The Sun.
London, England, 1841-04-05 00:00:00

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LONDON, MONDAY, APRIL 5, 1841.

WANT OF A PUBLIC PROSE-

THE SCP:;"i
PROPELLER, ABOUT TO BE TESTED
ON A LARGE SCALE,

CUTOR,

" The exclusion of a public prosecutor establishes an
arbitrary.. dispensing power in the voluntary prose-
cutnr. An exclusive power of reclaiming the execu-'
tion of the laws lays them, as far as it extends, at
the fart of the person thus endowed. It gives him the
equivalent to a negative in legislation ; it gives him
more ; it gives hint in each individual instance of
their execution, the sole initiative. It gives him, co::se•
quently, not only the power of pardoning, but a power
much greater than that of pardoning. It gives him a
power greater than the power so called, as exercised by
the King of England. That monarch's power of pardon-
ing extends not to the saving a man from prosecution :
even when it precedes conviction (a sort of pardon rarely
granted), it must be pleaded ; and the plea cannot be
preferred till the prosecution has been begun, and the
grounds of it made public. The difference is no slight
matter. In the ore case the delinquent can be saved
from so much only of the punishment as goes by
the name of punishment ; to the portion of infamy
naturally adherent to the offence it leaves him still
exposed : in the other case, he may be saved not only
from the punishment but from the infamy. A direct
power of pardon, while it takes away the nominal punish.
meat, aggravates instead of mitigating the infamy-
It is a sort of certificate of guilt ; for who wouli be
pardoned, if he could be acquitted ? By attracting the
public attention, it renders the infamy proportionably
extensive, and gives it redoubled force. A direct power
of pardoning, exposed as it is thus by the nature of
things to public inspection, has not anything like the
capacity for harbouring abum, The indirect faculty of
pardoning here in question, by being so inconsiderable
in show, is but the greater in effect. Its power of mis-
chief has no bounds ; at first glance you might suppose
it confined to corrupt or ill-judged lenity ; in fact, it is
not a whit less adapted to the purpose of oppression :
for whoever can license oppression, can oppress."—
Bentham. _ _

The Archimedian screw-propeller has of late been the
•eubjct of protracted discussion and controversy in the
newspapers and leading scientific journals, and we scarcely
replember any inventi et respecting the merits of which
such opposite judgments have been pronounced. Whilst
it Lai been confidently asserted on the one hand that this
mode of i repulsion is not adapted for vessels of large toe_
nage, although it may be rendered available for small
tr. ift and for carrel boats, it has been as cotifutently main-
tailed on the other Laid ttne the A,climedien screw is
preferable to the ordinary paddle-wheels for vessels of
any dieasni ms ; and if rep• rt, hitherto uncontradicted,
can be relied on. a Company has been formed at Bremen
for the construction of large steamers to be fitted up with
this kind of machinery, and intended to ply between
that city and New York. The scree-propeller, however,
is about to be applied on a gigantic seals, which will put
its capabilities to a severe trial, as the Mammoth, on which
the experiment is to be made, is the largest steam-vessel in
the world, being of no less burden than 3,600 tons, with
1,000-horse steam power. As the subject is perhaps as irn-
portant as any that can cri.int the attention of the public,
we shall here transcribe a passage from the Annual Report
of the Great Western Ship Company, read at their meet-
ing held at Bristol on the 11th inst.
•` The Directors, having satisfied themselves that it
would be for the interests of the Company to get rid of
the paddle in their iron ship, and to substitute a propeller
upon the principle of the Archimedian screw, have taken
the necessary measures for that purpose ; the slight altera-
tions required in her frame were easily effected, and at a
trifling cost. The published reports. of Captain Chap-
pell, made by order of the Commissioners of the Admi-
ralty, supported by the opinions of men of the highest
classes in the naval service, and a careful examination of
the performances of the Archimedes whilst in Bristol,
excited the anxious attention of the Directors. Mr.
Brunel, the Company's consulting engineer, entered
closely into the investigation, as one most important to
science, and to their interests ; the owners of the Archi-
medes most liberally placed her at his disposal for the
purpose of experiments, and the Directors were allowed
to send confidential persons to sea in her to regi'ter ob-
servations on some points of primary importance in steam
navigation, in reference to which, the performances of the
Great Western had already possessed them of inva'uable
data. The result of a most elaborate report by Mr. Bru-
nel left no doubt on the mind of the Board, and they
congratulated the proprietors on circumstances having al-
lowed them to avail themselves of this great improvement
in science, which will still enable them to maintein the
advantages gained by the hitherto unequalled character of
their first ship."
The present state of the civilized world, as it is styled,
renders the subject before us of paramount importance.
Notwithstanding the moderation and good faith which
characterize the British Government in all its transac-
tions with _foreign States, there is too much reason to
fear that the peace of the world will, at no distant period,
be disturbed by the ambition or aggression of some of
the nations with whom we are at present in a state of
very precarious amity. Whatever can be done to avoid
the menaced rupture by the pacific and honest policy of
the British Cabinet, without a compromise of the honour
and fair interests of the nation, we confidently believe
may be anticipated from the present Ministers, who have
signally evinced their earnest determination to avoid, if
possible, that most awful of all human calamities,—an
appeal to arms. Recent circumstances, however, justify
the apprehension that all the moderation and forbearance of
our Cabinet may be unavailing, and that, in self-defence,
England may, ere lung, be compelled to resort to the
ultimo ratio regum,—the argument of force. Whenev.r
that catastrophe shall become inevitable, we must look
to our navy at our main dependence, and steam vessels
of war will, no doubt, become as numerous as they will
be indispensable. The advantages of such vessels in
chase or in action are too obvious to require any explana-
tion, but it must be equally obvious that the peddle-wheels
of the present construction are peculiarly lieble to be de-
ranged and rendered useless by the enemy's cannon, and
hence the vast importance of the Archimedian principle of
propulsion, provided it should be found capable of adop-
tion without too great sacrifice of speed. This is the
main point which remains to be ascertained, and the pro-
blem is about to be solved by the application of the screw-
propeller to a vessel like the Mammoth. The screw,
being under water, parallel to the keel of the vessel, wilt
be in much Liss danger of derangement from shot than the
paddle-wheels; and if this kind cf apparatus shall 'be
found c)pable of impelling the vessel in other respects as
well, or nearly as well, as the present machinery, no ordi-
nary ships of war can have any chance, either in attack or
defence, with vessels fitted up upon this principle.—Liver-
pool Mercury.

