The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-28 00:00:00

711 E ARMY.

His Royal Highness Prince Arthur yesterday
rode down to Woolwich and spent the after part of
the day in the gymnasium and school of arts. He
witnessed a lengthened course of sword and other
exercises practised by the officers and men of the
Royal Artillery. His Royal Highness was accom-
panied by Major Elphinstone, and was received at
the mess quarters by General Sir Richard Dacres,
Commandant, and the garrison staff, who attended
him until half-past 4 o'clock p.m., when he returned
to his residence at Greenwich. The Prince has ex-
gaged the services of Sergeant-Major Kelly, gym-
nastic instructor at Woolwich, who will attend
three times a week at the Ranger's house, to ini-

tiate the Prince in athletic and sword exercises,
during his stay at Greenwich. A few days pre-
viously his Royal Highness visited the Royal Mili-
tary Academy, when M. Lovey and Herr Feiling,
the French and German masters recently appointed
tutors to the Prince, received instructions to com-
mence their duties.

Letters received from Medeira announce the
arrival there, on the 9th inst., of the Adventure
screw troopship, Commander Lethbridge, with
Royal Artillery on board for the West Indies. Fair
winds and a pleasant voyage had been experienced
from the Downs, with the exception of one portion
of the voyage, where the ship rolled considerably,
owing to a strong breeze right aft, causing some
sea sickness, especially among the women and chil-
dren. The ship was appointed to leave early on
the morning of the 10th in prosecution of her
voyage.

A general order from the Horse Guards has been
received at Chatham garrison, notifying, with re-
ference to paragraph 5 of the Staff College regu-
lations published with the general order of March
last, to officers of the army the subjects in mili-
tary history and geography on which candidates
for admission to the Staff College will be examined
in July, 1863. They are—in military history, the
campaign of Napoleon in 1809, the campaign of
Wellington in 1811, and the campaign of Welling-
ton in 1815 ; in military geography—the basin of
the Danube, the Portuguese frontier, the theatre of
operations on the frontier of France and in Bel-
gium, and the principal routes from Paris to Brus-
sels. The number of campaigns required to be taken
up has been considerably diminished, in order
to enable candidates better to acquaint themselves
with, and to be prepared to reason upon, the cir-
cumstances by which the issue of the campaigns
was mainly influenced, for which purpose the can-
didates should compare for themselves to the fullest
extent possible the accounts of both sides. The ex-
amination will be principally directed to elicit this
knowledge, rather than a mere narrative of facts.

An unusually large number of time-expired
troops, as well as those who from sickness or rather

causes have been found unfitted for further service,

were discharged from the army at the St. Mary's
invalid establishment, Chatham, yesterday, in ac-
cordance with orders to that effect received from the
Horse Guards, the whole of the number having
previously been inspected by a Board of the Com-
missioners of Chelsea Hospital. The troops, who
numbered upwards of 100 men of all ranks, had
been selected from the 7th, 10th, and 13th Hussars,
Military Train, Royal Artillery, 2d Royals, sth
Fusileers, 12th, 16th, 17th, 20th, 25th (King's
Own Borderers), 26th (Cameronians), 33d, 37th,
47th, 50th (Queen's Own), 59th, 60th, 61st, 64th,
67th, 78th (Highlanders), 82d, 83d, 84th, 90th
Light Infantry, and 101st and 105th regiments. In
addition to the troops discharged, a number of non-
commissioned officers and men left the invalid estala-

lishment to join their respective regiments or depots.
Arrangements are in progress for removing the
general Hospital, as well as the invalid depot, to-
gether with the entire staff of officers and other
officials at Fort Pitt and St. Mary's Barracks, from
Chatham to Netley, where the large military hos-
pital will be ready for the reception of patients
early in the approaching year.

THE JTALIAiV CHURCH.

(From the Times Correspondent.)
MILAN, Nov. 23.

