The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-07 00:00:00

ITALY.

The Piedmontese Gazette of the 2,1, publishes a
proclamation of the Syndic of Turin, annoucing that li
a solemn religious service would be celebrated in the
Church of the Mother of God, on the 4th of March,
the sccond anniversary of the proclamation of the
Constitution, and of the institution of the National
Guard. We find in the same paper a circular,
addressed by order of the Minister of the
Interior, to the Intendants-General of pro-
vinces, for the better organization cf the National
Guards, containing directions for the distribution of
arms to those who had not yet received any. In
the sitting of the Chamber of Deputies cf Turin,
of the Ist, Dr. Zunini moved that the Cham-
ber should celebrate the anniversary of the 4th
of March with peculiar solemnity. Dr. Polto
seconded the motion, adding that the President
should be empowered to arrange matters, so that the
Chamfer and National Guard might be present toge •
ther at the ceremony. Beth motions were agreed to
unanimously. ♦nother motion by Chenal, that the
4th of March be declared a perpetual holiday, was so
far agreed to, that the Minister of the Interior wart
instructed to present a law on the sulject. The dis-
cussion of the Bill on postal reform was then resumed,
and advanced to Art. 24.

INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
Oti Tuesday, March 5 (William Cubitt, Eq., pre-
sident, in the chair), before the business commenced,
it Kas announced by the Secretary, that an electric
telegraph despatch had been received, communicating
the gratifying intelligence that, at seven o'clock in
the morning of Tuesday, three locomotive engines
and twenty-two loaded coal waggons, neighing in all
three hundre I tons, had passed through the Britannia
tuba, over the Menai Straits, with perfect !safety, and
very saisiactory to Mr. S'ephe ison, the eigineer.
The discussion was resumed on Mr. Taylor's sys-
tem of Street Paving, and was ere nded to such a
length as to preclude the reading of any paper.
It was contend that a rigid and unyielding sub-
stratum had been tried by Mr. Telford many
years since, and bad been used with success in
some parts of the City paving, up to the present
time. The average duration of the payment of the
streets in the City was stated to be eight years, but
that it was constantly subject to injury, from being
moved by the water and gas companies. The pave-
ment on London Bridge by Sir John Rennie was
instanced as a good, but expensive, example of the use
of long narrow stones ; and that by Mr. Walker, on
Blackfriars Bridge, was quoted as another instance
of the success that might be attained by great care in
the preparation of the substratum, which was of con-
crete, and the stones of the pavement being laid with
more than ordinary skill and care. The results in
both cases were eminently successful, but it was
allowed that such an expensive system, however
beautiful, was not applicable to the ordinary streets.
It was admitted, that, although the principal streets
of the City and the main thoroughfares of the West
and East ends were well attended to, yet it must be
allowed, that the paving of the majority of the streets
was not in a satisfactory state, and it was attributed,
in a great degree, to the want of a definite
system being adopted; there being too many autho-
rities in the shape of parish paving boards, each of
which had a separate surveyor, too often equally in•
efficient and ill paid. The water and gas companies
appeared to vie with each other in their endeavours to
destroy the paving; and a portion of the Strand was
quoted as having been removed thirty times within
two years.
With respect to Mr. Taylor's system of paving, it
was contended that the Mount Sorrel granite was
a very superior material, both as regarded its
toughness and durability, and its natural structure
enabled it to be worked very advantageously into the
small cubes. The main feature of the system was the
selection of the material for the substratum, and the
careful preparation, so as to afford a sufficiently rigid,
but yet imperceptibly elastic bed, whereon the small
cube stones should rest. These stones being well
driven doa n by retested blows of light rammers,
attained a degree of solidity which defied the heaviest
traffic; and in the towns where the system was em-
ployed, considerable economy had resulted. The sur-
face of the paving appproached as nearly as possible
that of a macadamized road, affording even a safer
foothold for the horses, and with less noise of
passing vehicles. The surface possessed extraordi-
nary durability, and it might be considered as a solid
mass cf granite. It was announced that within a few
wlaoiudlddobwensuatb
jteliceteednttroanrecgesuof
lacHtraydffiec•
weeks there would be specimens of Mr. Taylor's
systempar k,w of
ere reth pavingey
of a destructive nature, and which would be under
constant observation.
A model of an improved crossing point was ex-
hibited by Mr. Duncan, of Leeds; the notch in the
rail was shown to be done away with, and the two
rails in it were so dovetailed together, as to render
any vertical motion between them impossible, thus
materially strengthening the crossing.
A piece of brickwork, set in Greave's blue lies
lime, and which had been kept under water for nine
days, was also exhibited. This material was com-
posed of one-third of lime to two-thirds of burnt clay;
and it was stated to have I:3e en used with great suc-
cess in the tunnels on the Great Northern Railway,
as well as in many hydraulic Yverke, in %Well it was
as durable as cement.
At t&'e monthly ballot for Member., the following
gentlemen were duly elected :—Mr. E. 0. Tregelles,
as Member ; and Messrs. J. A. Agnew, W. Beyer,
E. Goddard, J. D. M. Stirling, G. 13. Thorneycroft,
C. C. Williams, and Lieut. Douglas S. Galton, R.E.,
as Associates.
The next meeting was announced to take place on
Tuesday evening, March 12, when the following in-
teresting paper would be read " On Tubular Girder
Bridger," by Mr. Wm. Fairbairn, M. Inst. C.E.

