The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-20 00:00:00

BAROMETER INDICATIONS FOR

NOVEMBER.

At the last meeting of the Meteorological Society,
Thomas Sopwith, Esq., F.R.S., who had recently
come from Northumberland, stated that from infor-
mation he had received there were giounds for sup-
posing that a large number of lives had been saved
by the caution which had been induced by atten-
tion to the barometers on the coast. Captain
Washington, R.N., F.R.S., Hydrographer of the
Admiralty, who had also recently visited the coast
of Northumberland, in a letter to the National
Lifeboat Institution, bears evidence to the interest
taken in the barometer by fishermen, and to their
watching the records of its movements, day by day,
as shown in charts like the accompanying one,
which I send for your information, which has been
laid down from observations taken daily at the
Lifeboat Institution, from one of Negretti and

umbra's barometers, during the month of Novem-
ber. In addition to the instruments on the coast
of Northumberland, the National Lifeboat Institu-

tion has placed no fewer than from 40 to 50 of like
character, all examined by myself, at as many dif-
ferent places round the coasts, at every one of which
places a chart ]aid down like the one submitted to
you is exposed to view, It is impossible to say how
many lives may have been saved by the daily in-
spection of the zig-zag line, caused by the varying
pressure of the atmosphere, in conjunction with the
local knowledge of the climate of each locality pos-
sessed by every fisherman, causing caution on the
one band, by the day by day falling of the line,
and certainty on the other, by the day by day ris-
ing of the line, on the chart. The chart at once
speaks to the eye ; the past variations of the pres-
sure of the atmosphere are seen at a glance. For
instance, by reference to the diagram I send you, it
will be seen that at the beginning of the Month the
barometer reading was low, being 29 in 22' on the
Ist day, and decreased to 29 in 18 by the 2d. It
then turned to increase, and on the 4th was 29 in
95 ; decreased to 29 in 50 by the next day, and to
29 in 27 by the Bth ; increased to 29 in 73 by the
12th ; then fell rapidly to 29 in 18 by the night of
the 13th; but this point, the lowest in the month, is
not shown on the chart, in consequence of its occur-
ring at night. It then increased to 29 in 27 by the
14th, then increased rapidly, passing the point, 30
inches, on the 17th, to 30 in 56 by the 19th, or
nearly one inch and a half in six days; this was the
highest reading in the month. A fall as rapid then set
in, and the reading passed below 30 in on the 21st,
to 29 in 39 by the 23d; and from this time to the
end of the month the readings were alternately
increasing and decreasing, but generally low. The
pressure of the atmosphere until the 16th, with the
exception of the 4th, was always below its average;
from the 17th to the 20th, 24th, 25th, and the 28th
above ; and the remaining days below. The average

for the month, at the level of the sea, was 29 in 74,
being two-tenths of an inch in defect of the average
of the month ; and when compared with the pre-
ceding 20 years, one instance alone of less pressure,
viz. in 1852, and one of equal pressure, in 1845, are
found. In all other Novembers, eighteen in num-
ber, the pressure of the atmosphere has been greater
than in the past month.
The fall of rain in the month was in no less than

51 in, exceeding the average for the month by 21
in. In November, 1852, 6in of rain fell. With
this exception the fall of rain was greater in the
past month than in any Nevember in the preceding
45 years. Snow fell on the 2d day.
Satisfactory as it is to know that so many charts
of weather are constantly on view where so much
needed, yet I cannot avoid fearing that loss of life
may result on other equally exposed coasts for the
want of similar instruments, for certain it is that
the number of barometers requires to be greatly
increased. _ _

It will probably be remembered that fearful
storms swept over the north-east coast of England
on the 2d, 3d, and 14th ultimo, when the lowest
points marked on the accompanying chart
were reached. On these occasions great lof-s
of life as well as destruction of property took
place. It is, nowever, gratifying to find that valu-
able services were rendered during these disasters

by the lifeboats of the National Lifeboat Institution
in saving the crews of the following wrecked yes•
sels :—Smack Adventure of Harwich, 10 ; lugger
Saucy Lass of Lowestoft, 11 ; schooner Fly of
Whitby, saved vessel and crew of 4 hands; pilot
cutter Whim of Lowestoft, 7 ; barque Undaunted
of Aberdeen, 11 ; brig Lively of Clay, Norfolk, 5
barque Robert Watson of Sunderland, 5; schooner
Auchincruive of Grangemouth, 6; and schooner
Friends, of Lynn, 4 ; total, 63, making an aggregate
total of 288 persons rescued from a watery grave by
the lifeboats of the institution during the present
year alone.
JAMES GLAISHER.
Royal Obieryatory, Greenwich, Doc, 19, 1861.

