The Sun.
London, England, 1835-04-30 00:00:00

LIGHT HOUSES.

The Elder Brethren of the Trinity House have, at the
request of the Lords of the Treasury, drawn up some ob-
servations upon the measures proposed in the Report of the
Parliamentary Committee on Light-houses. The shipping
and commercial interests will learn with great satisfaction
that the Corporation of the Trinity House concur in nearly
the whole of the recommendations of the Committee, and
are ready to co-operate in immediately carrying them into
effect. This is one of the benefits which will be derived
from the practical operation of Reform ; for we may safely
affirm that the gross abuses which have so long existed in
the management of Light-houses would never have been
effectually remedied under the old Tory system of govern-
ment. It is only doing justice to Mr. Hume to say that
the public will in a great measure be indebted to his in-
dustry and perseverance in following up this subject, for
the improvements which may now be expected to take
place in this important branch of our maritime esta-
blishments.

The Brethren of the Trinity House fully agree with the
Committee in opinion that placing the whole of the Light-
houses in England under the management of the Trinity
House, will be attended with the most beneficial results ;
and they are ready to treat with the lessees of the Light-
houses for the purchase of their interests. The Brethren
are also willing to undertake the management of the Lights
in Scotland and Ireland. They consider that the transfer
of the superintendence of all the Light-houses to one Board
would ultimately cause a very considerable reduction in
the dues on shipping, and that the business of collection
would be so much simplified that the rate of Commission
might be reduced to five per cent., or less.
The Light Vessel at Bembridge has been hitherto main-
tained at the charge of Government, but the Brethren would
undertake the cost of it, if transferred to them with all the
other Light-houses. The light at Heligoland, now kept up
in part by a toll of Id. per ton, collected at Hamburgh and
Bremen from British vessels alone, they think should be
defrayed by dues on all vessels, whether British or Foreign,
as they all participate in the advantage. The Board of the
Trinity House approve of tables of the dues to be levied
for public information, and such are now in progress of for-
mation ; they must, however, be very imperfect until all
the Lights are brought under one management. The Bre-
thren hold their revenues " without account ;" but as they
" have no transactions which require concealment," they
are quite willing to accede to any reasonable arrangement
for laying an annual report of their accounts before Par-
liament. To the proposed discontinuance of pensions to
poor mariners, and their widows and orphans, out of the
surplus Light dues, the Corporation of the Trinity House
are strongly opposed, on the ground that such pensions
have always formed a prominent feature and object of their
institution, and are expressly mentioned in their charter,
that every shipowner is fully aware that the surplus of tolls
is thus applied, and that the pensions are only granted to
those seamen, or their orphans and widows, who have served
the shipowner many years. The number of those men is
now 8,750, and that of women and children, 3,600.

In consequence of the arrangements made by the Trinity
House, dues will have ceased to be exacted, from and after
the 31st of last month, at all the Light-houses under their
management, from vessels putting into port, or forced to
deviate from their course, by stress of weather, or employed
in catching fish. The Brethren are most anxious to intro-
duce every possible improvement in the mode of illumi-
nating Light-houses, and they have for that purpose had an
experimental Light-house erected near Purfleet, in which
lights are exhibited, and their effect observed from the
Trinity Buoy Wharf, at Blackwall, a distance of 11 miles.
A large room for conducting those experiments is now be-
ing constructed at the Trinity House. Independent of the
experiments made by Lieutenant Drummond, at the in-
stance and charge of the Trinity House, relative to the
oxy-hydrogen lime light, other persons are engaged, with the
sanction and assistance of the Board, in endeavouring to
render that Light applicable to Light-houses, but hitherto
without sufficient success. The new Light upon the Start
—to be completed early next autumn—will be fitted up
with a dioptrie revolving light of the first order, similar to
the one at Cadnan, in France.

THE WEATHER.—The cold weather, with northerly
winds, which has prevailed during the greater part of April,
was succeeded yesterday morning by a heavy fall of snow, with
which the hills around Glaigow are covered.

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