NOTES.

Electric Lighting at Falmouth.-At a meeting of the Falmouth Town Council last week, Mr. Williams moved "That the time had arrived when this authority should apply for an Act of Parliament for powers to supply Falmouth with the electric light, and that the Parish Local Board, the Pendennis Lighting Committee, and the Corporation of Penryn be asked to join in the scheme." A short discussion ensued, and the matter was eventually referred to the Lighting Committee.

The Electric Light at Wrexham.-We hear electricity is being introduced with surprising rapidity into the collieries, works, hotels and breweries in the Wrexham district. 100 lamps of 16 and 32 candle-power, fitted up in the offices, engine rooms, stables, &c., at the Llay Hall Colliery, were lit for the first time last week. Messrs. Sillery and Co., of the same place, tried 32 lamps at Felinpuleston Flour Mills. The electric light will shortly be introduced into Messrs. Soames and Co's. Brewery, the Wynnstay Hotel, the Cambrian Foundry, &c.

The Electric Light at the Leeds Town Hall.-The Electric Lighting Committee met last week to witness experiments with the Brockie-Pell arc lamp for illuminating the exterior of the Town Hall. The results were very satisfactory, and it is intended in about a fortnight to have eight lamps fixed around the Town Hall.

Electricity in Barnsley.-The Barnsley Gas Company have raised the price of gas, which has caused a considerable amount of dissatisfaction. A meeting of consumers was to be held last Tuesday evening to consider what steps should be taken with a view to opposing the advance in the price. Already several private firms have adopted the electric light, and in the present position of affairs it is more than likely that electricity will be greatly favoured.

New South Wales and the Electric Light.-Colonies and India says the use of electricity for lighting purposes is rapidly spreading in this Colony. A short time ago the inland towns of Young and Tamworth were lit up with the new substitute for coal gas, and, through the enterprise of the people who introduced the new light to the Colony, quite a number of towns are now preparing to follow the example of the places mentioned. The Moss Vale folk have now resolved to make use of the electric apparatus for lighting their township, a circumstance which will probably be appreciated by the Governor as much as anyone, there being a Government House-of-ease in the immediate vicinity of the picturesque Moss Vale.

Lighting Contracts Wanted.-For lighting the public streets of Wimborne Minster for three years from October 21st, for the rural sanitary authority of Wimborne and Cranborne Union. The contractor to provide gas, oil, or other lighting matter, and to provide and keep in repair all necessary lamp posts, brackets, lanterns and all appliances required for lighting, and labour for the cleaning, lighting and extinguishing thereof. Form of tender may be obtained at the office of Mr. Frank H. Tanner, clerk, Church Street, Wimborne, on payment of £2 2s., to be returned to the parties whose tenders are not accepted. Tenders to be delivered at the office of the clerk by October 16th.

A Palace Lighted by Electricity.-A splendid palace is being erected a few miles from Dublin for the Archbishop of Dublin. The whole building will be lighted by the electric light.

Another Exhibition.-An international exhibition of arts, science, manufactures and trades will be held at Hove, near Brighton, from the 30th September until the end of December. There will be a special section devoted to electricity. Applications for space should be made to the managing director of the exhibition, 14, Pavilion Buildings, Brighton, or at 20, Bucklersbury, London, E.C.

The "Telegraphophone." This instrument has recently been devised by a Mr. Wheless, of Nashville, America. In this instrument the graphophone records are made to actuate a telephonic transmitter, which in turn actuates a receiver, which records on a graphophone at the receiving end of the line the words spoken into the graphophone transmitter. The general idea, it is, perhaps, needless to say, is by no means new, though no doubt Mr. Wheless's method of carrying it out possesses points of mechanical novelty. The invention has for its object the overcoming of what is stated to be a "serious" defect in the ordinary telephonic system, viz., that if a subscriber is called and there is no response, the caller must wait for another opportunity to communicate; this "serious" defect, the system of having a permanent record, is to overcome. With inventors there is always something "seriously wrong with a system which they fancy they can improve, as in the present case. But even supposing the whole apparatus could be made to work efficiently in connection with an exchange, the abuses to which it would be liable are numerous; the temptation, for instance, to record a volley of abusive language for the delectation of the hearer, who would be expecting an important communication, would in many cases be irresistible. Again, practical experience has again and again proved that automatic apparatus of the kind can never be relied upon, however perfectly all the details may have been worked out. Even the simplest form of self-starting telegraphic apparatus has never been found in practice to be depended upon to record its signals, unless a call has been made and responded to before the message is sent.

