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

THE ATLANTIC. TELEGRAPIL

VALENTIA, SEPT 12.
The sound of rejoicing for the completion of the
,elegrapliie communication. 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 had 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 vet 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, in 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 bid 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 confiner

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 Valentia. 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 a
Government message was despatched through the
cable for the North American colonies, and on the