The Sun. — London, England, 1861-11-27 00:00:00

_---- • - - _ • k r • • • LC 4 -111111111 , 1 4' 11 Le Ar„-tr ) .r• '! 440 VllS*rAer +f 4 t ll 4, - I " t k l#l '\ .34 • ' .; . n Fe d UILDHALL,2Bth NOVP1111)(sr,1801.—Tlie Com-1 • 4 • 4 ‘\.llll . CI - . . • mitten for Lettin2; the City Lands will MEET at (t 74: • , _ . IT "' /. 4 1 11 9k °11: 7 0 1 i SC .'" " • LO 1,1 1111,Di-1A LL, on WEDNE,_DAY the 11th December next, P.'. - • Itio. • ‘.• at One o'clock precisely, to receive Pitol'OsALS for - I. , '"'"" • • • o y Ey LEAsES of a House, No. 2, Broad-street-buildings, iu the ' 1) , LS City of L on d on, an d a House, No. 91, Goswell-street, in the , - 4...1 •• r munty of .Midd.esex. Plans of the Property may be seen, i - ... . •\ , ) ot - CT _~t :Z aadt6rms of tender obtained, upon appliaaticin at the Archi i4E7ot'a Office, Guildhall. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 27, 1861. FERDINAND BRAND, Comptroller. PRICE 4d. STAMPED sd. 'PRIZE CATTLE SHOW of the Smithfield Club. The Annual Exhibition of Prize Cattle, Seeds, Toots, Implements, &c:, commences on Tuesday Morning and closes on Friday Evening, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th Decem ber. —Bazaar, King-street and Baker-street. Open from day light till Nine i n the Evening. Admittanc One Shilling. Last year at the Bazaar. N° 21,656. between 2,000 and 3,000 rounds, and is still in perfect condition. Nor need I remind the public that this ordnance has been tried against every kind of object, comprising ships, forts, earth works, martello towers, and targets representing bodies of troops, with an effect never attained by any other system. Its complete success in China was recorded by your own correspondent, and authoritatively pronounced by Ministers in Parliament. Add to this that the experience of the gun has been of a very complicated kind. Ido not know whether your readers are aware that I had to introduce with the gun an entire new system of fuses and projectiles :- 1. A time fuse, which burns during flight, and which can be set so as to explode the shell at any given number of yards, or, as case shot, at the guns mouth. part of this letter. The breaking down of the naval 40-pounders, to which he alludes, was nothing more than the necessity which arose for twice replacing the copper ring at the breech, injured by the break ing of the vent-pieces. Shot, shell, and fuses for the guns Captain Hal sted condemns en masse as " delicate and compli cated chemical and mechanical compounds," and then proceeds as follows :—" At the second shot fired at the Trusty on the 28th of Sept., 1859," (he being present), the right rear man at the gun was blown down by explosion from the plug aperture of the breech, which, in that first gun, was at the side. IJU BLI CATIONS. THE ARMSTRONG GUNS. in the imagination of Capt. Halsted. Two casualties which happened on board the Excellent, and were at the time described as of this nature, were not in stances of vent-piece being blown out, but of the handles being blown off from neglect in screwing up the breech. The truth is that no vent-piece ever would have been blown away had the gunners known their drill from the first. The accidents arose simply from the neglect of uninstructed gun• ners to drop the vent-piece fairly to the bottom of the slot. A wider knowledge of drill seems almost to have put an end to the occurrence, and, as an additional safeguard, all the vent-pieces lately made have been furnished with a slight projection, by which the mishap is rendered almost, if not altoge ther, impossible. I take next the vent-pieces registered above as unserviceable. _ _ Now ready, in 2 vols., Svo., with Portraits, 453., 208., rI I IIE LIFE OF J. M. W. TURNER, R.A. From Original Letters and Papers furnished by his Friends and Fellow-Academicians. By wALTEn TIIORNBURY. "Mr. Thornbury has had every possible advantage for the accempli.shment of this biography—a personal acquaintance with Turner, the advice of Mr. Ruskin, and the ready assist mice of all Turner's friends. Of the immense mass of mate rials brought together, Mr. Thornbury has made skilful use, and - constructed an honest memorial of the great painter. lie has done his part ably. The artist will refer to these volumes frequently for authentic information re garding the great modern master and his works, and the student of life and manners will find in them a rich store of entertainment." Daily News. Hurst and Blackett, 13, Great Marlborough-street. QTR AND MRS. CHARLES MATHEWS "A U HOME," At 'Jre Majesty's Con3ert Room, Haymarket, On ~- , O V:JAY, November 25, an i Every Evening except Saturday. Saturday Afternoon at 3. "REMINISCENCES in El lit Chapters." Part 1. "The Romance." Part 2. "The Reality." of Admission :—Dress Stalls, ss. ; Dress Circle, 4s. ; First Circle, 3s. ; Area, 28. ; Gallery, 1 , . ; Private Boxes, £1 Is. No extra charge fer booking. Private boxes, stalls, ,Id d places may be secured at the Box-ofileo, which is upon from 10 till 5, and at Mr. Mitchell's Royal Library, 33, "Lond-street. -_____ --" -a- R, ROBIN, the Original FRENCH WIZARD, ,„ will REAPPEAR in his Soirees Fantastiques at the -EGYPTIAN I lALL (which has been comfortably and ele 146ntly refitted throughout), TO-NIGH I (Nov. 26), and fol lowing Evenings, at S (Saturday excepted), with an entire new series of Magical Illusions and Scientific Experiments, laever exhibited before in Great Britain. H E ING OLDS BY LEGENDS; OR, MIRTH AND MARVELS. Tenth Thousand. 2 vols., post Bvo., with all the Illustra tions by Cruikshank and Leech, 15s. Also, Twenty-eighth Thousand, in 1 vol., with Illustrated Frontispiece, 58. Richard Bentley, New Burlington-street. Balcony, ss. ; reserved stall chairs, 3s. ; area, 2s. ; gallery, Children under 10 half-price. Morning - Performances Wednesdays and Saturdays at half-past 2. Tickets may be 9btaiued at Mr. Mitchell's, 3 1 , Old Bond-street ; theprincipal Libraries and Musicsellers ; and at the Hall. This Day, Bvo., G., (iN THE STUDY OF CHARACTER, V 1 INCLUDING AN ESTIMATE OF PHRENOLOGY. By ALEXANDER BAIN, Professor of Logic in Aberdeen. London : Parker, Son, and Bourn, West Strand. A_ROYLL ROOMS.-GREAT SUCCESS !!- The Band and Musical arrangements under the direc tion. of M. Ilour.conT, Conductor and principal Cornet. In addition to the Laurent False, Strauss luadrille, and novel ties of L is t wee k , A NEW POLKA, by M. lloulcourt, the So los performed by him and M. Greebe. Admission ls.— Manager, M. P. Grenet. V. R.-TOWEIT.-SALE OF STORES. P-,Y Order of the SECRETARY OF STATE for WAR.—TO BE SOLD BY PUBLIC AUCTION, in tile Tower, on MONDAY, the 2d of December, 1861, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, precisely, the following STORES : Great Coats and Cloaks Surgical Instruments C l ar es, Waterproof lron Bedsteads clot hint; Accoutrements r , ll ,agx, Wo lien, various Firewood Jants and Ma muses. Old IrOn, Steel, and Aiscellaneous Articles. . • May be viewed at the Tower from 10 to 4 o'clock, the Tree Workinc , Days previous to the Day of S a l e , an d Cata logues may be had at the War-office, Pail-mall; the Tower; and Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. GAUE CERTIFICATES AID LICENCES TO DEAL LN GAME. 11HE COMMISSIONERS of INLAND REVENUE hereby give Notice, that LISTS contain ing the Names of all Persons vir.o have taken out CERTI TICATES TO KILL and LICENCES TO DEAL IN GAME, in the current Year to 30th September last inclusive, have been printed for each Excise Collection, and that a Copy thtreof may be (13tained GRATIS by any Person on applica tion at this Office, or to the Collector or Supervisor of Inland Revenue in the country. The Commissioners further give Notice that instructions have been issued to their officers to take the necessary steps to prefer informations for penalties against all persons found ul licence. THOS. DOBSON, Secretary, Inland Revenue, Somerset - House, London, Nov. 25,1851. R WALKER'S New NEEDLES.