Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

It was decided by the Company that the Niagara should land the shore end in Valentia, and pay it out till her cargo was exhausted mid-way, where the Agamemnon was to take up the tale and carry it on to Newfoundland. The time best adapted for depositing the Cable in the ocean was determined after much thought and deliberation. The result of Lieutenant Maury’s observations was, that in the months of June and July the risk of storms is very small, unless immediately on the coast of Ireland, while the records of the Meteorological Departments, both in England and America, showed that for fifty years no great storm had taken place at that period. It was finally arranged to adopt Lieutenant Maury’s views, “that between the 20th July and the 10th of August both sea and air were in the most favourable condition for laying down the Cable,” and that the vessels should be dispatched so as to reach the rendezvous in mid-ocean, where the Cable was to be spliced, as soon after the 20th of July as possible. It had been ascertained that the distance over which the Cable was to be laid was 1,834 miles, but 600 additional miles of Cable were provided, being an allowance of 33 per cent. of “slack.”

Arrangements had been made that when the vessels joined company off Cork the entire length of the Cable should be temporarily joined up for the purpose of being tested through its entire length, as also to allow of some experiments being made to prove the efficiency of the signalling apparatus. The Cable was arranged so as to come up from the hold of the ship sweeping round a central block or core planted in the midst, to prevent any interference of the unrolling strands with one another, or too sudden turns, which might twist the Cable into kinks; having reached the open space above the deck, it was to be wound out and in, round four grooved sheaves, geared together by cogs, and planted so firmly on girders as to render it impossible that they should be thrown out of the square. From sheaves accurately grooved the Cable proceeded three or four feet above the poop-deck, until it passed over a fifth grooved sheave standing out upon rigid arms over the stern. From this it would make its plunge into the deep still sea, and as the vessel moved away to be dragged out by its own weight, and by the hold which it would have acquired upon the bottom of the sea. The paying-out sheaves were large grooved drums, five feet in diameter, and set in a vertical plane, one directly before the other, and having a friction drum geared to them in such a way that its shaft revolved three times as fast as theirs, the axis of the drum being encircled by two blocks of hard wood, which could be gripped close upon its circumference by screw power, so as either to retard or arrest altogether the movement of the sheaves. The screw was worked by a crank, at which a trustworthy officer was stationed, to keep a wary eye upon an indicator near to express the exact amount of strain thrown upon the Cable at each instant. In the electrician’s department there were to be signals every second by electrical currents passing through the entire length of the Cable, from shore-end, or from ship to ship. At the side of the vessels patent logs hung down into the water, to measure the velocity of the ship. One of these wheels, in the immersed log, was arranged to make and break an electric circuit at every revolution, a gutta percha covered wire running up from the revolving wheel on to the deck of the ship, that it might carry the current whenever the circuit was made, and record there, upon a piece of apparatus provided for the purpose, the speed of the vessel. The brakesman was to watch the tell-tale which would indicate the strain on the rope, and work his crank and loosen his grip whenever this seemed to be too great; or tighten his grip if ever the bell ceased to report that the electrical way from end to end of the Cable was free and unimpaired. An external guard had been placed over the screws of the vessels to defend the Cable from fouling in case any necessity should arise for backing the vessels. The Agamemnon had been jury-rigged for the service, her heavy masts and rigging removed, and lighter ropes and spars substituted. In the event of sudden and unforeseen storm, arrangements had been made to slip the Cable. On the decks of the paying-out vessels two large reels were placed, each wound round with two and a-half miles of a very strong auxiliary Cable composed of iron-wire only, and capable of resisting a strain of ten to twelve tons. Should the Telegraph Cable be endangered it would be divided, and the sea end attached to one of the strong supernumerary cords stored upon the reel; this being rapidly let out, would place the Cable in a depth of ocean where its safety would be secured until all danger had passed. In fine, every possible contrivance that ingenuity could devise or scientific knowledge could suggest, according to the experience then attained, had been adopted in order to secure success. Those who had toiled so long with wearied brain and anxious heart, undismayed by difficulties--not disheartened by failure, hoping when hope seemed presumptuous, but not despairing even when despair seemed wisdom, now felt that their part had been accomplished, that the means of securing the result had now passed beyond man’s control, and rested solely with a Higher Power.

On the 29th of July, 1857, the U.S.N. frigate Niagara arrived at Queenstown, having been preceded by H.M.S. Leopard and H.M.S. Cyclops, which latter steamer had taken the soundings of the intended bed of the Cable. The Niagara was accompanied by the U.S.N.S. Susquehanna, to act as her convoy. H.M.S. Agamemnon had already arrived.

