The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-30 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The Duke of Somerset will receive to-day, at
2.30 p.m., any officers whose names were on the list
for the levee on the 16th inst.

Messrs. Green's ship Nile, Capt. W. F. Owen,
hired as a troop transport, from Calcutta December
20, and St. Helena February 13, passed up Channel,
off Plymouth, during Tuesday night. She brings
the left wing of her Majesty's 52d Regiment of
Light Infantry, with band, from India, under the
command of Brevet-Major Crossi, and in medical
charge of Assist.-Surg. Gogarty. The Nile has had
a very fine passage of 97 days from Calcutta. She
rounded the Cape of Good Hope Feb. 1, and had a
long run of easterly winds to the Western Isles,
crossing the Equator Feb. 23. From the Western
Isles she experienced some very heavy N.W. gales,
but without accidents. The troops are to be landed
at Dover.

The Sparrowhawk, 4, screw gunvessel, 676 tons,
and 200-horse power, Commander Porcher, tried
her speed and machinery on Tuesdayat the measured
mile in Stokes Bay, near Portsmouth, Prior to sail-1
ing from Spithead on a term of foreign service.
The vessel drew 11ft. 4in. of -water forward, and
lift. 9in. aft, with 120 tons of coal in her bunkers,
and in all other respects complete in her stores,
&c., for sea service. Six runs were made over the
mile, with full boiler power, which gave a rate per
hour each run in knots of 12.285, 9.302, 11.250,
9.473, 11.920, and 8.845, the mean speed of the
ship given by the six runs being 10.417 knots per
hour. The revolutions of the engines were maxi-
mum, 94, minimum, 89k. With half-boiler power
four runs were made over the mile, 11.613, 7.072,
10.909, and 7-004. The mean speed of the ship
with half power was 9.124 knots, and the revolu-
tions of her engines, maximum, 80 ; minimum, 74.
At the conclusion of the runs over the mile the
vessel was tested in making circles with full and
half power. With full power, and the vessel turn-
ing to starboard, the half circle was made in 2 min.
29 sec., and the full completed in 4 min. 46 sec.
Turning to port, the times were respectively 2 min.
51 sec. and 5 min. 56 sec. With half power, and
turning to port, the half circle was made in 2 min.
34 sec., and the full in 5 min., and to starboard in
2 min. 40 sec. and 5 min. 9 sec. The trial was
concluded by testing the working of the ship's ma-
chinery by orders from the telegraph on the upper
deck bridge to the engine-room, the engines being
4 4 stopped," " started ahead," and " started astern"
in 10 sec. in each instance.

This afternoon a party of the 2d Battalion Cold-
stream Guards, consisting of two officers and 92
men, will leave Windsor by the South-Western
Railway for Waterloo, in advance of the rest of the
battalion, which is at present quartered at the
Sheet-street barracks. The remainder of the regi-
ment, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Fielding,
numbering 13 officers, 530
men, with 70 women,
45 children, and four horses, will quit the barracks
to-morrow, and proceed in a special to London via
Waterloo. The relieving battalion of Foot Guards,
consisting of 14 officers, 438 men, with 54 women,
69 children, and four horses, will leave Waterloo
to-morrow, at an early hour, and proceed by special
train to Windsor, to take up their quarters in the
Sheet-street barracks. The battalion will be pre-
ceded to-day by a detachment of one officer and 153
men, who will leave Waterloo at three o'clock for
Windsor. The 2d Life Guards will leave the cavalry
barracks at Spital, near Windsor, next week, and
are to be relieved by the Ist Regiment.
The long-expected Mackay gun, manufactured at
the Mersey iron and steel works, has at length
arrived at Woolwich Arsenal, and was proved at the
Ordnance butt on Tuesday last. The gun was fired
one round only, the charge being a cartridge of 501 b.
of powder, and a proof projectile of plain cast iron,
with flat ends, weighing 3361 b. Major Freeth, In-
spector of Artillery, directed the proof, which was
attended by Mr. Mackay on his .own behalf, and Mr.
Yates, representing the manufacturers. On the usual
test and examination made after each round it was
discovered that the plug at the end of the bore was set
back by the force of the concussion, leaving a small
space 2 inches in depth, visible only to apractised eye,
but of considerable detriment in its present condi-
tion. The proof was consequently at an end. The
defect, it is stated, will be made good, and the gun
will be submitted to further proof. It weighs 101
tons, is 14ft. long, with Bin. diameter of bore, and
is rifled with 12 grooves. The gun consists of
a first solid forging from muzzle to breech,
hooped over from the trunnions to the breech, the

