The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-05 00:00:00

BUTCRINiON V, PERRIER.

This appeal from a decision of the Court of Session
in Scotland was continued this morning. The action
was raised by the appellant against the late Charles
Ferrier, for the purpose of recovering damages
from him on account of his having wrongfully
taken possession of a certain gateway and a small
piece of ground which were alleged to form
part of a larger portion of ground, in which the
appellant had a right of tenancy under the magis-
trates and town council of Edinburgh. The pursuer
rook an issue, and at the trial he tendered cer-
tain writings in proof of his alleged right of tenancy.
These were objected to as unstamped; and it was ruled
by the Lord Justice-Ganeral, the presiding judge, that
the writings could not be received for want of stamps,
and that the tenancy could not be proved without them.
A bill of exceptions against this ruling was disallowed
by the first division of the Court of Session, and against
this judgment the present appeal was taken. Two points
were raised in the court below—first, whether these
were documents which required to be stamped; and
second, whether it was incompetent to prove the matter
of tenancy in any other way than by them. On the
first point it was held that this was a contract of lease,
and that it would be a violation of the Scamp Act to ad-
mit them; and, on the other hand, a doubt was expressed
whether verbal evidence could be resorted to when writ-
ten evidence was shown.

YOUNG POETS.—The step between the sublime and
the ridiculous seems to be frequently taken by " aspiring
poets," and they insist on making that respected and
gene-
rally very prudent old lady, dame Nature, behave as it' he
were the most outrageous and disorderly person created. If
she did and thought half the things imputed to her, she
ought to have been born in a straitjacket. See what a
" poet" sent us the other day, in " Stanzas written in a
Churchyard :"
" I've wept my burning eye-balls blind
Beside my dying friends,
And here am I still left behind,
To count their latter ends."
And because we declined our praises we were deemed
" jealous;" but we leave the justice of the accusation to be
decided by " a generous public. "--Eliza Cook's Journal.
PERFORATED POSTAGE STAMPS.—Every body must
have found it more or less troublesome to cut the pos-
tage labels one from another for useful purposes. It causes
delay. Reflecting on this, a Mr. Archer invented a machine
to " notch" or "puncture" them in their natal hour, which
would enable people to tear them away at once, without the
application of knife or scissors. A correspondence with the
" Stamps and Taxes" was then opened on this matter, and
Mr. Archer's proposal—particularly as he wanted no pay till
the plan was successful—was favourably listened to. P 4, ;
Archer was offered by the Treasury four hundred pouundas.rreo.
the purchase of his perforating neactiine, and twoist 4'l4
pounds as a remuneration for the invention. Dissarto
ampss
the sum proposed, Mr. Archer offered to furnish
"e,this pro-
sand five hundred pounds per annum. Of course,
a .piece of
en masse, at a cost which would save the country
posal made the authorities prick up
c"thersi,
being just the
economy that would cut down noenunue beau,. ot ma ue-
thi.6—Um, instead of giving
theacon, arid Fetch, and.
vice, they wrote off to Messrs. Perkins.er , one thou-
crew down those gen.
" Stamps and Taxes"
the
tlemen in their charges—in which
with this noble achievement,
succeeded • and, satisfiedr
Mr. Archer to his fate. Up to the
made Mr. Archer's proposal a lever to s
" Their Honours"
somewhere in limbo.—Dickens's
'ns unused, Mlre.ftArcher's machinery—good, bad, or in-
-26 , Burton- crescent ; Mr. It T C
DISPENSARY -- '
The annual
ST. PANCRAS GENERAL .
Householdd i t T e present
r e nt moment,— remai
Words.
. Baker church
meeting of the. governors of this institution was held yester-
day,• ox
st"MPTerna sr
aTr
2,264YE' patients had been admitted, of
, warden, read the re-
in it . appeared
from which sppear that the efficiency of the charity
tlhBe37yoefar3sa,mo6o9unpt
amounted
poor
to
patients 36 6i. lls. relieved.
The
to the poor of the neighbourhood had much increased.
ripnionrtgth,
satthe
htehsepi
raD.
Du-
whom 205 remained under treatment; making a total since
was much indebted to the vicar and clerglyleof expenditurefoo
rf
charity, it was stated,
the aid they had rendered the institution. Dr. Cogswell bad
usual routine business
separated. was
then
proceeded with, after which '
, room of Dr. Taylor. been elected physician, in the The
the meeting se
- - -

