Nautical Almanac," and read at the commencement of his preface the bold assertion, that "the work under the direction of the English Government" had "so increased in size, and consequently in price," knowing, as he must have done, that, though that work had been made to contain the admirable improvements and additions suggested by the Royal Astronomical Society, the price had NOT increased, what construction is to be given of the motives that gave rise to such expressions? Ignorance might be pleaded, but the work so abounds with a similar spirit, that such a plea could only be received as a mere pretence. We may judge of the reliance that is to be placed on his regard to authorities, on finding, according to his own statement, page 125, that the mean places of his stars, Table IX., are "chiefly from Piazzi's Cata. logue !!" Amongst the tables, the first two only are new. The former is said in the preface to be "the only one known to the author, which effects the double purpose of finding the true time" [here mean time is meant !] "from a given lunar distance, and the true lunar distance corresponding to a given time." Had Mr. H. used a little more circumspection before, in his eagerness, he deigned to elevate his table above that of every other author, he might, perhaps, without adverting to the utter uselessness of finding a distance corresponding to a given time, have seen that the table given in the "Nautical Almanac" will perform both operations with less trouble; for the inverse operation, it will only be necessary to change the precept at the foot of the table. On the whole, Mr. Herapath's work does not appear to contain any original important matter. Its publication will no doubt be justly checked by the Government; a fate not likely to be regretted by any one except the author himself. CAPTAIN SYMONDS' SHIPS.-The following extract of a letter we have received from an officer of the Snake, at Rio Janeiro, will satisfy our readers, that, although the American ships may beat ours in sailing in the Mediterranean, it is not so with all on the South American station : "H.M.S. Snake, Rio, Oct. 1834. "We tried our sailing the other day with an American corvette to windward of us, in moderate weather, and weathered on him about seven miles in five hours, sparing him all his flying kites." We take this opportunity of adding, that we have received a letter from a correspondent, doubting the correctness of the statement we quoted from the Naval and Military Gazette, at page 629 of our 32d number, respecting the comparative cost in money of the Southampton and Vernon. Perhaps that ably conducted paper will confirm it. In the mean time we would ask does the form of Captain Symonds' ships require so much curved timber in their construction as those of the old system, or does he employ principally straight timber in them, and which is the most scarce and difficult to be had of the two, and therefore the dearest? and, does Captain Symonds gain tonnage by increasing breadth of beam? According to Mr. Edye'st valuable work, the Vernon's beam for tonnage is fifty-two feet. What is the Southampton's? We apprehend, that, according to the present old method of finding tonnage, the breadth of beam is an element of no little importance in tonnage. Perhaps the sections of some ships at the commencement of our number may throw some light on this. See the Report of the Royal Astronomical Society, on which the whole Nautical Almanac was remodelled, at page 319 of our first volume. + Calculations relating to the equipment, displacement, &c., of ships and vessels of war; a work which we have long ago said should be in the hands of every naval officer. ABROLHOS, AND ENTRANCE TO BAHIA.-Extract of a letter from a naval officer, dated at Rio, in October last : "We sailed round the Abrolhos Islands, and found the inside channel* perfectly safe. In daylight, and favourable weather, any ship may sail inside them, without risk. The position of the islands is correctly laid down in Roussin's chart. Inside St. Antonio shoal there is likewise a good channel for a ship, with a commanding breeze. We sailed into Bahia three times by that channel; a circumstance which gave great satisfaction to the English residents, as no other ships except the English men-of-war attempt it; and they want the English merchant ships to come in that way when they are bound to Bahia." MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT ON THE MERSEY.-Liverpool, Monday Evening. On the evening of Saturday, it commenced blowing extremely fresh from the north-west, which continued during the night, and also during the whole of the following day. The wind increased last night (Sunday) to a perfect gale, and the sudden and heavy squalls with which it was accompanied, produced great alarm in a community like Liverpool, where every person is interested, more or less, in the fate of those who peril their lives in traversing the deep. The most melancholy anticipations were indulged in, from the violence of the storm, which has continued unabated in fierceness from its commencement until the present moment. The James Grant, bound for New Orleans, has fortunately put back, as has also the Kingston, from Savannah, and the Columbia, for Bombay, latter with loss of main and mizen masts. A sloop, called the Jane and Betty, was driven on shore in Holyhead Bay at three o'clock this morning. The crew were happily saved, but the cargo, consisting of flower and oats, was lost. The Martha, from Quebec, struck on the north bank of the Mersey, at an early hour this morning. She was immediately abandoned by the crew, who betook themselves to the long boat, the