lamps, this station acting to the others as a central station. Let us turn to the question of whether electric light work should be done by the municipality or by the enterprise of private companies. The newspapers, I observe, have rather favoured the latter course; but, as a matter of fact, they are wrong in doing so, from the business point of view, as I can very easily show. The argument of those who think that electric lighting should not be undertaken by the municipality is, as far as I can make out, as follows: It rests on a dogma that a public body is not entitled to compete with private enterprise. To the ordinary citizen, however, it is, I take it, a matter of complete indifference who supplies the commodity in question, so long as it is supplied with the maximum efficiency and at the minimum cost. It is often stated that a public body cannot work a commercial scheme with the success of a private company; but that there is any real reason for this I deny, be the fact what it may. The central authority, in fact, controls a good many industries, some of which, at all events, such as the telegraphs and telephones, will compete in economy and efficiency with similar systems in any country in the world. Setting aside matters of sentiment, or conclusions arrived at by a priori reasoning, we have merely to enquire whether or not the public will be better served by leaving the electric light in the hands of the City Council. I understand that some people think that the public lighting should be undertaken by the Council, but not the private lighting. The fact is, however, that the cost of taking up the streets is so great that unless the same conduits can be used for the two systems, each is burdened with a large and unnecessary expense. Add to this that the stations would require to be doubled in number, and the expense of supervision also doubled, and you will perceive that the position that one body is to do the public and another the private lighting is financially out of the question. Whether a district be lighted by the Council or by a company, the whole of the lighting must be on one system, or an unnecessary waste is incurred. It has never, I think, been suggested that the Council should establish gas works simply for street lighting, or water works solely for street purposes, and the proposal to start an electric system merely for street lighting can only be based on a misapprehension of the facts of electrical engineering. We may assume, then, that financially we are compelled either to undertake all the lighting or none. Now, suppose it is decided to hand a given section of the town over to a private company, what measures will you take to ensure that the company does not secure a monopoly? In the first place you will limit its tenure. Result a higher price for the commodity it sells. You will enforce it to keep its price below a certain maximum. Result-you will not reap any benefit from current inventions or new and improved systems of management. Suppose you grant two companies right over the same districts. Then, as before, unnecessary expense will be incurred, for each company will have its own mains, and, perhaps, different and inconvenient systems. In the end, of course, the consumer must pay for this. My argument is exactly this: If you take safeguards to prevent the creation of a monopoly, then as a business speculation the enterprise is not so good, and greater profits must be promised to tempt the investor. These profits must ultimately come out of the citizens' pockets. This, to my mind, amounts to a demonstration that the service can be more economically carried out by the Council than by private enterprise. NOTTINGHAM. ELECTRIC LIGHTING OF THE BOROUGH. At the meeting of the Town Council on Monday, the question of lighting the town electrically was debated. Alderman Sir John Turney introduced a report of a special committee, which recommended that the Corporation should undertake the lighting of Nottingham by electricity, and that the committee should be empowered to obtain specifications and estimates for the purpose. He said that it was something like four years since the committee was formed. They had considered the desirability of lighting up the greater part of the town with electricity. Many people had complained of their slowness, but he thought that the committee had gained considerable experience by the slowness with which they had proceeded. During the four years considerable improvement had been made in electric lighting all over the world, and they had the advantage of the experience of others. They, during that time, had also had the advantage or disadvantage of the experience and opinions of experts, which had been, as they might expect them to be, very conflicting. One advised one thing, another another, one high