The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-05 00:00:00

14 unquestioned, and in proof of it I may state tbat the
train I returned in, being c nsiderably behind time, sva
run over the least favourable portion of their lire at the

rate of 44 mil a per hour. -
The time from Paris to London is that of the uQual
night train. If the South•Eayter❑ Railway Company
were permitted to use its discretion in conveying the
mail by Calais or Boulogue, according to the state of the
tide, the transit, when Efitcted by the latter route, would

be shortened by two hours.
I bcg here to r x.)ress my opinion, that if a small
steamer, drawing a ery light draft of water, say 2 feet
5 in., were employed to assist in taking the mails to and
from the mail strainer off the port of C4lais, on nights
when the tide does not permit her to ent-r the harbour,
much time woul Ibo economised. My impression is, that
the maintenance of such small steamer would not cost as
much as the large sum paid to the numerous boatmen
employed, and the service would be much more efficiently

performed.
The Conveyance of the Outward Mails.
Viewing the difficulty and danger attendant on de-
spatching the mail paeketi from Marseilles during the
night, and viewing also the objections which exist to
altering the present hour of departure of the mail from
London, I do not advocate the despatch of the outward
mails by special train. I desire, howev,r, to draw at-
tention to the importance of accelerating this despatch,
so as to ensure the wads being put on board the mail
pickets, and started from Mar eilles not later than 7
a in. no the second morning after their despatch from
London. Tnis is more important than would at fir,t ap-
p?ar ; because, if the packet be dest atched as above, she
is sure to reach Malta in good time on the third day, so
as to allow of her transf,rring the mails and passengers
to the steamer then waiting to receive them ; whereas,
if she is deta'ned at Marseilles, she reaches Malta during
the night of the third day, and as the steamer to which
she transfers the mails is in consequence unable to start
for mindria until next int ruing, the obvious result of
the delay at Marseilles is a detention of the mails at
Malta amounting to 12 hours,

To adr%iit of the maths being placed on board at Mar-
seilles by 7 a m., the Lyons reed Marseilles line ought to
be induced to accelerate their present night express which
now leaves Lyons at 10 30 p.m., and arrives at Mar-
seilles at 6 35 a.na.—a train which, it not delayed three-
quarters of an hour at Lyons, as is at present the cage,
and run at 35 miles per hour, would arrive at Marseilles
at 4.15 a.m., thus allowing ample time for the mails
being on board before 7 a.m. If, however, the railway
company cannot be induced to accelerate their usual
night express, then the India and China mail ought as
suredly to be forwarded by special train from Lyons to
Marseilles.
Having now gone through the leading points con-
nected with the transit through France of the India and
China mails, permit me, in cor.clusion, to observe that
I have also reported the resul'. of my ob-ervations to the
Australian General Association, and I am gratified to
he able to inform you that this body, feel!ng the subject
to which his lett,,r refers to be of the highest interest to
the Australian colonies, are solicitous to co-•'perate with
your committee, and have reedved reepectfully to press
upon the a,tenion of the Government the itnoor ance of
improving the transit of our mails through France.
I sincerely trust that their efforts, conjoined t ) your
own, supported as they will by the great mercantile
interest of the country, wi l have due weight with her
Majesty's government : and in this hope, I have the
honour to subscribe myself, sir, your most obedient ser•
vent, W. FANI DE SALIS.
Ta the Secretary of the East India and
China Association, &e
Suggestions for the Improvement of the Transit of the
E ,e.tern Ma I i through France.

I.st. The English government c airier accompanying
each overland mail to be permitted to take the English
mail bi x ls direct from the ship to the railway station at
Marseilles, and al,o to have leave to make all minor ar-
rangemeeta requisite to carry out the above operation
without delay. He is further to be allowed, weather
permitting, t ) send boata out,ide the harbour for the
mad, should the steamer arrive off the port at night, but
be unable to enter till daylight.
21. The French government to be invited to for ward
direct to the railway station, as promptly as may be,
those boxes of the cantinent4 overland mail which, being
destined to Lyons, the North of France, Belgium, &c.,
do nr.t require immediate sorting. If asmall room at the
railway station were appropriated for the use of the post
office as a bureau, the boxes could be there looked over
and separated, thus saving the delay of their transmis-
sion to the poet-office in the centre of the town.
31. A special ( xdress train to be invariably started as
soon as the English and French mails can be placed in
the railway cat-lieges. As passengers always create
delays, none to be permitted:to accompany the special ex-
press under any pretence.
4th. The English boxes to be placed in a poste arnbu-
lante, separate from the French boxes, and a proper
sorting staff to be permanently organised, so that the
mail might reach England ready sorted and fit for imme-
diate transmission into the interior.
sth. Tee special ma. I train not to be permitted to enter
the Paris station of the 1.3,-us Railway, but to he driven
direct to the station of the Northern Railway by the
Paris circular line.
'Lb. An engine to be ordered by telegraph to meet
the speci:d mail train at the junction of the Northern
Ralwo.y with the Circular Railway connecting the vari-
ous F.enet, metropolitan lines, and such engine to take
the mails in direct to C dais without change of carriag.-s.
7th. At Calais a special t.tearuer is to be in readiness
to convey the mails to Dover, wbence.they are to come
on to Loudon by ,pecial express.
Bth. The followit.g is an estimate of the time wit'iin
which the mails might be delivered in London under the
proposed improved means of transit :
..

