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Maps, piatea, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one erpoeure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand comer, left to right end top to bottom, aa many framea aa required. Tlie following diagrams illustrate the method: Les certes, pisnches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimAs A des taux da rAduction diff Arenis. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre raproduit en un soul clicliA, 11 est flimA A partir da Tangle supArieur geuche, do gauche A droitet, et do haut en bea, en prenant le nombre d'imegea nAcesseire. Les diagrammes suivents illustrent le mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^lillil mmm'mmmmimm'mmm A mmm PE08PECTS OV THE ATLAITIC TELEGRAPH. A. PAPER READ BEFORK THK AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL SOCIETY, AT CLINTON HALL. NEW YORK, MAY 1, 1862, BT CYRUS W. FIELD •"^^^^^^mmmm' PROSPECTS OF THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. -¥*-*-*- When 1 was asked by Mr. Archibald Russell, a day or two since, to make some remarks before the GEOGRAi^HiCAL Society to-night on. the Atlantic Telegraph, I understood that all you wished was a brief state- ment in regard to the present position and prospects of that enterprise. I am happy to give any information, but the members of course will not expect a formal address. I can only state, in the briefe^st manner, a few facts which will show the progress made in Submarine Telegraphy, and why we are confident that another attempt to lay a cable across the Atlantic, with all the advantages of our past experience, could hardly fail of success. As to the importance cf such a communication between the Old World and the New, it is necessary to say but few words. Its value can hardly be estimated to the commerce, and even to the peace, of the world. What would it have been worth to England and the United States if it had been in operation on the 30th of November last, on which day Earl Russell was writing to Lord Lyons, and Mr. Seward at the same time to Mr. Adams, our Minister in London, on the affair of the Trent, which at that moment threatened to embroil the two nations in war ! A few short messages, explaining the actual state of affairs, would have allayed at once all fear of war ; would have saved all the bad blood which has been stirred up between two nations that are one in race, in language, and in religion, and that ought to be one in perpetual friend- ship ; and would have prevented those immense armaments which at once set in motion the armies and fleets of England, and which have cost so heavily to the treasury of Great Britain. The London Times said truly : " We nearly went to war with America because we had not a telegraph '•i i across the Atlantic." It is at such a moment that England feels the need of communicating with her colonies on this side of the ocean. And here I may mention a fact not generally known — that, during the excitement of the Trent affair, a person connected with the English Gov- ernment applied to Messrs. Glass, Elliot 6i Co., of London, to know for what sum they would manufacture a cable and lay it across the Atlan- tic ; to which they replied that they would both manufacture and lay it down for £675,000, and that it should be in full operation by the 12th day of July of this year. Wei! might England afford to pay the whole cost of such a work ; for in sixty days' time she expended more money in prepa- ration for war with this country than the M'hole cost of manufacturing and laying several good cables between Newfoundland and Ireland. I hold in my hand a letter from the War Office in London, stating that a message sent from there on the Slst of August, 1858, was deliv- ered the same day at Halifax, which message prevented the embarkation of troops for India ; and I have been informed that it saved the English Goveinment over $200,000. The benefits of an Atlantic cable to England, by enabling the Govern- ment to be in daily communication with its Embassador at Washington, and all the British Consuls in this country, and the Governors of the five North American Provinces, and its naval and military forces in America, can hardly be estimated. But great as are these advantages to England, still they are small compared with those to be obtained by our own country, by bringing us into telegraphic communication, not merely with England, but with the whole Continent of Europe, and portions of Asia and Africa. The advantages of an Atlantic cable to commerce are equally great with those to Government. The shipment of gold, which is constantly taking place, would be nmch diminished ; the rapid fluctuations in ex- change would be prevented ; and the enormous depreciation of public securities would be much abated. Those speculative transactions in cot- ton and produce, which have often brought about financial crises in England and the United States, would be rendered almost impossible ; and the gain to owners of shipping, on both sides of the Atlantic, would be incalculable, from being able to communicate constantly with their captains and agents in all the ports of Europe and America. Consider also the importance of such a line to the general