Thibodaux minerva. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 18??-1858, 1855-12-29
Silver taken from Paving Stones.

n1utd IL
new discovery of turning pavingsto into silver
IN not start back in incredclous establishment; it
is perfectly authentic, perfectly practicable - it
would seem Paving stones that unworthy. lgnob'e
nsurrectionary pave that first and worst element
of barricades is to be converted into plate, anu
driven from the streets bv MAdam. is to figure on
the table, 1t will be argued that there was no
need for any further production OF piate sif'ee e
electrotype gold and silver, invented by hnciz' ~
kneton, Christohe, and so many others, ana 'hat
the precious metals have, by these processes oeen
rendered quite common, and quite attanapie enough,
But that is not all the utility of silver ana goa to
the former especially and upon the feasibility Oh
facilitating the circulation of silver money runs the
chief part of NJ Plee's long article in the Stecls.
He starts from the necessity of producing an equi-
librum between the two metals, gold and silver,
and saws that such an equilibrium, wanting totally
Of the present month since the influx OF gold from
california and Australia, is of the utmost import
ance for trade and Mr. Plee remarks, justly enough,
that the advanced state of science will assuredly
not leave US in the impossibity of supplying the,
void left by the insufficient yield OF silver; and
that we shall end either by extracting silver else
where than from silver mines, or by discovering
new metals to take its place.
"There are for instance" observes Mr.. Plee,
"new metals noble and beautiful as the old ones
hitherto held to be not reducible, which are now
a,erfectly reduced, and which, for fabrication OF
every object till now fabricated in silver would be
a complete equivalent for it; and thus allow it to
be exclusively consecrated to the money circua-
ton" Aluminium has as we already know, been
the object OF considerable attention to men OF
science, and no doubt, its uses will be great and
stand US in good stead but there is just now an
other discovery that is more curious still, and the
success whereof would appear likely to be estab-
ished. The use OF stone is growing less ever since
asphalte, macadam, and iron having superseded it,
and the hard solid paving stone is being more ne
elected every day. "Now," says Mr.. Plee, eff
one was to declare at once, and without any pre-
amble that paving stones were productive OF a
metal scarcely in any way distinguishable from
silver; that saucepans plates, forks and spoons
were to be got out of block of free stone, one
should probably be numerically laughed at, yet
such is the case, the pave does contain metal, as
beet roots contain alcohol and sugar. nothing can
be more true" Mr.. Plee follows up his assertion
by the ensuing curious details. "Take thick
lump of freestone Or quarzeouS Slick reduce 1t to
powder; mix this slick when pulverized with
sufficient quantity of alcali fuse it-you will OBJ
tain a soluble glass that you can dissolve so as to
precipitate the silicum it contains in the shape OF
jelly You then take this last product and have it
filtered, then re-dsoved second time in a cyanur
ated lixivium, so as to produce compound cyan
uret This operation will give you fluid, whence
there then only remains to extract the metal called
silicum. Plunge into this liquid your utensils,
whether of COOPER, iron, zinc, tin Or lead; bring
the electric process to bear upon them properly,
and they will instantly be covered with the adj
herent plating Of silicum, which is as white as
silver and attains to the highest degree of lustre
under the polisher's hand"
IT, 60 ~, ,f t1o, ,,,,o
invented this new metal, and has according to the
account given by Mr. Plee, spent years in indefati-
gable research; nor does the slicium appear to be
the only substitute for silver he has discovered;
two or three others are equally mentioned by Mr..
Plee. The silcium, however seems to be so hard
to distinguish from silver, that learned French
chemist has already presented to the Academy of
Sciences report on the necessity of devisng fresh
methods of analysis, in order to distinguish be-
tween the two metals, which is which. "Other
chemists" adds the writer of the Steele have
other processes for the reduction of silicium and
are all setting to work at it, 1t is, therefore, to be
expected that q complete transmutation will be
effected. We shall from clay draw aluminium;
from freestone, sick, from sand, We shall draw
silicum. These metals, given up to industry and
fabrication, may replace silver for domestic pur.
poses and silver be thus entirely restored to
tary circulation. Cor. of Manchester Guardian.
------
BETRAYAL OF TELEGRApHIc SEcRErs.-We
have already mentioned that Geographic clerk in
Berlin, Prussia, had been sentenced to three years
imprisonment for betraying the secrets Of the office
in which he was employed. We find in foreign
paper the following particulars:
Zone of the Jewish merchants there, L. Meyer
1of Sc a.,
for the purpose of obtaining knowledge Of the
contents of the most important commercial tele-
graphic messages before the persons to whom they
were addressed. Two brothers named Richenheim,
one of whom is clerk of Meyer, were accused of
being the persons by whom the alleged fraudulent
communications were carried On. Their business
was always to be at or near the telegraph station
to convey to their employer the intelligence which
was communicated to them by the clerks at the
telegraphic Office, in the pay Of Meyer. Meyer
himself is said to have made great sums of money
by this infamous traffic. Thus an order was sent
to Herr Bleichroder, the agent of Roshschilds
house, to buy up 100000 thalers Of shares in the
Cologne Railway.
The message was known to L. Meyer half an
hour, if not an hour, before it was known to the
agent Of Rothschild. The consequence was, that
Meyer bought up as much of this paper as he
could, drove up the price, and made large profit
by the transaction. This is only one Of many
cases. The trial came to conclusion on Monday
the 18th ult Janck, the clerk, was condemned to
three years imprisonment with loss Of social rights
as citizen for five years. for having transgressed
his official duties; Julius Richenheim, for having
brbed an official, to two years imprisonment, with
loss Of social rights for two years; and Isidor
Richenhem to half the term; Meyer the banker,
for being an accomplce in said act Of bribery, to
two and half years Imprisonment and three years
social degradation. An attempt is made to pre-
vent similar frauds in future This is not quite so
easy may be supposed the salaries Of the clerks
in the telegraph Offices being less than 9l00
year, while the profits Of single fraud may
amount to many thousands, Of which, of course,
they get considerable share.
Rich JoKE.-A staid, middle-aged gentleman,
the father OF large family Of children, got himself
into laughable scrape a few days since. He
called at the Post Office and received letter d.
rected to his name, which on opening he found
somewhat difficult to read. His wife and daughter |
being excellent hands at deciphering illegible
scaws he took the letter to his home in the grove
and handed it to his wife to read. His astonish-
ment may be imagined when she read without much |
difficulty, letter from Fulton Oswego County, in
forming him that he had become the father of |
fine child, weighing nine pounds without its clothes;
tk-ks a. 4. IL IL \