The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-02-21 00:00:00

etnrral Netvs.

Ifemont.u. TO Groans ego Rosnr firstsitysoN.
—On Friday afternoon week Lord Ravensworth opened
the Stephenson Memorial School. at Willington-quay,
overlooking the Tyne, the birth-place of tbrariltte
lamented Mr. Robert Stephenson, C& The
ball of the fine building vu crowded, and anion( the
company were the Meyers of the Tyneside boroughs,
Dr. Bruce, the historian of the Roman wall, Mr. Thos.
Sopwith, Mr. Addison Potter, and other friends of the
lamented gentleman. The memorial schools are erected
on the site of the humble house in which George
Stephenson and his first wife occupied • tenement.
At that time the father of the railway system followed
the occupation of enginctuan to • crane employed to de-
liver ballast from vessels owning to load coals in the
Tyne, and earned Ifs. a week wages; but to add to his
small income George used to work overtime by trim-
ming the ballast in shine holds, • most laborious em-
ployment, and none but such as • man determined to
hen his way in the world would have gone to. It was
while occupying this tenement, in which his son Robert
was born, that George taught himself the art of clock-
cleaning, in which he became very proficient, his own
eight-day cluck having been spoiled by water, a neigh-
bour having set the house on fire by accident—and
every one knows the pride • pitman takes in • handsome
clock. The late Mr. Robert Stephenson took a very
deep interest in the erection of the memorial building
which it was proposed to dedicate to the memory of his
father, but which is now dedicated to the memory of
father and son. It is needless to say that he contri-
buted munificently to the fund for its erection, but we
understand that, in consequence of his premature and
deeply lamented death, it is not so well endowed as it
otherwise would have been. It was the desire of Mr.
Robert Stephenson that the education to be imparted in
the schools should be solid and useful, and that the
schools should be thoroughly Catholic in their cha-
racter. Mr. Stephenson had applied to the Dean of
Hereford to suggest a competent teacher for the schools,
and at the recommendation of that Divine, Mr. A. God-
dard, • very able teacher 111L1 been eppointed. The
building is very highly appreciated by the working men
of the district, and there is little doubt that the schools
and Mechanics' Institute will do lunch good and be
really uteful among • very dense population.
I New EXPLOSIVI SUIriTANCES.-Mr. Beettger, an
I eminent German chemist, has just discovered • curious
property of carburette hydrogen or illuminating gas—
viz., that being brought into contact with certain saline
solutions, and especially with nitrate of silver, it will,
by chemical combinations, form substations of a highly
explosive nature. A few particles of that obtained with
nitrate of silver will, when subject to friction, explode
with as much violence as the fulminate of mercury.
This will in some measure account for certain instances
of explosion hitherto unexplained. Dr. J. Torrey, of
NOW York, some time ago discovered that illuminating
gee, when conveyed through copper pipes, would in time
produce an explosive deposit on the insier surface. In
tEtto, a gas-fitter at New York, while engaged in taking
down some copper pipes in a house, happened to blow
through one of them in order to try whether it was
stopped up or not. TLis instantly caused a violentex-
plosion ; the mon's whole face was frightfully lacerated,
and lie died of Ilk wounds • few hours afterwards. Dr.
Torrey, who has paid much attention to the subject,
states that the sub...mice which causes the explosion has
the appearance of a black crust, and that, if scraped with
• bigot wire, however slightly, it will detonate, ejecting
• q nudity of dust and smoke from the pipe. Dr. Torrey,
nevertheless, by great perseverance, succeeded in collect-
ing • teaspoonful of this dangerous compound, which
appeared under the ono of dark-brown shini scales, re-
ducible to a red powder by trituration. NI hen struck
with a hammer on an anvil, it would explode, producing
luminous sparks, and if touched with a red-hot iron it
would go off like gunpowder. The temperature neces-
sary to make it detonate was about MO degrees centi-
grade (31)2 Fehr.). This substance seems to have been
of the same nature as those discovered 67 M. tkettor,
end which he describes as being combinations of copper
with carburetted hydrogen the latter acting therein, the
same part as oyanogen in other well known Mali.
oaks. Giummes are never made of copper now, sad
neither iron nor lead is liable to produce any fulmniating
compound.

