The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-29 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON SATURDAY MORNING, JUNE 29, 1844.

THE NEW POST-OFFICE STAMP.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

THE ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAY.
Tne principle of atmospheric propulsion for railways
has lately assumed a degree of importance which its
previous aspect rendered it but little likely to attain.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

We find in Australian letters, recently received, and which,
from the various meetings of the proprietors of the banks
established here in connexion with the colonies, are at pre-
sent invested with some interest, the following account of an
apparently little known district in Western Australia :
"The harbour of St. George's Sound is accessible, at all
times, by vessels of the largest size, and is, in every respect,
one of the best harbours in the world. The geographical
position of King George's Sound is excellent, as it lies directly
in the track of vessels proceeding from Europe, or from the
Cape of Good Hope, to the colonies of South Australia, Port
Philip, Van Diemen's Land, and New South Wales, being,
according to the great navigator, Flinders, about 150 miles to
the eastward of Cape Leeawin ; and with the safe and ex-
cellent roadstead two harbours are connected, sheltered from
all winds, and completely landlocked—Princess Royal Har-
bour to the west, and Oyster Harbour to the north—the
former having an entrance and secure anchorage within, for
the largest ships ; but the entrance to the latter has not more
than fifteen feet at high water. Plenty of wood and good
water are to be had in either of these harbours, and also in
the sound. . It forms a most convenient place of resort for ves-
sels engaged in the southern whalefishery, or proceeding to or
from any of the settlements of Australia, whilst it possesses
every requisite for commercial purposes. In the vicinity
above-mentioned a small town was formed, and named
Albany : the district is named Plantagenet. The fine
country which commences about thirty miles north of
Albany, extends in that direction for a long distance, and is
admirably adapted for agricultural and pastoral purposes.
Much of the land hereabouts is fertile, well watered, and of a
very pleasing appearance, and it yields crops of grain, fully
equal in quantity and quality, to those produced in the best
parts of the colony of Van Diemen's Land, celebrated for
growing the finest wheat ever seen in the London corn
market. The town of Albany is, by land, nearly 300, and,
by sea, about 450 miles from Perth, the capital of the colony
of Western Australia. The intermediate country has
bees frequently traversed, and found fully equal to the
most favoured portions of Terra• Australia, or the Great
South Land. The overland journey has been much enjoyed
by many, and every person who has written on the subject
dilates, with enthusiasm, upon the beauty of the scenery, the
fineness of the climate, and the extraordinary natural ad-
vantages of this extensive and fertile region."
For the information of the reader, the distances by sea be-
tween King George's Sound and the principal settlements of
Australia, are undermentioned. From these it will appear
that the voyage from Europe, or the Cope of Good Hope,
may be made thither in less time, by three weeks or a month,
than is occupied in proceeding to Van Diemen's Land or
New South Wales, namely Miles.
King George's Sound is distant by sea, from Swan
River, Western Australia, about 450
Adelaide, South AustraliA
Port Philip, New South Wales l,BOO
Van Diemen's Land ...
Sydney, New South Wales 2,700
To prevent any misconception, it may be as well to repeat
here an observation previously made, namely, " that the
country around the shores of the harbour, and for some dis-
tance inland, is mostly poor and sandy; but the fine country
commences about twenty-five or thirty miles north of Al-
bany, extends in that direction for a long distance, and is
admirably adapted for pastoral and agricultural purposes."

you are always ready to notice in your excellent
journal any suggestion likely to promote the good of the
community, I take the liberty of recommending that means
should be taken to induce the Government to bring out a new
Post-office stamp, which might be charged an extra penny,
and be labelled " Warranted not to be opened by Sir James
Graham." This would raise a considerable revenue, and re-
store in some measure confidence with the public, which the
Post-office has lost by recent exposures.
I remain, Sir, yours,
A CONSTANT READER.
1 Sheffield, June 26, 1844.

