The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-15 00:00:00

THE ROYAL

ARSENAL, WOOLWICH.

DEC. 14,—A series of experiments have been carried
on for some time past at the Butt, in the Royal Arsenal,
to ascertain the practicability of Captain Chads' sugges-
tion of employing two shots at one firing in actual ser-
vice, and how far danger was to be apprehended to
those employed in working the guns when double shotted.
Captain Chads made several experiments on his prin-
ciple on board the Excellent, gunnery-ship, ut Ports-
mouth, which were most efficient and satisfactory to
him, and on submitting the plan to the authorities, the
matter was referred to the members of the select com-
mittee at Woolwich, who gave instructions that an 8-inch
gun of 65 cwt., 9 feet long, should be selected from a
quantity recently received from the Low Moor Com-
pany, in Yorkshire. The gun selected had been pre-
viously tested in the usual way, by firing two rounds
with one solid shot and twenty pounds of powder
each time; and the experiments were' com-
menced by firing two 56-pounder hollow shot
with five pounds of powder each charge, and con-
tinned with the double shot and the same quantity of
powder up the 60th round. From the 61st to the 70th
round, six pounds of powder were used in each charge;
from the 71st to the 80th round, seven pounds; from the
81st to the 90th round, eight pounds; from the 91st to
the 100th round, nine pounds; from the 101st to the
110th round, ten pounds; from the 111th to the 120th
round, eleven pounds; from the 121st to the 130th round,
twelve pounds; from the 131st to the 140th round, thir-
teen pounds; from the 141st to the 150th round, four-
teen pounds; from the 151st to the 160th round, fifteen
pounds; from the 161st to the 170th round, sixteen
pounds; from the 171st to the 180th round, seventeen
pounds; from the 181st to the 190th round, eighteen
( pounds; from the 191st to the 200th round, nineteen
pounds; from the 201st to the 210th round, twenty
pounds; and from the 211th to the 220th round, twenty-
one pounds. The last ten rounds with the heavy charge
of twenty-one pounds of powder, and the gun doubly
shotted each time, were fired yesterday, and on examin-
ing the gun after tho experiment, it did not appear
to have any perceptible injury, notwithstanding the se-
vere test it had undergone. The gun is only of cast
metal, but this trial has sti2wn the superiority of the
castings of the Low Moor Company, and the small risk
to the gunners employed in firing them, under a test
which it was never contemplated they would be sub-
jected to. It is intended to carry on the experiment
until the gun is burst, and to add an additional peund
wei:;ht of powder to each charge after every ten rounds.
The firing has already disabled one carriage, and a car-
penter attends the experiments in case of injury to the
platform by the recoil. The ultimate result is now
looked forward to with great anxiety, the test the gun
has already experienced having so far exceeded
_ the an-
ticipations of the officers who have witnessed the expe%
riments.

A STRANGE FREAK.--Last evening, some persona
passing the premises of Mr. Baker, ship-chandler and
ropemaker, Bermondsey-wall, saw an unusual glare of
light in a room on a second floor. Having been in-
formed of this the inmates hastened to the room in ques-
tion, the door of which was fastened inside. They
hgudentaintyd
ehta wearing
covered
forced an entrance, and found the maid-servant sitting
upon the bed undressed, her ea
with her mistress's jewellery a
ap-
parel had been taken from the cupboards and ewarig rndrobsand placed in the fire, which was blazing away a
furiously,
nedpse
the no
female do b
would have le
t
althd, there is
ifa few minutes
herute
s life,lon and the
premises had
elapsed,
premises would have been destroyed. As it was, the
flames were soon extinguished, the damage done to the
premises not being very considerable. Tho female who
was the cause of the fire has been taken into custody.
FIRE ON THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY.—At
a late hour on Wednesday night the inhabitants of Strat-
ford, and the contiguous districts, were greatly alarmed
by the sudden outbreak of a fire on the Eastern Counties
Railway, near Stratford-bridge. The flames originated
in the workshops on a siding at Chopham Farm-bridge,
which were of considerable size, and at the time of the
outbreak contained a number of trucks and other pro-
perty. The damage done is as follows:—Shedding, used
as workshops, about 150 feet long by 25 feet broad, with
a number of trucks, the property of the Eastern Coun-
ties Railway Company, at Chopham Farm. bridge, near
Stratford-bridge, destroyed; buildings and contents un-
insured. The fire was extinguished by the parish engi-
, neer and the company's servants._

..-
MEETING OF MIDDLESEX MAGISTRATES.--.YeS.•
terday a meeting of the magistrates of the county of
Middlesex took place at Clerkenwell for the transaction
of general county business. Mr. Pownall occupied the
chair. There was an unusually full attendance of ma-
gistrates. The prison reports having been received, Mr.
Armstrong moved—" That the labour on the treadwbeel
of our prisons having from its establishment to the pre-
sent time been proved useless and totally inefficient as a
reformatory punishment, be discontinued." The motion
was, after a long discussion, negatived, there being only
two votes in its favour and thirty-eight against it."
LICENSED VICTUALLERS' INSURANCE COMPANY..-..
At a special court of this company held on Tuesday last,
C. S. Butler, Esq., of Clapton, was unanimously chosen
a director, in the room of Charles Bleaden, Esq., ea.
signed. A highly complimentary vote of thanks was
passed to Alderman Musgrove, the newly-appointed
chairman, who, in returning thanks, stated that the busi-
ness of the company had greatly increased within the
last few months.
We understand that Dr. Bowring, whose eminent
qualifications as a linguist are so well known, has been
appointed her Majesty's Consul at Canton. The Learned
Gentleman has long been in a state of health which re-
quired his residence in a warmer climate. We believe
that Sir J. Walmsley will succeed Dr. Bowring in the
representation of Bolton.