The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-11 00:00:00

ROYAL GEOGRAPiIICAL SOCIETY,

The eleventh meeting of the present session of
this society was held at Burlington-house, on Mon-
day evening, the 9th inst.: Sir R, J. Murchison,
K.C.8., president, in the chair.
The paper read was on " A Newly discovered
Low Pass over the Andes in Chili, south of Valdi,
via," by Don Guillermo Cox, translated and com-
municated by Sir Woodbine Parish.

Sir WOODBINE PARISH, who was present and
read the paper, said that Senor Cox was the son of
an English physician of Valparaiso, and had under-
takan his recent remarkable journey with a view
to discover an easy route between the new Chi Han
settlements on the Pacific coast in 40 deg. and 41
deg. S. lat. and the river Negro, which 80 years
ago bad been proved by Villarino, a Spanish ex■
plorer, to be navigable from the eastern side of the
Andes to the Atlantic. He equipped an expedition
at his own cost at Port Montt, a new German
settlement containing 15,000 inhabitants, near the
island of Chiloe, and proceeded in December, 1862,
by way of the two lakes, Llanquilhne and Todos-
os-Santos, towards the almost inland sea of Na-
guelhuapi. He traversed the lakes by means of
gutta percha boats, three of which were carried by
tde party, and succeeded in discovering a pass over
the Cordillera, at an altitude of not more than
2,Sooft. Arrived at the end of the Lake Naguel-
huapi (Lake of Tigers), which lies on the eastern
side of the chain of the Andes, Senor Cox's party
were rejoiced to find a stream issuing from it in
the direction of the rivers which flow into the
Atlantic; Nine of the 16 persons who formed the
expedition here returned to Port Montt ; the rest
embarked in one of the boats and descended the
river, which is called the Limey, and forms one of
the affluents of the Rio Negro. The voyage was
from the first attended with great risks, owing to
the numerous rapids, and the various adventures
encountered were narrated in a lively manner by
the author. At length, when within five miles of
the point to which Villarino had attained in ascend-
ing the Rio Negro from the Atlantic, the boat was
upset, and the party escaped drowning only to fall
into the hands of a savage tribe of Pampas Indians,
encamped near the spot. Senor Cox appeased the
anger of the Cacique, who wished to put him to
death for having visited his territory without per-
mission, by playing a tune on a flageolet he had
fortunately saved from the wreck. The Cacique at
length promised to assist him in reaching the Rio
Negro, on condition that he first went to Valdivia
for presents. The recrossing of the Cordillera at a
more northerly point towards Valdivia was accom-
plished without much difficulty, but the main object
of Senor Cox's journey—namely, the opening of an
easy passage across the continent—has been up to
the present time frustrated by the hostility of the
Indian tribes.
Or Pre.
Aamiral FITZROY, on being invited by
sident to express his opinion on the papers
n
said
that
called
the region to which their attention had been
was, with respect both to soil and climate, well_
of the finest
pursuits of
suited to the constitution, habits, and
which he
side of the soathern
Englishmen. The western
thew new
wGheernm
he
German c
surveyedo lon y of
in Proof o
had only
to point to the fact that
regions in the world,
parts of South America someembrfacefd
Port Montt, in a region
the coast, was 1' Pe°l'
• cd only by scanty hordes of
savages, had in ten years become a town of 15,000
inhabitants. A little further to the north there was
a place where we now heard of 20 or 30 ships at a
time loading coal; white at the time of his visit
nothing but a few fragments of coal were seen lying
about, which no one thought worth picking up.
The range of the Andes is rich in minerals, and the
whole of the country to the west is well timbered ;
indeed, the country is already becoming the abode

