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has received considerable sums of money as a remuneration for his skill and labour in inventing and constructing this machinery. Such reports are altogether destitute of truth. He has received, neither directly nor indirectly, any remuneration whatever; on the contrary, owing to various official delays in the issues of money for the payment of the engineer, he has frequently been obliged to advance these payments himself, that the work might proceed without interruption. Had he not been enabled to do this from his private resources, it would have been impossible that the machinery could have arrived at its present advanced state.

It will be a matter of regret to every friend of science to learn that, notwithstanding such assistance, the progress of the work has been suspended, and the workmen dismissed, for more than a year and a half; nor does there, at the present moment, appear to be any immediate prospect of its being resumed. What the causes may be of a suspension so extraordinary, of a project of such great national and universal interest, in which the country has already invested a sum of such serious amount as 15,000l.-is a question which will at once suggest itself to every mind; and is one to which, notwithstanding frequent inquiries in quarters from which correct information might be expected, we have not been able to obtain any satisfactory answer. It is not true, we are assured, that Government object to make the necessary payments, or even advances, to carry on the work. It is not true, we are also assured, that any practical difficulty has arisen in the construction of the mechanism; on the contrary, the drawings of all the parts of it are completed, and may be inspected by any person appointed on the part of Government to examine them. Mr. Babbage is known as a man of unwearied activity and aspiring ambition. Why, then, it may be asked, is it that he, seeing his present reputation and future fame depending in so great a degree on the successful issue of this undertaking, has, nevertheless, allowed it to stand still for so long a period, without distinctly pointing out to Government the course which they should adopt to remove the causes of delay? Had he done this (which we consider to be equally due to the nation and to himself), he would have thrown upon Government and its agents the whole responsibility for the delay, and consequent loss; but we believe he has not done so. On the contrary it is said that he has of late almost withdrawn from all interference on the subject, either with the Government or with the engineer. Does not Mr. Babbage perceive the inference which the world will draw from this course of conduct? Does he not see that they will impute it to a distrust

in his own power to complete what he has begun! We feel assured that such is not the case, and we are anxious, equally for the sake of science and for Mr. Babbage's own reputation, that the mystery-for such it must be regarded-should be cleared up; and that all obstructions to the progress of the undertaking should be immediately removed. Does this supineness and apparent indifference, so incompatible with the known character of Mr. Babbage, arise from any feeling of dissatisfaction at the existing arrangements between himself and the Government? If such be the actual cause of the delay (and we believe that in some degree it is so), we cannot refrain from expressing our surprise that Le does not adopt the candid and straightforward course of declaring the grounds of his discontent, and explaining the arrangement he desires to be adopted. We do not hesitate to say that every reasonable accommodation and assistance ought to be afforded to him. But if he will pertinaciously abstain from this, to our minds, obvious and proper course, then it is surely the duty of Government to appoint proper persons to inquire into and report upon the present state of the machinery; to ascertain the causes of its suspension; and to recommend such measures as may appear to be most effectual to ensure its speedy comple tion. If they do not by such means succeed in putting the project in a state of advance.. ment, they will at least shift from themselves all responsibility for its suspension.-Edinburgh Review, No. 120, which contains by far the fullest and most intelligible description of the engine in question which has yet appeared.

BUILDING AND BRICK-MAKING.

We noticed with approbation, in our Journal of May 14, 1831, two brickmaking machines, which were patented about that time by Mr. S. R. Bakewell, formerly of the United States, but now of Manchester-one of them being for preparing the brick earth, and the other for consolidating the bricks when cast. Mr. Bakewell claims to be the first person that ever made a fire brick west of the Alleghany Mountains, capable of sustaining the heat of an air furnace; and, un'esɛ he over-rates his pretensions greatly-which we by no means think he does he is also the destined instrument of some equally important_improvements in the brick-making of our own country. In a rambling but clever

little pamphlet, which he has just published, on the general subject of" Building and Brick-making," and on the me rits of his own inventions in particular, he observes of the state of these arts in England:

That brick-making in England has been until lately the most imperfect of all the mechanical arts, I presume no one who has paid the least attention to the subject will attempt to deny; should he do so, let him examine without prejudice the fronts of the buildings throughout the kingdom, and he will find that two-thirds at least are constructed of rough, ugly, soft, mis-shapen lumps of burnt clay (hardly deserving the name of bricks), full of hollows, fissures, and protuberances, and will absorb water like a sponge; consequently houses built of such materials (to say nothing of their want of beauty and durability), cannot fail of being damp and unhealthy at all seasons of the year. Such bricks are a disgrace to the manufacturers, and in some measure to the inhabitants who purchase them for not rejecting such trash, or allowing the makers a more liberal price to enable them to make better. The principal defect (next to bad firing) is in the tempering of the clay, which operation ought to be performed more than double what is usual, because the quality of the bricks in a great measure depends on that important operation. I am credibly informed that there is a statute still unrepealed, though obsolete, which was enacted at the particular recommendation of James I., which required (under a heavy penalty) that no bricks should be made unless the clay had been exposed to the weather, and turned over at intervals three times at least before the 1st of March. And a wise regulation it was, not only on account of the great improvement it would make in the bricks, but because it gave employment to a great number of workmen at an inclement season of the year, when it might be difficult to obtain other occupations. Bricks made of such clay would unquestionably be much more solid and durable than those made at present; and each one (the size being the same) would contain about one-sixth more clay than if tempered in the imperfect manner it is at present. But this is not altogether the fault of the manufacturer, but of the unwise custom of letting jobs by contract to the lowest bidder, who is often compelled, to save himself from loss, to purchase the worst articles he can meet with, provided they are cheap." -pp. 13. 14.

Observations on Building and Brick making: to which are subjoined Extracts from Testimonials in behalf of S. R. Bakewell's Patent Brickmaking Machines. Manchester, 1834.

Again:

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"There appears to me greater inconsist ency in the gentlemen of England generally (although not universally), as respects the construction of their houses, than at first view may be admitted. In almost every thing else external appearance is every thing; but in house building this rule seems to be reversed: whilst the most extravagant expense is lavished on the inside of a house, but little attention appears to be paid to the excellence or beauty of the outside. The only apology that can be advanced in behalf of this palpable deficiency in taste, has been the difficulty, hitherto, of obtaining good as well as handsome bricks; for even stocks, or such as are dressed or polished by hand in the usual manner, are often more injured than benefited by that operation, for there is scarcely one in twenty but what are more or less put out of shape thereby. In the cities of Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, for some years back, scarcely a house has been erected the front bricks of which have not cost at least 31. 10s., and principally 47. 10s. to 5l. per 1,000; although in that country they pay no duty, and the liberal price above mentioned is paid cheerfully and without reluctance. However, candour induces me to acknowledge that the gentlemen before alluded to, who construct houses for the purpose of residing in themselves, cannot be charged with parsimony, and scarcely with economy, otherwise the artificial, temporary and expensive practice of daubing over their fronts. with mortar (fashionably styled stucco), would not so generally prevail; and although it must be acknowledged that houses of this description look handsome for a while, yet, comparatively, in a short time they become. mean and shabby in the extreme, and require to be almost continually patched or repaired, and, even when most perfect, we know it to be a deception, and intended to hide deformity and worthlessness; and the defects above mentioned can be only partially amended by incurring the enormous expense of periodical painting at short intervals."-pp. 17, 18.

Of London more particularly:

"The clay in and near London is at present, and has been for some time, of a very ordinary quality. Mr. Lees, an eminent builder, accidentally discovered some years ago that by mixing powdered cha'k amongst it, the colour, as well as the quality of the' bricks were considerably improved; he patented his invention, and what is not more strange than true, his patent had run seven years before he was enabled to dispose of a single license to others. This information [ received from an authority which may be

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relied upon; and it serves to prove how exceedingly slow and averse people generally are to adopt new inventions, and it does not speak much in favour of the enterprise or judgment of the brick-makers (at that period) of the first city in the world.