Mr. Merle: the
senioron ofF r
itdhaey , d raegme
da t
6i c 7 . feuu ze. a
camee t o ni s t s
of the Paris press, diedto
Paris in I 803, and was employed until 1805 in the offices of
the Minister of the Interior. He then
aenndterpeadrtitchuelaarrlyrnroymto;
hwihmicsehlfhuepqeunitttierdelyintolBlOitBe,ratoryr,eptuurrsnuittos,variq, where he gave
the dramatic art. He was attached as theatrical critic to
several journals, amongst which were the Mereure Gazette
de France, Quotidienne, afterwards to the Union. forirowontheihceah
journal he wrote the theatrical feuilleton from 1823 to 1851,
when ill health compelled him to relinquish la la pen. From
1822 to 1826 he was the director of the Porte-St.-Martin
Theatre, where he introduced several chefs-d'oeuvre w t of the
English theatre. In addition to the feuilletons, he
great number of vaudevilles and melodramas, which had
great success, amongst others the Ci• decant Jeune Homme.
,1
M. Merle was a Legitimist, and under the p e .
l subjectl yoe
wrote several pieces in honoyouftrhoeftgheuee:dne,r branch.
pos-
sessed a very independent spirit, and under the Emilpiereheconstantly to
to write in support of that government. He
prolonged duration, was married to MatgdhaievmreenaDrblorval, the actress.
before the levee
Derby, is understood to have
occupying fully tWo
eidanunluvdtshaiuyeean,
have been the important
'meeting held at Manchester on the
Anti-Corn-law League was re previous day, when the
_ eonstituted.—Morning Paper.
D r. Travers Twiss has hours,on been The
Wednesday,
h°e
bishop of Canterbu-y
vicars been appointed by the Arch-
terbury, on the resignation Vicar-General of the province of Can-
Dean
of the Arches.
and Sir John Dodson, appointed
Canterbury, in the Judge of the Prerogative Court of
Fast. room of the late Sir Herbert Jenner

INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
On Tuesday. March 2 (James M. Bendel, , Pre-
sident, in the chair) the first paper read was " On the
Electric Telegraph, and the principal improvements in its
construction," by Mr. F. B. Window, Assoc. Inst. C.E.
After a brief notice of some of the early systems of
telegraphs employed by the ancients, such as beacon
fires, and the escape of water from perforated vessels, as
described by Pole bius, and also a few of those of mo-
dern construction, such as Amonton and Chappe's set"'
phor, s and the Universal Telegraph invented by major-
General Sir Charles Palley; a description was given of
some experiments made in the last and present cen-
turies on the possibility of transmitting electricity to
considerable distances, with the view of adapting
ibis
power to telegraphic purposes. Among these were
mentioned the experiments of—Du Fay, who, in France,w
in the ear 1733, discharged a Leyden jar through -
wards of four miles of wire; of Winckler, ho,up at
Leiezic, in 1746, discharged a Leyden jar through
long wire, a portion of the ricer Pleisa being includP
ed
in the circuit; and of Dr. Watson, who, in 1747, SS
pended a length of two miles of wire on posts at
Shouter's Hill, and sent electrical currents throwgh it,
the circuit being completed by the earth. This was
particularly noted, because in all the earlier inventions
of the present century a separate wire was reserved for
this purpose.
The general existing system of electric telegraphs
was then examined, and divided by the author into
three distinct departments t—lst, the battery, or the
motive peer; 2d, the wires and their insulation,
or the
means of conveying the power to the place of its action;
and, 3,1, the iestruments, or the means of using the
power. Of the two former there was little to be re-
lated, inr.smuch as they bad received scarcely any atter
tion from reventors, which the author regretted, es me
flought the.s departments offered the widest field for
substantial improvement.
The ordinary voltaic batteries were then described,
together with the method of obtaining electricity from
the permanent magnet, as employed by Cooke and by
Henley, and the manner in which it was adopted to the
use of the telegraph. The means of insulation we/
mentioned as specially needing reform; the present
aboveground system being uncertain and iniPerie„te-9
its action, and the underground systems too eiP"'"" t
in their construction. It was explained that the ehiec
of Mr. Edwin Clark's metallic capped insulators wee
11
°
prevent dew from being deposited upon the atere'l!/1
cups as was always the case from the good redialiei
qualities of all non-conductors. The invention consisted
in surrounding the insulators with a metallic substance '
by
which, from the bad absorbing properties ot 00,1
the radiation from the porcelain was greatly wo
the
o
and it was thus prevented from cooling down below
dew point. A short description was then given cif thee
amongst principal existing instruments; which wet.ri-
Cooke's five needle, Cooke and Wheatstone atstones double
and single needle, Wheatstone's indicating, $s sin' eft
mical decomposition, Henley's magnetic, .Brett 's priot
rug, and l3akewell's Copying Telegraphs. sent
The paper concluded by asserting that the Pre--n
systems of electric telegraph must by no mesas bf;ct;
sidered as perfect, and inventors were recommended •
turn their attention to the improvement of the batterm
and the means of insulating the wires, rather thee t°,
the production of new instruments, in which dive-lobs`
was stated that perfection could probably be carried I
little further, until some important changes were effide
in the other two departments.
The second paper read was " The History, Thocat
and Practice of the Electric Telegraph," by Mr.
Adley.
The first portion of the paper contained a dereriPtil
of the various modes of transmittin signals prersen;
and adopted prior to the electric telegraph. The 15 t
of Cardinal Bembo, the Marquis of Wosces e
Hooke, Amantorr, t r Bober
Were
Marcel, and Chappe,
Linguet,
noticed.
Tue various forms of telegraphs, in which ele°t:erihepitale
was the exciting cause, were then described. i""
dwere divided into two eras, the electrostatic and
in which
The electrostatic era comprised all telegraph
which statical, or frictional electricit the actil
y was
principle, such as the plans of. Odier, Lesagesii°4lo
Betancourt, Reiser, Cavallo, &ilea and Ronalds.
electrodynamic era included all telegraphs in which v°"
. re
talc, or 0 • '
namic electricity was the prime mover, s- ed
the
Coxe, Amedre,
telegraphs of Fremmerf g Schweiger,-
Wedgewoo
electron
Dyar, auss, Alexlinder.
Wheate, esc
Thisst broonught. the chronology of the electric telegresPtho
to the year 1837, and the history was then coaclude" to.
the
The year 1851, by a classified list of the various paten,he
The second part of the paper was devoted tdo the
theory and practice of the electric telegraph;
subject was enlarged upon under the following bea'm.
Ist, The principles adapted; 2d, The materials em-
-Ist,d-
eployed; 3d, Practical difficulees, and remarkable
ranging causes, with investigations as to their erigle
4th, Tee laws which govern the action of the eel grelloi
stb, Theories of the mode of transmission of thei°Bl electrn
fluid, and of the earth-circuit; and, 6th, Praet
piications and concluding remarks. various
These heads were again subdivided, and the ye-
portions of the telegraph were treated of P 2
tau
The modes of connecting the instruments at the stati.oes.
were given in detail, together with several pract!
u.l
rules for deleting faults, and the general nu'i)lPin
lotion of a line. Various defects which occurred
practice were pointed out, and the consideration of re
medics was invited.
The action of the Aurora, Borealis, the d'rh9gnetizele.-
tion of the needles by lightning, and their frequent
rangement by other disturbances, were noticed.
to,
A acvlengthened and elaborate investigation was entered
in with i
of. arriving at the origin of the per
datistraiffbeuctteidoncsboiefflytrhe magnetic n
to the electric ear a
sphere:,
currents and caloric. s of the
ee,d leis,rwiohvischof the tenor
magnetic storms, earth currents, thernio-electric
An original law which governed the Moiton
magnetic needles was iiitroductd by there .re
e.
laws of Professors Wheatstone and Ohmalso qi ;us,
as well as the theories of Dr. Faraday, M'grini' 6111
and other philosophers.
The various applications of the Electric T
were then described, such es:-Ist, for printing beCL.A,
working a series of clocks isochronouely toget;
for the comparison of the pendulums; 4th and sth, P-m
for pro-
registering meteorological observations; 6th, -tile
ducieg explosions for blasting; 7th, for compare
e_.
astronomical observations; Bth, chronoscopes, tor 03 a
elfgrefpohr
suring the flight of cannon balls, Ste.
Alter citing proofs of the commercial value and p_uhleie,
service of the electric telegraph, the
with a few observations as to the ultimate destiny
world- wide utility of so wonderful an invention.
.e_,_,o
It was announced that the discussion on the et Tie'
telegrapn would be resumed at the meeting of Marc."
he subjsot•
when the entire evening would be devoted to t _e
paper concluadall
At the monthly ballot. the following candidates
Gar-
duly elected:—Messrs. J. Beatty, S. Downing, Rvirbitty,
rett, J. Vaughan, J. Whichcord, and Captain
as Associates.