Fcw subjects of practical science have given rise to
greater diversity of opinion than this, and three or four
professional reports upon it have lately been made.
The first, by M. Mallet for the French Government,
has proved to be so imperfect in the experiments,
and so erroneous in the statements, that although

highly laudatory of the invention, it appears to be
by common consent consigned to oblivion. A report of
a very different kind has lately been made by Mr. Ro-
bert Stephenson, and from his great experience and high
character as an engineer, his deliberate and well-consi-
dered opinion on such a subject cannot fail to carry with
it great weight. The report in question was made to
the Directors of the proposed Chester and Holyhead
Railway, and a short abstract of it will be interesting to
those whose limited knowledge of the subject may not
enable them to follow the author through all his details.
After a brief description of the apparatus, Mr. Ro-
bert Stephenson proceeds to detail the experiments he
instituted to test its powers on the Dublin and Dalkey
Railway. The apparatus consists of a pipe, 15 inches
diameter, extending the entire length of the railway ;
and along this pipe a piston passes, to which the car-
riages are attached, which moves along with them, the
motion being communicated to the piston by atmospheric

COL. STODDART AND CAPTAIN

CONOLLY.

"Merve, in the Tent of Ameer Sarog the Toorcomaun,
230 English miles from Bokhara, April 15, 1844.
" To all the Missionary Societies, all the Philanthropic So-
cieties, the Societies for the Abolition of Slavery, and all
Scientific Societies in England, France, Germany, Aus-
tria, Prussia and Russia, Sweden, Denmark, thudostan,
and America.

" My dear Friends,
" Since I left Teheraun the prospects of my finding well
and alive and free my friends Stoddart and Conolly become,
with the progress of my journey towards Bokhara, dimmer
and dimmer, and daily more cloudy. I find everywhere, it is
true, people who tell me that both are alive—and it is also a
fact that no public execution has been witnessed at Bokhara ;
and it is also true that the Khaleefa, the holy dervish of
Mowr, whose hospitable tent I left yesterday, escorted by one
of his relations and other Toorcomauns towards Bokhara,tells
me that Stoddart certainly was alive ; but it is also certain
that if they are alive, they must sigh in the miserable prison
called Harum !-=eray—a room which is close to-the room of
the harem of the Lmeer, so that there is no possibility for
them to communicate their condition to any living soul. I
therefore address to you these lines from here, where I am
detained to-day by the snow, that I shall be at Bokhara in
five or six days, if the Umeer does not send an order to stop
my progress to Char-Joo, the first frontier place of Bokhara,
and where I shall arrive after to-morrow.
"In case that you should not learn after mv arrival at
Bokhara that both Conolly and Stoddart are dead, and even
my own head has fallen by the hand of the ruler of Bokhara,
I beseech you, then, to exert all your powers for some higher
purpose, for some more noble purpose than avenging the
death of those excellent and gallant officers and other
Europeans—l mean, exert your powers, then, for the purpose
of ransoming 200,000 Persian slaves, and several Italians, as
Giovanni, the watchmaker, &c., who have been brought
there from Khorossaun and Persia; and many thousands of
those Persians have been sold for the most immoral, unren-