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* * Before this digression, I was observing that by the admixture of chalk with the earth, of which the bricks are made in and near London, they are considerably improved; nevertheless, from the uncertain mode of firing there practised, together with mixing coal ashes with the other materials (which is consumed in burning), they are left very porous, and a great portion of them will of course absorb water abundantly, consequently they are far inferior in quality to those that are made in many other parts of England; yet they have one mode of managing their bricks in my opinion superior to the general custom of the country, and that is of placing them in walls to dry directly af er they are moulded, instead of laying them singly on floors exposed to heavy rains. This practice necessity compels them to adopt, because if their bricks were exposed to one-fifth of the heavy rains that fall (without much injuring common ones) on those made in Manchester, they would be entirely spoiled; nevertheless, I think it a very good plan, and might be introduced to advantage by those who have plenty of room, for which I will give my reasons: 1st, The bricks would be seldom, if ever, injured by rain; and, 2dly, as they are obliged to be carried away on wheelbarrows, the moulders would be compelled to use stiffer clay than they commonly do at present, of course the bricks would be so much the better; and although the moulders of common bricks in London are better workmen generally than those either of Manchester or Liverpool, yet they are inferior to those of many other places, and as to fine or polished bricks they make none nevertheless, the practical workmen in that city generally, but more especially the foremen, are so insufferably prejudiced and conceited that they are quite disgusting, and fancy themselves to be the best brick-makers in the world, although it is very probable they were never beyond the sound of Bow bells. It may not be generally known in the country, that yellow is the favourite colour of bricks in London, and the nearer they approach to that of brimstone the more perfect they are considered.

I minutely examined some which were the remains of the old White Conduit House, and there can be few doubts that they were manufactured several centu ries ago, and they were as yellow as the best that are made at this period; therefore the earth of which they were formed must naturally have possessed a larger portion of

chalk than what is commonly found in the clay at presen, because Mr. Lees' discovery could not possibly have been lost, after being once known."-pp. 5, 6.

We regret to say, there is but too much truth in all this. Mr. Bakewell, however, is rather hard on the poor brick-makers. He seems not to be aware how much another class of makers have had to do in the matter-we mean our law-makers. We recommend to his attentive consideration the following pertinent observations on this head, extracted from Mr. Montgomery Martin's "Taxation of the British Empire :"

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"We now come to inquire what is the effect on bricks of the excise laws, and we find in this as in every other instance, the trail of the serpent is over them all.' By the 17 Geo. III. c. 42, bricks made for sale in England must be 8 inches long, 2 inches thick, and four wide; the size of the sieves for sifting coal-ashes to mix with the clay, must not exceed a quarter an inch between the meshes; the reader, however, will see most clearly the onerous nature of the laws governing this simple branch of rural employment, in the following admirable paragraph from the Spectator:

"Notice must be given of the intention to begin making, under the penalty of 1001. The size, the form, and, it may be said, the quality of the article, is prescribed, and the size of the sieve is fixed. The articles are chargeable with the duty (subject to an allowance of 10 in the 100 for waste) directly as they come from the mould. From the nature of the manufacture, this is, however, insufficient, and the same raw material may have to pay the duty several successive times. For as all the processes take place in the open air, the article is liable to be injured, or even destroyed, by heat, by cold, or by rain; and, when a batch has successfully escaped the elements, there is still the ordeal of the kiln. Thus, when the bricks, on leaving the mould, are set up, they may be destroyed by frost in a single night. After re-working and re-paying, they may be washed away, or otherwise damaged, by a storm or land flood. If the material, or any part of it, is again re-worked, the duty is again levied, and the bricks are placed in clamp; where they may, from accident, turn out shaky, or be altogether spoiled. For natural risks, the consumers of a manufacture must, of course, pay; but, in the present case, the premium of insurance is very greatly raised by the tax, whilst the risk itself is very greatly increased by the regulations. For in tance, when the bricks are once set ups there they must remain till the officer has

