The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-01-10 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRITISH PRESS.

Sett,—l will, with your permission, offer a few observations In
reply to a letter which appeared in your Paper of the sth instant,
signed A. 8., and dated from the Isle of Jan. 2.
Your correspondent appears to be aware of the advantages that
will arise from the proposed Canal, which he declares " is likely
to save more lives, and prevent more shipwrecks, than the Royal
Society lately most laudably established for those purposes." He
says, that " Nature has done more towards a g harbour at
Beer, than millions of money could ever possibly do, and that its
advantages have been strikingly apparent since the late gales and
shipwrecks on the coasts." Although he does not appear to view
so favoutably the proposed harbour at Stolford, or to regard it as
" indispensably necessary," he yet considers that it will " be
highly eligible hereafter, when the navigation multiplies." Ile
thinks, too, that " the competition of the Welsh coals must be
successful against the northern collieries," inasmuch as they can
be sold cheaper; and he further declares his belief, that the tonnage
from coals, iron, and bricks alone. insure complete interest of
capital to the proprietors, whose profits may resemble those of the
New River Company :" that is, some thousands per cent.
After these admissions in favour of the proposed Canal, and I
after indulging in other pleasing anticipations of the immense be-
nefits that will result front it when it is completed, it could hardly
be expected that your correspondent A. B. would start objections
to this great national undertaking, on the score of expense; and
yet so it is! Although there will be, as he declares, an ample re-
muneration for the se/rule of the expense to be incurred, yet he
'smelts that so large a sum as 400.000!. should be laid out in the
f,rmstion of the two harbours at Beer and Stolford, without which
it must be evident, even on a very slight consideration, that the
Canal would be comparatively of 'idle value.
Instead of commencing at each end at the same time, and there
forming the proposed harbours as expeditiously as possible, and
from thence carrying on and completing the Canal, as the work
advances towards the interior of the country. by which the earliest
access to it would he gained, and a traffic would be progressively
established along it as it advanced, and from which • revenue
would be derivable ;—instead of thus proceeding with vigour and
effect, A. B. recommends that we should now pause, and re-con-
sider our plans; and then proposes, that the Canal, in the first
place, should only be carried from Beer to Bridgewater, and that
a rail-road should be for.ited front that point on to Taunton, Tiver-
ton. I:xeter, Topsham, and Dartmouth.
This is the age for rail roads, and I must not find fault with
A. 1.1..f0r yielding to the prevailing influence: but I wish seriously
to put it to him, whether it will be wise or patriotic to risk the ac-
complishment of a great national undertaking such as the proposed
Ship Canal. with its harbours and all its collateral advantages, now
that the whole scheme has been fairly and fully digested and ma-
tured, fur the possible acquisition of some minor and perhaps
trifiiag consideration ? lum sure A. B. will here answer in the
negative. Be has too lively a sense of the importance of our canal,
to put it to hazard, or to lend himself to any attempt for diverting
the public attention and support from it even in favour of rail
roads; which, however useful they may be in some situations, he
must Le well aware can be of little benefit us a communication be-
tween the two Channels, and, as opposed to the proposed Ship
Canal, would Le worse than useless. _

Let me here urge A. a to unite with me in endeavouring to
promote the completion—the full entire perfecting and completion,
of this most important undertaaing, which, it Ito been shown in
the Reports of :Ur. Telford and Captain Nicoll', will yield an
ample return to the subscribers, and be productive of extensive
benefits to the country at large.
Jan. 7,11125. A SUBSCRIBER.

QOANTITY or R•IN.—In a very early period of our
labours we noticed the singular circumstance of the quan-
tity of rain which had fallen for the three last years being
much beyond the average quantity. We then observed,
that 1624 promised to be as bad as its watery predecessors.
It now appears, that the rain which has fallen in Man-
chester within these last four months is more than equal to
the average quantity of rain which falls in a whole year at
London. From tables kept by Mr. John Dalton, at Man-
chester, we learn the following facts :
In September rain fell to . 5 440 inches.
October . 6.1;:16
November - . - 5 510
Daember, to 26th . 6.8.0

