The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-27 00:00:00

Miscellaneous American News.

Two ladies have placed the dons of Harvard
University in a fix by applying for ad mission as
students. The answer the women received was,
that " no provision " is made for female students.
A similar application has been received at the Uni-
versity of Michigan from two other women.
We have received a paper entitled "Rapid
Steaming," containing all the correspondence ad-
dressed to the Daily Post on the voyages of the
Cunard and Inman fleets. On looking more care-
fully over these letters we find that the voyage of
the City of Washington in March, 1866, which
occupied 36 days 18 hours owing to an accident,
had been omitted from the calculation, leaving a
clear average, according to Mr. David M'lver's
table, of the homeward voyage of 32i hours in
favour of the Royal Mail line. Mr. Inman takes
exception to the way in which the table is cora-
posed, alleging that the best of the Cunard
steamers, including the Persia, Scotia, &e., run to
New York, and it is unfair to take the average of
these vessels against double the number of his own,
all of which ply to that. port. He substitutes
another table, and asserts that since the first of last
November to the commencement of this month the
average speed, mile for mile, of the Inman vessels
has exceeded the Cunard speed outwards, and also
on the general average out and home. The voyage
is calculated ou to New York, and the detention at
Halifax of the Cunard steamers is allowed where it

is stated in the logs. The result makes the time
6 hours 17 minutes, mile for mile, against the
Cunard in the passage out, and 5 hours
12 minutes in favour of the Cunard on
the passage home, leaving a balance on the
round voyages against the Cunard of 33 minutes.
Mr. M'lver justly considers that it is impossible to
allow for detentions at and off intermediate ports,
such as Queenstown and Halifax. " Every sailor,"
he says, " knows that the actual loss of time in-
volved in calling at such a port as Halifax is very
inadequately represented by the item detention in
the logs, which generally means nothing more than
the time during which the vessels are lying along-
side the wharf." The fastest run out was made by
the Scotia, as well as the fastest run home ; the
former being accomplished in 8 days 4 hours 34
minutes, and the latter in 8 days 7 hours 10 mi-
nutes. The Scotia appears to be the finest ship
afloat, which Mr. Inman evidently allows, claiming
the next place for the City of Paris, " the average
speed of which," he says, " has been superior to
that of every other British steamer, paddle or screw,
on the Atlantic, subsidised or unsubsidised, except
the Scotia." That the Inman Line has been able
to institute so close a comparison with such a fleet
as that of the Cunard speaks volumes in favour of
the energy, the enterprise, and indomitable perse-
verance of the company, for which results can only
be obtained by a capital so large and so skilfully
applied as to frighten even a combination of mil-
lionaires.
The Montana Post, published at Virginia City,
asserts that Montana is the richest mineral country
in the world. In 1866 the population was less than
40,000, and the yield of gold was $18,000,000. In
the same year, Idaho produced $17,000,000, Colo-
rado $17,000,00'), Nevada $16,000,000, Oregon
$8,000,000. California, with a population more
than ten times as great, produced $25,000,000.
The growth of the territory has been very rapid. In
1860 Montana was almost unknown. In 1864 it
sent no gold to the mints, while Oregon, Idaho, and
Colorado each sent over $2,000,000. In 1865 it
ranked after California and Idaho. It should be
noted also that the yield of these years came
almost entirely from placer diggings. These began
to give out last year. Many of the better class
could not be washed for want of water. It is
estimated that not less than 10,000 miners left the
territory. The Salmon River mines will entice
away several thousand more.
In the meanwhile twenty paying gulches have
been discovered. Theic, with the unexhausted
places, will make work for every man in the n ter-
tory. At the same time quartz mining is taking its
legitimate place. There are now only thirty mills
in the territory, of which fifteen are good for no-
thing. But stamp mills will be rapidly introduced,
and will be placed upon well-defined leads. Ten
thousand quartz lodes have been recorded. Those
which have been worked yield as high as $lOO per
ton in gold. Most of the placers report sufficient
water, and the prospect of a heavy production. The
trouble is to procure workmen.

MEETING OF THE PENNSYLVANIAN RAILROAD
COWAN v.---An adjourned meeting of the stock-
holders of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
has been held at Concert Hall. At the annual
meeting of stockholders in February a resolution
was adopted which provided for a committee of
seven stockholders for the examination of the re-
port, and authorising and directing them to examine
into and report upon the expediency of issuing addi-
tional stock and borrowing more money; and, fur-
ther, to examine into and report upon the operation
and working of the system of discrimination, of free
passes, and of private freight expresses, and to what
extent the officers and employ6s are interested in
the last, and the effect these have had, and still
have, upon the earnings of the road and the rights
and interests of the stockholders, with power to
send for persons and papers.
In order to give the committee time to make the
examination, an adjournment was then had until
the 30th of April, and the present meeting was
chiefly for the purpose of hearing the report and act