The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph

After such an answer he did not wait long. The letter is dated the thirtieth of December, and in just one week, on the sixth of January, he sailed in the Persia for England with Mr. Everett. Scarcely had he arrived in London before he was made the General Manager of the Company, with control of the entire staff, including electricians and engineers. The following extract from the minutes of the Board of Directors, dated January 27, 1858, explains the new position to which he was invited: "The Directors having for several months felt that it would greatly advance the interests of this enterprise, if Mr. Cyrus W. Field, of New York, could be induced to come over to England, for the purpose of undertaking the general management and supervision of all the various arrangements that would be required to be carried out before the sailing of the next expedition; application was made to Mr. Field, with the view of securing his consent to the proposal, and he arrived in this country on the sixteenth instant, when it was ascertained that he would be willing, if unanimously desired by the Directors, to act in behalf of the Company as proposed; and Mr. Field having retired, it was unanimously resolved to tender him, in respect to such services, the sum of L1000 over and above his travelling and other expenses, as remuneration." This resolution was at once communicated to Mr. Field, who replied that he would undertake the duties of General Manager, but declined the offer of L1000, preferring to give his services to the Company without compensation. Whereupon the Directors immediately passed another resolution: