The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-27 00:00:00

EXPERIMENTS IN WOOLWICH

MARSHES.
Lieut.-Colonel Dundas, C. 8., Lieut.-Colonel Wy1d4,C.8.,
Lieut.-Colonel Chalmer, Assistant Director-General of Agtil-
lery, Capt Palliser, Capt. Wingfield, Capt. Cockburn, Capt.
Benn, Capt. Derenzy, Capt. Gilbert, and a number of officers
of the Royal Artillery, Colonel Hawker, Lord Glenlyon,
Equerry to Prince Albert, and numerous scientific gentle-
men, assembled in the marshes at Woolwich on Thursday to
witness experiments with a rifle ball one ounce and three-
quarters in weight, formed in the shape of a sugar loaf, which
was found to carry 1,200 yards with decided effect, as at
that distance it perforated a target of wood two inches thick,
and some of the balls or sugarloaf forms of lead, were dug
out of the ground from a depth of several inches, after hav-
ing passed through the target. Mr. Lancester and his son
from previous experiments, had ascertained that the for-
mation of a ball on the same shape as a eugar-loaf gave
it a great advantage over balls of a spherical form, as it re-
quires less windage, and consequently the momentum is
greater with an equal quantity of gunpowder acting on a
circular body, which also loses a great part of its force by
revolving on its own axis during its progressive motion.
This was clearly illustrated during the experiments carried
on yesterday by Mr. Lancaster, junior, who, at 1,200 yards'
distance, demonstrated that he could carry his balls that
great distance, from a rifle more than four calibres less in
bore than the common musket, but also that the delocity
was so great that the sugarloaf-shaped ball perforated a
two-inch board and sunk into the earth of a mound, without
in the least degree altering its shape, merely showing a very
small fluted abrasion on its tapering part, made by the
different degrees of hardness in the grain of the wood. The
day was very unfavourable for experiments with balls at
long ranges, owing to the strong breeze which prevailed, but
the result exceeded the most sanguine expectations of those
present.

Fifty-seven rounds were fired during the experiments,
several of them too low in the first instances, as the parties
at the range signalled when they entered the mound after
ricocheting, instead of their first range. Mr. Lancaster, Jan.,
found this out on a subsequent occasion, and had the target
removed to a more eligible position, when out of eighteen
rounds area, ten entered the target. As a proof of the ex-
cellent aim at the long range used, it may be mentioned that
he hit the target three times in succession, and that en no
occasion out of the fifty-seven rounds, were any of the balls
above twelve or fifteen feet east or west of the target, but
by far the greater majority within from one foot to one yard
of the object against which they were directed. The expe-
riments with a rifle ball of the form alluded to have been so
satisfactory, that Mr. Lancaster contemplates making expo.
riments with others made to be fired from six-pounder guns;
and if the same power and range is obtained by them, the
principle will be found an immense saving and of great ad-
vantage to the British service. Mr. Lancaster makes no
secret of the plan.

One stroke of this is equal to the
_TrAhepTvrpireiHsEastirEz.e]h—. BnusaEs.—Nzw INvENTIONe.
Noo.neBe,veyn;
ga No. 10, 1 ls. 6d. The Double Anti-
Pressure6d; No. 9,9 s. ~.. ;
eeffuetchtroufshor
tpoehneethraatdinign,
fourfive ssinizealls:Ntooo.th7,eboem.b6sil and;
being required, .
nail, no pressure
h part of the time of any other me-
thod the nails in a tent
i 2s. ; No. 2,2 s. 6d- ; No. 3, 3s.thod ; price in bone, No. ~,.
Nail Brush, whicbdoesannodt
tdhivoridoeugthhleyquuleiekausfraenind
po-
lisheste
New Tooth-pick Brush, which entirely en
full-sized brushes, No. 1,
in-
terstices of the closest teeth ; marks,
No.
4,
soft.
6cl. ; No. 4, 53. ; and of all sizes and
entwieveonry.theThe
The
hard ; No. 2, less hard •
, No. 3, middling ;
narrow brushes, No. 5, hard ; No. 6, less hard; N. 0- 7, mid-
dling ; No. 8, soft, at ls. each, or 10s. per dozen in bone ; and
2s. each, or 21s. per dozen in ivory, the hair warranted never
to come out. '1 he Medium shaving Brush, between the
usual badger hair and bristle brush,
being a selection of the
strongest hair only from the badger skin, in a variety of sizes,
both in bone and ivory. The above articles are the
inventions
of Ross and Sons, 119 and 120, Bishopsgate-street, London,
aagainsnd, being protected, any one iraitating thorn will be proceeded

