The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-24 00:00:00

SOUTHAMPTON, Wednesiay.—A new iron steam-
ship, named the Briton, built by Mr. C. Langley, of
Deptford-green Dockyard, for the Union Sreaniseip
Company, and intended to be etnployedin the mail
service with the Cape of Good Hope, was taken out
to Stokes'-bay to-day to undergo an official trial of
speed at the measured mile. This vessel is of 1,(92
tons burden, builder's ineaeurenient, and the follow-
ieg aro her leading ditneneione : —Length between
perpendiculars, 239 ft. ; length over all, 264 ft. ; ex-
treme breadth, 30ft. Bin. ; depth of hold, 23ft. ldine
depth from top of beam to top of keel, 26ft. :Her
engines, which were constructed by Met•srs. C. A.
Day and Co., of the Northam Ironworks, at this
port, are of 120 horse power nominal, with an indi-
cated horse power of 716. They are fitted evith
steam-jacket, superheating apparatus. and surface
condensers, and fed by Lamb and Summere'e patent
boilers, which supplied plenty of steam during the
trial to-day. She has a two-bladed Griffith's screw,
of 13ft. 3in. diameter, and 18ft. pitch. The Brit on
made four runs on the measured mile, with the fol-
lowing results :—first mile, 6 min. 8 sec., or an aver-
age of 9.785 knots per hour ; second mile, 4 min. 59
sec., equal to 12.040 knots; third mile, 6 min. 26
sec., equal to 9.350 knots ; fourth mile, 4 min. 58
sec., equal to 12.080 points. The simple mean of
the four runs was 10.813 knots per hour, and the
Admiralty mean, 10.754. Revolutions of engines,
73 ; pressure of steam, 241 b. ; vacuum, 25. Every-
thing went very satisfactorily during the day, and
the engines worked well, without giving any
trouble from heated bearings or other cause. Great
interest is taken in the Briton, she being the Irst
vessel built upon Mr. Charles Lungley's patent un-
sinkable principle. She is divided, in the first
place, by ordinary transverse water-tight bulkheads
before and abaft the boiler and engine-room. The
fore part of the ship, before the boiler-room bulk-
head, is divided below the water-line into two en-
tirely separate holds or compartments by a water-
tight horizontal deck ; and the after part of the
ship, abaft the engine-room bulkhead, is also divided
in the same manner by a horizontal deck. If, there-
fore, the bottom of the ship should, by rocks or
any other means, be stove in or tore away below
this deck at either end the water would be confined
entirely to the lower hold or compartment, the deck
forming, as it were, an internal bottom which would
keep the ship afloat and seaworthy. In like manner,
should the bottom be stove in or torn away above
this deck at either end, the lower hold would still
remain sound and water-tight, and is made of suffi-
cient capacity to keep the ship afloat and as buoy-
ant as is necessary for safety and seaworthiness.
To give access to the lower hold, beneath this water-
tight deck, so as to make it available at each end for
carrying cargo, a water-tight trunk is built up from
the lower deck to the upper at each end of the ship,
the deck being cut away within this trunk, so that
cargo can be passed down by a passage way which
never requires to be closed up with valves or doors,
like those used with ordinary water-tight bulk-
heads. Should water find its way into the lower
holds through breaches, in the bottom, it would
simply rise in these trunks to the level of the sea
outside, and there remain harmless. The principle
adopted by Mr. Lungley seems capable of exten-
sion, and it was spoken of very highly to-day
by one of the visitors, Mr. E. J. Reed, Secre-
tary to the Society of Naval Architects, who
referred to certain collateral advantages it pos-
sesses, such as improving ventilation between
docks, giving great security from fire, &c. There
was a large party of scientific and other gentlemen
on board to witness the trial, among whom were
Mr. Reed and Mr. M. Barnaby, of the Institute of
Naval Architects; Mr. Luke, Admiralty Surveyor,
from Portsmouth dockyard; Messrs. Rubie and
Murray, Surveyors to the Board of Trade ; Captain
Patey, R.N., and Mr. S. Y. Messum, of the Admi-
miralty Packet Service Department; Mr. E. 11.
Rea, of the General Post-office ; Messrs. H. Fandel
and A. Giles, Directors of the Union Company ;
the Hon. S. Cawood, of the Cape of Good Hope
Legislative Assembly ; Sir G. B. Pechell, Captain
Coles, R.N., Captain Macdonald, of the Indian
Navy ; Captain Stxutt, Mr. A. Hamilton, Mr. S.
Alexander, Mr. G. Y. Mercer, secretary of the
company, the Messrs. Langley, Mr. C. A. Day, &c.
After leaving the measured mile the Briton steamed
round the noble iron-cased ship of-war the Warrior,
lying at Spithead, and returned into dock about 5
o'clock. A sumptuous dejeuner was served in the
saloon, presided over by Mr. Fandel, and the toasts
customary on such occasions were drunk, " Success
to the Union Company and their new ship Briton"
not being forgotten. The Briton will take out the
November mails for the Cape.

