The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-30 00:00:00

FLDATIrG BATTIiBIES.

TO THE EDITOR I THE BUN.
The correspondebt of the Times is to error to imagine
that the floating batteries are the Emperor's invention.
During my stay in Sheffield, i❑ 1835, I used to visit
two of my countrymen, whom I have succeeded to place
in one of the most renowned steel manufactories. Sove-
ral times Mr. E. Vickers was kind enough to take me
all over his establishment, and once my attention was
attracted to the enormous power with whim, certain im•
manse hammers came on steel. It was then that I con-
ceived- the idea that a series of steel sheets, say 5 inches
in thickness, could withstand the effect of any pro-
jectile then in use. A few days afterwards I ascertained,
beyond doubt, hi- various means, too long to be de-
scribed here, that such was really the case. I beg to re-
mind your civilian readers, with reference to this subject,
that the then ordinary system of artillery, including the
naval one, did not comprise heavier ordnance than
48-pounders, and 8-inch mortars.

La Fax a tout prix beim,: at that epoch the foundation
of the European policy, I had nothing better to do than
to enter my discovery into my journal, and to commu-
nicate it a 4 a mere curiosity to my friend Captain Ban-
semer. But when the Western Powers proclaimed
war against Russia, imagining that they were really in
earnest, and consequently that they would have to attack
not Cronetadt, nor Sebastopol, but Riga and o her mari-
time establishments, in order to secure a basis of operation
for their armies about to act on the most vulnerable por-
tion of Russia, I hastened to embody my forms
discovery ihto a memorandum) for the British Govern-
ment (of which I am a naturalised subjec ), and I trans-
mitted a copy of it by post to t Le Emperor of the French ;
the former was handed to the Duke of Newcastle by the
late Lord D. Stuart, who, a few days afterwards, re-
ceived an answer that "the suggestions would receive due
consideration." I have shown it to many friends now
living, and I hope that the original finally returned to
the owner still be found arni ngst the papers of my
lamented friend. From the Emperiir I did not receive
any reply.

On- Lord Panmure coming to the War-office I
forwarded a similar memorandum on the same subject
through the kind offices of the Earl of Zetland. Mr.
Gaskoin returned an answer, which I have got in ray
possession, implying the same promise and couched
precisely in the same language. It is most surprising
that the War-office in this country in returning an
acknowledgment do not specify or allude in any way
to the suggestions submitted to its consideration..
It is true that in the memorandum just spoken of I
had not advised the construction of new machines, I
merely recommended to protect your men-of-war in•
tended for the attack with a series of steel sheets in order
to make them bomb-proof. I do not think that the
present Floating Batteries are an improvement upon
my plan. In the first
,place war being then declared I
did not think it was a proper time for building new ships.
Secondly, they are much too clumsy, too dark, too
heavy and too unmanageable. In the third plane, owing
to the over anxiety of making them in every part how-
ever unimportant, porfectiy invulnerable, they are not
only too dark inside (fur preventing), but they detain
too long gunpowder smoke, which not only suffocates
artillerymen, but renders their pointing more a matter
of form; what is more, you will soon ascertain them,
especially while in hot climates, to be perfect " hot-
beck" to preserve and create sourvey, fever, and other
rnalariatic maladies. Lastly, they have materially in-
creased the expenses of the war, which, in my opinion,
forced the allies to discontinue it just at the very mo-
ment that they could have fully attained their legitimate
object, I mean the crippling of Russia, so as to render
her complstly unmeddling and inoffensive for many
years to come.

