The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-31 00:00:00

THE STRIKE AT MANCHESTER.

- -
The strike of spinners and piecers at Manchester con-
tinues, but at one of the mills six operatives resumed
work oa Thursday, and three more on Friday. This
was at the mill of Mr. J. Clarke, in Helenn-street, and
the consequence was that great excitement prevailed on
Friday among the turnouts, and on Friday at noon one
of the "knobstocks" was followed from the mill to his
house, and assailed with threats and abuse. In return.
ing from his dinner stones were thrown at him. On
Saturday, Thomas Limerick, a spinner, was brought
before the magistrates charged with having taken a lead-
ing part in this intimidation and violence. A spinner
named William Gutteridge stated that he was working
at Mr. Clarke's will, and left it at one o'clock to go home
to dinner. He was followed by the prisoner Limerick
and others, who asked him if be meant to leave his work
and join the strike He said he did not, and they then
attacked him, and chased him to the door of his kou.e
in Branson-street. The prisoner remained under his
tfront
q u r window,quarter before
attacked on
returning to work, and stones were thrown at hint. He
bad known the prisoner two years, and could not be
mistaken in his identity. The prisoner threatened him
with veneeaace, if it were seven years before it could be
taken. Gutteridge's wife corroborated his statement,
and spoke to Limerick's identity, and said Limerick told
her if her husband came out of his house to return to
work they would kill him. For the defence three wit-
nesses were called to prove an alibi. Mr. Maude, the
magistrate, after hearing the evidence, said the defence
bad proved too much ; they had proved that the pri-
soner was in two places at once. The bench had no
doubt of the facts, and could not permit gross intimida-
tion and violence like this. The operatives had a right
to turn out and get higher wages if they could, but
tbey must give to others the same liberty they asserted
for themselves. The prisoner was sentenced to one
calendar month's imprisonment, with hard labour. It
is said that the funds collected for the turnouts last
wtok afforded a dividend only of a shilling each per-
son.

TAE WRATH RIN Till BALTIC. —Lubeck, Dec. 25.
1 thaw set in on the 24th Dec., which still continues,
mad the snow and ice are disappearing feat. Kiel, Dec.
25.--A complete thaw has met in ainco the 24th Dec ,
uiDeicc.e,2a6n. Large masses
frollsaarathbeurtig;
havean d still
broken continues.
a way
; drifted down
the river ; there is consequently a large accumulation of
drift ice in the fairway of Brunshausen.—Cuxhaven,
Dec_ 2G.—A southerly wind and continued thaw main-
tain. the fairway in this roadstead clear of ice, but it has
increased considerably on the north side of the Elbe,

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The steam-transport Great Britain, Capt. Gray, ar-
rived at Spithead yesterday morning from the East. She
left Constantinople at 7 p.m., on the 11th inst., and on
the 12th brought to in the Dardanelles, a strong gale
blowing from W.N.W. ; she left on the 13th at 8 p.m.,
and on the 14th passed a large steamer standing to the
eastward ; on the 16th, at 7 p.m., she anchored in Va-
letta harbour, and at midnight on the 13th left Malta ;
on the 20th she passed the screw steam-transport Golden
Fleece, from Malta, in lat. 37 45, long. 8 45, and the
Niagara steam-ship in the same latitude ; on the 23d she
signalled the ship Annie, in lat. 37 7, long. 51 E. ; on
the 25th, at 5 a.m., passed Gibraltar ; on the 29th, at 9
a.m., signalled the st eam-transport No. 92 (Thames).
The Great Britain has brought home Major Campbell,
30th Regiment ; Lieut. Massey; 30th Regiment, in com-
mand of invalids ; Lieut. Rycroft, 31st Regiment ;
Lieut. Bellamy, 55th : Lieut. Wyse, 34th ; Brigadier-
General Gunthorpe ; Captain Hawkes and Assistant-
Surgeon Calman, of the Turkish Contingent ; Staff-
Surgeon Summers and Mr. Wilkinson, hospital dresser,
in charge of invalids ; Surgeon Stewart, 92d ; As-
sistant-Surgeon Bradshaw, 50th ; Deputy-Assistant-
Commissary M‘Gillivray, of the Field Train Depart-
ment ; 140 military and 14 naval invalids from various
regiments and ships, 3 women, and 4 children.

