The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-05-02 00:00:00

STREET RAILWAYS.

(Fio;a t 1 e Zigineep.)
The township of Birkenhead appears likely to be the
first, in the kingdom to adopt what must be considered
as one of the most important improvements of the age.
An enterprising American, Mr. George Francis Train,
of New York, has been for some time endeavouring to
obtain the attention of various public bodies in this
country to the advantages of the street railway system
now so generally and so successfully adopted in the
United States. Taking the opportunity afforded
by the action of the Mersey Dock Board, at Liver-
pool, in imposing a prohibitory toll upon the
omnibuses using their line of ;pails along the docks,
Mr. Train came forward with an offer to pay th
toll if allowed to start and run a line of railway
omnibuses upon the American plan, a plan very
different, however, from the contrivance in Paris, called
the Cheini,i de fey Amiricain, which has been so often
referred to in disparagement of the system of street
railways. By some means, Mr. Train's proposal was
shelved, and he has accordingly been on the look-out fur
more public-spirited boards, one of which is evidently
that of the Commissioners of Birkenhead. Mr. Train
having offered to put down lines of street railways at
his own expense, and to work them with horse-drawn
carriages, the Birkenhead Board referred the matter to
their surveyor, Mr. Edward Mills, who has reported
favourably upon the whole system. On Tuesday week,
at an adjourned meeting of the board, Mr. Mills' report
was adopted, and a joint committee was appointed to
conclude arrangements with )Ir. Train. There
remonstrances, it is true, from citizens residing in some
of the thoroughfares through which it was proposed to
extend the new lines of communication, but other
routes will probably be adopted, and the remonstra-
ting citizens will probably be the first to regret their
fully. As to the immense advantages attending the
working of the railway omnibus system there can
be no doubt, and experience on the largest scale
abroad, and the most careful investigation here, have
alike shown that all the apprehensions of danger and

:nconvenience which have been excited in the minds o

' those who are unacquainted with the system, l are
altogether unfounded. We have argued the engineering
aspects of the question so often in these columns, that it
seems almost supererogatory to repeat our former conclu-
sions. It is undeniable, however, that the power of a
horse is more than doubled upon a street railway as com-
pared with his draught on an ordinary pavement ; and on
account of this fact, a given number of passengers may be
carried at a speed of eight or nine miles an hour, upon
rails, in not more than half the number of vehicles

requisite upon a pavement, and consequently with but
little more than half the bulk, wear and tear, and danger.
As the wheels of the railway omnibuses are placed
beneath, instead of at the sides of the body, the car-
riages occupy much less width than common omnibuses,
a consideration of great importance in narrow streets.

The railway carriages are completely under control at
their highest rate of speed, and are safer a gviust collisions

with each other and ordinary vehicles than are common

omnibuses. Mr. Mills recommends a single line of way
for the streets of Birkenhead, this line to be laid in the

centre of the street. The railway-cars cau thus pass
without disturbing vehicles standing at shop or house

doors. The pattern of the rail likely to beadoped is
one which will cause no obstruction to the ordinary

traffic, but will, to a great extent, accommodate it, as all
vehicles will be at liberty to make what use of the rail-

way they like, so that they do not needlessly obstruct the

omnibuses specially constructed for it.

THE SCIENCE OF MODERN
NAVIGATION.

(From the Shipping Ga;;ettv,)

The following interesting letter on improve-
ments in modern navigation has been addressed
by Lieut. Maury, hydrographer to the United
States government, to Capt. Emerson, of the ship
Golconda, of Boston (U.S.) :

Observatory, Washington, April 3, 1860.
have to thank you for the abstract log of the
Golconda, on her voyage from London to Australia, and
thence to Boston. This voyage led you through the

"brave west winds " of the southern bmispliere and
the very antipodes. It afforded your ship a fine oppor-
tunity to display her prowess, and gayer her master a
chance to display his skill. Both ship and captain
improved the opportunity, making the fine run of 85
days out, which iu the log is ascribed to the " wind and
current charts." The run home would also have
signalised both ship and master but for touching at Rio.
It is well to remember what a voyage to Australia and
back used to be, and then to see what it now is.