The "Peral."-The account published by the New York Sun regarding the explosion and sinking of the Peral, submarine torpedo boat, in the Bay of Cadiz, is stated by an American contemporary to be absolutely without any foundation of fact. At the date when this catastrophe was supposed to have happened the Peral had not even been tried in the open bay, the experiments up to August 27th having been in the dock at the Arsenal. On August 7th the first trial at which representatives of the press were permitted to be present, the electric submarine boat proved to the satisfaction of the spectators that at all events, in the smooth water of the dock, the boat could be submerged and maintain its proper position under water. Those on board included Mr. Isaac The Peral, the inventor, five officers and the crew. cigar-shaped boat was closed, sank about three feet below the surface, and performed some evolutions at that depth, rose to the surface again, and repeated the test about six feet below the surface. The result of the trial was that the boat seemed to be under perfect control below water, and that in the short space of time of the test the respiration of those on board was normal without having recourse to the stored air or the apparatus for purifying it. The trial in the Bay of Cadiz, which took place on the 27th ult., was in a rough sea, and possibly on this account the submarine qualities of the boat do not seem to have been tested on this occasion; but the manoeuvres of the boat on the surface seem to have been quite successful, discharging torpedoes, &c., and elicited the highest approbation from the Italian squadron, which happened to witness the performance.

Magnetic Wells. We reproduce the following, now going the round of the press, as being too good to lose sight of. We hear the magnetic wells of Michigan are now being inspected by Prof. Jarentski, of Paris, in the interest of a syndicate of Frenchmen, who propose to utilise them for industrial purposes. The theory is that at some depth there will be found a stratum of mineral heavily charged with magnetic electricity, which may be brought to the surface and utilised to run mills and factories independent of other force. The wells are now flowing water from the depth of 800 feet so highly charged with electricity that a knife-blade or steel bar held in the water for a few minutes becomes highly magnetised. While the drillers were at work upon the well, they found that their tools became magnetised, and that a steel line used in measuring the depth became highly charged.

The Jarman Electric Car.-On Wednesday night a run of Jarman's electric car was made from the works of the Electric Tramcar Syndicate, Plough Yard, Clapham, to Blackfriars Bridge. A start was made at half past twelve, and Blackfriars Bridge reached at one minute to one, or nearly 4 miles in 29 minutes. The return journey was made in 37 minutes, including stoppages. There were present the manager and secretary of one of our suburban tramways, and several other gentlemen interested in tramway enterprise. This is the twenty-eighth journey made by the car.

Electric Lighting in London.-The Financial News says the repaving of the Strand has been the means of bringing to notice the fact that electric lighting is becoming a serious actuality in London. Then, after detailing what is being done by the various electric light companies, concludes:-Meanwhile, the public authorities allow the streets to remain dimly lighted with gas. How long is it to be so?

An Imaginary Nuisance.-At the Brighton County Court last Friday, before Judge Martineau, Messrs. W. G. Bate and W. Robinson applied for an injunction to prevent Messrs. H. R. de Salio and T. Bambridge from using a gas engine, and to recover damages for an alleged nuisance. It appears that plaintiffs are the occupier and owner respectively of No. 43, Church Street, Brighton, and the defendants keep a gas engine for the purpose of driving a dynamo in a shed at the back of No. 44. Mr. de Salio used the dynamo for producing the electric light and for experimental purposes. It was alleged that the vibrations from the engine were so great that it prevented the occupants of No. 43 from sleeping whilst the engine was running, and that reading and writing were rendered difficult. The Judge said he had visited the premises when the engine was in full work, and he found that there was practically no cause for complaint. The whole case was a gross exaggeration. He therefore gave a verdict for the defendants with full costs.

