The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-07 00:00:00

SUN, LONDON, MONDAY

tHE

LAW AMENDMENT SOCIETY.
The anniversary meeting of the society for promot-
ing the amendment of the law was held on Saturday
at the rooms of the society, 21, Regent street, ane
was numerously attended by the noblemen and gen-
tle.nen, members of the soviet,', and by the general
public, all of them seemingly much interested in the
proceedings. Among the rest we observed Lord
Brougham, the Duke of Richmond, the Duke of
Cleveland, the Earl of Devon, the Earl of Radnor,
Lord Ashburton, Lord Ehringten, Mr. Hume, M.P. ;
Mr. Ewart, .i.P.; Mr. Sergeant D'Oyly, Mr. Com-
missioner _Pane, Mr. Commissioner Fonblanque, Mr.
Commissioner Phillips, Mr. James Stewsrt, Mr.
Vizarl. &c -
Lord Hitountiem, at three o'clock, took the chair,
and expressed the pleasure with which he met the
members on another anniversary of the society, ex-
pec,ing that it would have the effect produced by the
last occasion of the kind, of making their association,
and their reel object, better known, and of rebutting
a groundless charge which had been made against
them ; for nothing was more without foundation than
this charge upon their proceedings, that the members
of the society were rash and fond of innovation. On
the contrary, their object, the amendment of the laws,
was sought with caution ; and if, upon trial, in any
case, there was a failure, their course was to re-con-
sider the amendment, and safely, at least safely, to
proceed with the amendment of the laws of the coun-
try. The Noble Lord then adverted to two cases
that encouraged them in the course which they
had already pursued. The Act for the simpli-
fication of conveyances in the transfer of real
property, remedied not only the evil of a system bad
in itself, hut also the evil of an insecure title. Per-
sons in the purchase of property might adopt in the '
conveyances what formula they pleased; that was
matter for their own choice; but the Bill offered
them, besides the advantage of a simple formula, the
immense boon, a secure, a good title. Hitherto the
expense attending the transfer of property had been
heavy, unequal, and very unnecessary. For, besides
the ad valorem stamp duty, the deeds were long and
complicated, so that the expense on the purchase of a
small farm came to be almost as great as on a pur-
chase. money of the amount of 50,000/. or 100,0001.
Yet, after all, the intention of the parties might be
defeated by an error of the copyist, and as the proba
bility of error was always in the ratio of complication
in the proceedings, simplification became an object of
the very highest importance. The Noble Lord in
detail referred to a case which was heard on appeal
in the House of Lords, where the eldest son, though
evidently the next heir by the intention of the testa-
tor, was deprived of all icterest in the property by
the omission of a single line by the mere copyist, and
he and his heirs would have been debarred for ever,
but that the House of Lords affirmed the decision of
the Common Pleas against the Queen's Bench, and de-
cided that he could rank after the sixth and seventh sons
under the words " among the other sons." Error did not
merely attend upon omissions ; it often crept in by a
line or a word, sanctioned by no legislative authority,
hut merely foisted in by some country schoolmaster
who had been accustomed to draw conveyances for the
village, and his optional additions would occupy the
courts of law for days and weeks together, in the en-
deaveur to understand and construe them: The Noble
Lord. for another illustration of the Society's pro-
ceedings referred to the extinction of what was called
" satisfied terms," of the absurdity of which he said
no one not conversant with the operation of this
troublesome fiction could now form any adequate
conception. It used to be attended with great
trouble, great anxiety, and great expense. But an
Act tbr the extinction of these "satisfied terms" was
brought in and passed ; and he could mention art in
stance—( [he Duke of Cleveland entered the room at
this moment)—lse was glad to see the Noble Duke
iiresent to confirm what he was about to state, that
so much as 4,000/. or 5,0001. had been saved to his
