The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-03 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 3, 1857•

PASSAGE MONEY 141. AND UPWARDS.
"WHITE STAR" LINE
Of British and Australian Ex-Royal Mail Packet,
BAILING lINTWESAi
LIVERPOOL AND MELBOURNE,
On the 20th and 27th of every Mouth,
And forwarding Passengers by Steamers at through rates to all parts
of Australia.
To the consignment of 11. T. Wilson and Co., Melbourne.
Ship. Captain: Reg. •Bar. To Sail.
SHAKE SPE ARE .. J. Norcross, 2,470 5,200 Sep. 20
BRITISII LION .... Harrington, 1,450 4,500 Sep. 28
:SITOCEEDING MIPS.
RED JACKET M. H. O'Halloran, 2,460 5,000
GOLDEN' ERA.. •.. H. A. Brown. 1,556 4,200
SII.ALI3IAR J. R. Brown, 1,432 4,000
WHITE STAR...—. T. C. C. Kerr, 2,360 5,000
These magnificent clippers, the finest and largest 14 the world
will sail at noon of the above dates with Mails, Passengers, and
Cargo. The Shakespeare is the largest and finest clipper ship in
England, and from her immense size and speed is expected to make
the fastest passage on record. She is magnificently fitted up for all
classes of passengers.
The British Lion is one of the fastest ships afloat, and has made
the passage from Calcutta to Havre in 91 days, frequently logging
1,6% knots, and on one occasion sailed 362 miles in one day.
Passengers embark on the 19th and 2811 a of September.
For freight or passage apply to
11. T. WILSON & CHAMBERS,
21, Water-street, Liverpool.

SCINDE RAILWAY COMPANY.-
iNDUSSTEAM_FLOTILLA.

Capital £250,000.
'n 12,5^0 Shares, of 20/.. each, guaranteed 5 per cent. by the

Honourable East India Company.

No further application for shares in the above will be received.
THOS. BURNELL, Secretary.
Gresham House, 0:d Broad-street, 2d September, 1857.

THE SOUNDINGS FOR TES ATLANTIC

dicator, which sank suspended to the lead, the one
being a check on the other, so that no error of
moment could avoid detection. In no event Could
the depth be greater than the amount of linei out,
while owing to deflecting causes affecting thel line
alone, Massey's indicator might with perfect accu-
racy read considerably less. During the first' half
of the cruise care was taken to obtain the precise
depth with the line, with the most gratifying :agree-
ment of its returns with the readiness of the ,self-
registering sounding apparatus. As in every Case,
however, the readings of the latter were preferred,
it was found convenient to throw out a supera-
bundance of line to assure the descent of the lead to
the bottom • the amount of line out was thus often
in considerable exoess of the recorde i depth. Two
sets of soundings were thus obtained ; one with
Massey's apparatus, and the other with the old
method of simple line and sinker. That the former
is to be preferred is argued by the fact that, specimens
from the bottom being obtained every time, the
depth could not have been in excess of the length
of line out, while it might have been as much less
as the readings on Massey's apparatus, the sounding
line being deflected from the perpendicular by
driftage and currents, and that thesecauses of error
really exist.is admitted by Maury in a dozen places.
The imperfections of the system he advises are pro-
digioui, and when overcome are the exceptional
cases ; not one-tenth of the deep-sea soundings ob-
tained under it are considered reliable by Maury
himself. At a depth of one mile or two miles, with
no currents or driftings, it may be trusted. These
conditions were apparently perfectly obtained by
Captain Platt, of the Albany, in the Gulf of
Mexico ; yet, sounding twice at the same point, the
returns differed one-half. But these conditions are

hardly ever obtained. The ocean *hill of currents,
which will carry off the sounding line in immense
loops ; and in the immense ocean depths, where
the shock of the sinker striking bottom cannot be
conveyed through two or three miles of line, it be-
comes almost impossible to arrive at an approxima-
tion of its true depth. Two soundings at the same
spot will differ 50 and 100 per cent. It is this im-
potent manner of obtaining soundings that has fos-
tered the vulgar belief in the unfathomable depth
of the sea. However great are these causes of error,
they are not applicable to the little self-registering
sounding apparatus used on board of the Arctic.
It may have errors of its own, but it escapes these:;
mid on the precision of its returns will depend, in
no small degree, the success of failure of the At-
lantic Telegraph.