general Out-door Day and Night Perspective Glasses,
very smail, for the waistcoat pocket, each containing 12 and
18 lenses, constructed of German glass. Will show dis-
tinctly a pereeti b kne* them at two-and-a-half and three
miles, and an object front eight to ton miles distant. Her
Majesty's Coast Guards are nittking use of them as day and
night glasses in preference to all others they are also pre-
ferred for deor.stalking by smitonian; gentimen, and
gamekeepers. Telescopes Ai meneg long; W which a per-
son may bo clearly, seen and known. at 31 miles att4 an
object at 12 to 14 Miles' distance; and with an extra astro-
nomical eye-piece, itipiteeti ittOens, Saturn's rings, and
the double stars are distinctly seen: All the above can be
Iva of larger and ell Aims, With increasing potrot's, and
are secured by her. lide;',ty'S Royal totters Patent.
The Royal Exhibition, 1851. A 1%1010, timly-
invented, very small, powerful Waistcoat-pocket Glass,
the size of a walnut, by which a person can be seen
and known one and a half mile distant. They answer
every nun:lose on the. Itacc-course and at the Opera-
hoaes'. Country scenery an,4 for shooting,
at four .to six miles. They are invaluaU.
ships are clearly seen
gamc-
(l6er:stalking, yasiiting,_, to sportsmen, gentlemen,
And tourists : Pried ag--;;•Spectacle Lenses ofgreatest transpant kt, Tip &pat adyatitags
. trout invention, is; that vision, Itteinitie hooked is
tind gtropithenoti, anti very aged persons are
enabled to eniploy tam MKIlt OA the irieSt nignite occupation
6'e With those lenses of a inn& less Magnifying
pdwbfi andoo7 do net Oiluire the frequent changes to the
dangerous effects of further POWBffill assistance.., Persons
ing one of 6, 010-to.
can be sAitc.,(.l al
the most remote part of the Nikihd by Sis
0 brit of (heir ACCtaclezin a letter, and
staling the distalee from thee t37oltilty Cali fad Mail print
with it, and those who have not e Of atootacies by
stating, Hieing°. Deafness,,---,NQW Dißovery.—the Organic
Vibrator, an extraordinarily powerful small newly-invented
instrument for Deafness, entirely different from all others,
surpasses anything of the kind that has been, or probably
ever can be, produced. Being of the same colour as the
skin, is not perceptible. It enables deaf persons to hear
distinctly at church and at public Assemblies; the unplea-
sant sensation of singsinging noises in the ears is entirely re-
moved,. and it affords' all the assists ;nco that possibly could
be desired.-39, Albemarle-street,' piccadilly, Observe--
°PP:nit() ON Xvr ivtel, W •

REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE ATLANTIC TELE- .
GRAPH CABLE. TO THE SHAREHOLDERS IN TIIE ATLANTIC
I arrived at Valentia on the evening of the sth TELEGRAPH COMPANY. .
,
inst., when I found that no words had for many The Board of Directors think it the most
judicious course to communicate to the shareholders
days been received through the cable from New- the following in refutation of the assertions ad-
fotm dland. vanced by Mr. Whitehouse in his letters of the 6th
On she 6th, 7th, Bth, 9th, and 10th I tested the and 15th respectively, he having expressly desired
cable at intervals in four different ways, to ascer- to appeal to the shareholders to judge of the
tain its condition. The following are the results : merits of his complaints. Mr. Whitehouse's state-
ments would have received earlier notice had it not
1. There is a fault of great magnitude at a distance been necessary to make investigations on the
of between 245 and 300 statute miles from Valentia, subject at Valentia and in London. It must be
but the locality cannot be more accurately ascer- understood that the present directors are in no way
twined until a portion of the cable, 20 or 30 miles in responsible for the introduction of Mr. Whitehouse
into
the electrical concerns of this company, by
length, has been tested against my standard of re- which introduction he has derived an absolute
sistance, and until the log has been consulted to bonus of £12,000 in free shares and a handsome
ascertain the amount of slack paid out. I would salary.
suggest that the piece of cable at Greenwich be On the election of the present board they found
carefully measured and tested against my standard, him installed as the adviser of the company, and
in order to obtain the most correct estimate of the believing from the representation made to them by,
his associates that he was the proper person for
distance of the fault. Assuming, however, that it
that position, they agreed to the salary proposed
is 270 miles, and allowing 22 per cent. for slack, it for him, and confirmed his appointment to the
is possible that the chief defect is in shallow water charge of the electrical department, and to attend
—4lO fathoms. to the construction of apparatus for working the
2. The copper wire at the faulty place above Atlantic cable, the arrangement being that such
engagement should cease upon the cable being
alluded to does not touch the iron covering of the
successfully laid.
cable, as is proved by its forming a voltaic element, The following are the reasons which led the
which gives rise to a continuous positive current board to the decision complained of by Mr. White-
from the copper wire varying very little in tension. house.
