SIGNALS FROM THE ATLANTIC CABLE.
AN ADDRESS,
By C. VAN RENSSELAER.
C. SHERMAN  & SON,       PRINTERS.








THE
PRESBYTERIAN
HISTORICAL ALMANAC,
AND
nnual-    emembrantr -of  tc Qe  Uitr
FOR  1:858-9.
COMPILED AND ARRANGED BY
OUR PROPOSITION
Is to supply a want often felt and expressed by our Ministers and Elders, by
publishing in a convenient form a volunme containing all the details and operations of THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH during the year ending with the Annual
Sessions of 1858.
We will here remark that we use the word Presbyterian in its widest and
most comprehensive sense, viz: To include all branches known as Presbyterian-in the United States, British Provinces, Great Britain and Ireland.
As we deem this, the most direct'way of calling attention to the volume, we
give a brief synopsis of its Contents.
The work will contain a Calendar showing events of interest to Presbyterians,
Ecclesiastical and Historical, to correspond with the days of each month, arranged with care, by a Literary gentleman of this city [Philadelphia].
The Opening of the Seventieth Session of THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH in the First Presbyterian Church, New Orleans,
La., on Thursday the  6th of May, 1858, by Rev. CORTLANDT VAN
RENSSELAER, D. D., Moderator of.the last Assembly, with an outline of his
discourse.
A List of the Members of the Assembly, arranged alphabetically, with the
names of the Presbyteries and Synods which they represented.
The Election of the Moderator, Rev. WILLIAAi A. SCOTT, D. D., of San
Francisco-with a fine Portrait engraved expressly for this Almanac, by
NEWSAM.
The Acts and Resolutions passed by the General Assembly, viz:
The Bills and Overtures, The Judicial Cases, The Synodical Reports, and
Miscellaneous Resolutions offered-with the action of the Assembly.
The Narrative of the State of Religion, to which will be appended a
Table, showing the names of Ministers who have -died during the year, their
Presbytery, the year of their Ordination, their death, their age, and the disease which closed their life.
A full and complete exposition-of the Annual Reports of the Boards; and
Committees connected with the Church; also, the Theological Seminaries,




Colleges, Academies, Parochial Schools, &c., their financial operations, and
such comparative tables as will enable the reader to form a just estimate of
their progress and extent of the work.
A  list of the Moderators of the General Assembly since its organization,
with the name of the Presbytery to -which -they belonged when elected, the
year of their ordination, death and age, the place of meeting.,
A list of the Ministers and Licentiates, alphabetically'arranged, with an
Initial Letter, indicating their position,: whether pastor, stated supply, &c.
Also, the name of the Presbytery to which they belong, and their Post offices,
corrected up to the time of going to press.
Synodical and Presbyterial Tables, with several additional columns, arranged
alphabetically; the' name of stated Clerk; the number of Presbyteries, lMinisters, Communicants, &c. &c.,.divided into two tables, one called the Personal, the other the Financial Statistics of the Church.
A Historical Slketch of the FIRST PRESBYT-ERIAN CHURCH, N. Orleans, La.,
where the Assembly held its session, by Rev. B. M. PALMER, D. D., Pastor,
with a fine view of the building.
The Opening of the Sixty-fourth Session of THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, in the Second Presbyterian Church. Chicago,
Illinois, on Thursday, Ma.y 20th, 1858, by Rev. SAMUEL W. FISHER, D. D.)
Moderator of the last Assembly, with an outline of his discourse.
A List of the'Members of the Assembly, alphabetically arranged, with the
names of the Presbyteries and Synods they. represented.
The Election of Rev. M. L. P. THOMPSON, D. D., of Buffalo, N. Y.,
Moderator, with a fine Portrait, by Newsam.
The Acts and Resolutions adopted by the Assembly.
A Narrative of the State of Religion, to-which will be added a list of the
Ministers who have died during the year, arranged in a table, showing their
name, Presbytery, ordination, death, age and disease.
A clear and well-arranged I abstract- of the Annual Reports of The Permasnent Committees of the General Assembly.
A list of the Moderators since the organization of the General Assembly.
Synodical and Presbyterial Tables,, arranged alphabetically, with the usual
amount of statistical matter, together with several additional columns.
A complete list of the Ministers and Licentiates, alphabetically arranged,
with their Presbyteries and Post-offices.
A  History of the SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-IN CHICAGO, in which
the Assembly held its session, by Rev. Dr. PATTERSON, Pastor, together with
a finely engraved view of the building.
The History of the UNITED SYNOD OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE
UNITED STATES, with all the Papers and Documents concerning its origin and
organization.  Prepared by Rev. CHAS. H. READ, D. D., of Richmond, Va.
The opening of the First Session of the United Synod of the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, in the Second Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tenn., on the
2nd of April, 1858, by Rev. J. D. MITCHELL, D. D,  with an outline of his
discourse.
The List of Members of the Synod, (arranged as the others).
The Electionof - Rev. -CHAS. H. READ, D. D., Moderator, with a fine PORTRAIT by Newsam.
The Acts and Resolutions passed. The Presbyterial and Synodical Tables.
The List of Ministers and Licentiates, with Presbytery and Post-offices.




3
A History of the SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Knoxville, Tennessee,
where the Synod held its first Session, by Rev. JOSEPH H. MARTIN, Pastor,
with a fine view of the Church Building.
Thy Opening of the Fifty-seventh Session of the ASSOCIATE SYNOD of North
America, in the' First Associate Presbyterian Church, Pittsburg, Pa., May
19th, 1858, by Rev. DAVID W. FRENCHI, Ioderator of the last Synod, with
an outline of his discourse.
The List of the Members of the Synod, (arranged as the others).
The Election of the Moderator, Rev. JOSEPH T. COOPER, D. D., of Philadelphia, with a fine Portrait, by Newsam.
The Acts and Resolutions passed during the Session.
The Presbyterial and Synodical Tables; A List of Members and Licentiates
arranged with the Presbytery and Post-offices.
A History of the First Associate Presbyterian ChurCh, Pi.ttsbulrgh, Pa., by
Rev. SAM'L B. REED, Pastor, where the Synod held its last session, and a
FINE VIEW of the building.
The Opening of the Annual Meeting of the General Synod of the Associate
Reformed Presbyterian Church, in the First A. R. Church, Allegheny City,
Pa., the 19th of May 1858, by Rev. D. R. KERR, D.D., with an outline
of his Discourse.
A List of Members of Synod (arranged as the others.)
The Election of the Moderator, Rev. D. C. MCLAREN, D. D., of Geneva,
N.Y., with a fine Portrait.
The Acts and Resolutions passed. The usuar Presbyterial Tables.
The List of Ministers and Licentiates, with Presbyteries and Post-office.
An Historical Sketch  of the  First Associate Reformed Presbyteriaa s
Church, by Rev. JOHN T. PRESSLY, D.D., with a fine vz'ew of the building.
The Organization of THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, with the details
connected with this important event-with a fine Portrait of Rev. JOHN T.
PRESSLY, D. D., the first Moderator.
The thirty-fifth Session of the General Synod of the REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMIERICA, was held in the First Reformed Pres.
byterian Church, Eden, Illinois, May 27, 1858, and was opened by Rev. J.
AGNEW CRAWFORD, Moderator of last year, with an outline of his Discourse.
-The members of the Synod (arranged as the others.)
The-Election of the Moderator, Rev. ANDREW GIFFORD WYLIE, of Duanesburgh, N.Y., with a fine PORTRAIT by Newsam.
~The Acts and Resolutions passed by Synod.  The Presbyterial Tables, &c.
The List of Ministers, with Presbytery and Post-office.
A Historical Sketch of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Eden, Ill.,
by Rev. SAM'L WYLIE, Pastor, with a FINE VIEW OF THE CHURCH.
The opening of the twenty eighth session of the General Assembly of the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in the Presbyterian Church, Huntsville,
Alabama, on Thursday, May 20th, 1858, by Rev. C. P. REED, with an outline
of his Discourse.
A List of the Members of the Assembly, (arranged as the others.)
The Election of Rev. FELIX JOHNSON, D. D., of Lagrange, Ala., Modera,
tor, with a Portra&it.
The Acts and Resolutions passed, &c. &c. The Synodical Tables, &c. &e.
A List of the Ministers, arranged with Presbytery and Post-office.




