Evening star., 1869-07-14
THE NEW OCEAN TELEGRAPH

lied are we with the great events which follow
each other in rapid succession, that the laying
of the new Atlantic cible, making another
bond of union between the old world and the
new, hardly creates a ripple OF excitement.
The Great Eastern, with her precious freight
arrived eff the banks OF Newfoundland last
FRIDAY, having sailed l,>55 knots, and paid out
2-l22 knots OF cable. ana we hay expect to hear
Al sny moment Of the succes ,ful Ianding OF the
shore end of the new submarine international
telegraph line AZ the island OF ST. Pierre, a,
W hich place the services OF the Great Eastern
Will terminate. IS small steamers will bs en-.
plOyed to lay the cable from therca 10 the coast
CT Nassachusetts. twill not take long , lay
this section. when the UnIted States will De
practically IN dIrect tel-grapiic cDmmuuica-
tiOn with ala Belle France" Whether the
IIEe viii at once be made available is question
able, as the French Cable Company had not
acquired the power from Congress previous
10 Its ADJOURNMENT 10 lay and IN lintaiu a cable
Cn the shores of the United States and in order
Rot 20 retard the progress OF this great work a
charter was granted by the legislature OF
Massachusetts 10 the Ocean Telegraph
Company. whose line meets the cable
outside the jurisdiction of the United States
The Secretary of State, however. has addressed
a note in duplicate to the British Minister and
to the French Charge de Afaires here, nform-
ing them that the bill which ras ed the Senate
Iast winter, and only failed in the House for
want OF time, and which provided that NO
foreign cable should be landed on the shores of
the United States without the consent OF Con-
gress and without provisions for reciprocity
IL the use thereof by the respective Govern.
ments connected by such cable, unquestionably
embodied the sentiments OF Congress on this
subject, to which their attention is respectful
Iy called This is in accord with the recent
opinion Of Attorney General Moar, who held,
that although the State of Massachusetts, had
given her consent to the landing of such caoIe,
yett was void until the consent Of Congress
was obtained. Therefore, though the French
cable may be landed at Duxbufy during the
present month. its operation is not certain for
some time. This Cab,e Company is exclusive
~ French IN its control, and il is stated tha.
one provision In its charter requires a wire to
pass into the Tuileries- CJn.ress WILL proba-
oly insist upon reciprocity In the use of the
cable between the United States and Frapca
The bill which passed the Senate was unaui.
mously reported in the House Committee on
Foreign Affairs. and only failed because of
" ant of time al tae close of the session.
The latest reports in references TO thu cable
are eohnleapg A telegram from Brest yester-
day ssys:
"A despatch from the Great Eastern an.
nouncss her arrival of Miguelou but a dense
log pr. vailed, IN consequence of which she had
as yet oeen unable TO fnd the shore end Of the
Saoie, Win " hich TO make splice The cable
mas been cut and buoyed- No communication
mas teen received since last night"
On the other hand. the ". 4. Telegram of last
evening has despatch from St. Pierre, N. F.,
dated yesterday saying:
The voyage OF the Great Eastern Is conn
Ilete. She arrived Oh this island this morning
from Brest with the end Of the French cable
and announced that the line Is in perfect worx.
ing order. The shore section, which was laid
some DAY aso, Is now being splieed with the
main cable. and before the day ciJses commu-
land" ~
The entire length of the cable will bs about
5,Uoo mules, or ABOUT l,0OO miles longer than the
English cable. That portion taken on board
the Great Eastern was 2,725 miles long, or 40
miles more than that taken by her when she left
England to lay the yalentia cable. II has been
Manufactured in two sections The longest
section, running from Brest to ST. Pierre. will
De 2'SZ5 miles long the shorter, extending from
81 Pierre to the American coast, will be abou.
~ miles long, In ''conductivity,- at least.
fhis cable Will be superior to the English lines
already laid. The central copper wire is larger,
weighing 40 pounds to the mile, that a. prss.
ent laid weighing only 300 pounds. Its Insu.
Ianon is perfectly secured. 1t is covered with
Chattertcn's compound, and, over that, by four
layers Of gutta percha. Outside OF all these is
a spiral net of steel wires, each wire being
surrounded with five strands OF Russian hemp
with preservative compound. Not
WIthstanding its immense strength. the cahla
is as flexible in the water as a hem pen rope.
cWlrg to the superior condu .tiyity of thi,
cable. and the absence of breaks Ar various
statlons, messages can be transmitted with q
higher rspidIty than has been attained bv the
Loshsn line It's hoped that twelve words a
N ute may be sent Instead of eight. a. al
present.
The line Of the new cable first start. in verv
saalicw water from Minou Bay, but In tour or
i've miles II deepens from L. to 20 fsthons. and
tnen gradually shelves from 81 to 90 and On
IA homsi depth which Is pretty eauaIIy
malntained over the whole bed OF tae EasIlsh
CnapneL At this level, but on the whole
eraduaiiy deepenIng. i, continues till IN a lin.
win the western-mOst part of the Irish coast-
"Lefe' taking northern Course, IL passes down
eentle slope OF sand, that continues descend.
ing Till the depth ,ncrea ses from 2OJ 10 s0 ana
and 600 fatnoms, and then IN a short distance
to LOO iatnoms. over all :he rest of the conr.s
10 m-d-ocean the bottom is mud shells and
sano' ana with uniform depth Of about two
tnousano and two thousand five huudred
1atnoms- From here the cable course ,s KENT
IL pretty regular depth OF from one Thousand
eight hundred to two thousand fathoms. ana
throughout over q soft bed OF mud mixsa
WIN myriads Of the most minute shells
over such bottom the line Is taken I'm an arc
OF large circle, the most southerly point OF
the cable being in IL degrees north lautnds
and the most northerly as degrees. Along the
southern end Of the Newfoundland bank II 1.
sunk in about $50 to 300 fathoms, the water ON
the bank itself varying from 81 to 80 fathoms.
Thus IL is completely sheltered from ice, winch.
n the icebergs pass the bank at all, must cle,r
the cable, which lies under its lee, bv soms
hundred fathoms or more. From this point n
Is taken up due north In the channel bstveen
the Green Bank and the St. Pierre Bank in an
almost unvarying depth Of 500 fathoms. From
TINS poiEt out the course 10 over very reg ulsr
shoal water, 50 to speak-being at no part Ies,
than 10 fathoms, and generally over 1so-to
the American coast.
The place selected for the western terminus
OF the cable Is at Rouss's Hummock, 90 called.
near Duxbury, Mas. This is situated near
the Gurnet Light, at the entrance Of Plymouth
harbor. From here land cable II spliced to
II, which Is 70 be laid 70 the main once, in Dux
bury village. From here an Independent land
line Is being constructsd to Boston, and Il ts
supposed that one will soon be butt to New
1orH- Ints once viii b under the charge of
Mr.. L. @. Watson, Of New York. the seneral