Grace by the passing of this Act. And although
rat was upon a.) estate of some value, perhaps
.f 60.0001. or 70,000/. annual income, nearly
an equal amount of expense would have
been incurred under the old system on an estate of
very much less value. But while he mentioned these
instances, he had said, and he would say it again,
that the one ground on which they expected the
eooti fence of the Legisleture and the public was
caution. He might point them, for instance, to the
abolition of imprisonmeut for debt. That was a
as
s i oft
wasth the
greate,wnt changecountry;
it
witnis
athe a
rl,aiswh i andp t()
tthhee commerce
creditor
tbrinerly to the debtor. Many represeetations bat
been made against the Act. The Noble Lord
(Ashburton) on his right had presented a petition
from the merchants and traders of London praying
the Legislature to revert to arrest, and mesne pro-
cess. Now, what he said was this—he was ready to
reconsider the whole question, and if upon every view
of it they found they were mistaken they were pre-
pared to retrace their steps. But at that moment he
reikained after all that had been said of the saint-
mind that he had been of, convinced that they were
not wrong, anti that no change in the present law
was necessary. His Noble Friend (Lord Lynd-
hurst) was at one time an opponent to the change
that had been made; but three sessions ago a single
case occurred while he was Lord tThancellor,
so irresistible. in the demonstration which it
opened up of the evil of the old system, that he at
once acceded to the necessity of a change. Twenty-
five people had been confined in a place twenty feet
square for ten days together, without so much as
the comfort of straw to rest themselves upon. The
Act, as it was passed at-first, was found to operate
mischief against the small traders. He recollected
that an ironmonger had come to him, and showed
him five thousand and odd debts in his books, and of
of the 5,000 there were 4.900 under 201. Now, he
said to him, no man has inure to think of with re-
gard to his tailor and his butcher, than just to see
that his debt do not exceed 191. 10:., for under 201.
he cannot be reached. This was a great evil, an evil
that was remedied by putting the debtors under 201.
on the same footing with the debtors above 201 ; but
it was an evil which would likely have been avoided
if the Act had previously been submitted to the con-
sideration of a society like this. But one grand
object with the society, and one which they had
submitted to Sir Robert Peel and Lord Lyndhurst,
as of vital necessity to the improvement of the
Legislations of this country, was the appointment of
a board of professioisal and skilful men for the
preparation of Acts of Parliament. Till that was
done forty judges, inste id of four sitting in every
Court in Westminster Hall, would not be able to
construe them. As yet the work was too much that
ef the scissors, and the consequence was absurdities
of a very ridiculous kind, some clause towards the
elose of the Act perhaps referring to something
" aforesaid," which something " aforesaid" did not
Appear except in the Act fro a which the clause had
been transferred. Another primary object which
they advocated was the separation of the private and
local from the public business ot Parliament, and the
reference of the private business to a board where the
parties should be heard by counsel, and which should
SUICIDES IN THE SERPENTINE.— Chursday morn-
ing, bet wee,, four and five. Th,maws
hCiolex,poansesinogf the
h net exclude, but only assist the Rouses. He (Lord
of the R. tyal. Humane Sodety,
and also a female's bonnet. He
Brougham) had last session given notice of resolutions
banks ot the Serpentine River. discovered, lying slungnear the
to that effect, and it weis still his intention to per-
water, a man's hat anti coat,-every with them. lie did not mein anything against
informed Mr. Superintendent Williams,_ who instantly gave the purity of Parliament, but there always would be
orders that the river should be searched. After.
Con-
the men f, .uiid the body of a malt under the first arch .tiim't a suspicion where five men were appointed to con-
the blidge which divides Hyde Park and Kensingt terc(.l "•
cider a case already existing. They were a Court