4
The Meeting of the ASSOCIATE REFORMED SYNOD OF THE SOUTH; held in
Old Providence Church, Augusta county, Virginia, Oct. 12th, 1857, was opened
with a discourse from'Rev. D. G. PHILLIPS.
A List of the members of Synod, (arranged as the others.)
The Acts and Resolutions passed and the Presbyterial Reports.
A List of Ministers, &c.
The REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH in North America, met in
Northwood, Ohio, May 1857, and was opened with a Discourse by the Moderator, (this body did not meet in 1858.) We give a list of its Ministers, &c.
A Sketch or the Presbyterian Historical Society. Also a large number of
matters of general interest.
BRITISH PROVINCES.
The meeting of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, was held in the McNab
Street Presbyterian Church, Hamilton, C. W. A Synopsis of the Proceedings and such details as come within the design of this work. The Election
of Moderator, Rev. THOS WARDROPE, of Ottawa, C. W., with a fine Portrait.
An Historical Sketch of the McNab Street Presbyterian Church, Hamilton,
-by Rev. D. INGLIS, Pastor, and a fine view of the building.
We will give an account of the various Presbyterian bodies in Canada West,
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, the names of Ministers,
with Presbytery and Post-office —but, the limits of this circular prevents a full
detail.
GRfEAT BfRITAIN AND IRELAND.
The Meeting of the Irish General Assembly in the Presbyterian Church,
Londonderry. The Election of Rev. JOHN JOHNSTON, of Banbridge, Ireland,
Moderator, with a fine Portrait. Also a full account of the proceedings.
An Historical Sketch of the Church, Londonderry, by Rev. WM. CLURE,
Pastor, and a fine view of the building, including Walker's Monument.
An account of the Free Church of Scotland. The Presbyterian Church
of Scotland; the various Synods —English and Scotch.;y  We would call attention to the fact that the Portraits are all from
Daguerreotypes or Ambrotypes taken expressly for the Almanac, and are
by an artist who is one of the best in the country; they are crayon lithographs.
The views of. the Churches are also new and prepared from drawings for this
Almanac. - The Publisher hopes this effort will be sustained, as from the character of the volume its sale is limited to the Presbyterians.
The Historical Almanac will be a large octavo volume, printed on good
paper. Price will be $1.00 sent by mail, free of postage. As ite is neceesary
to know the size of the Edition to print, those wishing copies will send their
names as early as possible. Address,
JOSEPHl M. WILSON, Puiblisher,
No. 111 South Tenth St., below Chesnut,
PHILADELPHIA.
P. S. The Publisher will also receive, to be published with the Almanac,
Advertisements for Schools, Academies, Colleges, Books, Insurance Companies, &c. &c. Those wishing to advertise will please apply immediately.  The
work will, be issued the latter part of October, 1858.




Cignals from fle tlantic Nable.
AN ADDRESS
DELIVERED AT
THE TELEGRAPHIC CELEBRATION,
SEPTEMBER 1ST, 1858,
IN THE CITY HALL, BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY.
BY
CORTLANDT VAN RENSSELAER.
PHILADELPHIA:
JOSEPH M. WILSON, PUBLISHER,
NO. 111 SOUTH TENTH STREET.
1858.








BURLINGTON CELEBRATION.
THE Celebration of the successful laying of the ATLANTIC CABLE took place in
Burlington, N.J., on September 1st, 1858, according to the following Programme,
issued by the Committee of Arrangements:
"ATLANTIC CABLE CELEBRATION.
"REV. C. VAN RENSSELAER, D. D.
"DEAR SIR: We live in an age of astonishing events. This nineteenth century
has been more marked than any that has preceded it by the triumphs of mind over
matter; and the greatest of them all has just been accomplished, in the successful
laying of the Telegraph Cable, which unites the Old World with the New. On
Wednesday, the 1st proximo, an immense number of the people of the United States
will be engaged in celebrating this most marvellous event, by public parades, the
firing of artillery, fireworks, and other demonstrations of joy. Perhaps it may be
more in character for our quiet people to adopt a somewhat different method of joining in the general rejoicing.
"The undersigned, on behalf of a number of their fellow-citizens, respectfully request you to deliver an Address upon this magnificent achievement, on the evening
of said day, at 7~ o'clock, at the- City Hall. If you are willing to comply with this
request, you will greatly oblige many of your friends.
"Respectfully, your friends,' SAMUEL R. GUMMERE,
"SAMUEL KEYS,
"J. HOWARD PUGH.
"BURLINGTON, Aug. 30, 1858.
" To MESSRS. SAMUEL R. GUMMERE, SAMUEL KEYS, AND J. HOWARD PUGH.
"GENTLEMEN: There seems to be a propriety in our uniting with other cities in
the celebration of the event which brings' two hemispheres into telegraphic communication. I will endeavour to prepare an Address suitable to the occasion; and I
trust that you will accept my sincere desire to draw the proper lessons from this great
achievement as an excuse for any deficiencies resulting from hasty preparation, or
any other cause.
"I am yours, respectfully,
"C. VAN RENSSELAER.
"In accordance with the above correspondence, the undersigned respectfully invite
the ladies and gentlemen of the City of Burlington and its vicinity, to assemble at
the CITY HALL, on WEDNESDAY, September 1st, at 7- o'clock P. M., to hear an address
appropriate to the occasion by the REV. C. VAN RENSSELAER.
"A Band of Music will be in attendance.
"The Bells of the City will be rung on Wednesday from 12 to 1 P. M.
"Samuel R. Gummere, Samuel Keys, J. Howard Pugh, James Watts, Nathan
Harper, Joseph E. Taylor, Charles G. Milnor, John B. Roberts, Samuel J. Gummere,
John Rodgers.-Committee of Citizens.
"BURLINGTON, N. J., August 31, 1858."




EXERCISES AT THE CITY HALL.
THE City Hall was crowded, at the appointed time, by an intelligent audience,
numbers being unable to gain admittance. SAMUEL R. GUMMEiRE was called to the
Chair; and briefly addressed the people. After which, the following was the order
of exercises.
1. "Hail Columbia," by the Burlington Band.
2. An Introductory, written by request, by a young Lady, residing in Burlington,
which is here inserted. Read by Mr. Gummere.
Give thanks! give thanks, and pause awhile,
In view of this last glorious gift of Heaven;
And humbly bend, and worship Him, who made
Man of such wondrous, self-amazing powers!
Time is, yet is not! Distance stands,
Yet parts, no longer, man from fellow-man!
Thought, flying on electric chain, across
The deep, dark Ocean, now can find response
Immediate! God, in mercy, deigns
To give to man another wondrous power:
And places in his hand that lightning pen
With which, HE, even, sometime deigned to write,
To warn of danger, or to summon quick'To His dread audience! Let us bow
In awe, and take the blessing given,
Remembering'tis from His great presence come;
And as it works subservient to our will,
Oh! let us trembling strive to work His own.
3. Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Lewis, of the Methodist Church.
4. " God save the Queen," by the Band.
5. Address by the Rev. C. Van Rensselaer, D. D.
6. " The Star-Spangled Banner" and the " Marseillaise," by the Band.
7. Mrs. Ann S. Stephens's Ode, written for the Celebration in New York, and
sung, at the request of the audience, by Mr. Haas.
8. "Rule Britannia," by the Band.
On motion of Captain H. McDowell, of the Marion Rifle Corps (who were present
in their uniform) it was
"Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be tendered to the Rev. Dr. Van Rensselaer for his address on this interesting occasion, and that the Committee of Arrangements be authorized to request a copy for publication."
9. "Yankee Doodle," by the Band.
10. The Benediction, by the Rev. Mr. Meason, of the Baptist Church.
The meeting broke up with much apparent satisfaction; and Burlington thus endeavoured to contribute its share in the commemoration of one of the most important
events of the nineteenth century.




