"It is an Atlantic port, lying, I may say, in the track of the ocean steamers, and by establishing it as the American telegraph station, news could be communicated to the whole American continent forty-eight hours sooner than by any other route. But how will this be accomplished? Just look at the map of Newfoundland and Cape Breton. From St. John's to Cape Ray there is no difficulty in establishing a line, passing near Holy Rood, along the neck of land connecting Trinity and Placentia bays, and thence in a direction due west to the cape. You have then about 41 to 45 miles of sea to St. Paul's Island, with deep soundings of 100 fathoms, so that the electric cable will be perfectly secure from icebergs; thence to Cape North in Cape Breton is little more than 12 miles. Thus it is not only practicable to bring America two days nearer to Europe by this route, but should the telegraphic communication between England and Ireland, 62 miles, be realized, it presents not the slightest difficulty. Of course we in Newfoundland will have nothing to do with the erection, working, and maintenance of the telegraph, but I suppose our government will give every facility to the company, either English or American, who will undertake it, as it will be of incalculable advantage to this country. I hope the day is not far distant when St. John's will be the first link in the electric chain which will unite the Old World to the New. "I remain, etc., "J. I. M." _November_ 8, 1850. Shortly after the arrival of the gentlemen from New York the Legislature of Newfoundland repealed the charter of the Electric Telegraph Company, in which it had been expressly stated that the line of this company is designed to be strictly an "inter-continental telegraph," and a charter was given to the "New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company." Not only was the title of the new company suggestive, but the first sentence expressly stated, "It is deemed advisable to establish a line of telegraphic communication between New York and London by the way of Newfoundland." And at the same time there was granted to the company an exclusive monopoly for fifty years to lay submarine cables across the Atlantic from the shores of Newfoundland. When this work was begun the longest submarine cable in the world was that between England and Holland, and one had never been laid in water one hundred fathoms deep. The party of three returned to New York early in May, and on Saturday evening, the 6th, the charter was accepted, and the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company was organized; at six o'clock in the morning, on May the 8th, the papers were signed and fifteen hundred thousand dollars subscribed. This meeting lasted just fifteen minutes.