The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-22 00:00:00

An episode of almost dramatic interest just re-
ported from the French Exhibition will recall to the
public mind a controversy, of great practical im-
portance two years ago. Last week an American,
Mr. Silas C. Herring, challenged any exhibitor to
match an iron safe of his manufacture for strength
of resistance either to fire or to violence. The chal-
lenge was accepted by an Englishman, Mr. Chat-
wood, of Bolton, and the trial came off with results
to be presently explained. It will be necessary,
however, to premise a few words of general infor-
mation on the nature of the question before us.
The first idea of security is expressed in a lock,
and the first object of safemakers was the con-
struction of locks which could not be picked.
Two Englishmen, Bramah and Chub, successively
invented locks which, differing totally in principle,
were equally in advance of any former productions,
and were regarded as practically proof against
thieves. But it soon appeared that this security,
though it is still indispensable, was far from being
sufficient. It is quite necessary in the construction
of a strong box to provide it with a lock that cannot
be picked; otherwise, as is evident, all the other
securities of the repository would be of no avail. But
this much can now be done so easily and with such
practical success that the consideration hardly enters
into the broad question of impregnable safes. In
point of fact no thief now attempts to get at the in-
terior of a strong box by picking the lock. He might
succeed sooner or later no doubt, but the result would
be precarious and the process too long. He leaves the
lock alone, therefore, and directs his attack upon
other points, and by other means. A safe with no
security but its lock would be like Rob Roy's seal-
skin purse, protected at the clasp by complicated
fastenings and a concealed pistol, but liable to be
slit open in a minute by a common penknife. If the
material of the strongbox is not proof against vio-
lence, the strength of the lock is useless altogether.
There are two ways in which this attack by violence
may be conducted. _ _

Usually, but not always, the front face only of a
safe is exposed to the assaults of a burglar, the rest
of the box being built into the wall, or otherwise
protected. It happens, however, that this method
of placing a safe is not the best against fire. The
chances on this score are most favourable when the
safe stands detached, so that it can tumble down in
the general ruin, instead of remaining supported
in a mass of incandescent masonry. Often, there-
fore, the safe is accessible to attack ou all sides;
but the front—that is to say, the door—is for ob-
vious reasons the face first selected by the burglar.
This face exposes the hinges, the chink, all imper-
ceptible as it may seem, between the edge of the
door and the sides of the safe, the keyhole, and the
bolts. By a breach in the front the bolts may be
reached, or by a strain upon the bolts the door itself
may be forced open. At one time gunpowder was
in use against the lock, but this chance has now
been stopped by the construction of the keyhole.
Then a drill was used, by which the material of the
door was gradually perforated, and the bolts ulti-
mately reached. The most successful method, how-
ever, was that of main force skilfully applied, and
this was the method practised in the famous rob-
bery in Cornhill some two years ago. A very thin
steel wedge was inserted between the door and the
side just by the lock, and this was driven in till the
side bulged to the width of the chisel. Then a second
chisel a shade thicker was driven in above that, and
then a third, and so on, until at last the opening
was wide enough to receive the point of a crowbar.
Under these circumstances a crowbar of three feet
long would act with such enormous power of lever-
age as no safe could resist. Obviously, therefore, it
became necessary to make this bulging impossible,
either by strengthening the side or preventing the
insertion of the wedge. We, can now get to the
great trial at Paris.
According to the terms of the contest, three Ger-
mans were selected by Mr. Herring to attack Mr.
Chatwood's safe, and three Lancashire men by Mr.
Chatwood to attack Mr. Herring's. The Germans
went to work at the front of the safe before them,
spent a few minutes upon the lock, but soon gave
up that point. Then, armed with instruments of
exceeding power, they attacked the front, but,
though their operations were conducted with ad-
vantages hardly to be expected by genuine bur-
glars, they failed absolutely in making any im-
pression on the English work. Mr. Chatwood had
effectually stopped the chance of wedging by
making the edge of his door curvilinear instead of
angular, and he had built up the door itself with
hard and soft metal in such combination and
arrangement that even the formidable drill em-
ployed by the assailants was of no use. In short,
had the English safe been set in stonework with
its front only exposed, it would certainly have
won the prize, even if it had not defied at-
tack altogether. But the Germans, when an
hour had been consumed to no purpose in the
front attack, faced about and took the safe in
flank. Its sides were constructed of thick plates of
metal bolted together like the armour of an Ameri-
can ironclad. The Germans contrived to get a chisel
in between the first plate and the second, and then,
by heavy blows of the hammer, stripped this first
plate off. The second plate offered less resistance ;
the third less still, till at last the innermost plate
was reached and split open without much difficulty.
The whole affair lasted 3 hours and 55 minutes.
The story of the American safe may be more briefly
told. It consisted of a burglar-proof box within
a fire-proof box, thus uniting the advantages of
a double door and of a front withdrawn to some
extent from attack. It was not easy to get at the
inner box, and, so far, the American plan was
superior. But this safe must soon have yielded to
good wedges, for it was not secured like Mr. C hat-
wood's against this kind of force. In the end it
did yield even to the inferior implements of the
Englishmen, but it held out for four hours and
fifteen minutes, giving the Americans a clear victory
in point of time.
To apply these results let us now remark that
the theory of safe -making is precisely the theory of
fortification. No military engineer expects a fort
to be impregnable, but every good fort will offer a
certain resistance, and that fort is the best which
offers the most. The use of a fort, like that of a
safe, is to delay an enemy and gain time. Against
sufficient means of attack with unlimited time no
fort can hold out, but means of attack may not
be always sufficient, and time is very rarely un-
limited. In the example before us it is not likely
that even skilful burglars, with tools of ordinary
power, could have opened either the English or the
American safe in a single night.—ln other words,
the property enclosed would have been secure for
twelve hours, which would be a good deal to have
gained. Perhaps with longer time the attack might
be successful, and it will be remembered that for
certain great robberies the thieves selected a Satur-
day night in order to get the advantage of an
empty shop fur 36 hours, instead of twelve. Mr.
Chatwood, it seems, had actually timed his safe, as
we may say, to last 36 hours, perhaps on this very
calculation, and though it was forced in a tenth part
of the time, yet it is not presumable that real thieves
could have gone to work as advantageously as the
champion operators. On the whole, it should be
remembered that the question is essentially one of
time and degree. An ordinary safe is better than
none, for it will require at any rate certain ap-
pliances and skill to force it, and these are not
always forthcoming. A better safe will be so mud►
stronger, and a safe of the very best kind will defy
all except the very first experts. There are no such
things as " strong boxes" absolutely impregnable,
but on certain conditions, and, as must not be for-
gotten, for a certain expense, property can be pro-
tected by these means against all hut improbable
combinations of violence and skill.---2 inv.&

CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY.—At a meeting of the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, held at Maid-
stone on Tuesday, his Grace the Archbishop of Canter-
bury said :—" You all know the Sultan has been here
lately, the enemy, or supposed enemy, of Christianity. I
was informed by the Prince of Wales a few days ago, that
in answer to an entreaty to him to prOtect his Christian
subjects, the Sultan's answer was and a most remarkable
one—' I will not only protect my Christian subjects, but I
will protect Christianity.' I think that a most remarkable
answer,"

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The Queen's Visit to the Borders.

KELSO, Wednesday Morning.
The little Border town of Kelso, next to Dunkeld,
perhaps the prettiest little town in Scotland, was
this morning in a condition of unprecedented stir
and excitement, in anticipation of the first visit of

the Queen to this part of her dominions. Fond 33
her Majesty is understood to be of Highland scenery,
with its pictorial attractions and mountain air, it is
a singular fact that she should have left the land
of Scott still unvisited. The hill country of the
Border, often called by way of distinction the
Southern Highlands, is not less attractive in its
character than even the region beyond the passes of
the Grampians, while it is infinitely richer in his-
torical remains, and in tradition, poetry, and ro-
mance. Nor, perhaps, has the Queen anywhere
more loyal population than on the Scottish side of
the Border, where the more fervid points of Low-
land-Scottish character are perhaps most stronglY
developed. In the Border district the past meets
the present in a more distinct manner than perhaps
anywhere else. The abbeys and monasteries are in
ruins, giving them an air of even higher antiquity
than they possess; and the Peel Towers and Forta-
lices are even more crumbled and dilapidated ; but at
every point we come across remains of the older life,
when war, not industry, was the occupation of stal-
wart men, and the Church, and not the arm of civil
law, was the defence of the weak and peaceable. In
Kelso we are in the very midst of such relics of an-
tiquity. As we approach it, there is to be seen dimly
on the left the grey ruins of Roxburgh Castle,
situated on the March mound, and almost sur-
rounded by a copse of trees. In this castle itself We
have nearly the whole history of the contest between
the Anglo-Normans and the Scots, and with it are
connected the very oldest traditions of the district.
Entering the town, we encounter on the right the
venerable abbey, a monument of kingly piety,
founded by that " sair sanct for the croon" King
David 1., the founder likewise of Melrose, Jedburgb,
and other Border fanes. A relic of the older reli-
gion, and associated with traditions and observances
now no longer regarded, it is still the pride of the
Eastern Border, and in particular of the community
to whom its stately walls seem to offer benediction
and protection. The thriving folks of Kelso,
brought face to face with this superb ruin, find in
it a point of contact with forms of faith and life
which they profoundly reverence though they have
ceased to follow them. In point of natural attrac-
tions there are, in this vicinity, pictures of hill and
flood of almost unequalled beauty. The junction
of the Tweed and Teviot, just above Kelso-bridge,
is one of the finest " meetings of the waters" which
the scenery of these islands affords. Floors Castle,
the magnificent seat of the Duke of Rolc-
burghe, and which becomes for the moment
the abode of royalty, occupies one of the finest
positions which any mansion in the kingdom,
ducal or baronial, possesses. The view from the
windows of the south front is truly magnificent.
Immediately before the spectator the Tweed is seen
winding past and broadening with its confluence
with the Teviot ; the ruins of Roxburgh Castle are
just opposite, and to the left the eye catches the
solemn abbey and the town of Kelso, while the dis-
taut Cheviots with their rugged outline complete