ADDRESS.
MY FELLOW-CITIZENS OF BURLINGTON:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
THE union of the two hemispheres is a festival event in the history of the great globe. America, from Greenland to Magellan,
thrills with continental joy at the pressure of the sister hands of
Europe, Asia, and Africa. And the mighty hemisphere of the
East, in one family three, receives, with kindred emotion, the welcome grasp of a long-separated and absent member of the terrestrial household.
The globe is now in electric union. Ye winds, who have swept
over American forests, and African deserts, and Asiatic mountains,
and European plains, a new agent, swifter far than your aerial
speed, is a visitant of the four quarters of the globe. Ye stars of
light, who chronicle new achievements in the infinite universe, record in the book of ages the laying of the thought-wire that speaks
to nations through separating gulfs. Ye mountains, sublime in the
peaks of everlasting hills, let your primeval rocks and verdure respond to the human enterprise which has mounted your Alpine
heights, and has now thrown the rein of mastery over your submerged depths, and guides its way across the rugged mountain-path
of waters. And thou, old ocean, majestic in the billows of thy
might, that anthem the praise of God from shore to shore, —thou,
who leadest the intercourse of nations by outspreading sail and
grander steam, to thine azure deep is committed a new trained
elemental power, from the hands of Him who rules the waves and
directs the storm.
The air, the sky, the earth, the sea, send greeting to the festival
of men, and make one with the nations, in their simultaneous celebration, of an influential and great event in the history of the nineteenth century.
Occasions like the present have their high moral purposes. They
serve to explain and illustrate the discovery they celebrate; they
magnify to its true proportions the triumph of mind over matter;
they secure to society an interval of intellectual and genial




6
festivity; they exert an elevating and educating influence on the
popular mind; they render homage to providential developments in
the world's affairs; and they assist in bringing God to view as the
great and glorious Ruler of the Universe.
Fellow-citizens of Burlington, it is becoming to the dignity of
this ancient city, and to its educational and industrial spirit, to
unite with other cities in this and in distant lands, in celebrating
the successful laying of the ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. This is one
of those leading and happy events in human history, which, when
it occurs first, anticipates the emotions and honours of future triumphs of the same kind. Now is the time and the hour! Our
celebration, on the appointed day, brings us into heartfelt connection with the general joy and praise; and the telegraphic poles of
Burlington exchange signals with the wires on Albion's cliffs, and
return the festival flashes, which pulse with the power of life, from
our commercial metropolis to the outstretched boundaries of this
great Republic.
The subject of our meditations shall be SOME OF THE LESSONS
TAUGHT BY THE LAYING OF THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. If I have
succeeded in reading any of them, I desire to signal to you their
true import, and to stand for a few minutes in sympathetic, electric union with your minds and hearts,-an operator to explain
some of the signs and the seasons in the horizon of the awe-struck
world.
I. The first lesson of the submerged telegraph is clearly THE
SUPERINTENDENCE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE AFFAIRS OF
MEN. The time and the issuing of this event proclaim the hand
of God. Occurring a century, or half a century ago, it would
have been incongruous to human affairs. The world was not in a
condition to appreciate or profit by an invention which antedated
its necessity. God arranges all things so that everything shall
be in its place, at the right time, in the mighty system of his advancing Providence. The clock on the dial of ages strikes, only
when the seconds and minutes make up the hour. As the discovery
of America was not demanded by the condition of the world, prior
to the bold and hopeful adventure of the divinely guided Columbus,
so an oceanic telegraph came into being only when the wants of
the nineteenth century sought it out among the ordained inventions of a responsive Providence. The discovery of America in
1492 stands related to the counsels of God, just as the laying of
the Atlantic telegraph in 1858. God is in history. Divinity overshadows every event with grandeur, and gives to it, like the stars,
its right ascension in a sphere of glory.
The successful issue of the event we celebrate, as well as its
time, brings to view divine Providence. Man walks beyond the
bounds of his domain, when he undertakes to thread over, by the
line of his skill, mountain peaks, submerged in ocean's depths.
Adventurous was he, who first unfurled a sail upon the billows of




the defiant deep; but what language can express the boldness, and
even hopelessness of that enterprise that seeks to conquer, not
space on the surface wave, but on the unexplored mud and cavern
in the darkness of the distant bottom?  To what but the interposing help of divine Providence can be ascribed the successful
deposit, in the lower parts of the boisterous ocean, of a wire, measured in size by a human finger and in length by a twelfth part of
the distance around the globe?
In 1857, the first Atlantic experiment was made. On the 5th
of August of that year, two'ships, well named-the " Agamemnon," after an indomitable Greek chieftain, and thus representing
the spirit of men; the "Niagara," after the great cataract, and
representing the wonders of nature-these two vessels set sail
with the mysterious cable, one end of which is held by the Old
World, as the pledge of its firm faith in the enterprise. Five days
out from land, on the 11th of August, the slender cord, intended
to reach the New World, is broken by the heaving of the vessel;
and the part submerged, of three hundred and forty-four miles,
is left a buried and irrecoverable fragment amid the curves of
the Atlantic plateau. Thus perished the hopes of the first expedition.  Man's ability was inadequate to the work.
On the 10th of June, 1858, the undaunted ships again set out.
Violent storms forebode disaster. The Agamemnon is shaken to
and fro by the sea, as if to exult over the frailty of human workmanship, and the vessel barely escapes wreck. At last the cable
is joined in mid-ocean, and the ships part for the two hemispheres.
On the first day the wire is broken on the Niagara, on the second
day at the bottom of the ocean, and on the fourth day on the
Agamemnon. Three failures, with the loss of three hundred and
thirty-five miles of cable, again rebuke human impotency. The
Niagara returns in gloom, followed by her cheerless but not discomfited compeer. The conviction settles on the popular mind that
the enterprise is beyond human power. And so it is. But not
beyond God's. The Lord on high is mightier than the waves of
the sea.
On the third expedition the noble ships reached their mid-ocean
rendezvous on the 27th of July, true to each other as the needle to
the pole, and eager to make the magnet available at the bottom of
the ocean as on its surface. The splice was effectually, but this
time rudely made; and "the apparatus was then dropped into the
sea without any formality, and indeed almost without a spectator;
for those on board the ship had witnessed so many beginnings to
the telegraphic line, that it was evident they despaired of there ever
being an end to it." The fact is, that public opinion, both on sea
and land, had reached such a point of depression and of renunciation of human ability, as to produce the general feeling that,
without the special interposition of Providence, the work must
prove a failure. Thus did God prepare the world to put its trust
in Him alone. Where else is trust safe?




