The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-06 00:00:00

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No. 22,686.

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 6, 1865.

NEW NOVEL BY THE RKV. J. U. BELLEW.
Now ready, at all the Libraries, in Three Vols., Revised,
TIIIRD EDITION of BLOUNT TEMPEST.
By the Rev. J. C. M. BELLEW.

CRYSTAL PALACE.—TO-MORROW.—
WET or DRY.—Always charming.
Performances by the Orchestral Band at 12.30 and 4.30, and
Great Organ Performance at 3.30. Picture Galleries, Fine
Art Courts. Shakapere House, Chimpanzee, Armour Plates
(lent by official authority), and the thousand and ono other
attractions of the Crystal Palace.
Open from Ten till dusk. One Shil:ing; children under
twelve, Sixp^nce.

EMEMBER! WE WAIT SUPPER
FOR YOU, after the Pantomime, at EVANS'. Fail
nut!

Wimbledon line was opened by his Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales when he visited the ground and
inspected the preparations for the meeting previous
to its commencement. . . The scrip of ttLe. As-
sociation Great Wimbledon Trunk line is not, it is
true, quoted in the market, as it may be considered
to a great extent a private concern, but it would be
well if railways showed as good a dividend on capital
expended. The total cost of construction, plant, &c.,
was £404, and though the line was only six whole
days in actual working the total receipts amounted
to £44 14s. 11d." The number of persons encamped
on the ground during the meeting was 1,238, in ad-
dition to the Staff of that association, the gun-
makers' assistants, the persons in the refreshment
contractor's employ, and others. In the first year
there were 67 prizes, value £2,238, and this number
and amount had gradually increased until last year
there were 627 prizes, and their value was £5,918125.
Colonel WARDE, of the London Rifle Brigade,
moved the adoption of the report.
Colonel COCHILAn seconded the motion, which
was unanimously agreed to.

"This book is well written. The story is interesting and
full of incident."—Athenwutn.
Hurst and Blackett, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

FIINAHAN'S LL R WHISKY v. COGNAC
This celebrated Old IRlsit WHISKY rivals the finest
F'P.ENCII BRANDY,
It Pure, Mid, Mellow, Delicious, and very Wholesome.
Sold in Bottles, 3s. Sd., at fhe Retail Houses in London ; by
she Agents in the principal towns in England; or wholesale

8, GREAT WINDMILL-STREUT, LONDON, W.
Observe the Red Seal, Pink Label, and Cork branded
"Kinahan's LL Whisky,"

• Mr. A. Z. PALMER then moved the second resolution
which was " That the Vice-President be re-elected
that the Earl of Lichfield, Mr. Laird, Viscount Bury,
Earl De Grey and Ripon, Colonel North, and Sir
Joseph Paxton, the retiring members of Council, b
re-elected ; that the Master of Lovat, extraordin
member of Council, be elected ordinary member
Council, vice Lord Radstock, resigned ; and that
Colonel Erskine, Inspector-General of Volunteers,
be elected extraordinary member of Council."
This was also carried.

Lord ELCHO said there was only one otherresolu-
tion, and that was that his royal highness should be
asked to consent to hold the position which he had
held for so many years, and with much marked ad-
vantage to the association. (Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN said he should be happy to con-
tinue as President. (Cheers.)
Captain TEMPLER, in response to an invitation
given by Lord Elcho to any one in the room to
speak, referred to the rule which excluded winners
of the Queen's, Albert, and one or two other prizes,
from again winning them, and suggested as this rule
had not been attended with any good results, either
to the association or rifle shooting, it should be ab-
rogated. He also suggested that the match in the
sliding bar of the Enfield back sight should be abo-
lished, as it had been proved that this match was an
obstacle to good shooting with the Government wea-
-1
pon.

Mr. LUXMORE thought that if the use of the me-
chanically fitting bullets were abolished small-bore
shooting would be greatly encouraged, the cost of
the ammunition, in his opinion, operating as a bar
to that branch of practice.

