The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-27 00:00:00

THE -SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVEINING. -JUNE 27, 1867.

The Late Riots in Birmingham.

The Recorder for Birmingham (Mr. Arthur
Robarts Adams) in his charge to the grand jury
on Monday, at the opening of the quarter sessions,
said :—Sinee the time when I last presided here
circumstances of a most deplorable nature have
occurred in this borough. It appears that a cer-
tain person who considers it to be his duty to
give lectures in various towns on points of belief
held by a large number of our fellow-country-
men, has, whilst delivering such lectures, made
use of expressions which have exasperated
to a high degree many of those who hold a diffe-
rent faith, and in some of the neighbouring towns
the Queen's peace had been actually disturbed,
and in others it has only been preserved by extra-
ordinary precautions. Now, I hold that the right
of free discussion of all subjects is one most dear
and most to be cherished by us all, and I should
be very sorry to say one word that would seem
to militate against that doctrine, or curtail that
right in any degree ; but, whilst claiming a
right to free discussion, all persons are
bound so to conduct themselves as not to turn
freedom into licentiousness ; and in my judgment
violent attacks, of a personal character, whether upon
individuals or bodies of men, are beyond the legiti-
mate use of freedom of speech, and I deeply deplore
that at the present time men can be found who can
make use of language which has been stigmatised
by the present Home Secretary as such as could only
be applied to the worst of mankind. Nor do I think
that the object of the lecture is promoted by the use
of intemperate or exciting language, as it is surely
more convincing to a man of reasonable mind to hear
discussion conducted in a sober manner rather than
in a high state of excitement. Yet it does not follow
but that the acts of others have been perfectly un-
justifiable. I hold that no language, however
strong, can justify the use of personal violence, and
still less the demolition of property by bands of
men organised for that purpose. You will have
some bills sent up to you wherein persons are charged
with rioting. Now, the law on the subject is as
follows :—lf a number of persons congregate to
do any act, and mutually to assist each other,
and they do so in a manner which excites terror in
the minds of reasonable people, they are guilty of a
riot. The learned Recorder, having detailed the
facts of the riot, said—lt is impossible to doubt that
these acts amount to a riot. The inhabitants of the
borough had to submit to the always unwelcome
sight of an armed force bivouacked in the streets.
No language that can have been uttered offers the
least justification for these tumults, and it is neces-
sary that such riotous proceedings should be re-
strained by the strong arm of the law. We must all
feel that this town has been lowered in the eyes of
mankind by these disgraceful proceedings, and we
must all regret that the civil force was unable to
cope with the rioters, and that it was necessary to
call in the military ; but I am glad to find that
it was not required to fire upon the
people, and that in most instances the
simple pretence of the troops was sufficient
to cause order to be restored. It is also deeply
to be lamented that theological discussions cannot
be conducted without using terms of opprobrium,
and that to confute arguments or assertions stones
should be thrown at, and violence used towards,
opponents. The cause of neither is promoted by
such acts ; but when will people learn the duty of
living in charity with their neighbours ? I regret
also to learn that during the time when the police
were engaged in suppressing the disturbances men
banded themselves together apparently with the ob-
ject of assisting the civil fore?, but, in reality, with
greater effect to carry out a most nefarious design.
I find that shops have been attacked and plundered,
and houses ransacked, their owners having been
driven out by violence. Such acts strike at the very
rootsof society, and it is not to be believed that they
arose from religious hatred, but rather that persons
who live by plunder seizal that opportunity of
carrying on their nefarious trade. The learned Ile- !
corder, in reply to Mr. Yeatman, who is engaged to
defend in the case of the rioters, said he would not I
proceed with the trials before Wednesday.

The chief difficulty will be in adjusting existing con-
tracts with the new dollar ; but that will be lessened
by the fact of these contracts being based upon the
fluctuating value of paper money. Referring to the
public creditor, he considers that the reduction can
easily be adjusted in the payment or conversion of
their securities, while private creditors might be
authorised to recover on the old standard. Having
ably and clearly laid down his views, which we have
no doubt whatever will eventually be adopted by
the world, he concludes by stating that he heartily
sympathises with Mr. ItuuuLlis and others in
their efforts to secure the adoption of the
metrical system of weights and measures. The
first step in this direction is uniformity of currency,
but it will take some time to remove the shackles
which fetter the actions of nations in adjusting
their weights and measures to a uniform standard.
The barbarous origin of the English system can be
seen from the names by which weights and measures
are known. A stone, a nail, a foot, a hand, a
fathom, a hide, a grain, all tell the expedients to
which our ancestors had recourse in computing
and regulating their barter. But they do not tell
this alone ; for our adherence to the barbarous cus-
toms of our progenitors is a proof of the tenacity
with which we cling to the customs we have inhe-
rited. This is absurdly illustrated by an incident
which occurred among so enlightened a com-
munity as one of the public schools of Eng-
land. The Pall-Mall Gazette recently told a
story current among Winchester boys to the effect
that in old Dr. TIUNGERFORD'S days the boys on the
foundation were not allowed potatoes as a portion
of the college diet. On representing the hardship
of the case to the Doctor, he replied that if it had
been good for the boys to have potatoes, they would
have been provided for, by the original founder of
the school. When it was suggested to him that
potatoes were not known in England until the dis-
covery of America, he remarked that this entirely
altered the state of the case, and from that time
forth potatoes were permitted.
In the Isle of Man the copper coins were struck
on a standard peculiar to the Manx. Thirteen or
fourteen pence went to a shilling, and as the coin
was stamped with three legs, the arms of the
island, they were carried off as curiosities by
the visitors, depriving the people of their currency.
The difference in value gave rise to an incredible
amount of trouble in the simple transactions of
these primitive people, and it was found necessary
to adjust the standard to the English scale. When
this was attempted to be enforced, the Manx con-
ceived the idea they were being defrauded, and
serious riots resulted. From this incident the difli-
culties may be imagined of effecting a change in
weights and measures, the scale, and the yard,
entering into every household arrangemAlt, and
the whole economy of life. Though sl.ongly im-
pressed with the magnitude of such a task as alter-
ingtherein
disappointment,
the weights and measures of a nation, add fore-
seeingratgs r
eoef
with
tahr s
the f
labourand the
Senator in hoping for the change, as well as in the
concluding remarks of his letter, and we end this
article with his own sentence, that such a result
would be of greater value than the usual employ-
ments of diplomatists and statesmen.
It will be seen elsewhere in our columns that the
Master of the Mint has been directed by the British
Government to attend the Conference, having asso-
ciated with him Mr. Wilson, of the Treasury, and
Mr. Graham. One of our Paris letters informs us
that the deliberations commenced on the 18th inst.,
under the presidency
of Baron de Moustier, and
most of the countries of Europe as well as the
United States were represented.—Anglo-American
Times.

