effect of capacity is to lower the potential, and when its magnitude is sufficient it reduces the potential of the conductor to that of the earth, for it does not allow time enough for the charge to accumulate. Hence, a concentric main, whether its outer conductor is connected to earth or not, has its potential reduced practically to that of the earth. The use of the earth is imperative to dissipate the static charge and to secure safety. A permanent and efficient earth makes the cable safe to person, and dangerous to apparatus only, which can be fully protected by fuses. Unless, however, it is most effectively applied, it may become a source of danger to person also, and of disturbance to telephones, for the existence of a variable fault might produce a shifting of potentials which would destroy the security.

It is very easy by the aid of such diagrams to study the distribution at any phase of the potential, or at any instant of flow. The capacity acts as a kind of break or damper on the currents, and its tendency is to vary the rate of rise of potential, and to flatten the curve of rise and fall of the currents. With direct and intermittent currents it acts as a fly-wheel, but with alternate currents it acts more as a spring, or as an air cushion in a hose-pipe. Its effect with ordinary frequencies is not material; but the rapid alternations of stress, and displacement in the dielectric must have a tendency to heat that material. It will be readily seen how the earth dissipates the charge at once, but it also shows that when a disconnection takes place, this discharge may be very unpleasant.

21. Such being the distribution of potential on a concentric main, and also on a system of two parallel conductors, it is now desirable to compare their relative security. We have to consider, not alone what happens when everything is in order, but what happens when accidents and faults arisc. Nothing is perfect-we have only before us a choice of evils. Earth is the electrician's bane, but there may be circumstances under which it may become his antidote. No one but Mr. Ferranti has had the temerity to employ the earth as his antidote, and I must confess that I have been compelled to effect a compromise with him on the subject. His original form of cable was designed so as to place the outer tube completely to earth, but my own experiments and his experience have shown that this outer tube

must be thoroughly well insulated to prevent the introduction of serious disturbing effects on telegraphs and telephones. In Rome, where Siemens concentric cables are largely used, but without carth, the outer insulator was so frequently pierced, that Prof. Mengarini found it necessary to make the outer insulation thicker and better than the inner. The sudden stoppage of a flow of great energy from any cause must lead to effects analogous to those of momentum, and unless some buffer or cushion is provided, either in the form of a condenser or of the carth, a heaping up of pressure must occur somewhere, and sparking and rupture follow.

22. Mr. Ferranti claims for his concentric mains with the outer conductor earthed at one end, as shown by fig. 11:

1. Absolute safety in handling by workmen, and freedom from fire risk.

2. Dispersal of the static change accumulated on the conductors. 3. Freedom from disturbance on neighbouring wires.

I can corroborate the last point. We in the Post Office are now quite unaware whether the Deptford mains are at work or not. It was not always so. At first, starting with imperfect cables, the disturbances were very serious.

The compromise effected between the Postmaster-General, the Board of Trade, and the London Electric Supply Corporation is shown by figs. 12, 13, and 14, which also give some of the changes that have been made.

We allow earth on the outer conductor at Deptford and at each distributing station, but not on mains other than concentric, or on the house service excepting through a safety device.

With regard to high-pressure alternating-current systems generally,

[MAY 22, 1891.

earth cannot be admitted on house wires, because, with its use. high insulation is imperative to reduce fire risks, and high insula tion cannot always be maintained. Leakage means danger, in spite of fuses and safety devices. Fire and life risks are intensified by bad earths. Good earths are very difficult to secure, and alternate currents do not like earth; that is the resistance of earth to alternate currents is much greater than that to direct currents. We can secure safety in houses by

1. Good materials.

2. Good workmanship.

3. High insulation.

4. Well-designed safety devices. 5. Frequent tests.

6. Incessant personal supervision. 7. NO EARTH.

In the wiring of houses, supply companies and corporations cease to exercise responsibility. They deal with confiding customers, irresponsible contractors, untechnical and uneducated employés, and all sorts and conditions of men. Were it not for the Board of Trade to regulate our mains, and the fire insurance companies to regulate our house wires, electric lighting in England would be as dangerous a pursuit as it appears to be in the United States.

23. The Board of Trade has forbidden the use of earth on separate conductors. This is absolutely necessary, for, except with concentric mains, the use of earth on one conductor might be exceedingly dangerous if the other conductor, by fault or otherwise, made earth. The inner conductor of a concentric main is so hermetically sealed, and so thoroughly protected by a succession of coatings, that it is well nigh impossible for a leak to earth to be caused on it. Faults would take the form of a short circuit, not of earth. A system to earth is one which has been placed at full cock; a permanent fault has been put on intentionally. Equilibrium has been disturbed, and it is the security of the inner conductor of the concentric main that alone makes it acceptable.

