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Section 4. And be it further ordained and enacted, Mr. Gilder, from the Building Committee on the Giby the authority aforesaid, That the Observatory Comrard College, made a report on the subject of the Gi mittee be, and are hereby authorised to appoint, subject rard estate, accompanied with a letter from M. Gevelot, to the approval of the councils, a person well qualified the artist, in which he stated his inability to procure the for the office, to be styled the "City Astronomer," and necessary security. The resolution attached to the reallow him a compensation for his services not exceeding port, authorised the Building Committee to contract two hundred dollars per annum, payable quarterly; with M. Gevelot, for the construction of the statue, for and that the Mayor of the city is hereby authorised to the sum of $9000 to be paid when finished; the faithdraw his warrant on the city treasurer for said salary, fulness of the likeness to be judged by three artists, upon the requisition of said committee. mutually chosen. Adopted and concurred in by Select Council.

Section 5. And be it further ordained and enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That it shall be the duty of On Motion of Mr. Akin, the item of business from the city astronomer, at least three times in each week, Select Council, relating to the extension of the culvert when practicable, to make such observations as will in Mulberry street, to Schuylkill river, was taken up enable him to determine the time, and note the same and enacted. upon such place as may be provided, in legible characters, and to perform such service as may be required by the Observatory Committee, to enable watchmakers to regulate their time-keepers.

Section 6. And be it further ordained and enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall be the duty of the Observatory Committee, so soon as they shall have carried the provisions of this Ordinance into effect, to make a detailed report of their proceedings and arrangements to councils for their approval.

Enacted into an Ordinance in the city of Philadelphia, this 19th day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three.

HENRY TROTH,

President of Common Council.
J. R. INGERSOLL,
President of the Select Council.

Attest-ROBERT HARE, Jr.

Clerk of the Common Council.

Mr. Massey offered a resolution to allow an indemnity to the Mayor, for salary paid to the clerk of the Mayor's court for extra services during the year. The resolution was adopted.

COMMON COUNCIL.

The President submitted a communication from Britain Cooper, Esq. Treasurer of the Girard Trust, enclosing a statement of the several funds belonging to the Girard estates, up to the present time as follows: Balance standing to the credit of the College fund,

Balance standing to the credit of the fund for the improvement of the eastern front of the city, &c.

Balance standing to the credit of the fuel fund,

Council, in relation to Fair Mount Dam, noticed in our On motion of Mr. Gilder, the resolutions of Select last report, were taken up, considered, and adopted.

On motion of Mr. Gilder, the report from Select Council, in relation to improvements of city property on Schuylkill-published in our last report—was read, accepted, and approved.

On motion of Mr. Morris, the following ordinance from Select Councils, relating to taxes on the Girard estate, was taken up and passed.

AN ORDINANCE

Relative to the Taxes on the Girard Estates. Section 1. Be it ordained and enacted by the citizens of Philadelphia, in Select and Common Councils assembled, That from and after the passage of this ordinance, it shall be the duty of the city clerk, annually, to make correct accounts of all taxes and water rents which may be levied, or become due and payable to the city, on the estates of the late Stephen Girard, by virtue of an ordinance or resolution now in force, or which may hereafter be passed for levying taxes or water rents.

Section 2. And be it further ordained and enacted by the authority aforesaid, That upon the amount due to the city from the said estates, for taxes and water rents, being duly ascertained, the same shall be paid over to the City Treasurer by the Treasurer of the Girard es tates, on orders drawn by the Mayor for the amount thereof.

Section 3. And be it further ordained and enacted by $24,048 85 the authority aforesaid, That the taxes and water rents aforesaid shall not hereafter be entered in the tax books, nor placed in the hands of collectors of taxes of water rents for collection.

15,109 57

35 32

Balance standing to the credit of the residuary fund,

45,622 10

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Enacted into an Ordinance in the city of Philadelphia, this 19th day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three. HENRY TROTH,

President of the Common Council.

J. R. INGERSOLL, President of the Select Council.

Attest-ROBERT HARE, Jr.

Clerk of the Common Council.

