The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-19 00:00:00

rHE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 19, 1864.

ment standard ill each case, though why we cannot

Supposing a firm to send in 1,000 barrels, 10
per cent., or 100 barrels, are opened, and a small
sample taken from each, when all the samples are
mixed together. These samples are inspected in
the "examining room," which is a little apart from
the magazines. It is lined with raw hides, and a
bank of earth divides it from the powder.housefe
Still, though the same care is used here as in the
magazines, the mere fact of 200 barrels of powder
being sometimes open at one time makes this a
risky and objectionable feature of the Purfleet esta.
blishment. The samples taken are first tested for
dust and dirt, and then for weight per cubic foot
comparison with that of the Government. Having
fulfilled these standards it is removed to a totally
different part of the establishment outside the walls,
where it is tested first for "flashing" on glass to
see that it leaves no improper or foul residuum,
Next two ounces of it are tested for strength in a
small Gomer mortar, loaded with a 681 b. solid shot.
The "L. G." powder (large grain) throws this shot
268 ft, the " F. G." (fine grain) 276 ft, the " E. R.
(Enfield rifle, 320 ft, and the "A 4" or " Ta. G. R."
(large grain rifle), with 3 ounces, throws
it 266 ft. Any powder throwing the shot less than
240 ft is rejected. These, however, are not the
only tests. What remains of the samples after
firing is placed in chests bored on the top and sides
with numerous holes—the Government powder
being similarly placed in other chests. In this
state it is left for 21 days to try its absorps
tion of moisture, when it is taken out and
tested for strength again. If on this second and
most severe trial it falls short of the strength of the
Government powder by even throwing its shot six
inches less, the whole is rejected. All these experia
menta are carried on some 500 yards away from the
magazines, and are of course conducted with the
utmost care. Still it is much to be wished that they
could be done somewhere else, and, above all, that
the examining-house was far away, instead of, as
now, close to the magazine. A 5 a matter of course,
the loading and shipment of powder goes on
every day at Purfleet. On Wednesday last a barge
was laden with 800 barrels and sent away. This
loading with such a quantity conclusively proves
one of two things—namely, that Mr James, the har-
bour-master of the port of London, knew nothing of
the subject when he stated in his evidence at the
Belvedere inquiry that 700 barrels are an illegal load;
or, on the other hand, that the law as to the number
of barrels is so little regarded that even the Governs
meat habitual' transgress it. 600, 700, and 800
barrels, and even more, are not an uncommon load
to arrive at Purfleet. Powder barges arriving at
Purfleet are never let alongside the wharf till their
lights and fires are out, which again shows that even
the Government authorities recognise the use of lights
and fires on board these craft. But no loading or
unloading of powder is ever permitted at Purfleet
unless at the hands of the Government powder-men
themselves. The crews are always removed from
the barges at once, and have a place regularly as-
signed to them outside the magazines, where there is
a cookhouse, and where they can smoke. No barge,
if
,it can possibly be avoided, is allowed to remain
at the wharf all night. If, however, it should be
compelled to remain, the crew are brought on board
at 9 o'clock, and have to turn in in the dark. When
the powder is all on board and secured below, the
barge is removed to a buoy in the river about
300 yards from the magazine. While at this buoy
the crew can have their lights and fires, whether
there is powder on board or not; yet an accident
happening to a powder barge with 800 barrels on
board at only 300 yards' distance from the magazine
would be the same as if it happened in the magazine
itself. In this respect, and in this respect only, do
the precautions at Purfleet appear less than they
should be in the face of the tremendous havoc which
would follow on any casualty. What would be the
effect of an explosion at Purfleet it is almost impose
sible to conceive as regards its damage to the river
and the surrounding neighbourhood. What its effect
would be in London may be approximately calcu-
lated by a consideration of the chemicai rules relat-
ing to the explosion of gunpowder, and according
to which the metropolis would certainly fare badly.
Two thousand tons of powder would occupy 75.000
cubic feet of space, or Equal to a pile of 100 ft long,
40ft wide, and 20ft high—quite the size of an ordi-
nary parish church. As powder at the moment of
its explosion exerts an elastic force of 1,000 times
the pressure of the atmosphere (15,0001 b to the
square inch), the ignition of this quantity would in-
stantaneously liberate a force equal to 14 million
tons. As the vibrations of force radiate equally in
all directions, like those of light and heat, it neces..
sarily follows that its intensity diminishes in pro-
portion as the circle of its radiation increases in dia.
meter. Thus, taking the direct distance from London
to Purfleet as 16 miles, an explosion taking place at
the latter magazine would by the time it reached
town be distributed over 10 billion square yards of
surface, and therefore the mechanical effect of the
shock to the houses in London would be a little
over 31b per square yard of surface, or 2201 b on the
front of an ordinary average dwelling-house. This
would be augmented to a slight extent from the
fact that the power of the shock would not radiate
downwards, in consequence of the earth, and would
react in other directions. ,The quantity of powder
exploded at Erith on the occasion of the late catas-
trophe was 104,0001 b, or 1,733 cubic feet ; this pro-
bably produced a force of 800,000 tons, and this,
radiating to London, was spread over a space of
5,600,000 square yards, and reduced its effective
force on the houses of the metropolis to about 6oz
per square yard. It may seem surprising to many
that this small force should have been so distinctly
felt; but when it is remembered that a very few
pounds exerted in banging a door will give rise to a
very severe feeling of concussion in most houses the
surprise will cease. The pressure which would be
exerted upon the houses of the metropolis by an ex-
plosion at Purfleet of 31b or 41b per square yard
would probably be sufficient to break most windows
facing in its direction, and houses would feel the
shock very severely ; for though the pressure would
wave of
sapeqcuifianedtityabveoofp,o
twhdeer would
forcenot bearising
than
from tshuacth
be of great duration. Gravesend and Woolwich
would probably be completely unroofed, and Erith
vanish into air.
It would be well if, while public attention is
aroused on this subject, the general conditions of
what is called the powder wharf at Isleworth were
considered. The amount sometimes accumulated
there, and the regulations under which it is go•
yarned, should be inquired into; also if barges
laden with powder barrels and with fire on board
are not constantly in the habit of leaving there and
dropping down the river with the tide till they
anchor in the Thames in the midst of the city, or at
Purfleet, or the Pool opposite the Docks. If any.
thing happened to these barges while in what we
may call city waters, our happy suburban friends
would find the ruins of St Paul's somewhere in
Copenhagen-fields.-7inies.