intercourse of the world. A cable across the Atlantic would supply the connecting link between the great systems of telegraphic communication in the two Hemispheres, one of which already overspreads the whole of North America, and the other covers tho Continent of Europe, and extends far into Asia, and along tho coast of Africa. At this moment you can telegraph from St. Johns, Newfoundland, to every town of importance in the British Provinces, to all tho cities and large towns in the loyal States, even to San Francisco, on the Pacific, a distance, by the route of the telegraph, of over five thousand and five hundred miles. On the other side of the ocean, there is now telegraphic communica- tion, from Valentia, in Ireland, with every capital in Europe ; with Al- giers, in Africa, about 2,650 miles by the route of the telegraph ; with Malta, 2,850 miles ; Constantinople, 3,100 miles ; Odessa, on tho Black Sea, 4,300 miles ; Taganrog, on the Sea of Azof, 4,500 ; the Island of Jubal, in tho Red Sea, 4,650 ; to Bagdad, in Turkish Arabia, 4,800 ; and to Omsk, in Siberia, 5,300 miles. All that is now required to connect California with Siberia, a distance nearly two-thirds around tho globe, is a telegraph cable from Valentia, Ireland, to Newfoundland, a distance of only 1640 nautical miles! But, gentlemen, I am well aware that this is not the great question now in your minds. Every Intelligent man sees at once the immense importance of such a communication between Europe and America, if — if it can be achieved. But there is the problem to be solved. " Have you not tried three times and failed? Did not the English try in the Red Sea and fail there % And in fact have not almost all the submarine cables in the world proved expensive and disastrous fjiilurcs?" These are very natural questions, and I will try to answer them. At the start, of course, we were all very ignorant of the work to be done. Submarine Telegraphy was in its infancy. We had to grope our way in the dark. It was only by repeated experiments and repeated failures that we were able to find out all tho conditions of success. The Atlantic Telegraph, it was said, was a failure. Well, if it were so, I should say, as is said of many a nxan, that he did more by his death than by his life ; that even in its failure it has been of immense benefit to the science of the world. For it has been the great experimenting cable. No electrician ever had so long a line to work upon before, and hence the science of Submarine Telegraphy never made such rapid pro- gress as after that great experiment. In fact, all cables that have since been laid, where the managers availed themselves of the knowledge and experience obtained by the Atlantic Company, have been perfectly successful. All these triumphs over the sea ax'e greatly indebted to the bold attempt to cross the Atlantic made four years ago. (} n Tho firat Atlantic civMo, tlieivforc, hus ivecompliMlu'id ii great work in doop Hou telegraphy, H branch ot' knowledge but little known before, in one sense it was a failure. In another it was a brilliant success. Des- pite every disadvantage, it was laid across the ocean ; it was stretched from shore to shore ; and for three weeks it continued to operate — a time long enough to settle forever the scientific question wluither it was pos- sible to cojuniiuiicate ])etween two continents so far apart. This was tho work of the Hrst Atlantic Telegraph ; and now if it lies silent at the bottom of the ocean till the destruction of the globe, it has done enough for tho science of the world and the benefit of numkind, to entitle it to be held in honored and blessed memory. Now, as to tho jtrospects of success in another attempt to lay a tele- graph across tho ocean. First, I would observe In regard to submarine telegraphs in general, that tho most erroneous opinions prevail as to tho diftieult'cs of laying them and securing them against injury. It is cont- monly supposed that the number of failures in much greater than of successes; whereas the fact is that tho later attempts, where made with proper care, have been almost uniformly successful. In proof of this I would present the following remarkable statement : Hero is a printed " List of all the Submarine Telegraph Cables manufactured anJ laid down by Messrs. Glass, Elliot & Co., of London," — which I should bo happy to give to any member of tho Society to ex- amine in detail, — from which it appears, that within tho space of eight years, from 1854 to 1862, they have manufactured and laid down twon- ty-five diflTcrent cables, among which are included three of the longest lines which connect England with tho continent, — viz., from England to Holland, 140 miles; to Hanover, 280 milos; and to Denmark, 308 miles ; and the principal lines in the Mediterranean, — as from Italy to Corsica, and from Coi-sica to Toulon, from Malta to Sicily, and from Corfu to Otranto ; and finally the two chief of all, that from France to Algiers, 520 miles, laid in 1800, and the other laid only last year, from Malta to Alexandria, 1535 miles! All together those lines comprise a total of 3739 ir.iles, and of this whole distance every cable (though some have been lying at tho bottom of tho sea and working for eight years) ' ; ' at