On motion of Mr. Gilder, Common Council proceeded to the consideration of the ordinance from Select Council, relating to the government of the Will's Hospital, for the Lame and Blind. The ordinance was adopted with sundry amendments, and returned to the Select Council for their concurrence. Adjourned until next Thursday evening.

GAS LIGHTS.

The following letter from Professor Hare, on the subject of Gas Lights, was presented to the last meeting of Councils, by Mr. Massey:

Dear Sir,-Having been called upon repeatedly to sign petitions against the expediency of having the city lighted with Gas, which I did not sign because I con

ceived them not to be in all respects correct, and having been under these circumstances requested by you to communicate my opinions respecting the project in question, I conceive myself warranted in yielding to the request.

did not recommend the prosecution of gas lighting by them, and as a company seemed disposed to undertake it, I willingly relinquished the ground, from a conviction that it could not prove more economical to employ gas than oil. At that time, cheapness was the only basis In a country copiously and cheaply supplied with bi- upon which the project could receive patronage. I am tuminous coal, of a kind suitable for evolving carburet-under the impression that the profit which has accrued ted hydrogen of a good quality, and where there is a large consumption of coke, there may be great economy in saving, by means of the gas-making process for the purposes of illumination, the carburetted hydrogen otherwise wasted in coaking; but I question if it be expedient, or economical, in places where such coal is neither so cheaply, nor so copiously supplied, as to render it profitable to coak it to a large extent. In such cases, carburretted hydrogen for gas lighting, must be made from oil, or the resinous products of the pine. I know of no other substances which have been, or could be employed advantageously, and which are at the same time, to be procured in sufficient quantity.

Since oil can be burned in lamps, I have never believed that it could be economical to erect gas works to obtain light from it. Pitch, tar, and rosin are obtained by the destruction of forests which are not in the way of being renovated or replaced. If the consumption should increase, the price of these articles might be much enhanced.

I am strongly under the impression from all that I know of gas lighting, that it would be inexpedient for the corporation of a city to assume the business directly, and upon the whole, for one, I would rather be without gas, than endure the inconveniences attending its intro. duction.

to the company in New York, has arisen upon a basis
totally different from that of economy. Fashion, osten
tatious rivalry, and convenience, have induced consum
ers to resort to the gas lights, even at a much greater
expense than that of an equivalent number of lamps. I
have been told that there has been much gain in the
sale of the fixtures by the company; respecting these
facts, I may be incorrectly informed, and possibly more
accurate information may be in possession of our Coun-
cils. If not, the truth may be, and no doubt will be
reached, before any final decision is made. I should
recommend to have it ascertained how far an accumula
tion of condensed moisture in the form of ice, especially,
has been an obstruction occasionally to gas pipes.
I am sir, with consideration, your ob❜t servant,
ROBERT HARE.

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To the Select and Common Councils of the City of
Philadelphia.

The memorial of the Managers of the Indigent WiWere the business of lighting the city with gas con-dow and Single Women's Society of the city of Phila' ceded to a company, it must be evident that there must delphia, respectfully sheweth, arise a monopoly, since two companies cannot well be allowed to compete in the same district. Yet the employment of the gas could hardly be optional with per sons in trade. If A opens his shop at night, and lights it expensively, B, C, and D, his neighbors, in the same business, must follow suite, however unwillingly. Mean while, if the affairs of the company are badly managed, an extravagant price, comparatively with oil, may be necessary to produce to the stockholders a reasonable profit.