pressure, when the air is partially exhausted from the
pipe by a powerful pump fixed at one end of the main.
A portion only of the air can be thus exhausted from
,he pipe before the train starts ; and the remainder of the
air is then pumped out as the train moves forward, tile
velocity of the train being exactly equal to the rate at
which the air remaining in the tube is withdrawn by the
pump. The leakage of air into the partially-exhausted
tube is found to be remarkably uniform at all degrees
of exhaustion, the barometer guage falling about one
inch per minute, when the action of the pump is
stopped. As the pump, however, can only extract a
given volume of air in a certain time, it follows that
for every cubic foot of air leaking into the pipe when
the exhaustion is equal to 15 inches of mercury, two
cubic feet must be extracted by the pump in conse-
quence of the expansion of the air in the partially ex-
hausted pipe. This is one of the great fundamental
4ifficulties ; and Mr. Stephenson then goes into some
calculations based upon experiments, showing a loss of
power from this and other causes varying from 39 to 71
per cent. on the theoretical velocity. About 30 per cent.
of this loss arises from the leakage already described; and
about 41 per cent. is ascribed principally to the leakage
at the piston, which is obliged to be about one inch less
in diameter than the pipe; the aperture though covered
by an expanding cup of leather, necessarily permitting
a large quantity of air to pass in during the rapid mo-
tion of the piston along the pipe. Mr. Stephenson next
shows the actual power expended in moving trains of
different weights and at various velocities ; and by
calculating the power expended in producing the
partial vacuum :in the pipe before the train begins to
move, and the subsequent power employed while the
train is in motion, it appears that on the line at Dalkey,
which is 1 mile long, the lightest train, weighing 25i
tons, travelling at the rate of 344 miles per hour, con-
sumed a power equal to 322 horses ; and the power for
other trains varied with the weight and velocity, a train
of 58 tons with a velocity of 20A- miles per hour, requir-
ing a power equal to 506 horses. This enormous power
Mr. Stephenson divides under various heads, showing
the separate amounts consumed in producing the
vacuum, in working the train, in the atmospheric
resistance, and in the friction on the rails. A compa •
rison is then made on the expenditure of power for
working the incline on the Birmingham Railway at
Camden-town ; from which it appears that while the
loss by the atmospheric system is 74 per cent., that on
the Camden incline (worked by a rope and a fixed en-
gine) is only 45 per cent. Calculations are then made
on the cost of construction and the expense of working
a railway by locomotive engines and by the atmospheric
system. The extra cost of construction for the atmo-
spheric system Mr. Stephenson estimates at 11,000/. per
mile ; from which in certain cases some deduction may
be made for using increased gradients, and also a saving
by dispensing with the outlay required for locomotive
engines.
Mr. Stephenson's report is based on mere matters of
fact; and considering the occasion of his report, he has
very wisely abstained from entering into any abstract
theoretical questions. A very able mathematical in-
vestigation of several points connected with this
report has, however, been made by Mr. Hera-
path, which has been published in the last
two numbers of Herapatles Railway Journal. In
this investigation Mr. Herapath has developed by
mathematical analysis some most important and in-
teresting points, which clear up the apparent anoma-
lies in the experiments published by :Mr. Stephen-
son ; and he has deduced by an investigation, which
agrees completely in its results with the experiments in
question, that one great source of the immense loss
of power observed in the working of the atmospheric
railway arises from the friction of the air in the
main, which produces a constantly varying density from
one end of the pipe to the other, and causes a loss of 111
miles per hour for each mile that the length of the tube
extends. The loss of velocity by this cause only would
therefore, in a main four miles long. be 45 miles per
hour from the theoretical velocity, even if no leakage at
all occurred, leaving about 10 miles an hour as the re-
sulting velocity which could he obtained at the com-
mencement of each of the mains of four miles long.
Fewer experiments have been made on the motions of
air than on almost any other branch of science connected
with engineering ; but Mr. Herapath has quoted from a
work of high repute two experiments of a very exten-
sive character, which are nearly analogous to the subject
under consideration, and they both failed from the same
cause that he has pointed out as exerting so great an
influence in the atmospheric railway.
Professor Barlow and Sir Frederick Smith some time
' since also made a report to the President of the Board
of Trade on the atmospheric railways, in which, although
they experimented with a much less perfect apparatus,
their conclusions agree well with the facts more
recently developed. They arrived at the same
conclusion as to the great loss of power. In
Mr. Stephenson's experiments the power of the engine
is calculated at the usual amount of 33,0001 b. raised
one foot high as the unit of a horse's power. The state-
ments made by the advocates of the atmospheric system
have all shown an expenditure of power enormously be-
low these amounts stated by Mr. Stephenson ; and it
was not until the recent examination of witnesses in
the Committee of the House of Commons on the subject
of this invention, that it was elicited from them that
all the calculations of the horse's power were made
by using 66,0001 b. as the unit, thus reducing the
power nominally to one-half its real amount. That a
mode of calculation so totally different from anything that
had ever been used before should have been thus adopted
without the fact being so stated, when the object could
merely be to exhibit the invention in a more favourable
light than it would otherwise appear in, is calculated to
throw a strong suspicion over the other statements made
by the same parties ; and, indeed, these experiments of
Mr. Stephenson have clearly shown that many of the
statements which have been made in favour of the in-
vention are not to be relied on, and are at variance with
the facts in some most important particulars.
Were the difficulties which attend this invention purely
mechanical, they would be comparatively unimportant ;
for such is .the state of mechanical science at the
present day, that nothing seems impossible for it to
accomplish. But this invention appears to have far
greater difficulties to contend with ; for, unless the
experiments and deductions of some of the most
scientific and practical men of the day are erroneous,
the laws of nature are against its success, and those
who are urging upon so impoverished a company as that
of the Croydon Railway such an enormously expensive
experi&nt, are incurring a responsibility of no ordinary
character. It should also be observed, that Sir James
M`Neil has within these few days made a report on the
Atmospheric Railway, in which he arrives at exactly the
same conclusion as Mr. Robert Stephenson, of its inappli-
cability to the ordinary purposes of railway communica-
tion.— Times.