trunnions forming also a separate piece. The
grooves, which are cut at a very sharp twist, are of
the same depth and form as those used by Bashley
Britten for firing lead-coated shot, and are termed
" windage grooves," the gas passing through them,
and acting upon the projectile so as to give a con-
siderable impulse to its rotary motion, and increase
the rapidity of its flight. After the proof of the
Mackay gun, the testing of the competitive 12-
pounder Armstrong and Whitworth guns, which
commenced four days ago, was resumed, and brought
to a close. These guns it will be recollected, have
occupied the time and attention of a committee (of
which Major Dyer, assistant inspector of ordnance
is secretary) for many months past, and have
undergone a course of experiments to test their
range and accuracy at Shoeburyness. The
charge now used in the bursting cells at 1141-
wich consisted of lilb. and 31b. of powder, and a
number of shots varying from 3to 6. The mode of
testing was peculiarly severe, and air space was left
between the shot and cartridge. The 12-pounder
breech-loading Armstrong gun became unservice-
abe at the 42d round ; the muzzle-loading shunt
gun at the 60th round, and in both instances they
simply cracked without a separation of the parts.
The Whitworth 12-pounder burst violently into 11
pieces at the 90th round. The test applied to each
gun was similar in all respects, and was directed by
the committee appointed for that purpose.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Lieut. Ily. H. M. Magrath to
the Blenheim ; Lieut. T. Williams to the Canopus ;
Lieut. J. B. Michell to the Asia ; J. G. Parker,
second master, to the Speedwell ; J. Campbell,
assist.-engineer, to the Sparrowhawk ; W. Stewart,
assist.-engineer, to the Fisgard, for the Pallas ; J.
V. B. Thompson, assist.-engineer, to the Supply.

Opening of the Main Drainage.

A great number of noblemen and gentlemen, in-
cluding the principal members of both Houses of
Parliament, have accepted the invitation of the
Metropolitan Board of Works to be present at the -
opening of the Main Drainage Works by his Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales on Tuesday next.
"Invitations have also been sent to his Majesty
the King of the Belgians and his Royal Highness
Prince Alfred, but no reply has yet been received.
The guests will go by special train from Charing-,
cross at 11 15 to Plumstead, where a junction will
be made with the contractor's railway, so that the
special train will go right on to the works at the out-
fall at Crossness Point. The Prince of Wales, with
about 30 or 40 of the most distinguished guests, will
leave the House of Commons stairs at 11 o'clock, and
will go direct to Barking,where they will inspect the
outfall at that point, and also the great reservoir.
Thence the Royal party will take the steamer again
to Crossness. They are expected to reach the latter
place at about 1 o'clock, so that the guests will have a
clear hour to inspect the works there before the ar-
rival of his Royal Highness and his party.
The chairman and Mr. Bazalgette are to attend
the Prince. On arriving at Crossness Mr. Bazalgette
is to give the company a brief outline of the main
drainage scheme, in a large workshop, which will
have plans illustrating his description on the walls.
The company will then proceed to the engine-house,
while the Prince is inspecting the reservoir and
underground works, valves, and pumps, and on en-
tering the engine-house the Prince will start the four
engines, which will be the opening of the works. Up
to that time the sewage will be stored in the main
outfall sewer (as it has hitherto been in the tide-
locked sewers in the low districts), and from which
it can discharge only at the time of low water, flow-
ing back to London with the flood tide. But on
starting the engines the' sewage in the main sewer
will be henceforth lifted into the reservoir, into
which there will be a continuous flow from the main
sewer at all times, and thenceforth an end of stag-
nant sewage or deposit. The reservoir will be dis-
charged through pipes at the bottom of the river
during the first two hours after high water only,
when the river is full and the tide flowing towards
the sea.

