The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-02 00:00:00

MURDER IN IRELAND.

A man named Thomas Waters, a civil bill process
server, was shot dead between 9 and 10 o'clock on Thurs-
day night on his way from Mullingar to Portnashangan,
where he resides with his widowed mother. The body of
the deceased was found by the constabulary on patrol near
the workhouse, about half a mile outside the town- of
Mullingar. , They first found his coat and hat, which they
recognised, they being in the habit of escorting him. He
was known to be a marked man. The body was warm
when found. The wound was in the left breast. Three
men have been arrested.

The Dowager Marchioness of Westminster has
sent £5OO to the corps of Commissionaires, being her
third donation and the second of that amount. The
amount required for the purchase of the barracks is
£5,262 6s. 4d. ; towards this sum £4,079 6s. sd. has been
received up to the present date.
WILLS AND BEQUESTS.—The will of General 0.
G. J. Arbuthnot, Colonel of the 91st Foot, of Woodford
House, near Thrapston, Northamptonshire, who died on
October 21. last, at Folkestone, at the age of 69, was
proved in London, on the sth ult., under £14,000 per-
sonalty. The gallant general was formerly equerry to
her Majesty, and at one time represented Tre-
gony in Parliament.—The will of Captain John
Trotter, formerly of Her Majesty's 2nd Regi-
ment of Life Guards, late of Dryham Park, near
Barnett, Herts, was proved in London under £70,000.
The will of Sebastian Garrard, Esq.,late of Colebrooke
Lodge, Putney-heath, of the firm of R. and S. Garrard,
goldsmiths and silversmiths to the Crown, was proved in
London, on the 14th ult., under £120,000. He has left to
the Silver Trade Protection Society and the Goldsmiths'
Benevolent Institution each a legacy of £soo.—The will
of Miss Frances Maria Silvert, of College-green,
Worcester, was proved in London under £35,000.
Among other bequests are the following :—To the Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel, and the Home Mission
for Increasing the Number of Curates, £2,000 each, free
of duty.—lllustrated London News,
WINTER IN NEW YORK.—The number of unem-
ployed in this city was probably never much greater than
it is at present. Every business man could tell us that
his office is besieged by clerks, book-keepers, and others,
anxious to find some sort of occupation. People who fill
prominent positions are almost weary of replying to these
distressing applications. An advertisement for an assis-
tant in almost any branch of business will bring hundreds
of answers. Very few of us can form any idea of the real
extent of destitution which now prevails among the
classes which depend for daily bread upon their daily
labour. The war has injured some departments of com-
merce ; local causes have depressed others. In monetary
and banking circles, " Rings" of one kind or another have
thrown cold water on all speculation and enterprise. The
smaller class of storekeepers say that never have they
known so dull a Christmas season. As the winter sets in
with greater intensity the melancholy ranks of the un-
employed will inevitably receive many additions. Various
kinds of out-door occupation will be closed to mechanics
and artisans. The prospect of a hard winter is before us ;
and we shall not improve mattersby closing our eyes to the
plain truth.—New York Times, Dec. 12.
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.—In noticing the

changes which have taken place in the House of Commons
during the past year, the remarkable manner in which
certain interests maintain their representation in that
assembly is not unworthy of comment. While the legal
profession has lost Serjeant Kinglake, the removal of the
learned gentleman is more than counterbalanced by the re-
turn of Mr. Waters, Mr. Bristowe, and Mr. Heron on
the Liberal side, and of Sir R. Baggallay, Mr.
Plunket, and Mr. Straight on the side of the
Conservatives. The Attorney-General for England has
been re-elected at Plymouth, and the Solicitor-General
for Ireland at Londondesry, while the Judge-Advocate-
General is now seeking re-election at Durham. The
volunteer interest has lost Colonel Ichabod Wright, and
has gained Colonel Marcus Beresford. The medical pro-
fession, although deprived of the services of Mr.
Clements, finding an eminent substitute in Sir Dominic
Corrigan. Of the connections of the peerage who have
been returned, Lord Bowmont, Mr. Auberon Herbert, and
Mr. Greville-Nugent are Liberals, and Lord Mahon is a
Conservative. Of those who are no longer members of
the House of Commons, Mr. Berkeley, Mr. Denison, and
Lord Hyde were Liberals, and Lord Beef ive, Lord Cour-
tenay, Lord Curzon, Mr. Brodrick, and Mr. Henniker-
Major were Conservatives. The parliamentary resurrec-
tions of the year have included Mr. Bernal Osborne, Mr.
Hey ate, Mr. Baillie Cochrane, Mr. K. D. Hodgson,
Mr. Julian Goldsmid, Sir R. Baggallay, and Mr. Caven-
dish Clifford. And although the name of Robinson has
disappeared from the House through the unseating of the
late member for Bristol, there are seven Smiths, two
'Browns, one Jones, two Whites, and one Greene. —Daily
News.

THE MONT CENIS TIINNEL.—The completion of
the Mont Cenis Tunnel is a great triumph of engineering
art. It is the longest tunnel, so far as we know, that
has been driven from the opposite ends with the two
borings meeting with precision. From the great height of
superincumbent matter over the tunnel, it was impossible
to sink shafts according to the ordinary mode, so that the
ventilation had to be effected from the two ends of the
tunnel. The boring machines were put to work in 1861.
The tunnel is over 13,000 yards, or about 7i miles in
length, and is twenty-six feet three inches wide by nine-
teen feet nine inches high, which affords space for two
lines of rails. The excavations were for nearly.two-thirds
of the distance through schist, the remainder being
through limestone and very hard quartz, which
caused great trouble, and occupied a comparatively
long period, particularly during the latter portion
of the time employed. The perforating machinery
was skilfully contrived, and very beautiful in opera-
tion, being a combination of hydraulic and pneumatic
power. Large reservoirs, considerably higher than the
entrances to the tunnel, collected water from the stream-
lets and from rainfall on the Italian side. The
water was sent down to a lower level by large
iron pipes, supplying in the descent the power
required for the boring operations ; the water pressure
was equal to 26ft. perpendicular. At Fourneaux we
have seen the beautifully-contrived air-compressing
machines, the aerometers and receivers. The action of the
water (pumped up from the arc) upon the aerometers set
the compressers to work. These compressed the air so
that it exercised a pressure of 961 b. on the square inch.
The compressed air worked the excavating machines, to
which it was conveyed by strong 8-inch iron pipes.
The excavating machine took out a drift 12 feet wide
by 8 feet high • the remainder of the work was exe
cuted' by blas'ting, or hand-labour in the ordinary
methods. The boring machine was mounted upon
wheels, and was forwarded upon a tramway. It had
ten perforators, acted upon by two flexible tubes, the one
conveying compressed air and the other water. The
junipers each made its own hole, and had a rapid to-and-
fro motion, and change of angle by the action of the
power applied. The jumpers only bored for blasting,
and, when the rock was ready, the boring machine was
withdrawn, secured behind folding doors, and the fuse
was lighted. A blast of compressed air was then sent in
to clear the smoke and sweeten the tunnel, and the miners
proceeded to finish, with their picks, what the boring
machine had so well begun for them,—Builder.