Improved Clark's Standard Cell.-A modification of this standard cell has recently been devised by Professor H. S. Carhart, of America. One important feature in this cell, a feature which we think is well worth notice, is the addition of a high resistance included in the case of the cell, so that the latter cannot possibly be short circuited.

Lectures on Elementary Physiology and Therapeutics. A course of ten lectures on the above subjects is about to be given at the Institute of Medical Electricity, Limited, by Mr. Arthur Harries, M.D., and H. Newman Lawrence, A.I.E.E.

Repaving of the Strand.-We extract the following from a letter sent to the Globe by the vestry clerk:"The traffic of this important thoroughfare having resumed its wonted aspect, and a great deal having been written and said during the execution of this work reflecting upon the vestry, its officials, and others concerned, I shall be glad if you will afford me the oppor tunity of stating a few facts in relation thereto. Taking up the old wood paving began on the 12th ult., a period of the year most suitable for carrying out such work, as being least liable to interfere with business and the interests of the ratepayers. On the following day notice was received from the Metropolitan Electric Supply Company of their intention to lay a main with transverse branches about every 50 feet apart under the portion maintained by this vestry, and the vestry having waived many formalities in order to expedite the carry. ing out of the work, the company proceeded with all expedition. This of course necessitated the suspension of the repaving for some days to allow the company to get ahead. Simultaneously Messrs. Gatti, by permission of the vestry, were laying a main between Villiers Street and the Adelphi Theatre, and subsequently between the Adelphi Theatre and Exeter Street. The work performed in laying these mains was first to cat through a layer of asphalte 1 inch thick; then concrete from 6 inches to 12 inches thick, excavating to a depth, in some cases, of 7 feet, and having to contend with difficulties which only those who are acquainted with such matters can appreciate, namely, 25 pipes, varying from 24 inches to 6 inches in diameter, with services and branches which exist in this thoroughfare from front to front. During this portion of the work about 200 men were employed. Beyond the work of the electric companies, the gas and water companies made numerous openings. It will be apparent to any experienced person that, with two electric mains being laid. and under the circumstances alluded to, the censure and complaints that have been prominent in many of the papers were made without a knowledge of the facts of the case. Making good these trenches, amounting in length to 3,724 feet, or about 1,010 superficial yards, caused further delay owing to the new concrete having to remain some time before being paved over. As a part of the difficulty the dock strike seriously affected us, the contractor for wood blocks (Mr. J. Knights) having been put to great difficulty in supplying us. Notwithstanding these difficulties the works have been completed within five weeks.

Accident to an Electric Car.-A Central News telegram from New York says:-An electric railway car was proceeding up Mission Ridge yesterday, conveying about 50 sightseers to view the battlefield, when, for some unexpected reason, the conductor lost all control over it, and the car dashed down the mountain-side at terrific speed. One man was killed, and 16 others were more or less severely injured in jumping from the carriage.

--

Personal. A meeting of a pleasant and interesting nature was held at the Edison and Swan Company's Works, Ponder's End, on the evening of Thursday, 19th inst. Mr. Edward Gimingham (the resident superintendent's brother) has recently undertaken a responsible position in the factory, and just attained his majority, and the officials considered it a fitting opportunity to make him a present as a slight token of their respect and esteem. Mr. Robson (foreman of the works) was asked to preside. He explained the purpose for which they were met, and in handing the present-a Wortley writing desk with a suitable inscription-to Mr. Gimingham on behalf of the officials referred briefly to their long connection with him, and the high appreciation in which he was held by them.

Mr. E. L. Joseph has resigned his position with Mr. Julius Sax, and has joined the firm of Messrs. Appleton, Burbey and Williamson as traveller.

SEPTEMBER 27, 1889.]