from the same spot they found the huffy of a female. Both
dens. The men continued to drag it, anti about ftoeur teat appointed for the case,, an evil which led to the abo •
lition of the Court of Delegates. The Noble Lord
were removed to the receiving-house in Hyde Park, when, concluded his address with advising caution and per-
upon examination, it was ascertained that they had pursuits d been severance in the of the society.
the ti' were 'The Earl of in the water several hours. The water where boo' DsvoN then moved, and the Earl of
found was only 4 feet 6 inches deep. —On Friday s ( Mr. RADNOR seconded a resolution, to the effect that
Bedford, the Coroner, held an inquest at the Rise acrd Crown,
,4reat advantages were likely to arise from the un-
Knightsbridge, ou the bodies—Joseph Blackman, aged 33,
amid Eliza ileitis, aged 24. Mary Ann Hollis, of No. 10, urejudiced and dispassionate consideration of the laws
of the country with a view to
,their amendment.
Itictimotelestreet, Maida-bill. identified the bodies of the de-
ceased. Bla,,kinatl was by trade a painter and glazier, anti .
her sister, Etiz i llolli=, was a servati.. recently out of place, Lord EBRINGTON moved that as the expense and
insecurity inseparable from the present method of in-
and resided with tier (witness). Her sister first became ac-
quainted with Blackman while iu service at Na: 24, port. gulling into real property, deeds, and the present
tia
je,sty,smGeaevtienrgemheandt phleaadsuarpep
man-street, Portman-square, and thou.gh. the latter. was form ot conveyancing, greatly diminished the value of
they had lived upon terms too intimate ever since. land, the
oititakendowaienottrnhaistsion,
harried, . her
declaring she would -
from which the subject would likely receive a search-
in exceedingly low spirits, frequently. Her sister was near her confinement, and latt.erlv hall been
drawn herself'. Blackman had told her sistefr, tniedwhas single, .
and. it was not until December that she found
Tu,
he was
a leg irivestigatien, in order to amendment and im-
labiynedthtehaNt not-
andoblemarried man. Her deceased sister wielt out - y last, pr,,vement.
withstanding Thethe NAoebtlereLfeorrrd
sale of landwere edcomtop
will receive this from me
lowing letter; -‘• Dear Mary, y
()11
wt., io more in this world. Chairman, the expenses attending the purchase and
did hot eturn, but on the iioxt day site received. the tol-
es the last. I hope I shall be in [rout) t, i
such as to be a serious bar to any
My dear mother has all my thoughts, such transaction
verdict of "Found
and now farewell,
and to diminish its value in the
Eliza Hollis." The jury returned a
the water there market
drowned," but how the deceased got into .
England . lie said, taking the animal value of land
was no sufficient evidence to show. .., r% •
--isl aw vXFORD- in at 60,000,000/. ; thirty
upon that years' purchase
ARTROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.
te between the • would be 1,800,000,000/ ; whereas, in
long-contested . other countries the purchase was fir •45 *
STREET.-Yesterday the •lisPCurown Commis-there-
years,and, .
le.iseholders of New Oxford. street and tie
membered that fore, the purchase value 2 7 .
, 00.000,000/. So that the
sioners was brought to a close. It will be rbeeen
raised
(a :d
total loss npm the land ie England was 900,000,000/.
for a long time past loud complaints havet (
e tee fact that Mr. JAMES STEWAR
much publicity given to them) on acceun .
in the , T seconded the resolution, which
I to embark their capital WA`4 agreed to.
those who have been huhu:et
• not they have aliegsd, teen Mr. Hume. moved, and M E
t purchase of the wound 1111%e ias . •
agreement, 1.• r. . WART seconded, a re-
A me ,,, C3---ENT aT HER iviAJEsrt'S (STAND AT ASCOT : supported in the maintenance of their originall,
well•known solution, advi-ing the apoeintinent of a revising
RAfe
~ -4t--A teofiean in the establislimefit of her Majesty, such a rreement being that the whole ot t I,', This h. s hoard, for the re e t' '
p ~ ara ion of Acts of' Parliament.
name .
' shacked, (net with an unfortunate accident, on Thur-s- "it toktry" should be retn.tved rthwith.
' BOtil 9
New Oxt el-street having been . . the i. on. 'Members took occasion to speak of the