CARRIED AWAY BY A TIGER.—At 9 o'clock a.m.
on the 24th of September a Malay, named Ningul,
with four others, three men and one woman, all Malays,
left Campong Elari, which is situated on the right bank of
the Sirangoon river, distant about a mile from the Siran-
goon station, No. 3. and entered the jungle to cut wood at
a place oalled Sungie Silo°. While they were engaged in
cutting wood a tiger sprang out of the jungle, se.zod the
man named Ningul, and was walking away with him. The
others on seeing this gave chase and pursued the tiger for
about a mile, when the animal threw its victim down and
ran away. The Malays, on going to pick the man up
found that life was extinct. The Duffadars of Stations
Noe. 2 and 3, Sirangoon, proceeded to Campong Elari to
examine the body of deceased, when they observed that the
neck was broken, and impressions of the tiger's claws visi-
ble on different parts of the body of deceased.—Straits
Times,

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The Situation of the South.

(Iron the Index.)

"All with one voice about the space of two hours cried
out, ' Great is Diana of the Ephesians.' " Likely enough
the silversmiths prevailed for a time, and the multitude
were persuaded that Diana was a real god, and that St Paul
was an imposter. Clamour will often drown the voice of
reason. We doubt not the hoarse shouts of victory, proceed-
ing from those who fear that peace in America would put an
end to their profitable trade, have led some persons to sup-
pose that the South is about to pass under the Yankee
yoke. Wonderful credulity I Wonderful that any person
can believe that the smellest of mice has brought fcrth the
biggest of mountains. On Sept. 1 the North was sick of the
war; after four years of tremendous effort it was confessed
that the South was unconquered ; the cry was for M'Clellan
and peace; Mr Lincoln was deserted by many of his promi-
nent supporters; the New York Herald, the ready exponent
of the popular sentiment, demanded an armistice; the Fede-
ral generals were urgent for reinforcements, but the Admi-
nistration postponed the draft, and gold was at 260. On
Oct. 1 gold in New York had fallen to 190, the old talk of
Southern subjection was renewed, Lincoln was the favourite
candidate, loyal contractors ceased their croaking, and
thanked God there was no chance of peace interfering with
their profits, Why this change ? Has Richmond fallen ?
Has Mobile been captured ? Has Charleston surrendered
after a 500 days' siege ? No, not one of these events, which
might have palliated, though it could not justify, the North-
ern enthusiasm, has happened. Two reasons are assigned
for the ecstacy of the North. Gen. Sherman is in Atlanta,
asking and waiting for reinforcements, with a Confederate
army in his front and a Confederate force operating in his
rear. Gen. Sheridan, with 40,000 men, has at a cost of 5,000
men forced Early, witkr2o,ooo men, to retreat to a fortified
position. Such are the achievements that Mr Lincoln's loud
mouthed prophets declare to be the immediate forerunners
of the conquest of the South. So they said after the fall
of Nashville, after the fall of New Orleans, after the fall of
Vicksburg—though, after all these reverses, the South has,
with dauntless resolution and with undiminished strength,
chastised her insolent, boasting enemy. It is irksome for
us to answer such folly, but it is a duty from which we
must not shrink. The mendacity of the Federals does not
hurt the South. It signifies not to the Confederates that
Mr Lincola for electioneering purposes thanks the Almighty
for bogus victories. But Mr Lincoln's prophets do not
labour in vain. Through their European organs they en-
snare many victims. The Federal Administration wants
men and money, and the one is procured in Ireland, and
the other Germany, by the audacious misrepresentations of
Mr Lincoln's European organs. Whether our warning be
heeded or not, it is incumbent upon us to expoee the fraud.
Moreover, in the interests of peace we are bound to set forth
the true state of the case—for our silence might be con-
strued into an admission that the task of subjugation is not
hopeless, and so we might do harm to the cause of peace.
We are aware that our sensitiveness in this respect will
be called pusillanimity, just as the frankness of the Confe-
derate authorities, who will not lie and call defeat victory, is