The steam-transport Calcutta, No. 195, Capt. Black-
more, arrived at Spithead yesterday morning. She em-
barked at Heligoland on the 25th instant, Lieutenant-
Colonel the Ron. J. Jocelyn ; Lieutenants Berg, Tolet,
and Rust ; Assistant-Surgeon Schuter, of the 2d (Rifles)
battalion of the British German Legion, 32 cavalry re-
cruits of ditto, 425 Rifle ditto, and Sapper and Miner
ditto ; also Assistant-Commissary Genera Major Capt.
Weld vers, of the sth Regiment British German Legion;
and Mr. Howard, of the Engineers ; all of whom she
disembarked at Folkestone on Saturday last, and thence
proceeded to Spithead for further orders.
Three more floating batteries are ordered to be built
I.nmediately by contract, two in Scotland and one on
the Thames. They are to be similar to the 'Etna, now
being built at Chatham, where the Chesapeake, new
screw 50-gun frigate, will be ready in all respects for
sea in the early part of February.
. .

The Severn and Poictiers tratieports left Portsmouth
on Saturday—the former for Southampton and the latter
for Deptford. Her Majesty's steam-sloop Geyser, Com-
mander Dew, was taken into dock at Portsmouth yard
on Saturday to refit. The Dee steam-transport left
Portsmouth on Saturday for the eastward, conveying
supernumeraries. Her Majesty's steam-vessel Fire Queen,
Mr. W. F. Paul, Master Commanding, having been re-
fitted, went out of Portsmouth harbour on Saturday to
try her engines, &o.

An order has been received from the War Depart-
ment by the Commandant of Chatham garrison that an
hour is to be appointed on Sunday for the Presbyterians
in the different corps to have service in military garrison
chapel, which order was carried into effect for the first
time yesterday.

The following officers returned yesterday from leave
to resume the command of their depots at Chatham :
Captains J. M. Lyle, 29th ; 0. N. Chatterton, 35th ;
W. D. Philips, 27th; S. B. Gordon, 45th Regiments.
;..t, Orders have been given to the several recruiting dis-
tricts of the United Kingdom to enlist 40 men for the
St. Helena regiments, to complete the establishment of
that corps, who are to be sent to Chatham for instruc-
tion previous to their being forwarded to the head-quar-
ters in the island of St. Helena.

One hundred and fifty of the Royal Sappers and Miners
mere medically inspected yesterday. To-day cr to-mor-
row their kits will be also examined, previous to their
leaving Brompton on Wednesday for the Crimea.
The following appointments were made yesterday at
the Admiralty :—Commander the Hon. F. A. Fuley, to
the Brunswick ; Lieutenant J. S. Rundle, to the Con-
queror ' • Lieutenant Edward White, to the Jas. Watt ;
Daniel Pender, second master, to the James Watt ; E.
B. Pusey and G. J. Parcel!, midshipmen, to the Bruns-
wick ; J. W. D'Arcy, Naval Cadet, to the Brunswick.

MILITIA.
The Dublin Mail gives the follnwing statement, by
way of explaining the causes of official mismanagement no-
ticed in that journal a few days since :—" With refer-
ence to a statement which has appeared in this journal,
referring to alleged neglect en the part of the authori-
ties in not providing bedding, &c., for the Clare Militia
daring their stay at Beggar's-bush barrack, we deem it
but justice to state that we have perused a correspon-
dence, in which it appears that straw was offered to the
commanding officer of the Clare Militia for the bedding
of the men, bnt the offer was declined, the soldiers pre-
ferring to sleep in their great coats to paying for the
straw, which they could only use for one night. The
deteation of the Clare Militia in Dublin on Saturday and
Sunday was entirely owing to the non-arrival of the Nia-
gara, which was expected to reach Dublin on Saturday
morning at daylight, but, owing to the stress of wea-
ther, did not arrive until after nightfall."
Friday was a busy day with the military authorities in
Dublin, the Niagara steam-transport having come in
with one regiment of militia that morning, aLd sailed
with another before night. The first regiment was the
59th Royal Sherwood Foresters, or Nottingham Militia,
numbering nearly 800 men, with the following officers :
—Lieut.-Col. W. L. Mellish ; Captains Lowe, Gordon,
Davis, Miller, Fowkes, Coope, and Hensley; Lieutenants
O'Loghlin, Davies, Durant, Hannon, Walsh, and Sur-
plice ; Ensigns Millerand Taylor ; Captain and Adjutant
Holden ; Paymaster Wrixon ; and Assistant-Surgeon
Nettlefold. Almost immediately upon its arrival this
regiment proceeded to Galway, where it is to be quar-
tered for the present. The Irish regiment taken away
l.y the Niagara on her return trip was the 107th, Kerry
Militia, which arrived at an early hour the same morn-
ing from Naas, under the command of the Hon. D. B.
De Moleyns, Lieutenant-Colonel. The wives and fa-
milies of three officers took passage in the Niagara. The
officers complained greatly of having to bring over their
full quantity of luggage, for which they feared there
would not be room in the huts at A ldershott. The 59th
Nottingham Regiment of Militia, after their arrival,
marched, headed by their band, to the Midland Great
Westein Railway, Broadstone, previous to :?•par-
tare for Athlone.

