English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 430, 17 December 1856, Page 7

English and Foreign.

Wonderful Ocean Telegraph.—The project of connecting England and the American Continent with a line of telegraphic wire has been so far successful, that the cable has been finally laid down between Cape l'aybone, in Newfoundland, to Ashley Bay. Cape Breton,and messages are now in course of constant transmission from shore to shore. There now remain between one and two hundred miles of line to be laid inland, to make the line complete. The company which is completing this undertaking have about seven hundred men at work in Newfoundland, and in Cape Breton. By the first of September the whole telegraphic communication between St. John.N.S. and New York, adistanee of 1700 miles, will be completed. There will then remain the ocean portion of the whole line to be supplied. According to deep sea soundings, instituted by officer:-- of the United States Navy, they find that there is an uniform depth of about 1000 fathoms, on a soft, saiuVy, or shelly bottom, free from rocks, hills, or valleys of any kind. These discoveries have caused the company to apply to the United States Government to have the soundings repeated, with a view to a more complete and accurate survey. Their request has been acceded to, and the propeller Arctic has been assigned to perform the task tinder Lieut. Berry man, who made the first soundings. She has boon equipped for the service, and has 100,000 f ithoms of sounding line with every requisite instrument for determining the depth, tt mperature, and currents of the sea. She left Now York on the Kith .Inly for Newfoundland, when she will immediately proceed to sound across the ocean direct, and is expected to complete her duty in the course of two months. Should this survey confirm the first impression of the route, the cable will be immediately ordered, and will probably be laid down in Juno or July of next year! Should this scheme bo successful,a complete chain of instantaneous communications round the world will then have been attained. s\ly Jthe first of September next, London will be in tologniphic communication with all the principal cities of .Europe, extending to Constantinople, (o Varna, and Balalclava, also to Algiers, in Africa ; whilst very soon the line will strike into the very

heart of Asia, thence to India, and finally to Australia. Ah Newfoundland, Prince Edward's Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada will be in communication with all the principal cities of the United States, when the telegraph crosses the ocean from Newfoundland to Ireland, the two great continental systems of telegraphs of the Old and the New World will have been accomplished, and a girdle placed round the world, which will outstrip even that oi" Ariel. Shakspearc probably never contemplated that his fanciful imaginary would ever have an actual and practical existence. Considering the vast amount of bullion which we know to have been received in this country, the quantity taken for home consumption is astonishingly small. From America and Australia we have certainly imported within the last ten years not short of 150 millions value of gold. Within that period, viz, from January ] st, 1846, to December 31st, 1855, the whole quantity of the metal coined in this country has been 48,577,357 sovereigns and 10,587,402 halfsovereigns, making a total value of £'53,871,063. This amount, though far less than half the total amount of gold received, is very much in excess of the quantity actually kept for our own use. No gold gets into circulation in England except when coined into sovereigns and halfsovereigns. But millions of sovereigns, after coinage, are exported to all parts, which never find their way back again. In addition to the amount of gold coin we may state that according to a recent return there have been struck off at the Mint, in silver, 216,082 crowns, 2,744,981 half-crowns, 6,731.292 florins, 14,357,666 shillings, 14,559,663 sixpences, 5,064714 groats, 41.580 fourpences, 3,530,816 threepences, 308,880 twopences and 78,408 pence; together of the value of £2,214,151. The copper coinage during the decade comprised 14,891,520 pence, 24,156,381 halfpence, 22,548,564 farthings, and 5,032,416 half-farth-ings of the aggregate value of £135,795 ; — Times. The telegraph cable between Sardinia and Algiers has been broken.