The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-20 00:00:00

THE WAR IN DENMARK.

(From the Zimes Special Correspondent with the Anted

Arnzies.)

BROACKER, April 15.

The Prussian Generals seem determined to convert
the Danish earthworks into masses of metal before
adventuring the lives of their men in an assault.
Ifesterday was another day of heavy fire. I went
down to Gravenstein in the afternoon to post my
letters, and thither the massetit of smoke from the
batteries had preceded me, borne from Dtippel by an
easterly wind; there was other smoke, also, from a
farm in Alsen, yesterday set on fire by one 'of the
batteries on the left. It was one of those great
farms not uncommorein Schleswig, with a spacious
residence and extensive outbuildings, the abode of
ease and comfort—sometimes of almost wealth and
luxury. But some Danes were in it, and had to be
dislodged. So thought an offie -r in command of a
battery on the left, and accordingly he threw in a
shell end burnt the place. It was a great confis-
gration, and surely a heavy loss to some one of
those Sehleswigers whom the Allies have come to
help to their rights. Meanwhile and all day the
batteries blazed away at the forts, which replied
not. On the left, however, two batteries found an
answer. Up to about noon the D Ines replied to
them vigorously, and in one of them, No. 25,
nearly opposite to Sandberg, two guns were dis-
mounted and damaged, two men killed, and one
wounded. You were told before that the Danes had
established strong batteries along that Alsen strand,
as far north as Ronhoff, and it was two of those
that yesterday fired. On the right of the Prussian
line of attack, in a battery of the second parallel, a
visitor who had been up there yesterday told me
that he saw a gun lying dismounted. It is re-
ported to have been done in the night by some small
Danish gunboats that ventured in, but how these es-
caped at the hands of the heavy batteries established
with a view to such contingencies I am unable
to state. It is difficult to get precise information
on such matters. Every man may know what
passes in his own battery, but he generally knows
little more—at least of what occurs at night, and
numerous tales obtain currency for which there is
little or no foundation. I understand that Sonder-
burg was again bombarded yesterday, although
perhaps to no great extent. lam wholly at a loss
to explain the object of these repeated bombard-
ments. The nearest of the two bridges which con-
nect Alsen and Snndewitt is perfectly well seen from
the Observatory at Schelde, and is, of course, an
object of attention to the artillery. A watch is
kept for troops and stores passing over it, with a
view to fire upon them. But as the bridge is diffi-
cult to hit, although seemingly constructed of very
large pontoons, the fire, an artillery officer informed
me, is generally directed at the approaches to it, on
the side of the mainland, as I wider-stood, but if the*
same were done on the side of the town it could
hardly fail to occasion damage to houses. The
Prussians seem unable to explain the repeated
shelling of Sanderborg, and still more at a loss to
justify it, or, at least, to justify the doing it
without notice to the inhabitants. Some say it was
an oversight; some that for special reasons warning
could not b 3 given ; others that the inhabitants
ought to have abandoned it on the hint of the half
daz3n shells thrown in three weeks ego; while
others again declare their belief that it had been so
abandoned that it in fact was no longer anything
but a great barrack which they had a perfect right
to bombard at any hour. 1 perceive signs of great
annoyance in certain quarters at the severe manner
in which the proceeding has been judged in Eng-
land. I should be glad if Berlin could give satis-
factory explanations in reply to the inquiries under-
stood to have been addressed to it, but I fear that
will prove rather difficult.
The Schelde Observatory, above referred to, has
not, I think, as yet been described to you. It is
situated on the west coast of Broackerland, to the
south of Gammelemark. At the upper edge
of the beach, where it rises into a field, and
with one corner propped against a mighty tree,
stands a little hut the rude framework of which
consists of a few poles and spars, and the walls and
roof of which are seaweed and straw. In it there
is a very fair telescope, and intelligent ron-commis
stoned officers are continually on the look-out. From
it one looks right up Alsen Sund and has an excel-
lent view of the town. I was up there last in the
afernoon of the 13th, and had another careful exa-
mination of Sonderborg. The traces of the fire
are very slight, but one can discover houses the win-
dows of which are gone and the apertures black-
ened, and which, doubtless, have been gutted by
the flames. There was a good deal of shipping up
in Horup liuff, including some ,arge steamers, and
their appearance, although no unusual occurrence,
came opportunely to give increased probability to
the rumours of Danish evacuation current on that
day, but which may now, it seems, be considered
to have been unfounded. From that Observatory,
on the days of the bombardment of Sonderborg,
many of the Prussian shells were seen to fall in the
water. Although it is unimportant as affecting the
conduct of the Prussians, it may be well to note,
as a gauge of Danish veracity and accuracy, that
400 shells were the very largest number that were
thrown during the whole of what is upon the other
side called the 48 hours' bombardment. Forty-two
fire-shells were first thrown, but did not set the
place on fire; this was done by the ordinary shells
that followed. Toe shells were all fired from one
battery, and not, as I was led to believe, from two.
My information as to the number fired is derived
from a gentleman who must know, who is incapable
of an untruth, and who in this case has not the
slightest interest to tell one.

