A DISCOVERY IN NAVIGATION.-While nearly half-a-dozen different expeditions are competing with each other for the honour of discovering the North-West Passage, an important discovery of another kind has been made in the Arctic Ocean. It has been found that the Kara Sea, which lies between Nova Zembla and the north of Siberia, is (contrary to the belief hitherto prevailing) perfectly navigable. Some Norwegian vessels have made their way thither without serious difficulty, though they had to round Nova Zembla, and to sail as high as the seventy-fifth parallel of north latitude. This discovery has greatly stimulated the long existing desire to explore the great Siberian rivers Obe and Yenisei, which have hitherto been deemed inaccessible, by reason of the fact that they discharged their streams into the frozen waters of the Kara Sea. The Russian government has already taken the matter in hand, and is organising exploring expeditions, at the same time inviting the assistance of the commercial world. A wealthy proprietor in Siberia has offered to build, at his own expense, a vessel for the exploration of the Obe, on which river the Siberian capital, Tobolsk, is situated. If these rivers should prove navigable throughout, it is expected that the trade of western Siberia will be greatly developed. Tobolsk is the city through which the Chinese caravans pass, and to which are brought all the Siberian furs intended for Russia.

THE NAUSISMOGRAPH.-Amongst the articles exhibited in Naples at the last Maritime International Exhibition was the Nausismograph of Signor Ferdinand Exposito Faraone, Engineer of the Royal Italian Navy. The name itself, given by the inventor to his apparatus, indicates that it is destined to replace the log of vessels, that is to say, to write at given intervals all details relating to the course, the speed, the winds, the sea, the working of the engine; in fact to register all those informations which are used as records in judging of the exactitude and necessity of the manoeuvres executed. The Nausismograph for steamers is essentially constructed in two distinct parts, which can be placed in any relative position the one to the other, and the only condition required by the instrument is that of being placed in the longitudinal plane, and in a place where it can receive movement from the engine; it is composed principally of a compass which records the course; of a suspended regulator moved by centrifugal power, which registers the velocity of the engine; and of two pendulums noting the rolling and the pitching of the vessel. All these indications are given automatically, by the different parts of the apparatus, upon slips of

paper moved by clock-work, and are denoted by curves and diagrams. This apparatus placed in the captain's cabin tells the captain at every moment, if the ship is keeping its course, if any movements take place around the vertical axis-that is to say, any approach to evolution; how many turns are made by the engine, and if it is working at full speed, or any proportion thereof. The Nausismograph for sailing vessels is constructed on the same system as that for steamers, and differs only in some small modifications for its special use. The Nausismograph was tried on board of the Calatifimi, in fine weather and in storms, and gave very satisfactory results.

THE GOLIATH.-It is with much pleasure that we observe from the following account of a recent visit of inspection to the Goliath, an old 84-gun ship, which about a year ago was organized as a School and Training Establishment, under the auspices of the Poor Law Authorities at the East of London, that the Institution is likely to prove a great success. We cannot too strongly urge upon the charitably-disposed the deserving claims of such an establishment as this, and we rejoice that its first year of existence has borne such good fruit.

"The visitors were received at the head of the companion-ladder by Captain Bourchier, R.N., and other officers of the Goliath, and, after lunch, at which Mr. Thomas Brushfield, of Spitalfields, presided, Mr. Collins, of Poplar, made a short official statement concerning the ship and its inmates. From this it appeared that 449 boys in all had been received on board since the Goliath took up her station; sixteen of these have already gone into the Royal Navy, and in a few weeks forty others will be ready to follow their example. Thirteen have gone to sea in merchant ships, and more berths are promised very shortly. For two boys situations have been found on shore, and twenty-five others have either passed to Unions not connected with the training ship or been discharged to their friends. The number of boys on board at the present moment is 393, the limit for which accommodation can be afforded being 500. Mr. Collins entered into details as to the instruction given on board, and mentioned that of the total number of boys no less than 115 were under musical instruction as bandsmen, in addition to the ordinary teaching in seamanship which all the boys alike receive. There are four bands on board, first, second, and third, in addition to a drum and fife band; and the lads, according to their capabilities, pass from one into the other. There are also on board 160 treble and second singers regularly trained, and for

the gratification of the company as they sat at lunch, a species of concert, vocal and instrumental, was given by the young performers, who could not be seen, for they were screened from sight by a drapery of flags, but whose performances were very creditable. For young musicians there is, it seems, a demand in the army, and it was stated that a list of thirty-nine adepts had been forwarded to the Horse Guards within the last few days. The new swimming bath reached the Goliath in June; there were then only twenty-nine boys who could swim, now there are 185. After a few words from the Chairman, visitors were invited to go on deck and see the boys assembled.

"Through the exertions of Captain Bourchier and the Ship Committee a respectable sum had been raised by private subscription for the purpose of presenting prizes to the most deserving boys, as the rates, of course, could not be drawn upon for such a purpose; and the ship's company now formed up in hollow square, surrounding the table on which the books, medals, etc., were piled.