The Earl of Carlisle, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, ever anxious to give such encouragement as his presence could afford to any undertaking which promised to do good, came down from Dublin to Valentia, and attended a _déjeuner_ given by the Knight of Kerry to celebrate an event in which the keenest interest was evinced, although the heart of the country was thrilled by the dreadful intelligence of Indian mutinies and revolt. The country people flocked to the little island, and expressed their joy by merrymakings, dances, and bonfires. In an eloquent speech Lord Carlisle declared that though disappointment might be in store for the promoters, it would be almost criminal to feel discouragement then--“that the pathway to great achievements has frequently to be hewn out amidst perils and difficulties, and that preliminary failure is ever the law and condition of ultimate success.” These were prophetic words; in others, still to be fulfilled, “Let us hope,” he said. “We are about, either by this sun-down or by to-morrow’s dawn, to establish a new material link between the Old World and the New. Moral links there have been--links of race, links of commerce, links of friendship, links of literature, links of glory; but this, our new link, instead of superseding and supplanting the old ones, is to give them a life and intensity they never had before. The link which is now to connect us, like the insect in a couplet of our poet,

‘While exquisitely fine,
Feels at each thread and moves along the line.’”

If anything could overcome the tendency of men to vaticinate, it surely would be the sad history of the last few years in the United States. The condition of affairs in that lamentable period is illustrated by another passage of his lordship’s speech, which also points out the inestimable value of the telegraph as a conservator of peace. “We may as we take our stand here on the extremest rocky side of our beloved Ireland, leave, as it were, behind us the wars, the strifes, and the bloodshed of the older Europe, and pledge ourselves, weak as our agency may be, imperfect as our powers may be, inadequate in strict diplomatic form as our credentials may be; yet, in the face of the unparalleled circumstances of the place and the hour, in the immediate neighbourhood of the mighty vessels whose appearance may be beautiful upon the waters, even as are the feet upon mountains of those who preach the Gospel of peace--as a homage due to that serene science which often affords higher and holier lessons of harmony and goodwill than the wayward passions of man are always apt to learn--in the face and in the strength of such circumstances, let us pledge ourselves to eternal peace between the Old World and the New. Why, gentlemen, what excuse would there be for misunderstanding? What justification could there be for war, when the disarming message, when the full explanation, when the genial and healing counsel may be wafted even across the mighty Atlantic, quicker than the sunbeam’s path and the lightning’s flash?” At that moment Great Britain was just disengaged from a war with Russia and a war with Persia, and was actively engaged in a war with China, and with mutinies in India. France was preparing to deal Austria a deadly blow; America looked pityingly across the Atlantic, and wondered at our folly and our crimes.

On August the 5th, 1857, the shore end of the Cable was secured in the little cove selected for the purpose in Valentia, on the cliffs above which a telegraphic station had been erected, and was hauled up amidst the greatest enthusiasm, Lord Carlisle participating in the joy and the labour.

On the evening of Friday, August 7th, the squadron sailed, and the Niagara commenced paying out the Cable very slowly. About four miles of the shore Cable had been payed out, when it became entangled with the machinery, by the carelessness of one of the men in charge, and broke; all hands were engaged in trying to underrun and join the Cable, but it was too rough, and the Niagara came to anchor for the night. Next day a splice was mode, the ship resumed her course, and at noon on Sunday, August 9th, 95 miles had been payed out. The paying-out gear proved to be defective in the course of the 10th. On the evening of Tuesday, the 11th, all signals suddenly ceased. The Cable had broken in 2000 fathoms of water, when about 330 nautical miles were laid, at a distance of 280 miles from Valentia. At the time the ship was going from three to four knots, and was able to pay out 5 to 5¾ miles per hour, the pressure shown by the indicator being 3000lb., but the strain being no doubt much greater.

This loss proved fatal to the first attempt to lay the Atlantic Cable, as on consultation among the officers and engineers it appeared to be unwise to renew the attempt with only 1,847 miles on board the ships, or an excess of 12 per cent. on the quantity required by the whole distance.

Nothing daunted by the failure, Mr. Field started off at once in H.M.S. Cyclops for England, and, on his arrival, urged the immediate renewal of the enterprise; but it was resolved by the directors in London to postpone it to the following year. An addition to the capital of the Company was proposed and agreed to. The greater part of the autumn was devoted to preparations for the renewed efforts of the Company. The part of the Cable which was left was landed at Keyham, 53 miles of the shore-end were recovered, and the Company again applied to the British and American Governments for the services of the same vessels which had been previously lent to them. Messrs. Glass, Elliot, & Co., were entrusted by the directors of The Atlantic Telegraph Company to manufacture a further length of 900 miles, to replace that which was lost or damaged, thus making a total of 3,012 miles of Cable, so as to guard against accidents by giving an allowance of 40 per cent. of slack. The paying-out apparatus was also improved, so that the engineer in charge alone should control the egress of the Cable, instead of using the hand-wheel, which, upon the former occasion, had caused much danger in rough weather.

The manufacturers of the machinery were Messrs. Easton & Amos, of Southwark, under the superintendence of Mr. Penn, Mr. Field, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Everett, and Mr. Bright.