The prisoners taken the night before last, and
whose numbers are variously stated at from 120
to 160, aro nearly all Satlenders. Judging from
the way in which some of them were yesterday
chatting and laughing at Gravenstein, they are not
much cast down at their captivity; but, on the
contrary, rather glad to be taken. This has seemed
to be the case with most of the prisoners I have
seen since the very beginning of the war. Many
of them, it is true, were Schleewigers, and de facto
deserters, but I do not believe that the Jutianders
are a bit more anxious to fight. There is small
reason why they should. The longer and the better
they defend Duppel and Alsen the worse is it for
their native province, which is being ruined by the
enormous exactions of the Allies, who there appa-
rently act upon the Napoleonic principle of making
war support war. Even here in Schleswig, where
that is not th© case, the people iu general will be
delighted to get rid of this army, well behaved
though they freely admit its so'\diers are. Since I
have:been living in Broacker and its neighbourhood,
with most parts of which I am by this time tolerably
tatniiiar, I have been struck by two things, which,
although small, are sure signs that the soldiers who
occupy every village and hamlet and farmhouse and
peasant's cot in the country are orderly and re-
specters of property. The gardens are not ravaged
and the henroosts are not robbed. In the little
nooks of garden which, as in England, are to be

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well tril_nt;364, 'antratepled corers. ka/siS,/
lea& his Isar -t:'• she'd- wiehont,4e e ejilt I:ee.--,
served up arras &dove: raid doeke ».e , i li., • : OS'
to be seen. Pee.klng induitrious!::e ie ever 7 •)11.'. ;. ~1
lane. ITtleie EMI! tririt9 'show the character of an
ermr. Nevertbeleathe'36,ooo or 40,000 men (pro-
bably the latter) now ia front of Duppel,ancl whose
commander's theadquart ere ate at Gravonsteie, fsrp.
a grievous burden upon the land, the litCe tffluences
and modest ease of. which seem, so to speak, to
perish Under'the pressure. The exorbitant am' cunt
of billeting is severely felt neve that it yeas las:as'
so long. I know of one house in Gra venstein,
inhabited by a respectable femily and coataining
eight rooms, ono of which is reserved to Litsself by
tho proprietor of the house. Of the renatiultg
seven, the ta n7:nts have not one eesclasively for their
own use. Soldiers occupy their bef3.chareeber by
day, end they share with officers the room ire-which
they sit. The other five rooms are appropriated
in differe.nt ways Entirely to the use. .of the army.
I must suppose that there are not a few otteera
cquatly incommoded, and all but turned out ol'their
houses. If this army remains here much Jonaor it
would be better and healthier to put part of it re.nder
canvas than to keep it crewded in close cantonments.
In weather that is neither wet nor severely cal, a
clean well-aired tent is a more ealnbrions abode
than frowzy, loweroofed, stove-heated ecenels.
I lately wrote to you that the Rolf Krake had
been in the direction of the Nobel Doer and had
exchanged a few shots with the Alnoer batteries.
This seems to be an incorrect version of what took
place. At Eckersund ferry (the pontoon bridge is
not yet replaced) I yesterday was told `that, the
night being very dark, the men in one of the bat-
teries had fancied that a small craft which lay neer
was moving,"and their heads being doubtless full of
the Reif° Krake since her.exploit of the 28tfa of
March, they inraOied they hbd before them that
adrenturocs cruiser, and accordingly feedupon her.
One shot only was fired, it is said, and some rifles
by the in fantry near at hand, be.fare the error was
discovered. Luckily no damage was done. The
day before yesterday a steam corvette, said to be
the Dannebrog, and to carry 15 guns, anchored in
the water south of Alsen, between Veaning Bard
and Iforup Haff. It is reported here she is iron-
clad. Ido not know whether the Danes have so
large a vessel prcteeted in this manner. She left
again )esterday.

