The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-28 00:00:00

THE MONT CENIS TUNNEL.

As this marvellous feat of engineering enterprise is
now completed, the following interesting account of it
by Professor Ansted, which appeared in the Gentleman's
Magazine for November, will be read with interest
" The great tunnel through the Alps passes under the
Mont Frejus, about 16 miles west of the Mont Cenis and
the pass known by that name. It is therefore very in-
correctly termed the Mont Cenis Tunnel. It cuts through
the watershed of the Rhone and the I'o, which in this
part of the Alps is a crest varying from 7,000 feet to
10,000 feet above the sea. Mont Tabor, the highest part
of this crest, is a few miles to the west of the tunnel, and
is 10,430 ft. above the sea, while the Mont Cenis pass, the
lowest point, is about the same distance to the east and
is 6,890 ft. above the sea. The height of the observatory
on the summit of the ridge over the tunnel is 9,679 ft.
The levels of the valleys to the north and south of this
crest or watershed are respectively 3,612 ft. and 4,380 ft.
This difference of level, upwards of 75Gft., by
which the valley on the south or Italian side
exceeds the northern or French side, would seem
at first sight to offer some difficulties in constructing the
tunnel, especially if much water had been met with. By
taking advantage, however, of the form of the valley,
the railway will be carried by a zigzag on the mountain
Side to some hundred feet higher level before entering
the mountain on the French side, reaching the entrance
of the tunnel at 4,046 ft. There thus remains a difference
of 334 ft., which, when distributed over the 7i miles, is
found to be equivalent to a gradient of 44ft. in a mile, or
one in 120. The tunnel has not been in course of actual
construction more than 12 years, but it had been
suggested as long ago as in 1841, in a pamph-
let published at Lyons by Signor Medail, of
Bardoneche. • This pamphlet wee brought under the
notice of Charles Albert, at that time King of Sar-
dinia, in whose dominions were included the whole valley
of the Arc, as well as both sides of the mountain crest.
The work was thus from the first exclusively Italian, and
France only became interested in it when it took posses-
sion of Savoy. The work has been carried on throughout
from both sides by Italian engineers, according to the
terms of the treaty by which Savoy was ceded to France.
The King referred the matter to the Minister of the In-
terior to make due inquiries, and the engineering and
physical questions involved were submitted to the
consideration and judgment of M. Maus, a Belgian,
who was engineer-in-chief of the Turin and Genoa Rail-
way, ihen in course of construction, and Professor
Sismonda, a very eminent geologist employed in
the preparation of a geological map of Sardinia, • since
published. These two gentlemen, after visiting and
car efully examining the whole of the chain between
Mont Cenis and Monte Ginevra, reported favourably of
the line selected by M. Medail, which was ultimately
adopted. The matter then went into the hands of other
engineers, who have now undertaken the work for the
Government; but as, on further investigation and
calculation, based on the rate of progress of similar works
already undertaken, it was estimated that at least thirty-
five years would be required for the tunneling, even if no
unexpected difficulties and no accidents supervened, it was
natural enough that the Government should pause before
deciding on a work of such magnitude entirely for the bene-
fit of a future generation. Then came the question whether
by some mechanical contrivance it might not be possible to
accelerate the progress. It was soon found altogether outof
the question to attack the tunnel at any point between
the two extremities. In most cases when railway tunnels
are required a shaft or many shafts are sunk from the
surface, and the work goes on from each shaft towards
both ends, at the same time that the two ends are being
driven. In this way, by means of two shafts, a tunnel
of three miles might be divided into six sections of half
a mile each, and so in proportion. But in the case before
us the height of rock above the tunnel would be as
much as 1,500 feet at a distance of less than half a mile on
the Piedmont side, and almost as much on the Savoy
side. To sink two shafts to a depth of 1,500 feet in
an Alpine country, and after all leave an interval of more
than six miles, was not to be considered for a moment.
'['he whole distance (seven and a half miles) must there-
fore be pierced from the two ends. A machine was con-
trived by M. Maus which, takinc, advantage of the water
power abundantly available on both sides of the moun-
tain, was expected to reduce the time required for the
work by one-fourth, but owing to the political events of
1848 this machine was never actually put together and
used. After the disturbed times had passed, and when
Italy became a kingdom, the engineer charged with the
execution of the work had perfected the ingenious and
most effective machinery that has since been used for
perforating the rocks. Some time, of course, elapsed
before operations could be carried on with steadiness and
vigour, but for many years past the tunnelling has been
going on, not only steadily but with gradually increasing
certainty and facility, and the work is now, as we have
already seen, almost in a complete state."