(a•y, just at the conclusion of the race lor the Emperor's clearly riot been the case,
1840, and one of
_. e improvement which hail ken effected of late years in
his Re was stanoing on the roof of the royal stand, end c anmeneed as far hack as Atn_tflei
Majesty
slipping he frll, and disloc detl his shoulder. Her worst, portions of the lt•tolceiv still sutiet•ei to l'ina, • Ln e the priee-edinies 4.4 the House of Commons s eeiell
upon . being informed of the acciden: which hint Pomo., el the, old builtiPtg.-in que!tion has been generally .in private Bills, where the iI . ' e.l)
. y
I, e from public to se.
occurred, initnediat ell, commanded that the shirt'rer should queen '1) Parh•onent and ekewin re :,s the most complete lest Committees %. - • b e ' 1..1 g
improvements. but, up to .
,st . %as a eoeficial advance upon the old
be conveyed without, toss of lime to his residence at Winde.tr evidences ot the want of saitatory
01 One of the royal carriages), where the best medical aid the Prt,eat moment, thepoor creatures who int,abitee. them .-y. rill
I'9'4 Obtained. on Friday afternoon previously to the C urt are c •inpelled, by the fopr eof cirumstames, te remain in rile Duke ot RICHMOND moved a resolution, ap-
IPevine Windsor f)r town the Hon. amt Rev. C. L C')urte- "hit u 'he'Ll' by *thy'lliu'4 telei,rtal still mere so by the proving of the latours of the Committee of the House
the course
*4Y7 the qtleftn's Dotnestic Chaplain. called upon the invalid ne i and I,ittr'buildingsbar'ound them During of Lords in the ' • criminal law, who had endeavoured
binspected
y co:simian: at her 'MY -t • to ascertain the state of:. his ef the present week Lard Nlor,•etli has pnrsonallY testablish t s i -- •
health. ‘jl"'
~ ,
•a loh..- 0 a the pr re, pa, ect of the law the itn-
• the Itteality, anti to this fact roar probably be attributed the reform ti
proveinent and a on of the criminal.
DARING ROBBERIES. On Friday the- police re- t.trinitiation of the tune-p,ndio;e dispute, The Commis-
Lora ASIIBURToN moved that the petition of' the
moved information of th, followin roeheries:—On the 2d ,ionets have at leiigth deterini e' on the removal of the 1
fps': from the sharp wiini,v of Mr.g JAI les, 132. St. John- r.nin int of the 11..k.-rv, a.ni still stior. ' •l . ipr ,v, . e., ors :to,i traders of the city of L I I •
, *into, in , ,M. 1 r 1 "lii ori re.ating
;street is • , ' ments 11l this neign bete ly.al .vili, without delay, tie cool- •.O
t ale law Of debtor :ind creditor, was deserving. '
. , tmt.:held, three d:tz.:ll of silver spec t ,cl.s, all mat ke i.t
i• j. j " ,
dirt„ " a 'll
ae.'
g id
. pea-x.,:, and ope it •zt n -liver liAniiited mneced.
, i • tt-eition, atilt that the society, wilt the benefit ef
May 31, hum 44, Park street, Caintiett-t Asti'. a ,ilv.tr Al. URI -Us WEDDING PAY NI—A short tree '
l,eir eepresew leioos, do reconseler the subject of the
~14ravY-seoen. tour silver tso .-, i rots tit Yen silv• t tie.-s-rt- AZ,* .tli Alcoa° tate ceupie Viola lo b'e ENTn . ' ".. . 'wiled at 3 ( 'lir., ip,t
110uu,, five silver ie. - I'
1 ...
~
• . •
eqir,otis a silver tist-slice, six -liver a liu'Ated thiios loan P -vision I,i. 1 kU t laws
Lurk,. ~,,,0 i
~ .- .. P . . ~. . . , ". - .... hen the ceretnotty was eel, 1., .
~ , in a ,
be
._
til “..r saltcellars, two knife-T.:As, toss pei.,;_,er ciost..,, .!,,tt t...e necess..ty 1.,e h:,(I to le. p.tid, tid, the 1 'lli 11, after M. A Nt• it ,whs• - .1 et.h. ure,•ed the import-
Putter to
:.., K. t:8,,, a silver teap:A -end stand ; all t e aletytt to reed
.ra;ts,cking t-.e whole et. his p: ck • s f:, " the needful," said. 'a,c, „f th., •
,olbj: rt, .Ihil the ,vits oF the late Act. He
ine ~..r.-•
the
and a (140,6, y ~t pi ,10,1 ..rticic, 0, • tic -21 • th, .it s. it . '.,tif ra. her sc,or; 't s .nt. '•` ii al tell vo welt. (iv •
t '-iss't ,t 1 tho 'fie.=:i ;.:* Hie the freu lifent abstraction Of
10: ghe clerk Al t,,,,, st, A:1,,,,e 1-1,,te1, e.:artes.--.!teet, tti..t it a Y.. r; lute ti-- .h tit ki•owys—.; to vo h., tor'. tilf- '— l i . 1
!"‘ 44414 e ab • kiwi a? absconded sfeulin6 five sovereigus and a cheque fewnei.. It ye w.‘a o:ai.." 01 euer:e We clergyman, stoiliug, - eil to ionwthin tn-e• th•
a1,,,,,u, . • g . e tii
Mend the novel payment. ; the reveutto of the state—to uvwards of 50,000,0001.

