The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 19, 1866.

would discover what was the matter and prescribe
the remedy-. Mr. CUBITT, on examination, made
a discovery which, it appears to the uninitiated,
might have been made before—that " the works on
which the estimates for Parliament were founded

, were dissimilar from those on which the estimates
were made as put in for the contracts." Still he
was obliged to take into consideration the shortness
of the time allowed for the construction, and a good
margin for risks to account for the discrepancy.
Mr. Cußin gave it as his opinion that a viaduct
75 feet wide could be executed for £llO,OOO, rea-
sonable time being allowed for its completion, and
that if it were 80 feet wide the increased expense
need only be about £6,000. He examined the
plans of Mr. JONES, the City Architect, and Mr.
HarwooD, the Surveyor of the Commissioners of
Sewers, and gave his opinion in favour of the latter
as being the simpler and less costly of the two.
Mr. C (MITT advised that the committee should ob-
tain plans and specifications for the viaduct without
recurring to transverse arches, and to apply for ten-
ders without pledging themselves to the lowest.
Mr. HAYWOOD'S dignity, however, appears to have
been affronted by this suggestion, and he declined
to " prepare plans under the Consulting Engineer's
advice." He asked, however, for permission to
carry out the structural designs of the viaduct on
his own sole account and responsibility, at a cost of
£llO,OOO, or £130,000 less than the lowest of the
tenders. At first sight this appears extremely
moderate ; but the extraordinary part of the
business is, that Mr. HAYWOOD was engaged
by the Common Council Committee in the first
stages of the Holborn Valley Improvement Works,
and, according to Mr. Deputy FRY, "he greatly
assisted in the preparation of the plan and in carry-
ing the bill through Parliament." How then is it
that Mr. HAYWOOD'S tender is more than double
the original computation? The City Architect's esti-
mate is for £lBO,OOO, or more than three times the
Parliamentary estimate. Added to the other per-
plexities of the matter, Mr. Havw oOD and Mr. JONES
are not brethren in arms, though they are rivals in
renown, and cannot work together, even to make
up a report. When asked to consult together
they each came un with a separate report,
and the battle in fact seems to be between
these two, and although the original feeling was in
favour of Mr. JONES, Mr. HAYWOOD'S supporters
yesterday proved victorious, and it was decided that
the committee should arrange with Mr. HAYWOOD
for the construction of the viaduct.

So far Holborn-hill has certainly proved the Hill
Difficulty to the would-be improvers. If this: is to
be the manner in which City improvements are to
be carried on the prospects of the new street from
Blackfriars to the Mansion House are not encourag-
ing. The citizens were bent upon carrying it out
themselves, but, according to sample, we may expect
to walk down it in the year 1900 ! We heartily ap-
prove of the prevailing desire that works of this kind
should be carried out in a manner creditable to the
City, and in keeping with the engineering capacities
of the day. But, as yet, the efforts to accomplish
the Holborn Valley Improvement quickly have
rather over-reached themselves, and between
Council, Committee, and Special Committee, with
plan estimate, specification and contract, and
tender, the much pitied cab and dray horses of the
City are not the only ones that trip and stumble in
achieving the ascent of Holborn-hill.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Thursday Evening.
General Prim is not caught yet, but, on the con-
tary, he has effected what it was said was impos-
sible—he and his followers have crossed the
Guadiana, and have been able to reach Zalamea, a
small village near the frontiers of Portugal, at the
4.1." ~,nllnfn;rba itrh;nli Collfirnfl,
from Andalusia.
The Moniteur publishes a notice to intending
French exhibitors at the Great Exhibition, in which
it is stated that some portions of the Palace will be
ready to receive products from and after the 15th
June next.
In the absence of any real information in regard
to the insurrection in Spain, I may state that
according to a letter from Madrid, the committee of
the Senate appointed to report on the demand for
bringing General Prim to trial on the charge of
sedition has decided that it will first be requisite to
have a conference with the Ministers upon the sub-
ject. Three opinions were prevalent amongst the
committee. Some of the members of it propose
that Prim should be summoned before a Council of
War. Other members say it will be better to have
him tried by the Senate, of which body he is
a member also. General Pavia, on the other
hand, demands that General Prim should be
tried by a Council of War, but says there is
no need of any permission from the Senate
for this purpose, as the law is the same for all mili-
tary men, no matter what their rank or station.
Reports are published of another trial for murder
and robbery. It took place before the Court of
Assize of the Alpes Maritimes. The accused is a
farm labourer named Icard, 24 years of age. The
crime is alleged to have been committed on the 21st
of March last year, in the environs of Nice. The
prisoner on that day broke into the house of an old
man and his wife, named Gastaud, during their ab-
sence, and stole from a drawer one hundred and
sixty francs in gold. Just as he was about
to leave the house, however, he was met in
the passage by the old lady on her return. The
prisoner drew a dagger from his coat and stabbed
her with it about the head until she died. Suspicion
having fallen upon the prisoner, a search was made
at his lodgings, where a coat and trousers, stained
with blood, were found. When the police put some
questions to the prisoner, he at once admitted that
he was guilty, and, indeed, told them where he had
hidden the weapon. Blood was found upon it. The
prisoner's counsel argued that he was insane. The
plea prevailed to a certain extent, for the jury
found the prisoner guilty, but with " extenuating
circumstances," and he was sentenced to hard
labour for life.

