The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-19 00:00:00

EXPORTS.

Sugar—Hhds. and trcs. were sold at from 13s. 3d. to 28s.
p'er 100Ibs.
Rum-60 puncheons have brought 3s. 10d. per gallon.
EXCHANGES ON LONDON.—Jamaica Bank, 60 days, 1 per
cent. prem. ; 30 days, 114 per cent. pram. Planters' Bank,
60 days, 1 per cent. prem. ; 30 days, Ph per cent. prem. ; at
sight, per cent. prem. Colonial Bank, 60 days, 1 per cent.
prom. ; 30 days, 11,4 per cent. prem. Merchants' Bills, 90
clays, 4 per cent. prem.

STEAM BETWEEN HARWICH
AND ROTTERDAM.
EXPERIMENTAL EXCURSION.
The port of Harwich was for a considerable period the
great packet boat station for the North Seas. Situated upon
the most convenient point for the run from England to many
of the principal sea-ports of the north of Europe, it com-
manded, before the introduction of steam, much of the mail
and passenger traffic to Belgium, Holland, and the countries
bordering the Baltic. It is the intention of the Eastern
Counties Railway and the projected Harwich steam shipping
companies to make a vigorous effort for the restoration of
the place to somewhat of its former importance as a packet
station, and by placing it in direct communication by rail
with London, to make the route through Essex, embarking
at Harwich, the principal highway to Holland, thus saving
the tedious navigation of the river and the Swinn, and re-
ducing the time of transit between London and Rotterdam
by a very considerable proportion.
An experimental trip, with the view of ascertaining by
actual experience in what time the journey from London
to Rotterdam, by Harwich, could be performed, took place
last Wednesday, the directors of the Eastern Counties and
Eastern Union Railways being the gentlemen under whose
auspices the experiment came off. The distance between
_London ana JeocCenfarn, toy irrarWlon, as &Dour aza mlles, the
land journey to Ipswich comprising 68, and the run across,
the remaining 154. The trip was accomplished on Wednes-
day in about fifteen hours and a quarter, including several
stoppages for pilots off the Brill, and a detention of nearly an
hour for the Custom-house inspection upon entering the
Meuse. We may add, too, that the wind, which freshened
considerably towards evening, was right in our teeth, accom-
panied by a slight swell from the eastward. Making allow-
ances, therefore, for these unfavourable circumstances, it may
be fairly presumed that the sea passage from Ipswich to
Rotterdam may be performed without much difficulty in
about twelve hours, while the transit from town by rail
need not occupy more than two additional hours—the re-
sult being, that letters written and papers published in
London early in the morning may be received in Rotter-
dam, the Hague, and the surrounding towns, on the same
evening.
The special train which contained the experimentalists of
Wednesday left the Shoreditch station at half-past five A.M.,
and cracked on through the meadows and woods of Essex at
a goodly pace to Ipswich. There the Orwell steamer lay gay
with colours, ;and musical with overplus steam, waiting to
perform her part in the race. No delay occurred, and within
ten minutes we had exchanged the railway carriage for the
deck, and were gliding down the quiet pastoral river, shoot-
ing by its weirs and abounding fishing station, en route for
Holland. The little town of Harwich, with its flotilla of
boats lying idly before it, was soon passed to the right, and
the German ocean opened gralually to the view, the
long low coasts of Suffolk and Essex stretching away,
dimmed by the summer haze on either hand. Scattered
trawlers and small fishing craft beat lazily about in the light
breeze; a vast fleet of boats were dredging for cement—an
odd sounding species of industry (we should as soon think of
fishing up ready made warming-pans,) Felixtown and its
martello tower appeared like grey specks to the left, and the
distant sails of vessels in the Swinn threaded on the horizon
like beads.