LITERATURE,

A SHORT TREA7ISEonthe STEAM-ENGINE' ;
adapted to the use (J. SCHOOLS, in which are
giv:n PRA(' ICA/. RILL ES Jar the SE at EN-
GIN i•:E BS By James Hann, A.1.C.E., Mathema
tical Master of. King's College School. 6'.c.
To the practical engineer this work will be found
to he invaluable. Every difficu)ty is supplied by a
practical rule, and numerous examples are also given,
worked out at length, so that the application of the
methods to what is required in actual business is
brought within fhe capabilities of any one possessing
a moderate knawledge of common arithmetic. At
the same time, as a study of the mathematical theory
of the steam-engine, the inves:igations of the various
subjects are handled with great ability and given in
a remarkably clear and comprehensive manner. The
author treats on the work done on the piston, the
duty of an engine, the safety valve, parallel
motion, the eccentric wheel, the crank, the fly-
wheel, ee., in each of which the latest
and most approved theories are edopted, and in tunny
respects greatly improved. We Inay refer to the
article on " Parallel Motion" as singularly original
and ingenious, and calculated to effectually simplify
a hitherto intricate in luiry.
In the pret'ace, the author denounces in forcible
terms the unjust prejudice sometimes absurdly enter-
tained a-;.ainst the productions of continental authors,
who, especially in France and Germany, have for
years been the principal motiveigsvers in the onward
progress of science :
" Pambout's investigations have been handled rather
rouehly- by some reviewers, who setini to con-ider it to
be a sort of scientific sacrilege for a Frenchman to write
on the steam engine, as our illustrious countryman,
Watt, was the great improver and almost the invent r
of it ; hut i, these who :neer at our continental neigh-
briurs will take the trouble of reading their writings, they
must be ignorant indeed it they do not find sufficient
either to convince their jtniginent, or to medily their
vanity and prejudice.
" those who are at all conversant in the history of
French science. know that. since the revival of learning
in Europe, France, under every dynasty, has produced
men who have been the admiration of the world, and
whose inventions and discoveries succeeding generations
will ever appl tud as some of the noblest monuments of
science ever reared by the human intellect. It has been
well observed by a Northumbrian writer, that the
philitcopher of one country sees not en enemy in that
of another ; he takes his seat in the temple of science,
and asks nut who sits beside him.
"Those who can see nothing beyond the limits of
their own country should read what one of our own
poets has so beautifully expressed,
" Genius is of no country, her pure ray
Spreads all around, as generous as the day."
" It is unnecessary to expatia'e more fully on this
subject, as every liberal and enlightened mind must con-
sider national prejudice to be a most baneful evil ;
he who cannot admire greatness not oily in ehatever
country, but also in whatever region of intellect it may
be found, b trays a want of that generous feeling which
expaeds itself into universal benevolence towards all
mankind
We also find the following sensible remarks on the
subject of the crank :
• The crank, as apelied in the steam engine, has been
a great stuaibling• Nock to many who have not maiie
them elves acquainted widi elementary principles. The
connecting rod acting ebliqaely on the crank, has in
duced some to consider that there is a great loss of
power ; in fact, it can be sho.,n that the force on the
crank is to the force, if it acted at right angles all the
way round, as twice tre diameter of a crrele to the air.
cumference. But then the piston, or maving power, only
moves through twice the dram, ter whilst it fires
crank through the whole circutn:er. nee ; lence, e hat is
lost in ferce is gained in speed, for the power intik-Oen
into the space it passes ov,,r, is equal to the resistance
multiplied by the space that it pass, s over. It the r.rck,
acted at right angles ell the way rouhd, it must its' It
move through the same space that the crank (lees; there
fore, imiepend,•ntly of friction, nothing would be geithei
by ;uch tan lelaptation.
" One simple elementary truth rtire throuehout the
whole of The eretical Viechanics, v z, that no pewee Car'
be either geortid or 1 st by mechanical comb nation, it
we except the friction of the parts that enter into that
combination. Without -i clear knowted.e of this in the
first place-, w cannot sxpeet to enter upon the who],
qwstion where rrietien is tfiketi ire() the . cc,iunt, Kith
any great advantege For want. of a knewledee of this
simple principle, ierinense sums have been expended to
remedy defects whi h had no ex •steece whatever, except
in the imagin;aum ef the contrivers."
On the whole, as a work of mathematical study
for the man of science, as a practical manual for the
engineer, and as a book for the use of schools, this
little volume is admirable, and without a rival. In
this age of mechanical invention and railway specula-
tion and enterprise, such a work has long been a de-
sideratum, and it cannot fail of being deservedly ac-
ceptable to those for whom it Is intended.