24. The chief accident that one has to fear in the high-pressure alternate current system is the piercing of the insulating medium between the primary and the secondary conductors of the transformer, and the formation of a contact between the two. Such a fault admits the high-pressure into the low-pressure system, and has been the source of nearly all the troubles that have arisen. Earthing the conductor puts a great strain on this medium. Risks of fire are increased. Additional preventive measures are necessary, and hence safety devices-the best at present in the market being Major Cardew's.

The use of safety devices which earth the conductor at once when the transformer is pierced, or when high pressure enters the lowpressure system, is, in my opinion, an absolutely necessary safeguard, and I never issue any specification without requiring Cardew's device, which is thoroughly effective and reliable.

25. The use of low or of high pressure should not be a question of opinion or of objection. The supposed waste, danger, and diffi culties of the one are disappearing under the able tuition of expe rience; while the complicated regulation and variable distribution of the other are submitting to inventive skill. It is now a question of cal culation and of finance. The only variable is the number of feeding points. The determining cause and the uncertain element is the density of lamps per acre, or per mile of street. We start with this initial difficulty-that we do not know our customers, and we have to prepare for a visionary clientèle.

This paper has been a little discursive. Its principal object is to direct attention to the simplicity of the two-wire parallel system of distribution, to the security of the concentric main, to the devices to promote the safety of the high-pressure system, and, above all, to the necessity for regarding the whole question from the engineering maintenance point of view rather than from that of the speculative promoter.

DISCUSSION.

(Authorised Abstract.)

Mr. SWINBURNE remarked that in 1889 he had discussed the subject of Disturbance in Telephones with reference to concentric cables carthed at one end. Many persons thought no trouble would arise from such a course. This, he believed, was a mistake, for the outside conductor being near earth had a considerable capacity relative thereto. If a large current, say of 250 ampères, was passing, the pressure between the two ends of the outer conductor would be about 210 volts, and this would cause a considerable earth current to surge backward and forward between London and Deptford. The effect of these currents had, he believed, not yet been observed, but i would become noticeable when the load got heavy. Mr. Preece, be said, thought earthing the secondary of a transformer tended to lead the current into temptation, but as a matter of fact the temptation was diminished by earthing the middle of the secondary. If this be done neither secondary main could differ by more than 50 volts from the earth potential, whereas if one end be earthed or neither, the risk and danger were considerably increased. The further discussion was adjourned.

ON THE MOST ECONOMICAL MODE OF FEEDING A LOW-PRESSURE
NETWORK.

By R. E. CROMPTON, Vice-President.
(To be discussed on May 21st, 1891.)

THE advocates of alternating transformer (hereafter called the AT system of distribution, appear at last to be in agreement with the who designed low-pressure systems, in that they admit that for the supply of towns of ordinary compactness a low-pressure netwin

MAY 22, 1891.]

must be provided. Their practice in the future is to diverge from their practice in the past, in that they fix the transformers only at the feeding points of the network, instead of in each of the consumers' houses. In other words, they propose to use high-pressure feeders, consisting of cables carrying a high-pressure primary current, transformed so as to supply a low-pressure network on either the two or three-wire system, by a transformer fixed at the feeding point. Mr. Ferranti, Mr. Gordon, and other gentlemen advocate banking the transformers at these feeding points, and the use of automatic apparatus to switch their transformers in as the load requires. Others, such as Mr. Mordey, prefer to spend more money on the perfecting of a design of a single transformer at the feeding point, so as to avoid the complication of automatic apparatus. As it was evident that there is a certain length of feeder at which the low pressure direct system fails to compete successfully in first cost and that of upkeep with the above-described high-pressure A.T. feeder, I have recently investigated the question in order to find out at what mean length of feeders the low-pressure and high pressure systems compete on equal terms of first cost, cost of upkeep, and efficiency. The result of my investigation is to show that when a three-wire lowpressure system, distributing direct to 110-volt lamps, is compared with an A.T. system, distributed by 2,000-volt feeders, transformed to supply the same three-wire network, the average annual efficiency of the feeders in both cases being 90 cent., the low-pressure feeder is cheaper for all distances up to 2,400 yards, each of the feeders being calculated to supply 100 kilowatts; and the annual cost for upkeep, including a sum of 5 per cent. for interest on the capital, will be about £290 per annum. These large figures lead me to compare with them the known cost of upkeep of feeders carrying the same load which are now in use in London. I find that feeders of an average length of 600 yards cost about £300 each, and for interest and upkeep, £25 per annum. This comparison shows that if we increase the length of each feeder by 1,800 yards, or say one mile, it increases the supply company's annual upkeep charges by not less than £260 per annum per feeder. If we apply these figures to a company supplying a district of about a square mile, which, if it had within it two generating stations, could feed its network with 10 short feeders, and substitute for these two central stations one external generating station one mile distant from the outside of the district, the extra cost of upkeep of the 10 long feeders will be £2,600 per annum. At a load factor of 10 such a district would sell 876,000 units per annum; therefore the above sum of £2,600, divided by this number of units, is equal to 0 72 of a penny per unit sold. Now even at present the cost per unit for coal and ground rent (which are the only two items affected by the removal