3. The insulation of the wire between Valentia Although engaged as above, and paid to conduct
and the fault is perfect, or at least contains no de- the company's electrical operations, Mr. -White-
house expressed himself prevented by " indisposi-
feet of sufficient importance to be perceptible, or to tion" from attending to by far the most important
materially - influence the working were the cable of his duties—that of accompanying the various
otherwise perfect. expeditions, and ascertaining day b; day the elec-
4.The copper wire is continuous, and consequently trical condition of the cable when paid out.
The charge. of his department was on the last two
the cable has not parted. Faint signals, or re-
occasions,as is well known, most kindly undertaken
vends, are still received from Newfoundland, but by Professor Thomson, who with a courage and de-
the power used will shortly cat away the exposed termination which did him great honour, unflinch-
copper wire in the faulty place by electrolytic de- ingly, and, as Mr. Whitehouse may well say, "most
composition. handsomely," took charge of the electrical arrange-
The actual resistance of the fault appears to be mcnts on board the Agamemnon during all the pri-
at
vations incident to her two stormy expeditions, in
at least equal to 10 miles of the cable, but is most order to relieve the paid electrician of the company,
probably greater. who was unfortunately prevented this year, as he
Taking it at its lowest resistance, viz., 10 miles, was also in August, 1857, from accompanying the
and assuming that Newfoundland is only using 180 squadron on the plea referred to.
cells of Daniel's' battery, the strongest current re- On the arrival of the Agamemnon on the sth of
ceived thence during my stay was only 1-24th part August at Valentia, after successfully laying the
cable, summonses were at once sent out for a full
of the force that it should be were there but this meeting of the board to be held on the 9th, for the
one fault. When it is, however, borne in mind purpose of receiving the reports of the scientific
that on the other side they are probably using more officers, and for the discussion of important matters
power, and also that the defect first alluded to pro- involved in the success of the enterprise.
bably offers more resistahce than that assumed, viz. A telegram was subsequently sent to Mr. White-
-10 miles, it is evident that there is another and house, at Valentia, requesting him to report fully
to the board on all points requiring attention.
more distant fault,the approximate locality of which The board met on the 9th, again on the 10th, and
I could not pretend to estimate at this end without again on the 11th, but no report whatever was re-
being able to speak to Newfoundland. ceived from Mr. Whitehouse, nor any other com-
From authentic data shown to me at Valentia I munication except some telegrams informing the
am of opinion that there was a fault on board the directors that signals were highly satisfactory, that
Agamemnon, before the cable was submerged, at a the adjustment of instruments was progressing, and
that it was necessary (a fact to which the directors
distance of about 560 miles from one end and 640 were fully alive) that the shore ends of the cable
from the other. should be laid as soon as possible.
The following are the data in question, but on During all the time intervening between the lay-
what occasion they were obtained I am unable to ing of th cable and the 10th, the general body of
state. They were, however, probably taken when directors, though deliberating in London, were most
effectually represented at Valentia by their col-
the ships were at Queenstown : league Professor Thomson.
TESTING OF COILS ON BOARD THE AGAMEMNON, cox- Professor Thomson left Valentia on the 10th to
SISTING OF ABOUT 1,200 STATUTE MILES OF CABLE. visit his family in Glasgow ; prior to his doing so
1. When the upper end was disconnected the cur- Mr. Whitehouse expressed an opinion to him that
rent entering the cable from a battery was 8'45 parts. a defect existed in the cable in the harbour.
2. When upper end was put to earth current Professor Thomson, who knew intimately the
entering the cable was
3. Current going out of upper end of cable to the the Agamemnon, advised and strongly urged, upon
earth 5 n Mr. Whitehouse that this was not the case, and
4. When the lower end was disconnected the pointed to some considerable distance as the place
current entering the cable was 8.5 ~ where the fault would be discovered.