MIGRATIONS OF UER.RINGS•

---- -
The great rendezvous of the herring is within the
arctic circle and there tley spend many months of
the year. In the spring, this mighty army begins to
put itself in motion. We distinguish the united
shoals by that name, because the word herring comes
from the German beer, an army, and expresses their
number. They begin to appear off the Shetland Isles
in April and May—these are only the forerunners
of the great shoal which co nes in June ; and their
appearance is marked by the number of birds, gannet,
icomets
btros
apdrtehy
auudp
do ne p
tthh ew.
ms'aain-fobrlywahpipchears,
avirndheosththeer
such as to alter the appearance of the very
soicean..i It is
divided into distinct columns of five
length, and three or four in breadth, and six miles
drive
the the water before them with a kind of rippling,
some-
times they sink for the space of ten or fifteen minutes,
inute,
and then rise to the surface ; and in fine weather re-
flect a variety of splendid colours, like a field of the
most precious gems ; in which light this gift of Pro
vidence ought to be viewed. The first cluck this arm%
meets with in its journey south, is from the Shetland
Isles, which divide it into two parts ; one wing takes t..
the eastern, the other to the western shores of Urea:
Britain, and fill every hay and creek with their numb...rs;
others pass on towards Yarmouth, the great and ancient
mart of herrings ; they then past through the British
Channel. and after that disappear. The other wing, which
takes a westerly direction, after preseutiitg themselves at
the Hebrides, where the great stationary fishery is.
proceed to the north of Ireland, where they Meet
with a second interruption. and are obliged to divide
again; one party takes the west of Ireland and is
soon imperceptible in the immensity of the Atlantic ;
hut the shoal passing into the Irish sea, feeds the
inhabitants of its coast. These last a.e often capri-
cious in their motions, and do not :ike the grand
h-d,, show an invariable attachment to their old
haunts The object which induce,. this yearly migration
is the spaweieg or depositing of their eggs. Herring-
are toiled also ea vast shoals on the coast of America, as
:ow down as Carebne. Ch 4apeake B.ty is inundated
wlth them. We tiud them also in liatetschalk.i,
anal
they probtfoly visit Japan. The Uutch are passionately
fond of pickl, d herrings, an' thy- first boat that arrives
is pnii:led io a prize. The herring dies as soon as it e
taken out of th • water; hence the proves b " as do ad a-
a herring." The I)et eli call a merry-andrew "
hei ring," and from this also we borrow some colloquia!
expressiteas.

As this was received with marks of incredulity, he
said the amount of dividends paid under cognisance of
the London Court of Bankruptcy last year was
1,245,0001.; the average per centage was under 3s.
per pound ; and as not one-tenth of the cases of bank-
ruptcy occurring were brought into Court, he thought
he was entitled to say that the amount of property so
abstracted annually was about 60.000,0001. That was a
loss which fell upon the consumers, the gentry and
the poor artisan. Hence the general public interest
in the reconsideration of this Act.
Mr. BETHEL moved to the effect that the misappli-
cation of charities, and especially small charities, was
shielded by the mode of procedure in the Court of
Chancery, and the method of conducting business
betbre ti:e masters. The Learned Gentleman, in the
course of his speech, gave several instances illustrative
of the resolution occurring under his own notice.
Mr. Commissioner FANS, in seconding it, said the
resolution might apply as well to cases of bankruptcy.
He knew one case where the bankrupt had entered
the Court of Chancery forty years ago with as much
prospect and no more of a decision now as in the year
1807 ; and another case which had lasted for twenty
years, with the same want of result. The Learned
Commissioner then read an extract the letter of an
eminent solicitor, stating that he had searched, and
had been unable to find ;:ne litigated case in partner-
ship account which had gone into the Master's office
and had ever come out again.
The resolutions were severally agreed to, and the
meeting broke up.

INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGI-

NEERS.

The second conversazione of the season, given by
the President, Sir John Rennie, to the members of
the Institution of Civil Engineers, his friends, and
the eminent in the scientific and literary world, took
place on Saturday evening, the sth instant, and we
never before remember to have seen one so brilliantly
attended, or at which there was so much to amuse
and instruct the visitors. The models and works of
art had been entirely re-arranged, and considerable
additions had been made to the collection.
Among the new works of art we noticed portraits
of Mr. Aaron Manby and the Hon. Mrs Boyle, by
Mr. Boxall—painted as he only can paint—full of
vigour and truth, and with a beauty of texture that
almost resembled a miniature. Some good oil
sketches, by J. Wood; an admirable chalk sketch of
a dog's head, by Edwin Landseer ; water-colour and
chalk sketches by Scanlan, Oliver, Duncan, Digby
Wyatt, Jol-ingon, Alfred Crowquill (Forre,ter),
Bauguiet, Robertson and Phillips, in such abundance
as to make us regret the small opportunity afforded
for dwelling over them.

