The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-31 00:00:00

TO. THE EDITOR OF THE SUN,

SlR,—There is evidently some apprehension that in
the attainment of immense ranges, of some six or five
thousand yards, by guns recently experimented, with the
shocks of continued explosions are too great for such
guns to endure ; and that after they may have been dis-
charged, a greater or less number of times, they will
burst—proving, perhaps, more destructive to those who
serve them than to those whom they may be served
against.

In the experimental gua practice on the Sand-hills,
near Deal, in the years 1839 and 40, two guns wore
burst—one a thirty-two pounder, the other a fifty-six ;
in each case the gun was much elevated, and had so been
fired many times. It was then thought that the bursting
of the guns was duo to the greater resistance offered by
the shot to the propelling explosive force, by reason of
the shot being forced up an inclined plane, as compared
to the less resistance offered by the shot when being
driven out of the gun in a horizontal position, or when
the gun is elevated only a few degrees.
Those of your readers who May be curious in this mat-
ter would do well to consult Mr. Wilkinson's book,
" Engines of War." At page 258 they will find the re
suit of an experiment, which shows how greatly the
explosive force of gunpowder is increased when resist-
ance is offered to it. At page 54 is explained why,
under a condition of great length of gun, an increase of
windage is found advantageous.
It has been suggested to strengthen east-iron guns
by hooping them with tought wrought-iron, the
hoops to be so close as to form a perfect coat
of wrought-iron. The gun should be cast cylin-
drical from the cascable to about half-way towards
the muzzle ; the exact circumference of the gun being
known, the hoops, of any thickness, may be of such size
as to set as closely as may be desired to the inner gun,
for they can be expanded by heat so as to admit of their
encircling easily the gun, but upon cooling to set firmly
to it. With regard to the trunnions, it is thought there
would be no great difficulty to overcome.
But the "long range" problem will, perhaps, never
be solved while warriors, both young and old, are under
`he crushing dominion of a single idea—a gun.
A NAVAL OFFICER.

October 28th, 1854.

" TIMID COUNSELS."

The public allusion which the Emperor Louis Napo-
leon has recently made, in his letter of condolence to
Madame de St. Arnaud, to the " timid counsels" which
at one time threatened to suspend the great enterprise
in which we are now engaged, removes in some degree
that reserve which had hitherto been maintained on this
delicate subject. We cannot doubt that, sooner or later,
the facts will be entirely ascertained and generally
known, and that every one concerned in these memor•
able events will go down to history with his appropriate
badge of caution or of valour. But, since this taunt
has been thrown out by no less a personage than
the Emperor of the French, and it may for a time
appear to reflect on the gallantry and well-de-
served honours of the leaders of this expedition,
we hasten to add that no one acquainted with the facts
can for an instant intend to insinuate that the slightest
want of resolution was at any moment discernible in the
conduct of Lord Raglan or of Admiral Lyons, of General
Canrobert or of Admiral Ernst. Throughout the whole
course of the campaign the conduct of these eminent
commanders has been in every respect worthy of their
position and of the flags under which they serve, and the
progress of the enterprise is unquestionably due to their
energy. If others faltered under the weight of respon-
sibility or the magnitude of the expedition, we believe
that they acted up to the measure of their judgment and
capacity. No one knows better than the Emperor of the
French that it was In his own Cabinet, and among his
own military advisers that the expedition to the Crimea
had to encounter the largest amount of opposition and
adverse criticism ; for it was mainly in consequence of
the confident and unbending resolution of Louis Napo-
leon himself that these objections were overcome, and
the proposal to operate against the stronghold of Russia
at Sebastopol carried into effect. We think the firmness
displayed by the Emperor on this point does the highest
honour to his judgment and his courage, and we have
never ceased to give our strenuous support to the same
opinion ; but it is not less important that the brave men
who have most powerfully contributed to conduct this
vast expedition to the walls of Sebastopol, and who will
shortly, we trust, reap the glorious reward of their exer-
tions, should not be confounded with those whose "timid
counsels" might have postponed the attack.—Times.