The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-21 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

Lieut.-Col. Shaw's improved system of gun car-
riage was tested on Friday at the proof butt in
Woolwich Arsenal, in the presence of the Ordnance
Select Committee. A6B pounder gun, from which
the trunnions had been removed, and which has
been mounted on the carriage for the purpose of the
experimental trials at Woolwich and Shoeburyness,
discharged ten rounds with perfect success.
The detachment of the Coldstream Guards, under
the command of Lieut. the Hon. Heneage Legge,
having completed their course of firing at East-
bourne, returned to the Wellington Barracks on
Wednesday. On the same day detachments from
the Ist and 2d battalions of the Coldstreams, con-
sisting of six officers and 130 men, under the com-
mand of Cols. Baring and Goodlake, proceeded to
Eastbourne for musketry practice.
From an order received last week at Woolwich it
appears that the War Department have at length
decided on introducing the Whitworth rifle as tha
future arm of the service. A large number of the
rifles have been manufactured and stored at Wool-
wich, in the Royal Arsenal, for distribution, The
whole of the Line regiments now stationed at Al•
dershot are ordered to be supplied forthwith. Three
companies of the 60th Rifle Brigade, in command of
Col. Sir J. Campbell, are ordered to take np their
quarters in the Royal Artillery Barracks at Wool-
wich during the present week, to go through a
course of rifle practice in the Plumstead-marsh.
They will be equipped with the Whitworth rifle
on their arrival.

A huge block of iron, cast in the foundry at
"Woolwich, weighing 55 tons, and intended as the
base of one of the Nasmyth steam hammers used
in wielding the gun coils in the Royal gun facto-
ries, was on Friday hauled out of the foundry to be
fixed in its position. Its removal through the Ar-
senal, which is to be effected by means of double-
purchase hand engines, in consequence of its enor-
mous weight, will occupy three days.
Mr. St. George, who has been long employed by
the Military Store Department in Hyde-park, has
been appointed to an important district in North
Britain. He will succeed, we believe, Superinten-
dent Pearce at Edinburgh, the latter gentleman
being about to retire.

THE INUNDATION AT SHEFFIELD.

SHEFFIELD, Sunday.

The scene of the flood was visited again to-day
by many thousand people, including enormous num-
bers who had come by train from distant towns.
Additional bodies are found daily, but there are still
about forty unaccounted for. The district com-
mittees are labouring hard to mitigate the great
distress resulting from the flood. Clothing and
other assistance has already been supplied to large
numbers of persons who were starving, but the
immediate claims are so numerous and pressing
that much remains to be done. Great efforts are
being made to clear away the mud and filth left in
cottages and streets; but though 100 carts are at
work, and from 300 to 400 men, the streets are
scarcely more passable than they were some days
ago, such is the quantity of mud thrown out of
houses and cellars. Disinfectants are being freely
used, fears being entertained that the cfflivia from
the mud, which in the warm weather is already be-
coming very disagreeable, will generate fevers or
other contagious disease, unless the greatest pre-
cautions are used.

The cause of the bursticg of the reservoir gives
rise to much comment. An engineer supplies to the
Sheffield Independent the following, understood to
be an authoritative account of the bursting of the
reservoir

"Knowing something of the conformation of the
rocks about Bradfield, and having visited the dam
since the flood, I venture an opinion, which I
think is the right one, of the cause of the sad disas-
ter. In digging for the foundation of the puddle
bank the contractors of the water company had to
contend with great volumes of water issuing through
the fissures of the rocky strata underlying the
lower part of the valley. Special engine power
had to be used to keep down the water, and a
labour of somewhere about twelve months was
required to cut off the streams and get a toler-
ably dry bed for the muddle bank at the depth
of 60ft. Having made a good puddle wall, the com-
pany built their embankment with the soil from the
sides and bottom of the valley above, thus having
the strata cf the open shelving rock. The puddle
wall appears to have been sufficiently thick and
strong. Possibly a somewhat broader foundation
might have been better ; but I do not in the least
believe that the mere pressure on the embankment
of any amount of water the dam would hold could
have damaged it in the least. The complaints made
of the friable character of the soil covering the puddle
bank and forming the outer portion of the embank-
ment are childish. The real cause of the bursting
of the resorvoir I take to be this, The rocky bot-
tom and sides of the valley having been bared, the
water in proportion to its quantity and weight found
its way through the fissures of the rock into the
courses of the springs which proved such a serious
obstacle to the laying of the foundations of the
puddle bank. As the pressure became great the
water forced its way on and on until it undermined
the foundations of the puddle bank, probably at last
splitting it in two, and causing the crack in the top
of the embankment. A remarkable circumstance
to be taken into account in ascertaining the cause of
the flood is that about 9 o'clock in the evening the
water in the dam lowered two feet. This appears
to be inexplicable except on the supposition
that the water found an inlet into the rocks.
The rending away of the outer half of the puddle
bank would naturally let down the top of the em-
bankment outwardly, as it was in fact let down ;
and the water, thus rushi .12; over the hollow thus
made, would carry the lower part."