That in the year eighteen hundred and nineteen, your memorialists erected at great expense a house for the reception and accommodation of the objects of the charity for which this Society was instituted, on the north side of Cherry street, between Schuylkill Fifth and Sixth streets, in the city of Philadelphia. That at the time of the erection of the said building, the said Cherry street had been surveyed and the level thereof in front of the site of the said house ascertained and fixed by the proper city authorities, and the building It is not true, as alleged in one of the petitions, that was erected in conformity with the regulations prescrib the gas is as ignitible as gunpowder. Per se it cannot ed by them, and so continued unaltered until the present be ignited so as to burn or explode, but when mixed year. That in the course of the present year a new rewith atmospheric air, in a proportion no greater, I be.gulation of the said Cherry street has been made,under lieve, than the 30th of the mass, it is in one sense more the authority of your Honorable bodies, in consequence ignitible than gunpowder. With care, a candle might whereof the level of the street in front of the said buildbe safely burned for any length of time in a room strew-ing has been sunk about three feet, and it has been need with gunpowder; but could not without destructive cessary only to repave the street (which your memoriconsequences, be introduced for an instant into a room alists have received notice to do) but also to remove the containing a 30th of its volume of the gas in question. marble steps at the front door, and make considerable By pure carburetted hydrogen, the maximum of ex-alterations in the house, to accommodate it to the preplosive effect would be produced when present in the ratio of one-sixteenth, but an injurious inflammation might be excited in a mixture containing much less of this inflammable matter.

During our hot weather, the purity of air and water is of more than usual importance. At such times the effluvia of extensive gas works, must contaminate the air of the neighborhood to a sensible extent, and in a lesser degree may widely diminish its salubrity, although its presence may not be perceptible.

In a yard, at the distance of about half a square from the gas light establishment at the Masonic Lodge, the well water, while perfectly clear and colorless, was perceptibly imbued with the well known odour of the products evolved during the generation of gas.

I am not surprised that younger men should be sanguine in their views of this question; I was an advocate for gas lighting at one time myself, but my imagination received a lesson from experience. After an experiment made with my assistance by the liberal corporation in the city of New York, I could not conscientiously, and consequently,

sent regulations of the street-which cannot be done without considerable expense.

Your memorialis's further represent that the said Society is a benevolent institution-depending for its support entirely upon the voluntary contributions of the charitable, and that its funds are so small as to be barely sufficient to defray the necessary current expenses of the institution, and that they have no means whatever to pay for the above mentioned alterations-unless by an appeal to the liberality of the public or of charitable individuals.

They therefore respectfully request your Honorable bodies to take their case into consideration, and grant them relief by defraying the expense thus necessarily incurred in consequence of this unforeseen alteration of the street, without any default on the part of your memorialists. By order of the Board.

CATHERINE CHEW, 1st Directress,

E. KEPPELE, Secretary.

--

On motion of Mr. Groves, the report of the committee

relative to making the Schuylkill Permanent Bridge a free bridge, was referred to the early consideration of the next Councils; the same motion was made by Mr. Lippincott, with respect to lighting the city with gas, and by Mr. Groves in relation to the Rail Road along

Market street.

A message was received from Common Council stating their concurrence in the ordinance relative to Wills' Hospital, which, with amendments, finally passed both Councils. [See page 221.] A message was also sent from Common Council, that the body concurred in the resolution allowing $500 to the Mayor for clerk bire. Mr. Massey presented the following report of the committee on the Delaware Avenue, which was laid on

the table.

an intolerable nuisance, and praying that the same may be speedily removed. Referred to the committee on Logan and Penn squares.

A communication was received from Matthew Walk. er, inquiring whether the lot of ground belonging to the city,situate on the south side of Vine street,between Schuylkill Front and Second, is for sale, and at what price and also inquiring the price of the lot upon which the Dog House is located. Referred to the committee on Logan and Penn squares.

Mr. Chandler offered the following resolution which was adopted, and concurred in by Select Council.

Resolved, that the commissioners of the Girard Es tate be, and they are hereby directed to take legal measures for ascertaining the rights of the city in the intes tate Estate of the late Stephen Girard.

and resolutions of the Select Council, in relation to Mr. Chandler called up for consideration, the report the fitting up of the old Engine House at Fair Mount, which were agreed to.

Mr. Mai land from the committee to whom was refer

Resolved, by the Select and Common Councils, that the Mayor be authorized to draw his warrant One Hundred Dollars, and charge the same to approon the City Treasurer in favour of Michael Wolf, for priation No. 21.