sea at that moment being in a state of indescribable fury. The "shattered bark" to which the men at that trying and awful moment committed themselves, "climbed hills of sea Olympus high" in a most miraculous and providential manner, and brought its cargo of human beings in safety to the shore. When daylight appeared, a steamer was dispatched to the foundering vessel, and after the necessary arrangements were completed she was fastened to the packet and towed into dock. The most melancholy event, however, which has distinguished this lamentable visitation is the loss of Captain Walker, a brave and meritorious officer belonging to the Custom-House revenue cutter Vixen, and four of his men. This distressing circumstance occurred at a late hour last night. It was the duty of the unfortunate captain to board all the vessels which entered the port: and in the discharge of his official task he proceeded to the Duchess of Clarence, commanded by Captain Evans, bound from Canton with tea, which had just entered the Mersey, where she came to an anchor. It appears that some of the passengers from Canton, who arrived in this vessel, were extremely anxious, although the night was dark and stormy, to reach the shore, having some immediate and pressing business to execute in London. On mentioning their views to Captain Walker, he strongly dissuaded them from entertaining the idea, and represented to them the perils of the attempt, assuring them, more • We believe His Majesty's ship Doris, by adopting the channel inside the Abrolhos in 1823, made the passage to Bahia from Rio Janeiro in half the time that the Conway did, by keeping well outside. The Doris sailed from Rio after the Conway, and arrived before. The Doris had smooth water and favourable weather, while the Conway had a troublesome sea, and much wind. We consider our correspondent's remark on the channel inside the St. Antonio shoal worth the attention of our mercantile commanders.-ED. over, that it would be attended with no good result, as the London mail had then started, and no conveyance could be obtained before morning. With this explanation the passengers were satisfied, and consented to remain on board all night; but Captain Evans, who commanded the ship, being particularly anxious to communicate his arrival, and deliver his dispatches to his consignees, one of whom lives at Bootle, about two miles from the spot where the Duchess of Clarence was then at anchor, persuaded Captain Walker to attempt a landing there. After some parley, this was agreed to. The boat was a light six-oared gig-not the regular cutter to which Captain Walker belonged; and the two Captains with four men got into it. It was literally impossible that so frail a bark could long live in such a sea as was then running. Suffice it to say, that the boat foundered, and all on board met a watery grave. The Duchess of Clarence is the first Liverpool ship that ever entered the Mersey with tea direct from China. The vessel which first arrived from Canton with that delicious leaf was a London ship. It is lamentable to reflect that the commander of the Duchess of Clarence, who had so successfully navigated his vessel to her destination through thousands of miles of ocean, should thus perish when he had completed his perilous undertaking. The bodies of the two captains have been found to-day-one is lying on the Cheshire, and the other on the Lancashire side of the Mersey at this moment, waiting the issue of a coroner's inquest. The bodies of the men have not been found.—Liverpool Mercury. We insert the following from the Plymouth Telegraph in justice to Mr. Harris, whose excellent series of papers on this subject we laid before our readers in our last volume. The paragraph in the Falmouth Packet to which it alludes, may have received that credit to which it is not entitled. But we shall leave our readers to form their own opinion of it and its author: LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS.-We have more than once had occasion to notice an article, published in the "Falmouth Packet," giving an account of H.M.S. Caledonia and Thunderer, having been struck with lightning. We doubted the truth of the whole statement, and suspected that some unprincipled person had imposed upon the Editor. As the theory of lightning conductors has engaged the attention of some of the most scientific men of modern times, and conductors being of great national importance in protecting our ships, magazines, and public buildings, it was natural to suppose that all those who had relatives or friends in the Caledonia, and all those who entertained doubts of the efficiency of metallic conductors, should look with anxiety for further information from the Mediterranean. We have now the pleasure of announcing to our readers that the whole statement that appeared in the Falmouth Packet, and to which we have alluded in former "Journals" was a base fabrication. The Carron steam-vessel has arrived here, fourteen days from Malta, and the Commander states that the Caledonia has not even been touched by lightning. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty authorized this ship being fitted with permanent and continuous conductors, on a plan proposed by our townsman, W. S. Harris, Esq., F.R.S., who has devoted much of his time and attention to this subject, and whose general knowledge and scientific acquirements are well known to most of our readers. Having paid some attention to this subject, and believing the plan proposed by Mr. Harris to be the best ever adopted, we were startled a little when reading an account of her masts having been shattered-men killed and wounded! whose names were even mentioned, and other particulars of time and place given to render the story plausible. We remember to have heard a person deliver a Lecture at the Mechanics' Institute, Devonport, against lightning conductors. When ignorance ventures beyond its depth, there is danger of sinking. We pitied the man for venturing to lecture on a subject of which he appeared to be so ignorant, and whose rigmarole composition, crude notions, and undigested conceptions of electricity, excited the mirth and ridicule of the juvenile members there assembled. Science receives but little injury from such ignorant and itinerant pretenders; but what are we to think of those who, to support their crude, vague, and visionary notions of subjects above their own comprehension, can quietly sit down and deliberately fabricate an account of fatal and disastrous occurrences that never happened! giving names of persons said to be killed or maimed, and other circumstantial details, with all the cold blooded indifference, and heartless feeling of the midnight murderer. The man who could do this, had only to go another step and crown his atrocity by procuring an unsuspecting person to give publicity to the fabrication. Having said this much, we have now to state some further particulars which we received from the officers of the Carron, relative to lightning conductors.The Canopus had lately been struck by lightning. This ship is not fitted with conductors on Mr. Harris's plan. She had, however, those up which are usually supplied to H.M. ships; and those protected the ship effectually-not, however, without giving evidence of the electric fluid having passed down them into the sea. The Carron, on her passage from Greece to Malta, encountered a thunder storm, she was surrounded with dense black clouds and pendant water spouts, and was struck by the electric fluid, but received no injury, although she was not supplied with the lightning conductors. Steam vessels, like the Carron, have chain rigging on the mainmast, the shrouds set up to the side, and two chain stays set up on board on each side of the funnel. The electric fluid passed down by the chain topmast rigging, down the chain stays, into the engine-room, from which it found a ready exit into the sea by the numerous bolts connecting the engine to the vessels bottom. Now, this accidental arrangement of the chain-rigging and machinery served as a conductor to the lightning, conveyed it into the sea, and saved the vessel-on the very principles recommended by Mr. Harris, namely, down the masts, and through the ships bottom into the sea. We would therefore advocate the cause of continuous conductors, because, what we observe to take place in nature, accords with our theoretical views on this branch of science, notwithstanding what ignorance may insinuate or falsehood fabricate." Since the above was in type we have found the following in the "Falmouth Packet."-In our paper of the 29th ult. was inserted what purported to be an "extract of a letter from an officer on board H.M.S. Thunderer," stating that on "the 20th Sept. H.M.S. Caledonia, fitted with fixed conductors on Harris's plan, was struck by lightning," and sundry injuries sustained, which were detailed at length; and also that H.M.S. Thunderer, which had two chain conductors up on the fore-mast, was likewise struck and injured. This statement was handed us by a person who represented himself to be Mr. A. Scott, late second master of the Thunderer. and that he had returned to Englaad from the Mediterranean by his Majesty's steam-packet Spitfire; coming from such a quarter we very naturally gave it implicit credit. But we have since learnt the whole statement is a base fabrication.-We are at a loss for language strong enough to express our indignation at this nefarious attempt: and we hasten to give Mr. Harris the reparation to which he is entitled, and to disabuse the mind of the public, by exposing the source from whence it was derived. We earnestly request the editors of such papers as may have inserted the original statement, to copy this contradiction, that Mr. Harris's invention may not be prejudiced by so false and groundless a charge." Naval Register. COMMISSIONERS for executing the Office of LORD HIGH ADMIRAL of the United The Right Honourable Thomas-Philip-Weddell Robinson, Earl de Grey. Sir John Poo Beresford, Bart., K.C.B., Vice-Admiral of the White. Sir Charles Rowley, K.C.B., Vice-Admiral of the White. Lord Ashley. The Right Honourable Maurice Fitzgerald. THE ROYAL NAVY IN COMMISSION-DECEMBER 21ST, 1834. At Home. PORTSMOUTH. Admiral, Sir Thomas Williams, G.C.B. Appointed 23d Jan. 1833. Flag-Lieut. T. R. Eden; Secretary, Thomas Williams.--Flag Ship, VICTORY, 104. PLYMOUTH. Admiral, Sir William Hargood, G.C.B., G.C.H. Appointed 27th April, 1833. Flag-Lieut. C. H. M. Buckle; Secretary, J. Loudon.-Flag Ship, SAN JOSEF, 110. NORE. Vice-Admiral, Hon. C. E. Fleeming. Appointed 16th Aug. 1834. Flag-Lieut. Granville G. Loch; Secretary, G. B. Harrison.-Flag Ship, OCEAN, 80. ACTEON, 28.-Captain Lord Edward Russell, Portsmouth, fitting. CAMELEON, 10-Lieut. Com. J. Brad- EXCELLENT, 51-Captain T. Hastings, PORTSMOUTH, Yacht-Lieut. Com. J. OCEAN, 80-Flag of Vice-Admiral the PELICAN, 16-Com. B. Popham, at PIQUE, 36-Capt. the Hon. H. J. Rous, PRINCE REGENT Yacht-Captain G. ROLLA, 10-Lieut. Com. F. H. H. Glasse, 19th Aug. sailed for coast of ROYAL GEORGE Yacht-Captain Right ROYAL SOVEREIGN Yacht-Captain C. SAN JOSEF, 110-Flag of Admiral Sir SEAFLOWER, Cutter, 4-Lieut. Com. J. Morgan, 6th Sept. sailed for Jersey, SPEEDY, Cutter-Lieut. C. H. Nor- WATERWITCH, 10-Lieut. Com. J. WILLIAM AND MARY, Yacht-Captain |