193 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[June, 



been mentioned most favourably in various learned associations of this 

 country. By the adoption of this project all vessels that now double Cape 

 Horn from the I'nited States would save upwards of twelve thousand miles 

 of the distance, and tljose from Europe eight thousand in reaching the west 

 coast of Mexico,, proceeding from thence to China, &c., and all vessels bound 

 to the Pacific would not only save time but also avoid the dangers of the 

 present navigation. By this undertaking the Oregon territory, the Califor- 

 nias, Mexico, Peru and Chili, an extent of eight thousand miles' from Nootka 

 Bay to Cape Horn, will receive what may be termed a new existence. These 

 countries can produce hides, fish, oil, whalebone, fine woods, cotton, indigo, 

 coffee, sugar, cocoa, cloves and other spices, cochineal, ivory, furs, coral, ore 

 of the precious metals, &c., and oflTer for colonization many advantages to 

 capitalists. 



(Signed) William Vickers. 



12, Somera Street, Gloucester Si/uare, 

 Hyde Park. 



We hope to be able next month to give more ample dotails of this 

 undertaking, together with a map showing the adjaeent country. 



THE ANTI-CORN.LAW BAZAAR. 



Viewed quite apart from the particular political tenets of the promoters of 

 the undertaking, the exhibition of British manufactures in the Covent Garden 

 Theatre, during the month of May, possesses many features which deserve 

 the general attention of the country. A synoptical display of the rarest arti- 

 ficial productions of tlie greatest manufacturing country in the world, must 

 necessarily be a wonderful and dazzling cvhibition, but it possesses a value 

 beyond that of merely amusing, or exciting interest in the spectators. Com- 

 pared with analogous exhibitions in other countries, it furnishes an index not 

 only of our actual progress in the arts, but of our relative progress also; in- 

 forms us not only whether we advanced or not, but also whether we are 

 advancing faster or slower than other nations. 



And this comparison has better objects than the puerilities of national 

 vanity. The manufacturer in viewing the efforts of his own countrymen, 

 leceives a wholesome stimulus to his exertions, and gains at every step in- 

 struction and suggestion ; observes how difBculties, which the experienced 

 eye could alone discover, have been obviated by others, and notes down the 

 effects of their errors; in fine, gets more practical information in a few days 

 than his own cogitations would have taught him in a twelvemonth. Such 

 are the great advantages which may be fairly anticipated from a national 

 exhibition of arts and manufactures. Such are the effects really produced 

 by the Exposition des Beaur Arts all over the continent, and the Covent 

 Garden Bazaar had it been even less meritorious than it was, would have 

 possessed the exceedingly great merit of suggesting the establishment of 

 Expositions in our own country. 



It has occurred to the conductors of this journal to witness in various 

 parts of the continent these national exhibitions, and nothing contributes 

 more to the self-satisfaction of an Englishman than the comparisons, or 

 rather contrasts, thus afforded between foreign manufactures and our own. 

 Without refusing a great share of merit to our neighbours for their progress 

 in the arts, we cannot avoid an impression that the products which tliey ex- 

 hibit, as samples and specimens, are seldom equal anil never superior to those 

 met with in the ordinary course of trade in England. We are accustomed to 

 a certain inflated style in tlie descriptions of continental Expositions and 

 museums of manufactures ; we hear much, for instance, of the wondrous 

 magnificence of the Sevres porcelain, — but, heterodox as the sentiment may 

 appear to those who are content with the information of itineraries and 

 guide-books, it may be doubted whether our admiration in walking through 

 the Sevres gallery would not be much abated by a previous inspection of our 

 own Potteries. And we here institute the comparison most favourable to the 

 continental manufacturer, namely, the comparison of works of which the 

 greater part of the value is derived from their ornamental details, but in 

 productions of pure utility we apprehend that the foreigner would not even 

 venture on a competition. 



Imagine the costly grandeur, the magnificent diversity and vastness, of an 

 adequate N.\tional Exhibition of British Manufactures, an exhibi- 

 tion not confined within the limits of a theatre, but filling the galleries of a 

 vast public edifice, — not promoted by one particular part of the people, but 

 undertaken by the co-operation of the imperial magistrate, the legislature, 

 and the whole nation ! Conceive the amount of genius, industry, wealth, 

 and skill displayed in the magnificent spectacle. Such an exhibition were to 

 a rightly thinking mind the noblest ever projected by the genius of man or 

 executed by his skill, — a gigantic monument of the combination of physical 

 and intellectual power, a vast realization of thought, the fitting representa- 

 tion of the greatest of nations, and, above all, a substantial exponent of its 

 moral influence. 



It were difficult to overrate the advantages of such an undertaking, or even 

 to foresee them. Even the exhibition already accomplished, imperfect as it 

 necessarily is, is a beautiful indication of the variety and resources of the 

 national industry, and every way gratifying, as proving the practicability of 

 one more complete. The appearance of manufactures disjilaved with all the 

 accessory effect that could be obtained from dazzbng light 'and the scenic 

 decorations of the tl. eatre, prodtwes an impressioa aluigst illusive. Notwith- 



standing the extent of space really filled, there has not been room for a great 

 part of the contributions, and even those actually exhibited are too much 

 crowded together. It must not, however, be supposed that the character of 

 the Bazaar approaches that of a National Exhibition of Manufactures; we 

 are not even prepared to allow that it in this respect fulfils the expectations 

 which might naturally be formed from the professions of the exhibitors. 