IT. M.

Marseill?s to Paris, at 35 miles per hour,
including all stoppages, 534 miles l5 0
Stoppage at Paris 0 30
Park to Loudon, via Calais l2 0

27 30

9 h. So slot) as the construction of the branch line
iltended to connect the port of Mar.eilles with toe rail-
way is fin;shed, the maili to be started from the goods
terminus at the port, in lieu of from the present termi-
nus un the hill above the town.

THE GREAT EASTERN.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

The British have always been celebrated as a most
amphibious Taco. From the period when our uncivili-ed
and haF-naked ancestors paddled about the Thames in
their wicker coricles to the present day when our fleets
are distributed all over the globe, a nautical taste bas
been strongly developed in the English character. It is
true that aittepiarian research has failed to discover the
remains of aboriginal ship-yards under the marshes of
Poplar and Thackwall, nor have the Roman authors
c,trumunicated to poisteri y their admiration for the won-
ders of any such places as Sheerness and Portsmouth.
But though mechanical skill may have given us the means
of apOsong the national aquatic propensity to the best
possible aisaetage, yet that propensity has no less been
an essential part of the English character in all ages.
There is, a natural tendency to progress in the minds of
tnen. A small invention when first known may excite
astonishmere, and admiration, but we soon tire of it in
its original limit, and seek for it in some more extended
torm. The marvel of yesterday may be the common-
p'ace of to-day, and the laughing-stock of to-morrow.
Even the wonders of telegraphic communication have
now become stale, and we begin to consider that the in-
vention is not such a great boon after all, as it cannot
be applied to the transmission of merchandise. It is but
' a few years since we escaped from the tedious and uncer-
tain navigation of sailing ships, and hailed with delight
the application of steam power, which rendered us at once
independent of the caprices of wind and weather. Yet,
now we look upon the short sea passage to the Continent,
even when performed in the greatest steamers, as slow
and behind the age, and dre no of submarine tunnels and
fling machines to render the " through j .turney to Pars"
something mote thin a figure of speech. Even the wicker
coricles of the Brutii were, no doubt, considered won•
dory at the time of their invention, and we do not know
what odes may have been recited in their favour by the
Druids. The galleys and entail sailing slaps of the Saxons
and Normans were the next succeeding improvements.
But the asionislimeut which was excited through-
out the world in the sixteenth century by the build-
ing of a vessel of less than a thousand tons is familiar
to all who are acquainted with history. Yet vessels
of a thousand tons have become commonplace, and ships
of nearly four times the size constantly to be seen at our
seaports. But now we have arrived at a period when a
moderate increase in the magnitude of our undertakings
will not keep pace with toe spirit of the day. By dou-
bling the size of our ships we should fail to excite the sa-
tteted wonder ; a more rapid progression is necessary.
We are not now looking fora a d to the couip'etion of a
vessel twice the size of the Himalaya, or exceeding the
dimensions of the Niagara, but absolutely five !times the
itrze of the largest vessel hitherto built. There was an
observation made some time ago by an eminent nava!
authority that the limits of naval architecture as regards
size had been reached ; that it was impossible to work
vessels of greater maenitude than a firstrate lineett-
batie ship, nil ss also men of Csclopeari proportions
could be found as a crew. The difficulty is more appa
rent than real, though no one can wonder at the obsir-
vation being snide who pays a visit to the Great Best
ern. It is, indeed, impossible to conceive how that
gigantic mass can be placed udder the control of men of
the ortiinary s rusture, and we almost expect, as we
wander about the yard, to stumble suddenly upon some
of the Brobdignagians tor whom she must be intended.
Upan examining the vessel, however, we see how every
appliance is made use of that can possibly save manual
labour. Ebe may be almost considered, indeed, as a
vast automaton. Auxiliary engines are placed every-
where round the deck to perform the duty of the sailors
ender their supeitatendence. By these her anchors will
br cast and weighed, her sails spread and furled, h'er
cargo stowed and discharged, and the alai for her fires
brought into the stoke-hole ; in tact, she realises the
true idea of a steam ship. It is very t:iflicult to realise
the magnitude of the hull by a close inspection. We
see a certain amount of red Fainted iron side, which is
opposed to us, and which conveys no idea of vastness te
i3portionon
eandt which
our minds. Even if we walk :-long the side every suc-
cessiveev n s
nbuatdaegruepateetiitdioona ofof
the
e obtainpays j
ai
;rest Ea-tern in this way would be like walking two
r three times round Kensington-oval to see a mile of
tialtegs. If we go upon the deck we certainly can ob-
aiii a better notion of her, but it is onlv'done by coin-
'arisen. We stand upon an extensive plain of iron so
studded with rivets that you fancy you are wa king on
:he pathway of some old French town. In this expanse
,f iron there are some d, zen extensive gaps left open fir
perpose of fitting in the engines and b niers. By
:ooking down these apertures we see a space like a small
riaaro in de Te 123149. This we know is one of the