THE NEW ZEALAND CABLE.

Evening Star, Issue 4028, 24 January 1876, Page 3

THE NEW ZEALAND CABLE.

(South A'UitTalian Hepister. Decmltr 70.) Tlie cable ship Edinburgh is a fino-looiring screw steamer, built by Tod, of Glasgow, hi 1855, and subsequently adapted fm” cablelaying_ in the service of the Telegraph Gonstruction and Maintenance Goinpany. Her total tonnage is 2,351, lint the reduction for engine space leaves her 18 7 register. She is by Ajft Bin breath of beam, and aoft depth of hold. The after tied chouse contains a dining saloon and quarters for the telegraph staff. That consists of electricians, operators, clerks, anu constructors, numbering in force twenty-one persons, under the tiupirvisiou of Messrs Lew and Riddle. Further forward, before the mainmast, is auothur deckhouse, in which the matter and ship's officers have quarters. There also is space .for the operating room. By means of instruments of

extreme nicety and sensitiveness, the exact spot where any flaw exists in a wire can be found. The mode of reading the message transmitted through the cable by the medium of a reflected ray of light is beautifully shown, and the whole appartment bristles with astonishing apparatus. The delicacy of the apparatus in the electrician’s cabin strikingly contrasts with some of the gear under the ch rge of the constructor—Mr Law. On climbing to the bridge, a platform leads to the tomallant forcca-.tlc, where the recovering machinery is placed. It is principally on the port side in the wake of the fore rigging, and looks like a combination of steam-engine and such a lot of powerful wheels as would make a patent slip. These lead to the gui 'e-sheaves, set in bearing over the stem head. Far away aft the payingout machinery occupies more space, and. has more wheels and heavier breaks. VV hile the upper part of the vessel contains so much of interest there is a great deal worth seeing below. She has four tanks for the carriage of cable, and sometime i all have been in use. On her present voyage the ship has only part of one tank full, and that contains a total of 249 miles of cable, only forty-five of which are intended for South Australia, the balance being for New Zealand line. The forty-five miles must, however, be first pai i out. The tanks are immense receptacles nearly 30ft in diameter, and 25ft deep, built into the ship They are perfectly watertight, and when in use have to be filled to cover the cable with water. There is one abaft the engine space, two' amidships and one forwards, which is of similar dimensions, only reaching from the keel to the main deck. At present this is filled with gear in the shape of ropes, grapnels, buoys and chains, together with a few anchors and seamen’s tools. There is one coil of rope something over six mi es long. There are coir hawsers and hawsers of wire and hemp; there are poles, lamps, and bars, with ill-shaped implements scattered abo.it, the use of which is only known to the initiated. There are on board 700 tons, or about 239 miles, of cable, and 120 tons of rope, made in a peculiar way of the best steel wire and manila fibre for grappling purposes. The rope, shackles. Ac., have been subject to the severest tests, and the electricians know to a nicety their exact weight. With the apparatus they recovered over three miles of cable between Lisbon and -Madeira, and the accuracy with which the electric instruments record the power of the cables under all circumstances is remarkable. 'I lie cable is led up from the watertight, tanks in which it is recoiled over revolving drums to a combination of huge wheels, and “ pays ” itself by its own weight into the water, the utmost attention in (testing and laying it down being given during the operation. When a break occurs and a cable is lost, huge grapplers of various stages and sizes are dragged about the spot, and long experience has enabled the operators to detect in an instant, when the grapplers seize thecable, or are only obstructed by a rock. To the uninitiated, it seems almost incredible that the tiny copper wire, enclosed in layers of Manila wire, gutta percha, and other protecting coats, should be so effective an agent, and it is still more astonishing to see the readiness with which observations of the most delicate and intricate character can be made by means of the beautiful appliances on board. The greatest patience, vigilance, and skill are required to avoid the many dangers that He in the way of properly putting down or recovering a cable, and it takes years of study to master the details. The telegraph staff on board the ) dinburgh number twelve, and the principals are - Mr Law, chief electrician ; Mr E. Middle, chief constructing engineer; Mr R. E. Peake, acting on behalf of i.'larke, Forde, and I 0., engineers for South Australia ; and Mr Donovan.