318 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL' 



I July, 



centre, through whicli the index and dial can be seen when placed 

 on the instrument. The questions and answers are printed radi- 

 ally, so that a p-eat number are contained witliin tlie rang:e of the 

 index in its circuit ; and as it stops at any one, a whole sentence 

 may be at once indicated. Should any word not on tlie code be 

 required, the index is made to point to the word " spell," and 

 afterwards it indicates the letters of the alphaliet that form the 

 word to be communicated. One plan of operating is by water- 

 level indicators, tlie water in two vertical tubes being elevated or 

 de))ressed till it sto])s at the signal wanted. Another telegraph, 

 whicli however requires great delicacy in the manipulation, con- 

 sists of two chronometers, each of which has a hjng second hand 

 pointing to radially-placed words and sentences on the dial. It is 

 essential to tlie accuracy of the working, that the two cjironome- 

 ters should mo\-e syclironously, for if there be the least deviation, 

 it would transmit incorrectly. Supposing that the hands on the 

 two dials at a distance from each otlier, are always pointing to the 

 same words, in their re\olutions, — whenever the transmitting 

 instrument points to the sentence required, the operator is in- 

 stantly to sound a bell at the distant station by means of electri- 

 city ; and the observer there must notice at what sentence the 

 hand is pointing when the bell sounds. If both operators be not 

 very prompt in making and obser^•ing the signals, a wrong message 

 would be communicated. This difficulty, however, Mr. vFhishaw 

 thinks may be overcome, and he has had mueli practical acquaint- 

 ance with the difficulties in irorking telegraplis during a connec- 

 tion of some duration with the Electric Telegraph Company. 



tects invariably show themselves to be the most pluckless race 

 imaginal)le. Whenever their own personal interests are touched, 

 or at all endangered, they are generally sensitive enough; but 

 when it is only the credit of their art and their profession that is 

 concerned, they sliow themselves to be the most torpid .anil 

 sluggish of mortals. 



Zebo. 



THE " ART-JOURNAL" versus ARCHITECTURE. 



Not content with excluding architecture, and all notice of it 

 from his columns, although he brings mere industrial art, as it is 

 called, prominently forward, showing munerous specimens of it in 

 every number of his publication, the majority of which are calcu- 

 lated to diffuse exceedingly bad taste among the public, — the 

 editor of the Art-Journal appears anxious to get architecture 

 thrust out of the Royal Academy. Some short time ago, he pro- 

 tested against architects being elected members of that body ; and 

 he now tells us that architectural drawings have ''no business" to 

 be in its exhibitions. This is very much like saying that there 

 ought to be no exliibitions anywhere of such productions — ^the 

 Academy's being the only one where they are admitted. It is to 

 be hoped, however, that this marked insult will now arouse archi- 

 tects, more especially the leaders in the profession, and those who 

 are members of the Academy, to a sense of their duty, and of 

 what they owe, if not to themselves personally, at least to their 

 brethren. Should it not do so, they must be lethargic indeed ; 

 and will fuUy justify at least one-half of the Art-Journal's opinion, 

 by showing that at all events they have " no business" in the 

 Academy. 



A^'hat is the Professor of Aixhitecture about, that he can pa- 

 tiently put up witJi the present state of matters with regard to 

 architecture at the Academy ? Hardly can he be ignorant of it, 

 or not perceive how greatly it calls for correction ; nevertheless, he 

 makes no effort at all to correct it. Had he liestirred himself at 

 all, we sliould of course have heard of it ; moreo\'er, if he had, and 

 had done so ineffectually, we should Iia^e heard of his resignation, — 

 ^^•hich would be far more liououraI)le to him than is the making 

 himself a cypher, — not only without influence, but without even 

 so much as a tongue or a voice. 



AV^hatever — if any at all — the emoluments attached to the Pro- 

 fessorship of Architecture may be, tliey cannot be such as to be of 

 any moment to Mr. Cockerell. So long as tlie situation confers 

 honour on liim who holds it, it is wortli having, whether any emo- 

 lument at all be attached to it or not. But rather quite tlie 

 reverse of honour attends it, when he who liolds it is expected to 

 sit liy \ery tamely, and see all kinds of sliglits and affronts put 

 upon architecture, without so much as attenii)ting to check them. 