The Committee on Delaware Avenue, beg leave to report: That they have spent much time in examining and deliberating, upon the important subject of laying out a passage or street, along the Eastern front of the City, in accordance with the will and intention of the late Stephen Girard, and when they reported the ordinance, now before Councils for consideration, with a plan of the whole city front, made under the direction red the petition of M. Wolf, praying for a salary for his of the committee, by Samuel Hains, City Surveyor,laying resolution, which was agreed to, and concurred in by services as Messenger to Councils, reported the follow. ing out the Delaware Avenue twenty-six feet wide, it Select Council. was considered the least possible width that it could be laid out to answer the purpose; as twenty-one feet were intended for a cartway, and five feet for a footway, which they consider indispensable, the object of fixing the cartway twenty-one feet, was, that two vehicles might pass each other, when another was loading or unloading, which is very important, in such a great thoroughfare as the Delaware front is. As there has been a memorial recently presented to Councils, signed by a number of owners and occupiers of wharf property, objecting to, and remonstrating against the passage of the ordinance as aforesaid, with a letter also from Paul Beck, jr. who did not think proper to sign the memorial, (although by far the largest wharf holder in the city,) for reasons which he has not stated, the com. mittee have thought proper, under existing circumstances, not to act upon the present ordinance, so late in

the season.

The committee were actuated by motives entirely for public good, that was their paramount object, and the plan they adopted was considered by them as laid out with as little inconvenience to individuals who own wharf property, as the nature of the case would admit of; for the improvement must be viewed and consider ed for the public good, as designed by the testator, who required by his will that it should be laid out not less than twenty-one feet wide--they, therefore, recommend to the early attention of the next Councils, this important subject, and exceedingly regret, that any thing has occurred to postpone the present ordinance and plan from being carried into execution, which they have every reason to believe, would be found to give as much satisfaction, as any other that could be adopted.

On motion of Mr. Lippincott, the Select Council proceeded to the consideration of a resolution appropriat ing $40,000, from the Girard Estate, for city purposes. The resolution was adopted in the Select, but did not pass the Common Council.

Mr. Borie from the Committee of Accounts, to whom was referred Mr. J. B. Sewell's bill, reported a resolution in his favour, for the sum of thirty dollars.Adopted and concurred in by Select Council.

FLAT ROCK BRIDGE.-We are informed that on the 19th Sept. last. as two marble wagons with thirteen horses attached, belonging to Mr. Thomas Morgan, were crossing the Flat Rock Bridge, above Manayunk, on their return from the city, the Bridge, which was shortly to be taken down for the purpose of the erection of a new one, upon its site, gave way, and carried the whole with it, some twenty or thirty feet into the Schuyl kill. Five horses were killed on the spot, and another died the next day. Both the drivers were precipitated with the general mass, and were badly injured-of one of which there is scarcely any hopes of surviving. The loss of Mr. Morgan, by this sad accident, is estimated at from 1000 to 1200 dollars, which we understand will be made up for him, either by the bridge company, or the public, or perhaps both united.

Since writing the above, we have been informed, that the carter most injured, died on Sunday.—Germ. Telegraph.

MAUCH CHUNK.—It may not be amiss for us to cor. rect an erroneous impression which may have been con. had received, that application had been made for the veyed by our statement last week upon information we last remaining lot of the Town Plot at present in the market, as we perceive that the entire article is copied into some of the city papers. By the statement referred to, we intended merely the vacant lots offered for sale by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, fronting on Market square. There are several second hand lots held by individuals, that may perhaps be purchased at a fair price, on the square, besides a number of the lots Mc-rows on each side of Broadway. with buildings thereon, owned by the company, in the

COMMON COUNCIL. Mr. Gilder presented a petition praying that Oak street, in front of Penn Square, may be curbed and paved. Referred to the Paving Committee.

Mr. Chandler presented a petition from Thomas Grath, praying Councils to accept a substitute for one of his sureties, for money borrowed from the Franklin Legacy. Referred to the committee on Franklin and Scott's Legacies.

Mr. Elliott presented a petition from sundry citizens residing in the neighborhood of Schuylkill Front and Vine street, complaining of the Public Dog House, as

We are also informed that since the arrival of the Board of Managers, several additional lots have been placed in the market, among which are a number of eligible situations for business on Berwick street, be tween the store of M'Connel, Foster, and Broaderick, and the Mauch Chunk Hotel, besides the remaining lots in Market Square and Broadway.-Mauch Chunk Cour

From the Journal of the Franklin Institute. Observations on some points relating to THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAIL ROADS.

