THE CABLE SHIP ON KEPAIRS. 343 



still in first-class working order. One is the multiple cable 

 of four cores laid in 1851 between Dover and Calais, the first 

 sheathed cable ever laid. Since that date so many repairs 

 have been effected that only a very short length of the original 

 cable remains, but the line, as a means of communication, has 

 remained intact. The other is the Belgium cable from South 

 Foreland to Middlekerke, near Ostend,laid in 1853, which was 

 laid by the screw-steamer "William Hutt," the illustration 

 (Fig. 199) of this early cable ship so engaged being reproduced 

 from that in the Illustrated London News of May 14th of that 

 year. It is a six-core cable, and cost ^6471 per mile, more 

 than double what a similar one would now. It took over 

 three months to manufacture this length of 70 miles, and the 

 rate of coiling into the steamer's hold from the factory was 

 only one mile per hour. Cable can now be coiled into tanks 

 on board, a distance of 200 yards from the factory, at a speed 

 of over 5^ miles per hour, as instanced by the " Silvertown," 

 in which vessel, on one occasion in 1882, were coiled 2,370 

 knots for the Central and South American line in 22 days the 

 greatest length coiled in twelve hours being 65 knots ; while 

 on another occasion, in 1887, she took aboard 64|^ knots in 

 eleven hours twenty minutes. 



The " William Hutt," commanded by Mr. Palmer, of Gates- 

 head, who built her, was towed during her expedition and 

 accompanied by two vessels of the English and one of the 

 Belgian Navy, the former marking out the course by buoys. 

 Shore ends were landed by fishing boats. On the English 

 coast, the " William Hutt " being anchored 500 yards from 

 shore, 200 yards of shore end was first coiled into a large boat, 

 and as this boat rowed to shore six other boats in turn sup- 

 ported cable as it was handed out from ship. (Buoys or barrels 

 are used instead of boats now.) On the first boat reaching 

 shore, the 200 yards were uncoiled from it and hauled up the 

 beach by forty men, the end being connected to a speaking 

 instrument for communicating with ship. The whole fleet of 

 fishing boats was towed across to the Belgian coast to assist in 

 landing the shore end there. This cable was manufactured by 

 Messrs. E. S. Newall and Co. to the specification of Messrs. 

 Wollaston and Crampton, engineers, and was laid under the 

 direction of the above-named firm. 



