The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-05 00:00:00

EXPERIMENTS AT SHOEEURYNESS.

Shoeburyness, bleak and drear, where so many men
have anxiously watched experiments which might make
their fortune or declare that the last few years of their
life had been wasted in comparatively useless endeavours,
was on Thursday the scene of some experiments with the
I Chalmers Target. The death of the inventor gave the
proceedings a mournful interest. The principle held by
Mr. Chalmers was, that iron, judiciously distributed and
Supported by wood, was preferable to the same
weight of metal in a solid mass. This he sought to demon-
strate in the target in four different ways. But the expe-
riments did not bear out his theory. The rounds were
fired from a nine-inch rifled Woolwich gun, placed at a
distance of 200 yards. Full battering charges of 431 b. of
powder and Palliser 250 Th. shot and shell were used. The
first round—a shot--caught the upper edge of the Warrior
portion, and therefore counted for nothing as a test. The
next penetrated about ten inches, but as it struck where
there was a girder in the rear, the result was not considered
to be satisfactory. At the suggestion of the Com-
mander-in-Chief, later on in the day,' another shot
was fired, this time at a free section of the target. It
effected a thorough penetration, and its point was
to be seen protruding about five inches behind.
It was therefore thought that the target had but
little chance with a shell, which, bursting as it penetrates,
should be much more destructive than the solid shot. To
everybody's surprise, however, the shell only penetrated six-
teen inches, and no damage whatever was visible at the back.
It was suggested that the shell was faulty. The Chalmers'
portion proved much less able to resist the two hundred
and fifty-pounders. The first shot went through it,
making a clean hole ; the second ditto, both smashing the
skin considerably. The first shell sent showers of fragments
and splinters far and wide, went through, and made exten-
sive havoc inside. The second shell, which, like the other,
struck on a fair place, swept boldly through the target,
toppling over disused plates, and smashing whatever
came in its way for some yards in the rear. The
breach created by this effective round was larger
than any made during the target trials of last year.
The Moncrieff Battery was also exhibited. It is an
ingenious contrivance, intended for use behind a parapet.
By an apparently complicated, but really simple array of
cogs, wedges, and screws, it hoists the gun into position,
and, after being fired, by the force of its own recoil,
swings back out of sight below the parapet. It is there
loaded, and in a short space of time swung up into posi-
tion again. The mischief this singular machine would
cause to unsuspecting shipping within range of the
hidden battery must be very great. The visitors
were delighted at the novelty, and Captain Mon-
crieff, the inventor, who was present, was congratulated
upon its prospects.

IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.— TllO discovery of a
lopper vein in Wales is said to have been made by a work-
ing miner, nearly 80 years old, on the Great Orme's Head.
The vein is said to be four-and-a-half feet thick, with
other veins below it, " which will realise him a fortune,
and do immense good to the town." The old man's name
is Hobson, and he has long been exploring the Head.

-----
We are glad to be able to state, upon authority,
that the First Lord of the Admiralty has not for a
moment entertained the project for amalgamating the
medical with the transport and victualling services, under
the charge of an admiral, to which we last week referred.
We happen to know that the scheme was completely pre-
pared for submission, but has been nipped in the bud.—
British Medical Journal.

MR. BRADLAUGH'S CASE. --Mr. Charles Bracllaugh
writes to the papers :—" Permit me to state that I have
this morning searched the registers at Somerset House.
The Sporting Times is not registered. Another paper with
the same name was once registered ; but this was before
the popular journal of Dr. Shorthouse came into existence.
I believe Dr. Shorthouse would contend, as I contended
at the trial, that his publication does not come under the
statutory definition of a newspaper."
THE SENIOR WRANGLER. —Some attempts have
peen made to detract from the merit of Mr. Hartog as
Senior Wrangler, on the assumption that he is of more
advanced age, and therefore of more mature mind, than
his competitors. This assumption is founded on the fact
that Mr. Hartog had taken a degree at the London
University before proceeding to Cambridge. It appears,
however, that Mr. Hartog was matriculated at the
University of London in July 1862, being then 16 years
old, and that, having obtained the highest honours attain-
able in that university, he entered himself at Trinity
College, Cambridge, in 1865. In that university, having
passed through the usual course, he presented himself for
examination in the Mathematical Tripos in January 1869,
and came out Senior Wrangler at 22 years of age. A
much more serious question for Mr. Ilartog is the fact
that by the existing regulations at Trinity College he is
debarred from being elected a Fellow, and that his Senior
Wranglership is likely to be a barren honour so far as
college preferments are concerned.

WOII.KING OF TIIE VOLUNTARY PRINCIPLE,
correspondent writes :—" The annual meeting of the
church of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, under the pasto-
ral care of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, was held on 'Thurs-
day, when reports of the various branches of work were
read. These shew that during the past year the weekly
offerings in the boxes at the doors, for the support of the
Pastor's college for educating young men for the ministry,
amounted to £2,000, or nearly £4O per week, a large pro-
portion of which has always been in pence. For the same
object donations have been received to the extent of
£4,300 more. For the relief of poor members £770 were
contributed at the communion table ; and a sum of £6,600
expended for the erection of almshouses for the aged. For
Sunday and ragged schools, tract and other societies, col-
lections made produced nearly £l,OOO ; and a sum of
£l,76owas lent to other churches for the erection of chapels
in which to worship. Contributions for Stockwell
Orphanage, about £7,000. All these amounts are in addi-
tion to the rents received for the seats, and are therefore
purely the result of the:voluntary principle, ancl
PM the noble sum of upwards of £20.000.