The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-20 00:00:00

71-1 E ARMY.

On Saturday morning an inspection of the troops
of the Household Brigade and the 3d Regiment of
Buffs took place in Hyde-park before the Duke of
Cambridge and staff. Shortly after 9 o'clock the
Fusiliers, Grenadiers, Coldstreams, and the 3d Buffs
from the Tower arrived in Hyde-park. At lOo'clock
his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, the
Commander-in-Chief, attended by Sir James Yorke
Scarlett, Sir James Macdonald, General Crawford,
and a brilliant staff of officers, appeared on the
ground, and, although the weather was unfavour-
able, some hundreds of persons were present. The
troops having formed into line and open column,
his Royal Highness minutely inspected them, when
the various regiments went past in slow and quick
time. After various other movements, his Royal
Highness left the park with an expression of his
satisfaction.

Major.-Gen. J. Bloomfield, the Inspector-General
of Royal Artillery, who is making his half-yearly
tour of inspection of the armaments, magazines,
stores, artillery, materiel, and Royal Artillery
troops in the Chatham district, completed his in-
spection of the first division of the Depot Brigade,
Roya. Artillery, on Saturday. The Inspector-Gen.,
who was accompanied by his aide-de-camp, Major
C. C. Teesdale, C. 8., V.C., was received on his ar-
rival by Col. Nedham, commanding the Royal Ar-
tillery, in the Chatham district, and at once repaired
to the parade ground, where the officers and men of
the Ist division, to the number of 700, were drawn
up in line, at open order, under the command of
Lieut.-Col. Talbot. After receiving the general
salute, Major-Gen. Bloomfield instituted a minute
inspection of both ranks, particular attention being
paid to the arms and accoutrements of the non-com-
missioned officers and gunners. At the termination
of this portion of the inspection the line broke into
open column, right in front, and marched past in
slow and quick time with marked regularity, the
wheeling distance being preserved with exactness.
Owing to the high wind and heavy rain the
customary battalion movements had to be dispensed
with. Notwithstanding the unpropitious state of
the weather Major-Gen. Bloomfield determined on
testing the efficiency of the brigade shot and shell
practice. Accordingly the Armstrong and other
guns mounted on No. 1 bastion sea defences at the
entrance to the Medway were manned by a number
of gunners selected from the brigade. In addition to
the ordinary exercise with the 68-pounder and other
smooth-bore cast iron guns, practice was also car-
ried on with common and segment shell and solid
conical shot from the 110-pounder Armstrongs.
Notwithstanding the indistinctness of the range,
from the hazy state of the atmosphere and the un-
steadiness of the target, which on this occasion was
moored about one mile and a half to seaward, both
shot and shell were delivered with remarkable ae-
curscy. 'Major-Gen. Bloomfield next inspected the
non-commissioned officers and gunners at gyp drill,
mounting and dismounting sheers, and the nume-
rous methods of handling heavy ordnance. An exa-
mination next followed of the armaments of the
various batteries, as also the magazines and store-
rooms in charge of the Colonel commanding, all of
which were found to be in unexeeptionable order.
The Inspector-General expressed himself highly
gratified with everything he had witnessed. Major-
Gen. Bloomfield remarked that he was aware the
Duke of Cambridge, on the occasion of his inspec-
tion of the Ist division in the spring of the present
year, had called attention to the necessity of prac-
tising the recruits in " setting up" and "position"
drill, the military carriage of the men at that time
being much below the standard of smartness and
neatness. He (Major-Gen. Bloomfield) was very
glad to find that every attention had been paid
by Lieut.-Col. Talbot to remedy the cause of com-
plaint. He considered the men now, for smart-
ness and soldierlike bearing, equal to any in the
army.

