The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-10-14
THE ATLANTIC CABLE.
Highly Interesting from valenta-A Complete
and Ineligible History Of the Whole Difficult
ty-Discouraging State Of Affairs.
From the Correspondence ofthe London Times
VaIrUry. Cat 10 1870

From the Correspondence of the London Times
VALENTIA Sept. IL, 1868.
The sound of rejoicing for the completion of
the Geographic communication between Eng.
land and America Had hardly ceased on both
sides of the ocean which has been so wonder.
fully intersected by the wire, and the ovations
and festivities in honor of those who were in.
strumental in achieving the great work were
still at their height at ths eide of the channel,
when a gloom was cast upon all by the sudden
and unexpected announcement that Ineligible
signals had ceased to come through the cable
Thespublic and those interested in the success
of the undertaking have doubtless been much
surprised that so many days should have been
allowed to elapse since the announcement of
the failure of signals, without their being &C.
quainted, either through the company or news
paper correspondence, of the progress of affairs
| at this terminal of the Atlantic wire. But the
fact is, that, beyond the bare fact that signals
were not received, there has been nothing to
communicate until the results of the investiga.
tons of Prof. Thomson, Mr.. Edward Bright
Mr.. Marley, and other scientific gentlemen, who
have been experimenting upon the cable for
the past few days, had transpired. Those ex
periments have not yet been completed, but
sufficient has been done towards pointing out
the exact position of and probable nature of
the fault, to justify the public being made &C.
quainted with the facts.
In order to make the present condition of the
cable perfectly understood, it will be necessary
to trace its history from previous to the landing
OF the end at Valentia, down to the present
time. In q former communication containing
the particulars of the last successful cruise of
the Agamemnon, it will be remembered that
reference was made to very serious electrical
fault having occurred In the cable on Sunday
August j, after about one-half of the distance
| from mid.ocean to the shores of Ireland had
been traversed. Though that fault (which was
| apparently break in the continuity of the con.
ductor) gradually recovered itself after having
| caused great trouble and anxiety for some thir-
teen hours, yet the electrical condition of the
cable had evidently received a shock from
which it never completely recovered. This was,
however, regarded as a matter of very little con.
| sequence, as the currents which were both re-
ceived and transmitted were sufficiently good
for all the purposes of telegraphirg. During
the remaining three or four days which we're
occupied in submerging the remainder of the
wire, its electrical condition was very variable,
being at times very good, and occasionally in.
| different. These variations we're, at the time
referred to, the effects of magnetic storms and
earth currents, but at no time Was its condition.
80 defective as in any degree to impair the tele.
| graphic communication. From the time of
landing the end, on the 9th of August, to Mon.
day, the oh, the cable continued in fair condi.
non, though slight defect, of no consequence
IN working, was observed in the insulation.
Up to that evening, nothing but alternate posi-.
tive and negative currents had been received
from Newfoundland, though words and adjust.
ment messages had from soon after the landing
been continually sent from Valeptia. Thai
evening, however, coil currents came with the
words, Send slower, and repeat" from New.
foundland, being sent by Mr.. Warehouses; in.
stramenss, and received upon his beautifully
constructed recording relay. 1t was soon found.
however, that Mr.. Whitehouse's receiving re-.
lay, though admirably adapted for receiving
messages through the cable, had been adj usted
aud constructed under the very natural belief
that the cable, if landed at all, would have suf.
fered little in its electrical condition and it was
found not to work with certainty with the COM
psratively feeble signals which arrived from
the American continent. Prof. Thomson's
delicate rejecting galvanometer was according
ly substituted for it, though messages. were
transmitted from both ends as usual By Mr..
" Warehouses; patent.
During the whole of the week, from Monday,
the 9Th, to Saturday, the l4lh, various adjustment
messages were received and sent through the
line, though in consequence of their constantly
requiring messages from Valentia to be re-
peated several times, it was evident that in
Newfoundland the signals were not read with
the same facility as those in the contrary di.
J rection to Valentis. This circumstance tended
to prove that the fault which was observable
vas somewhere near the Irish coast, for any
defect more than three hundred miles from
either coast would affect the transmission and
reception of signals equally at both ends.
Accordingly the cable was underrun for the
distance of about three miles from Valentia
Island By Mr.. Canning, cut, and tested through
; by Mr.. Bartholomew, the electrical superintend.
D emf, who found that whatever fault existed was
t far out to sea. The ends were accordingly
joined up again without new piece of cable
2 being laid between Dowlas Head and the
shore. From this to Saturday, the 2lst of Au
e gust, the fault was very variable, both in its
!, nature and its apparent distance from the Irish
e coast, it first appearing something like 500
0 miles distant, and gradually diminishing unit
it became stationary at point calculated will
{ great accuracy to be nearly 270 statute milel
rom the Valentia end of the cable. All thi
period, the electrical condition became dali,
e worse and worse and il was only with the great