(Signed) " H. CORRY."
" The Viscount Morpeth, Chairman of the Committee
on the Cornwall Railway Bill."
MR. WALKER'S REPORT ON THE PROPOSED
BRIDGE ACROSS THE TAMAR AT SALTASH, OR
THE CROSSING AT HAMOAZE.
23, George-street, June 1, 1846.
Sir,—l have, in compliance with the instructions of your
letter of the 23d ultimo, surveyed the side of the bridge pro-
posed for crossing the Tamar at Saltash, and considered the
plans thereof; I have also considered the alternative plan of
crossing by a steam and chain ferry at Hamoaze, and have
taken the opinion of the Master Attendant, the Queen's Har-
bour Master, and others, thereon.

It remains now that I report my opinion.
First, as to the Saltash Bridge plan. The centre arch of
this bridge is designed to be 255 feet span, the side arches of
which—there are two on the west and four on the east
side of the centre arch—aie each 105 feet span. The two
middle piers 20 feet, the ethers 15 feet thick. The clear
level height, or the soffitts of the arches above high-water, is
by the description 70 feet; but is shown to be 80 feet upon
the elevation, of which a reduced copy is drawn upon the
accompanying sheet marked (A).
The high-water width of the river at the point of crossing
is 1,060 feet; at low-water the width is 820 feet. The
depth at high-water 68 feet, the rise of tide 16 feet. The
velocity of the tidal current is about 2 to 2i knots per hour.
In fresshes the ebb is one mile greater.

The objections that have been made to the above design
are :

1. That the pier would occupy so considerable a portion
of the water-way as to increase the velocity of the current,
and to prevent the water from attaining its full height-above
the bridge.
2. That the piers would be an obstruction to vessels work-
ing up the river against very light foul winds.
3. That the height would not be sufficient for many of the
vessels that now go up the river to the numerous small
towns, and to the copper mines.
That war vessels could not get above the bridge can
scarcely be ranked as a tenable objection, because during the
last thirty-five years only two frigates (French) have been
laid up so high ; these were taken down again twenty years
ago, when, also, the moorings were taken up ; and, which I
consider a more decisive answer, because war-vessels to be
]aid in ordinary are dismasted, and there could be no diffi-
culty, even with the bridge as designed, in tugging the hull
of the largest frigate through the centre arch should it ever
be thought desirable.
Returning, therefore, to the other objections, I consider
the greatest, practically, to be the want of height according
to the proposed design, even supposing the height to be
eighty feet.
The trade up is chiefly in coals, timber, and other supplies
fbr the copper mines; the down train consists of the produce
of the mines. It is carried on chiefly in sloops and barges,
but there are also schooners and some brigs, the greatest
tonnage of which is from 160 to 200 tons. The total annual
number of vessels is about 300. _ _

Having examined the statements of the extreme heights
of the vessels, my opinion is that 70 feet or even 80 feet is
too low; but that an addition of 15 feet, giving 95 feet in
the middle openings, and 92 feet in the two side openings at
the high water of neap tides—there would be 100 feet in the
middle and 108 feet at half flood—would remove all reason-
able objection. Even then a few of the largest brigs must
strike their top-gallant masts to go up quite at high-water,
as their extreme height with these on end exceeds 100
feet ; but such contingencies are not frequent. And it is
also to be borne in mind that about half the number of ves-
sels is now being tugged up ; that the practice of tugging is
on the iacrease, and is considered as, on the whole, an eco-
nom); in time without an increase of expense.
If there were any very great difficulty, or even expense,
in removing the objection to the diminution of water-way
by the spaces which the piers occupy, and the having only
one very large arch for navigation, it might be worth while
to consider them ; but I do not think either that the design
would suffer, or the difficulty and cost be increased, by
doing away with all the small arches, and having four arches
all of the same size, which will require only three piers, in
place of seven arches with six piers; therefore, I recommend
this alteration (see accompanying sheet, marked B). And
although the bridge will not, for the reasons I have stated,
be perfectly harmless, it will be so as to be nearly unobjec-
tionable, provided the railway object be considered impor-
tant as a public good. A footway crossing upon the bridge
might be a convenience.
I now come to the Hamoaze crossing.
I have not to inform you that a steam ferry, worked by a
chain laid in the bed of the river, has been in use at Hamoaze
for ten years. The regular crossings, at every half hour, are
continued during the whole of the day. They occupy from
six to eight minutes. On the Plymouth aide the sloping
stage is run upon the beach, which is rather back from the
general line. On the west side it is run upon the slope of a
raised bank, which was made by the Ferry Company when
the steam ferry was established. It is an unseemly projec-
tion above the regular surface of the beach, forty six yards
long, and extended forty yards within high water, tending
to cause a deposit above and below it. A condition with the
new company to remove it would be useful.

