The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-07 00:00:00

DISTRIBUTION OF RAILWAYS,

A curious paper has just been submitted to the Academy
of large
of Sciences by M. Lalanne, showing that the apparently
fortuitous distribution of railways over the surfacewhieh
may _
country is in reality subject to certain laws, which
of
railways,
stated as follows :—l. The meshes of a networka
triangular
einy
as their number increases, tend to assumete
form
groups of
form ; 2. These triangles have a tendency
ta on happens to re-
nucleus of a hexagon; 3. When a pen
is ag heptagon some-
six each round a central point, which therefore is the
place the hexagon, there generally
so that the number
where, which makes up the deficiency,
certain exceptional
ing from each point;
4,
There
fhtehe country, towards which
six really represents the averreagearneber of lines start-
points, such as the capital or
5. In those districts where
lines does not exceed c,oiieviveer ; in this case the number of
more than six lines
incomplete,ty: there are centres from which
the network is Still
instea of six ; in that case they
diverge
each other, thus leaving space for
angles
lines.
This strange regularity, now ob-
servable three remaining networks of France, England, and North
We in then upon a primordial law •
omnalkyetheqreueallineB
serve which Buffon calls
Amen-oa, depfe
reciprocalcl obstacles. Rivers, mountains,
or even the mere inequality in the productive force of
the reason 0
is have contributed towards the formation of
gular meshes. Among the consequences which M.
i'dfoifireearents,t "
these re
lialanne deduces from this theory of his, there is this :
that the distance between two agglomerations of popula-
tion of the same order and near each other must be an
exact multiple of the distance between two agglomera-
tions of an inferior order. Thus, the average distance be-
tween two capitals of departments in France. is 87 kilo-
metres; that between two contiguous chefs-lieux d'arron-
dissements is 43} kilometres; and between two contiguous
cantons, 14k kilometres; so that the distance between
two prefectures is equal to twice the distance between two
sub-prefectures, six times that between two cantons, and
24 times the average distance between two communes.

Bank of England Return.—Yesterday.

An Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth Victoria,
cap. 32, for the week endingon Wednesday, the sth day
of August, 1863:

ISSUE DEPARTMENT.

otes issued ,mow-..X4.676,0e5 Government Debt £11,C15,1C0
Other Securities .. 3.634,900
Gold Coin & Bullion 14,026,006
Silver Bullion

£28,676,00

£28,676,0051

BANNING Di
oprietors' Capi-
tal £14.653,090
Rest
Public Deposits (in-
cluding Exche-
quer, Savings'
Banks, Commis-
miesioners of Na-
tional Debt, and
Dividend Ac-
counts) 5,577.268
Other Deposits. - 13,790,855
Seven Day and
other Bills 665,979

T VA IMINNT,
G 0 Vernm eat Secu-
rities (including
Dead W eightAn-
unity;
Other, Securities .. 19,153,801
Notes
Gold and Silver 817,180
Coln

S-38,010,582
IL

£38,010,582
.RSLIALL, COef Cashier.

August 6,1863.

The Price of Gold,

The quotation of gold at DOB is about per mine pm., and
the short exchange on London is 25.25 per £1 sterling. on
oomparing these rates with the English Mint price of 1,3
178. 104 d. per ounce for standard gold, it appears that gold is
nearly 3.loths per cent. dearer in London than in Paris.
By advices from Hamburg the price of gold is 425 per mark
and the short exchange on London is 13.51 per £1 sterling.
Standard gold at the English Mint price is, therefore, about
3-10ths per cent• dearer In London than in Hamburg,
The course of exchange at New York on London in still ill
very fluctuating state, the latest quotation of the exchange
being about 144 per cent., and the premium on gold is about
eu per cent. some gold has been received by the lest packets