be distributed and set up again ad infinitum.

The mode of obtaining the impression is a different matter altogether; in this case something is likely to be gained from an observation of the Chinese fashion. Our ideas are so bound up with "the press," that it appears to us an essential of "the glorious art;" and we are so often in the habit of toasting “the Liberty of the Press," that is seems almost sacrilegious to compass and imagine the printing of a book without its aid. Yet the Chinese have printed for ages without having heard of “the Press" at all! The great simplicity of their process is a most striking feature, while even the limited experience which has been had of it in England, (where a similar method is adopted for taking engravers' proofs, &c.,) is sufficient to demonstrate that it is compatible with the highest degree of typographical excellence. Would it not be worth the while of some of our ingenious mechanics to turn their thoughts in this direction? Ingenuity has been lavishly bestowed on the improvement of the printing press, until the maximum of power in that engine may be presumed to be attained. Why not try invention on another tack, and apply English skill in machinery to the perfecting of a mode of printing on the Chinese plan, where the impression is obtained by gentle friction, instead of a tremendous direct impression? Could this be achieved, it would probably be one of its not least important results, that type might be made of a much less valuable material than at present, and by a much less expensive and elaborate method. At any rate the attempt is worth making,though it would probably be necessary to commence by introducing a much softer texture of paper than that now used, and, perhaps, to print, like the Chinese, on one side only.

Mr. Medhurst is again, towards the conclusion of our extract, rather too solicitous to exalt the cheapness of Chinese literature. The number of volumes to be had for a few pence may seem rather startling, but then he should have stated, that volumes of Chinese books are by no means of such substantial dimensions as our own. For instance, the six volumes of Confucius, it appears, contained altogether only four hundred leaves, (that is, four hundred pages, being printed on

one side only,) containing only about half as much as a common English volume of the octavo size. Nine-pence certainly seems low enough for this quantity of matter, but then this sum of ninepence in China, be it remembered, forms the whole earnings of an artist for a day and a half; so that, all things considered, it is evident that our own standard works are sold at a much lower rate than this much-vaunted and inconceivably cheap edition of the great Chinese classic. If books, therefore, are sold in China for "next to nothing," what are we to think of the price of such commodities at home? It would be as well for Mr. Medhurst to avoid such mystification for the future.

The present work, in all its mechanical details, is well got up. It is illustrated by several well-executed wood-cuts; the frontispiece especially, which represents the author seated opposite to a learned young Chinese, (who accompanied Mr. M. to England, and addressed a number of public meetings in his own language,) is remarkable both for the interest of the subject, and the excellent style in which it has been engraved and printed in colours by Mr. Baxter's patent process.

INDIAN STEAM NAVIGATION-REPLY TO MR. BAYLEY.

Sir, Mr. Bayley (page 262) seems so obstinately bent on taking the alarm at the intended progress of the Dutch in Indian steam navigation, that it would be useless to waste any more discussion on that subject, especially as Mr. B. is probably the only "constant reader" of the Mechanics' Magazine who remains in the same state of needless excitement, after the perusal of the facts admitted by that gentleman himself in his former letter. There are one or two things, however, in his last, which call imperiously for observation.

For one thing, Mr. Bayley intimates that no such vessel as a private steamer has been heard of in India. To convince him of the fact, nevertheless, recourse need only be had to the pages of a work of which he calls himself a constant reader," although, if he be so, he

66

is certainly a most forgetful one. I have before taken the liberty to refer him to the 21st vol. of the Mechanics' Magazine for an article on that very plan of the Messrs. Seaward, as to which he had avowed his entire ignorance. I now beg him to turn to page 272 of the same volume, where he will find a notice of an intended voyage of the steamer Forbes, from Kedgeree to Suez (an Indian and an Arabian port) so "long ago" as the year 1834. Nor was she then by any means a novelty, on the contrary, she had been a familiar visiter for years before at many of our Indian ports, besides her native one of Calcutta ; and, as she was built expressly for her owners, Messrs. Mackintosh and Co., and employed on their account, I suppose she may be taken as an example of a steamer "not belonging to the Company." Is this instance satisfactory; if not, what will be?

