996 EEPORT— 1898. 



The new system claims to possess, and is unique in tliis respect, tlie following^ 

 all important advantages : — 



1. It -will not interfere -wltli the present horse haulage system. 



2. The present boats will not be required to he altered. 



3. Smaller boats with less draught can be employed, so that increased speeds 

 can be obtained without producing an excessive and objectionable flusli of water. 



4. It will be applicable to canals traversing tunnels. 



5. No more liability to break down than with ordinary haulage on railways. 



6. Suitable for the passage of vessels through the locks as iu the present 

 system. 



7. Is controllable from the boat, and does not absolutely require the driver 

 associated with horse haulage. 



8. The same electric transmission conductors can provide crane and other power 

 for the warehouses and locks and electric light all along the canal. 



9. It is much less costly to work than the present horse haulage system. 



10. By placing the motors in tandem, or in series, several boats can be hauled 

 along together. 



11. The system can be worked with great advantage both by day and by 

 night. 



7. On the Pacific Cable. By Charles Bright, F.R.S.E., AM.Inst.C.E. 



The author endeavoured to show that there were no insurmountable engineering 

 or electrical diiBculties to prevent the realisation of a Pacific cable. He pointed 

 out that the maximum depth to be contended with was but little iu excess of that 

 of existing cables, and that our present knowledge of the bottom of the ocean was 

 sufficient for deciding in favour of a particular route. The portion which requires 

 further survey is that between the Fiji Islands and Australia and New Zealand. 



The question of the most suitable type of cable was then considered. It must 

 be easy to lay, durable, and capable of being picked up. The author recommends 

 a close-sheathed cable, with the iron wires more or less firmly butting against one 

 another. Each wire should be separately coated with preseryative compound and 

 covered with a thin cotton tape. 



The strength, pliability, &c., of cables was then discussed. The author has 

 previously suggested that a flexible riband sheathing of aluminium bronze might 

 with advantage be adopted instead of iron wires, thereby enormously reducing the 

 ■weight, and imparting freedom from corrosion. The riband form is preferred on 

 account of the increased flexibility thereby ensured in a large cable. It is on these 

 grounds, moreover, that the metal tape is not allowed to overlap, or even to meet. 

 Again, such a taping could, under no circumstances, damage the core under tension 

 or pressure. 



For paying out the cable efficiently in the deepest water special attention 

 would have to be given to the character of the brake apparatus; and if the 

 ordinary friction brakes now in vogue can be supplanted by something more free 

 from the chances of undue heating, an advance will have been made. Such an 

 innovation would be especially valuable in this connection, on account of the 

 length of one of the sections — that between Vancouver and Fanning Island — being 

 substantially greater than anything previously dealt with. This section, with a 

 proper allowance for slack, &c., would run into some 3,.500 nautical miles or 

 more, as against 2,717 for the Brest-St. Pierre cable of 1869, the new French 

 Atlantic line just laid being again materially longer. 



It has been stated that if a cable were ever laid on the suggested route it could 

 not be subsequently recovered. In reply to this, it may be pointed out that cables 

 have already been picked up in depths of over 3,000 fathoms and repaired in the 

 open sea. 



Again, objections have been raised as to the length of time taken in the 

 recovery of a cable in such depths. It must, however, be borne in mind that 