pressure, another low, one large, another small installations. It now, however, seemed to them that an attempt should be made to light a part of the borough with the electric light. The committee thought it wise and prudent that they should start on moderate lines, and they did not advise anything beyond that a moderate-sized installation should be put down to start with. He ought to have said that in the earlier consideration of the question of a provisional order they thought it advisable to hand over the work to electrical engineers, to a syndicate or company, but they had since made enquiries all over the country, and they had come to the conclusion that it was better to keep the lighting of the town in the hands of the Corporation. They now asked permission to light up a section, a central part of the town, at a cost of £25,000 or £30,000, to obtain specifications giving them the necessary details as to what they would require to light up a certain area which they would then bring to the Council for confirmation or otherwise. They did not intend to proceed without first consulting the Council, but they thought that they had arrived at a stage when, after deciding on a certain area, they might ask for tenders. Alderman Sands had great pleasure in seconding. He said that while there were many differences of opinion, one of the gentlemen consulted, who could be thoroughly trusted, was in favour of small installations scattered over the town, and worked at a low pressure. Mr. Lucas asked whether a short time ago the Council had not asked for tenders, and tenders had been sent in ? The Town Clerk said that was so, and the committee reported to the Council. Mr. Lucas asked if the tenders had been before the Council? The Town Clerk said that was not the usual procedure. The committee reported that they had come to the conclusion that the whole of the tenders were unsatisfactory, and the Council resolved to authorise the committee to employ such professional assistance as would enable them to report to the Council what action should be taken. were Mr. Lucas said that was an important question, which should be very carefully considered. It required more consideration than could be given to it that morning. They were asked to assent to the principle that the Corporation should itself undertake the electric lighting of the town, and to do so without discussion. Before they did so they should find out whether it was possible to induce private individuals to do so. He was informed that a company was formed, the directors of which were shrewd business men, and that they were willing to risk their money upon what, after all, was but a speculation. He thought that if they could find private individuals to risk their own money, they should not risk the money of the ratepayers 10 hazardous enterprises. The town clerk had told them that the committee had reported that all the tenders unsatisfactory, but he submitted that the tenders should be open to every member of the Council to see for themselves, and that the matter should be adjourned until every member had an opportunity of seeing the tenders. He was told, and he spoke from authority, that one of the tenders for the lighting of the town was a most satisfactory one, and he knew that to his mind it was a most satisfactory one. He believed that they were willing to share all profits above 7 per cent. He thought that if that tender was open to the members of the Council they would hesitate a very long time before they would embark the ratepayers and venture their money in such an undertaking. He moved that the matter be adjourned to the next monthly meeting, and that the tenders which had been received should be open to the members of the Council. Mr. Elborne seconded the amendment, in order that the feeling of members might be tested. He thought that as the Council had taken upon itself the whole of the responsibility of either adopting electricity for lighting the town, or not, they ought to have the advantage of looking at all the tenders, and passing individual judgment upon those that had been sent in, and see upon what terms companies would supply them. If it were true that there was a company ready to share all profits on capital after 7 per cent. had been realised, it seemed to him it would be better to let those people have the venture and for the Corporation to share their profits. Mr. Pyatt said that whether the town should have the supply of electricity in its own hands or let the supply to a company scarcely required one moment's thought. Why should the Corporation have bought the gas and water concerns if they were going to allow someone else to pull up their streets and do as they liked in order to put down a supply of electricity? The course recommended, to allow some company to come into the town to supply