By the present arrangetnenithe—ferriMust stop on a sig-
nal from any ship that is being transported, until the ship
shall have passed, and the authority for the ferry to proceed
being signalled. Although the written instructions to the
ferry people are of very recent date, this understanding has
been acted upon for the whole time, and the delay to the
ferry has been very small ; sometimes one stoppage of half
an hour to an hour, in the course of a month; sometimes not
one in six months. When the ferry vessel is at the shore on
either side, she is completely out of the way. Her length is
100 feet, including the hinged flap at each end.
Mr. Brunel, who (together with the engineer of the oppos-
ing line of railway) accompanied me on my survey, informed
me that the Railway Company have purchased the property
and rights of the Ferry Company, and that their crossing is
to be at the same place.
The Railway Company's vessel will probably be longer
than that of the Ferry Company. This may affect in two
ways, as being more in the way in crossing, and projecting
farther into the water when the vessel is at her berth. As
to the former, the length may be limited; perhaps 60 or 70
yards, exclusive of the flaps, would not be objectionable;
and the company might be called upon, if thought expe-
dient, to make a dock on each side, so that the stern of their
vessel should in no case project farther into the stream than
the present boat does. of which there never has been any
complaint. I think it probable that for their own sake they
will do this, so as to enable them to transfer their railway
carriages from the railway to rails laid on the deck of the
vessel.
With these observations, I should consider the Ilamoaze

crossing unobjectionable. It may be prudent at the same
time that the Admiralty keep a general control and power
to make bye-laws for the government of the ferry.
I have presumed that in future the public, whether on
foot or with carriages, are to be conveyed on the same terms
as at present. This will, of course, be attended to,
I think it may safely be left to Parliament and the rail-
way company to select Hamoitze or Saltash for the point of
crossing, if the modifications and restrictions which I have
recommended at either place be attended to.
I have the honour to be, Ice.
The Secretary:of the Admiralty. (Signed) is. WALIER.
18, Duke-street; Westminster; June 10; 1846.
Bin—The promoters of the Cornwall Railvray Bill have
directed me to address you on the subject of the second
letter received from you on the part of the Lords Com-
missioners of the Admiralty by Lord Morpethj the Chairman
of the Committee on the Bill: The retlifiremerits specified in
this letter, relating to the height of the bridge at galtash,
have the effect of at once defeating the Bill; and which
would indeed have taken place immediately on receipt of this
second letter, if Lord Morpeth had not himself; from the ap-
parent disagreement between, the two letters from, the
Admiralty; thought that possibly some mistake thight
occurred. The promoters believe that such must be the
case, and fully confident, particularly after the receipt of the
first letter, that their Lordships would net desire to throw
any impediment in the way of so useful a public measure as
that now before the Committee, they earnestly entreat of
their Lordships to consider the peculiar circumstance of the
case.

The promoters are ready and most anxious to bind them-
selves to adopt any plan of construction for the proposed
bridge that can be required by the Admiralty, but there
are technical difficulties which would defeat the Bill if the
height is now defined at more than a few feet greater than
that shown in the section. The height on the section is 80
feet ; now, without consent of the landowners and occupiers,
this cannot be raised to more than 85 feet; such consent can
never be obtained during the passing of an opposed Bill, par-
ticularly when there are small tenements, as a single lodger,
or even a person having a reversionary interest in the
smallest building, could be brought by the opponents to re-
fuse his consent.

Eighty-five feet at the edge of the shore is therefore the
greatest height which can be assumed as within the power of
the promoters. From this point the bridge could be made to
rise to the centre arches, giving perhaps 5 feet more, or 90
feet, as there are no owners of the river whose consent would
be required ; but here again a technical objection will now be
raised by the opponents, that such a rise. involving a change
in the gradients, requires the eoneent of the Board of Trade,

A special meeting of the" scripholders in this Company
took place yesterday, at the George and'Vulture Tavern, to
consider a commnpicatiod received from the directat in
Cadada. It:appears that the. English 'thavrehnlderi •are
anxious that the concern should be wohnd up; while the
Canadians are determined to carry-cut the objects for which
the.Companywas forrhOd: -- -
An intimation. having been conveyed to the Canadian
directors of the wishes of the English shareholders, that body
replied that they were very sorry that they were unable to
comply with the wishes of those anxious to wind up the
concern ; and they advised that the shareholders should take
measures to have themselves represented at a meeting to be
held in Montreal next month.
Several of th e shareholders repudiated the Canadian directors,
and said that they would hold the provisional committee re-
sponsible to them, for it was under the strength of their names
that they had been induced to take shares; while the pro-
visional committee said that they were only acting in a minis-
terial capacity, and not accountable for the winding up of the
concern, andwere consequently unable to return the deppsits.
The meeting broke up without coming to any formal reso-
lution. It appears that the deposits were 41. a share, and
that the shares, instead of being allotted to the number of
47,000, aswas put forward in the prospectus, had been limited
to 7,000.