tionable use to Bokhara arid its neighbourhood. They are not
black slaves, but white slaves. And I also beseech you to
learn, should you hear of my own execution, that there was
a Jew who has been enabled, by God's grace, to expose his
life for the purpose of saving the lives of Gentiles.
"And you, noble relations of my beloved Georgiana, should
you hear that my head has fallen at Bokhara, be kind to my
wife, and to my dear son, Henry Drummond Charles Wolff.
" Your affectionate friend,
" JOSEPH WOLFF, LL.D., D.D.,
" (late Curate of High Hayland, in *orkshire)."

THOMAS CAMPBELL.—The remains of this great
poet will be interred in the Poets' Corner, in West-
minster Abbey, on Wednesday next, at half-past eleven
in the forenoon. The noblemen and gentlemen attend-
ing the funeral, as a mark of respect to his memory,
will assemble at the Abbey at a quarter past eleven
o'clock. The funeral procession will enter at the west
door. The Ate poet, in his will, mentions two articles
as the " jewels of his property." These articles consist
of a silver bowl, presented to him by the students of
Glasgow when he was Rector of that University, and a
copy of the engraved portrait of Queen Victoria, with
her Majesty's autograph to it, given to him by her
Majesty.
MISS CLARA SEYTON'S LECTURE ON COMEDY.—
Miss Seyton repeated her lecture on comedy on Tuesday
evening last, at the Princess's Concert-room. She was
much applauded throughout, many of her songs were
encored, and that excellent song " The Mayp )le," nar-
rowly escaped a double encore. Notwithstanding the
unfavourable state of the weather, the room was crowded
to excess.

WRECK OF THE MANCHESTER
STEAMER.
The loss of the Manchester steamer, running between
this port and Hamburgh, has created a degree of pain-
ful excitement, only second to that occasioned by the
melancholy loss of the Pegasus, twelve months ago.
The Manchester, however, being foreign built, and for
the most part manned by foreign seamen, it has hap-
pened that only one or two residents of Hull were on
board during her outward voyage.
There is one very m,elancholy point of resemblance
between the ill-fated transatlantic steamer the President
and the loss of the Manchester, viz., that in both vessels
every soul on board alike perished. The cause of the
fearful disaster which has just befallen the Manchester,
can only therefore be matter of conjecture.
The evidence before us is far too slight to warrant any
imputations upon the care or skill of Captain Dudley.
We are, however, irresistibly reminded of a passage in a
letter written by Sir John Barrow, by command of the
Lords of the Admiralty last year, in which their Lord-
ships express an opinion that " inattention to the reckon-
ing, stupidity about the lights, running in thick weather,
neglecting to allow for tides, bad compasses, and, above
all, laziness in not heaving the lead, will amply account
for every wreck on record." We should not be,justified
in saying to which of these causes the loss of the Man-
chester is owing, or indeed that it is attributable to any
of them. The deviation of the needle in steam-vessels
has been known to vary from 3 deg. to 18 deg., and is
therefore a not unfrequent source of error in the reckon-
ings of steamers.
Whatever the cause, the public have the strongest
possible interest in having a full and searching investi-
gation instituted into all the facts, so far as they can be
ascertained.
We believe that a sharp competition has, during the
last two or three months, been carried on between the
foreign Company to whom the Manchester belonged,
and the owners of the Hull steamers trading to Ham-
burgh. The results of this rivalry have been indeed
that the rates of freight upon goods, and the fares of
passengers have been greatly reduced, and have
been a secondary matter with both Companies,
in comparison with the struggle as to which
vessels should engross the, greatest share of
goods and passenger traffic. We have no reason to
think that the dispute's between the two Companies and
the reductions in their rates of charges upon bale and
other goods, have been accompanied in any 'case, by
overloading their vessels, so as to diminish their
efficiency as sea-boats. Nor are we justified in assert-
ing that the rivalry between the two Companies has
been so far shared by their respective captains, as to
have led them, in their desire to make quick voyages,
to neglect any precautions necessary to safety, such
as running in thick and stormy weather, &c. It
would tend, however, to satisfy the public mind, and
to place the Hull steamers right with the public, if
an inquiry embracing these and other points con-
nected with the Manchester were set on foot. The
steamers engaged on the Hull and Hamburgh station are
splendid boats, and their owners are deeply interested in
convincing the public that the route from this port to, the
Elbe is not only the shortest, but the safest. If the re-
sult of inquiry afford reasons to believe that the deplo-
rable fate of the Manchester, her crew, and passengers,
is, humanly speaking, and in all probability, attributable
solely to the severe stress of weather, and not to Any
want of competency or care in the master, or priVer
equipment in the vessel.
We ought perhaps to add that, so far as we can learn,
the opinion among nautical men is, that the ship 'was
a-head of her reckoning, probably from having misealcu-
lated the effect of the wind upon her.—Eastern Comities
Herald.