A curious clock, made by Tompion, in 1670, and
presented by Charles I. to the Duchess of Cleveland,
was exhibited by Mr. Vulliamy.
Monsieur Preget contributed some extraordinary
specimens of gold electro deposit for ornamental work
for clock cases, &c. It appeared, from the state-
ments, that this introduction would make a great
diminution in the price of this kind of work.
A collection of fossils from the Oxford clay at
Trowbridge, made by Mantel! during the exca-
vations on the line of the Wilts, Somerset, and
Weymouth Railway, appeared to excite much atten-
tion among the geologists, as did two casts of itnpres
sions of the feet of some unknown species of animal,
found in the new red sandstone in the United States,
and recently transmitted to Dr. Mansell, whose
splendid microscope occupied as much attention as it
usually does, when the Doctor exhibits its power and
describes it so well.
Among the additions were several working models
by West, of the vibrating and the stationary steam-
engines.
Stern propellors, by Mr. Hays, much resembling
that of Woo !croft, only furnished with means of pre-
venting the rush of water against the propeller when
not in use, and rendering the dead wood an uniform
surface when sailing.
A very ingenious revolving disc l endulum, by Mr
Fronde, for rendering uniform the circular revolu-
tion, under considerable variation of the maintaining
power.

Otis' American excavator, which was worked on the
Eastern Counties Railway, and that of Messrs. Bar.
her, Brothers, invented by Colonel Hamilton, and now
in construction, for dredging the port of Toulon, were
'appropriately placed with Prideaux, excavator, men
tinned at the last soiree.