PARTY FROM THEIR
)ITI2N.
from Captain Sturt,
stating the probable arrival of himself and part; at
Moorundee this day (Jan. 17th), Mr. brown, the bearer.
of the-packet, having left them at -Lakeyictoria, awl
himself arriving at Mr. Nation'S station on the 12th
iastant. Theslett( from Captain Sturt is elated '2lst of
December last. U i the preceding day he had reached
the Darling, after a most perilous journey from the
depot, a distance of 270 miles. He effected his retreat
with great difficulty, the first water being 115 miles from
the depot. He was absolutely forced to make the at-
tempt, for the only other alternative was to remain
and rot at the old post.' The heat was perfectly
horrible, and had they not been providentially visited
with a change of wind, and a shower of rain, which
cooled the air and ground, they would have perished.
They did not, as it turned out, lose even a sheep. After
this account of the retreat, Captain Sturt proceeds to de-
tail the transactions from the time when he was last
heard of. It may be remembered, that it was his inten-
tion to proceed to the north-west, in the hope of finding
an inland sea. He says :
" I went from the old depot to Lake Torrens,
hoping to find a country affording a practicable route
to the north, but was disappointed. I returned to the
depOt to make a more extensive excursion to the north-
west. On the 14th of August I left the camp with Mr.
Brown and three men, taking fifteen weeks' provisions,
but after penetrating to lat. 24 deg. 30 min. and lon.
138 deg., I was obliged to return from the failure both
of water and grass. Dr. Brown also suffered greatly
from scurvy, but was too high-minded to complain. He
is indeed an inestimable young man, and has been as a
brother to me.

" We passed over a country of alternate sand-hill and
flats, until I struck upon a creek, beyond which the
country was more open, and more subject to floods ; we
crossed over extensive plains, subject to deep inundations,
but soon again got on sand hills. From them we de-
scended to a stony plain of boundless extent, on which
the horses left no track, and where no object was visible
on the horizon from which to take bearings. Crossing
these, we descended to flats, like a ploughed field, on
which water had subsided, stretching to the north• east
and south-west farther than the range of vision, and with-
out a blade of vegetation. From this we again ascended
sand ridges of most formidable description, and found
the country to the west so bad, where we attempted
to penetrate in that direction, and surface water so
scarce, that we were obliged to turn to the north at fifty
miles, with only two small puddles to depend on. I struck
a creek which I traced up sixty miles, when I got on a
country of salt formation, covered with samphire and
other salsolacious productions, with numbers of dry beds
of lagoons, as white as snow with salt. Passing this,
we once more found ourselves among sand ridges, per-
fectly insurmountable, so close that the base of one
touched the base of another—the whole country sand.
The sand-hills were of a fiery red, and they ran, for
miles and miles, in parallel rows, with points
like the vanishing points of an avenue. But there was
neither grass nor water to be found, and after trying all
points of the compass I gave it up, and returned to the
depot, after an absence of seven weeks and a ride of
924 miles.

