Year: 1865

aetingrin1ueneo. This influence will
be afforded, if necessary, by the pad


dle-engines, which are to be discon
nected, and the Efforts Of ore wheel at
either side would be quite sufficient to
over. balance the effects of ary thing
but very violent storm. This latter
risk is now literally all that has to be
feared. Every thing else which hu.
man foresight can suggest, either in
cable or ships, every thing which long
experience or scientific progress can de-.
wise. has been provided, and the sue
cess or failure ofthis vast expedition
is now only a question Of weather. On
this only doubtful point, therefore, It is
gratifying to know that Captain An.
derson is sapguina ofall going well.-
In his experience Of many years and
hundreds Of Voyages backward and
forward in command Of the Cunard
lines over this ve:y track Of the Allan.
tic, he states that in the early part Of
July 1t never blows long or strong, and
tina. during thattime hehas never Ii card
Of any bad weather which could for q
moment affect a vessel like tho Great
Eastern.


If these antieipations should prove
correct -and there are mono better ca
pable Of forming them than. Captain
Anderson--and if all goes well, both
as to course and rate OF steaming, telc-
graphic communication with the United
States may be looked for, at The latest,
about the Goth or 2lst of next month.
Yet, in this estimate of events, it must
not be forgotten that, in the last mem
orable expedition in the Agamemnon,
midsummer was fixed on as the time
when storm in the Atlantic was al
most impossible. and the records of the
Meteorological Departments both here
and in America certainly justified such
an expectation, as they showed that for
fifty years no storm had taken place at
that time, Yet it was precicoly on the
2lst of June that the hurricane with
which the Agamennon and Niagara
had been battling for some days was at
its hight and those on board the ill.,.
slowed Agamemnon at least, know not
from hour to hour which was to be their
last. Most earnestly is it to he wished
that On this great occasion the caleu-
lation of averages, if not more just,
may prove at least more fortunate.-
As far as regards the cable itself there
is absolutely nothing to be desired.


The Malta and Alexandria wire was
an enormous Improvement on that by
means of which it was hoped to con-
meet England with the United States.
That laid along the Persian Cult is
again o great improvement on the
Malta and Alexandria; while this,
which is to cross the Atlantic, is n still
more marked improvement on them
all. So e&qrisitely delicate are the
tests, that's minute flaw, even in one
of the four coatings Of guttapercha, has
been detected, its place defined almost
to yard or 30, and the length in
which it occurred at once cut out. 1t
is q singular but Significant fact that
almost all the accidents and stoppages
which have occurred to submarine ca.
bles have arisen from those which
have been laid in shallow water. A
deepsea line once, weiI-laid, seldom
or mover gives future trouble, except,
of course, in those few rare cases where
the line has to be taken over ocean
depths know to be liable to volcanic
disturbances Thus, the deep sea por-
tions of the Malta and Alexandria line
from Malta to Tripoli have, it is stated,
never given an hours uncasiness,
while the shallow sections from Ben,
gazi, &c, to Alexandria, are constant
ly getting out of repair AS a set,off
to this, however, it is only fair to sPy
that shallow cables may be repaired
with as much facility as they seem 10
break down; while, on the other hand,
the first fault of deep sea line is, as q
rule, its last, ...t


At tho bottom of tho Atlantic, it is
needless to say that no volcanic dis.
turhances are apprchcndcd. Ahng the
route on which the cable is TO DO laid
the depths vary from 1900 to about
$500 fathoms. The dangerous part
of this course has hitherto been sup
posed to be the sudden dip or bank
that occurs about q hundred miles off
the west tuast of Ireland, and where
the water was supposed to deepen in
the course of a few miles from about
800 fathoms to nearly 1000 Such a
rapid descent has naturally been re.
gardcd with alarm by telegraph engi.
teers, and this alarm has led to a most
careful sounding survey of the whole
supposed bank by Captain Dayman,
acting under tho Instructions of tho
Admiralty, The result of this shows
that the supposed precipitous bank, or
submarine cliff, is gradual slope of
nearly sixty miles Over this long
slope the difference between its great.
est hight and greatest depth is only
$500 feet, so that the average incline
is, in round numbers, about las feet
per milo. A good gradient OH a rail


way is now generally considered to be
one in 100 feot, Or about fifty-three in
o mile, so that the incline On this sup.
posed bank is only about three times
that ofan ordinary railway. In fact
as far as soundings can demonstrate
dhything, there are few slopes in the
bed of tho Atlantic ds steep as that O.
HOlborn Hill. In no part is the bot
tom rocky, and with tho exception o
few miles, which are shingly, only
oose, mud or sand is to be found.


, AS regards the commercial prospect
of the undertaking, it may be statec