The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JULY 23, i 866.

VARIATION OF LIGHT DURING THE effect of a dull summer evening, whereas on the pre-
ECLIPSE. sent occasion this odd, unearthly light was co-
+ existent with apparently full sunshine. After the
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. • time of greatest obscuration, and as the moon tra-
SIR,—For the purpose of examining some of the yelled off the sun, a rapid
large brightening of the light
results of the eclipse more carefully I went this day took place. At 3h. lm. 305.,
the " e dark sp
to Carshalton, to study the effects of the veiling of was again centrally uncovered, and at 3h. 28m. 335.
the sun upon the landscape, and to measure by my the lunar limb was just half off the eastern remain-
photometer the diminution of light, in the same ing spot. After this the clouds, which had more or
manner as I did at Blisworth at the last great less been scattered over the heavens all day, began
eclipse of the sun. to close rapidly over the sun, and consequently the
The day for the country was lovely in the ex- moment of emersion of the western spot, and also
treme, light clouds broke the monotony of the sky, that of the last contact of the limbs of the sun and
and the first and last contact and contact with the moon, were impossible to be observed. The lati-
spots on the sun were most distinctly seen. tude and longitude of my observatory may be taken
I made three sets of observations with the pho- at 51 deg. 0 min. 58s. N., and 17.55. east (or fast)
tometer, one upon the clear sky, as near the zenith of Greenwich.—l am, sir, &c.,
as passing clouds would permit ; a second upon a WILLIAM NOBLE.
spot a little above the horizon to the north; and a Forest-lodge, Maresfield, Uckfield, Sussex,
third upon the illumination of the earth's surface. July 20.
The most interesting feature connected with the
veiling of so large a portion of the sun's disc was
the apparent limitation of diffused light. This
characteoistic began to be decidedly apparent about
25 minutes after the first contact, and the appear-
ance of the landscape was greatly altered. The I
noble trees in Beddiogton Park and the adjoining
domains were thrown into outline, and the effect of
perspective was diminished. Trees in outline at a
distance from buildings apparently touched them,
or were placed in apparent contact with other trees
a king distance off.
This phenomenon was remarked by all the ob-
servers present, and gradually increased to the
period of greatest obscuration, when all the trees ap-
peared to touch each other, and the under branches
lost their green colour and became black. At half-
past three perspective was again resumed, the trees
and buildings apparently regained their normal
positions and assumed their usual appearance.
During the obscuration a paper mill which had
been recently painted white assumed a dull gray
colour. The bright yellow green of the walnut
was altered in colour, and there was an absence of
that bright reflected light from every object which
it was so peculiarly the province of the genius of
Turner to depict.
I was most anxious for a cloudless sky to obtain
the law of the diminution of light in the sky by an
extensive series of observations during an eclipse,
but this day fate ordained otherwise, and clouds
and mist interrupted the series, which nevertheless
was fraught with interest. The light of the sky
near the zenith dropped from 11 to 7.25, when it
rose gradually to 10, at the termination of the ob-
servation. As a consequence of this, diffused light
was materially lessened, which contributed to the
curious phenomena detailed above.
During a great portion of the time the sky was
clear over the S.E. horizon, and I found that the
light at 3.5, a little after the greatest obscuration
had dropped from 11 to 7.50.
Upon comparing the amount of illumination with
observations made last summer in Switzerland, I
found that the light of the sky yesterday, about
the time of greatest obscuration, was 1 75 less.than
we found it at the grand plateau of snow before the
last ascent is made of the Cima de Jazi, at an alti-
tude of about 12,800 feet, a situation where, after
the biting cold of the summit, observations could
be made with comfort and ease.
From measurements made in the north, a few
degrees above the horizon, where a dark elm cut
the sky, which was in that quarter clouded during
the whole period of the eclipse, the light dropped
from 11 to 8 ; but, although this diminution was
interesting and confirmatory, the clouds spoiled the
observations of the particular knowledge of the
light of the sky, which I desired so much to obtain.
The intensity of the illumination of grass and
dark objects close at hand diminished exactly in the
same ratio as the light of the sky, and diminished
11 to 7.25, and the light upon a white painted
greenhouse varied in like manner.
During the whole of the eclipse a chorus of
thrushes were heard at intervals in every direction.
Between 2'40 and 2.50 I did not hear one, which
might have been an accidental circumstance, as
sparrows chirped, martins flew about, swans sailed
as usual up the stream. Trout were not deoeivcd
by the darkness to come up as they are wont for
their evening gambols, and as far as I can judge,
the animal creation were not in any way affected.
At 2.10 a dark cloud arose in the S.W., the wind
freshened and whistled through the trees, and a
sensible chillness was felt. This cloud passed away
in about 20 minutes, and left the eclipse visible,
with but trifling interruptions, till its termination.
Until this day my mind has never realised to it-
self the importance of the sun's disc, but it is now
clear that if the rays of the sun emanated from a
point instead of a surface, the landscape would be
shorn of a great part of its beauty, and would look
much as it does when lit up by the electric light,
when outlines and black shadows are the leading
characteristics. I have never been more delighted
than I have been this day in watching the return of
the natural appearance of the country after it had
been so completely altered, and the image of the
wonderful change effected by, the veiling of the
sun's an will always remain impressed upon my
mind with a sense of the great beauty which is at
tributable .to the universal diffusion of light.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
ALFRED SMEE.
7, Finsbury-ojrcus, July 18.

