The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-08 00:00:00

IVALTA AND ALEXANDRIA TELE-

GRAPH.

Another great and important work has been ac-
complished, and it is satisfactory to know that so
far success seems to have favoured the carrying
out of the Malta and Alexandria Telegraph.
Taking into consideration the failures that have
attended the permanent working of long submarine
telegraphs laid in deep water, we must guard our-
selves from being too sanguine in this instance ;
but let us hope, from the extra precautions taken
both in designing, making, and testing this cable,
that former causes of failure have been guarded
against, and that previous experience has been fully
brought to bear in this instance—the result of
which, we hope. will be to restore confidence in
similar undertakings.
This is but the second instance in which her Ma-
jesty's Government have ventured to expend pub-
lic money upon undertakings of the kind. The
first case was the temporary line laid for war pur-
poses from Varna to the Crimea, and although its
existence was short it did good service, and tended
in a great Treasure to shorten the duration of the
war, and thereby saved the country much treasure
and many valuable lives. Much experience has
since been gained both scientifically and practically,
and therefore it is natural to expect that this
second venture of the Government will not be less
remunerative than the first.
• The public at large are, perhaps, not aware that
this cable, which has been laid between Malta and
Alexandria, was originally designed and intended
to be laid from Falmouth to Gibraltar ; in fact, its
destination was not altered until many miles of the
cable was manufactured. For reasons best known
to the Government, it was subsequently determined
to lay the cable from Rangoon to Singapore, and
the whole length was made with that end in view,
and some of it was actually shipped for that desti-
nation ; it was only at the commencement of this
year that a final decision was come to, and orders
given to lay the line from Malta to Alexandria.

Deep-sea lines were then out of favour, owing to
the difficulties that had occurred in repairing faults
in deep water; it was therefore determined to lay
this line on the principle of a shallow water line.
To carry this into effect, orders were immediately
sent from the Admiralty to the Commander-in-Chief
in the Mediterranean to despatch two surveying
vessels to take detailed soundings of the proposed
course for the cable.

Capt. Spratt, C. 8., of her Majesty's ship Hedina,
and Commander Mandell, of her Majesty's ship
Firefly, were selected for that purpose, and com-
menced their labours as early as February last.
These duties proved long and arduous, the season
of the year being about the worst in the Mediter-
ranean, and the scene of their operations was on a
coast but little known, exposed to nearly every
wind that blew, and almost devoid of good anchor-
ages or harbours ; in fact, the Firefly had been but
three days at work on the coast, near Alexandria,
when a gale from the south-east blew so strong that
she was forcibly taken possession of and blown off
to Malta. The Firefly, having other important
duties to perform on the coast of Syria, was kept on
this service but a short time. It is therefore due to
Capt. Spratt and the officers of the Medina that
they should have the lion's share of the credit of
the admirable soundings and corrections of the sur-
vey of the coast that were made previous to the lay-
ing of this cable.

The result of these soundings proved that the bot-
tom of the sea along the coast of Africa for several
hundred miles—in fact, as far as Benghazi—was
most irregular, and in places rocky and dangerous,
and very unlike all preconceived ideas of that coast.
It became absolutely necessary to work with the
greatest caution, and therefore Capt. Spratt devoted
the best part of his time and attention to this por-
tion of the route, the value of which was felt when
the time arrived for laying the cable in this locality,
This cable, owing to the different changes of
destination, has up to this time been two years and
a half in hand ; but it was stipulated by the Govern-
ment engineers, in drawing up their specification,
that it should at all times, both at the manufactory
and on board ship, be kept constantly immersed in
water, and frequently tested in that way, it will
be seen that the period occupied in bringing it to
maturity has not been detrimental to it. On the
contrary, considering it has been from early infancy
kept in its native element, it is to be presumed that,
had inherent defects in the gutta percha existed,
they would in all probability have shown them-
selves in that time, as the tests applied during manu-
facture are much more searching and trying to a
cable than those applied afterwards, and are more
likely to find out its defects and•weak points, if
any, than ten years of constant work in the despatch
of messages.

The vital part of this cable—viz., the gutta-
percha-covered conductor, technically called the
core—was contracted for, and supplied to the Go-
vernment, by the Gutta Percha Company, to whom
too much credit cannot be given for the manner in
which they performed their work. No exertion or
expense was spared on their part to secure perfect
workmanship. The contractors for the covering
and laying of the cable are Messrs. Glass, Elliot,
and Co., the well-known submarine telegraph cable
manufacturers, of Greenwich.
The first portion of this cable left England on
board the steamship Malacca last May, and on the
28th of that month the laying of it was commenced
at Malta.

The direct distance from Malta to Alexandria is
about 850 nautical miles ; but, as it was considered
desirable to lay this as a coast line, it was taken
direct from Malta to Tripoli, and thence round the
coast to Benghazi and Alexandria, a distance of
about 1,300 miles. It was also very desirable to
divide this long length of cable into three sections,
and therefore Tripoli and Benghazi were chosen as
the most suitable localities for stations—in fact,
they are almost the only places along that coast
where they could be established.

The first portion of the line laid was the section
from Malta to Tripoli. The end of the cable was
landed in Marsa Scirocco harbour (at the east end
of the island of Malta) on the afternoon of the 27th,
and about midnight her Majesty's ship Medina,
commanded by Capt. Spratt, C. 8., and accompanied
by her Majesty's ship Scourge, Commander Jones,
got under way, to guide the paying-out vessel
over the course laid out by Mr. Forde, the
Government engineer. The onlykleep water to be
traversed in the whole of this line was that portion
nearest Malta. The Scourge was, therefore, ordered
by Capt. Spratt to proceed in advance and take up
a certain position, about 70 miles from Malta, where
the line first strikes the shallow water on the Lam-
padusa-batk. All that night the paying out of the
cable proceeded with the utmost regularity; in fact,
like clockwork, and the deepest water, •1;0 fathoms,
was passed over with as tea case as if the cable
was being laid acrulsntthhee'river 'Thames at Green-
wich. Soon after
same day (May 28), the
Scourge was sighted right ahead provinr, the accu-
traversed the pre-arranged
racy with which the ships
course. The soundings displayed a I,
signal from the
Scourge, compared with the distance run and her
observed position at noon, denoted that the righton
ship was in the right Place; and this positi was
so well defined that it was deemed prudent to de-
viate a little from the course in the form of the
letter S, so that in case of future repairs the cable
might be grapnclled for and, with plenty of slack,
easily brought to the surface.
From this position to Tripoli the cable only passed
from GO to 100 fathoms. The
over depths varying
dragbehind the ship becoming* mach less, she soon
began to pass her leader, although her pace did not
exceed six knots For hour. This speed, although
not great, proved too much for the old Medina, who
was soon seen fast dropping astern, occasionally fly-
ing the signal, " Will you follow me ?'' However,
it appeared by the report of the chief engineer of
the Malacca that her speed could not be reduced
without coming to a standstill, which latter might
have proved fatal to the cable. The Medina was,
therefore, obliged to light up another boiler or two,
and send the Scourge ahead to try and keep the
Malacca as much in check as possible.
It *as, however, noon the following day before
the Medina joined company, and, by the (lint of
shaping a shorter course, once more drew ahead, and I
led the wily tr* insiphuit ly_
into Tripoli, where the I