BY THE EDITOR.

material, between the iron rail and the stone; this would no doubt lessen it, but to what extent, must be left to the result of experiment. The loosening of the rail upon the stone is, no doubt, in part due to the expansion and contraction of the former, whilst upon a wooden

the yielding nature of this material serving to prevent it; the degree in which this expansion and contraction operate in lossening the rail would, however, be but slightly diminished by a thin strip of wood, although it appears to be calculated to remove much of the greater

The number of rail roads which are being construct-rail but little sensible effect is produced from this cause, -ed, and the still greater number which it is proposed to construct in our country, render it specially important that all the information which our short acquaintance with this mode of conveyance has afforded, should be as extensively diffused as possible. The question of the utility of rail roads for the general conveyance of mer-evil, the abrasion. chandise and of passengers, may now be considered as The portions of a rail road which pass over the origi settled; but we have much to learn as respects the best nal surface of the soil, are very small; excavation or mode of constructing them so as to insure their durabili- embankment, to a greater or lesser extent, is necessary ty, whilst the necessary attention is paid to economy in almost every where. The laying of stone sills on these the first instance. There are but few situations in which embankments, when recently male, has been another rail roads can be carried to any great extent, without a source of much difficulty in the construction of rail very large outlay for grading, and for building bridges roads, as in such places the earth must necessarily con and culverts,their utility is necessarily so dependent upon tinue to settle for a considerable period of time, not only their near approach to a level, that but little diminution displacing the sills at their junctures, but likewise ef of their cost is to be anticipated so far as these points are fecting the grading, and all the calculations founded concerned. Not so, however, as regards the kind of thereon. It may not excite surprise that the loosening rails which it is best to employ, the sort of foundation of the rails upon the stone sills was not foreseen in all upon which they should be laid, and the best mode of its extent; but it is certainly remarkable that the capital fastening them so as to insure their permanence. The error of using stone sills on new made ground, should present notice will be principally confined to one or have been any where committed; yet such has been the two points connected with the latter part of the subject. case to a considerable extent. To raise these sunken On the Baltimore and Ohio rail road, the plate rail sills, with the rails upon them, is a work of great labor, has been exclusively used, and the same has been most and one, which in high embankments, it may be necesgenerally adopted in other places. These iron plates, sary to repeat several times. This settling of the earth which are usually about two inches and a quarter wide, must take place, whatever be the kind of rail used, but and five-eighths thick, were at first laid upon rails of the derangement is much less when the plates are laid wood, to which they were securely fastened by nails; it on wooden string pieces, and the labour of readjustment was generally believed, however, that a foundation may be performed with much greater case. consisting of sills of granite, or other hard stone, in place We have recently travelled along the rail road lead. of the wooden rail, would, by its permanence, more than ing from Philadelphia to Germantown, and also on the repay the extra cost of it in all situations where it could Pennsylvania rail road, now in the course of construc be readily procured; on the road first named it was tion between Philadelphia and Columbia, on the Sus therefore adopted, after carrying the wooden rails to quehanna. On the whole of the former, and on a large the quarries where such stone could be obtained. It portion of the latter, the rolled iron edge rail has been is believed that not the slightest doubt existed on the adopted. The general plan of forming the foundation minds either of the engineers or the directors, of the of these rails is to sink stone blocks, (cach containing superior utility of stone in every respect; and, in confor about two cubic feet,) at the distance of about three feet mity with this opinion, many miles have been laid with from each other, and upon these blocks to fasten cast it, and the iron rails carefully secured thereto. In riding iron chairs, which receive the lower edges of the rails, over this road, the moment of passing from the wooden and into which they are fastened by suitable wedges. to the stone rails can be at once both heard and felt by The want of stability in these blocks is already manifest the passengers in the car. Upon the wood the sound is in both these roads, although they are not yet completless harsh, and the vibration less rapid than upon theed, and upon one of them, the Pennsylvania road, locounyielding stone, the elasticity of the wooden rail ren- motive engines have not yet run, The blocks have in dering it the most pleasant to ride upon; a mere differ. some places sunk so as to render the line of the rail unence of this kind, however, was not to be considered as dulating to such an extent as to be visible while passing presenting any valid objection to the use of a material along it. The same circumstances which produce the so permanent as the stone. On a recent visit to Balti-sinking of the stone sills must operate with equal or more, where we had an opportunity of conversing with greater force in the case of the blocks and chairs. In individuals whose talents and interest in the road give value to their opinions, we learned with much regret that the result of the experience which they have had, has led them to a conviction that the stone sills must be abandoned, and string pieces of wood resorted to throughout the route, in consequence of the gradual, but inevitable loosening of the iron rails. This has not arisen from any defect in the method by which the rails were secured to the stone, but from causes which can not be obviated by any skill or care on the part of the workmen, as it is the result, principally, of the vibra tion produced by the passage of locomotives and cars upon the rails. However carefully such rails may be There is an old saying that "once well done, is twice laid, the points of contact between them and the stones done," and although it is much more easy to point out will be but few, and as these are abraded by the vibra- defects than it is to prescribe adequate remedies, it is a tion, the rails will have a small degree of play; this evil thing of high importance in extensive and costly pubwill necessarily go on increasing, and the heads of the lic works that they should not be disgraced by imnails will eventually be worn off by it, as has actually perfections in the mode of executing them. Although happened. the comparative novelty of rail roads as a medium of It has been proposed to obviate the foregoing defect general intercourse and trade, forbids the supposition by interposing a thin strip of wood, or other yiekling that we have yet acquire a knowledge of the best mode

