Professor James C. Booth has written an article on the subject to the Philadelphia Ledger, in which he expresses hopes of this metal being obtained at a greatly reduced cost by Mr. Monnier's processes. At present, it is very dear, being about $10 per ounce. Mr. Monnier has written us a letter on the subject, in which he states he has made sufficient experiments on aluminum to assure him it can be produced at a very low price. He says it is not such a bright metal as silver, as has been generally represented, but in some respects it is superior, and will be used in preference to it, and that it will supersede german-silver and copper in the manufacture of articles for which those metals are now used.

A correspondent of the Nashville Union and American, in one of a series of letters to the members of the Tennessee Legislature, thus speaks of the eastern section of that State :

The copper fields of Tennessee lie in the Eastern Division, and were but a few years ago entirely unknown. Their exploration and development are yet in their incipient state. Nevertheless there have been shipped this year from all the mines, 14,291 tons. It is estimated by the able and experienced President of the Hiwassee Mining Company, Samuel F. Tracy, of New York, that if they had a branch railroad from the mines to the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, the different companies could have shipped 29,000 tons. The Hiwassee Company alone sold their ore and copper in New York for $150,000, but the cost of transportation was $65,000. Much of this enormous sum was paid for wagoning, and freight on the Oconee River, and boxing, which might have been saved by the proper railroad facilities.

The copper ores of Tennessee are said to be exceedingly rich, averaging from eighteen to forty per cent—the general average being eighteen per cent. The English ores are said to yield an average of eight per cent; Chili, twenty; the Cuban about fifteen per cent. The world produces about 60,000,000 pounds of copper annually. Of this amount, in 1852, Great Britain and Ireland produces of ore and metal 28,820,000 pounds; .Chili exports 18,000,000 pounds, and Cuba produces 8,000,000 pounds, which she sends to England for smelting, being destitute of fuel.

THE INVENTOR OF PICKLED HERRING.

Some of our most valuable inventions are of so simple a character that the only wonder about them seems to be that they were never found out before. It is said that the Emperor of Russia has just returned from a visit to the little town of Borgo, on the Baltic, where he took part in the ceremony of laying the foundation of a monument to the memory of the fisherman Beukels, who first introduced the plan of preserving herrings by salting and packing them. Formerly the vast numbers of herrings which were captured in the northern and western shores of the empire, were lost to the world by the rapid decomposition of the fish. Beukels conceived the happy idea of salting them, and having instructed his neighbors how to preserve them by this process, went himself to Finland and taught the Fins how to deal with the fish. As a reward for his public spirit, the name of Beukels has been handed down to posterity as a benefactor of mankind. The Emperor Charles the Fifth visited his tomb; Peter the Great granted a pension to one of his descendants, and now Alexander has laid the foundation stone of a monument to be erected in his honor.

RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.

PERSONS EMPLOYED ON THE RAILWAYS IN ENGLAND.

The British Board of Trade, in a late return to the House of Commons, gives the number of employees on the several railways in Great Britain, as follows:

Herepath's Journal furnishes the following additional particulars, viz. :—

The number of persons employed on all the railways opened, in June, 1855, in the United Kingdom, was 97,952; of which, 80,877 were on English and Welsh lines, 11,403 on Scotch lines, and 5,672 on Irish lines.

The number of miles of railway opened in the United Kingdom at the same time, was 8,116; of which, 6,167 was in England and Wales, 1,051 in Scotland, and 897 in Ireland.

The number of stations on the lines at work, was 2,798 in the United Kingdom; of which, 2,246 was in England and Wales, 347 in Scotland, and 205 in

Ireland.

On the railways in the United Kingdom not then opened, 879 miles, 38,546 persons were employed.

BUSINESS OF THE VIRGINIA AND TENNESSEE RAILROAD.

We received, sometime since, from our esteemed friend and correspondent, J. C. SHIELDS, Esq., of the Richmond Whig, a full tabular statement of the business of this road in 1854 and 1855, from which we condense the following figures for each of the years above named. The tonnage on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad for the years 1854 and 1855 was as follows:

Tons East, 16,213

1851.

Tons West, 9,771

1855.

Tons East, 20,418 Tons West, 11,447

Showing an increase in 1855 over 1854 of 5,881 tons. The freight receipts on the same road for the same years were :—

Year.
1854....

Fr't East.
$55,586

Fr't East. Fr't West. $57,478

The total freight receipts for 1855 amounted to $169,847 27; and in 1854, to $111,530 26. Increase in favor of 1855, $58,317. The total number of passengers carried over the road in 1854 was 59,774, and in 1855 the number was 70,206, a gain in the number of passengers in favor of 1855 of 10,432. The receipts were $30,121 more in 1855 than in 1854.

The following is a synopsis of the earnings of the road for the first three months of 1856:

Total.

P.O. Dep. $1,264 15

Express. $189 91

$10,167 82

15,354 51 24,202 82

Total......

$29,427 39

$15,996 02

$3,700 39

$601 35

$49,725 15

The future prospects of this road are highly flattering.