659

of the site from a central position to a distant point) only slightly exceeds 1d. a unit, and in all probability during the present year this figure will be brought down to a sum approximately the same as the above-mentioned upkeep of the feeders, viz., 0.72, which I have shown is the actual cost of upkeep of the feeders only: This shows the absurdity of imagining that any saving can be effected by this mode of feeding a network, and it is quite evident that those who have advocated the system have never seriously looked at the matter from this point of view. In such cases where really great savings can be effected by generating the energy at a distance from the district to be supplied, as in the case of water power, Mr. Ferranti's original Deptford scheme of supplying one or two large transformer stations by currents of very high E.M.F. is in all probability the right one; but the distribution must be modified from Mr. Ferranti's original intention; that is to say, he need not transform twice, but merely supply several transformer stations by his high pressure mains, and feed the surrounding districts by not only a low pressure network, but also low pressure feeders. I have not at command the figures as to the cost of mains of extreme high pressure such as Mr. Ferranti advocates; but I have no doubt that he will be able to show, even for such distances as one or two miles, a very considerable saving on the separate feeder system that I have just criticised.

Table I. shows you the details of first cost of the 600 yards low pressure, 2,400 yards low pressure, and 2,400 yards A.T. feeder with transformer.

Table II. shows the details of cost of upkeep of the same three feeders. It will be noticed I have taken the cost of upkeep on excavation or concrete work below ground at 1 per cent. per annum, on the transformer pit at 2 per cent. per annum, on the bare copper at 1 per cent., on both low and high-pressure cables at 8 per cent.; although I might well claim that the cost of upkeep of the high-pressure cable would be a higher percentage on its first cost than the low. The transforming and switching apparatus I have taken at 10 per cent., and I have added a small charge for the upkeep of surface and inspection boxes. This is taken without reference to pressure, in proportion to the length laid. The cost of the low-pressure feeders has been carefully taken out in accordance with our London practice, and that of the high-pressure feeder has been taken out from estimates received from cable and transformer makers. I believe that these figures may be said to be sufficiently correct to make the comparison a fair one; at any rate, I think no one will venture to say that either the first cost or upkeep is taken at too high a figure. For the purposes of my argument they are sufficient to show that 100-kilowatt feeders of 2,400 yards long cannot be put down at less than £1 a yard, and cannot, including transformers, be maintained at less than 28. 4d. a yard per annum.

Visit of the Physical Society of London to Cambridge. ON Saturday, the 9th inst, the Society varied its ordinary procedure by paying a visit to the ancient seat of learning situated on the banks of the Cam. Assembling at Liverpool Street Station members and visitors to the number of about one hundred were conveyed in saloon carriages by the 11 o'clock express direct to their destination, the whole journey being accomplished in about seventy-five minutes. Amongst those present were Dr. E. Atkinson, Prof. Ayrton and Mrs. Ayrton, Mr. Walter Baily, Mr. Shelford Bidwell and Mrs. Bidwell, Mr. D. J. Blaikley, Mr. T. H. Blakesley and Mrs. Blakesley, Mr. J. T. Bottomley, Mr. C. V. Boys, Prof. Carey Foster, Mr. Conrad W. Cooke, Prof. Fitzgerald, Dr. E. Frankland and Mrs. Frankland, Dr.-W. R. Hodgkinson, Prof. O. J. Lodge, Prof. Meldola, Prof. Perry and Mrs. Perry, Prof. Rücker, Dr. Sumpner, Prof. S. P. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson, Mr. A. P. Trotter and Mrs. Trotter, and Mr. G. M. Whipple.