A duel has taken place between M. Henri Roche-
fort and Prince Achille Oarat. The seconds of M.
Rochefort were M. Taxile Delord, a newspaper
writer, and M. Plumbete, manager of the Theatre
du Palais Royal. The seconds of the Prince were
M. Jerome Napoleon Patterson and M. Antonio de
Ezpelata. The challenge was given by the Prince
in consequence of an article in the Figaro throwing
ridicule upon some letters written by him, which
were produced in a recent horse-case concerning
Mdlle. Cova Pearl. The duel was with swords.
A mutually vigorous attack took place. M.
Rochefort wounded the Prince in the breast, and the
latter also gave a slight wound to M. Rochefort
upon the hip. Upon this the seconds interfered,
and thus the matter ended.

It is stated that a broker in the Rue de la Made-
leine has made a discovery which will form an epoch
in the history of the fine arts. This discovery is no
less than this :---Among his dirty old pictures he has
found a painting of the Virgin, the undoubted work
of Correggio. Amateurs are of opinion that the
painting embodies in a high degree the qualities of
that great master.

The Siecle to-day draws a curious contrast
between the English Government and that of Spain.
It says—,, The most grave fact of the day is the
placing in a state of siege the city and county of
Dublin. That an oscillating and threatened Go-
vernment like that of Isabella 11. should adopt
at the first alarm exceptional measures is not sur-
prising, but that the Cabinet of St. James's, in a
constitutional country, should resolve to proclaim a
state of seige, gives reason to suppose that the
situation of Ireland is alarming."
'Mc Monitor of this eyening states that in spite

of the differences which at first prevailed among
the committee the Senate gave, almost unanimously,
authority to proceed against General Prim on the
charge of sedition.

The only other news of the day is that Madame
Goupy, daughter of M. Baroche, Minister of
Justice, died this morning after a short illness.

The mild weather still continues. To-day it has
been like May. In my garden, near Paris, the
honeysuckle and rose trees are budding. The
apricot trees look as if it were April.

The Inventors' Institute.

THE ATLANTIC CABLE FAILURE.

