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Stevenson has been making an inspection of the northern lighthouses, and came to Wick to make the preliminary investigations relative to the erection of the projected lighthouse on Noss Head We believe that the building will be proceeded with early in spring, and that Dunnet Head has been fixed upon as the spot from which the stones, for the proposed erection, will be taken. They will, in all probability, be conveyed by sea, that being the cheapest and readiest way of conveyance. Meanwhile, it is highly probable that the new road leading from Wick to the site of the lighthouse will be forthwith contracted for, it being indispensable in order to the conveyance of other building materials. Should the ground, which is considered the most eligible, viz., by the coach road, be fixed on, it will not only give employment to a large number of labourers, but will furnish the inhabitants with an admirable walk, better, by far, than any at present around the town. The erection of the lighthouse itself will, we have not a moment's doubt, be the means of preserving an incalculable amount of property, and many valuable lives. There is no part of the United Kingdom where a lighthouse is such a desideratum as on the east coast of Caithness, and we are satisfied that when the light of the proposed one is exhibited, it will lighten the mind of many a mariner of a heavy burden.

H.M.S. Bramble, Booby Island, June 12th, 1846. Notwithstanding the very minute manner in which Endeavour Strait was sounded, when surveyed by me in 1844, I have since heard of a shoal patch having been discovered by Mr. M'Kenzie, master of the late schooner Heroine, nearly in mid-channel. In consequence of his representation I searched for it yesterday, and find a small coral rock does exist in the position mentioned by Mr. M'Kenzie.

This rock, although surrounded by 8 and 9 fathoms, has only 3 feet on it at low water. I have named it M'Kenzie shoal. From it

Peaked Hill bears (magnetic)
S.W. Possession Island,

Little Woody,

N. E. Peak on Entrance Island,
Cape Cornwall,

Barn Island,

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As it is most important that this danger should be made known as speedily as possible, I beg to request that the above notice may be published by any person into whose hands it may fall.

W. B. YULE, Lieut. and Comr.

Trinity House, London, November 11th, 1846. BEACONS AT HELIGOLAND.-The beacons which have long existed upon Sandy Island of Heligoland, having fallen into decay, and the Landesvorstechaft of that place having solicited this Board to cause them to be reinstated, and thereafter to uphold them, and the beacon upon the mainland of the Island, and this Corporation having consented so to do, and to regard the said beacons as appendages to their Lighthouse upon that Island, notice is hereby given, that, in accordance therewith, three new beacons, each coloured black, and surmounted by a triangle, have been erected upon Sandy Island aforesaid, and mariners are to observe,

That the centre or highest beacon in line with that on the west side from which it is distant 340 feet, and bears S.W. S., strikes the Steen Rock. That the centre or highest beacon in line with that on the north side, from which it is distant 420 feet, and bears N.W. N., leads into the North

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Channel, and being so kept, until the lighthouse and church are in line and
bearing S.S.W. W., will bring vessels up to the mooring buoys.
And that the beacon on Heligoland in line with the old tower, and bearing
S. E. strikes the Steen Rock.

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Eust India House, London, October 14th, 1846. BOMBAY LIGHT.-Notice is hereby given, that the present Fixed Light of the Bombay Lighthouse is to be converted into a Revolving Light, and will be exhibited as such on the 1st February, 1847.

No alteration will be made in the present Floating Lights.

JAMES C. MELVILLE, Secretary.

Trinity House, London, September 11th, 1846. PRINCES CHANNEL.-This Corporation having caused the channel, north of the Pansand and Tongue Sands, known as the "Princes Channel," to be marked by buoys on the south side, and two standing Iron Beacons on the north side, notice thereof is hereby given, and that the beacon placed on the southern extremity of the dry sand, called the Shingles, is distinguished by a top in the form of a diamond, which is 45 feet above low water mark, with

Margate East Windmill, in line with the centre of the baths in

Margate Cliff, bearing

S.b.E

Monckton Beacon, it's length on the east end of Lower Hale Grove.S.S, W.
North Foreland Lighthouse,

East Tongue Buoy,

S.b.E.E.
S.E. S.

The beacon placed on the South Spit of the South Girdler Sand, is distinguished by a triangle the top of which is 45 feet above low water, with Birchington West Windmill, it's length on the east end of Cleve

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St. Peter's Church Tower, it's width east of the Tower of

Margate Old Church,

Shingles Beacon,

East Tongue Buoy,

Girdler Buoy,

S. E.

S.S.E.E.
E.b.S.S.

S.E.h.E.E.
W.N.W.