I have to report a skirmish between the Passaglian
and the Papal clergy in this country. One of the
cities inltaly in which the views of FatherPassaglia
have won the greatest number of respectable and
influential converts is this old metropolitan see of
Milan, which in the middle ages stood for many
antagonism against Roman usurpation
years in open ante
and arrogance, and was the head of what was called
the Italian diocess—a diocess which embraced the
whole of North Italy. One of Passaglia's friends
is the Provost of San Carlo al Corso, one of the
largest and most important Milanese parishes.
The Provost asked Passaglia whether he was under
any canonical disability that prevented his ascend-
ing the pulpit, and, being answered in the nega-
tive, he invited the padre to preach the ten ser-
mons of the present Advent season. Passaglia
accepted the offer, and on Sunday last, at eleven
o'clock, he presented himself in his place. St.
Charles' Church, at Milan, is a clumsy, squeezed
up, ill-designed Grecian building outwardly, but a
vast, splendid rotunda in the inside. It lies close
upon the Corso Vittorio Emmanuelle, the very prin-
cipal street in the town, a street beset with busy
crowds at all hours of the day, and almost night,
but so closely thronged, especially on a Sunday
about noon, that men and vehicles can only with
difficulty force their way along the swarming
thoroughfare. The engagement of Passaglia had
been kept a profound secret, with a view to avoid,
if possible, untimely hindrance or disturbance; and
as the preacher ascended the pulpit-steps, he saw
before him no larger audience than what an un-
known average orator might be expected to attract.
He had, however, scarcely gone through a few in-
troductory sentences when he was recognised, and
his arrival and presence circulated through the
crowd like wildfire, so that you would say that
nearly the whole Corso poured in at once into the
church. The audience was soon so pressed together
that a pin, as the saying is, could hardly have fallen
to the ground, and the air became at once so close
in the pulpit, but if I may
that the orator, who has a most powerful organ,
was for a few moments made hoarse with it. I have
never heard Passaglia
Judge from personal acquaintance, I should say that
for stateliness of look,
highly polished, and
dignity of delivery, strength
of
voice,
and
flow of noble, languagere ach
h
historical ; he took as hie His oration was strictly
he could hardly have a rival
among Italian p
impressive
his
comment
the Ist chapter of
John, and limited
ent to
that
he
purely doctrinal
matter, purposely avoiding any subject
seem allusive to the controversy to which
might
given rise. The sermon was spoken before amtasat
attentive, well behaved congregation, which, when
l
was
oy
over, dispersed with the
greatest order.
Monsignor Caccia, a bishop in parttbus, who is

now administering the vacant diocess of Milan, was'
absent at the time at Rho, but he was soon informed
of the occurrence, and intimated to the Provost of
St. Charles that Passaglia was not to be allowed to
exercise any of the duties of his sacred ministry in
that church, and most particularly not to be allowed
to preach. The Provost answered that Passaglia
was licensed to exercise his sacred ministry when-
ever he chose by virtue of a decree of the Sacra
Penitenzierta. The Bishop replied by a threat of
putting the Provost himself under the interdict.
There was a long and somewhat angry correspon-
dence between the parish priest and his diocesan,
but the former seemed well disposed to hold his
ground regardless of consequences.
In the meanwhile the Prefect of Milan, Villa-
marina, sent to the central Government at Turin
the particulars of this priestly squabble, and ex-
pressed some apprehension that the appearance of
Passaglia on a Milan pulpit might give rise to some
collision betweeen the hostile clerical parties and
their partisans. An agent of the police waited
upon Passaglia at his residence in the Marquis of
Cavour's palace, and, in the presence of this latter
nobleman, and, in the very gentlest terms, endea-
voured to prevail upon the father to give up his
Milanese engagement. Passaglia held fast by his
purpose, and repeatedly answered the police-agent
that he would obey orders, but must disregard
mere counsels. Saturday (yesterday) arrived, and
by the one o'clock p.m. train Passaglia travelled
hither from Turin. He took up his quarters at
the house of Monsignor Brioschi, one of the Mi-
lanese prelates, who has most zealously embraced
Passaglian views. He was there visited by the
Provost of St. Charles, who told him that in his
difficulty with his ecclesiastical superior he had
deemed it expedient to address the lay authorities,
and had signified to the Prefect Villamarina that by
allowing Father Passaglia the free use of his pulpit
he, the Provost, considered that he was only exer-
cising his indisputable right, and called upon the
guardians of public order to screen him from vio-
lence, and to take proper measures against any popu-
lar disturbance. The Provost went on stating that
the Prefect had vouchsafed no answer, and that
nothing should be ventured unless a good under-
standing could be established with the lay authori-
ties. Passaglia instantly presented himself to Villa-
marina, put himself under the protection of the law,
and added that he thought he had fulfilled all the
obligations of a dutiful subject by simply acquaint-
ing the authorities with his firm resolution to preach
in St. Charles's on the morrow. The Prefect fully
reassured the padre, denied having in any manner
written or telegraphed to Turin on the subject, con-
tended that he felt no alarm, had communicated
none to Turin, and ended by saying that he would
have given the Provost of St. Charles the same as-
surances if he applied for his protection. The Pro-
vost waited upon the Prefect early on the following
(this) morning, but Villamarina was nowhere to be
found ; whereupon the poor Provost was seized with
a sudden panic, and, fearing lest he might find
himself exposed to the fury of a mob fana-
ticised by the Papal party, without any reliance
on the support of the police, withdrew from
his position and requested Passaglia to desist
from his purpose. It was therefore an-
nounced that the series of Passaglia's sermons for
the Advent was interrupted. What the result of
Passaglia's eloquence upon an Italian audience, and
more especially on so susceptible a multitude as that
of Milan, might be under present circumstances I
would not undertake to say. It is possible that
Villamarina and the Turin Government were really
afraid that the animosity between the two hostile
clerical factions might lead to scenes which it was
their duty to prevent, even at the expense of what
might seem to English people right and justice,
but it may also be that the Rattazzi Ministry were
only acting in consistency with their former de-
sertion of Ricasoli's policy with respect to Pas -
saglia, when they refused to sanction the promise
of indemnity for any loss that the priests signing
Passaglia's address to the Pope might have to en-
counter. The fact is that Passaglia would be a great
weapon in the hands of a daring and resolute
Italian Government, not only against the Pope,
but against the Power whose bayonets nphold. the
Pope at Rome; and as Rattazzi feels sure that the
Emperor Napoleon is unwilling to withdraw from
Rome he may dread that that Sovereign would be
angry if the Italians found a religious solution to
that Roman question to which all their political
endeavours afforded no clue.