Mr. EDWARD Ross contended that the abolition
of the mechanically fitting bullet would not be at-
tended with any good result, and the small-bore
shooting, he thought, ought to be encouraged by
more prizes being given.
Lord ELcHo, in reply, said that the question raised
by Captain Templer with respect to the exclusion
of the great prize winners was a subject which was
worthy of reconsideration. As to the change in the
back sight of the Enfield, it was to be remembered
that the weapon was a Government one, and the
Council had done all they could ; they had made
the same recommendation which Captain Templer
noticed. This was all that could be done, for the
council in allotting prizes to be shot for by volun-
teers could not but rule that those prizes should be
shot for in the position andwith the weapon ordered
for class firing. (Cheers.) The council, as represent-
ing an association for, the encouragement of shoot-
ing, had come to the decision that they could not for-
bid the use of mechanically fitting bullets, and, with
respect to the encouragement of small-bore shoot-
ing, the great want had been a rifle at a lower sum
than that generally, charged for such a weapon. The
Council had, they thought, got over this by the
match rifles of Mr. Rigby, for the second stage of
the Queen's, and which, he believed, would show
that a thorough good rifle could be obtained for a
smaller sum than riflemen had been in the habit of
paying. With regard to the breech-loader compe-
tition to come off, he said the rules had been framed
with a view of obtaining the best weapon. In answer
to a further question, he said that the decision of the
Council with regard to aperture back sights only
applied to the round apertures.

The SPEAKER, in moving a vote of thanks to his
Royal Highness for taking the chair, said that his
own connexion with the volunteers had been con-
fined to the country districts near his residence, and
it had been his experience that the movement had
been productive of the most unmixed good.
The motion, which was carried by acclamation,
was briefly acknowledged, and the proceedings ter-
minated.

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dicated; at the height of one mile the tempetaureAthi9
dew point was 12i deg., which was the driest Ant.
Through the kindness of Mr. Browning I was furnished
with an additional spectroscope, which was adjusted to the
sun before starting, and when possible I directed it-to the
sun, and on each occasion saw a great number of lines at
the part of the spectrum under examination than when
viewed from the earth. The lines were beautifully defined.
No ozone was shown either at the Observatory or in the
balloon.