referred to as evidence of despair. But we never have con-
cealed, and never will conceal, our desire to see this vain
and bloody war ended. We are not War Christiana, and
we could not enjoy the carnage, even though we could coin
every drop of blood into cents and dollars.
Frequent changes of fortune are characteristic of all wars,
and though in the present American war it will be admitted
that the balance of success is heavily in favour of the Con-
federates, their success has not been uninterrupted, Look
at the campaigns of the past spring and summer. In Florida
a Federal army was utterly routed. On the Red River
Banks was signally defeated. In vain attempts to get to
Richmond Grant sacrificed 100,000 men. Against this
what are the vaunted triumphs of the Federals ? But we
are going to compare the military performances of North
and South. Victories in the field and the capture
of cities do not always presage a final triumph. If they did,
the Netherlands would not have escaped from the dominion
of Spain, and the United States would still have been
appendages to the Crown of England. It is a happy omen
that the South has been so fortunate in war, but her inde-
pendence rests upon a surer foundation than even the
triumphs of her military genius and her devoted heroism.
The North has not merely to conquer the Southern armies,
but also the Southern people. It has failed to do the first,
and the latter is a task the like of which has never yet been
accomplished.
It will not be denied that the North has been at her best
and the South has been at her worst, The North has put
forth all her strength, and iii four years has accumulated an
oppressive debt, and fearfully depleted her fighting popula-
tion. In 1861 she had abundance of money, abundance of
men, a navy without an opponent, and the Administration
was permitted to disregard all rights and laws in order to
push on the war. On the other hand, the South was taken
at a fearful disadvantage. The young Confederacy was
without an army and without arms. She was cut off from
the markets of Europe. In her vast territory there was not
a gun factory, not a rolling mill, not a powder mill. As
yet her iron mines has been unexplored; as yet no saltpetre
had been collected in the country, Nay, even in the common
necessaries of life the Confederacy was deficient. She was
without clothing, and by-a barbarous edict she was deprived
of medicines. Look• at the Confederacy of to-day. In 1861
she was the most dependent, now she is the most indepen•
dent, nation on the face of the earth. Now, if the blockade
were indeed effective, and the South completely cut off from
communication with the rest of the world, the Confederates
could continue the struggle, Necessary food they have in
abundance, and articles of luxury they have learnt to do
without. Soldiers and civilians aro comfortably clad in
homespun and long-cloth, the production of Southern cotton
mills. Patriot armies in the South are not so gaudily ar-
rayed as the mercenaries of Mr Lincoln, but they are as
well furnished with weapons and ammunition. The North
has been at its best, and the South at her worst.
What has the North done ? Military critics who doubted
not the ultimate triumph of the South, were of opinion that
the Federal armies would march through the Confederacy
and occupy the principal towns of the South without much
opposition or difficulty. Very different, indeed, has been the
result, Except New Orleans and Nashville, no large town
in the South has been taken. Richmond, Charleston, Savan-
nah, Mobile, and Wilmington have not been conquered;
yet all these places are comparatively accessible to the forces
of the enemy. The Mississippi River is closed against com-
merce, in spite of the gunboats of the Federals. InLouistana
the enemy holds New Orleans and a few plantations. Texas
is almost free from the invader. The Federals are repre-
sented in Arkansas by a solitary garrison. Altogether the
invader holds less Southern territory now than he did in
1863. But if the North has not been able to overcome the
South with unimpaired resources, how will she do so with a
crippled treasury and diminished army?
It may be asked if the South has not suffered as well as
the North, and if she has not less means to oppose to the
impaired resources of the enemy. Where is the evidence of
Southern exhaustion ? Is she in want of arms an ammun