- I was so certain of my discovery that on the 16th of
June of the same year I offered to Lord Pan inure in a
memorandum transmitted through the kind offices of
my excellent friend the Earl of Harrowby, to construct
on the same principles of protection, wheeling bomb-
proof rockets, battering batteries, with which I undertook
within 24 hours, and by merely making use of old rockets
that encumber the English and the Irish arsenals, to
bury Sebastopol in ashes and ruins. Was this a
chimera ? Why, I pledged my life and my reputation
as an artilleryman. Tue former might have been too
unimportant to the War-office, but I hope the latter is
sufficiently estimated to cause at least an inquiry to be
made. Now, everybody knows that it took the allies
12 months to throw into Sebastopol 1,700,000 pro-
jectiles, which have caused but the evacuation of the
northern part—again, in round numbers, 150,000 men
have died of overwork, of pestilence, and of wounds, to
attain that pigmy object in comparison to the sacrifices,
and two hundred millions were spent for this unenvious
end. lam sure Nicholas would have sold all Crimea
and his half-rotten fleet for that sum without any loss of
life. Yet, I appeal to all scientific members of the pro-
fession to which I have the honour of belonging,
whether it was possible or not by the means of the
apparatus just described, (and containing in the front
part 100 holes to admit as many rocket tunes of all
sizes) to assault Sebastopol within 24 hours with all the
rockets we could collect. It matters little in an ope-
ration of this sort of rocket, whether Nos. 1 or 20 of the
streets Alexander or Nicholas was struck or set on fire by
the clouds of rockets, which would have poured incessantly
ou Sebastopol in all directions ; on the contrary, the di.
versity of the effect occurring in various parts would ma-
terially increase the defence. Comparatively speaking,
it was a great deal easier to guard, to protect, to main-
tain, to save, and defend one or two points chosen for the
assault, and on which all defence was congregated ; like-
wise to obviate the consequences of 1,700,000 projectiles
which it took the allies more than 12 months to eject,
while, on the other side, I maintain that no army, no
fortress, can withstand the effect of one-fourth part of
that number if they are . assaulted with that quantity,
within the time proposed by me. At all events, all those
enormous fortification works that nearly exhausted
the allied army, might have been spared, for
my operations did not require any, only a feeble
detachment to guard it against the enemy, who would
have been too busy inside the fortress in obviating the con-
sequence of so novel and energetic an assault to venture
out at all. I did not ask one farthing for this timely
set vice—not one soldier from the allied army to carry
out my plan into execution. I had offered to effect it
with the aid of my personal friends. I put but one con-
dition, namely, that if I succeeded fully in the task,
which I am sure was not chimerical, that then our Poles
should be aided by the allies to take the field against
the then common enemy, and for our own legitimate
object.
Since that epoch I have improved much my original
discovery ; now two sheets of certain admixture of
metals, even three-qearters of an inch in thickness,
with other contrivances sufficient to render any man-of-
war or any battering battery completely bomb-proof,
without overcharging them tso much, and without any
kind of inconvenience, that now attend the floating bat-
teries. The project referring to this part I have also
communicated to the Emperor, in April, 1856, at the
end of the memoranousse "The Grand Tactics of
Rocketeera," the introduction to which is as follows
" Mes batteries fiAtantes k l'epreuve des bombes
comme celles du mime genre pour pratiquer une bitch.
valent biers un exatnin approfondi ; lea prieniaree armies
de la rochette (rocket) doivetst necessairement etre supe-
rieures qui celles arns4es de l'Artillerie." . . . Here
follow the reasons which established by facts that sops.
riority. It is also worth remarking, that the possessive
met was not denied in the condescending answer I then
received.

In conclusion, I beg to state that I do not pretend to
be the inventor of the present floating batteries, but I
mention that the principle upon which they are made
bomb-proof is my discovery, referring as far back se
1835, and communicated to the allied Governments long
before the present batteries were constructed or even
thought of.

Colonel B. DE WIERCENSKI,
Late Director of Artillery,
P. 5.—1 believe it worth the attention of our Govern.
ment to examine the invention, referring to the making
rnen•of-war bomb-proof. 2. The enormous advantages
attending the use of my wheeling bomb-proof battering.:
batteries. 3. The floating bomb-proof rocket batteries
which would not require more than four inches of water,
and which could eject at once as much metal as the
largest man-of-war. The more so that Ido net ask any
reward, but to serve my adopted country. She may be
soon in need of cheap means of defence and attack ; with
one of my floating rocket batteries in each port we may
well dely all the prattle of armed and unarmed gangs
of enemy.

THE SOCIETY OP ARTS.

TO THE EDITOR Or THE SUN.

SIR,-1 ant directed by the Council of the Society
of Arts to request the favour of your insertion of
the accompanying letter, being in reply to a regtuest
made by the Council to Lord Derby that his ford-
ship would place at their disposal nominations to
compete for clerkships and other Government situa-
tions of a similar character, as rewards to success-
ful candidates at the society's ensuing examination*
of members of mechanics' and other institutions in
union with it.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
P. LE NEVE FOSTER, Secretary.
Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce,
Adelphi, W. C.

"Treasury, S. W., April 28, 1858.
Sir,—Lord Derby has communicated to me the re•
quest of the' Society of Arts, made through you, that a
certain Luarber of nominations to appointments under
his lordship's control may be placed at the disposal of
the soc'e y ; and I beg to inform you that, in accordance
with the wishes expressed by the Council, Lord Derby
will be prepared to nominate four candidates during the
present year to compete for such clerkships and other
similar situations as may fall to his lordship's disposal.
"I shall be obliged, therefore, if you will have the
go' doe's to intorm me at your convenience of the
pumas and addresses of the four candidates whom the
society would desire to rec.ournend, in order that their
narnes may duly he recorded as desirous to compete for
appointments.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
" W. G. HYLTON JOLIFFE.
"The Secretary, Society of Arts."

Ma lame Szavardy, the charming pianists, better
known to our readers as Wdhelinina Clause, has arrived
in London, and will shortly appear at a Matined Musi-
calt4, under the auspices of Mr. Mitchell.
ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.- CARLO ANDBEOLETTI.—A
created
anien immense
iogasetnatseaitn, whose mysterious doings
at n in Parisian society during
the is annunced for three performances at
St.
L4eJatn slecits 3D
s'sl'heatreG during the next week. Report
speaks marvels of his wonderful powers,