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PLOUGHING AND TRACTION ENGINE. TH THE accompanying engravings illustrate one of the ploughing and traction engines designed and constructed by Messrs. J. and F. Howard, of the Britannia Works, Bedford. The engine consists of two main longitudinal frames of plate iron, united at the rear end by a species of buffer beam, while at the front they curve round and are united by a half circle. They are fitted with an angle iron at the lower edges, which stiffens them and

THE PROSPECTS OF THE ENGINEERING
PROFESSION.

and reflect on what has been passed, and to consider whether, under similar cases, we might not devise some improvements; and thus when the busy time comes again, as I anticipate will shortly case,

it might be expected that the American flag, so
close to the resources of its great territory, would
outnumber us. But we must recollect that if they
have a California and a San Francisco, we are pos-
Victoria,
that we make more use of the Mexico port of Pa-newed vigour and ability, better fitted for over-
coming the numerous obstacles we may have to
encounter, with greater advantage to our em-
ployers and benefit to ourselves, and thus from
evil we may derive good."

THE following remarks on the above important before the Civil and Mechanical Engineers' Society, by the President, B. Haughton, Esq., on Oc-nama, &c., than all the seafaring peoples put totober 28, last, at the opening of the session. After gether, what with our monthly line of steamers to referring to the matters of more personal interest the antipodes and our lines that sweep the west to the members, the President continued, as coasts of North and South America. follows:

The only point where it would appear our supeThe selection of a subject for an annual address riority is at all threatened in this region is that of such as this is a matter of difficulty. The address the Great Pacific Railway, now being pushed may, as in some cases it is, be devoted to the conacross the American continent, which will doubt sideration of some one particular subject of in-less bid highly for our Chinese trade with Europe. terest to the society to which it is delivered; or it That it may be successful in this respect, however, may touch on a variety of matters of general in- is not by any means assured, as it will involve the terest in the society's speciality. The latter is necessity of a breaking of cargo twice on the route the course that I propose to adopt on this occasion, from China to England. With such a drawback to and foremost the question that presents itself is, this route in view, it is quite possible that the "The Prospects of the Engineering Profession." British clipper ship will successfully continue to It must be confessed that they do not show much run her rapid voyages on the lines of communicasign of improvement. As far as the home field is tion between Barbaric England and the Celestial concerned, England seems to have had a surfeit Empire. of railways, and the capitalist refuses to invest as usual upon the soil of mother country. The precise state of affairs is well known to all who are interested in such matters, and it would be irrelevant to go into the detail of a subject that has already been discussed ad nauseam. There are doubtless still many districts where railways are required, or, in other words, where capital may be profitably invested in railways. We cannot, however, expect that any further extension of railway enterprize in such quarters will obtain in the present jaded condition of the public mind. Those amongst us who have faith in the destiny of England, and of her sons, who reason from the great past which she has inscribed upon her records, and who having studied carefully the political and physical geography of the earth's surface, believe that her geographical advantages still remain with her; that the progress of neighbouring countries does not of necessity demand a new arrangement of the great tracks of commerce, both on land and sea, and the adaptation of a new centre of exchange, such as at present is possessed by England. These persons will look hopefully on the future, and will predict that the railway system of the country will be further developed to the extent of many thousands of miles; that her docks and ports will be further perfected and extended, until every coast shire may boast its own harbour; that her clipper ships and steam vessels will almost cover the seas; and that her towns will so spread themselves that by and by London and Liverpool will shake hands with Birmingham.

This extract will give us every clue that is essential to an unravelling of the future of engineering; the capitalist is on strike. His capital accumulates, as may be seen from the circumstance that during the last twelve months, as shown by the Government returns, the State has received the largest amount ever before realized by the income tax; a little more, and the Shaksperian estimate of coin will come home to him, that his money is trash. A little further he will probably relax his purse-strings, and avoiding foreign loans, not very seductive at present, seeing that Columbia talks of paying her five-twenty bonds in greenbacks, he will be persuaded to try the old species of investment, to rest satisfied with a safe three to five per cent. dividend from public works, judiciously undertaken at home and in the colonies; and directed by the more matured cacivil engineer, he shall again bask in the sunshine pacity of his guide, philosopher, and friend, the of a fructifying capital with all its attendant amenities and pleasures.

