Miscellaneous.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 440, 21 January 1857, Page 8

Miscellaneous.

Icebebgs and Navigation.—J. T. Towsen, Esq., delivered the inaugural lecture of the present session at*the Devonport Mechanics' Institution the 26th ulfc.,the subject being "Glaciers and Icebergs." T. W>oollcombe, Esq. president of the institute took the chair. The lecturer briefly detailed some of the extraordinary passages recently made, to and from Australia by some of the Liverpool clipper ships, in which they averaged only a trifle under ten nautical miles per hour for the entire voyage, a result attained by'the adoption of the composite route. This system, it had been said, by leading the ships into *high latitudes, caused them to be endangered by ice—-a statement which was incorrect, inasmuch as the quantity of ice met with did not depend upon the height or lowness of the latitude, ail other things being- equal. As the inventor of that system, he had received a substantial mark of their sense of its usefulness from the Liverpool merchants, and he felt himself>bound in the first place, to keep the ships out of unnecessary danger; and in the second, if the danger; was not unnecessary, to seek into its causa and nature, with a view of arriving at ■a certain knowledge of it. 'He "had been partially urged in this course by a^ letter written to Lloyd's by a Mr. Christopher; residing at Heavitree, which charged him with having end ingefed, amongst others,'the Ued. Jacket and the Golden Era, and of having proßably been the cause of the loss, of the Madagascar. Prom these and various causes, therefore, he had been led to inquire into the laws which governed those floating bodies of ice, which did, nodoubfc, exist to a great extent in the tracks of the ships to and from Australia. Observations had been made, at his request by upwards of 100 captains of vessels who had sailed from the port of Liverpool, and drawings of the icebergs met with had been executed, chiefly bj the passengers, wh'q had never once 'refused to do so when requested by the captain. The results thus attained were communicated to •him, and from them he constructed charts, which were furnished to the various vessels1 proceeding to Australia. The lecoret then1 proceeded to give an account of the different'^ forms in which ice existed on the ocean. What was called field ice was' the result of one winter's'freezing of'the surface of the sea in the frigid zone's. It varied from three to thirty feet thick, and had no doubt been the eauseofthelqss'of many yesselsJintbePolarregions As it came into lower latitudes, however, it became broken up, and with one or two exceptions,, the only danger that would arise from it'would be the destruction of the copper at the Avater's edge.' One case, however, had occurred, in which the ship had, through the neglect of the captain —who' had'taken her where no man in his sober senses would haye1 gone —been surrounded, and had been for sqfnetime in great danger from "broken ice. THat arose from the captain being in a continual state of intoxication, for which he was put on his trial when he came home, and received eight months' imprisonment. With ihat exception, there had been no considerable amount of danger. The other form of ice—ice-bergs—-was mtfch more formidable. They were frequently 300 feet high, and when they considered that' only''one-tenth part of them was above water, an idea'could be formed of their •enormous magnitude. They were produced by ' the immense glaciers filling the valleys of the Tolar regions, which, after accumulating for a long period, were no longer able to adhere, and ' .-accordingly portions broke off, forming icebergs, j Icebergs were chiefly produced in the Northern j Ocean, on the- coa&t of Greenland; and in the Arctic ' Sea they were for -the "most part -formed at Graham's land, although there were other regions from which they emanated. They were of different shapes and sizes, and were easily recognised if seen before; in fact, the Captain of the Royal Charter had told him that he had seen the sswo iceberg on different voyages. Icebergs Aid not take the track of the surface current, and accordingly there was some difficulty in estiaivating'their course. They- were met with in various parts of the course, both out and home. ■ 3fr. Toy/sen ithen pointed out on a chart (the