When we commenced systematically to investigate
the winds and currents of the sea, the route to Aus-
tralia as then followed was what was known as the
Admiralty route. It lay through a region of loadling
winds and calms, and it took 127 days on the voyage to
accomplish it. The homeward passage was more cir-
cuitous. 1 have now before me the passages to Aus-
tralia from England of 184 ships in 1856, and 226 in
1857. The average passage of all of each group was
98 days and 3 hours in 1866, and 98 days and 9 hours
in 1857. The homeward passage •by the Admiralty
route was even longer, but only a few returned direct.
The average homeward passage by the new route is
93 days.
Here, then, there has been a gain on the route voyage
from England.to the golden colony and back of GO days
at the least ; and that, too, not by steam nor any outlay ,
whatever of money on the part either of master or
owner, but simply by the application of a little auxiliary
head power—the most profitable of all powers. Nay,
it is still almost within the recollection of our own
"Ancient Mariners" when the voyage from England to
Australia and back occupied the entire year and more.
With the lights of the day to guide the navigator, the
outward passage has frequently been accomplished in
less than 70, and the homeward in si,ss than 80 days.
To enable three ships, to do the work of four, to lift
up distant markets, and practically, for all the purposes
of commerce, to set them down closer together by runny
days' sail, is surely a great achievement. liow has it
been accomplished ? Answer Simply by collating sea
journals and comparing the experience of one navigator
with that of another, until the result depended on numbers
so large there could not he, in any reasoning mind,
room left for difference of opinion as to the best route
for any particular season of the year. As a proof of
this Ne haye only to look at the returns for the two years
that happen to be before me. The average passage of
one, compared with the average passage of the other,
differs, for the round voyage out and home, six hours.
Now this, considering that the voyage is one or. circum-
navigation, considering that the ships which make it
actually pass through regions that are antipodal to their
ports of departure, considering that their masters depend
upon the wind and waves alone for their motive power—
considering all these things, the result is entitled to be
regarded as one of the most complete, eloquent, and
triumphant vindieations of this system of inductive
philosophy for seamen and the sea that can possibly be
imagined.
The voyage from England to Australia and back,
could ships go as the crow etiea, would require them to
sail not less than 24,000 miles. 184 ships tried it one
year—they accomplish it iu the average time of 191 days
and 3 hours. The next year 226 try it—not the same men,
but many of them going for the first time—and they make
an average of 191 days and g hours. I say it is marvel-
lous ; and yet we uaw and then come across a shipmaster
who has no faith in any such system of research, or in
sailing directions based upon Maury's theories—when,
in fact, the sailing directions are based on no theories at
all. They are simply the fruit of the experience of those
navigators who send their abstract legs to this office,
which experience is brought together on charts, grouped
in tables, and presented again back for their guidance,
to those who furnish the data. Somehow or other it
invariably happens that these .vessels that have these
sailing directions on board always beat in the long run
;hose who have them not.

The route to California is pretty well understood
now, whether a ;hip has charts on board or not.
Don't you thrnt so ? Well, I have before me a list
of all the ships that arrived at San Francisco durine,
last year. Of those with the charts on board, the
average passage from the Atlantic ports was two weeks
less than those from the same ports, but without the
charts, and nearly a month less than those from Europe.
The mere keeping of the abstract itself is of great
service to owners, as well as to masters. Besides the
information, it operates in a measure as a stimulus, and
serves to keep, the navigator up to his mettle. He
knows vilien it comes here it is to be overhauled by
experts, who are sure to discuss the skill and judgment
displayed by him as a navigator.
These abstract logs are a study. It is impossible for
any slip-shod navigator to attempt one fcr us and hide
his tracks if he treads carelessly. The abstract log tells
whether it is kept by a navigator just as surely as the
ship working up to hey anchorage tells whether she is
handled by a seaman.
Yours speaks well for you, and I hope to have many
more of the same sort. Wishing you fair winds and
prosperous voyages, I have the honour to
M. F.
Fbe,:iTc.„atx.

Pullinger's circumstances are not nearly so bad as was
represented a few days ago. His own balance at the
Union Bank on the day of his apprehension was a
respectable amount, and had he required it lie could
"7.euerable dhave, with little difficulty, raised from £l,OOO to £1,20
among his brokers at a very short notice.
year. Her
dillaughliet%l!7otfil the late Dr.
DEA.TA OF TILE COUNTESS OF 'MANSFIELD. We
hop of York, 'eet ;
re-
gret to announce the death of the above
much-respected lady, who expired ou Monda at and
ir
Gilliamae
ds iyd i
lehnicp e;
3,...,4
rwiLh ao nl
;I,
fgh, ha
sa amm the
AI House,
Archbishop
tbhei
s,
1797, the third Ear'l of Mansfield, Nc,, diwte.4-11- --) i
The Dal'y News 5p.,71 v4ir.4 ix,"o„,, •- - -a. 110.
it • •
~,the Uni0n144144- " b ....went occasioned by
10. A- is subsiding. Pullinger and
1 01
a will be brought up at the Mansion Honer on
nutty. The directors are endeavouring to trace the
notes which Pullinger misappropriated instead of paying
them into the Bank of England. Meanwhile they have
not made any response to the request for information
preferred by the committee of the -toelc gxchano,