The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-07 00:00:00

CAPTAIN BLARELEY'S GUN.

A preliminary trial of Captain Blakeley's gun
took place on Wednesday last, on the Crosby Sands,

near Liverpool.
The gun in question resembles very closely in ap-
pearance the cemmon broadside gun in use OR board

;hips of war, with the exception that it has a much
more solid-looking breech. It weighs 45 cwt., has
a bore of 8 feet 7 inches by 6 inches, and is built of
castiron in concentric tubes. One of these tubes
runs the whole length of the gun, the, second half
the length ; the third, or breech portion, is of
wrought iron. According to the manufacturer's
account the outer tubes are put on in a certain
state of tension, thereby giving additional strength
to the inner tubes. The rifling is similar to that
of the rifles of the Chasseurs des Vincennes.

Captain Blakeley's object in adopting this form
of gun is to place before our seamen ordnance but
little different to that which they have been accus-
tomed, but vastly more efficient at long or short
ranges, the trajectory being very low, and requir-
ing less powder.
The iron shot or shell is of a conical shape, the
base being formed of lead, and which is so agglu-
tinitive that it is difficult to distinguish the differ-
ence between the metals. When the shot is dis-
charged the lead expands into the rifling, the marks
of which are afterwards found to be sharply de-
fined. The shot in its first graze leaves a thin de-
posit of lead on the surface of the large hole
scooped out by it ; and it is evident from the appear-
ance of the sand that the rotatory motion is main-
tained up to a late period of its flight. The fire
appears to fuse the lead slightly, as the shot after
being discharged is covered with a thin film of the
softer metal. The wooden plug placed in the orifice
of the shot is invariably driven in, showing that
the missile maintains its proper position during its
passage through the air.
The experiments on Wednesday last were not at
all of a conclusive character, Captain Blakeley
having yet to find out some of the peculiarities of
his gun. The gun, too, was in an incomplete state,
the sight not having arrived from London in time
for the trial. The inventor, therefore, devoted the
day to ascertaining the range of the gun. It was
found that with every Ilb. increase in the charge
of powder an increased range of 150 yards was ob-
tained, but the gun being a very light one it was
judged advisable to limit the charge to 81b. Unfor-
tunately, in the absence of proper instruments, it
was impossible to mark the time occupied by the
shot. and shell in their transit.

The following table gives the results obtained :

,
No I Weight of Length. Powder. - Range.
' Shell.
- -
Lbs. oz. Inches. Lbs. Deb. Yards.
1 60 5 11 7 ' 5 2300*
2 48 4 9 7-16 7 10 38201
3 58 4 10 7 5 2412 t
4 57 13 10 7 10 3750 t/
5 48 4 9 7-16 7 • 5 2520 t
6 47 13 9 7 5 2506 t
7 47 12 9 81 10 4620 t
7 10 42031
08
5577 180
11001
8 10 4530 t
10 48 1 9 7-16 8 5 2460 t
11 57 6 10 11-16 84 5 2670 t
12 48 9 8 5 2100§
13 '•• 48 9 9 8 5 2530§
14 52 9 10 8 5 1900§Il
15 53 15 10 5 2270§
16 57 2 8 88 8
5 2050§
5 29707
17 57 2 I
18 57 4 1 8 5 -2630 t
19 57 12 10a- 8 5 2670 t
2./ 57 5 102 81 5 2550 t
21 53 1 104 81 5 2460 t
22 51 10 , 10 8 10 3685 t

*w
Lug.

"ith wad. t Without wad I Elevation altered in load-
§ With lubricating wad. II Did not strike point tore-

most. " 1 Solid shot. -
It was evident that the wads used by Captain
Blukeiey were objectionable from the p articular
coustruct,on of the shot. Probably the wooden
disc at the base of the shot, with an elastic wad of
four or five inches thick between it and the powder,
was not completely shattered by the explosion.
Parts or perhaps the whole of the disc hung to the
shot for some distance after it left the gun, and
caused an irregularity in the flight. In every
case the disc was observed to strike the sand at some
200 or 300 yards from the gun.
The manufacturers, Messrs. Fawcett and Pres-
ton, are now completing the gun, and Captain
Blakeley purposes renewing his experiments on
the 12th.

TEE RELIGIOUS DISTURBANCES AT

ST.GEORGE S-IN-THE-EAST.

The religious set vices in the parish church of St.
George's-in the-East wereyesterday conducted amid
the same scenes of interruption which has distin-`
guished them, for many months past. The rector
being out of town, was in consequence not present
at either of the services during the day.
In the forenoon the prayers were read by the Rev.
Mr. Dove, whom the Bishop of London has refused
to license as curate of the parish, and the sermon
was preached by the Rev. Mr. Blackley. There
were the usual interruptions during the Litany and
the reading of the commandments at the reference
made to heresy and the worshipping of graven
images, but other wise the morning services passed
off in the usual manner.

In the evening there was a large attendance, and
the interruption to the service was more apparent
than in the forenoon. The gates, as usual, were '
opened at twenty minutes to seven o'clock, when a
large crowd of people poured in and soon filled the
churdh. As usual therector's friends took possession
of all the pews in the chancel and the vicinity of it,
and not a little confusion arose I:revious to the com-
mencement of the service in a party endeavouring to
get into one of them. A person who has been heard
of before in connexion with these disturbances,
had got himself ensconced in one of these
chancel pews, and.upon a gentleman coming to seek
admission into it, seeing room in it, he held the
door fast and would not let him in. The gentleman
pulled, and the result was that between the two the
door was taken off the hinges. The general opinion
is that the hinges had been injured previously, and
that being subjected to a little pressure they easily
yielded ; but however that might be the gentleman,
who gave his name and address to the churchwarden
as the accused party, was allowed to get off scot
free. The prayers were read by the Rev: Mr. Gib-
son, and the sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr.
Bense, who selected as his text the eighth verse of
the fifth chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans.
From this text the rev. gentleman preached an elo-
quent and interesting sermon, but was every now
and then, in the course of it, interrupted by hisses
and other noises. The Rev. Mr. Dove, first kneel-
Sing before the altar, ascended the steps of it for the
purpose of pronouncing the apostolic benedictiOn,
when he was met with a storm of yelling which
drowned his voice. On his leaving the chancel the
people crowded around him, and he was only saved
from their rough handling by the interference of
some half-a-dozen of police *ho were present. After
singing the Doxology some half-a•clozen times the
crowdleft the church, and the gate was closed.