the light, was most mistaken. The company saw they were going to make some profit or they would not risk their capital in the undertaking, and he contended that electric light ought to be supplied at the cheapest rate without any middleman's profit to come in. The electric lighting of the borough ought to be taken up with spirit now, because the time had come when the whole question should be dealt with in a broad manner. He did not believe in publicly opening tenders, because he thought it was not fair to bring those documents before the Council when there was no intention of acting upon them. A considerable number of people were anxiously anticipating the action of the Council in the matter. What was their position in regard to that committee? It was appointed on the understanding that some sort of powers should be given to them to enquire mainly as to the best means of preparing the way towards adopting the electric light. Was that committee now to be re-formed into a permament committee to buy plant and erect machinery and sell the electric light? That was a most important question and one that ought to have consideration. The general feeling, he thought, was that one committee ought to have in hand the lighting of the town, and not two. Mr. T. Hardy asked whether it was reasonable for them as representatives of the ratepayers to allow those "keen, shrewd, business men" of whom Mr. Lucas had spoken to go and take those profits away from the town, and whether they were doing the ratepayers a good turn by allowing them to come into the borough and experiment. In his opinion the period of experiment with electricity for public purposes had passed by. He thought, further, that the time had come when the Corporation of Nottingham should take a step in similar directions to those taken in other towns. He was of opinion they had derived all the profit they could hope to do from the experiments of other towns and various electrical companies, and now they ought to take a step forward and do something on their own account, and say to these "keen, shrewd, business men" that they did not want their interference in the town's affairs. Mr. T. Bentley said that in his opinion Mr. Hardy had been thrashing a dead horse. He thought the clause inserted in the Act of Parliament distinctly stated-at least, if it did not, that was the feeling expressed by the town clerk at the time-that they themselves were going to get powers to deal with the question, so that if any private company came into the town the Corporation would be able to make terms with them. Every large town must now to a certain extent go with the times, and other large towns had not taken the question of electric lighting altogether in their hands. It was a question whether the Nottingham Corporation should take the matter entirely in their hands or dictate terms to those who wished to come in, but they had the experience of the past that it was best for them to deal with their own streets in the matter of putting down pipes, interfering with drains, and matters of that sort. It was a most important question, and one that ought to be thoroughly ventilated. Mr. A. Brownsword seconded the adoption of the report, saying he did not see any use in delaying the matter at its present stage. When, later on, they got the report of the committee, with estimates and tenders, it would be time to discuss those details. He pointed out that there was a large amount of water power available in the vicinity of Nottingham that could be utilised for the purpose of generating the electric light. He would be glad to see it utilised, and, particularly, he had in view the weirs at Beeston and at Colwick, because it had been ascertained that distance did not interfere very greatly in the matter. Their forefathers in Nottingham had given thegas and water supplies of the borough over to different companies, with the result that the Corporation now had to pay £25,000 per annum more than was necessary for annuities on gas and water, and he was afraid that if they were to allow a private company to have the electric lighting, they might in the future be in pretty much the same box, or worse. The amendment was then put, and supported only by Mr. Lucas and Mr. Elborne, and the original resolution was carried with but one dissentient-Mr. Lucas. GLASGOW. THE ELECTRIC LIGHT QUESTION. At the meeting of the Glasgow Town Council on Dec. 3, the minutes of the Gas Committee and of the SubCommittee on Electric Lighting were submitted, as follows: "The sub-committee had a conference with Sir William Thomson on October 9, at which Sir William said he still adhered to the opinion that the low-tension continuous-current system of electric lighting was the most suitable for the area to be supplied by the Corporation. The sub-committee accordingly