The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-21 00:00:00

ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAY.
Extract from the Report of Sir Frederick Sr, '+h
and Professor Barlow, to the Earl of Ripon, on Ui
application of the atmospheric principle in producing
locomotion on railways :
" The experiments which have been tried at Worm-
wood Scrubs have proved the practicability of giving
motion to considerable loads at a maximum velocity
of 40 miles per hour.

44 On the Bth August, 1840, we were present at
experiments, when a load of 13 tons was thus pro-
pelled, and a mean velocity obtained in the first expe-
rnnent of 20 miles per hour, and in the second expe.
rim ent of between 19 and 29 miles per hour.
66 On the 12th and 14th of January, 1842, in ac-
cora:ice with your Lordship's instructions, we insti-
tuted certain other experiments, when the maximum
velocity obtained with a load of five tons was, in one
set of experiments, 26, and in the other set, 40 miles
per hour.
" It is, therefore, as above observed, no longer a
question whether trains of carriages may be worked
by means of atmospheric pressure ; the points now
to be decided are—

" Ist. Whether this principle admits of its being
advantageously applied to greater distances than half
a mile, which is the length of the present experi-
mental line.

" 2ndly. The probable expense of constructing a
ranway on this principle, and of supplying the. loco-
motive power.

" 3raly. The relative economy in working such a
line, as compared with a railway worked by locomo•
tive engines.

" 9thly. The degree of safety-which the atmo6phe-
ric sys tem affords, as compared with other locomotive
means,"

After stating their views on the subject, and de-
scribing the mode of inquiry, they came to the fol-
lowing resolutions :

" Firstly, That we consider the principle of atmos-
pheric propulsion to he established, and that the eco-
nomy of working increases with the length and dia-
n.'eter of the tube.
." Secondly, That the expense of the formation of
the 1:;ne in cuttings, embankments, bridges, tunnels,
and will be very little less than for equal lengths
of a ra;
.•ay to he worked by locomotive engines, bu t
r a,
i 1::
that the to.fal cost of the works will be much greater,
owing to tiexpense of providing and laying the at-
mospheric t.%bt'. and erecting the stationary engines.
That the expense of working a line on
this '"pirhi Thirdly, e ,
(Ali which trains are frequently passing,
will be less than working by locomotive engines, and
that the saving thus effected will in some cases more
than compensate for the additional outlay; but it will
be the reverse on lines of unfrequent trains. How-
ever, there are many items of expense of which we
have no knowledge And can form no opinion, such as
the wear and tear of pistons, valves, &c. ; on these
further experience is necded.

" Fourthly, That with proper means of disengaging
the train from the piston, fe cases of emergency, we
consider this principle as regards safety equal to that
appertaining to rope machinery. There appear, how-
ever, some practical difficulties in rege,rd lo junctions,
crossings, sidings, and stoppages at roa d stations,
which may make this syF.tem of less general application.
"We may add that the atmospheric principle seems
to us well suited for such a line as the projected ex-
tension from Kingstown to Dalkey is represented to
he, but we should have been glad if this line had been
three miles, instead of only one mile and three-quar-
ters in length, as it would have then brought this
principle to a more complete and decided test."

OPINIONS IN SCOTLAND.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Glasgow, 7th March, 1842.
SIR,—For a few days after learning the extent of
corruption in high places, the Scotch remained as it
were staggered and confounded, worn out by the ex-
ertion they had already made, and each man asking
his neighbour what is to be done now ? but lam re-
joiced to announce through you to our London
friends, that the battle-cry is once more rising through
the length and breadth of Scotland, and, with a spi-
rit of determination worthy of the people who main-
tained their liberties against England for five centu-
ries, although beaten in every pitched battle, save the
crowning one of Bannockburn.
In the first place traitors are to be called to ac-
count. Stirling has shown the example : Lord Dal-
meny was returned for the Stirling district of
Burghs, against the wish of the Dumfermline electors,
who never trusted him solely by Totes from the town
of Stirling. Ile was so elected upon a written pledge
to vote for the total and immediate repeal of the
Corn-laws ; he has broken it, and the first four names
open a requisition about to be presented for his resig-
nation, from the Stirling electors who voted for him,
are those of the four Bailies or Magistrates of Stirling.
A similar dose is in preparation by Edinburgh for
Babington Macaulay.
In Glasgow our Members both did their duty, and
Oswald, in prsticular, although drawing his
whole income, about 20,000/. per annum, from land,
seconded Mr. Villiers' motion ; but here also the ex-
citement is such that the declaration in favour of
" Manhood Suffrage" has been subscribed by
eleven Justices of the Peace, some of them the pro-
prietors of manufacturing establishments, amongst the
largest in Britain. The sentiment everywhere heard
is—" no representation, no taxation." "If by im-
posts on the necessaries of life all are taxed, all should
vote in the election of the body who impose these
taxes."

