pany undertook to land the letters in England in sixteen or seventeen days, instead of four or five weeks, and that being so, the question between one port and another was purely a matter of detail, so long as the port advocated by the company was not totally at variance with the efficiency of the public service. The commissioners, however, seemed to have proceeded as if they were representatives of the Government alone, and in that capacity, being nautical men, and inclined to prefer a place readily made by ships, they selected Dartmouth, a town with a good harbour, doubtless, but unconnected for thirty-five miles of impracticable country with any railway; the result of which selection will infallibly be, that the London letters will be in town later than they would be by Southampton, while the Liverpool letters will arrive about three hours and forty minutes sooner than they would through London. Deeply impressed with the folly of this, the company remonstrated most warmly upon the subject, and, after various communications with the commissioners, representing the superior advantage which the Southamptondocks could afford to their vessels, they availed themselves of the services of Mr. Smeaton, the eminent engineer, whose report upon the capabilities and advantages of that port was duly forwarded to the commissioners, and ought, we think, to go forth to the world in justification of the company's conduct in this affair :

COPY of the report of John Smeaton, Esq., engineer, respecting the accommodation of steam-vessels at Southampton.

"London, 12th September, 1840. "Sir.-In compliance with your instructions, I have made a survey of the Southampton river, with a view to the accommodation which may be expected for your larger class of steam-vessels, and beg to report as follows:

"That I consider the situation of the proposed new docks extremely well adapted for any commerce which may be carried on by steam or sailing-vessels; the facilities which the Southampton river affords have been ably and correctly stated by the officers of the navy, in their evidence before a committee of the House of Commons, and the expectations expressed by them in regard to the port of Southampton appear to me to be fully borne out by the construction of the new docks now in progress.

"I have taken the plans and surveys of Mr. Giles in preference to making them myself, and have every confidence that they are executed with his established accuracy.

"The approach to the mouth of the new dock being through the river Itchen, affords the advantage of steamers getting out of the general traffic and entering the basin in quiet water; and although the channel be narrow, it can never be disadvantageous to a steam-vessel, while the eurrent of the ebb tide from so large an estuary would tend to the keeping the deep-water channel clear of deposits of mud and silt.

"A very great advantage to the port consists in the extraordinary period of high water, which may be said to continue stationary for about two hours, thus allowing a facility for the navigation not to be met with in any other harbour in England.

"The freedom from ice in the river Itchen may also be regarded as a

great desideratum in steam navigation, as well as the steady and moderate currents of the flood and ebb tides.

"The facility of approach and departure at all times of the tide, and in every season of the year, has been already explained in the reports and the evidence of nautical men; and it appears to me that their opinions are fully warranted.

"Another important consideration with regard to the port of Southampton is the proximity to London created by the railway, and affording, by means of the telegraph now used so successfully on the Blackwall Railway, a communication for Government or others, not to be met with elsewhere.

"The entrance to the tidal basin now in progress of execution secures a quiet harbour, as it will be sheltered from any heavy sea, and peculiarly protected from the south-west winds which prevail in the south of England.

"Reference having been made to a sand bank a little below the confluence of the rivers Southampton and Itchen, I have examined it, and find that there is fully eighteen feet over it at low water of spring tides; and as there is beside a deep navigable channel, there can be no obstruction by the bank to the navigation to and from Southampton.

"The river from Southampton to the sea is considered by the most experienced sailors free from all obstruction, and capable of containing any number of vessels, with very good anchorage.

"The entrance to the Itchen may be made quite marked and distinct by the mooring of a floating light outside of the bank on which the docks are to be placed.

"I have carefully examined the river Itchen with reference to the deepening of the water to eighteen feet low water spring tides, as proposed by Mr. Giles, and am of opinion that no difficulty need be apprehended in the execution of the work, or in keeping the depth afterwards. The substance of the soil is light and easily dredged up by ballast lighters or steam dredge boats, and when once formed, I consider that the ebb tide current will carry off all the deposit from the channel.

"The deposit of mud and silt is very small in the river Itchen, on account of the purity of its supply of spring water; and the estuary is extensive, and allows a reservoir of tide water sufficient to keep clear the entrance to the docks.