resolved to adhere to the minute of the Special Sub-Committee on Electric Lighting of April 27th. At a meeting held on 28th October, 'the subcommittee agreed to recommend that Prof. A. B. W. Kennedy, of London, be engaged to act as consulting electrical engineer to the Corporation, for the purpose of working out a complete scheme of mains for the compulsory area, and also for certain defined parts of the lighting area outside the compulsory district, including the arrangement of the machinery and plant inside the central station, the preparation of the necessary specifications, and the superintendence of the works while in progress.' From the minutes of the subcommittee on 18th November and 25th November it appeared that the offer of a site for a central station had been accepted, the ground being situated at the corner of Waterloo-street and Mains-street, and the price £8,000 over and above the feu-duty of £75. 7s. 4d. At another meeting there was submitted and read the report which has been obtained from Mr. James Muir, C.A., Glasgow, and Mr. James Muirhead, C. E., London, of the investigation which they made in regard to the business, machinery, and plant belonging to Messrs. Muir, Mavor, and Coulson, Limited. The sub-committee having carefully considered the report, resolved to recommend that it would not be advisable for the Corporation to purchase or acquire any part of the business, plant, or machinery belonging to the company upon the terms indicated by the company.' At a meeting of the sub-committee held on 9th October 'the sub-committee again had a conference with Sir William Thomson as to the best method of electric lighting to be adopted by the Corporation within the compulsory area described in their provisional order, and also within the various districts outside that area but within the limits of the municipality. After a lengthened and exhaustive conversation on the subject, in which all the members present took part, Sir William Thomson stated to the meeting that he still adhered to the opinion which he formerly expressed to the committeeviz., that the low-tension continuous-current system was, in the whole circumstances, the most suitable and economic method which could be adopted for the lighting, not only of the compulsory area, but also of the other portions of the city within which the Corporation might hereafter, from time to time, be called upon to supply electricity. The sub-committee accordingly, after deliberation, resolved to adhere to the report made to the Town Council in the minute of the Special Sub-Committee on Electric Lighting of date 27th April last." " After a stormy discussion, during which Mr. Colquohoun moved a direct negative to the effect that the resolution be rescinded, the original determination to employ the low-tension system was confirmed by 56 votes to 7. Bailie Fleming pertinently remarked that there was little use in employing a man like Sir William Thomson unless they followed his advice. Sir William Thomson's opinion was summed up in the words: "There are great possibilities in the high-tension system. But that was for the future; and as they were bound in Glasgow to supply electric light by the month of August next, they could not wait for this." There shall not be less than three nor more than seven Directors. The first are A. Lafone, M.P., C. H. Sprague, E. Ellis, and G. M. Meller. Qualification, £500. Remuneration, before payment of any dividend, £1,000, with an additional 4 per cent. after payment of 15 per cent. dividend, 5 per cent. after 20 per cent. dividend, 6 per cent. after payment of 25 per cent., 7 per cent. after payment of 30 per cent., 8 per cent. after payment of 35 per cent., 9 per cent. after payment of 40 per cent., and 10 per cent. after payment of 45 per cent., the same to be divisible. Henry Walker and Son, Limited.-Registered by T. W. Rossiter, 7, Ely-place, E. C., with a capital of £50,000 in £5 shares, 6,000 ordinary and 4,000 preference. The objects of the Company are to acquire the businesses of ironfounders and ironmongers hitherto carried on by Henry Walker and John George Walker, trading as Henry Walker and Son, at Gallowgate Iron Works, and at 55, Westgate-road, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and generally to carry on business as heating, ventilating, general and electrical Shares. 1 engineers, plumbers and gasfitters, etc. The first subscribers are : J. McEwan, 29, Race-street, Newcastle-on-Tyne..... J. G. Benson, 12, Grey-street, Newcastle-on-Tyne 1 1 1 1 1 1 J. J. Forster, Woodslea, Jesmond-road, Newcastle-on-Tyne There shall not be less than three nor more than seven Directors. The first are H. Walker, J. G. Walker, J. J. Forster, and J. C. Gover-all of Newcastle. Qualification, £250. Remuneration: Managing Directors (H. Walker and J. G. Walker), £400 and £350 respectively; remuneration of ordinary Directors to be determined by the Company in general meeting. "Lightning," Limited.