The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-15 00:00:00

BELGIAN RAILWAYS.

We extract from the Emancipation, Brussels paper,
the following notice of the opening of the (1) section of
the West Flanders Railways for public traffic, which took
place on the 6th. This event cannot fail to be most
pleasing to parties interested in Belgian railways, since
this is the first section of railway opened by a private
company in Belgium:—
" Yesterday morning at five o'clock the first train of
the West Flanders Railways left Bruges for Thourout.
This train, consisting of ten carriages filled with passen-
gers, performed the distance, 12 miles, in 38 minutes, the
ordinary speed at which the trains run on the State lines.
Not the slightest shock orjerk was felt during the whole
distance, which was most surprising on a road so recently
constructed and opened.

"The management and mode of conducting the traffic
appear to be much better than on the State lines ; more
particularly with reference to the. system of tickets,
which is far superior. We also noticed that on the ar-
rival or departure of a train at a station no concussion
of carriages was felt, which is the case to a great extent
upon all other Belgian railways.
" The number of passengers in the train from Thou-
rout was greater than that from Bruges. The two in-
termediate stations, Lophem and Zedelghem, also fur-
nished many passengers."
Thus has been opened for public traffic, the first sec-
tion of a line which, when completed to Courtrai, (and
this will be the case about February next), will shorten
the road to France by eight leagues (24 miles).