"I therefore consider that the situation of the proposed docks at Southampton affords an accommodation for your steam-vessels which cannot be exceeded in England; and as there exists no difficulty in the construction of the tide basin and docks. I consider that when the works are advanced, Southampton, as a steam-boat station, will be unrivalled in England. "I am, &c.

"Henry Longlands, Esq."

"JOHN SMEATON."

Notwithstanding this conclusive document, the commissioners in the following month made their final report in favour of Dartmouth, under the impression no doubt that the company would adopt that place as their principal station. In assuming this, however, they would seem not to have borne in mind that vessels of such length and tonnage re

quire accommodations of a nature expressly calculated for them, and that an old established port, where every inch of land is already appropriated, whatever quantity of sea-room there may be in the harbour, must of necessity be incapable of affording to them any accommodation which can be compared with that to be met with in a dock constructed for the especial end of their reception. Allowing, however, that such could be the case, the company would be placed at the mercy of the inhabitants of Dartmouth, who no doubt are ready enough to see the wisdom and patriotism of a report which would lead to such results. Be this as it may, the repugnance of the company to Dartmouth is such, that they have long since entered into a final arrangement with the Southampton Dock Company for the exclusive occupation of two sides of their tidal-dock, which is to cover an area of sixteen acres, together with extensive wharves, sheds, storehouses, and workshops of every description, on terms which no doubt are satisfactory to both parties, and the completion of which is guaranteed to them by the 1st of October next. In addition to this, it should be borne in mind, that the Dock Company are the owners of the fee simple of upwards of 200 acres of land, speedily convertible into yards, slips, docks, both dry and wet, coal depots, and every possible accommodation for steamers, or other vessels of the largest class, either for loading, unloading, or repairing. These, surely, are actual advantages, which no company ought to be called upon to abandon for the visionary jetties and piers which the people of Dartmouth or any other place besides, only promise to try and give them if they should come there, and which cannot, at all events, be carried into execution for some time after they will be wanted. The company therefore, being the best judges of their own interests, have chosen Southampton on account of its docks and its vicinity to London, as their home station; and if the insensible report of the commissioners should be upheld by the promised inquiry, the result will be, that they will be under the necessity of calling off Dartmouth, if they can, each trip, and of keeping a steamer or two in that port ready to transfer the bags from the post-office to their packets, and vice versà. The advantages therefore which have been calculated upon by the good people of Dartmouth, in the employment of the 168 people, and the receipts of the profits which were enjoyed by Falmouth under the old system, will dwindle down to a mere shadow, while the company will be inconvenienced and perhaps injured by the proposed plan.

We cannot think, however, that the select committee, when all the facts are laid before them, can come to any such determination, in justice either to London or the company, whose efforts ought to be met with liberality by the public.-Times.

SIMON'S AND TABLE BAYS.

With reference to the subject of the advantages of these two places, on which so much difference of opinion appears to prevail, we said in our last volume, that no doubt "much remains to be told concerning them, Accordingly, Lieut. Barrow has again come forward, with the following letter, in which some

important statements are made, and the concluding sentence of which expresses as the saying is, "multum in parvo."

One object alone we have always had, as we have already stated. Situated above all party feeling, or private interest, our object alone is the public good; and Lieut. Barrow, or any other correspondent, will be assisting us in doing service to the maritime community at large, and thereby promoting that great object by setting facts on these subjects, as they are, before our readers.-ED.

SIR. You describe yourself in your last July number "to be always found at your post ready to assist in telling" the truth, which assertion I do not doubt. The deliberate communication of Mr. Bance stating that he has "fully" replied, "confuting," &c., leads me to the conclusion that "his tale is of imagination ALL compact."

The people here are no strangers to the "good ship Wellington" and Mr. Liddell. But I shall illustrate the artificial disadvantages of Simon's Bay, by modern instances. Beef which could have used its own legs for the journey has been sent here from the capital, because that supplied to the navy was not good enough. Boats and crews to transfer cargo have been sent here round the Cape,—those, cheap on the spot, and eagerly seeking employment, rejected!

