Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1858-10-14

had been intended BY Sir Charles Bright
to allow great qnsntity of slack cable to
run out while crossing this point, in order
that it might reach tie bottom of all the
inequalities which nigh, exist there undis-
covered by the sounding line. But from
some unex planned cause, the Agamemnon,
throughout the whole cruise, steamed at a
greater speed than was registered by the
log line. Owing o the circumstance, the
bank was reached at least an hour before
the expected tint, the first intimation re-
ceived by those On board being a sedden
decrease in the registered strain upon the
dynamometer, and an equally sudden fall
ing off in the speed OF the cable, the ship
maintaining the same rate as registered by
the log line. WI
Sir Charles Bight's attention w.s called
to the circumstance, 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 al
lowed large quantity of slack cable to 60
overheard. 1t must always remain mat
ter 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 rtached; and had this been
the case, it is quite possible that the cable
may have renamed suspended upon some
projecting points in the steep, and its in
sulation sooner become gradually injured
by its own weight. This is, of course, only
a probable coljectuse, based on the tacls
above stated. Bit, at the same time, it is
impossible to account in any other way for
the cable having become damaged since its
suhmeIsio Should the fault have or..gi-
mated in this way, not the least blame is
attributable to either Sir Charles Bright
his assistants, or the officers of the Aga
memnor, the occurrence being solely re.
terable % the defective method of ascer.
tainingshe speed of ship at present ir
vogue in the Royal Navy. The steep
range above alluded to, is often mentioned
as ssping bank; upon what e. ound it il
difficult 10 say, for but two soundings were
takea upon it--one at the bottom anG an
othG at the top--and these two soundings
though only eight miles apart, show diff
ference in elevation of 1900.
CT the nature of the Intervening spac,
no sne, OF course, can form any conjecture
, Whether the sides of this submarine noun
tain (or it can be called nothing else) ar
broken by raylnes and precipitous, in III
sane way as the sides of the mountains o.
land are, nothing but close and rarefu
series of souEIings can ever determine.
1t is perfectly conclusive, according t
the experiments of Professor Thomson an
Dir. Varley, that the water has reached tn
conducting wire in at least one place nc
less than Two hundred and twenty mile
i from the shore, and as the currents receive
From Newfoundland vary from one two
i hundredth to only one nine hundredth pal
of the strength they should be. ii woua
deceiuing the public TO state that the fault
other hias Of The most serious nature. BIZ
still it is believed possible by some, wit
more delicate instruments, and with prop,
concert at both ends of the line, to wor
through during some art of each day, pr
v;ded the condition of the wire becomes I
| worse