The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-08-04 00:00:00

THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

Ina recent article we gave a digest of the work
accouplished, and the capital invested, by the
leaditg telegraph companies of this country; and
at that time casually inentlmied, the pro4ection of
a ncv cmiapany under the Limited Liability Act,
whici was about to avail itself of Allan's System
of bland Telegraph Communication,—adopting

the principles of the postal service, a low and
uniform rate of charge, irrespective of distance.
Since that time a copy of the prospectus has been
placed in our hands, and this enables us to glance
at a few of the leading features of the scheme.
The United Kingdom Electric Telegraph Com-
pany (limited), and for which an Act of Parlia-
ment has already been obtained, will have a
capital to commence with of half-a-million, with
power hereafter to double the amount ; and it is
claimed for the project that not only will the
original cost of laying down wires, &c., be much
less than the old companies had necessarily to
incur, but the telegraph itself being self-recording,
the working expenses, &c., will also be reduced
to a minimum ; and it is further proposed to keep
clear, -as far as possible, from entangling with the
different railways, by which so many stations
have to be kept up from which no productive
traffic can possibly accrue.
The directors mean to proceed cautiously, and
it is only intended at first to connect together
twelve of the principal towns of the kingdom,
and between all of which a direct communication
will be established.

The first main points or sub-centres will be as
follows :—London, direct with Birmingham,
Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Newcastle, Hull, York, Leeds, Belfast, Dublin,
Cork, Bristol, Plymouth, Portsmouth, South-
ampton, Brighton, Carlisle, Cheltenham. These
will . then form the sub-centres of direct wire
circuit, with the various towns in their more
immediate localities.

To connect the main points in the foregoing
plan with an efficiency of wire circuit to meet
the increased demand of a uniform and reduced
tariff in the first instance, as also to leave a mar-
gin for the subsidiary traffic when established,
will require 25,000 miles. This at an average
of £l6 per mile, will leave a large mar-
gin of the proposed capital for contin-
gencies, street work, stations &c.; and judging
from the calculations made in the prospectus,
the undertaking ought to be a highly remunera-
tive concern. The public, we are certain, would
show a ready and eager appreciation of the ad-
vantages offered ; and the scheme, in every way,
seems deserving of attention and support.
Whilst on this subject of the telegraph, a fact
of some interest may be mentioned. The Progres
of Lyons says that the administration of the tele-
graphic lines has now under consideration a pro-
ject for affording the public the facility of trans-
mitting sums of money by telegraphic despatch,
so that the office g Marseilles, for instance, on
recehing a despatch announcing the deposit of
any sum in another office, for the benefit of a per-
son residing there, would at once pay the amount
into his hands. This innovation would certainly
be a great advantage on many occasions.

DEPARTURE OF CANNONS, GUNS, AND
STEAMSHIPS FOR GARIBALDI,
FROM LIVERPOOL.

This morning, at one o'clock, a noble paddle-
wheel steamer, the second of two which have
been purchased in this port for Garibaldi,
rounded the rock on her way to the coast of
Sicily.
Although, as upholders of constitutional
government, we have no right to interfere in
the distractions which have fallen upon Naples,
yet the sympathy of England is ever with the
oppressed, and pervades even commercial circles.
Everyone has, more or less, felt unusual interest
in the movements of Garibaldi ; and we have
already mentioned that MM. Feletti and
Orlando, his agents, have been busy in this
town negotiating for the purchase of steam
vessels and war materiel for that distinguished
chief.

MM. Feletti and Orlando are men of judg-
ment and extensive experience ; and the illustri-
ous Dictator has shown a wise discretion in his
selection of them as his agents for this delicate
and important mission. N.I. Feletti, to whom we
have had the pleasure of being introduced,
of held a command in the Sardinian army, in
which he served during the war with Austria in
1848. His colleague, M. Orlando, is an eminent
engineer in Genoa, owning large works there,
and having upwards of 900 men in his employ.
These gentlemen, in their arrangements for the
purchase of the required steam-ships, have wisely
reposed unlimited trust in Messrs. Curry, Kellock
and Co., the eminent ship-brokers of this town ;
and the result, we need not say, has amply justi-
fied their confidence. Not only have vessels of
first-rate character been secured, but they have
been bought up on advantageous terms, (being
paid for in cash,) refitted, loaded, and despatched
with true business-like celerity.

The paddle-wheel steamer Independence, which
sailed this morning for Sicily, was built by
Messrs. Stevens.and Co., of Glasgow, in the year
1857 ; she is 330 tons register, and will carry
540 tons gross tonnage ; is 225 feet long and 24
feet wide ; when loaded, she will draw 10 feet
draught of water. Her engines are 220 horse
power, and she is intended to be used as a
despatch boat, her aver Age speed being fourteen
knots per hour, and her consumption of coal
30 cwt. per hour. Mr. C. R. Suckling has been
appointed to command her ; he is a gentleman of
great experience, having been employed in the
Government Transport Service during the whole
of the Crimean war. The Independence takes out
no guns or ammunition, but she has a first-rate
supply of coal.