-Registered by Slaughter and May, 21, Great Winchester-street, E.C., with a capital of £3,000 in £1 shares. Object: to acquire real or personal property of every description, and to work, develop, and turn to account the same; also to establish, print, and publish newspapers, magazines, and books, and generally to carry on the business of printers and publishers in all its branches. There shall not be less than three nor more than nine Directors; the first are to be appointed by the signatories to the memorandum of association. Qualification, £100; remuneration, £100, with an additional sum of one-tenth of the net profits remaining after payment of 10 per cent. dividend, CITY NOTES. Great Northern Telegraph Company.—The receipts for the month of November were £22,400. The Western Union Telegraph Company has declared a quarterly dividend of 14 per cent. City and South London Railway.-The receipts for the week ending December 6 were £810, as against £806 for the week ending November 29. The total receipts for four weeks ending on the latter date were £3,201. National Telephone Company.-The Directors have declared an interim dividend for the six months ending October 31 at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum, less income tax, on the first and second preference shares, and at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, less income tax, on the ordinary shares. The Commercial Cable Company announce the payment on January 2, 1892, of the usual quarterly dividend at the rate of 7 per cent. per annum. It is further announced that the drawing of bonds to take place this month for repayment in January will again be at the maximum of £120,000. The outstanding bonds will thereby be reduced to £200,000. The Eastern Telegraph Company announce the payment on January 14 of interest at the rate of 3s. per share, less income tax, being 6 per cent. per annum on the preference shares for the quarter ending December 31; and the usual interim dividend of 2s. 6d. per share on the ordinary shares, tax free, in respect of profits for the quarter ending September 30. Companies of the Month.-The following electrical companies have been registered during the past month: 20807. An automatic electric disc vote recording and counting machine. Walter Hearn and William Frederick Lewis, 11, Queen Victoria-street, London. 20814. Simultaneous telegraphy and telephony. John Morgan Richards and Johnston Stephen, 46, Holborn-viaduct, London. 0825. Improvements in the insulating or covering of or for electrical cables. Henry Edmunds and George Edward Preece, 47, Lincoln's-inn-fields, London. 20827. Improvements in electric lighting attachments for gas burners. David James Quinn and Paul Walter Hoffmann, 55, Chancery-lane, London. 20830. Improvements in electric safety lamps for mining and other purposes. Ernst Böhm and Ernest Bailey, 57, Cheapside, London. 20837. Extracting gold and silver from sea-water by electrolysis. Charles Hyatt Woolf, Arthur Eugene Hayman, and Alexander Denon Rushton Jameson, 78, Fleet-street London. 20840. Improvements in armatures of dynamo-electric machines. John Nebel, 28, Southampton-buildings, London. (Complete specification.) 20864. A new or improved combined electro-medical apparatus coil and battery. Thomas Clement Hodgkinson and Henry Thomas Tompsitt, 23, Southampton-buildings, London. (Complete specification.) 20865. An improved electric railway system. Alexander James Eli, 76, Chancery-lane, London. (James Slough Zerbe, United States.) DECEMBER 1. 20886. Improvements in or connected with electric masthead and side lights for ships. William Crammond Martin and John Hunter, 87, St. Vincent-street, Glasgow. 20900. Improvements in arc electric lamps. William Macpherson, 11, Furnival-street, London. 20913. Improvements in electrically-propelled vehicles. Mark Wesley Dewey, 45, Southampton-buildings, London. (Complete specification.) 20922. Improvements in storage batteries or accumulators. Carl Lütcke, 6, Lord-street, Liverpool. 20924. Improvements in and relating to electric fire engines, Mark Wesley Dewey, 45, Southampton-buildings, London. (Complete specification.) 20930. Improvements in electrically-propelled vehicles. Mark Wesley Dewey, 45, Southampton-buildings, London. (Complete specification.) 20933. Improvements in and relating to electrically-propelled hose carts or carriages. Mark Wesley Dewey, 45, Southampton-buildings, London. (Complete specification.) 20936. Improvements in electric heating apparatus. Mark Wesley Dewey, 45, Southampton-buildings, London. (Complete specification.) 20969. Improvements in electrolytic tanks. 