—ThesePatent • Needles have a ride too pen the cloth in front of the y e and a groove b eyon d , into which the thre id falls in sew- QueQueinh the slightest drag. The eyes are large and easily aded. Samples of 100 post free from dealers for 12 stamps. en ed. Works, Alcestor, and 47, Gresham-street, London. SPAIN AND FRANCE. " SPAIN is determined to share the advantages resulting, from an extended commercial intercourse FucaEngland. The Vintae Wine Company import Spanish f i nes at such prices as to g iniuce customers to give the p,re erorPze to Sherry instead of to the light Wines of France. '— on.rt Circular. _,' Not only excellent in quality and flavour, but remark- GEs.ple for cheapness. Eighteen Shillings per dozen for a NtriNE MILD SHERRY for the Dinner Table."—Sun. 'LuA PURE, SOUND, and PALATABLE WINE, and far more red for Press our climate than the thin acid Clarets of France." " A really good Sherry."—Morning Star. XERES COMIDA. SHERRY, Soft, fine lo,idy, age and flavour, and genuine, EIGIITEEN SHILLINGS PER DOZEN. PALE—TWENTY SHILLINGS PER DOZEN. Quite equal to that for which we have been accustomed to give 605."—Atlas. "Extraordinary for the money, and that no man need be ashamed to put on his table."—Mark-lane Express. CASH TERMS : ONLY—Country orders must contain remittances. Town orders to be paid for on delivery. CARRIAGE —Orders of Two Dozen and uowards carriage SAMPLES paid to any railway station in England. —Samples of Ilte Wines forwarded on receipt of Eighteen Postage Stamps. BOTTLES, lice., eliarg,:l at cost price, but not returnable. MODE OF REMP!:.TANCE—By Post-office Order, payable at the GENERAL POST-OFFICE, Lon don ; or by Cheque, crossed to the BANK of LONDON, N.B.—ln either case the Order or Cheque to be made payable to '‘ VilE VINTAGE WINE COMPANY." GE WINE COMPANY. IMPORTERS v= SII WINES. West-End Offices, 14, +reet. London, W.C. ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, for the Destitute Sick, Gray's-inn-road—Earnest Appeal.—Owing to an unexpected delay in the payment of a considerable legacy, ; 3" ' w ch the Committee relied, this Hospital is left without Plinediate funds. As the period is rapidly approaching when ' 8 resources are always severely tested, the Committee make an earnest APPEAL to the public benevolence for means to enable them to carry on the charity. C ontributions are received by the Treasurer, Edward Mita ijrnan., Esq., Nicholas-lane; also by Messrs. Coutts -,a_tiltamond and Co._; Herries and Co. ; Ransom and Co. ; --,roescott, Grote, and Co. ; Smith, Payne, and Co. ; Glyn and • ; Jones Loyd and Co. ; liarclay and Co. ; Denison and Williams, Deacon, and Co. ; Overend, Gurney , and Co.; Ais t 4 et and Co., Berners-street ; J. Barned and Co , Liver- P 001; and at the Hospital. STANFORD S. SMITH, Sec. ~fle _giali AIRS. DOCTOR GOSS attends and corresponds twith ladies in all Female Compla'nts and functional lies, and in pregnancy, midwifery , and the disap inat.tments of marriage. References to ladies of the hifhest fstmetion. See Dr. GOSS'S Illustrated Medical Work, " Man and Woman," price 2s. Gd., post free 31 stamps.-55, Great nueen-street Li 1 ' ...___________ , Lincoln's-inn, n s-inn,London. OLDRIDGE'S BALM of COLUMBIA.—No. i n 2 2, Wellington-street, Strand, London, W.C. — This a va luable Balm, es t a bli s hed upwards of 30 years, is the best s P d Only certain remedy ever discovered for preserving , ,rn thening•, be ,utifyino . , or restoring the hair, whisker?, ?I' m , ustache, and preventinc , th, m turning grey. Sold in all chemists lA, Os., and 1 ts.,.by C. and A. or.nuinGE, and i s ' "enlists and perfumers. I' or children and ladit s' ha i r i t most efficacious and unrivalled. SAUC E .- LEA AND PER RINS beg to caution the Public against Spurious Imitations of their world-renowed WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE. Purchasers should ASK rOlt LEA AND PERRINS' SAUCE, Pronounced by Connoisseurs to be "TIIE ONLY GOOD SAUCE." *** Sold Wholesale and for Export, by the Proprietors, Worcester ; Merers. CROSSE and BLACKWELL, London, (to. &c., and by Grocers and Oilmen universally. R, GROSTENO R-ST (MET. GROSVENO QUARE.- ALL CONSULTATIONS FREE. RTIFICIAL TEETH on a NEW and IM TOOTROVED PRINCIPLE, at TEN SHILLINGS EACH H (including all charges.) Mr. ESKELL'S PATE NTED INVENTION (protected by her Majesty's Royal Seal, July, 560), for adapting Arti ficial Teeth, from one to a complete set, by Self-Adhesion, are fixed without springs or fastening, without pain or ex traction, restore perfect articulation and mastication, ren dering detection impossible, and last a lifetime. 'Unrivalled for Its utilityand economy."—liornir — Post. An admirable contrivance for remedying the defects of nature, without requiring new sets of teeth."—Sun. Decayed Teeth Stopped, Loose Teeth Fastened, Discoloured Teeth Restored, &c. Constant Daily Attance at 8, Grosvenor street, Grosyernor-square. London ; Old Steine, Brighton; Bennett's-hill, Birmingham TA R. BRIGHT'S APHRODISI ..1—• I The GREAT CHEMICAL COMBINATION Phos phorus, Quinine, Iron, and other invigorating the never-tailingßemedy for Spermatorrhrea, and altlTi n s ts ', is Of the Reproductive System. A single course of this invalu able able preparation insures health, strength, and manly vigo ur in every stage of lite. Price, 11s. per bottle, or four tis. bottles in one, 335. ; and in cases containing three 335. bottles, for X 5, at a saving of ;El 12s. DR. BR IGIIT'S T 11 REE DAYS' CURE ' • the most speedy remedy known. The BUCHU GLOBULES, containing the Quintessence of Copaiba, Cubebs, Buchu, (U., at once cure, Without the possibility of failure, Gonorrhoea, obstinate Gleet, Stricture, &c., immediately subduing all inflammato r y action; encased in sugar, free from taste or smell. Price Ils. ; by post 12s. ed. Prepared and sold at the Laboratoyy, 44A, Mad dox - q tree t, Regent-street, W. (opposite the side of St. Georg e's Church), London, where also may be had the new medical work, en titled "Nervous Exhaustion," on Physical Disqualification and Impediments to Marriage, 275 pages. Price ?s. (id ; by post, ; abridged edition ls., by post 14 stamps, All communications and Post-Office Orders fo be addressed to Ralph Bright. __The above medicines have been confided to a Registered Physician, Member of the Royal College of Surgeon s, Eng land, who may be daily consulted from 11 to 8. DR. CURTIS' MEDICAL WORK, MANHOOD: A M EDICAL ESSAY ON SPERM ATORRIICE A, NERVOUS AND GENERATIVE DEBILITY, &c. Published, the 150th thousand, with numerous plates, in a sealed envelope, price ls., Sold by all Booksellers, and sett post paid, by the Author, for 1 2 stamps, AMMOD : the CAUSE and CURE of PRE MATURE DECLINE IN MAN, with Plain Directions !_n• l'erfect Reqoration to Health and VI -- our. By Dr. J. L. Utinmv, 15. Alberraarle-street, Piccadilly, London. CONTENTS: RODUCTORY MIA - I_97ER on the Physiological Structure and Functions of the Reproductive Organs. PTE it 11.--Causes of Spematorrluea and Impotence; " .rIY Vicious indulgences ; Dangers of Neglect. CIIA.PT ER Review of the various Disqualifications Marria4,re ; whether resulting from Youthful Abuse, the Follies of Maturity, the Effects of Climate, or Infection. CIIAPTERS IV. and V. on the modern Treatment of Gonorrhoea and Syphilis. The Book concludes with numerous varied and Interesting " 0 A to which is added the Author's recipe of a preventive Lotion. REVIEWS OF THE WORK. ``Curtis on Manhood. —This is a truly valuable work, and imoul4 be in the hands of young; and old."—" Sunday Times," d harch, "The author 1850 has conferred a great boon by publishing this little work, in which is described the so urce of those diseases which produce decline in youth or more frequently premature old e "Daily Telegraph," March 27,1858. " This work, which for twenty years has stoo d the test of p r ofessional criticism and empirical hostility, treats in aplain and sympathising manner on the various disqualifications budlmpediments arising from nervous excitement and de y ; and to i nva lid s su ff e ring from you thful errors and excessesl.l i o it wi ll be found valuable and useful."—Record. 