Particulars of a new channel between the rivers Weser and Taher, for vessels of a moderate draught of water, arriving with a S. W., or departing with a N.E. wind. This channels laid down with Three Red and one White Buoy; on each of the Three Red Buoys (Bojetenne), is an iron rod, with a wicker basket, differing in color and shape from those in the old channel of the Weser and Taher. The White Buoy is a customary one, but likewise with an iron rod and wicker basket. At a later period, this will be replaced by a Bojetenne. Vessels on arriving, have to keep the Red Buoys to the right; and the White one to the left. The first Red Buoy (No. I), bears S.E. E. from the Key Buoy, 8 fathoms, at low water; from thence the bearings are as follows: The steeple of Wangoroog W. S., and the lighthouse is to be run free to the north of the steeple; Minser Church SS. W. W.; Light Vessel (No. I), S.Eb.E. E., at ebb tide; Red Buoy (No. II), S.E. The second Red Buoy (No. II), lies in 5 fathoms, at low water, near the Taher Plate, which rises steeply; the bearings from these are White Buoy (No. O), N.E.; Red Buoy (No. III), S.E. S.; steeple of Wangeroog, W. S.; Minser Church S.W. S.; Light Vessel (No. I), S,E.b.E.E., at ebb tide; Red Buoy (No. I), Ñ.W. The third Red Buoy (No. III), lies in 7 fathoms, at low water; the bearings from thence are Eighth Black or G Buoy, S.E.b. E.; steeple at Wangeroog W. N.; Min. ser Church, S.W. † W.; Light Vessel (No. I), E. & N., at ebb tide. The White Buoy (No. O ), lies in 44 fathoms, at low water; the bearings from thence are Steeple at Wangeroog, W. S.; Minser Church S.W. 2 S.; Red Buoy (No. III), S.S.E, E.; Red Buoy (No. II), S. W.; Light Vessel (No.I), S.E.E., at ebb tide. The steering through this channel from the Key Buoy to the first Red Buoy, is S.E. E.; and from thence S.E., till between the seventh Black or F Buoy, and the eighth Black or G Buoy. From thence in the old channel of the Weser, steering for the Mellum rather nearer to the F than to the G Buoy, where there are nearly three fathoms at low water. The flood tide runs southerly in to the River Taher, and the ebb tide northerly. In navigating the new channel a pilot is to be recommended. These bearings are by compass. THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. The following further accounts of the Arctic Expedition have been received since our last : Ness, Stromness, October 23rd, 1848. SIR.-I take the liberty of communicating the following intelligence of the Arctic Expedition, under Sir J. C. Ross, handed me by Mr. Richard Hill, of the Hull Whaler, Lord Gambier, arrived at this port on the 21st inst. On the 21st of July, communicated with H.M. Expedition, Capt. Sir J. C. Ross, and Bird, lying at a berg, near the "Devil's Thumb," lat. 74° 20', found all well, remained in company until the 25th, when a breeze sprung up from S.W., with thick fog, did not see the ships again. Plyed to the southward, and crossed to the west land of Davis's Straits, on the 3rd of August, found little interruption from ice, and made "Agnes' Monument" on the NO. 12.-VOL. XVII. 4 8 morning of the 4th of August. Captain Hill, has no doubt the Expedition would cross to Lancaster Sound about the first week in August. This will, in all probability, be the latest intelligence of the Arctic Expedition this season, which you will oblige by communicating to my Lords Commissioners. I have the honour to be, &c., Hull, November 3rd, 1848. HONORABLE SIRS. The Lord Gambier, Capt. Richard Hill, having arrived from Davis's Straits last evening, I beg to inform you that, on the 21st of July, he made fast to the same iceberg as Capt Sir James Ross, and the other discovery ship, and was on board of them both on that day, and they were all well, and in good spirits, and hoped soon to get a north passage; this was off Cape Shackleton. On the 25th of July, he parted company in thick weather (just before the "Devil's Thumb," bore S. distance 9 leagues). He got across into the west water in about 70° 40', and was alone on the west side, and as far north as Cape Bowen, on the 2nd of September, but saw nothing or any signs of Sir John Franklin, or his expedition. I regret I have no more favourable news to communicate; but, having scen Sir James Ross, probably the last, thought it advisable to inform you of it. I remain, yours, &c., ROBERT COLLISON, We have frequently had occasion to record in these pages the account of bottles being found, and have thereby arrived at a fair illustration of the surface currents of the ocean, as the bottle chart in our volume for will testify; and, it is a remarkable fact that, it is to a similar means of obtaining information that we are now placed in possession of the latest accounts of the Arctic Expedition, gone in search of Sir John Franklin. By the kind attention of the chief of the Record Office, in the Admiralty,* we have been enabled to preserve a complete record of the intelligence which has been received of the progress of this expedition, to which we now add the following account, transcribed from the original document; and, as some time must now elapse before we have any further accounts of the expedition, we may allude with some degree of satisfaction to this true seaman-fashion of turning to good account the currents of the ocean. By this account we find that the ships had fairly gained the entrance of Lancaster Sound, in time we hope to find their way into snug winter quarters. Stromness, Orkney, November 7th, 1848. SIR. We have the honor to forward the enclosed letter, picked up by Mr. 