119 nm in length, the cable consisted of 1 no 16 BWG copper wire
covered with gutta percha to No 1 BWG, taped, covered with yarn
and armoured with 10 No 8 BWG galvanised iron wires. The plaque on
the sample notes that the cable was picked up off Alderney in 1895.

Cable sample courtesy of Jim Kreuzer

Monarch just passing a route marker buoy
with HMS Adder leading the way

Orfordness Lighthouse, where the
telegraph equipment was housed.

SUBMERSION OF THE DUTCH TELEGRAPHIC CABLE.

Electric telegraph communication between England and Holland has been successfully accomplished, the cable having been submerged from Orfordness, on the coast of Suffolk, to Schevening, on the Dutch coast, a distance, in a straight line, of 115 miles. The engineering arrangements for the purpose were under the superintendence of Mr. Edwin Clark, engineer in chief to the Electric Telegraphic Company, assisted by Mr. F.C. Webb; and the expedition was under the command of Lieut. Burstall, R.N. Three vessels were engaged in the operation,—the Monarch, paddle-steamer, 540 tons (a vessel purchased by the Company for carrying out this and other submarine undertakings in contemplation), having on hoard the cable, 130 miles in length, and 300 tons in weight; the Goliath, steam-tug, in attendance, as a precaution, in case of any casualty to the engines of the Monarch; and the Adder, Government steamer, which was kindly lent by the Admiralty, to assist in this national enterprise.

The course having been previously buoyed by Lieutenant Burstall in the Adder, the squadron left Orfordness at nine A.M., Monday week, the weather being in every way propitious, and the operation was conducted without the slightest difficulty, and a constant communication kept up with the English shore. About nine P.M., however, the barometer suddenly fell one-tenth of an inch, and as suddenly rose again; about midnight the wind increased to a fresh gale from the north-east, with a heavy sea; and although messages from the English coast announced perfectly fine weather, it was afterwards discovered that it was at the same time blowing a gale on the Dutch coast. The Monarch, loaded as she was with a dead weight so near her keel, rolled to an alarming extent, and great fears were entertained for the safety of the funnel, the chains of which parted. The “cable-break” began also to tear itself from the deck from the working of the vessel. These defects were, however, speedily remedied, though Mr. Spencer, who had charge of the “break,” was lashed to his post, which he never quitted during the operation.

The difficulty of uncoiling the cable became exceedingly formidable, and almost baffled the perseverance and determination of the men engaged in that duty, who belonged to the establishment of Messrs. Newall, the manufacturers of the cable. During the day the buoys were successfully made without difficulty; but, as night approached, great apprehensions were felt as to the probability of holding a correct course. The Adder being always in advance to pilot the Monarch, keeping up a communication with the latter by rockets and blue and red lights, was however observed to remain for some time stationary; and on the Monarch closing, she called attention, by the hearty cheers of her crew, to the position of the buoy, barely visible through the darkness under her larboard bow. So closely, indeed, was the direct course followed, that only two buoys, out of fourteen laid down, were missed during the whole voyage. A fresh departure was then taken; and, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, the haze of the morning, the heavy sea, and the numerous difficulties which they had to contend with, the Dutch coast was reached on Tuesday night without accident. On reaching the Dutch coast, the surf was so heavy on the beach that it was impossible to effect a landing. An attempt was, however, made on Wednesday, but it was not until early on Thursday that the end of the cable was brought on shore.

Communications between the Hague and England were effected for the first time at 9:15 A.M., and messages were immediately sent from England to the King of Holland, and from Sir Ralph Abercrombie, British minister at the Hague, to the Earl of Clarendon; and numerous other official communications took place throughout the day.

The steering of the Monarch was successfully managed by Mr. Webb, assisted by Mr. Sergeant, boatswain to the Adder, while the management of the communication with England, and the constant testing of the cable at intervals of 30 seconds, was ably conducted by Mr. Latimer Clark. The secretary of the Electric Telegraph Company was present on board the Monarch; Mr. Newall and Mr. Statham, of the Gutta Percha Company, were also anxious to have been present, but arrived, unfortunately, too late at Orfordness; and after a short telegraphic conversation with the squadron, which was then about 30 miles from the coast, returned to London.

The Monarch proved herself a thoroughly good sea-going boat, especially adapted for the purpose, and is the first steamer which accomplished such an operation without the assistance of a tug. Whether we consider the unusual length of the voyage,—nearly double any which has hitherto been attempted,—the unprecedented occurrence of so heavy a gale, or the inhospitable nature of the coast, the operation certainly ranks as the most bold and successful hitherto chronicled in the annals of telegraphic engineering.

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