Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1866-07-25
The Atlantic Cable.

The Atlantic Gable.
The departure OF the Great Eastern from
Midway announced in another column.
The London Daily Necs of the 28th ut. gives
the following account of
MEETING OF THK DIRECTORS.
ne directors Of the three English COM
panies directly Interested In the success of the
Atlantic cable met yesterday on board the
Great Eastern at Sheerness. Luncheon was
served IN the grand saloon, where Mr.. Pender
presided, and at which few b.iet speeches
were made. Ii lad been intended to limit the
toast t. the health OF ner Majestg, that of the
President of the United States, and success ID
the expedition. Popular feeling was now
ever. too strong, and Mr.. Cyrus Field and
Lord Houghton had both to respond TO al
most unanimous call. Earnest hopes for d
triumphant issue 10 the great experimen Mt
about to e made, and expressions OF afiec
tlonate regard for Eogland and America re-
spect ,veiy. made the staple OF each speech,
Lord Houghton laying some stress upon his
consistent endeavors to promote the 60 d feel
my exls sting between the two nations.
TESTING THE CABLE.
AS has been previously stated, Gt process
of testing invented 10y Mr.. " Iiloughby Smith
Is OF such u character that tests for sulatlon
Will be constantly carried on, and the com
municatIon between snip and shore continu-
Gus. Mr. Smith accompanies the Great East
ern as electrician in-chief, while Professor
Thomson, +. K s., is to act consulting
electrician III case of an unforeseen emergency,
much as / physician is called in II the patients
case battles ordinary rules. Mr.. Cromwell
Varley Will be stationed with Mr.. Glass at
N2ientIa TO give advice, also a consulting
electr lclau, so that the pu bic will have the
advantage of sound scientific know ledge should
a serious hitch unfortunately take place. and
the painful necessity OF " guessing arise.
The great point for congratulatIon seems to
be the precautions taken not merely To avoid
accident but 10 rob accident OF Its sting. ls
is agreed on all hands that the graphing
ropes and machinery prepared for this year {
experiment are fully equal TO any strain likely
t. be put upon them while the arrangements
made for reversing the process of paying out,
and immediately recovering the cable should
the uuerring indicator point 10 a tauit, have
been puJ TO every variety of test.
Yesterday artificial faults were created
experimentaliy at six hundred, twelve hun
dred and eighteen hundred yards, and were
,nstantaneously detected As the change rom
paying out 10 picking up will only occupy a
lew minutes, 1t follows that fault would
probably be discovered before the part of the
cable containing it had left the ship. To cut
the damaged part out, resplice the vast rope,
and resume Its laying, would be compare
lively easy matter, so that 1T is fair TO assume
that the contingencies most TO be dreaded are
fully guarded against. Assuming this to be
the case, and ali to 90 well, We may look for
telegraphic communication between Great
Britain and America about the lasg week in
July.
The Times says of the
PROGRAMME.
At Berehaven the Great Eastern will fill up
the rest OF her coal while the William Cory
is laying the shore end from under the cliffs
at Valentla. This labor over, the splice will
be made, and the Great Eastern will commence
her work. For the first one hundred miles
from shore the new cable will be used, but
down the gentle incline, into deep water,
known in deep sea nomenclature as the Irish
bank, thr co hundred miles of the cable of last
year will be used and for the rest of the route
CO Newfoundland the new cable ouly will be
emp Dyed The entire voyage out, If 30 ac-
cidents occurs, is expected to occupy not more
than ten days.
Last year the tests for determining the con-
dition of faults and also the strength Of earth
currents were performed on board ship. This
year accurate tests will be made at both ends
OF the cable and continuous exchange of re-
suits will be legraphed from one to the other
the information which the shore can give to
the ship being of the highest importance to
enable those on board ship to find out the po-
siton of u fault accurately and rapidly should
any unfortunately occur. The principal bat
teries used for testing will be on board ship,
and the shore will have to read off and deci-
pher these indications without any other access
to the battery than what is afforded through
the ca bic.
1t is of the utmost consequence tha, the
most competent electricians should be at each
end of the cable, and it has been, therefore,
finally decided that one of the consulting
electricians shall be at each end of the line
during the operation of paying out. Profess
sor Thomson will go out in the Great Eastern
with Mr.. Wiiloughby smith, while MIR. Z. F.
Varley will remain at Valentia.
Mr.. K. A. Glass, who will be also at Va
lentia during the submergence, will this time
be assisted by the presence of highly compe-
tent authority in electrical matters, and such
information will be exchanged almost hourly
through the cable as will enable those on
shore to know not only the position OF the
Great Eastern and the amount of cable paid
out, but also the electric condition of the cable
and the approximate distance of faults, should
any unfortunately be discovered.
THE CONVOY.
The Telegraph says:
- Mr.. William Moore, the Trinity pilot.
will take charge of the ship on her leaving
the Midway, at which time she will have on
board two thousand five hundred miles of
cable, weig hing five thousand tons, as we'll as
six thousand tons of coal, her total cargo at
the start being in all about fourteen thousand
tons causing her to draw twenty-seven feet OF
water forward and thi1ty-one feet aft. All
the ships that are to accompany her across
the Atlantic will rendezvous at Berehaven.
The government will only send one ship, the
Terrible, to assist N the forthcoming expedi-
tion, and this vessel, under the command of
Captain Commerell, V. c., will carry runner
GUS sounding machines OF the latest anu most
approved construction, selected from the best
in use among the leading maritime nations.
Another companion, the Medway, of eighteen