The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-04-19 00:00:00

Snitu anb NM.

The Garrison at Woolwich was on Monday assembled
for general parade and inspection in heavy march.
iii order.
A large number of men were on Thursday taken on
by the Royal Engineer Department in Woolwich
Arsenal for the purpose of erecting an ail litional
remoned for the manufacture of Sir W. Armstrong's
rifled ordnance. The digging out the foundation ea,
commenced contiguous to the oh! Lancioter shell forge,
which within the last fortnight has been thoriingiily
organized, and is now in full operation in casting and
forging materials to carry out the apeedy manufacture
of this new branch of the service. The new building
commenced on Thursday will be oonstructed two stories
high, and will be one of the most piominent features in
the arsenal. The rifled ordnance department thus
established, under the superintendence of Mr. John
Anderson, is being pushed forward with the utmost
vigour, and a large number of smiths and experienced
artificers and others are already on the books of the
establishment.

Captain Norton, the inventor of the liquid fire rifle
shell, and other destructive inisailes, completed some
experiment* on Tuesday at Bromplon Barracks,
Chatham, in order to demonstrate the dentructive
nature of his liquid fire aliells, even when enclosed in
anything beside metal shells ; the missile experimented
with being a kind of liquid firebrand, for the purpose of
throwing into buildings and setting them on fire, blow-
ing up powder magazines and ammunition wagons, and
setting tire to the chips of an enemy. This new missile
invented by Captain Norton is composed of a wooden
tube or case, the kind useil in the experiments being
made of pit.e. its length measuring about six inches, or
three diameters and a half of the bore of the ride used
for throwing it at the object intended to be set on fire.
Previously to the experiments Captain Norton explained
that this kind of shell possesses a very important advan-
tage over other kinds, inasmuch as every part of the
cue is inflammable, which of course is not the case with
iron shells, although charged with the liquid fire. In
order to show how easily the sails of a ship might be set
on fire with a missile of this description, Captain Norton
had • quantity of canvas sackine. aullended at the end
of the range, the material being of the same substance as
that from which the sails of vessels are made. Captain
Norton then took one of the wooden Lases, or brands.
which he charged with a very email portion of his liquid
fire, and then fired it from the rifle he generally uses in
these experiments. At th.• i.,taiit the brand stru.:k
the canvas a smouldering smolse was le; and
directly afterwards the sacking foir4 out into flames,
the shell part, which had imbibed the Ii juid fire, al-.,
burning, the whole 111111 ii tt Itt g on fire for slam! :29
minutes. In ordinary shella the ii,, it t l.c. s .1; in
the conflagration, but in this lICW ili 4,41 ,111
well WI ito charge becomes incendiary, and all c tire.
There can be no doubt, after the 5i11....•.• shit I. i..:ed
the experiments, that ride allelic cid)! 1111,1
fire are far more efficient for Wowing up . on
wagons in the field Mei d with the ordi-
nary explosive COIIIOIIIII 14 11101010 usr.sl, because the
li mid firs-shells never fail to set tire to timber or other
inflammable substances, whereas the oilier shells are
more uncertain in their effects. The spherical wooden
brands used by Captain Norton may be saturated with
the liquid fire, and then discharged from ordinary smooth
bore cannon. _

Preparations are being commenced at Chatham Dock•
yard for the launch of the line-of.battle -crew ideamhhip
Hood, DI guns, which is ordered to take place on the 41h
of May. The Hood will afterwards be taken to Sheer•
nem to be fitted with engines of 600-borne power. The
next 'twirl to be launched at Chatham in the +crew cor-
vette Charybdis, 2 gnus, which will take place early iu
June.

_
The important disclosures which have recently been !
made public relative to the alleged defeets in the Enfield
ride used by the British troops in India have been
the means of directing the attention of the authorities to ,
the vast superiority, as • weaptiu in the haute of troops.
of the Lancaster rifled carbines, with wiliddi the corps of ,
Royal Engineers is now armed. From the reports which
have recently been received' by the authorities at the
Horse Guards from the officers now serving with the
Royal Engineers in India, there can be no doubt
that the Lencaniter ride is in every respect superior
to any small arm in the nervier, repeated prieds
of which were !given during the conflicts
with the mutineeni in India. Four companies of
the Royal Engieeere have been employed in India dur-
ing the rebellion, all armed with the Lancaster carbine,
and the Caine tests which applied to the Enfield rffie
proved it to he defective have resulted' in the Lanerster
ride maintaining its efficiency. The I.IOCCN report that
there hail not been a single complaint of fouling. diffi-
culty of loading, or want of accuracy and power,
brought against it; but, on the contrary. it lii
proved, in every respect, euperior to the Enfield rifle.
During the frequent conflate with the ioutiiirers in
which the men of the Royal Engineers and the
troops of the line have been engaged together, with
the same amount of ammunition homiest to all the troops
engaged, the men of the line regiments have been com-
pelled to cease firing for the purpode of wiping via
the barrels of their F.Jilield rides after firing from 10
to 20 round., whereas the Royal Engineers, with the
Lancatiter ride, have continued their fire, loading their
carbines with perfect ease. On the 21iit of February,
in last year, the 4th Company of Royal Engineers, con-
suiting of about 100 non-amidniasioned officers and time,,,
was stationed at Fort Jellalabad, before Lucknow. The
enmity attacked the fort in great numbers, and wentclose
to the walls. They were, however, repulsed by the Royal
Eiuineery with greatloss, noless then9o ineu being left dead
on the ground, ti.e whole being killed by the Lancaster
rifles. N., idea could be formed of the number of killed
and wounded carried or, hut no doubt it was consider-
able. The Royal Engineers sustained no loss; not •
man was even wounded. This fact is t important.
I not so much as showing the accuracy of the arm, but
I from the circumstance that during the ant hours the
Royal Engineers were engaged with the rebels until
relieved by Sir J. Outrion's force each man fired on an
average at least 60 rounds, and yet not the least diffi-
culty was experienced during the whole of that time in
loading the carbines.