The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-11-04

as stimulating the sources Of wealth los. sight Of
altogether.
the people and their rulers the advocate OF e1pendi
ture scarcely expect to be listened TO; but as IL
has happened before to. day, that truth though It
may be apparently confuted or overlooked is truth
still, aud will eventually receive recognition, taefo
is encouragement TO the ungracsus task Of opposing
erroneous opinions which appear to be entertained
by majority.
The East India Ccmpany's government has been
condemned for the small portion of its revenue
which it returns to the taxpayers ia the form OF ia
teInel improvements, in comparison 10 the large
amount expended on its army and 10 carrying out
its plan of territorial asgrsndizomcnt la this re-
sPect speaking by oomparieon, the Cey lon govern
meDt has done lar greater justice to Its subjects ead
gladly do witness 20 the circumstance that it is
recognized article of the political faith of this gov
eminent, and not occasional BIO IN wruDg froE, a
cosed hand But whilst public opiaion thorc, as
far it can gain expression. desires to epoa the
hand here 1T exerts itself to keep 1T closed, seeking
to diminish the supply down to that psiut whero
economy ceases and parsimoRy begins
A late number of the r,scnd Of Indta reminds
US, by description, Of invention, the adoption of
which is begu ming to he nearly universal, Rnd has
already received the patronage OF thAs SLOW
government the Directors of the East India Com
pary-we mean the electric telegraph, Our road
ers sre vel aware, from former extracts, that the
electric telegraph has been laid down, and nov
works satisfactorily between Calcutta and Hedge
rec, distance ofseyentyon miles. besides another
trsnch the OF eleven miles ff0a Bshlopore TO Moy-
apore lnGis 10 indebted to Dr. O'Shaug messy for
IL PRODUCING this wonderful and wonderfully useful
invention And well may tho F,,end say, that
''Siace the despatch Of CIivc, after tho battle of
Passey, announcing the conquest Of the three e0a-
babs which WAS tbe foundation stone of British
powe! in the East, no document, equal in interest or
importance has equsled the report presented to the
Bengal government announcing the completion and
successful operation of tho telegraph froa Calcutta
to k.dgeyee"
The result of the experiment hiss been, that Lord
has All nj eU he nd md nj
of depntirg DR. O'Shsughnessy to Eoglsnd to lay
the statement before the pubic authorities, and ia
tho text Of the Friend, to submit to them
his proposal for the es ablishmeAt Of the tele-
graph throughout the country. Iaerder to
connect the various cities OF India by series
OF electric telegraphs, 30 that communication
may he held between places the most remote from
each other IL few hours, we appear to require
the following distinct lines :-Caloutta to Agra,
900 miles; Agra to Simlsh, 300 miles Similar to
Lahore, $50 miles Agra to Bombay, $50 miles
Bon bay to Madras via Hydrabad, $50 miles Cal.
cutta to Moulmein via Chittsgong and SandawAy,
across Pegu, $40 miles $500 miles Say 1000
IL les, at $50 the mile % lskhs of rupees, to
which if we add three lakhs for river crossings and
quarter of million sterling for tho most important
and the most magnificent undertaking that WAS
ever contemplated in Asia from tho flood to the
present time The csst of working the line is oal
culated at 500 RI. month for each station, of
which it is proposed to place one on al average at
the distance Of hundred miea Forty such esta
blishments will. there fore. require sum Of 20 900
re- month, or ego RS. day for the whole Of India,
and as DIR. O'bhaughDessy proposes to fix the
charge for private communication at the moderate
rate of sixteen words of two syiables each for the
rupee, We shall only require 600 such messages .
day from the entire community in India, from
Moulmein, Calcutta, Agra, Lahore, Bombay and
Madras, and the intermediate stations to cover this
expense. Is not tho community more likely to re-
qulre thousand messages dayF"
Our object in noticing this grand Undertaking is
W War nd hnw hav
were overcome the cost Of the experiment, and pro-
oable cost of these undertakings generally We will
therefore append these as We fnd them in the
Fraend-
" From Calcutta to Rsjnoolla, the conductor 10
laid under ground in q ceme mt of melted rosn aud
sand, and it is fve-eighth inch rod From that
village through the remaining distance to Hedge
rec, 1T is carried over ground on bamboo poles,
fifteen feet high, coated with epal, tar, and pitch,
and strengthened a. various distances by posts of
saul wood, teak, and iron wood from America The
bamboo posts found to resist storms which have
uprooted trees the growth of centuries Iu the
storm Of of the 23d October last, which drove Two
steamers ashore, the bamboos bent gracefully to the
elements, ana then resumed their erect position,
Though the bamboo soon decays, yet its am azing
che apness makes the of it more economical than
that Of more durable and more costly m sterials
The branch road from Bshlopore to Mcyapore
passes through a swamp the country is little less
than lake for five months; the conductor runs on
the foot paths between the island villages, and for
some miles crosses rice swamps, creeks and jees on
WD1Cn no TOau or emD6nkment exists. Ih0 most
difficult and Objectionable line selected to test
the practCabiity ofcarryiBg the conductors through
swampy ground, and it has been perfectly success.
full. The Huldee river crosses the Kedeeree limo
half way. and varies in breadth from 200 to 300
feet. A gutta peroha wire secured in the angles Of
q chain cable, is laid across and under this river,
and the chain is found to afford perfect protection
from the grapnells Of the heavy native boats which
are constantly passing up and down,
The overground lines differ to.ally from those in
use in England and America, or any other country,
in this important Tespect-no wire is used. In
stead Of wire thick iron rod, three eighths inch
diameter, ton to milo, is adop.ed-the heaviest
wire elsewhere used being only one cwt to the mile
The advantages of these substantial rods ara these
they possess q complete immunity from casts Of
wind, or ordinary mechanical violence: if acciden-
tally thrown down, they are not injured, though
passengers, bullocks, buiiaoes, and elephants may
trample on them; they not easily broken or
bent; owing to the mass Of metals they give free
passage to the electric currents, that no insulation
is necessary they attached from bamboo to ban-
boo without any protection and they work without
interruption through deuges of rain; the thickness
ofthe wire allows Of their being placed on the post
without any occasion for the stralning and winding
apparatus, whereas the tension Of wires exposes
them to fracture occasions expense in construction
and much difficulty in repairs; the thick rods also
an extent which would be fatal to wrs and lastly,
the rods are more costly than thin wire, and tho
welding occasions no difficulty. On several occa-
stems orc village forge, carried by two coolies has
Deen IOunu Sulclent tor welding "a niue oil r0u5 In
working day The rods, moreover not likely
to be idjured by crows monkeys Swarms Of
kites and crows perch on the lines through tho
su amps, but they cause harm; the corrospon.
dence flies through their claws without interruption,
though on occasion fash of lightning struck
the wet rod, and killed some scores of them. The
Importance of this discovery Of the superiority Of
rods over wire will DO fully appreciated in coun-
try like India, where the line often through
bowling wilderness, tepantcd by savage beasts,
or more savage men. The lines must therefore
protect themselves and this is secured by the use Of
thick rods
1.-The most difficult experiment on the line from
Calcutta to kedgeree that Of crossing the
Hocghly. A chain OF s.inch iron eebc is being
laid across the river, which will doubtless, sink in
many places below the reach Of anchors where the
bed of soft mud; but there will be contingencies
in which ships must drag their anchors, and
endnpg-r the continuity Of the chain Every pre-.
caution has been taken to proven, interruption, but
this river crossing must always be source Of
anxiety i il. however. gratifying to know that