5. When lower end to earth 10.5 „ He had not, however, left Valentia much more
6. Current going out of upper end of cable to than 48 hours before his advice and the facts he had
earth 4.5 „ communicated were altogether disregarded, and
showing that if there were a fault it was nearer to measures were taken by Mr. Whitehouse for under-
the upper end, but not far from the middle of the running the cable from the sh ore to Dowlas Head,
without any communication with, or authority from
coil. the directors.
When 200 miles had been removed from one end The board in London, during all this time, and
of the coil (but from which end lam not at present imp to the morning of the 14th, were kept in
aware), leaving 1,000 mile; the amounts were— ignorance of Mr. -Whitehouse's acts or opinions
1
parts as to any faults in the cable, and received no written
2.
3:
indicating that there was a fault, by rough calcula- and a letter of remonstrance as to his inexplicable
proceedings.
tion, at about 560 miles from one end, and 440 from Up to the 14th the telegrams from Mr. White-
the other, house had all given satisfactory assurances, though
With the 200 miles of cable amounts were— it did appear to the directors, until the 13th, that
1.
2.
3.
..
TEST OF TILE ENTIRE CABLE ON BOARD TIIE AGA- board received the following telegram from Mr.
MEMNON AND NIAGARA—VIZ., 2,500 MILES. Whitehouse, from which they were led to hope that
Battery at Agamemnon end. alladifficulty was at an end :-
1. Current entering the cable, the Niagara end " Whitehouse to the Directors.
being disconnected ..
2. Niagara end to earth
3. Current flowing out at Niagara end to earth 15i evening, from Laws, relative to signals and instru-
,9
Battery at Niagara End. mcnts has satisfied me as to the cause of delay in
4. Current entering cable, Agamemnon end being the full and free interchange of messages. He now
disconnected 351 parts. reads and acknowledges our words accurately. We
5. Agamemnon end to earth
G. Current flowing out at Agamemnon end to 37 /, can receive, at very good speed, from him, while he
can as yet only receive from us slowly. I hope to
earth l4--22—. be able to transmit the Queen's message this after-
'indicating, considerable leakage on board the Aga-
noon."
memnon.
This message gave great encouragement, anti was
lam also informed that the currents through the considered to be so highly satisfactory that the
cable, even immediately after it was submerged, directors published it; little thinking that at the
were so weak that relays were useless, and that not very time they received it Mr. Whitehouse was
one perfect message was recorded by them, every- secretly telegraphing to Mr. Canning, whose engage-
' ment with the company had ceased when the cable
thing that was received being read from the defies.- was laid, stating that there was a fault in the
tions of a galvanometer. cable, and asking him to ceme and underrun it.
By comparing the above data with those of the Mr. Canning proceeded at once to Valentia at
nett cable now making by Messrs. Glasse and Mr. Whitehouse's bidding ; but the directors having
Elliott for the Electric and International Telegraph heard by mere accident that the cable was about to
be raised, telegraphed to Mr. Whitehouse to ab-
Company, the amount of current which entered the stain from any operation of the kind until they
1,000 miles of cable when disconnected at one end could ascertain the grounds upon which he had
should not have exceeded 2 or 2'5 parts instead of thought it right to interfere with the duties of the
7.5 and B's parts. engineering staff of the company without either
The inference by rough calculation, therefore, is consulting or asking the permission of the directors.
with whom he could have communicated by tele-
that there was a fault offering a resistance equal to raph, and whose reply he could have received in
1,000 or 1,200 miles of cable situated at a distance less than two hours.
about 560 miles from one end of the 1,200 mile coil After this, and not sooner, the board began
on board the Agamemnon. to receive telegrams from Mr. Whitehouse,
This, however, cannot be the fault first alluded
'0 miles from Valentia, but stating (incorrectly) that the cable had received
1 serious injury in the harbour, and that it showed
to, situate at about 2
" dead earth" close at home, whereas the entry
may have been the one which caused such alarm made in his own log on the 18th, when the cable
oo miles from
when the ships were 5 lreland and was cut, and tested (after permission had been
when the signals ceased altogether and never cer- given to complete the underrunning, inconsequence
of the cable having been buoyed at Dowlas Head,
tainly recovered.
