The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-16 00:00:00

PROMOTION.

Mr. John Philp, Acting Assistant-Surgeon, con-
firmed.

THE GREAT BRITAIN.
(From the Northern ll'hig.)
DUNDRUM BAY, OCT. 11, Two o'CLocK, P.M.—Since
our last report the position of the Great Britain has
considerably changed. On the top of the tide, on Fri-
day evening, whilst some endeavours were making to
ease her position, a strong south wind shifted her bows
from north-east to direct west, in which posture she now
lies, hard and fast, in about ten feet sand, with a base-
ment of hard rock. If she should move further to the
north-west, she will shift on a ridge of rocks that will
destroy her bottom. To-day the people on board mus-
tered between fifty and sixty; but a number of them are
about to quit her immediately. Holes have been scut-
tled in her bottom, so that the tide rises inside to the
height of the tide outside. All the coals have been sold,
but the ship's stores remain on board. The customs
have sealed up all the exciseable articles, not leaving
-even a glass of wine for the use of the captain, his crew,
or visitors. A. part of the crew of the Royal George,
revenue cutter, consisting of eight men and Mr. Browne,
the chief mate, arrived in Belfast, on Friday, from the-
Great Britain, on board of which vessel they bad been
assisting since her stranding. We understand Captain
Hosken has expressed himself much indebted to Mr.
Browne and his party for the services they have ren-
dered him.

THE GUN-COTTON in GERMANY.
Dr. Otto, Profeszor of Chymistry in Brunswick, has
published the following statement in the lianaverian
Gazette :

" Entirely independent of Schcenbein and Thottger,
but relying on an observation of Pelouze, contained in
the 136th pare of the first volume of my Manual ( f
Clrymi.stry, I have succeeded in producing an exploding
cotton, which, after a series of experiments, seems quite
suited to supply the place of gunpowder. In order to
bring the results of important discoveries as speedily as
possible to the highest stage of perfection, it seems to
me necessary to lay them immediately before the public,
in order that many persons may turn their attention to
the subject. I scorn, therefore, to sell or take out a
patent for my very interesting discovery, the conse-
quences of which are not easy to be foreseen ; and I
now publish it for the general good of the public. In the
preparation of the exploding cotton, common, well-cleaned
cotton is dipped for about half a minute in highly con-
centrated nitric acid (the acid which I use being made '
by the distillation of ten parts of dried saltpetre and
six of oil of vitriol), and then instantly placed in water,
which must be often renewed, in order to free the
cotton from the acid with which it is impregnated.
Care must then be taken that all the knotty particles
of the cotton are properly disentangled, and that it is
thoroughly dried. After this the explosive preparation
is ready for use; its effects create astonishment in all
who witness them, and the smallest portion explodes
when struck on an anvil with a hammer, like fulminating
powder; when kindled with a glowing body it takes fire
just like gunpowder, and when used in a gun its opera-
tion, though in a far greater proportion to its weight,
is precisely the same as that of gunpowder. This gun-
cotton is employed exactly in the same way as gun-
powder; a piece of it is rammed down the barrel, then
a bit of wadding, and after that a ball; a copper cap
ignites and explodes the cotton. Without a single ex-
ception, all who have witnessed my experiments have
been most completely satisfied, but no one has men-
tioned the matter. The testimonial signed below by
distinguished men, who are thoroughly acquainted with
the use of fire-arms, will support my announcement. The
testimonial is to the following effect:—

" Yesterday, the 4th of October, we, the under:igned,
assisted at the first experiment of the exploding cotton
in the Laboratory in this city, and to-day we have con-
vinced ourselves of its completely satisfactory results
when used in fire-arms loaded with ball.
" DR. lIARTIG,
" Counsellor of Woods and Forests,
" A. VON SCHWARTZKOPPEN,
" Chief Ranger.
" Brunswick, Oct. 5."

SIR CHARLES NAPIER, K.C.B.—This gallant and
distinguished naval officer, it is rumoured, will be ap-
pointed Captain Superintendent of her Majesty's Dock-
yard, Woolwich, in place of Sir Francis Collier, C. 8.,
who will not return to this establishment to resume his
official duties, to which he was succeeded pro tem. by
Captain Lord John Hay, C. 8., since appointed a junior
Lord of the Admiralty.
_ _

NEW FULMINATING MATTER.—The Messager
states, that " a trial of a fulminating matter having all
the appearance of cotton and wadding, and which the in•
ventor, M. Morel, a mechanical engineer at Paris, desig-
nates under the name of fulminating cotton, has lately
been made in presence of General Gourgaud, President
of the Committee of Artillery; Colonel Piobert, member
of the Academy of Sciences, and several other officers.
M. Morel announced that he had during a long time
been occupied with his invention, and that he had taken
out a patent for the preparation of the composition which
he submitted to trial. For this purpose he pre-
sented a box of cartridges ready prepared for small arms.
Burned on the hand it causes no sensible pain, leaves no
stain, and produces no smoke. Dipped in water and
pressed, and afterwards dried between two leaves of
blotting paper, it preserves its fulminating properties.
General Gourgaud fired a charge of fulminating
cotton from an ordinary fowling-piece, at a dis-
tance of 40 yards from the object at which he
aimed. Ile fired a holster pistol at a distance of 25
yards, and a pocket pistol at a distance of 10 yards.
At 40 yards a ball from the fowling-piece traversed a
plank of beech of 0'35 centimetres thickness; at 25 yards
the ball from the holster pistol lodged in the plank with-
out perforating it ; the ball from the pocket pistol made
the same impression on the plank as that which might
have been produced by a charge of ordinary gunpowder.
The charge of fulminating cotton leaves scarcely any
residue in the barrel. n
Theo
tlouderrecoil ofthan that of a l
the gun unis extremely
ge
slight, and thereport
detonating cap. We cannot calculate on the effect which
may hereafter be produced by the discovery of M. Morel.
lie has promised to prepare a quantity of fulminating
cotton suffitient to make experiments with cannon. The
effect already produced appears to coincide with those
attributed by the English journals to the cotton powder
of M. Schmabein. M. Chodsko, a Polish refugee, like-
SC presented a fulminating substance, which has the
appearance of cotton, and which was tried with an artil-
lery musketoon, fired at 40 yards. The ball produced
the same effect as that fired by fulminating cotton, but it
left a considerable :deposit in the barrel. The cotton
powder of M. Chodsko was compressed into a wadding,
in order to charge the gun, whilst the fulminating cotton
was not. Both materials ignite by the blow of a ham-
mer on an anvil, but not by the blow of a hammer on
/NW."