MILITARY ORGANISATION.

The long looked for report of the select commit.
tee on military organisation was published on San
turday, and occupies over 20 blue-book pages. The
committee consisted of Viscount Palmerston, Lord
John Russell, Lord Hotham, Sir James Graham, the
Judge Advocate, Mr. Ellice, Mr. Sidney Herbert,
Mr. Walpole, Mr. Horsman, Sir John Ramsden,
Sir William Codrington, Mr. Monsell, Colonel Wil-
son Patten, the Earl of March, and Capt. Vivian.
The report commences with an outline of the
question which the committee had to take under
their consideration, viz., the position which the se-
veral authorities hold towards each other, with re-
spect to patronage and to the supervision and con-
trol of the separate departments, the appointments
in the army, and the civil arrangements of the dif-
ferent officers. With respect to the relative powers
of the Commander-in-Chief and the Secretary for
War, the Secretaries of State are said to hold their
seals by patent, during the pleasure of the Crown.
They exercise their powers interchangeably, al-
though, for convenience, particular departments are
assigned to each of them. They are the channels
which convey the royal pleasure throughout the
body politic, both at home and abroad. The coun-
ter-signature of one of them is necessary to give
effect to the sign-manual. Every commission in the
army is so counter-signed. The patronage of the
Crown, both in Church and State, is administered
under this safeguard. To every public document
signed by the Sovereign, the signature of a secre-
tary.of state is appended; and thus, while the So-
vereign can do no wrong, the responsible adviser of
every act is ascertained, and the Minister must an-
swer for what the Crown has done. Heretofore
there has been no limitation is the patent to the
powers of a secretary of state; he is removeable at
pleasure ; but while he holds the seal of his office he
is responsible for the acts of his Sovereign, and admi-
nisters the royal authority andprerogative which are
delegated to him without reserve. It must be re-
membered, also, that each secretary of state receives
the seals of office from the hand of the Sovereign in
council ; when he surrenders office he gives back
the seals ; but while he holds them, even before
the issue of his patent, he is in the enjoyment and
full exercise of all his powers. It would appear
therefore to the committee that the tenure of his
office is by seals rather than by patent.
The committee next proceed to notice the prac-
..

tical working of the present system, more especially
with regard to the relative 'position and power of
the Commander-in-Chief and of the Secretary of
State for War. They say :
" His Royal Highneas the Puke of Cambridge
was graciously pleased to attend your committee,
and gave his evidence with perfect frankness, and
in the clearest manner. Lord Panmure,'Gen. Peel,
and Mr. Herbert have also been examined ; and on
the testimony of these authorities, the highest and
the best, a judgment must be formed on the ques-
tion, whether the Commander-in-Chief be suffi-
ciently under the control of the Secretary of State
for War. Notwithstanding the reservations in the
patent, his royal highness amits that, with respect
to commands in chief, whether at home or abroad,
with respect to the giving away of regiments, and
with respect to promotions, the consent of the
Secretary of State for War is invariably obtained
before appointments of this description are sub-
mitted to her Majesty. These matters are gene-
rally adjusted by personal communication between
his royal highness and the Secretary of State ' • but
if a difference of opinion should arise, which has
not yet occurred, his royal highness declares that
the decision must rest with the Secretary of State,
' because in the constitutional fornt the Secretary
of State would advise her Majesty to take his
opinion, and not that of the Commander-in-Chief;
and thus the matter must finally come to the deci-
sion of the Secretary of State, who is the responsible
minister.' "
With respect to the appointments in the army
the committee report :
" The question at issue on this head has refer-
ence principally to first appointments, that is to
say. to first commissions in the cavalry and
infantry, which constitute the patronage of the
Commander-in-Chief. The first appointments in
the artillery and engineers are open to competi-
tion on fixed rules, and the candidates who succeed
undergo the test of severe examination. But the
first appointments in the cavalry and in the line,
either by purchase or by gift, are at the disposal of
the Commander-in-Chief, who has the sole power of
nomination. The qualifications of the candidates
are approved by the Secretary of State, and are
tested by an examination before admission into the
army, whether they pass through the Military
College at Sandhurst or not. The extent of this
patronage is very great. The appointments to
first commissions, from the Ist of January, 1853, to
tha 30th of June, 1859, were 3,558_in number. Of

TO TI -EDITOR OF TIIE SUN.
Sir,--I attentively- ,noticed the eclipse of Wednes-
day on Primrose-hill, and my observations differed
in some respects so =aerially from Mr. Hind's,
made in Regent's-park, th,q,t, although merely taken
for my own information, thy may not be unworthy
a place in your columns.
To determine the temperature with accuracy I
had two thermometers of the ordinary kind, made
by two different makers, the only appreciable dif-
ference between them being that one was a little
more sensitive than the other, falling and rising
with more rapidity.