VOL. XII.

28.

some places also the rails have been pressed out, and in one instance, at least, on the Germantown road, the rails were so far separated as to allow the wheels of the locomotive engine to fall between them. The numer ous curves on these roads render the rails much more liable to be pressed out than those on straighter roads, as the flanches of the wheels, when the engines and cars are moving at high velocities, bear with a force which is with difficulty resisted against the outer rail of the curve, and especially at the moment of changing from one curve to another, or from a straight track to a curve.

of constructing them, this will not serve as an apology for a perseverance in known and manifest error. The abandonment of three-fourths of the rail roads which have been projected will not be attended by any actual loss, whilst their imperfect construction will not only disappoint the public expectation, but discourage future undertakings of the kind. The first failure may be the result of inexperience, and be, therefore, altogether pardonable, but when the evil and its causes are evident, the course of procedure ought to be changed, in spite of the prejudices of workmen, or the interest of

contractors.

The remedies to be applied to obviate or to lessen the defects which have been referred to, must necessarily depend upon the means under the control of the engineer, and will therefore differ in different places. Along a large portion of the line of the Pennsylvania rail road, locust timber may be readily obtained, and where the embankments are not very high, blocks of this wood might rest upon broken stone on the original surface of the ground, and extend up to the level of the road; and these posts might, when necessary, have ties from one to another across the track, to prevent their spreading. This timber is the most durable known, and the chairs would be readily affixed to it. Long blocks of stone, like the sills upon which rails have been laid,extending across from one rail to the other, and receiving the chairs for the edge rail, would completely prevent their spreading. This expedient has been resorted to in some places on the Germantown road, the long stones having been used as the joints of the rails, and stone blocks in the intermediate parts.

These remarks are intended as mere hints which may in some cases be made useful, or serve as inducements to the competent engineer, to devise better modes of procedure. The mentioning of a competent engineer, reminds us of one other point essentially connected with the subject in hand, a remark respecting which shall close the present article. We have some gentlemen in our country to whom the foregoing title may be justly applied, but numbers are so dubbed, who have not the slightest claim to the appellation, and, in not a few in stances, the direction of important works has been entrusted to such men because they might be got cheap. Real talent in this line is never too highly paid for; but a Board of directors will not unfrequently sacrifice hundreds of thousands, to save a thousand or two of dollars in an annual salary.

The foregoing remarks have been elicited by what we have recently seen and heard, and are committed to paper during the continuance of the tour in which they have been suggested.