brought them to charge,' or what is virtually the same, has given permission to remove them, although their non-removal should subject them to be injured or destroyed. Every spot where they are placed during the process of a manufacture must be entered. If, from accident, carelessness, or design, they are put in an unentered place, the maker is subjected to a penalty of 501. After all, the duty only yields 365,000, from which there is to be deducted the expense of the collection. This is very considerable, for brick-fields are scattered all over the country, and frequently established for a témporary purpose,-as when houses are to be erected in a remote neighbourhood, or when brick earth is found upon the intended site, and the builder turns brick-maker for the nonce.'"-pp. 109, 110.

Mr. Bakewell thinks that the best clay for bricks in England is that of Colebrookdale; and the best bricks those manufactured at Manchester, and at Newton Solney, near Trent :

Burton-upon

"I have found the clay in various parts of England very good, particularly near Leicester, Derby, Manchester, and Liverpool, in others much inferior, although for common bricks, in the two places last named, they are very bad temperers; but the very best clay for red bricks that I have ever met with in the whole course of my life in any country, is that which is found in the vicinity of Colebrookdale. It is raised in a similar manner to coal, from a considerable depth in the earth, and if pressed bricks made of this clay could be conveyed at a reasonable rate to Liverpool, and from thence, as ballast, to the city of New York (at which place they import from Baltimore, Philadelphia, &c., all their front bricks), I would insure that almost any quantity might be sold at from five and a half to six guineas per thousand, if not more." -pp. 6, 7.

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*

*

*

*

"I cannot well conclude without bearing my impartial testimony in favour of the principal brick-burners in Manchester, and acknowledge that (with one exception only, and even in that case they are not surpassed) they are the very best at that department of the business I have ever met with in any country. The person alluded to above as equal to them is Mr. Hopkins, of Newton Solney, near Burtonupon Trent, who, take him in every branch of the business, was, until the newly-invented brick-presses were introduced, the very best brick-maker in England: of this I have not

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the shadow of a doubt; but then he has a much superior method to any brick-maker in Manchester of tempering his clay (although an expensive one); and he is enenabled to take more time both in moulding and dressing his bricks, from never selling any for fronts under 31. 10s. per thousand." ~p. 16.

Now for Mr. Bakewell's own improvements the principle of which he candidly admits was suggested to him by an Englishman," whose name, however, he forgets to mention :

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"I have visited within a short period the principal brick-yards in about twenty counties in England, and also those in eighteen of the States of North America, and I verily believe that I have seen more than a dozen different machines for, and modes of tempering clay; and it is my candid opinion, that a clay-mill on the very best principle that has ever been in use (both as to quality and quantity) was invented by an Englishman, the manager of an extensive brick-yard belonging to the late Benjamin Morgan, Esq., an eminent merchant of New Orleans; they are universally adopted in that city, and about fifty of them are almost constantly in operation; and mills on this principle, combined with various valuable improvements which I have added lately, are those which I have patented in England. I can take clay dry from the bank from whence it has been dug, sufficient for 16,000 bricks; allow it to soak in the mill all night, and, with the aid of two horses and a boy, on the following morning, in three hours it will be well and completely tempered, and much better than by any other plan or contrivance that I have ever either seen or heard of. Not a lump as large as a pea can be found amongst it; and it will be as smooth, tough, and ductile as can be desired; and I have not the shadow of a doubt but that these mills would save the brick makers in and near London at least 2s. per thousand on all the common bricks they make, and double that amount on those in which they mix chalk; and as the clay would be infinitely better tempered than it is, the quality of the bricks would also be greatly improved; yet from the apparent disposition of both principals and foremen, there appears but a very slight prospect of my being able to introduce them into that part of the kingdom."-pp. 14, 15.

and as solid as a block of marble, as each brick when in a half dried state receives a pressure of more than two tons. The machines in which the operation of pressing is performed are so simple and solid (yet extremely powerful), that I defy their greatest enemies to put them out of order (unless intentionally); and any novice who has never made a brick may learn to work them to advantage in fifteen minutes. And as to their durability, they will, I should suppose, by occasionally giving a new lining to the mould, the expense of which will be a mere trifle, last from twenty to twenty-five years." -pp. 16, 17.

