The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-08 00:00:00

THE VANGUARD ROCK.

PLYMOUTH, Saturday.—During the Russian war,
when the entrance to Sebastopol was interrupted '
by sunken ships, several cylindrical powder maga-
! Sines, the invention of Mr. Armstrong, of New-
castle, were sent out, but not used, and one of these
has since been transferred by the War Department
to the Lords of the Admiralty. In consequence of
the successful operations for clearing the obstruc-
tions in New York harbour by simple blasting on
the rock, when the water alone became the ful-
crum, their lordships determined to use this maga-
zine in order to reduce the Vanguard Rock, which
has only about 18 feet over it at low tide, and which
lies nearly mid-channel between the Sound and Ha-
moaze. The magazine consisted of an outer cylin-
der, 14 feet long by 4 feet 6 inches diameter, and
an inner cylinder 10 feet long by 2 feet 8 inches,
thus leaving a considerable air-chamber between
the two. The lesser cylinder contained more than
a ton of gunpowder, connected with which were
certain wires intended to convey ignition by the
aid of a galvanic battery. This mode having failed,
two Bickford's fuses were tried on Thursday, but
one of these burst only to within 11 feet, and the
other within four feet of the charge. As the mode
of ignition was not the special object in view, and.
as the tide was dropping fast and the winter ap-
proaching, it was determined yesterday to apply
six Bickford's fuses, selecting the best parts from
those sent, all of which had been a long time in
store. The arrangements were most complete. A
number of guardboats were placed at the point of
&anger, and as the expected time approached they
diverged in a constantly-increasing circle, and en-
tirely prevented accident. The explosion occurred
exactly at the time named-17 minutes to 5 p.m.,
half an hour before high water. The magazine had
been placed in a concave hollow of the rock between
two hummocks, about 40 feet below the surface of
the sea. A palpable shaking of Stonehouse Point,
350 yards off, composed of solid limestone rock,
preceded the appearance of a pyramidical cone of
snow-white water, apparently in a boiling state.
The rise was variously estimated at from 50 to 70
feet, and the base 100 to 150 feet in diameter. It
was some seconds before this magnificent object
gradually subsided, when a circle of ten times the
size enclosed a turbulent sea, the darkness of which
gave conclusive evidence of the powerful effects of
the charge among the rocks and soil below, The
smoke from the explosion was entirely absorbed in
the water. An immense quantity of fish was sent
to the surface and easily caught. The operations
were under the directions of Capt. Jerningham, of
her Majesty's gunnery-ship Cambridge, of this port,
and were carried out by Lieut. Dawson and a suffi-
cient staff of subordinate officers of that ship. Sir
William Harris, the inventor of the lightning- con-
ductor, and Mr. Hearder, of Plymouth, have the
advantage of their experience to Capt. Jerningham.
Over the Vanguard Rock there is constantly run-
ning a strong current, the velocity of which in-
creases as the spring tides advance. At times there
are two currents. the one below running in a direc-
tion contrary to that above. This condition of the
sea impedes the attempts of the diver who has been
down to-day.to examine the rock. He has, how-
ever, ascertained that the rock is considerably
shaken and split. Large pieces from 1 cwt. to 2
tons are lying near, and one portion of the cylinder
about 501. or 601 b., has been recovered. It will

be necessary to postpone a more complete survey
until the tides slacken.

IMPORTANT CONVICTIOXS.

Some cases of an important character came be-
fore the magistrates in petty sessions assembled
Thomas
at Swansea ou Thursday last, in connection
with the recent disastrous explosion at the -
fing Colliery, near that town. Mr.
Walters, owner of the colliery, was charged, on
the information of the Government Inspector,
Mr. Evans, with several infractions of the rules
management of ofcolli
providingmanthaeg
for e
boiler collieries--viz, for not
of the colliery with a
proper steam gauge • 2, for not having an adequate
break attached to eve
or raisin—
bf- persons ryrmac.hine used for lowering
the it 3 for not having a
proper indicator to show the position of the load in
the pit or shaft •4 , , for not having an adequate
_amount of ventilation in the pit. The defendant
pleaded guilty to the first three of these charges,
but_ denied the charge of insufficient ventilation.
Mr. Tripp, solicitor, of Swansea, in stating the
case, said the information had been lodged by the
Government Inspector of Collieries. of the district,
under 'directions received from the Home Secretary,
and that he believed but for the defendant's neglect
in the above particulars the late unfortunate explo-
sion in the colliery, whereby six men lost their
lives, would not have happened. The defendant's
answer to the charge was that he had left these
matters to his manager, Rees Thomas, and he had
thought they were properly attended to. The Bench
inflicted the full penalty in each of the three cases
to which the defendant had pleaded guilty, and
the fourth charge, therefore, was not pressed. Rees
Thomas, the manager a colliery, was then
charged! with violating_the rules of the Act 18 and
19 Viet., by neglecting to give a copy of the rules
to each man in the pit. Mr. Thos. Walters, the
proprietor of the pit, proved that he supplied
Thomas with printed copies of the rules in English
and Welsh, and Mr. Evans, the Government In-
s. that, on the inquest on the 81X
pector, proved men
killed by the explosion mentioned above, Thomas
deposed that he could not recollect giving a copy of
the rules to .any of the colliers except to David
Jones. Several cases were gone into, and two
'proved; two others being admitted
ythe defen
dant. The magistrates 'inflicted the
full penalty of
45' and cods iu each me,