The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-27 00:00:00

BANKING DEPARTMENT.

Proprietors' capital • • 14,553,000
Rest ••••• • • • .. • • 3,396,774
Public deposits (in-
cluding Exchequer,
Commissioners of
National Debt, Sav-
ings-banks, and Di-
vidend accounts) .. 7,313,539
Other deposits . • •• . . 15,293,909
Seven day and other
bills •. .. •..• • . 832,981

Government securl-

ties (including Dead
Weight Annuity)" 13,090,946
Other securities .. 17,984,603
Notes •••• • • • .
Gold and silver coin.. 683,419

X 41,390,203

£ 41,390,203
MARSHALL. Chief Cashier.

Dated the 25th day of June, 18.

COURSE OF EXCHA.
Amsterdam ... ...C.F 12 9%
Ditto, at eight
12 6%
Rotterdam . • 2 U l2 10
Antwerp • • • • • • • •
Hambargh .... • • M.B. 13 15
Altona •
Paris, 3 days' sight .. 25 80
Ditto, 3 months 26 5
Marseilles .......
Bourdeaux. . 26 10
Frankfort on Maine 122%
Petersburgh, 3 Us

,NGE.-(YESTERDAY.)
Gibraltar .. • • .. .. • • —
Leghorn
Genoa .. .. •• .. .. • •
Milan
Venice .. . .
Naples .....•......•. 3934
Palermo, per oz ...... 119
Lisbon .. ...... 53

Oporto .... ..... .••.. • • 63
Rio Janeiro .... .. .. 23%
Buenos Ayres .. ••.. • —
New York, 21 days' sight
Philadelphia

Berlin . .
Vienna, effee.tio•..• .. 10 10
Trieste, ditto •..... 10 11
Madrid •• ..•• ........ 36.,

PRICES OF BULLION, PER oz.
Foreign Gold in bars.. £3 17 9
Portugal Gold Coin .. 3 17 5
New Doubloons . ..... 0 0 0
New Dollars ••..•• •• 0 4 9%
_._

Bilbao.. • • • • .• • • ......

Barcelona • • • • ........

Seville.. • • .... • • ...• ..

Silver in bars ...... • . 0 4 11

FALKIRK.—WATERSPOUT.—A striking and unusual
phenomenon was observed at Falkirk on Wednesday. The
day had been unusually warm, perhaps the hottest of the
season—thermometer standing at 78 in the shade, and a
suffocating sultriness gave the heavens quite a tropical cha-
racter. Towards six o'clock, p.m., a dark thunder cloud
was borne slowly along from the west, and when its centre
was seemingly immediately over the Black Loch, a spout
rather suddenly appeared till its extreme end was hidden
behind the Callendar Wood. It was perfectly defined,
increasing in density and depth of colour towards its lower
extremity, and appeared to be columnar ; but from
the distance we could not remark any spiral motion. After
remaining stationary for nearly a minute, it became
more transparent, as if it had discharged itself,
and' gradually
was absorbed upwards into the cloud. Numerous spectators
witnessed this most interesting and sublime meteorological
exhibition, ihfoitrigoont,
taondsa3„s,eetmheed impress
ifell
as -in a thunder storm ; and a few drops of I
wind wasedfromwivthanoits".. dgrriariecnt °
as the spout was as if by a shower,
against which it was seen wasshaded
drawn into a cloud.
caused by the void it
a considerable time of a whitish
We have since learned that
and it is singular that the space ithhuae,d occupied remained for
broke, rounde country people
vapour.
had left in the showery
the spout discharged itself,
termed it, d e. An immense body of water de-
lugedwest from Avon-bridge. g
immediate spot, and for about a mile round
at Crossroads, a rising g about a mile
the
'flooded, and the river Avon assumed
awllertehe appearance of a spate.—Sterling
there was a heavy rain, but beyond not a drop fell. The
short
Journal.
E HORSE FAlR.—This fair, which is oele-
CAMBRIDG
frohr-ulaets all artoimuned
brated for its great show of horses, commenced on Tuesday,
and continued three days. The supply this year was exceed-
ingly good. The best description of young carriage horses
fetched prices varying from 35 to 45 guineas each, and well-
matched pairs of greys or bays reached as high as 140 guineas.
The
ocoppaernd.selkinry;
Well-bred and sound hunters made from 45 to 50 guineas,
and those of high pedigree, and adapted for heavy country,
made 60 and 70 guineas. Cart horses sold at prices varying
from 15 to 25 guineas, and colts from 16 to 18 guineas each.
Ponies unbroken sold from 51. to 101., and pairs broken to,
harness made from 24 to 30 guineas the pair. One pair of
pyebald ponies fetched 45 guineas. There was a good busi-
ness in cheese. The best old made sf.s. and 60s. per cwt. ;
new and inferior quality 455. to 50s. per cwt.
1 Dispatches were received yesterday at the Qolionial-
office, from the Governor of Gibraltar. . '