" The men were all knocked up, and the horses per-
fectly leg weary; but I was dissatisfied with this journey,
and there was little time for hesitation. Therefore,
after giving the animals six days' rest, I left the camp
with Mr. Stewart, leaving Mr. Brown in charge of the
camp, whose readiness to do anything I wished lightened
my labours. I took two men, and nine weeks' provisions,
my objects being to try to enter the tropics, to ascertain
if there was any water between me and the north coast,
or if the desert extends to the very tropics. I went due
north, and struck a most splendid creek at 123 miles
from the depot. Here I had a thunder storm that
lasted half an hour, and left some surface water, de- '
pendent on which, I crossed it, and ran out 170 miles
without finding a single channel for conveyance of
water. I dug five wells, but had little hope of benefiting
from them. I was at length brought up by a stony desert,
that stretched before us in absolute boundlessness.
Where there were sand-hills in it before, the sand-hills
were now covered with stone, similar to the plain itself.
I was in the centre of a dark and adamantine sea, with-
out an object by which to steer my course. I was 41
miles advanced in this gloomy region, and 52 from
water. My horses had already been
.one day without
water, and I could not hope to reach the other water
under a day and a half, including part of the night;
yet I hesitated to turn back. It was an irresistible
influence that drove me back, certainly contrary to my
own inclinations. I was well nigh too late. I lost
three horses, but that was of no consequence on such an
occasion. I got back to the creek, after having reached
latitude 25 deg. 45 min., and longitude 139 deg. 13 min.
" From the creek on which I was, I had seen high
and broken ranges to the north-east, and I now deter-
mined on examining them and the creek. I therefore
went up the latter 120 miles, but I found that it was
leading me away from the ranges, and I ultimately got
to its termination, or rather head, in some extensive
plains. The creek was as large as the Darling, and was
flanked by a box-tree forest, in grassy land, to a con-
siderable distance from its banks. Here I fell in with
a numerous population, passing three or four small tribes
every day ; but the news of our kind treatment of them
had spread through the country, and they evinced no
alarm, but did all they could to serve us.
" On the 3d October I was at the head of the creek,
and all at once found myself in presence of about 270 or
280 natives, encamped on a rising piece of ground, under
a large sand hill I had descended. On seeing us they
set up a great shout ; but when I rode slowly down the
hill, there was a dead silence ; then I dismounted, and
giving my horse to one of the men, walked over to the
natives, who received me very kindly, brought me
troughs of water and baked seeds, and invited me to
sleep at one of their fires ; but observing a small clump
of trees about fifty yards away from the native camp,
I told them that I would sleep there, to which they
gave a ready assent, and carried over fire-wood for
our use, which was very scarce. These people were the
finest I have seen in Australia. Many stood six, several
more than six feet high. They were well made, and
had not the pot bellies of the natives in general. They
were frank and merry people, and told me all they could.
They assured me there was no water to the east or
north, and were quite distressed when I persisted next
day in going to the eastward. The women were engaged
to a late hour in bruising seed for !cakes, and the noise
they made was like the working of looms in a manufac-
turing town. At ten, all was hushed, and, for the re-
mainder of the night, no one would have known that
there were so many human beings near.
" From this point I turned westward, and turning
up a branch creek, went towards the ranges ; but 1 got
into a terrible country, and found the effects of refrac-
tion had deceived me with regard to the ranges, and
that they were nothing but masses of sand or rock,
three to five hundred feet high. I saw that I was get-
ting near the scene of the greatest turmoil, where the
water passed over this dreary waste, and left the shivered
fragments of mountains behind it. Here again water
ua tnshti
er
and grass failed me, and I was forced to abandon this
gka
ionns t theatir;2lnded 9e
th t
seasonandd os fo againnallovember,en adrr
uevson,
trycontendingtasa
,yrbtihsekaiinto:lifdabu:eanidiannobgenlseelttahtolloes-1
alto-
gether elrcocuutldodffo:
last drop of mud—for it was not water—outof a pool that
four weeks before was 150 yards broad, and 200 to 300
long. I lost two horses, and regretted them very much.
I reached the depot (which Mr. Brown had been obliged
to move during
my absence, in consequence of the p_u-
tridity of the water) on the 17th, having ridden 843 miles
in five weeks, less three days.
" I had been exposed for
f had drunk loath-
sive heat, had had insufficient
iron constitution, under
some water, and at lengthndmv,y,
twelveo d,weeks to an exces-
eakness, gave way. The
disappointment,
mounted the spasmodic action of
acannlipetPwaas eighteen hours on
thighshorse-
was so violent as almost to
the muscles of my
I had, in truth, ridden all day in
bdaaycki; ma
andde when I dii
throw me forward.
great pain. The next day the scurvy, latent in me for
eleven months, seized me. The muscles of my thighs laid prostrate on my mattrass. I
contracted, and I was
ell unable to walk or stand, but I am otherwise
am 5..1
well in health ; and I hope, that with all the good
things my friends have sent me, I will get round.'
"Another gentleman, says the South Australian
Register, from which the above is extracted, has fa-
voured us with the following note from the Gallant
Captain, which forms an appropriate pendant to the
foregoing communication:—
"'The Ana Branch of the Darling, sth Jan., 1846.
"' I have, as you will hear, done nothing but toil
through a desert that I believe is unequalled in the
world. My investigations, however, were geographical,
not with any direct view of finding good land, and as
far as the geography of the interior goes, I think there
will not be much difficulty, from the data I shall be en-
abled to furnish, to make a pretty good guess as to what
the greater portion of it is. All I can say is, that this
has been one of the most difficult and anxious tasks that
could have fallen to the lot of any man.
" For myself, thank God, lam getting better. Six