Thermometer in the Shade
2 ft. from the ground.
21 min. after the eclipse commenced, Greenwich
time being 20 min. to 2 ' 67 deg.
Gradually fell until 11 min. to 3, the period of
greatest obscuration
At 3 o'clock

these 1,996 were by purchase, and 2,825 were given
away. Previous to the late war the commissions
given way averaged about 60 a year, and there was
one year, at the end of the war, in which there
were only three. In tbis return first commissions
in the cavalry are cot distinguished from first com-
missions in the infantry. A cavalry commission
was at the time more valuable than 'an infantry
commission. The regulation price of an ensigncy
is £450. Assuming, therefore, that the 2,825 first
commissions, given away in six years and a half
were all ensigncies only, their money value amounts
to the spm of £1,271,250, if sold at the regulation
price. But 1854 and 1855 were years of war, and
a large proportion of the commissions given away
may be ascriLedato the necessary and sudden aug-
mentation of the army in that emergency; 1857 8,
however, was the year of mutiny in India; in con-
sequence of the raising of second battalions to meet
the demands for reinfOreements to India, 686 first
commissions were given away in the course of that
year by the Commander-in. Chief, the money value
of which, assuming them to have been ensigncies
only, is £308,700. This is a large amount of patro-
nage. The Duke of Cambridge says that it is
exercised on principles which rest in the breast of
the Commander-in-Chief for the time being ; but
he adds, 'that commissions are only given away to
such persons as are supposed to have, and I think it
will ba found in every case that they have some
claim upon the country. It would seem, in the
first instance, that this exercise of patronage at
the Horse Guards is not interfered with by the
Secretary of State. There is, indeed, a list
of these first appointments sent to the Secretary of
State before the names are submitted to her Ma-
jesty for approval. Sir Edward Lugard, the Secre-
tary for Military Correspondence in the War De-
partment, and the immediate channel of written
communications with the Horse Guards, gives a
full account of this list, and of the manner in which
it is treated by the Secretary of State. For the
purpose 'of obviating objections as to the large
amount of patronage at the Horse Guards, and the
number of first commissions given away, the Com-
mander-in-Chief opened a plan whereby henceforth
there should be only one entrance into the army,
and that through the medium of a military college.
His royal highness is of opinion that this would
be the most desirable thing which could be intro-
duced into the service.' He gave the outline of a
plan in great detail, which will be best explained
by reference to the evidence and to the questions
and anwers specified in the margin. Mr. Herbert,
who heard
examination
hiso
pinion oha
fte
he
avi
dsi dvei
royalcneceg ,
hva
eind gnh
by
yehs
tsoh, tedoeDok cl
krpee ador in t
ft
thatC inamhe .
Cam-
bridge was sound, that if it were adopted the whole
dispute as to first commissions would be entirely at
an end, and that one entrance into the army,
through the door of a military college, would ter-
minate the controversy respecting patronage."
With regard to the question of the Commissariat
and the Military Train, the committee report at
considerable length and go fully into the subject,
but their views may be gathered from the follow-
ing extract :
" Sir John M‘Neill's solution of the question,
whether the commandant of the Military Trate, or
the Commissary in Chief, should in the field have
exclusive power over the means of transport is, that
neither one nor the other should be trusted with it ;'
but that the French intendance' should be intro-
duced into our military system. Were this view
adopted, in addition to the quartgrmastergeneral
and the adjutant-general, in the field therg would
be a staff officer attached to headquarters,
whose special duty it would be to con-
trol and direct both the Commissariat and
the Military Train, under the immediate orders
of. the Commander-in•chief. It is worthy
of notice that Captain Gordon, the principal mill-

Both thermometers marked this, and there was
no perceptible variation until 25 min. past 3,
when a rise commenced, and at 4 o'clock, 6
min. after the end of the eclipse
At 5 o'clock 64

__... _ ..
At 6 o'clock
At 8 o'clock

These results do not much differ from those given
by Mr. Symons. But Mr. Hind gives the thermo-
meter at 20 min. to 2, 70 deg. ; half-pait 2, 69 deg.;
at 4 o'clock, 68 8 deg. Yet Mr. Hind himself felt
the change in the temperature, although his ther-
n'iometerfailed to register it; for at 2h. 32min. he
records " sensibly cooler."
. lam an observer of light, and am conversant
with the changes in the landscape created by varia-
tions of light and of clouds and of mist. I think
few better places than Primrose-hill could be found
near London for seeing the effect of light during an
eclipse, and I agree generally with the observa-
tions made by Mr. Hind. At the period of the
greatest obscuration a mistiness had arisen; the dis-
tant parts of the landscape were hidden ; Highgate
seemed enveloped as if a heavy blight had:settled
there; and, although not certain, yet my belief is
Highgate church was obscured. For just at this
time, the middle of the eclipse, the sun shone
clearly—there was a pale yellow light thrown over
the tops of the houses in W.S.W. that was beauti-
ful, but indescribable; and, although different, yet
it somewhat resembled a brilliant moonlight effect
on a,clear August' evening, and the study of this
extraordinary effect occupied most of my attention.
I therefore disagree from Mr. Symons, and think
the effect upon the landscape different from and far
beyond any mere diminution of light, and that the
action of the sun's rays so greatly lessened, with
the sun so high in the heavens, was wonderful to
behold.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM RAY SMEE.
St. Edmund's-terrace, Regent's-park, July 20.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—I am induced to forward you the accom-
panying details of the eclipse as seen from this
observatory, inasmuch as they possess some interest
in connection with those of Mr. Hind, published in
your impression of Thursday. The first contact of
the moon's limb with the sun took place at lh.
40m. 455. local men time. The advancing limb of
our satellite was exceedingly rugged, four high
mountains being very conspicuous as she came on
to the solar disc. It is a curious fact that the moon
appeared to have the effect of stilling the undula-
tions of the solar limb at the points at which she
cut it. Mr. Hind's large dark spot was centrally
bisected at lh. 57m., and soon afterwards the ad-
vance': of the moon disclosed a regular sierra of
mountains to the south of those already seen. At
2h. 37m, 495. the moon's limb was centrally over
the westernmost of the two remaining large spots,
whence it, steadily advanced, and covered the east
spot centrally at 2h. 46m. 2s. For some time after
this the effect of the sunlight as seen with the naked
eye was remarkable; a dimness and dulness of a lurid
tint seemed to overspread the landscape, Some-
th ingof the sort might have been produced by a dense
veil of mist covering the sun ;, but the continuance
of sunshine, and the sharpness of theshadows thrown
by posts, rails, and trees, at once must have shown,
even to a person ignorant of the eclipse, that this
curious diminution of light had no reference to any
merely atmospheric cause. The effect of comparative
darkness was very considerably more striking than
on the occasion of the larger eclipse of March. 15,
1858, as on that day the dense impenetrable nimbi
only conspired with the obscured sun to give_the

