500 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
with the main drum. When the weights were removed from the 
brake (which could be done almost instantaneously by means of a 
simple mechanism), the resistance to the egress of the cable, pro- 
duced by “jockey pulleys,” and the friction at the bearings of the 
shaft carrying the main drum, &c., was about 2J cwt. 
Procedure to Repair the Cable in case of the appearance of an electric 
fault during the laying. 
In the event of a fault being indicated by the electric test at 
any time during the paying out, the safe and proper course to 
be followed in future (as proved by the recent experience), if the 
cable is of the same construction as the present Atlantic cable, 
is instantly, on order given from an authorised officer in the electric 
room, to stop and reverse the ship’s engines, and to put on the 
greatest safe weight on the paying-out break. Thus in the course 
of a very short time the egress of the cable may be stopped, and, 
if the weather is moderate, the ship may be kept, by proper use of 
paddles, screw, and rudder, nearly enough in the proper position 
for hours to allow the cable to hang down almost vertically, with 
little more strain than the weight of the length of it between the 
ship and the bottom. 
The best electric testing that has been practised or even planned 
cannot show within a mile the position of a fault consisting of a 
slight loss of insulation, unless both ends of the cable are at hand. 
Whatever its character may be, unless the electric tests demon- 
strate its position to be remote from the outgoing part, the only 
thing that can be done to find whether it is just on board or just 
overboard, is to cut the cable as near the outgoing part as the 
mechanical circumstances allow to be safely done. The electric 
test immediately transferred to the fresh-cut seaward end shows in- 
stantly if the line is perfect between it and the shore. A few 
minutes more, and the electric tests applied to the two ends of the 
remainder on board, will, in skilful hands, with a proper plan of 
working, show very closely the position of the fault, whatever its 
character may he. The engineers will thus immediately be able to 
make proper arrangements for resplicing and paying out good 
cable, and for cutting out the fault from the bad part. 
