Part 2

Professor Morse, in 1843, indicated his conviction that a magnetic current could be conveyed across the Atlantic, and his reply to Mr. Field was now given with increased confidence to the same effect. Thus encouraged, Mr. Field took measures to form a Company to purchase the rights of the Newfoundland Company, and to connect Newfoundland with Ireland by means of a submarine telegraph across the Atlantic. He entered into an agreement with Mr. Gisborne for the purchase of the privileges of the Company for 8000_l._, under certain conditions. Then he put down the names of ten of the principal capitalists in New York, and proceeded to unfold his project to each in succession; and having secured the adhesion of Mr. Cooper, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Roberts, Mr. White, and the advice of his brother, Mr. D. Field, he called a meeting of these gentlemen at his house on 7th March. Similar meetings took place at his residence on 8th, 9th, and 10th, and after full discussion and consideration it was resolved to form “The New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company,” of which Peter Cooper was President; Moses Taylor, Treasurer; Cyrus Field, C. White, M. O. Roberts, Directors; and D. D. Field, Counsel. Mr. C. Field, his brother, and Mr. White were commissioned to proceed to Newfoundland, to obtain from the Legislature an act of incorporation, and set out for that purpose on March 15th. On their arrival at St. John’s, the Governor convoked the Executive Council. He also sent a special message to the Legislature, then in session, recommending them to pass an act of incorporation, with a guarantee of interest on the Company’s bonds to the amount of 50,000_l._, and to make them a grant of fifty square miles of land on the island of Newfoundland, conditional on the completion of the Telegraph.

After some little delay, the Legislature, with one adverse member only, granted the valuable privileges to the Company which were subsequently transferred to the Atlantic Telegraph Company. They constitute, in fact, a monopoly of telegraphic rights in Newfoundland, the value of which was enhanced afterwards by similar concessions from the state of Maine, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward’s Island; and liberal encouragement from Canada. There is much to be said against concessions, and monopolies, and patents, on abstract grounds; but it is quite clear that in certain circumstances men will not venture money and spend time, without the prospect of the ulterior advantages such protection is calculated to ensure. The Government has, however, informed Colonial and Provincial Legislatures that in future Her Majesty will be advised not to give her ratification to the creation of similar monopolies. By their chartered rights the new Company obtained the exclusive privilege for fifty years of landing cables on Newfoundland and Labrador, which embraces a coast extending southwardly to Prince Edward’s Island, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the State of Maine, and their respective dependencies; and westwardly to the very entrance of Hudson’s Straits. The Company also secured a grant of fifty square miles of land on the completion of Telegraph to Cape Breton; a similar concession of additional fifty square miles when the Cable shall have been laid between Ireland and Newfoundland; a guarantee of interest for twenty years at 5 per cent. on 50,000_l._; a grant of 5000_l._ in money towards building a road along the line of the Telegraph; and the remission of duties on the importation of all wires and materials for the use of the Company.

The Company also obtained from the Legislature of Prince Edward’s Island, in May, 1854, the exclusive privilege for fifty years of landing cables on the coast; a free grant of one thousand acres of land; and a grant of 300_l._ currency per annum for ten years.

From Canada the Company obtained an Act authorising the building of telegraph lines throughout the Provinces, accompanied by the remission of duties on all wires and materials imported for the use of the Company.

Nova Scotia, in 1859, gave the Company a grant of exclusive privilege, for twenty-five years, of landing telegraphic cables from Europe on the shores of the Province.

The State of Maine accorded the Company a grant of the exclusive privilege, for twenty-five years, of landing European telegraph cables on the seaboard.

From Great Britain eventually the Company obtained an annual subsidy of 14,000_l._ sterling until the net profits of the Company should reach 6 per cent. per annum, on the whole capital of 350,000_l._ sterling, the grant to be then reduced to 10,000_l._ sterling per annum, for a period of twenty-five years; two of the largest steamships in the navy to lay the cable, and two steamers to aid them; and a careful examination of the soundings by vessels of the Royal Navy.

From the United States the Company obtained an annual subsidy of $70,000 until the net profits yielded 6 per cent. per annum, then to be reduced to $50,000 per annum, for a period of twenty-five years, subject to termination of contract by Congress after ten years, on giving one year’s notice. The United States government also granted the steamship Arctic to make soundings, and steam-ships Niagara and Susquehanna to assist in laying the cable. A government steamer was also ordered to make further soundings on the coast of Newfoundland.