TRIAL OF THE SCREW eTzitm.sarr

PERA.

SOUTHAIPTONT, Dec. 29.—This fine screw steam-ship,
which was built for the Peninsular and Oriental Com-
pany by Messrs. Mare, of Blackwell, made an official
trial of her speed over the measured mile in Stokes Bay
this morning. The Pera is now the largest vessel be-
longing to the Peninsular and Oriental Company, their
leviathan steamer Himalaya having been purchased by
Government for the transport service. Although of con-
siderably less tonnage, the Pera, for accommodation and
space, is almost in every respect equal to the Himalaya,
and her fine lines, when compared with her breadth of
beam, have caused her, for power in comparison with
tonnage, to be under steam one of the fastest screw ves-
sels afloat. The dimensions are—length for tonnage,
3031 t. iin. ; ditto over all, 8341 t. ; breadth, 42ft. Sin. ;
depth of hold, 271 t. 2in. ; height between decks in
the clear, 7ft. ; full tonnage, 2,630. The engines, by
Rennie and Co., are of 450-horse power, and are con-
structed upon the vertical trunk principle, with Lamb
and Summers' patent flue boilers. The shaft has a mul-
tiplying wheel of two to one. The engines during the
trial averaged 33 revolutions, or 66 entire turns of the
screw per minute. The wind was blowing strong from
S.S. %V, and after the topgallant yards had been lowered
the following runs were made :
First run ...4 minutes 32 seconds, equal to 13'235 knots.
Second run... 5 „ 6 „
11 11165 Third run ...4 „41 „ „ 12.511 ~
Fourthrun...4 „ 50 „ „ 12,414 „
Showing the mean speed of the trial to be 12i knots, or
equal to 14i geographical miles per hour. The result
proved highly satisfactory to every one present, the
impression being that an average of not more than 12
knots would be obtained. There were on board Messrs.
Anderson and Allen, managing directors ; Admiral
Thornton ; Messrs. De Salis and Hadow, directors ;
Captain Engledue, superintendent of the company at
Southampton ; Mr. Lamb, superintendent engineers ;
Messrs. Hughes and Luke, Government surveyors; Messrs.
Rennie, Summers, kc. In consequence of a domestic
calamity in the family of Capt. Soy, the appointed com-
mander, the charge of the vessel was intrusted to Capt.
Weeks, of the steam-ship Tagus. The internal fittings
of the Pera combine every improvement which modern
science has produced. Among the most recent may be
mentioned the saloon dining tables, which, although ap-
parently solid single tables, may by an ingenione con-
trivance be divided, so that a double row may be momen-
tarily provided, thereby giving accommodation for a
double number of persons. By this means an invention
of Mr. Taylor, of the Borough, 140 can comfortably
dine. Upon deck are two powerful steam winches, which
are used in the shipment and. discharge of cargo, kc.,
and by which an immense amount of manual labour is
saved. Upon the captain's bridge is placed a " helm,.
man's telegraph," entirely obviating the necessity of
communicating rim rose, and which in working ships of
great length is found to be au invaluable facility.
The Pera is also fitted with Cunningham's patent
reefing topsails. Previously to her leaving London
this vessel was pronounced to be the most perfect
steam-ship which had ever left the Thames, and con-
fers great credit upon Mr. Robinson, under tehose super-
intendence she has been fitted, and to whom has been
intrusted the fitting of all recent vessels belonging to the
company. As the power of the Pera isemall when com-
pared with the tonnage, the result of the first voyage is
looked forward to with interest, and should it prove
favourable, of which most sanguine hopes are entertained
the new principle of lees power and fine lines will be satis-
factorily elucidated. It is the intention of the company
to despatch this vessel with the heavy portion of the In-
dia, China, and Mediterranean mails on the 4th proximo.

RrssrAN NETS.—" Letters from the Crimea," says the
Salut Public of Lyons, "have often spoken of the nets
which the Russian soldiers used in their sorties, in order
to take some of their opponents prisoners. A Zonave,
lately liberated from service, who has resumed his foriner
occupation of a silk weaver, wishing a day or two back
to give his comrades in the workshop an example of the
mode of employing these articles, one of which he had
brought back from Sebastopol, threw the net suddenly
over another w,.rkman who had his back turned. The
latter, being thus suddenly drawn from his balance, fell
heavily on the floor and broke his leg. The consterea.
tion of the others can scarcely be imagined, and, above
all, of the trier of military experiments. A collection
was immediately made for the injured man, and, as the
fracture is a simple one, no further ill effects than a pe•
riod of forced inaction are apprehended."