The important part of the apparatus consisted of Appold’s self-regulating brake, so adjusted and constructed as always to exert a certain amount of resistance, regulated by the revolution of the wheels to which it was applied. More than this fixed amount of resistance, whatever it might be, it could not produce, no matter whether the machine was hot or dry, or covered with sand; neither could it be worked at less than this amount. It was made of bars of wood laid lengthwise across the edge of the wheel, over which it lapped down firmly, and to which it was held with massive weights fixed to the ends of levers, which regulated the degree of resistance to the revolutions of the wheel, and which, of course, enabled those in charge of the machine to fix the pressure of the brake. In the new apparatus the brake was attached over two drums connected with the two main grooved wheels, round which the actual Cable passed in running out. The latter were simply broad, solid, iron wheels, each cut with four very deep grooves in which the Cable rested, to prevent it flying up or “overriding.” It passed over these two main wheels, not in a double figure of eight, as in the old ponderous machine of four wheels, but simply wound over one, to and round the other, and so on four times, till it was finally payed down into the water. Thus, the wire was wound up from the hold of the vessel, passed four times over the double main wheels, connected with the brake or friction drums, past the register which indicated the rate of paying out and the strain upon the Cable, and then ran at once into the deep. The strain at which the Cable would break was 62 cwt., and to guard against any chance of mishap, not more than half this strain was put upon it. The brakes, as a rule, were fixed to give a strain of about 16 cwt., and the force required to keep the machine going, or about 8 cwt. more, was the utmost that was allowed to come upon the wire.

The brake of the paying-out machine used on the occasion of the first attempt was capable, by a movement of the hand, of exerting prodigious resistance. In the new machine any one could in a moment ease it, until there was no resistance at all beyond the 8 cwt. strain on the wire.

At a few feet from the paying-out machine, the Cable passed over a wheel, which registered precisely the strain in pounds at which the coil was running out. Facing this register was a steering wheel, similar to that of an ordinary vessel, and connected in the same way with compound levers, which acted upon the brake. The officer in charge of the apparatus stood by this wheel, and watched the register of strain or pitch of the vessel, opening the brakes by the slightest movement of his hand, and letting the Cable run freely as the stern rose. The same officer, however, could not by any possible method increase the actual strain on the Cable, which remained always according to the friction at which the brake was at first adjusted by the engineer.

All was ready for the expedition before the time indicated, and the directors and the public looked with confidence to the result. Instead of landing a shore-end at Valentia, and making a junction of the Cable, it was decided that the ships should proceed together to a point midway between Trinity Bay and Valentia, there splice the Cable, and then turn their bows east and west, and proceed to their destinations.

On Thursday, the 10th of June, 1858, H.M.S. Agamemnon and U.S.N.S. Niagara, accompanied by H.M.S. Valorous and H.M.S. Gorgon, left Plymouth, the two former having previously made an experimental cruise in the Channel with the Cables, which were very satisfactory, in all respects.

Experienced mariners gazed with apprehension at their depth in water as they left the shore. It was, however, such glorious weather as to cause some anxiety lest there should be no wind, and that the stock of coals might be exhausted before their mission was accomplished. Before midnight, however, a gradually increasing gale gathered to a storm, while the barometer marked 29°. For seven consecutive days the tempest, so eloquently described by Mr. Woods in the _Times_, continued, the Agamemnon under close-reefed topsails striving to reach the rendezvous, Lat. 52° 2´, Long. 33° 18´, rolling 45 degrees, and labouring fearfully.

On the 19th and 20th the gale reached its height. The position of the ship, carrying 2,840 tons of dead-weight, badly stowed, had become most critical, from her violent lurching as she sunk into the troughs of the sea, and struggled violently to right herself--the coal bunkers gave way, and caused alarm and confusion. Were the masts to yield, the ship would rock still more violently, the Cable would shift, and carry every one with it to destruction. Captain Preedy had but two courses open in order to save the ship without sacrificing the Cable--either was fraught with peril--to wear the ship, or to run before the gale and risk the chances of being pooped by the monster seas in pursuit.

On the 21st the Agamemnon was enabled to bear up for the rendezvous in mid-ocean, which she reached on the 25th, after sixteen days of danger and apprehension, her companion, the Niagara, having passed through the dreadful ordeal with less danger and difficulty.

At half-past two o’clock on the 26th, the Agamemnon and Niagara first spliced the Cable; it however became foul of the scraper on the latter ship, and broke. A second splice was immediately made, and the vessels started. The Agamemnon had paid out 37½ miles, when suddenly the continuity of the electric current ceased, and the electricians declared that the Cable had broken at the bottom. As the Niagara was hauling in the Cable, of which she had payed out 43 miles, it snapped close to the ship.

On the 28th, the third and final splice was effected. The Niagara started N.W. ¾ N. At 4 p.m. on the 29th, when 111 miles had been paid out, the electricians on board reported that continuity had ceased. The cause was soon known. The Agamemnon had run 118 miles, and paid out 146 miles of Cable, when the upper deck coil became exhausted. Speed was slackened, in order to shift the Cable to the lower deck, when suddenly it snapped, without any perceptible cause, under a strain of only 2200 pounds. The weather was calm; the speed moderate--about five knots; the strain one-third less than breaking strain; everything favourable; and yet the Cable parted, silently and suddenly. The Niagara had to cut the Cable, as she had no means of recovering the portion payed out, and lost 144 miles of it.