INSTITUTION ,OF CIVIL EN:i
CINEERS, Jurtit, IG, AtiD 23.

•
(Sir JOHN RENNIE, _?r_,_ Pilt,lll WC-1,1111:14rt)
The discussion upon thelthirpr,,ZlOltiOint , on
" the resistance to railway traing v'avcities,"
was continued throughout the two tofin4f,r, of these
evenings, and assumed so wide a field, that it would be
difficult in our limits, and without the aid of diagrams,
to give au adequate idea of the opinions of the several
speaktro._ _ _

The chief point in discussion was, the statement by
one party, that the resistance to a passenger train weigh-
ing about 30- tons,-at a velocity of 60 miles per hour,
would be upwards of solbs. per ton, whilst it was con-
tended by another party, that it had been demonstrated
t) be not more than 181bs. per ton. This latter assump-
tion was, however, qualified by a statement, that although
such a result had been obtained, under particular cir-
cumstances, and had elsewhere been used as the basis of
an argument in the examination into the merits of the
broad and narrow gauges, yet it was not meant to con-
tend for its absolute accuracy under all circumstances.
The experiments by the committee appointed by the
British Association, and those by Mr. Scott Russell, and
by Mr. Stephenson, were adduced on the other hand, as
confirming in a remarkable degree the results obtained
by Mr. Harding and given in the paper.
The resistance on railways being analysed, was con-
tended to be composed of the friction of the wheels and
axles which remained constant at all velocities, and the
frontage resistance which increased as the square of the
velocity.
But there was also shown to exist a large remainder
of resistance, which it was important to consider the
constitution of. It appeared that this remainder in-
creased in the direct ratio of the velocity, and not at the
squares. The term " concussion " bad been used to
designate this cause of the expenditure of power, as it
was contended that, in the passage of a train, a motion
resembling that of a wave was communicated to the
comparatively inelastic earth. This vibratory action
must be caused by an expenditure of power,. and it was
contended that the striking of the Hangs of
the wheels
against the rails, the flexure of light rails, insecure
chairs and fastenings, unstable sleepers, the action of
the springs, and even the motion of the passengers in
the carriages, all absorbed power, causing resistances,
and it was argued that the remainder sought would be
found in these circumstances, which had not been gene-
rally considered by experiments. This element of re-
sistance also increased directly as the velocity, and not
as the square. The effect of the lateral resistance of
even a light side wind upon a long train was shown to
be excessive, and it was stated that it had been given in
evidence that on several occasions seven engines had
been required to arrive at a moderate speed with a train
of 100 tons in a gale of wind acting laterally.
The experiments on the resistance to trains descend-
ing inclined plains by their own gravity, as tried for the
British Association, were quoted as being still the most
conclusive record. It was, however, shown, that the
atmospheric system afforded the best opportunity for
testing absolutely the resistance, as by observing accu-
rately the vacuum in front of the piston, shown by the
barometer, and the velocity of the train, its positive
weight being known, the air being presumed to enter
behind the piston at the atmospheric pressure, and al-
lowing 1001bs. for the friction of the piston, a most per-
fect dynamometer existed, and all the attendant circum-
stances being stated, accurate results might be arrived
at ; it was therefore suggested, that as such great dis-
crepancy of opinion existed on the subject of resistance
(varing between 181 b. and 721 b. per ton), an application
should be made by the institution to the Croydon
Railway Company, for permission to try a series of ex-
periments to settle the question on certain basis ; and
that this investigation should be restricted simply to the