Organ Blowing by Electricity.-Real practical success at length has been attained by the "C and C Electric Motor Company," of New York, which has now placed ts motors in St. Paul's Church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Collegiate Reformed Church, and the Madison Square Church. Contracts have been signed for several other churches. The advantages of the motor over other means of blowing the bellows are so evident that it is only a question of time before all churches within reach of electric current will be provided with his appliance. Henceforth, the organist is independent of the pleasure of the blower, or the vagaries of the gas engine; he merely touches a button, when the organ, Obedient to his touch, gives forth its tones. During the last four months motors of upwards of 100 horse-power, in sizes ranging from 1 to 20 horse-power, have been placed in New York City alone.

Lectures on Dynamos.-The recently-issued winter programme of the City and Guilds Technical College, Finsbury, shows that electricity is still a leading feature, as it has been for so many years, in the College course. In addition to the usual courses of lecture and laboratory work, elementary and advanced, there is a course of instruction in the electroplating laboratory under Mr. E. Rousseau, and a series of special lectures on the design and construction of dynamo machines, by Professor Silvanus P. Thompson. This course, which begins on Monday, October 7th, deals with armature designing, commutators and brushes, field-magnet designing, calculations of windings, and details of construction; also with alternate-current dynamos, motors, arc-lighting machines, and transformers. For terms see our advertisement columns.

As will be seen in an advertisement appearing elsewhere, Mr. Esson also is about to deliver a course of lectures on the dynamo. The study of this machine is most interesting, and will doubtless be of great benefit to those who attend the course.

Aspinall's Enamels.-We have recently made a trial of these well-known enamels with reference to their insulating properties, and the results of our experiments prove that a coating of the material on metal has an exceedingly high specific resistance; the enamels should therefore prove of considerable value for electrical purposев.

Frank J. Sprague.-This prominent American electrician is the subject of a short biographical sketch in the Electrical World for September 7th. Mr. Sprague, after serving a few years in the Navy, was promoted, and availed himself of opportunities for electrical work at the Stevens Institute, Hoboken, and at the Newport torpedo station. Having put his ideas and inventions into practical shape, Mr. Sprague went to the Philadelphia Exhibition with several motors bearing his name. The work created a most favourable impression, and the result was the formation of the Sprague Electric Railway. Since then the work of the motor has spread to an enormous extent, and in America Sprague motors are to be found in almost every city.

359

Mr. Edison in London.—Mr. Edison, who is at present the guest of Sir John Pender, at Foots Cray, visited London a few mornings ago and inspected the various electric lighting stations of the Metropolitan Electric Supply Company, Limited, five of which, having a total capacity of 150,000 lamps, are either completed or in progress in various parts of London. Mr. Edison was accompanied by Sir John Pender, Sir George Elliot, and Mr. J. E. H. Gordon, the engineer of the company, by whom the various details of the machinery were explained. Subsequently Mr. Edison and Sir John Pender visited the Reform Club. In the afternoon, Mr. Edison and Mrs. Edison paid a visit of courtesy to the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress, at the Mansion House, and were entertained at luncheon. They were accompanied by Miss Miller (Mrs. Edison's sister), Sir John Pender, Sir James Anderson, Mr. Tait, Colonel and Mrs. Gouraud, Mr. Leyland, and Mr. J. S. Forbes; and among those asked to meet them at a very short notice were Lord Rothschild, the Governor of the Bank, Lord Brassey, Sir John Lubbock, the sheriffs, and several of the aldermen. There were no speeches. Mr. Edison's stay in this country is too short to enable him to accept the Lord Mayor's invitation to a banquet which he proposed to give in his honour.

Motive Power.-"When there is such a power as electricity adaptable to tramway traction it seems like a weak compromise to change from horse-power to any other system. Yet in France the use of compressed air is extending, the tramways of Lyons being on the point of adopting it. The cost is much less than that of coal, and the speed attainable is very good."Financial News.

Mr. Edison on Mr. Preece's Views.-We hear that Mr. Edison in a recent interview said :-How would Mr. Preece explain the deaths of 28 people killed in the electric power depôts of the United States by the alternating current in a year, and the instantaneous death of the cattle subjected to our experiments? Mr. Preece pretends to have submitted without injury to an electric shock of immense force. He is really ignorant of the value of the term "immense" in electricity. Everything depends on the method of operating. Steep your hands in soda water before touching an electric wire, and you will not even experience a shock. Whatever may be said at Newcastle, the criminals condemned to death in the State of New York are going to be executed, and will never again be executed, by any other agent than the electric fluid, the most expeditious and humane of all methods.