In the Indian Ocean and in antipodal waters wo are at home, and of course supreme. We have several lines of ocean-going steamships from lines from Southampton, with two German comLondon, twenty-four lines from Liverpool, two pany's vessels calling there, one line from Bremen, line from Marseilles, and one line from Baltimore. one line from Hamburgh, one line from Havre, one There are in addition to these some ocean-going there is a great deal to be said, and we will look Engineering architecture is a subject on which lines from ports in America to the Gulf of Mexico, forward to further consideration of it. It is one &c., but I have not been able since I began to pre-which the Society would do well to keep continupare this address to find their destinations and ally before it, because it is a line in which we can titles, while I find to-day that the American line see our way, and in which everyone admits there is trading from Panama northwards on the Pacific, room for improvement; it is, indeed, humiliating has succumbed lately to the competition of the to think of the vast sums that have been spent in that there is only one transatlantic line hailing disregard of appearances, and where a modicum British line on the same route. It will be seen England on grand engineering works, with an utter of aesthetic skill would have given us so much. effect and beauty. It will be said that utility and not beauty should be the cry of the engineer; but this is, after all, only the twaddle of incompetency, for it is well known to those who have given attention to art, that it costs no more to arrange materials in effective and pleasing forms, than to pile them in the shapeless masses that attract the eye.

thence.

We must at once dismiss the assertion that beauty is costly; it is not meretricious ornament that is advocated, such as may be seen in at least one of the latest engineering works, and which is a reactionary effort worthy of praise, as showing a step in the right direction, but still unworthy as having overshot the mark, and having given us, as allude to the Abbey Mills Sewage Pumping it wero, "a jewel of gold in a swine's snout." I able, seeing that it has come from the hand of the Station, the design for which is the more remarkengineer who has shown so much artistic excellence in the severe lines in which the Thames

This preponderance of England in ocean-going steamships is increasing annually. It is in part due to the circumstances that iron is a more durable material than wood for ships, that speed is more important than ever, and that we alone possess that special knowledge and that flood of skilled mechanical labour which is required to construct such vessels. The standing objection to the iron ship is her tendency to foul externally below the water line, by which her course is greatly impeded from increase of friction in passing through the water. No device equivalent to that of coppering the wooden ship's bottom having yet been discovered, a large reward awaits the successful inventor in this direction. It must be confessed that those who look hope-added that the screwship is fast superseding that It may be fully to this result have much sound argument on their side; for example, what is there at present in laying out the breadths of their locks and propelled by paddles-a hint to dock engineers to prevent its achievement? Let us look at the entrances. All these things being considered, then, geographico-commercial position of England. She rests on the eastern seaboard of the Atlantic, her I cannot see that as a seafaring and commercial commercial strength embodied in her ports people we have suffered any loss of that geo-Embankment is conceived. London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast, &c. What is the continental profile has given to us, or that any graphical advantage which our saliont position on there on the same seaboard to threaten her su- material change has of late taken place in those premacy? There is nothing from the Cape of lines of communication to which our trade has Good Hope to Tarifa; between that and Gibraltar been accustomed. If this be admitted, which I there is Marseilles, an emporium whose commerce think it must be, and if progress is to continue to is chiefly confined to its Mediterranean entourage. be Nature's watchword, our trade will continue to deaux, Brest, and Havre, each of them inferior to be, and, indeed, is at this moment, a source of profit to our merchants. Marseilles, and whose shipping may be said to consist of little else than coasting vessels. Havre no There is at the present moment a plethora of doubt possesses aspirations, and sends forth a line money, and this brings me to a formula of my of ocean steamers, kept afloat by immense State previous address that, "Wherever there is capital subventions. Still, in the eyes of the merchant, it in excess, there will be necessity for the services of is shipless. As for the Baltic, and its wreath of the engineer." This you will perhaps answer is all marine villages, they are land-locked, and out of very fine, but, in the place of your pretty theories, the world; while Holland slumbers at Rotterdam. the fact is that engineering is at a standstill, So far as Europe and the eastern wing of the At-that Westminster offices are being closed, and that lantic are concerned, there is nothing to dispute many of our best men are accepting service in the commercial pre-eminence of England. Then, India at salaries greatly below what their qualificalooking to its western board, we find New York, tions ought to command. I reply, quite true; but and half-a-dozen other ports, sharing with us the so it has always been-periods of reaction will office of supplying the requirements of some forty arise in engineering, such as the present. We millions of persons north of the line and ten millions must only wait for better days, endure the annoysouth. Is there any symptom here of British com- ances of the moment, endeavour to live on our exmercial decadence? On the contrary, none what-pectations, and find consolation in the fact that

From Gibraltar to the Land's End there are Bor

ever.

