The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-24 00:00:00

THE ATLANTIC TELE G:RAPII.

On Thursday night Professor r. fhomson,lM.A.,
LL.D., Professor of Natural Ph ilosophy in the
University of Glasgow, was enter tained at dinner
in the Queen's-rooms, Glasgow, in I teknowledgment
of his arduous and valuable services during the
laying of the Atlantic telegraph c4le. The Lord
Provost occupied the chair, and th'ire were about
150 gentlemen present. In reply the toast of
the evening, "the health of Professor Thomson,"
which was received with enthusiastic applause, the
Professor said,—The story of the Ag,amemnon at
sea with the cable had been so ably told that he
need not weary them by a weak repetition of any
part of it. The electrical conditions of the grand
problem then solved struck the imagination even
more than the mechanical difficulties so perfectly
overcome. That line of metal stretching away
2,000 miles under the Atlantic must convey the
subtle influence. Touch the European epd—a
magnet instantaneously moved in America. Timed
repetitions of the simple signal composed letters,
words, and sentences, till ideas flowed through the.
wire. Astonishing result of science, from which no
degree of familiarity could remove their wonder !
The speed with which these operations might be
performed, each giving its own distinct effect,
through ordinary land telegraphs suspended on
poles in the air, or the shorter submarine lines, had
no, limit yet .discovered; and signals, succeeding
each other more rapidly than the hand could send
or the eye follow, could be turned to account by
using proper mechanism at each end., But if
" quick as thought" was an inadequate
gin
for common telegraphic operations, even lihtn expression
became slow through the Atlantic telegriPh- The
most sudden electric shock at one end, gave a slug-
glish, long-protracted current through the other,
which, after a quarter of a minute, was still 'work-
ing its way feebly out of the wire. That midi would
be the action through a telegraphic cable
of ordinary construction, connecting Britain
and America, was pointed out by Faraday
long before the existence of the Atlantic Tele-
graph Company. An exact mathematical investi-
gation of: the circutilAances showed that.;a suffi-
ciently large size of conductor and insulating coat
Would entirely remedy the anticipated embarrass-
ment. But a cable of such dimensions as theoalcn-
lation showed to be required for signalling through
2,000 miles, at the rapid rate of an ordinary tele-
graph, would be too unwieldy and too costly to be
thought of in a first attempt. Therefore the
Atlantic Telegraph Company, in adopting the im-
provement which he suggested, did not carry it
further than in making the quantities of copper
and of gutta percha in any part of their previously
constructed telegraphic line, so far at least as their
first cable was concerned, and prudently, in his
opinion, they left the further mitigation of the
anticipated slowness to be worked out by improve-
ments in the methods and instruments to be used
for the transmission and the receipt of messages.
EVen the one word a minute which those trials
seemed to promise was not to be regarded as a small
result. Of what value would not 60 words every
hour be, continued night and day, between the Old
and New Worlds ? Who could put a limit to the
value of two words transmitted in any two minutes,
when an ocean flowed between them ? It was true
that a sevenfold higher speed had been confidently*
promised, but that more than one word a minute
was not to be had with the ordinary receiving
instruments was finally learned by trials continued
until the ships left Keyham Dockyard in May,
1858. During the last four weeks of that period
a new kind of receiving instrument and a new
mode of working gave promise of a double or triple
speed, and fulfilled theoretical estimates which
had been published before the Atlantic Tele-
graph Company had commenced their undertaking.
Ordinary receiving instruments could only show
fresh signals after being almost perfectly renewed
from the residual effects of previous opera-
tions. An instrument capable of distinctly marking
a new signal, when still under the influence
of tenfold or twentyfold accumulations of undis-
charged residues from currents which have already
told their tale, must obviously give a higher speed
of workinoo.. It was thus that messages, at the rate
of two fully-spelled words a minute without a
doubtful letter, were received though the submerged
and failing cable. Sooner or later they all believed
another Atlantic cable would be laid; but would it
last any longer—would it do any more work, than
the one which had raised and cast down so many
hopes? Would another experiment be another
gigantic failure, and would material locomotion be
again fallen back upon as the only means of coin-
munication between the Old and New Worlds ?
That the next trial would not be failure no man

living could say was more than probable ; although
on no one point could it be said that there was any
insurmountable difficulty, and least of all on that
which had proved the cause of ruin in the present
case. Increased caution in the manufacture and
preservation, even without improvements in the
material, of the insulating cover, with a more search-
ing systemnf detection forfaults, might, he believed,
make sure against any occurrence of such a failure.
The great risk which the enterprise undeniably in-
volved depended not on any one source of danger,
but on the multiplied chances of accident insepara-
ble from the exposure of so great a length of cable
to so great a variety of contingencies. (The learned
Professor sat down amid loud cheers.)