'I homas Lee, of the Hull whaler, Prince of Wales, off Cape Hooper, Davis Straits, in lat. 68° 10' N., long. 64° 30′ W., on the 1st of October. The Prince of Wales arrived here last evening, and we beg you will lay these before the Lords of the Admiralty. We have the honor to be, &c., Secretary of the Admiralty, London. DAVIDSON & SINCLAIR, Agents. * John Barrow, Esq., who has contributed several papers of professional interest to the pages of this work. The following is a copy of the paper alluded to : "H.M. ships Enterprize and Investigator, cleared the main pack in Melville Bay on the 20th of August, and after examining Ponds Bay on the 23rd, passed to the northward in search of the expedition under the command of Capt. Sir John Franklin. "The cask which contains this paper was thrown from H.M.S. Investigator, on the 28th of August, 1848, in lat. 73° 50′ N., and long. 78° 6′ 30′′ W., all well, Enterprize in company. "Whoever may find this paper is requested to forward it to the Secretary of the Admiralty, London; with a note of the date, latitude and longitude in which the cask was found. "EDWARD BIRD, Captain." BOTTLE PAPERS. WHILE on the subject of the currents of the ocean, we shall here place on record the following bottle papers which have reached us; the first is communicated in the following letter from Lieut. Drew, R.N.: Coast Guard Station, Shoreham, Sussex, SIR.-I beg leave to inform you that, about 12h. 30m. P.M., this day, a black bottle was picked up on the beach, containing the paper enclosed, which appears to have been thrown overboard from the Agnus Sophia. The paper was wet and torn, but I make it out to be "Thrown overboard froin the Agnus Sophia, of Padstow, in lat. 47° 53′ N., and long. 7° 34' W., from Lisbon ten days, bound for London - June 8th, 1848. William Jenkin." I am, Sir, &c., To Capt. G. S. Reynolds, R.N., Inspecting Commander, Rottingdean. FREDERICK DREW, Lieut., R.N. We have numbered this 3 b. It has taken the usual course up the English Channel, and has travelled 350 miles in 56 days, or about 6 miles a day, N.E.b.E. The next is from Lloyd's agent at Maranham. Maranham, September 12th, 1848. SIR.-I beg to transmit to you the enclosed paper, thrown from the ship Thomas Brocklebank. It was found in a bottle in the Bay of Cucacoevia, to leeward of this port, on the 2nd of June last. To the Editor N.M. I am, Sir, &c., ANDREW NEILSON, Lloyd's Agent. April 16th, 1848. "Thomas Brocklebank, from Liverpool, towards Calcutta, lat. 6° 58′ S., long 28° 7′ W., wind S.E. To the Editor N.M. "HENRY PONSONBY, Commander." This bottle we have called No 40 b on the Bottle Chart. It has taken the usual track W.N.W., making good 1050 miles in 53 days, or about 20 miles a day. The next is from Grenada. Grenada, August, 7th, 1848. SIR.-The cask in which the enclosed was found, was picked up on the shore of the windward side of this island, on the 14th ult. I am, Sir, &c., ALEXANDER BAND. May 7th, 1848. Ship Sophia, Capt. Saxon, from Calcutta, February 11th, 1848, bound to Demerara, with Coolies. N.B. This cask was thrown overboard in lat. 5° 10' N., long. 40° 20′ W. Whoever should pick this up will be kind enough to report it to the Editor of the Nautical Magazine. This has drifted in the usual direction W.N.W., making good 1310 miles in 150 days, or about 12 miles a day. IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.-Under this head a correspondent of the Southern Reporter has the following:-"Within the last few days I have been informed on indubitable authority that some of the talented and scientific gentlemen connected with the Royal Irish Fisheries Company, have discovered that "the celebrated fishing banks of Newfoundland actually extend across the Atlantic to within 100 miles of Ireland!" and the quantity of fish on the said banks, is more than sufficient to supply the markets of the whole world. a LORD MAYOR'S DAY.