The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-02 00:00:00

Report of G. P. Bidder, Esq., C.E., on Mr.
Gale's Invention.

-....
Messrs. Gale and Saunders.

Dear Sirs,—ln accordance with your request, I will now
endeavour to submit the practical conclusions which have
occurred to me in reference to Mr. Gale's process for ren-
dering gunpowder inexplosive.
From the experiments made on my own premises and by
my directions, I am clearly of opinion that it is established
beyond all question, that by mixing one tart of gunpowder
with four of the protective powder, gunpowder is not only
rendered inexplosive, but that the compound acts as a
damper on any mass of burning materials on which it may
be thrown.

That the powder so embedded is preserved from caking
by damp, which commonly occurs when packed in the or-
dinary way in barrels : and to obviate which, I am informed,
it is usual to allow 20 per cent. of space to permit the sur-
face to be shaken, and thereby kept broken up.
Furthermore--should the compound become damp, by
being stored in exceptionally moist places, or by accident,
that the compound may be safely dried by being baked in
an oven, or, without special precaution, in any other way,
as no amount of heat can give rise to an explosion.
By resorting to Mr. Gale's process, the compound may
be transported either by common carriages, by railway in
ordinary trucks, or on shipboard, in any quantity, with ab-
solute safety; and, indeed, it is infinitely less objectionable
than many articles of commerce, such as coal, cotton, wool,
hemp, &c., whether when stored away in ordinary sheds
and warehouses or in course of transport.
Coal, as is well known, is occasionally liable to sponta-
neous combustion, and with the other articles named is
capable of ignition, and, when once inflamed, these ma-
terials, and many others that might be mentioned, add
intensity to the conflagration in the warehouse, building,
truck, or shipboard, in which the fire occurs ; whereas Mr.
Gale's compound would positively act as a damper, and its
tendency, therefore, if exercised at all, is to arrest the pro-
gress of a fire rather than to aggravate it.

In short, I may sum up the result by stating that gun-
powder may now be conveyed, stored, and used by means
of this process with absolute safety to the public, and even
as regards those employed in its manufacture one danger-
ous process—that of packing—is rendered harmless ; and
it is quite possible that other arrangements may be dis-
covered to lessen the remaining risks still to be encountered
in the making, and thus tend to further economy of life
and money.
The Legislature has, therefore, now the means of dic-
tating a mode by which all public alarm as regards the
transport, storing, and housing of gunpowder may be set
at rest ; and although public opinion may enforce regula-
tions to secure public safety quite irrespective of additional
cost—especially should another severe explosion occur—
yet if, as a few observations will show, the result of the
introduction of Mr. Gale's process is, taking all circum-
stances into account, a positive economy, how much the
hands of the Legislature would be strengthened in en-
forcing, by statute, stringent regulations for accomplishing
so desirable an object.
Now with regard to the bulk and weight of the mixture,
which is an obvious objection—namely, that the compound
being five times heavier or thereabouts than the powder
contained in it, renders it necessary to convey five tons foi
every ton of gunpowder—it is to be remarked that, as the
mixture may be classed for railway transport with the
heaviest and commonest articles, instead of being specially
rated as gunpowder is (in consequence of the special and
costly mode of constructing the trucks used for its con-
veyance), the real cost would undoubtedly be less.
The same observation applies still more forcibly to gun-:
power on ship board, which, in addition to the precautions
essential to its pro ection, and unless its presence is con-
cealed involves an extra rate of insurance extending
over the ship and the entire cargo ; whereas the com-
pound, if in any large quantity, and properly packed in
bags, might be stored in place of ballast.
Tho result appears to me obvious : that the cost of
transport by sea—taking all elements into account (not
omitting the fact that passengers would, if possible, avoid
sailing in a vessel partly loaded with gunpowder—must
be less for the compound than for the unprotected gun-
powder.
With regard to the storage of gunpowder on board or
on shorn, it is only necessary to reflect on the special
arrangements now made to lessen the danger in order to
arrive at the conclusion that a very heavy rent is imposed
on this dangerous article. Sometimes old men-of-war are
used as magazines : these, though more free from the
chance of such an accident as that which occurred at Erith,
are, nevertheless, excessively costly as stores. Indeed, if
interest on capital, insurance, and salaries be taken into
account, the cost of storage would be found to be enor-
mous, without absolute safety being obtained.
The more usual mode, however, is to select some
remote locality on the margin of a navigable channel, and
then construct casematos specially for this purpose, and
then to locate, as near as may be, a few select attendants.
This may not be so expensive as floating magazines ; but
as compared with housing the compound in bulk, in barrel
or in bags—in any ordinarily contrived sheds, provided
there is a dry floor and a sound water-tight roof, and
situated in any neighbourhood, however dense—provided
nn t - th,tc it be convenient for the rmri,ogp
ing no other special protection or attention—l do not hesi-
tate to express my decided conviction that the housing of
this material—whether afloat or on shore—must neces-
sarily be much more economical than that of pure gun-
powder—though less by 5 to 1 in weight, and of 3 to 1 in
bulk, when stowed in barrels, or of 21 to 1 when stowed in
bags.

it is hardly necessary to allude to the necessity of some
protection being secured to the public from the storage of
gunpowder by retail dealers. No one resident in a town of
any size can be certain that he is not within the influence
of an explosion of from one to two cwt. of gunpowder.
Our police reports indicate the reality of this source of dan-
ger ; but if it be rendered illegal for any person whatever
to have in his possession any quantity of gunpowder ex-
cept as a compound, this cause of apprehension would
cease.

