The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-30 00:00:00

THE ATLANTIC T_ELEGRAPII.

The Atlantic Telegraph, and all that relates to
it, the best kind of rope to be used, the best means
of getting it down, and the best way to work it
when it is down,—the whole scheme, in fact, seems
to be slowly drifting back again into those realms
of theory and speculation from which it has only
so recently emerged. Already there are many
competitors and projectors in the field, some to
work the old rope, some to make a new. It is not
cheering to find that public attention is almost in-
stinctively directed to the consideration of the
latter project, and that to the hopes and expec-
tations of the majority, the present wire—laid at
such a cost, and with such risks—is already regarded
as virtually lost and useless. Among those who
have come forward with remedies for overcoming
the difficulties of the Atlantic, in case a new
rope is required, is Mr. Rowett, who, that there
may be no mistake about the matter, ex-
presses himself as willing to contract to lay the
rope from Valentia to Newfoundland—everything
included—for as small a sum as £182,000, or some
£200,000 less than the capital expended by the
Atlantic Company. Such an offer has naturally
directed some attention to Mr. Rowett's plan,
which is simply that of a rope-covered electric
wire instead of the old mode of proceeding by a
wire-covered rope. Mr. Rowett's idea is to have
the conductor well and safely insulated with gutta-
percha, and then simply enclosed without further
preparation in the strands of a common hemp
cable about an inch in diameter. A piece has
already been made-'—not with a view of displaying
what would be necessary for the Atlantic depths,
but to illustrate the peculiar advantages which
such a mode of construction gives over the wire
cable. This specimen is certainly as light, as
flexible, and as strong as could be desired, and
these three qualities must be the very sine qua non
with all future Atlantic telegraphs. The cost of
such a cable would be only, as Mr. Rowett alleges,
£B6 per mile, its weight about 9 cwt., and its
breaking strain 4 tons, or nearly twice as much as
could ever come upon it while being .submerged—
no matter what the state of the weather, or how
the vessel might be plunging. To this particular
rope, as we have said, a certain amount of atten-
tion has lately been directed, owing, no doubt,
to Mr. Rowett's offer to take it in working order
across the ocean to America for a regular con-
tract price per mile. But, beyond the feeling
due to an offer of such magnitude, and made
with such confidence of success, neither the
proposal nor the rope deserve the notice they
have attracted. Mr. Rowett's idea of a rope-
covered wire is by no means a new one,
and, what is more to the purpose, the cable is
almost without exception far inferior in most im-
portant requisites to others that were designed some
time before this was thought of. It is light, strong,
and flexible, but so are all such ropes, and so even
is the present Atlantic cable (if we may still call it
so) in a very high degree. The difference between
Mr. Rowett's rope and others of the same kind is,
that in the former no adequate protection is given
to the gutta-percha, and never can be given by his
method of stranding the hemp, whereas with all
others this important point is carefully considered
and provided for. For these and for other reasons
which show the cable to have been designed and
constructed by a person unacquainted with what a
submarine telegraph requires, it is of its kind an
inferior cable, though it has certainly done good
service in directing attention to the general question
of rope-covered writes for the purpose of deep sea
telegraphy. All the experiments in very deep seas
tend to show that the principle_-of a rope-covered
wire is the right• cz.',;after all. For any depth under
1,000 fathoms a wireogpe is the best and cheapest;
for great depths, 2,000 113,000 fathoms, it be-
comes the dearest, because the worst and most diffi-
cult to submerge. No man who has ever seen a
deep sea wire laid but must 'have been convinced
that covering the rope with wire was only making
a difficulty which required all the costly apparatus
of paying-out machines, breaks, and check tackle to
contend against, and which in but too many in-
stances it has been impossible totally to overcome.
Any one, also, who has crossed the Atlantic would
engage to pay out a piece of common whip-cord,
without breaking it, from Ireland to America,because
in such a case there would be' no strain on it, and
it could run out as fast as it chose. This ought to
be the principle on which all very deep sea ropes
should be laid down everywhere. A rope-covered
wire, light enough to be very cheap, and because
light therefore strong,—with such a coil running
from a steamer going 10 miles or so an hour, a
dozen cables might be laid across the Atlantic in a
twelvemonth if no other difficulties exist. It has
been urged that such ropes, if moved by currents at
the bottom of the sea, would chafe through at once ;
but, besides that this objection applies equally to
wire, there exists proof positive that in the greater
depths of the ocean the water is as motionless at the
bottom as the rocks on which it rests. During the
soundings taken by the Gorgon shells of the most
delicate texture, and so small that it was impossi-
ble to perceive them without the aid of magnifying
power, were brought up. Yet these shells, even to
their finest ridges, were uninjured, and had evi-
dently lain without movement in those tremendous
depths for ages. Another proof is that whenever
the strain upon the sounding-line prevented bot-
tom being at once discovered, and some 100
or 120 fathoms more line were payed out after the
lead had touched, it was always known to the foot
what surplus had gone over, as the line invariably
sunk on the spot where the lead had grounded,
and came up in a tangled mass like a ball of cord.
Such results could never have been obtained had
there been any motion far below the surface. But
a question arises with regard to rope-covered wire,
and, indeed, sub-marine cables of all kinds if laid at
very great depths, and that is how far the pressure
or weight of the superincumbent mass of water
affects the gutta percha insulator. We may doubt
the question whether water increases in density or
whether it is compressible, but none can deny that
it has weight at least, and that this weight comes
upon the bottom of the ocean and whatever rests
there. The very minute and perfect shells being
found at the bottom does no more to disprove such
a supposition than an empty eggshell shows that
there can be no such thing as an atmospheric pres-
sure of 151 b. to the square inch. In both cases the
pressure of air and water is equal inside and out.
But in the case of the gutta percha insulator it
not so, and the water pressing with immense exter-
nal force would penetrate in many places where
the guard hemp was at all injured, and sa gradually
permeate the substance of the gutta percha as to
reach the copper wire and seriously weaken its con-
ducting powers. We do not say that such an ac-
tion does take place, but if it is even possible it
would at once do away with the feasibility of such
rope-covered wires as Mr. Rowett propos N. In any
case his plan of constructing his rope is, as we have
said, inferior to many others of the same kind.-
Times.