8
The ships now slowly part from each other in the concealed
glory of a successful mission. Painful anxiety keeps watch on both
vessels. The pilots scan the sea rather than the stars, and the
interest is at the stern and not at the prow. Never did maternal
affection note, with more tenderness, the breathings of a new-born
infant, than did the electricians the continuity of life developed by
this wonderful child of nature in the cradle of the deep. Day after
day passes without disaster; but, like the crisis between life and
death, apprehension only increases until complete safety is announced. The logs of both ships show the variety of contingencies
which alternately cherished or depressed hope. The story of the
double passage reads, indeed, like the romance of the adventures
in the earlier voyages of discovery. But here is the higher moral
sublimity of a great and well-matured enterprise, throwing its
lights and shadows over the scene. What dangers encompass the
daring work! Behold the little line, sparkling by day in the sunbeams, and in the night leaving its slight, phosphorescent track of
foam, like silver, on the billows. Is it to reach, at last, its twofold destination? What perils of wind and storm, of waves, and
icebergs, and whales, has it to encounter! What perils of Yankee
vessels dashing up with unapologizing curiosity to spy out the
mystery of the strange proceedings! What perils from the uncoiling of the spiral heaps of those miles of wire; from splicing
and running out from one part of the ship to another; from the
standing still, as on one occasion on the Agamemnon, of the paying-out wheels of the machinery, when the vast ship hung on to
the frail cord; above all, what perils from crossing the unknown
heights and valleys of the sea, unvisited by man, save by a few
plunges of his long sounding-line, or by his own lifeless frame
asleep in the watery sepulchre! Columbus on the prow of the
Santa Maria, in search of the New World, depicts the double gaze,
easterly and westerly, of the eager hearts on the Agamemnon
and Niagara. The water at length shallows; the sounding-line
telegraphs approaching land; the two harbours are won, and God
is glorified.
On the 5th of August, the cable is landed on both shores. The
Niagara's portion is carried up in glad but toiling procession to
the station-house; and the end being placed in connection with the
instrument, the deflection of the needle on the galvanometer shows
a good electrical condition in the cable. And then and there, in
the silence of the awe inspired by success from heaven, and amid
the rude scenes; of the station-house in the wilderness, the good
Captain Hudson, assembling his men, remembers God and PRAYS.
Few of earth's scenes were more sublime than that one, in the
forests of Newfoundland. It stands out in the foreground of history, like Columbus kneeling before God on the soil of the New
World, or De Soto planting the cross on the banks of the Mississippi, or Brewster and the Pilgrims praying and singing psalms at




9
the landing-Rock of Plymouth. Let this scene go down to posterity
among the grandest memorials of our national history!
The religious services were introduced by a few appropriate words,
beginning with these: "The work has been performed, not by
ourselves: there has been an Almighty hand over us and aiding us;
and without the divine assistance, thus extended, success was impossible." In the same spirit of "glory to God in the highest,"
Captain Hudson sent his first telegraphic announcement in the
memorable words, " GOD HAS BEEN WITH US. THE TELEGRAPHIC
CABLE IS LAID, WITHOUT ACCIDENT; AND TO HIM BE ALL THE
GLORY. 
This great truth, then, of God's holy Providence in the world's
affairs, is flashed from Valentia- to Trinity Bay, from Europe to
America, and around the circuit of the globe, up into the bright
arches of the eternal heavens.
II. Another of the lessons, signalled by the Atlantic Telegraph,
is THE TRIUMPH OF HUMAN GENIUS, FAITH, AND PERSEVERANCE.
Let it be distinctly acknowledged that every endowment of man
is from God. It is the inspiration of the Almighty that giveth understanding. The triumphs of man's intellect are his own, only as
the aided emanations of a created instrumentality.
The human mind, like the stars which differ in glory, has its
variations of capacity. The masses are scarcely perceptible on the
map of the firmament, inferior glimmerings, or nebulae undistinguishable in the vast abyss of being. The morning and the evening star is solitary in the grandeur of its brightness.  Superior
intellects are rare; but with what power they attract and rule!
Great men in science and the arts, whose inventions and discoveries
advance civilization, reign to distant ages.
Man's intellect, however, is comparatively feeble in its best
estate.. The children of a succeeding generation often know more
than was at first discerned by the mind of inventive genius. Three
considerations modify, without disowning, the homage due to the
triumphs of the human mind. ]First, new discoveries and inventions generally originate from small and suggestive incidents, and
not from independent, original investigation. Thus, the falling of
an apple suggested to Newton's mind the principle of gravitation.
The idea of the telescope grew out of the experiment of a boy, who,
in using two lenses, found that a church-steeple was brought nearer
in an inverted form.  The properties of the magnetic needle were
discovered by "some curious persons who were amusing themselves
by floating a loadstone, suspended upon a piece of cork, in a basin
of water, which, when left at liberty, was observed to point to the
north."  The art of printing derived its origin from the effort of
a man in Haarlem to amuse his children by transferring to paper
some letters he had cut on the smooth bark of a tree. A new
epoch was created in the department of galvanism, or animal electricity, by Madame Galvani's notice of the convulsions' in the mus



10
cles of frogs by the contact of metals. Electricity for telegraphic
purposes was first stumbled upon by Oersted, of Copenhagen, who
observed that an electric current, transmitted through a wire placed
parallel to a magnetic needle, either above or below it, caused the
needle to deviate to the right or left, according to the direction of
the current. In short, the triumphs of genius in the arts and sciences generally owe their origin to suggestive and casual incidents,
and not to the original determinations of the human intellect.
Secondly. Discoveries and inventions are the work of more than
one mind. Not to multiply illustrations, let us take the single
subject of Electricity, the great agent in telegraphing. Dr. Gilbert, of Colchester, is the first to record, in 1660, the phenomenon
of electricity, which he produced from various substances.  Seven
years later, Otto Guericke, of Germany, brought out the electric
machine, now so common, although still an object of wonder. In
1730, Stephen Grey divided all material substances into electrics
and non-electrics; and shortly after, Dufaye discovered the phenomena of attraction and repulsion.  The experiments of Kleist,
Cunceus, and Muschenbrcek, dating from  1746, led to the discovery of the Leyden jar in 1755.  About this time, Franklin
proved by his little kite the identity between electricity and lightning, and gave a new impulse to the science, by establishing the
universality of the fluid in nature. About 1780, Cavendish laid
the foundation of chemical electricity, by decomposing air and
water by means of this agent. In 1790 Galvani, and in 1800
Volta, added to the advances of this science by the discoveries of
animal magnetism and the construction of the Voltaic battery.
And in 1819, Oersted announced the discovery of Electro-Magnetism, or the relations between Electricity and Magnetism, which
constitutes the basis of the telegraphic art.  These successive developments of this particular science serve to show that, however
great are the successes of intellect, no one mind can ever lay open
the treasures of even a single vein in the strata of knowledge.
In the third place, it requires time to bring all discoveries into
practical use. Even after the leading principle has been discovered, the human mind is slow in applying it to its practical ends.
The power of steam was long known; but it was not until 1765
that Watt's invention of performing condensation in a separate
vessel from the cylinder was applied to the steam engine; and
still more notable, it was not until 1807, or nearly half a century
later, that Fulton succeeded in propelling a steamboat on the
Hudson River; and not until 1830 that steam was successfully
applied to railways.
The Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, like the Steam Engine and
other inventions, is the creature of gradual development. Oersted
in 1819 discovered the principle of electro-magnetic power; and
in 1820, the celebrated Ampbre proposed to apply the principle
to a telegraph, with the crude suggestion that as many magnetic




needles and as many circuits should be employed as there were
characters to be indicated. Schelling and Fechner proposed the
employment of fewer needles. Gauscs demonstrated, afterwards, that
the appropriate combination of a few simple signs was all that was
necessary to form a language for telegraphic purposes. Sturgeon,
of England, was the first to construct an electro-magnet by coiling
a copper wire around an iron of horseshoe shape. Barlow, of
England, in 1825, failed to render his telegraph available, on account of the rapid diminution of the galvanic action with the
distance, under the arrangements which he made.  The great
desideratum was to propel the galvanic power through an indefinite circuit of wire. In 1831, Professor Joseph iHenry, now Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, showed by his experiments
how enormously more powerful magnets might be constructed,
while the battery remained the same; and he also showed how and
why the battery might be so arranged that the rapid diminution
of the effect of galvanism might be prevented, so that the effect
could be produced in sufficient intensity at a great distance; that
is, so that we might TELEGRAPH. Professor Henry's discovery
attracted much attention in the scientific world; but he did not
himself undertake to invent a machine for telegraphing, or to
decipher the language of electro-magnetism. In 1833, Weber, of
Gottingen, found that a wire for telegraphic purposes on land
required no special insulation; and in this year, in connection with
Gauss, set in operation a telegraph between the Observatory of
Gottingen and the Cabinet of Natural Philosophy, by means of a
wire a mile and a half long. In 1835, Professor Miorse, of New
York, constructed in the University of New York, an electromagnetic Telegraph, about a third of a mile long, and transmitted
the word "Eureka" to paper. In 1837 much progress was made.
In June of that year, Cook and Wheatstone, of England, took out
their patent, using a deflective point; in July, Steinheil constructed a telegraph between Munich and Bogenhausen, employing
a deflected needle to make dots and marks, as representatives of
the alphabet; and in October of the same year, Professor 1iorse
filed his caveat, which gave a general outline of his present
system. In this paper, Professor Morse dates his inventions back
to 1832, the year following Professor Henry's discoveries; but
telegraphing, under his superintendence did not go into practical
use on a large scale, until the completion of the Washington and
Baltimore line in 1844. At first, two wires were considered necessary to make the circuit, one at the terminus and the other back.
Steinheil, however, discovered that one-half of the circuit could be
formed by the earth, and that double wires were unnecessary.
In the matter of veritable telegraphing, in the present acceptation of that word, Professor Morse, of New York, is justly entitled
to pre-eminence among all the inventors of instruments that applied