tary storekeeper at Woolwich, has arrived at this
same conclusion from different premises. He, too.
served in the Crimea as ordnance storekeeper, and
from his experience at Balaklava and at head-quar-
ters before Sebastopol, he is of opinion that a supe-
rior officer should be added to the staff abroad, who
should control all the civil departments of the
army, both the commissary-general and the store-
keeper. When he is reminded that the French
system is very like this, he says, that it is much
better than our own ; but it did not strike him at
first in that light, though on reflection he sees the
resemblance. Your committee beg to direct seri-
ous attention to this sugg.stion. It bears directly
on the causes of the zufferings of the British army
in the Crimea."

The committtee find great fault with the man-
ner in which the accounts of the War Department
are kept; in fact, it would seem that they are al-
most in a hopeless state of confusion, and his state
of affairs is more complicated by the recent trans-
fer of the expense of the Indian army to the Crown.
The committee says :
" The state of the aceoant between the British
Exchequer and Indian territory is most unsatisfac-
tory. The account for the Persian expedition is not
yet closed. The account of the first China war is
hardly yet completed. The account of the second
China war, which ended in 1856, is not yet balanced.

THEE WALKERINGHAM MURDER.

There are four or five different accounts still
open, with disputed balances to a large amount ; and
with respect to the new expedition to China, India,
in the midst of great financial difficulties, has been
required to make advances in the current year for
all expenses incurred in taking up transports in
India, in paying the men, and in providing cattle,
horses, and other necessaries, as well as equipments
for the army. In the estimate for the China vote
of credit, laid upon the table of the house, these ad-
vances are now included ; but while Indian terri-

At the Nottingham assizes, on Friday, John
Fenton, blacksmith, was charged with the murder
of Charles Spencer, at Walkeringham, on the 6th
March. The prisoner, who pleaded not guilty, is
a well-made and rather good-looking man of middle
height. He preserved a calm and almost uncon-
cerned demeanour throughout the whole pro-
ceeding. The facts, as stated by the learned
counsel for the prosecution, and as they were sub-
sequently elicited in evidence, were as follows ;
The deceased, Charles Spencer, was a cattle
dealer living at Walkeringham, a village about 12
miles from Retford ; the prisoner was a blacksmith
and publican, of the same village, and was a cousin
of the murdered man. On the 6th March, the
.deacesed was at Gainsborough market, and be-
tween 10 and 11 o'clock at night, he crossed over
Walkereith Ferry, on his return home, having
previously received a considerable amount of
money. At this time Mr. James Henderson, a
farmer, and his son, and also the prisoner John
Fenton, and James Fenton (no relation) were with
him. The two Fentons walked on first, and James
Fenton walked with John as far as the door of the
latter, when he left him, and proceeded to his
own home: Henderson and his son accom-
panied Spencer to within a short distance of his
house, and from this time the unfortunate man
was never seen alive again. The reports of two
pistols were heard directly afterwards by the vil-
lage schoolmaster, who also heard a cry of " For
God's sake, what are you going to do ?" The
schoolmaster looked out of his window, but seeing
no one, he got into bed again. Early in the morn-
ing the body of Spencer was found lying in a
ditch, surrounded by a pool of blood. Two bullets
were lodged' in his head, his throat was cut from ear
to ear, and his fob pocket was empty and turned in-
side out. The scene of the horrible crime was in the
centre of the village, within a stone's throw of the
church. Opposite was a barn called Gamson's barn,
and from two footprints by the side of one of
the buttresses of this building, it was evident that
here the assassin had lain in wait for his victim.
On the horse road near the place where the
body was found, were picked up a couple of
discharged pistols, a hat, an umbrella, and a stick.
The evidence which connected the prisoner with
the atrocious crime was purely circumstantial, and
was very remarkable. A witness, who, more than
20 years ago was apprenticed to the prisoner's
father, stated that during his apprenticeship the
old man gave him a pair of pistols to clean. Find-
ing a difficulty in unscrewing the barrel of one of
them he placed the pistol-stock in a vice between
two halfpence, and in this wlty effected his object ;
but in one of the halfpence there was a dent, and
the protuberance on the other side made a dent
in the stock for which he was soundly scolded.
The circumstance remained impressed on his
memory, and on hearing of the murder he
communicated the fact to the police. On one of
the pistols found near the body of the murdered
man, a precisely similar dint was discovered, and
the maker's name exactly corresponded with what
the witness remembered to be the name of the
makers of the pistols he had cleaned. Bullets of
the same size as those extracted from the head of
the murdered man, and caps of the same number
as that upon the nipple of one of the exploded pis-
tols, were found in Fenton's possession.
The Jury returned a verdict of Guilty, and the
prisoner was sentenced to death.