On arriving at the historic town the party became the guests of the Cambridge members and proceeded to Emmanuel College, where they were received by Mr. W. N. Shaw, M.A. Various groups visited the cloisters, chapel and gardens, and at 1 o'clock lunch was provided in the College Hall. At 2:30 a meeting of the Society was held in the lecture room of the Cavendish Laboratory. The papers read were all by authors resident in Cambridge, and the abstracts given below will sufficiently indicate the variety of the subjects brought before the Society. After the meeting the visitors inspected the Cavendish Laboratory. Amongst the many interesting instruments and apparatus to be seen, specially noticeable were Prof. J. J. Thomson's 50-feet vacuum tube, glowing from end to end with a luminous discharge; Mr. Shaw's pneumatic bridge, by which the pneumatic resistance or conductivity of various shaped orifices and channels can be compared; and the new air condensers to be used by Mr. Glazebrook as standards. The Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company had an interesting exhibit, including a dividing engine, Boys's radiomicrometer, electrically driven tuning-forks, and various recording instruments, amongst which was Galton's apparatus for registering the growth of plants. Other things which attracted attention were Glazebrook's spectrophotometer; Lord Rayleigh's coils and apparatus used in his determination of the ohm; a collection of models, medals, and instruments formerly belonging to Prof. Maxwell; the resistance standards of the British Association, together with the historic rotating coils and electro-dynamometer used in the determination of the B.A. unit.

Tea was served in the combination room of Trinity College, and a majority of the visitors returned to town by the 8 o'clock express, greatly pleased with the day's outing; others, however, prolonged their visit until Monday, and had opportunities of discussing important physical problems with the Cambridge members.

The meeting was in every sense a great success, and will long be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of the Society.

At the Science meeting held in the Cavendish Laboratory, Prof.

660

AYRTON, F.R.S., President, in the chair, the following communications were made:

"SOME EXPERIMENTS ON THE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE IN VACUUM TUBES."

By Prof. J. J. THOMSON, M.A., F.R.S.

The phenomena of vacuum discharges were, he said, greatly simplified when their path was wholly gaseous, the complication of the dark space surrounding the negative electrode and the stratifications so commonly observed in ordinary vacuum tubes being absent. To produce discharges in tubes devoid of electrodes was, however, not easy to accomplish, for the only available means of producing an electromotive force in the discharge circuit was by electro-magnetic induction. Ordinary methods of producing variable induction were valueless, and recourse was had to the oscillatory discharge of a Leyden jar, which combines the two essentials of a current whose maximum value is enormous and whose rapidity of alternation is immensely great. The discharge circuits, which may take the shape of bulbs or of tubes bent in the form of coils, were placed in close proximity to glass tubes filled with mercury, which formed the path of the oscillatory discharge. The parts thus corresponded to the windings of an induction coil, the vacuum tubes being the secondary and the tubes filled with mercury the primary. In such an apparatus the Leyden jar need not be large, and neither primary or secondary need have many turns, for this would increase the self-induction of the former and lengthen the discharge path in the latter. Increasing the selfinduction of the primary reduces the E.M.F. induced in the secondary, whilst lengthening the secondary does not increase the E.M.F. per unit length. Two or three turns in each were found to be quite sufficient, and on discharging the Leyden jar between two highly polished knobs in the primary circuit, a plain uniform band of light was seen to pass round the secondary. An exhausted bulb containing traces of oxygen was placed within a primary spiral of three turns, and on passing the jar discharge a circle of light was seen within the bulb in close proximity to the primary circuit, accompanied by a purplish glow which lasted for a second or more. On heating the bulb, the duration of the glow was greatly diminished, and it could be instantly extinguished by the presence of an electromagnet. Another exhausted bulb surrounded by a primary spiral was contained in a bell jar, and when the pressure of air in the jar was about that of the atmosphere, the secondary discharge occurred in the bulb as is ordinarily the case. On exhausting the jar, however, the luminous discharge grew fainter and a point was reached at which no secondary discharge was visible. Further exhaustion of the jar caused the secondary discharge to appear outside the bulb. The fact of obtaining no luminous discharge either in the bulb or jar, the author could only explain on two suppositions, viz., that under the conditions then existing the specific inductive capacity of the gas was very great, or that a discharge could pass without being luminous. The author had also observed that the conductivity of a vacuum tube without electrodes increased as the pressure diminished until a certain point was reached, and afterwards diminished again, thus showing that the high resistance of a nearly perfect vacuum is in no way due to the presence of the electrodes.

One peculiarity of the discharges was their local nature, the rings of light being much more sharply defined than was to be expected. They were also found to be most easily produced when the chain of molecules in the discharge were all of the same kind. For example, a discharge could be easily sent through a tube many feet long, but the introduction of a small pellet of mercury in the tube stopped the discharge, although the conductivity of the mercury was much greater than that of the vacuum. In some cases he had noticed that a very fine wire placed within a tube on the side remote from the primary circuit would prevent a luminous discharge in that tube.

"SOME EXPERIMENTS ON THE VELOCITIES OF THE IONS."

By Mr. W. C. D. WHETHAM, B.A.