Long ere the Company had been placed in possession of such beneficial rights, and obtained such a large amount of favour, Mr. Field, who threw every energy of body and mind into the work, and was entrusted by his brother directors with the general management of affairs, proceeded to carry out the engagements the Company had entered into with the local legislatures. It has been said that the greatest boons conferred on mankind have been due to men of one idea. If the laying of the Atlantic Cable be among these benefits, its consummation may certainly be attributed to the man who, having many ideas, devoted himself to work out one idea with a gentle force and a patient vigour which converted opposition and overcame indifference. Mr. Field may be likened either to the core, or to the external protection, of the Cable itself. At times he has been its active life; again he has been its iron-bound guardian. Let who will claim the merit of first having said the Atlantic Cable was possible, to Mr. Field is due the inalienable credit of having made it possible, and of giving to an abortive conception all the attributes of healthy existence.

The first step in the great enterprise, now fairly inaugurated, was the connection of St. John’s with the telegraphic lines already in operation in Canada and the United States.

Mr. Field was despatched to England, as there were no firms established for the manufacture of submarine cables in the United States, to order the necessary work to be done, and to raise money. He previously ordered specimens of cable to be made, so that when he landed in England they were ready for his inspection; and soon after his arrival he entered into a contract with Messrs. Küper & Co. (subsequently Glass, Elliot, & Co.) for a cable to be laid across the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He held interviews with eminent engineers and electricians, among whom were Mr. Brunel, Mr. (now Sir C.) Bright, Mr. Brett, and Mr. Whitehouse, respecting his larger project, which led to extended and valuable experiments. The cable for Newfoundland was formed in three strands, and had three conducting wires; and Mr. Field undertook to lay it, under the direction of Mr. Canning. In August, 1855, the first attempt was made; but off Cape Ray a violent gale arose, and it was deemed necessary by the master of the vessel to cut the cable. This disappointment was not in the least a discouragement. Another contract was made by Mr. Field with Messrs. Küper & Co. to make and lay a cable at their own risk, which was executed by Mr. Canning in the Propontis the following year. The station is at Point-au-Basque, near the western extremity of Newfoundland, and the telegraph runs across the island to Trinity Bay.

The opportunities for scientific experiments afforded by the manufacture of these cables were not neglected. The possibility of transmitting signals under water without fatal loss of power from the increased length of circuit was the first fact determined. The attention of the experimentalists was then directed to ascertain whether, having regard to existing theories, it would be possible to carry even a single conductor across the Atlantic without the aid of a cable so ponderous and so costly as to render it useless in a commercial point of view. A series of direct experiments were at once undertaken, which resulted in the establishment of the following facts:--first, that retardation of movement, in consequence of increasing distance, did not occur at a rate which could seriously affect a cable across the Atlantic; secondly, that increased dimensions in insulated marine conductors augmented the difficulties in obtaining velocity, so that bulk in a cable would not be requisite; and, thirdly, that a velocity and facility which would satisfy all mere commercial and financial requirements in a line crossing the Atlantic, might be attained in the largest circuits. The next step was to actually make signals through 2000 miles of wire. This was accomplished through the kindness of the directors of the English and Irish Magnetic Company, who placed at the disposal of the experimentalists 5000 miles of under-ground wire. On the 9th of October, 1856, in the quiet of the night time, the experiment was tried successfully. Signals were distinctly and satisfactorily telegraphed through 2000 miles of wire, at the rate of 210, 241, and 270 per minute.

There was still a matter of the last importance to be determined. Was the state of the bed of the Atlantic really such as to warrant the conclusion that a wire 2000 miles long could be deposited and remain there without injury?

Mr. Field, in order to ascertain this fact, obtained from the government of America the assistance of Lieut. Berryman, U.S.N., in the steam-ship Arctic, who succeeded, in July, 1856, in taking soundings across the Atlantic at distances varying from 30 to 50 miles, and, by means of scoops, or quills, bringing up specimens of the bottom, which, upon microscopic examination, proved to be composed of fine shells and sand.

As capital was needed for the execution of the enterprise which the confidence of moneyed men in the United States did not induce them to supply, and as it was desirable to enlist the support of the capitalists of Great Britain, Mr. Field was now authorised to form a company, with branches in both countries. Having secured the services of Mr. Brett, Mr. (now Sir C.) Bright, Mr. Woodhouse, and others, on the 1st of November, 1856, as Vice-President of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, he issued an elaborate, able, and argumentative circular in London, headed, “Atlantic Telegraph,” and made a tour through the great towns, addressing meetings in support of the project.

On the 6th of November, 1856, the prospectus was issued, with a nominal capital of 350,000_l._, represented by 350 shares of 1000_l._ each, and within one month the entire of the capital had been subscribed for, and the first instalment of 70.000_l._ paid up.

One hundred and six shares were taken in London, eighty-eight in the United States, eighty-six in Liverpool, thirty-seven in Glasgow, and the remainder in other parts of England. Mr. Field stood as subscriber of 88,000_l._, and represented all America.

But it was not only from the public of Great Britain the project met encouragement. Ere the new company was formed, Mr. Field (13th September, 1855) addressed Lord Clarendon, requesting aid, and protection and privileges, and on the 20th November received a reply from the Secretary to the Treasury, engaging to furnish ships for soundings, and to consider favourably any request for help in laying the Cable, to pay 14,000_l._ (4 per cent. on capital) as remuneration for Government messages, till the net profits were 6 per cent., when the payment was to become 10,000_l._ for twenty-five years, and the Royal assent was given to the Act of Incorporation of the Company July 27th, 1857.

Mr. Field received far more encouragement in Great Britain, in Parliament and out of it, than he did at home. His bill was nearly rejected in the United States Senate, and it is stated only twenty-seven shares of the first stock were at first subscribed for in the States. On the motion of Mr. Seward, a resolution was passed in the Senate, United States, on the 23rd December, in compliance with which the President transmitted a copy of an application from the New York Office of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, dated December 15th, in which the Directors set forth “their earnest desire to secure for the United States Government equal privileges with those stipulated for by the British Government in a work prosecuted thus far with American capital,” and then recounted the terms agreed to by the Lords of the Treasury. On January 9th, 1857, Mr. Seward introduced a bill in the Senate to give and receive precisely the same privileges on the part of the United States Government. It was violently opposed, was only carried by one vote, and was not approved till March 3rd following.

The money being now forthcoming, the Provisional Directors of the Company proceeded to order the Atlantic Cable. Mr. Field was anxious that the order should be given to the firm which had manufactured the St. Lawrence Cable, but the Board thought it would be better to divide the contract, and on the 6th December, 1856, they entered upon agreements with the Gutta Percha Company for the supply of 2,500 miles of core, consisting of copper wire, with a triple covering of insulating substance, at 40_l._ per mile; and also with Messrs. Glass, Elliot, & Co., of East Greenwich, and Messrs. Newall & Co., of Birkenhead, respectively, for the supply from each of 1,250 miles of the completed Cable for 62,000_l._ Within six months from that day, namely, on the 6th of July, 1857, the entire Cable was completed.

The policy of dividing the contract for the manufacture of the Cable was questioned at the time. When one portion of the Cable was to be made at East Greenwich and the other at Birkenhead, how was it possible that there could be any uniformity of supervision, any integrity of design, or any individual responsibility? Again, how was it possible that the textile strength or conducting power of the Cable could be tested as satisfactorily as would have been the case were its manufacture entrusted to one firm? And, as it happened, the twist ran from right to left in one half, and from left to right in the other half of the Cable.

Before the prospectus was issued, every attention was paid that the characteristics of the Cable should be suited to its work; that it should not be too dense, lest its weight should render it unmanageable in the sea--nor too light, lest it should be at the mercy of the currents as it went down. It was decided that it should weigh a ton per mile, should be just so much heavier than the water which it displaced in sinking, and of such structure as could be easily coiled and yet be a rigid line, while its centre should be composed of wire capable of conveying electrical symbols through an extent of more than 2000 miles, and should retain complete insulation when immersed in the ocean. It was a subject of close and anxious inquiry how to obtain a Cable of this form and character. No fewer than sixty-two different kinds of rope were tested before one was determined on.

In the Cable finally adopted, the central conducting wire was a strand made up of seven wires of the purest copper, of the gauge known in the trade as No. 22. The strand itself was about the sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and was formed of one straightly drawn wire, with six others twisted round it; this was accomplished by the central wire being dragged from a drum through a hole in a horizontal table, while the table itself revolved rapidly, under the impulse of steam, carrying near its circumference six reels or drums each armed with copper wire. Every drum revolved upon its own horizontal axis, and so delivered its wire as it turned. This twisted form of conducting wire was first adopted for the rope laid across the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1856, and was employed with a view to the reduction to the lowest possible amount of the chance of continuity being destroyed in the circuit. It seemed improbable in the highest degree that a fracture could be accidentally produced at precisely the same spot in more than one of the wires of this twisted strand. All the seven wires might be broken at different parts of the strand, even some hundreds of times, and yet its capacity for the transmission of the electric current not destroyed, or reduced in any inconvenient degree. The copper used in the formation of these wires was assayed from time to time during the manufacture to insure absolute homogeneity and purity. The strand itself, when subjected to strain, stretched 20 per cent. of its length without giving way, and indeed without having its conducting power much modified or impaired.