original one on which he had laid down the various icebergs as they were reported'to him) the different tracks he recommended ships to take during the Austral -winter and • summer moriths on their voyage-to- Australia, it beirig possible in the latter to take higher latitudes than in the former.: With rei'erence to the grea eu probability of meeting with icebergs in high or low., latitudes, the lecturer referr d to the^yoyage of the Great Britain, when that ship was surrounded, whilst in a low latitude, by no less than 360 icebergs ; at the same time the Golden1 Era in the high, latitude of 64 was clear from icebergs. -Having stated that the track outf and home to Australia were not the same because of the great prevalence of westerly winds, which made it advisable for the. ships to sail,to the east, Mr. Towsen stated that it was necessary to take a high latitude to clear the Horn; and ,with reference to the confidence placed in his charts on this subject, said that one firm in Liverpool had declared that if one of their Captains took a ship through a portion of the ocean proscribed by him (the lecturer), he should never take another. An immense mass of ice (having the shape of a fish-hook, rounded at the, corners), 80- miles one way, 40 on each of the others, and from 4 to 7. miles broad, had been fallen in with in a low latitude, where a small icebersr would have melted, two or three years since by the Cambridge and other ships, which entered at the long side, coasted it, and got out at the other side of the opening. This took nlace in March, and in the April following the Salem likewise met with it. As this immense mass of. ice was lying in the track of the vessels, he thought it likely that the Guiding Star, of which nothing had been heard since leaving Liverpool for Australia on her outward voyage, had fallen in "with it, and, less fortunate than the Cambridge and Salem, been lost. Since May, 1855, nothing had been heard ofthis enormous body of ice, as it had gone out of the track to the southward. He had* had some conversation with Dr. Scoresby about its oriffin, and it was-their belief that it had been/produced. by centuries of frost acting upon a number of icebergs closely packed together. . It was a remarkable fact that no icebergs had ever been seen while the Horn was" in sight, which, he attributed to the numerous currents; therefore he recommended captains of vessels to sight the Horn and keep along the Falkland Islands, which would keep them clear of icebergs and out of the greatest danger. They need not feur beiDg thrown' upojt the land hy so doing, as no current would ever take a ship upon the rocks. Mr. Towsen th'en'gave some interesting particulars with j reference to the,breaking off and toppling over of icebergs, and stated that their neighbourhood could be detected, by the thei'momfiter, as they formed a cold atmosphere around them. They movedquickestin the high latitudes, and'slowest in- the low—their greatest rate of progress'being ten miles in the twenty-four hours, and their slowest aboutione. The lecturer stated that the result, of .his investigation showed that the ships were not-thrown in greater danger from ice through taking the track laid down by him, and that in many cases a higher latitude was freer from icebergs than a lower one. — Devonport Telegraph. Expedition to the ■ ISTile.—The Pasha of Egypt has ordered a new expedition to bo orga--nized to ascend the Nile, under M. le Compte D'E'scayrac de Lauture, an experienced African traveller, and the author of a recent work on Soudan, and of other Treatises on. African geography. The expedition will be accompanied by twelve Europeans, eight of whom have been already engaged, including three Frenchmen, three Austrians. and the chief- is desirous-of procuring the assistance of English- officers, accustomed to astronomical and meteorological'observ*'ons, and ' the -management of 'boats. The C. u> t has just left London, having been in-' commiuiication with the Secretary of ihe Royals Geographical, Society,'on the;subject of the- ex--pedition, which is intended to start from Cairo in October. This cxp?dition is undertaken entirely at the cost' oi' the Viceroy of Egypt, and the members will receive, in addition to their rations, the payment of £10 to £14 per month" dnring the time employed on it, which is computed at two years. The members are expected' to start for Marseilles on the 18th September.

; Ibisk Pa:ospEEi^;--^yeican :say for Belfast, .•that neverin any period.of oxtr recollectipn were the industrial ranks so- :^6]l'--.cl6thed- ;:or:,''s6':J-'yrell fed a§ they are at tliis -inoinen.t, even.in the face

of wheat at 7os. per quarter. The loaf fa not large, but the means of purchase are more ample In the good old days of Protection i? was not unusual for the labouring ranks to eke out exisience on potatoes three times a-dav Those fames have gone by, and at present the consumption of wheaten bread by the work people is m a four-fold ratio to what it was ever known previous to the advent of free trade L, former days John Bull groaned loudly about Ireland's population, and the invasion made on his territories by the ' incorrigible Celt' Now the same rotund personage grumbles because *±i'a are> locatin S themselves by the shores of the American lakes or the Southern Pacific Under the dynasty of protection the poor people ofthis country rarely found the means of migration to other lands. Free Trade,, like St .Patrick of old, has banished the serpent idlers' and taught our people the dignity of labour' I Insolation has almost forgotten " its ancient haunts in Ireland, and the ratio of pauperism now falls under that to be found on either side of the Tweed.— Belfast' Mercury. '' •

