The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-29 00:00:00

AMERICAN NOTES.

The American Department at the Exposition
presents many attractions which, in spite of all the
delay in its completion, makes it well worthy of
notice. We propose to mention, during the period
of the Exposition, all the varied articles on exhibi-
tion in our department. In the Annexe, and near
the American locomotives, may be seen the life-
saving raft, an invention of Mr. Perry, which
is rapidly coming into favour in America.
From its compactness and lightness, and the ease
with which it can be used, it has been selected by
the Navy Department of the United States for
universal adoption. The raft on exhibition is
capable of saving the lives of 50 persons ; it cannot
be overturned, and so much confidence is felt in the
merits Of the invention that a party of navigators
propose to leave New York for Paris upon one of
these rafts, to arrive during the Exposition.
A large number of interested persons may always
be seen in the vicinity of the models of street rail-
ways and cars, as exhibited by Mr. Eastman, our
Consul at Bristol. By a practical use of this sys-
tem, it is believed that all objections to city rail-
ways will be surmounted. By the arrangement of
the rails any other vehicle than the car itself can
travel on them with great facility and comfort,
thus making the street railroads thoroughly popu-
lar with every one. The immense convenience that
such a road would furnish to the travelling public
in Paris is hardly conceivable, and it is to be hoped
that the authorities will see the importance of this
matter and introduce it.

There is in the American department a small
cannon, which, from the fact of its being securely
chained, one would imagine liable to a sponta-
neous explosion. We are informed that this is the
famous " Ferris Gun," ordered to be built by Pre-
sident Lincoln. It is made of wrought iron, with
a series of rings surrounding it, and outside still
another set of rings made of steel. The peculiarity
of this gun is the fact that a much larger amount
of powder is used in proportion to the weight of
ball than in other guns of the same calibre, viz.,
240 z. of powder to a 31b. ball, while the usual charge
for a muzzle loader would be 4oz. of powder for the
same weight of ball. This particular gun has been
fired several hundred times with the result that at
35 deg. the ball was fired to a distance of nine miles.
This was done in the presence of an examining
board of and under orders from the United States
War Depot. The initial velocity was 2,200 feet
per second. It has been estimated that a gun built
on this principle, with a dumber capable of burning
Olbs. of powder, would throw a steel ball of 1001bs.
through twelve inches of solid iron, or, elevated to
35 deg., would send the same ball or shell ten
miles.

We last week spoke of some of the most supe-
rior American products in the Exhibition, an.l
in this issue we propose to call the attention of
our readers to goods in the American Depart-
ment which are attracting great attention, and,
in our judgment, deservedly so. Among them are
those of the Tucker Manufacturing Company
of Boston, Massachusetts. These consist of chan-
deliers, lamps, brackets, clocks, cases, statuettes,
&c., made of bronzed iron. They are from beauti-
ful original designs, and reflect great credit on Mr.
Francis Fracker, the company's designer.
Mr. Niram Fracker, of Boston, Massachusetts,
is the inventor of this method of bronzing, and by
the discovery he will work an entire revolution in
this important branch of trade. These goods are
equal to the finest French bronze, and can be manu-
factured for one-fourth the price. The company
have on exhibition a statuette of Webster, the
great American statesman, that cannot be sur-
passed.

The Daball Patent notary Fog Trumpet is the
invention of C. L. Daball, of New London, Con-
necticut, U.S.A., and represented here by Mr. S.
T. Daball. We were present when this trumpet
was in operation, and confess we have been very
much pleased with it as a means for the transmis-
sion of sound. It can be heard from ten to twenty
miles, is easily worked, and for marine purposes, to
protect our seafaring people from harm, and our
merchants from the loss of their property, it is an
invaluable invention, and one that cannot fail to
commend itself both to the scientific and practical
man. This trumpet produces a sound unlike any
other ; and what adds to the worth of the machine,
the sound can be increased to almost any volume.
The trumpet is worked by the "Ericsson Calorie
Engine," and has been adopted and set up in several
places by the American and English Governments.
'We believe it is the best thing of the kind yet
produced, and worthy the attention of all National
Governments.

The Special correspondent of the Standard re-
marks, that " now that the American department
is beginning to be opened, we find that it coatains
many of those ingenious notions and inventions in
which our cousins across the Atlantic excel. There
is a small machine called The Matrix Compo4-
tor,' invented by John Sweet, who is in attendance
to explain it. It is a most ingenious contrivance,
and for some sort of work is likely to supersede the
present mode of printing. It is about half the size
of a piano, and is furnished with keys. Upon the
top is a revolving wheel with letters, which, upon
the keys being touched, press upon a soft block of
paper, on which they leave a deep impression. As
this operation is continued, pages or columns are
impressed, forming a mould from which stereotype
plates can be cast, the labour of distributing the
type, and the very numerous errors caused in proofs
by the letters getting into the wrong boxes of the
type case, being entirely avoided. A lad or
girl could after a little practice work with this 1113.
chine faster than the most exprienced printer 109.111 d