The copper strand of the Cable was rolled up on drums as it was completed, and was then taken from the drums to receive a coating of three separate layers of refined gutta percha; these brought its diameter up to about three-eighths of an inch. The coating of gutta percha was made unusually thick, for the sake of diminishing the influence of induction, and in order that the insulation might be rendered as perfect as possible. This latter object was also furthered by the several layers of the insulating material being laid on in succession; so that if there were accidentally any flaw in the one coat, the imperfection was sure to be removed when the next deposit was added. To prove the efficacy of the proceeding, a great number of holes were made near together in the first coating of a fragment of the wire, and the second coat was then applied in the usual way. The insulation of the strand was found to be perfect under these circumstances, and continued so even when the core was subjected to hydraulic pressure, amounting to five tons on the square inch. The gutta percha which was employed for the coating of the conducting strand, was prepared with the utmost possible care. Lumps of the crude substance were first rasped down by a revolving toothed cylinder, placed within a hollow case, the whole piece of apparatus somewhat resembling the agricultural turnip machine in its mode of action. The raspings were then passed between rollers, macerated in hot water, and well churned. They were next washed in cold water, and driven at a boiling-water temperature, by hydraulic power, through wire-gauze sieves, attached to the bottom of wide vertical pipes. The gutta percha came out from the sieves in plastic masses of exceeding purity and fineness, and those masses were then squeezed and kneaded for hours by screws, revolving in hollow cylinders, called masticators; this was done to get the water out, and to render the substance of the gutta percha sound and homogeneous everywhere. At each turn of the screw, the plastic mass protruded itself through an opening left for feeding in the upper part of the masticator, and was then drawn back as the screw rolled on. When the mechanical texture of the refined mass was perfected by masticating and kneading, it was placed in horizontal cylinders, heated by steam, and squeezed through them by screw pistons, driven down by the machinery very slowly, and with resistless force. The gutta percha emerged, under this pressure, through a die, which received the termination of both cylinders, and which at the same time had the strand of copper wire moving along through its centre. The strands were drawn by revolving drums between the cylinders, and through the die. They entered the die naked bright copper wire, and issued from it thick, dull-looking cords, a complete coating of gutta percha having been attached to them as they traversed the die. Six strands were coated together, ranging along side by side at the first covering. Then a series of three lengths of the strand received the second coat together. The third coat was communicated to a solitary strand. The strand and its triple coating of gutta percha were together designated “the core.”

The copper strand was formed and coated with gutta percha in two mile lengths. Each of these lengths, when completed, was immersed in water, and then carefully tested to prove that its continuity and insulation were both perfect. The continuity was ascertained by passing a voltaic current of low power through the strand from a battery of a single pair of plates, and causing it to record a signal after issuing from the wire. A different and very remarkable plan was adopted to determine the amount of insulation. One pole of a voltaic battery, consisting of 500 pairs of plates, was connected with the earth; the other pole was united to a wire which coiled round the needle of a very sensitive horizontal galvanometer, and then ran on into the insulated strand of the core, the end of which was turned up into the air, and left without any conducting communication. If the insulation was perfect, the earth would form one pole of the battery, and the end of the insulated strand the other pole, and the circuit be quite open and uninterrupted; consequently no current would pass, and the needle of the galvanometer would not be deflected in the slightest degree. If on the other hand there was any imperfection, or permeability in the sheath of gutta percha, a portion of the electricity would force its way from the strand through the faulty places and surrounding water to the earth, a current would be set up, and the needle of the galvanometer deflected; the deflection being in proportion to the current which passed, and therefore its degree would become a measure of the amount of imperfection.

When about fifty of the two-mile lengths of core were ready, these were placed in the water of the canal which ran past the gutta percha works, and were joined up by their ends into one continuous strand of 100 miles, the joints being covered with gutta percha. The hundred-mile length was then put through a careful scrutiny in the same way that the smaller portions were tried,--and next it was halved, quartered, and separated into groups of twenty, ten, and finally two miles, and each of these were again separately examined, and tested in comparison with similar lengths previously approved.