,he usual manner there can be no doubt she would
have made 13 knots. Her draught of water was
20ft. llin. forward, and 24ft. Bin. aft. She has her
guns, shot, and coals on board, and the number of
visitors present exceeded the muster of her crew on
commission ; consequently all the additional weights
she has to receive are her stores and provisions, 4:e.,
probably some 200 tons. On her light draught
trial in Stokes Bay on the 12th of May, 1858, when
a three-decker, she realised a mean speed of 12.252
knots, the draught of water being 18ft. Bin. forwards
and 21ft, 9ia. aft. The trying of the ship's steering
power and the run through Stokes Bay yesterday
were all very satisfactory, but some alarm was
created on board imnndiately afterw:,r3s by the die--
covery of a serious accident below. An escape of
steam had taken place, and an examination dis-
closed the fueL that the stop v-alre box az.i ccm-
mucication with the steam pipe had been torn off
the after boilers, The necessary measures were at
once taken, and the mischief happily ended there.
The boilers of the ship stand in the usual position,
face to face with the steam pipe running fore and aft
between them, the communication between the
steam pipe and the huller being formed by a pipe
from the main steam pipe communicating with the
valve-box on the boiler. So long as the boiler re-
tains its original position this communication, it is
evident, would remain intact, but any severe work-
ing of the ship or alteration of the form of the skip's
bottom would be attended with great rFsk of injury
to the valve-box or pipe. It is believed that in the
present case the Royal Sovereign's bottom has
altered in its form since she has been out of dock,
and that this alteration has tipped up the back of
the boilers, where they rest on the vessel's bilge, and
throwing their faces towards each other, the steam
has thus been thrown upon the valve-boxes and
pipes, and hence the accident. The theory assigned
as the cause of the accident is this:—lmmediately
over the damaged boilers (which are the two after
ones) is fixed one of the ship's turrets, weighing with
its gun and carriage 113 tons. This weight does not
rest on the pivot, it is distributed over the circum-
ference of the iron road on which the turret re•
volves, but the weight is in reality supported by
four iron columns under the deck and immediately
in front of the boilers. These columns stand in a
space of eight feet, and resting in that small space
on the ship's bottom in the vicinity of the keel the
latter has bulged out under the pressure, collapsed
slightly at the sides, and thus displaced the boilers.
Tho ship will be placed in dock to-day, when a far-
ther investigation will be made. The turret must
be taken out of the ship and the boilers re-set in
their new form, which is possibly all that may be
required to render the ship efficient for the pure
pose for which she has been converted. The Royal
Sovereign is most undoubtedly weak in her
bottom, below the armour-plating, but the
dockyard authorities maintain that she has suffi-
cient strength to carry all her weights. and that
the somewhat unlooked for accident which has oc-
curred is really of little importance.
The Prince Consort, ironcased frigate, Capt.' G.
Willis, C. 8., sailed from Spithead at 7 9.m' yester-
day for the Downs, to join the Chan"' Fleet.
The Salamis, 4 guns, Admiralty paddlewheel de-
spatch vessels, 835 tons, 509 horse-
power, recently
commissioned at Sheerness by Commander F. G.
Sattie, got up steam and Was taken for a
nal trip with all her standing
on board, at the mea-
sured mile on Friday, when she
prelimi-
nary trial run outside the harbour this day. She
will be taken to her final
gear, stores, and armamentsifaor Will proceed to her
destination as tender to the Channel Fleet, should
the trialar.
Denman was yes 4
terday
appointed Commander-in.. Chief in the Paci-
Apdrmovileat;at
the satisfactory.
Hon. Josh.
R e
Paci-
fic, vice Vice-Admiral Kirgcome, to be superseded,
having attained the rank of Vice Admiral.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut William Vicary to
the Terror, for gunboats, vice . L. tent. Kerr; Henry
A. Baring,
midshipman, to the Wolverene ; Dr.
George B. Moore, surgeon, to the Wolverene;
James Bradley, Assistant-Surgeon, additional,
to the Victory ; Septimus Terrey, Acting As-
sistant-Surgeon, to the Wolverene; Orestes
M. Browker, Chief Engineer to the Cum-
berland, as supernumerary; Jeremiah P. Lloyd,
Engineer to the Indus, for the Calliope ; W.

Morton, Engineer to the Indus, for the hippie; and

Vernon A. Tisdall, nominated to a naval cadetship.

THE ARMY.

The annual muster of the officers, under cfficers,
and servants of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, took
place yesterday morning, by the Muster-Master-
General. Seats were provided for the accommoda-
tion of the old veterans vvho were unable to stand
during the muster.

The half yearly
muster of the Brigade of Foot
Guards took place on Monday at the St. George's
and Wellington Brack by the Muter-Mastcr-
Geteral.