4 : Published by J. Allen, 20, Warwick Lane, Pater noster-row• Mann 39 Ctornhill. FM " o f Ocou d till 2. aultation-10 to 3 and to 8; 8811 aY Octavo, 155., THE EMOTIONS AND THE WILL. By -I- ALEXANDER BAIN, M.A., Examiner in Logic and Moral Philosophy in the University of Loudon, and Profes sor of Logic in the University of Aberdeen. By the same Author, Octavo, 155., THE SENSES AND THE INTELLECT. London : Parker, Son, and Bourn, West Strand. BENTLEY'S The DECEMBER NUMI I. The Discount Rate of the Bank of France. 11. Crooked Usage ; or, The Adventures of Lorn Lo riot. ByDudley Costello. Chapters XXXIV. t;) XXX VI. 111. The German Almanacks for 1862. IV. The French Silk Trade. By Frederick Marshall. V. The American Athens. I,y J. G. kohl. In the January Number wit Story, entitled THE LORD City Life in the Last Centt. worth. MISCELLANY. lER (Now Ready) contains VI. The Worr!es of a Cha perone ; or Lady Mara bout's Troubles. By Oujda. Part 111. VII. Letters of Junius under their Comic aspect. VIII. The Campaign of the Royal Neapolitan Army in Vie Autumn of 1860. By Major Chambre. IX. Highly Respectable. By Monkshood. l be commenced a New Serial MAYOR OF LONDON ; or, By William Harrison Ains- London: Chapman and Ld Hall, 193, Piccadilly. P LANS OF OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE GRATIS.— With the DISPATCH of SUNDAY next Dec. 1, will be presented gratis Plans of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. On Dec. 8 the First Division of a Four-sheet Map of Spain and Portugal ; I llowed on the 15th, 22d, and 29th by the remaining portions. The Eighth and Ninth Parts of the Great Map of London will be issued immediately afterwards. For the perfect Map and Nine Papers send 3s. 9d. (stamped copies 4s. Gd). Maps sent on rollers, Id. extra. Office, 139, Fleet-street, Loudon. THE PRESENT DISTRESS IN TRADE fully explained in J. GROSSMITIPS " GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES." The cause is there predicated of the monetary difficulties ex - perienced in 1860. The Crisis is at hand. Anxiety In bmi ness has now become the grim torture. Purity of motive. intelligently exercised, must animate all Governments, or all is lost, All denominations of Constitutions are carefully examined in J. Grossmith'B "Government upon First Prin ciples." Kent and Co., Paternoster-row. The Fourth Edition, Just Published, Bvo, in cloth, price 5s by post free, ss. 6d. ON TRUE and FALSE SPERMATORRWEA ; with the View to the Correction of wide-spread Errors in relation to the Treatment and Cure of Sufferers from De bility of the Generative system, or Sexual Hypochrondriasis. Translated from the German of Dr. PICKFORD. " Dr. fickford is known to English readers by his frequent practical contributions to German medical literature. This is the first time, he informs us, that he has addressed himself to the non-medical reader. We trust that this may not be the last, if he shall detect any other equally flagrant evil which it may be in hie power to correct."—Londonlledical Gazette. " The editor has conferred a great boon on the sufferers from this distressing malady by translating this little book, and by laying bare the scandalous practices of unqualified adventurers, who profess to cure a disease of which they know nothing, with no other object than to fill their own purses. The difference between true Spermatorrhcea and the various forms of disease which resemble it arc accurately de scribed, and thus a safe guide is offered for the treatment of the malady."—Medical Circular. " We have dilated so long upon the contents of the preli minary chapter, that we have scarcely left ourselves space for any notice of the subject specially treated of by Dr. Picktord ; but the moderate price at which the `brochure' is sold, places it within the reach of every one interested in the matter." — Dublin Medical Press. London : 11. Bailliere, 219, Regent-street. Now ready, price 2s. Gd., MADAME CAPLIN'S Large and Beautifully Illustrated WORK on lIEttr.TH and BEAUTY, or Corsets and Clothing adapted to the Human Body. By the same Author, Woman and Her Wants. Price Is. Dartou and Co., liolborn-hill, and from the Author, 51, Berners-street, Oxford-street, W. TRULY EFFICACIOUS AND MILD.- Dr. SCOTT'S BILIOUS and LIVER PILLS, pre oared withoufany mercurial ingredient, from the recipe of Dr. Scott, of Bromley, Kent, will be found invaluable to all who suffer from bilious and fiver complaints, indigestion, wind, spasms, giddiness, dizziness of the eyes, &c. For habitual costiveness, as a family aperient medicine, and as a purifier of the blood, they rre truly excellent ; mild in their opera tion and grateful to lie stomach, they create appe ite, pro mote digestion an -trengthen the whole nervous system. Sold by W. Lambert, 20, Jermyn-street, Haymarket, London, and by most drugnsts, in boxes, is. lid., and three times the quantity in one, 2s. 9d. Be sure to ask for Dr. Scott's Bilious and Liver Pills. The genuine are a square green package, with " William Lambert," engraved on the stamp. lOZEAU'S COPAIIINE, or SACCITARATED 0, CAPSULES.—Copaiba and Cubeba are doubtless the best remedies, but these drugs are of a repulsive taste and odour, and occasion colicky pains, nausea, and gastric dis turbance. M. Jozeau has succeeded in rendering these valu able therapeutic agents r erfectly innocuous by increasing in his Copahine all t , e curative properties. 'This preparation has been adopted by the Paris Academy of Medicine, atter more than a thousand trials in Paris and the different Lon don hospitals, viz., St. Thotints's, Guy's, and St. Bartholo mew's, under the care of Messrs. Lloyd, Poland, and Legros Clark. —" Lancet," Nov. 6 and Dec. 10, 1857. The Copahine. which is in form of a pretty pink sugar plum, effects a cure in about six days, either in recent or chronic diseases. 100 capsules, 4s. 6d. ; post free, ss. 2d. Post-office order required ; at J. JozEau's, French Chemist, 42, - Haymarket, London ; 22, Rue St. Quentin, Paris ; and all the most important Chemists. A few remarks are necessary as to this table, which, like the former, extends over the whole existence of the gun in the service. First, as to the vent-pieces " blown away." I have taken their number from the official re port ordered by the Director of Ordnance, and dated the 14th inst. The report itself concludes as fol lows :—" There may be more" (i.e., cases of vent pieces blown away), " but as they always arise from carelessness, the facts may not have been noted." Some few other cases, indeed, as I myself know, have occurred —chiefly during practice by recruits. From the reason above suggested, they seem never to have been forwarded to the Government, and I have not included them in the list. The two 12 pounder vent-pieces entered above are those reported to have been blown away in China on August 11 and September 2,1860; The number has been doubled I have already remarked that, the principle of steel having been definitively abandoned, instances of injuries to steel are of minor importance. But even the number of steel failures entered by me above must be taken with much reservation. Six of the 12-pounder vent-pieces, for instance, under this head failed at Shoeburyness, where from 21 12- pounders 12,433 rounds have been fired. The other two are reported by the Marino Artillery, who have fired I don't know how many rounds. The three 25-pounder vent-pieces failed during experi ments. Of the nine steel 40-pounders, four went in some experiments on board the Trusty, to which I shall presently refer; two-others became unser viceable in the course of 2,001 rounds from 40- pounder guns at Shoeburyness ; one more failed on board the Cambridge in the course of 1,003 rounds from 40-pounders ; one on board the " Cochin" gunboat, and the remaining one on board the Edgar flagship of the Channel Fleet during a number of rounds unknown to me. I have onlyynow to speak of the four steel 100-pounder vent-pieces. These all failed at Shoeburyness in the course of 1,172 rounds, but two of them yielded only to extra oharges of 181 b. of powder. As to the failures of the wrought-iron vent pieces. In the case of the 100-pounders they are limited to the single instance of a vent-piece slightly bulged, which had not been reported when I last addressed you. Beyond this we have but seven to account for. As I have above said, all these seven occurred to one class