The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-04 00:00:00

urnishing, and fitting up the building, The mee

ing was addressed by the Rev. Dr. Griffiths, canoa
of Rochester, Col. Newdigate, and Capt. Fanshawe,
Superintendent of Chatham Dockyard.
A further reduction of the artisans and labourers
of Woolwich Arsenal is ordered to take place to-day,
notices having been given to that effect; 200 men
will be discharged from the Royal gun factories,
thereby reducing that branch of the establishment
(a short time ago numbering 3,500 men) to 800. The
laboratory department is likewise ordered to be re-
duced, and a number of wheelers and tin workers in
the royal carriage department have received notices
of dismissal, some of whom have been in the em-
ployment about 20 years.
For several months past the departments have
been engaged solely in executing outstanding orders
for the coast defences, some of which have been ow
the order-books about eight years, the whole of which
are now completed, and the establishment is literally
at a stand-still. The only work now being executed
in the royal gun factories consists of repairs, the
completion of 300 pounder coast defence guns, and
the adjustment of some guns on Mr. Broadwell's
principle, on a peculiar system of breech loading, for
experimental purposes commenced recently at Wool-
wich with success.

CONVICTION TOR MURDER IN IRELAND,
tit—htehAr,ist,wetahhisonese...
Longford Assizes, on Thursday, a man named Chas.
M'Cormack was found guilty of the wilful murder of Michael
Beglan on the 21st of November last. The atrocious crime
(says the Dublin Daily Express) was committed under
aggravated circumstances, which rendered it incumbent on
the Crown to prosecute with a firm determination to vindi-
cate the law. It arose out of a double cause--the fact that
the unfortunate victim, a young man named Beglan, had
taken part against the popular candidate at the last con-
tested election, and, what was still greater offence in t
.e
estimation of his murderers, he had even dared to giv_t.3t. eav"
dence against their friends in a court of justice.
s: ,sompe"
peered that he was examined as a witness against
persons who were charged with being concerned in the dill;
graceful riots which took place at Ballymahoitn;hbel'n this
he
friends,
ace""aiic
he was doomed in the secret councils of thet
the
time fell
spiracy, and the vengeance treasured up
. upon him with fatal certainty seversl miaondtheastitilfhteor
btande
election. On the day be met his undtimfaethyor
to attend a
gone into Ballymahon with his
fair. Four neighbours, professed
crossing
Drinan-bridge,
completinglooked o
them on their way home. Aftetr c
b, a party of mis-
creants
nions
however, the young man was seenuponwhenJ
he found him
chraedanitasggaremd armed with bludgeons,
their bloody work, whilst
E.--Yesl grda A
stretched upon the grcoaumnde,
for the
old man was able to rtc •
LambetU P
ends of justice, the o . ognise one of
lot huwispi owntil i
swm assailantsp!
without raising a hand to shield whiinitdh.
ma tt the trial.
Police-court, di'r.
The sentence ,poanndthpeopsritt=3;
hidaesnt
notifi 3elic,deei Fortunatelymethdbili.eniegsn
pronounced.
them nrdercr on
a practical joke, and
Norton, t
VIE BhLeAracaNgliettEtTeLoEf
tPhIeE CAS
charged Mrs. Wilton from further pro
lie thought she had given the pie as
not with any bad intention. If the •
the man in the dark, instead of betweenpie had been given to
the afternoon, he would have 4 and 5 o'clock in
offence, Mrs. Wilton had to committed her for trial for the
room before she could esea wait tome time in the gaoler's
the court. , pe the crowd gathered outside

STEAM FIRE-ENGINES.

The trials with the fire-engines were brought to a
close yesterday, after each machine had been put
through every conceivable form of ordeal, some of
which were so severe that one—an American
engine, as we anticipated it would, broke down
completely.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. accom-
panied by Lord Caithness, and attended by Captain
Grey, came on the ground soon after 10 o'clock to
witness the experiments. On the previous evening
the American engine, which worked so violently,
was tried by the severe test of drawing its water
from a depth of 18fr. and delivering it up-hill
through a 400 ft. length of hose into the water
temple, This wee the most difficult test which any of
the machines had to undergo, but those of Messrs.
Shand and Mason, and Merryweather went
through it admirably. Vie Asiierican engine Alex-
andra bloke its cylinder cover in ifs efforts to do the
same, and of course was instantly rencired useless.
Yesterday the Manhattan, which was sertensly in-
jured by turning over when being brought upon
the ground on Tuesday, was tried in the presence
of his Royal Highness. It was scarcely fair to try
this engine at all, but the American gentlemen
themselves wished it, and steam was got up record-
ingly. Before it had pumped long, however, it was
found to be too much injured to work with safety,
and a crack which its fly wheel had received when
it fell over began to spread so fast that the machine
had to be stopped at once. The Prince appeared to
take great interest in the working of the machines,
the different merits of which were pointed out to
him by the Duke of Sutherland and Capt. Shaw► who
have been on the ground early and late superintend-
ing everything connected with the trials since the
competition first began. After passing some time
among the engines the Prince went to that part of
the grounds where Mr. Coxwell's balloon was in-
flated, ready to ascend at 1 o'clock. Mr. Coxwell
was sent for by the Prince, and had the honour of
explaining to him fully all the details of the huge
machine and the various appurtenances used for
managing it while ascending and descending, with
all of which his Royal Highness appeared exceed-
ingly interested. The Prince remained to witness
the ascent of the balloon, which Mr. Coxwell made
with Mr. Birkbeck at one o'clock, and from the
comparative stillness of the air the great machine
remained a long time in sight, and, we may add,
descended safely in the afternoon on Crofton Farm,
beyond Bromley. After the ascent the Prince
quitted the gardens and rode back to town.
The most important experiments afterwards made
with the engines took place just under the north
water tower, to test them as to their power in throw-
ing a vertical jet high into the air, For this purpose
the nozzles of the hose of the four competing ma-
chines were fixed upright side by side in a frame
about 10ft. high. The diameter of the hose pipe
used by Mr. Merryweather was 26-16ths of an
inch, or more than an inch and a half, Messrs.
Shand and Mason used a nozzle of 22-16ths of
an inch, the American engine one of 21-l6ths of
an inch, and Mr. Roberts's engine one of 14-16ths
of an inch. The latter for suns a small engine
(only 30cwt.) threw a steady and high jet, at
times quite as high as 140 ft. into the air. All,
however, were eclipsed in height by the jets thrown
by Mr. Merry weather's and Messrs. Shand and
Mason's, that from the engine of the latter firm
being the highest of all, reaching at times close
upon 190 ft., if indeed it did not overtop even
this great altitude. Mr. Mereweather's engine also
threw a most magnificent column of the great dia-
meter we have mentioued,and maintained the column
steadily at a height varying between 160 and 170 f-
t was the most massive jet thrown, though
Messrs. Shand and Mason.with their slightly thinner
column, could always overreach it by 20ft. or more.
The American engine was literally nowhere, and,
except during an occasional spurt, 50ft. was about
its maximum. As the jets were kept close up,
parallel with the tower, and only distant from it
a couple of feet, it was quite easy, by a compa-
rison with the stories of the tower itself, each
of which is 20 feet high, to estimate almost to
a foot the height each jet was thrown. The
united efforts of all the nozzles of course came
down in a perfect cataract of water. This last
effort, which was exceedingly beautiful to wit-
ness, brought the trials to a close. The decision
of the committee awarding the prizes having, of
course, to be based on the carefui consideration of
an infinity of minute, but important details, cannot
be made known before Wednesday or Thursday
nest. It was, however, a very general opinion on
the ground that Mr. Merryweather had gained the
first prize for large engines 60 cwt.), and Messrs.
Shand and Mason the first prize for small (30ewt.).
It is the small engines, however, which are the
great desiderata just now.