-A new feature was introduced into the "Lord Mayor's Show" of Thursday, namely, a model of a very handsome brig, on a car, drawn by six horses. The little craft was neatly rigged, and was well found in serviceable stores, being supplied with most of the patent improvements and inventions of the age, such as Harris's lightning conductors, Brown's controllers, and Porter's celebrated anchors. She was well manned, and her gallant seamen on deck and in the tops cheered lustily in acknowledgment of the continuous plaudits of the crowded populace. Without any excessive stiffness, she stood up very well on her legs; she pitched very little, rolled less, and appeared quite easy. Indeed, we might pronounce her to be very easy ship;" she did not "strain anything" but the lungs of the spectators, and the hardy and fearless ship's company. "Generally speaking," she proved to be a very sound ship, and "exhibited no symptoms of weakness" after her perilous voyage through Ludgate-hill race and Cheapside flats; but this, in a great measure, may be attributed to the judicious application of "Jeffery's marine glue," with which not only her decks, but her sides were payed. She was quick in stays, and answered her helm remarkably well, especially when put "hard a-port." Aloft she was just able to have her royal yards crossed; but on deck they carried on till "all was blue," notwithstanding which not a spar was sprung, nor, strange to say, were any one of the crew, although the "main-brace" was so often "spliced." The ship's company seemed proud of their craft, and, with the grateful public, felt the greatest confidence in the bit of bunting flying at the mainmast head "The flag that's braved a thousand years under which the Lord Mayor, Sir James Duke himself, has so creditably served his Sovereign and his country. With reference to the festivities at Guildhall, eonspicuous among the guests of the New Lord Mayor were the members of the Naval profession, including, among others, the Duke of Northumberland; Admirals Dundas, Sir J. A. Gordon, Sir Henry Hart, and the Hon. Sir F. Pellew; Captains Sir J. G. Sinclair, Bart., J. W. Montague, and Sir W. Burnett, who expressed, by their participation in the festivities at Guildhall, their gratification at the eminent and honourable position attained by one whose extreme youth had been passed on shipboard in various climes. It was the crowning point of a life of progression-the consummation of a career which had commenced among the sailors of England, which had reached its highest altitude among the merchants of London, and which, after introducing Sir James Duke into the Legislature of his country, had installed him in the civic and judicial chair as Lord Mayor of this ancient capital. SCREW PROPELLING.-On the 1st November, we had the satisfaction of witnessing another of those admirable applications of this principle, which, under the able conduct of James Laming, Esq., the managing director, seconded in this case by the joint talent of Mr. Wigram and Messrs. Maudslay, the eminent builders and engineers, promise to establish one of the most successful and extensive mercantile associations of this country. The Earl of Auckland left the Brunswick-pier, at Blackwall, at noon on that day, to submit her powers to the test of the measured mile in Long Reach. A party of fifty ladies and gentlemen accompanied the directors of the company. Among them we noticed Edward Zohrab, Esq., the Ottoman Consul; Mr. Alderman Moon, the Messrs. Wigram and Maudslay; Richard Smith, Esq., of Manchester; Capt. Ford; Lieut. Jennings; and Captain Halsted, R.Ñ., and Mr. F. P. Smith, to whose untiring energy and perseverance in forcing into public notice the performance of the Archimedes in 1839, the commercial interests of this country are indebted for the screw as a practical invention. The Reach was clear, the water smooth, and the weather favourable; and the result of four runs up and down, before the mile, taken with perfect accuracy, gave a mean speed for the vessel under steam only of 9.114 nautical miles. The mean revolutions while upon the ground were 66.75, showing a slip of 9.3 per cent. only. The Earl of Anckland is a three-masted schooner of iron, and of the following dimensions :-Length between the perpendiculars, 150 feet; breadth extreme, 25 feet; tonnage, O.M., 464. Her engines are of 60-horse power, and occupy, with 100 tons of fuel, 31 feet of the length of the vessel, allowing stowage for 400 tons of measurement goods. Her engines drive direct on the screw shaft; the cylinders are inclined, and are 36 inches diameter, with stroke of 18 inches to work, at 80 revolutions. The screw is 9 feet 6 inches in diameter, on Mr. Woodcraft's principle, with a inean pitch of 15-16. The mean draft of water was 8 feet. After landing her merry party at the pier again about half-past four, the Auckland proceeded to take her berth at the Tower Stairs. She is intended to take up her place among a line of similar vessels trading to Constantinople; the further develop ment of the commerce of the Turkish empire having been selected as their first field of enterprise since the company has received the Charter of Incorporation, to which its able management has so well entitled it.—Morning Chronicle. EDWARDS' PATENT PRESERVED POTATO. The following letter affords us the opportunity of again noticing this valuable article as a Vegetable Diet for the use of the Crew on board Ship. Numerous |