tory is overwhelmed with debt, it will be unseemly 1,
that Great Britain shoull, make war on China out :
of Indian resources. The repayment of these ad-
vances ought to be prompt, and within the present
financial year."
The committee, whilst speaking of the different
arsenals, incidentally refer to the position which Sir
William- Armstrong holds with the Government.
They say
"The gun factory has-been mentioned, and it is
necessary to call particular attention to the evidence
of Sir W. Armstrong ; 3,000 men are now employed
at Woolwich exclusively in making guns on Sir
W. Armstrong's principle, and under his superin-
tendence. Sir -William is the paid servant of the
Government. receiving £2,000 a year; he has also
received £6,000, and his salary is to be continued
for seven years from the present time. It appears
that the Armstrong guns are of a construction so
peculiar, and so much depending on the mode of
putting them together, that it would not be safe to
contract for them in the open market. The conse-
quence is, that they are made at Woolwich only,
excepting a supply under contract from one single
factory, and that factory is at Elswick. The effect
of this exclusive supply is to give a close monopoly
to the Elswick factory. The construction of these
guns is a very refined process. The putting together
requires to be very carefully done. Mr. Anderson,
Sir W. Armstrong's assistant at Woolwich, deposes,
that 'if these guns were made by contract, it would
be necessary to have some inspectors constantly at
the place where they were made, to see that they
were properly put, together; no inspection, after
they had been put together, would be satisfactory.'
Yet these guns are made by contract at Elswick.
They come up from Elswick to Woolwich, put
together. There is no Government inspector at
Elswick to watch their construction, but Sir W.
Armstrong says that the guns are manufactured at
Elswick under his own inspection, and that he goes
down there continually, But at Woolwich also there
are 3,000 men at work under his superintendence,
and he admits at Elswick he inspects guns made
by his own partners in a neighbouring concern.
Sir William Armstrong is well worthy of confidence,
and has acted generously towards the public by the
free surrender of his patent rights, but he is placed
by these arrangements in a false position ; he can-
not watch two great concerns distant from each
other more than 300 miles; he ought not to be
the inspector of the work of his own partners,
although the guns are proved on their arrival at
Woolwich by an artillery officer. This large and
• exclusive manufacture of Armstrong's guns is pro-
ceeding on the assumption that they are proved to
be the best. But Mr. Anderson admits there would
be a difficulty if Mr. Whitworth's guns were proved
to be better. Mr. Herbert says ' that when Arm-
strong's guns were first adopted, he had no com-
petitor ; and if we had waited until the great ques-
tion should be decided what is the best possible
gun to be made, it would not in this year, nor will
it be in next year, that we should commence to
make that which other nations have got, and
which we should then be without.'"
With regard to the question—How is the army
to be governed P—the report says :
" Earl Grey recommends a board, with a Cabinet
Minister at its head, but not the Secretary of State.
He seeks to restore the supreme power to the
Secretary of State for War and Colonies. This
board would be a new experiment. It undoes all
that has been done. It throws aside all the advan-
tages of growing experience and improved practice
which the last five years have not failed to afford.
Instead of concentrating responsibility, it redis-
tributes it. The machinery of boards is known to
be cumbrous and uncertain in its operation. It
only works well when the head of the board acts
as if he alone were responsible. A board, therefore,
would be a retrograde measure which your com-
mittee cannot recommend. A council is a board in
a modified form, and the same, objections apply,
though in a less degree. Mr. Herbert has given a
scheme for reorganising the War Department. He
proposes that there shall be one commander-in-
chief, as at present, a parliamentary under-secretary
two permanent under-secretaries, one of whom shall
. be a military officer, and also an assistant wider-
secretary. A director of ' materiel,' an officer of
artillery, to superintend the manufacture of all
warlike stores. An inspector general of fortifica-
tions, an officer of engineers, as at present. A mili-
tary officer to overlook the commissariat, the cloth-
ing and all stores not called ' warlike stores,'
to be called director of supplies. A director-
general of the medical department, as at present.
A storekeeper-general, as at present. A commis-
sary-in-chief, as at present. An inspector of militia,
and volunteers, reporting to the parliamentary
under-secretary. .An accountant-general, having
charge of the finance.. The scheme thus proposed
would secure an infusion of new military blood into
the War Department, which would give vigour to
the system, and confidence to the army. The Sec-
retary of State would have around him professional
advisers, whose opinions he might consult, either
separately or' collectively, according to his view of
the exigencies of each' case. On the whole, your
committee are of opinion that this scheme proposed
by Mr. Herbert has the merit of reducing change
to the minimum, while it promises an increase of
real efficiency. Mr. Herbert has also declared it to
be his opinion, if one or more of these military
heads of departments had seats in the House of
Commons, the public advantage would be great.
When the Secietary of State is a civilian unaided
and unsupported by military colleagues in the
House of Commons, he is exposed to serious diffi-
culties,. and his administration of the army is inade-
quately defended. When he speaks on military
subjects, his authority is questioned; when he an-
swers professional questions, it' is known that he
retails the opinions of others rather than that he is
pronouncing his own. His position in the House
of Commons would be far different if he had by his
side a colleague, a soldier of distinction, at all times
ready to sustain his answers, and to uphold his
authority. With reference to any difference that
might arise as to the relations between the Secre-
tary of State for War and the Commander-in-
Chief, your committee cannot do better than refer
to the memorable observation of the Duke of -Wel-
lington. He thus sums up his evidence before the
commission of military inquiry in 1837 :—"fhere
can be no doubt that the officer at the head of the
army, if he wants to incur any expense, would na-
turally go to the Secretary at War, and know from
him whether he has any objection to incurring the
expense proposed. He must know that if it be not
approved by the civil authorities of the army, such
• expense will not be voted in Parliament, and will
not be allowed. On the other hand, if the Secre-
tary at War should think that any expense which
was incurred ought to be discontinued, he would
naturally inquire from the Commander-in-Chief
whether he thought sach expense might be discon•
tinued without inconvenience to the service, That
is the way in which business is generally transacted.
There may be such a rale as that referred to; but I
have never myself tholght rnuch of such rules; they
must be departed froze alien the service renders a
departure from them necessary. These can be but
general rules, as landnarks by which the official
arrangement of the service ought to be conducted.
The heat rule is the mutual good temper and for-
bearance of the paetle6.7 "