•~~ G~

Since the outposts have been so near together,
up to the 13th inst., there was some fraternisation
between the Danish and German sentries, who met
half way and drunk and talked together. On Wed..
nesday, down near the Vanning Band, to the right
of the third parallel, where the Prussians and
Dines stood but 60 paces apart, in pits and behind
parapets on opposite sides of the same field, I saw
several instances of this. A soldier would step
out of his cover waving a white handberchief, and
would advance to the middte of the field, where
his opponent met him, and they drank out of the
same flask, or, in one or two cases, merely ex-
changed a few words, shook hands, and parted.
The thing was latterly forbidden, bat it still con-
tinued more or less. I suppose an end will have been
put to it by the fight of the night before last and
the withdrawal of the lines, at least 'on a great
part of the line, within their entrenchments. The
Prussian soldiers say that some of the Danes ex-
pressed to them their great weariness of the war,
but said that they expected it to cease on the 12th
inst. Perhaps they had heard that the Conference
was to meet on that day, as reported, and had a
vague notion that it would put a stop to hostilities,.
Northwards from West Duppel the Prussiana
have now a chain of batteries, consisting of 6, 12,,
and 24 pounder rifled guns. The 24 pounders were
yesterday (two batteries of four guns each) firing at
the north end of Sonderborg and at the second pon-
toon bridge, but they are reported to have made poor
practice. The distance is great. Ten 5-pounders, its
the two batteries nearest to Duppel, yesterday fired
at forts 7to 10. Then there are three 12-pounder
batteries which eng3ge the Danish forts on Alsen
shore. The farthest of these, close to Sondberg
Castle, woe yesterday firing fr'm behind a bank,
there beirg no regular brezierworiz as yet made for
it. Further on, near SAinabvk, nerd by the exit
from the narrow portion of Alsen Suns, where it
widens r.nd turns 1110f3 eastwards, are some more,
12-pounders.

Railway and Public Companies in

Parliament.

Yert_rday, before the committee on the new metropolitan
railway;, the evidence of Mr. Seymour Clarke on the gene.
ral merits of the Great Nor hero Railway Company's Ivo-
posed Barnet branch, and for other purposes, having been
concluded, Mr. Fowler, the engineer, and Mr. Fenton,.
traffic manager of the Metropolitan Railway, were examined.
in opposition to the proposal of the Great Northern to run
over the Metropolitan Railway between King's-cross and
its Farringdonostreet terminus. Mr. Hope Scote, Q.C.,
was heard in opposition on behalf of the Midland Rail-
way Company, relative to the acquisition of some lands
for station purposes to the westward of the Great
Northern Company's goods station at King's-cross, oE
which the Metropolitan possessed the freehold, but ot
which the Midland company claimed the leasehold. The
committee will not give theirdecision on the Great Northern
Company's bill until they have heard the case of the Lon-
don, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company's No. 1 hill,
which involves questions for adjudication common to both
schemes. The case for the Staines, Egham, and Woking
Junction Railway was opened by Mr. Phinn, Q.C., in thew
committee of which Mr. Scholefield is chairman. It is pro-
posed to be incorporated with a capital of £48,000, and
£16,000 loan, for a five mile line from a junction with the
Staines and Wokingharn Railway eastward of its Virginia
Water station to the Woking station of the London and
So.ith Western Railway. Mr. Gregory, C.E.,was examined
in savour of the line, and after hearing the general trafiGe
evidence, the committee threw out the bill, subsequently
passing the proposed extension of the South-Western to.
Chertsey, which had been considered at previous sittings.
The further hearing of the North British Company's eaten.
sion to Perth is adjourned in Mr. Haseard's committee, who
then considered the proposed Denburn Valley Railway,
which proposes, inter alia, to empower the Scottish North
Eastern to make a short line through Denburn valley to
the Great North of Scotland, with a joint passenger station.
and approaches at Aberdeen, the first cempany to be em-
powered to apply £70,000, and the second £125,000 for the
h
purpose. After hearing Mr. Sergeant Bellasis against, the
committee passed the bill. The bill for leasing the Alyth.
Railway to the Scottish North Eastern, being unopposed,
was sent down to Mr. Massey's committee. The committee
on the competing schemes proposed by the Sheffield, Ches-
terfield, and Staffordshire Railway, and by the Midland
Railway, from Chesterfield to Sheffield, resumed its inquiry,
taking the case of the latter bill for a new line of 13 miles
between those places, to raise £455,000 by shares and
£151,000 by loan. The traffic case was considered, The
bills passed in Mr. Massey's committee were the Bod-
mM and Wadebridge Railway, for a line of three
miles between those points in Cornwall, and to miss
£48,000; the Wallingford and Wallington Railway, of;
eight miles, to raise £BO,OOO by shares, and £26,000 loan ;
Bedford and Cambridge Railway, to raise a further sum of
£50,000; Witney Railway, and Ely, Iladdenham, and Sut-
ton. The Edinburgh and Leith Sewerage Improvement
Bill was opened by Mr Forsyth, Q.C., in a committee over
which Mr Roebuck is chairman, and the bill for the estab-
lishment of a park,town hall sites, and other improvements,
was passed in the committee of which Mr Evans is chair-
man. Mr Gaskell's committee on Irish improvement pro-
jects was occupied with the consideration of the Belfast
Improvement Bill, In committee of the House of Lords,
the Duke of Devonshire chairman, the other members being
Lord De Roe, Earl Somers, Marquis of Bath, and Lord
Congleton, the Port Glasgow Harbour Bill, South London
Market, and Liverpool Exchange Bills were passed, and the
Herne Bay, Hampton, and Reeulver Fishery was opened
by Mr Calvert, Q.C. The West London Docks and Ware-
houses Bill was passed in Earl Cathcart'a committee; and
that for the proposed amalgamation into one undertaking
of the London Decks, the St. Katharine Docks, and the
Victoria Docks proceeded with, Mr Chandler, secretary of
the London Docks, being examined.by Sir Coleridge and
Mr Round. After several days'
inquiry, and considerable
local opposition to the project, on the ground that it would
lye detrimental to the navigation, the "'mitt"' °i
which
Lord Wodehouee is chairman, threw out the bill Ur tea
proposed Bute D ielas at Cardiff. The bells for the Gnat
North of Scotland Railway and Lymington Hari e,ur anti
Ducks wont through Lord Recesdole's committee.