There is, indeed, no danger of either the Professor or the Aca- 

 demy being called to account for the dereliction of their duty in 

 regard to architecture, by the public press — that is, tlie newspapers ; 

 architecture being the very last thing of all to excite their atten- 

 tion or engage their sympathies. Yet if tliey, therefore, think 

 that they are released from all responsibility to public ojiinion, and 

 that their conduct excites no animadversion in other quarters, they 

 are very much mistaken. 



As to the editor of the Art-Journal, he ought to be hanged — in 

 ■effigy, at least — by the architects, liut, somehow or other, archi- 



THE DISPUTED INVENTION OF TUBULAR BRIDGES. 



AVe regret to perceive, now success has attended the bold 

 experiment of constructing tubular bridges, that attempts are 

 being made to depri\e Mr. Robert Stephenson of the merit so 

 justly his due, as the original designer of the plan, and the super- 

 intender of its execution. Mr. Fairbairn, who, with Mr. Eaton 

 Hodgkinson, assisted Mr. Stephenson in working out the design, 

 claims to have the merit of all but the " original idea ;" and he 

 maintains that the working out of the idea and the de\elopment of 

 the principle, as well as the greater portion of the construction, 

 are the results of his labours. He states, also, that the original 

 idea of JNIr. Stephenson was a cylindrical tube, to be supported 

 by chains ; which plan, he says, can be proved would never have 

 succeeded ; and that it was only by a long series of inductive rea- 

 soning, founded on experimental research, of which he claims the 

 exclusix-e merit, that tlie present strength and form of the Conway 

 and Britannia tubular bridges were established. 



It is of great importance not only to Mr. Stephenson, but to 

 civil engineers and inventors in genera], that these claims of Mr. 

 Fairbairn should be estimated at their proper value. The original 

 idea of overcoming the difficulty of taking the railway across the 

 Menai Straits, by the construction of a tubular bridge, is admitted 

 to Ije due exclusively to Mr. Stephenson. !Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. 

 Eaton Hodgkinson were employed by him to assist in its construc- 

 tion, and to make the experiments necessary to determine the best 

 form for obtaining the requisite strength. He must, of course, 

 have expected, from their known skill and experience in the 

 strength of materials, that they would be able to afford important 

 assistance in devising the means adapted to overcome the difficul- 

 ties which such a novel structure necessarily presented. The 

 ex])eriments they made were subject to Mr. Stephenson's approval, 

 and may be said to have lieen conducted under his superintendence. 

 The mode of making them would however, for the most part, be 

 necessai-Uy entrusted to Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Hodgkinson ; who 

 were not employed as mere mechanical agents, to act strictly under 

 directions, but as practical men of science, — expected to bring 

 their skill, ingenuity, and mathematical knowledge to bear on the 

 important work entrusted to them, and to arrange the details by 

 which Mr. Stephenson's invention could be best carried into effect. 

 That Mr. Fairbairn has amply fulfilled what was expected from 

 him, and has, under Mr. Stephenson's superintendence, completed 

 the task ably, skilfully, and successfully, is a great merit, of which 

 he may well be proud. Beyond this, he ought not to wish to 

 carry his claims. Not only the original idea of tubular bridges, 

 but a mode of carrying it into effect, unquestionably belong 

 to ;\Ir. Stephenson. Whether that was the best mode, was to be 

 determined b)' experimental researches ; and the result led to an 

 improvement in the means first devised. This is the general and 

 almost necessary course in the perfection of any invention ; and 

 whether the inventor carry on the experiments entirely by himself, 

 or whether he obtain the assistance of others in perfecting his 

 invention, does not affect his claim as the original iinentor. It 

 appears to us that a machinist or a draughtsman might, with 

 nearly equal pretension, claim to be the in^-entor of an appar.atus, 

 or the architect of a building, — because he had succeeded in 

 making the machinery, or in comi)leting designs from outline 

 plans, — as Mr. Fairbairn can claim to be the inventor of tubular 

 bridges. We trust that, for the sake of his own reputation, he 

 will be satisfied with the merit acknowledged to be his, and not 

 persist in claiming more. 



Floatiny Tunnel across the Channel. — One of tlic most exlraordiuary plans 

 submitted for approval to the French Academy of Sciences is that of M. 

 Ferdinand, engineer, who proposes to construct a floating tunnel from Calais 

 to Dover, for the wires of the electric telegraph, and large enough to be 

 traversed by small locomotives, for tlie conveyance of passengers. The plan 

 was referred to one of the members of the Academy for examination. 