Six batteries of 40-pounder Armstrong guns are
in course of removal to Aldershot from Woolwich,
for the service of the Coast Brigade Royal Artillery.
The first battery arrived about a fortnight since ;
the second at a late hour on Thursday night, the
heavy state of the roads having retarded progress
considerably. The guns are conveyed as far as
Guildford by detachments of the Royal Horse
Artillery and Depot Brigade, whence they are taken
by a party under the command of Capt. Gore, de-
spatched from Aldershott to meet them. Each bat-
tery consists of four guns of the following dimen-
sions :—Length over all, lift. 3in.; length of bar-
rel, Bft. 10in. ; diameter of bore, 4.75 in. ; weight,
34cwt. ; shot, 401 b. On the shafts of the limbers
is ironwork adapted to ordinary farm horse har-
ness, so that in cases of emergency the horses of
farmers on the route of march may be used to draw
the gun. Each battery is supplied with 152 rounds
of ammunition, together with a platform and four
ammunition waggons; and the transport of these,
together with the guns, required the service of 84
draught horses.

all expectation. London alone would have sent
2,000 or 3,000 men had they been asked for; and it
is gratifying to know that the local districts,
as far as Chelmsford and Maldon ou the one
hand, and down to Framlingham in Suffolk on the
other, were well represented. In addition to the
riflemen, six guns were sent from the West Essex
Yeomanry Artillery, and had the weather proved
at all fine a brilliant spectacle would have been
afforded. It was intended to have had a mimic
attack on the circular redoubt, which has ten guns,
two 8-inch and eight 68 pounders ; the fort would
have been defended by from 500 to 600 men, be-
sides the Harwich and 2d Middlesex Artillery, and
attacked by 800. Colonel Schuster and Major Tuf-
nell would have commanded the former, and Colonel
Money and Colonel Penton the latter. But the
best concerted schemes are not wholly independent
of the weather. Harwich was literally packed with
volunteers and spectators, and the streets were
apparently covered in by a succession of umbrellas.
The rain began to fail about 12 o'clock, and long
before the great bulk of the volunteers arrived—
three o'clock—the day had settled down into a
"regular soaker." Colonel Grey patiently waited
to see if the weather would change. Old " salts"
thought it would as the wind was veering a bit,
but so far from that being the case it did but rain
the faster ; and at last—there was no help for it—
all hope of a field• day was given up, not more to
the disappointment of the spectators than to the
volunteers. The result was so far unfortunate that
the men were put to trouble and expense for
nothing, but their presence on such a day, and their
subsequent steady, soldierlike endurance of the
pitiless shower, did but commend them to the
warmer sympathies of the public. So far the affair
was a test ; and so far, too, it will not have been in
vain. Indeed, it will long be remembered as the
great volunteer review which was to have been,
but was not. Alas
" The best laid schemes o' mice and men
Gang aft agee."

