The Sun.
London, England, 1852-02-06 00:00:00

My remarks will apply just as well to naval actions,
for certainly regular volleys would be of little avail
against the bulkheads of a ship; all the service must be
done by individual shots and independent firing. Now,
Sir, there are hundreds of my comrades as ignorant as
I am of the uses and properties of a musket, and
perhaps many thousands in the service are
in the same predicament. With all due de-
ference, do you not thi❑k that. instead of worrying
and harassing men with such trifling non-essentials as
canteen covers, buckles, &c., it would be more to the
credit of our rulers were proper means taken to render
the men efficient by thoroughly explaining and pointing
out the uses of the weapons they are armed with, and
allowing every man to practise individaally and learn
the trim of the article he has to defend his life with?
I hope you will pardon all errors of style and indif-
ferent penmanship, and perhaps you may find some
means 01 introducing this subject to the public notice.
I am, Sir, yours, &c.,
PRIVATE MARINE.

TRIAL OF FRENCH INSURGENTS.
A Court Martial, sitting at Clamecy, department of the
Nikvre, commenced on Saturday the trial of the persons
accused of having taken part in the insurrection which
broke out in that town on the occasion of the events of
December. Five of the leaders in the insurrection, who
are in flight, were tried by default. Their names
were Gannier, a coffee-house keeper; Meunier,
his brother-in-law; Rousseau, an avouti; Lech-
eyrie, physician; Aiz'eres, labourer. The in-
dictment set forth that for some time before
Clamecy had been infected with bad doctrines, and the
partisans of disorder had resolved to effect a rising in 1852.
But when the act of the 2d December took place, they
prepared for action, and, when they received news of the
events in Paris, they assembled in arms in the Faubourg
de BethliSem. They then marched on the gaol and delivered
forty political prisoners, broke into the church and rung
the tocsin. A number of armed men remained in the
belfry to fire on the troops on guard at the Mairie,
which was about to be attacked. A patrol of gen-
darmes having come up they fired on it ; one
gendarme was killed, another was mortally and a
third severely wounded. The insurgents afterwards
attacked the Marie. A schoolmaster, who happened
1 to be standing at the door, was killed; a respectable
inhabitant, an advocate named Mulon, who came up with
a lady leaning on his arm, was also killed. The insur-
gents at length got possession of the Mairie. Mean-
time other bands welt into different public-houses,
and remained there all night waiting for rein-
forcements from the adjacent villages. In the
course of a few hours armed bands poured in from
Corvol, Billy, Entrain), Dornecy, Oisy, Surgy, and
Pousseaux. At the last mentioned place the band killed
an old man of eighty named Bonneau. At Clamecy bar-
ricades were thrown up, and the chiefs of the insurgents
issued proclamations to excite the zeal of their bands.
Notwithstanding this, many of their partisans becoming
alarmed attempted to leave them, but were prevented;
those who took to flight were fired on. A.group of peasants
who retired was shot at; one man was killed, and another
so severely wounded that he had to have his leg amputated.
eluded abandonedh alleging
urrtohutenh
surrounded
tetdotwhne:
Court
condemned
the
ee
circum-
stances of great brutality. For three days Clamecy
was in the hands of the insurgents. They extorted a
A gendarme, named Badin, wafisvTekhielalceediunsdueindetdmehreandtkthilolediNaldy. Mwuhloon, tt
totohOef.
streets,from
terrifyingreeeiv e r
the of f
inhabitants.
dulged in gross excesses. At length the insur-
gentse
number of stPolFCreoodlfs fathers of families to join them, and in-
accused to transportion.—Two men, named Sabatier and
aarliemaedi
ac-
companied
him, end by other witnesses, that he
and stabbed in the back with
insur-
gents,
a car-
penter's tool. The two prisoners were nearest to him,
and the tool had previously been seen in the hands of
nog; ipnasrutrrinectt
both. The fatal blow it seemed was actually • k
Sabatier. Alter M. Mulon ,andhioensefuellyentps.rovTedhe
had
expired
.struc by
the insurgents
carried his body to his own house, and • -
aGduilleamtei.not,lwterwe
atrsiedprfoovrehdavbinyg
threw it into the
passage. Both the prisoners warn declared
guilty, and
were condemned to transportation—G'alignani.
was suddenly

REMA BRABLE---RECOVERY.
just preventedln
singular tohre ate,
Le Sacle:--" A religious
We find the following
custom has
alive, and, l a person from being buried
this is the second time
plapieieneßd_to—thtehensamaeg
the same thing has
About ten years agof _Etta
years, daughter
Rue 0 honourable tradespeople in the
After a Montmorency,fortnight's was
attacked with typhus fever.
e d person.h ree
sickness she appeared to expire,
and her parents, as a relief to their sorrow, left the
house, l •
caving two of the aunts girl's to superintend
the funeral. As the fatuity- be lo nged to the Reformed
religion, it was resolved, in compliance with the
usual custom, to wash tho body before placing it
in the shroud. Whilst the water was warming, one
of the aunts proposed that it Should be made quite hot,
and that part of the foot of the deceased should be
placed in it. This was done, and the two females, to
their surprise, fancied that they heard a alight sigh.
They thereupon began to employ friction on different
parts of the body, and succeeded in restoring the child
to life. The girl continued to enjoy good health
until recently, when she was attacked with brain
fever, and, after suffering for some time, appeared to
die. A physician declared her dead and signed a cer-
tificate for the interment. One of the aunts watched
the body in company with a nurse. The aunt having
stated in the course of conversation the singular cir-
cumstance that had previously occurred, the nurse
recommended that the proof of hot water should be
again tried. The leg of the girl was accordingly
plunged into hot water. This produced a similar
result, and the girl recovered."

