48 Original Articles. [ Jan. 
paying-out vessel travels should be as uniform as possible througkout 
the whole voyage, and as provision must be made for contrary winds 
and rough weather, a large amount of surplus power is indispensable. 
In fair weather it is not difficult to attend to all these precautions, 
nothing but proper care and attention being necessary ; but in stormy 
weather, when the vessel is tossing to such an extent that the men can 
scarcely stand while unlashing and freeing the cable, when the pitch- 
ing of the ship throws sudden and violent strains upon the break, and 
when the breaksman himself can scarcely keep his feet, and can see 
nothing in the darkness, the difficulty in managing the apparatus pro- 
perly is of no ordinary kind. 
An indicator is attached to the break, which is supposed to show 
the strain upon it, but, owing to its inertia, such an instrument is of 
very little value for obviating sudden jerks. For instance, on the 
occasion of the first snapping of the Atlantic Cable, the indicator 
showed a strain of only 35 cwt., although the cable was supposed to be 
able to resist a strain of 60 cwt. 
During the paying out of the Atlantic Cable great doubts were en- 
tertained of its permanent success, owing to the serious faults which 
soon became apparent. The ‘ Niagara’ and ‘Agamemnon’ havin 
met and joined their respective halves of the cable in the middle of the 
Atlantic, started thence and proceeded, one to Newfoundland, the other 
to Valencia Bay, in Ireland, electrical signals being constantly passed 
from one ship to the other. At one point, when nearly 400 miles had 
been paid from each ship, the electrical signals became very weak, and 
the tests applied by the electrician on board the ‘Agamemnon,’ showed 
that there was defective insulation at a very remote part of the cable. 
The fault then seemed to get better, and in about an hour the cable 
tested as usual. Three days afterwards, when about 560 miles had 
been paid out from each vessel, considerable irregularities were ob- 
served, the signals becoming weaker, until it was reported from the 
electrical cabin that they had ceased altogether. They shortly after- 
wards returned, and gradually improved for some hours, when they 
became as strong as ever. In fact, on the evening of this day 
(August 2), the signals from the ‘ Niagara’ were reported to be stronger 
than they had been previously. Other irregularities in transmission 
were afterwards observed, but the general working of the cable seemed 
good, and on referrmg to the memoranda taken by the electricians at 
the time, we find the signals spoken of as “good” in the morning of 
the drd of August, “first rate” about the middle of the day, and 
“perfect” in the evening. The next day we have reports of constant 
signals from one ship to the other, and the memorandum “all right,” 
is repeated several times. On the 5th of August, at 2.10 a.m., the 
‘Niagara’ signalled that she had paid out 1,000 miles of cable, and at 
3.50 a.m., the ‘Agamemnon’ had paid out the same quantity. At that 
time, intelligible signals were passing through the 2,000 miles of cable, 
from one end to the other, and in a few hours each ship was safely at 
anchor. 
Thus, then, the possibility of connecting the two continents by an 
electric cable was proved and considering the unjustifiable haste and 