ASSIZE INTELLIGENC'E.

HOME CIRCUIT.—LEwEs, JULY 21.

The commission for the county of Sussex was
opened in this town on Friday afternoon, and on
the following morning business was proceeded
with at ten o'clock, Lord Chief Justice Cockburu
presiding on the Crown side, and Mr. Justice
Blackburn at nisi prius. The entry of causes is
rather large for this place, there being four special
jury and seven common jury cases to be disposed
of. On the Crown side there are 27 prisoners, and
among the charges are one of murder and three of
manslaughter. Two of the latter, the charge
against Mr. Hopley, the schoolmaster, at East-
bourne, of causing the death of one of his scholars
by brutal treatment in the shape of flogging, and
the case of Mr. Bull, a surgeon, who is charged
with causing the death of his mother by negli-
gently administering to her an excessive dose of
prussic acid, appear to excite very great interest.
The other cases in the calendar are of the ordinary
description.
The Lord Chief Justice, in his charge to the
grand jury, in reference to the charge of murder,
said it appeared to him from the facts stated in the
depositions, that the only course they could pursue
'in respect to this case, was the painful one of re-
turning a true bill, and the only other cases to
which he considered it necessary to direct their at-
tention were two charges of manslaughter of a
rather peculiar character. The first of these was
the case of Thomas Hopley, a schoolmaster, who
was charged with the manslaughter of one of his
scholars by beating him, and he would shortly
state to them what the law was in reference to this
case. By the law of England the right was given
to a parent or a schoolmaster to administer correc-
tion to a child, and although many persons might
be of opinion that it was injudicious under any cir-
cumstances to resort to personal violence, and that
it was much better to make use of those kind influ-
ences to which youth was so susceptible, still the
law undoubtedly sanctioned the use of personal
correction. At the same time, it was required
that any punishment inflicted upon a child by a
parent or schoolmaster should be of a moderate and
reasonable character, and if there was any excess,
or the punishment was inflicted with rashness and
anger, and fatal consequences resulted, the party
by whom such punishment was inflicted ren-
dered himself amenable to the law, and was guilty
of the offence of manslaughter. They were not there
to enter into any speculative discussion as to the
propriety or impropriety of resorting to cor-
poral punishment in such a case, but must
deal with the case as it stood, and the
only questions they were called upon to decide
were, whether the prisoner was proved to have
inflicted punishment of a moderate character, and
such as would be inflicted by a reasonable man upon
a child, or whether it was inflicted in excess and
with anger and violence, and that it was the cause
of death; in which case it would certainly, in law,
be unjustifiable, and the prisoner would be responsi-
ble. The law did not permit a parent, much less a
person to whom he delegated his authority,' as was
the case with a schoolmaster, to make use of exces-
sive punishment to a child, and it death resulted,
both were amenable to the law. With regard to
the facts, it appeared from the depositions that the
punishment was continued for a long period, and
that it was inflicted with a rope and a stick, which
were not the ordinary instruments of punishment
for children, and the grand jury would, of" course,
take this fact into their consideration when the
matter was before them. The material question for
them, however, would be whether it was proved
that the punishment inflicted upon this child was
inordinate and improper, and that it was the cause
of death, and if this was established by the evidence
it would be their duty to return a true bill. The
other case of manslaughter to which he considered
it necessary to advert, was a charge against a
surgeon, named Bull, of having caused the death
of his own mother by negligently administering to
her an improper dose of prussic acid. In this case,
which was undoubtedly • one of a most painful
character, the only question for the consideration
of the grand jury was whether there had been
such criminal neglect on the part of the person
accused as would render him criminally respon•
sihle,'and he would observe that mere inadvertence
or oversight would not be sufficient to bring him
within the scope of the law, but they must be satis-
fied that he had been guilty of gross and culpable
negligence or rashness before they would be justi-
fied in returning a true bill. If this were not clearly
established it appeared to him that the grand jury
ought not to add to the misery which the circum-
stances must necessarily have occasioned to the un-
fortunate prisoner by causing him to be placed at
the bar to take his trial upon such a charge.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—STAFFORD, July 21.
(Before Mr. Justice Byles.)
ACTION FOR SEDUCTION.

