The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1865-08-24
THE ArLANTIC. TELEGHApH cAsEE
Causes OF itS FaiIure-BsTsI af;Fusurs
icfet H@7 y suecesS. rn1

Causes OF itS Failure-IIs afiFaturS
fEEEl sstSlis srses... ss vik3
New York, August 49, An abstract
Of the reportOf the iclerqpi cable rx-
| pedition Is Published, shoyfig'the tOI.
loving facts. The breaking occurred
about 1890 o'clock P. NJ, at point
where the water was thirty-lineihun.
dredlyaIds deep, and when over twelve
hundred miles of cable had been paid
oat, in,consequenee of its becoiningin-
jured by chafng on tho stern of the
ship whilo rehauling portionof it on
board the Great Eastern, to remove,
another defect in the insulation which
had been discovered. After losing it. Il
was grappled three times, being, on
one of the occasions, brought to within
twelve hundred yards Of the waters
surface, but the weight was too much
for the graphing rope, which each
time broke and dropped the cable.
1t appears that the pickirg.up an
lparatus brought the cable SO near to
the bows of the Great Eastern, that on
every lurch the vessel made she chat.
ed and cut; also itcould not stand the
strain. Indeed the cable was a part
ofthe time under the forefoot of the
ship. at -Isii -a}TA 2ea5S
The last attempt to raise it was made
on the 9TH, when not meeting with suc-
cess, buoy was placed over the SPOT
where it was lost, and the Great East.
ern sailed for England, and her con.
sorts, the Terrible and Galatea; for St.
Johns, where the latter vessels arriy.
ed on last Tuesday evening, as hereto.
fore announced. fFia 70
The Herald's Aspy Bay eorrespon.
dentsays :cThefollowing practical con.
clusions have been arrived at bythose
engaged in various capacities in the
expedition: First, that the steamship
Great Eastern, from her size and sea.
going qualities; can carry and Law At
lantic telegraph cable in any weather.
Second that the paying out machine
ry, constructed for the purpose bv
Messrs. Canning& Clifford, works per-
iestiy, and can be confidently relied
on. That the insulation of the gutta
percha conductors. was improved by
reason ofthe reductionfe of the tempera,
ture and great pressure. at the bottom
OF the ocean, and was more than dou-
BILE whatit had been before starting,
proving itself to be the best insulated
cable ever manufactured, and many
times higher than tho standard re-.
qulred BY contract. -, .g-
The cause of the two faults which
were picked up was, in each case, the
perforation, ,qfthe gpttapercha through
to the copper by piece of iron wire,
found sticking in the eable. Electri.
cally, the third fault was analogous to
the first, This difficulty can be guard.
ed against in the construction of flu.
ture cables. Nothing has occurred to
create the least doubt in the minds of
the practical men engaged in the ex-
pedtion, Of the successful laying and
working OF the Atlantic telegraph ca.
Die, but, on the contrary, their conf.
dcnce in the undertaking has been
largely Increased by the experience
thus obtained. With the Great East.
ern steamship, and with improved
picking up machinery. there is q DOS.
slbIllty of recovering the lost end of
the cable and completing the. line al
ready two thirds laid. '''.n :
This is signed as follows: Samuel.
Canning, chief engineer; James An.
dcrson. captain of tho Great Eastern
Q, 7. Varley, electrician to Atlantic
telegraph and Maintenance Compa.
ny; Q, v. De Sauty, electrician to At.
laptle, Telegraph and Maintenance
Company W, Thompson, professor of
natural philosophy, Glasgow College;
II II. l.. Clifford, Telegraph Maintenance
Company. f-