The Constabulary Force Commissioners, in their
Report, give the following example of the injurious
effects of the power of dispensing with the law, arising
from the neglect of the principle, " that prosecutions
should be conducted by a public prosecutor."
In Bristol, of 201 persons taken into c• itody by the
police for felonies committed between April Ist and 31st.
October, 1837, in all which cases the parties refused to
prosecute, it appears that upwards of one-foul th of these,
or 53, were cases in which the offenders set at large
were reputed thieves. Of these
1 had been previously in custody 7 times.
1 . . 5
4 . 4
•

13 . . 2

. o

53 reputed thieves.
The consequences of this course of proceeding, a,
admitted by the Superintendent in his evidence, is,
" that it increases crime. Because those parties com-
mitting those robberies go and commit four or five
more robberies before they are detected. If they were
prosecuted they would be prevented doing any more
:mischief."

Speakkg of the list of known thieves living at large
in Btistol, he states :—" Several of those thieves have
been in this situation brought before the magistrate and
let off i❑ consequence of the refusal to prosecute."—
Examiner.

SOUNDING THE SEA BY ELEC-

TRO-MAGNETISM.

Electricity is daily extending its splitre of of erations,
and is becoming more and more extensively applicaVe to
useful purposes. We have this week seen an ingenious
apparatus contrived by Mr. Bain, the inventor of the elec-
trical clock, for the purpose of taking soundings et sea by
electrc-magnetic power. At present great difficulty
exists, when taking soundings in deep water, in ascertaining
the exact time the weight strikes the ground. The object of
Mr Bain'e con': ivanee is to obviate this difficulty, and he
accompli•hes it in the following manner. To the bottom of the
hammer of a hell is attached a piece of soft iron, which is
placed opposite an electro-magnet; and it is so ar-
ranged that when the communication between the
cuils of wire round the magnet and galvanic battery
is completed, the magnet attracts the iron and holds
back the hammer. As soon as the connexion is broken
the magnetic power ceases, and tl e hammer, acted on by
a spring, strikes upon the- bell. This part of the appr.-
ratus is intended to remain on the deck of the vessel
when the soundings are made. The insulated wires
from the galvanic battery, properly protected from
the action of water, servo for the cord to which the
weight is to be attached. The manner in which the
weight is fixed on, so as to complete or break the connec-
tion between the ends of the wires is extremely simple
and ingenious. When the pressure of the weight bears
on the hook, the electrical current is uniaterrupted,
and the magnet keeps the hammer from the bell ;
but when the weight rests on the ground, the con-
nectimn i; broken ; the attraction of the magnet in-
stantly ceases, and the hammer, being thus liberated,
is forced against the bell by the spring. It would
thus indicate .with the utmost precision the moment the
weight reaches the bottom of the sea. The apparatus is to
be added to the numerous curiosities at the Polytechnic
Institution. Its efficacy has been tested in the deep reser-
voir in which the diving-bell descends. The inventor has
been prevented from protecting his property in this inven-
tion by the expense of obtaining a patent, but, we trust, if
his plan be found to succeed in practice, of which we have
little doubt, that he will not go unrewarded.—lnventor's
Advocate.