HOXTON SOCIAL FRIENDS.—On Thursday even
ing last, the first quarterly supper of this highly respectable
Harmonic Society took place at the Monmouth Arms Tavern,
Singleton- street, Hoxton, on which occasion a numerous and
respectable party of gentlemen partook of an excellent sub-
stantial supper, served up in Mr. Shannon's proverbial good
style. Messrs. S. W. Burgess and J. Smith officiated as
chairman and deputy, and were supported by Dr. Pickering,
Messrs. Saunders and Hurnell, licensed victuallers. The
chairman, after the health of the Queen had been drank with
due honours, in a neat speech, proposed " Success to the
Hoxton Social Friends," which was received with much ap-
plause. The healths of the chairman, deputy, and Mr. Shan-
non, the respected .ho3t, were severally responded to with
great enthusiasm. The party broke up at a late hour, highly
entertained with the evening's amusement, and longing for
another opportunity of similar enjoyment.
THE ROYAL MlNT.—Since Monday the employes
of this establishment have been busily engaged in strikins off
a considerable quantity of new sovereigns and half-sovereigns
on account of tke Bank of England, preparatory to the pay-
ment of the July dividends, which will be in the course of
settlement in the Rotunda on the Bth of July. A very large
amount, both in gold and silver, has also been struck for Go-
vernment during the last fortnight,
STRANGE OCCURRENCE AT BRIGHTON.—A good
deal of interest has been excited in the town by an
assault upon the Rev. Mr. Vaughan, officiating mi-
nister of Christ Church, and Mrs. Vaughan, by a
woman who is labouring under an impression that the
Reverend Gentleman is her husband. The female's
name is Jane Matthews, and the facts are briefly
these :—Last Sunday morning, as the Reverend
Gentleman and his lady were proceeding to church,
Miss Matthews walked up to them and struck at Mrs.
Vaughan with her parasol. The blow inflicted a wound
in her face, from which blood flowed. Mr. Vaughan
turned his attention to Mrs. Vaughan, and the woman
escaped. In the evening Miss Matthews attended
Christ Church, and as the reverend gentleman was
leaving his desk she rushed towards him, evidently
with a view of assaulting him, but, on being observed
by the clerk and beadle, she was secured and taken
to the Town-hall. Mr. Vaughan subsequently took oat
a summons against her, and the case came on for
hearing on Wednesday, before the magistrates at the
Town-hall, when the above facts were stated by Mr.
Vaughan, who also added that the defendant had fre-
quently, called upon him, and sent him letters addressed
"James, Bishop of Jerusalem." After an examination
which lasted two hours, and in which it was evident the
unfortunate female was labouring under aberration of
mind, the magistrates adjourned the case till Thursday,
and in the meantime she was to be examined by some
medical gentlemen as to the state of her mind.
COMMITMENTS FOR ARSON.—CA.MBRIDGESHIRE.—
The following prisoners have been committed to the
Castle during the week on charges of arson, viz :
Robert Murrell, John Robinson, Samuel Baker, Joseph
Dorrall, and George Fairhead, by J. S. Tharp,
and J. Dobede, Esqrs., charged with having, on the 14th
inst., at Snailwell, unlawfully set fire to a haulm rick,
the property of James Gittus, whereby the said rick,
together with two barns, three lodges and other pro-
perty adjoining were destroyed. The above five men
are railway labourers and strangers to the county.—
William Fuller and Robert Munson, of Burwell, la-
bourers, by the same magistrates, charged with having,
on the Bth instant at Burwell, unlawfully set fire to a,
certain stack of straw, whereby a barn and other build-
ings adjoining the roperty of Charles Phillips, gent.,
were destroyed.--Essex Herald.
GENERAL AVITARILE.—GeneraI Avitabile, who has
recently arrived in Europe, after a long service in the Punjaub,
and is now in London, bad the honour of waiting on the
Duke of Wellington, at Apsley-house, on Thursday, the 20th
instant. The General had a very gratifying reception from
the illustrious Duke, who is well aware of the important
services rendered by him to the British Government while
