The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-10 00:00:00

THE NEW PERFORATED POSTAGE STAMP,

In consequence of the many complaints that have
beer- made by the public respecting the present adhesive
postage stamps at the non-adhesive nature of the gum
when it becomes dried, whereby au immense number of
letters on which the postage has been pre-paid, the stamp
very frequently comes off by the friction they are exposed
to in the bags—especially those to our colonies, the West
Indies, the Cape of Good Hope,lndia, Australia, New
South Wales, the Mediterranean, and tropical climates—
by which much inconvenience has been experienced, as
the parties receiving them having had not only to pay
the postage again, the stamp having
rubbed off, but in
numerous instances the letters have been greatly delayed,
particularly to those countries to which the postage must
be prepaid in the United Kingdom, Aden, India, or (if
by the overland mail via, Marseilles), Brazil, Buenos.
Ayres, Australia, South America, the Cape of Good
Hope, &c., and many parts of Europe.
To prevent any further complaints on that point, the
Commissioners of the Board of Stamps (Inland Revenue
Office, Somerset-house) have for some time had it under
their special consideration to discover some means to
obviate any effacing of the stamp by friction. After
numerous experiments they have found that by perfora-
ting the (Queen's heads) postage stamps, and adopt-
ing a chemical gum prepared on purpose, they
will not only resist the change of climate (heat),
but friction—as by the perforation they be-
come so strongly adhesive that nothing will deface them.
To carry out this great improvement, during the last
few weeks, the entp/oyes in the stampins•
5 department
have been actively at work over-hours by the new
system. At present there are only three perforating-
machines in operation (by steam) but others are being
constructed. A vast number of these stamps were yes-
terday forwarded through the General Post-office, to the
Postmasters in the different parts of the United Kingdom,
BristolAiverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and
all the large manufacturing and commercial districts ;
Southampton, Plymouth, and the
principal sea-ports.
They will be issued to the public generally on Monday
next. Henceforth the postage stamps will be all per-
forated, a desideratum that has long been wanting to
secure the stamp on the letter, both resistible as before
stated, to damp, heat, or friction.
td I

FIRE AND Loss OF LIFE.—Yesterday morning, shortly
before three o'clock, a painful degree of alarm was
caused in Clement's-inn, in consequence of violent
screams proceeding from the premises of Mr. Harrison.
It seeing that the younger branches of the family went
out to a party, and Mrs. Harrison went to fetch them
home, leaving her daughter, Sophia. Harrison, asleep,
and the candle burning on the table. On her return
home, the fire was burning with great fierceness, and
the girl in the midst of it. The fire was subdued, and
the poor creature taken to King's College Hospital,
where she died shortly after her admission, although
Mr. J. W. Palmer, house surgeon, rendered every as.
sistance.
DUBLIN, THURSDAY MORNING.—There appears to be
no end to this year's storms, there having been almost
one continuous gale from westward during the last ten
days. The English mails, consequently, are extremely
irregular in their arrival, and, were it not for the agency
of the magnetic telegraph, now in operation, the public
would have been upon several occasions of late com-
pletely in arrear of all intelligence respecting the great
political events of the day. litsterday the Holyhead
snail steamer due at Kingstown at 10 o'clock, did not
arrive until 3 p.m., long before which a copious abstract
of the continental and domestic news contained in the
London morning papers was received by telegraph, and
circulated through Dublin and the proyinees,