The Court has been occupied nearly the whole of
two days in trying the cause of

'WOOTTON V. SHAPE,

It was an action brought by a timber merchant
at Bloxwich against the defendant, son of a farmer
and late publican, a relative by marriage of the
plaintiff, to rcover damages for the seduction of his
daughter Hannah. This case.has been tried before,
when the verdict for the yeaintiff for 150 was re:
turned, but the defendant had obtained a rule for a
new trial.

The evidence is too voluminous in detail, but the
following is a brief summary of the facts :—ln the
beginning of December, 1858, the defendant went
to lodge at the house of the plaintiff, who has eleven
children. Hannah, the subject of this action, was
at that time 15 years old, and according to her evi-
dence, on the 22d December she was sleeping- in a
bed alone, her younger sister Jane, who usually
slept with her, being unwell, when her father came
to see the girls, and the defendant acoompanied
him. Next night, as they were at supper, the
defendant drew her some beer, after drinking
which, she became very drowsy, and fell asleep
immediately on going !o led, She was awoke by
finding dcfm4dant in bed with her, and in the
very apt of pommitting the offence. He after-
wards
threatened to kill her if she told any nne,

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and it seems she never did tell any 'ono until
a fortnight before her confinement, on the
20th August following. After this she put
the chest of drawers against her bedroom door, and
although on several occasions she heard Jahn come
to the door he could not get in. He once offered
her a silver thimble, and some of his late wife's
clothes if she would leave the door open for him,
but she refused. The girl was severely cross-ex-
amined as to her knowledge of a medical student
named Walter• Green. She positively denied his
ever having taken liberties with her, or put his
arm round her waist. The girl's evidence was cor-
roborated in several important points by her sister
Jane, and by her father and mother-in-law.
The defendant's answer to the action was a com-
plete contradiction of the evidence brought forward
for the' plaintiff, and an allegation that Walter
Green was the father of the Young woman's infant.
Snape contradicted in detail every averment of
Hannah Wootton. He denied that he had ever
drawn any beer for her, or put any drug in beer
for her as suggested ; that he had ever entered her
bedroom as deposed to by her; that he had ever
offered her a silver thimble, or any of his deceased
wife's clothes; that he had ever threatened her, and
decidedly he denied that he had ever had connexion
with her. The defendant admitted that he had
had two other children fathered upon him. In one
case he had paid £2O to the mother, and in the
other he had paid a weekly allowance. He brought
forward a witness, named Theed, who described
himself as an accoucheur, and who swore that
one night at the end of October, 1858, he
saw Hannah Wootton and Walter Green in an
indecent position together in a field near
Wootton's house. He called to Green, "Walter, this
is too bad ; come home and attend to your business."
Green was an assistant to Dr. Somerville, with
whom Theed was also living.
One question in dispute was as to how long the
mother had gone with child. Dr. Somerville co'i-
sidered it an eight months' child, and Mr. Theed
and Dr'M'Bride believed it to be a full-grown
child, as also did the nurse. Several witnesses
swore to having seen Green and Hannah Wootton
together. •

His Lordship's summing up occupied an hour and
a half, and the jury were in consultation about 20
minutes, when they returned a verdict for the
plaintiff—damages £250.

A QUA TIC S.

THE GRAND NATIONAL REGATTA.

The delightfully fine,yveather of Saturday after-
noon, the favourable state of the tide, the facilities
of reaching the scene of action by railway, and the
rich promise of first-rate sport, combined to pro-
duce an assemblage of many thousands of persons
of all conditions at Putney to view the conclusion
of this great aquatic meeting, which, despite the
greatness of the undertaking, has been well got up
and carried out.

The sports commenced at a little after 2, and
continued till after 7 in the evening, much punc-
tuality being observed by the umpires' crews, under
the direction of Mr. S. Salter, boat builder, Oxford,
who had the discharge of this onerous duty.
Tin CHAMPION FOUR-OARED RACE; OPEN TO THE WORLD.

FINAL HEAT.
'The Thames Crew, Putney .. 1
The A. P. Lonsdale Crew, Manchester and Tyne.. 2
The Lord Kilmorey Crew, Newcastle. . 0
THE THAMES CREW.
1. Thos. Pocock, Lambeth 3. Thos. White, Bermondsey
2. Joseph W I
ise, Kew H. Kelly, Fulham, stroke
William Peters, Wandsworth, coxswain.
THE MANCHESTER AND TYNE.
1. J. G. Taylor 13. H. Ault
2. Thomas Matfin Matthew Taylor, stroke
T. Harrison, coxswain.
THE NEWCASTLE CREW.
1. John Henry Clasper 3. Robert Chambers
12. Edwin Winship. Henry Clasper, stroke

Robert Clasper, coxswain.