12
the previously discovered principles. So many minds have, in fact,
co-operated to produce the telegraph to its present working order,
that it may be called the invention of the age, rather than of any
individual.  Nevertheless, Professor Morse, more than any one
man, has the credit of bringing the telegraph into practical use on
a large scale; sustaining to the telegraph the same relation that
Fulton does to steam navigation.*
Even after the operations of the telegraph were successful on
land, it was a bold thought to drop the wire into the bed of the
ocean for international communication.  But time assists the
triumphs of genius and perseverance. In November, 1851, the submarine telegraph was laid between Dover and Calais, a distance of
23~ miles; and on the same day guns were fired at Dover by means
of the electric spark, communicated from Calais. Franklin had,
however, anticipated the experiment in another mode, and had
fired spirits by an electric current over a river, a century before,
in 1748. Planting his Leyden jar, or battery, on one side of the
Schuylkill, the philosopher, as an electro-King, commanded the
electric current to the other side on a wire, and then summoned it
to return by way of the river and earth. Perhaps, before long,
some Yankee hand, fond of exploits, may apply American electricity, through the Atlantic ocean, to the touch-hole of British
cannon, to astonish the Royal Lion and the Londoners.  Various
submarine telegraphs have been set in operation since 1851; but
the greatest of all is the ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH OF 1858.
It does not detract from this great submarine work, that so many
instrumentalities were necessary to its execution. Almost every
philosopher has made some contribution to the elucidation of its
scientific principles, especially Oersted, Gauss, Sturgeon, Henry,
Weber, Steinheil, and Wheatstone; almost every inventor has aided
in. bringing it into practical use,'especially Gauss, Weber, Wheatstone, Morse, and Steinheil; hundreds have assisted in laying the
Atlantic cable-Brooke and Berryman in sounding and surveying
the ocean path; Maury in foretelling the -time of genial skies;
Armstrong in applying gutta percha as the insulating material;
Field in organizing the companies, furnishing the means, and superintending the whole work; the manufacturers, Glass and Elliott,
and Newell, whose cunning skill wrought the ingenious wires;
Berdan and Everett, who invented the paying-out machinery;
Woodhouse and Canning, the engineers; Bright and Whitehouse,
the electricians; Preely and Hudson, Dayman and Oldham, the
commanders; Morse and Bache in their constant and valuable
counsel from beginning to end; the British and American governments, who supplied the vessels; the gallant tars and laborious
* In this brief sketch of the discoveries and inventions relating to the Telegraphwhich has been compiled from the various sources accessible to the public-the intention has been to be impartial, and to give to each individual his due share of
honour.




13
working-men, who encountered toil day and night;-but, whatever
number of persons may have been employed, intellectually or
physically, in laying the Atlantic cable, it is certain that the work
done is a great work, and that the mind of man, which fathomed
the idea and anchored it in the deep, has a mighty range for its
exploits, even from the, stars of heaven down to the chambers of
ocean's darkness.
Whilst due honour should be awarded to all, on both sides of the
Atlantic, who have aided, by thought or hand, this transmarine
achievement, the names that will be forever most dear to American
minds'are FRANKLIN, HENRY, MORSE, and FIELDI:-Franklizn
for identifying lightning with electricity, and thus connecting earth
with the heavens; Henry, for devising the means and demonstrating
the practicability of telegraphing through an indefinitely long
circuit of wire; Morse, for reducing the electric current to a written
language; and Field, for successfully executing the great subAtlantic enterprise.
The present commemoration holds in special honour the laying
of the Atlantic cable. This work involved three separate and
special classes of difficulties:-1. The organization of the men and
means for the enterprise, including the immense cost of the experiment, which was about two millions of dollars. 2. The making of
the right kind of cable, which involved the greatest skill in the
selection of materials and in their mechanical comnbination into one
cord. 3. The laying of the line at the bottom of the ocean, which
required the space of two large vessels, careful coiling and uncoiling, and paying out into the sea by the most ingenious machinery.
The present celebration gives mingled homage to science, art,
and practical skill. Taken all together, the combinations of the
Atlantic Telegraph constitute unquestionably one of the greatest
triumphs ever accomplished by the human intellect. The event
teaches a lesson of faith, energy, and perseverance, to universal
man.
III.'Another lesson of the Atlantic Telegraph is that IT BRINGS
GREAT ADVANTAGES, political, social, economical, and religious, to
the world. Many benefits, numerous as its own seven-fold cord,
are wrapped up in the inventory of those mysterious strands.
1. The promotion of the friendship of nations is one of the first
natural advantages of the Atlantic Telegraph. The division of the
world into different nations by means of mountains, rivers, and
oceans, is a part of the arrangements of infinite goodness.  Great
ends of mercy, as well as of retribution, were answered by the confusion of tongues and the dispersion of mankind. In the progress
of ages, the diversity, necessary to the best interests of the race,
was to be relieved by the providential preparations for a more
genial intercourse. The sharp, repulsive prejudices and rude hostilities of the earlier eras of civilization were to be superseded by
a system of attracting influences. At the present day all the ten



14
dencies of the world's advancement are towards intercourse, unity,
and peace. The swift communication of thought is the best harbinger of universal concord. As the original dispersion of mankind
was accomplished by the confusion of language at the tower of
Babel, so its reunion in the bonds of peace is promoted by the
creation of a new, universal language, outstripping the resources
of combined human tongues.
The wire itself symbolizes the union of all lands, and the fraternity, which Grace is to give to the nations. Higher than physical
juxtaposition is the intellectual and moral nearness of vision that
outstrips the course of the sun, and becomes a universal source of
light and genial attraction. The very existence of neighbourly
ties sanctifies intercourse. Never did Science before, thus re-echo,
from the deeps of the sea, the hosannahs, which rang through the
firmament at the birth of the Prince of Peace: " Glory to God in
the highest; on earth peace, and good-will towards men."
As a specimen of the connection between the diffusion of intelligence and national peace, it may be stated that if there had been
a telegraph, the last war with Great Britain might have been avoided.
The British Orders in Council, which restricted our commerce on
the continent, and which constituted one of the prominent causes of
our Declaration of War in 1812, were actually repealed before that
declaration was made, although the slow rate, at which intelligence
then travelled, prevented our receipt of the intelligence in time.
So also the great battle of New Orleans was fought after the preliminaries of peace were signed; but there was no telegraph to flash
an armistice into the smoke of the contending armies.
In proportion as the nations are brought into daily communication, mutual respect and sympathy are engendered. Diplomacy
will cease to be a mischievous appendage to thrones and cabinets.
And since no movement can occur in national policy without its
instantaneous communication to the whole world, it is clear that
the Telegraph must become the Oracle of Peace. Congruous to
its character, is its first enunciation of peace with China, and intercourse established between the civilized world and three hundred
millions of hitherto self-inclosed barbarians!
No two nations on the earth ought to be united by firmer bonds
than those two, whose telegraphic stations now respond flash to
flash. War between England and America would imperil the interests of civilization. Welcome to all Anglo-Saxon hearts is the
new union-tie, which enables the Royal Queen and the Republican
President to exchange, on the same day, mutual congratulations in
behalf of fifty millions of kindred freemen. May the British lion
and the American eagle ever dwell in peace together, and the little
child of the telegraph lead them. In the eloquent language of
GOVERNOR KING, of New York, at a recent celebration, "For England I have a noble, kindred feeling. In common she speaks the
language of Shakspeare, Milton, Bacon, and Newton; and united,




