The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-02-24

The Board of Directors of the Atlantic Tele-
graph Company are sorely puzzled. They have
laid the cable, and now they find themselves
pretty much in the condition in which that private
gentleman was, who won an elephant at q rattle.
They neither know how to render it useful nor
what to do with it and yet, in spite of the d.
lemma in which its unmanageable character places
them they are reluctant to abandon it altogether
The Observation-Disclosures, and DANIEL, and
HENLEY-have each, in their turn, been permitted
to test the possibility of sending ineligible sig
nails through the cable, in spite of its defective
condition; but nothing has been accomplished by
either of them, except the transmission of a few
feeble signs, the meaning of which appears rather
to have been guessed at than accurately UNDER
stood. Two propositions, however, have recently
been laid before the Management by which sup
posed that the defects in the wire may be modified
in one instance, and remeded in the other. The
first proposition looks "to lettering the earth
connections of the wire, by charging, at Valen-
eta, the present surface of the earthquakes, and
'1saturating the earth around them with solution
''of sulphate of copper" When this is DONE the
plan is next to charge the wire ITSELF till in state
OF electrical equilibrium and so keep it in circuit
with battery, and, on the make-and- break
principle, disturb the electricity in the wire and
transmit the signal From the results of expert
ments, that have been already made, the inventor
thinks that, even in case of the copper-conductor
in the cable being severed he could still transmit
signals along the outer covering of the spiral
wires. "Another proposition is to under-run the
wire, till the most serious faults, on the English
land Newfoundland side, have been raised and
repaired" In the meantime, Mr.. HENLEY has
been sent over to Trinity Bay, to take the place
OF the mysterious operator, De SAUTY-whose
fitting we recorded short time since-and to
ascertain if anything possibly be accomplished
by a change of instruments on this side of the
water. A very curious circumstance, with refer
ence to the transmission of signals through the
cable, is recorded. About six weeks ago, the
words 'Henley,' and ''you understand, !" were
reported, by the operators at Trinity Bay,
to have been received at that station; but upon
subsequent comparison of dates it was discov-
cred that on the day when the words were said to
have reached Newfoundland, the station at Valen-
tia was locked up and deserted. Such an anec-
dote as this reminds of the story told by RABE
LAls, OF the frozen words, which, upon the ap-
proach OF milder weather, suddenly unthawed
greatly to the establishment of the auditors, who
were suddenly beset by the Glamour, without being
able at first to understand from whence the voices
came, or the philosophy of the mystery. The ex-
PLANTATION of the cable signals is that the feeble
movements of the needle were due ITO the con.
'stant and perplexng vagaries of earth-currents.
Assuming this to have been the fact, it shows how
extremely fine and delicate the ordinary electrical
currents must have been, and tends to confirm the
very general impression that the few messages
which were said to have been exchanged through
the wires were only partially ineligible and that
to get at their meaning it required frequent repe-
tition of the same signals. 1t is gratifying, how
ever to learn that the company do not yet despair
of finally succeeding in laying perfect CABLE
They have already applied to the English govern