On the 12th July, the Agamemnon, after an eventful cruise of thirty-three days, reached Queenstown, having left the rendezvous on the 6th, whither she had gone in the hope of meeting the Niagara. A special meeting of the Company was called, and the expedition was ordered to go to sea. There was still quite sufficient Cable remaining, and it was determined to make another attempt immediately. The way in which the Cable parted on the third occasion was the only thing calculated to create doubt and apprehension. The two other breakages might be accounted for, and guarded against for the future, but there was something in the latter not so easy of explanation, and which seemed to point to some mysterious agency existing in the depths of the ocean, beyond the perception of science or man’s control.

At midnight on the 28th of July, 1858, the Agamemnon and Niagara once more met in mid-ocean, and on the following morning spliced the Cable, which was this time destined to tend so much towards solving the great problem. On the 30th, 265 miles had been paid out. On the 31st, 540 miles. On the 1st August, 884 miles. On the 2nd, 1256 miles. On the 4th, 1854 miles; and on the 5th, 2022 miles. The Agamemnon now anchored in Dowlas Bay, Valentia, and preparations were made to join the ocean and shore ends. On the same day, at 1·45 a.m., the Niagara anchored in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, and in an hour after she received a signal across the Atlantic that the Cable had been landed from the Agamemnon.

Mr. Field at once telegraphed the news to the New York press, and the intelligence flew all over the Union, where it was received with the most extraordinary manifestations of delight. The information was received more equably in England.

On the 7th of August, many an anxious heart was lightened by reading in the _Times_ the following telegram:--

“VALENTIA, _August 6th._

“End of Cable safely landed, close by pier, at Knightstown, being
carried on the paddle-boxes of the Valorous--expect to be open to
public in three weeks.”

Mr. Field’s dispatch to the Associated Press of New York was followed by two to the President, to which Mr. Buchanan sent a suitable reply. A message was sent to the Mayor of New York also, to which an answer was returned next day.

On August the 9th the telegraphic wires reported that “Newfoundland still answered, but only voltaic currents.”

On the 10th it was stated “Coil currents had been received--40 per minute easily”--followed by the modest words, “Please send slower for the present.”

On the 14th a message of 14 words was transmitted, and on the 18th the Directors in England thus spoke to their brethren in the other hemisphere: “Europe and America are united by telegraphic communication. ‘Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill towards men.’” This message occupied 35 minutes in transmission. It was rapidly followed by a message from the Queen of England to the President of America, which occupied 67 minutes in transmission, and was repeated. The text was as follows:--

“TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON:

“The Queen desires to congratulate the President upon the
successful completion of this great international work, in which
the Queen has taken the deepest interest.

“The Queen is convinced that the President will join with her in
fervently hoping that the Electric Cable which now connects Great
Britain with the United States will prove an additional link
between the nations whose friendship is founded upon their common
interest and reciprocal esteem.

“The Queen has much pleasure in communicating with the President,
and renewing to him her wishes for the prosperity of the United
States.”

London, Day & Sons, Limited, Lith.

TRINITY BAY, NEWFOUNDLAND. EXTERIOR VIEW OF TELEGRAPH HOUSE IN 1857-1858.]

London, Day & Sons, Limited, Lith.

TELEGRAPH HOUSE TRINITY BAY, NEWFOUNDLAND. INTERIOR OF “MESS ROOM” 1858]

THE REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.

_“Washington City, August 16, 1856._

“TO HER MAJESTY VICTORIA, QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN:

“The President cordially reciprocates the congratulations of Her
Majesty the Queen on the success of the great international
enterprise accomplished by the science, skill, and indomitable
energy of the two countries. It is a triumph more glorious, because
far more useful to mankind, than was ever won by conqueror on the
field of battle.

“May the Atlantic Telegraph, under the blessing of Heaven, prove to
be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship between the kindred
nations, and an instrument destined by Divine Providence to diffuse
religion, civilisation, liberty, and law throughout the world. In
this view will not all nations of Christendom spontaneously unite
in the declaration that it shall be for ever neutral, and that its
communications shall be held sacred in passing to their places of
destination, even in the midst of hostilities?

(Signed) “JAMES BUCHANAN.”

On the same day a message was received from Mr. C. Field, consisting of 38 words, which occupied 22 minutes in transmission.

The mighty agency which had been made subservient to the dictates of man, had touched the hearts of two nations by expressing mutual esteem and respect, but had not yet exercised its higher prerogatives. On the 21st of August it flashed tidings of great joy, and brought relief to those who, but for it, would have languished in very weariness and pining. The Europa and Arabia, each thickly freighted with human lives, had come into collision in mid-ocean. So much was known, but there was nothing to appease the anxiety of those whose friends and relatives were on board. Fourteen days must elapse before the arrival of the next steamer. Within fourteen hours, however, the Atlantic telegraph wires allayed intense dread and anxious fears: “Newfoundland.--Europa and Arabia have been in collision--one has put into St. John’s--no lives are lost--all well.”

On the 25th of August it was announced that “the Cable works splendidly,” and shortly after the New York journals recorded how the entire continent had gone mad for very joy, how feasting was the order of the day, and how American intellect had achieved the greatest scientific triumph of the age.

On the 7th of September, 1858, the following letter appeared in the _Times_, addressed to the editor:--

“_September 6th_, 1858.