Salford Corporation and Electricity.-At a meeting last Friday the Corporation decided to apply for the necessary powers to enable them to supply electric light for private purposes. This step was not taken voluntarily, but in self-defence, a private company having given notice of its intention of applying for a provisional order.

Extending Ladders.-Electrical progression is demanding portable extension ladders of a kind not hitherto thought of, and the British Museum has just purchased from J. H. Heathman and Co., of 11, High Street, Bloomsbury, one of their extension ladders, which telescopes from 20 feet up to 36 feet 6 inches, or any intermediate height, as well as a novel platform upon wheels, which passes through a door 4 feet wide by 11 feet high, and occupies a base 6 feet long. By means of a twin rope a step ladder rises to 18 feet high, and the whole can be moved about freely by one man,

Sudden Death of an Electrician.—Mr. Charles Heaton Sharples, F.C.S., died suddenly at his residence, Preston, on Sunday afternoon. Mr. Sharples was the junior member of the firm of Sharples and Son, chemists and electrical engineers, Fishergate, Preston. During his lifetime Mr. Sharples held a prominent position amongst the scientists of the town. He was a Fellow of the Chemical Society and a member of the Institution of Telegraph Engineers. He was the first to introduce the telephone into Preston by the establishment of the Preston Telephonic Exchange Company, which, after a few years' existence, was taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Telephone Company.

Tenders for Telegraph Stores Wanted.-For the supply of 8,041 red fir telegraph poles, to be delivered in London or at Sutton Bridge, and 7,047 to be delivered at Northumberland Dock (River Tyne), West Hartlepool, Hull, or Grimsby, for the Postmaster-General. The poles to be felled between November 1st and February 28th, 1890, and to be delivered during the following summer. Also for creosoting the above poles with either 8 lb. or 10 lb. of creosote to the cubic foot, as may be decided. Forms of tender, containing all particulars, may be obtained on application, either personally or by letter, to Mr. C. E. Stuart, Controller of stores, Telegraph Street, E.C., Tenders will be received until noon on October 21st.

[SEPTEMBER 27, 1889.

Strike at the Silvertown Telegraph Works.-About two-thirds of the men employed at the above works are out on strike, the remainder continuing work. The company declare they cannot make any further advance, as the competition with Glasgow is too keen, at which place wages are 10 per cent. less and the cost of coal and fuel is 30 per cent. less.

Henley's Telegraph Works.-We hear that the old works of the late W. T. Henley, North Woolwich, which have been standing unused 80 long, are shortly to be occupied by an electrical manufacturing firm.

The Electric Motor in South Africa.-Messrs. Hornsby and Sons, of Grantham, are making machinery for African gold mines to be worked by electric motors.

