In September 1858, after several days of progressive deterioration of the insulation, the cable failed altogether. The reaction to this news was tremendous. Some writers even hinted that the line was a mere hoax, and others pronounced it a stock exchange speculation. Whitehouse was recalled for the board's investigation and Thomson took over in Valentia tasked with reconstructing events, which at that stage, Whitehouse had successfully obfuscated. Whitehouse was held responsible for the failure, and dismissed. The damage to the cable may not have been entirely due to Whitehouse and it may have failed eventually anyway, although Whitehouse certainly brought that about much sooner. There may have been a preexisting fault, or weakness, in the cable, especially in the first hundred miles from Ireland. This section was the old 1857 cable, spliced into the new lay, and was known to be poorly manufactured. Samples showed that in places the conductor was badly off centre, and could easily break through the insulation altogether through the mechanical strains on it during laying. Tests were conducted on samples of cable submerged in seawater. When perfectly insulated there was no problem applying thousands of volts. However, a sample with a pinprick hole "lit up like a lantern" when tested and a large hole was burned in the insulation.