The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-28 00:00:00

THE TELEIRAPH TJ INDIA BY THII
RED ROUTE.

Several letters containing matter of much inte-
rest on this important subject have recently Leen
addressed to the Chairman of the East India Com-
pany by Mr. Marshman, the chairman of the assn-
' ciation formed for the construction of a telegraphic
line by way of the Red Sea to India. These letters
state the views of the association in connection with
their great undertaking, and the advantages and
iifficultie3 of the Red Sea line of route with much
dearness and imp irtisl;ty. Reference is made to
seine previous communication to the Court of
Directors about two year; ago from an association
Formed t) censtruet a telegraph ft orn the Darda-
nelles to Alexandria, with a view to its ext,nsion
to ludis, and the proposal was then favourably re-
eeive by the India House. Circumstances at that
period induced the parties to leave their pr eject in
abeyance pending the negotiations with the Egyp-
tian and Turkish Governmen•s for &mans to lay
the cable down in the Red Sea. Then) firmans
having recently been (-let eined, the promoters of
the undertaking consider themselves in a position
to resume it with all necessity powers. Referring
to a proposed line of telegraphic communication to
India through Mesopotamia and down the Persian
Gulf, the promoters of the Red Sea line repudia'o
any wi-1 to interfere with any arrengements that
have been made, though they express a strong
pinion that any proposal which should secure to
India telegraphic communication within a certain
period ought not to be delayed without the gravest
lemon, even though the result should eventually
tie a double line. Having exclusive possession of
a firwan from the Pasha of Egypt and the Suldime
Porte Er the Red Sea route, no necessity exists
for the exertion of any political influence in nego-
tiatiens, nor for any further delay. The assowa-
tion therefore proposes to establish telegraphic
communication from Alexandria to Suez by land,
and from Suez to Aden, and thence to Kurra-
chee by a submarine cable. The distance from
Alexandria to Suez is 249 miles • from Suez
to Aden and from Aden to Kurrachee the
' length of the cable required will be no less than
4,163 miles, ,divided into sections, none of which
are to exceed 500 miles in length. The expeusss
of the whole undertaking from Alexandria to Kur-
rachee, with a liberal allowance for contingencies,
is estimated as being at the most 700,0001. The
association also calculates that tie time for con-
structing and laying down the cable, dating from
the period the manufacture commences to the
actual opening of the communication, will not ex-
ceed eight months to Aden, and four additional
months to Kurrachee. It has been assumed that
the extensive coral reefs in the Red Sea present
insuperable obstacles to a submarine telegraph, but
from a most careful survey of the coast on either
shore it has been ascertained that the cab'e can be
laid beyond the line of coral, except wi era it is
necessary to approach one or two stations, and even
at those places the reefs, it is believed, can always
be avoided.by careful soundings.
The assistance which the association consider in-
dispensable to the organisation of the undertaking
is a guarantee of 6 per cent. on the capital required,
to commence from the delivery of the first message.
In return for this concession the association would

eive all Government despatches priority as to time
of sending. The rate of subsidy accoided to the
Atlantic Telegraph is 4 per cent. by the Govern-
ment of the United States, and 4 per cent, by the
Government of Great Britain-8 per cent. in all.
It is further offered by the association that Govern-
ment messages from or to India• by the Red Sea
should be coaveye I at the same rate as private
on-!s, and the association agree that all reee'pts,
from whatever source, :Inn be appropriated to,
satisfy the guirantee, which is to cease and cl-,t4fr-__
miue as soon as the amount has been entirely liqui-
dated. With regard to the communication between.
Alexandria ant the continent tf Eu;ope, as there
are several agencies in the M=Aiterninean now em-
ployed in plans for completing it, the company
th;nk there is little doubt tliatit will be perfec ecJ
by the time the linefrom Alexandria to Kurrached-
is in readiness ; but if these expectations shoula
not be realised they express their willingness to lip
down a cable between Alexandria and the Darda-,
Ilene', a distance of 800 mil, s. Accompanying this -
sta'ement to the chairman of the East India Cona7,
pany is a letter from Mr. Bright, the engineer of •
the Atlantic Telegraph Company, in which, after
giving a decided preference to the Red Sea line
of telegraph with India, he goes on to say that
the coral is by no means an insurmountable ob=
stacle, as can be seen by the working of the &it
Mediterranean submarine line, which crosses coral_ .
several times. On the other hand, Mr. Bright ex,.'
presses his b.:lief that the proposed line througli
Mesopotamia will be most difficult, if not impossi-
to maintain, as lie has found that " even in
the ruder parts of Ireland it requires the most con.;
tinual watchfu'ne is to keep the wires from injury."