While many of the most important ports named complain of a falling off, we find Liverpool, London, Leith, Hull, Glasgow, and Belfast adding to their dockage largely each year, and each year organizing new lines of ocean iron steamers and sailing vessels to meet, and to some extent to keep in front of, the necessities of the age. Turning to the Pacific Ocean, we shall find that in that quarter we are also able to hold our own. There

our predecessors have had to do likewise, to con-
firm which I shall give you an excerpt from Sir
John Rennie's address to the Institute of Civil En-
gineers, delivered exactly twenty years ago, viz. :—

"It becomes important that we should leave
nothing undone so long as there is anything to do,
and in this way we may turn to our ultimate
benefit the general stagnation which at present
pervades engineering, in common with almost
every other profession. We have to look back

gineering works upon which you are, and shall be
What I ask you to aspire after in those en-
in the future, engaged is form in the aesthetic
sense, in place of that deformity which is sown
broadcast around us, in which the British en-
gineer has hitherto glorified himself, and in which
he would seem to wish to idealize and deify sheer
strength, which in his simplicity he sees to be in-
compatible with beauty of outline. How, then, is
The British en-
this desideratum to be attained?
gineer in his efforts to redeem engineering archi-
tecture must look to himself, and to himself alone,
and the present recess is perhaps an opportunity
given him for this very purpose, and to enable him
to direct his mind to a subject which demands his
closest attention. He will again, notwithstanding
our prophets of evil, be called upon to construct
works on English soil equal to, if not surpassing
in magnitude, those of to-day. Let him endeavour
in them to improve on those of a bygone genera-
tion, and to hand down to posterity a legacy of
beauty in connection with such works, as he has
received from the past its legacy of strength and
endurance. Let him above all things refuse to
entertain the thought that veneration for the beau-
tiful is beneath him as a man, or derogatory to
the dignity and character of his race; for during
which made themselves
all times those races
famous for their prowess and their majesty, their
power alike over matter and mind, were equally
renowned for the beauty and for the magnificence
of their public works-those monuments of glory
by which, history apart, we can now alone judge
of their aristocracy of race.

(To be continued)

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THE

Third operation.-Once flattened and classed according to their thickness and dimensions, the glasses aro submitted to dressing. The operation of dressing, which is performed by women, consists in shaving each glass by chipping away with flat and wide chisels that part of the border which gets beyond the circumference given by the mould. This work demands more delicacy than the ordinary cutting out, for here the breakage is more expensive since the glass has already received two workings It is paid at the rate of 20 to 25 centimes per gross, according to the thickness of the glass.

fine. The legal weight of the sovereign is 0-2568 whence the name of cheve given to glass which has
ounce of standard gold, or 123.474 grains. The undergone it, and cheveur to the workman who
weight came from one pound of standard gold, practises it. The moulds are carefully made to
5,760 grains being coined into 443 guineas. shape by turners and classed according to their
dimensions which correspond to those which trade
Sovereigns are legal tender to any amount pro-
below 1225 grains, or in the case of a half each is attended to by a workman (cheteur) who
vided that the weight of each does not fall adopts for watch-glasses. As to the muffles, several
of them are put in the same oven side by side, and
sovereign 61.125 grains; these are the "least produces on an average six gross per day. The pay
current" weights of the coins. One pound troy of for shaping is 60 centimes per gross.
standard silver is coined into 66 shillings, of which
the metal is worth from 60s. to 62s. according to
the market price of silver. The standard fineness
of silver is 0925, three alloy in 40. The fineness
of the French standard silver is 0.900 in the five-
franc piece, but an inferior alloy of 0.835 is used
for the lower denominations. The single franc
piece composed of the latter alloy is still made to
weigh five grains, the weight originally chosen for
the franc as the unit of the monetary scale when
the fineness of the coin was 0.900. It has now
become a token, like the British shilling, of which
the nominal value exceeds the metallic value.
The material of our copper coinage is now a bronze
mixture composed in 100 parts by weight of 95
copper, 4 tin, and 1 zine, the same as in the copper
coinage of France. The penny is coined at the
rate of 48 pence in one pound avoirdupois, of 7,000
grains, or 453-59 grains; the halfpenny at 80 in
the pound avoirdupois, and the farthing at 160.
British silver coins are a legal tender in payments
to the amount of 40s. only; copper pence to the
amount of 18.; half-pence and farthings to the
amount of Gd.