scientific inquiries as to resistance, and not touching at
all upon the commercial or the comparative value of the
locomotive and atmospheric system of traction, they
being foreign to the views of the institution.
It appeared generally admitted, that the method of
computing resistances, from the quantity of water used
as steam, in a locomotive engine drawing a certain load
at a given speed, under a pressure indicated in the
boiler, was liable to error, as so many circumstances
must be taken into consideration. Indicator diagrams
were exhibited and reasoned upon, but it was shown
that the present knowledge of the action of steam in the
cylinder of a locomotive engine was very limited ; and
that no positive reliance could be placed on the results
obtained, except as a check against error in the other
and better method of observation. Still the subject of
the action of steam in a locomotive was one of such
great interest, that its discussion must always lead to
useful results. It was shown that Mr. Hawksley's for-
mula, for computing the velocity of the passage of fluids
in pipes, might be advantageously applied to this subject
also; and by its application he contended that a speed of
sixty miles per hour could not be maintained upon a
railway without great expense.
The first paper read was a description by Mr. Bidder,
M. Inst. C. E., of his swing bridge over the Wincum, at
Norwich. The bridge was described as covering, by
two spans of 45 feet each, 85 feet of the river and a
portion of the land on the Norwich side. It was so
constructed, that turning upon a centre pin, fixed upon
piles, the two sides opened simultaneously, thus balancing
each other, and giving great facility for opening and
shutting it for the uses of the navigation and the rail-
way traffic. The whole structure, the details of which
were elaborately given with the method of building it,
was of cast and wrought iron. It weighed 347 tons,
and was manufactured by Messrs. H. and M. D. Grissell,
from Mr. Bidder's designs. The paper was illustrate&,
by a very complete model, presented by Messrs. Grissell,
and by a beautiful set of drawings by Messrs. Cheffins.
A paper was read " On the stability of arches, with
practical methods for determining the proper form of
ther sections," by G. Snell, Assoc, Inst. C.E. This
paper consisted of four sections, with an appendix : the
first section treated of the general conditions of stability
in arches ; the second discussed the conditions of sta-
bility in an arch composed of infinite strength to resist
compression. The arch being similar and similarly
loaded on either side the crown, and one of the points
of rupture therefore being assumed to be at the crown.
The third section showed how the results of the inves-
tigations in the second section might be applied to actual
practice, or to the case of an arch of limited strength
to resist compression, which was actually the
condition of the strongest material, and which
greatly affected the results of the problems in the
former sections based on the hypothetical conditions
of infinite strength of material. This seetion showed
how the form of section of an arch might be designed
according to the strength of the material of which the
arch was to be composed ; but in this section, as in the
second, the arch was supposed to be similar, and similarly
loaded on either side. The crown and one point of
rupture was assumed to be at the crown. The fourth
section investigated the conditions of stability of an
arch, either similar or not similar, or similarly or not
similarly loaded on either side of the crown of the arch,
and the various points of failure were determined with-
out the assumption of one of them. . By means of this
problem the proper form of section might be designed
for an arch, to he subjected to any number of pressures
acting in any position and direction. Thus the effect of
men walking over a vaulted ceiling, or any other pres-
sure, in vertical directions, might be counteracted by the
particular form of section arrived at by the application
of the method described in this section.