“SIR,--I am instructed by the Directors to inform you that, owing
to some cause not at present ascertained, but believed to arise
from a fault existing in the Cable at a point hitherto
undiscovered, there have been no intelligible signals from
Newfoundland since one o’clock on Friday the 3rd inst. The
Directors are now in Valentia, and, aided by various scientific and
practical electricians, are investigating the cause of the
stoppage, with a view to remedying the existing difficulty. Under
these circumstances no time can be named at present for opening the
wire to the public.

“GEO. SAWARD.”

Such was the foreshadowing of the great calamity that was so soon to follow. Public excitement became intense. The market value of the Atlantic Telegraph Stock assumed a downward tendency, and fell rapidly. But the projectors had not been idle. A rigid inquiry had been immediately instituted by Professor Thomson, Mr. Varley, and Sir Charles Bright, which enabled them to arrive at a conclusion that the fault must lie on the Irish coast. Consequently the Cable was underrun for three miles, cut and tested; but no defect being found, it was again spliced. During all this period its electrical condition had become so much deteriorated that such messages as passed required to be constantly repeated.

So matters went, hope and fear alternating, until the insulation of the wire became suddenly worse, and at last the signals ceased to be intelligible at Newfoundland altogether. Scientific inquiry tended to show that the fault lay about 270 miles from Valentia, at the mountain range which divides the depths of the Atlantic from the shallow water on the Irish shore. This steep range, or sloping bank, which, on being sounded, showed a difference of 7,200 feet in elevation in a distance of eight miles, had been crossed by the Agamemnon an hour before the expected time, and it was said a sufficient quantity of slack had not been thrown out, so that the Cable was suffered to hang suspended in the water. But this was of course mere conjecture, and the failure most probably was precipitated by injudicious attempts to overcome defective insulation by increased battery power.

The conclusions finally arrived at by the Scientific Committee appointed to report as to the causes of the failure of the Cable were, first, that it had been manufactured too hastily; secondly, that a great and unequal strain was brought on it by the machinery; and thirdly, that the repeated coilings and uncoilings it underwent served to injure it. To such causes was the failure to be attributed, not to any original defect in the gutta percha.

Mr. Varley stated his opinion that there must have been a fault in the Cable while on board the Agamemnon, and before it was submerged; but none of the theories accounted for the destruction of a Cable on which half a million of money had been expended, and which (if successful) two governments had contracted to subsidise to the gross amount of 28,000_l_. yearly. Thus were annihilated, silently and mysteriously, all those hopes which had survived so many disappointments, and which for a moment had been so abundantly realised.

But in England, as no ebullitions of joy had been indulged in when success seemed certain, neither was there now any yielding to despair.

In the month of April, 1860, the Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company sent out Captain Kell and Mr. Varley to Newfoundland to endeavour to recover some portion of the Cable; their efforts showed that the survey which had been taken must have been very insufficient, and the ground was much worse than was expected. They recovered five miles of the Cable, and ascertained two facts, namely, that the gutta percha was in no degree deteriorated, and that the electrical condition of the core had been improved by three years’ submersion. In 1862 several attempts were also made to recover some of the Cable from the Irish side, but with no practical advantage; and in consequence of violent storms the attempt was abandoned.

The great Civil War in America stimulated capitalists to renew the attempt; the public mind became alive to the importance of the project, and to the increased facilities which promised a successful issue. Mr. Field, who compassed land and sea incessantly, pressed his friends on both sides of the Atlantic for aid, and agitated the question in London and New York.

On the 20th of December, 1862, the Atlantic Company issued its prospectus, setting forth the valuable privileges it had acquired--amongst others, the exclusive right to land telegraph wires on the Atlantic coast of Labrador, Newfoundland, Prince Edward’s Island, and the State of Maine--and invited public subscriptions. The firm of Glass, Elliot, & Co., sent in tenders to provide a Cable at a cost of £700,000; a sum of £137,000, being 20 per cent. upon the capital of the Company, to be paid to them in old unguaranteed shares of the Company, provided they were successful.

On the 4th of March, 1863, a large number of the leading merchants in New York assembled in the Chamber of Commerce in that city, for the purpose of hearing some new and interesting facts relative to the Atlantic Telegraph enterprise. The many advantages which would arise to America were apparent, and, among others, was the improvement of the agricultural position of the country by extending to it the facilities, already enjoyed by England and France, of commanding the foreign grain markets; as well as the avoidance of misunderstandings between America and other countries.[2]

Since 1858, what was a mere experiment had become a practical reality. The Gutta Percha Company had prepared no less than forty-four submarine Cables, enclosing 9000 miles of conducting wire, which were in daily use, and not one of which had required to be repaired, except at the shore end, where they were exposed to ships’ anchors. At the meeting in New York, Mr. Field read a letter from Glass, Elliot, & Co., in which they offered to undertake to lay the Cable between Ireland and Newfoundland on the most liberal conditions. The terms which they proposed were,--First, that all actual disbursements for work and material should be recouped each week: secondly, that when the Cable was in full working order, 20 per cent. on the actual profits of the Company should be paid in shares to be delivered monthly, while at the same time they offered to subscribe £25,000 towards the ordinary capital of the Company. The English Government also agreed to guarantee interest on the capital at 8 per cent., during the operation and working of the Cable, and to grant a yearly subsidy of £14,000. Mr. Field further directed the attention of the meeting to the line to San Francisco (a single State), as evidence of what business might be expected. The estimated power of the Cable was a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 18 words per minute. If it were to be worked for sixteen hours per day for 300 days in each year, at a charge of 2_s._ 6_d._ per word, the income would amount to £413,000 a year, which would be a return of 40 per cent. upon a single Cable. After the failure of the last Cable a Commission of Inquiry, consisting of nine members, had sat for two years, and, by their report, afforded valuable information. The British Government had also dispatched surveying expeditions, which reported most favourably as to Newfoundland. In reference to the objection, that in case of war the Cable would be under the sole control of the English Government, it was to be remembered that it would be laid under treaty stipulations.

