The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-11 00:00:00

COLONIAL CORPS.

lst West India Regiment Jamaica, Chatham.
2d do ... . .
3d d 0...
Ceylon Rifle Regiment Ceylon
Cape Mounted Riflemen
Royal. Canadian Rifle Regiment Canada
St. Helena Regiment
Royal Newfoundland Vet. Companies Newfoundland
Royal Malta Fencibles

EXPERIiIIENTS AT THE BUTT IN THE
ROYAL ARSENAL, WOOLWICH.
WOOLWICH, SEPT. 10.—Lieutenant-General Sir
Thomas Downman, C. Major- General Fox,
Colonel Dundas, C. 8., Lieutenant-Colonel Chalmer,
Assistant Director-General of Artillery ; Lieutenant-
Colonel Burn, Captain Wingfield and Captain An-
derson, Royal Artillery )3rigade ; Major Walpole,
Royal Engineers ; Captain Fox, of the Grenadier
Guards ; Captain March, and several other officers ;
Mr. Lawrence, jun., son of the American Minister;
Mr. Samuel Colt, of revolver celebrity ; Mr. Adams,
who submitted another kind of revolver; and Mr.
Searle, inventer of the needle-gun ; Mr. Lovell, the
armourer in charge of the important stores at the
Tower, and several scientific gentlemen, attended at
the butt in the Royal Arsenal, at half-past ten o'clock
to-day, to witness experiments with Mr. Colt's and
Mr. Adams's revolvers, and Mr. Sears's needle guns
and carabine. The experiments commenced at eleven
o'clock with Mr. Colt's revolving pistols at 50 yards
range, and the practice was very good in several in-
stances, the whole of the six balls striking the target,
which was about six feet square. Mr. Adams then tried
his revolving pistol, which differs from Mr. Colt's in hav-
ing no ramrod, the balls, which were all of a conical
shape, being merely placed into the revolving recep-
tacles with the thumb, and the percussion caps placed
in their proper position for firing by a spring feeder
with the least trouble imaginable. When Mr. Colt's
six charges are fired, the cock of the pistol is drawn
back by the thumb on each firing, but the actionis
different in Mr. Adams's invention, and the works
which discharge the percussion caps do not have any
outside projection, and are capable of causing the
firing to be very rapid in succession, and reports very
sharp, as if the balls had been projected with great
velocity. Mr. Colt used both spherical and conic•
al
shot, but all those used by Mr. Adams were conical,
and vadded with an elastic material glued to the ball.
Almost immediately after the firing of the revolvi▪
ng
pistols was completed, at one o'clock, r.sf., the 20th
company of Royal Sappers and Miners arrived at
Fox,
Mr. place of embarkation, and Major-General
Mr. Colt, and the other gentlemen present, went to
the spot, and Mr. Colt, in a very handsome manner,

with the consent of the Major-General, presented
Lieutenant Ray, in charge of the company of Royal
Sappers and Miners, with one of his revolving
pistols. On the return of the officers and gentlemen
from witnessing the embarkation of the Royal Sappers
and Miners, the rifle stand was removed from 50 to
200 yards range, and the experiments commenced
with Mr. Sears's needle•gun. The ball, one and a
half-ounce in weight, used in Mr. Sears's gun is made
of a conical shape, And the charge, two and a quarter
drachms of powder, with a small quantity of igniting
composition, is made up in a similar manner to a ball-
cartridge, and is placed in its firing position with the
greatest ease, the loading being made at the breach of
the gun, and consequently no ramrod is required.
When the charge is placed in the rear of the muzzle
of the gun a sliding cover is pushed forward and on
one side, which so effectually prevents the smallest
portion of the powder escaping, except from the
mouth of the barrel, that a greater range is obtained
with a comparatively smaller charge than could be
obtained by any other means yet tried, and the com-
bustion of the projective materials is so complete
that, apparently, hundreds of rounds may be
fired without materially soiling the interior of
the barrel, or rendering it necessary to cleanse
it. The perfect nature of the combustion, from
the charge being prevented escaping from the breach
of the gun, was repeatedly tested, by placing clean
white paper over the part where the charge was in.
aerted, and it was invariably exhibited as clean and
free from stain as it was when applied, consequently
there never appears any smoke at the breach of the
gun. The next gun experimented with was one of
the present service gun•barrels, fitted with Mr. Sears's
invention, in which the charge and ball is inserted in
one cartridge under the gun, and the firing took place
at 400 yards range, to show its capabilities when fitted
with Mr. Sears's invention. The firing with both
guns, and with a carabine carrying a ball of one ounce
in weight, with a charge of one and a half drachms of
powder, about half the usual service charge, was re-
markably good. The firing was not confined to Mr.
Sears, jun., Colonel Duadas, Brigade Major Walpole,
Mr. Lovell, Mr. W. H. Gordon, a sergeant, and three
gunners of the Royal Artillery, repeatedly firing
from each of the pieces, and with excellent effect.
There were 135 rounds fired from the two muskets,
and 80 from the carabine, several times in rapid suc-
cession, the pieces being capable of firing 20 rounds
in two minutes, and yet there was no appearance of
any of the parts beating or getting the least out of
order during the whole time of trial.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE;

Commodore-Superintendent Eden, of Woolwich
Dockyard, is on leave of absence to the 15th.

Captain-Superintendent the lion. R. S. Dundas,
C. 8., of Deptford Dockyard, is on leave of absence.
Bellerophon, 78, Captain Lord G. Paulet, as soon
as she has been docked at Portsmouth, is to proceed to
Spithead, and there to fill up her sea-going complement
as soon as she can.

Hercules store and troop ship has been paid off
and docked at Portsmouth, to be fitted as a receiving
ship for Malta, in lieu of the Ceylon.
Myrmidon iron steam-vessel, Lieutenant Com-
mander Joliffe, on her way to the coast of Africa,
was at Madeira, Sept. 3.
Shearwater, 6, steam-vessel, Lieutenant Com-
mander Horton, is ordered to proceed to the Medi-
terranean, to join Sir William Parker's squadron.
She proceeds en route to Constantinople, calling at
Corunna, Vigo, Lisbon, and Gibraltar.
THE COAST or AFRICA.—The only item of intel-
ligence from the coast of Africa is the seizure of an
empty slaver by the Bloodhound, tender to the
Sampson steam-frigate, Captain V. Jones. Two full
slavers are reported to have eluded the vigilance of
our cruisers.