On Thursday evening the council of this institution held
an important meeting at 4, St. Martin's-place, Trafalgar-
square. C. W. Siemens, Esq., C.E., F.R.S.,epresided. The
occasion was marked by Captain J. H. Selwyn, R.N.,
reading an interesting paper on "Submarine Telegraphy."
Captain SELWYN exhibited a model of his paying-out
drum. It consists of a cylinder which on the large scale
would be made of iron plate, like an iron ship, its dimen-
sions being something like 50 feet in diaraeter, and 60 feet
in length. On this hollow cylinder or drum the telegraph
cable would be wound, and the dimensions would be such
that the drum would float, when loaded with the cable,
somewhat less than half immersed. The axis of the drum
would be mounted in a framing towed by a steamer, and
each end of the drum would be fitted with paddle floats
capable of being reefed towards or from the axis. By this
arrangement, on the drum being drawn forward by the
steamer, the water acting on its floats would cause the
drum to revolve, and thereby pay out by unwinding the
cable from its revolving surface. By properly arranging
the paddle floats, the speed of revolution, and thereby of
paying-out, could be adjusted to that of the towing vessel.
Captain Selwyn states that the latest device of man to
span the liquid barrier nature has set between the conti-
nents, as far, at least, as his intelligence is concerned, to
pass his thoughts through or under with lightning speed
that element over which his body can only as yet pass
comparatively slowly—this device, the submarine tele-
graphic wire, has as yet proved more difficult to esta-
blish with certainty of success, and the failures to do so
have been more costly than in the case of any other en-
gineering problem that has as yet tasked the resources of
this age of invention and discovery. It is, however, fortu-
nately the case that the last thing an English engineer ever
does is to confess himself beaten by nature. So long
as there is money these is hope—is his reading of the sea-
man's phrase " Never say die while there's a shot in
the locker." But, also, the first thing the engineer does,
or should do, is to study the causes of failure. Rather
should he proclaim them aloud, though to have failed be
to man reproach, than seek to conceal incompetence under
the plea of impossibilities. lie regretted that the history
of deep-sea telegraphy was almost entirely one of failure.
The public wanted to hear the history of the "hitches" in
the successfully laid-out cables that only succeeded in ab-
sorbing shareholders' capital. The first idea of a submarine
telegraph, Capt. Selwyn proceeded to state, seemed to have
been simply an insulated copper wire. There were com-
bined the two essentials--a conductor of moderate size, and
an insulator, whose function was simply to confine the
electricity to that particular character. So far as these
conditions were fulfilled, the communication was as per-
fectly provided for as in any subsequent structure by the
most "eminent contractors." But, unfortunately, in cross-
ing the narrow seas where this first cable was laid sources
of mechanical injury were inevitably present, for which
no allowance had been made in the construction. It was
not sufficient that the water should be kept out or the
electricity be kept in, if these conditions could be secured
only when nothing but water was in contact with the deli-
cate thread. He drew the conclusion that light strong
cables are to be chosen in preference to the most elaborate
admixture of iron wire and hemp. For mixing these longi-
tudinal fibres of flax must be used, crusted in with a sub-
stance which must not be an insulator, although it should
be waterproof or nearly so, but which, above all, should be
as unpalatable as may be to the inhabitants of the ocean
depths. Spirals, whether of iron or steel-wire or hemp,
whether in the conductor or the exterior sheathing, are
by all means to be avoided. They will prove to be nothing
but a dead loss of time and a shameful waste of material.
He next considered the constitution of the insulator.
There is no reason to believe that the gum hitherto most
in favour—gutta percha - has ever contributed by its
failure to the want of success in deep sea telegraphic com-
munication which we all deplore. But neither its advo-
cates, nor those of India-rubber, can justly be surprised if
advances in chemical science place us in possession of sub-
stances of better quality for our purpose at a more reason-
able price that we should prefer them, notwithstanding
some of those vested interests which the progress of our
age is so constantly over-riding. He saw not the smallest
reason to doubt that the paraffin compound of Mr. Mackin-
tosh is such a substance, and he could not but anticipate
its extended employment both for subterranean and sub-
marine lines wherever its valuable qualities and low price
became as Well known to the world as they are to the few
who have hitherto made it their business to inquire into
the subject. The most extraordinary property of this com-
pound derived from the paraffin, which it largely contains,
is the extreme lowness of its j‘nductive capacity, joined to
power. ibis, it Is wee xiavutia., stcram.n.:
directly the speed of the transmission of signals, though
he was not disposed to attach so much weight to this speed
as it is usual to do, believing that a proper code of signals
may be made almost indefinitely to increase the rate at
which ordinary messages can be sent. The model for this
may be found in " Marryat's" or the "Navy Signal-book,"
in the use of either of which any one of ordinary capacity
may speedily become an adept. He advocated the laying
of all telegraph cables, light or heavy, from floating cylin-
ders, which are to carry (in some cases) the entire, or in
others at least half, the cable, and to be towed by steamers.
But there still remains a not unimportant part of the sub-
ject for consideration. Having made the best possible
cable, and having chosen the ,best method of laying it out,
what, he asked, more could be done to ensure its safe
deposition and greatest durability ? That the route be
carefully selected. He thought that any one who put
copper cables and iron shore ends together in salt water
would be sadly disappointed if he looked for even ordinary
durability in the iron. He did not doubt the possibility of
recovering a properly-made cable by grappling in any depth
of an oozy bottom. On the contrary, he believed that the
Atlantic cable was hooked, and could have been brought
to the surface. But this operation, said Captain Selwyn
in conclusion, becomes more simple and easy when, in-
stead of 2,000, we have only 200 fathoms to deal with, and
he had no hesitation in saying that across the greater part
of the Atlantic such shallow water may be even where it
has not yet been found, and that when we are bold enough
to abandon coasting voyages in telegraphy, we shall
find our difficulties disappear as we face them—just
as did those of the immortal Columbus when, despising
the clamours of a self-satisfied clique, he sailed forth into
the broad Atlantic, and was rewarded by the discovery
of a new world. The first mistake iu submarine tele-
graphy was the putting light deep sea cables to do shallow
water work. The last has been to put heavy ropes to do
the work for which, in the meat depths, only light ones
could possibly be fitly employed. That these errors might
be avoided by being exposed, and that thus true progress
might be made, was his earnest wish and sole motive in
reading his paper. The gallant captain sat down amid
much applause.

