HISTORY. 
IOI 
been made at the end of last century, by passing currents of 
frictional electricity through water. 
“ It is nearly twelve years since (1845) my brother and I 
conjointly entered, at the Government Registration Office, a 
plan for connecting America and Europe by the route now 
adopted ; in July of the same year we submitted to the Govern¬ 
ment a proposition for connecting our colonies .with Great 
Britain, and we offered Sir Geo. Cockburn, the first lord of the 
Admiralty, to whom I had been referred by Sir Robert Peel, to 
place Dublin Castle in instantaneous communication with 
Downing Street, as a preliminary experiment, provided £20,000 
were advanced for the expenses by the Government. As this 
offer was not accepted, I visited the Continent and spent 
much money in my efforts to advance the electric telegraph 
in France, Prussia, and other countries. In 1847 I succeeded 
in obtaining from Louis Philippe permission to connect 
France and England by a submarine line ; but I failed with 
the public, who, thinking my scheme was too risky, declined 
to subscribe. 
“ When events placed Louis Napoleon at the head of the 
French nation, I submitted my plan to him, and solicited his 
support in order to induce the public to aid the enterprise, but 
I was nevertheless unable to obtain more than 50,000 francs 
subscription. 
“ The first attempt at connecting France and England by 
means of a submarine telegraph was made in 1850, with a 
copper wire enclosed in gutta-percha, a substance which very 
opportunely came to our aid about this time. I had 27 miles 
of this wire taken on board of the tug Goliath. The wire 
was wound on a large iron cylinder or drum, so as to be easily 
paid out. 
“ The boat left Dover about the end of August without 
exciting the least curiosity. The shore end of the wire was 
led into a horse-box at the South Eastern railway station, and 
we began to pay out the wire, attaching to it pieces of lead at 
intervals to help in sinking it. The electrical communication 
between the ship and the shore was constantly maintained 
during the operation, and our only fear was that our slender 
line would break and thus cover the whole undertaking with 
ridicule. The attempt was however quite successful, and the 
