The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-28 00:00:00

this takes place the report of the Select Committee is
not worth the cost of the paplr on which it is
printed. •
CHRONICLE.—We publishei yesterday morning
the report of the Select Committee appointed by the
House of Commons to investigate the subject of
p tal communication between London and Peri.,
with especial reference to the vexed question of route.
The result at which the Committee have arrived will
disappoint those whose eager and one-sided z-al for
the maximum of possible speed has led them, in dis-
cussing this matter, to disregard all other than merely
geographical considerations. But persons who, like
ourselves, deem regularity and certainty essential ele-
ments of " expeditious" transit, will, we think? pro-
nounce the conclusion embodied in this document
to be the only one which an unbiassed tribunal 'could
deduce from the evidence. At all events, it cannot
be said by the advocates of the rejected route that its
advantages have been overlooked ; for not only are '
they of that obvious and palpable description which
commands the first attention of the most cursory and
superficial inquirer, but they have been practically
tested by an experiment of thirteen months' dura-
tion. If, therefore, the Committee have erred in giving
their judgment in favour of Dover and Calais versus
Dover and Boulogne, it must, at least, be acknowledged
that their mistake has arisen, not from inattention to
considerations which no men could overlook, but
simply from a miscalculation of the relative, values of
conflicting expediences. It is certainly tantalizing.
The fact is undisputed, that Paris is some sixty miles
nearer to London via Boulogne than via Calais ; and
nothing can be More provoking than to be positively
assured, on the respectable authority of a grave Par-
liamentary tribunal, that we must resign the benefit
of that superior geographical proximity for the sake of
other and more important advantages which are in-
compatible with it. If steamers could always sail as
the crow flies—if all tidal harbours were equally ac-
cessible at all hours of the day and night—if the best
fair-weather route were necessarily the best for a
mail-packet service which must be performed
with unremitting punctuality at all times
and seasons—if, in a word, a question of
this sort could always be resolved into a
mere arithmetical computation of " miles"—there
could not be two opinions about the matter. But as
it unfortunately happens that the triumphs of science
over physical difficulties have their limits—as the
question of the comparative accessibility of different
harbours is one in which, even in this age of steam,
nature still retains a voice--and as unfailing regula-
rity is a no less essential element of postal communi-
cation than rapidity—we must be prepared to content
ourselves with the best compromise that circum-
stances permit. It is from this point of view that the
Committee have considered the very important ques-
tion intrusted to them, and it appears to us that they
have exercised a sound discretion in the decision at
which they have arrived. The cardinal fact on the Ca-
lais side of the question is, that the port of Boulogne is
a remarkably bad one. The entrance to it is usually
difficult, often very dangerous, not unfrequently im-
possible, and always a matter of uncertainty. The
exit likewise is impracticable at some states of the
tide. Moreover, it is situated on an exposed and
dangerous line of coast—so that, in stormy weather,
the use of boats for the embarkation or disembarka-
tion of letter- bags or passengers is either impossible
or extremely hazardous. Hence—not to speak of
the extra expense of boat-service incurred on this
route (which is nearly eight times as much as at
Calais) —the greatest irregularities exist in the time re-
quired for transit; and as the mail trains on each side
of the Channel must, of course, be so adjusted as to
meet all except the most extreme cases of delay, the
consequence is tbat a very wide margin, fur exceeding
the actual average, has to be allowed for the passage
of the steamer. During the thirteen mouths (from
Jan. 1, 1848, to Jan. 31, 1849) that the Boulogne
-xperiment was tried, five hours was the regulation al-
lowance for the out-voyage, and six hours for the return
:rip. Yet there were no fewer than 46 occasions on
which the night mails did not reach the Boulogne
Post-office within the former period—and there were
38 instances in which the latter estimate proved in-
.ufficient. On the other band, Calais harbour is, by
common consent, safely and conveniently approach-
able in all weathers ; and it affords a sufficient
lepth of water for the packets at all hours, with the
exception of about one hour and forty minutes out of
the twelve at spring tides—whereas Boulogne is not
accessible during more than about seven hours out of
every twelve. The difference between the two ports,
in point of safety of access, cannot be more tersely
stated than in the words of one of the naval witnesses
Examined before the Committee (Captain F.Bullock),
who said—" In approaching Boulogne your dangers
are multiplied in bad weather—in approaching
Calais they are decreased." Another professional
witness went more into particulars :—" Boulogne
has a rocky coast, and from Cape Gris Nez down
towards Boulogne there are reefs which extend out
into the sea, and in the neighbourhood of those reefs
you may have four or five fathoms at one cast and the
next be on shore : that is not the case at Calais. I
do not know a more clear coast than Calais has—one
which you can more safely approach ; there is nothing
to intercept a vessel in coming from the westward
close along shore towards the port." But it is
superfluous to discuss the rationale of a fact which
no one questions. It may suffice to say, as
regards the superior safety and accessibility of Calais
harbour, that, on nine occasions during the thirteen
months' trial of the Boulogne experiment, " the
packets were unable to deliver their mails at Bou-
logne, and, to avoid further delay, proceeded to
Calais." The question of comparative regularity of
transit may also be very shortly disposed of. Al-
though the sea passage to Boulogne pier is, on the
average, only about twenty minutes longer than that
to Calais pier, the range of variation is so much
greater in the former case than in the latter, that it is
found necessary, in all Post-office calculations, to
allow one hour and a half for the difference between
the two. Thu', while five hours were allowed, during
the recent experiment, for the Boulogne voyage,
three and a half have hitherto been set down for the
Calais passage—and during the thirteen months from
February 1, 1849, to February 28, 1850, this latter
estimate was exceeded only on twenty-five occasions.
It will be seen that, while the Committee deem it
practicable to reduce the limit in each case, they still
maintain the same relative difference—the periods
being respectively fixed at four hours and a half and
three hours. Where railways are concerned, a gain
of an hour and a half in time constitutes, we need
scarcely say, a very considerable set off against a per
contra item of sixty miles in distance. On summing
up the account, as finally stated by the Committee, it
,tends as follows :
h. as. h. m.
Londcn to Dover... 2 30 London to Dover 2 30
Dover to Boulogne 4 30 Dover to Calais... 3
Boulcgne to Paris 4 45 Calais to Paris ... 6 45