After a lengthened discussion on various matters connected with the project, it was proposed by Mr. A. Low, and unanimously resolved, “That, in the opinion of this meeting, a Cable can, in the present state of telegraphic science, be laid between Newfoundland and Ireland with almost absolute certainty of success, and will when laid prove the greatest benefit to the people of the two hemispheres, and also profitable to the shareholders. It is, therefore, recommended to the public to aid the undertaking.”

London, Day & Sons, Limited, Lith.

H.M.S. “AGAMEMNON” LAYING THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH CABLE IN 1858. A WHALE CROSSES THE LINE.]

London, Day & Sons, Limited, Lith.

COILING THE CABLE IN THE LARGE TANKS AT THE WORKS AT GREENWICH.]

Messrs. Glass, Elliot, & Co. had long successfully manufactured Cables in accordance with all the improvements that had taken place in machinery, as well as in the manufacture of gutta percha, since the laying of the Cable of 1858. Their experience as contractors in laying lines might be estimated by the report of the Jurors of the Exhibition of 1862. They had been identified with the history of submarine telegraphy from its earliest existence, and now, having previously incorporated the Gutta Percha Company, they accepted the offer made by capitalists of influence and became absorbed in “The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company,” of which Mr. Pender, M.P., was chairman, and Mr. Glass managing director.

The British Government were willing to assist by subsidy and guarantee, and there lay the Great Eastern, the only vessel in the world suited for the undertaking, seeking for a purchaser. The huge ship, which cost £640,000, was chartered by the Directors of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, who seemed bent upon solving the problem of its existence, and on showing what great things it was destined to accomplish. Captain James Anderson, an accomplished officer of the Cunard line, was asked to take the command, and received leave to do so, and it was with satisfaction the Directors learned his willingness to undertake the task.

In May, 1864, a contract previously entered into was ratified, providing that all profit should be contingent on success, and that all payments were to be made in unissued shares of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. A resolution was also passed, authorising the raising of additional capital by the issue of 8 per cent. guaranteed shares, of which Glass, Elliot, & Co., were to receive 250,000_l._, and also 100,000_l._ in debentures. The form of the Cable selected was similar in its component parts to that of 1858, but widely different in the construction and quality of the materials. It had been reported on most favourably by the Committee of Selection, and was at once accepted by the contractors; the Directors of the Company recognising the assiduity and skill of Mr. Glass in the investigations as to the best description of Cable.

The following official account[3] states so minutely every particular connected with the Cable during the process of formation, down to its shipment on board the Great Eastern, that no better description can be given:--

It differed from the Cable of 1857-8, as to its size, as to the weight and method of application of the materials of which it was composed, as to its specific gravity, and as to the mode adopted for its external protection.

For the same reason as before, the copper conductor employed in the Cable was not a solid rod, but a strand, composed of seven wires, each of which gauged ·048 parts of an inch. It was found practically that this form of conductor, in which six of the wires were laid in a spiral direction around the seventh, was a most effectual protection against the sudden or complete severance of the copper wire.

The severance, or “breach of continuity,” as it is usually called, is one of the most serious accidents that can happen to a submerged Cable, when unaccompanied by loss of insulation--owing to the great difficulty in discovering the locality of such a fault. Even the best description of copper wire can seldom be relied upon for equality of strength throughout, and in some instances an inch or even a less portion of the wire will prove to be slightly crystallised, and consequently incapable of resisting the effects of coiling or paying out if brought to bear upon the part, though no external difference be at all apparent between the weak portion and the remainder of the sample. By proceeding, however, as in the present case, the conductor was divided into seven sections, and the risk of seven weak places occurring in the same spot being exceedingly remote, the probability of a breach of continuity in a strand conductor was almost _nil_.

The weight of the new conductor was nearly three times that of the former one--being 300 pounds to the nautical mile against 107 pounds per knot to the conductor of 1857. The adoption of this increased weight had reference to the increase of commercial speed in the working of the new Cable expected to accrue therefrom, and was founded upon the principles of conduction and induction, now well understood, which consist in the law that the conductivity of the conductor is as its sectional area, while its inductive capacity (whereby speed of transmission is retarded) is as its circumference only; and, as the maximum speed at which the original Cable was ever worked did not exceed two and a-half words per minute, it would follow by calculation, taking into account the thickness of the dielectric surrounding the present conductor, that, using the same instruments as in 1858, a speed of three and a-half to four words per minute might be expected from the new Cable; but it was stated by the electricians that owing to the improved modes of working long Cables that have been discovered since 1858, an increase of speed up to six or even more words per minute might be secured by the adoption of suitable apparatus.

