Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1866-08-16

from shore to shore, from August 10 to
September l, 129 messages having in that
period been sent from Valentia to Newfound-
land, and I'll in the other direction. A.
mong these messages was one Of 80 words,
sent over the line in 81 minutes, from the
Queen to the President.
The current, however, weak from the
first, finally failed altogether. The ablest
electricians, With their most powerful bat
teries, were employed, and, on the 25th of
October, an imperfect message was received
at Valentia, more than one thousand times
the power requisite in an ordinary well.in.
sulated conductors being employed on the
occasion. The impossibiity of raising the
cable from deep water without breaking it
made an attempt of remedyiug the defect
hopeless Thus the enterprise, after i'm.
mense ovations on both sides of the Allan.
tic at the supposed triumph, became auoth.
er failure. In 1850 portions of the cable
in Trinity bay were recovered. The cost
of the scheme up to December, 1858, was
81, 1884, 500.
10 1861 the Dutch laid cable in the
Mediterranean from Malta to Corfu, 400
miles long, at a cost of sl25, 900, cable
like that of the Atlantic, which proved a
failure. The English, some years ago, at,
tempted line through the Red Sea, which
was also failure, as was also the attempt
to connect Falmouth, in England, With
Gibraltar, the project having been aban
doned after the cable, at cost of 9400, 900,
had been completed.
In 1862 Mr. Field, still persistent in the
face of all these calamities, again visited
England, and succeeded in 50 much inter.
estiug Messrs Glass, Elliott & Co.. manu-.
facturers of the most of the submarine
cable, as to engage them to embark in the
enterprise and make the cable for new
attempt, the cable they had then recently
laid from France to Algiers-520 miles
being in good working order at that time
under water as deep as any ia the Atlantic
line The work was Immediately resusci-
tated, and after three years of the most
thorough preparation, and with the utmost
confidence Of success, last year another trial
was made and another failure succeeded,
the cable parting when 1880 miles had
been paid out The precise cause Of this
failure has not, we believe, been deter
mined.
The following, which We cut from the
London Times, We think, furnishes all,
with the announcements of the triumph
already made, that is necessary to complete
the great story:
The attempt last year is fresh in the
memory of all, although the real cause of
its failure, whether accidental or otherwise,
is still unknown. The present effort has
not been made without former cause of
failure having been so provided againstas to
make it source of additional security aud
success for all coming time. Thus, the
first cables were too feeble. Even that Of
1858 weighed but 20 cwt. per nautical mile,
while the present weighs 81 cwt:: The
breaking strain of the cable of 1858 was
equal to 8 tons cwt.; that is, it would
support little less than FIVE miles of its
own weight in water The breaking strain
of the present cable is 8 tons owt., OF
twelve miles of its own weight in water,
while the deepest water to be encountered
is 2,400 fathoms 10 1858 but 2,274 nau-
tical miles we're shipped on two vessels.
In 1866, $3.50 miles are shipped on one
vessel.
The art of making, testing and laying
cables has made such progress since 1857
as to render the present undertaking quite
different in many respects An undetected
fault in an Insulated wire has now become
impossible. Aud yet so improved are the
signalling instruments that it is now easy to
work, though foot of its copper be strip
ped bare and laid at the bottom of the sea
This mas been actually tested and accom-
plished. 1t has even been proposed now
that after the first cable is laid, and the
second, that of 1865, raised from the bot.
tom of the ocean and spliced, the old cable
of 1858 should be also joined afresh at
both ends, when it is supposed that
it can now be used with the improved
Signals
The Great Eastern has had every foot of
her bottom cleaned for the present expedi.
ton, which will improve her speed mile
an tour. Two feet thickness of barnacles
were taken off from parts of her bottom.
She will, however, only be allowed to make
six knots an hour.
The eastern end of the cable was landed
at Valentia on the 9th of June, and the
Great Eastern completed her work on the
American coast on the 18th of July, thirty.
two days being employed in the great
achievement
The MONITOR in THE THAMEs.-The
London correspondent Of the New York
Times writes; "Here lies the Yankee mon.
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