The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-30 00:00:00

THE MAY IVEETINGS.

-4°-
' A list is published of the May meetings, so many
which have been held out of the month which has Pr°
them their general name. The following are some of the
Societe
principal :—On the Ist of May the Mendicity soe
will meet at Red Lion-square, Earl Grosvenor presiding.
On the 3rd the Archbishop of Canterbury will preach at
St. Paul's on behalf of the British and Foreign Bible
Society ; the National Temperance League, the We!:
leyan Missionary Society, and the Home and Colonial
School Society will hold meetings. On the 4th the,
United Kingdom Alliance, the Aged Pilgrims Friends
Society, the Sunday School Union, and the Wesleyan
Mission will meet. On the sth the British and Foreign
Bible Society, the Book Society, the Liberation Societiti
and the Ragged Church and Chapel Union Society
meet. On the Gth the Sunday Schcol Union, the Londe°
City Mission, the Church Home Mission, and the Church
Pastoral Aid Society will meet. On the 7th the Gover•
nesses Benevolent Institution and the Religious 'Tract
Society will meet. On the 15th the British and Foreign,
School, under Lord Russell's presidency, will be held at
the Borough-road Schools ; and the Ragged School Union,
under Earl Shaftesbury, at Exeter Hall. On the 11th
the Irish Church Missionary Society will meet, under the
Bishop of Ripon, at St. James's Hall. On the 12th the
various meetings will be held on behalf of the Corporation
of the Sons of the Clergy. On the 13th the Royal A.sYillei
the
of St. Anne's will meet, under the presidency of
Archbishop of Canterbury. On the 18th the United
e
Kingdom Band of Hope and the Tract Society meet, n,,
the 20th the Sailors' Home and Destitute Sailors' Asylum
meetings are held at the Sailors' Home, Wells-street (nee,
the Tower of London.) On the 25th the Children°
Refuges and Chichester Ship Society is held at Exeter
Hall, under Lord Shaftesbury ; and the Field-lane
Refuge will be held at the institution, under the same
noble lord, on the 26th. The British Asylum for Deaf and
Dumb Females meet on June 2, at Clapton. under the
Bishop of London.

EXPEI?IME.NTS WITH PE.RCUS.SIOY

CAPS.

The railway and other carrying companies, including

steam-packet companies, have recently raised objections to
the conveyance of percussion caps. Several cases hale
occurred lately in which the transmitters of these articles
have been summoned before the magistrates at Birreleg.
ham and elsewhere for the purpose of enforcing penalties'
In consequence of this, the Chamber of Comraerfe
at Birmingham took the matter up, with tae
view to bring about some public test as t°
the explosive or non-explosive character of these
e'
materials if struck in bulk. Accordingly, it was arranged
that there should be a series of tests at the Ammunitlell.
Works of Messrs. E. and A. Ludlow, in Belmont-row, 1,11
that town. To witness them there were present Captain
Sherard Osboree, as representative of some of the Pall
departments ; the secretary of the Underwriters
Association at Liverpool ; the London and North.
Western, Great Western, Midland, Alancliesterai
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, and other Priecir t
railways were also represented ; there were also present
about 100 other persons variously interested. The 61.°
experiment made was that of placing a tin box containing,
250 caps in an ordinary fire, it remaining until all the
charges in the caps were burnt out. The result was that
-
all the caps gradually burnt, without so much as the 11
of the boxes being blown off, although the lids were well
nigh melted. The second experiment was that of plaeleil
a half cwt. of caps in a red-hot muffle ; the result was
a kind of fizzing at intervals, Lot there was 11:
explosion. In the third experiment, 50,000 caps were Pl'
into a packing case in the ordinary way for transit ; these.
were placed in a furnace ; gradually the wood burnt area/'
but not the slightest explosion occurred ; the caps re•
mained stacked in pyramidical form exactly as they had
been fixed. A fourth experiment was that of placill
within an iron pot, 10in, in diameter and 10in. cleeP'_.-
,
lump of red-hot iron, weighing 21b., on this 20,000 loose eal';
were poured, and the pot was filled up with cotton wool?
gradually the caps exploded, and the cotton wool bean°,
charred, but no flame whatever arose. A Lucifer match 0;
put to the wool, which ignited instantly. In the fifth a,..mau
sixth experiments, brown paper parcels containing 5,17
caps were struck by a mass of iron weighing one ewl".;
and falling from a height of 12ft. ; in one of these thel)c;
was surrounded by cotton wool, but no explosion oceurre:
In another instance an almost needless experiment W 7
made, gunpowder being substituted for the cotton We°,4,
and, as might have been expected, an explosion occurrea'
but the mere dropping of the weight on gunpowder alone
did not cause an explosion. In the seventh test a
parcel containing 5,000 caps was placed in a bc°
with a quantity of cotton wool. This was struck by
block of iron, weighing 15cwt., falling from a height e
4ft. ; the caps were crushed up, but again there was no O:
plosion. Another experiment was that of placing 410 cart
ridges for Bennington guns in a box, gunpowder 'Val
placed within the box, and a fuse applied to one of °e
cartridges ; it alone exploded, the others in the box remained m
perfect. The scene of the experiment was then changed "-
the London and North-Western Railway, whither the COlll,i
patty adjourned. A bag containing 20,000 caps was Placer
on a rail ; one or two wheels of a locomotive passed ovef
the bag without causing any explosion, at the passage
the third wheel there was a small explosion, but Oa"
occurred only to the few caps which were absolutely crushed'
Here, again, there was no explosion in bulk. In the Dial'b,
and last special experiment two wooden packing cases Oar
taming 50,000 caps each, put up in the ordinary waY f°
transit, were submitted for concussion by attaching then
the buffer (not a spring buffer) of an engine ; in this to
s
there were employed an engine and three trucks with tivt,
,
break vans and three trucks ; the engine and tencle)
weighed 40 tons. When the boxes were struck the engine
was travelling at the rate of twelve miles an hour; tl
boxes were, of course, crushed, and the pieces flea'
about, but it was in isolated instances only that the cap
exploded. The result of the series of experiments W.',
;
regarded as demonstrating completely the non-exPlealf••
tendency of percussion caps if struck in bulk.