Mr. Bayley would do well to study the work above referred to a little more closely than he has been accustomed to. This will save him many a blunder, and his readers many a smile at his expense. It would have prevented him, for ininstance, from talking so learnedly of the attempt to render steam navigation available in " the Tigris," a river as yet never disturbed by the revolution of a paddle-wheel. The "Euphrates Expedition," has, indeed, often been noticed in the Mechanics' Magazine, but the discovery that much valuable time and talent had been wasted in the endeavour to steam along the Tigris was reserved for Mr. Bayley,—and much honour may it do to his name!

Mr. B. is very wroth with the East India Company for standing in the way of the steam communication project, as recommended by the Committee of 1824, in opposition, as he appears to think, to "the Government." Here, again, I need only refer him to the Mechanics' Magazine, at page 183 of the last volume of which, he will find a statement, abridged from that made before the Parliamentary Committee of 1837, by the President of the Board of Controul, from which it is evident, that the delay in carrying that recommendation into effect was caused by "the Government" in opposition to the East India Company. Mr. Bayley will then perceive that his high-sounding tirade has been completely thrown

away, and only served to make him ridiculous in the eyes of those "constant readers" who have a rather better memory than himself. That he is a "constant reader," there is, of course, no doubt he says so, and therefore " I must believe him,"-but most certainly, his memory must be very treacherous!

There is yet another point, on which a re-perusal of your valuable journal" might be useful. Mr. B. alludes to a late Parliamentary return as showing the great want of steam navigation in our colonies. But why stop there? Why not tell us the number of steamers possessed by Holland-that country of which we are to hold ourselves in fear? This is done in the Magazine, No. 277, page 217, where it appears the Dutch actually own twenty-eight steam vessels, while the supine English, as Mr. Bayley horrifies us by telling, have only six hundred at home, and no more than thirty-nine in the colonies! Is it not high time to better ourselves, if we would hinder the Dutch from "monopolizing" steam altogether? Recollect, we have only eleven more vessels of the kind in our colonies, than they have in their colonies and at home into the bargain! Will Mr. Bayley be kind enough to inform us how many of these are already employed in navigating the Indian Archipelago?

Mr. Bayley has displayed such amazing ignorance on every part of the subject, that it may be possible that he thinks the five vessels whose names he gives compose the whole of our East Indian steam flotilla. This, however, is as egregious a blunder as any of the rest, since the arrival out of Col. Chesney's expedition, the Euphrates may of course be added to the number, and a gentleman of Mr. Bayley's pretensions ought also to have known that four large iron steamers were "sent out from this country" so long ago" as the year 1834, for the navigation of the Ganges, adding not a little to the strength of our aforesaid "steam-flotilla. The Hoagly and the Burrampooter, he will find upon inquiry, were members of the "steam flotilla" at a still earlier date. Thus, then, we have at least twelve vessels instead of five, besides five more (accordto Mr. Bayley's own account) in preparation; and all these to balance "some" steamers which the Dutch " are build

ing" in the Indian Archipelago! Is this a state of things to raise alarm, or to justify it when created? I may as well spare the endeavour to beat Mr. Bayley from his position, when he has the courage to maintain it in the face of such facts as these.

I come now to the alleged "error of the press" in Mr. Bayley's former letter; and here I must object to his proposed correction, for two good reasons. The first is, that the substitution of "we" for "he" in the sentence referred to, would make bad English of the whole passage: this is not much, to be sure, but the second objection is fatal. If the new reading be admitted, Mr. Bayley must be taken to have alluded to himself as a person having access to the sources of early and accurate information upon maritine subjects." Now, how was any one to suspect that this description could possibly be intended to apply to the perpetrator of all the blunders I have just exposed? The poor compositor at any rate is not to blame for restoring something like grammar and common sense to a paragraph, which, according to its author, was originally destitute of either.

I need not take up your space in exposing once again Mr. B.'s sudden conversion to Messrs. Seaward's ten-milean-hour theory. The facts are before your readers, all of whom, probably, are not blessed with such a singular mnemonic conformation as Mr. Bayley. I will only observe, that he has "veered round" on more points than one: for instance, he grounded his opinion originally on the performances of our home steamers, while now he refers exclusively to the performances of the Atalanta and Berenice on their voyage to India, and states that he founded his calculations on the data they afforded. Was this from shortness of memory again?

