MAGAZINE OP SCIENCE AND AKT. 
269 
and retention of our freedom has been rendered prac¬ 
ticable by the influence of the steam-engine, and that 
so long as there existed but one eminence of power and 
command, such as the exclusive possession of the land 
provided, there always would exist a set of ambitious 
and selfish scramblers determined to secure it and use 
to the utmost the influence and power it gave. Mecha¬ 
nism to the manufactures lias not annihilated it, but 
has raised a competitor; but so thoroughly has this 
power amalgamated all classes under its influence by 
the multiplication of pursuits, the division of labour, 
the creation of a mutual dependence between em¬ 
ployers and employed, and the opening out of many 
fresh fields of labour and industry, that it is beyond 
the power of one separate clique ocinterest to alienate 
itself from the general community and encroach on the 
common interests and liberties of the people. 
But the want of the necessaries of life is a feeling that 
drowns every other, and diminishes and even dissipates 
the fear of death. It can, therefore, be made a much 
greater engine of tyranny than the bayonet. So 
long as the food of a nation is not open to the most 
complete system of competition a monopoly can he 
established, and a mere equality, or pretended equality, 
in the criminal code is no test of national freedom. I 
think that the steam engine applied to manufactures 
has laid the groundwork for the great and rapid step 
that society has taken in tho course of liberty and 
intelligence in the last fifty years, and that the appli¬ 
cation of steam to agriculture promises even more 
mature fruits in the next- The inventor must precede 
the reformer, and render his doctrines capable of 
accomplishment; for so long as there exists an 
eminence from which a monopoly can exert its influ¬ 
ence, and is at the same time a means of exorbitant 
acquisition^ the theories of the reformer cannot combat 
■with the more practical weapons of wealth and influ¬ 
ence. Man’s pride, obstinacy, and self-interest, is no 
easier overcome now than in the days of Julius Ctesar; 
necessity only subdues; and while the reformer 
attempts to regulate the development, the physical 
power of steam carries on its system of mining quietly 
and silently, with no apparent enmity in its operations, 
and in the midst of fancied security destruction comes. 
Classes are as determined as ever, but not so concen¬ 
trated or powerful. Were it not for the moral 
impossibility of a powerful concentration, which is 
the result of the extension of manufacturing industry, 
no representative government would long exist where 
men could be found to use the bayonet or do any¬ 
thing else for money. 
I remain, yours truly, 
John WhEatut Giles. 
[The inventor of the machine here indi¬ 
cated has, we aTe informed, exhibited his 
model to tire very high engineering autho¬ 
rity in this colony, and has succeeded 
in producing a conviction of its utility. 
We are not, of course, in the secret, 
and therefore cannot divulge the modus 
operandi, hut we may inform our readers, 
that the discoverer is now on his road to 
England, in the steam ship European, to | 
take out a patent, carrying with him in¬ 
fluential letters of recommendation to 
leading scientific men there, where, we 
have no doubt, the invention will receive 
a full and satisfactory trial.] —Ed. Sydney 
Mag. S. and A. 
Our talented and indefatigable contri¬ 
butor, Mr. Meston, has favoured us with 
the following communication concerning 
Palmer's Patent Horse Kailway, which we 
suggested as applicable to colonial neces¬ 
sities some month or two ago. We may 
mention, that since our article on this new 
description of railway appeared, we have 
heard from several persons, who have seen 
this railway in practical application, not 
only in England, hut on the continent at 
Posen, and in America. In every case, as 
far as we can hear, it answered satisfac¬ 
torily. At the recent exhibition of the 
Horticultural Society there was an excel¬ 
lently made model of the same railway, 
which gave hundreds of persons a far better 
idea of its mode of working than any 
description could do. It created much 
enquiry, and seemed to convince all who 
carefully inspected it of the perfect prac¬ 
ticability of the plan. 
We are still in the dark as to what mode 
the present government purpose to adopt 
to meet the urgent wants of the country for 
internal communication. Indeed the ex¬ 
citement in the matter seems, at present, 
to have lulled, the long period of dry wea¬ 
ther having made most of the roads pass¬ 
able. We have only to wait, however, for 
a few weeks’ rain and the outcry for roads 
will he as urgent as ever, and as far as we 
can see, there is no plan proposed to 
remedy the evil:— 
To the Editor of the Sidney Magazine of Science 
anil Art. 
“ Sir —Whether Mr. Palmer or yourself, as inventors of 
the single line and semi-rerial railway shall bear away the 
I palm and wear the laurels, we must leave to future time* 
Similar instances of eotemporaneous discoveries may be 
frequently found on record. The plan is novel, and may 
it succeed. 
“A few difficulties, apparently, present themselves, 
which better engineers than myself will perhaps be able 
to remove or counteract. Permit my remarks: 
“1st, May not the force of our north - westers have 
strength sufficient to destroy the equilibrium of the load¬ 
ing, when blowing laterally, and perhaps upset the trains ? 
A brisk breeze, of 20 miles an hour, will occasionally 
press with an extra force of 10 pounds per square foot; 
and a gale blowing at a speed of 35 miles per hour would 
more than quadruple that averdupois FuTious thunder- 
gusts will be felt as still more dangerous. 
“ How is this addltionaal resistance a-head, or pressure, 
to be countervailed ? 
“ 2nd, Traction by horses — especially in a horse rearing 
country — is doubtless the cheapest means of locomotion 
for a thinly-peopled colony, such as Australia. Professor 
Pell’s theorem that the cost of roads ought always to be 
commensurate with the population and requirements of a 
couutry, should be stereotyped as an axiom—for no man 
of common sense, or of uncommon science, will attempt 
to deny the absolute truth. 
“ But horses draw with greatest effect when the line of 
draught passes in a direct line from the point or points of 
resistance, straight to the shoulders, a little below their 
centres of gravity—so termed. 
“ in the proposed new railway, the line of draught will 
always be above, sometimes far above, and no lengthening 