[AuvEnTtsr.mrt:Tl—Holloway's Pills.--Joys for
gre,i,st and best chernicti -combination of tits
vLry learns clvrells in this excellent niedicit:.e,
to be praised needs only
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use of families in which any canstitutiraoil woilztesE or di-le-
terious taint exists. Holloway's medicines has the most
renovating effect when the system has bo.eltne debilitated
by dissipation, overindulgence, or long-continued illness.
The Pills acting gently as alteratives, aperients, and tonics
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,/

NEW THEATRE-KO YAL, ADELP HI.-
Sole Prooriator and Manager. Mr. B. Webster.
THIS EVENING, ICI ON PARLE FRANCAIS : Mr. J.
L. Toole. Mr. R. Phillips, Mr. Billington, and Miss K.Kelly.
At 8, LS3H : Nliss Bateman, suppqrted by Messrs. A.
Stirling, R. Phillips, Billington, Stuart, Eburne, Stephenson ;
Miss H. Simms and Mrs. Bilington.
Toe }nelude with THE AREA BELLE : Messrs. J. L. Too7e,
P. Bedford, Li. Romer, Miss Woolgar, and Mrs. H. Lewis.

Commence at 7.

MISS BATEMAN.-L E A H.-THI
EVENING and EVERY EVENING.—Miss Bateman
will re-aprear in her great impersonation of the Jewish
ma d-n. ••. til further notice. In ..;rder ,o give due effect to
ais most remarkable sucles. of the season, e,l• ire y new
scenery by the celebrated ar,ists Messrs. Danson and eons,
and Thomps.,n. New dr. ss,s and appointm-y4s have be n
prepare . for its production.—N.l4. In consequence of the
'tressing and numerous ,pplications a' the Isox-offi.e, ar-
=gement - have Low been made by which Scats m .y be ob-
a Fortnight in Advan. e.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
Manager, Mr. W. H. Swanborough.
THIS EVENING, MY PRESERVER.
Alter which, the I'a 'cony Scene from ROMEO AND
JULIET. Ati ses Swanborough and Wilton.
Followed by the Fifth Act of MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S
DREAM.
Concluding with the Great Burlesque, ORPHEUS AND
EURY uICE : Messrs. Honey, Wood, James Fenton ; des-
dames Swanborough, Marie Wilton, Hughes, &e.
Commence at 7.

ROYAL ST, JAMES'S THEATRE. under the
Management of Mr. B. WEBSTER.
Re-ens►agement of those celeorated artistes, Mr. and Mrs.
C. Mathews.—The greatly successful new Comedy every
Evening.
THIS EVENING, A DAY AFTER THE WEDDING.
Mr. P. Robinson and Miss Iler,ert.

At a quarter before 8, the successful new Comedy, by
L. Buckingham, Esq., entitled THE SILVER LINIM; :
Mr. ths.rles Mathews, Mr. F. Robinson, Mr. Ashley, Mr.
Montague ; Mrs. Charles Mathews, Mrs. Frank Matthews,
Miss A. Cottrell, Miss Wentworth, and Mrs. Stirling.
After whEth, COOL AS A CUCUMBER. Mr. Charles
Mathews.

To conclude with UNDER THE ROSE : Mr. Ashley and
Bliss A. Cottrell.

Commence at 7.

COALS.—The LILLESHALL COMPANY'S
COALS.
Direct from their own Collieries.
➢larquis'- 265. per ton. I Double 21s. per ton.
Top 255. „ Nut 5........ 195.
Deep
Well scwened and delivered within five miles of their De-
pots, Westbourne Park-road, W., and 17, South Wharf,
Paddington, W.
Best Coka lss. per chaldron.
Terms cash.
JOHN SCOTT, Sole Agent.

TRIAD EDITION OF b, THE SUN,"
Ountaining the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,
pan be had Every Evening of
G. ft. GLENIE, NEWS AGENT,
No. 4. Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park.

The Weather--Sun Office, April 20, 1864.

-O-

THERMOMETER.

T.tds day at Two o'clock

Barometer-30.20.
Wind—E, ; moderate breeze, and very fine.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tins DAY.—Morning, 111. 6m.—Afternoon, 1h.26m.
To-monno-w.-Morning, lh. 4431.—Afternoon, lb. 66m.

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LONDON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1864.

We are glad to find that the Earl of DERBY has
drawn attention to the new gun recently patented
by Mr. MACKAY. When every Government except
our own is on the look-out for improvements in its
armaments, it is necessary for those who are in the
position to command attention, to stir up those in
authority to take advantage of the discoveries of
British subjects, instead of leaving their labours to
be appropriated by more enterprising and more
iberal foreigners. Lord DERBY simply drew the
attention of the Secretary for War to the report of
Mr. MACKAY'S gun (an account of which appeared
in The Sun last week), and after relating the ex-
traordinary advantages which it seemed to possess
over other guns, the noble lord inquired whether
the Government had taken any steps to examine
into the accuracy of the report. He also asked
what steps they were prepared to take provided
that the gun was effective and was calculated to be
utilised for the public service. Earl DE GREY and
RIPON said, in reply, that an officer had been sent
to Liverpool to make inquiries as to the character
of the gun and the results which had been obtained,
and that the report of the trial had been confirmed.
But the noble lord went further, and endeavoured
to underratea gun Which had proved to be eminently
successful in its first and only trial, because heavier
guns had done almost as much at the same range
and might hereafter do more. He also said it was
impossible to determine the value of the gun when
it was fired at iron plates at a distance of only two
hundred yards. We would ask the noble lord the
Secretary fcr War, if this be so, why so many
thousands of pounds have been expended in testing
iron plates at that range, and why the Bellerophon
target was pronounced a great success when it re.
sisted 63 and 100 lbs, shot at Shoeburyness at that
distance?

Mr. MACKAY'S gua has penetrated a target as
strong es the Bellerophon, if not stronger. It re-
presented a pOrtion of the side of the Agincourt,
now being built for the c.3ova.nment by Messrs.
LAIRD, of Birkenhead, who pro Tided the
target which was considered by competent
judges b be of the best qualitv, and all that could
be required. It consisted cf an outer plate 'Tit.
square and ,5.1 j, inches thick of -r&ied iron ; nest
came 9 inches of teak, then an inner plate or skin

t inch es thick, then angle iron and ribbing, and
finall:r a backing up with timber balks and supports
18 inches thick. It is rot expected that even the
largest ship can carry much heavier plating than'
this, yet Mr. MACKAY'S gun sent a shot clean
through this obstacle and carried a large portion
of the target away with it. The principle cn which
this gun is constructed is perfectly novel, and if, as
there can be little doubt from the result of the re-
cent trial it will do, if it trove as effective at long
ranges as it has done at 200 yards, it must produce
a great revolution in the science of artillery. It
is curious to observe that the most striking im-
provements in mechanics and engineering are often
suggested by men who have been brought up in
a perfectly different walk of life. Sir W. ARM-
STRONG, for example, belonged originally to the
legal profession, but he nevertheless introduced
hydraulic cranes and his celebrated breech loading
field-pieces. Mr. JAMES MACKAY, a timber mer-
chant of Liverpool, has upset all the theories of
artillery engineers by combining the advantages of
the smooth bore and the rifled cannon, and by turn-
ing to profit the windage which has hitherto been
the bugbear of artillerists. Sir. W. ARMSTRONG,
in his shunt gun, to a certain extent lessened the
loss of initial velocity caused by the resistance
offered to the projectile by the grooves of the barrel,
out Mr. MACKAY obviates the resistance altogether
and gives his shot a greater rotatory motion. The
principle heretofore adopted in rifled cannon has
been to allow as little windage as possible, and to
impart rotation to the projectile by making it fit the
grooves of the piece. Mr. MACKAY, on the other
hand, has conceived the plan of having the
grooves so arranged that, while the shot fits
closely to their outer edge, the grooves are
left open for windage. By this arrangement
the gas has to travel some feet further than the
shot, and in doing this imparts a rapid and perfect
spin to it. Now, as the shot does not traverse the
grooves, they do not offer the same resistance to it,
as in the case of ordinary rifled cannon, and there-
fore the pressure on the gun is necessarily decreased.
Again, as the shot is not checked by the resistance
of the grooves, its initial velocity at the mouth of
the gun is as great as that of a shot from a smooth
bore, while at the same time it possesses a greater
rotation than an ordinary rifle projectile. We do
not wish to enter upon the question which was
raised by the noble lord the Secretary for War,
as to the possible inaccuracy of the instruments
used at Liverpool to ascertain the velocity of the
solitary shot fired from Mr. MACKAY'S gun, but if
there be any truth in the report of the result of that
one shot, which Eirl DE GREY does not deny, we
think our conclusions arc pretty well borne oat by fact.
The shot struck the target with a dull thud a little
below the bull's eye on the right, and in the very
strongest part, where it was backed up by the rib
of the ship's side, the angle iron, and the timber
balk. At the point of inspect a perfectly circular
hole was cut. The shot then powdered the teak,
passed through the inner skin and the angle iron,
shattered the timber balk into fragments, and was
picked up 82 yards beyond the target, together with
a circular piece of the iron armour, about 801 b.
weight, it had carried with it through the back sup-
ports. The sand showed that it had spun to the
last. About 70 fragments of iron, bolts, and frag-
ments of the inner skin and angle-iron were picked
up 100 yards from the target. The shot when found
was reduced from 13 inches to 11 inches in length,
and increased about an inch and a half in diameter
at the end which struck the target. The other end
was uninjured. The whole target was forced back
aboutesix inc'eee, and so much deranged that mere
shots were not fired. After this, will any-
body say that the principle ought not at
once to be tes'ed to its fullest extent.
To the country to wait for a perfect gun
until some private individual has impoverished
himself in discnvering and perfecting a wea-
pon which it was the duty of the Govern-
ment to assist him in developing his inven-
tion. Mr. MACKAY is independent of such patron.
age, or he would not have been able to astonish
the public in the way he has done, but that is no
reason why, if his discovery be of service to the
nation, the nation should not recognise his claims.
If there be any merit in the invention, it must
necessarily follow that the strain upon the piece
must be much less than in the present system of
rifled artillery. Why, therefore, cannot this sys-
tem be applied to the much abused, but yet effec-
tive 68 pounders, whose only fault seems to be the
want of accuracy and force at long range. Earl
DE GREY and RIPON has promised that the new
gun shall receive all due attention. Let us hope
that that attention may not be such as has been
paid to too many modern improvements!