Inauguration of the Wellington Status A? M r ANCHESTEK.—The statue of -the late Duke of Wellington, erected in front of the-Royal Infirmary, at Manchester, was inaugurated on Saturday, Aug. 30. The area in front of the Infirmary which a few years ago was mainly occupied by a sheet of water,"has now been cdnvertedinto a spacious nagged promenade, with fountains rising from two basins of water, so placed as to leave a space between them for a central statue, while the statues of Peel and Wellington occupy sites of about equal magni* tude to the right and left of the fountains. It is intended that the central space shall someday be occupied by a statue of the Queen The statue1 of Wellington is .a full-length bronze figure, 13 feet high, designed by Mr. Noble, the sculptor, standing upon a square granite pedestal, 19 feet high, with subordinate figures at each of the four angles—one representing Valour, and the. other Wisdom, Victory, arid Peace ! The figure represents the noble' Duke in the character of a Senator, and the likeness is a very truthful one. The ceremony of inauguration drew together an immense concourse of people. The mayor and corporation walked! in procession' from the Town-hall to the Infirmary, accompanied by the Bishop of Manchester and the principal subscribers to the statue, which has cost about £7,000. LieutenantGeneral Sir Harry Smith and his staff were also present, with troops of the 7th Drao-ooa Guards and 25th Infantry, to aid the police m, keeping the lines. The authorities having taken, then-places on'a platform provided for, the occasion', an' address was delivered by ''Mr.1 Alderman Barnes, who narrated the circum-" stances connected, with the erection of the statue; and in the name of the subscribers, handed itover to the mayor and corporation of Manchester. The mayor having, on behalf of the corporation the statue, commanded it to be unveiled, which was done amid loud cheering, the band playing the national anthem, and the fountains beginning to play simulta-,-neously. Addresses weie afterwards delivered" by the Bishop of Manchester and Sir H. Smith, and the proceedings terminated.

Life at Amfektak* Watering Places.— The rich merchant (Mr. Maximum), with his wife and daughters, is off to Carbbno'ga, that' famous watering place*.where one is sure "to meet everybody." He puts up at the Carbonic Hotel, where there are four hundred1 other> guests stopping, and where there are bawling alleys,! hilliard tables, private faro hanks, pistol galleries! and ball rooms. The first thing that ■ Mrs.' Maximum does is to dress for dinner the, moment that she ai'rives. In this example she is followed by Angelina's sister. Bless us, where is the russet'g nvn ? Can that wonderful embroidered muslin robe," so very, very low in-the; neck and short in the sleeves, he. intended' for the country ? After dinner the Maximums* drass again for the evening, and then again for the "hop." They get up in the afternoon. - They cirefully seclude themselves from the glare of day, as nothing would he more' fright- 1 iful than to be sunburnt. t Their only exercise is t the walk on the piazza, for their feet never touch grass all the time they are at Carbonoga —• where, indeed, there is but little to touch —and the heated and imwholesome gymnastics in the waltz in the ball room at night. In nothing material does "the season" of Carbonoga-" differ from " the season " in the city. It is

more limited, more pretty, more undisguisedly dissipated, and that is all. The dinners are city dinners The dresses are Broadway dresses. The men are the pale-faced, thin-legged and feeble-bearded, muscleless set known as young New York. Why, if these wretched creatures were put really into the country, and guns placed in their hands, and told that they should provide their own dinners, they would starve— every soul of them. Their nearest approach to the pursuit of health is a trip in a yacht, where they do nothing but get boozy on champagne and brandy, and lose money to each other at cards, which they never pay.— New York Times.