MYERS' PATENT WATER METER. HIE meter illustrated in the annexed engraving is sufficiently ingenious and satisfactory in its action to be entitled to a place in our pages. Apart lies in the construction of the valve, which works from its general arrangement, the great peculiarity perfectly water-tight, without any sliding friction. It consists of a sheet of india-rubber lying over the ports, as shown in section, and held down to its place by a frame carrying four rollers, two of which rest against an overhead plate, while the other two run on the india-rubber. There are five waterways or ports: two in connection with the supply pipe from the main, marked 2, one for connection with the outlet pipe from the meter, marked 1, one to the upper part of the cylinder, marked 3, and one to the lower part marked 4. The two latter are connected alternately with the inlet and outlet. The whole of these ports open on a surface which is, by planing or facing, made perfectly flat, and are covered, as we have said, with a piece of stout india-rubber. A small box having a bottom (increased by flanges to make it large enough to cover the whole of the planed surface of the ports), in the centro of which is left an aperture of just suflicient size to expose the whole of the ports to view when it is laid on the surface of the valve-and, which is also planed-is then laid on the top of the india-rubber and screwed down with bolts passing through the india-rubber into the valve-face of the ports, thus forming a water-tighjoint all round the ports. The proper communicat tions are made by the rollers running in a light frame, and arranged so that the two top rollers rest on the two bottom ones, each to each, thus A MANUFACTORY OF WATCH GLASSES. reducing the friction to a minimum. When the By GUSTAVE MAURICE.* rollers stand at one end of the valve chest in which

The other kind consists of flat

Fourth operation.-We now come to the bezelling. Stuck with pitch upon a wooden chuck, which the workman holds in his hand, the glass undergoes a first reducing by means of a grindstone and sand with the view of preparing the bezel-edge which has to fit in the circle of the watch. Then it is placed in a lathe and the bezel is finished off with pumice-stone. The bezeller receives 1 fr. 25 cents. to 3 francs per gross according to the thickness of the glass; he delivers from one to two gross per day.

Fifth operation.-From the hands of the bezeller,
the glass is carried to the smoothing shop, where it
is submitted to the action of a smoothing wheel
mounted upon a horizontal axis and upon which
pumice-stone powder with water is poured from time
to time. This wheel, which has a diameter of 4
decimetres when new, is formed of two cheeks of
wood, between which is wrapped and strongly
eighteen similar smoothers placed in movement by
pressed together pieces of waste cloth. They are
rate of 2 francs 25 centimes per gross.
one water-wheel. This operation is paid at the

finished, but it is dull and would not in this state be
Sixth and last operation.-In short, the glass is
accepted by the trade; hence the operation of
polishing, which consists in polishing and brighten-
ing at a wheel with English rouge or with tin-ashes
(oxide of tin obtained by calcination). This wheel,
which bears the name of mushroom, is formed with
cloth like the previous one, but it is mounted upon a
vertical axis which the workman commands with
his foot. The pay for this operation is 1 franc per
thick glasses.
gross for thin glasses, and 1 franc 25 centimes for

Thus, the different operations are the cutting-out, the flattening, the dressing, the bezelling, the smoothing, and the polishing. On arriving at the, store, where they are prepared for sending out, the glasses are again examined one by one and tried in a gauge which finally classes them, and rejects, to be returned to the workshops, those which have not the proper size. There are then six payments for fashioning which represent for a gross a total varying from 5 francs 55 centimes, to 7 francs 50 centimes, to which should be added the price of the blown globes which is from 1 franc 30 centimes the kilogramme.