 The gorgeous displays of carpets for instance, of gold and silver plate, of 

 Sheffield ware, and of the costly porcelain of the Potteries, which our manu- 

 facturers might well produce, are here wanting. Thoseonly who really know 

 the magnificence of the manufactures of England can properly estimate the de- 

 fects of the Bazaar as an Exposition of them. Indeed we find serious fault that 

 the exhibition has been too much of a Bazaar, and too little an Exposition of Arts. 

 This, however, was perhaps unavoidable, but notwithstanding the large space 

 appropriated to the valuable manufactures, we felt that they did not deserve 

 to he jostled by displays of kettle-holders, fortune-telling dolls, autograph 

 doggrel, abortive efiforts at wit, and multitudinous productions of patchwork 

 and pasteboard which do not atone for their uselessness by any beauty of 

 design. 



Our report is carefully abridged from a series of papers called the Bazaar 

 Gazette. These papers are written admirably, and contain here and there 

 ideas so valuable that we regret to see them conveyed in a temporary publi- 

 cation. The most beautiful part of the collection is, perhaps, the contribu- 

 tions from Colebrook Dale. The notice in the 7V;«es stated that the design 

 of the roof of the Gothic Hall was that of a cathedral. We beg, however, to 

 assure our readers that they have never seen a cathedral roof resembling this, 

 and in all probability never will. The style, if anything, is civil — or rather 

 t/ieatrical — Gothic. 



The first view of the general arrangement of the Golliic Hall, at the en- 

 trance is very imposing; the illuminated roof, with its Gothic mouldings and 

 richly decorated arches, the two vistas of pillars extending along each side, 

 and the gorgeous painted window at the remote extreme, seem to realize the 

 imaginary halls in the palace of Aladdin. The elevation of the dress circle 

 above the level of the pit enables the visitor to take in the whole at the first 

 glance, and hence the effect of the cmp d'lcil is most striking and imposing. 

 There is a descent of a few easy steps into the body of the hall, where the 

 stalls are situated , and we shall first describe those connected with the range 

 of boxes on the right band side of the visitor at entrance. 



" Some beautiful specimens of table cutlery, in handsome cases, were exhi- 

 bited, from the manufactory of Messrs. Hargraves : the exquisite style in 

 which they are finished, and the taste displayed in the handle, ferules, and 

 other fittings have attracted universal admiration. Several splendid pairs 

 of scissors, of universal richness, in an elaborate style of ornament, have 

 been contributed ; also superb specimens from the extensive manufacturing 

 establishment of William Greaves and Sous, Sheaf Works, Sheffield. These 

 consist of a selection of carpenters', curriers', and ship builders' tools, and 

 file, and steel articles not ordinarily (as it would be thought) possessing the 

 capability of much display. This iutractability is overcome by a splendour 

 of finish only inferior, as we are credibly informed, to their solid and intrinsic 

 qualities. 



" William Greaves and Sons furnished an admirable specimen. It is a 

 solid bar of steel, showing at one extremity about six inches of the steel in 

 Hi first crystallized state after fusing. The next six inches exhibit the same 

 bar of steel, drawn out under hammers, into a round suitable for dies for 

 coining. The next six inches into a square for edge tools, Ac. The next 

 octagon, for chisels and turning tools. The next triangular, for machinery 

 purposes. The next flat, for razors, table knives, &c. ; and, finally, the bar 

 is elongated into a spear blade about 11 inches long; the whole highly po- 

 lished, and ornamented in exquisite etching, save only the first six inches of 

 the raw unhardened steel, which is left in its originally rough state, as an in- 

 teresting contrast to the finished blade at the other extremity. 



" The Sheflield stall exhibits a gold-backed knife, valued at 20 guineas, 

 and several cases of table knives and forks ; an exquisite model of a steam 

 engine, executed with equal taste and accuracy, so as to be at once a band- 

 some ornament in a drawing-room, and a valuable teacher of mechanical 

 science. This model was contributed by Messrs. Chesterman & Co. There 

 were also several telescopes, and an assortment of powder flasks. Of the 

 plated ware there is a very rich and varied assortment, including trays, stands 

 for bottles, and liqueur cases. The China and Porcelain stall at the upper 

 end of the saloon exhibits some noble specimens of Wedgewood's unrivalled 

 jasper vases, from New Etruria, in the Staffordshire Potteries. Among them 

 is a fine copy of the Portland or Barherini vase, so recently broken in the 

 British Museum, 



{To be continued.) 



PKOCEEDIfIGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



THK ROYAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF ARTS. 



The Society met in the Saloon, 91, Prince's Street, on Monday, April 14, 

 184.'>.— The President in the Chair. 



The following communications were made : — 



" ./ New Self-Acting Method of taking tlie Buckets from the mouth of 

 Coal Pits, and shutting off the Steam from tlie Winding Engine. By Mr. 

 Daniel Erskine. — A beautifully executed working model, in which the 

 cyhnder of the engine is only a quarter of aa inch in diameter, and of half 