without authority, and so left), shows that there
rents from the large induction coils have impaired wastn e
officeno loss of insulation between that point and
the insulation, and that had more moderate power which could at all explain any imagin-
able difficulty of work.
been used the cable would still have been capable That there was no need for the precipitation
of transmitting messages. kept at Va-
To satisfy thispoint, I
myself on
show that several - long messages
cable is evident from the daily records ,
lentia, which ._.
cable a piece of gutta er
p i
chascovered wire, having
were read and repeated with perfect accuracy by
b •
first made a slight incision n the gutty percha to Professor Thomson's apparatus, during the time
let the water reach the wire ; the wire was then that the underrunning of the cable was in progress
bent so as to close up the defect. The defective wire until it was cut by order of Mr. Whitehouse, the
of sea-water and the hat- only result being that of serious and unnecessary
was then placed in a jug
" earth." After a few injury to the company's property.
ter connected' with the Professor Thomson having returned to Valentia
:anels had been sent from the induction coils into
on the 21st, made a careful test of the cable, which
Sib •le and, consequently, into the test wire, the showed it to be in worse condition than before Mr.
the can. '
-urnt through the incision, rapidly Whitehouse had underrun it.
electricity s nearly one-tenth of an inch in The facts -of the case, which Mr. Whitehouse
burning a hole seems to have been incapable of discovering, though
fully pointed out to him by Professor Thomson,
diameter. • the coils was brought to
were that what is technically known as a " vari-
When the full force of . -ring them from the able defect" existed in the cable, which at certain
bear on the e test wire by rem .
only one than- hours of the day caused enfeeblement of the trans-
cable and allowing the electricit; ~
scharges, as milted current ; while the testing by the regular
nel----viz„ that of the test wire, the cus
percha methods known to practical telegraphists gave in-
mightburnt a hole. in the gutty. . and 1 dications of such a character as should have shown
bee xpected,
an inch in length, a Ito Mr. Whitehouse, as they did to Professor Thom-
under the water, half
the burnt gotta pereha came floating up to the , ,n, that the fault to which these obstructions were
st..
due was at some considerable distance from the
surface, when
The foregoing experiments prove that `shore. . ,
. that FrOiMor Thoin-
there are imperfections in the imaging everu3s
But it Ito., not be supposed

Whitehouse to Sward.
" I find that we. shall require immediately several
more instrument clerks. Mr. France has arrived
opportunely in this respect. With your sanction
I shall be glad to engage him in this capacity. I
cannot recognise him in any other. The adjust-
ment of receiving instruments at Newfoundland is
now perfect by the detailed account from Law's,
and at this en& no such difficulty has ever existed.
The insulation of the cable at this end. is now the
only source of delay."
This message, proposing to employ Mr. France
in the most subordinate capacity, was felt by the
directors to be a gross insult to themselves and
Mr. France.
A meeting of directors was therefore summoned
for the 17th of August, at which, after perusal and
consideration of all the documents relating to the
circumstances mentioned, a resolution was passed,
intimating that as Mr. Whitehouse's entragement
as a paid officer ceased on the successful laying of
the cable, the directors desired to terminate his
further connection with the company in that
capacity.
Mr. Whitehouse was summoned to town to attend
the managing committee on the 20th, on which oc-
casion two members, and not one director only, as
stated. by Mr. Whitehouse, were present.
He_was questioned by the vice Chairman in the
most gentle manner as to his reasons for acting as
he had done, but instead of explanation or apology,
he only dealt in a sweeping abuse of the board. and
their proeeedings, and distinctly intimated that on
any future occasion he should act in precisely a
similar manner ; the committee, therefore, had no
alternative but to hand him a resolution passed by
the board on the 17th.
As regards the statement contained in Mr.
Whitehouse's letter of the Gth, that the President's
reply to her Majesty was received at Valentia and
recorded under his own patent, which he reiterates
with some modification in his letter of the 15th, the
following are the facts :—There is no evidence at
present. as to the form of battery power used in
transmitting the current from America, but at Va-
lentia not a. word could be recorded. through the
cable by means of Mr. Whitehouse's apparatus at
the time to which he alludes; and the directors have
the evidence of the person there on duty, and by
whom it was worked off, that as the words com-
posing that message came through the cable they
were read off by means of the instrument invented
by Professor Thomson.
It svlo.i after those words had. passed through the
cable, and after they had been so read from Pro-
fessor Thomson's galvanometer, that they were
recorded by the clerk from one end of the room to
the other, only on an electro-chemical marking ap-
paratus.