The Athenaeum states that Mr. Archibald Forbes,
of the Daily .Areivs, is entitled to the prefix of Major.
The Roman Catholic clergy and laity of Killaloe
have just presented a sum of over £BOO as a testimonial to
their bishop.
11R. AND MRS. CHARLES MATTHEWS.—A letter
from Melbourne dated November Bth, says :—Mr. and
Mrs. Charles Matthews are still in this colony. They have
visited professionally the neighbouring colonies of New
South \Vales and South Australia, and have sometimes
had very good houses and sometimes very bad ones.
Nevertheless, their trip to the antipodes must have paid
on the whole.
THE RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT BARNSLEY.-011
Friday several of the directors and officials of the Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway, including
Sir E. Watkin, Lord Auckland, Lord Wharncliffe, Mr.
Fenwick, Mr. linderdown (general manager), Mr. Ross
(secretary), Mr. Lazenby, and Mr. Bradley, met, by ap-
pointment, a deputation from the inhabitants of Ardsley,
near to that place. The old station where the accident
occurred was visited, and a site for a new one was fixed
upon, where the public will have increased accommo-
dation.

THE EDUC &TION Devon and Cornwall
the elementary education question has been discussed by
public meetings in several towns and villages within the
last few days, and since Wednesday the voluntary prin-
ciple has been adopted at Dawlish, Ilsington, Wendron,
Sithney, Marazion, Pelynt, and Lifton ; at the last-named
place one person has munificently offered to supply suffi-
cient school accommodation for the parish, the estimates for
which amount to about £9OO. School Boards have been
adopted at Helston, Launceston, Liskeard, and East and
West Love. Devonport has also applied, through the
Town Council, for a Board ; at a public meeting it was
stated that there were ninety schocls in the borough, and
forty of them were rooms in which people lived, and in
many cases slept. Four teachers had been found who
could not write, and who, instead of writing their names,
had simply put' marks. Accommodation would have to
be provided for about 2,000 children.
THE LATE Mn. THOMAS BREWER.—The death
of the indefatigable secretary. of the City of London
School, which occurred on Christmas Day, after a brief
illness, has to be recorded. Mr. Brewer was born in 1807,
and at' the early age of 16 entered the service of the Cur-
, poration of London, in the town clerk's office, and at the
time of his death he was the senior servant of the corpora-
tion. The antiquarian tastes of Mr. Brewer while in the
town-clerk's office led to the exhumation of ancient re-
cords which were of much service in placing that ancient
foundation, the City of London School, in its present
state of development and efficiency. Mr. Brewer was
elected secretary to the school in 1836, which office he
held until his death. In recognition of his various public
services, the freedom of the City of London was awarded
to him by honorary grant of the corporation in 1842. He
was one of the founders of the Sacred Harmonic Society
in 1832, and was its honorary secretary from that time
until the commencement of the present season, when he
was elected president of the society, an honourable posi-
tion which he unhappily enjoyed but a few weeks. As
an author Mr. Brewer produced a life of John Carpenter,
the founder of the City of London School in the time of
Henry V. and VI., and some biographies of other eminent
citizens.
THE LAYING OUT OF SEWAGE FARMS.—An Ob-
vious distinction must be drawn between the irrigation of
land with sewage as practised in the Cragentinny style
some years ago, and that which now prevails in those in-
stances in which irrigation has been adopted. Again, to
go a little further, another and a nicer distinction must be
made between the mere irrigation of land, judiciously
and scientifically carried out to a certain point, and
the thorough practical application of the system. The
latter consists in the establishment of a sewage faint
upon which various crops are grown, instead of the utili-
sation of the sewage being limited, as it originally was, to
grass crops. Not only was rye grase the only crop to
which sewage was first applied, but many able and unpre-
judiced parties sincerely believed that the principle
of its utilisation was not capable of being ex-
tended to roots and cereals. It is needle.7:3 to
assert now as we always have asserted that
this idea is fallacious. and that ultimately it
will be found that sewage can be advantage ally
and profitably applied to every description of plant and
crop. This was first partially but conclusively demon-
strated by the Lodge Farm at Barking, upon whicli, by
the application of London sewage, nearly every plant that
could be of use to mankind was grown, either in large
qiiantities, for the market, or in smaller for the sake of
experiment and proof.—The Engineer.

OPERA COMIQUE-FOUND DROWNED_
31r. G. F. ROWE will make his re-appearance in Landon
This Evening in a new and striking Drama, founded on Charles
Dickens's celebrated novel " Our Mutual Friend."

OPERA. COMIQUE.-FOUND DROWNED--
S. EMERY as BOFFlN.—Messrs. John Nelson, w. m'ln-
tyre, Charles Warner (by permission of W. H. Liston, EN )
Edwin Stanley, Granville, and Bell ; .Mesdames Ernstone, Emily
Pitt, Holston, Slanders, Tilly Earl, and Miss Rose Lisle. Com_
mence with BLUE DEVILS. Conclude with NOTHING TO
NURSE. Open at 6.30 ; commence at 7.