The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-12-27 00:00:00

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THE TUNNEL FROM ENGLAND T I THE IRON TRADE. STEALiva
FRANCE.

No trammetions of any importance in finished
There is, at length, a reasonable hope for suspended until
iarioldnLazenetsaksewnillilii3ieeevidutrinlf thsouslaset few days,
the abatement of the miseries of those whom the Birmingham quartrerulya myeetinpa on the 500
business or pleasure calls across the straits
m,' Thursday in January. The anticipated fall
of Dover. The discussion which took place in the price of fuel is not likely to take place in
a few days ago at the Institute of Civil En- time to affect the course of prices in the iron
gineers shows that our great masl,ers of me. trade during the next quarter, but the coal mar.
ehanical skill see no more difficulty in the
construction of a submarine tunnel between the next few months by the numerous new ufin-
. ket eannet fail to be affeeted in the course of
England :and Franco than in burrowing ingenceodn oceurtuasndwwhilihchawr?illo adding
under the Thames, or in bridging the Straits vnetrhesopooninbteof being
their quota to the aggregate output. Satisfac-
of Menai. The only obstacle to the comple-tion is expressed by ;the ironmasters through-
tion of the scheme is the want of the mecca- out the district with the amicable settlement of
sary capital. All others are dismissed by the wages dispute, and the agreement of a plan
the sanguine engineers. One which looked for the future regulation of wages in this die-
very formidable at first, was the fact that
t trict and in the North of England. Important
he carrying out of one of the specified pro-
ih ne °tit:
feeds ultscare eoxf p etflteetd.too bdeisdtreircitvsednfarmommt
jects would involve a descent of ten miles in
mattaecr,mannd it is to be hoped that there will
the land on either side of the Channel to and hereafter be fewer of those differences and dile
from the tunnel. However, with the requi-
potations which have been the cause of so much
site money, this could be overcome. Again, ' mischief to the trade during the last twenty
it was mentioned that the ventilation of the years. The courses of prices remains en the
structure would cost about £40,000 a year; basis of .£l4 for marked bars, but in the absence
and that, taking the cost of the tunnel at of bo•iness thi.; (Flotation is 'merely nominal.
ten millions sterling, it would require a gross Very fairi(,valaiitl r.ts
Ih3a
.v eanbdeecnomobnitao
n na
ar re
traffic of Z 1,200,000 a year to make it pay some
eeinwgat 112 per ton. There is a diversity of
ibl)les are
m
commercially at £834 per mile per week. , opinion as to what is likely to be done in regard
Now, the largest known traffic is on the Me- to prices on quarter-day. It is clear that in the
tropolitan Railway, which realises £l,OOO absence of a fall in coal there can not be any
per mile weekly, so that the traffic between , reduction in the price of finished iron, seeing
Dover and Calais must be as busy as that of that for some time past its production has, in
the majority of cases, been unprofitable. and in
London itself to make any tunnel answer.
In other words, in order for the sharehold- certain n in4aenetesestasinpoleitsi)vearloessxtio4thtoe manatee-
In other
to receive any interest on their money, ordinary, and the emit! extra for doubles, tatting
the traffic under the sea must be five times and best makes. Pig iron remains steady at £7
that upon the Lancashire and Yorkshireline, to £7 .ss, for all-mine hot-air, £6 for part mine,
eight and a half times that of the London and ied 158. to £5 for cinder. Cold-blast pia of
and North-Western, and thirteen times that Shropshire make is likely to be firmer in tone on
of the Great Western. Leaving intending quarter-day, owing to the advance of 24. GI per
shareholders to discuss the probabilities of
ton in the price of coal declared by the Lille-
the snbmarine tunnel carrying more passen- Cohisatlrilmpraboily aanddv
aontcheer
tfior tac so
cover
ttte
d e
gem than those which run through some of loss which the Shropshire coal-masters would
the most populous counties in England, let otherwise have sustained from the concession
1114 say a few words respecting the Bessemer in the hours ef labour recently made in the dis-
steamer, which has long passed out of the triet to assimilate them to CI, ruling in South
region of theory into that of practice. From Sordshire. In consequence of Christi-dm;
a recently-published description of her we Bay, the usual meeting of ironinasteri in Bit,
find that she is double-ended, with four pad-
mingham this week will be held on Friday.
die-wheels, two on each side. There is a
rudder at each end, so that she may be
steered either way, and need not be turned
in harbour. The great feature of the vessel
is to be the saloon, which is to be the finest
cabin ever fitted in a vessel. It is suspended
in the middle of the ship in a manner that
permits its being moved by a hydraulic ap-
paratus which under all circumstances will
keep the floor of the saloon in a line with a
spirit level. Whatever the motion of the
ship, the saloon will be practically free from
it. The axis of rotation is at a height where
there is least motion, and the cabin will
have no sensible pitching motion, for the
ends of the vessel are kept low and the
middle part high, so as to reduce it, and even
the effect produced at the end of the ship
will be reduced to one-seventh in the cabin.
Besides being independent of the movement
of the ship, the saloon will be free from the
shocks of the wave against the side and the
working of the engines by being rested on
beds of massive indiarnbber. This will keep
it from vibratory motion, and the floor is pro-
tected from vibration by special means. The
saloon is 70 feet long, 35 feet wide, and 20
high, so that perfect ventilation will be se-
cured. Only those who have crossed the
Straits of Dover in weather which is at all
rough, can appreciate the value of such an
invention as this, should it really be effectual
in abolishing sea-sickness. Even people who
have crossed the Atlantic without being up-
set have been completely knocked over in
the few miles of rough water between Dover
and Calais; and to those who are predis-
posed to sea-sickness the success of Mr.
Bessemer 's mechanical contrivance, should
it prove to be such, will elicit many a good
wish for that gentleman, for of all the mise-
ries of life, certainly that of being upset on
a sea voyage is not the least. Meantime,
and while Mr. Bessemer is earning thegrati-
tude of thousands of his countrymen, let us
hope the best for the submarine Channel
scheme, in the interests of commerce and of
good fellowship between two powerful
nations.

A JACKET. Mary Boyce was
charged with stealing a jacket on the 19th Wet,
the property of Harriet Oakes, of Coventry-
street. Police-constable Bladon proved that he
found the prisoner, and she had the jacket in
her possession. Prisoner pleaded guilty, and
was committed for 21 days' hard labour.
VA6B.ANCY.—SamueI Bristow was charged with
being found sleeping in the Market Hall, on the
20th. Police-constables Bladon and Griffiths
proved the case. Defendant was cautioned and
discharged.
ASSAULT CASE. Abraham Compson was
charged with assaulting Selina Cartwright and
Margaret Leveson, on the 19th instant, and was
remanded until next Friday.