The weather was delightful—the easterly breeze just rip-
pling 4,be undulations of the slowly heaving swell, and tem-
pering the atmosphere to a pleasant coolness. The day wore
on agreeably, but the sun was low in the horizon ere the
sails of the Goree pilot-boat were descried looming through
the light vapoury haze which hung over the ocean. As we
passed through the clumsy Dutch craft riding at anchor—
the sweep of his bright polished bows plunging heavily into
the short head-sea which the freshening breeze had raised,
the pilot, a fine hardy-looking seaman—decidedly Datch
built as well as his vessel—pulled on board, busily employed
in bracing up his second or third pair of trousers with a piece
of spun yarn, and was quite astounded by the intelligence
which reached him from a dozen voices at once, that we were
from London that morning. The Dutchman walked aft,
gave the spoke of the wheel a wrench, signed to the captain
to move on, coiled up the lead-line in his hand, and then
said it was quite impossible. A copyof the Morning Chronicle
of the day was then put into his hands—he glanced at the
date—hove the lead phlegmatically—walked to the helms-
' man—" South-east by South"—and then said, a Ver fasht;
ver fasht, indeed."
The rest of the voyage was soon performed. The low
sandbanks which fortify Holland against the assaults of her
perpetual enemy, the sea, hove up on the horizon—with the
towers of distant churches looming dimly through the even-
ing mist. Then we wound our way through the compli-
cated channels by which the Meuse is entered, and were soon
gliding up its quiet sedgy stream—remarking the lazily turn-
ing windmills—the snug Dutch hamlets—with their steep
red roofs, half embesomed in green trees—the willowy
months of half stagnant canals and creeks opening to the main
stream—the interminable rows of trees stretching far along
the banks, in monotonous lines along the swampy level, the
pile of bigger trees occasionally kept in countenance by rows
of junior branches of the same vegetable family. Here and
there you saw the masts and long vanes of Dutch boats
moored in canals off the main stream, peering up amid pol-
lards and elms, and behind low straggling cottages, and
around ricketty old windmills. Here and there, too, a crawl-
ing schuyt brushed lazily by the rushes, drifting with the
muddy stream, from the banks of which ever and anon
storks, looking like geese in consumptions, rose, and flocks of
starlings and curlews came piping by. Groups of sabot-shod,
blue-bloused peasantry loitered by cottage doors, and over
all the setting sun blazed down, through the summer mist,
with that rich golden glory which you see in the pictures of
Cuyp. And so we crept up the river until, as the evening
was deepening into 'night, we got alongside the great elm-
lined pier—the well-known Brompjes of Rotterdam.
Two of the party, Mr. Beke and Mr. Alfred Cobbold, im-
mediately started for the Hague with newspapers of the
day for his Majesty, the principal officers of state, and the
journals of that city. Great satisfaction was evinced at the
receipt of newspapers almost wet from the London press
,pres ;
and in token thereof their bearers, who had strolled -almost
accidentally into a club-house, were elected honorary mem-
bers by one unanimous shout of acclamation.
Next morning the Nieruve Rotterdamsche Courant ap-
peared with a jaw-breaking Dutch paragraph, which, being
interpreted, is as follows :
" We have received this day several English papers—viz,
the Morning Chronicle, Times, and Morning Herald, all of this
day's date, June 17.
These papers were dispatched per railway from London
to Ipswich, and 'from thence by the steam-boat Orwell for
this port. The train started at half-past five o'clock, and at
half-past seven the steamer arrived in our harbour. As she
had to strive against a contrary wind and other obstacles, we
trust with confidence that future trips may be performed
with still greater rapidity."
After an evening pleasantly devoted to the lions of Rotter-
dam, and a capital supper at the excellent hotel of the Pays
Bas, whose marble lobbies and painted saloons—nay, even
the fearful climb up innumerable flights of staircases to aerial
bed-rooms, commanding a glorious moonlit view of the fine
old Dutch town, its jumble of trees, high peaked houses, and
ships' rigging—we shall ever remember with pleasure, we
started yesterday morning homeward bound, about twenty
e
minutes after ten, and after a delightful run, made still more
so by ceaseless attempts to baffle the heat by exercisingit
with all manner of pleasant liquid relics of Holland, we let
go our anchor off Ipswich at tu.
eno'clock, having performed
hours.
Among passage in about twelve ors
Among the gentlemen present were J. B. Cobbold, Esq.,
chairman, and John Fortman, -W. May, and J. Cobbold,