RAILROAD AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.

BRITISH MAIL STEAMERS BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND BOSTON.

In an article on the "Progressive Wealth and Commerce of Boston," in the Merchants' Magazine for July, 1846, prepared chiefly from the report of Lemuel Shattuck, Esq., under the direction of the city authorities, we gave a summary of voyages, average length, passengers to and from Boston, Liverpool, and Halifax-(see Merchants' Magazine, Vol. XIV., page 39.) We now subjoin, (for record and reference,) the particulars of each voyage from the commencement, to January 1, 1846.

STATEMENT OF THE VOYAGES MADE BY THE BRITISH MAIL STEAMERS, FROM THEIR COMMENCEMENT, TO JANUARY 1, 1846, SHOWING THE DATE OF ARRIVAL, LENGTH OF PASSAGE, PASSENGERS BROUGHT, ETC.

* In February and March, 1842, the Unicorn made three voyages-the first from Halifax, to take the mail, in consequence of the non-arrival of the Caledonia from Liverpool; the second, to take the mail and passengers of the Acadia, stopped at Halifax to refit; and the third, with the passengers of the Columbia, which left Liverpool on the 4th, and arrived at Halifax after a passage of 20 days, 15 hours.

The Columbia was wrecked in July, on Black Ledge, near Seal Island VOL. XV.-NO. III.

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In the month of February, 1844, the Britannia was detained two days by ice in Boston harbor, and did not depart until an artificial channel had been cut, for seven miles, by the citizens.

THE NEW STEAMBOAT ATLANTIC,

OF THE NORWICH AND WORCESTER RAILROAD AND STEAMBOAT COMPANY.

The progress of steam since its first practical application by Fulton to the navigation of the Hudson River, is very remarkable; and the improvements made in steamboat architecture as regards strength, splendor, and speed, still more so. Every new steamer launched upon our waters seems to have reached the very acme of perfection, which, indeed, now appears to be almost attained in the steamer" Atlantic," which made an experimental excursion in the harbor and bay of New York, on the 15th August, 1846, and her first regular trip to Norwich, on the 18th of the same month. We had the pleasure of witnessing her performance in the excursion alluded to, in company with some ten or eleven hundred ladies and gentlemen; and it affords us pleasure to state that it was entirely satisfactory in every respect, and we have no hesitation in saying that she will sustain a high rank among the many excellent steamers that ply between New York and other ports on the Hudson River and the Long Island Sound. The Atlantic is the largest steamer built in the United States, being 320 feet in length, 36 feet beam inside, and 64 feet over the guards. Her engines are of 1,373 horse power-the cylinder 72 inches in diameter, and 11 feet stroke. She measures 1,400 tons. The cranks and shafts are of wrought iron, the former being 18 inches in diameter. The wheels are 36 feet in diameter, with a surface of 9 feet. The Atlantic possesses one advantage over all other boats in the port of New York, and probably in the world, which will commend her to the travelling community; and that is, the security afforded by a water-tight bulkhead of oak, six inches thick, which is built across, 44 feet from the stem, that, if by any possible chance she should be run on a rock, and knock her bow in, it would not be cause for the least alarm, for no water could reach the body of the boat. But in case even that should fail, there is one other provision on board which shows the care and forethought of those who have been so liberal of their means in building this boat. There are one hundred mattresses on board, each of which is supplied with six six-inch air-tight cylinders, each capable of supporting two large men. These cylinders are so disposed that they can be reached at an instant's warning, and thus sixteen hundred infallible life-preservers are constantly at hand.

She combines, in an eminent degree, both BEAUTY and STRENGTH, and but little doubt is entertained of her power to cross the Atlantic Ocean with perfect safety. She has been built under the immediate personal inspection of Capt. ISAAC DUSTAN, who has commanded at times, the "Clifton," "Lexington," "New Haven,” “Cleopatra," &c., and navigated the waters of New York and elsewhere, more than eleven hundred thousand miles. Capt. Dustan has a head, if we may be allowed to speak phrenologically, the prominent developments of which are strikingly manifested in the construction of this noble boat. The large benevolence, cautiousness, ideality, and form, are discovered in the various appointments in furnishing and constructing, as described in the present notice, which have been faithfully carried out by the mechanics and artists employed in building. And here we should not omit to mention that she was built by Bishop & SiThe engines are from the workshop of Secor & Co.; the joiner work by C. M. Simonson; the painting by Wm. Holmes; the upholstery by Mr. De Foreest; the furniture, curtains, &c., from Paton & Co., and the silver plating, which alone cost upward of $1,600 dollars, from Coombs & Anderson. The entire cost of the boat, fixtures, and furniture, amounts to $145,000.

monson.

The interior arrangements are in perfect keeping with the more substantial qualities of strength and safety evinced in the construction. The ladies' upper saloon, with sixty berths, is richly and tastefully finished, and furnished with the most costly Axminster carpets, rose-wood and satin-damask sofas and chairs, magnificent satin-damask curtains, gilded cornices, superb mirrors, and, in short, everything to gratify the taste and comfort

of the fair traveller. The ladies' lower saloon contains twenty berths, and the gentlemen's one hundred and ninety-one berths, furnished with the best of bedding, while, by a new arrangement in hanging the drapery, each tier of berths can be at once converted into an airy, but secluded state-room. The upper saloon contains fifty-six single staterooms, with two berths each, and six double, with French bedsteads, all magnificently fur. nished. She is lighted by gas, manufactured on board, in a room on the main deck appropriated to that purpose. Bathing rooms are furnished, where the passengers may enjoy warm or cold, fresh or salt water, shower or plunge baths; and the convenience and comfort of the passengers have been consulted, in the most private arrangements, as we have never seen them before.

Our description of the boat is necessarily imperfect, but we feel quite sure that all who examine her will find our statements more than realized. A personal acquaintance with her worthy commander, Capt. Dustan, enables us to speak of him as he is—as one of the most experienced, benevolent, (in the latter term is comprehended courteous,) officers in the steam service in, or out, of any port on the Atlantic sea-board.

RATES OF FARE ON RAILROADS IN NEW ENGLAND.

We give below a tabular statement of the rates of toll on the principal railroads in Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island. The table shows the distance, price of annual and semi-annual tickets, and single passage tickets. The plan of low fares originated in Boston, and it is in a good measure owing to the enlightened advocacy of the policy by E. Hasket Derby, Esq., that it has been adopted. We believe that still larger reductions can be made with enhanced benefit to stockholders and the public.

On the Eastern Railroad, single tickets by the quantity may be purchased at the fol

lowing rates of discount: