The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-21 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 21, 1863.

AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.

The week opened unfavourably, with a cold and thick
day and a good deal of rain; but the night was starlight,
with a rapidly rising barometer, indicative of a sudden
change. Such proved to be the case, for on Monday morn-
ing it was found that an intense white frost had been expe-
rienced. The roads were quite hard and puddles of the
previous day all iced : wind N.N.E. In the afternoon,
however, the barometer was falling:again as fast as it had
risen; the wind veering at 5 p.m. to the S.S.E., and the
night threatening. On Tuesday morning, at 7 a.m., there
were torrents of rain, with the wind from the north. At
11 a.m. came a dense fog for about half an hour, that
appears to have extended to many parts of the country, sus-
pending business at many markets held on that day. From
all accounts there had been a great deal too much wet for
the land ; and it turns out that many farmers who had not
got their wheat sown early have not been able to plant it at
all. The land is yet too wet to get on it so as to prepare it

for spring corn ; and the carting of manure has been checked.
Many teams are unoccupied and getting a good rest, with
this state of the weather and position of the ground. The
meadows look green and healthy, but are swamped in low
situations with too much water. The wheat plant in gene-
ral has a healthy appearance, although a little check from
colder weather might be acceptable to all the further dis-
tricts, as the plant is growing rather too fast from the
want of more frost at nights. However, as December has
been so,mild, a pinch may come in February and March,
giving the seasonable check so desired. The weather has
been much against thrashing wheat, as when there was no
rain the atmosphere was thick, with a good deal of fog, and
this would penetrate into the sample and prevent any im-
provement in its condition. The markets have been some-
what better, with an increased delivery; the quantity re-
turned this week was 71,747 qrs at 46s 10d, being an in-
creace of 4,270 qrs, and an advance in price of is per qr,
but still bearing an unfavourable comparison with the cor-
responding week of last year, when the price was 61s 11d,
on, however, only 61,241 qrs. The year has started off bet-
ter, steadily on the advance, while last year it was steadily
declining, until we came to the lowest the last week in the
year. The deliveries of barley have again fallen off, the
quantity returned this week being 79,358 qrs at 34s 6d,
against 83,088 qrs at 34s 3d the previous week. The far-
mers have yet little foreign malting quality from abroad
to compete with, but the deficiency of grinding qualities
was felt throughout the winter months, This arose from
home grown being mostly fit for malting, the intermediate
and low qualities being about two-thirds of the crop. The
deficiency has been now amply made up by some large
ports from the south of Europe this week, and the new
Danubian is fresh and sweet, and can be bought at about
lld per stone. Being cheaper than oats, this will go into
consumption pretty readily for pig feed, and a small por-
tion might be used as provender for horses. The same sort

is attracting the attention of our distillers, vegetating well
suiting them in most respects. Farmers who usually sow
the best qualities must be on the look, out early this season,

for these will run shorter than usual and command high
prices at seed time. There are some nice qualities from the
north of France, which would be a good change. From
Wednesday to the close of the week the weather was cold
and bleak, with the wind from the N.N.E. generally; the
thermometer ranging about 40 deg. ; barometer ranging
from 30.20 to 30.45 in., and then on Saturday to 30.20 again.
This slight decline looks somewhat as if snow were at hand,
with the atmosphere hazy. Still there were thus four days
without rain, which is some improvement upon the recent
falls.—Mark-Lane Express of yesterday.

HEALTH OF LONDON.

(From the Registrar General's Report.)

The deaths in London in the week that ended on Satur-
day were 1,477. The average number of deaths in the cor-
responding weeks of 10 years (1853-62) is, with a correction
for increase of population, 1,475; and the rate of mortality
that prevailed last week was neither greater nor less than
the rate obtained by a calculation based on previous returns
for the middle of January.
The births of last week exceeded the deaths in the same
period by 454.
The most fatal disease last week in the zymotic class was
scarlatina, the deaths from which were 81. Six of these
were in the sub-district of St. Mary, Paddington. There
were 15 from diphtheria, and 66 from measles, 4 of which
latter occurred in each of the following sub-districts :—St.
John Paddington, Kensington-town, St. Botolph, and
Clapham.

The numbers referred to phthisis and bronchitis in last
week's returns were nearly equal. Phthisis was fatal in 173
cases, almost half of which occurred between 20 and 40
years of age ; bronchitis was fatal in 170 cases, 72 of which
were at 60 years of age and upwards.
A child, a fortnight old, died from the use of tight band-
ages by which its chest was compressed. & woman died of
tetanus, the consequence of grief. A young married woman
lost her life by want of skill in a midwife.
Last week the births of 984 boys and 947 girls, in all
1,931 children, were registered in London. In the 10 cor-
responding weeks of the years 1853-62 the average number
(corrected) was 1,934.

