The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-23 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIMENT

An experiment was tiled on Saturday aftercoan, of one
cf the inventions to slide's we alluded la‘t autumn, which a
friend on whom we have reliance had an opportunity of
witnessing. The trial took place in the grounds of Mr.
Boyd, in the county of Essex, a few miles from town, in
the presence of Sir Robert Peel, Sir George Murray, Sir
Henry Harding, Sir Francis Burdett, Lard Ingestrie.
Colonel Gurwood, Captain Britten, Captain Webster, and
some other gentlemen, who all appeared vtry much as-
tonished at what they saw. By the kindness of the in-
ventor our informant occupied a position that enabled bim
to command a view of all that took place. A bort 23
feet long and 7 broad was placed in a large sheet of
water, the boat had been the day before fillet is with
solid timber, four-and-a-half feet in depth, crossed in
every direction, and clamped together with eight.
inch spike nails. This filing in was made under the
inspection of Captain Britten, who stated the fact to the
distinguished gentlemen we have mentioned, and also that
the inventor never went near the workmen employed, that
no suspicion might be entertained of any combustible
materials being lodged in the hold of the vessel. Several
cf the gentlemen were on Saturday rowed in a punt
to the vessel, and examined for themselves, so that
every doubt might bo removed as to the cause of destrue-
den beier. external, and not from the springing of any
mine. When the different parties had taken up their po-
sitions, on a signal from the inventor, the beat was set in
motion, and struck just abaft her starboard bow, and in-
stantaneously scattered into a thousand fragment.. At the
moment of collision the water parted, and presented to the
eye of our informant the appearance of a huge bowl,
while upon its troubled surface he noticed the corrusca-
tien precisely resembling forked lightning. A column
of water was lifted up in the air irks a huge fountain,
from which were projected upwards for many hundred feet
the shattered fragments of the vessel, which fell many of
them several hundred yards' distance in the adjacent fields.
Our informant exan fined many pieces, the huge
nails snapped like carrots; the mast looked likehaatarcheeriwvtn_
and found
by lightning and never before,h hhe has
uessed so sudden and complete a destruction,
g t scoalge. Such
seen shell and roeLt practice 0
as he assures us, u
p*niotbneof atir!l‘pleaent. How
seemed to be the unanimous o
this mighty effect was roinduced was, of course,
croneunerc:u a patty, but two
batteringfrru Sir
perfectly aware of
not disc'esed to so
naval oflicets prea,:nt
and
01"duvit)i;ny with one or two of the distill-
the inventor offered t,)
the mode of
thatto
‘a,
ichui question o
an
go into de;a2!st conn ent.
gui.hed officers p e
H. Hardingg. the invent
nspolt on a mule's back tl:e means of de-
train be eouln tra
r • sen
e•lnstaantesdwer
in
the strongest fortress E .rope. No doubt
stroyieg t riling but, hearing what w
this is very r , e 114VC we
C impossible • and as i
cannot pronounc h d
n every par-
' Inr the inventor as en, w iat he has under
tem . •
is taken to
only fair to give
accomplish, it him credit for the
performance of more than has yet been dis-
closed. The existence of these tremendous powers
is placed beyond all doubt, and the inventor asserts
them to be completely under his control, which,
from what our informant has had an opportunity of
ohstini g, he believes to be really the case. Tho
instrument that wrought so terrible an effect on Saturday,
lifting. into the air a boat weighing two and a half tons, and
filled tu with five and a half tons of solid timber, and dis-
placiug at least fourteen or fifteen tons of water, was only
181 b. weight. Our informant has handled it and kiclaegt
it round a room when charged with its deadly
contents, so portable and at the same time so safe is it—a
point of vast importance, when we remember the daily
accidents that ate occuring from the detonating shells
now used in cur service. At Acre most of those em-
ployed burst before they reached their
out obbject, anad
shi they
are liable to explode whe3 rolling an's
deck, as man pro Ned by the fatal accidents on hoard her
Majo,ty's ship Melia, off AlexancLia, and the Excellent,
at Pottsmoutie and ate dangerous to carry in a common
amn.w.it'on cart on a rough mad. Whether Lord Mel-
bourne will coLdescend to examine into this matter, and
secure these mighty powers for this country, or permit
them t 3 pass into the hands of our enemies, is more than
can venture to predict, but about which we cannot
'tvhe ink England will remain indiff, rent. The inventor has
requested us publicly to return his thanks to Mr. Boyd for
his great kindness in permitting bins tl e use of his grounds
nut only on this but on several occasions. Times.

THE LATE FAILURE IN DUBLIN —The
Dublin papers state that the liabilities of Alderman Perrin,
the particulars of whose flight have already been alluded
to, RI e variously estimated at from 100,000 L to 50,C00L,
the latter, it is supposed, teing tearer to the mark.