useful service, have a rightto complain that their
claims are postponed to those of one who is not even
the senior unprovided for. Major-General:Lawren-
son's appointment to the Bth Hussars is one to be
cordially endorsed. He has been 47 years in the
army, was a capital regimental officer, and has
creditably filled highly important positiong in the
field and at home. He commanded the whole of the
English cavalry during the later portion of the Cri-
mean War, and is just about to retire from the most
important administrative post connected with the
cavalry service.—Army and Navy Gazette.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The motion of Mr. Seely in the House of Commons
on Thursday evening on " Dockyard Accounts,"
and " the apparent excessive cost of fitting out, re-
fitting, and repairing certain of her Majesty's ships,"
would have obtained greatly increased weight had
he included the cost of " conversion" or " recon-
struction" of certain of her Majesty's ships. No
case selected from her Majesty's navy could have
given greater weight to Mr. Seely's motion than
that of the Royal Alfred. First laid down on the
stocks as a screw liner, she was afterwards, in one
stage of reconstruction, cut down and altered to an
1 On-cased 34-gun frigate (with 4iin. plates extend-
ing round stem and stern, but with an inclined tim-
ber planking on her gun-deck), to carry Bin. smooth-
bore guns, and 110-pounder rifled Armstrongs. In
the meantime, the gun and plate experiments at
Shoeburyness, and American experience, were teach-
ing us that the Royal Alfred class of ship as then de-
signed was in any future contest with an enemy's iron-
cased forts or ships, utterly useless for offence or de-
fence, and that she must therefore again be "recon-
structed." On the condemnation by the Admiralty
of armoured ships carrying only 4fin. armour-plat-
ing upon a timber side of some 18in. in thickness,
without any inner skin of iron, the Royal Alfred,
as the only vessel of that class yet under the hands
of the shipwrights, was fixed on to be altered in
some way so as to fulfil the idea of a more perfect
armoured ship. Rear-Admiral G. Elliot, Superin-
tendent of Portsmouth yard, sent in to the Admi-
ralty a plan for the ship, on which she would have
carried a 9in. iron belt at the water-line, a square
Gin. iron box amidships, capped by a turret mount-
ing two rifled " Big Wills," or 600-pounders, and
other guns for shot or shell in the unprotected por-
tion of the ship's gun deck fore and aft. This, how-
ever, was rejected by the Admiralty on " advice,'
and it was announced in the House of Commons on
Thursday evening by Lord C. Paget that the Royal
Alfred was one of the ships selected to carry, as part
of her armament, a certain number of the new 12-
ton guns. To enable her to do this, she is there-
fore being reconverted at Portsmouth on a plan sent
down from the Admiralty. When launched some
few months since she had the ordinary number of
15 or 16 ports on each side of her main deck, which
gave sufficient space to work 68 or 100-pounders.
As, however, the ship is now to carry 300-pounders
m a square bin. iron box amidships on her main
deck, all previous arrangements and deck fittings
have to be altered. As a 34-gun frigate of the ordi-
nary converted iron-cased type, the main or gun
deck of the ship presented a fine appearance, pierced
with ports or embrasures for the guns throughout its
entire length on either side, with evident space for
the proper working of the guns. Now the alternate
gun ports are being blocked up with short tim-
bers, and others opened to receive the monster
300-pounders, of 12 tons weight each, while
the planking of the deck has been torn up to
allow of the fixing of the machinery which is to
" train" the guns. In examining the Royal Alfred's
main deck line of gun ports it will be seen that the
ports being stopped up are only being closed with
short pieces of timber that have no assisting strength
fro:n the framing proper of the ship, and can give
no support to the external armour plating when
struck by an enemy's shot. In cutting the new
ports for the larger guns, however, the ship's frame
is weakened in a much greater and very serious de-
gree. Many of the arms from the upper deck, which
are bolted on the inner side of the ship on the main-
deck, between the guns are cut through. Even the
iron diagonal bands which brace and hold the ship's
frame together from her keel to her topsides are re-
morselessly cut away in every instance where they
cross the line of a port. It must be evident, there-
fore, that but slight" backing" power will be given
by the sides of the Royal Alfred to her armour-
plating with the short unsupported pieces of timber
in the filled in ports, the destruction of the iron
diagonal frame fastenings by the opening of the new
ports for thit 12-ton guns, and the absence of any
iron inner skin to the ship's side on the gun-deck.
In fact, if finished on her present plan, she will be,
when ready for hoisting her pennant of commission,
a monstrous burlesque upon what will then be con-
sidered a first-class ironclad, and if ever sent to the
Channel she will be in constant danger of breaking
in two amidships and sinking from sheer weakness
of body and overweight of armour and armament.
The following appointments were made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty :—Commander E. A. Porcher,
to the Sparrowhawk, commissioned; Commander
C. J. Bullock, to the Formidable, additional, for
service with the Serpent ; Lieut. Francis T. Hamil-
ton, to the Pembroke ; George Christie, master, to
the Sparrowhawk ; Arthur M'Kenna, surg., to the
Pelorus Alfred Boys, paymaster, to the Sparrow-
hawk ; Hugh A. Haswell, assist.-paymaster, to the
Meander ; FredeLick W. Imes, clerk, to the Royal
Adelaide ; H. C. W. Gibson, clerk, to the Sparrow-
hawk ; and George B. Collier, assist.-clerk, to the
Victory.