The members were then invited to give their respective
opinions.

Mr. VARLE; jun., suggested that trials of short lengths
of cable should be made, so as to ascertain the most ad-
vantageous construction.

Mr. TAYLOR made some observations on Capt. Selwyn's
floating drums.
Mr. JOHN Imney inquired 'whether the usual metallic
protective coating eould not be suppressed altogether,
giving all the strength to tho conductor and insulator. He
also asked whether there could be any practical objection
to a cable but little heavier than water.

Mr. JEFFRIES, F.R.S., observed upon the inefficiency of
break apparatus used for the Atlantic cables, and suggested
the employment of arrangements of greater delicacy.
Mr. VARLET, sen., expressed his approval of light cables
made without metallic protecting wires.
Professor M'GAULEY observed on the necessity of always
providing for recovery of the cable in case of fracture, and
suggested the employment of four satellite steamers, so that
there should always be apair sustaining a rope transversely
to the cable several miles behind the paying-out vessel. In
cases of fracture, these steamers, by moving apart, would
raise the cable, so that it could be recovered.

Mr. JOHN 3PINTOSH strongly supported the construction
of cables without metallic protection, and stated that many
successful pieces of cable had been made—small, smooth,
and strengthened by flax or silk fibres.
Mr. ROBERTS made some remarks on the testing of cables.
The CHAIRMAN gave a general summary of the discussion,
and expressed his conviction that some sort of protecting
material was necessary to submarine cables, though he could
by no means approve of the ordinary iron sheathing. Iron
sheathing would be always subject to magnetic influence,
and might thus prejudice the conduction. For tensible
strength and protecting qualities ho considered hemp one
of the best materials, provided it was impregnated with
some preservative substance.

Votes of thanks to Capt. Selwyn for his excellent paper
and to the chairman closed the proceedings.

A contemporary says The public will learn
with satisfaction that the immediate apprehension of Mr.
Layard's retirement from the Foreign-office has passed.
Forcible as the motives must have been which induced
him to tender his resignation, and at the same time to de-
cline the proffered distinction of a summons to the Privy
Council, he has set aside his own wish in view of the aid
which he can still render to the business of the country in
the active session now approaching. Mr. Layard has thus
added one more to the number of those statesmen whom
we have already mentioned as waiving personal conside-
rations in the earnest desire to support Lord Russell's
Government, and to promote the united action 91 the Li-
beral party."

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE MILITARY REVOLT IN SPAIN,
MADRID, JAN. 18.

Official despatches announce that the insurgents
passed the night of the 17th at Berlanga. It was
believed they would pass through Slerana to-day,
in order to enter Portugal at Jerez de los Caballeros.

The sergeants who attempted to get up a mutiny
of the Alcala Regiment and release the convicts
were shot here this morning.

Tranquillity prevails at Madrid and throughout

Spain.