ISTHMUS OF SUEZ CANAL—The Constitutionnel
gives the following details showing the progress M.
de Lesseps has made in gaining adherents to his plan
for cutting a canal from Suez to the Mediterranean :
"We announced some days since that already more than
30 presidents or members of chambers of commerce and
consulting chambers of arts and manufactures had accepted
the mission of representing the Isthmus of Suez Company.
Since then new adhesions have arrived from the follow-
ing towns :—Avignon, Bar-le-Duc, Carcassonne, Dieppe,
Dijon, Gray, Honfleur, La Rochelle, Lorient, Mul-
house, Sables-d'Olonne, Epinal, Laigle, Auch, Calais, An-
gers, Montereau, Rochfort, Lille. The movement of opinion
in your of this enterprise is consequently more and
more evident. After having given to those who have ob-
tained the grant of the canal the most constant encourage-
ment and moral support during four years of trial, the pub
lie in France is ready, as it is throughout the continent, to
associate itself financially with the undertaking. M. de Les-
seps is preparing; to respond to these manifestations of sym-
pathy by incessantly prosecuting the organisation of the uni-
versal company. He informs us, that as soon as agents shall
be, iwointed in all the departnaipts of France, and in
foreign countries, and before the ieeting of the Council
of Administration, which is to asseifible on 15th Nov. next,
-he will open a public subscription in a legal form, of which
the conditions will be advertised in the public papers.
The first portion of the capital has been reserved by him for
these who spontaneously and directly addressed to him
during the last four years applications for shares, another
portion for the principal banking-houses, and a third, and
the most important, portion for public subscription. The
undertaking will thus preserve the character it ought to
have. M. de Lesseps could not fail to collect together, for
the accomplishment of his work, all those who so long sup-
ported him with their good wishes, and whose assistance so
powerfully contributed to enable him to attain the end which
he is about to accomplish."
Two MEN SUFFOCATED IN A WELL._A fatal
occurrence happened at Chatham yesterday, by which two
men, named James Whitelock and James Gage, lost their
lives. The occurrence took place at Exmouth-terrace,
Gillingham, where was an old well which required some re-
pairs. The owner of the well had agreed with an ex-
perienced man to undertake the necessary works, but on
the latter examining the well he found that the noxious
gases had accumulated to such an extent that lie refused to
go down. One of the deceased men, James Gage, however,
expressed his intention to go down, at the same time attri-
butingsmu to
leouhgithe
sor
fnfeui h
iisoawsl
-workmen
purpose
pthos
e others-h ed idp earlbt,l
persisted
e dd son
tohieni r
his
powert c cowardice.
and was lowered to the bottom. Ho complained ntwtheatanolt.tdditieichnsee
air was very bad and tried to lighte his pipe with some
matches, but could not ignite th m. The men above
warned him that he had better come up, but he
refused to do so, and made preparations for sanding up the
bucket. After a few minutes, those above heard hi struggling in thewater. A warrant officer, who happened
overpowered to be passing,
volunteered to
go down,
foulbutonairreach47 tliebottom wasother-deceased
Whitelock, then went down, but .by thish
time Gage was dead and the warrant officer apparently
dying, - They were instantly drawn to the surface,White-
lootreffirdun' g in the well until the rope was again lowered
for him. Unfortunately, however, ho was overpowered be-
fore this could be done, and, although a workman immed:-
ately descended with a rope tied round him, he did not suc-
ceed in. getting him: out before he was dead, the man him-
self patkripg severely fglll the cfectts of the gas,