The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-28 00:00:00

THE SPIT.HEAD FORTS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—May I ask the public, through your valu-
able paper, what resistance could the proposed forts
at Spithead, if armed with the most efficient artil-
lery, offer to an attack on my system of warfare--
viz., the forts are approached under cover of all
impenetrable fog, produced by discharging inflam-
mable liquid, from shot-proof steam vessels of light
draught and great speed, which ignites spontane-
ously, instantly generating a dense cloud of sulfa
eating vapour, enveloping the forts, rushing into
the casemates, burning fiercely on iron in the
h
muzzle of guns, or on the water, and rendering the._
air in the forts highly explosive and pernicious t°
life ?

Perhaps the Defence Commissioners have ar;
ranged with other civilised nations not to use t-h
"barbarous and uncivilised" system of warfare' 0
it
they term it ; if so, the public ought to kg°l6:
before ornamenting our coast with such iraill°‘ -,e
#
able useless structures.
Your obedient servant,
J. MACINTOSH.
Stine 27, 1862.

By the death of Major• General the Hon. R.
Bruce the following promotions will take place :—Colonel
the Hon. George Cadogan, C. 8., late of the Grenadier
Guards, to be Major-General ; Lieut.-Col. R. Jenkins,
Unattached, Staff Officer of Pensioners at Chatham, to be
Colonel; Major G. LefeTre Dickson, late of the 30th Regi-
ment, to be Lieutenant-Colonel; and Captain R. C.
Dudgeon, 61st Regiment, to be Major in the Army.—
Army and Navy Gazette,

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.—We under-
stand that the council of this society, yielding to the fre-
quently expressed wishes of many of the fellows, have re-
solved to repeat the experiment—tried a short time since
with such groat success--of the performance of choral music
by the band of the Royal Artillery, in the censervatorTi
as
South Kensington, this afternoon. The putlic, as well
the fellows, will have an opportunity of judging
somiciedeoftooguerthsole criaietrsAcnantw, aenrpd dpor,oevmepitooybtheeitrvileiuiri-eours
The two gentlemen who recent'," committedt. e
bro De:.
mt.
named B—, who have for a long time resided at Bru.ss
A letter addressed to a friend, a few hours before puttin.g ifl
execution their design, inform' s him that they had decided
on on putting an end to their existence in consequence oda
~
successful operations in business. " Born on the same
,y 1
they wrote, " we have resolved to die on the same also. '

DEATH OF MRS. SIIEPHERD.—We have tocianon
t -
nounce the death of Mrs,
Sunday morning last, the 22d ins .: at h
herraecsciadence, 7,
Terrace, Kennington-park. The decease
Shepherd
wdi was a favourite
for some years
where, as Mrs. Susan Pope,
actress at Astley's Amphithsehaetrreepinretshene
teddaysof Ducrow,
the stately heroines of the equestrian drama, for which she
was peculiarly qualified by the possession of a fine command-
ing figure, and the cultivation of excellent elocutionary
powers. In January, 1837, she was married at Bermondsey
to Mr. Richard Shepherd, at present lessee of the Royal
Surrey Theatre, and her death, though at a mature age,
will occasion great regret amongst a large circle of friends
by whom she was sincerely esteemed.—Era.
DESTRUCTION OF A STEAM SAW -MILL BY FIRE.
—A fire of a very serious character broke out at a steam
saw Bolsover, Derbyshire, on Wednesday morning.
On the previous evening the building was left safe about 11
o'clock, and on the following morning it was observed in
flames. Assistance was speedily obtained, but the destruc-
tive element cou,d not be subdued until the mill was gutted.
It is supposed that the machinery got overheated, and set
fire to the premises. The nail was in the occupation of
Messrs. Smith ; it was not insured. The amount of damage
as yet, cannot be correctly stated.
IMPORTANT CAB REGULATION.—In consequence
of numerous complaints having been made to the Commis-
sioners of Police of cabmen refusing to take a fare on the
plea of being
the Act for the Regulation of Hackney Carriages, has di-
engaged, Sir R. Mayne, under the power of
rected that boards, with the words " Engag,cd" and "Dis-
engaged" be supplied to each cab, the drivers of which
(under a penalty for neglecting to do so) are to hang one of
these, as the case may be, in a conspicuous plane on the
splash-boards of their respective vehicles.

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