15
we may walk down the future centuries, a mutual benefit, and the
hope of struggling nations."
2. Another benefit of the Atlantic Telegraph is in its relations
to commerce. A merchant* justly remarked, in the New York
Chamber of Commerce, of the newly-laid telegraph, "We hail
this as a commercial enterprise, carried into effect, more than for
any other purpose, to answer the demand of a growing commerce,-of a commerce guided by the light of an advancing civilization."
Intelligence aids commerce in many ways. First, it places the
operations of commerce upon the true and broad foundation of
knowledge. Secondly, it gives regularity to its laws. Thirdly, it
stimulates its advances into all quarters of the globe.  And
Fourthly, it gives equality to all who engage in its enterprises.
A knowledge of the state of the markets in all parts of the
world, at the time of acting, must effectually check rash and illegitimate speculation. The telegraphs in our own country have
already equalized prices throughout its length and breadth, and
regulated exchanges with the most exact precision. The same
results will be now obtained for commercial operations between
Great Britain and America, and eventually for the whole world.
The quotations of the business of the day on the Royal Exchange
and at the Bourse, whose transactions close an hour or two before
those in Wall Street begin, will have a daily influence upon the
American market. And soon, the Exchanges of all the capitals
on both hemispheres being in full telegraphic and commercial
union, Commerce will possess the advantage of a new power,
worthy of the mysterious winds that waft her ships and of the
grand seas that bear them in their course.
It is a remarkable fact that one of the earliest mercantile results of the Atlantic Telegraph was to communicate the information of renewed intercourse with China, thus placing American
vessels, trading with that distant land, on the same footing with
English-or other foreign vessels, which otherwise would have had
the start of ten or fifteen days.
The Atlantic Telegraph is to Commerce what the gathering of
facts is to Science. It encourages, enlarges, purifies, invigorates
and confirms its domain. Let Commerce, then, bring her offerings
from afar, gather her tributes from every shore, and wherever the
winds swell the glad sails of her ships, do homage to this new benefactor of the great mercantile world.
3. The advantages of the Telegraph to the various branches of
mechanical labour are incalculable.  Knowledge and civilization
are the allies of human industry. Every new invention tends to
mitigate human toil, to dignify labour, to increase the sources of
comfort, and to elevate the working classes, intellectually, morally,
and politically. The labourer with his barrow, the blacksmith at
*Mr. A. A. Low.




16
his forge, the boat-builder in his yard, the shoemaker with his last,
the tinman at his instruments, the carpenter with his saw, the
mason with his trowel, the hatter at his block, the painter with
his brush, the printer at his types, the tailor with his needle, in
short, all mechanics, of every occupation and grade,-and work is
honourable in all; idleness is vice-I say, all mechanics are interested in, and benefited by, every discovery and invention'of the
age. It might have seemed to some a singular and incongruous
thing, to see workingmen in New York turn out in a procession,
two miles in length, on the day the success of the laying of the
Atlantic cable was announced. - With a full band of music and
with banners, the hardy workmen, in their everyday clothes,
marched in a festival procession, which extended from Union
Square to the Park. This was the testimony of men of sense to
the general value of the new improvement, and to its influence on
their own interests and happiness. Whatever promotes the prosperity of the city and of the country, helps the cause of the
labourer and the mechanic. This principle is as true as the hammer to the head of the nail, or a plummet dropping straight down
by the side of a wall.
When the working men of New York had assembled in the Park,
the President of the Commissioners of the Central Park thus forcibly addressed them.
" FEellow-citizens and fellow-workmen of the Central Park: This
procession of labouring men of the city, turning spontaneously from
their daily work into line of two miles long, with ploughs, drays,
spades, and all the insignia of labour, adds a most significant feature to the celebration of this most wonderful achievement of time.
While bankers, and brokers, and shipowners, and manufacturers
are all fathoming the influence of this event upon their peculiar
vocations, the intelligence of the labouring man is not behind in
discovering its bearings upon his interests and the interests of
labour throughout the world. Movement, activity, transportation
%by rail and by ship, by land and by sea, are the life of this great
market-place of the West and of the East. All inventions facilitating the exchange of material products and articles, and the interchange of thought, must enhance the greatness of this metropolis; and it is not singular that you who are engaged in a work
that is to add beauty to its greatness should sympathize in an event
that so deeply concerns its advancement.  Whatever tends to
equalize the prices of commodities operates to arrest those sudden
periodical shocks that paralyse trade and manufactures, and bear
so heavily upon labour. This the ocean telegraph must do, and
I find a chief gratification in a faith that points out to me this result. While officials speak of this event in the language of state,
this demonstration of labour shows that the great heart of the people beats with an enthusiasm worthy of the day and of the wonder
of ages. It cannot be that this new avenue of thought, that brings




17
the civilized people of the earth within an hour of each other, will
ever fail to subserve the highest interests of humanity."
4. The power of the telegraph in extending the knowledge and
infuence of republican institutions will aid to bless the world.
Our country has remained isolated from the nations until the wellbeing of its free institutions has been well demonstrated in its history.  The Old World has felt some of the movements of liberty;
but its irregular fires of inspiration have been followed by desolation. Before the influence of America in overthrowing tyranny
could be fully felt upon the earth, it was necessary to bring its
system of government into closer proximity with the Old World.
Steamships and the press have already contributed to this result;
and now, the quick light of the telegraph exhibits, side by side,
the institutions of freedom and the thrones of tyranny. The cause
of liberty always gains by light. The increase of knowledge tends
to the political regeneration of the earth and to the establishment
of the great principles of popular government from pole to pole.
"The tyrants of the world will quail under the searching glances
of an argus-eyed public sentiment.  The present system  of telegraphing is, as it were, blending the mind of the world into one
stupendous republic."
All inventions are in freedom's favour.  It has been said that
the locomotive was a great democrat; and so it is, in the true sense
of that word. In the same enlarged signification,. the Atlantic
Telegraph is a true republican.  Railways and electric wires unite
in unfolding the glories of self-government to expectant nations;
and even the interest, taken by Americans in the very celebration
of the Atlantic Telegraph, goes up, like a jubilant shout, to cheer
the hopes of the oppressed and to warn Tyranny of its doom. Soon
may Freedom's be a universal dominion:
"And henceforth, there shall be no chain,
Save underneath the sea,
The wires shall murmur through the main
Sweet songs of liberty."
5. The influence of the telegraph upon the press will be salutary
and powerful. More than any other department of business, the
press feels the power of this great enterprise, which establishes
almost instantaneous communication with all parts of the world.
The Telegraph will not only stimulate the desire of the people for
intelligence, but it will throw increased ability and activity into
the press, in order to meet the growing demands of the public.
The newspaper is one of the great institutions of the age. If its
necessity has ever before been questioned, all doubt of its power
and usefulness vanishes before the landward and seaward telegraphs, which send to the press the contributions of all nations.
6. Science shall receive rewards from her own achievements.
The ocean telegraph has been already of use to science, by
2