The five buoys which denote the south side of this channel, include the large buoy placed at the east end of the Tongue Sand, which also marks the eastern entrance of both the Princes and Queen's Channel, and has been previously advertised; the other four buoys are marked and coloured as understated, viz. :

North Pansand, Black and White in Chequers, lies in 5 fathoms at low water, with

The east end of Herne Preventive Station House, in line with
Herne pier-head, bearing

St. Peter's Church Tower, in line with Margate Sea-bathing In

S.W.b.S.

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Shingles Beacon,

North-East Pansand, Black, in 73 fathoms, withMonckton Beacon, it's length east of a gap near the middle of

Upper Hale Grove,

NO. 12.-VOL. XV.

E b.N.N.

E. S.

S. E

4 Ꭱ

North Down Tower, in line with the chancel end of Margate New

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North Tongue, Black, in 5 fathoms, withChislet Windmill, in line with the second house west of Reculvers

Church Spires, -*

North Down Tower, in line with the east end of the Baths in Margate Cliff,

N.E. Pansand Buoy,

Girdler Beacon,

Shingles Beacon,

S.E.b.S.
W.b.N.N.
N.N.E. E.

E. S.

S.W.b.S.

S.S.E.E.
W.b.N.N.
N.W.
E. N.

S.S.W.

North-East Tongue, Black, in 4 fathoms, withMonckton Beacon, it's length open east of Lower Hale Grove Margate East Windmill, in line with the west end of the Baths in

Margate Cliff,

East Tongue Buoy,

North Tongue Buoy,

Shingles Beacon,

Girdler Beacon,

S.b.E.E.
S.F.b.E.E.

W.N.W.

N.b.E.

N.W.b.W.

N.B.-The above bearings are magnetic, and the depths those of low water spring tides.

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AZORES, ST. MICHAEL'S.-There are now Five Buoys laid down in this anchorage, which will reduce considerably the risk of vessels leaving their anchors and chains behind them when they leave these roads.

RUYD ROCK.-On the 23rd December, 1845, the Dutch ship "Ruyd Pool," working up D'Entrecasteaux Channel, with a light northerly air, struck on a rock with which we were previously unacquainted. The weather proved so unsettled whenever I went to visit it, that I have not been able to obtain so favourable a description of it as I could wish. It does not seem larger than a boat, and has 12 feet water on it. Its position will be found at the point of intersection of lines drawn from Satellite Island to Hope Island in Port Esperance, and from Huon Island to the point of Little Taylors Bay. The bearings being respectively N. 72° E., and S. 72° W.; and S. 34° 30 E., and N. 34° 30′ W.

The S. E. cape of Van Diemen Land, kept open to the westward of Partridge Island, will take a vessel clear of this danger, upon which a chequered black and white buoy is now riding.

WM. MORIARTY.

Hydrographic-Office, Nov. 17th. 1846. CAPE ST. VINCENT, Coast of Portugal.-Notice was given by this office on the 29th of September, that a Light was in preparation for Cape St. Vincent; and the Portuguese Government has now announced that a Revol ving Light was established there on the 29th of October.

Each revolution of this light is performed in two minutes, in the course of wbich period, a brilliant light appears for a short time, and is then succeeded by darkness.

The light-house stands on the western part of the Cape, in latitude 37° 2′ 9" north., and in longitude 9° 0' 0" west of Greenwich; and the light being 221 feet above the level of the sea may be seen at the distance of about 19 miles.

LAW.

CONVICTION Under the MerchANT SEAMEN'S ACT.-Plymouth, Aug, 18, -Mr. Henry Pope, owner of the barques William Lushington and Priscilla, belonging to Plymouth, has this day been convicted, on a charge preferred by Mr. Richard May, clerkin the Seamen's Register-office at this port, for neglecting to comply with the 3rd and 26th sections of the Merchant Seamen's Act, which requires, that within 24 hours after the ship's arrival at her port of destination in the United Kingdom, he deliver to the collector and comptroller of customs his agreement, or a true copy thereof, as set forth in schedule A; and the 26th section provides that within 48 hours after the ship's arrival at her port of destination, the master shall transmit a list of his crew, as set forth in schedule C. The masters, in not complying with the provisions of this act, have been proceeded against, and the owner fined in the mitigated penalty of £3. 6s. 8d. on each section for each of the abovenamed vessels.