RIVER
TERRACES FOR LONDON.
If there is one portion more than another which could
be executed with facility, and would be attended with
advantages
to those most immediately interested, far
more than commensurate to the expenditure, it is that
lying between Adelphi-terrace and the north end of
Waterloo-bridge. Here, the line of direction is free of
main buildings; and the relative levels of the shore,
terrace, and bridge, are such, that the low-lying
pre-
mises on the first would be cleared by a terrace carried
over them. Tho circumstances at this place are such as
prominent part,—columns—arch-
suggest a mode of construction in which cast-iron would
obviously play a .d
—binders—
joists, and a platform of Rockhill (i. e.gcir ors
ness) or Valentin flags, not omitting semitransparent Caith-
ness) but
substantial flags of glass: such platforms can now with
b
be made waterproofy a
easesystem of skeleton
framing affording solid bearings to every joint, these
packed with elastic material saturated with red or white
lead, and the flogs flush-screwed, Such an opening next
the river becomes very desirable in connexion with the
improvements at the west aide of Somerset House-
buildings; while it would be
conve-
nience. so far as the westward
from, Waterloo-bridge i approach to, or egress
s
also, of the aforesaid' , concerned. To the proprietors,
10 w_iyi
that would be spanned lig premises on tbe shore
with the Strand and ()Tyr improved communication
available, by means
of Waterloo. bridge level would become
open, spiral, or other stairs opin—
ing on the terrace: and. , generally, an enhancement in
valueof the pro • petters in contact with it might be anti-
cipated. We throw out the hint to those whom it may
concern, and shall bo glad to And tbe seed plttgatite,*-4
Builder.

A VOICE FROM THE RANKS. --
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
—Although a poor man, I am happy to say I
Ipportunities of perusing your paper almost as
soon it is printed. I must say that lam struck
wi, _ various schemes and plans which the ramour
of an outbreak with Louis Napoleon seems to have.
called into life. In my bumble opinion, many of
them have originated with officers, who may be brave
and gallant gentlemen, but certainly know but little
of the main arm of defence—l mean the private sol-
diers. A good leader is an excellent thing, but what is
he without sufficient troops? Ido not wish to under-
value anyone, but with all due submission, I think that.
as well as levying fresh troops, pains should be taken
with those we already have. Sir, lam a private soldier
in the 4th division of Marines, and, as I take it, all foot
soldiers are treated in the same manner. I will, in as
few words as possible, state my own individual case.
merely premising there are some hundreds in the divi-
sion in the same state, and, for aught I know, it may be
the case in all regiments under the Crown.
Well, Sir, I commence my career with the shilling of
the recruiting sergeant, and after undergoing the usual
allowance of bullying from all ranks,:from a lance-corporal
up to an adjutant, and hearing the
Queen's English muti-
lated by certain drill sergeants, who fancy that the chief
part of their duty consists in making a noise, I
have been am at length " passed for duty"—that is, I
step in taught to keep my head up, to
time, &e.—all very good things in their
producing strangulation
way. I have a stiff stock put round my throat, almost
fitting coat; I have a thing
; I am imprisoned in a tight-
tht I told is a musket
put into my hand; and there a
is noam doubt bat if I keep
my boots marked, my buckles and belts properly clean,
spend all my pay in buying new trousers and canteen
covers, and keeping a very awkwardly constructed
marc
knapsa h
ckinto nicely varn
fieldished, not forgetting to
the , when required, with a
strictly regulated pace, I shall
be a credit
to the country and become a great warrior. So far so
good.
But the wise gentlemen who have taken such
pains to teach me to do everything in a certain number
of motions and in strict time, have quite forgotten to
explain to me the uses of the weapon I am armed
with. I have no means of knowing the range of my
musket ; I do not know whether it carries its ball
high or low; whether it diverges to the right or left.
I do not know the weight or measure of a
,charge of
powder, should .ready-made cartridges sad mill
scarcely cast a ball even if I had a mould. Noii; Sir, 6
is all very well for me to assist my comrades to'deliver
a volley in excellent time. I can load and fire on the
same principle as a parrot learns A, B, C, but I
want some instruction in the properties of the weapon.
If I were placed in a situation (among the Ks-
firs, for instance) where every shot ought to be
of service, I might as well be armed with a tobacco
pipe. I know that I must fire at an object, but
I also ought to be able to strike it; but as I am at pre-
sent taught I should not know whether an enemy were
within my reach or not, nor how to aim with a rea-
sonable chance of hitting him. If I were to apply to
the drill sergeant for any information of this kind, he
would most probably call it "'pertinence," and put me
in the gnardroom; or, perhaps, say, " It's no business
of yourn ; I likes to see a man do wot he's told, and ask
no_questions."