18
showing what modifications the electric wave undergoes under such
new circumstances.  It will serve, if it endures, to throw  light
upon the velocity of galvanic electricity, and enable the electrician
to investigate the general laws of the fluid, when thus constrained.
The Atlantic Telegraph can also be employed in determining
the difference of longitude between observatories, or stations, in
Europe and America, and may be brought into use for certain
astronomical purposes.
It is, in short, a piece of philosophical apparatus on a grand
scale.  The electrician will cherish it with the love of the astronomer to his telescope, or the chemist to his retort.  Its connection
with further discoveries is a certainty in an age of physical
inquiry.*
Among the rewards of science on this occasion, is the universal'homage yielded by the multitude. No longer regarded as an aristocrat of high pretensions, living in the seclusion of a grand, but
selfish and useless domain, Science is welcomed as the handmaid
of industry and the arts, and obtains from the masses to-day the
most triumphant honours.  This restoration to her true position
is proof of her native dignity and worth.  Never has Science
received so hearty and gracious a demonstration to her praise.
Whilst Jupiter places at her feet the thunderbolts of the firmament, and Neptune the trident of the Ocean, and Vulcan the
miraculous implements of Cyclopean forges, the crown of glory is
placed upon her head by the Queen of Beauty, amidst acclamations which fill the conclave.
7. The benefits which the telegraph will confer upon the cause
of Religion, are as certain as that Religion's is the greatest cause
on earth.  Christianity has, in the first place, a common interest
in all that relates to the advancement of society. Whatever cultivates good-will among men, facilitates commerce, stimulates industry, enlarges the sphere of free institutions, benefits the press,
and aids science and knowledge, advances religion too. Every new
discovery is tributary to the kingdom of Christ. Of how much use
to religion has been the telescope, the microscope, the compass, the
loom, the printing-press, the steam-engine! Thus will it also be
with the Atlantic Telegraph, through the general relation between
the progress of society and the cause of truth and righteousness.
But further than this. Religion derives a direct advantage from
0 The " London Morning Post" says, that it is understood that the Atlantic Cable
transmits the electricity with sufficient rapidity, but that it retains it, time being required for its discharge, after it has been communicated to the wire. The first signal
is transmitted instantaneously; but the wire does not readily part with the charge,
and the electricity it retains prevents the effect of a second signal from being perceived on the distant instrument. This difficulty, which was experienced in the
Telegraph to the Hague, was overcome by discharging the wire after each signal,
and this was done by sending the electrical current in the reverse direction. Such
an arrangement does not seem to be sufficient to put the Atlantic Cable in satisfactory working order. Science, however, will doubtless discover a remedy in due
time.




19
the use of the telegraph, like the secular interests of society. A
knowledge of the state of mankind in every nation constitutes the
basis of evangelical effort, and stimulates the prayer and zeal requisite to carry on its operations. If the angels of heaven were to
descend, as visible messengers, to report daily the condition of the
world, they would perform the service that the telegraph, in the
name of heaven's King, is commissioned to do, through the inspirations of its swift-winged words. Every agent on earth is God's
agent to execute his will. The luminary that compasses the circuit of'the heavens, and the time-defying spark that pervades the
cable of the deep, have each, in their origin, purpose, and results,
a relation to Deity. God carries forward the plan of redemption
by means of the vast system of events, which, each and all, small
and great, old and new, make up the glory of Providence. Telegraphs ride over mountains, and leap through the seas, that they
may prepare the highway of the Lord, and be the forerunners of
the chariots of his salvation.
It is easy to realize that this great invention of the century impresses upon the mind and heart of the religious world the idea of
UNITY, and thus aids in creating a power, antagonistic to the injurious separations and alienations, too long prevalent in the Church..
A better era is at hand. Unity is the familiar lesson among the
religious demonstrations of Providence. Unity is the loving truth
of Gospel grace. Unity springs from genuine Christian intercourse,
like the morning light, to bless the world. Unity gladdens the
train of enlarged evangelical efforts among the millions of mankind. Unity is celebrated by the moral influences of each worldrelated event.  Unity is transmitted, with the love of God, to the
Church, in every new memorial of His power and glory.
Such is a brief view of the general blessings radiating from this
work of light, whose success we are met to celebrate.
It is not, indeed, to be disguised that the telegraph may also be
employed for purposes of evil. If Satan transformed himself into
an angel of light, it is no marvel if he still use the agency of
light in strengthening his influence and dominion. But, for the
purposes of the wicked, light is the most hazardous and self-destructive of all weapons. The devil, in his attempts to quote Scripture,
was overwhelmed by the replies of the Son of Man. All assaults
upon the cause of truth and liberty through the telegraph, will be
repelled by the avenging power of right, in the Providence of the
Most High.
IV. Another thought is transmitted through the Atlantic Telegraph, as a commemorative lesson to the immortal minds that
celebrate its achievement.  It is that this great event is among
the most impressive, as well as the latest of the providential indications of THE APPROACH OF THE MILLENNIUM.
The age in which we live is intense with activity, change, and
progress. There seems to be a marshalling of events to terminate
a great and triumphant campaign. Behold the nations of Europe




20
sighing after a better day amid the gloom of ancient systems, the
Ottoman empire expiring in desolate impotence, the great and
portentous commotions that have swept over India's plains, the
Jews looking to Palestine with revived national aspirations, the
unfolding of the gates of China to the intercourse of a longexcluded world, the grand preparations on the Pacific's shores, the
opening of Central America as the highroad to the recovery of the
kingdoms farther south, the numerous and industrious explorations
in Africa, as if to connect her, in time, with the general movement of this electric age; and above all, behold the progress of
Christianity in every land, and especially the existing revival of
religion which is gilding the mountain tops, and breaking in with
glory upon the darkness of thousands and ten thousands of human
hearts;-all these, with other providential declarations in the political and religious world, announce a crisis in human history. The
horoscope of Time points to great changes in the zodiac of nations;
and all the events on this world of wonders seem to be propelling
it towards a sublimer destiny. The kingdoms of the earth, as at
the Advent of Christ, are in providential training, with a great
expectation; and just at this period, the telegraphic achievement
towards universal progress and unity startles continents into awe.
What is the consummation, foretold by this combination of
uniform signs?  It is no less than the MILLENNIUM-when the
Lord shall reign King of nations as He is King of saints. This
event, according to Prophecy, cannot now be far distant. Its
exact period is, doubtless, beyond the computations of the human
mind. Biblical scholars differ about the time of the commencement
of the latter-day glory, mainly because they differ about the commencement of certain eras, spoken of by Daniel and John, in
reference to the duration of the reign of Antichrist, whatever
may be meant by that term. Many students of prophecy in the
Protestant Church have fixed upon the year 1866 as the one that
is to witness " the beginning of the end." Assuming the year 606
(tht time when the Emperor Phocas conferred on Boniface III the
title of Universal Bishop), as the year for the commencement of
the persecution of the Church, they add to it the 1260 years,
which mark the precise time of the reign of Antichrist, and thus
arrive at the result of 1866, as an important era, preliminary to
the Millennium, if not actually introductory to it. Some, however,
reckon the 1260 years from the year 756, when the Emperor
Pepin gave temporal dominion to the Universal Bishop, and thus
fix the millennial epoch in the year 2016. Admitting this latter
computation to be the most probable, the interval between 1866
and 2016 is not longer than might be expected, for putting into
complete and successful operation all the means requisite for the
full introduction of the Millennium; although God may bring it to
pass at any period, like the sudden and universal illumination of
the firmament by His messenger lightnings.
There can be little doubt that the millennial glory is to begin




21
before many years. One of its antecedents is the preaching of the
Gospel to every creature, a great spiritual work, which is in the
course of victory. The prediction that in those days " many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge be increased" is being remarkably
fulfilled by the aspects of the times.  The text places intercourse
and knowledge in conjunction; just as the railway and the telegraph, which are the champions of each, and each of both, are
usually found in juxtaposition. The telegraph will soon sway its
amazing power in every realm; yea, it already reigns.  "There is
no speech, no language; their voice is not heard.  Their line is
gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the
world." The quick, pervading nature of the telegraph is suited to
a day of knowledge. Its cord harmonizes with the universal song,
" Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace, good-will toward men." Soon will it announce that nations have beaten " their
swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks,"
and that " the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord, as the waters cover the sea."
Nor is there any agent in nature that so well symbolizes the instantaneous transactions of the resurrection morn. " In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed." Amidst these scenes of miraculous transition, there
shall be "NO MORE SEA, and " TIME SHALL BE NO LONGER."
Help us all, heavenly Father, to be prepared for these great
events of immortality! And may our beloved land, with its banner
of stars as an ensign among the nations, be among the foremost to
promote the glory of the latter-day, and to utter with its telegraphs
and its voices, " the kingdoms of this world have become the king-!doms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever
and ever!"