At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height
of the barometer in the week was 29.965 in. The mean
daily reading was above 30in, on Wednesday and two fol-
lowing days. At the beginning of the week the barometer
was at 29.51 in. ;it rose to 30.26 in. on Thursday. The mean
temperature of the air in the week was 38.1 deg., which is
2.5 deg. above the average of the same week in 43 years (as
determined by Mr. Glaisher). The mean daily temperature
was rather above the average throughout the week. The
lowest night temperature occurred on Monday, and was 271
deg. The highest day temperature was on Tuesday, and
was 46.8 deg. The range of temperature in the we6k was
therefore 19.1 deg. The mean daily range was 8.1 deg.
The range on Sunday was only 3.2 deg. The difference be-
tween the mean dew-point temperature and air temperature
was 3.1 deg. The mean degree of humidity of the air was
89, complete saturation being represented by 100, The
wind was in the south-west on Monday and Tuesday ; it
blew afterwards from the north-east. The rain in the week
was 0.74 in., most of which fell on Tuesday. The mean of
the highest temperatures of the water of the Thames was 41
deg; that of the lowest was 38 deg.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

DUBLIN, WICKLOW, AND WEXFORD.

The directors of this company state in their report that
the available balance on revenue account for the half year
ending Dec. 31 is £17,618, out of which they recommend
a dividend at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum on the
original stock of the company. This, together with the
dividends on the two classes of preference shat es, will
amount to £13,683, leaving a balance of £3,955 for the next
account. The receipts on the Wicklow line show a small
increase as compared with the corresponding period of 1861;
while the receipts on the Kingstown line exhibit a falling
off of £2,018. The total expenditure on revenue account is
less by £1,700 than for the corresponding half of 1861. The
directors feel satisfied with the state of things, when they
consider the many causes that produced almost a stagnation
in railway traffic in Ireland during the past summer. Gra-
tifying progress has been made with the works of the ex •
tension to Gorey and Enniscorthy. Anticipating the open-
ing of the line to Newbridge in the coming spring, an addi-
tion has been made to the rolling stock of 20 waggons, ex-
pressly adapted for mineral traffic. With a further view to
the accommodation of the mineral traffic, the directors have
obtained the sanction of the Board of Works to lay down a
branch line of rails from the Kingstown Railway to the
Traders',wharf at Dunleary, and the necessary works for
this are now in progress. They have every confidence that
the company's engineer will be fully able to redeem his
promise to open the line to Enniscorthy during the autumn
of the present year. Acting on the wish expressed by the
shareholders at the meeting in August last a complete
change in the mode of collecting passenger tickets on the
Kingstown line has been effected and found to work well.
The subscribers and ordinary passengers are now charged
in direct proportion to the distance for which they use the
railway. The capital account shows that £1,215,219 had
been expended to the 31st of December last. The revenue
account for the half-year ending the 31st of December shows
that £28,314 had been received on the Wicklow line, and
£32,746 on the Kingstown line, making together £61,060.
The expenditure on the Wicklow line amounted to £10,202
and onithe Kingstown to £11,422, together £21,624, leaving
a balance of £39,436. From this is deducted £16,292 for
nt and other payments to the Kingstown Company, and
£5,356 for interest on loans, leaving £17,785 for
_dividends
on preference and ordinary shares.

The Hughes' Printing Telegraph.

On Monday afternoon a number of gentlemen in-
terested in the science and practice of telegraphy,
together with a considerable body of City mer-
chants, by invitation visited the central offices of
the United Kingdom Electric Telegraph Company
(Limited), at 237, Gresham House, Old Broad-
street, to inspect a telegraph instrument, the inven-
tion of Professor Hughes, and now daily in opera-
tion for purposes of commerce and journalism,
between London and Birmingham. By this instru-
ment Mr. Bright's speech on last Thursday at Bir-
mingham was transmitted to London without a
single error. Indeed, as was proved yesterday, error
is almost impossible, for not only does the instrument
print the message at the further end, but it also
throws out a copy before the operator, so that in
case the message should read wrongly the mistake
may be instantly remedied without the trouble and
delay of signalling backwards and forwards.
" The principle upon which the apparatus is based
is that of a synchronous movement of clockwork
trains, driven by weights, the regulation being ef-
fected by vibrating rods. But as absolute synchronism
is unattainable, the object of the inventor has been
to introduce a correction sent by the one apparatus
to the other apparatus at the distant point, the in-
struments' thus becoming their own correctors of any
fractional differences of speed, and preventing their
accumulation.

