.v/A' U'll.LIAM .V//-:.J//-:.V.s, l-.R.S. 



'39 



I-Y..IM the peculiar nature of the service for which a telegruph- 

 ship is required, it is evident that she must possess properties 

 N!ine\\ hat ditlen -in from those of ordinary ocean-going steamers ; 

 thus speed is not so important as great manoeuvring powers, which 

 will enable IKT t<> turn easily in a small space, or by which she 

 may be maintained in a given position for a considerable time. 

 In the ship about to be described an attempt had been made to 

 meet these requirements. 



The k< Faraday," of 5000 tons register, was built at Newcastle 

 by the eminent firm of Messrs. Mitchell and Co. She is ?>GO feet 

 long, 52 feet beam, and 36 feet depth of hold ; there are three 

 large water-tight cable tanks, having a capacity of 110,000 cubic 

 feet ; these are each 27 feet deep ; two are 45 feet in diameter, 

 and one is 37 feet ; they can take in 1700 miles of cable \\ inch 

 in diameter. After the cable is coiled in, the tanks are filled 

 up with water to keep it cool ; for the speaker had found, when 

 conducting experiments on the Malta and Alexandria cable with 

 his electrical resistance thermometer, that heat was spontaneously 

 generated in the cable itself, whereby its insulation was seriously 

 endangered. 



The " Faraday " has stem and stem alike, and is fitted with a 

 rudder at each end ; both are worked by steam-steering apparatus, 

 placed amidships, and are capable of being rigidly fixed when 

 required. She is propelled by a pair of cast steel screw pro- 

 pellers 12 feet in diameter, driven by a pair of compound en- 

 gines constructed with a view to great economy of fuel. The 

 two screws converge somewhat, and the effect of this arrange- 

 ment is to enable the vessel to turn in her own length when 

 the engines are worked in opposite directions. On the voyage 

 from Newcastle to London a cask was thrown overboard, and 

 from this as a centre the ship turned in her own length in 

 8 minutes 20 seconds, touching the cask three times during the 

 operation. This manoeuvring power is of great importance in 

 such a case as repairing a fault in the cable, as it enables the 

 engineer to keep her head in position, and, in short, to 

 place her just where necessary, in defiance of side winds or 

 currents. 



The testing-room of the electrician in charge is amidships, 

 and so placed as to command the two larger tanks, while the 