of gun, whose pattern of vent-piece will in consequence now be changed. But, what is more remarkable, all these seven (together with the four vent-pieces mentioned above) failed on board the Trusty in the course cf a single experiment from Captain Cole's cupola shield, during only 142 rounds from only two guns. The gun in which eight of the 11 - vent-pieces thus failed was brought to Woolwich for investization. It there exhibited none of the destructive qualities it had shown on board the Trusty, but was fired 58 rounds with the same pattern vent-piece as before, yet could make no impression on it. Failures so singularly localized can only have arisen from some special cause. At the same time the strengthened pattern will meet even such contingencies as these. It only remains for me to add two more casualties, which, as they happened during an experiment at Woolwich, by the Ordnance Select Committee, for testing a carriage, are not included in the report. On that occasion one steel 40-pounder vent-piece was broken, and one of wrought iron cracked. During the same experiment the copper ring of two vent-pieces became loosened—an injury quickly remedied by pressing on a new one, and having nothing to do with the strength of the vent-piece. No other failure has occurred to the service pat terns, even during experimental practice. The above statistics arc taken from official reports before me, from the Horseguards and Admiralty, dated respectively the 7th and 14th inst. My ex tracts as to broken or injured vent-pieces would, mation TthErkind has ever taken place at any artillery station except Shoebury ness. None is reported from Shorncliffe, where there is constant practice, nor from any of our 36 batteries of field artillery at home or abroad. None has occurred in New Zealand. None happened in China during 3,800 rounds. None in the Channel Fleet, in all the rounds they must have fired, ex cept one steel 40-pounder vent-piece on board the Edgar. None on board the Excellent gunnery ship and her tender, in 2,455 rounds. None on board the Cambridge gunnery ship and her tender, except one steel 40-pounder, in 3,523 rounds. These facts speak for themselves. Casualties to some extent necessarily attend a new system on its introduction, and their number will naturally every day grow less. The above account, which takes in a period of nearly three years, is drawn from authoritative re• ports framed by Government servants, and I have added all that my own knowledge supplies. Rare as have been the cases in which the success of the gun has not been complete, I take more pleasure still in the fact that a new system of rifled artillery, with its new projectiles, fuses, and accessories, has been introduced, and so far perfected, without loss of either life or limb, or even injury to a single in dividual. The truth is, that the guns are of unpre cedented strength. Your readers will be interested in an account of some official tests of endurance to which one 100-pounder, two 40-pounders, and two 12-pounders not long ago were submitted. The facts have been in some measure made public, but will, I think, bear repetition. The 100 pounder (weighing only 81 cwt.) was fired 100 consecutive rounds with the full service charge of 141 b. The projectile for the first ten rounds was of 1001 b. weight, and was increased by 100 lb. every ten rounds after ; so that from the 90th to the 100th round it weighed 1,0001 b., and pro jected two feet from the muzzle. The gun, after sustaining this extraordinary test without injury, might have been merely passed into the service, but was taken for the severe duty of proving vent-pieces, and daily endures a repetition of full-proof or double service charges of 281 b. The two 40 pounders (weighing 32cwt. each) were loaded with full service charges of 51b., and fired, like the 100-pounder, for 100 consecutive rounds. In the first instance the projectile was 401 b., and it increased in the same manner every ten rounds up to 4001 b. Both guns remained uninjured; and at the close of the experiment it was determined to try one of them still further. It was fired for 30 more consecutive rounds, but this time with double charges of 101 b. The projectile ranged as before between 401 b. and 4001 b., every third round receiv ing au additional 401 b. in weight. These two guns, like the former one, are uninjured, and are still, for all I know, in regular use. The two 12-pounders have nearly the same story to tell. I will not, therefore, weary you with the details at length. Both withstood the hundred consecutive rounds, with proportionately increasing projectiles and full-service charges of 11lb. Both were submitted to the double proof charges of 30 rounds more. One remained perfectly serviceable and sound, the other failed near the muzzle, after the sixth increase in weight of the projectile—that is to say, after throwing a cylinder of 84lb. with double the service charge. But I must observe that in choosing these two 12-pounders for this ordeal, one was purposely selected which had actually been rejected at proof as defective; and it was this de fective one which finally succumbed to the treat ment I have described. But, after all, special examples of endurance are hardly of more value than the general experience gained in ordinary use. I select from the list be fore me some returns of the number of rounds fired by individual guns which are still in con stant practice. Of heavy guns, I see that one 40-pounder has fired 721 rounds, another 571. Of the 12-pounders, one has fired 1,720 rounds, another 1,832, another 2,817 rounds. Even my original experimental 18-pounder gun, submitted to the Government in the year 1857, has fired 2. A percussion fuse, which is incapable in its original state of exploding the shell, though dropped from a great height, but which acquires by the act of firing so delicate a sensibility that it explodes the shell thenceforward at the lightest touch. 3. The sea-service percussion fuse, which, like the last-mentioned, has no sensibility before it is fired, never has sufficient sensibility to explode the shell by impact on the water or by ricochet, but takes effect on a ship's side, whether it strike it point foremost or otherwise, and bursts the shell in the very act of passing through the timber. 4. The solid shot for battering, the common shell for explosive effect, and the segment shell for use against troops or the crews of ships,—three pro jectiles, the destructive power of two of which is on a scale hitherto unknown. Each of my field-service projectiles contains the first and second of these fuses. A slight adjustment only is required, at the very moment of loading, to determine whether it shall act as solid shot, shrap nell shell, case shot, or percussion shell. Each bat tery of field artillery under this system goes into action not merely with a gun of less weight than formerly, and using half the weight of powder, but, what is more important, carrying many kinds of shot in one. Surely then I have a right to say that our experience of the gun, in all its varieties of size and with all its accessories, ranges over a field so wide that greater hindrances and more mischances might reasonably have been looked for than have actually occurred ? After the ample statistics I have given I might close my letter here, but I will first shortly notice some specific strictures on my guns which have lately appeared in the public newspapers, and as I prefer an opponent, however uncompromising, who has the manliness to avow his name, Capt. Halsted shall have the precedence. Captain Halsted commences a letter which lately appeared in your columns by instancing four large guns which, he says, successively broke down after a very few rounds ; an he impugns generally the safety and endurance of the guns made upon my principle. I might oppose to such a conclusion the clear proofs to the contrary which I have given above, but I will meet his examples more closely still. He re fers in the first place to an 80-pounder gun, the first heavy gun I made, and only an experimental one. He says it was used against the Trusty in 1859, and had a defect in the