The sun., 1861-12-26
THE NEW YORK SUN.
THURSDAY MORNING, DEC. % 1861.



ANoSo our special Washington dispatches
This morning, will bo fouHd some Suggestion
In reference 10 a line Of seacoAst telegraph,
connecting together the different Go,ornmeni
stations between here and Galveston, Texas,
which merit the earnest ahention Of oar
Govsrrment and the peopIe. Perh'ps there is
no subject which more ,nrikingly illustrates the
spirit Of the age thsn that Of tho telegraph. The
Envention Il rot confined purely to commercial
or businss interests, but It's uses and influence
for vsr purposes duripg the las, ten years have
-becn Of incalculablo value, and 20 much appre-
clstcd In Europe as to make 1t almost house.
hold convenience with every emperor, king. or
pctsntste, who bas had the misfortune TO 60 to
war.
In the Russian war, scarcely did the armies of
France and England touch Turkish soil ere 'clt-
graphic wires connected them with Paris and
Iondor, and, as they advanced TO B,l klAya and
Sebsstopc, telelraphic wires KEEP, pace with the
progress Of the troops. In Inda, the network
Of telceraphic wircs which speedily enclosed
the disaffected district was a, once made COM
plete. regarileis Of every danger and at any
cost In the last conflict between Fnuc' and
Austria, LOWS NAPOLEON 80 greatly regarded
thee advantages, that not alone between his
capital and the scat Of war was telegraphc
Communication preserved complete, but even
on ths battle field, temporary lines we've laid to
distant points, and the movements Of his army
thus made simultaneous and effective.
If this mode Of commune iton has heon
found Of such vital necessity ly the French
Emperor in the management Of an army Of one
hundred thousand men, ~hen besides this, he
had vast and well appointed staff Of nearly
six thousand aid dc camp officers and mossen.
gers, to convey orders and intelligence TO every
part OF the battle field, its much greater ne
costly in our own army operations Is clear
Our Potomac forces number tnroo hundred
thousand men. scattered over an area Of more
than twenty-thrcc miles, and our entire
force Of staff officers and messengers in that
quarter numbers less than eight hundred -
The seat Of war, with US, embraces a continuous
chain of sea posts tearly two thousand miles
in extsnt in addition to the vast inland opera
tions Of the border states.
To properly accomplish this matter Of telc
graphic communication, the whole di,afrcctei
portion Of our country should AZ once be en-
closed with a Gordon Of wires, commencing with
that OF tho soacoast. II the COS, Of tho latter
were twenty millions Of dollars, instead of the
two millions which may be required for is per
manont accomplishment it should be at once
incurred, siuco single opera ion Of the enon y
defeated, or single success gained by its use q,
frequently amounts TO more than tho ono days
expenditure Of our Government which its con.
struction involves. The cost, also, is rot loss.
On the restoration Of peace, such lino vii bc
valuSble for commerc'a! and business purposc,
and the Government will be enabled to sell i
10 private companies A. pri,s approNim ltinc,
perhaps quite nearly, 20 the cost OF laying +,
down.
Above all countries, this, which ia the lard
Of its birth, should witness the Telegraph
greatest use, both in war and peace. Lot u,
have IL, forthwith.