The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-28 00:00:00

ORDERS OF THE DAT.

Mr. Punch to ask-
1. What is the Ritual Commission doing now ?
2. Whether one part of the Thames Embankment won't
be worn away before the other is completed?
3. When there is going to be easy communication
between guard and passenger on every railway?
4. When improved fire escapes will be made and used?
5. When the police force will be improved?
6. When known and suspected thieves can be dealt with
preventively, and their nests destroyed?
7. Whether as to subjects of questions 2,3, 4,5, 6, we
must wait for some tremendous accident or fearful crisis
to hurry us into active measures?

(From Judy.)

A STANDING JOKE.—What do the members of a stand•
ing committee stand upon ?—Forms.
QUERY.—Can the fight for the championship of the
Thames be properly described as a water-mill?
A TRUE BILL.—The recent Treasury minute is very
amusing, when it is remembered that the First Lord, Mr.
Gladstone, is, from his adaptability to change, the most
flourishing form of accommodation Bill out.
SECOND CHlLDHOOD.—Gentleman (who has hired
Hibernian hack) : " Why, I thought you called him ' the
colt ?'"—Ostler : " Sure, and that's the name he'shad for the
last twenty year, and he sticks to it like a respectable
haste, the same as your honour."
" CERVUS HADET CELEBES, IRE REDIRE, PEDES."
" The Rev. Dr. Cumming is anxious to attend the
forthcoming cEcumenical Council."—Vide Public Press.
" The Church of St. Paul, Walworth, now in the
cumbency of the Rev. Mr. Going, is remarkable for the
ritualistic practices carried on there."— Vide Public Press.

(From Fun.)
OBJECTIONABLE TO LOVERS OF DECORIIII.—A fr

breakfast-table.
THE TIME TO CLENCH AN ARGUMENT.—When the
attention of your audience is riveted.
THANK You FOR NOTHING.— Conservative Motto—"
liberal trial allowed."
VERY So-so. —When may a man be said to be thoroughli
" sewn-up ?"—When he has pins and needles in his foot
and stitch in his side.
FEMININE TACT.—Mamma : " Sydney, I insist on your
eating that piece of meat. You should not have asked for
it if you did not want it."—Sydney : " It's so big, ma.'
Sissy: " But if you fold it up, it won't look so big."
PROPHETIC.—Few people of those who at the time
laughed when Mr. Gladstone on resigning office declared
that "time is on our side !" could have been aware that b°
was alluding to his future election for Greenwich.
BACKING IT UP.—Our youngest, aged ten, having
lately seen us pass through the ordeal of a rheumatic
attack, asked us the other day, on taking up Good Words,
fur the Young, whether "the back of the north wind'
must not be rather stiff, and if so, would not a mustard
T)laster do it good ?

THE ORDNANCE SELECT COMMITTEE.

-

In a very long article the Herald discusses the position
and powers of the Ordnance Select Committee, which has
just departed this life. It is evident how important 0°
duties of this committee were—the decision on virbet
xeapons should be used by our army and
in connection with every army there must be
some authority to look after these matters. In the last
century committees were appointed to decide on each par
ticular invention. But theinconvenience of a changing co'
inittee was felt to be too great for continuance, and at this
commencement of the present century a fixed committee
was appointed. The way in which this worked was 9'9
follows :—An inventor placed the effort of his brain before
the Master of Ordnance, who put it for consideration
,efore the committee, the committee discussing the
^latter and reporting their conclusion to the Master. -11.6
Ilad the ultimate decision. By and by the business 9°
increased that the Master only brought under the
notice of the committee what he considered the
most important inventions. Thus a new grievance
sprung up, and several other temporary committee
were appointed to assist the standing one. But that Wee
only confusion, and after some time one committee Wesl a
appointed to have the decision in their own hands. But:-
was formed on too gigantic a scale, and in 1855 had to he
remodelled, and made smaller, the members being removed
from all other duties to attend to the work of the committee.
It is this committee which has been abolished because of
the accumulation of work on the committee, the disagree;
meats which took place, and the incompetence of some
the members. The Herald is not quite convinced Of the
wisdom of the suppression. The new committee
is only acting provisionally, and in forming a lie!
one the first great question of importance is"
How far is it desirable that the " committee '3l:
inventions " should consist only of officers of artillerY!
There is much in common between artillery stores for liale't
and sea service, and the opinion of a naval officer alu'9lv
often be of great value. Many questions are Park'
artillery and partly engineers' questions, such as the eye:
ployment of Moncrieff batteries. The point the Haat°
would like to see well considered is this—whether;
considering the immense importance of the questi°l4
submitted to the committee of inventions, or whatever i.O
maybe called, it would not be well worth while to make
the salaries of its members sufficiently good to ensure cnio
taming the highesttalent and experience from all brannhe,g
of the service. This is not at present the case. There 1,„
no department of the army where any small ecener°'
could be more utterly misplaced.

TWENTY-EMIT MEN CONFINED IN 'S

PIT.

On Tuesday afternoon the Whitehall Colliery, Greet
Green, Westbromwich, was the scene of a terrible disaster,
the principal boiler exploding, thereby cutting off ti 3::
means of communication with about twenty-eight mat At
the pit, killing one man, and seriously injuring another. I'd
half-past three in the afternoon Richard Ingram was firuin:
up at the boiler, which is about eight yards long, "fa
it exploded, sending it in three different directions, 31;a,
burying the unfortunate man in the ruins. The prille„ril2-
part of the boiler was carried into a field belonging to f
Gordhn. Two other pieces went into the middle of Old13°":,
lane,which leads to Great Bridge, and these bounded off t1:1;
way on to a raised piece of ground opposite a 1)47:
belonging to Mr. Gordon, of Newtown. In ;31:
barn an old man, about 56 years of age, ;a
threshing, and on hearing the explosion he 1013-kebe
and saw a piece of the boiler coming towards
building. He wisely ran into that part of the 1:6_,1r0
where the straw was kept, and immediately aftervilg-,
one of the regulator balls struck the roof of the buildi";
breaking through, but permitting him to °le
without injury. About half-past nine the efforts of 'ea
men on the pit bank to raise some of the imPriB°livtit
workers proved successful, and three were got out' noe
the method of raising them proved such a dilator)"
that some one suggested that the pony used at pit
to'
might prove useful in the service. He was at once Ptl"
work, and by about half-past ten several of the men
boys had been rescued. But the pony was not equal !°O-0,0
effort of pursuing the arduous work any longer, and ;,watir
decided to endeavour to obtain horses from the neigh cod
hood to assist. The pit where the accident has bgtrell
is situate on the Oldbury-road, close to Newtown Cmt.
and school.

ACCIDENT TO LORD MAIDSTONE. Lord Aral'
stone, eldest son of tho Earl of Winchilsea, who isr,„;"th
ing in Folkestone with the Countess and family, Ole"* olat
a.s!rious accident on Tuesday. His lordship W°s alO
riding
at Broadmead, about two miles distant, all 00 °
leaping a fence sustained a severe fracture of the 15gd" Gals
of the borough police, who fortunately was near, °D,
the accident, got assistance, and his lordship was c° family
home, and had the leg set by 31,r. Bowles end the lit'''.
surgeon.