THE BRITISH SURVEYING
SQUADRON.
(From the Sydney Morning Herald.)
The approaching departure of her Majesty's ship Fly
from the colony, on her return to England from the
arduous voyage on which, with her Majesty's schooner
Bramble, she has been employed, induces us to give
our readers a brief sketch of her services, in order to
impart to them some idea of the benefits that have been
conferred upon the commercial interests of the colony
by Captain Blackwood and the officers under his com-
mand.
The " outer route," through Torres' Straits, as it is
generally called, which has been of late years so ge-
nerally followed by vessels bound to India, has hitherto
been but imperfectly known, and only could be con-
sidered safe for those ships whose commanders had
already passed that way. The rough, and little more
than eye-sketched plans of different passages through
the Barrier Reef, which were procurable previously to
the Fly's voyage, were sufficient to lead a stranger into
danger, but not to extricate him from it; and many have
been the melancholy and distressing losses of fine sh4is
in consequence. During the last year, even with the
advantage of Captain Blackwood's chart, the loss of the
Hyderabad, with a valuable cargo of horses for the East
India Comp lily's service, which, by missing the beacon
on Raine's Island, was thrown to leeward, and was
obliged to run through the first opening that offered, in
doing which she struck on a rock and sank almost in-
stantaneously, in deep water, is a proof, were one want-
ing, of the difficulties of these passages ; and fully shows,
when under circumstances of unfavourable weather, or
an error in the reckoning, the passage intended to be
taken is passed by, or cannot be recognised, and it be-
comes necessary to dash at the first opening, and lives of
all on board aro jeoparded.
Secondary to this, but not less important, is the de-
tailql survey of the channel round Darnley Island,
between it and the coast of New Guinea—a route,
although to the northward, far preferable to any en-
trance through the Barrier, inasmuch as the passage will
not be lengthened more than twenty-four hours, and is
mauy miles in width, and quite free, from difficulty or
danger of any kind. It is evidently the principal passage
through Torres' Straits.
One of the chief objects of Captain Blackwood's in-
structions was to erect a beacon in a convenient spot to
direct ships to the hest channel through the reef—and
this has been most effectually performed. The passages
generally used to lie in the neighbourhood of that part
of the Barrier situated to the north of 12 dog. south. In
the lat of 12 deg. 21 min. the Ferguson, with a detach-
ment of the 50th regiment, was wrecked ; and in 12 deg.
11 min. the wreck of the Martha Ridgway serves to
point out the entrance round the Black Rock, in 12 deg.
12 min.—a favourite passage, and perhaps the best
among the bad. It is not known to us whether any
ship has been lost in this passage ; but if not, chance
has carried them clear of a very dangerous sunken patch,
having only ten feet upon it, in the direct track of the
course. Here there was no possibility of erecting any
mark, as heavy breakers lashed over the reef, and there
is no rock or island where a party could be landed. To
the north of this there are several openings in the
reef, such as Nimrod's Entrance, 12 deg. 5 min.
30 sec., about a quarter of a mile wide ; and Head's
Passage, considered a safe one by Captain Black-
wood, in 11 deg. 55 min., but equally cozetracted.
No beacons could be erected at any of them ;
but in Raine's Island, in 11 deg. 36 min., every fa-
cility was afforded, and the beacon was constructed,
and serves to point out the safest and best pass! ge that
exists ; and according to the direction given by Captain
Blackwood, there will be no difficulty in making it.
During the progress of building the beacon, the Fly
and Bramble were employed in exploring the relative
situations and extent of all the reefs between Raine's
Island and the coast, as well as the exact positions of
the more southern entrances above noticed ; so that
through whatever ;passage a ship may enter, the chart
will be found most useful in leading her clear of all
danger to a safe anchorage.
A chart of this part, showing the whole detail of the
Barrier Reef, and of the new passage roared :Darnley
Island, and embracing the track to Booby Island, has
been put into the hands of the engraver, at the expense
of the Colonial Government, and will be completed
before the ensuing season, by the use of vellie_th ships
bound to India may proceed on the voyage wit h confi-
dence.
In thus leaving for immediate use the moist i mportant
result of this voyage, Captain Blackwood is el ititled to
the thanks of the colonists, inasmuch as no sus%) tl portion
of the eclat of his labours will be lost in Engl an d by the
previous publication of his work in the ethos ,y. The
Admiralty will doubtless republish it in E.agl and, and
probably with improvements, but in the m ear tame the
public will reap the advantage of an early poss‘ .:ssion of
the information it conveys.
A more particular description of this part`, of the
voyage would be out of place here; nor indeed it ; it at all
necessary, because the chart in itself will be a descrip-
tion which those who consult it will perfectly understand
and be satisfied:with; but it is due to those v ,ho have
rendered this service to be assured that their lei iours are
valued and duly appreciated by those who ; trt 3 capable
of judging of the vast importance of this sum,/ ey to the
large and rapidly extending commercial int( ire curse be-
tween the Australian colonies and India.
Although the principal object of Captain Ills tckwood's
voyage was confined to the Great Barrie r, yet there
was another of less immediate importance at tar ,hed to his
instructions—namely, the exploration of tilt 3 coast of
New Guinea—the one, of labour and lute ass e anxiety;
the other, full of interest and novelty—in ft set , the cream
of the voyage. The time, however, expend( ; slupon the
survey of the Barrier, the progress ot: • which was
materially interfered with by the erocti on of the
beacon, precluded anything being done t here until
the last few weeks of the last voyage; but suffi-
cient was seen of its coast and inhabitants to
cause the greatest regret on leaving it. T he portion
of country explored, which embraced abou t 50 or 60
miles to the west of the meridian of 145 degrees east,
was formed by a low coast, intersected by nus nerous in-
lets running many miles into the country, an d forming,
as was supposed, the deltoid embouchures of sa consider-
able river or inlet of the sea ; its shores wer e densely
populated, villages of considerable size beir ig passed at
intervals of every two or three miles, at sor of , of which
they landed, and were enabled to look abou t them ; but
at some they were prevented, and their 3 .ntercourse
fiercely opposed.
There were no signs of any previous into tc.ourse with
white
.people, and they were evidently ign wa.nt of the
effect of fire-arms, but they possessed so n e of the re-
finements of a civilised life, which shows d that they
were a people of superior intelligence to the generality
of savages, particularly to their neighbors rs of New
Holland.

Lieut. Yule, of her Majesty's schooner Bra mble, with
the Castlereagh as her tender, under Mr. Aix d, remains
to carry on the survey of the outlying reefs, and of the
coast of New Guinea. This important servi() a could not
be left in better hands.
.—....—___
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