The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-21 00:00:00

THAMES.

nor.

A DESERTER.—WiIIiam George Lacy, a youth,
was brought before Mr. Paget, charged with de-
sertiug from her Majesty's ship Implacable. The
prisoner had been a source of great trouble and
uneadaiess to his friends, and he would not remain
for any length of time in the situations they ob-
tained for him. At last he entered the Royal
Navy, and only remained a short time in the service.
He deserted from the Implacable at Devonport on
the 12th of October last, and turned up again last
night at the Destitute Sailors' Asylum, in Dock-
street, Whitechapel. His uncle, Mr. John Thomas
Lacy, a printer, found him there, and gave him
into the custody of Police-constable Barrett, No.
158 H, who asked him if he was a deserter, to
to which he said, " Yes," and that he was tired of
his wanderings. He pleaded guilty, and Mr.
Paget ordered that ho should be sent back to the
Fisgard tender ship at Woolwich. The boy said
hi wished to return' to the Royal Navy,, iu which he
had been well treated.

FENIAN OUTRAGE.

ADJOURNED CORONEIN INQUEST
(Continued from our first edition of yesterday.)

Inspect or Thompson was called before the coroner,
ho, having read over his former evidence, then
proceeded to put further questions to him. Ile said
—There had been before the explosion a communi-
cation from the police to the governor of the prison.
It was to the effect that an attempt would be made
to rescue the prisoners Burke and Casey. The
governor said that if I had any communications
to make relative to the safety of the prisoners
to put them on paper, and they would be
considered. The report given to the Governor was
t'►at the wall of the prison would be mined, and
that he was to take precautions to guArd the. in te-
The police, it was stated, would take the
❑ecessary measures for the protection of the out-
side. As I left the prison on that occasion I had
110 suspicion that anything would take place at the
moment, and I went round the prison to see that
the po!ice were properly placed.
The Coroner said a great deal of what had been
stated was not evidence, but as there had been a
meeting of the Middlesex magistrates, and as they
had complimented the authorities, which were their
own officers, he thought it right the police should
give their explanation.

A' Juror—lf it is not an unfair question, what
should you have considered a sufficient force to
protect the outside of the prison ?
Witness—lf the information had been reliable, I
should have thought a great many constables ought
to have been placed outside, but the information
being of the nature it was I think constables to
patrol round the prison were sufficient.
Inspector Potter—l never heard a single word
about the prison being about to be blown up.
A Juror—Then you ought to have done so.

Inspector Thompson—The Governor thought
the information very vague and unsatisfactory, and
said that if he lived until the prison was blown up
he should attain a good old age.
Thomas Knowles, 200 G —Superintendent Gur-
non told me the prison was to be blown up, when
I, Ranger, and Sutton were appointed to watch the
prison. I did not believe that any explosion would
be attempted. At 12 o'clock I went up Rosoman-
street, up Corporation-lane, and at that time, being
in front of the prison, I saw Allen. I was in Cor-
poration-lane about four times up to the time of
leaving about half-past two. Ranger left me to
follow Justice. Sutton was left.

Coroner—Then there was nobody else left to
patrol round the prison ?
Witness—No, at leastldou't know anything about
the matter after I left to watch one of the suspicious
people hanging about the prison.
John Moseley, another of the boys playing near
the barrel, was next called, but as he did not un-
derstand the nature of an oath he was not examined.

Edward M'Lean, the house surgeon, stated that
the deaths in each case arose from suffocation and
loss of blood, except Evans, who died from chronic
bronchitis, the bruises on the face and neck accele-
rating her death.

Mr-s. Jarvis recalled —I have been to the prison,
but I did not see there the man who fired the barrel.

Inspector Thompson said the boy Moseley could
speak to certain matters that occurred the day be-
fore the explosion.
The Coroner —He does not understand the nature
of an oath so we cannot examine him as a witness.
If he is instructed before the trial he will be in a
position to give evidence on that occasion.
A Juror—ls he one of the boys that said " It will
do, master ; it will go now ?"
Inspector Potter—No he is not.

The Governor of the' House of Detention was
then sent for by the coroner, and the inquiry was
suspended until his arrival.
Capt. Codd having arrived,
The Coroner said a statement had been made that
a communication had been made from the police to
the prison, and he had thought it right that he (the
Governor) should be sent for in order to give an
explanation if he thought proper.
Inspector Thompson said on Thursday he went
to the prison and went into the exercising yard.
Before he left the prison, Captain Codd passed up,
awl he then told him that Sir It. Mayne had received
certain information which led him to believe that
an attempt to rescue Burke and Casey would be
made by undermining the walls. He (the Governor)
sent for the chief warder, and then he (Thompson)
said if the Governor had any suggestions to ►wake
he would convey them to Sir It. Mayne. Captain
Codd said he was very much obliged to Sir Richard,
that he thought he had enough to do to mind his
own business, and that he would take care of the
prison inside. •
Capt. Codd—l bad, on a former occasion; sug-
gested that a cordon of policemen should be placed
entirely round the prison walls.
The Coroner—lnspector Thompson, you did not,
in your evidence, state the matter as precise as you
have now done. I presume you did not state the
Governor's observations entire to Sir Richard. YGu
told him all but that which you thought would be
conddered positively offensive.
Inspector—l repeated all to Sir Richard except
the latter part.
The Coroner--You have heard, Captain Codd,
what the Inspector has stated. What do you say ?