they are contained, the rise of the piston is caused A Sarrebourg, a small tow about 2,300 ses T near the Vosges by the flow of water entoring at port 2, raising the tants, there is a manufactory of watch-glasses which india-rubber and flowing down 4, and so into the owes its origin to the well-known glass works of bottom of the cylinder; and the water which is Valerysthal in its vicinity, whence the blown glass occupying the portion of the cylinder above the is obtained. It is well known that watch glasses piston flows under the india-rubber into the outlet are of two kinds. One kind is simply cut out of port No. 1, it being impossible for the water to blown globes, and receives no other preparation, so flow anywhere else on account of the water-tight to speak, than that of a trimming of the border and joint formed all round the two sets of ports which a more or less imperfect smoothing. This kind are intended to be coupled by the pressure of the includes all the common concave-convex glasses box and that of the rollers. These rollers remain which are applied to common watches on account of their cheapness. in this position until the piston has been depressed inconvenience. Their convexity is a great to the required depth, when, by means of a connect-glasses. These are formed from the primitive coning rod (operated upon by the wedge seen at the vex glasses by operations which render them more top of the piston rod) and two weights, one of costly, it is true, but then they are much more conwhich is shown at A, in which the power for mov-venient. At Sarrebourg these are called verres ing the valve has been stored during the stroke of cheves. Chever is an old French word which signithe piston, they are suddenly caused to change fies to bulge or hollow out, but has now no other If their position and couple the inlet No. 2 to the port use than that to which allusion has been made. No. 3, leading to the lower portion of the cylinder, the flat watch-glass had been prepared from glass and the port No. 4 from the top portion to the out- having a plane surface we could comprehend the designation chre which has been given to it, for let No. 1. The piston of the meter is formed by the cheve glass is not absolutely flat, and to form it two leathern collars turned up at the edges and a bulging out from its border would have to be made. fastened one on each side of a metal disc. But it is not worked; so on the contrary, the convexity of the common watch-glass has to be diminished in order to obtain a flat glass; hence, it seems that the expression used designates precisely It is known that flat glasses fetch in retail a franc the reverse of what it ought to indicate.. The a piece, on an average; which places the gross at manufacture of flat glasses, although not compli-144 francs. Now, the gross being bought wholecated, requires a series of operations which the sale at the price of 9, 12, 16 and even 25 francs, fragile nature of the material must render very according to the quality and thickness of the glass, delicate. We will now pass them in review. it is seen that there is a margin for huckstering First operation.-The first operation is that of which unhappily is often to the detriment of cutting out. It consists in cutting according to retailing and of making. It is necessary, then, that the pattern the blown globes supplied by the glass- the manufacturer should produce a large quantity in works. To effect this, a concavo-convex watch-order to insure himself at the end of the year a glass of the size wanted is applied to the surface of fair income, and that he should reduce the costs of the globe; and, both being held with one hand, the glass is broken all round by striking little sharp blows with a pipe-tube made red hot. As the glass does not crack according to an exact circumference, merely an irregular bowi is thus obtained, the angles of which are afterwards taken off coarsely by grating away the material with common flat chisels deprived of edge. This first work is done by women who are paid at the of 25 centimes per gross. Each worker can cut eight gross per day.

The London and Westminster Meter Company, by whom this meter is manufactured, claim for it, that being a piston meter, which is the only kind that can actually measure the water, it possesses a valve which takes up little room, is perfectly water-tight, almost entirely without friction, and not exposed to wear in the least. That it will answer either as a high or low pressure meter. That on account of the small amount of friction in any of its parts it requires little power to work it, and consequently water will rise to nearly the same level after having passed through the meter as it stood at before entering; and, finally, that it is very portable, compact, accurate in measurement, inexpensive, and occupying a very small space; and it apparently deserves the character it has received

from its makers.

TH

Second operation.-The glasses cut out in the
rough form (calottes), and having already undergone
a first trial, which classes them according to their
on moulds of
qualities, are placed one by ne
refractory clay and submitted to softening in a
muffle heated to redness and constantly open. The
workman takes each mould successively with
small pincers, places it for a few seconds in the
muflle; and withdrawing it almost immediately,
applies a pad of paper upon the softened glass, and by
rapid pressing in all directions causes it to lose its
convexity and to take the form of the mould which
is more
When
or less flat but slightly arched at the
circumference. This operation is called cherige,

THE BRITISH COINAGE. THE weight of gold is expressed in this country in ounces troy and decimal parts of an ounce, and the metal is always taken to be of standard fineness (11 gold and one alloy) unless otherwise described. The degree of fineness of gold, as ascertained by assay, is expressed decimally, fine pure gold being taken as unity, or 1.000. Thus gold of British standard is said to be 0.9166 fine, of French standard 0.900 fine. Another method of expressing fineness is still in pretty general use, founded on an ideal pound, the carat pound," which is divided into 24 parts, called carats. the gold is entirely fine it is said to be gold of 24 carats. British standard gold contains two carats of alloy, and is said therefore to be gold of 22 carats. Jewelry gold may be of 22, 18, 15, 12, or 9 carats

Scientifique des Deux Mondes'
Translated by Mr. R. Strachan from the "Press
for the "Horological
Journal."

the establishment as much as possible; consequently there is no factory, properly so called The workers receive the work at home and return it as soon as finished. Each of them has his regularly kept account to enable breakages to be assessed, & certain portion of which only falls upon the manufacturer. In general, a woman earns more than 1 frane 50 centimes per day and a man more than three francs, remunerations high enough if it is considered that at Sarrebourg there is very good account comparative with other localities of the same importance.