he tilled several high offices under the Sikh Government of
Lahore, especially during the whole period from the first
entrance of the British troops into Affghanistan to their final
retirement. General Avitabile, who was then governor of the
Sikh frontier province of Peshawur, rendered the most es-
sential assistance, employing all the resources at his dis-
posal in support of the British Generals, affording cordial
aid to the sick and wounded men, and welcoming the officers
with princely hospitality. When General Pollock was sent
to retrieve our lost honour in Affghanistan, the success of the
expedition depended much on the good faith and hearty co-
' operation of our Sikh allies, and it is extremely doubt-
ful whether the good intentions of the Lahore Go-
vernment would have been efficiently carried out in the
distant province of Peshawur had a native governor ruled
there instead of this gentleman, whose European feelings
never deserted him even while he discharged with scrupulous
fidelity his duty towards his adopted country. The officers
of the army of the Indus presented the General with a piece
of plate in recognition of the kindness which he lavished on
every dependent of the British Government who passed
within the province under his rule. The Supreme Govern-
ment of India have very handsomely acknowledged their
obligations to him. On his arrival at Naples his own Sove-
reign received and treated him with marked consideration,
as did the King of the French at Paris; and now that he is
in England, it is to be hoped that he will not meet with a
less hearty greeting from those whose privilege it is to be the
medium of public gratitude for important public services,
however distant the scene of their performance. We are
happy to say that the General, who was absent from his
native country (Naples) twenty-eight years, is in the enjoy-
ment of excellent health, having fortunately retired, with
a handsome fortune, from the service of the Lahore Govern-
ment before the occurrence of the calamitous events which
have lately caused so much distraction in that country.—
Morning Post.
MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT AT THE FALLS OF CLYDE.
—On Saturday last, a most melancholy accident took
place near the Falls of Clyde. On the morning of that
day a small party of friends left Glasgow for the pur-
pose of visiting the Falls and spending a holiday,
among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Walter Baxter, of
Buchanan-street. After having seen the two lower
Falls, the party separated, one: portion proceeding up-
wards to visit the Bonnington Fall, while Mr. and Mrs.
Baxter and a friend remained • behind. They seated
themselves on the banks of the ,river, 'waiting the return
of their friends, when Mrs. Baxter expressed a wish to
see Wallace's cave, which was below, and in the imme-
diate vicinity. She accordingly went to the spot, accom-
panied by the friend already alluded to, and having sur-
veyed the locality, requested that he would call her hus•
band to participate in the sight. Leaving Mrs. Baxter
seated by the river's brink, the gentleman retired a few
paces to call her husband, and, bn his return, he found
that in the very, brief interval that had elapsed, Mrs.
Baxter had disappeared. Whether the unfortunate lady
had fainted and unconsciously-fallen from the top of the
rock, or whether she had risen and approached too near
the brink and fallen into the flood, must for ever remain
a mystery—for the only trace left behind her was
her handkerchief, lying upon the rocky seat which
she had occupied when her friend proceeded to call her
husband. A search was immediately made for the body
which was not, however, discovered till early the follow-
ing (Sunday) morning, and within a few yards of the
place where the accident happened. Mr. Baxter had
been married only nine months before.
The crop of tnelons and pumpkins this year at
Havering estate (Captain Walker a) has been estimated at
seventy to eighty tons. The pumpkins are of a very fine
sort, would not only keep well hence to England, but be
found an admirable article of sea stock.—Austratian Paper.