The result of a close inspection of the rowing in
the trial heats on the previous day had only served to
confirm the opinion previously expressed of how
evenly the crews were matched. The Claspers were,
however, taken for choice, anti next to them the Lon-
doners. Every provision was made by the com-
mittee to have this race especially well managed.
Mr. Casamajor, the Amateur Champion of the
Thames, was appointed to start them; Mr. T. S.
Egan, of the University of Cambridge, to accom-
pany them as umpire up the first half of the course
in an eight-oared cutter; and Mr. Bottle, of the
Leander Club, and Mr. Woodbridge, one of the
winners of the pair-oared race at Henley, to finish,
in another eight, the pace of the fours being so great
as to require this arrangement. The Londoners
had won the choice of station on the Middresx side,
which might be deemed a length in their favour.
Outside in the Surrey station, and decidedly the
worst berth, were the Manchester and. Tyne men,
the Newcastle crew being in the centre. The boats
all being exceedingly even at the Putney Aqueduct
bridge, Mr. Casamajor gave the word " off," and
it was promptly obeyed by all, rather faster in
motion by the Londoners than the others. In the
course of six or eight strokes the Newcastle men
began to draw a trifle, but in the next half-dozen
they were for an instant again level, all going at a
tremendous pace. The Londoners, to be well
clear of the steamer and committee barge, slanted
a little over to the southward, and when level with
the others, opposite the Star and Garter, made a
desperate spurt by which their boat was placed in
advance of the other two by above a quarter of a
length. 'The rowing of the Manchester men, with
their bad station, was admirable, and as they neared
Finch's the Londoners and Manchester both had
the bows of their boats before the Newcastle men,
the Londoners, with a third of their length, the
Manchester with about four feet. At this juncture
the Londoners and Newcastle had their beams
much nearer than at the time of starting, and the
tip cf one of the Newcastle oars, which it is sup-
posed had passed beyond the button through
the row-locks just touched one in the London
boat, and then the coxswain of the New-
castle boat, in pulling the yoke-line to
prevent a foul with the Londoners, did it so
sharply, thet the boat sheered right on to the Man-
chester men's quarter. At the instant of the trifling
touch alluded to of the Londoners' boat the crew,
with a dozen desperate strokes, shot her full half a
length ahead, and when a momentary pause ensued
consequent upon the foul of the Manchester boat the
Londoners jumped away three or four lengths.
The Manchester men lost no time in getting away
from the Newcastle, and went in pursuit of the
Londoners, the Newcastle crew protesting and leav-
ing off their labour for a short time, and only again
resuming it formally to row the distance. The
Manchester men Towed with amazing velocity up
to the Crab Tree, where they had regained some-
thing like a length of the lost ground, but the Lon-
doners were still well ahead, and at Hammersmith-
bridge led by at least three lengths. After this,
although they rowed in the most gallant style, the
Manchester fell a length more astern at the finish
at Chiswick Eyot. Immediately after the conclu-
sion of the race both the Newcastle and the Man-
chester crews laid their respective cases before the
committee, the former maintaining that they were
not the parties to blame in the foul, and the latter
complaining that they had been sorely prejudiced
by it, and soliciting that the race should be re-rowed,
as they were in no way to blame. The answer to
the Newcastle men was that they were disqualified,
as they had caused the foul and were disentitled to
a place, and consequently to the third prize of £lO,
but the committee, in consideration of the distance
they had come, the cost to which they had been
put, and the fact that the foul was purely the effect
of accident, made them a present of the £lO which
they had forfeited. The application of the Man-
chester men to row again against the Londoners
could not be entertained, as contrary to the rules of
the regatta committee, the Londoners being in no way
implicated iu the foul, which must be sincerely re-
gretted by every lover of the sport, as it deprived
two gallant crews of the opportunity of seeing
whether they were were not superior to the fortu-
nate Londoners.
PAIR OARED RACE, OPEN TO THE WORLD.
Final Heat.

R. Chambers j 1
Newcastle
E. Winship
G. Hammerton 1 Teddington
G. Francis
John Mackinney
Thomas Mackinney
J. } Richmond
J. G. Taylor
1 Newcastle ... 4
•
M. Taylor

Tne winners of this race divided, in many in-
stances, the favour of the public with the second
pair and the Taylors. They were a long time before
they fairly got off from their extreme anxiety to
have any fair advantage that presented itself. At
length they dashed away, the winners with a good
lead. When Hammerton and Francis got well to
their work they began to leave the Mackinneys and
Taylors, and gain upon the leaders a little; but the
latter went further in advance. Again the Ted-
dington men tried a very spirited spurt, with the
view of changing the fortune of the day; but the
Newcastle men were too good for them, and the
Mack inneys so little the worse that they gained
upon them very much towards the end, the race
finishing by the winners having a lead of four or
five lengths, and the Mackinneys only being about
a length in the rear of the second boat. The Tay-
lors wepa considerably astern, but had for a time
rowed the Mackinneys hard. The race was rowed
down from Hammersmith at a very fine pace.
WATERMEN'S SCELLERS
RLD. RACE, OPEN TO ALL THE
WO
Fourth Heat.

it will be found on reference to our last that three

LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG,
of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Ti. 'Sun Office, No. 117:
Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, In the couutY of
Middlesex, Monday, July 23, 1860.