CONSPIRACY TO DEFEAT THE MERCHANT SEAMEN'S PROTECTION ACT.This useful measure, which promises, if fairly carried out, to destroy the numerous race of crimps, Jews, boarding house-keepers, and other land sharks, who have so long preyed on merchant seamen, as well as those of the royal navy, has been opposed by many interested in keeping up the old abuses, and two cases, which lately came before Mr. Broderip, proved that a conspiracy has been organized to defeat the act. Thomas William Beale, an agent licensed by the Board of Trade to ship seamen, was charged with receiving a gratuity from James Rose, a British registered seaman, for obtaining a berth for him on board the Laurel. Mr. Pelham prosecuted at the instance of the Board of Trade on behalf of Mr. Coleman, Clerk to the Registrar of Seamen. The 8th section of the act 8 and 9 Victoria, cap. 116, entitled "An Act for the Protection of Seamen entering on board Merchant Ships," states, "And be it enacted, that if any person shall demand or receive from any seaman, or from any person other than the owner, part owner, master, or person in charge of a merchant ship, or the ship's husband requiring seamen, any remuneration whatever, either directly or indirectly, for and on account of the hiring, supply, or providing any such seaman, he shall forfeit for every such offence a sum not exceeding £5" Mr. Pelham said that, in order to defeat this useful law, seamen who shipped for £2. 10s. or £2. 5s. per month, were only allowed £2. 5s or £2. for the first month, and the 5s. thus deducted was either paid to the shipping agent, or divided between him and the master. Evidence was then gone into, and it was shewn that Beale had shipped the crew of the Laurel, and that they had signed articles for £2. 10s. per month, but for the first month only £2. was inserted on the articles. There was no legal proof that Beale had received the difference, but Mr. Broderip said he had no moral doubt on the subject, and strongly condemned the practice, which no respectable owner or master would have recourse to. He was obliged to dismiss the case, but the affair would be represented to the Board of Trade, who had the power of revoking Beale's license.

THE FALLING STARS OF NOVEMBER.

This extraordinary phenomenon, which has been observed to recur annually between the 9th and 14th of November, will not be allowed to pass unnoticed this year; as we learn that scientific arrangements have been made on the continent for its observation and registry. The importance which attaches to the subject will, perhaps, render a brief resume of the various facts,

and of the theories that have been founded upon them, interesting to our readers.

Until the end of the last century, we had no definite information concerning these meteors :-for although the cosmical origin of the more remarkable fire-balls was suspected, the falling stars were by some ascribed to electricity and by others to the ignition of hydrogen gas accumulated in the higher regions of the atmosphere. In 1794 Chaldini published his celebrated work in which he gave a catalogue of all the recorded dates and observations on fireballs and falling stars. The following is a brief digest of the annual Appendix attached to those dates and observations.-On the 11th and 13th of November, 1831, Capt. Bernard, when off the coast of Carthagena, in South America, observed a shower of falling stars, which, during three hours, he calculated to be at the rate of two stars a minute; and precisely at the same time, Dr. Wright observed a similar shower in the province of Ohio, in the United States.

In 1832, a shower of falling stars was observed at Oremburg, in Asiatic Russia, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. They were in large and continuous numbers, and travelled the horizon in a regular current from north-east to south-west.

In 1834, numerous showers of falling stars were seen in most of the states of, North America,-where the circumstance caused great excitement, and was recorded in the various journals of the Union. It occurred, as usual, in the nights between the 9th and 14th of November. In 1835, these appearances were renewed in America, at the same date. In 1836, at the usual period, simultaneous observations were made of showers of falling stars in many of the provincial districts of France. In Paris, at six o'clock in the evening of the 12th of November, M. Arago observed 190 of these stars, the tracks of which were principally confined to the constellation Leo. At Bercy, at the same time, the astronomer Meret saw 123, half of which proceeded from the same constellation. At Strasburg, 85 were seen by Professor Tangeau; out of which 57 were visible in the direction of Leo:-at Angiers, 49, by Professor Moren :-at Rochfort, 23, by Lieutenant Salneuve-and at Aix-laChapelle 137 were observed, within the space of three hours and three-quar ters, by the astronomers Calais and Racine. Contemporaneous with these observations in France, 60 of the same falling stars were observed at Plymouth in the special interval of their periodical return,-viz,, between the 9th and 14th of November, The catalogue of facts and dates extends to last year; and during the whole interval (viz., from 1831) these brilliant visits have been constant and uniform. It should be added briefly,-without going into the repetition of special details,—that during the whole above described succession, the regular phenomenon of falling stars was uniformly accompanied by brilliant meteors and detonating fire-balls, in this country, in France, in Germany, in Russia, in America, and even in Australasia.

From a comparison of these two different, but associated, descriptions of meteors, Chaldini inferred that they had not their origin in our atmosphere; but were "cosmical masses" moving through space with velocities equal to those of the planets,—and which, when they encountered the earth's atmosphere, were inflamed by its resistance and triction, aud became luminous. Brande, in 1823, commenced a series of observations; in which he was materially assisted by a number of scientific associates resident in Breslau and the neighbouring towns: Observations were continued from April to November; and during that interval 1800 falling stars were observed at different places. Thirty-six orbits were obtained ;-in twenty-six of which the motion was downwards, in one horizontal, and in the remaining cases more or less upwards.

The predominant location was Leo; and the predominant direction of the

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