Mr. L. Gisborne also gives his testimony as-tothe
facility with which the coral re.fs iu the Red Sea
. •

may 1.;(3 avoided, or that even where it is necessary
or expedient to cress them in approaching the shore
stations it may b 3 done without injury or extra
expense in the construction of the line. The cor-
respondence concludes with a letter from the de-
puty-chairman of the company, in which the writer
calls the attention of the East India Company to
the abrupt failure of the Atlantic Telegraph, and
suggests that the 2,000 miles of cable still unused
on board the Agamemnon and Niagara can be im-
mediately applied in forming the submarine line
from Alexandria to Aden, without further 1 as of
time than that necessary for the vessels to accom-
plish their voyage. It adds that at this period of
the year and in the present state of the money-mar-

ket it would be impossible to raise the capitalueces-
sary for the purpose r:f establishing the undertaking
at once, unless the Eist India Company would en-
gage to contribute from the date of receiving the
first message between Aden and Alexandria, land in
exisideration for messages conveyed and priority
of transmission, the annual sum of 20,0001., to
cea-e and determine when the company obtained a
profit from its general receip's of 6 per cent. With
this letter the correspondence cl.oses, and the twit-
ter is still under the consideration of the Court of
Directors, though it is generally believed that an
answer favourable to the immediate adoption of
the latter proposition will be returned.

A TIME BALL AT GLASGOW.

The North British Daily Mail gives the fol To-
wing description of the time ball which has been set
up on the tower of the ai!ois' Home at t-; lasgo :
" Passing to the roof we observe the ball itself,
resting on a turned moulding and seeming to h
been a part of the original design of the tower.
This ball is made of the fined mahogany, and built
of a series of circles crossit6, 4 ach other at rig ht
angles and so arrang d as tofo.m a sphere, which
is covered with zinc to pro ect it ffom the weather.
A great amount of care and labour has been he-
st wed on this part, whiclvis the workmanship f
Mr. Thomas Colquhoun' St. Vincent-street, asalso
he base on which it tests. We will now describe
its operation. On the ground floor of the shipping
office, farthest removed from the street, a very fine
kbt ro n clock is s,-eurely bolted the wall,
fitted with a series of wheel-work which revolve
ros.ectively in 24 how s, 1 hour, and 1 minute.
When the 2tbour wheel makes one turn; a weighted
lever falls into a notch on its edge, falling at the same
ante ou the 1 hour wheel, which has also a notch on
its edv. If the two notches are opposite, the leer
falls so far that a mai gold spring covers the 60th
second, awl when the s.c aid hand touches it, a
Shoeu levers
the ballh is wound
them-
current of electricity passes from the clock to the
uuppltseor stthoeretyopofotf thehetowe V
pillar
tw
asenldveaspitdg
n,etnoi:oey.iesAinhtehaevyrowde,igahntdh:aunsgtasionvtehretible.slel
from
levels, but isprevented ft out dropping by the keeper
of an electro mageet, which is fixed on the square
pillar ; and, when the electric current
to
pa
tile cluck, it circulates round this magnet, and at.
tracts the keeper, which allowing the weightssesfm
working
wilnigic airtight
the ball is elevated
drop unhooks the levers and the hall falls. To the
loweris a ta endc
edo af tphisetroond,
When the bah drops, the air beingti gheotminparecsysleidrireer..
re-
sists the falling of the piston, and by its elasticity
prevents the shock which would otherwise result
from the velocity and weight of the ball.
" It has been arranged that the ball is to I e
hoisted half-mast high at five minutes before onJ
p.m. ; at two minutes before one it is to be raised
to the top of the rod ; and at one precisely it is
to drop—showing the Greenwich mean time to
within the tenth part of a second. As the ball can
ho se u distinctly for 'some miles'
.distance, it will
prove of great advantage to capothaemoks
anyo
of vessels, as
oa:
they will thus be enabled to
variation in their chronometers, with cu., removing
them."

SHOCKING CINCOMSTANCN.—Yesterday the family of
Mr. William Lever an artist, residing at No. 32 Lower
ltanelagh-street, Pimlico, were thrown into a state of
treat &ft:Lotion, in consequence of Edward Lever, the
t 1 lest son, a youth of 19, tatting poison. The mother
was the firmt to ascertain the fact, when Mr. Pitman, a
surgeon, was sent for, who, on arri% ing, found the lad
in an apparently dying state. lie administered anti-
dotes, and applied the stomach pump, after which the
unhappy youth was conveyed to St. George's Hospital,
Hyde Park-corner, and attended by Mr. Hooper, the
house surgeon, but not the slightest hope is entertained
of his recovery. The cause is attributed to disappointed
affectionsi,