The death of Robert Scott Lauder, R.S.A., °llO
of the best-known Scotch painters, is announced.
A French paper asks the following riddle
" Why is the Prince of Wales like fifteen shillings
Because he wants a crown to make him a sovereign."
Three velocipedists were on Monday brought 115
before the magistrates at Ashton-under-Lyne, charge
with having obstructed the public footpath by runvin,
~;
velocipedes upon it. The case was proved, and it tae
also shewn that the road had been cut up by the action of
the popular new vehicles, but as it was the first case, the
defendants were only ordered to pay costs. Lovers of hP
bycycle will, however, do well to take warning from tm
case.

THE BEWDLEY ELECTION PETITION.—The ecru'
tiny was resumed at Bewdley on Thursday morning. r
Cunliffe started with a minority of four, succeeded in
striking off ten votes from Major Auson's poll, and thu;
placed himself in a majority of six. Major Anson then
proceeded to strike off votes from the Conservative Poll
with such effect that in a short time the sitting menlbel,
abandoned the case, at a Major Anson was declared dilbr
elected. At the polling in November the Tory majority
was 100 ; in March it was 14; and the result of the /30°',,d
petition is that a Lib,ral member has been seated.

MR. CHARLES DICKENS.—The public will learn
4
with satisfaction that Mr. Charles Dickens has alreau„A'
profited by cessation from work during the brief Periv-a
which has elapsed since his arrival in town. It is Wtl "-
understand the causes which had led to his indispositit
Ever since his return from America he has incessant
taxed his powers of both body and mind in the delnall-h
made upon him, especially byhis "readings," till at length
he became fairly prostrated at Preston. The arrival n'
Mr. F. Carr Beard, his medical attendant, at Prest°ll'si
few hours before his reading there in the evening, was n't°,
opportune. Mr. Dickens was quite unfit to go throeg;
the fatigue of a public reading, which might have belie(
followed by grave consequences, considering that
complained of much giddiness ; but his desire to meet t-ti
wishes of the public would no doubt have induced hill' :0
attempt it had not Mr. Beard happily arrived in timel'
forbid the effort. Mr. Dickens has an admirable C°lll
stitution, and has always taken care of it. He has no,
settled down to his usual country life and some of
literary pursuits, and will no doubt be rapidly restored 71
health ; but we understand that Sir Thomas Watson
Mr. Beard have deemed it necessary that for some 133°11v
to come he should cease from his heavier literary labetl-4,
1
Perhaps it will be necessary for him to avoid the fatigti-
,
of railway journeys for some time longer.-711c Lancet.
ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SoCIETY'S MEDAL.
of the Ugliest honours which it is in the power of the
Royal Geographical Society to bestow is about to fall tr
the share of a lady. Mrs. Somerville, whose worif,
" Physical Geography" is still by far the best book
have on the subject, will have awarded to her, at these?",
versary meeting of the society on the 24th instant,
Victoria Gold Medal. Two medals are yearly given Di:,
the Crown, and are adjudged by the Royal GeograPlii.4ic
Society to two persons who have been distingtlis'
by their promotion of the interests of geographical seienclil
Of these two, the Founders' Medal ranks first, t
Victoria Medal next. This year the Founders' Medal
i 4
be given to Al. Nordenskiiild, for his explorations.i.i
Arctic regions, particularly in Spitzbergen ; and tile.
Victoria Medal is to be given to Mrs. Somerville eklit
cially for her " Physical Geography." LadY Fran tbi
some years ago received one of the medals of ,„
Geographical Society on aocount of her husband;
travels ; but Mrs. Somerville is the first lady to whom
honour has been accQrde4 for w 4 Ic.doue by berself,~
Queen,