a

Woodhouse and Rawson's Wiring Tables. In our issue of July 19th last we made some comments on new wiring tables about to be published by Messrs. Woodhouse and Rawson. The remarks we then made have borne fruit in the production of a revised chart containing two tables. No. I. having been re-arranged and calculated with the allowance for temperature, may now be taken as a safe guide for ordinary practical work. It gives the number of yards to which currents from 0.5 to 420 ampères can be carried, with a loss of 2 volts, by a copper conductor of 98 per cent. conductivity; it also indicates by figures of heavier type the (approximately) largest currents which can be carried. by the respective cables in each row with a limit of current density of 1,000 ampères per square inch, and at this density, with perhaps the exception of the 61/13 cable, all the cables are well within the range of increase of temperature allowed by such an insurance office as the Guardian. It would be handy if another column were added for the areas of the several conducting strands, if only for comparison, as all makers do not manufacture their wires to the same gauge. We understand that Sabine's law of heating has been taken as the basis of the calculations, and that although the results are not actually definite they are near enough to the truth for all purposes Messrs. Woodhouse and Rawson had in view. They appear to have reasonable margin of safety in the carrying capacity of the cables-for instance, take a 37/12 conductor, and it will be found that the table fixes a limiting current of 300 ampères, while on referring to a table issued by the insurance offices, 340 ampères is given for the safe carrying capacity of the same 37 12 cable; by safe capacity is meant such a carrying capacity in the conductors that they shall not be raised in temperature more than about 10° centigrade, or 18° Fahrenheit. Sabine's law has been followed, it should be printed with the other data at the head of the tables. Table II. shows the distance to which any current is conducted by a cable with a given current-density and a given fall of potential. This table having no temperature corrections, must be used with care; but it has been greatly improved since it first came under our notice by the omission of all currents exceeding 2,000 ampères per square inch of conductor, so that as it stands the error is not likely, at the worst, to exceed a comparatively small percentage, and this can be allowed for by the estimator. It will no doubt be found that the ease with which this table can be used will counteract, in the estimation of most persons employing it, this want of accuracy. The table gives approximate results for losses of potential varying from 5 to 5 volts. Some particulars are shown in relation to its use with alternating currents. By means of four rules many other particulars can be seen, almost at a glance, relating to the given conductors, and as the whole information is contained on one sheet electric engineers and contractors will find the tables of much service as a ready reckoner,

As

NEW COMPANIES REGISTERED.

:

John Wild and Company, Limited, (Falcon Iro Works, Oldham). - Capital, £10,000 in £5 shares Objects To carry on business as mechanical and electrical engineers in all branches. Signatories (with 1 share each): J. H. Fisher, John Wild, C. Clegg, James Prockter, R. Scott Collinge, all of Oldham and neighbourhood; James Wild, Failsworth, near Manchester Registered 23rd inst. by Hooper and Son, of Ludgate Hill. Registered office, Falcon Street, Oldham Lancaster.

Hamilton Griffin and Company, Limited.-Capital £20,000 in £1 shares. Objects: To transact business as general and financial agents. To acquire concessions, or other authorities for the construction, maintenance, management, and working of railways, tramways, tele phones, electric light and power systems, and wate works, in any part of the world. Signatories (with 1 share each): Hamilton Griffin, M.D., 16, Frognal. N.W.; B. G. Godfrey, M.R.C.S., Balham; C. Breach, Kingston Hill; Holland Dell, 4, Great Winchester Street; J. B. Hendry, 376, Strand; W. L. Cooper, i. John Street, Adelphi; E. C. Stewart, 84, King George Street, Greenwich. Most of the regulations of Table A of the Companies Act, 1862, apply to the company Registered 24th inst. by W. L. Cooper, 29, Essex Street Strand.

OFFICIAL RETURNS OF ELECTRICAL

COMPANIES.

Consolidated Telephone Construction and Maintenance Company, Limited.-The annual return of this company made up to June 13th was filed on the 23r1 inst. The nominal capital is £307,545 divided in: 75,000 6 per cent. preference shares of £1 each (15,00) issued, but not allotted until June 20th, 1889), an 24,850 ordinary shares of 14s. each (all issued), 15 ordinary of £1 (unissued), and 75,000 ordinary shares of £1 (unissued). Upon the shares issued the full amount has been called and paid.

British Electric Propulsion and Traction Company, Limited. The annual return of this company made up to the 20th inst. was filed on the same day. The nominal capital is £5,000 in £1 shares. 3,191 shares have been taken up, 3,184 being considered as paid up, upon the remaining shares £7 has been paid. Regis tered office, 50, Gresham Street.

Chelsea Electricity Supply Company, Limited.An agreement of 10th inst. provides for the issue of fully paid shares in payment for money advanced and services rendered. The agreement was filed on the 18th inst.

Nightingale Automatic Electrical Machine Company, Limited. The registered office of this company is now situate at 28, Hatton Garden, E.C.

Williamson Electrical and Engineering Company, Limited. The registered office of this company is at 14, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,

SEPTEMBER 27, 1889.]

CITY NOTES.

The Direct Spanish Telegraph Company, Limited. In the report and accounts of the directors for the half-year ended 30th June, 1889, to be presented at the general meeting of shareholders, to be held on Tuesday, 1st October, 1889, the annexed accounts for the half-year ended 30th June, 1889, show, after providing for debenture interest, a balance to the credit of profit and Loss of £5,300 Os. 7d.