From the Journal of the Franklin Institute of Sept. 1833.
FRANKLIN INSTITUTE.

Quarterly Report of the Board of Managers. In compliance with the requisitions of the constitution, the Board of Managers of the Institute submit their report for the past quarter. Although the quarter has been one of those in which the active operations in the interesting branch of instruction are suspended, it has not been devoid of interest. The preparations for the exhibition of domestic manufactures, to be held in the autumn, the experiment of monthly conversation meetings, which has been in progress, the reference of the subject of weights and measures to the Institute, and the transfer of the collections of the Maclurean Lyceum to this society, have added variety to the usual duties and business of the institution.

The committee on premiums and exhibitions hold stated meetings with the committee of arrangement, to mature and execute their plans for the distribution of information to manufacturers and mechanics, in relation to the objects of industry to be exhibited in the coming autumn. By the liberality of the New Castle and Frenchtown Rail Road Company, that committee have been enabled to offer a premium for a successful method

of preventing the escape of sparks from the flues of locomotive carriages, in which wood is used as fuel. The company have furnished a brief statement of the plans which had been tried before the offer of the premium, which statement has been communicated to those ap. plying for information to the Institute.

The experiment of monthly conversation meetings, made by direction of the annual meeting of the Insti tute, has been highly successful. As was anticipated, the absence of formality in these meetings has induced many to contribute to the information of their fellow members who otherwise would hardly have come forward, and where no special and avowed communica. tion has been made, interesting remarks and discussions have been engaged in by many who came as listeners only. The months of July and August would be unfavorable to the assemblage, in comfort, of so many persons as frequent these meetings, and the Board respectfully recommend their omission during these two months.

By a resolution of the House of Representatives of this state, the Secretary of the Commonwealth was directed to refer to the Managers of the Institute, the bill relating to "weights and measures, and to admeasurement," with a request that report should be made, in relation to it, at the next session of the legislature. This bill, with the resolution of reference, &c. was received at the meeting of the managers in June last, and referred to a committee of nineteen to report to the Board. I he names of the committee are appended to this report.

The committee on instruction have already commenc ed a revision of the arrangements of last year, in regard to the several branches thereof. The drawing school has received particular attention, and will, it is hoped, be materially improved in its organization. The com mittee have made arrangements to obtain from the professors, and to furnish to the class, a programme, or outline, of each of the regular courses of lectures.

The managers have made, during the last quarter, an arrangement by which the collections in natural his. tory, books, and other property, of the Maclurean Ly. ceum of this city, have been transferred to the Institute, the members of the Lyceum becoming life members of this association, The entire right of disposal of this property has been vested in the Institute, and a com mittee has been appointed to effect the transfer of the articles to our Hall. In process of time, it is hoped to exchange such of these articles, as do not come within the scope of our society, for others more directly interesting to us, retaining such as will add materially to the interest of our collection of minerals and geological specimens.

The eleventh volume of the Journal of the Institute has been completed by the appearance of the June number. This journal, from the amount and interest of the original matter which it contains, furnished in relation to the patents by theeditor, and in the miscel laneous matters by occasional correspondents, may, it is believed, stand an advantageous comparison with scientific journals at home, and with those in the same walks abroad. The circulation of this periodical should be anxiously promoted by every member of the Insti tute: they would thereby aid in diffusing through its means useful information in relation to the mechanic arts, and in general science, and look to an increase of subscribers to produce a diminution in the present price of subscription; in this point of view, each subscriber is interested in increasing its circulation.

Committee on Weights and Measures.

A. D. Bache, S. V. Merrick, W. H. Keating, Rufus Tyler, M. W. Baldwin, Benjamin Say, Asa Spencer, Abram. Miller, Thos. P. Jones, M. D., R. M. Patterson, M. D., Sears C. Walker, Benj. Stancliffe, Thos. M' Euen, M. D., Edmund Draper, David H. Mason, Benj, Reeves, Frederick Fraley, Samuel Moore, Samuel Hains. A. D. BACHE, Chairman. WILLIAM HAMILTON, Actuary.

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