24.666
Since December 26, it appears that 1.015 inches have
fallen, making a total of 25.682 inches; the average quan-
tity of rain which falls in Manchester being 84 inches,
and in London 22. We hardly indeed require accurate
observation by instruments to convince us that the quantity
of rain of late has been excessive; but when we find
casual remarks thus confirmed, and the quantity of rain
increasing year after year, the important fact is too fir..ly
established not to require philosophical investigation. We
have no doubt that attentive observation will ultimately
discover the causes of the variations of the seasons, though
they are so numerous as at present to defy our classifica-
tion, and so subtle as to escape our notice. We have no
doubt, too, when they are discovered, that that which now
appears to be anomalous will then be fully explained ; and
some preservative meteorological laws will be discovered,
which will be as to the weather what the precession of the
Equinox, and the astronomical law discovered by La Place,
is in astronomy—the evident means of continually pre-
saving unchanged the order of the world.—The Chemist.
Gas Beatitas.—lt has been customary to consume oil
gas with the same sort of burners as coal gas, which causes
a considerable waste, and gives rise to a mistaken idea of
the quantity of light given out by each gas. The Argand
burner, which admits the gas through a number of small
holes, is the best species for perfect combustion; but,
which would hardly have been imagined, it is found that
these holes should be nearer together, and smaller, for oil
gas than for coal gas. In any case, they should be so far
apart that the flame from each should just coalesce with
that from the next. The gas produced from oil contains
more carbon than that from coal ; the light is in proportion
to the quantity of carbon, and the same-sired holes which
completely consume the carbon of the coal gas do not burn
all that of the oil gas. It is consequently necessary that
burners for oil gas should be made with smaller holes, and
these boles should be closer together than those for coal gas.
—The Chemist.

PRESSCCE AND RAIIV:7•CTION or Tilt Ala.—The
pressure of the air, and its rarefaction by butt, arc excel-
lently illustrated Ily the following simple experiment :
take hold of a wine glass in your right hand, and with your
left pta into it a small piece of burning paper. When the
paper has burned for a few seconds, strike the mouth of the
glass against the palm of your left hand, and it will remain
firmly fixed to it fur a considerable time. The cause of this
is, that the internal air is so rarified by the burning paper,
that the pressure upon the inside of the glass is greatly di-
minished. Ths equilibrium, therefore, of the pressures
upon the outside and inside of the glass being destroyed,
the glass must adhere to the band till that equilibrium is
restored.—Mecialic's Mega:zinc.

THE BRITISH PRESS.

LIVERPOOL; FRIL/AY EVENING.
• Wind,. N.W.—High-wster' 14.
Arrived the Matilda, front Mt-Salmi; Endeavour, from
Seville; Hunter, from Belfast; Providence, from ditto ;
Eliza Ann, from Cork ; John, tram ditto; Antelope, from
Buenos Ayres; Stag, from Glasgow; Amity, from ditto;
Ailsa, ditto; Manchester, ditto; William Pelle, from
Limerick; arlequin, from London; Nederlands Printz,
from Rotten '.n; Melainpus, from Leith; Latour, from
ditto; Emerald Isle, from Newry ; Gomer, from Bristol;
Felicity, from ditto; Lady Farde, from Fayal; City of
Dublin, from Dublin; Mona Castle, from the Isle of
Mann; Earl of Surrey, from ditto; Ann, from Newport;
William, from ditto.

INCREASI'p TRADE OF LIVERPOOL.
Number of vessou reported at the Custom-house, Lira-
pool, in the last six months :
From Foreign Paru - 2.651
Ireland -
Cosstways - " 112.1 T636760°7
• 5,2 in
In the year ending24th June. 1/121.
From Foreigt. Pau . . 4,151
Ireland - - 2.200
Coast ways . 3,RA Tonnage.
1 ILIO , 9'4 ,

10.001 _
LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY.

Wind N. W.—High•water 27m. past 1.
Arrived the Tagus, Lisbon ; Joseph, Baltimore, Ireland;
Resolution, Dublin; Shamrock, Dublin; Ann and Mary,
Grcenside; Friends, Newport.
The transactions in the Cotton market this week have
been very extensive. Including Monday and Tuesday,
when the speculators came into the maiiet,, about 30,590
bags have been sold at an a;vance of *beta Id. generally.
Corn market this day rather dull, and may be quoted—
oats, Id. to 2d. lower ; Wheat, 3d. to 4d. lower also; Bar-
ley steady.
Sugar is a little more in demand, upwards of 650 hogs-
heads sold at full prices.-No demand for for ign sugar.
Some speculation iii Rum this week, and upwards of
1000 puncheons sold.