LITERATURE.

Progress and Prosperity : A New-year's Sermon-
preached in the Parish Church of St. Mary,
Stratford-Bow, Middlesex, on Sunday evening,
January 2, 1859, by the Rev. S. Flood Jones,
M.A., of Pembroke College, Oxford, minister of
St. Matthew's, Spring-gardens, and Lecturer of
Bow. Rivingtons.
The congregation to,whom this sermon was ad-
dressed requested Mr. • Jones to publish it, in order
that they might have an opportunity of reading in
their closets a discourse which m a de a deep impression
upon
,their minds when delivered from the pulpit.
We are bound to say that the congregation of Bow
displayed a very sound. judgment. The ser-
mon is able, intelligent, thoughtful, pious, the
work of a gentleman who appears to be influenced
by no narrow views, but who is capable of dealing
broadly and in a masterly way with the great
Christian truths with which it is his duty to deal. The
rev. gentleman selects for his text, " There be many
that say, Who will show us any gool ? Lord, -lift
thou up the light of thy countenance upon us."
Starting from the point that the New Year should
be marked by our entire and implicit dependence
upon the grace of Gods Holy Spirit, he suggested
prayer as one of the great means of securing pro-
speritybfpctinm rhoeioaanue mnrenfky:tpssuHinivaini
countenance
10,
ninorti
chtniwohesi u,
stteeLrhurweeospt
blessingsoourvo:ral
turned
snkei. I
ad,: m
rinat' ,
and
Insteadhwt,atoloibutl,,iduioc,
eiinhssiunacl,pcopesotmphuototfioyfloli
IdnijnveodtbnGiuei iinlodi.soieitggdntac,hhgnlot. , " he re -
brethren,
tehuonogoeiffrellseliattea,diinhep;kyede;
prayer will always be our best antidote agains t
temptation—our best companion, in disappointment
and sorrow. We have no right,to cling to any-
thing on earth, or to entertain any thought or wish
that we cannot pray over, that we cannot ask God
to bless to us either in its possession or its loss.
Oh ! if we were but prayerful Christians how much
more Christlike would our lives and conversation be.
Alas! too often has prayer become nearly a formal act
oaeir:,
of
nhyei
some
never
.mrrteluhisfaelegto.lasei
psssEs,
wilvnysoeorrombtyuhe-er
of worship with us, instead of being the outpouring
of our very souls to God. Every morning and every
night you kneel down to pray (as we say) to God;
and yet ask your hearts, brethren, how very often
there is but very, little real prayer in the few, or
hurried, or thoughtless words that escape your lips.
Let this new year, then, be marked not only byb
words, but by the spirit of prayer. Let thbeere
e
nothing that you do, or purpose, that shallb
de-
prived of its hallowing influence.
.
chamber, in the family circle, in 'thelt courts of
the Lord's house,'—yea and in the busylet
your in the midst of thus world's solicitudes, e
over also. We
tbingptrbaayte prayer
is
ascend tode
itilil
Ciries---perhaps our
kneeling about,
know
asked. that Gods .
I might almost with eertaslino7teye,
spormedeievyteiwke-
is worth praying
'soemouensgesei
aslniaxlileetyac, h be called on to sustain ere this new year .
ons
friendship, i,elvasisli l
soburemn sickness
summons
ouks:
lobisnpeeasi:esio: numbered
dai
ibiNsebiotnyul
death
absence
r etuchoi
iahwe.
loalnint
f.repastbodies--perhaps
from
ilid.beSetickn_,
then, through earnest prayer, the stlthorteenls‘g.hotalit to bear,
it'ohledegd r a
foree yt-oou, as one by one the pages of this year
shall be turned over by the fingers of_swift -passing
Time. I say by earnest prayer. Petitions cold
and formal will not do. Supplications occa-
sionally fervent will be of no avail. It must
be earnest prayer—as the habit of your daily,
hourly lives—as your constant and unceasing voice
on earth with Christ your advocate in heaven.
Phis
must be the prayer which will bring the bless-
ing, and through which, like Jacob, you shall have
power with God and shall prevail." The rev. gen-
tleman dwells eloquently upon the desirableness of
mutual intercourse:and communion, and upon other
means by which spiritual, progress and prosperity
may be secured. It -is in every respect a most ad-
mirable sermon, reflecting the highest 'credit upon
the preacher and upon the intelligent congregation
who requested him to publish it.