E.—No. 2,

8

PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE

It will thus bo seen that it would not be practicable to adopt Reggio as a port of communication for the eastern mails, at all events for many years to conie, as well for the want of a port as for the want of a railway ; and that even when the railway and the port shall have been completed, the land journey would be increased (by the only route which can now be contemplated) by 281 miles, while the length of the sea passage would be about the same as by Brindisi. Naples would appear to be in some respects a more desirable place of call for steamers running between Marseilles and Alexandria than Reggio. But the sea voyage between Naples and Alexandria would be increased by 180 nautical miles, or eighteen hours, as compared with the sea passage via Brindisi; and there is as yet no complete means of railway communication between Naples and the north of Italy. The shortest route to Naples will be via Genoa and Rome, by which the distance from Susa to Naples is 996 kilometres, as against 1152 from Brindisi, showing a saving of 156 kilometres or ninety-six English miles. But there are two breaks in the railway communication of this route —the first from Genoa to Spezzia, for eighty-seven kilometres, where the railway works are now suspended, and the second from Nunciatella to Civita Vecchia, for fifty-eight kilometres, where the railway is under construction, though not apparently with much activity. Another route via Ancona and Foggia, measures 1117 kilometres from Susa to Naples, showing a saving of thirty-five kilometres (twenty-one English miles) over the land route by Brindisi. There are other routes to Naples, such as that via Bologna, Pistoja, Pisa, Livorno, which is, measured from Susa, 1165 kilometres in length, or thirteen kilometres further than to Brindisi. And on this line there is only the break above mentioned between Civita Vecchia and Nunciatella. There are also routes by Firenze, and Torricella, with a break to Foligno ; and by Firenze, Empoli, Siena, Orvieto, with a break to Orte. But they do not offer any advantages for a mail route at present. There is no landing-stage, or pier, or dry dock in the Porto Grande, which is the commercial port at Naples ; but there is a dock seventy-five metres long in the " Porto Militaire." The existing quays in the Porto Grande are small, but plans are being prepared for their extension, as indicated in red lines on the accompanying chart. It is proposed to construct a new quay, 600 metres long, with a pier 150 metres long by fifty metres wide, and these may be commenced in 1867. There will be seven metres of water at the head of the pier, and the same depth will probably be obtained alongside of the quay. The anchorage is tolerably good, and there are plenty of buoys. The pier of the " Porto Militaire "is being extended, as shown in red on the chart, of which 300 metres are to be completed this year, and 500 metres more are to he completed in 1871. When railway communication is completed to Naples via Foggia, or, still more, when it is complete via Genoa and Rome, and when the Roman territory shall belong to or be available for through transit to the Italians, Naples may become an important place of call for steamers running between Marseilles and Alexandria ; but the Naples route can never successfully compete with the Brindisi route, in consequence of the extra length of the sea passage; and it is impossible to contemplate the employment of Naples at present as the port for the eastern mails. The harbour of Brindisi, which it becomes my duty next to describe, is composed, as will be seen by the accompanying tracing, of an outer port, 2,000 metres long by 1000 metres wide, connected by a channel 260 metres long and sixty metres wide, with two inner arms; of these, the western arm is 1500 metres long and 250 metres wide, and the eastern arm is 1100 metres long and 200 metres wide. Of the numerous soundings noted on the tracing, the figures marked with one line were taken in 1864, those marked with two lines in January, 1866, and those unmarked by lines in May, 1866. Brindisi (the well-known Brundusium) was formerly in much repute, and was commonly used by the Romans in crossing to Dyrachium, on their way to Greece, as being the best harbour on the west coast of the Adriatic ; but the town declined after the Prince of Taranto destroyed the entrance to the inner arms by sinking ships in the channel, to keep his enemies out, in the fifteenth century ; and the recent operations appear to have been the first serious attempt made to remove the accumulation of sand and silt, &c. that followed upon these obstructions. There is now a clear depth of more than six metres, or nineteen and a half feet, through the channel, into the western arm ; and this depth is, I understand, to be increased to eight metres, or upwards of twenty-six feet. The approach to the harbour is well lighted, and the anchorage is good. The contract streamers of the Italian Government (the Adriatico Orientale Company) have now ceased to run to Trieste and Ancona, and they ply between Brindisi and Alexandria only. Three of them were in the harbour while I was at Brindisi, in May last, one in the outer harbour, and two within a few yards of the quays of the town ; they are about 267 feet long by twenty-four feet beam, and are less than 1000 tons measurement; they draw fifteen feet of water when fully loaded, but they were not drawing at that time more than thirteen feet six inches to fourteen feet of water; and with this draught they had no difficulty in going to their coaling hulk in the western arm. The ordinary rise and fall of the tide does not exceed o's of a metre, or rather more than a foot and a half; and there is not therefore the same facility for docking vessels in the Mediterranean as in this country. There is, for this reason, a greater tendency to use scali d'alaggio, or hauling slips. The Italian Government have granted a concession for such a slip (L M in drawing) for vessels up to 2000 tons burthen, and it is to bo constructed in two years, from April 1866, at the inner extremity of the western arm. Contracts were signed in June also for the other works, shown in red upon the drawing, including — (1.) A quay (I K), 500 metres long, "near the Forte di Terra," at a cost of 580,000 francs, to be finished in thirty months. (2.) A boundary wall for the " Canal d'lngresso," or channel between the outer harbour and the inner arms, at a cost of 550,000 francs, to be finished in thirty months. (3.) A breakwater (A B) 380 metres long, for closing the " Bocca di Puglia," between the mainland and tho island of St. Andrea ; a mole (C D) 260 metres long projecting to tho east from tho Porto diMare; a retaining wall (E F), 950 metres long, on the Costa Morena; all to be finished in three years, at a cost of 1,700,000 francs. There are, further in course of construction (at N O) 260 metres of quays, destined for the goods station of the railway: and the general excavation of the harbour, to a depth of 7-J metres, is being proceeded with. At P and Q (near which there is a fountain of good