Round And About.

Round and About .

However mucli the craftsmen of Berkshire would like to sec H . R . H . Prince Edward installed as their Provincial Grand Master , it is extreme bad taste for Masonic prints to make remarks whereby a belief may be drawn that they arc in any way inspired or well informed ; and , worse still , when the lamented Sir Daniel Gooch has occupied his grave but a few hours . The Prince of Wales

receives great annoyance from these silly presumptions , and unfortunate ! } ' counteracts any interference with his prerogative by a firm refusal to comply with any such suggestion . If the Prince wishes his son to occupy the chair of any Province—be it Royal or not—¦ he will arrange matters uninfluenced by anybody or anything emanating from the baclcyard of a printing-office .

* * * At the advanced age of seventy-four years Sir Daniel Gooch , Baronet , of Clewer Park , Windsor , died on the 15 th ult ., and thus robbed the world of engineering and Masonry of one of the most energetic and remarkable characters of the century . Born at

Bedlington , Northumberland , in 1 S 15 , he studied the profession of engineering under Robert Stevenson , and eventually became chief locomotive engineer to the Great Western Railway . Twenty-seven years after he was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors—a post he held until his death . To the Great Western he had

become invaluable , connecting himself with the fortunes of the Company when it was at a very low ebb , raising it eventually to a position of undoubted aflluence .

* * * From a popular point of view , however—says the Dally Telegraph ' —the deceased baronet's public career was mainly interesting on account of the success which attended his persevering attempts to establish telegraphic communication between this country and

America . Sir Daniel ' s death naturally suggests recollections of the difficulties which had to be surmounted before the cable union of the two continents was perfectly established . A plan to unite Europe and America by telegraph was first entered at the Registration Office in June , 1 S 45 , by Messrs . Brett , who made proposals to the

Government of the day , which were not accepted . That plan was attempted to be carried out by a private company in 1857 and 1858 with the concurrence of the British and American Governments . 2 , 500 miles of wire were manufactured and tested in March , 1 S 57 , and six months later the laying it down was commenced at Valentia ,

in Ireland , the vessels employed being the Niagara and the Sus / juehana ( American ) , and the Leopard and the Agamemnon ( British ) . After sailing a few miles the cable snapped . The damage was soon repaired , but on August 11 , after 300 miles of wire had been paid out it snapped again , and the vessels then returned to Plymouth . A

second attempt in June , 1 S 5 S , failed owing to a violent storm , but a third essay was attended with temporary success , a junction between the two continents being completed by the laying down of 2 , 050 miles of wire from Valentia to Newfoundland , and the first two messages transmitted were from the Queen of England to the President of the United States , and the latter ' s reply .

The event caused great rejoicing in both countries ; but , unfortunately , the insulation of the wire generally became more and more faulty , until on September 4 , 18 58 , the power of transmitting intelligence utterly ceased . A new company for the purpose of laying a transatlantic cable was formed in i 860 . The famous Great Eastern steamer , of which Sir Daniel Gooch was one

of the original proprietors , and on which , with other shareholders , he held a mortgage of ^ £ i 00 , 000 , was engaged to lay down 2 , 300 miles of wire . She sailed from the Thames , commanded by Captain Anderson , accompanied by Professor William Thomson and Mr . C . F . Varley , who were to superintend the paying out of the cable , on July 15 , 1865 . After connecting the wire with the land at

valentia , the Great Eastern steamed into the Atlantic on July 23 . Telegraphic communication with the vessel ( interrupted by two faults due to defective insulation caused by pieces of metal pressed into the guttapercha coating , which were immediately repaired ) , finally ceased on August 2 . The apparatus for raising the wire proving insufficient , the vessel returned , and arrived in the Mcdway on August 10 .

* -x- * Subsequently the Great Eastern was sold for ^ 25 , 000 over and above all liens upon her , Sir Daniel Gooch being one of the purchasers , and the Atlantic Telegraph Company was reconstituted as the Anglo-American Telegraph Company , Limited . In June , 1 S 66 ,

the vessel sailed from the Medway with a new cable . The shore end at Valentia was spliced with the main cable , and the Great Eastern moved away on July 13 . By the 22 nd of the same month 1 , 200 miles of wire had been laid . Five days later perfect communication had been established between Heart ' s Content ,

Newfoundland , and Valentia . The initial message from the Queen at Osborne to the American President expressed her Majesty ' s belief that the successful completion of the undertaking would " serve as an additional bond of union between the United States and England , " and the President , in reply , cordially reciprocated the hope " that the

cable that now unites the eastern and western hemispheres may serve to strengthen and perpetuate peace and amity between the Government of England and the Republic of the United States . "

* * * After an interval of nearly a quarter of a century it is satisfactory to reflect that these sanguine anticipations have been so far fulfilled . The pluck and perseverance of Sir Daniel Gooch in promoting the success of this great enterprise were promptly rewarded by a

baronetcy , and at the same time honors were conferred upon those who had assisted him . It is unnecessary to say that since that date transatlantic cables have been multiplied , with the result that any person can now wire to America messages of any length at the rate of a shilling a word . In July , 1866 , it was deemed a great boon by

the public when the Magnetic Telegraph Company announced that the charge for the transmission of twenty words would be only ^ 20 !

* * * As far as his Masonic career is concerned , Sir Daniel had reached the eminence of a Provincial Grand Mastership , and since 1868 had presided over the province of Berks and Bucks . He had accepted my invitation of becoming an " Eminent Mason at

Home , " and but for his last illness would have given us the opportunity of visiting him at Clewer . We are , however , through the kindness of the Editor of the Railway News , enabled to reproduce an excellent likeness of the Baronet , and will endeavor at a future date to obtain some interesting particulars of his home life .

* * * I have often seen Sir Daniel in attendance at the ordinary Lodges of his province , and he was not an infrequent visitor at the Windsor Castle and Etonian of the Royal borough . He was a kind and unassuming English gentleman , ready with sound advice

for those who , like myself , have had occasion to appreciate it . The grounds of his house stretched down to the banks of the beautiful Thames . The last time I passed there was the week before Henley , of the present year , when the City jute king , Bro . W . Martin , had the kindness to lash our skiff to the rear of his

beautiful house-boat and give us the benefit of his steam-tug , from Burgoyne ' s , at Staines , to the sailing reaches at Maidenhead . We commented upon the beautiful grounds of Clewer as we passed .

¦ 7 .- 7- * Although by the wishes of the relatives of the deceased the funeral was not conducted with those Masonic honors the brethren of the Province would have wished , the Master of the Windsor Castle Lodge , Bro . William G . Nottage , summoned the brethren together under his banner , and conducted personally such evidences