INTERCOLONIAL CABLE.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 852, 19 August 1871, Page 3

INTERCOLONIAL CABLE.

The " Wellington Independent" of August sth states : —" The colony of New Zealand, for- instance, not long ago, with the view of being telegrapically connected with the' neighbouring continent of Australia, a British dependency, requested the Lords of Admiralty to employ one or more of her Majesty's ships on the station to make the necessary soundings between Nelson and Sydney, and received a reply to the effect that the colony must find the ship, and every necessary equipment, and Great Britain would find a competent officer to do the work. "We are informed on authority that Captain Moresby, of H.M.S. Basilisk, was directed by Commodore Stirling to take a line of deep sea soundings between Sydney and JNew Zealand, with a view to the future laying of a telegraph cable, a line and sounding apparatus being supplied by the Postal Telegraph Company at Sydney. The first cast was made under the most favourable circumstances, when Sydney Heads bore N.W. 114 deg. Seventeen hundred fathoms of line were paid out, and no bottom obtained. On attempting to recover the line, both line and apparatus were lost in consequence of the line breaking by its own weight, and thus Captain Moresby was unable to take any further soundings. This solitary cast has, however, proved that probably much greater depths than previously 'anticipated will be found between the two countries; possibly not less than 2,500 fathoms. It is very much to be regretted that the Postal Telegraph Company at Sydney did not supply Captain Moresby with line sufficiently strong for the purpose reauired."