21028. An improved gas or electric light appliance attached to a stud for the purpose of illuminating a dress shirt-front. Walter Walton and Ernest Lester, 16, Knoxroad, Clapham Junction, London. 21033. Improvements in dynamo machines. Lazarus Pyke and Edward Stephen Harris, 433, Strand, London. 21034. Improvements in musical instruments operated by electricity. Paris Eugene Singer, 6, Victoria-road, Kensington, London. DECEMBER 4. 21142. Improvements in ceiling roses for electrical fittings. Walter Poynter Adams, Springwell, Barnes, Surrey. 21143. Improvements in electrical cut-outs. Walter Poynter Adams, Springwell, Barnes, Surrey. 21154. Improvements relating to electrical lampholders. Charles Scott Snell and Woodhouse and Rawson United, Limited, 88, Queen Victoria-street, London. 21173. Means and electrical apparatus for promoting the growth of bulbs and other plants. Robert Henelade Courtenay, 6, Pennsbury-terrace, Wandsworth-road, Surrey. 21187. Improvements in regulating steam engines working dynamo-electric machines and apparatus for that purpose. Peter Valentine McMahon, 28, Southamptonbuildings, London. 21207. An improved electromotor. Thomas Sturgeon, 8, Quality-court, London. 21211. An improved electric call system and apparatus for connection therewith. William Hamilton Blankeney, 45, Southampton-buildings, London. 21214. Improvements in meters or recorders of electricity. Alfred Julius Boult, 323, High Holborn, London. (Claude Lebois, .) DECEMBER 5. Trevenen James Holland, 6, Bream's-buildings, Chancery-lane, London. 20970. Improvements in apparatus for measuring and registering electric currents. James William Thomas Cadett, 33, Southampton-buildings, London. 20972. Improvements in combined haulage and electric cables. Geo T. May, 22, ampton-buildings, London. 21018. Name India Rubber, Gutta Percha & Telegraph Co. Metropolitan Electric Supply St. James' National Telephone Electric Construction... Westminster Electric..... #2. Liverpool Electric Supply Price Paid. Wednes day 3 21 Berlin Electric Mains.-The Berlin Electricity Company have in the centre of Berlin alone a length of 20 miles of electric cables. Marburg. Herr L. Franz is intending to erect an electric transmission of power between St. Lorenz and Marburg, a distance of 18 miles. Electricity in Paris.-On April 1st, 1890, there were 22,000 electric lamps in Paris. On 31st July this year the number had risen to 63,500. City Guilds.-The prizes and certificates of the City and Guilds of London Institute were distributed at Salters' Hall on Monday, when the Lord Mayor delivered an address. Lord Suffield, who underwent a second severe operation on Saturday, was last evening going on fairly well. He passed a very quiet night, and all the symptoms were favourable. Tasmanian Tramways.-The tramways of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, which have recently been purchased by a London syndicate, are in future to be run by electricity. Champs Elysee.-A company, we learn, is on the eve of commencing operations in Paris, by which at Easter the famous vista on the Champs Elysée to the Arc de Triomphe will be blazing with arc lights. Galatz.-The authorities of Galatz, Roumania, announce an open competition for a concession for the lighting of the town of Galatz by either gas or electricity; tenders to be received by 1st February, 1892. Electrolysis.-At the monthly meeting of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society last Friday, in the Edinburgh Institution, Prof. J. T. Morrison gave an account of the "Modern Theory of Electrolysis." Huddersfield Engineer. At a meeting of the Huddersfield County Borough Council on Wednesday, Mr. W. C. Mountain, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, was appointed electrical engineer at a salary of £200. Bristol. The suggestion is anxiously made in the local press that Bristol should be thoroughly up to date and use the three-phase currents for lighting, because three-phase motors have no need of commutators! Attempted Suicide.-An unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide was made by a well-dressed man on the underground electric railway at Stockwell Station last week. Beyond a severe bruise the man was uninjured. Great Eastern Railway.-The Great Eastern Railway have long lighted Liverpool-street Station, but a great deal of work is also done at Bishopsgate Station. When is this station going to be lighted? asks the City Press. Central London Railway.-Preliminary borings for the Central London Electric Railway have been made, and reveal satisfactory conditions. The strata are easily workable, and no formidable water difficulties are apprehended. Board on Tuesday had to consider the supply of gas to the Hucknall Huthwaite.-The meeting of the Local village. It was proposed to obtain electric light from a plant which was being laid down at the New Hucknall Colliery. Eccles.