THE INCREASED VALUE OF THE PROPERTY AND
INCOME OF THE NATION during these 40 years has
been £90,000,000. The following table shows how it has
accrued :

NET AMOUNT OP PROPERTY AND INCOME LIABLE TO
ASSESSMENT.
1815. 1856.
Land .......... £41,521.492 .. £38,153,935
Houseq 16,259,400 .. 48,435,585
Quarries, mines, ironworks, canals,
and railways
Farmers' profits
Funds
Trades and professions ..
Government departments

£152,388,226 .. £242,467,368
These figures are an exceedingly interesting record of the
progress of the nation.
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Lange, Commissaire de
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derangement, and partial deafness.—Cure, No. 47,121. Miss
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gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure, No.
54,816. The Rev. James T.
of Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk,
indigestion and torpidity of the liver, which had resisted
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11s; 121 b, 225; 241 b, 40s. Barry du Barry and Co., No. 77,
Regent-street, London ; also Fortnum and Mason; and all
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Boiler Explosion in Spitalfielcls,

The adjourned inquest on the body of Mr. Ilobeet
Saunders, who lost his life through the bureting of
a boiler in Spitelfielda on Friday week, was resumed
on Friday morning last, before Mr. Humphreys, the
coroner for East London, at the Neats Tongue
Tavern, Great Pearl street. Mr. John Saunders,
the proprietor of the premises where the accident
took place, stated that the boiler in question was
purchased by him from Mr. Shore, boiler-maker,
about three years since. At the time of the purchase
the maker gave no information as to the amount of
pressure it would bear, The engine was generally
worked at a pressure of from 351 b. to 381 b. on the
square inch. On the morning of the accident, about
three minutes before it took place, he noticed the
safety valve just beginning to blow off. The pres-
sure then was 3Slb., which be considered quite safe.
John Riven, the engine driver, was on the premises
at the time, and it was his duty to know the state '
of the safety valve and water. No one in his employ
ever made any complaint against the engine or
boiler. The pressure before mentioned was that
required to work the lathes and saws. On Mon-
day three weeks Riven cleaned out the boiler,
but made no complaint as to its condition. He did
not know the power of the boiler, but the engine was
a 10-horse one. There were two safety valves to
the boiler, one weighted with llib. and the other
with 281 b. and an iron boss. It was the small valve
that was blowing off just before the accident. John
Raven said he had been an engine-driver for
the last 16 years. He had charge of the engine and
boiler at Mr. Saunders's mills on the day of the acci-
dent; he stopped the engine at 1 o'clock, when the
pressure was 301 b. He fetched his dinner imme-
diately after and ate it on the boiler, where he re-
mained until Mr. Saunders called him off at 20
minutes to 2. He then examined the gauge and
found the steam at 351 b. Shortly after it rose to
381 b., and he opened the damper and made up the
fire, He left the boiler, however, and proceeded to
oil the engine, upon which work he was engaged
when the explosion took place. He could not in
any way account for it. Mr. John Ives, an engineer
from Messrs. Grissell's works, was then examined,
and gave the following report of his examination of
the remains of the boiler :—The boiler was a Cor-
nish ore, 20 feet long, with flat ends, the shell
4ft. 2in. in diameter. The internal tube was
slightly oval, being 2ft.9in. in its longest diameter,
aad 2ft. Bin. in the shortest. The plates were of
middling quality, and the workmanship was on'y
middling fair. He had no doubt the collapse had
been caused by excessive pressure. There was no
appearance of any deficiency of water. The valves
were not in working order, the lever of the small
one working stiff in the joint and between the
guiles. From the examination of the boiler he
emeide:ed it would be dangerous to use a greater
pressure th.:.'n 301 b. He thought it imperatively
necessary to a water-gauge where the
persons in charge e'Y the engine were unskilled.
Floating water-gauges re,:luired considerable tact
and judgment on the part of the' engine-driver. He
thought that boiler-makers ought to be compelled
by law to stamp the working pressure of a boiler
upon the front of it. It was highly dangerous !or
unskilled artisans to have the power of raising the
pressure as they pleased. From the evidence he
had heard he considered that the boiler was not
sufficiently strong to execute the work necessary
for carrying on Mr. Saunders's business, and that
it had been forced beyond its strength. John
Raven was recalled and questioned touching the
state of the lever of the small safety-valve before
the accident, but he persisted in declaring that it
worked quite easily both at the joint and in the
guide. He allowed that he was uncertain as to the
weights on the same lever being 41b. and 71b. re.
spectively. The jury, having consulted for a few
minutes, returned a verdict of " Accidental death
from the explosion of a steam boiler, the said ex-
plosion being caused by the boiler being worked
beyond its strength, owing to the imperfect condi-
tion of the safety-valve." Appended to the verdict
was a recommendation to the effect that a legisla-
tive enactment should be passed compelling boiler-
makers to stamp their boilers with their working
pressure, allowing none but properly educated and
licensed engineers to have charge of engines and
boilers, and providing for the periodical examina-
tion of all boilers by duly qualified inspectors.