This process was continually carried on with regard
to other messages, andslips from the local recording
being sent up to London without explanation, the
directors were led to infer that the work had been
performed by Mr. IVhitehouse's instrument, which
was not the case.
Indeed, notwithstanding an expenditure of some
£13,000 in the department under Mr. Whitehouse's
charge, the directors and shareholders have obtained
no results in any way commensurate to those con-
fidently promised by him.
It appears from the evidence of those engaged
on the spot that from the hour when the cable was
laid until the present it has not been possible for
the currents from Newfoundland, when communi-
cated direct to his apparatus, to work off' unaided a
single complete message, and it has been necessary,
in consequence, to apply instead the apparatus of
Professor Thomson, and these facts, in conjunction
with the other matters of which they have had to
complain, appeared, and do appear to them, to
fully justify the course they have adopted..
Before concluding, it is the desire of the directors
to communicate their views, so far as the present
position of things enables them to judge, as to the
state of the company's property.
That a serious fault exists in the cable at some
point ,between 200 and. 300 miles from Valentia
cannot be doubted ; but as Mr. Whitehouse had
established no.means of concerted. action between
the Valentia and Newfoundland stations in case of
difficulty, it is not altogether possible to say
whether the entire embarrassment arises from the
fault referred. to.
They have therefore sent with full instructions
one of the staff, and. they arc encouraged to hope
that some communication may possibly yet be esta-
blished. through the cable for a time, even in its
present state, and that so soon as the weather and
other circumstances are such as to encourage the
making an attempt with some chance of success to
raise and repair the injured. part, it is not beyond
probability that the existing cable might be ren-
dered permanently useful.
It was hoped that by this time the undertaking
would be in process of earning a dividend, by which
its rank and position might be consolidated.
This legitimate result has been postponed by
adverse circumstances, but the directors, in spite
of this piece of evil fortune, cannot remember other-
wise than with an honourable feeling of pride and
satisfaction that the primary and ruling motive
which actuated them and their brother shareholders
in entering upon the first epoch of this great work
was not altogether of a sordid or mercenary cha-
racter, and that one at least of the great objects of
the shareholders has been fully successful.
The means then supplied have proved that it is
perfectly possible to communicate with America.
By a careful adaptation of appliances available it
would even seem comparatively easy to do so.
The very first business message transmitted (that
relating to the collision of the Europa) was one
which was not only, in a pecuniary point, of great
commercial 'consequence, but the news of safety
which it conveyed to many an anxious heart must
have caused. the advent of the Atlantic wire to be
hailed with fervent blessing.
Other messages of almost equal import have
passed to the other side, and the result has been
the establishment of one of those undying facts in
the world's history which, though chronicled. with
wonder at the present hour, will be the ordinary
and expected event of future generations.—By
order and on behalf of the Board. of Directors,
GEO. SAWARD, Secretary.

A new undertaking, to be called the National
Bank of Australasia, has lately
.been introduced at Mel-
bourne, the proposed capital being a million in 200,000
shares of £S each. Of these, it is stated, 180,000 (repre-,
senting £900,000) have been taken up in the colony, and
the remaining 20,000 (representing £100,000) are now
offered for allotment in London.
MANCHESTER TRADE itEPORT.—MANCHESTER,
Tuesday.—The market is very firm again to-day, with
prices rather higher than on last Tuesday. Buyers only
supply their immediate and pressing wants, and the busi-
ness done is consequently curtailed. On the other hand,
spinners are quite at ease as to selling because of the con-
tracts already made. _ _ _ •

[ADVERTISEMENTI—HOIIOWay'S Ointment and Pills.—
Far below the eruptions, boils, sores, and other excrescences
that disfigure the surface of the body, lies the acrid poison
which sustains and aggravates them. This virus, which
usually lurks in the large vessels, springing from the great
internal organs, can only be followed to its hidden recesses
by a preparation like Holloway's Ointment, of which the
penetrating properti;s are irresistible. Having reached the
poison, its chemical action immediately destroys or neutral-
ises it. It acts with equal speed and safety, and its cures
are radical. The Pills, from their purifying effect upon the
blood, are an admirable auxiliary to the Ointment, and as
they are composed entirely of vegetable extracts, they are
, t §ckfc as they are efacninot