"The electrical waves are transmitted by a re-,
volving arm, carrying the segment of a circle as a
contact-maker, and the arm revolves at the same
speed in each apparatus as the type-wheel; when a
key is pressed a metal plate in connection with the
battery is forced upwards and meets the contact-
maker as it revolves, scrapes along its surface, the
current passing the while, and is then thrown back
by the contact-maker, and brought to its normal
position of rest by a constant spring.
" The letters are printed while the type-wheel is
in revolution, and the type-wheel is driven by fric-
tion, which allows of its being waved backwards or
forwards by mechanical means.
"Each apparatus registers the signals sent by it,
and all letters are produced at the distant end by a
single wave of electricity.
" In the face of the instrument there are 28 keys,
arranged like the keys of a piano; these 28 keys
correspond with 28 metal pieces or plates, working
upwards through slots formed all round a circular
disc of metal, on the top of which, but not in con-
nection with it, the arm and contact-maker revolve.
"The type-wheel and this arm revolve together,
and when a key is depressed a plate corresponding
with the letter touched is raised."
The exhibition of the instrument yesterday
pleased and surprised every one. Messages were
sent to Birmingham, and, in a few seconds—in fact,
before the on-lookers became fully sensible that the
message was complete—there were printed on the
ribbon of paper the first letters of the reply. It is
true that the insulation was, in consequence of the
fine clear weather, perfect, but we are assured that
the smallest possible current will release the key
and impress the type upon the ribbon.
Professor Hughes's instruments have been re-
ceived with much favour, both in America, France,
and Italy, King Victor Emmanuel having conferred
on the inventor the order of St. Lazaire. We be-1
lieve that this instrument completely gets over all
the difficulties hitherto attendant upon printing
telegraphs, and we have no doubt that the directors
of the United Kingdom Telegraph Company have
taken a wise step in securing the invention for their
lines. The low uniform rate of this company,
based on the principle of the postal service, ren-
dered some such machine a necessity ; and while its
economy and speed will recommend it to the share-
ho,ders, its unfailing accuracy will make it a
favourite of the public. Any
one who can read can
use it ; one of its chief recommendations being that
it does away entirely with the symbols or signs, the
fruitful sources of many annoying errors.

COURT OF ALDERMEN.

Yesterday at a meeting of magistrates of the city
of London, held at Guildhall, the Lord Mayor pre-
siding, a letter from Mr. Cubitt was read tender-
ing his resignation as an alderman, from con-
siderations of approaching age and its incidents and
of duties of a public and private nature which de-
volved upon him. He was, moreover, desirous of
being unconstrained as to time of absence in the
event of having to comply with advice to go to a
warmer climate; and he expressed his grateful ac-
knowledgments of the uniform friendliness with
which the members of the Court of Aldermen had
always treated him. A motion was proposed by
Alderman Humphery, and seconded by Alderman
Copeland, inviting the court not to accept the re-
signation, having regard to the public services which
Mr. Cubitt had rendered the corporation of London
during the many years he sat in Parliament, and lat-
terly as chief magistrate, and the recollection of
which naturally disposed them to wish that he
should continue his connexion with them. The mo-

tion was opposed by Alderman Sidney, who sub-
mitted that Mr. Cubitt was the fittest judge of the
circumstances which had prompted his wish to
withdraw from the magistracy of London, that they
ought not to stand in the way of his giving effect
to that wish, and that for them to act otherwise
would be to make a bad precedent. Mr. Cubitt, he
added, was represented to be a man with large
worldly possessions, and they all knew that pro-
perty had its duties as well as its rights. He had
served the office of Lord Mayor with great honour
and usefulness for two successive years, and, having
regard to his advanced age, it was but natural that
he should long for repose, as well for its own sake
as to enable him to attend to his own private affairs.
Alderman Sir Robert Carden, on the other hand,
urged the court to adopt the motion before them,
believing it was the best compliment they could pay
a man who had so well discharged his duties, and
was now so sensitive as to think, though in that
they all differed from him, that he could no longer
efficiently serve the public. Alderman Carter and
Alderman Gabriel both spoke in favour of the
court falling in with the wish of Mr. Cubitt
for his own sake. The motion was then put and
negatived on a show of hands, and the Court, at the
instance of Alderman Sidney, resolved to accept
Mr. Cubitt's resignation, and ordered, on the motion
of Alderman Humphery, that a precept should issue
for the election of an alderman in his place for the
ward of Langbourn. Alderman and Sheriff Law-
rence presented a report relative to the city pri-
sons, from which it appeared that in the gaol of
Newgate there are now 129 prisoners ; in the
Debtors' Prison, Whitecross-street, 86; and in the
prison at Holloway, 333. Of the whole number 15
are in the infirmaries, and in each case the return
was accompanied by a certificate of the surgeon as
to the fit and sanitary condition of the prison.
Messrs. Robert Montague Nicholas, Chas. Henry
Greaves, Joseph De Castro, and Joseph Henry i3as-
kin took the oaths incident to the office of a broker ;
and James Lothian, Alfred Comfort, Alfred Augus-
tus Stahlschmidt, David Wm. Nell, Edward Caffin,
John Gilbert Gillian Seaton, Horace Ripley. m.
Thos. Korff, Henry Robert Bullock, John Francis
Fernyhough, James Thompson, James Chambers,
John Grant Hodgson, and Alexander Watt were
admitted as brokers. In the course of the sitting,
Mr. Thos. James Nelson, citizen weaver, lately
elected City Solicitor in the room of the late Mr.
Chas. Pearson, appeared at the bar and took and
subscribed the customary oaths and declarations
appertaining to the office, and was then, on the mo •
tion of Alderman Hole, invited to take his seat at
the table,