The author followed the principles of Professor
Moseley, and applied them to the proof of a tentative
process, which was advanced by MM. Lauri and Cha-
peyrou, and proved by an abstruse process, requiring the
aid of the infinitesimal analysis on principles entirely
different from those of Professor Moseley. The investi-
agpaptiloiennatinodnpot;oemAbllgehsraiineatlhaisnaplyasplysr, dideth
enroitnrtehqeuiirrep
rtohoef
or practical application ; no more than a knowledge of
the first laws of statics and the leading principles of
geometry was required, either to work the problems or
to understand the problems on which they were founded.
The appendix contained some observations or„ methods
of finding the centres of gravity without algebraic cal-
culation ; and the paper was illustrated by a complete
series of large diagrams, which rendered the problems
very clear.
The papers announced for reading on the meeting or
June 30, on which day the ballot was announced to take
place, were 745, " On the effect produced by the deep
wells of the metropolis, on the supply of water in the
London basin," by Frederick Braithwaite, M. Ins_ .t
C.E., and a " Description of the Iron Gates for the Docks
at Sevastopal," by W. Shears, Assoc. Inst., C.E.

MELANCHOLY SUICIDE.
Last evening, Mr. G. J. Mills, the Deputy Coroner for th
Western Division of Middlesex, and a jury consisting of
fifteen of the most respectable housekeepers in the vicinity,
assembled in the drawing-room of the house, N 0,3, Red
Lion-square, for the purpose of conducting an inquiry into
the melancholy circumstances attending the death of Mr.
P. Davis, aged fifty-nine years, who committed suicide
was resident.
yes-
terday morning, at the above establishment, of which he
man of very cheerful spirits, and
father had always been
a vent to any expression that might
Miss Mary Davis, daughter of deceased, said that her
had certainly never givenat
he contemplated self-destruction.
had been exceedingly desponding,
attributed to his misfortunes in bust-
which she (witness)
stance to say, had been considerab4
and
which, she
ness,
by a .
d circu that occurred recently.
en his mind, as he fre-
lLeaatdte trol
Latterly,
however, conjecture
) hteh
aggaevatedosEß_wili
you tell us what that was ?
oanefeowf
iwlieeekehsiaegf oolehrekew, aswhroobersdeoonfdead!arangcei
ibra'ybout it. On Thursday evening he seemed
thesm affair, I know, weighed heavily
much depressed, and retired to rest at an unusually early
i t
3f n.moneyess
.o
spoke
Se
hour, and on being called about half-past eight the next
(Friday) morning, the lament-able event was discovered.
quuelnVtoi
The CORONER By whom Witness
• —The man ser-
vant, sir.
It then appeared that the footman, on kno,cking at his
master's dressing-room door, received nq answer ; and,
when he opened it, saw the decealed lyir.g prostrate on the
floor, weltering in his blood from :. wound in his throat.
There was also a razor lying by his side. Mr. Barber, the
surgeon, of Orange.street, was immediately called in, but
life was totally extinct. The wound extended about seven
inches in length, and had separated the jugular vein.
Several other witnesses were examined as to the state of
deceased's mind ; and the jury, after an inquiry that had
lasted several hours, recorded the subjoined verdict :--
" That the deceased gentleman destroyed himself while in &
state of temporary insanity, brought on by his misfortunea
in business, but more particularly his having been robbed
by a confidential clerk,"

A MANIAC IN CHURCH.—During the service at Folk-
stone Churchon Sunday evening, the congregation were thrown into a
state of consternation, by a young woman suddenly leaving her seat.
and, rushing to the communion table, made an attack upon the
tablets. She then approached the baptismal font, and before any orm
could prevent her, took off the marble cover, and threw it with vio-
lence to the ground, shivering it to atoms. Iler violence was so
great as to ioave up doubt of her insanity. Several persons, witlg
groat difficulty succeeded iu ejecting her from the sacred editieO.
The service, which had been stopped, was then resumed, The alarm
among the female portion of the congregation was very g,Teat, soma
of them fainting. The young woman was conveyed 1,,0me to be,
frieudi, wllo stated that she was subject to Ms.—.&r/446 owner.