STEAM NAVIGATION ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

The St. Louis Chamber of Commerce adopted and forwarded to Washington City a memorial on the subject of obstructions to the navigation of the Mississippi River from the mouth of the Missouri to New Orleans. In addition to snag-boats, they ask the employment of diving-bell boats, propelled by steam, to remove the stumps and logs fixed in the bottom of the channel, which show no indication of their existence on the surface, and are, therefore, the most dangerous obstructions. By the use of such boats, and blasting with powder, the memorialists think that the rocks and other obstructions might be removed from the bed of of the river. They also request the employment of steam-craft, expressly designed to remove sunken wrecks, which wrecks have, in consequence of the numerous losses of boats on this river, rapidly increased in number, and now constitute perilThe memorialists conclude by suggesting the ous obstacles to its commerce. passage of a law providing for a contract to remove these obstructions with a

responsible company, or with such individuals as may be responsible for the due execution of its provisions, &c. The annexed statement accompanies the memorial. It is believed to be the best information that can be obtained on the subject:

STATEMENT OF LOSSES SUFFERED ON STEAMBOATS AND THEIR CARGOES, ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, BETWEEN THE MISSOURI AND NEW ORLEANS, DURING THE YEAR ENDING 30TH SEPTEMBER, 1855.

ACCIDENTS ON THE RAILWAYS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM IN 1855. We have taken the following summary of railway accidents from LEVI's Annals of Legislation, (session 1856.) It presents, in a condensed form, the report to the British Board of Trade upon the accidents which have occurred on railroads during the year 1855, as presented to both Houses of Parliament, by command of her Majesty :

In 1855, 246 persons were killed, and 444 were injured on railways. Of this number 28 killed and 331 injured were passengers; 125 killed and 92 injured were servants of railway companies, and persons employed on the railways; and 93 persons were killed, and 21 injured, who were neither passengers nor servants of the railway companies.

Of the passengers who suffered on railways, 10 were killed and 311 injured from causes beyond their own control, and 18 were killed and 20 injured from want of caution on their part.

Of the 311 passengers injured from causes beyond their own control, 226 were injured by collisions, 48 from the fracture of machinery or from trains leaving the rails, and 36 from accidents at sidings or stations; and 1 man was struck against the side of a tunnel.

Ninety-eight accidents to trains and engines, and 4 from persons in trains being struck against permanent works, have come to public cognizance during the year. Of these 90 have been reported upon by the inspecting officers of this department. Several other accidents, by which persons have been injured by train, have also been reported upon; and of these 4 have reference to level crossings.

Of 94 accidents tabulated in a manner to show the causes of accidents, there were 45 appertaining to rolling stock on roads, including engine boilers' explosions, and 49 to management, including collisions. 36 cases arose from negligence of servants, 22 were purely accidental. In 22 cases, bad the lines been

worked by electric telegraphs, the accidents might have been averted; and 16 cases arose from insufficiency of staff. Although the number of passengers conveyed in 1855 was greater than in 1854, the number of passengers killed or injured from causes beyond their own control was smaller in 1855 than in 1854. Let it be observed, however, that the number of accidents, within the control of the management, has not diminished; and yet the passengers have a right to require that the traffic shall be conducted with the greatest attainable degree of safety, and that the accidents within the control of the management shall be a minimum.

The fact that where persons are killed or injured by railway accidents claims may be made upon the company for compensation, does not act as a sufficient check to compel the railway companies to carry on the traffic in the safest manner. There is no case on record where the accident having been shown to have arisen from defective arrangements any superior officer of a company has been punished. The inferior servants of a railway company, by whose negligence accidents have been caused, are punishable both under the Common Law and under the Act 5 & 6 Vict. c. 55. But many cases of negligence, for which these men have been punished, have arisen from the defective system of working, or from insufficient establishment. A coroner's inquest, in cases where the accident is attended with death, is not a proper tribunal for inquiries of this nature. When the accidents are only attended with bodily injury, without loss of life, there is no provision for any inquiry. The officers of this department are dependent in their inquiry upon the courtesy of the officers of railway companies, who have motives for withholding information.

The committee of the House of Commons on railway and canal bills of 1853, recommended that there should be placed upon those in whom the management of a railway is vested a greater responsibility than the law at present admits. No material improvement can be expected to take place in the safety of railway traveling until this shall have been done, and until public inquiry shall be made into the causes of all railway accidents. One hundred and twenty-five servants of railway companies have been killed and ninety-two injured during the year. Of these, 28 have been killed and 48 have been injured from causes beyond their own control, and 97 are stated to have heen killed and 51 have been injured from their own misconduct or want of caution. Railway companies are not bound by act of parliament to make returns of injuries to their servants unless demanded. Of persons who were neither passengers nor servants of railway companies, 93 were killed and 21 injured during the year. Three of those who were killed committed suicide; 53 were killed and 14 injured while trespassing on railways; 35 persons have been killed and 6 have been injured at level crossings. One man was killed by a goods train at the Bridgenow-street level crossing at Walsal. Several railway companies have, in acts of last session for new lines of railway, obtained powers to limit the use of these level crossing to vehicles and animals, and to erect foot bridges at level crossings for persons on foot. The report is dated February 11, 1856, signed by Douglas Galton, Cap. Roy. Engineers.

PROTECTION AND COURTESY ON RAILROADS.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer mentions as an instance of the security of travelers upon some of the leading railroad routes of this northern country, the case of two persons who traveled a thousand miles, from the city of Cincinnati to Newark, New Jersey, by the way of Cleveland, Dunkirk, and the New York and Erie Railroad. One was a lady of eighty years of age, and the other her little grandchild of seven years. The feebleness of old age, and the helplessness of extreme youth on the part of the little girl, required the sustaining hand of strangers, and especially the officers in charge of the passenger trains. To the credit of the management of our Ohio, New York and Erie roads, the conductors have been selected for the qualities of courtesy and humanity, as well as for solid and reliable business talents. No uniform of brass buttons and broadcloth can commend to the respect of the traveler like that of uniform politeness and kindness.