The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-14 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

Lieut.-Gen. Sir CFelix Smith, K.C.8., Colonel-
Commandant of the Royal Engineers, died on Wed-
nesday at Worthing, after several weeks' illness.
The following vessels were yesterday taken up by
the East India Company for the conveyance of troops
to India—viz., The Jelawar, to convey 300 of the
Company's recruits to Calcutta, on Aug. 31; the
Gloriana, 883 tons, Capt. H. Toynbee, to convey 150
recruits to Madras, to sail on Sept. 4; and the
Vernon, 996 tons, Capt. H. H. Consitt, to embark
150 recruits for Bombay, to sail on Sept. 4. The
Hon. East India Company have also given notice
that tonnage is required for the conveyance of 1,800
reinforcements of the Queen's troops to India during
the month of September.
The following promotions have taken place in the
corps of Royal Marine Light infantry, consequent
on the retirement from the service of Lieut.-Col. W.
B. Langford, of the Portsmouth division, who has
been permitted to retire on the full pay of his rank :
—Brevet-Major Gallway Byng Payne, the Plymouth
division, to be Lieutenant-Colonel, and appointed to
Portsmouth ; First-Lieutenant George Bazalgette, of
the Plymouth division, to be Captain, and appointed
to the same division ; First-Lieutenant E. Gough
M`Callum, to be Captain ; Second-Lieutenant H. T.
Miles Cooper, of the Portsmouth division, to be
First-Lieutenant, and appointed to the Plymouth
division ; and Second-Lieutenant F. E. M. St. John,
of the Portsmouth division, to be First-Lieutenant.
Major-General Peel, Secretary of State for War,
accompanied from London by Colonel the Marquis
of Donegall and Colonel Sir Henry Storks, paid a visit
of inspection yesterday to Woolwich Garrison. On
the General's arrival, at 12 o'clock, he was received
by Colonel Bloomfield, second-commandant, and the
garrison staff. A guard of honour, composed of
Captain Cox, 10th battalion, in command, Lieut.
Young, Lieut. Graham, six sergeants, two, trum-
peters, and 100 rank and file, were stationed in front
of the mess-quarters of the Royal Artillery, at 8
p.m., in anticipation of his arrival, which was an-
nounced for that hour. A round of 19 guns was
fired from the saluting battery, and the union jack
was hoisted, and remained floating during the Gene-
ral's stay in the garrison. The whole party pro-
ceeded to the field battery encampment on Woolwich-
common, thence to the Royal Repository, where a
battalion of the Royal Artillery were in attendance,
and went through various exercises in manning the
batteries and manoeuvring the different machines for
mounting and dismounting guns and mortars. The
regiment of Royal Antrim Rifles was drawn up on
the review ground at 2 o'clock for the General's in-
spection, but was again withdrawn at 4. From the
Repository the General repaired to the mess-quar-
ters, whence, after a short delay, he proceeded
to visit the sick wards of the hospital, which occu-
pied a considerable time. On quitting the hospital
they crossed over to the clothing establishment
erected at the close of the Russian war, and visited
each branch of that department, after which they
again rode through the Riding-house and the Royal
Horse Artillery-square and stabling. The General
visited in succession the guard rooms, punishment
cells, the officers' and men's quarters, libraries,
chapel, &c., and inspected the field battery range, the
corn and fodder stores and stables, and terminated
a minute inspection of the entire establishment at
five o'clock by a visit to the Royal Artillery schools.
On his inspection of the lower portion of the bar-
racks, occupied as the men's sleeping rooms, the
General made frequent remarks as to their intoler-
able closeness and want of healthful ventilation, and
inquired if the inc( nvenience could not be remedied,
Sundry other alter at )ns were likewise spoken of for
the improvement ot the sanitary condition of the
garrison.

- A detachment of recruits, some of whom have been
entered during the present week at Woolwich, having
been equipped for service, were yesterday marched
to the Royal Arsenal station, preceded by the bugle
band, and despatched to Portsmouth for embarkation
on board her Majesty's screw steamship Perseve4
ranee for Malta.
The names of the ensigns who went out with the
draught of the 4th Foot in the Great Tasmania aret
C. R. Hammond and C. R. Durrant.

IMPROVE3MNIS IN FIREARAIS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sin,—Having seen in last evening's Sun a state-
ment to the effect that a French soldier of the line
had brought before the Emperor and the military
authorities of France, an invention for the purpose
of obviating the necessity of rifling the interior of
firearms and cannon, in order to obtain a rotary mo-
tion of the projectile ; and finding, by the descrip-
tion, that this end is sought to be tained by means
of six vanes or wings, helically arranged at the base
of the projectile, I cannot but believe that it is iden-
tical, or the same in principle, as the plan proposed
by myself to the Hon. Board of Ordnance, in March,
1855, during the Russian war, in conjunction with
the invention of a new description of shell, which I
at the same time laid before them.
It is not my intention to explain the construction
of these shells, for having at the time, by drawings
and written description, explained them to the Board
of Ordnance, and not finding sufficient in the answer
(as given below) to alter my opinion of what their
efficiency might be, I have felt, and still feel, it a
duty not to render the matter public.
Of the shells, the answer from the Board of Ord-
nance spoke thus Your plan for shells has
been examined by the proper officers, who have
reported that in their opinion your shells are not
applicable to the service;" and then comes the reason,
because, "the fuse at the base is liable to be blown
into the shell by the explosion of the charges, and
fet
ohureses,si
ohnie.el
cel
ooi
recommend
ssemelcifeuni
esdnnttohot
nasttdrioasnne
hgyaerengxeopu;egrthhi
metyeonchtasenansrhottoh,uetlhdeeorbnee:
e
admde arvdavenetrayg with
erse ymwoahuri r p
remarkable,
habrijes
acattsei projectiles." so.a
nia.
nni
ss answer I
my opinion,
made
tc o nt hsi
to arise from the use of
suc's'hobljiTskehecheltifisols " Saving
of time, ammunition for charges, and wear of the
pieces of ordnance employed," in addition to other
advantages then pointed out, such as allowing the
enemy less chance of escape from their effects. Hav-
ing sent a sectional drawing, exhibiting an assumed
thickness of iron, they appear to have thought it
too thin (as shown), but there could be no possible
reason why, in casting, they should not be made a
little thicker than was shown on the drawing, it being
the same as in all new plans—a matter for expe-
riment to decide, and in no way affecting the principle
involved. In the same section I had shown the fuse,
somewhat short in length and placed in a neck simi-
lar to a cork in a bottle, but it was intended that the
ordinary fuse should be used, which I do not hear of
being blown into the interior of shells. With re-
spect to the substitute for rifling, I stated that I an-
ticipated the form of the shells combined with the
construction of the base or end placed next the charge
(which was shown of the wing form before-men-
tioned) would produce a rotary motion on the longi-
tudinal axis. In a postscript to the answer, it was
stated that this idea had been before proposed. There
were other formations of a spiral character, which I
had drawn out at the time as likely to attain this
object, hut I did not submit them after the receipt of
the answers just mentioned, thinking they would
meet with the same fate.—l am, Sir, your obedient
servant, HENRY MACAULAY,

Architect, C.E., &c.
Blackburn, Aug. 13, 1858.

CRYSTAL PALACE. -- HALF-CROWN DAY. Yes-
terday the admissions on payment were 1,082; ditto by
season tickets, 716; total visitors, 1,79 e.