on ? Certainly not. Is she in want of food and clothing ?
Even the partisans of Mr Lincoln cease to prate about the
South being starved out. Are the Southern armies less
numerous F They were never stronger—they wore never so
strong as at present. There has been a terrible loss of life,
but it is not an exhaustive loss, Does any one suppose that
the casualties on the Southern side—we mean the killed and
those too severely wounded to resume service—are equal to
1,000 a week ? Now, a reference to the Southern popula-
tion table will show that the number of males annually
attaining the military age is 80,000. The accessions to the
army are greater than the meet exaggerated estimate of
losses. The Southern armies, then, cannot be weakened by
the continuance of the war on a scale of the last four years,
and the North cannot increase its war power.
We have said that the North has to conquer not only the
armies but the people of the South. Now, the North has
not yet acquired a yard of Southern territory. The Federals
have held New Orleans for more than two years, yet they
have made no way in the State of Louisiana, and if the
Federal troops were withdrawn there would not be a ghost
of a union feeling in New Orleans. What would become of
unionism in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maryland if the
Federal forces were withdrawn ? It is only by force of arms
that Mr Lincoln can maintain loyalty in the North , he has
utterly failed in a single instance to convert by force of arms
a town or village of the South to unionism. What follows
from this ? If the whole South is to be kept in the Union,
it must be garrisoned as well as overcome. But this can-
not be done. If the Southern people will not submit—if
they will contend to the last they cannot be subjugated.
" True I" exclaims the war Christian ; " then we will ex-
terminate the people of the South." That, too, is an im-
possible task. The experiment of exterminationg a people
has been tried under far more favourable circumstances, and
has invariably and completely failed. But rq vain are all
the lessons of the past. History perpetually repeats itself.
The actors are different, the costumes are changed, the stage
is new, but the plot of the drama is the same. The worst
follies of the Governments of the Old World are repeated
by the Government at Washington. When the colonies
revolted from the mother country, the colonists learned
how invincible is a resolute people, inhabiting a large coun-
try, against apparently overwhelming numbers. But the
lesson is forgotten; and we now find the North trying to
conquer the South, though the numerical odds aro not nearly
so much in her favour as were the odds in favour of England
in the contest with her colonies. History abounds with
examples of subjugated nations, but there is no example of a
united people falling under a foreign dominion.
In writing on this topic we are somewhat in the position
of the village pedagogue who endeavoured to prove to a
thick-skulled clodhopper an axiom of Euclid. What can
wo do for those who dispute the logic of facts ? After
four years of war the Swath have larger armies in the field
than at any former period. Does thie point to her speedy
subjugation? After four years of war the North occupies
less Southern territory than she did after two years of war.
Does this indicate the immediate conquest of the South ?
After four years of war the North has not brought a ham.
let within the Union. Does this indicate the coming sub •
mission of the South? The North has solicited the South
to come back to the Union on her own terms, and the South
has refused all such overtures. Does this hold out any hope
of the restoration of the Union? Recruits in the North are
becoming scarce and dear, the finances of the North are
becoming more and more deranged, the people of the North
are becoming more and more divided. Do these things pro-

wise a more triumphant prosecution of the foreign war 1'
Hamanly speaking, the task undertaken by the North was
an impossible one, and the events of the war and the present
situation demonstrate the impossibility.
The war may go on for months and perhaps for years. It
may be that the Northern Government will be strong
enough to force its subjects to replenish its armies, and that
the fiat of bankruptcy will not stop the war. But the South
has nothing to dread on account of her independence. It
is sorrowful beyond expression that more names are to be
added to the long list of martyrs to the cause of Southern
liberty, but that liberty will not be crushed by the madness
of the North. It is the North that will suffer most by the
prolongation of hostilities. A few weeks hence it will be
seen that the present ecstasy is as unfounded as the former
jubilations over the discomfiture of the South. Surely the
hour is at hand when the Lincolnites will not be able to
dupe Ireland and Germany, and rob the one of her sons and
the other of her money. Surely the hour is at hand when
even the people of the North will see things as they are,
and refuse any longer to bo the tools and victims of New
England politicians and loyal contractors.