The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-10 00:00:00

.Admission—Hall, ed.; Stalls mad Balcony, le.

THE OXFORD, 6, OXFORD-STREET.-
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The musical entertainment as usual, including Robert
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expo essly for this establishment by Mr. George Linley.
Operatic Selections by Miss Russell, Mdme. Negri, Mdme.
Maria, and Mdme. Enderssohn. Full Band and Chorus.—
Mus.cal Director, Mr. F. Jonghmans.
Comic—Messrs. Sam Collins, Harvey and French (the
Nerves), E. Marshall, and W. Randall.
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THE SUN.

LOJYDON, THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1862.

" The guns have it "—seems to be the last verdict
of Shoeburyness. Our re:kders can peruse at their
leisure the account of the exp;ttriments in another
column ; but, so far as they have gene, there can be
no doubt that they leave artillery victor over iron
plates. The target against which the shots were
directed was a fac simile of the plated sides of the
Warrior; and it seems hardly to be doubted that if
such a gun as was used could hit that magnificent
ship, once, between wind and water, she could
hardly be saved from sinking. The hole made would
be of a kind which could hardly be stopped,
while, could a second shot be made to hit near the
same place, the result must be the same as that of
the attack on the Cumberland with the prow of the
Merrimac.

The experiments of Tuesday were made with a
ne w wrought-iron muzzle-loading gun, constructed
by t3ir W. AP.MSTRONG. When rifled it will be a
300-pounder; being smooth bored at present, it
carried a round ball of only half that weight. The
point, however, has been for some time settled that
at short distances the smooth bores, with the round
ball, are the most effective, The initial velocity of
the shot is much greater, though it so rapidly de-
clines, that at 600 yards the elongated rifle shot and
the round one have equal speed, and the
latter touches the ground at- 3,000 yards,
the elongated-shot from the rifled gnn not having
thea performed half its journey. it will be seen
that the first round shot fired from the new gun
with a forty pounds charge of powder, was sufficient
to smasi the 41 incfr plate, the ten inches of teak,
and to bt;lge and rend the iron skin inside, nearly
an inch thick, in such a manner that it could hardly
havo been plugged from the inside so as to keep out
the water. The second shot made the damage ten-
fold worse ; and a third shot, \vial 501bs. of powder
at an uninjured plate, was, if possible, yet more
dear ructive. The additional 101bs. of powder were
sufficient to send it clean through plates, wood, and
everything, and to bury the shot in the timbers op-
posite which support the target—not only that, but
even the massive blocks of granite by which the
target is backed up were shaken and loosened.
Sir WILLIAM himself (in a letter to a morning
contemporary) thus states his view of these im-
portant results :

" Yet, though I consider our 110-pounder, weighing 81
eirt., to be ;imply sufficient for firing shells, it must be con-
ceded that neither it nor the 68-pounder smooth-bore,
weighing 95 cwt., nor any other gun as yet in the service
of this,
or other countries, is sufficienvly powerful to ope-
Iratteisli`t byheffect against ships protected like the Warrior.
piercing small clean cut holes with steel shot
that we can
hope to destroy or disable such a ship. To
act with proper effect, we must knock large ragged holes
in the side, and render the interior untenable from splin-
ters. We now knout that a gun of 12 tons weight, fired
with a charge of 501 b.
Of Powder, will break through the
sido of the Warrior,
the strongest ship afloat. Against
such a gun the extemporised Monitor and Merrimac would
be little better than timber ships
for the cast-iron shot,
in passing through the arrnoti.,
breaks into a thenisand
pieces, and would act like a sharpte
and stlihoeucldr should,therefore,althan
itthheisne.
But we must be prepared for vessale
stronger
—stiovger even than the Warrior, an
go on increasing the eiz`i of our guns tun,
we
reach
some practical limit. The weight of such tuna, how-
ever objectionable, must be accepted as a necessity, and
ships must be adapted for their reception. Therseehaili
eal
problem. of working monster guns at sea seems already
well-nigh solved by Captain COLES'S method ; but
if difa.
culties yet remain, we may rest assured that they are of
a nature to be overcome by engineering skill."
Of course when the subject comes up again we
shall have the Premier and the Minister for War
reiter: rting their conviction of the necessity of fixed
forts. But we still think the case is fully made
Out for delay. Sir W. ARMSTRON G himself tells us
that t h.e problem of mounting these irresistible guns
On shipboard has been solved by Captain COLES.
Still, th.erefore, the battery which can get more
than on e shot at an intruder is the one we want.
Admit ti ,n g that the first shot from a fort might be
so luc Itur as to hit exactly at the spot where it could

create an incurable leak, we cannot rely on such 1
perfection in artillerymen ; and the anxiety about
the effect of one shot, shows how well all are aware
that a swiftly steaming vessel might receive no
more in going close past a fort—not receive them
at least at the short distance at which all the mis-
chief is done. The floating battery, on the contrary,
could follow up its antagonist ; and if only of equal
power could fight her on equal terms, while the
poor immovable fort could only look on ; but if of
superior power, of course the invading ship must go
to the bottom. Forts can do so little with, any
certainty against screw steamers, that we do not yet
believe they are worth their enormous cost. Let
the sums voted for the naval estimates this year be
devoted to Iron-sides, and we shall then continue,
as we now really are, ahead of all the world in the
power, both of offence and defence with iron-clad
ships.