In studying electrolysis the question as to whether there is any transference of solvent when a porous wall is absent presented itself to the author. The ordinary methods of testing for transference, such as by increase of pressure or by overflow, not being available when there is no diaphragm, the author used different coloured solutions of the same salt, such as cobalt chloride in water and in alcohol, the former of which is red and the latter blue. By putting the solutions into a kind of U-shaped tube, any change in the position of the line of junction of the two liquids could be measured. Two aqueous solutions in which the anion was the same were also tried, one combination being cupric chloride and common salt, and in this case the line of demarcation traversed about 7 inches in three hours. The results hitherto obtained by this method agreed fairly with those found by Kohlrausch.

"ON THE RESISTANCE OF SOME MERCURY STANDARDS."

By Mr. R. T. GLAZEBROOK, M.A., F.R.S.

In 1885 M. Benoit, of Paris, supplied the author with three mercury standards nominally representing the Paris Congress ohm, now commonly known as the legal ohm. Tests of these standards were described in a paper read before the Physical Society in 1885 by the present author. Recently he had occa-ion to compare two of the standards with the British Associacoils. The mean of many concordant results gave the nce of one of the mercury standards (No. 37) as 101106 B.A.U., that of the other (No. 39) was 101033 B.A.U. Expressing legal ohms the present resistances are (No. 37) '99986 and

יז

[MAY 22, 1891.

(No. 39) 99913, whilst in 1885 the values obtained were (No. 37) 99990 and (No. 39) 99917. This shows that within the limits of experimental error the ratios of the mercury standards to the B.A. cos have remained practically unchanged during 6 years. The numbers given above are based on Lord Rayleigh's determination of the specific resistance of mercury which differs appreciably from that found by Mascart and other observers. Taking the mean of the later concordant determinations the value of the mercury standards expressed in legal ohms become (No. 37) 1.00033 and (No. 39) 99950 The values given by the maker were 1'00045 and 99954 respectively, showing a very close agreement. The author also found that refilling No. 37 from the same sample of mercury produced no appreciable change in its resistance whilst No. 39 was somewhat affected by a similar operation.

Experiments on the coefficient of increase of resistance of mercury with temperature gave the value 000872 as the mean coefficient between 0 and 10° C, a number rather less than that obtained by Kohlrausch.

In the discussion on Prof. Thomson's paper,

Prof. FITZGERALD said the beautiful experiments were likely to lead to very important results. He did not quite understand how placing a fine wire in a vacuum tube could prevent the luminous discharge, for if the wire was on the side remote from the primary, and if there was any great increase in specific inductive capacity he would have expected the air to screen the wire.

Prof. LODGE asked for further information as to the action of the magnet in preventing the after glow, and in some cases precipitating a luminous discharge. The experiment with the exhausted but within the bell jar was also difficult to understand, and he did not see why one of Prof. Thomson's two suppositions must necessarily be true.

The PRESIDENT enquired whether Prof. Thomson had tried Mr. Crookes's experiment in which the electric pressure necessary to produce a discharge was greatly lessened by putting a phosphorescent material in the tube.

Prof. THOMSON, in reply, said he had not tried the experiment, bat the phosphoresence he had observed was of quite a different character to that produced in Mr. Crookes's tubes. To Prof. Fitzgerald he said the action of the wire was probably a question of time, and thought the whole field was in some way thrown on the wire and thus de charged. In reply to Prof. Lodge, he had not ascertained the true nature of the effect of a magnet on the glow, but he believed the glow to be due to a combination which might be prevented or facilitated by the action of the magnet causing the density to be different in differ ent parts of the bulb.

On the motion of Prof. AYRTON, seconded by Prof. RUCKER, A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the authors for their valuable and interesting communications, and for the kind manner in which the society had been received and entertained by the Cambridg members. Prof. Thomson and Mr. Glazebrook acknowledged the vote.

THE DELIVERY OF TELEGRAMS.

MR. HOWARD VINCENT, C.B., M.P., lately called the attertion of the Postmaster-General to the facilities afforded in some of the Australasian colonies for the delivery of telegraphic messages by post, thus saving the porterage to the Department and expense to the receivers of telegrams, without, in many cases, any serious loss of time being incurred, and suggested that as the same facilities existed in England, a space should be set apart upon the telegraph form to remind the sender of the opportunity of causing the telegram to be delivered by post. Mr. J. C. Lamb, controller of the Telegraph Department, who has taken great interest in the subject, has written in reply that the Postmaster-General had called for reports upon the subject from some of the practical officers of the department, and that these reports fully supported the view of the hon. member. "It is clear, however," Mr. Lamb adds, "that the sender must possess a thorough acquaintance with the local arrange ments for the delivery of letters. Without this intimate local knowledge he would often find that a messa ordered to be delivered by post would not reach its destination until the following morning, in which cas it would be of no more use than a letter posted in time to catch the evening mail. In a very large number of cases there is only one delivery during the day, and that de livery begins at an early hour in the morning-before th local telegraph office is open for business. In other cases th second delivery begins at so early an hour that if a teleg were sent in the afternoon it would be too late to catch a while in some cases there is this further complication that two mails for the same place are delivered from differe offices, and that the delivery of telegrams is effected from third office. In view of all the facts, the Pos master-General can come to no other conclusion than that would not be to the public interest to invite the sender.