LORI) BROUGHAM AND MR. GLADSTONR.—A very
significant compliuient to Mr. Glacistone's oratory, and
• very striking incident in itself, appears not to have
been remarked by our London contemporaries. We
mean the presence of Lord lircmghaiu within the walls
of the House of Commons for the first time during very
nearly 30 years—that is, since he left it in HMI to
become Lord Chancellor. It is pretty well known that
Lord Brougham left the House of Commons to preside
over the House of Lords with the utmost pain and
reluctance ; that his o.n most tiniest desire was not to
accept any office which necessitated the atdication of his
position as member for Yorkshire, and that he took a
position nominally and titularly higher only at the
most urgent entreaty and virtual command of his party.
Since his removal he has never once been known to
enter as an auditor within those walls which had so
often echoed with his eloquence. On Friday night, for
the first time, lie overcame this remarkable reluctant*;
and then, too, for the first time, it is understood, he
heard the man who now occupies the position be him-
self so long held unrivalled and undisputed—the greatest
orator in the British House of Commons. lord
Brougham was seen to listen intently during the vitals
four hours during which Mr. Gladstone spoke, and is
known to have expressed the highest admiration of the
speech as a niuterpiee• of clear and skilful statement
and persuasive rhetoric.— Scotsman.

RUICIDZ IN A RAILWAY CARSI•ON.—A melancholy
event occurred on the Banff, PortaboY. and htruthisla
Railway on Saturday week. A passenger, named John
Horn, who travelled from Banff to Grange, had a gun
in his pocket when be entered the carriage. At Knock
lie was seen by a fellow pasirliger in a neighbouring
compartment loading the gun, but beyond this nothing
is known of what happened until the unfortunate man
had met his death. Just as the train arrived at Grange
it was found that the dammed was bleeding profusely,
and when taken up it was seen that the shot had entered
his left breast.

TH. VALOR OF THEATRICAL PROPERTY—On Than-
day, at the Auction Mart, Mr. Robinson offered to
public auction a renter's , share in the Theatre Royal
Drury-hum, on which an annual dividend is now paid,
with a free admission, transfemble annually, held for •
period of 36 )ears —sold 49 guineas ; live £lOO joint-
stock or proprietors shares in Drury-lane Theatre, en-
titled to a personal free admission, for 25 guineas; •
free admiuion to the same theatre for the present season,
ending September next, sold for £2 fu.; a free admis-
sion to the Lyceum Theatre, from April to October next,
sold for El 10e.

Slit. ConDrri, M.P., •ND THE CITY. It will no
surlirnie any of our reader., and we should think it will
delight them all, to hear that the freedom of this city
will shortly be presented to Mr. Cobden, as an outward
token of the esteem in which he his held by the citizens
and the corporation. Notice of motion forth. presen-
tation has been placed on the papers of the Court of
Common Council by Mr. Connell, and it will be an
extraordidary and exceptional occurrence if the 'notion
not carried with unanimity and enthusiasm. Tb.
following is the text of Mr. Connell's motion :—" That
the freedom of thi. city (in • gold box, value 50 guineas)
be ',reunited to Mr. Richard Cobden, M.P., in recogni-
tion of his long and eminent Wrangle in liberating
commerce from the shackles which prevented the
development of the indmitenal enterprise oir this
country, and also
.for his voluntary and patriotic
exertions in negotiating the recant treaty with France."
—City Press.

HONXIIT CASTLE, LANCARHIIIt.—The inaMeent
estate of Hornby Castle, North Laneaiihire. w has
bon some time in the market for private eons lion.
has within the last few days been pu by Yr.
John Poster, of Cliff-hill, near Halifax, head of the old
and extensive worsted 'lnfiniti' and istansfacdsrleg
establish.nent called Black Dyke Mills, Quesamheed,l_
the West Riding. The Homby Castle its aitionged
to the late Mr. Pudsey Dawson. It eoptpriess this honour and manor of Hornby, the borough al Horn Um manor of Tatham, and about SAW awres efi4
with • splendid baronial imidesee, the aura livings
ilernby, Tmitai., and Lowitill, dad tha right d*
sag over upwards of 11,0110 aloes of load, mid sr *vim seven Inilisa Oe IMO of She AIRS Zrarni whole length of its tributary
Hindbom, and Roeburn. The
thee... of E 203,000.