The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-07 00:00:00

DItiIraXNCHISEMENT,

The _Daily News, alluding to the bill for dis-
franchising Beverley and Bridgwater, notes that the
last separate measure for the appropriation of seats
rendered void through bribery was passed in 1861,
when the privilege of sending members to Parlia-
ment was transferred from Sudbury and St.
Albans, thus:—One seat to South -Lancashire,
another to Birkenhead, and two to the West Riding
of Yorkshire. Ihe • two former were filled by
Conservatives as soon as the Act was passed, but the
two aiditional members for the West Riding, who
ultimately proved to be Liberals, were not returned
until the general election of 1865. But though this
is the latest instance of a separate bill, it is not the
latest case of disfranchisement. In 1867 Totnes;
Reigate, Yarmouth; and Lancaster fell victims.
They were dealt with in the Reform Bill, and the
seats gained formed part of the general scheme of
redistribution.

LONGFORD.
The Longford_ politicians are speculating upon the
probability. of Mr. Greville-Nugent losing, his seat
through the enthusiasm of his friends, the priests.
The sitting member defeated Mr. Martin,
the Nationalist, but the conduct of some of,
the priests who supported the former was so strange
that the chance of the petition succeeding is thought
sufficiently strong to justify preparations for another
contest. Sir John Ennis is spoken of as the
Liberal candidate ; and a Conservative gentle-
man residing .in Ballymahon is looked
upon as a likely competitor in the opposite
interest.

318. OBiLDEnS'S " TOWELLING."

The Opposition has attacked Mr. Childers on the
ground of the quantity of " towelling" and other
stores at present stowed away in the
Victuallinr, Yards of the Navy. Mr. Corry
demanded° a return showing the quantities
remaining in the yards at Deptford, Gos-
port, and Plymouth, specifying the value of each
article and other particulars. This return is now pub-
lished, and sets the towelling question at rest. The
celebrated commodity is all in store at Deptford to
the amount of 72,914 yards, value at 6 9-10 d. a yard,
£2,006. This is pretty considerable, but surely all
party bitterness should vanish when Mr. Madera
declares the value of pickles in store to be only £l4.
At any rate the right honourable gentleman has
plenty of comforters, of which we are told
there are 17,236 in store. Their value is 21,347.
The statement in the report that the 45,550 lbs. of
saloon candles now in store, at a cost of £1,803, are
bought on the terms of a "running contract," suggests
an idea that the latter phrase is facetiously
applied. The blue cloth and striped shirting
are the most expensive articles in store, but it must
be remembered that these goods are paid for at
Government price by the seamen.

THE MONCRIEFF GUN-CARRIAGE.
Captain Moncrieff, of the' Edinburgh Artillery
Militia, has delivered a lecture at the United Service In-
stitution, on the nature of his now celebrated gun-car-
riages. The chief interest was evinced in the lecturer's
explanation of his new carriage for the heavy naval
ordnance now used. He chewed that in the Mon-
crief gun-carriage the force of the recoil is actually
captured, and kept prisoner till it is wanted to bring
the gun ,up to the firing position from which it has
descended. The carriage is made both
hydraulic and pneumatic, in this manner :
Communicating with: a large air-receiver at the end
of the carriage, but with the communication closed
by a back valve, is an ordinary small hydraulic ram,
charged in the usual way with water. The air-
receiver is charged by a force pump in a few seconds,
while the gun is being charged and loaded with com-
fressed air to the utmost capacity of the pump to
orce it. The peculiar mechanism of the gun-car-
riage when fired makes almost the whole of its recoil
press downward, and force the plunger or piston of
the hydraulic pump, driving its water before it into
the air chamber, compressing the air to the utmost,
while Vie back valve cuts off any escape. There it
remains confined while the gun is loaded, when by
simply turninc, a tap the air is released with suf-
ficient force to act on the hydraulic cylinder, and
send the gun again to the position in which it was
before it was fired.