MAY 22, 1891.]

telegrams to rural districts generally to order their telegrams to be delivered by post, as the result would often be to create disappointment and dissatisfaction." Mr. Howard Vincent, in writing to thank Mr. Lamb, says :-"You will, I am sure, forgive me for adhering to the view that eight senders of telegrams out of ten are sufficiently acquainted with the postal and telegraphic facilities open to the addressee to know whether a telegram delivered by post will reach him in sufficient time."

NOTES.

The Woodfield Syndicate, Limited. This syndicate. has been formed with the intention of carrying out some experiments on a large scale in connection with electricity, under the supervision of Messrs. W. T. Goolden & Co., without interfering with their ordinary manufacturing business.

The National Telephone Electrical Society, Midland Branch. The second annual conversazione of the society was held at the Colonnade Hotel, New Street, on Friday, May 15th. Among those present were: Mr. Alfred Coleman, M.I.E.E., President (general manager of the company); Mr. A. E. Cotterell, Vice-President (district manager); Prof. J. H. Poynting (local director); Mr. J. Newburn (manager, Hanley); Messrs. Ollennshaw, Derby; Lowe, Coventry; Johnstone, Kidderminster; Currell and Swettenhaw, Hanley; Loftus, Baxter, Ghent, Barber, Fenton, Turner, Wicker, Firth, Edwards, Lloyd, Morley, Alfred Peacock (honorary secretary), &c. After tea the annual report was read by the secretary, which showed that papers had been given embracing nearly every phase of electrical work. The president (Mr. Coleman) then welcomed the visitors present, to which Prof. Poynting responded. The society's indebtedness to its president and vice-president was then expressed, to which they respectively answered.

The Electric Light at Bath.-At a meeting of the Town Council last week, the report from the Electric Light Committee upon Prof. Forbes's statement (which appeared in our last issue) was considered. The mover of the adoption of the report commented upon the circumstance that Mr. Massingham had fairly carried out the terms of the contract, not that Prof. Forbes thought they drew up the very best possible contract they could have had. Mr. Massingham had fought his way bravely, and when Prof. Forbes's recommendations were carried out it would be a very good installation. The committee recommended that a superintendent of the electric light should be appointed, who would see that the installation was kept in good order. In opposition to the adoption of the report it was urged that the city was not getting what was paid for, that the council had acted too impulsively in the matter, and that it would be unwise to vote for more lamps until they were assured they got all they were entitled to under the contract. On the other hand, an opinion was expressed that the ratepayers were satisfied with the electric light. The clerk, at the request of a member, quoted from the contract, showing that Mr. Massingham undertook to supply 81 public electric arc lamps of 1,200 candle-power each lamp, and to "supply the said lamps, and keep each lamp of the said 81 lamps lighted during such hours as shall be from time to time prescribed by the local authority, not exceeding an average of ten hours per night during the term of the contract, by means of the Thomson-Houston system of lighting, or some other system to be approved by the local authority." It was contended, in reply to the complaints that were made, that the streets were very well lighted, and that if the installation admitted of improvement, as an experiment it had been successful. An amendment referring the report back to the committee was lost, 11 voting for it and 12 against. The motion for the adoption of the report was negatived by 13 to 12, but it was pointed out that an alderman who had voted with the majority was interested in the gas company, and the Mayor said his vote was certainly nullified. Eventually, on the suggestion of the mayor, the chairman of the Electric Light Committee consented to the report being taken back for further consideration.

