The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-14 00:00:00

TILE RED SRA TELEGRAPH.

A very unsatisfactory answer was returned last
night to the question whether the Red Sea and
India Telegraph had ever been in complete opera-
tion during one month. Mr. Gladstone believes that
the entire line was never worked for that period ;
that it was finished bit by bit, and that its success-
ful operation even for 30 days was from time to
time limitedtc such one or more of the six sections
as had been most recently laid down. Apparently,
indeed, the utdertaking was carried on in the face of
failure, the latter part being wilfully proceeded
with in total c;isregard of the experience furnished
by the fate of the first portions, the gain to the
parties interested being perfectly secure so long as
the prospect could be counted upon of each link
proving serviceable for the stipulated interval. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer, however, defers
any precise statement on the question, because he
is still looking to " the law officers of the Crown,"
and to the Select Committee to whom the matter,
when it shall aave been thrown into further com-
plication by those functionaries, is to be referred.
The whole of these movements will simply result
in hushing up the entire affair. The public are
aware that a complete exposure of its history,
which was .ately imminent, has been adroitly
averted. Au action between the company and
Messrs. Newell, the contractors, was about to be
tried in the proper law courts, where, from a full
examination and cross-examination ,of all the par-
ties upon oath, every fact of the slightest import-
ance would have been brought out, The scientific
world would have obtained a knowledge of all cir-
cumstances tearing upon the failure of the
most momentous experiment of modern times,
and the public would have seen if there
had been any deliberate pecuniary misman-
agement. Bat a report soon became current
that the affair was to be settled by a compromise,
and although this seemed incredible, as the con-
sent of the Government was necessary, it is stated
to have been effected, apparently to the relief of
all concerned. The matter is safely deposited before
a Select Committee, who have no power to obtain
any evidence upon oath, and who can easily be
blinded or diverted from all the weak points that
it may be expedient to conceal. £BOO,OOO of the
public money is gone, and we are actually not to
get the experience which is usually obtained even
in a fool's bargain. On the motives, if any there
be, for this proceeding it is needless to specu-
late, especially as no one in the House of Com-
mons seems disposed to complain of it. If
£BOO,OOO had been avowedly wasted through a little
over-zealous expenditure on national defences,
there would have been plenty of denunciations from
all our political patriots; but when that sum is got
rid of in a quiet commercial way a little dexterity
suffices to keep everything smooth. Two remarks,
however, are necessary. The first is as to the sin-
gular backwardness of the Government in vouch-
safing any explanation of the grounds on which
they selected their present telegraphic advisers ;
and the second relates to the apologies put forth for
the unconditional guarantee to the Red Sea Com-
pany, to the effect that the public and the press
were unanimous in desiring it. The Red Sea failure
was followed by the Gibraltar failure, and the
Gibraltar failure has been followed by the Rangoon
failure. These operations have increased our tele-
graphic losses from £BOO,OOO to £1,200,000; but
the Government will give no information as to
the qualifications of the parties by whom the
expenditure has been conducted. As to the
unconditional guarantee the statement is quite
correct that it was unequivocally approved by the
public. The public considered that the construc-
tion of a telegraph to India was an eject that war-
ranted not only a great effort but a great risk, and
that, a 3 the end was purely political and national,
it would be mean and unfair for the nation to try
by qualified or imperfect guarantees to inveigle pri-
vate investors into an outlay which might end in
their ruin. The money was to be raised, and there
was only one correct method. That method was
adopted. The friends of the Government, however,
are now endeavouring to decry it, and to assume
that it must be so thoroughly condemned as to
remove all possibility of its ever being resorted to
again. In that case the nation will for the future
have to remain without many things essential for
its progress and safety. The fact is that the pro-
priety of the method remains plain, while the
point to be cleared up is as to the administration of
the money which it was the means of obtaining.
It was known that the £BOO,OOO was to be expended
on an experiment. Can it be shown that the experi-
ment was conducted with even common care—that
the persons in whom the Government reposed con-
fidence were entitled to such confidence—that there
was no contemptuous disregard of warnings, or of
the results of the scientific experience of projectors
other than those who happened to be in favour with
the Treasury—and, finally, that there has been no
laxity in enforcing upon the contractors the due
fulfilment of their obligations ? If all these things
can be satisfactorily cleared up, no murmur will
ever be heard from the public at the disappear-
ance either of the £BOO,OOO, or the subsequent
£400,000. They will still think that the experi-
ment was worthy of trial, and will console
themselves with the knowledge that a great
people must sometimes run risks, and that those
who bid for large gains must not cry if they some-
times experience a loss. There are many, however,
who until such an explanation is afforded will
entertain a strong conviction that tho amount
might have been expended with perfect success,
and that the fact of our being still without a tele-
graph to India is not to be accounted for by the
assumption that the enterprise is inherently imprac-
ticable.— Times' City Article.

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