New-York daily tribune., 1858-08-09
fuller tessia, bat nothing addisoal ofinpo,tsaee
Cor.oi. olossd at 95s for money.


fashion: "a right good fellow, certainly; bat too
sapeuIe-in fact, rather visionary. After he
chad made pretty foriure By close aste.tion to
"buiiress he must jump into tbs Atlantic Tels-
graph enterprise, aud j! has uied him up. 1t has
svsppsd him pecuniariy, ard damaged his repu-
tston for business tact AID sagacity 30 fear il
"wiu 20 hard with him and his large family hence
forth"
Eyerytl;Dg that drifts with the tlie Is now chant
ing the praises of Mr. Field, AID at the same tina
belttlipg his achievement BY preterdi1e to have
AWAY, believed he would succeed. We did not
believe this--hsd scarcely hope Of it, We felt
confident that there would yet be telegraphic
commune stion between Europe and Americs; but
after the experiments Of the teegrsphc feet in the
Bay Of Blscay-still more, after iss return last
month from ts second decisive failure in mid ocean
we considered the undertaking all but hopeless
| And We cay DOW that the success must be re-
parded "a purely Piovidentisl-that ten jest such
fleets laden with just such coils Of vie and such
machinery as were last Oh board the Niagara and
Agsme M on, nsy start for Ireland at intervals
through The most favorable portion of the next
against one Of them efectiDg telegraphic conmu-
Licaton betwi1t the two shores. 50 much the
more therefore, do we honor tie courage and cool
ness which mpelled Mr. Field aud hi, hackers to
perseyeIe in the attempttD lag the cable this sea-
SOD, in TIE face Of discoursgements more formida-
bic than attended the sailing and voyage Of Co
lumbus in bis memorable quest Of q New World
1t is low some four or fge years since Mr..
Field undertook the magnificent enterprise which
has rendered bis name illustrious. II had been
previously some four or five years in the hands Of
b company which made very little hesdway-hsd
in fact accomplished little, and were making no
progress. That company might by this time have
achieved connection with newfoundland, but We
doubt it. Mr.. Field at once addressed himself to
some Of our most liberal capitalists, and induced
four Of them to uDite with him in the undertaking.
The moment the papers were signed, each of the
five drew his check for $40, 900, msAug up purse
Of $50 600 to form the nest egg of the enterprise.
From that hour to the present. Mr. Field has given
sll bis energies and means to the Atlantic Tele-
graph. He first visited Newfoundland and OBJ.
tained from its Government the necessary con-
cessioDs and privileges the next step was to form
Geographic connection with that leland the
bOisterous Gulf Of st. Lawrence; then to secure
the co operation of Eoglish capitalists finally, the
support Of the two Governments; and now he was
ready to commence the great work Of preparing
three Thousand miles of cable to be laid or Lost be-
tween Newfoundland and IrelALd. Step by step,
Mr.. Field has proceeded in bis great enterprise,
ably seconded, of course, on both sides Of the
ocean, but he has been the undauuted indefatigable,
anmatipg master. spirit Of ths work on both CONT
nents, on tie ocean, and from frat to last And
the civilized world will this time take care that no
plausible Americus shall despoil the Columbus of
ocean telegraphipg of his noby and hardly won
honOrs.
The pews of the failure Of the fast attempt TO
lay the ocean wIe was one Of the immediate causes
of the great commercial revulsioD Of 1857. There
would of coute have been "panic, as il is abb
surely termed, even had the cable been safely laid
last years but the Iews of its fai ure coming upon
us at time of general pressure aud discourage
ment war st east one Of the st'aws that broke the
oyeIlsden csmei's back; and we believe the sweep
Of bankruptcy would have bsen far narrower and
less disastrous had that first attempt Of the Niagara
and Agamemnon succeeded. Everybody was sriy-
ing to bear up against tide Of misfortune, when
tie news of the swapping of the Atl.nti, cable
seemed to proclaim to anxious, struggling, thou
ssuds the hopelessness Of effort the certainty that
every dubious investment must prove a loss, every
critical enterprise failure. 1t WAS thundsr5olt
striking and shyering the ship already over
masteIed by the bowling storm, and the frightened
crew took at once to the boats. May We no. ra-
tonally hope that the success of this years foal
effort will exert moral effect on business at least
equal though opposite to that of last years fail.
ule!
1t is scarcely pessible to overestimate the i'm
portarce and value of Mr.. Fields achievement
Consider one fact only. On the 18th Of June,
1912, our Government declared war asaiR,t Great
Britain, under the inspiration Of youoge, more
ardent, less experienced Republican politicians of
that day, overruling the judgment of their older
compatriots, who had endured aud still remembered
the trials and sueriDgs of cur Revolutionary strug-
sle. We had many causes of complaint against
Great Britain; but one of the most prominent aud
palpable was based on her Orders in Council, BY
which our trade with the Continent had been most
outrageOusly hara,sed and crippled. Those Orders
in COuncil had been repealed b.ore re declared Var,
though the fact was unknown and unsupported here.
Had il been known-n other words. had the At
lantic Telegraph then existed-it is quite probable
that War would rot have been declared, thst fur.
ther negotiations would have been had, and an
amcable redress Of grievances attained, saving to
each country thousands of precious lives and hun.
dIeds of millions of dollars. What has been, may
again be.
The country rugs with the praises of Mr.