The Sun.
London, England, 1829-12-07 00:00:00

litre their claims to acconitnc,;la:ion, Ind we
twist, therefore, consider what the shortest dis-
tance would be under the practical condition of
attending to the wants of
places which cannot
be overlooked. York ri.nd Newcastle. as consi-
derable towns, and still more as the centre of po.-
pillowa and industrious districts, are in this situ 1.-
Lion. We cauntyt expect that Government would
establish a line of mails to the north without re-
gard to their accommodation. We therefore
give below, the distances betwegn all the four
placeS hi both ways, with the detour ; and we
have added the distance from London to Glas-
gow, by Carlisle ; from London to Cal lisle, by
Manchester ; from Carlisle to Edinburgh, and
from Edinburgh to Glasgow :

From London Post Office to

York a ••••
Yorir to Newcastle
Newcastle to

From London to Edinburgh
by York and Newcastle..

Lond,;n to Carlisle
Carlis'e to Glasgow Cross

London to Glasgow Cross
by Carlisle

6 '
•Q
6 4
174
I 7S
914

London to Manchester
Mancllerer to Carlisle

338 f;

2614
84f

London to Carlisle by Blan-
chester

34511

1681
1004

Cu-lisle to Edinburgh
Edinburgh Register Office
to Glasgow Cross

2631

These tables supply
cuss-ion, but we shall co

76 •
} 421

1.4 *.?

'is:

8o

93
S 43i
44

23i1

3

Vi

11-Bth
I -stir
I -3d

-sth

1-.sth
I -sth

I.s?sth

1-76
.1-6th

*4th

1-4th
I-28th

ample materials for ths-
nfine ourselves Co few

general remarks.
The Toad between Edinburgh. and .Glasgow
by Uphall, Westcraiss, and Airdrie, is one of
the straightest in Britain of such a lengh, the do
four amounting only to. one 28th part at the.
most; and, upon the, supposition that the ob
ject was merely to connect two distant towns
without regard to the intermediate placeg, there.
is no doubt, that except in mountainous districts,
the excess of the actual over the true spherical,
distance, need not generally exceed- in propotl•
tion. The other road by Mid-Calder, Shotts,
and Holytown is only a quarter of a mile and a,
few yards longer. On the best English mail-
roads, such as those from London to York and
Newcastle, • the detour only amounts to 1-Bth,
though various inflections are made for the ac-
commodation of particular towns.

The most enormous detour, it will be-ob-
served,- occurs between Newcastle and Edinburgh,
where the actual line exceeds the true distance,
by no less than one-third, or 29i miles upon
911 ! Indeed the mere fact that Dunbar is
about four miles farther north than Edinburgh,
and almost exactly at the satne distance from
London, shows the matchless absurdity of the
present arrangement ! Had the problem been to
find the most circuitous possible line between
Newcastle and Edinburgh, any thing better than
the actual route by the east coast could seaoely
have been discovered.

Even in hilly districts roads may often be so
planned as to have very little detour ; witness
the line from Carlisle to Glasgow, whore the exa
cess is only 10-i miles upon 84k, or one,tiAlitlia
Iu the.line from Carlisle to Edinburgh .the
cess amounts to 17 miles upon 76, or nearly
one-fourth ! No place in North Britain seems
to have had its accommodation so little attended
to in this respect as the capital.
In direct distance Glasgow is 13i miles far.
ther from London than Edinburgh. By the road
the difference is only five miles. The detour.
from London to Edinburgh is 67 miles ; upon
the longer road from London to Glasgow t is
only 60. s. mile
_ _ _

In the London road to Carlisle the detour
greatly exceeds what is necessary, amounting to
one-fifth. It is from improvements on this part
of the line that Glasgow must look fur the best
means of accelerating its mails.

It has been state—d, as an advantage of the
road along the coast, that it is less encumbered
by snow than the roads in the interior► The fact
is, however, in all probability, directly the re,
verse, when the roads in both cases pass through
a hilly tract. The error arises from the cir-
cumstance generally observed, that mountains 10
the interior are earlier whitened with snow than

those on the coast. This arises from their being
less under the tempering influence of winds
coming from the sea; but it is equally certain
on the other hand, that in high tracts of country
the atmospheric moisture, whether it falls in the
shape of rain, dew, or snow, is most copiously
deposited on the hills nearest the sea, and dimi-
nished continually in quantity as we advance for-
wards. If the lines of road in both cases are
equally high, we have not the slightest doubt
that more snow falls at Cockburnspath than at
Carter's Fell.

We shall now mention in what direction the
shortest roads ought to run between some of
the great towns we have mentioned, as indicated
by lines drawn on Carey's map of Britain.
London to Edinburgh.—A direct line touches
or passes very near the following places.—
Bedford, Rockingham, Leeds, Allendale, Ha-
wick, Selkirk, Middleton. Direct distance 332
miles.

Newcastle to Edinburgh.—A direct line
passes very near Kirkhill, and Barrow on the
Coquet (in Northumberland), Towford, Crailing
on the Tiviot, Earlstown, Lander, and Dalkeith.
The line falls about one mile to the west of these

three places. Direct distance 912 miles. The
shortest road, therefore, at present, from New-
castle to Edinburgh, is that by Carter Fell and
Jedburgh.
Carlisle to Edinburgh.—A direct line passes
near Longtown, Carsgill, :crosses the Ettrick at
Crosslee, and the Tweed a mile west of Inver-
leithen. Direct distance 76 miles.

We shall probably return to this subject sop;1.

Two or three families residing at Shaftesbury
intend shortly to depart from that town for America. One
poor family left that place a few weeks ago, for the new
settlement on Swan River.

A few weeks ago, the ;sail-makers of Be'per
turned out, in consequence .if a reduction of pz ices made
by the manufacturers. Some of the men, tired of the
contest, have resumed their employment et the reduced
rates, and have Thereby exposed themselves to the its of
turn•outs. On Tuesday night, one of those who have
taken out work, named JONATHAN JACKSON, had fifteen
panes of his windows broken. Another, JOHN GREGORT,
was robbed of his tools, and had his bellows totally
destroyed. We understand that Gillcour had watched
his premises for several nights, in expectation that some
mischief would be done to him, and Tuesday was the first
night he had relaxed in his vigilance. We sincerely Lope
these misguided men will not proceed in this lawless
course, for it is sure to bring misery ars Datil
Reporter.