QUEEN'S (WESTMINSTER). CADET FETE AT
THE CRYSTAL PALACE.—Saturday was appointed
for the annual cadet fete and field sports at the Crystal
Palace, but in consequence of the unpropitious state
of the weather the out-door entertainments were
compelled to be abandoned. The cadets of the
Queen's, however, mustered to the number of be-
t ween GO and 70, and, accompanied by the cadet
drum and five band and the brass band of the regi-
ment, reached the Crystal Palace shortly after two
o'clock. The original programme was, that the
sports should have taken place in the cricket-ground;
but the youthful volunteers of the Queen's were not
to be disappointed ; and arrangements were there-
fore made by Capt. Morris, the adjutant, Capt. Styan,
and other members of the committee, that the various
races for prizes should come off in the south wing of
the Palace, which appeared to afford ample accom-
modation. The band of the regiment, under the
direction of Mr. James Truelove, the bandmaster,
was stationed at one end of the wing, and in the in-
tervals between the various sports performed a va-
riety of excellent music and attracted a vast con-
course of spectators, who, unheeding weather, had
visited the Palace. The sports were classified under
six heads, and the members who intended to com-
pete were formed into squads for each race or game,
viz., first division, for cadets 11 years old and under;
second, 14 and over 11; and the third, above 14
years old. The first was a fiat race, 50 yards, first
division ; first prize 55., second prize 3s. 100 yards
for second and third divisions; first prize 7s. 6d.,
second prize ss. The races were admirably run
by all the divisions, in the first division Foster win-
ning first and Buchanan second prize ; second divi-
sion, Harris first, and Middleton second prize ; third
division, Slough first and Taylor second prize. In
the second competition, high jump, three squads
were sized, and a prize of ss. awarded to the winner
in each squad. In the first two Hunt and Taylor
were the winners, and in the third, Tripp and
Briham having tied, were awarded a prize each.
Third, a hurdle race, distance same as No. 1,
four hurdles for first division, and six for
second and third divisions, the prizes for first
and second in each division being 7s. 6d. and
ss. In the first division Heming was first and
Foster second ; in the second division, Long-
street first and Harris second ; and in the
third division, Slough first and Hart second.
Fourth, jumping in sacks : In this amusing game
the first prize was Ss., and the second 2s. Gd.; 30
yards for first division, and GO yards for the second
and third divisions. In the first division, Hemming
and Sandam were the winners ; second division,
Longstreet and Edwards ; and third division,
Palmer and Shute. Fifth, picking up eggs, for two
squads, irrespective of age : Twenty eggs were
placed one yard apart, and each egg had to be
picked up separately, and placed in a basket at the
starting point. A broken egg was to be a disqua-
lification for the prize ; 7s. 6d. to the winner in
each squad. In the first squad, Dowie and Foster
were No. 1 and 2, and in the second squad A. Ship-
wright and Part were the winners. The sports
terminated with a consolation flat race, with prizes
of ss. and 2s. 6d. to the winners in each division.
The whole was conducted in an admirable manner,
and afforded much amusement. At the conclusion
the cadets and the bands were marched off to the
terrace dining rooms, where a dinner was provided
for them, and they afterwards returned by train to
town.

RIFLE CONTEST.—On Thursday last a most inte-
resting trial of skill took place at the butts of the
Vale of Aylesbury corps, between 12 men of the Bth
Oxon (Thame) and the like number of the 4th Bucks
(Vale of Aylesbury) corps. A silver cup, purchased
jointly by the two corps, was provided as a sub-
stantial memento of the occasion, to be carried off
by the victorious side. The ranges were 200, 300,
and 400 yards, five shots of each range. The shoot-
ing was very respectable on both sides, that of Capt.
Sell and some others of the 4th Bucks and Privates
Clark and Walker of the Bth Oxon being remark-
ably good. The equality of the shooting on each
side excited considerable interest. At the 200
yards range the score stocd-4th Bucks 130, Bth
Oxon 135, being a majority of five in favour of the
latter. At 300 yards the figures made were re-
spectively 90 and 91, being an addition of one to
the surplus of the Thame men. It was, however,
at 400 yards that the men of the Vale made their
successful stand. There their shooting was very
accurate, bull's eyes and centres being the
rule, and ending in a sore of 146. The
Sth Oxon men were at first a little puzzled at
this range, but improving as they proceeded, they
made the very respectable score of 129, which, how-
ever, left a clear total on the whole figures of 11 in
favour of the 4th Bucks corps. The totals being—
Aylesbury, 366; Thame, 355. The most cordial
and mutual good feeling existed between the con-
tending parties, and at the close of the shooting the
cup was filled on the ground and the wine quaffed
enthusiastically by the men of the 4th Bucks to the
health and prosperity of their opponents and Capt.
Wykham, their commanding officer, who was pre-
sent, the compliment being as heartily returned by
them for Capt. Self and the Vale of Aylesbury corps.