CRICKET.—The wetness of Tuesday prevented; the
renewal of the match between the Marylebone Club and
Ground v. the West of England, with A. Mynn, Esq.,l and
three players, but the fineness of Wednesday caused the, full
muster of the parties at Lord's at an early hour. It will be
remembered that upon the first innings the West of Eng-
land headed the Club by sixteen runs, and that four o the
wickets of the former were down at the termination o the
play on Monday evening for a very few runs ; amongst t,hem
those of Pilch, Mr. Mynn, Martingell, and H. Kingicote,
Esq. The play was resumed on Wednesday, when. the
Marvlebone Club won by two wickets.
STEAM-BOAT PIER AT VAUTHALL•BRIDGE:—A
steam-boat pier is now in course of erection at Vauxhall-
bridge. It is on the city side of the bridge, and will project
from about the centre pier. It will be similar in most re-
spects to the one erected at Southwark- bridge, but the pas-
sengers instead of descending through the bridge to theyier,
will approach the latter by a circular staircase, built op the
outside of the structure, and supported on piles. It is to be
opened in the autumn, and its cost will be 800 L The bridge
will, as is the case at Southwark, be toll-free to passengers.
STASISTICS OF CAB DRIVERS, &c.—From some do-
cuments recently prepared for the Home Missionary Society,
it appears that there are in the metropolis 347 watermen em-
ployed upon the various cab stands, 1,793 omnibus conduc-
tors, 1,662 drivers of cabs, and 4,546 drivers of hackney
coaches and omnibuses, making a total of 8,348 men, or with
their families, 20,000 persons, living by the conveyance of
passengers in and around London. One of the cabmen has
recently endeavoured to reform the character of his brethren,
and, in the manner of a missionary, has visited 178 stands,
has had religious converse with 2,156 drivers, afforded spi-
ritual and temporal relief to 106 sick drivers of verious
vehicles, and distributed 3,010 tracts.
Lord Viscount Lifford and family, the Rev. D.
Stewart, and the Rev. W. Bathurst, embarked on Thursday
morning on board the General Steam Navigation Conrpany's
steam-ship Soho, at Blackwell Pier, for Antwerp.
THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT ON HAMPSTEAD
HEATu.—Yesterday Mr. Mills, Deputy Coroner for Riddle-
sex, held an inquest at the Yorkshire Grey, Hampstead
Heath, on the body of a young man named Benjamin
Preston, who was drowned in one of the ponds near the above
place on Sunday last. From the evidence of the parents of
the deceased, it appeared that on Sunday last he went with
a pic-nic party to the Vale of Health, Hampstead, and Alined
there at one o'clock. The deceased, who was in the highest
spirits, then saw some men and boys bathing in one of the
ponds, and expressed a wish to go into the water himself
His friends endeavoured to induce him to remain with them,
but he was determined he said to have a bathe, and Leaving
them to walk about and amuse themselves on the heath, he
undressed and went into the water. Suddenly he railed a
cry of distress, and sunk before the slightest available assist-
ance could be rendered. A young man advanced towards
him a few yards, but like the deceased was unable to swim,
and was afraid to venture farther. His body was not found
until nine o'clock, when it was pulled up by means of a rake
drag. Several of the jury commented upon the indecency of
bathing in a place so public, and where so many females are
constantly passing. A great many persons had been drowned
in those ponds, and they thought that the " Vale of Death"
would be a much more appropriate name for such a place,
than the " Vale of Health.-'—Verdict, " Accidental death."
INCREASE OF THE .SMALL-PDX.—The progress of
this direful disease has lately been much on the increase. It
is stated in the statistical report of the health of the me-
tropolis that, during last week, the number of deaths aris-
ing from small-pox in the metropolis alone amounted to no
fewer than forty-seven. This extensive mortality is gene-
rally prevalent amongst infants under two months old.. The
Poor-law Commissioners have addressed circulars to the
parochial officers of the metropolitan parishes, calling upon
them to give every publicity to the provisions of the Act of
Parliament, which requires the vaccination of infants and
children in order to prevent the progress of the infectious