this hour in as perfect condition as the day it was laid down, with the very small exception of the two short lines laid in shallow water along the shore between Liverpool and Holyhead, twenty-five miles, and from Prince Edward's Island to New Brunswick, eleven miles ; the first of which was broken by the anchor of the Royal Charter in the gale of wind just before she was wrecked, and the other by a ship's anchor, both of which can be easily repaired. "'n From this «t/itcniont it will ho soon that all tho siihmarino tclegrftph cftblos mftnufuotiirtMl mitl laid by Messrs. (ilass, Elliot pear8, as regards Tripoli, likely to prove the case ; besides which, an easy communication might, it was thought, be established from Tripoli to Algeria, if found desirable hereafter. The length of the entire line, as laid between Malta and Alexandra, is 1,636 miles. " The whole of this line can be worked through without relay or repetition in an effi- cient and satisfactory manner, both as regards its s^ientihc and commercial results, and witli remarkably low battery power." The Gutta Percha Company, which made the core, also says : " Wo believe the fact of the Malta and Alexandria cable being divided into three sections was more for convenience than from any doubt as to its being capable of working well throughout its entire length. " We can further state, without hesitation, that a suitably made a^id insulated telegraph conductor, laid intact between Ireland and Newfoundland, can he worked efficiently, both in a commercial and a scientific sense ; and we may add that we should be prepared to guarantee the efficient and satisfactory wo)'king of o, length of 2,100 miles of insulated telegraph wire as manufactured by oursehc, and submerged and maintained in that state." It can be shown by the testimony and experience of those most emi- nent in the science and practice of Electric and Oceanic Telegraphy, that neither length of distance (within the limits with which the Atlantic Company has to deal) nor the depth of water are any insuperable impediments to efficient communication by such improved conductors of e' ctricity as are now proposed to be Laid down. All of those who are best able to form a sound and practical opinion (including Professor William Thomson, LL.D., F.R.S., of Glasgow, and Mr. Varley, the Elec- trician of the Electric and International Telegraph Company of London, both of whom have been long engaged in practical and experimental researches on this particular point) are willing to pledge their judgment that on such a length of line as that between Ireland and Newfoundland, and with such a cable and such improved instruments as are now at com- mand, not less than twelve words a minute can be transmitted from shore to shore, and that this may be done with greyly diminished bat- tery power as compared with what was formerly used. 12 Such are the main facts in regard to the present condition and pros- pects of the Atlantic Telegraph. May I not ask, then, if an enterprise so immensely important to the commerce, the civilization, and even the peace of the world, and which has now such fair prospects of success, is not worth another grand experiment, with every possible means to in- sure its triumph ? The work is too great to be undertaken by individ- uals alone, without public aid. But can any project be named more worthy of the support of two enlightened governments, like those of the United States and Great Britain, than one which would unite them to- gether by a bond of iron — which would tend at all times to keep them in good understanding with each other, and to strengthen the relations of amity and concord between them ? I am happy to say that its importance is fully recognized by both governments. Our own Secretary of State, who, from the beginning, has been an enlightened and steadfast friend of the Atlantic Telegraph, in an official dispatch to our minister at Lon- don, uses the following language in regard to it : ■ 1 'I " You may say to Earl Russell that the President entertains the most favorable views of the great enterprise in question, and would be happy to co-operate with the British Government in securing its successful execution, and such arrangements as would guarantee to both nations reciprocal benefits from the use of the Telegrdph, not only in times of peace, but even in times of war — if, contrary to our desire and expec- tation, and to the great detriment of both nations, war should ever arise betweea them." 1 i I ' I The English Government has the proposal now under consideration ; its final decision is not yet known. We can only say, from interviews with different members of the Cabinet and of Parliament, that their dis- position is most friendly towards the establishment of telegraphic com- munication with America. It would be unjust to overlook the noble zeal of individuals in this wo'-k, who have persevered against all obstacles. Of these, I may men- tion the Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, and especially the Vice-Chairman, Mr. C. M. Lampson, an American capitalist in Lon- don, whom we are all proud of as our countryman ; and Mr. Saward,. the indefatigable Secretary. These gentlemen, in spite of yeai's of delay and suspended action, have persevered in the determination that the enter- prise should be again renewed. Such resolution deserves, as it will secure, final and complete success. In this city are several men who have shown the same devotion to this international enterprise. It is only necessary to mention the names of Messrs. Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, Marshall O. Roberts, Wilson 13 ind pros- 9 nterprise B even the * uccess, is "1 ans to in- f individ- m ed more 9 jse of the B them to- m eep them M lations of Wt iportance 'm of State, H ist friend 4 r at Lon- 1 favorable i te with the '^ jements as .^ igraph, not ■^ and expec- ^ ie between V ieration ; '; iter views .' their dis- .'t. hic com- \ s in this 1 lay men- 1 specially \ t in Lon- ) Saward,. ' of delay ] he enter- 'S s it will 1 otion to m le names 9 , Wilson fl XJ. Hunt, Directors, and the other officers of the New Yorlt, Newfound- land and London Telegraph Company. With them is connected the name of the Patriarch of American Telegraphy, Professor Morse, whose system is known and used throughout the civilized world. He is still among us, and I trust may not pass away until he sees a line ot telegraph, not only connecting Europe and America, but stretching around the whole habitable globe. Should the enterprise meet with the encouragement which it asks from the English and American Governments, the capital could easily be raised, twelve months would be ample for the manufacture of the •cable, and it could be laid across the Atlantic in the summer of next year. At the close of the reading, Archibald Russell, Esq., said he wished to inquire what security the United States could have, in the event of a war with England, that the neutrality of the Atlantic telegraph would be respected 1 Mr. Field replied by reading from a letter which had been addressed to Earl Russell, containing stipulations into which it was proposed the two countries should enter before the work was begun : " The two Governments to guarantee that, in the unhappy event of a war arising between England and the United States, the cable shall continue inviolate, unmolested, and uninterrupted by the forces or subjects of either country." To this no objection had been made, and he had na doubt that all proper guarantees would be exchanged between the two countries. Hiram Ketchum, Esq., said he felt less anxiety about the use of the telegraph in time of war, for he believed a cable between England and America would tend greatly to prevent war ; that it would be itself one •of the best securities of peace. Other members appearing to think that we should be in the power of England, Mr. Field added : The relative geographical position of the two countries cannot be changed. It so happens that the two points on the opposite sides of the Atlantic nearest to each other, and which are therefore the natural termini of an ocean telegraph, are both in British territory. Of course, the Government which holds both ends can control the use of the telegraph, or stop it altogether. It has the power. The only check upon the abuse of that power must be hy a treaty, made beforehand, and u III which shall render the line, even in war, sacred and inviolate. Shall we refuse aid in constructing the line, or to enter into such a treaty, for fear lest England, in the exasperation of a war, would disregard it ? Then we throw away our only security. For suppose a war to break out to- morrow, the first step of England would be, as we have seen it was in the Trent affair, to lay a cable herself for her own sole and exclusive benefit. Then she would have not only the power, but the power unre- strained by any treaty obligations whatever binding her to respect the neutrality of the telegraph. We shall then find this great means of communication between the two Hemispheres, which we might have made, if not an ally, at least a neutral, turned into a powerful weapon against us. Now I ask any can- did man, if, consulting even for our own interests, it is not better that such a line of communication between England and America should be constra^ted by the joint efforts of both countries, and be guarded by treaty stipulations, so that it shall be placed, as far as possible, under the protection of the faith of nations, and of the honor of the civilized world 1 I would say further, that in all our negotiations with the British Gov- ernment, they have never shown the slightest wish to take advantage of the position of England to exact special rights and privileges, or a desire to appropriate any advantages which they were not willing to concede equally to the United States. m After some remarks by the Hon. George Folsom, Peter Cooper, Esq., and others, it was unanimously liesolved, That the thanks of the Society be presented to Mr. Field for the inter- esting statements with which he has favored the Society this evening, and that he be requested to furnisL a copy thereof for the archives of the Society. Eeaolved, That this Society are highly encouraged by the evidence presented by Mr. Field of the entire practicability of the telegraph enterprise across the Atlantic Ocean, and desire in this manner to express their confidence therein. 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