Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-08-19
History of the Atlantic Telegraph En-
terprise.

electric telegraph under the Atiantlc ocean,
whereby the community of Earth's nations
are drawn within the compass of so many
townships, and the intelligence of the world
is brought within the brief circuit of small
neighborhood-a succinct history of its origin
and progress cannot fail to be highly enter
tanning. We have therefore grouped the prin-
c:pIl facts below.
The original idea of thus connecting the
Old and New Worlds was probably conceived
by Prof SAMUEL +. B. MORSE, to whom man
kind is indebted for the Electro Magnetic
Telegraph. In his efforts to establish line
of this telegraph between Washington and
Baltimore, in IS43, his experiments verified
the theory of Ohm, that electric currents
were transmissible to almost any conceivable
distance. with proper conductors and insula-
ton Accordingly in letter to the then
Secretary of the Treasury, Hon. JOHN c..
PENCER, he wrote:
'7he practical inference from His lar is that a
telegr0phic communication the electromagnetic
pLIn num- nth yertainty be established across the
1iHu1tic Ocelni Startling this may nor seem,
am confident The time WaI come ohel THIS PROJECT
10iI be reliized."
This letter was dated on the 10th of Au-
gust, 1S43 and was probably the first public
serious expression of the possible telegraphic
communication between the opposite sides Of
the Atlantic. The newspapers in the princi-
'pll cities of the country subsequently, and
after various lines had been established, took
up the subject, and speculated upon it with
various degrees of earnestness and levity;
but none of them, though now claiming great
credit to themselves in this behalf advocated
it with a very Jealous faith in its speedy con-
summation. Perhaps the only exception to
this remark is found in the Cincinnati Chm
DeTcidl, whose founder and editor, l.. G.. Cur
TIss, Esq, now deceased. as early as 1S45,
devoted his pen to the subject with great zeal,
and little later, the winter of 1867, ad-
dressed letter to Congress, setting forth the
practicability of submarine Telegraph. and
a petition asking for power to form a com
pany, with the view of extending the mag
netic cable across the Atlantic So sangune
was he that his plans were feasible. that he
declared he ocean '.was designed in part for
tlegraphic purposes" No notice was taken
by Congress of this letter and petition; and
they were noticed by the press only as turn-
ishing what they conceived broad joke, or
merry paragraph.
In August 1850, the possibility of trans
hitting the electric current over submerged
wires, was fully demonstrated, by the sue
cessful working of line across the strait of
Dover, from Dover, in England, TO Calais, in
France, a distance of "a miles. Two years
later, another line was successfully established
from Dover to Ostend, in Belgium. IS miles
long. Then one of lis miles, connecting
England and Holland; and another, in 1855,
across the Black Sea, between Varna and
Balaklava, $40 miles--besides several other
shorter lines, making, up to the year 1857, an
aggregate of $50 miles of submarine tele-
graph in successful operation.
In the midst of these attempts, not one of
which had failed, the idea of an Atlantic Tel
egraph began to assume the air of sober rea-
son. 1t was early in the month of March
1854, that the stupendous enterprise
now considering, whose success is now filling
the civilized world with mingled exultation
and Joy, awe and establishment, was preached
and agreed upon. A cotere Of friends, din
ing with Mr.. CYRUS W. FIELD, to whose en-
ergy and perseverance the enterprise is so
much debtor for its success, engaged in a
general conversation on the subject, examined
maps and agreed to the formation of an asso-
citation for the purpose. The gentlemen present
were CYRUS w. FIELD, his brother, d. DUDLEY
FIELD, SAMUEL F. b. MORSE, PETER COOPER,
MOSES TAYLOR, MARSHAL o. ROBERTS aud
CHANDLER WHITE. 1t was considered that
Newfoundland was the best suited as the in
itial point of the line on the American side,
and the two Fields and Mr.. White, proceeded
without delay, to that Island, where they ar
rived on the 10th March 1854, and applied
for and obtained from the colonial govern
ment, an act of incorporation for the ''Ne,o
York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph COM
pany." This act granted them the exclusive
privilege for fifty years of running telegraph
across that island and through any of the adj
jacent waters; also an appropriation OF twenty
five thousand dollars for the construction of
bride path over the southern portion Of the
country, which was considered indispensable
for the regulation and repair of the telegraph;
guaranteed the interest on two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars of the Company's bonds
for twenty years, and present of fifty square
miles of land, which the company had the
liberty of selecting in any part of the island.
On the return of these gentlemen TO New
York from Newfoundland the company was
regularly organized under the above name,
with Peter Cooper, President; S. +. b. Morse,
Vice President; Moses Taylor, Treasurer;
Chandler White, Secretary; David Dudley
Field, Counsel; and L. n. Osborne, Engi-
neer. The Directors were Peter Cooper
Cyrus W. Field, Moses Taylor, Marshal o.
Roberts aud Chandler White. The capital
stock of the Company was fixed at 81 $780,
900, and the whole was subscribed for,-one
hundred and one shares in London, eighty
eight in America, eighty-six in Liverpool,
thirty-seven in Glasgow, twenty eight in Man
chester. and the remainder in other parts of
England. The Company now proceeded to
the work before them in good earnest, first
laying n submarine cable across the Gulf OF
st. Lawrence, connecting Newfoundland with
the American shore, and perfecting the line
thence to New York.
In order to induce English capitalists to
contribute to the undertaking, 1t was thought
expedient to incorporate IA new company in
England for the purpose Of establishing the
submarine line between New Foundland and
Ireland; and Mr.. Cyrus W. Field went to
England and succeeded in organizing that
company under the name OF The Atlantic
Telegraph Company" the two companies
binding themselves together by articles of
agreement to operate in connection. Indeed
the two companies may now be considered,
for all practical purposes, as one.
Tho .rn,zornnnort. IL G.. n.s.-.t.. IL IL =.