ANECDOTE OF MEHEMET ALI.—A short
time since a young man had been teat over to obtain a
knowledge of engineering ; whilst resident here his mind
became enlightened, and he was led to embrace the Chris-
tian faith. On his return to Alexandria he made no
scruple of avowing his new sentiments, although he was
surrounded by a host of persecutors; those persons, show-
ever, one day brought him before Mehemet Ali, sajing :
" We beg to bring a case before your Highness, in which
you will be called on to act as supreme judge : this
man was a Mahomedan by birth and faith; he was
sent to England, where be abandoned his own re-
ligion, and embraced that of the Christians, and,
therefore, by our law he ought to die ; all that
is necessary is to enter into a judicial course
of inquir3, to bring forward facts, and to establish and au-
thenticate them, and then if the case be probed, it remains
with your Highness to enforce the penalties of the law."
Well, the case was gone through, the facts were ail probed,
till at length the young man was asked by Mehemet Ali
6, have you embraced Christianity ?" The young man g
up, and with an intiepidity which a consciousness of being
right inspired, and with the grace of God, which, when it
finds its way to the heart, always enables a man to face his
greatest enemies, said, "lam a Christian." The next
question put by :Mehemet Ali was, " Why have you em-
braced Christianity ?" when he made this noble reply, "Do
you ask me Why I embrace 1 Christianity ?—my reason is
this : I embraced it because I believe it to be true." His
enemies around him then said What need, have we of
further argument : he has acknowledged his guilt; nothing
remains now but that your Highness should particularize
the sentence." Mehemet Ali said " All the cireumstarces
that have been brought forw&rd have been clearly estab-
lished, but with respect to this young man, I beg leave to
state that I know him well; he was sent to England to learn
engineering; he learnt that science; he came back again,
has been employed in th-tt service, and has proved himself
a valuable member of society; I find him still in that place
where I employed him. It appears that he has changed
his religion, but I do not find that in doing so,he has
acted from any unworthy mceive ; he continues t i perfo;-m
his duties satisfactorily, and with reference to his charge
in religion, I shall leave him to settle that matter between
God and his own conscience."—That young man is now
going about the streets of Alexandria, a noble monument
of the liberality of Mehemet Ali.—London East India
Telegraph.
JOAN OF ARC.—In Mr. Serle's forthcoming
historical romance on the subject of the Maid of Orleans,
we understand that the reat::iag world may expect a work
blending in a very unusual manner the high wrought spirit
of romance, with the severe truth of authentic history.
Not only has the writer, in the leading features cf his
work, strictly adhered to the great facts of her extra
ordinary career, but in crier to give them a fi tug
" local habitation" be has been at the pains to ti=lt and
examine every spot with which her natn,.! and deeds are
historically associated, so that while the fiction of the
work is used to illustrate historical truth, hiit"ry is
employed, to give weight and consiAcncy to the fiction.
There has never been a finer subject chosen ler an histo-
rical romance, and Mr. Serle has airca ly given proof of
being well qualified to treat it efficiently.
CASE of MR. APLEOD.--The official news
from the United States, brought by the Britannia, was to
this effect, that the Government of the United &arcs
would positively interfere to stop the trial at the proper
stage, and that it entertained the most friendly disposi ion
towards England. We presume, therefore, that all ap-
prehension as to the conclusion of that much talked-oi,
and, we hope, overrated affdir, must now cnirely tea c.