The time of vibration of a delicate horizontal magnet
kindly lent to me by Captain Evans, of the Admiralty, vi-
brated in about 25•077 at the height of one mile, and on
the earth vibrated in about 2x•001.
As the remits hitherto obtained indicate that the laws
which hold good by day may be very different by night, I
have, through the kindness of my friend, Mr. T. Lopwith,
F.R.S., and Mr. Edward Porter, of Tynemouth, obtained
two bulls'-eye safety lamps made of copper, so as not to in-
fluence the magnetic results, by Mr. Watson, of Newcastle,
with the view of night ascents. One of these was taken up •
Mr. Wallace, the engineerof the Woolwich gasworks, hav-
ing previously caused a stream of gas to pass over it, which
it did harmlessly, before starting. We therefore had with
us the very unusual circumstance of a lamp burning, and
safely descended with it still burning.
We came down on the farm of Mr. W, licks, from whom
we received hospitality and attention, for which we beg to
thank him.—l am, sir, &c., JAMES GLAISHER.
Blackheath, March 4.

Fearful Tragedy at -Hackney.

-41. -

MURDER OF A NEPHEW AND ATTEMPTED
t uSr
dUaIyC
niD E e
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eEm Me Ut Rw Da
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cRr
eEa St
eSd.
On S
through-
out the neighbourhood of Hackney and Dalston in conse-
quence of a rumour that a dreadful tragedy had taken place
in a villa in the Nightingale-road, Hackney. Upon insti-
tuting inquiries the following were ascertained to be the
facts. For some time past a gas-fitter and bell-hanger, of
the name of Henry Carmichael, has been engaged in fitting
up a row of newly-built houses, called Nightingale-villas,
situated in the Nightingale-road, Hackney. The man and
his family, consisting of his wife and nephew, were allowed
to live in No. 3of the villas. The villa in question was a.
large empty house. It is stated that for some time past the
wretched woman, Elizabeth Carmichael, who murdered
her unfortunate nephew, has been subject to fits of religious
fanaticism. She was very desponding, and, as her husband
expressed it, "often sulked." On Friday morning at half-
past eight o'clock the husband got up and left his wife
Elizabeth Carmichael, aged 41 years, and her nephew, a
boy named Henry Smith, aged 10 years, lying on a bed,
which had been laid in the corner of the first-floor back
room. He went downstairs, lit the fire, and prepared
breakfast. He then brought his wife and her nephew their
breakfast upstairs. Much to his surprise he found the door
locked. He knocked, but received no answer. He thought,
he stated, that his wife was sulking. The husband then
went to attend to his bell-hanging in the other houses until
dinner time, and he then brought his wife up her dinner,
but, upon knocking, he again received no answer. At tea
time he again brought her up her tea, but his knocking
elicited no remark from his wife. At half-past seven
o'clock in the evening he, for the fourth time, went to his
wife's room, and no notice being taken of his knocks, ho
said, "I tell you what it is, I'll have. no more
of your sulking. If you do not open the door
or answer, I shall send for the police, and have
the door burst in." He then burst open the door
with his shoulder, and was horrified in discovering the
dead body of the boy lying across the bed with his head
thrown back, and a fearful gash in his throat. He then
turned to his wife, and said, "Aunt, aunt, what have you
done ?" She gave a moan, and pointed to the dead body of
her nephew. There was a dreadful cut across her throat,
severing the windpipe. Dr. Charles Welsh was instantly
sent for. Upon the arrival of the police, Inspector Morris,
of the N division, had her removed to the German Hospital.
On Saturday afternoon, at one, she was partly sensible, but
unable to speak. When asked if she wished to make any
statement she wrote the word "No."

Large crowds of persons yesterday proceeded to the
locality in question to view the scene of the murder. The
house which the Carmichael family had temporarily charge
of is a genteel, newly-built villa residence, at a rental of
£4O or £5O a year. A respectable family, it is stated, were
to have occupied it as tenants within a few hours after the
time at which the murder was discovered.