The party will return from Crossness by a train
at 3 45.

Great Bank Robbely of £50,000,

A most extraordinary and daring robbery has
taken place at the Central Bank of Western India,
Hong Kong, where the thieves got clear off -with
gold and specie to the extent of nearly £50,000.
Letters received yesterday in the City give the fol-
lowing deSails of the robbery, which places the
burglaries in Cornhill and Threadneedle-street for
ingenuity completely in the shade..
'One account states :—" The bank in question is
the Central Bank of Western India. The affair was
managed during Saturday and Sunday by means of
a tunnel, which had been dug between a drain and
the floor of the bank treasury vault, a distance of
60 feet. A flag was raised up, and entrance to the
vault obtained. Here were many bags of dollars,
four boxes of gold bars, several boxes of small silver
coin, and $63,000 in bank-notes. The bank not
having a note issue of its own, the notes were those
of various other banks, and their numbers had not
been taken, it not being customary in Hong Kong
to keep the numbers of bank-notes on hand. Two
boxes of gold bars were removed as well as all
the paper money, also two bags of dollars, and
a box of ten cent. pieces. The authorities at
Canton and Macao were at once communicated
with so that they might be on the alert, and wo
hear that some arrests have been made at Macao.
The police of Hong Kong made vigilant search
throughout the city and the island, and suc-
ceeded in apprehending between twenty and
thirty men on suspicion. On the person of one of
them was found 5,755 dollars, and two bars of
gold having the bank's mark upon them. Further
search being made seven gold ingots were found.
The latter has admitted his guilt, and has given up
the names of eight Chinamen who were engaged
with him in the robbery. He has also made state-
ments which, with other evidence of a direct nature,
have led to the taking into custody of the bank
comprador, two shroffs, and two coolies. The
charges against them have been made at the police
magistrate's court, and a remand granted for the
production of further evidence. An inspection of
the premises shows that it must have taken some
weeks to plan and carry out the affair."

Another account says The Central Bank of
Western India has been robbed of $115,000 by
thieves who entered the bank treasury. The princi-
pal labour seems to have been that of tunnelling a
passage of 20 yards, from an adjacent drain to a
spot exactly below the treasury floor. A perpendi-
cular shaft of 10 feet of suffioient diameter was then
made to allow the passage of one man, to reach the
granite boulders on which the floor of the vaultrests.
These naturallysank down as they were undermined,
and nothing remained but to force up a slab, when
ingress became free. Sixty-three thousand dollars
in mixed notes were carried off, along with £l,lOO
in gold ingots, marked with the stamp of the bank.
The first thing that aroused suspicions of the rob-
bery, was the fact of a little boy being discovered
trying to sell a bar of gold to a hawker in one of
the bazaars. A gentleman passing, asked where ho
got the gold, and was told it had been found near
Mosque Gardens. He gave the lad what he wanted
for it, viz., a dollar, and immediately placed it in
the hands of the police."

And then ho drew a dial from his poke,
And looking on it with lack lustre eye,
Says very wisely, It is ten o'clock :
' Thus we may see,' quoth he, how the world wage,.'"
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Major D. L. Richardson (author of " Literary
Leaves in Prose and Verse") is about to publish, in a sepa-
rate form, his "Memoirs of Lord Macaulay," including
full particulars of his career in India as Member of the
Legislative Council and President of the Council of Edu-
cation. The work is founded on a series of articles on the
subject contributed to the Court Circular.

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