661

Frankfort Electro-Technic Exhibition.-The Standard correspondent says:- "The Electro-Technic Exhibition was opened at Frankfort-on-the-Main on Friday, in presence of the Empress Frederick, Princess Margaret of Prussia, the Grand Duke, Princess Alix and the Landgravine of Hesse, Count Eulenburg, President of the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau, and the chief local dignitaries. Herr Sonnemann, Chairman of the Committee, after welcoming the visitors, pointed out the utility of an exhibition of that kind, and said that foreigners, as well as Germans, had recognised this by their extensive participation in it. With regard to the extent of the present exhibition, he stated that the first German show of the kind, to wit, the Exhibition at Munich in 1882, had only 160 horse-power at its disposal. The Vienna one in 1883 had 1,200 horse-power, while this at Frankfort, which is the first International Electric Exhibition, is employing no less than 4,684 horse-power. He concluded by thanking the German Emperor, the Empress Frederick, the Grand Duke of Hesse, and the various German Governments, for the support they had given to the enterprise. Finance Minister Dr. Miquel, as honorary President, in declaring the exhibition open, took the opportunity of thanking the Empress and the Grand Duke for the interest they had shown in the enterprise. After three cheers had been proposed by the Burgomaster of Frankfort to the Emperor, the Empress Frederick and the Grand Duke walked through the exhibition. Among other things, they heard the very successful telephonic transmission of an opera by Delibes, which was being performed in the Opera House at Munich, and then listened to an English song given by an Edison phonograph. The Empress and the other distinguished visitors expressed great satisfaction with what they had seen. In the afternoon there was a banquet, and in the evening festive performances in the Exhibition Theatre and in the Opera House.

"Honour to Whom Honour-is Due.”—This is the appropriate heading of a letter which Sir Frederick Perkins has published in the London Press in commendation of the scientific labours of Mr. W. H. Preece, F.R.S., the chief electrician to the Post Office. "Mr. Preece, in the old days of the International Company, was in charge of the telegraph district of which Southampton was the centre. He formed a domestic tie of the closest character, and left behind him many friends, who are still living there, and who remember his companionship as that of a clever scientist and cultured gentleman." Sir Frederick Perkins specially refers to the successful extension of telephone communication between London and Paris, and urges that: "As a nation we should certainly not be slow to honour the men by whom this wonderful result has been brought about. The telegraphic service of this country, and, indeed, of the whole world, is indebted to a greater extent than can possibly be known to the scientific ingenuity, the inventive powers, and the patient investigations of Mr. Preece, who has been largely instrumental in bringing to a successful completion the telephonic service between the two capitals, now daily proving its growing utility, and promising yet further and more wonderful developments. The British people are justly proud of those whose services reflect honour upon the nation, and whose achievements render the resources of civilisation increasingly valuable to our age and race. No man is more worthy of some mark of public distinction in this respect than Mr. Preece, whose life has been so largely devoted to the perfection of telegraphic science, and who has spent many years in the service of the country, with what advantage to us and to the world the progress made in the manifold applications of electricity and its latest triumph in the opening of the London and Paris telephone amply attest. A more popular or appropriate act could hardly be performed by the head of the Government than that of advising Her Majesty the Queen to confer some mark of distinction upon Mr. Preece for the splendid work he has done in the highest department of practical science-a recognition which you, I am sure, sir, would be the first to approve; and one which the whole country, and the scientific world especially, would heartily rejoice to see conferred."

Telephones in Italy.-The Italian Government proposes to acquire the telephone systems in that country.

Electric Lighting at Morecambe.-At a meeting of the Morecambe Local Board last week, Mr. William Aspden presiding, an application on behalf of Messrs. Andrews and Preece, electricians, Bradford, for the assent of the board to an intended application to the Board of Trade for an extension of time for the commencement of the works necessary for the supply of electricity to Morecambe, under the provisional order obtained by that firm, was acceded to for a further period of twelve months.

Telegraph Manufacturing Company.-The business of this company having outgrown the accommodation at the Helsby Works, premises at Liverpool have been taken and fitted up for the manufacture on a large scale of all kinds of electrical instruments. For several reasons it was determined to work all the machinery by electro-motors, the current for which is supplied by the Liverpool Electric Supply Company. A 10 H.P. motor, taking about 60 units. per day of 10 hours, drives some large lathes and the heavier machines for drilling, screwing, planing, &c., while on another floor two motors, each of 3 H.P. and taking 30 units per day of 10 hours, drive about 30 lathes as well as two saws, two drills, a grindstone, and other tools. After an experience of two months the company is satisfied that by dispensing with a steam or gas engine the advantages more than compensate for any apparent extra costliness.

Lighting Tenders Wanted.-LONDON, N.W., June 1st.For supplying and erecting arc lights, columns for same, and road shelters, either together or separate, for the Vestry of St. Pancras. Copies of specifications, schedules, and designs can be obtained at the office of Prof. Henry Robinson, C.E., engineer to the vestry, 13, Victoria Street, S.W., on payment of 10s., which will not be returned, on or after the 23rd inst. Tenders to be sent in by June 1st to Mr. T. E. Gibb, vestry clerk, Vestry Hall, Pancras Road, N.W.

