The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-10 00:00:00

SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL lO, 1852.

ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

The ship's companies were mustered yesterday by
the Commodore Superintendent Captain Eden, and
eppeared very satisfactory. They are still short of
their fresh provisions; for what with examinations
and condemnations and new tenders, great delay has
been occasioned in completing the orders. We find
one of the messes have followed the examples of the
board and declined their stock from one of the most
respectable firms. Sir Baldwin Walker, with Mr.
' Watts, and a great many persons, visited the ships
yesterday. The officers have been attending the de-
monstrations given by Mr. Hay on the galvanic bat-
teries, manipulating upon the batteries and charges,
to make themselves perfectly acquainted with the best
methods of applying this agent to the destruction of
the ice, as it was found in fermer explosions that
with the Bickford's fusees it was impossible to get a
simultaneous fire of the charge, a single one producing
little benefit in breaking large masses. It is expected '
great advantage will be derived from a number of
charges fired simultaneously on the whole length of
ice at the entrance of Wellington Inlet, which issups
posed to be about :30 miles long, forming a barrier to
the open water alluded to by Captain Penny and
others. The plan proposed by Captain Sir Edward
Belcher is to plough certain deep grooves from end to
eud of theice, and then taking advantage of the state of
the winds and tide to carry away the ice, will explode
charges from one end to the other, as simultaneously
as possible, by fusees, assisted with the batteries. The
present board have not only granted the batteries
and wire necessary for carrying out Sir E. Belcher's
proposition, but, very desirous for its success, most
considerably directed their chemical officer, Mr. Hay,
immediately to advise with Sir F. Beaufort, and to
attend at Woolwich during the short period that re-
mains before they leave, to assist Sir E. Belcher in
arranging his projected plans, and to give every fad-
lity to all the officers of the expedition who are in-
terested in this portion of the scheme, by having the
benefit of bis long and great practical experience by
daily demonstrations and manipulations on the bat•
teries, of which they gladly avail themselves as well
as the bombardiers. We could mention where the
services of the chemical assistant might have been well
directed. We have seen no testimony from any che-
mical officer on the state of the preserved twat,, &c.
It appears to us that some of the contractors would
have felt better satisfied if their articles had been
condemned by practical officers, rather than by medi-
cal men,as the state of the provisions must arise from
some changes produced by accidental circumstances,
which it is the province of the chemical rather than
the medical man to ascertan.

RAILWAY RETURNS

TRAFFIC RETT,NS FOR THE PAST WEEK.

NAME OF RAILWAY.

BBITISII.

Aberdeen .
Belfast and Ballymena •••••• • • • • • • ..
Belfast and County Down•• • . • • • • •
Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire
Bolton, Blackburn, and west York . • • •
Bristol and Exeter • • • • .• •••• • • • • • • • •

Chester and Holyhead. • • • • • • .• • • " • .
Cork, BI ackrock, and Passage • • • • • •
Dublin and Bellast J unction •• .•• • • •
Dublin and Drogheda. ••• • • • ..... • • •
_ ••

Dublin and Kingstown • • • .. • ••••
Dundee and Arbroath •••, •• • ..... ••

East Lancashire • • .... . • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Eastern Counties and Norfolk ...• ....
Eastern Union • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Edinburgh and Glasgow .•• • ••• • •• ••
Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee •• • •
Exeter and Creditors.. •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Farness Railway • • •_:• l• ••

Glasgow, and South-Western• • • • • • • •
Great Northern and E. L •••• • • • •
Great Southern and Western (Ireland)
Great Western • •

Irish South Eastern • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Lancaster and Carlisle • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Lancashire and Yorkshire ........ • • • •
Leeds and Thirsk ..... ..• • • • • ••
Liverpool, Crosby, and Southport•• ••
London and North Western .•• • • • • • •
London and Blackwall• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
London, Brighton, and South Coast..
London and South Western. • •
Londonderry and Enniskillen ..... • • •
Manchester, Buxton, and Matlock, &c.
Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire
Manchester and South Junction • • •• ••
Maryport and Carlisle • . • • • •

--- -
Midland Great Western (Irish) • • • • • •
Monklands • • •• • • •

Newcastle and Carlisle.. • • ....•• .. • •
North British ..........
......
North Staffordshire ................

North-Western .... •• . .

Scottish Central
Scottish Midland •• • ..... ..........
Shrewsbury and Birmingham
Shrewsbury and Chester •• ..........
Shropshire Union .. •••••••••• •• • • • •
South Devon•• •• •• •• • •• •••• •• ••••••

SOUL 111 Eastern • • • • • • • • • •

South Wales .. •• •••• • •

South York., Doncaster, and Goole ..
Taff Vale •• •• •• • • •

Ulster. •• • •

Waterford and Limerick .. ...
West Cornwall •• •• •• ............

Whitchaven Junction .• • • • • •
York and Newcastle, and Berwick ...
York and North Mid1and...........

FOREIGN.
Central of France .. •.............
Dutch Rhenish
.aiaria,Antouia •
Montereau and Troyes
Northern of France .
Orleans and Bordeaux.. • • .....
Paris and Lyons • .•
Paris and Orleans • 1::
Paris and Rouen. •• •• •• •• ••
Paris and Strasburgh .......•
}iouen and Havre • •
Tours and Nantes •