-The Eccles Local Board have instructed the clerk to inform the Board of Trade that it was the intention of the local governing body to apply for an order to light the whole or a portion of the district with the electric light. Canada. A comparison of prices of arc lighting in the principal Canadian towns shows enormous differences in the prices of electric lighting. The prices range from 17dols. a year per lamp up to 108dols. in Toronto, and 146dols. in Montreal. Underground Wires in Australia.-It is intended to place the telephone and telegraph wires throughout Victoria underground. The estimated cost of the work is about £78,000, and it is expected that it will be commenced at an early date. Immisch Patents.-Mr. F. W. Hübel, of Messrs. Immisch and Co., is in America. Mr. Hübel will probably, says the Electrical World, endeavour to dispose of the American patents of Mr. Immisch, who himself is also expected shortly in the States. Telephone Licenses.-The Postmaster-General has intimated to Mr. H. Erskine Muirhead, managing director Caledonian Telephone Company, Limited, Glasgow, that her Majesty's Government will now consider their application for a telephonic exchange license. Continental Telegraph Lines.-Two new international telegraph lines affording direct communication between Vienna and Paris by way of Basle, and between Vienna and London by way of Bodenbach and Emden, were opened to the public last Saturday. Frankfort.—The Frankfort Exhibition seems likely to have a permanent effect in that town, for it is announced that Herr Otto V. Miller and Baurath Lindley are completing a scheme for the installation of light and power transmission. A credit of 10,000 marks for preliminaries is voted. Conversazione by Telephone.-The workmen of the National Telephone Company in Glasgow held their annual conversazione on Friday last in The Grand Hotel. In the course of the evening an address was delivered by Mr. Robert Gourlay, and by means of the telephone it was heard in the various newspaper offices. Dutch Cables.-The home Government in Holland has decided upon laying a submarine cable between Olehleh and Labuan Deli, so as to bring Acheen in telegraphic communication with the Dutch Indies. The cost of laying the cable, which is to be 302 English miles long, is estimated at about 750,000 guilders. Small Accumulators.-M. C. L. Weber has an article in Electricité which gives the details of construction advocated for a small battery of accumulators. Two coils of lead wire, one above the other in long thin glass tubes, is the arrangement shown. Such batteries would be used for laboratories or to charge electrometers. Swiss Water Power.-The Cantonal Administration of Berne has granted a concession for the utilisation of a portion of the waters of the Aar, at Wynau, for the pro duction of electric energy. The race will be 1,100 metres long, giving a flow of 80 cubic metres a second, with a fall of four metres, amounting to 3,000 h.p. Callaly Castle.-Considerable extensions have been made to the above residence lately, including a fine museum and large stables. A complete electric light installation is also being installed throughout the main building, stables, and outhouses. The contract has been placed with Messrs. Drake and Gorham, of 66, Victoria-street, S. W. Ennis.—The Ennis Town Commissioners invite specifications and tenders for the public and private lighting of the town of Ennis by electricity. Such specifications and proposals to be sent to the Town Clerk, Town Hall, Ennis, by Jan. 1. All expenses and costs incurred in the preparation of the said specifications and tenders to be borne by the parties sending in same. Extraction of Foreign Bodies from the Eye. Dr. Simeon Snell, who has given much attention to the use of the electromagnet in extracting foreign bodies from the retina, has a letter in the Lancet this week giving some particulars of his operations. Dr. Snell has put on record 77 cases in which the electromagnet has been used, and subsequent cases bring the number close to 100. Telephonic Coast Communication.—The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board have accepted the offer of the National Telephone Company to establish telephonic communication by a metal loop wire between the Crosby Lighthouse and the Formby Boathouse, and the offer of the Postal Telegraph Department for the same between Waterloo coast guard station and Blundell Sands. Greenock.