THE BIBLE WOMAN IN LONDON.—A new
feature has lately appeared in the exertions of benevolent
persons among the distressed poor, and on the lower strata
of London life. The bible woman is not merely a distri-
butor of the Bible, as the name seems to indicate, but a dis-
tributor of all sorts of good things among the families of the
poor. She is selected from the better-informed and Chris-
tian women of the lower middle class. Sometimes she has
risen from the very depth of St. Giles's parish by the instru-
mentality of the city missionary, or the Scripture reader, or
the district visitor. She receives 12s. 6d. a week for her
services. She sets out every day to visit the sisterhood of
sorrow, suffering, and poverty, ostensibly and directly to
introduce the Bible, additionally and practically to see what
can be done to help the helpless, and to say what can be
said to comfort the downcast. Since the institution of this
new class of labourers in the service of sorrow and suffering,
about three years ago, 27,000 Bibles have been sold among
the very poorest. A discreet and sympathising Bible woman
—we can write from personal knowledge—shows the poor
mother where the best and economical soup can be bought •
whore fuel can be had at a reasonable price ; how easily
good soup can be made at a reasonable cost • and the room
kept clean, dry, and sweet at no great expenditure of
labour. She offers a blanket early in the season, as soon as
half the price of it is paid in weekly
penniesrich,
; and, frocks and
re s petticoatsentsan
fordw
children,rteheard
s for d
t castllss. as
off by are
persistence
pt
effect of
treatment of this sort /.8 non apparent.—Old Jonathan.
e

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TERRIBLE PIT ACCIDENT -FOUR MEN

KIL LED.

A very melancholy accident happened on Friday
afternoon last at the New Priestfields Colliery, Wil-
lenhall, about three miles from Wolverhampton,
which resulted in the instantaneous and frightful
death of four men. The colliery is the property of
Mr. Henry Ward, ironmaster, by whom it is being
worked. At about half-past four on the day named
five men, named respectively Forshaw, aged 32,
Michael Curty, aged 27, Thos. Lewis, aged 38, John
Ginty, aged 26, and a young roan named Edward
Evans, were all ascending to the surface of the
earth, up the shaft of a stone pit. They were all
riding in a carriage locally termed a " tackle,"
which was attached to the winding chain. Over this
cage was a temporary roof or " bonnet" formed of
plate iron, and used as a protection to the men when
they go down or come up a pit, from any accident
through the falling upon them of anything from
above. This shaft was about 80 yards deep, and the
men had reached to about the centre when there
came upon them with fearful force a massive skip,
constructed principally of iron, and used to convey
the minerals to the surface. The skip had suddenly
fallen from the brink of the shaft, and had acquired
an immense momeetum from the distance it had
fallen. It would seem to have continued its course
against the side of the shaft, inasmuch as it
did not alight upon the roof' of the tackle. The
men, however, who were beneath the roof, were
not removed from danger, for the " skip" came upon
them, and that, too, with such terrible violence that
four of the five were mutilated corpses instanta-
neous upon the concussion, and the sides of the shaft
were disfigured with sickening evidences of the ter-
rible reality. The fifth man (Evans), who was on
the opposite side of the cage to that occupied by his
companions, happily escaped with only a slight
bruise on the temple, but he had to cling to a por-
tion of the machinery of the " tackle" to save him-
self from being precipitated with his even then life-
less companions to the bottom of the shaft. Men
descended to the bottom as speedily as possible, and
performed the distressing duty of collecting together
the scattered and quivering remains of their deceased
comrades, and sending them to the surface in as
decent a manner as the circumstances would permit
of. By this accident three women have been made
widows and ten children orphans. The colliery is
usually a well regulated one, no expense being
spared to work it without accidents happening. On
the sib-face the skips and other similar machinery
are under Lhe care of the banksman. In this case
the banksman :iays that by the wind, which was
blowing a stiff breeze at the time, the skip was im-
pelled over the mouth of the shaft.
On Saturday an inquest was formally opened be-
fore Mr. T. M. Phillips, the coroner tor 'Wolver-
hampton. When sufficient evidence had been given
to justify the interment of the corpses the inquiry
was adjourned until Thursday next.