The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-10-14
THE NATIONAL ERA: WASHINGTON D. c. OCTOBER H. 1858


est difficulty and by constant repetitions thai
the various official and congratulatory MESA
ges between the English and American suthori
ties were transmitted to Newfoundland, The
messages back to Valentia being in almost
evs.y case clear and distinct. The condition
of the wire became daily more faulty until the
3lst of August, when Government message
was despatched through the cable for the North
American Colonies, and on the morning OF the
lgt of September a second Government mes
saee was safely transmitted; but after it had
been duly acknowledged, the insulation of die
wire became suddenly worse, and it svas found
Impossible to make them understand at New.
fonndlsnd. Words and messages we re conin.
ualy transmitted, bat it was soon evi dent that
OH the American shore they could only Just
distinguish that signals were being sent, for .tbe
only answer received at Valentia was, be-
peat" and "Dont understand" and ven these
small phrases. were only distinguishes BILE at IN
tervals and since half past one ociosk on the
morning of Friday, the 4th of Sept mber, no
Ineligible signal whatever has been received.
Occasionally, however, very distinct reVersals
las regularly alternating positive and negative
currents are termed) have been receiv 60, some
times 80 strong and good, that had they been
sending words from Newfoundland, Il ey might
have been distinctly read on the rehe ting gal
vanometer of Professor Thomson. When the
line is not in use for the purposes OF test
ing words, short messages are ccntlnuaiiy
dispatched through the wire for an hour at
time, and then for the next hour. the gal
yanometer is watched for the answers, which,
excepting the reverssls already alluded to, never
come. From the time of the first cessation of
the signals up to the present time, Professor
w. Thomson, Mr.. Marley, ard Mr.. Edward
Bright, have been engaged day and night In
testing, and have come to the conclusion that
the defect is loss of insulation about 270 miles
(along the csble) from Valentia.
This, calculating the amount of slack cable
paid out during the latter days of the submerg-
ing operations, would place the fault about
220 statute miles from shore, or somewhere
upon the mountain range which div des the
depths of the Atlantic from the comparatively
shallow water leading from the lrist coast
Reference to logs and diaries kept by those on
board the Agamemnon during the submerging
operations show that this bank was crossed be-
tween four and FIVE o'clock on the afternoon of
the Sd of August, more than an hour before the
expected time. 1t had been intended by Sir
Charles Bright to allow a great quantity of
slack cable to run out while crossing this point,
in order that it might reach the bottom of all
the inequalities which might exist there undis-
covered by the sounding line. But, from some
cause, the Agamemnon through
out the whole cruise steamed at greater speed
than was registered by the log-line. Owing to
this circumstance, the bank was reached at
least an hour before the expected time, the first
intimation received by those on board being
q sudden decrease in the registered strain upon
the dynsmometer, and an equally sudden falling
off in the speed of the cable, the ship maintain.
ing the same rate, as registered by the log line.
Sir Charles Bright's attention was called to the
and he, seeing at once that the
shallow water was approaching, or had actually
been reached, ordered the weight to be taken
off the breaks, and allowed a large quantity of
slack cable to go overheard. 1t must always
remain a matter of doubt, however, whether
the falling off of the strain on and speed of the
cable was observable at all until the top of the
bank had been reached and had this been the
case, it is quite possible that the cable may have
remained suspended upon some projecting
points in the steep, and its insulation sooner
become gradually injured by its own weight
This is, of course, only a probable conjecture,
based upon the facts above stated. But ct the
same time it is impossible to account in any
other way for the cable having become damaged
since its submersion. Should the fault have
originated in this way, not the least blame is
attributable either to Sir Charles Bright, his
assistants, or the officers of the Agamepnon,
the occurrence being solely referable TO the de.
fective and uncertain method of ascertainipg
the speed of ship at present in vogue in the
Royal navy. The steep range above alluded to
is often mentioned as sloping bauk, upon
what ground it is difficult to say, for bat two
soundings were taken upon it, one at 'the bot.
tom and another at the top, and those two
soundings, though only eight miles apart, show
a difference in elevation of 1900 feet. OF the
nature of the intervening space no ons can, of
course, form any conjecture. Whether the
sides Of this submarine mountain flor it can be
called nothing else) are broken by ra,ines and
PERCEPTIONS cliffs, in the same way as the sides
of the mountains on land are, nothi az but a
close and careful series of soundings can ever
determine.