The traffic receipts are in excess of those for any half-year since the formation of the company, and show an increase of £508 6s. 10d. as compared with the corresponding half-year of 1888.

The working expenses are £4 163. 4d. less than in the correspondng period of last year.

With the exception of the interruption of the Bilbao cable from the 11th to the 27th January, referred to in the last report of the directors, the company's cables and the land lines in connection with them have continued in good working order.

The cost of the repairs of the Bilbao cable have, as intimated in the same report, been paid, partly out of the reserve fund, and partly out of revenue, in the following proportions :-£1,500 from the reserve fund, and the balance (£1,442 9s. 2d.) out of revenue.

The directors have put £2,500 of the balance of profit and loss to the reserve fund, which now amounts to £14,837 19s. 10d., and there remains an available balance of £2,800 Os. 7d. Out of this mount the directors recommend the payment of the dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum on the preference shares, and a dividend at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum (free of income tax) on the ordinary shares, carrying forward £41 83. 7d. to next

account.

The dividend warrants will be issued on 1st October.

The Eastern Extension, Australasia, and China Telegraph Company, Limited.-This company notifies that their accounts for the half-year ended June 30th last show, subject to audit, a balance of profit of £107,486, after payment of the interim dividend for the first quarter of the year. The directors have declared a dividend for the quarter ended June 30th of 2s. 6d. per share, payable, free of income tax, on the 15th prox., and have decided to charge £50,000 against revenue on account of the Western Australian cable, carrying the balance of £26,236 to the next account.

Reuter's Telegram Company.-At a board meeting of Reuter's Telegram Company held on Wednesday, the directors declared an interim dividend at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, free of income tax, for the half-year ending the 30th of June last, payable on the 12th prox.

TRAFFIC RECEIPTS.

The Western and Brazilian Telegraph Company. Limited. The traffic receipts for the weeks ending 13th September and 20th September, 1889, after deducting the fifth of the gross receipts payable to the London Platino-Brazilian Telegraph Company, Limited, were respectively £1,128 and £2,071.

AMERICAN NOTES.

By DAS TELEPHON.

IN matters historical anent telegraphy the records of Baltimore show that the first electro-magnetic recording telegraph line was established by Prof. Morse between Baltimore and Washington; and that the Sun was the first newspaper in the world to make use of the electric telegraph in May, 1844—the first Presidential message ever transmitted by telegraph was exclusively sent to the Sun.

The Western Union Telegraph Company raised its tariff on 1st September between New York, Boston and Philadelphia to 20 cents for 10 words, and 1 cent for each extra word, under an agreement with the Postal Telegraph Company, which is the only formidable opposition to the great telegraph water monopoly.

The Western Union Telegraph Company opposes the laying of its wires in the underground conduits under the streets of New York, and has brought suit in the U.S. Circuit Court to prevent the Mayor of New York from enforcing the order that the lines shall be put into the conduits.

In the bill filed the Western Union Company allege, under oath, that the proximity of steam, gas, and sewer pipes to the conduits destroyed the wires in them; that it is impracticable to keep the wires in the subways. In fact the conduit system in New York is an established failure, as many of the single wires and cables of 100 wires have already been destroyed by the steam, gas, and sewer escapes.

Mr. Baldwin, who has been connected with the company for 15 years, has had charge since February 1st, 1884, of all the aerial and subterranean wires, cables, &c., of the Western Union in this city and vicinity. Under oath he describes the company's experi

361

ments with an underground system on its own account. He likewise details his experience with the city's subways, and points out their impracticability.