interior. I answer, that it had no defect which in the slightest degree affected either its safety or efficiency. The slight flaw of which Capt. Halsted speaks was readily cut out without damaging the gun. It was one of the four guns sub sequently used against the martello tower at East bourne, and has been employed on various occasions since. His three remaining examples are 100-pounders which he asserts were successively disabled on board the Stork gunboat and condemned as" dangerously defective," after firing an insignificant number of rounds. I reply that two of these I,s:pounder-vim mination and report. - Auer such examination fffey were declared fit for use, and one of them was sent to Shoeburyness for continued firing. It there fired 363 rounds, and was then forwarded to Woolwich, where to remove all doubt of its safety it was proved a second time, and then returned to Shoeburyness for general use. Capt. Halsted, who admits the fact of the gun being subsequently used at Shoe buryness, qualifies the admission by saying that it was there only considered as capable of cautious use. So far from this being the case, it was indis criminately employed for firing shot of 2001 b. weight against experimental iron targets. The second 100-pounder, which was precisely in the same condition as the former, and the character of which might have been re-established in the same way, underwent a different treatment. Advantage was taken of the existence of the flaw to test the efficacy of a brass lining introduced into the powder chamber, after which the gun fired 50 rounds with extra charges of 181 b., and remains perfectly ser viceable. I feel it necessary here to remark that from the novelty of these guns they were naturally and very properly regarded in the first instance with a degree of suspicion approaching to timidity, and the slightest indication of flaw became an ob ject of apprehension. Capt. Hewlett, the com manding officer of the Excellent gunnery ship, to which the Stork is attached, in a letter which I have recently received, says that he had known the guns at first as well as he does now, he would not have deemed it necessary to change the couple of guns last mentioned. He adds, "We knew very little about the guns at first, and were startled at the slightest appearance of flaw." The third 100- pounder referred to by Capt. Halsted is still on board the Stork. It has been ordered to Woolwich for examination, but until it has arrived and been tested I shall not suppose it to be a solitary in stance of dangerous defect,lbut take it on trust that its flaw will prove as little important as those of the other two. But there is yet a very important remark to make on these guns. The fact is that the particular 100- pounders referred to by Capt. Halsted are part of a batch of guns which were not made purely on my principle. Before the difficulties of manufacture of the heavy guns were fully mastered, and during the first pressure of the demand for them, I was com pelled for a time to make the inner tube—contrary to my principle—from a solid forging, instead of from coiled iron, and the result has proved the in feriority of the plan. But this circumstance, instead of being an argument against my mode of construc tion, only proves its superiority over the alternative system of making wrought-iron guns out of solid blocks of that material. The manufacturing diffi culties, I am happy to say, have been for some time past overcome ; and all the more recent guns being on the coil principle throughout, are not liable to those defects which in the instances named have excited suspicion. Captain Halsted asserts, that "up to the present time the 100-pounder gun has never been subjected to any representation of real action by 50 consecu tive rounds of rapid fire.", This is incorrect. All descriptions of my guns have been fired 50 rounds at a time continuously, with various degrees of rapidity. Capt. Halsted next remarks on the liability of the guns "to choke up their shallow grooves with the lead covering of their missiles." lie is quite wrong in supposing that in any case the grooves become choked with lead. He would have been justified in saying that in cases where the guns are neither sponged nor properly lubricated the grooves will be come clogged with a deposit from the powder. But this never happens when an efficient lubricator is used, such as that recently produced by Col. Boxer. With that lubricator 50 rounds at a time have been repeatedly fired without any sponging, and the gun has remained as clear in the grooves at the end of the experiment as at the first round. With regard to the failure of the vent-pieces on board the Trusty, which, of course, forms a promi nent part of Capt. Halsted's remarks, I refer to the detailed particulars which are given in the early Total .... The Government boing guaranteed against injuries at proof. The above table extends over the whole period that has elapsed since the adoption of the gun, and I proceed to make some comment on it. I will, however, first speak of a gun said to have burst, though bursting is not the proper term to give to the fate which befell it. It had been used for drill the night before, and left by mistake with the drill or practice shot still in the muzzle. On the next day the gun was loaded at the breech, and fired in ignorance of the oversight, when the muzzle, as a necessary consequence, was blown off at the point where the practice shot rested. Both shots were recovered, bruised and fractured by the colli sion, showing plainly how the fragments of the one had acted as wedges to jam the other. These cir cumstances were notorious at Shoeburyness, where the accident happened, and it is remarkable that the occurrence should have transpired in the Me chanics's Magazine shorn of its explanation. As the muzzle of any gun that human ingenuity ever invented would have been blown off under similar circumstances, I think I may fairly conclude that the 40-pounder lost its muzzle without losing its honour. I pass to the guns entered in the table as returned to Woolwich for repair. The number is taken from a full official report dated the 20th inst., and now before me. I see by it that the guns here entered as returned for repair were not all of them guns ;4. -" returned or repair, V u Ofealliftr - Ifirii2§46llC F LAW Six of the 12 pounders were Chiva guns, and they were condemned to receive ;rebrowning, cleaning, and three new drip-pans! One 40-pounder gun required only cutting or facing of the screw, and:so forth. In fact, three, or, at the very utmost four only of the guns were in such a state as would have prevented their continued use in action, and one of these was in that condition from having had its screw injured in an experiment by the Ordnance Select Committee to try the effect of firing the gun without closing the breech. A 25-pounder, injured at Sboeburyness, is not included in this list, as it has not yet appeared at Woolwich. This gun was well known to have a cross flaw within six inches of the muzzle, and it was a question whether it should be fired in that condition; but since no accident worse than that which happened could be anticipated, it was taken for au experiment at Shoeburyness by the Ordnance Select Cgamittee. At the third round the six inches o uzzle fell off, but the practice was not stopped, and as the gun shoots as well as ever the committee have retained it for other experiments. TI. I now come to the statistics regarding the vent-pieces. Before entering on this branch of my subject I may remark generally that the vent-piece is not expected to have the same durability as the gun. It is separate from the gun, and contains the vent or touch-hole, which is the most perishable part of all ordnance. Every time the weapon is loaded the vent-piece is removed; two of them are attached to each gun, and if one is injured by casualty or wear of the vent the other is ready to replace it. A list of injured vent-pieces is, therefore, not a list of accidents. The list below comprises not merely broken vent-pieces—indeed, a wrought-iron vent piece has never yet been known to break—it is made up of