The Great Eastern, with the Atlantic telegraph cable on board,
left Valenti& on the 24th inst., but before she had steamed eighty miles it was discovered that there was "a defect of insulation." It was, however, rectified, and at 10.50 a.m. on Friday 450 miles had been run, and 500 miles of cable paid out. Should any acci- dent occur the public will be informed of the fact, but not of its cause, the Company, with a suspicious dread of publicity not often found in such great undertakings, having refused admission to the special correspondents, and turned out a subordinate of their own who promised to keep a journal of incidents for a daily paper. The public of course loses nothing, except an amusing description of an unique enterprise, and gains what may prove fall coin- pensation, a profound distrust of everybody connected with the Company.
Previous page