It is also an ominous sign of the times that the nu r:ers
and seconders of toe resolutions at the " Sturge M act-
inga" are everywhere Dissenting clergymen. At:the
Edinburgh meeting four clergymen spoke, at I illoa
three, at Paisley three Dissenting and one stabli shed
Church clergymen, and at Airdrie three. At the
Glasgow meeting, which will be held in a few days,
several will come forward.
One-third part of the whole population of Paisley
is supported by public charity. The funds are .ex-
hausted ; they have been unable to obtain farther as-
sistance in England, and so have entered into a third
local subscription, which has only yielded 9001., or
one week's supply. The people will be starving im-
mediately, and when starving, desperate. Let the
landlords know that when the moment arrives, th ere
will not be wanting those who will point the finger to
them as the cause of the evil. In fact, the manuiSlc-
turers here, when solicited for subscriptions, already
answer—" We see no prospect of being able to main-
tain ourselves and families. We cannot help you ;
go to the landlords ; they have caused and profit by
the evil."
Do not let Sir Robert Peel, the landlords,
or fund-holders, deceive themselves ; there is a feel-
ing of exasperation abroad, which could hardly be
surpassed, even in France at a celebrated epoch.
Already, in rwmerous instances, have the bonds of
private friendship been severed, and men come to re-
gard as personal enemies all who maintain or speak in
favour of laws which threaten the existence of them-
selves and families. _ _

Lord John Russell's late speech has been received
here with marked reprobation. The response to it
has been—" Woe unto those who call evil good, and
good evil." " Woe unto those who cry peace, peace,
while there is no peace !" " Though hand join in
hand, yet shall not the wicked go unpunished."
There are few of those who fire bullets at the effigy
of Sir Robert Peel, •or shout when they see
dangling in the air at the end of a rope, who do not
wish, and if they saw a hope of success, would not try
to convert representation into reality.

SOUTHAMPTON, MARCII 18.—The West Indian
Company's steamer Isis will convey the Mexican and West
Indian Mails from England on the first of next month. She
is expected at this port in a few days. The Dee is not
yet arrived, although she has been expected for the last
three days. The Great Liverpool will be relieved from •
quarantine, which she is performing at the Motherbanks
on the 20th inst. She has brought an unusually large number
of passengers this voyage. One of the passengers is Captain
Gifford, R.N., a gallant and fortunate young officer, who has
been repeatedly praised for his skill and bravery in the Chinese
war, in the despatches of the General and Admiral command-
ing in China. Captain Gifford is the son of Admiral Gifford,
an old an estimable inhabitant of Southampton.

On the morning of the 6th inst., writes a, corres-
pondent at Berlin, 18 men 8 women, and several children, of
from 10 to 14 years old,' underwent the ceremony of bap-
tism by immersion in the Lake of Rummelsburg, about a league
from Berlin, although the water was covered with tr. thin coat
of ice, and the wind blew very strong from the .Wort-east.
The ceremony was presided over by M. Lhemann, o.ne of the
most celebrated engravers of the Prussian capital, who, during
a late visit to London, had been ordained a minister of the
Anabaptists. lie commenced by
.delivering a long disccurse
on a text taken from the Apoenrypha. The catechumons
then retired into two tents, one for the males, the other for
the females. There they stripped themselves of all their gar—
ments, and put on a long white linen bathing-gown, in which/
they re-appeared on the border of the lake, and having bowedl
to their pastor, plunged into the water. The minister himself',
who had also undressed himself, and put on a black linen
gown, followed them into the lake, and submerged each seve-
ral times. The whole then returned again to the tents, and •
dressed themselves in their ordinary clothes. The spectators
were wry numerous.
There is no political news of the slightest interest ,
in the Madrid Journals of the 9th inst. The Castellano gives
a proclamation published by General Rodil at Victoria on the
sth, in which he announces his determination of punishing
with great severity all persons attempting to seduce the troops
from their fidelity, or otherwise plotting against the Govern. •
rnent. The proclamation offers pecuniary rewards for the
denunciation of such offenders, or the arrest of Spanish re-
fugees returning to Spain without permission from the autho-
rities. A Madrid letter states that a modification of the Spanish
Cabinet is generally expected to take place speedily.
A frightful accident occurred in Wombwell's show
of wild beasts at Stamford on Friday night last, owing to
litre
indiscretion of a person in a state of intoxication. Aboube
o'clock, Mr. Francis Martin, farmer, of Ufford, after
onern g
repeatedly cautioned that his teasing a veryor_ti
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Mercury.