RAILWAY PASSENGERS' ASSURANCE COMPANY.—
The first half-yearly meeting of this company was hold
yesterday at the offices, Old Broad-street, Mr. J. D. Paul
in the chair. The report stated that assurance tickets
both for single journeys and periods of time are now ob-
tainable on several railway% Tile directors trust that
ere long the directors of the South-Esstern, the North-
Kent, the London, Brighton, and South Coast, and the
London and South-Western Railways may be disposed,to
reconsider the appliceticns made to them, and afford the
desired facility of issuing the tickets of this company at
their ttetions through the booking clerks. The revenue
of the company to the 31st of December last produced
1,4211.; but since the Ist of January in the present year
the increase has been most marked; the directors trust
that it will go on steadily increasing, as the utility of
the company becomes more apparent. In all cases
which have receisei compensation, except two, the
claimants hate bean persons in such circum-
stances in life, that it is believed the compensation
afforded them has been both acceptable and satisfactory,
single journey tickets, issued
relief being promptly conceded, and tie amounts agreed
to without difficulty, or any I e e;sity fir recourse being
third week in February,
m osuBn6t;e
sinceA uhaelgn the
,s
tos
t arbitration. e
4097t,3
ni,nt
he
ecTme The
dn
t,
fot the compile 's business in
o je
63,343. The periodical
tick, to for the:same period amounted to 1,683. Arrange.
fir
ments have just been completed for insuring guards,
2a thin(.'-class, -c filra3sts-c, 1
2a 5c,504t70 15,710; for second clue, to
4, total, ;
enginedrivers, stokers,
and a'l :daises of railway servants
who travel. These insurances are f sums of 5001. or
2001. to be paid in crises of fatal accident, with propor-
tionate compensation for personal ii•jury, at a premium
of 1/. and 10'. per annum respectively. On the motion
of the Chaim-WI the report was adopted, the retiring
directors and auditors were re-elected, and after a vote
e
of thanks is the chairman and directors for their gratuit-
ous services the meeting separated.
t
Tue LISTON TESTIAIONIAL.—A meeting of the
subscribers to the fund fir erecting
Uxbridge,
Crickson, Ferguson,e ,
a
late Mr. Liston was held last evening in Old Burlington-
street. The Marquis of Anglesey piesidsd; there were
Lord memorial ori al
Sydney, t o
Drs.he
also
Grant, present
Forbes, th eanEdarslko4; UMx
Bransby Copper, &c. The , honorary secretary, Mr. i
George, read the report, from which t appeared that the
sum subscribed towards the object in view amounted to
only 7501., which sum was insufficient for the erection
of a statue, as originally intended; that it was therefore
proposed that four marble busts of Mr, Liston should be
executed—one. to be placed in the Royal College of
Surgeons, another in University College, London, a. hird
in the Royal Infirmary at Edinburgh, and a fourth to
be presented to the family of the deceased; and that the
residue of the money shculd go to pay for a gold medal
to be awarded annually by the Council of University
College, London, to the best proficient in surgery. The
report, and a resolution in accordance with it, were car-
ried unanimouslv, and a committee to carry out the in-
tention of the meeting., consisting of the Dukes of
Beaufort and Buccleuch, the Marquis of Anglesey, Lord
Kinraird, and Count D'OrseY, formed, after which
thanks were carried for the chairman, and the business
terminated.
Her Majesty has honoured the Orphan Working
School, Haverstcck-hill, by presenting to its fnnds the
sum of 250 guineas for the purchase of a presentation to
the insti.ution during her Majesty's lifetime. Their
Royal Highnesses the Duchesses of Gloucester and Cam-
bridge are alto among its governorr.
PHILADELPHIA, FED. 18.—Antiquarians will feel
deeply interested in the discovery of vast regions of
ancient ruins Lear San Diego, and within a day's
march of the Pacific Ocean, at the heed of the Gulf
of California. Portions of temples, dwellings, lofty
stone pyramids (seven of these within a mile sqastre),
and rciasive granite rings, or circular walls, round
venerable trscs colonies and blocks cf hiero-
glyphics—all speak of some ancient race of men
now for ever gone, their hi. t sry actually unknown to
any of tf e existing families of mankind. In some points,
these ruins resemble the recently discovered cities of
Palerque, Feca near the Atlantic or Mexioan Gulf Coast;
in others, the ruins of ancient Egypt ; in others, again,
the monuments of Phoenicia ; and yet in many features
they differ from all referred to. The discoverers deem
them to be antediluvian, while the present Indians have
a tradition of a great civilised nation which their fero
dons forefathers utterly destroyed.
The election of Lord Rector, Aberdeen, has been
made in favour of Sheriff Gordon, who had a majority
of 72 over his opponent, the author of the Latter Day
Paniplikts-41wais arly le,