The Sun.
London, England, 1848-04-20 00:00:00

THE CONWAY RAILWAY TUBE,

t
TO Teli first
EDlTORlcomotive enFgin THESUJV.
Six,—The
I am, and train crossed
by
e the e , tubethis
over
day.
the
'there Conway,
minutes past
m
the slightest
OFfio
twelve,
w a ats
n teno
deflexion, nor, indeed, perceptible vibration, during
its passage. As a constant reader of your paper, I
&c.
thought that this information Sir, might be acceptable.
0. O. ROBERTS,
Of Castle Hill )Bangor.

Conway, April 18, 1848.

,The Commissioners of thk
or Chuave issued direetiong to
officers at
thePratikli of imports
SHIPMENT
at
other ports
Customs Department the cal.
to
Iptaehnrceedt
povaerarsxreapi
onoaurdnstdsp, comptrollers,owrtisthtransmitiandhetp oil
ea tachsetes andpi no throughout
sosti;beeltreo
inspector
ergil general
nycei, the f 0 1 n g
account, so far as the same relates to their respt.ctive
ports, viz.:—An account of the number of tons of coals,
and' Ireland,'It the several
cpuolrruts,
of
fnEd
England, Scotland,
in the kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in the year
1847.
are pies, or ng the articles respectiely. shipped
FRENCH PIES.—Among
France, to a considerable. extent, of a remarkable
which form so rung various
sorts of meat and game, important a fea-
patties, with raised crusts, contai • nature,
tura in the extensive Italian and provision establish-
ments at the west end of the metropolis. As an instance
of the great demand which must exist for the importa-
tion of these French pies, we may remark that a vessel
just arrived in the docks, from Bordeaux, has brought
firm
to different
nearly
in thely2Oo metropolis.largecase
caves of them, consignd

SOUTH AUSTRALIA,

We have received files of papers from South Aus-
tralia to the 10th November inclusive.

The following vessels had arrived at Adelaide :
The Duchess of Northumberland, the Competitor,
from England, and the Antilla, which left London on
the Bth July.
The Adelaide Observer gives the following account
of the voyage of the Competitor
The Competitor, owing to a succession of contrary
winds, some of which beset her even before she cleared
the British Channel, made the unusually long passage of
134 days, having left Gravesend on the 17th June. On
the night of Saturday, the 2d October, when the Com-
petitor had reached the longitude of St. Paul's, that
island being distant about 200 miles, the ship encoun-
tered a terrific thunder storm, and was twice struck with
lightning. The alarming occurrence is thus described
by one of the passengers:—
" On the first occasion a ball of fire, apparently double
the size of a man's head, came down the main rigging,
and passing over from the larboard to the starboard
side of the vessel, disappeared in the water. At the
first appearance of the appalling meteor some of the
crew were working at the pumps, the first and second
mate standing by, and the wind blowing what is called
half a gale.' The deck was strewed with sparks, as if
scattered from a firebrand, and many persons below as
well as on deck felt the shock. The two mates and
four men at the pumps were not only struck down, but
felt the effects for some time after. A portion of the
pump lead was actually melted, as was also the leaden
" apron' which encompasses the mast just above the
deck ; in fact, a portion of the latter, in a molten state,
was carried a distance of some yards, and found em-
bedded in the deck. On the second occasion, within
a quarter of an hour afterwards, the shock was still more
terrific. The electric fluid struck the foremast and ran
down the rigging, and simultaneously it struck the
iron tanks in the half-deck, producing an explosive
noise resembling the heavy discharge of ordnance,
and leaving between decks a thick sulphureous
smoke, like that arising from exploded gunpowder. A
seaman who had just unrigged a pump, and was remov-
ing the pump gear, was precipitated to the foot of a
hatchway ladder, and leaping up unconsciously, struck
his head against the deck ceiling, but without being
seriously hurt. It does not appear that any injury,g
beyond that described, has been sustained by the
vessel
cargo, or anybody on board."
We read in the South Australian Register of the
20th of October : •
" At a general meeting of shareholders in the Princess
Royal Mines Company, held on the 6th instant, at the
company's office, the second half-yearly report of the
directors was read, from which may be gathered the fol-
lowing satisfactory particulars :—The amount of the
land purchase, and preliminary expenses, provided out
of the company's paid-up capital (14,8000 was 13,874/.
12s. 6d. The working cost, management, and incidental
expenses hare amounted to 3,0871. 3s. 3d. These work-
ing disbursements have been met to the extent of 1,9714
ss. Bd., by shipment of copper ore; and it is probable
remittances to come, and the sec
shipped, of ore not et
on
shipped, would not
balance the disbursement
aecounts rendered, but exyhibit a surplus equal to ten
per cent. upon the capital employed. The quantity of
ores shipped is about 193 tons, leaving at the port and on
the mine about 113 tons. We consider these statements
highly satisfactory, although, from all we can learn, the
assured expectations of future and much more brilliant
success are shadowed forth with extreme. caution in the
report before us. The following,isAthteon7Esusl(t
;ofuothne.
annual election of directors:—G. s
Johnson,
Esq.; H. Bagot, M.L.C.; John Hart, Esq.; Josh.
Esq.; George Morphett, Esq.; T. Shepherd, Esq.; and
E. J. S. Trimmer, Esq.
" A general meeting of shareholders in the Mount
Remarkable Special Survey and Mines was held at the
offices of the company on the 12th lo st. The report of
the directors fully manifested tlle favourableim-
pressions produced by Mr. Finke's discoveries, and the
specimens produced from the newly-discovered lodes
were such as to justify the flattering advices which
preceded them. All doubts as to the great value of this
extensive and varied property are now happily dis-
pelled." _ _

" VAN DIEM N'S LAND.—There have been two ar-
rivals from Van Diemen's Land, namely, the Elizabeth
Thompsin, from Hobart Town on 17th inst., and lately
from Liverpool, bringing 17 passengers and part of her
English cargo. The Henry arrived last night from
Launceston, 21st inst., with cargo and 14 passengers.
" The influenza was very prevalent in Van Diemen's
Laud, and had proved fatal in many instances, especially
amongst children. At llobart Town it was estimated
2,000 were suffering from its effects. The catarrh had
also made its appearance amongst the sheep.
" The colonists of Van Diemen's Land had been
astonished and alarmed by the announcement that 1,500
to 2,000 doubly and trebly sentenced convicts were to be
removed from New South Wales to Tasmania.

" A preliminary meeting was hastily convened on the
11th inst , and a general meeting called on the 21st; and
it is pleasing to observe that many gentlemen heretofore
averse to the abolition of the transportation system
have become thorough abolitionists."—Australian Regis-
ter, Oct. 30.

COFFEE

AND

EATING-HOUSE