numerous enthusiastic believers. We can assure a
" Republican Reader" that we have this as the
end and aim of all we write, and we consider that
it ought to be the end and aim of every journal
that professes to represent the Great Republic.--
Anglo• American Times.

PARIS EXHIBITION.

-0.

In Class 37, group 4, is to be seen the won-
derful Ferris Gun, which is at present attract-
ing such attention among military men. The gun
is an invention of George H. Ferris, a gunsmith of
Utica, New York, and patented by him in 1861.
The gun is a wonderful invention, and a descrip-
tion of it will no doubt be interesting to many of
your readers :—" Mr. Ferris, being a practical gun
maker, has brought his ' target rifle' to a point of
perfection in range and accuracy not dreamed of
ten years ago, and in the invention of his cannon
has combined the results of many years' experience
and practice. Acting on this and on the opinion
of Mr. Longridge, the English engineer, about the
straining and bursting of metal, Mr. Ferris has
built the barrel of his gun of the best wrought iron
bars, all welded together, the softer at one end, and
growing harder towards the other end ; then coiled
into the form of a watch spring, then hammered
into a flat washer-like ring, the softest iron forming
the inner and the hardest the outer circle of the
same. These rings are passed through rollers and
brought to a uniform thickness and an even sur-
face. They are then laid together around a
mandrell-bar, forged and thoroughly welded
together, with heavy. longitudinal and light
vertical hammering, until a solid mass is formed,
which after being bored, chambered, rifled in-
side, and perfectly engine-turned outside with a
true taper from the breech to the muzzle, forms the
core or heart of the barrel. The covering of this
core is formed by a series of heavy steel rings,
mechanically turned, inside and outside, and the
inner surface made to exactly fit the core, the
larger at the breech and the smaller at the muzzle,
the rings being firmly secured in a peculiar manner
to prevent loosening by the concussion_ of the dis-
charges. The steel rings are lubricated and forced
into their places by a screw and cluth, and they can
be removed by the same means, two or three men
easily working the screw. The breech chest is of
cast iron, and attached by heavy flanges and bolts.
Through the breech chest the screw plunger is
worked by a double screw, and driven in the rear by
a bar wheel, five turns of which by the gunner
will leave the chamber open for the insertion of
the shot and charge, and the like number of
turns drive up and screw the same. The upper end
of the plunger is fitted with detachable steel plates,
so arranged as to exactly fit the chamber of the
barrel, and being levelled at the end they cut away
all fouling of the chain bcr, being bolted to a metal
plug, which, firmly entering the base of the chamber,
forms with the shot plates a perfect prevention of
the escape of gas.
" The plug holding these detached plates can be
detached in a moment from the plunger, thus ren-
dering the gun useless in the bands of an enemy.
In the discharge of the gun the heavy breech chest,
With its strong flanges and bolts and the long screw
plunger, must be torn away, before any leakage of
gas or windage can take place, and as the strength
of the breech is fully equal to that of the barrel, in
the Ferris peculiar way, the effect is to allow
the projectile to start easy and increase in velo-.
city, while by that same peculiar method of form-
ing the barrel the ball or shell does not leave the
muzzle until it has received the entire force of the
powder. As the Ferris gun is breech loading the
ball or shell is placed in the cannon by the hand,
and is conical in form, surrounded with a lead band,
which is prevented from peeling or flying off by
levelled shots, while all the advantages of thorough
slugging are secured. Around the projectile is a
smooth groove coming up to the surface of the ball
or shell. In the groove are four small transverse
holes, reaching to the centre of the ball, where they
inters,2ct one or more longitudinal holes which the
gas passes through at each discharge, and forces the
cannon against the inner surface of the barrel and
thoroughly cleans and lubricates it, thus obviating
MI necessity of washing or swabbing from the
muzzle, enabling the gunners to work the piece at
the casements of a fort or the ports of a ship with-
out movement of the cw:riage or exposure of the
gunner. The ball is slightly conical, with a flat
point, which form of ball has been used by Mr.
Ferris iu his target rifles for many years. It would
seem that this cannon has combined in its construc-
tion, shape, and discharge all the advantages of the
Armstrong, Whitworth, and Longridge guns, while
the objections to each are avoided."