"The prizes, of which about one hundred were given away—and Captain Bourchier said he wished heartily that he had a prize for every boy, for "there was not one black sheep among them ". were awarded according to a system calculated to stimulate the better feelings as well as the intelligence of the boys. Thus, while there were prizes for seamanship, for smartness aloft, for the best sailmakers, best coxswain of boats, best tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, painters, buglers, etc., there were also prizes for the best swimmers, best captains of messes, for the boys who kept their clothes or band instruments in the best order, one for the boy who had attended most carefully to the sick, and two for the most popular boys in the ship. It was impossible not to remark what a difference existed between recent arrivals in the school and those who had been a few months or even a few weeks on board the Goliath. The school records show that, though commonly feeble and stunted in growth when they embark, numbers of them have since grown two and three inches in height, and as much as two inches round the chest. The boys make everything for themselves. Even the neat Hussar uniform in which band No. 1 plays on the quarter-deck has been cut out and made on board. The form of punishment held in most awe is to be forbidden to row in the boats. This effort to improve the condition

of the London Street Arabs is stated on the whole to have been so successful, that it is by no means improbable that several more of our old wooden men-of-war may be utilized in a similar manner at other places."

FOUNDERING AT SEA.-A correspondent calls our attention to the following account of the decayed state in which a vessel must have been sent to sea. We gladly give publicity to the disgraceful act of sending out a vessel in such a condition as she appears to have been in, and we think the circumstances of the foundering fully justify some official enquiry.

A telegram received by Mr. Reuter, from Plymouth, gives the following history of a voyage which terminated a week ago in the foundering of a large ship: "Plymouth, Oct. 5th.-The barque Balaclava, of Liverpool, 621 tons register, from London, with part cargo of cement for Miramichi, foundered on Sept. 29th in 49° N., 29° W. Her crew, sixteen in all, were rescued by the Spanish barque Rio de la Plata, from Havannah, with sugar and tobacco, for Antwerp, and landed by a pilot cutter to-day at Plymouth. The Balaclava left London some four months ago, and when in the Downs part of the crew refused duty, and were sent to prison. She proceeded as far as Portsmouth, and there was docked and repaired. She then went on to Plymouth, arriving on September 6th in a very leaky condition. There her then captain (Lelean) and the whole of the crew left her. Another captain and crew were engaged, and the leak stopped. On September 26th she proceeded on her voyage, and shortly after getting to sea she sprang a leak again, and three days after sailing from Plymouth foundered."

PAPERMAKING IN JAPAN:-An interesting blue-book has just been published, comprising the reports of our consuls in the East upon the manufacture of paper in Japan, addressed, through Sir Harry Parkes, to Lord Granville. They will serve to show that, whether or no there is any real ground for fearing that the supply of rags for the papermakers here may fail, at all events in the far East there are resources which might easily be utilised and imported into the West. Messrs. Lowder, Annesley, and Emslie, each preface their reports by some remarks on what may be termed the antiquarianism of the subject, showing that the manufacture of substances for the purpose of writing in Japan dates from the early part of the seventh century of the Christian era. Consul Lowder devotes his report mainly to an account of the cultivation of the paper-mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), its planting, cutting, preparation, etc., including the various processes of steaming, stripping, drying, washing, removing the inner fibre, squeezing out the sap, boiling and pounding the fibre, making the "Hanshi," drying, cutting it into sizes, and packing it. He adds a brief account of the treatment of the "tororo," a plant of the bean kind,

which is also used for the manufacture of paper. Mr. Annesley gives a similar account of the processes employed in making paper out of the Japanese shrub "kiji," which, as he tells us, grows all over Japan, and is cultivated much in the same manner as the tea plant and mulberry tree. He says, that there is no reason why this "kiji" plant should not flourish in England, especially in places where the soil is damp. He adds a formal opinion to the effect, that as the paper could no doubt be manufactured from this bark at a cheaper rate than it can be made from rags, and as it possesses considerable strength, and is applicable to an almost infinite variety of purposes, the cultivation of the plant in England is well worthy of a trial. Mr. Emslie devotes his report to a similar account of the planting, cultivation, and manipulation of the makoso or paper plant, which appears to be equally suited to our manufacturing requirements. It should be added, that Consul Lowder's report is illustrated throughout with most curiously coloured Japanese pictures, descriptive of every process of the manufacture in succession, from the planting of the shrub down to the final process of packing it for export in a prepared state. Each of the three consuls also subjoins to his report a formidable list of the purposes to which the Japanese apply the paper which they manufacture, including not only writing, drawing, and letter paper, paper for walls, for making notes, for wrapping parcels, for government despatches, etc., but also for pocket handkerchiefs, for umbrella coverings, for hair ornaments, for purses, for pocket-books, for tobacco-pouches, for fans, and finally for raincoats, like our macintoshes. It appears from the correspondence prefixed to the volume, that the reports were originally prepared at the suggestion of Lord Clarendon, while he was in office, and that various specimens of paper manufacture mentioned by the consuls in their reports have been sent home to be deposited in the South Kensington Museum.

THE TRADE OF THE PERSIAN GULF.-In a return recently presented to Parliament a most interesting report, made by Colonel Pelly to the Indian Government, on the Trade of the Persian Gulf, is published. The report is supplemented by various statistical statements relative to the trade between Calcutta, Bombay, the Province of Sind, and the Ports in the Persian Gulf. These statements shew that the trade has been steadily increasing since 1845; indeed, it appears that between the years 1845 and 1866, the trade quintupled itself. In a further report Colonel Pelly observes that, "The fact seems to be that the Gulf Trade is capable of indefinite