When the first cheve glass which was manufactured made its appearance one would have thought that the common concavo-convex glass would disappear. But it was not so, thanks to the low price of the latter, which has continued to assure it a certain market, thanks above all to the existence of convex watches which recal another age and which have been christened with the trivial and un-mechanical name of onions. Raised glasses, then, still continue to be manufactured. They are of two kinds, selling at 5 and 6 francs per gross. They are far from requiring the same care as the preceding. because they are completed by a small number of operations.

Now that the railways have enabled us to learn many things by the continual displacement of men

and ideas, it may be said that wherever there is a watch-maker one is almost sure of being able to obtain a flat glass for his watch; but it has not always been so, as witness the fact which we are about to relate in conclusion. Fourteen years since, when, in order to go to the South of France the diligence "Laffitte et Caillard was the only vehicle at our disposal, we arrived at a little town in the Pyrenees, which we will not name so as not to wound the susceptibilities of the sub-prefecture counting then scarcely 3,000 souls. Having broken our watch-glasses during the journey, our first care was to go to one of the two watchmakers of the town to have it replaced. Some hours after, having returned for our watch, great was our surprise at receiving its adorned with a raised glass, of such convexity that it was a veritable bell under which the movement taken to pieces could be stowed away easily. "But Sir, we said in our astonishment, "we wanted a flat glass. "A flat glass!" replied the rival of Breguet, "flat glasses are not made now. Such a responce rendered it unnecessary for us to go to his confrere, and we kept our globe of which the gibbosity was scarcely convenient in the pocket. Evidently, the onions reigned in the country, and watchmakers without doubt did not judge it to their purpose to keep a stock of cheve glasses, for which they had not then found a sale. But why tell us that they were no longer made? There was but one alternative, of which the solution is still in our mind, either the watchmaker was a fool who had never seen a cheve glass, or knowing such glasses but having none of them he hoped to deceive us by making a reply so little satisfying to our self-conceit.

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Legal Intelligence.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
Nov. 21.

(Sittings in Banco before Lord Chief Justice
BOVILL and Justices WILLES, KEATING, and BRETT.)

EDMUNDS V. GREENWOOD.

THIS was an action by Mr. Edmunds, the late clerk of the patents, to recover damages for alleged libels contained in three official reports made by Messrs. Hindmarch and Greenwood to the Commissioners of Patents, and in a letter addressed to Lord Chancellor Westbury some days ago.

actions, was for supplying the ship with the water
which the lighters contained; and the Court
ordered the first suit to be discontinued.

state the first suit, by reason of the amount of bail
Mr. V. Lushington now moved the Court to rein-
in the second suit being insufficient to answer the
claims in the two causes.

Mr. Butt opposed the motion.

The Court considered that, though the inadequacy of the bail might, perhaps, be a ground for further bail in the second suit, it afforded no reason for rescinding the order dismissing the first suit. Motion refused, with costs.

Correspondence.

MURRAY'S TREATISE ON MARINE ENGINES.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "MECHANICS' MAGAZINE.'
SIR, A communication, signed "Robert Murray,
Surveyor of Steamships to the Board of Trade,'
published in the MECHANICS' MAGAZINE of the 23rd
ult., escaped my attention until recently, or I should
have replied to it sooner.

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To insure insertion in the following number, advertisements should reach the office not later than 5 o'clock on Thursday evening.

We must absolutely decline attending to any communications unaccompanied by the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for insertion, but as a proof of good faith, ED. M. M.

Advertisements are inserted in the MECHANICS' MAGAZINE, at the rate of 6d, per line, or 5d. per line for 13 insertions, or 4d. per line for 26 insertions. Each line consists of about 10 words. Woodcuts are charged at the same rate Special arrangements made for large advertiseRECEIVED.-G. E. P.-F. W.-R. H.-R. T.-S. E.P. and G.-S. B.-S. C. D.-R. F. F.-S. E. C.-W. B.R. S.-T. G.-F. H.-P. C.-I. W. and Co.-R. M.-T. and

as type
ments.