ROMFORD, June 1st.-For lighting the public lamps by electricity, gas, or other illuminant, as to about 123 of such lamps from sunset to sunrise during period beginning August 10th and ending June 10th, 1892 (except seven nights in each month when the lights may be extinguished at. 11 p.m.), and as to about 10 of such lamps during 12 calendar months from September 1st, for the Romford Local Board. Tenders, to include the cost of lighting, cleaning, and repairing, to be sent to Mr. A. H. Hunt, clerk, Romford, on June 1st. Further particulars may be obtained on appli-cation to the surveyor.

The French West India Cables.-The following figures relating to the subsidies and estimated traffic receipts of the Compagnie Française des Télégraphes Sousmarins are extracted from a French contemporary :

Martinique. During 25 years' annual subsidy
Guadeloupe

Francs.

50,000

60,000

[MAY 22, 1891.

Lightning Rods.-A vivid flash of lightning, immediately followed by a tremendous peal of thunder, heralded a storm at Alnwick on Wednesday. The lightning struck the chimney of the armoury magazine and stores of the 3rd Northumberland Fusiliers, demolishing it, and cracking the wall almost to the ground, notwithstanding that on the opposite chimney stack on the same roof a lightning conductor is affixed. A sergeant narrowly escaped being injured by the falling débris. The incident will probably be seized upon in some quarters for the purpose of showing that lightning rods as now applied are useless; but it will doubtless be discovered that this particular rod had no proper earth connection.

Lighting of Mumbles.-At one of the meetings of the Mumbles Local Board a member introduced a motion with reference to the lighting of the district with electricity in lieu of gas, which has to be conveyed from a neighbouring town several miles away. The Mumbles, which is popularly known as "The Brighton of Wales," is a rapidly rising seaside resort on the Glamorganshire coast, and much frequented during the summer months by visitors from all parts. The present system of public lighting is far from satisfactory, and there is a wide-spread feeling in local circles that electricity would come as 66 a boon and a blessing." For one thing, it would be decidedly cheaper than gas, and there can be no doubt that if the electric light was once inaugurated in the Mumbles, it would prove a success in every respect. Householders grumble at the high price they are obliged to pay for their gas, whilst one local board considers the lighting contract excessive; but then it has no option in the matter. The motion brought forward that the place be lighted with electricity was most favourably received; but up to the present, nothing definite has been decided upon.

Gazette Notices.-At extraordinary general meetings of the Woodhouse and Rawson Electric Supply Company of Great Britain, Limited, held at 11, Queen Victoria Street, E.C., the 20th day of March, 1891, and the 17th day of April, 1891, the subjoined resolution was duly passed and confirmed:"That the Woodhouse and Rawson Electric Supply Company of Great Britain, Limited, be, and is hereby, wound up voluntarily, in pursuance of the provisions of the Companies Act, 1862." Messrs. Albert Hoster, Thomas Harrison Lambert, and Frederick Lawrence Rawsou were appointed liquidators.

The Simplex Electrical Syndicate, Limited, on the 22nd day of April, 1891, duly passed a special resolution at a meeting held at 4, Hercules Passage, Threadneedle Street, London, as follows:-"That the Simplex Electrical Syndicate, Limited, be and is hereby wound up voluntarily, in pursuance of the provisions of the Companies Act, 1862." Which said special resolution was duly confirmed on the 7th day of May, 1891.-C. L. W. FITZGERALD, Chairman.

The creditors of the Maxim-Weston Electric Company, Limited, are required, on or before the 31st day of May, 1891, to send their names and addresses, and the particulars, in writing, of their debts or claims, to John Marks, of 113, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, Middlesex, or to Louis Swaby, of 23, Churchfield Road, Ealing, Middlesex, the liquidators of the said company; and notice is hereby given. that at the expiration of that time the said liquidators will proceed to distribute the assets of the company among the parties entitled thereto, having regard only to the claims and demands of which they shall then have had notice; and that the liquidators will not be liable for the assets, or any part thereof, so distributed, to any person or persons of whose claim or demand they shall not then have had notice.

The Electric Company give notice that a meeting will be held at 3, Bucklersbury, on the 18th of June, for the purpose of presenting an account, showing the manner in which the winding up has been conducted. A similar meeting of the Automatic Electric Railway Signal Company, Limited, will be held at the Small Sale Room, Exchange Station Buildings, Liverpool, on the 22nd of June.

Notice is also given that the creditors of the Electrical Engineering Corporation, Limited, are required, on or before the 6th day of June next, to send their names and addresses, and the particulars of their debts and claims, and the names and addresses of their solicitors (if any), to Francis Willian. Pixley, the liquidator, at 24, Moorgate Street, London, EC.