When waggons with eight horses convey a Cooly's load, the observer of this, "et hoc genus omne" reflects

"Surely the pleasure is as great
Of being cheated as to cheat."

"that not a

Mr. Liddell is under a mistake in asserting imprimis spar or even an artificer was procurable." There were spars and competitors for Tenders. A rage for building at that time, with the compensation money and pestilence, raised the wages of artificers extravagantly every where. Indiamen have been masted in Table Bay with spars purchased here!

Secondly. That every thing had to be "transported across the heavy sandy isthmus, and that £400 additional was THEREBY INCURred. Now the isthmus is ideal. There is an excellent turnpike road for sixteen miles from the capital, at its termination heavy spars are launched and towed by the wise. The "heavy sandy" consists of two miles of sand divided into four bays, connected by capital roads, three hours on each side of low water; the beach is a capital hard cause way, and great improvements (perhaps due to the Nautical) have taken place in certain patches connecting the artificial roads with the beaches,

The result of there being competitors on the spot for repairs is obvious, though Cape shipwrights very commonly get the tenders. The General Palmer lost her mainmast-say three tons; it was brought in a waggon. The average here for transporting a ton weight from or to the capital is thirty shillings. Let a conjuror "solve that with his Jacob's Staff," 4001. could never be thereby incurred.

The necessary colonial produce commonly required by shipping, bears the same price in both towns. Thirty shillings per ton is the legitimate tax on other articles with those modifications, which are obvious to all. The difference in all supplies, with proper circumspection is beneath notice in the liberal expenditure of the eastern trade, while they escape anxiety and the probable contingency of having to pay Mr. Bance on

the very common occurrences, £70 or £120 for transport of an extra anchor and cable, and £80 or £100 for the materials.

Mr. Liddell is charged with misleading your readers. Proper circumspection consists in the rejection of expensive Boards of Surveys from a rival ship, headed by Mr. Bance and travelling in coaches and six "en prince." Proper circumspection consists personally in advertising for tenders for repairs, affording sufficient time to the candidate to inspect the defects, and then to close with the lowest. Lastly.Proper circumspection consists in resisting imposition by attention to current prices. A firm execution of these obvious duties would benefit the many, and is most desirable for the prosperity of the Cape generally. Butchers' advertisements requesting captains to reject middlemen and to deal directly with them at named prices, demonstrates that there is something rotten in the system,

Truth is in a minority at first, and connection will supersede minor consideration. But if Captains were owners and the ships uninsured, without doubt Simon's Bay would be more frequented for supplies and repairs.

I am &c.,

T. P. BARROW.

EXPERIMENTS WITH RENNIE'S PADDLES.

In our last number we stated that a preliminary trial had been made with the trapezium paddle wheels fitted to H.M. steamer African, and that the results had been very satisfactory.

We now present our readers with the results of the subsequent experiments, all of which have been attended with the same success.

The African is one of that class of ten-gun brigs which was built during the late war, she was afterwards lengthened about ten feet and converted into a steam vessel. Her build is full both fore and aft, and her midship section immersed is a semi-ellipse, of which the transverse axis is 24ft. 10in., and the conjugate axis about 10ft., her length is about 109ft. 10in. or little better than four to one of the midship breadth, which, as compared to the proportions of our modern steamers is ill calculated for speed. Accordingly with a power of 90 horses, or onethird of the tonnage, her velocity at an immersion 9ft. 4in. has rarely exceeded nine miles per hour.

In the year 1837 a series of experiments were made by Mr. Kingston, by order of the Lords of the Admiralty, under the following circum

stances:

Mean draughts of the vessel 9ft. 44in., diameter of the paddle wheel 14ft. 7in., twelve rectangular boards in three slips, each placed in a cycloidal curve, 7ft. in length and 1ft. 9in. in width, thus presenting a total area immersed, of 65 square feet, but an effective area of 57 to 60 square feet for both wheels, while the area of the midship section of the vessel varied according to the depth of immersion, from 140 square feet to 160 square feet, or nearly in the ratio of one foot of paddle board to three feet of midship section.