THE ARCTIC SEARCH the
We extract from a recent American journal . .
Following letter by Captain Wilkes, relative to the
best mode of pursuing the search for Sir John Frank-
lin and his companions :
Many have been the inquiries made of me relative to
the plan I would propose for the relief of Sir John
tionlita;antot ewmppetr itso hod, e
Franklin. I desire now to say
.a few words on
to avoid
1. The great desideratum in a search is the
and
johpnroEvirsai
whilst others, buoyed up with hope, still cling to the
risking of
vainhso,
mm
voerroyvma laupayblbee
lliievvees
belief that relief may yet be in time.
2. To make the relief both as speedy and effectual aa
of the futile search in vessels. The refure I propose to
at the mouth of
m(u:seiinezut.t,e,hpretrhulf,:i4dse: 'with all
possible. Great 1059 of time has
Wellingtonalread
yno
provisions
patabste,saerraebsotnhuletr
which can be aenuallyapproached by vessels; th
whole Arctic region is searchedlns __ere to
Channel)
onlyha r harbour convey
own.reyr elnSeilii•
place 5 temporary colony of between 400 and 500
this point. This forct%
sub-
ject to no more risk
boats, 84c., of the best and most appropriate
:lc, easlsladryir,eveitzi
0. ,:l e
fdrgoems ,
st appropriate construe-
such climates, Ma.
don,- and for this temporary colony to remain until the
well provisionedcobleon
two seasons, and would
would be adequate to make r.
effectual exploration in' be stiPa
L. nee of energy and
peditions. ha,,n n. 'eh, by the experience of former eX-
I,
casualties
Lau oat 6°.a,t0u..1 a. a. 0.14.741 ta firoptict
It will readily other portieres of the globe. d
than what may be encountered i
and . yadminidtt,epdentdheanttacfwsehlilp-psloanrtyeedossenis,
w(-11 provided 'with 13 approved "ni !ennuis in
both boats and sledges, teoeurclosntot ;ail, underlP
the guid•
or apprehension of any
01'4 exploring this region. and without inconvenience
perseverance, to succeed in satistao-
kind to those engaged in the
service, except the necessary fatigues and discomforts at-
tending such arduous service; and if it should be the
good fortune of any of the exploring parties to discover
Sir John and his companions, they would have the meatus
of not only effi.ctually rescuing them, but of affording
them all the comforts a temporary colony could supply,
and this without any inconvenience to the parties
themselves. This great object would not interfere
with lesser ones, viz., the deteemination of t
geography of these Arctic regions, which he
so long engaged, and at great cost, the attention
of the British Government. To this I would add the
investigation of many subjects of science, to which it i°
unnecessary for me but to allude. These would serve
to amuse as well as usefully employ the temporary co"
lony eluting the season of darkness. Believing thekt this
outline of proceedings will give all an idea of the man-
ner of affording effectual relief, and of its practicability,
without incurring the loss of lives, I deem it unnecessari
to touch upon the details of such duties. Those rho
will have the performance of them will be the best judges
of what they may require; and having the responeibilith
they should have their wishes acceded to and their wants
well supplied.
Having full confidence in the practibility of the metes
above sketchul out, I am equally confident that the result
—whether it be in the humane effort of affording reh".
to Sir John Franklin, determininghis fate, or in contribu-
tions to our knowledge and science—must prove highly'
honourable to our country; and I therefore hope that
bosh branches of. Congress, before whom I have, through
a memorial, brought the subject, will not delay action,
but pass the appropriation required, as but a short tinte
is left to make preparations in order to meet the °Pen'
ing of the season of navigation in the
L
north.
, CHABEs Wirugs.
Washington, Feb. 11.

THE FATAL PUGILISTIC ENCOUNTER IN WHITS"
citArEL.—Yesterday Mr. Baker held a lengthened inquig
at the London Hospital on the body of John Sweeny, aged
50, who lost his lite during a pugilistic encounter with a mita
named Daniel Gallalter, at the Red Lion and Spread Eagle,
Whitechapel-road. The jury, after hearing the evidence, re"
turned a verdict " the deceased's death "1 hi
1.4"/ "
clame medley."