The Alleged Robbery of £500,000 of Polish

Bonds.

---->--

Mr. Stanislas Foerster, who described himself as
the agent of Mr. Lemaire, a gun manufacturer, of
Liege, and Mr. Stanislas Herniscz, of Ford's Hotel,
appeared at the Guildhall on Saturday, before
Alderman Besley and Sir R. W. Carden, at the in-
stance of Mr. De Berg, the Russian Consul-General,
to answer the charge of having unlawfully in their
possession one hundred bonds, of the value of
£27,500, which had been identified as a portion of
a large quantity of bonds, to the value of £500,000,
alleged to have been stolen from the Russian Go-
vernment Bank Treasury, at Warsaw, on the 9th of
June, 1863.

Mr. Poland, instructed by Messrs. W. and H. P.
Sharp, the solicitors to the Russian Embassy, con-
ducted the prosecution ; Mr. Leverson appeared
for Mr. Foerster ; and Mr. Ricketts defended Mr.
Hernisc z.

Mr. Poland said the bonds in question were issued
by the " Societe de Credit Foncier," the Polish
Landowners' Society at Warsaw, which was under
the especial protection of the Emperor of Russia.
This society obtained a large quantity of bonds on
the Crown lands, which were deposited in the
offices of the finance commission at Warsaw. On
the 9th of June last year the coffers of the treasury
were examined, and it was found that bonds to the
amount of £500,000 had been abstracted. As soon
as the loss was discovered the fact was advertised
throughout Europe, the numbers were publicly
notified, and all persons were cautioned against
purchasing them. The Russian Government then,
in pursuance of the law, claimed a right to have
duplicates of the bonds, and such duplicates were
accordingly granted by the Landowners' Associa-
tion, which have superseded the original shares.
Sir R. Carden said that might be Russian law,
but it was contrary to English law.

' Mr. Poland then detailed the manner in which
Mr. Sharp became possessed of these bonds, which
has already been fully recorded in our columns, and
submitted that he had a right to detain them. He
also urged that there was a sufficient case made out
for conviction against the defendants. In answer
to a question from Sir R. Carden, it was stated that
the defendants were not aware when they went to
Messrs. Sharp, that they were the solicitors to the
Russian Government.

Mr. Leverson, on behalf of the defendants, pro-
posed to call Mr. Lemaire, who claimed to be the
owner of the bonds, in order to account for his pos-
session of them. There was, in fact, an action pend-
ing to recover them from Mr. Sharp.

Aldermen Besley said in that case he must dis-
miss the summonses. The Legislature never con-
templated applying the Police Act to a case of such
magnitude, and as the objection had been raised
that the unlawfully obtaining bonds took place
beyond the jurisdiction of this kingdom, he could
not go further into the case. _ _

Mr. Leverson elated that these bonds were taken
from Mr. Lemaire at the instigation of the Russian
agents in Paris, and after explanations had been
heard on both sides, the perfect of police returned
them to Mr. Lemaire, and reprimanded the authori-
ties for depriving him of them in the first instance,
and this fact Mr. Da Berg was cognisant of.
Mr. Alderman Bexley said it was not worth while
to discuss the matter further, as it was evidently a
case for the Court of Queen's Bench.
The parties then retired.

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