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

OUR GUNPOWDER.

The English Military Committee on Explosive Com-
pounds, appointed to determine the description of powder
whose employment in large charges is attended with least
risk of overstraining the guns, have forwarded to the War
Office reports as to the progress of their investigation at
Woolwich. Their experiments have shewn there is no
difficulty in procuring a powder much better suited for
use in guns of large calibre than the present service pow-
der. Five descriptions have been selected from numerous
samples tried, viz., rifle large grain, pellet, Russian prig -
matic, Ritter prismatic, and pebble powder, and the
results, so far, are in favour of the pebble powder, having
a density of 1.732. The committee intend to continue the
experiments, and in the meantime recommend the adop-
tion and manufacture of pebble powder. A few unim-
portant experiments have been made with gun cotton.

LAW AND POLICE.

FATAL LYNCHING OF A WIFE-BEATER.—An inquest has
been held at the London Hospital on a man named Sees,
who was set upon by a mob in the Cloniniercial-road a few
days since while ill-treating his wife, and who was so be-
mauled by the crowd that he died from the injuries he re-
ceived. As no person could be identified out of the num-
ber of assailants, no one was implicated by the verdict.
SERIOUS CHARGES AGAINST A MANCHESTER HOP
MERCHANT.—At the Dudley Police Court, Mr. Henry
Turner, of 47, Shudehill, Manchester, was charged under
the 6th section of the Hops (Prevention of Frauds)
Act, 1866, ± with having sold to a publican, named
Hazlehurst, two pockets of hops without having the
proper name of the grower and the place and year of
growth upon such pockets. Mr. Stokes prosecuted, and
Mr. Young, of the midland circuit, defended. For the
prosecution it was stated that the information had been
laid against the defendant by the principal hop dealers
of the Dudley district, who found that their business had
been materially interfered with by the defendant selling
foreign hops in English pockets at a price the legitimate
trader could not touch. Uponthe serving of the summons,
the defendant's solicitor waited upon the prosecution, and
said the defendant was willing to make amends and
pay a handsome sum to a local charity. He would also
give a public promise that the proceedings complained of
should not be repeated.—Mr. Young, addressing the
bench, said the defendant was a large hop merchant, and
in the hurry and press of business the hops had been sent
out inadvertently. Mr. Turner had, however, made such
arrangements that no irregularity would occur again. He
was thankful to the prosecution for the generous spirit in
which the matter had been taken up.—After a consulta-
tion, the magistrates said the case was a most serious one,
and defendant would be fined £lO and costs, together with
the value of the hops £3, and would have to pay the costs
on all the prosecutions.—The sum to be given to the Dis-
pensary was fixed at £25.
orSdak- 8
tlfeEeFtu, CRUELTY.L
Portland
Market,_Williamwa
sOverton,
charged ofb
before
eS
and-
Knox, at the IVlarlborough-street Police-court, with the
following cruelty to a horse. Daniel Palmer, 3 C Reserve,
stated that on the previous day he was in the Haymarket.
when he saw the prisoner driving a horse attached to a
van laden with corn. Noticing the horse shrink, he asked
the prisoner if It had anything she matter with its shoul-
der, and he replied "Not much," but on his lifting up
the collar he found a sore like a raw piece of beef, with
a piece of old sock on it, covered with blood, and there
were marks on the horse where pieces had been taken out
of it with the whip. The prisoner said that his employer,
a Mr. Thorogood, did not know the horse had a bad
shoulder. George Young, officer of the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said
that on examining the horse, he found an old
wound on its shoulder with the skin rubbed off, through
the straining of the collar, and he also found marks on the
flank of fresh, and severe whipping pieces cut out. The
prisoner had nothing to say in answer to the charge. Mr.
Knox, after remarking that there had been shameful
cruelty, said he would give the prisoner the option of
paying a fine, but it would be one of £5, or a month.
" AN INNOCENT YouTH."—Henry Chambers, aged 14
years of age, was brought before Mr. Paget, at the
Thames Police-court, on remand, charged with stealing
slbs. of lead from an unoccupied house in Bromley. He
was stopped by a police-constable a few night's since in
the neighbourhood of Bromley with the lead-piping in his
possession. He said he picked it up. On a search being
instituted it was discoverel that the piping had been re-
moved Ifrom the roofing of an unoccupied house in Bow,
and considerable damage had been caused. This descrip-
tion of robbery had been very prevalent in Poplar, Bow,
and Bromley, and numerous were sthe complaints of the
landlords, who had been unable to let their houses until it
had cost them a large sum of money ,to repairithem.
The prisoner said he was innocent. Howlett, a
detective poilce-constable, said the prisoner had
been convicted of stealing rope, and sentenced
to 14 days' imprisonment and hard labour. The
prisoner : I was innocent of that. Howlett : And he
had two months imprisonment and hard labour for steal-
ing lead. The prisoner : And lam innocent of that too.
Mr. Paget took upon hiniself the responsibility of com-
mitting the innocent youth a third time, and sentenced
him to three months imprisonment and hard labour.

THE EDUCATION A C T.-Mr. J. P. Moody, the
Town Clerk of Scarborough has received an intimation
from the Education Department, in answer to the memorial
of the Town Council, that an order will shortly be sent
to the Mayor to form a School Board for the borough of
Scarborough.
- - - - -

CHARITY.—During the first four days of last week
says the London Mirror, the charitable institutions of the,
metropolis received pecuniary help, amounting in the
aggregate to £5,151. Of this sum £2,109 was received in
sums not exceeding £lO, £752 not exceeding £5O, seven in
sums of £lOO each, three in £2OO each, and one amounting