The Suspension Bridge

The iospection of the suspension bridge at Niágara, is virtuslly finistiod, and the official report will be publishod in a few days. Every link, spike, bolt, ohain, anchorage, and cable in the vast struoture has been carefully examinad, and, as I am told by one of the engineers, found to be as good as new, sound and reliable beyond question. Whatever mÍ8givinga with respect to this bridge may have been created by the disaster at Ashtabula, the inspeotion shows that they had 110 foundation. Should the inighty arch go down into the Niágara river to-inorrow, no ooroner's jury could ever find that the Great Western railway had not done all that human t'orasight and engineering skill could suggest to render suoh a calainity iinpossible. Tho bridge was built by Mr. Roebling in 1853-'54 lts four towers are each 90 fout in height, and constructed of out-stone blocks eighteen inches thick. The base of each tower is sixteen feet square and the top eight feet square, the cap-stone being ten feet square. Each tower is surmounted with an iron saddle with rollers upon which rest the cables, firinly holding the saddle in position. The rollers allow the cables to move easily, so that in contraction or expansión there is no additional straiu upon thom or the towers. At all other points of bearing are cut-stone oaps, soouring everything from the aclion of the elements. A massive arch connects the towers some 20 feet from the base abo vu, which is the railway track, and below, the carriage way. The anchor pit, out in the solid rock, is 24x20 feet, and 24 feet deep, with drifts for anchor plates, weighing 6,000 pounds each, to which are attached ohains with links 250 pounds each, which roach up through " gains " out in the rock, where they connect with massive wrought-iron shafts, over the ends of which is looped the wire that forms the cables. The wires, brought to a tensión of 1,200 pounds, are looped upon the shafts at the anchorage, which is filled with manonry and concrete, rendering it alinost solid rock. The wire for tho cables was put through a process of boiling in oil, with a glutinous mixture, boing kept in the cauldrons thirty minutes, and then dried in the sun. It passes through this prooess threo timos, the wire being thoroughly annealed and rendered impervious to water. It was then spliced. Each cable was composed of 5,000 strands, which is so spliced as to be in fact one contiauous wire, 1,250 miles in length. Each strand was laid with a tensión of 1,200 pounds. As each cable contains 1,250 miles of wire, the four contain 5,000 miles. The whole weight of wire is over 500 tons, giving a safe working capacity of 12,000 tons. It is estimatod, however, that the cables would easily bear a strain of 18,000 tons. Counectlng these cables with the bridges are 670 suspenderá, each of 30 tons capacity, with 50 guys fastening the bridge to the river banks, extending from the center to the rocks in such a mánner as to prevent a lateral or lifting movement by tho winds. A siugle train extending from one end of the bridge to the other with an engine and tender weighing 50 tons, would weigh 326 tons, so tbat at their mean bearing capacity of 12,000 tous it would take forty irains one piled on top of tho other to snap the cables. The engineers will report thut there has been no granulization, no corrosión, and no settling, save the siight natural spring of the cables. Cars have been passing over the structure day and uight these twenty-two years past, and fruquently one thousmd cars have orosaed it in a single day, yot it is abNulutcly as sound to-day as it was when the first train railed over it in 1854. The people of Louisiana and South Carolina want the govurnment of their choioe, and if they can't get that will liave no other except a military government. This is the whole mattur in a nutsholl, and iifty mixed cominissions, with a Wheeler at the head of eauh, cannot nuikü more or lesa of it. - 3t. Louis RejjuMican,