THE WALKER COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, Nov. 27.

Mr. Reed, the coroner for South Northumberland,
and a jury, assembled in the Railway Inn, Walker,
this morning, to make inquiry into the cause of the
death of William Barnes and the 15 men and lads
killed in the pit at this place on Saturday morning
last.

Mr. M. Dunn, Government inspector of mines;
Mr. T. E. Foster, consulting engineer to the coal
trade; Mr. Jobling, managing viewer to the col-
liery, and other mining engineers, were present,
but there appeared to he but little interest felt in the
inquiry by the pitmen, as few, if any, were present.
Anthony Barnes, master wasteman at Walker
Colliery, was the first witness examined. He was
in the pit at the time that the explosion took place.
It occurred about a quarter past 6 in the morning
of the 22d of this month. He had gone through
the waste before the accident took place. Found
all to be right, and a good current of air prevailing.
Never saw any gas in the pit ; but they wrought
with the Davy lamp. At half-past 4 o'clock he
was at the north or down cast " trouble." The men
were shooting stone to enlarge the return. While
there witness saw Haswell fire one shot in the
stone. The explosion occurred an hour and three-
quarters after that. After firing the shot, wit-
ness asked Haswell and the other two men to
go back with him to where they had their clothes
lying to get a " bit bait" (something to eat). He
could be with them there about 10 minutes. He
left them sitting there, and they would have to re-
turn to the trouble again, but he did not think that
they could have time to prepare and fire another
shot before the explosion took place. He was at
the furnace at the upcast when it occurred. The
first thing he did was to go to the north side of the
upcast pit. He found the doors all right. He re-
turned to the furnace and kept the fires on, and
stopped there as long as he could, but was obliged
to leave on account of the after-damp. He came
out of the pit by the up-cast. He was very ill from
the effects of the after-damp. He could say nothing
further about it.

By Mr. Dunn—There are goaves in the pit, but
he never saw any gas. One of the furnaces had
been damped 6 hours before the explosion took
place. The explosion was a mystery to him. The
size of the return was 6ft. by 4ft. He did not think
that the explosion took place at the trouble.
By Mr. Foster—Before the shot was fired he
aecsdlteetahnne, placeea r
two
when
h e with his
then
workingl a mp
told
,t andhe
boardsna
were found
oerfiere
foul,that
f
theeaml l a atwaswin
oetth tsehhdi
ineaklyd tstlik aatbt tathcheke bpoo
iavt re drms
fired wa
no uahl
tda
Idbvepa
previously
keo
vue
irl
0.
uc
801
l;
lbieerGdyei,doornng
been through all the workings. Everything was
safe. The indications of gas were trifling. He ex-
amined the wide boards between the two troubles
or dykes, and found no gas. Had there been any
gas there it would have gone by the return to the
dyke, where Haswell was working. The gas he
saw was two walls north and two pillars west from
the return on the low side of the dyke, in the face
of a wall. Had never seen gas outside of the goaves.
He believed that the goaves were clean. He could
not tell where gas had come from, or the seat of
the explosion. Had his lamp in the north juds
of the goaves on the morning of the explosion.
There was as much air as usual, though the fur-
nace was slackened. There were eight hewers
atshseufilexcpielnostioanir.
Whenwork in
tgh ei n
air the
was pit
slackened t ti mh
eer e owf
to work the pit with safety.
Edward Robinson, another overman at the col-
liery, was in the east district at the time of the ex-
plosion. Had examined it that morning. There
Was a good current of air going through the pit that
morning. Could not form any idea where the ex-
plosion took place. When it occurred he made to