These bricks have also another important advantage over those that are manufactured at present-the faces of each being indented or countersunk, about a quarter of an inch deep, and within an inch of their edges, enables the workmen to make the joints as small as possible, and the surplus mortar that enters the internal cavities forms a key or dowel in the walls; buildings constructed of such bricks will not require iron rods attached to those ugly protuberances-wall plates, to hold or bind them together, neither will housebreakers be able to make openings through walls built of such materials, by first picking out the mortar and thereby loosening the bricks, after which they are easily taken out. Occurrences have frequently happened in Manchester and in many other places in the kingdom; but on this plan it will be impossible for them to accomplish their ends without breaking the bricks in pieces, which would make so much noise that could not fail of alarming the neighbourhood."—p. 18.

"If such bricks are properly burnt, a front of them cannot fail being extremely beautiful; and as to their durability no correct calculation can be made, but there can be but few doubts but that they will remain good, and retain their excellence, if not their present beauty, longer than stone. I am induced to adopt this conclusion from the fact, that bricks have, within these few years, been brought from the ruins of Babylon, and it is believed from the temple of Belus, to the city of New York, that were as sound and good as when first made-nearly 3,000 years ago; and what is very singular, these bricks had each several letters or hieroglyphics impressed upon them, which must have been done before they were burnt; and there is now to be seen any day at Leicester, near St. Nicholas's church, a quantity of red tiles, about an inch and a half in thickness, and of such two or more arches are formed; and it is generally believed by antiquarians that they are a part of the temple of Janus, which temple historians inform us

was closed at the period of the birth of our Saviour, in conformity to the custom of the Romans, as to the temples dedicated to that deity in periods of universal peace: consequently these tiles must be nearly, if not more than 2,000 years old, and yet they are of a bright red colour, and apparently as fresh and sound as if they had not been laid a year. Query-Is there any stone with which we are acquainted that will bear exposure to the atmosphere half as long without mouldering?"—p. 19.

We gather from the "Testimonials," appended to Mr. Bakewell's pamphlet, that his pressing-machines have come into partial use in Manchester, Nottingham, Leicester, and several other provincial towns. We hope-indeed we have no doubt-that we shall ere long see them universally adopted; and that the opposition which he complains of having hitherto encountered from our metropolitan" principals and foremen," will speedily give way to juster and more liberal views.

DEATH OF MR. TELFORD.

We announce, with feelings of deep regret,. the death of this eminent and excellent individual, which took place at five o'clock on Tuesday afternoon last, at his house in Abingdon-street.

Mr. Telford was in the 79th year of his age. The immediate cause of his death was a repetition of severe bilious attacks, to which he had for some years been subject. He was a native of Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, which he left at an early age. His gradual rise from the stone-masons' and builders' yard to the top of his profession, in his own country, or, we believe we may say, in the world, is to be ascribed not more to his genius, his consummate ability, and persevering industry, than to his plain, honest, straightforward dealing, and the integrity and candour which marked his character throughout life.

Mr. Telford had been for some time past by degrees retiring from professional business, to enable him the better to "adjust his mantle." He has of late chiefly employed his time in writing a detailed account of the principal works which he planned, and lived to see executed; and it is a singular and fortunate circumstance that the corrected manuscript of this work was only completed by his clerk, under his direction, two or three days ago. His works are so numerous all over the island, that there is hardly a