The first of the latter subways used by the Western Union was that between its main office, at No. 195, Broadway, and Exchange Place, on Broadway, in November, 1887. Mr. Baldwin makes oath:

"We put two cables of 60 conductors each in that subway. In February, 1888, they began to fail. They were examined and found to be injured in the different manholes of the subway, the injury being caused, as we determined, by the workmen of the subway company, who performed their duties in the boxes carelessly. In April, 1888, about 20 of the conductors in the cables failed near Exchange Place, and we found that the insulation had been destroyed by the heat from the steam pipe in the ground near the subway. We repaired them in May, 1888, we closed our office at No. 63, Broadway, to which these cables were connected, and we then extended the cables, one to the Produce Exchange and one to the Consolidated Exchange, through subways under Broadway which had been built by the Subway Company about that time. Since then we have added one cable in this subway to the Produce Exchange and another to our office at No. 16, Broad Street, to connect with the Stock Exchange, ocean cables and other wires, by way of subways constructed through Exchange Place and Broad Street. During every month since that time conductors in each of these four cables have failed, and in the majority of cases these failures have been caused by steam heat from the steam pipes underground between our main office and Exchange Place. On two occasions the heat was so intense that it was impossible for our workmen to enter the boxes to repair the wires and cables, though the manhole covers had been left off for several hours.

"In December, 1887, in compliance with a notice from the Board of Electrical Control, we placed two cables, containing 60 conductors each, into the subway conduits from our main office, up Broadway to the corner of Vesey Street, then across Broadway, through Park Row, to the City Hall Station. In February, 1888, the wires in these cables began to fail, and continued to do so until August, 1888. On the 14th of that month, two-thirds of the wires in one cable having failed, the part of the cable in that subway between Beekman and Fulton Streets was pulled out and a new section substituted for it. The insulation of the cable taken out was found to be entirely destroyed, the insulating material having been baked out by the heat, and being in such a condition that it fell apart upon the slightest tension.

"On October 14th, 1888, two-thirds of the conductors in the other original cable had failed, and the section of it between Beekman and Fulton Streets was pulled out and a new cable substituted. The defective section was so badly baked and rotten that it broke in the pipes when we were engaged in taking it out, and we had to remove it in pieces.

"During the next month, November, 1888, and up to the 13th day of that month, the conductors in each of these new cables had failed so rapidly, by reason of the heat coming from the steam pipes near the subway, that we were compelled to call the attention of the Consolidated Company, which had constructed the subways to it; and thereupon the Board of Electrical Control gave the Western Union Telegraph Company permission to substitute aerial wires on Park Row. The two new cables that were taken out were found to be in precisely the same condition as those previously removed, the insulating material having been so completely destroyed as to allow the wires to connect with each other or with the ground, thus making them entirely useless for telegraphic purposes."

The experience of the subways of New York may be of service in London and other large cities.

The Commercial Cable Company has filed a certificate, as required by law, of an increase of capital from six to ten millions of dollars, for the purpose of retaining six million of debenture bonds. An electrical letter-stamping machine is now on trial at the Post Office Department, which cancels 24,000 stamps an hour. The Postmaster-General is much pleased with the work it turns out. The best a man can do with the hand stamp is about 3,000 letters an hour. The machine works all the details automatically, and stamps clearly and accurately.

The Vanderbilts are having a large number of motors built to be used on their street railways. There are now 109 street railroads using electric motors in the United States.

A company in Connecticut, the land of wooden nutmegs, has organised a company to manufacture self-winding clocks, the motive power to be electricity, generated by two Leclanche cells, which do the work effectually for 12 months without renewal. The clock is wound every hour by a current from the battery operating on a pair of magnets. The main wheel, which makes a revolution once an hour, closes the circuit at every revolution. When the circuit is closed momentarily, the armature is pulled towards the magnets, drawing with it a lever, which moves one tooth of the ratchet wheel fastened to the case containing a fine steel spring attached to the centre pinion. This operation is repeated for five seconds, at the rate of three blows a second, until the spring is entirely wound up, and then the current is cut off by the action of the main wheel.

Philadelphia is contesting with New York for the greatest subway explosion caused by sewer gas.

A Sewer Blown Up in Philadelphia.-Philadelphia, September 4th. For several weeks illuminating gas had been gathering in the sewers and drains along Vienna Street, between Memphis Street and Frankford Road. Yesterday afternoon workmen uncovered the gas main at Sepviva and Vienna Streets, and Joseph