The Electric Telegraph Company contributed a
new and complete assortment of electric clocks and
telegraphs.
A capital model of the Somerset-bridge, of 110 feet
span, by Mr. Brunel, on the line of the Bristol and
Exeter Railway, was an example of the strength and
implicity that may be attained by well constructed
trussed timber bridges, even for large spans—when
Admiralty and other Government agents do not in-
terpose difficulties to gratify whims, or from want of
knowledge of the subjects they are sent to report
upon, and for which the public, who pay the expense
in the first place, eventually suffer by the want of
solidity in the constructions executed according to
the rules prescribed by these controlling but irre-
sponsible agents.
Fuller and de Bergue's application of thick rings
of vulcanized India rubber alternating with metal
discs, formed an excellent buffer spring for railway
carriages.
Clarke and Varley's application of pneumatic pre:s,
sure to the pile driving machine.
Davison's system of cleansing
tasks, which is used
so effectively at Truman and Hanbury's and other
the e c, fo
breweries.
usTtoheoveerr7o.l
kedsosmtaeteobojts ofr a interest,
of the rooms may have caused
evening, spacious as was the suite of apartments all
progress through them was hopeless, until the pressure
t oneperiod
ture ocfau the
se
itself must be our exc
was relieved by opening of that most agreeable safety
valve, the retresh.nent rooms which were on the
drawing-room floor of the adjoining house, and to
which access was given to the balcony. There the
President, Sir John Rennie, had done everything to
perfect the hospitable reception of his friends to which
he had entirely devoted himself and his household,
and in which he was ably seconded by the Secretary,
Mr. Manbv.
His Royal Highness the Conde de Montemolin,
attended by the Marquis de Montenegre, and others
of his suite came up from the Royal Society's dinar
at Greenwich, and examined with great attention all
the objects of interest; Sir Robert Peel also paid a long
visit to the collection. Among the visitors we noticed
his Royal Highness the Conde de Montemolin, the
Marquises of Northampton, Douro, and Londonderry;
the Earls of Dundonald and Liverpool ; Connt D'Or-
say, Viscount De Cressy, Lords Newry, Somers,
tWss, and Colchester ; Baron Goldsmid, Bishops of
Gloucester and Norwich ; D,aris of Westminster and
i;',lv, their Excellencies the Ministers of Saxony, Bel-
gium, and the United States ; Right Hon. Sir Rohert
Peel, M.P., F. Baring, M P., E. Strutt, M.P., Sirs
W. Jolly, J. Willson, \V. Burnett, Howard Douglas,
J. Barrow, C. Ryas. W. Newton, J. Hamilton, J.
Couthurne, H. Ellis, G. Clarke, R. J. Murchison, J.
South, J. Brackenbury, C. Pasley, C. Forbes, W.
Ma4nay ; Admiral Dundas, General M`Leod, Colo-
nels Griffith, Leake, Colquhoun, Douglas, Sabine,
Williams, Yorke, Evans, Stanhope, and Sykes ; Cap-
tains Ford, Cocks, Barber, Swinny, Porter, Young-
husband, Barker, Wynn, York, Henderson, Herring-
ham, Probyn, A. Chapman, and Knox ; Majors Jef-
freys, BrMndreth, R. E S. Clarke: Captain Schwabe,
Helberer, M. Diego Echapparre, Chevalier
Oetave D.,lepierre, Assam Hayat, Doctors Phipps,
Mantell, Thomson, Grant, Mayo, Jelf, D.D., Bow
ring, M.P., Reid, Paris, Roget ; Professor Wheat-
stone, Lieut. Leake, R.N., Messrs. W. Harding,
Cockerell, Lang, de Bergue, Landseer, Donthorne,
Smirke, Gautier, Engstrom, Samuda, F. Stone, C.
Enderby, Rev. S. J. Rigaud, Sherrill' Kinnard, Bab-
bage, G. R. Ward, H. Twiss, Knight, Broughton, Ir.
win, Sanderson, Warrener, Rev. J. Barlow, Baldwin,
Man, R. Doyle, Klengunann, B. Webster, Dundas,
Erriugton, Peacock, Wooley, Aspinale, Thomas
Brochedon, Robert Stephenson, W. Cubitt, Wood-
croft. A. Smith, Fuller, S. Robinson, J. Walker,
Varley, Cousins, Gooch, Bidder, Scanlan, Brett., Al-
derman Moon, Wood, Lance, Hamilton, Barber,
Rennie, A. 3mee, Snpwith, Cotton, Hyde, Clarke,
Peto, Baily Boddy, Little, Solly, Ditchbourne, Mar-
tin S. Cooper, Hart, R.A , Lonsdale, A. Morgan,
Bone, Piaget, Castle, Loury, Cheverton, Botfield,
M.P.. Crampton. Henorett, Fares, D Burton, Fronde,
Pole, De Wint, Cooke, Youebs, Carey, Bain, GrisAell,
Gustatrson, Etty, R.A., Oliver Amyot, G. Cruik -
shank, I lawkshaw, Ellscombe, Del..ne, Forrester,
Mulreals Gravatt, Herring, A. E. Chalon, Bougniet,
and Scott Huss 11.

ARTESIAN WELLS AT VENICE.—AS the first welt
of the kind bored on Campo St. Paolo has yielded satisfactory '
results, ?notbcr has been made, of late, on the same locality.
At a depth of 60 metres strata of grit were attained, which
being perforated, yielded an abundant stream of water. The
column rises eight feet above the ground, and yields
every minute 160 litres of water. It created a thorough
a.nonishment with thti is4mbled multitude, that the stream
of water. being brought in ecntsct with a flame, bu:nt in a
most vivid manner, which is produced by the carbaretted
hydrogen gas it. contains. This gas, which is often a comi-
taut of artesian spring., has barn used for ages past as a
means of fighting coal-mines in China, where it astonished
same of the French missionaries, even before the introduction
of gas-lighting in Europe. It is, however, an important
qtlestion, whether such hydrogenized water as that of
Venice will turn out potable —The Builder.
BROAD IIINToN.—A fire broke out in this village
at two o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday. by which two
cottages and the school house were totally destroyed. The
furnilure was nearly all saved. The villagers rendered every
assistance in their p •Vier, but unfor!unstely the supply ,;f
water was short.. The cottages were the property of Mr.
Rundle Brown, and the fire is supposed to have originated
iu
some children playing with lu:ifer snatches in an adjoining
—Hants rwiepenrknt.
out-house.
0;1 Tile,l3y ni4ti the .pinning mills of M. Lieu •
vain, at Nlaroinnv. war R.,n•en, were destroyed by fire. The
loss is estimated at 7j,ooof.—lrrench paper.