Slppenbiix
THE ATLANTIC CABLE.
SOME OF ITS STATISTICS AND INCIDENTS.
THE Atlantic Cable is one of the most beautiful productions of Science'and Art.
it consists of four parts. 1. The central conducting wire is a strand of seven
wires of the purest copper. The strand is about the sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and is formed of one straightly drawn wire, with six others twisted round
it. The object of this arrangement is security for the transmission of the electric
fluid. Unless the whole seven wires break at the same place, the fluid can find
its way through the cable.
2. Over the central wire, are three coatings qf gutta-percha, which were applied at three intervals of time, in order to secure the efficiency of the work.
Their object is to insulate the wire, so that it will transmit the electric fluid under
water. The gutta-percha coating increased the diameter of the wire to threeeighths of an inch.
3. The gutta-percha is covered by a five-thread rope yarn, which was first immersed in a mixture of pitch, tar, oil, and tallow. The diameter of the wire was
increased to nine-sixteenths of an inch, by this new covering.
4. Over the whole is a covering of iron wires, to strengthen and protect the
cable. This exterior covering consists of wires, eighteen in number, of seven
strands each. The strands are of the same diameter as the copper core, each
consisting of seven wires. One hundred and twenty-six iron wires are, therefore,
woven about the cable. The whole diameter of the cable is about three-quarters
of an inch.
The weight of the cable is nearly one ton to the mile. Its cost was nearly $500
-per mile; and the total cost was $1,258,250. The capital of the Atlantic Telegraph Company is now $2,000,000.
The latitude of Trinity Bay Station is 470 50', and that of Valentia 510 55'. The
starting-point in mid-ocean being 520 09/, the course of the Niagara had to be four
degrees south of west, whereas that of the Agamemnon was almost directly east.
The total distance run by the two vessels was 1695 nautical miles, of which the
Niagara ran 882 miles, and the Agamemnon 813 miles, the latter having 69
miles less to run than the Niagara.
The total length of cable laid was 2023 nautical miles; of which the Niagara
laid 1022 and the Agamemnon 1001 miles. The Niagara, therefore, did the work
more economically than the Agamemnon, having lost by slack only 140 miles,
whilst the Agamemnon lost 188 miles. If the Agamemnon had paid out the




23
cable at the same rate with the Niagara, compared with the distance run, she
would have sunk 942 miles instead of 1001 miles; or if the Niagara had paid
out at the rate of the Agamemnon, she would have sunk 1085 miles instead of
1022.
The official Reports, published in the newspapers, state that the Niagara anchored at her place of destination, on Thursday morning, August 5th, at 2 o'clock,
and the Agamemnon at 6 o'clock on the same morning. The difference of
longitude between Trinity Bay and Valentia being 43 degrees, the difference of
clock time is about 3 hours. So that the Niagara was one hour ahead of her
companion, at the anchorage.
The Niagara connected her end of the cable with the telegraph at the Cyrus
Station at 6'20 A. M., whilst the Agamemnon's end was not landed at Knightstown until 3 P. M., or five or six hours later.
There is a slight variation in the different Reports, made by the two vessels, in
several particulars.
The whole work reflects the highest credit upon all engaged in it. In the
language of Captain Hudson, " God was with them."
RELIGIOUS SERVICES AT THE STATION-HOUSE.
THE following is an interesting account of the Religious Services, held by
Captain Hudson, at the Cyrus Station-House, in Newfoundland, immediately
after the Atlantic Cable was brought into connection with the instruments. The
account is taken from the New York Herald, of August 16th, 1858.
"1 On the arrival of the procession, the cable is brought up to the house, and the
end placed in connection with the instrument. The deflection of the needle on
the galvanometer gives incontrovertible evidence that the electrical condition of
the cable is satisfactory. The question now is, how shall we properly celebrate
the consummation of the great event? How, but by an acknowledgment to that
Providence, without whose favour the enterprise must have ended in disaster and
defeat.' Every one feels that this is all that is necessary to make the celebration
complete, and to mark the undertaking as the work of two great Christian nations.
When, therefore, they all gathered together before the telegraph station they understood the purpose for which they were assembled. Captain Hudson took up
his position on a pile of boards, the officers and men standing round amid
shavings, stumps of trees, pieces of broken furniture, sheets of copper, telegraph
batteries, little mounds of lime and mortar, branches of trees, huge boulders, and
a long catalogue of other things equally incongruous.
"'We have,' said the Captain,'just accomplished a work which has attracted
the attention and enlisted the interest of the whole world. That work,' he continued, " has been performed, not by ourselves i; there has been an Almighty Hand
over us and aiding us; and without the Divine assistance thus extended us, success was impossible. With this conviction firmly impressed upon our minds, it
becomes our duty to acknowledge our indebtedness to that overruling Providence
who holds the sea in the hollow of his hand. " Not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto us,




24
but to thy name be all the glory."  I hope the day will never come when, in all
our works, we shall refuse to acknowledge the overruling hand of a Divine and
Almighty Power. It is He who can rebuke the winds and calm the seas. He
works in a mysterious way for his people. His path is on the mighty waters.
We have seen His power in the tempest; and when we have called upon him in
the time of trouble, He has heard our voice. And yet how ungrateful we are
for all His favours, and how soon we forget Him when the trouble passes away
like the summer cloud or the morning dew. On a solemn occasion like the present, we should feel more particularly our indebtedness to Him, and it is with a
feeling of heartfelt gratitude we should acknowledge the many favours which He
has bestowed upon us. There are none here, I am sure, whose hearts are not overflowing with feelings of the liveliest gratitude to Him, in view of the great work
which has been accomplished through His permission, and who ate not willing
to join in a prayer of thanksgiving for its successful termination. I will therefore
ask you to join me in the following prayer, which is the same, with a few necessary alterations, that was offered for the laying of the cable:
"'0 Eternal Lord God, who alone spreadest out the heavens and rulest the
raging of the sea, who hast compassed the waters with bounds till day and night
come to an end, and whom the winds and the sea obey, look down in mercy, we
beseech Thee, upon us, Thy servants, who now approach the throne of grace,
and let our prayer ascend before Thee with acceptance. Thou hast commanded
and encouraged us in all our ways to acknowledge Thee, and to commit our works
to Thee; and thou hast graciously promised to direct our paths, and to prosper
our handiwork. We desire now to thank Thee, believing that without Thy help
and blessing nothing can prosper or succeed, and we desire humbly to commit all
who have been engaged in this undertaking to Thy care, protection, and guidance. It has pleased Thee to enable us to complete what we have been led by
Thy providence to undertake; that being begun and carried on in the spirit of
prayer and in dependence upon Thee, it may tend to Thy glory, and to the good
of all nations, by promoting the increase of unity, peace, and concord. May Thy
hand of power and mercy be so acknowledged by all, that the language of every
heart may be " Not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name, give glory;"
that so Thy name may be hallowed and magnified in us and by us. Thou hast
coirtrolled the winds and the sea by Thy almighty power, and granted us such
favourable weather that we were enabled to lay the cable safely and effectually.
Finally, we beseech Thee to implant within us a spirit of humility and childlike
dependence upon Thee; and teach us to feel, as well as to say, " If the Lord will,
we shall do this or that." Bless us, 0 Lord, and hear us in these our petitions,
according to Thy gracious promise, for Jesus Christ's sake.'
" The'Amen' which followed the conclusion of this prayer showed what a sincere response it received from the hearts of all present, and the depth of feeling it
excited.'You recollect,' proceeded the Captain,' what our Saviour told his disciples, that if they had faith, even as a grain of mustard seed, they could move
mountains. We have performed a work, or rather we are thankful to God for having
performed a work for us, which has been ridiculed by a great many who regarded
it as an impossibility. We have been peculiarly favoured in being permitted to
be His agents, and we are pleased to acknowledge that it was through His instrumentality the work was performed.'"