BATHER PASSAGLIA AND THE CON-

GREGATION OF THE INDEX.

It is well known that Father Passaglia went to
Rome by orders of the Holy Father. At this mo-
ment the Holy City is occupied as much about him
as it was occupied a few months ago about Father
Giacomo, the confessor of Count Cavour. Like the
latter, the former finds himself on bad terms with

the Holy Inquisition ; but very fortunately for him,
it is affirmed that General Goy on has given him his

word of honour that no harnt shall be done him.

Therefore Father Passaglia may be at ease, but this
does not prevent his being subject to annoyance ;
for the Roman Court, furious at not being able to

make an example of him, tries to be revenged by a

thousand vexations for the forced impunity en-

joyed by one whom it regards as its enemy.
Strong in his own conscience, and in the protection
which it seems has been promised to him, the ex-
member of the Society of Jesus appears to laugh at
the intrigues of the cardinals. A Turin newspaper
(the Espero) furnishes us s ith the following de-
tails of a conversation which has taken place be-
tween the author of the famous book on the tem-

poral power and Cardinal Altieri, President of the
Congregation of the Index. These details seem to
us curious enough to be at once placed before our

readers.

" Having been invited, ad ardendum verbum,' by Car-
dinal Altieri, Father Passaglia went to the prelate. The
cardinal immediately entered into conversation, and an.
nounced to him that the pamhplet, ' Pro Cause Italica,
was already in the hands of the members of the Sacred Con-
gregation of the Index, in order to be attentively examined
according to the forms established by the constitution of
Pope Benedict XIV. The father answered that the congre-
gation only did its duty in following
the Papal constitu-
tions, which ought to be respected by all good Catholics.
" The cardinal added, The book will certainly ,be con-
demned, as the opinion of the judges and of the cardinals is
already known throughout the whole city;
" Ido not see,' answered the father, the necessity of
knowing my
sentence befere it is pronounced.'
necessity is most absolute,' said the prelate,
because the public voice accuses you of being the author
of this book.

' I need not care,' observed the father, ' for the accu-
sations brought against me by the public voice, but only
for the questions addressed to me by the authority of the
Church,'

" Very well,' added the cardinal, lam invested with
regular powers, to ask yen, yes-.or no, in the name of the
Pope, if you are the author of this book ?'
To this question,' replied the priest, ' I must oppcse
the answer that the authors of religious writings are not
obliged by the constitutions to answer whether or not they
wish to accept the responsibility, unless such writings have
been prohibited by a sentence of the Sacred Congrega-
tion of the Index. When that sentence shall be pronounced
I shall make the declaration which yciu want me to make
to day, but not before. •
" The sentence will be pronoun cod to .morrow,' answered
the prelate, furious at the calmness and obstinacy of his
interlocutor, and I give you my word of honour that the
' book will be condemned;
" ' I have, on all that, another opinion from yours,' said
the father, because I think the writing is not liable to cen-
ure.' And for what reason ?' asked the prelate. ' Because
to condemn this writing would be to condemn, at the same
time, St. Augustine and St. Cyprian. Truly, the book
submitted at this moment to the judgment of the congre..
d er
gallon is not a new book, an original work, but merely a
simple collection of truths taught to the ChurctL by the
ssd Slet:
most revered of its doctors.
very well I we shall
condemn
1 Cypriot,' cried the cardinal indignantly,
That is impossible,' m ee d n the St.
fatherAugli with
iati Augustin©
a an
smile,

sunless you wish to make a congregation of Nostorians, of
:Manisheans, and of Donatists;
*,! The interview ended with these words. The, cardinal
red with rage, rose, rudely dismissed, the abbe, and told
him that the rope should be informed of his reins al to sub-
mit—before the sentence of the congregation, was pro-