Lord GRANVILLE has not made matters better as
regards the Council of Education, and it will not
elevate public opinion as to his discretion, though
they may admire his candour in avowing it, to find
that he declares himself to be responsible "officially,
morally, and practically for what had taken place:,
He also saddles himself with the odium which Mr.
LOWE incurred by his hasty and abrupt declaration,
for he proclaims that he would have made just the
same sort of answer. This may be deemed very
magnanimous, and many may call it chivalrous,
but it is really most absurd, and rather an insult to
the House of Commons thus to reiterate that what
that assembly has pronounced to be an iejudicious
course, is precisely the one which he would follow.
It is strange that one of so much experience as the
noble lord should not have known better than thus
to commit himself, and, after all, what good did it
do. He did not state that he intended to follow
Mr. LOWE'S example; but he seamed to defy in-
quiry and to charge the House of Commons with
conspiracy or ill-will for having presumed to
meddle with matters beyond its ken. Lord GRAN-
VILLE laid great stress upon the appointment of a
committee to inquire into the state of the case. This
may be all very well, but there are two things to
notice—first, that it is not quite the thing to talk
of the appointment of a committee, as if it were an
act of penance which it bad to perform, for having
presumed to pass an opinion on a subject of
national importance; and next, that it by
no means follows, as a predetermined fact,
that the result of such inquiries and in-
vestigations prove condemnatory of the vote
lately passed or subversive of the implied can.
sure. Of course it is not pleasant or palatable to
be told either privately or publicly that one's con-
duct or mode of action is unfitting or unsuitable,
but it is sometimes needful to make these assertions,
and utter these uiawelcome truths. After the
hubbub and commotion that has ensued it may
doubtless be deemed advisable to prove more justly
the facts of the case, but it does not in consequence
follow that by this means the House will undo its
previous decisions. To begin with, it is a very dan-
gerous practice and a most unwise custom for the
Council of Education to interfere and alter the re-
ports of the Inspectors. The evils of the system
are manifest to all who will take the trouble to
think on them dispassionately and unprejudiced.
It confers a sort of arbitrary pov;cr on the autho-
rities which it is not safe for them t be invested
with. It may be all right, bur at the same time it
may be all wrong, and it certain'y affords the
chance to the censors and critics of exp•anging all

that offends their pride, departs from their views
and militates against their wishes. The idea of such
a supervision is not in accordance with the national
spirit. It is nn•English, and if, as Lord
GRANVILLE says, it is .the plan adopted
by all the other departments of Government,
the sooner a change is made the better.
How can the truth be got at it so many rival claims
are put in, and such various opinions influence the
information that is afforded ? How can the In-
spectors perform their task properly if they are
tormented with doubts, harassed with fears, and
perplexed with misgivings as to this passage
offending and that paragraph annoying the some-
bodies or the nobodies who are to sit in judgment
upon them. It is very natural for officials to cling
to the shadow of their forms and ceremonies, but
when everything around us is undergoing a change,
why is bad management to be stationary and mis-
chievous meddling to be retained in our departments
of State ? This is a difficult matter to decide upon,
but the Government have laot gone the right way to
work to adjust the difficulties of the case by setting
out from the outset in so arbitrary and consequen-
tial a manner; Irritating one's opponents is not
the way to take from attacks their sting or their
victory, and to deny that there is any truth, or right,
or reason in the assertions cf the opposite party is
a very impolitic course. At all events, this has
furnished another item to the many exciting and
eventful discussions of this stormy session ; and it
will not have been all talk without effect if, in con-
sequence of the strife and turmoil that have arisen
regarding the management of the Council of Edu-
cation, more fair play and free speaking are allowed,
and thus a better and more correot opinion can
be formed of its merits.