PR1CE.........4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

THE EAST INDIA, CHINA, AND A US-

T.RALIAN MAILS.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's screw
steamship Pera, Captain T. Jamieson, arrived at
Southampton at 12.30 p.m. yesterday, with the
heavy portion of these mails, in charge of Mr. U.
Ronayne, of the General Post-office. She brought
64 passengers (of whom 38 were first class, 9 second,
11 children, and 6 servants), including, in addition
to those published in The Sun of Tuesday, Lieu-
tenant-Colonel the Hon. Hugh Annesley, Captain
Prevost, Assistant-Surgeon Corbett, &c. On freight
she had 23 packages of specie, value £26,935 ster-
ling, 1,083 bales silk, 109 bales flax, 81 packages
elephants' tusks, 160 boxes oranges, 131 barrels gum,
400 sacks wheat, and 210 packages of general mer-
chandise.

The Pera left Alexandria on the 6th inst., Malta
on the 10th, and Gibraltar on the 14th. She expe-
rienced strong north-westerly winds, with heavy
squalls, between Alexandria and Malta; thence to
Gibraltar, fine weather and light easterly winds; to
Cape Finisterre, variable winds and northerly
swell ; across the Bay, strong north-easterly winds;
and in the Channel, strong northerly breezes and
fine weather.

Three French transports and the usual Egyptian
fleet were at Alexandria when the Pera left.
The British squadron at Malta on the 10th com-
prised the Marlborough, Terrible, James Watt,
Caesar, Firefly, and Foxhound.

Her Majesty's steam frigate Amphion, 36, Capt.
T, F. Birch, 16 days from Malta and 10 from Mes-
sina, arrived at Gibraltar on the Bth inst ; and the
Racoon, 22, Copt. W. C. Chamberlain, 14 days from
Malta, on the 13th. The Amphion, Racoon, Fire-
brand, Procris, and Cuckoo were at Gibraltar on
the 14th.

The hired transport ship Lord Dalhousie, Capt.
T. Markham, 33 days from Deptford and 11 from
Portland, with Government stores, &c,, for Gibral-
tar, arrived out on the 11th inst.

The American bark C. B. Allen, Captain J. Ray,
from New York, which arrived at Gibraltar on the
7th inst., had on board the mate, P. Regan, and
crew, 12 in number, of the late British bark Majes-
tic. The Majestic was bound from London for New
York, and on the 13th ult., when in lon. 52 18, lat.
41 44, she lost her rudder, when the master aban-
doned her, and got on board the American bark
John File, bound for Cork. The mate and crew
remained on board till the 19th, when they were
picked up by the C. B. Allen.

The Portuguese schooner Nigra, Capt.A .J.Vianna,
bound from Mazagan for Cork, laden with maize, ar-
rived at Gibraltar on the Bth. She was in collision with
an unknown vessel on the 6th, and lost a boy over
board, bowsprit, yard, &c.
The following outward bound British merchant
steamers had arrived at Gibraltar :—Dec. 8, the
Sicilian, Capt. J. Bates, seven and a half days from
Liverpool, for Palermo, &c. ; 9th, the Cadiz, Capt.
J. Russell, 8 days from London and two and a half
from Vigo, with Government stores, 90 bullocks,
&c.; the Ceylon, Capt. R. W. Evans, 4 days 22
hours from Southampton, with mails, &c. ; the Dom
Pedro, Capt. W. Kennedy, 16 days from Glasgow
and two from Lisbon ; 10th, the Euphrates, Capt.
R. Bonfellow, 6 days from Liverpool, for Malta and
Constantinople; the Morocco, Capt. G. Langlands,
6 days from Liverpool, for Genoa, &c.
Gibraltar exchanges were quoted as follows :
London, 90 days' date, 49i ; Paris, do., 5f 26c;
Marseilles, do., 5f 27c ; Genoa, do., 5f 29c ; Madrid,
8 days' sight, dis ; Cadiz, do., I dis ; Malaga, do.,
pm ; Seville, dis ; Alicante, I dis ; Valencia,
.1
pm ; Barcelona, L pm.

Spanish pillared dollars, Ferdinand, 2 per cent
premium—no demand ; do., Carolus, 22 per; cent
premium—in demand. Silver 5f pieces, per cent
premium. Mexican dols., 3 per cent premium.
Fi eights—To London and outports in the United
Kingdom, 25s to 30s per ton by steamers, and 10 per
cent ; Brazil and River Plate, 12 dols. per ton, and
10 per cent, nominal ; Gulf of Mexico and Havannah,
12 dols. per ton, and 10 per cent, nominal.