Once more, and I have done. In this case I only think it necessary to contrast a representation in Mr. Bayley's last communication with a verbatim extract from the letter of " Piston's" to which

the passage refers. Let them appear opposite to each other, and Mr. B.'s unhappy failing will show itself in so strong a light as not to need a word of

comment.

CHAPLIN'S NON-ELASTIC LEATHER BANDS.

Sir,-It may, perhaps, be interesting to some of your readers to be informed, that a method has at length been discovered of manufacturing leather, for machine straps or bands, which is nearly or quite free from any tendency to stretch. This is accomplished by the new method of tanning, which lately attracted some notice in your pages, and of which I am the inventor. The hide, in its elastic. state, before it is tanned, is made into a bag, by sewing the edges together, and then filled with tanning liquor, the pressure of which forces it through the pores, so that it comes out on the other side, leaving the tannin which it contained in combination with the hide-the result sought by the tanner. In this way the hide is, of course, completely opened and extended, and kept so during the whole process; so that, when the leather is afterwards subjected to strain or pressure, very little further extension can be obtained.

The singular difficulty experienced in various applications of this very peculiar

kind of leather, where the workman is accustomed to take advantage of the elasticity of ordinary materials, has suggested its application to the purposes of machinery; and the experiments which have yet been made, fully justify the expectation I was induced to entertainthat leather so prepared would be, to a very considerable extent, free from the common and very inconvenient objection. Whether this may be confirmed, or the contrary, by more varied and extensive trials, I cannot of course say; but if any of your readers should think it worth their while to put it to a practical test, I shall be happy to supply, at a price not exceeding the cost of ordinary leather, either hides ready dressed for the purpose, or straps made ready for use, of any required dimensions. Yours, &c. FRED. CHAPLIN.

Bishops Stortford, July 23, 1838.

such an opinion, as it shows a neat method of locking and unlocking pieces of machinery.

Description.-A, B, C, D, part of the head, or rather, upper part of the neck,— and E, F, part of the body, or rather, lower part of the neck, there being a small distance between the two parts to allow of the passage of the blade of the knife: G, H, K, a slide, or solid piece of iron, oneeighth of an inch thick, made to slide in pieces of iron L, M, N, O. The sliding piece G, H, K, has no side-motion in L, M, only vertical; but in N, O, it has, both; the side-motion being from one dark part or side to the other, these acting the part of banking-pins. The slide is forced down by a spring, P, but it is stopped by apin, o, near R. The slide has a spring at each side S, N, S, O, which just touch it when in the middle between the banking pins N, O, but apply no force till the slide is forced to one side, so as to touch, or nearly touch, the banking pins. There is a flat pin in G, H, K, at o near K, which is for the purpose of laying hold of a similar pin in the neck, or lower piece, E, F. The pin in G, H, K, has hold of the pin in E, F, when the slide is in the centre between the banking-pins; but when forced a-side so as to touch either of the banking-pins, it is let loose, and then has a free motion upwards. If we take a thin knife, and introduce it at C, E, it will strike against the inclined plane V, and force the slide G, H, K, against the banking-pin o, when, not being allowed to go further to the right, the inclined plane V will cause the slide to rise upwards, and allow the knife to pass under the point of K, so as to go on to the next slide. The knife must clear one slide before it takes another, consequently, two have always hold of their pins.

W.ETTRICK.

High Barns, Sunderland, Dec. 16, 1837.

E

pretend to say that the method, here given, is the one there used; but if not, I make no doubt it would answer equally well. It may be thought by some, that the publication of such trivial things, occupy the pages of a valuable Magazine uselessly; but I must beg to dissent from

ENGRAVING BY MACHINERY.

Mr. Bate's medal-engraving machinery has not been allowed to be idle, although we are not daily greeted with puffing paragraphs and flaming advertisements, as was the case in respect to the publications of his foreign rivals. In the able hands of Mr. Freebairn justice will be done to British fine art, and mechanical genius. The invention has lately been