The murdered boy, Henry Joseph Smith, was the son of
parents who reside in the country, and he was adopted by
Henry Carmichael and his wife, who had no children of
their own. The family are said to have been for some time
past in considerable poverty. The only furniture in the
room which they occupied in No. 3, Nightingale-villas,
consisted of an old press bedstead, apparently too ricketty
for use, as it was stowed away in a corner, and a flock bed
laid on the floor, and upon which the three persons slept.
There were neither chairs, tables, nor other furniture in
the room. "Under these circumstances the despondency
and religious monomania of the miserable woman, Eliza-
beth Carmichael, naturally increased, and it is said that
she more than once threatened to destroy her husband's
life as well as her own, but unfortunately due heed was
not given to the indication of the growth of a homicidal
tendency, her husband attributing everything to sulks and
ill-temper.
It appears from the statements of the medical gentlemen
who have been called in that the unfortunate boy must
have been murdered for some hours before his murderess
attempted to commit suicide. Dr. Charles Welch, who was
called to see the boy immediately after the discovery, was
of opinion that death must have taken place at least two
hours previously. At the German Hospital Dr. Beaumber
examined the woman, and found her windpipe cut through.
There appears to be every reason to believe that if the
wound had been inflicted two or three hours before, death
must have inevitably taken place before her husband burst
into the room.

When the police entered the room where the occurrence
took place they found the floor stained with marks of bloody
feet in every direction; the woman was undressed and partly
reclining against the wall. Sho was sensible, but was too
weak from loss of blood to do more than to point to the
body of the murdered child that lay beside her. Next the
corpse, on the bed, was found a largo brown handled table-
knife, covered with blood. It presented indications of
having been recently sharpened, no doubt for the perpetra-
tion of the horrible deed. The sharpened edge appeared
to have been turned by the use to which it was put. It is
supposed that the wretched woman had concealed the knife
on the previous night, and that she had it in her possession
in the bed in readiness for the accomplishment of her dread-
ful purpose. It is certain that the knife was not found by
her accidentally in the room.

Last evening (Sunday) our reporter was informed by Dr.
Beaumber that the wretched murderess was in no immediate
danger of death.

The late Fatal Catastrophe in Erith Reach.

On Saturday afternoon Mr. Carttar, the coroner for Kent
opened an inquiry at the Pier Hotel, Erith, on view of the
body of John Newman Harrison, aged 13, one of the ten
naval cadets who were drowned by the upsetting of a boat
belonging to the Worcester training ship.
Mr. Bullivant, the hon. secretary, and Captain Whether
the master of the school, attended to watch the proceed-
ings.

The Coroner, in opening the inquiry, briefly
adverted to
the melancholy occurrence. The school on board the Wor-
cester was established for the educatioand it w
of youths to serve
as officers in the mercantile marine,
for their education in the professio :hat theyaenecessary
should be
exercised both in the sailing and rowing of boats, and
which was attended more or less with a certain amount of
risk. He was informed that they also were instructed in
the art of swimming. The institution was managed by a
committee of gentlemen whom he understood took every
care to ensure the safety of the youths placed at the school.
He trusted that would be found to be the case at the end
of the inquiry. On the present occasion he did not pro-
pose to go further into the matter than to take evidence of
the identity of the lad they had seen, an then to adjourn
the proceedings for seven days, bd y
which time some of the
other bodies of the lads might be recovered.
Mr. Bullivant, the hon. secretary, said it was the desire
of the committee that there should be the fullest inquiry.
The Rev. John Harrison, the vicar of Reigate, then de-
posed that the deceased lad was his second son. He joined
the Worcester in January, 1864.
In answer to the coroner, the r
ev. gentleman stated that
he did not wish to press any point in respect to the melan-
choly event. It was beyond the power of man to avert.
He believed every care was taken with the boys.
A Juryman inquired whether in the event of any of the
bodies being found in another part of the river there would
be any difficulty in bringing them to Erith.
The Coroner thought not, unless they Were really
landed. _ .