disease, and for which purpose medical gentlemen are ap-
pointed to various districts of every parish, who perform the,
vaccine operation gratuitously. The increased spread of the
disorder can only be attributable to the lax manner in which
the legislative enactment is obeyed.
the
n eTc The
nletters and papers received from the provinces
ohwavilel, inintmanyhe operated
most like
yesterday remove all apprehension about the further conti-
nuance of drought. The rain has now visited every part of
more or less copiously, and the impulse given to
previously parched vegetation is described in many cases
t
immagiminc.entTdhaenbgaerrleoyf
aclrmopo,B
t totalwhic fail_ h was
considered
ire,
districts, not only be saved, but in all
pro-
bability will yet reach an average. As to the wheat crop
there was at no period any ground for alarm, as has been
manifest by the cautious proceeding of the houses engaged in
the foreign corn trade, who have the most extensive means of
procuring prompt and correct information. The alarmists
have, therefore, but faint hopes of their -predictions being
realised, that before the end of the year the money market
would be dery aged by the extent of foreign importation.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A STOCK.-EXCHANGB IN
GLasoow.—The share-brokers of Glasgow have just
formed themselves into a society, under the title of" The
Glasgow Stock-Exchange Association." The vast
amount of business transacted in this city in stocks has
rendered such an association, more particularly of late
years, a decided desideratum ; and there can be no doubt
that it will prove highly advantageous to the public. An
accredited list of prices, founded on the usual transac-
tions of the association, will be regularly furnished to
the members and to the different newspapers, and any-
thing like misrepresentation as to the value of shares, for
dishonourable or jobbing purposes, will thus be effec-
tually checked.—Glasgow Argus.
THE SWORD FISH.—Mr. Fleming, one of the
owners of the Royal Archer of Glasgow, has left at our
office, for a few hours, for the inspection of the curious,
a piece of the timber belonging to that vessel, with the
horn or sword of a sword fish sticking in it to the ex-
traordinary depth of 14 inches. This monster of the
deep seems to have come in contact with the Royal
Archer, on its homeward voyage from Ichaboe, and
struck the bow of the vessel with such extraordinary
violence, as to force its weapon through two plates of
copper and upwards of a foot into the timber, where it
was broken off, either by the: violence of the shock, or
the desperate efforts of the fish to recover its liberty.
It was most fortunate that the weapon remained in the
bow of the vessel, for it had made an opening, which, if
not plugged up in that manner, would probably have
sunk it.—Liverpool Times.
THE WEATHER IN DERBYSHIRE.—We have at last
been favoured with a fall of rain, which has already
worked a wonderful alteration on the face of nature.
The hay harvest in this neighbourhood may be said to
be at a stand still, as most parties are anxious to reap
the benefit of the present rain, but we are afraid in
many instances the grass had been so thoroughly burnt
up that it will never recover. On the other hand the
wheat, oat, barley, bean, and potato crops are evidently
receiving immense benefit from the rain ; and although
in many cases they are irreparably injured, in others
there is great promise of abundance.—Derby Mercury.
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—A DISEASED STOMACH.—
CURE EXTRAORDINARY BY HOLLOWAY'S PILLS.—Mrs.
Aikins, widow of the late Captain Aikins, residing at
Connaught-terrace, Edgeware-road. This lady had
been in India, where her liver and stomach became dis-
eased, so much so that she could scarcely keep the
slightest food on her stomach. She was very weak and
debilitated, and suffered continually from sick headache,
a nervousness, and lowness of spirits. In six weeks,
however wonderful it may appear, she was restored to a
high state of health by this unrivalled medicine, which is
a certain remedy in all liver, bilious, and stomach coin-
plaints.—Sold (also Holloway's Ointment) at Professor
Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand (whore advice
may be had gratis), and by almost all respectable Ven-
dors of Medicine throughout the civilised world.