vent-pieces worn in long and honourable service, as well as of those broken, bulged, cracked, flawed, or rendered unserviceable in any other way. At the same time I can afford to confess that I have had some difficulty in determining the material and pattern of the vent-pieces for my larger guns. I too hastily deferred to the general preference for steel over iron, and have since learnt, by vexatious expe rience, the uncertainty and unfitness of that metal, as now manufactured, for purposes of the kind. It will be seen by the table below that the injuries there entered have chiefly occurred to steel. Where otherwise, they have been confined, with one ex ception, to the 40-pounder; a proof that the fault was one of pattern and not of principle. I have, therefore, for some time been occupied in settling strong ae it isr e r op p r re a ac t di t ms e i ec r al any a yl f o o n r e t h o f e 4 t h - 0 p s e o u questionsn de r vent -piece, wp a r n e d . i f ffi el e y u llteya leave eo thean m mutter engineer ter w t h think the st ehnepublic authorities ts and myself.safely THE VIGOUR YOUTH IN I FOUR WEEKS O b F y Dr. RICORD'S ESSENCE OF LIFE. This wonderful agent will restore manhood to the most shattered consti,ution, whether arising from self-pollution, excesses, nocturnal emissions, the effects of climate, or natu ral causes. The time required to cure the most inveterate case is four weeks ; and, if used according to the printed in structions (which are very simple), failure is Impossible. This life -restoring remedy should be taken by all about to marry, as its effects are eranent. It is acknowledged by the medical press to be them reatest discovery ever made. Success in every case is as certain as that water quenches thirst. Dr. Ricord's Essence of Life is sold in cases, with full in structions for use, at li s., or four quantities in one for 338., and will be sent to any part of the world, carefully packed, on receipt of remittance or post-office order payable to Prout and Co., Patent Jledi-ineWarehouse, 229, Strand, London. (Entered at Stationers' Hall.) 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Tif E SILENT FRIEND, a Medical Work on Single and Married Life, enlarged to 190 pages, with 100 engravings, ls., by post It stamps ; also, Extracts from the above Work in all Languages, post free on receipt of two stamps. To be had dire from R. and L. Perry and Co., 19, Berners-street, Oxford -street, London, W., where all letters and Post-office orders are to be addressed. Attendance daily, from 10 till 8, by a Consulting Surgeon, yember of the newo of S °Tons of England (registered under the Medical , lir, Act). VENT-PIECES. Issued Calibre of Gun. (Two to each blown '- Number rendered Number Unserviceable. __________________ pli. CULVERWELL'S LAST NEW WORK, Number OURSELVES. Price Is., by post ls. td. ; of Mann, 29, Cornhill. On Sperrnatorrhwa, Syphilis, Stricture, I.laanorrhoids, -pounder Gun away. Gleets. &c. - lssued.) Steel. Iron. Marriage : Impediments removed, and Healthy Offspring 6 — ______ secured. 12-pounder ... A 2 0 o Pr. C. may be consulted daily till 12, at 25-pounder ... 144 2 s The Post-office Turkish Baths, 19, St. lartin's-le-Grand ; 40-pounder 0 3 0 and from 1 till 0 p.m. at 3, Great Marlborough-street, W. 100-,.ounder ... 468 1 9 7, 0 4 1 - -,i-,-,irTIT TJC Nr - piv 'MST-OFFICE Total 1,592 5 24`1_8_4-1--£3-- Dr. C. may be consulted daily till 12, at The Post-office Turkish Baths, 19, St. Martin's-le-Grand and from 1 till 9 p.m. at 3, Gre at Marlborough-street, W. DR. CULVERWELL'S NE W POST-OFFICE TURKISH BATHS, 19, St. 111artin's-le - Gran d. 2s. till 5. and is. 6 d. from 5 t il l 9 ; Sundays, ls. till 1. An ESSAY on TURKISH BATHING, gratis. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " The Use and the Abuse of the Turkish Bath.—A very useful pamphlet has been published by Dr. Culverwell, the proprietor of the Turkish Baths in the neighbourhood of the Post-office, which presents to the uninitiated a mass of inte resting information, while those who have already encouraged this new system will derive additional advantage if they observe some of the p tactical regulations which the writer endeavours to enforce. —Herald and Standard, Nov. 12, 180. " The Post-office Turkish Batho9, St. Martin's-le-Grand. —Dr. Culverw. 11 has already established the reputation of an ab'e physician ; he has now proved himself to be a worthy philanthropist, in as far as he has established, in the heart of the City, an institution that more nearly than any disco very of modern days, goes nearer the abolition of the practice of physic, than any proposition or invention yet established, the Turkish Bath. . . Our object being merely to direct the attention of our City readers to the fact that they possess one of the best set of baths, at 19, St. Martin's-le-Grand, which the country can produce; perfect in all Its appliances, and most admirable in effect. Dr. Culverwell has fitted up his baths with a degree of elegance, luxury, and refinement, which, considering the space at his disposal, is truly sur prising, while everything that taste or delicacy could desire has been obtained to add to the comfort and luxury of the visitor. . . We may justly say that if a man ever feels himself regenerated and new made, it is on coming out of a Turkish Dath,"—Era, Qat. 13, 1861. TO THE EDITOR OF TILE TIMES. Sir,—l ended a letter which I had the honour of addressing to you last month by declining further controversy on the subject of the now rystem of ordnance. My time is too much limited to permit of my involving myself needlessly in controversial warfare, and it is not reasonable to expect that I should continually have to defend my gun in the columns of the press, through all the stages of its progress and development, against incessant attacks by opponents usually ill-informed as to their facts. In the long run the best weapon must win the day, whether it be mine or another's, and I am as sure that my gun cannot be written up into success as I am that if successful it will never bo written down. On reconsideration, however, I think it possible that my refusal to engage in controversy may have been misconstrued. The public are not in the same position as I am. They have not the means of know ing those broad facts which are known to Govern ment and myself, and they have a right to be anxious on a matter so intimately concerning public expenditure and national defence. Before retiring from a discussion of the subject I will therefore let your readers know all that I can tell them on points lately raised, and they shall judge for themselves. A brief statement and a few statistics (which I trust will be to the purpose) will lead them to view with tranquillity the strange storms of criticism to which the gun finds itself so frequently subjected. I. First, as to the guns themselves. My shortest course will be to exhibit, in a tabu lated form, the number of my guns which have been proved and issued for use, the number which have been returned from service for repair; and a few other particulars, all of which I have obtained from official sources: I must crave the patience of your readers for this portion of my letter, which I fear will be too statistical for general interest. GUNS. -j ,c 1. .,`" ~c, " j.cr 4 ti • t:g • A,, Calibre of .c . •- o '•:: wa 4 , t,, 4,1,11 z; . Gun. 0, 'E, .1. 1 E t. g ... v. 0 r.„ -.- =.,.., ~,-; ,_,..„ cd 1:1 7.1 - 'p., '4,1 ,z. , 2 z-i '44 14 .46, , -, • , ----- - £ 6 pounder 49 41 5 0 0 12 pounder 461 152 312 0 11 120 25 p o under 325 253 72 0 0 195 40 pounder 221 48 173 0 2 285 100 pounder 563 329 231 0 4 650 Total .... 