Mr. Glaisher's Third Winter Balloon Ascent.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—The results of the balloon experiments of different
times of the year having been found to be different, it is
with regret I have been able to make so few during the
winter. On both those I have made, our course was to the
sea, so limiting the period of observation, that I resolved I
would not go again in that direction. For a whole month
Mr. Coxwell and myself have been waiting for a wind that
would take us inland. So far as I have been unable to
de-
termine, there has been in the higher regions of the atmo-
sphere a general prevalence of W. and S.W.
winds all this
year. On this day (Feb. 27) the direction of the • d was
nearly N., and apparently steadily there ; and th:mballoon
began to be filled. When completed, the wind was south,
and pilot balloons went towards the N., and I still looked
forward to experiments of four or five hours' duration.
At Ih. 58m. we left ; at 2h. 2m. we passed over the river,
and were near Barking Reach. At an elevation of I,oooft.
the direction changed to S.W., and at 2h. 5m., at 3,000 ft.
high, to west. We then passed over Barking level, Dagen-
ham Marsh, Rainham Marshes, which were remarkable for
innumerable dykes, and moved due west, or directly to-
ward the sea, as before, All this time Mr. Coxwell watched
carefully the lower clouds; their motion was at right angles
to our own. Before we reached the sea he opened the valve.
The sun was shining brightly on the balloon, expanding
the gas rapidly, so that he had to part with many thousand
feet of gas before the balloon took a downward motion. On
descending to 3,000 ft. we fell in with the S.W. current,
and at 1,500 ft. we met with the S. current, passed inland
nearly over Langdon Hill, near Great Bursted, Balierican
the wood known as Forty Acres. Being at this time 3,000 ft.
high, we turned to move westward, or again towards
th
e
sea, and descended at South Hanningfield at 4h.
lm., hav-
ingthe travelled about 40 miles in the two hours. Within
same interval, at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the
horizontal movement of the air was 15 miles.
The currents of air wore therefore remarkable ; up to
1,500 feet it was nearly south ; between this and 3,000 feet
it was S.W., and due W. at heights exceeding this, and for
miles higher, as the clouds, which were fully throe or
four miles high, moved towards the east.
The temperature of the air on leaving was 52 deg. ; was
35 deg. from 3,500 feet to 4,500 feet, chiefly in cloud, and
rose to 39 deg. above the clouds at the height of one mile.
These variations were beautifully followed by an exceed-
ingly sensitive thermometer, with a corkscrew-like bulb,
made by Mr. John Browning, of 179, Strand.

The investigation was then adjourned for a week.
A visiting committee of the school instituted an inquiry
on Friday on board the ship, but nothing conclusive could
be elicited as to the upsetting of the boat. It is stated that
the boys were quietly seated in the boat, and the sail was
lowered, when she went over. It is alleged that there
were two or throe fearful gusts of wind from the north-
west ; but considering the sizo of the boat, it is difficult to
imagine how they could have had such effect upon the
craft as to capsize it.
Amongst other things it is conjectured that sho might
have struck some hidden obstruction, and it has been sup-
posed that the boat might in some way have fouled the
piles which have been driven in the river in forming the
wall of the pumping station, at the southern outfall of the
main drainage works at Crossness. The catastrophe, how-
ever, is stated to have happened in mid-stream, more to-
wards the Essex shore, and the boat does not bear any
mark of being stove or coming in contact with any obstruc-
tion of this kind.

We passed through several clouds; some were approach-
ing saturation, the temperature of the air and that of the
dew-point being nearly alike, others were less damp. When
out of cloud the air was dry, and to the senses much warmer
than the difference between the thermometer readings in-

The quotation of gold at Paris is about 1 per mile pm., and
the short exchange on London is 25.15 per £1 sterling. On
comparing these rates with the English 31int price of £3
17s. 1O d. per ounce for standard gold, it appe.vs that gold is
about 2-10 the per cent. dearer in Paris than in London,

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