The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-11 00:00:00

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH CABLE.

The completion of 1,250 miles (one-half) of the
cable for the Submarine Atlantic Telegraph by
Messrs. Newell and Co. was celebrated at their
works, Birkenhead, yesterday, by a dinner given
to about 600 of their workmen, with their wives and
families. Messrs. Newall's contract has been exe-
cuted with great speed and punctuality. On the
19th Nov. last they tendered either for half or the
whole of the cable, to be finished by the 30th June.
The tender for the half was w_.cepted in the Decem-
ber following, and Messrs. Newell, who had taken
one of the transit sheds attached t the Birkenhca I
Docks, at once set to work to provide the necessary
machinery, all of which had to be created for the
occasion. The wire was supplied to Messrs. Newall
by their own wire-drawers, Messrs. R. Jolmsou
and Co., of Manchester, who cimplAed their task
by the Ist of June. Messrs. Newall commenced
spinning the cable on the 18th Feb., and proceeded
without interruption' until Monday last, the Bth
June, when 1,250 miles (one half of the whole
cable) were completed. The cable cons;s's of a
strand of copper wire covered three times with gutta-
percha. The gutta-percha is sewed from end to end
with spun yarn, and covered with 18 strands of
seven wires each. There are thus 25,000 miles of
strand, composed of seven times that quanti.y of
wire, being a totil of 175,000 miles of wire.
The process of spinning occupied 80 days,
2,500 miles of wire being used p r day, and 350
hands being employed. The spun yarn was also
made by Messrs. Newall upon the same premise',
100 machines for this purpose being ranged
in one of the upper floors of the works. The
cible is now lying in four huge coils (each 28 feet
in diameter and 8 feet high), all ready for Leing
shipped. It will be transferred, probably to-day,
into small vessels, and thence ou beard the Niagara,
which is expected to arrive at the mouth of the
river early next week. The weight of the cable
averages one ton per mile ; and it is to be laid by
the process patented by Mr. Newell, and adopted
in the Black Sea (passing the wire through a hol-
low cone) which prevents twisting. The festivities
yesterday were presided over by Mr. Gordon, the
manager of the works, and ware witnessed by a
large number of gentlemen, including Messrs.
Newall, Pickering, C. Liddell, Whitehouse, R.
Griffith, R. S. Maxwell, &c. Among the toasts
were " the President and People of the United ,
States," " the Atlantic Telegraph Company,"
"R. S. Newell and C 0.," "Messrs. Whitehouse,
Bright, and Reid," " the Managers and Foremen,"
"Messes. Johnson and C 0.," " the Gutts. Percha
Company," and "the Mayor and Corporation of
Liverpool." Messrs. Newall have contracted to lay
down 1,000 miles of wire (part of the Indian Tele-
graph line) between Cagliari and. Malta and Corfu.
The tedious process of shipping the 1,000 miles
of coil which have been manufactured at East
Greenwich was to have commenced yesterday; but
owing to the amount of work to he done before the
lofty hold of the Agamemnon is fitted to receive it,
the shipment is not likely to begin before Monday
next. Every exertion is being used to get matters in
as forward a train as possible ; but, nevertheless,
the day we have mentioned will be the earlie st on
which the cable layers can commence operations.
The Agamemnon has been: alongside Glasse and
Elliot's wharf for some days. She looks taut and
trim enough, though widely different from her
Black Sea days, when her huge spars overlopped
the fleet as she led the port line at 12 miles an hour,
or threaded her way am ring a mass of transports
like a yacht. At present she has a mild half-pay

look, which even the sentry at her gangways can-
not wholly blnish. Her ports are open, but only
for the purpose of ventilation, as not a gun is on
board. At present she is very much down by the
stern ; but the cable being stowed forward will
bring her on an even keel. It will make a differ-
ence of 4 feet in her present trim. A small engine
is being fitted to wind the coil, on board ; and
the whole operation of shipping will occupy, it is
calculated, at least six weeks. The two in-shore
ends are nearly finished, and the centrepiece of steel
wire cable is progressing rapidly. Though both at
Greenwich and at Birkenhead the manufacture will
continue at one end while the other is being shipped,
it is not expected that more than about 2,400 miles
will be completed in all. This will allow between
600 and 700 miles for "slack" in paying out.

POST-OFFICIE NOTICES.

AUSTRALIAN MAILS.

There will be no despatch of Australian mails this
month via Southampton or via Marseilles, as the
next mails for Australia will not be forwarded by
way of Egypt, but by the steamer Emeu, which
vessel will sail from Liverpool direct for Australia
after the arrival of the London night mail of the
16th inst.
This arrangement only applies to the mails of the
present mouth ; the route of Egypt will be reverted
to in July, and the subsequent mails will bi for-
warded in accordance with the regulations alrealy
laid down.
Those postmasters whose instructions direct them
to forward letters by cross post to Liverpool, will,
of course, forward iii the same manner on this occa-
sion any correspondence posted at the'r offices for
Australia.
The postage upon letters, newspapers, and books
forwarded by the Etnen, must be paid iu advance,
at the same rates as if they were to be sent via
Southampton.