The Queen of England, which sailed from this
port on Thursday morning last, was purchased
from Messrs. Leech, Harrison, and Forwood. She
is 985 tons nett register ; 1,449 tons gross regis-.
ter ; 1,530 builder's tonnage, and is commanded
by Captain Corbet, a gentleman well known in
this port as an experienced shipmaster. This
screw-steamer was built for mail service, at a
cost of upwards of £65,000, by the celebrated
builders, Messrs. R. & H. Green, of London,
under the personal superintendence of Oliver
Lang, Esq., of. 41.31. Dockyard, Chatham, which
are warranties that nothing but the best
materials and workmanship, and most ap-
provud fastenings, were used in her construction,
Her dimensions are—Length over all, 274 feet ;
length over keel, 244 feet; beam, 36, feet 4 inches ;
depth of hold, 23 feet 6. inches ; length of poop,
80 feet ; height between deck aft, deck to beam,
6 feet 6 inohes ; ditto amidships, 6 feet 4 inches ;
ditto at the stem, 6 feet 8 inches. The height
and capacity of the 'tween decks are admirably
adapted for a troopship, and competent surveyors
have pronounced her capable of carrying the
heavy armament of a 16-gun Sloop of war. The
engines were constructed by Al,essvi4. Miller,
Ravenhill, and Co., of London, and were originally
intended for the Adiniraity despatch steamer. They
have oscillating cylinders, and are fitted with ex 7
pansion gear and other modern improvements.
Their nominal horse-power is 300; diameter of
cylinder, 63 inches ; length of stroke, 4 feet 0,
inches ; steaming speed, 11 knots with canvas,
14 knots. The bunkers will contain 500 tons of
coal. She has four tubular boilers and telescopic
funnel ; these and the engines are in most com-
plete order. The screw is so arranged that
it can be lifted and lowered at sea, atO
is of brass, as well as all tlw frame-work and
fastenings connected with it, so combining all the
advantages of a full powered steamer with those
of a fast clipper ship.
The Queen of England has been provided with
a formidable armament, having on board some of
Captain Blakeley's patent rifled cannon, manu-
factured by Messrs. Fawcett, Preston, go co.,
engineers, of this town. rl,llrY are 0 to 7 inches
in diameter, and will throw shell, with 8 or 10
degrees elevation, three miles. We believe the
amount of materiel purchased from Messrs.
Fawcett, Preston, and Co., amounted to upwards
of £1,200. One of the guns is mounted
the
forecastle upon a traversing carriage ; and she
also parries 12 other lie4yy guns; • •
Four cases of medical stores from the London
Ladies' Garibaldi Society, were shipped in
IPpeu n this
vessel by Messrs, Cotesworth, Lyne and Co., value
£lOO. Messrs. Curry, Kellock and Co., also
shipped 4 cases, sent from the same society, value
£4O. There were also shipped 1,125 cases of Col.
Colt's Rifles, value £39,800, which were sent by
Major Hartley from America, for Garibaldi :
they were stored here at Messrs. Baring, Arothers'
warehouse, Strigd-
Yeet, 6,1)4 were brought over
totliis country ~,
the American barque Charles
B. Truitt. Our readers will recollect that the
inhabitants of Queenstown denominated this ves-
sel the'" mysterious barque," as• she lay off that
port for five or six months, before leaving it for

Liverpool on the 25th of May last. The rest of
the cargo of the Queen of England consists of
25 Tents
80 Rifles (in four cases)
Sights for cannon (one case) „ £lO
Revolvers (ten cases) .... „ £4OO
Rifles (one case)
Hardware (two cases)
Cartridges (oue case)
Parts of arms (12 cases)
800 Cutlasses (16 cases)
1150 Enfield rifles (63 cases) . „ £3500
40 Pistols (one case)
Cartridges (one case)
2 Rifle cannons and carriages „ £540
14 121 b. Cannons
Empty shells (40 cases)
336 Loose shells

There were upwards of 30,000 rifles altogether
on board, and her cargo, which was entirely for
the use of the Sicilians, amounted to upwards of
£50,000 in value.

The four Whitworth guns, subscribed for in
Manchester for Garibaldi, did not arrive in time
for despatch by this vessel. We understand they
will be forwarded by next steamer. The Inde-
pendence and Queen of England were cleared for
Gibraltar. We have no doubt, from what appears in
our Paris correspondent's letter, that these are the
vessels, among others, for which General Gari-
baldi is waiting before he makes his dash upon
Calabria.

We should not omit to add that the Queen of
England has also on board a large quantity of
lint, for which Miss White will, no doubt, find
ample use in the hospitals at Palermo under her
direction.