The purity of the copper employed, a very important item, affecting the rate of transmission, had been carefully provided for. Every portion of the conductor was submitted to a searching test, and all copper of a lower conductivity than 85 per cent. of that of pure copper was carefully rejected.

The covering of the conductor with its dielectric or insulating sheath was effected as follows:--The centre wire of the copper strand was first covered with a coating of gutta percha, reduced to a viscid state with Stockholm tar, this being the preparation known as “Chatterton’s Compound.” This coating must be so thick that, when the other six wires forming the strand were laid spirally and tightly round it, every interstice was completely filled up and all air excluded. The object of this process was two-fold; first, to prevent any space for air between the conductor and insulator, and thus exclude the increase of inductive action attendant upon the absence of a perfect union of those two agents, and, second, to secure mechanical solidity to the entire core; the conductors of some earlier Cables having been found to be to some extent loose within the gutta percha tube surrounding them, and thereby much more liable to permanent extension, mechanical injury, and imperfect centricity than those in which the preliminary precaution just described had been made use of. The whole conductor next received a coating of Chatterton’s Compound outside of it; this, when the core was completed, quickly solidified, and became almost as hard as the remainder of the subsequent insulation. It was then surrounded with a first coating of the purest gutta percha, which being pressed around it while in a plastic state by means of a very accurate die, formed a first continuous tube along the whole conductor. Over this tube was laid by the same process a thin covering of Chatterton’s Compound, for the purpose of effectually closing up any possible pores or minute flaws that might have escaped detection in the first gutta percha tube. To this covering of Chatterton’s Compound succeeded a second tube of pure gutta percha, then another coating of the compound, and so on alternately until the conductor had received in all four coatings of compound and four of gutta percha. The total weight of insulating material thus applied was 400 pounds to the nautical mile, against 261 pounds in the Cable of 1857-8.

The core, completed as described, and which had previously and repeatedly been under electrical examination, was at length submerged in water of a temperature of 75 deg. Fah., and so remained during twenty-four hours. This was done that the subsequent electrical tests for conductivity and insulation might be made under circumstances the most unfavourable to the manufacture, from the well-known fact, that the insulating power of gutta percha is sensibly decreased by heat. It also ensures uniformity of condition to the core under test, and, the temperature in which it was tested being higher by 20 deg. than that of the water of the North Atlantic, there was plenty of margin against any disappointment from the effects of temperature after submersion. At the expiration of the term of soaking, the coils of core submitted to that process were expected to show an insulation of not less than 5,700,000 of Varley’s standard units, or of 150,000,000 of those of Siemens’s standard. This of itself was a very severe test, but no portion of the core showed a less perfection than that of double of either of the above high standards.

Having passed this ordeal, and having been tested on separate instruments and by a different electrical process by the officers of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, in order to verify the observations of the contractors, the core was tested for insulation under hydraulic pressure, after which it was carefully unwound from the reels on which it had been wound for that purpose, and every portion was carefully examined by hand as it was rewound on to the large drums on which it was sent forward to the covering works at East Greenwich, to receive its external protecting sheath. It was then again submerged in water, and required once more to pass the full electrical tests above referred to. Finally, each reel of core was very carefully secured and protected from injury, and in this state was sent to East Greenwich, where it was immediately placed in tanks provided for it. In these it was covered with water, and the lids of the tanks being fastened down and locked, it remained until demanded for completion.

The manufacture and testing of the “core” of the Atlantic Cable having been completed at the Gutta Percha works as described, a telegraphic line was thereby produced which, without further addition of material or substance, beyond that of copper and gutta percha, proportionable to any required increase in its length, would be perfect as an electrical communicator through the longest distances and in the deepest water, in which element moreover it appears to be chemically indestructible, if the experience of some fourteen years may be taken as evidence. At this point, however, the final form to be assumed by the deep-sea Cable was subject to important mechanical considerations, which came into play across the path of those purely electrical; and upon the manner in which these considerations are met and dealt with, depend, not merely the primarily successful submersion, but the ultimate durability and commercial value of deep-sea Cables.

The problem in the case of the Atlantic Telegraph enterprise may be thus stated. Given a submarine telegraph core like that already described, constructed on the best known principles and perfect as to its electrical conductivity and insulation--it is required to lower the same through the sea to a maximum depth of two and a-half miles, so as not merely not to allow the insulating medium to be torn or strained, but so as not even to bring its normal elasticity into play against the more tensile but perfectly inelastic material of the conductor. For if the core were lowered into very deep water like that referred to without further protection, even supposing it to escape actual fracture by the adoption of extraordinary precaution and by the aid of fine weather, it is evident that whenever, as would be highly probable, either in the act of paying out, during the lifting or manœuvring of the ship, or even from the effects of its own weight, the gutta percha sheath became extended to the limit of its elasticity, the copper in the centre would be stretched to a corresponding extent, and, the tension being removed, the gutta percha in returning to its original length would pull back the now elongated copper, which thenceforward would in every such case “buckle up,” and exert a constant lateral thrust against the gutta percha; ending, probably, in its ultimate escape to the outside, and the consequent destruction of the core as an electrical agent. Moreover, in the event of an electrical fault being discovered in any submerged portion of the Cable during the process of “paying-out” in deep water, it is of paramount importance towards its recovery and repair, that the engineer should have such an assurance in the quality and strength of his materials as will enable him confidently to exert a known force in hauling back the injured part, without apprehension of damage to the vital portion of the Cable.