I may just advert to the facility of separating the powder
from the protecting material; this process is so familiar to
every mechanician—and indeed so many contrivances at
once present themselves for effecting this safely and ra-
pidly, whether for ordinary purposes or even in the excite-
ment of an engagement—that I content myself by observ-
ing that no objection could be raised that could not in-
stantly be set at rest.

So readily indeed does the protecting powder separate
fromthe gunpowder, and so little is the gunpowder affected
by the process, that on mixing 101 b. of gunpowder with
401 b. of protecting powder, and separating them again,
there was not even the turn of the scale to indicate any
loss or gain of weight in the gunpowder.
There is one element of cost—viz., that of the compound
itself—which must be taken into account. This, at pre-
sent, I am informed, amounts to £1 108 per ton, or £6 for
every ton of gunpowder.
This cost will doubtless be subject to large reductions,
like every other article of manufacture, when the demand
increases. And as regards the watte of the material, this
is only likely to occur in the case of the export of gun-
powder, when the economy of transport must be so large
as altogether to outweigh the expenditure ; while for home
consumption the powder may be used over and over again,
the only charge being for the return-carriage of a low-
classed article.
On the whole, therefore, I am clearly and decidedly of
opinion that for all commercial purposes Mr. Gale's pro-
cess may be introduced with the certainty in almost every
case of securing an absolute economy to the consumer,
while at the same time securing the public from the recur-
rence of those distressing accidents to which tho use of un-
protected gunpowder is necessarily exposed.
I have refrained from going into the question as to its
applicability to warlike purposes, military or naval. It is
obvious that the danger for the future may be confined to
the powder actually prepared and stowed in a battery, or
on shipboard for immediate use.
In the dangerous process—that of charging shells—
tho risk may be confined to the small quantity of gun-
powder immediately dealt with, as the powder in bulk
being kept in the compound form is thereby safe from
explosion.

In conclusion, I will only add, that I unfeignedly feel
that Mr. Gale has accomplished a national object, namely,
that of providing for the use of gunpowder with absolute
safety to the public ; and not only without adding to its
present cost, but, in all probability, with a certain future
reduction to the consumer.—l am, dear Sirs, faithfully
yours, G. P. BIDDER.
24, Great George-street, 'Westminster, Sept. 5, 1865"

SUGAR.-The strong upward tendency of the mar-
ket during the past few weeks, and the favourable
features at present generally shown, evidence that an im-
portant change has taken place in the position of the article
since the opening months of the year. This has, to some
extent, been unexpected, as continued liberal arrivals,
added to already excessive stocks, inclined the more
cautious section of the trade to the belief that any
material advance in value would be checked until the
turn of Christmas at least, and the improvement wo now
witness may be chiefly attributed to the extraordinarily fine
weather fcr this season of the year, and the fresh impetus it
has given to consumption by insuring abundant crops of fruit.
Both refiners and grocers have been ready buyers, and heavy
quantities have changed hands; but towards the close the
dealers have not come forward so freely, partly in consequence
of the higher pretensions of holders, the light amount on offer,
and the advance rate in the Bank rate of discount yester-
day to 44/ per cent. Nevertheless, extreme firmness pre-
vails, and quotations range from Gd. to ls. Gd. por cwt.
above those of this day sen'night. Tho leading trans-
actions have been as follows .-Foxy brown to grey Mauri-
tius, 295. 6d. to 345. 6d. ; middling to good yellow crystal-
lised, 365. to 395. 6d. ; low to good Gurpattah Bengal,
335. 6d. to 365. 6d. ; good white Benares, Hs. 6d. ;
common Madras Jaggery, 28s. ; grainy, 295. to 295. 9d, ;
good brown to good yellow Penang, 335. to 335. 6d, ;
clayed Manila, at from 325. 6d. up to 84s. ; unclayed, 30s.
to 30s. 6d. ; No. 11/ Havana, 375. 6d. to 555. ; Cuba Mus-
cove does, 355. 6d. to 365. 6d. ; and low to good yellow
Porto Rico, 355. 6d. to 395. 6d. Floating cargoes are scarce,
and we have no sales to report.-The Grocer.