The Sun.
London, England, 1870-10-03 00:00:00

MR. BERNAL OSBORNE, M.P., ON THE WAR,

Mr. Bernal Osborne, M.P., was a guest at the
Araterford Rifle Club dinner, and in the course of a
peech he delivered on the occasion, he alluded to

the war between France and Prussia. He
declared that however the politician might
seek to palliate it, the Christian must
condemn it. It was impossible, he said,
whilst deprecating the rashness ,of France, not to
sympathise with that proud and great nation ; and
whatever might have been the faults of the Emperor
ia this hour of his fallen greatness, nothing but his
irtues should be remembered. He was the victim of
t -xho had urgel him to ruin and defeat. The
Jiestion was, observed the speaker, what-was time

duty of a civilised Christian and neutral nation at such
a juncture. Neutrality, in his opinion, did not mean

a selfish indifference to our neighbours, nor did
mediation imply offensive intervention. A "large
neutral charity," he continued, ought to induce
us to make a strong effort to stop any
further effusion of blood, and to endea-
vour to ameliorate the condition of the French. He
expressed the utmost confidence in the ability, dis-
cretion, and humane disposition of our Foreign
Minister, but *he • thought Lord Granville would be
much strengthened in. his endeavours to bring about
peace were he supported by au expression of opinion
on the part of the Legislature.

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HER MAJESTY

13ALMORAL, SEPT. 29.
The Queen drove out, accompanied by Princess Beatrice,
and attended by the Marchioness of Ely.
Prince Arthur went out deer-stalking.

SEPT. 30.
The Queen went out, attended by the Marchioness of
Ely.

The Marquis of Lorne, 'Major-General Sir Thomas and
the Hon. Lady Biddulph, and Mr. Henry Fitzroy, had
the honour of dining with the Queen and the Royal
Family.

THE INQUIRY INTO • THE LOSS OF THE
CAPTAIN.
(CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAM.)
This inquiry was resumed on Saturday, at Portsmouth,
when

The evidence of Mr. Barnaby, President of the Board
f Construction, was continued. He expressed his opinion
that the stability of the Captain would have been very
;great, if the space between the forecastle and poop
had been filled up instead of presenting an open side.
Mr. Barnes, Assistant Constructor to the Navy, super-
intended the inclination of the Captain. He was not
aware of the position in which the designers intended to
place the centre of gravity. If he had finished his cal-
culations before the Captain went to sea, after the reports
of various trials, he should not have considered the re-
:4ults of sufficient importance to communicate to Captain
Burgoyne. He considered the reports of the trials
proved the stability of the ship, and that this was quite
sufficient. He was not aware that the Captain was less
stable than her designers intended. Whilst obtaining
data nothing occurred to cause a doubt as to the Captain's
stability. He told Captain Burgoyne that the inclination
was six degrees.

The Admiral presiding inquired if witness attributed
the loss of the ship to the sea having burst into her centra
hatchway, trunk, or her poops and forecastle, or was it in
his opinion caused by want of stability to bear the angle
of heel she was thrown over to.
Witness replied that he believed the latter was the
correct supposition. He was not aware of any difference
between naval architects as to. mechanical philosophy and
hydrostatics upon which the calculations for stability of
ships are made. He thought it probable the loss of the
Captain was due to low freeboard, but there were many
circumstances which might have contributed to it. He
could not say what difference to the draught of water a
change of the centre of gravity made. He should have
hesitated to propose as much sail as the Captain carried
on his own responsibility. The water ballast formed an
important consideration in the build of the ship. It was
expected to be used only when a portion of the coal had
been consumed. Captain Burgoyne and the officers were
aware of this feature.

Mr. William Laird, of the firm of Laird Brothers,
Birkenhead, said the draught of water of the Captain,
specified in the general particulars of the ship furnished
to Captain Coles for submission to the Admiralty, was
22ft. 6in. forward, and 23ft. 6in. abaft. The firm had
never built so large a tonnage ship, or one with special
arrangement as to hurricane deck. The excess in weight
over the total estimate forwarded to Captain Coles, in
July, 1866, was spread over various parts of the structure,
and could not all be attributed to any one position.
Witness then handed in a statement prepared early in
the year explaining the positions of the structures in
which the weights estimated had been exceeded by th
weights weighed with the ship during her construction, as
well as an approximate estimate of the position of
the centre of gravity arrived at in 1866. Witness
continued to say that 'a more complete calculation was
come to at the beginning of the year, and this was made
by Messrs. Lairds' chief draughtsman. Witness looked
over the results himself and believed there was not much
difference in the position of the centre of weights occa-
sioned by the alteration in the 'design. After giving
further details as to the calculations made, witness pro-
ceeded to say that he was on board, the Captain when she
was taken from Holyhead to Portsmouth, and she then
behaved in a way to give every confidence.
The President : Was this ship designed on the entire
responsibility of your firm and Captain Coles ?

- - -
Witness said he did not consider so, and in support of
this read a long correspondence which took place prior to
their accepting the tender, and added that it was only in
the event of the design being approved that the ship was
to be built. He further read a letter in which Messrs
Laird declined to accept a pecuniary consideration for the
designs, and asking for their return of the vessel was not
built.