—At the monthly meeting of the Greenock Police Board the clerk submitted correspondence with the Board of Trade on the subject of the Electric Lighting Order, 1883, and it was agreed to oppose any application which might be made by electric lighting companies for supply of electricity in town, but not meantime to apply for a provisional order under the new model order of the Board of Trade. Personal. The title of the firm started by Mr. C. E. Brown, late engineer to the Oerlikon Works, is Messrs. Brown, Boveri, and Co. The new works are at Baden, near Zurich, where we understand Mr. Brown has secured a large hall which is converted into a factory. M. Boveri is the financial partner in the new firm, which, with the talented engineer in charge, will doubtless meet with extended success. Portable Electric Lamps.-Small portable hand lamps are now often seen in opticians' windows. The cost is not excessive, and they are becoming recognised as useful for domestic purposes. The Optician, while recommending such lamps, draws the attention of the makers to the fact that the greatest weakness is in the unprotected state of the small glass bulb, which is in many of these lamps open to risk of injury. Train Lighting in Germany.-For the last month the night express between Frankfort and Berlin has been, by way of experiment, lighted with electric light. The current of the incandescent lamps is supplied by means of accumulators charged at the works in Gelnhausen. Two lamps are provided for each carriage, one of which can be turned off by the passengers, whilst the other can only be favourable decision is given, the new system will be in operation before next winter. Dundee.—A meeting of the Dundee Gas Commission was held last Friday, when it was resolved to acquire a site in Ward road for the purpose of erecting electric light works, provided the conditions in the missive of sale could be satisfactorily adjusted. A counter proposal that the Commission ask the Town Council to expose the old cattle market site was defeated. Mr. Urquhart, the engineer, attended, and gave explanations in regard to the proposal. Cardiff. At a special meeting of the Cardiff Lighting and Electrical Committee, the report, already published, was discussed. It was mentioned that the order had only 18 months to run, and the plant would take six months to put down, and the arrangements and letting of contracts six months more. Mr. Massey attended and gave information as to cost. It was decided to defer the matter till the town clerk had obtained particulars from the other towns lighted. Mr. Tesla's Experiments.-Prof. Crookes, the president of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, when moving the annual report last week, announced that Mr. Nikola Tesla is on his way to England, and had promised to lecture before the Institution in January next, and that the Council would spare no pains to ensure that the lecture should be thoroughly well experimentally illustrated. This meeting is likely, therefore, to prove one of the most noteworthy of the coming session. Inverness.-At a meeting of the Inverness Police Commissioners on Monday, consideration of a proposal to make additions to the gas works at an estimated cost of £10,000, and a suggestion to borrow this amount, together with a sum for the proposed electric lighting of the town, was tion of the recommendation until the report of the official taken up. The Commissioners resolved to defer consideraengineers on the water facilities for the production of the electric light is received. Theatrophone.-On Friday night last an exhibition was given by M. Szarvady at the Savoy Hotel of the "theatrophone "a telephonic instrument by which the attendance of persons at an opera can be practically obtained without bodily presence. The trials were regarded as very successful. The Theatrophone Company have already installed a considerable number of these instruments at Paris, and their introduction as a refinement of civilisation in London seems to be contemplated. Chess Match by Telephone.-A novel event in the shape of a chess match played by telephone took place between representatives of London and Liverpool last Saturday night, the competitors being engaged at the City Hall, Eberle-street, on the one hand, and at the British Chess Club, Covent Garden, on the other. Two games had been arranged. The first was won by the Liverpool, but the second was abandoned after 60 moves. Mr. George Newnes, M.P., was one of the London players. Efficient Motors. Mr. H. Ward Leonard, whose article on economical transmission of power was given by us last week, is making arrangements to apply his inven tions and devices on a considerable scale in New York. The patents have been granted, and contain some sweeping claims. In principle the method consists in supplying volts proportional to the desired speed, and amperes proportional to the desired torque. Combinations of alternate and direct current for motor work are also employed. Sims-Edison Torpedo.-A trial of the Sims-Edison dirigible torpedo has been made on the Tyne, at Newcastle, before Sir William G. Armstrong. This trial was made to demonstrate the practicability of launching a dirigible |