B.-S. K. W.-P. M.-I. C. E.-J. H. L.-B. T.-J. H.

L. P. S.-G. L.-W. S. N.-J. H. S.-F. H. E.-M. P.

E. H. and Co.-II. G. M.-E. F. R.-G. E. P.-J. S.-
W. H. W.-D. J.-P. and Son—C. F.

Meeting for the cäcek.

Mr. Murray asserts, without producing one tittle of
evidence to sustain his assertions, that certain state-
ments of mine are "untruths," "most ridiculous and
untrue," &c. Mr. Murray, in his treatise on marine
engines, had stated that, "as the barometer is very TUES.-The Institution of Civil Engineers." Description
often found to show incorrect results (either through
of the River Witham, and the Works upon it,'
ignorance or design on the part of the foreman who
by Mr. W. H. Wheeler, M. Inst. C.E., at 8 p.m
saw it fitted), it would be well if every commander
of a steam vessel satisfied himself of its accuracy
before giving credence to strange wonders about
vacuum."

As a serious charge is here made against, Haval, Military, and Gunnery Items.

WE understand that a direct line of steamers between Stettin and New York is contemplated.

THE friends of the officers and crew of Her Ma

jesty's late screw sloop "Rattler," will be gratified to hear that all who were on board the vessel when she was wrecked, arrived in safety at Yokohama, on the 7th of October, in the French corvette "Dupleix," on board of which they were treated with the utmost courtesy and hospitality.

WE have to record the decease of General R. Pigot, on Sunday last, at his residence, Chieveley, near Newbury, where he had lived in retirement with his family for some years. He was Colonel of the 4th Dragoon Guards, was in his 95th year, and the oldest General in the British army. He entered the service in 1793.

the year 1867 the number of foreign seamen employed A RETURN has just been issued showing that in in British ships registered in the United Kingdom was 21,817. In 1865 the number was 20,280. The

number of apprentices bound and registered in British ships was 5,638 in 1865, 5,454 in 1866, and

5,444 in 1867.

it may be, intelligent, honest, and worthy men, upon grounds which seemed to me untenable, I ventured, in preparing a new edition of the work, to offer evidence, of an exculpatory character, from the report of the proceedings of the Society of Arts. In the course of a paper, read before that Society, on "Storm signals and forecasts, their utility and public importance with respect to navigation and commerce," by C. Cooke, Esq., that gentleman stated that "the astronomic meteorologists teach that great changes of pressure, temperature, draught, moisture, electrical displays, heat and cold, are caused by solar, lunar, planetary, and cometary bodies, according to their respective lights and aspects, as they move through space and form certain angles." Mr. A. J. Pearce, Mr. Digby Seymour, Q.C., on behalf of the plain-author of "Astronomic Meteorology," states that tiff, moved for leave to exhibit certain interroga"on the approach of a northern gale, the mercury tories to the defendant, and to-day the Court gave does not fall;" and Admiral Fitzroy admitted that judgment upon this application. some gales, especially from the north, come on sudThe Lord Chief Justice said that the object of denly and without warning. In the course of the the interrogatories was to show that the defendant discussion which followed the reading of the paper, had exceeded the authority given to him in mak- Captain Selwyn, R. N., said that "as in many climates ing the reports, and had circulated them to persons with which he was acquainted, the barometer did not to whom no privilego applied; and, further, to rise and fall at all, as in others there were a number show that he had acted from malicious motives. the mercury at which the change from fair to foul of different circumstances affecting the heights of In other words, the object was that the defendant, took place, all empirical rules must be applied with if he answered the questions in the affirmative, reference to the special locality alone to which they should criminate himself, and render himself sub-were adapted. We need go no further than our ject to criminal proceedings. In applications of own Westmoreland to find an abnormal state of this kind the Court had always exercised a discre- things in this respect, and too much attention cannot tion in reference to the particular case, and in be given to this point." Perhaps "Robert Murray, many cases questions had been allowed which Surveyor of Steamships to the Board of Trade," tended to criminate the parties questioned. But would still ascribe to the ignorance or evil design of in "Tapling v. Ward," 6 H. J. N., an action for the foreman who saw the barometer fitted all the dire libel, the Court of Exchequer refused to allow the effects produced by solar, lunar, planetary, and defendant to be asked questions to prove the Mr. Murray again says that what I have stated authorship and publication; and the Court of regarding the depolarization of iron ships by Mr. Common Ploas, in "Sterne v. Sevastopulo," 4 C. B., Evan Hopkins is "most ridiculous and untrue." If New Series, acted on the same principle. In the Mr. Murray will refer to the various engineering present case, the Court did not find that there were publications which gave accounts of the launching any such special circumstances as would take it out of of H.M.S. "Northumberland," he will find full conthe principle acted upon in the case of "Tapling firmation of the statement made by me. Mr. Murray v. Ward," and "Sterne v. Sevastopulo." The case further questions the accuracy of my description of had been before Mr. Baron Martin at chambers, Ruthven's hydraulic propeller. If he will reconsider and they were asked to say that the learned judge the matter, he will perhaps find that the description Mr. Murray states "that interpolations had exercised his discretion improperly; but so far have been made in the original text, and new matter tee, it is rumoured, will be considerably modified, and from that, they thought that he had acted very ruthlessly introduced in the shape of commendatory the work hitherto performed by that body will be properly in saying that the interrogatories ought notices of questionable inventions, or of reckless in future carried on by the heads of departments, of not to be allowed. The application must, there-assertions of quasi-scientific untruths." The quasi- which there are some four or five, concentrated fore, be refused. under one. A new appointment will be made, that Application refused. of Commandant of the Royal Arsenal. The office will, it is said, be filled by Brigadier-General Lefroy, at present holding the office of President of the Ordnance Select Committee. The above arrangement will effect a considerable saving of public expense in the salaries of officers and other officials attached to the establishment as at present consti