1,622 826 796 0 20 He was picked up scorched, the hair of his face burnt off, and his sight temporarily injured." Now why cannot the simple truth be told, which is, that a man standing near the side aperture of the breech had his whiskers and serge frock singed ? The blowing down and picking up are dramatic ornaments which I shall charitably ascribe to the same decorative style of writing that " nearly killed" Capt. Hodson at Shoeburyness. I was a close observer of what took place, and Capt. Sir Wm. Wiseman and Capt. Hewlett, who were also present, and to whom I have applied, confirm the accuracy of my statement. For my part, 1 was as much alive as Capt. Halsted could be to the objection of this lateral escape of gas, at the breech; and I may inform Capt. Halsted that this very experimental gun, which he takes up again after two years to swell his condemnation of service guns, was the precursor of one in which aIV the defects of the original were removed, and whose - . extraordinary rapidity of firinr*as chronicled in your columns about a fortnight ago. Capt. Halsted, indeed, goes on to say that "to this day the 100-pounder delivers its rear explosion with the same force as then." This would, doubtless, have been so had I treated the case with his impa tience ; but, notwithstanding his assertion, I am en abled to say that by the use of cups or saucers, as he facetiously terms them, the escape of gas is com pletely arrested in these large guns. Recent experi ments at Shoeburyness have shown that pieces of white paper may be laid close up to the joint 'with out exhibiting any stain of powder smoke. It was while waiting the result of experiments on this subject that I was lately induced to apply to Sir G. Lewis to suspend, for a short time, the issue of the 100-pounder guns. Captain Halsted next states that, "in order to lift in the vent-piece of the naval 100-pounder, two men must stand upon the gun-carriage in so elevated a position as to be wholly exposed to rifle aim." This is not the case; by passing a staff through the rings of the vent-piece it is easily lifted by the men while standing on the level of the deck. I now arrive at his summary of " inherent de fects," which I shall very quickly dispose of. 1. He says, "the gun cannot be loaded at the muzzle." I might as reasonably object to a muzzle loading gun, that it cannot be loaded at the breach ; if, however, it be an object, which I do not concede, to have the alternative of loading at the muzzle, I need only rifle my breech-loader on my shunt system, and it becomes a muzzle-loader also. The gun which fired the other day 51 rounds at the rate of one in 26 seconds was a gun of that kind. 2. He says "the gun cannot be double allotted." There is not the least difficulty in using two flat ended shots ; but why should this be done when a single percussion shell would be ten times more effective ? 3. He says the gun cannot throw an incendiary (Martin's) shell. Here he is utterly wrong, for even the lead-covered shell, to say nothing of the ribbed one, has been successfully fired with molten iron in both 40-pounders and 100 pounders ; in fact,:targets are at present being built for a continuance of the practice. 4. He alleges, that the gun " cannot be used with reduced charges for fear of the effects of air space." If Capt. Halsted had attended the ricochet firing at ifbraliroqiultntrers'ddwnwaras, libeu wlui variety of charge, from a few ounces up to the full service quantity. 5. Ho declares that " within certain limits of dis tance the gun cannot be used to cover either troops or boats with shot or shell, for fear of the lead which strips from all the projectiles, as proved on service in China, and as openly admitted by the author himself in May last." Really I thought that on the occasion to which Capt. Halsted so strangely re fers, I had succeeded in showing the hollowness and absurdity of this objection. I stated that the lead could be, and had been so absolutely fixed to the projectile as to render separation impossible. I pro duced specimens of shells, both exploded and entire, in proof of this. I showed that the military autho rities had had their choice whether the lead should be thus absolutely fixed, or be in some degree separ able, so as to produce more fragments on the burst ing of the shell. They have made their choice, and must be considered the best judges of what are the requirements of the service. If Captain Halsteu can persuade them that they have chosen wrong, it is open to them to modify their decision in any way they please; but as they have been offered any de gree of adhesion, I do not see how I can be respon sible for their decision, though I believe they have decided rightly. I think I have now answered every point ad vanced in Captain Halsted's letter, and have only to direct the attention of your readers to the spirit in which that and other attacks on the gun have been written. It is singular to be placed in a position where not only facts are invented by my assailants against me, but my own inventions are turned against me too. I find myself suddenly reproached with improvements. Finality is a word which ought to be unknown to practical science, and yet I am con demned to the prospect of seeing every future in vention I may make in the service of the country treated as a condemnation by myself of its pre cursors. It actually seems to be the object of some antagonists to prevent me from working at all. Captain Halsted himself does not write as a critic, but as a downright uncompromising opponent. He acknowledges no one advantage in my system. The lightness of the guns, their precision of fire, their length of range, the extraordinary power of the shell in its different forms, as shown against every variety of object, are all passed over in silence, while every appearance of failure (experimental or otherwise) is exaggerated and dressed up in highly coloured language, calculated to mislead the un informed. He oracularly pronounces " radical" or " inherent" the defects which he attributes to the gun ; yet he suggests no substitute for what he condemns, and offers no new idea to aid the solu tion of a problem in which all are interested. But there are some objections—by far the most loudly and persistently repeated—which come from more false, contradicted Ministers Parlia ment, and by myself, .as author of the gun, are adduced again an d again, whenever the refutation officialy Sbytateents absolutely.. is likely either not to have been seen or to have been forgotten. .For . instance, despite the most s authoritative denials, it is asserted and re-asserted that the guns failed in China, and that casualties occurred from the stripping of the lead. One paper, the Mechanics' Magazine—into whose motives for continual misrepresentation I do not trouble myself to inquire—on the Ist of March last actually pre sented its readers with an imaginary summary (pointed with marks of quotation) of a " confiden tial despatch" sent home by Major Hay, in which the gun was said to have been spoken of in con demnatory tei ms, to have been withdrawn from action at a critical moment, and to have occasioned casualties to our men. It further informed its readers—not for the first time—that the avt cost of the guns was £2,000. Mr. Baring, Under- Secretary for War, gave a flat denial to all these statements from his place in Parliament on the 14th March last. "No casualties occurred" in China, and Major Hay's report was of a direct l y o p p ture. " The gun," says Major H a y , " was the admiosite na ration of all." Mr. Baring fu rther told the house . that the price of the 12-poun r =arid 4P poUnder , ', Armstrong guns was £l2O ane2Bs-lesPeetivejy. In spite. of all these rebuffs—in spits of Lord Hhr bert's declaration, founded on the China despatches, that "we had the best gun in the world"—in apite of the testimony to its efficiency and value given on every public occasion by the Commander-in , Chief of the expedition—in spite of Major Hay's published letter to myself, which I subjoin,* the Mechanics' Magazine insinuated, and still insinuates, that the Government " suppressed" the truth ; that Major Hay's despatch had been written in the sense they had affirmed, and that Government in fluence was used to prevent China officers from speaking. In their number of the 18th ult. I find this strange statement, the disingenuousness of which is quite monstrous :—" Mr. Baring, the Under-Secretary for War, in his elaborate speech on the War Estimates, showed that each Armstrong gun had cost on an average £2,160, thus proving that we were sufficiently guarded in our state ments." I feel slow to impute animus to anybody far less