The simplification of the Wine Duties is one
of the chief good points in the Budget. As the scale
of duties stood, during the past financial year, there
have been hitherto four several rates. The complexity
consequent upon having those four rates, the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer now proposes to get rid of.
The four are to be halved. The rates are to be
reduced to two. Hitherto—that is to say, since
the new system of Wine Duties (inaugurated by
Mr. GLADSTONE himself) came into operation—all
wines imported into this country under 18 degrees
have had to pay an impost of one shilling. Be-
tween 18 and 26 degrees, an impost of ls. 9d.
Between 26 and 40, one of 2s. sd. Finally, between
40 and 45, a crowning, or maximum impost of 25.11 d.
Instead of adhering with needless pertinacity to
the maintenance of this rather elaborate system of
rates, Mr. GLADSTONE—thereby paying due regard
to the very reasonable complaints of the trade—at
once, with his usual sagacity and promptitude as
a reforming financier—hit upon the very simple
device of dropping the scale of rates without fur-
ther ado from four to two. Upon all wines im-
ported into this country up to 26 degrees, he
will levy the minnimum rate of one shilling.
And upon all wines ranging from 26 up to 42
degrees he will levy the maximum rate of half-a-
crown. That is the simple division now decided
upon by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the
future regulation of business in the wine trade. It
may be remarked, however, by some with a little
momentary surprise, that the highest strength spe-
cified in this new arrangement of the wine duties
has been set down by Mr. GLADSTONE at 42 instead
of as formerly, according to the recent arrangement
(now proposed to be got rid of), at 45 degrees.
This, however, was on this very day se'nnight
readily enough accounted for by the Chancellor's
rather curious array of statistics, in regard to the
varying strength and weakness of our vinous im-
portations. In explanation of which it is only
necessary indeed to glance at a very few of these
same official statistics.

Upon the strength of wines generally the Govern-
ment have contrived of late rather considerately,
and certainly upon very reliable authority, to in-
crease their already apparently, ample stock of
knowledge. A cluster of intelligent officers,
selected from the Department of Customs, was
scattered not long ago, Mr. GLADSTONE tells us, far
and wide through the principal wine countries on
the Earopean Continent. They traversed severally
France, Italy, Sicily, Spain, Portugal, Hungary,
Germany, Switzerland. Their object was to ascer-
tain, so far as might in this way be ascertained, the
" natural strength" of the different wines in the
particular localities in those countries where the
natural strength of the wines has the reputation
of being greatest. Natural wines, meaning of
course—as the Chancellor in other words took oc-
casion at once to explain en passant—wines only
mixed with so much alcohol as is absolutely requi-
site to render it in any way marketable ! So much
spirit, in fact, being added to the fermented juice
of the grape as would release it from mawkish-
ness or insipidity. As opposed to the Natural wines
indeed, there is—in further explanation of what has
here been written—its very antithesis, the highly
Brandied wines preferred in colder regions than
those in which the melting vine is indigenous.
Between those two extremes—the mildest of the
Natural wines and the fireiest of the Brandied
wines, Mr. GLADSTONE'S travelling agents or com-
missioners, found—out of no less than 125 distinct
samples, which were very carefully tested—that 103
were below 26 degrees of alcoholic strength ! Leaving
consequently only 22 in all out of the whole 125
samples above 26 degrees of alcoholic strength !
And it is especially noticeable by the way that out
of these 22 as many as 15 were samples from
Spain. It becomes instantly comprehensible, there-
fore, how it is that Mr. GLADSTONE decides at last
upon drawing at 26 degrees, the one clearly-defined
line of demarcation between the two great classes
of stronger and weaker wines imported into this
country.

Next, it becomes, not unnaturally, a matter of
interest to note what the entries of wines into this
country have reglly been, according to the latest
evidence jotted down. It will be allowed to be a
very curious scale of entries indeed when it comes
to be looked at. It shows pretty plainly what are
Mr. BULL'S predilections and prejudices iu regard
to the wine that gouty old gentleman sips, quaffs, 1
swills in most portentous potations annually over
hie dessert. Under 18 degrees of alcoholic strength
—the entries are for 918,000 gallons ! Under 19
degrees, 467,000 gallons! About 24 degrees, merely
48,000 gallons ! About 25 ditto, no more than
30,000 gallons ! Then begins the increase, namely,
at the very point at Mr. GLADSTONE draws
his new and simple line of demarcation.
At twenty-six degrees, it is true, the entries
have only risen again to 48400 gallons. At 27 de-
grees, even, they have only advanced to 52,000
gallons. But from that moderate increase upon
the natural strength, by brandying more and
more, the entries rise with conspicuous rapidity.
At 28 degrees they are for 147,000 gallons ! At
29, for 171,000 gallons ! At 30 degrees for 344,000
gallons ! Until we come at last to those good
strong wines especially beloved in England—in
regard to which the recorded increase in the an-
nual rate of entries becomes something astonish-
ing in its way. For instance, of wines up to and
under 35 degrees of alcoholic strength, it is no
longer a few thousand gallons that we import
yearly, it is not even 100,000, or 200,000, or
300,000 gallons. It is actually nothing less than
—by a sudden leap in advance as it were-
-2,225,000 gallons ! At 36 degrees, there is
another good round entry of 2,019,000
gallons! And at 37 atgrees, another, the largest
entry of all, of 2,373,000 gallons. Consequently
upon all which, the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer argues, and with reason sufficient certainly
that in arguing thus convince
is at least ordinarily intelligent observer,
thus the right honourable gentle-
maniarguinge
strength, very rashly,
admitting at a shilling that by
duty all
wineswe
shall at abned under
26 degrees of alenoohtoi
admit-
ting every wine coming at
all within the category
of Pure or Natural Wines,
While by admitting
all wines above 26 degrees of alcoholic strength,
and up 42 degrees, inclusively, at a duty of half-a-
crown)
all the Brandied Wines ordinarily consumed