set up type. It is, however, only admissible for
some sorts of work, and this because mistakes can-
not be corrected. For reprints it is admirable, but
for the printing of original matter or newspaper
work, where after corrections are needed, it could
not be used. The sort of mistakes likely to occur
in setting up a reprint, such as repeating a word or
a line, can be obviated by cutting out the part re-
peated, and closing *up the remainder before sending
it to be stereotyped, but even this sort of alteration
would be attended with considerable difficulty. An-
other invention, and that of the most important and
useful kind, is exhibited by Dr. Reim, of Spring-
field, Ohio, the inventor and patentee. It is called
the Hydrostatic Scale,' and is used for ascertain-
ing the exact load which a vessel is carrying, and
also to indicate the existence of leakage at sea.
Admirably simple as the invention is, it is yet rather
difficult to describe lucidly. Each vessel should be
fitted with two of these scales, one near the bow,
the other near the stern. A hole is made in the
ship's bottom of two inches in diameter ; from this
a tube of about three inches in diameter goes up
to the level either cf the deck or cabin, as may be
desired. The water in this tuba will manifestly be
at the same level as that outside the vessel. In the
tube is a light hollow copper rod, which floats in
the water, and projects up beyond the top of the
tube. Upon the upper part of this hollow rod is
a graduated scale. As the level of the water is in
the tube, so does the rod rise or fall, and indi-
cate the level of the water outside, that is the
depth of submersion of the ship. Supposing
now that the vessel were empty, these rods would
be down level with the tops of their tubes. Every
ton of cargo which was put on board would sink
the vessel so much in water. Say, for example,
that one hundred tons in the fore compartment of
the ship and an equal quantity in the stern would
bring her down a foot. The rods would then pro-
ject a foot, and their scale would mark 20) tons.
So on until the full cargo was reached, and the reds
would then show that the vessel was down to her
full burden line, and that no more cargo should be
taken on board. These rods could be enclosed in
glass cases, so that they could not be opened
or tampered with, and the Government inspector
would be therefore able to see before a vessel left
harbour that she was not loaded beyond safety
mark. In a similar way after the vessel was once
at sea, if she sprung a leak, the captain would at
once notice by the rods that she was lower in the
water than before, even if the difference were only
a few inches, and according as the fore or aft rod
was elevated he would be enabled to tell the general
position of the leak. The total expanse of one of
these rods for a ship of large size is only
ten pounds, and as it occupies no appreciable space,
it would be well if the authorities could direct that
in future no ship, at any rate no emigrant ship,
should go to see without one. Had the ill-fated
London been furnished with one of these little in-
struments, no question could have arisen as to
whether or not she were overloaded. The Govern-
ment inspector would have seen at a glance how
many tons of cargo she had aboard, and how low
she was in the water, and had she carried more than
her authorised freight he could have prevented her
putting to sea.
" Degener and Weiller, of New York, exhibit a
patent hand-press for circulars, cards, or other
small printing, which works with twice the rapidity
of any hand-press with which lam acquainted. It
is well worthy the attention of makers of small
presses, and would be likely to meet with a very
extensive sale."

SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN PRESS.

FENIANISM.-TOO MUCH BLARNFX.

Mr. Banks's resolutions of sympathy with Ireland
were sustained by the Democrats as well as .the
Republicans in Congress, so that they amount to
little in the way of cajoling the Fenians politically.
Sensible Irishmen cannot fail to see the motive and
despise the act. If this sort of gammon had no
other effect besides deluding such Irish voters as are
too stupid to distinguish blarney from honest talk,
it would be comparatively innocent and harmless.
But it encourages the Fenian leaders in their law-
less and dangerous schemes, and if there shall be
another attempt to invade Canada no small share
of the guilt will rest upon our politicians, who know
the criminality and folly of such au enterprise, and yet
encourage it for the sake of winning
The time must soon come when the Irish will see how
shamefully they have been played upon, and they will
never after trust those who so basely deceived them.
No doubt the Fenian rising in Ireland, so manifestly
hopeless and certain to bring sorrow and death to
those engaged in it, is in part to be accounted for
by the doggedness with which the Irish go into a
fight, reckless of consequences, when their blood is
up. But with the leaders it comes from a worse
motive. Men like Stephens and Roberts, who have
sense enough to lead, must know that Ireland can-
not be separated from England until the power of
the latter is totally demolished, and Great Britain
ceases to be a power among Governments. Eng-
land could better lose Canada, India, all her colo-
nial possessions, than allow the United Kingdom to
be dissevered. Why, then, the late rising, and the
terrible suffering of a few thousand Fenians among
the mountains and bogs of Killarney ? The leaders
must have known to absolute certainty that this
little spasm of rebellion would end in the death
of some of their deluded followers, and the cap-
ture and dispersion of the balance. Why do
they inflict these calamities upon the Irish people ?
There is no apparent motive but a mean and sordid
one. The Fenian treasury, which means their own
pockets, can only be replenished by keeping up the
excitement and making a show of doing something.
This was the secret of the false movement
upon Canada last year, and there is nothing
more in the intimations of a repetition of it
this year. The same motive has prompted the
weak and hopeless attempt at revolution in
Ireland. It ought to be the last of the kind.
Irishmen should be able to see by this time what
Feniauism amounts to, and abandon it as an ex-
pensive delusion. In this country its demonstra-
tions upon Canada are in violation of the laws of
the United States, and an outrage upon its honour,
which no good citizen can assist in or countenance,
to say nothing of the expense and trouble to the Go-
vernment, growing out of the disturbance. The
obvious policy for Irishmen, at home or here, who
seek liberty and prosperity for Ireland, is to act
with John Bright and the English reformers in se-
curing enlarged suffrage, from which must soon
come the removal of the disabilities under which
Ireland labours. But so long as they allow them-
selves to be made the easy dupes of Yankee poli-
ticians who seek their votes, or Fenian leaders who
covet their money, they will accomplish nothing
for Ireland, and only waste money and effort, with-
out getting so much as glory out of it.—Spring-
field Republican.