the picture.
At this threshold of Scotland her Majesty will
receive a most hearty welcome. At every road
crowds are pouring into the town, and trains are
bringing contributions of a thousand at a time froin
Newcastle, Carlisle, and Hawick, from Berwick,
and from Edinburgh. Many of the visitors have
come from even greater distances, for a Royal visit
to Scotland, except in complete privacy, has not,
been made for five years. The whole 5,000 0'
the population of Kelso are out to meet their
Royal visitors, and their multitudes of friends cons'
ing in to help in their rejoicings. The highly
respectable character of the crowds is particularly
to be noticed ; not a ragged or dirty garment 13
to be seen, and on every face there is an ex'
pression of pleasure. The Volunteers of Kelso,
Hawick, Jed burgh, Melrose, Selkirk, and Galashiels
mustered early in Sheddew Park, and have gone
up the town to line the route from the railway
station to the bridge, while within the town the
way is lined by Freemasons, Foresters, Odd Fellows,
&c. Triumphal arches, richly decorated, mark the
beginning and end of the town route, which, 14
the bye, is the direct way to Floors ; and through
the streets and in the square every house ha 3
decoration of some sort, to be adapted in most
cases to the night illumination. Never in the 1113"
tory of the town have such efforts been made 011
any occasion to testify the public joy. At the
square a platform has been erected for presentatioo.
by the chief magistrate, of an address which will 111
due form express the loyal gratification with whichl
the magistrates and inhabitants of Kelso regard
her gracious Majesty's visit. This will be the 011
formality to retard the Queen's passing through the
town and reaching Floors Castle for a rest after
her night journey.
The weather this morning is all that could be
desired. Yesterday it was very unpromising, and
there were frequent and heavy rains. To-day the
sky has still a few watery clouds, but there is a
light breeze, which it may be hoped will carry off
the vapours. The view from Kelso bridge is clear
and splendid, and the rivers, in consequence of the
rain, are in full stream.
The Queen's arrival is expected while this parcel
is despatched; and it must be left to the electric
telegraph to convey the tiding of her actual recer
tion. An escort of the 14th Hussars from Piershlll
is in waiting at the station, along with the car'
riages for the Royal party. In addition to her ga'
jesty's host and hostess, the Duke and Duchess of
Roxburghe, the Duke of Buccleuch, who is Lora
Lieutenant of Roxburghshire, is in attendance, along
with the officials of the county and other gentlemen'
A gun is to be fired to intimate to the people of the
town her Majesty's arrival at the station, and cll
reaching Floors Castle the Royal standard will be,
hoisted and a Royal salute fired from the ruins ,
Roxburgh Castle.

EDIICBURGH, Aug. 21.
The Queen reached Kelso station at 11.20 this
morning, the train being 1 hour 40 minutes later
than was expected, owing principally to a detention
at Carlisle for re-arrangement of the train. The
weather was splendid, and the Queen's reception
was most enthusiastic. Her Majesty looked
tremely well, and appeared highly delighted'
especially with the cordial warmth with whiell,
she was greeted. Before reaching the Abbey abo
50 young ladies and girls presented thenlselveo9
scattering flowers on her Majesty's path. The 00
scene occurred again in the public square, where till
address was presented, and a little child was 1111
up to present a bouquet. Her Majesty shove
lively gratification with her reception. The 011.1 i;
titude was most orderly, and, as the carriages were
open and proceeding slowly, every one saw tli
Royal party to great advantage. The Queen reach'.
Floors before 12 o'clock, and after luncheon visite'
the shiell, a fishing lodge on the estate, and tb
gardens of Floors. the evening there WO
general illumination of the town, and a grand light
ing of the beacons.

DEPARTURE OF THE KING OF THE GREED*.'
DOTER, Wednesday.—llis Majesty the King of the lielleo
having brought his brief visit to this country to a Clos9',
embarked this morning in the London, Chatham,
Dover Company's packet Maid of Kent, Captain Fitt°c
which had been lying in readiness for his Majestys
since Monday, the day upon which, according to "1
King's original intention, he was to have returned.
King did not alight on the stoppage of the train at Dove
but proceeded at once to the Admiralty Pier, from Whit
he embarked on board the Maid of Kent, which toolc
departure for Ostend about 10 o'clock.
DEATH OF TIIE CORONER FOR LIVERPOOL''
News was received in Liverpool yesterday of the deatb,
the coroner for the borough—Mr. P. F. Curry. The
ceased gentleman had suffered from ill-health for 1:3
years, and had not been able to preside in his coorvt
many months past. Mr. Clarke Aspinall or Ur. t
Anderson, two legal gentlemen Of good position i°
town, will in all probability be M. carry,/ /uocfg%on