COURT OF ADMIRALTY.
Nov. 24.

(Before the Right Hon. Sir R. J. PHILLIMORE.)
THE "GREAT EASTERN."

It seems as though the troubles of this unfortunate vessel were never to have an end. In the present instance there were two suits, brought by the same plaintiff, against the Great Eastern," and on the 17th inst. the Court made an order dismissing one suit, because the claim for which it was institutod was embodied in the other. It appeared that the first suit was for towage of lighters containing water for the supply of the ship, and the second suit, instituted after the ship had been arrested in other

cometary bodies.

is correct.

scientific untruths are those already noticed; no in-
terpolations whatever have been made by me in the
text, and the whole new matter in the appendix
refers to new and useful inventions of the most
unquestionable character, or consists of descriptions
of the hulls, engines, boilers, &c., of ironclad ships
of war, of an alphabetical list of all the vessels in
Her Majesty's navy, in which the number of guns,
tonnage, and nominal horse power of each are given;
as also the Admiralty form of specification and tender
for a pair of marine steam engines, with surface con-
densers and superheaters, &c.

Murray with all consideration and respect; in addi-
Hence it will appear that I have treated Mr.
tion to which I pay him a special compliment in the
advertisement to the fourth edition.-I am Sir, yours,
&c.,
E. NUGENT, C.E.

5, Upper Charles-street, Westminster,
November 25.

THE Board of Trade have determined to present Captain F. A. Elers, of the Danish vessel "Felicia," of Ilaltenau, with a binocular glass, in acknowledgment of the services rendered by him to the master (Greensides) and mate of the smack “ Criterion," who were picked up on the Dogger Bank by the Felicia" on August 23, and landed at Bergen on September 7. Captain Elers declined to accept any remuneration in respect of the subsistence of the rescued seamen on board his vessel.

THE reductions in the Government establishments, Royal Arsenal, which have been going on for the past two months are suspended, the men being put upon short time, and consequently less pay, leaving off work at the dinner hour on Friday, and not resuming it again until the Monday morning following. The amount of wages thus reduced must form a considerable item in the estimates voted for the manufacturing departments for the financial year terminating on the 31st of March next.

THE Constitution of the Ordnance Select Commit

tuted.

THE "Ringdove" double screw gun vessel, 666 tons and 160-horse power, has made her final trial of speed over the measured mile in Stokes Bay, near service. Portsmouth, previous to her departure on foreign commission, had her crew, armament, and all her On her trial, the " Ringdove," being in weight on board to her sea trim, and under full boiler power she attained a mean rate of speed of 10-721 knots per hour; under half-boiler power she attained a mean rate of 9.383 knots per hour.

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