The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-24 00:00:00

BANKRUPTS.

Herbert Ashton and Steward Spriggs, otherwise
Steward Stevenson Spriggs, warehousemen, Alderman-
bury, to surrender, Oct. 7, at two, and Nov. 15, at one,
at the Court of Bankruptcy.: Edward Edwards, official
assignee, Sambrook-court, Basinghall-street; Sole and
Turner, Aldermanbury.
Osborn Engall Teasel], timber merchant, Norwich,
Oct. 5, and Nov. 15, at two, at the Court of Bankruptcy.
Edwards, official assignee, Basinghall-street; J. and J.
H. Linklater, Sise-lane; W: Woolbright, Norwich.
William urner, engineer, Bath, Oct. 5, and Nov. 4,
at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Acraman,
official assignee, Bristol; Pain and Bartrum, Bath;
Bevan, Bristol.

John Roebuck and William Roebuck, woollen cloth
manufacturers, Holmfirtb, Yorkshire, Oct. 14, and
28, at levMena,caGt
Nov. 5, at the Leeds District Court. Young, official
Novensbegrton
assignee. Leeds; Kidd, Holmfirth; Bondand Barwick,
Leeds,
Fleur rtchtetyL,ivmeerrpcohoalnDt,istLriievtercpoouolr,t.OctT.
Turner,
officially
u_ assignee, Liverpool; Here, Liverpool.
Mole, draper
Cou"r°t.rge Clarke Pealing and Robert Chapman Sharp
merchants and contractors, Manchester, October 6 and
rill, official assignee, staelB, at twelve, at the Manchester District
Wor thin Manchester ; Sale,
and Earle, Manchester.
Thomas Manchester ; Worthington
price
of VrouNvir SorlJGAlt.
Thomas
6 and Nov. 9, at twelve
Deans ate Manchester, Oct.
Court. Fraser, °mere, at the Manchester District
Worthington, and sh;__L
anassignee, Manchester ; Sale,
plartl
_,_Alanchester.
v, Muscovado Sugar, corn
1812, ending September 21,
Great
or payable thereon
Thpeutaedvefrraogmereturns made in th:
1852, exclusive of Customs D
inAineerießritain :
From the Mauritius ... ...
..
Froonm thethe i
Britishrripo rta t :en tpossessionsher thereof into
'42s. 14d. per cwt
From the East Indies ...• ...
..*. 'V.:. lid. ~
Average price of the two foregoing de_ • iv,
~
acriptions of sugar, jointly, computed as
above, and exclusive of duty ••• ••• 225. I,d
By authority of Parliament, 4 • "
HENRY BICKNELL, Clerk of the Grocers' Company
Grocers'-hall, September 24.

LUNAR RAINBOW.—Mr. E. J. Lowe, of the Ob.
servatory, Beeston, near Nottingham, says :—" On the
evening of the 20th inst. I had the gratification of seeing a
perfect lunar rainbow, extending from nearly E. by S. to
nearly N. by W. The distance between the two points
where it intersected the horizon was 106 deg. nearly, and the
altitude at the aex about 33 deg. There was a faint
flisecockering, arch. Thep light it gave out was colourless and
sh. isra; It became visible at 812. and vanished at

THE NEW MAIL STEAMERS.

One of the most interesting scientific problems of
the pre.,ent day is, at what rare must the magnitude
of a paddle-box steam-ship and its engine power in-
crease as the distance the ship traverses without
coaling increases, the speed of the said ship being a
constant or an increasing quantity ? 'We have
paddle steamers that will run 3,000 miles in ten days.
But all attempts to go further than that, at the same
ratio of speed, have been found most difficult, the
weight of the wheels requisite to propel the increas-
ing magnitude of the ship, and the weight of the ad-
ditional coal consumed by the increasing engine power,
have more than counterbalanced the additional power
that has been given to the monster steamers that
have been recently built. In fact, it was found im-
possible almost to build ships that would carry coals
sufficient for a longer voyage than 3,000 miles, and
the feathering float wheels which accelerate the speed
in moderate sized steamers, are not available for
larger ones, because the ironwork necessary for their
construction is so weighty that it counteracts all their
advantages.
It has been a desideratum with the West India
Mail Company to have steamers that will run be-
tween Southampton and St. Thomas at the same
• ratio of speed as Cunard's ships run between Liver-
pool and New York. To do this the St. Thomas
passage should be done in 12 days, for the distance
is nearly 3,700 miles. The Orinoco, Magdalena, and
Parana, a
have been built for this purpose ; but al-
though these ships are magnificent specimens of
rana,
naval architecture, and afford most luxurious ac-
commodation to passengers, they failed to come up
and their consumption of coal
y
100 tons a day—was enormous. At length
the above-named company started the La Plata, a
m
differently constructed from the others,
ta—onodntnheseat
bestowed
required eq
ship,
her everything which science and
and. The company staked every-
The whole community interested
in steam shipping anticipated her performance with
the greatest anxiety,
and if she had failed, human in-
genuity would have been baffled. There is now not
the slightest doubt but what a steamer is afloat that
twheinaglth on could
d ship,co command.
will run 4,000 miles in a fortnight, without stopping,
and that that steamer is the La Plata. This is a most
interesting fact, not less so than the discovery which
was made years ago, that a steamer would cross the
Atlantic, because some clue can now be obtained as
to the means by which great ocean stages can be
traversed at a high speed of 12 or 13 miles an hour,
continuously.

At 3.30 P.M., on the 17th of August last, the La Plata
cast off from the buoy opposite Netley Abbey, in
Southampton Water, with nearly 1,400 tons of coals
on board, besides cargo, passengers, and mails. She
had an ebb tide, and in twenty minutes afterwards
she was abreast of Calshot Castle. At 6.30 P.m. she
passed the Needles rocks. As the night set in a fog
came on, which detained her two hours. The first
clear day's run after leaving Southampton she ac-
complished 245 miles, and continued to increase in
speed as she consumed her coals. On the 21st, at
3.35 P.m., while she was going at full speed
with all sail set,
there was a cry of a man
overboard. The massive engines were stopped, the
sails backed, two boats lowered, and in less than seven
minutes the man was taken off a life buoy, which
had been thrown to him, and in twenty minutes
from the time of the cry the boats were up, the
sails sat,' and the engines at full speed
again. On the 22d, at sun-set, the La Plata
passed the Azores, and at noon on the 24th
half the voyage was accomplished. Her speed was
now increased to 300 miles a day, which speed was
kept up with very little variation to the end of the
voyage. The wind and weather were propitious,
but there were the usual drawbacks experienced on
the first voyage of a new ship—the engines
became heated, the packing of the cylinders became
louse/ and steam escaped, and the floats became un-
screwed or detached. These drawbacks and other
accidents caused a detention of about eight
hours during the voyage. The La Plata
entered St. -Thomas at 6.45. P.m., on the
30th ultimo, and considering the difference
of time at Southampton and St. Thomas, and the ac-
cidental delay of the voyage, the whole distance
traversed was a little more than 12 days. Captain
Allan, the commander of the La Plata, fully expects
to reach Southampton on the evening of the 28th or
morning of the 29th of this month with the West
India and Mexican mail., and to perform the distance
from St. Thomas to Southampton in less than 12
days. The La Plata consumed 1,194 tons of coals
on her outward voyage, and had therefore about 200
tons left when she reached St. Thomas. The pre-
vailing winds she experienced on that voyage were
easterly, and of course favourable, but the sails of
the La Plata were scarcely ever of any avail, as she
outstripped the wind or steamed at an equal rate with
it.—Morning Paper.