The difficulty of dealing with our convict popu-
lation does not lessen upon examination. Wise
legislators, experienced administrators, and zealous
philanthropists can not only not agree on the best
and safest course, but not one of them is able to
bring forward a scheme which shall remove exist-
ing obstacles and reconcile cenflicting interests. The
first interest to be considered is undoubtedly that
of the honest man who has a claim on the Govern-
ment which he helps to support, and the laws which
he faithfully obeys, for protection against the
violence of the ruffian or the fraud of the swindler.
This fact is, however, very often lost sight of by
our humanitarians, who reserve all their sympathy
for the thief or the villain who is caught, not for
the inoffensive citizen who is robbed or maltreated.
Yet they have in some degree reason on their side,
too. The homes, the parents, the associates, the
training of the convict class have all been calcu
lated to drag them down to the very lowest depths
of humanity. 'They have had to contend from
childhood against temptations of fearful strength,
unsupported by any counteracting agency. But
it is impossible for the law openly to recognise these
mitigating circumstances. It will not do for the
magistrate to inquire minutely into the circum-
stances of the burglar or garotter's early life, and
then, in consideration of his drawbacks, to let him off
from the punishment due to his crimes. It was to
solve this d;fficulty that the ticket-of-leave system
was introduced, which appeared at first to answer
the question, but either from an original fault in the
system, or from careless or improper administration
of it the results have been such as to occasion loud
calls for a complete change. Last evening, upon
the motion for the Penal Servitude Acts Amend-
ment Bill going into Committee, Mr. ADDERLEY
moved the entire abandonment of the ticket-of-
leave system. The right hon. gentleman, who is
something of an authority in these matters, having
devoted to them long and careful consideration,
spoke clearly and sensibly of many of the disad-
vantages attending the system, not only as regards
the public, but as it affews the men themselves.
The great difficulty appears to be this, that if the
ticket-of-leave is to be any check upon the man, or
any protection to the public, it can only Lc by
means of strict police supervision and regular
watching, and this is absolutely fatal to the man's
getting or retaining regular and honest employ-
ment. On the other hand, if no supervision is
attempted, and the man is trusted to repoet himself,
the ticket-of-leave is practically valueless as a check
upon the convict. We are afraid the amendment
which was carried against the Government last
night, although politically important as a further
proof of the weakness of the Administration,
will be practically of very little benefit.
It may be possible to carry out the
plan proposed in Ireland, but in this
country even our own skilful detectives will
fail to enfirce its fulfilment. The amendment pro-
posed by Mr. HUNT to clause 4, was to the effect
that if a ticket holder should neglect to report
himself at the police station of the district where
he resided on the first day of every month, he should
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour and forfeit his
ticket. A very prudent precaution, doubtless, with
the solitary objection of its utter impracticability.
How is such a rule to be enforced in our thronged
and changing cities, with constant un watched traffic,
from place to place, from city to city, from one part
of the kingdom to another ? And supposing even
that it could be rigorously enforced, huw is a man
so watched to retain his employment with the
known prejudice of English workmen against con-
victs—a prejudice which in its sturdy honesty and
strength defies alike the theories of humanitarians,
and the kindly efforts of employers to " give the
man a chance ?" Yet, are we to say that these 'men
must be shut out from the great safety valve of
their energies, the potent reformer honest labour ?
If we do, we are sealing their doom, and ticket or
no ticket makes very little difference, as they will
soon be inside the prison walls again. The subject
is beset with problems, for which we fear the true
solution is as yet undiscovered. The only established
principle seems to be to remove long sentence men
to a country, where they can really be of valuable
service to the honest members of the community,
and their work therefore no longer at a discount;
while for those on short sentences we must try and
discover what amelioration of labour, what small
inikulgencies and other rewards may serve to take
the place in some degree of tickets of leave, until
at least the inconsistencies attending them shall
have been in some measure reconciled.

THE STUPENDOUS FRENCH NEWSPAPER called
Le Gt. and Journal, which has recently appeared, and is the
longest and broadest journal in the world, is about to pub.
lish an unedited romance by Dumas, called The Citizens of
Paris," which is said to be something in tho style of Sue's
" Wandering Jew."

31. GODARD has, it is said, discovered the means
of preventing all danger in ballooning by never ascending.

- -
A CRUEL REFINEMENT OF LUXURY.—The
skin of the astrakan, which is so much the fashion in Paris,
and is so excessively dear, is procured in all its beauty by
killing the black- sheep that is bearing young, and skinning
the lamb thus untimely born, a 3 the skin is thus rendered
beautifully fine. The Japanese lately compared us to the
most barbaric natives of the earth. If they heard of this
fashion of les Francais would their respect increase ?
A SEVERE PUNISIIMENT FOR GOING TO SLEEP.
—Yesterday an old man named Silas Skinner, about
sixty years of age, was charged before the county magis-
trates at Rochester, with going to sleep in the open air.
The accused was observed by police-constable Empson, 100,
to go behind a straw stack between four and fivo o'clock in
the morning, and lie down to go to sleep, when the officer
immediately pounced on him and took him into custody.
Tne accused said he had nowhere to steep, The Rev. Mr.
Marsham, the presiding magistrate, told the prisoner he
was "an almost incorrigible character," and sentenced Lira
to tiz weeks hard labours—k.o4;i) Zasterts Om*,