The solution of this question must therefore be found in adding mechanical strength externally to the core, by surrounding it with such materials and in such a manner as to relieve it from all that strain which it will unavoidably meet in depositing it in its required position. In the case of the original Atlantic Cable this was attempted by first surrounding the core with tarred hemp, which in its turn was enveloped spirally by eighteen strands of iron wire; each strand consisting of seven No. 22½ gauge wires. The entire weight of the Cable so formed was, in air 20 cwt. per knot, and in water 13·3 per knot. Being capable of bearing its own weight in about five miles perpendicular depth of water, and the greatest depth on the route being two-and a half miles, its strength was calculated at about as much again as was absolutely requisite for the work. This was thought at the time to be a sufficient margin, and certainly in 1858, owing to the greatly improved machinery employed, this Cable was payed-out with great facility and without undue strain, although portions of it had been lost by breaking during several previous attempts in the same summer. Subsequent investigation and experience, however, led to the conclusion, that in respect, not only to its mechanical properties, but especially with regard to its relative specific gravity, and to other points in its construction, the Cable of 1858 was very imperfect; and, with a view to ensure every practicable improvement in the structure of their new line, the promoters of the undertaking, so soon as they found themselves in funds, during 1863, issued advertisements with a view to stimulate inquiry into the subject, inviting tenders for Cables suitable for the proposed work. The specimens that were sent in, as the result of this public appeal, were submitted to the scientific advisers of the Company, who, after careful experiments with all the specimens, unanimously recommended the Atlantic Company to adopt the principle of the Cable proposed by Glass, Elliot, & Co., whose experience and success in this description of work are well known. The Committee, however, stipulated that they should settle the actual material of which the Cable was to be ultimately composed, and that these should be carefully and separately experimented on before finally deciding upon it; and in consequence of this stipulation upwards of one hundred and twenty different specimens, being chiefly variations of the principle adopted by the Committee, were manufactured and subjected to very severe experiment, as were also the various descriptions and quantities of iron, hemp, and Manilla proposed as components of these respective Cables. The result of it all was that the Committee recommended the Cable that was adopted as being, in their opinion, “the one most calculated to insure success in the present state of our experimental knowledge respecting deep-sea Cables,” taking care at the same time, by enforcing a stringent specification and constant supervision, to guard against any possible laxity in the details of its construction. The Cable so decided on weighed 35¾ cwt. per knot in air, but in water it did not exceed 14 cwt., being only a fraction heavier in that medium than the old Cable, though bearing more than twice the strain--the breaking strain of the new Cable being 7 tons 15 cwt. In water it was capable of bearing eleven miles of its own length perpendicularly suspended, and consequently had a margin of strength of more than four and a-half times that which was absolutely requisite for the deepest water. The core having been received from the gutta percha works, and carefully tested to note its electrical condition, was first taken to receive its padding of jute yarn, whereby the gutta percha would be protected against any pressure from the external iron sheath, which latter succeeded the jute. On former occasions this padding of jute had been saturated in a mixture of tar before being applied to the gutta percha; but experience had shown that this proceeding might lead to serious fallacies as to the electrical state of the core, cases having been repeatedly found where faults existed in the core itself--amounting to an almost total loss of insulation--which, however, were only discovered after being submerged and worked through, owing to the partial insulation conferred for a time upon the bad place by means of the tarred wrapping. The Atlantic core, therefore, was wrapped with jute which had been simply tanned in a solution of catechu, in order to preserve it from decay, and as fast as the wrapping proceeded the wrapped core was coiled into water, in which, not only at this stage, but ever afterwards until finally deposited in the sea, the Cable, complete or incomplete, was stored, and the water being able to freely pass through the tarred jute to the core, the least loss of insulation was at once apparent by the facility offered by the water to conduct away to earth the whole or a portion of the testing current.

The iron wire with which the jute cover was surrounded was specially prepared for this purpose, and is termed by the makers (Messrs. Webster & Horsfall) “Homogeneous Iron.” It was manufactured and rolled into rods at their works at Killamarsh, near Sheffield, and drawn at their wire factory at Hay mills, near Birmingham. This wire approaches to steel in regard to strength, but by some peculiarity in the mode of preparing it, is deprived entirely of that springiness which prohibits altogether the use of steel as a covering for the outsides of submarine cables. Ten wires were laid spirally round the core, and each of these wires was of No. 13 gauge, and was under contract to bear a strain of 850 to 1,100 lb., with an elongation of half an inch in every fifty inches within those breaking limits. The Cable, as completed and surrounded by these wires, had not the slightest tendency to spring, as would be the case if the metal were hard steel, and could be handled with great facility.