to a journal which represents mechanicians, but I am compelled to speak strongly about mis statements so deliberate and so repeated. From such attacks as these I appeal to common sense. Vague and groundless insinuations, thrown out by random writers, who may, for anything I know, be unscrupulous as well as misinformed, should not be allowed to excite public alarm. It is said that there ought to be a Committee of Inquiry. lesn have no objection, though no prima lam case against the gun exists at all. But let it be remem bered that a Committee of Inquiry is, and always has been, sitting on my gun. The Committee ap ' pointed by Government to superintend and control all matters relating to ordnance have their atten tion continually devoted to it in every detail. All the facts I have mentioned above are known 'to them: Supposing then, that I were dishonest enough to wish to conceal anything from the pub- • `lic—supposing that two successive Governments, and their Ministers WM?, werp weak enough to have been throughout misled—surely no one in his senses will believe that this Ordnance Select Com mittee, and those many scientific officers who aro engaged in daily practice and experiment with the gun, and who are bound to report to Government their experience of it, are so deluded and so infa tuated as to concur in foisting an inefficient weapon on the country.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant, , London, Nov. 25. W. G. ARMSTRONG. * " 2, Coates-crescent, Edinburgh, 25th March, 1861. " Dear Sir William,—lt was not my intention to have taken any notice of the article which appeared in ;the Mechanics' Magazine of the Ist of March, headed ' The Armstrong Gun,' it being so utterly at variance with the substance of my actual reports. " But my attention having been called to an article in the Morning Post (22d March), copied from the Mechanics' Magazine of the previous week, commenting on the speech made by Mr. Baring when laying the Army Estimates be fore the house, in which the writer in the boldest way challenges the production of my report to substantiate, 1 imagine, his former statement, I am induced to write to you, in order that you may, should you deem it necessary, contradict in any way the statements contained in those articles. " The Armstrong guns in China rendered the most valu able service, being always in the most efficient and service able condition, although put to very severe tests. They were never withdrawn from action and their places sup plied by others ; on the contrary, the Armstrong guns were invariably the first to be ordered up when artillery was re quired. At Tongchow, on the 14th of August, and again on the 21st, at the capture of the Upper North Taku Fort, the Armstrong batteries were firing over the heads of our in fantry in advance, and the guns never ceased firing in con sequence of any casualty to our men—quite the reverse ; those guns continued firing while the infantry advanced to storm the enemy's works. It would have been most sur prising if slight alterations had not suggested themselves in both guns and ammunition, considering that they were being tried for the first time, and that they were most jealously watched by all. "In fact, from the instructions I received before leaving England, it was my duty to point out the slightest defect. This I did, and I was glad to observe, in a recent visit to the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, that these defects had all been remedied in a manner which experiments had proved to be most suuessful; and I now feel confident that the British Artillery have the first gun, with the most perfect ammunition, in the world.—l am, yours very faithfully, "R. J. Hai, Brevet-Major Royal Artillery, Late Assistant-Adjutant General, Royal Artillery „ Sce." riA.IIV CIA L BEFOrtzuß IN FRANCE. (From the Now!, Market Review ) Scoff as we may at the play (if we choose to re gard it so) which has been enacted at Paris, the French Emperor has given hiE people a privilege which they have never yet possessed under the pre sent regime, and which they never enjoyed in its entirety under the rule of the majority of its pre decessors—we mean the right of having the expen diture of the Government controlled by the Legis lature, We do not doubt that this part of the new Imperial programme will be carried out, and that the era of " supplemental credits" is at end. Now this is very important. As long as there were " supplemental credits," the whole proceeding of submitting the Budget to the Legislature was a mere farce. The Chambers, let us say, voted the Budget, perhaps with a few amendments of suffi cient importance to satisfy their amour propre. But the farcical part of the affair was that when the Budget was voted, it did not accomplish what a British Budget does, since it did not limit the expenditure of the Government in the least. At the point where the Budget ended, the Government expenditure was really only beginning. Each Minister applied not to the Legislature, but to the Emperor for a few millions more, and_his Majesty gave a draft for the amount under his own Imperial decree. If the money was not in the Treasury, he could always issue more floating debt, or, where this plan failed, it was easy to raise a loan in the Rentes, and the precise manner in which the money was expended was never suffered to appear. This is the secret of the £40,000,000 deficit. The Legis lature was thus completely jockeyed out of all con trol over the finances, and the State machine rattled away at its own pace on the road to insolvency. Raving made now a solemn promise to the French nation that the system of supplemental cre dits shall be abolished, and that the Government expenditure shall really pass in review before the Chambers, the Emperor cannot afford to go back from his word, or retrace his steps. He is too shrewd a politician to attempt to do so. We have a strong suspicion he has given a greater boon than he in tended. He means, perhaps, to strengthen his financial position by having his expenditure " re gularised" by the vote of the Chambers, and he trusts that the influence of his Government will always be sufficient to secure an immense majority of his nominees in those halls. We doubt this. Hitherto, the Lower House has had no power. Men Hitherto, of character and ability had, there,foarse,alirttullee,tewmepre ut this may now ataptaitohnettoicefnotrerthiet. saCmoensrteiatsuoenn.cießs be altered. Have our readers reflected upon the importance of the functions discharged by an as sembly to which is delegated the task of controlling the finances of a nation ? Is not money the sinews of war? Is not the command enjoyed by our House of Commons over the national purse-strings the real source of all the control which it has over the policy of Government ? The Crown nominally makes peace and declares war, but its prerogative is merely nominal, for what can the Crown do unless the representatives of the people vote the needful supplies ? The French people have not yet arrived at this constitutional regime, but When, through their representatives, they possess them selves of even a partial control over the financci,, they will acquire an influence over the general policy of the Empire such as they never.possessed before. We can look forward an magine fiercer contests at future elections, an do n asng phalanx of deputies pledged to reforms he financial policy o f the Government, to enema a gpeace and progress, opw.pcese can nr ainindagaignger,eisnsTancto,npublie neighbouringopinion a S n t a d te t so. entering into the councils and moulding the policy of the French Government in a degree never known Yet since Napoleon 111. seized the sceptre. We entertain a far from faint hope that, under the force of financial distress, the Emperor has, without meaning to do so, virtually given his people a con stitutional require another Bill of c Rights, ghlest,astuctho Sovereignsaws r it e s w t i fromll advance hereafter r ea ft e them.r And be it remembered that, as in years, it is generally found that they become indisposed to rash and 'venturesome courses. out Iles ip ted 40s 44s 400 12s Y• ILA Fill is