11 45 1 12 15
Thus the " sixty mile?," of which so much has been
said by the partisans of the Boulogne route, dwindle
down, when fairly examined to half-an-hour; and
rrom this not very overwhelming superiority which
that route confessedly possesses, still further deductions
must be made before we can be said to have got quite
to the bottom of the question. The B mlogne line,
say the Committee, "is shown by experience to be
more exposed to delay, even with the allowance of
4h. 30m. from station to station, than the other route.
The expense for boat-service, coal, stores, wear
and tear, is estimated at one-third more than
the same service from Dover to Calais, and
the risk of serious accident to the packet is
greater.' Your Committee have it also in evidence
that the port of Calais could not well be superseded,
but would remain the port for letters for the north
of Europe, and that letters are sent twice a day at
the preseat time to Belgium and the Rhine by this
route." After this, few readers will be surprised to
learn that the Committee " having reference to ge-
neral celerity, regularity, and economy, do not re-
commend any change of route." We shall wait with
some curiosity to see what can be urged against the
facts and conclusions of this very luminous and able
report, which appears to us to be exhaustive of the en-
tire question. In the meanwhile we have only to
protest, by anticipation, against any attempt to set
aside the results
of prolonged experience and deli-
herate investigation by parading the achievem'ents of
" experimental tri.ps (as they are absurbly called),
made unier special and exceptional circumstances.
As it happens, by the way, Boulogne does not
monopolize the laurels of these " experimental" ex-
ploits
• for the express of the 31st January last, con-
veying the Queen 'a speech, reached Paris, via Calais,
in 9 hours and 32 minutes. But we lay no stress
whatever on such facts, whether on one side of the
question or on the other. These " experiment*"
prove nothing to our present purpose. They show,
of course, what is physically possible under favour-
able conditions—when the experimenter can choose
his tide, and can have special trains, on each side of
the Channel, timed for the particular occasion ; but
they do not show what is expedient and practicable
under ordinary conditions—or rather under those un-
iavourable circumstances of tide, wind, and weather,
which must be duly allowed and provided for in any
system of postal communication that is meant for
'mai' every-day use.

RESTORATION OP ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH, WAL-
BROOK. —Yesterday forenoon, a numerously attended meeting
of the ratepayers of the joint parishes of St. Stephen's, W al-
brook, and St. Benet's, Sherebog, was held in the vestry-
room of St. Stephen's Church, for the purpose of adopt-
ing measures fur the proper repair of that beautiful edifice.
The Rev. Dr. Croly, the rector, having been called to the
chair, a resolution was adopted, to the effect that a sum not
exceeing 1,0001. should be expended for the purpose of
putting into a state of decent repair the church, which is
regarded as one of the most beautiful of the products of Sir
C. Wren's genius. Previously to the termination of the pro-
ceedings Dr. Croly took occasion to congratulate the pa-
rishioners on the fact of their being at length free from debt,
having liquidated all the claims on them. The meeting
I then broke up.