The President referred to an extract from the contract
and a letter of July 23rd, which he thought seemed to con-
vey the idea that Messrs. Laird were not responsible for
the design of the ship. Would the witness state what
degree of responsibility he considered attached to the
firm and to Captain Coles ?
Witness : We consider our responsibility was in the
first place to prepare a design in conjunction with
Captain Coles, to submit that design through Captain
Coles to the Lords of the Admiralty for their approval,
on the understanding that if they approved of it and
accepted the tender of the firm selected they would pro-
pose to Parliament in the next year's estimates that the
vessel should be made.

The President : So that in point of fact you consider
the acceptance of the contract relieved you from all re-
sponsibility of design ?
Witness : We consider from the words used by the
Admiralty to Captain Coles that unless they ap-
proved the designs we should not have been asked to
give a tender for the vessel, and that that fact of the
acceptance of the tender gave sanction to the plans and
specifications which they had proposed.
Various other questions were put, and in the end the
answer was elicited that witness considered the responsi-
bility was jointly shared by himself, Captain Coles, and
the Admiralty. •

The court then adjourned to Monday, when Mr. Reed,
Chief Constructor, will be examined.

THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE ON
MECHANICS' INSTITUTES.

A new building, erected for the purposes of a Mechanics
Institution, Trade Schools, and School of Science and
Art, whs opened at Keighley on Friday. The new
building is a handsome stone structure, and has been
erected at a cost of £13,000. The lecture hall (in which
the inaugural meeting was held) will sear 1,000 persons.
A number of invited guests, amongst whom were the
Duke of Devonshire, Lord Houghton, Lord F. Cavendish,
M.P. ; Mr. E. Baines, M.P. ; and Mr. 11. Cole, secretary to
the Science and Art Department, South Kensington,
were received by the trustees and other officers, and a
large body of members. The Duke of Devonshire, in a
few congratulatory remarks, declared the building open.
A finencial report was afterwards presented ; and Lord
Houghton briefly addressed the meeting.—Tbe proceed-
ings, which were interspersed with music, shortly after-
wards conlcuded.

In the evening,'a meeting was held in the Lecture Hall,
presided over by the Duke of Devonshire.
The Chairman, after remarking upon the satisfaction
with which the new building was viewed in the neigh-
bourhood, said that if the Institution had been a
Mechanics' Institution of- the old type there would
have been little ground of exultation. There was a time
when such institutions were under a cloud. In the
.3stimation of nine out of every ten persons they
had failed in their purpose. Their history had un-
doubtedly not been one-of uninterrupted success. Although
mechanics, as a class, had not manifested the thirst
for knowledge which some persons had been sanguine
enough to hope for, yet mechanics' institutions
were far from having failed. Of late new life had been
infused into them, and in many cases they formed the
most valuable portion of the educational machinery in
the district. This, in Yorkshire, was largely attribu-
table to the influence of the Union of Mechanics'
Institutions.—(Hear, hear.) The distinctive features
of the Keighley Institution were these : Besides
having ample accommodation for all the appliances
of a mechanics' institution, provision had been
niade for art instruction in connection with the Science
and Art Department of the Privy Council. Secondly,
there would be established a trade school, of which there
were few at present in the kingdom. Their object was
to give, in addition to a good secondary education,
technical instruction in arts and manufactures. The
Keighley Trade School was not founded with any expec-
tation that it would supersede the practical training of
the workshop; but its promoters felt that training would
be vastly improved by the giving of preliminary
scientific instruction. The school presented one of
the first instances of the practical advantage to be
derived from the Endowed Schools Act, 1869. The
Grammar School of Keighley had been of comparatively
little benefit ; but a scheme had been devised by which
half the income derived from the old endowment would be
devoted to the trade school, while the other half would be
applied to a purpose hardly less interesting, namely, the
establishment of a school for girls—(Hear, bP-or.)—The
trade school
.would educate 300 boys, a:: he hoped
the promoters would regard it with a watchful interest.
(Applause.)—Manchester Guardian.

EMPLOYMENT FOR LADIES.—The managers of the
Royal Albert Press, established for the employment of
educated gentlewomen, have just issued two very fine sets
of designs for illumination, which will doubtless meet with
the highest approval and patronage. The floral crosses
are exceedingly beautiful; and the gracefully entwined
flowers, when filled in with the brilliant colours set out at
the back of each design will make them the prettiest
objects ever issued for illuminative purposes. The other

designs are for various ornamental uses such as illustra-
tions to portrait albums and such like matter, and the
CACAOINE.—OueOa nibs on the removal of the oil fall exquisite taste that has been displayed in their production
ido powder, and this powder is cacaoine. Caaoine contains by the lady artists merits the highest approval. The
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birable of all for use in the later hours of the day. caefiomo, by
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reason of the ingenious method by which the oil is removed, pre- former ocean., . .., ns issued man fine illuminative designs,
serves all the fine natural flavour Of cacao nibs.—Prepared onlyand it is to
but their present series is certainlyY the best,
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Works for Dietetic Preparations, Euston-road.—ADvT. interests of these accomplished female artists,