Capt. Coda—ln the substance it is quite true.
Coroner—lf formal information was sent to you
that some disturbance was likely to take place, that
the walls were to be undermined, don't you think
some active steps ought to hive been taken to pro-
tect the prison ?
Capt. Codd—Excuse me, sir. When prisoners
with Fenian tendencies were first sent to the House
of Detention I did make communication. My sug-
gestion was that a cordon of police should be placed
entirely round the walls. I confirm all the state-
ment of the Inspector, except that I did not wish
to be discourteous to Sir Richard. So far as my
duty went I acted. It was not part of it to offer
suggestions to the police, but had I done so after
being told that the walls were to be undermined I
should have suggested the placing of a cordon of
police entirely round the prison.
The Coroner—How many officers would that
have taken ?

Capt. Cold did not answer that question, but
went on to say the suggestion was first made when
Groves was sent to the House of Detention, and
again when the Fenian prisoners Burke and Casey
arrived. The chief warder went down and saw
Inspector Bryant, who told him he had received an
order from Sir R. Mayne on the subject
The Coroner--Then you never suggested the
matter personally to Sir R. Mayne ?
Captain Codd—No. The clerk to the Justices
went down to Sir Richard Mayne when Groves
first became an inmate in the House of Detention,
and Sir Richard Mayne said ho could give, no far-
ther assistance. •
Inspector Thompson—No suggestion was ever
made about a cordon of police.
Coroner—No, he says nut to you.
_ .

Captain Codd—l sAid on Thursday that if Sir
Richard Mayne would take charge of the outside
of the prison I would take care_ of it within. The
original information came from Sir Richard Mayne,
and I naturally thought after that that he would
take care of the outer walls.

Coroner—Then it was no part of your duty to
Gaard the outside.

Captain Cotld—No, I had nothing to do with
that. I consider the outer walls in Sir Richard's
custody precisely in the same way as the ocher
houses in the metropolis.
A Jurui—Do you know how many police were
stationed outside the walls of the prison ?
Captain Codd—No, I acted up to my duty and
took care of the inside.

The Coroner—l think something further than
what was done ought to have been done to protect
the prison. If a man receives information that his
house is to be attacked by robbers, he take steps
accordingly. I cannot help thinking that the
Commisioner of Police ought to have done much
more than he did for the protection of the outside
of the prison, and the governor something more
for the safety of the inside. The terrible
affair took place because no police were about
to roe what the men did when they first
arrived with the barrel. (Suppressed applause.)
I don't think proper protection was made by the
police after they had been informed that the walls
of the prison were to be undermined—there ought
to have been a much stronger guard around the
prison. Had the police taken better precaution the
inference is, that this wretched scene would not
have taken place, and the poor creatures would not
have lost their lives. (Applause.) I must beg that
these , manifestations be not repeated by any one

while in a court of justice.
Captain Codd-1 ain an old soldier ; I told the
police I would take care of the kern:ll if they would
take care of the shell. I am anxious that my ob-
servations should not be misunderstood with respect
to what I have said on the occasion of Groves corn-
ing to the House of Detention. It may be imagined
from what I have said that no attention at all Wtlf3
paid to my representations. What I wished to con-
vey was that when I sent for the services of twenty
constables or so for the inside of the prison, the

Commissioner said he could not spare officers to
guard the interior.
The Coroner then summel up the evidence, and
the Jury returned a verdict of " Wilful murder
against Desmond, Allen, the vroman Justice, and
some persons unknown."
The proceedings then terminated.

---
USES OF NITRO-GLYCERINE IN MINLVG.

Mr. Warrington Smythe, in a course of proles-
stonal lectures, delivered to the students at the
Royal College of Alines, Jerteyn-street,
agentseribed
yesterday afternoon the various exi
used for breaking down the rock or country (as it is
technically called) by miners. One of the most im-
portant of modern explosives (said Mr. Smythe) was
nitro-gl3 c rine, a substance which within the last few
days had been productive of such a sad loss of 'auntaa
life at Newc lade-on-Tyne. Aecidenti were apt to
produce a violent prejudice against that which cp used
them ; but all expl,sives, until they weret
wini.eerre-
st t, old by the me who had to deal with them,
liable to produce accidents. Although gunpowder
was so well known they must expect accidents even
with that when it was put into the hands of persons
who did not know how to use it ; and so with all
other dangerous material=. The three explosives
now chiefly used by miners were gunpowder, gun-t
cotton, and nitro-glycerine. Gunpowder, as the olqe3
and best understood, was most used and best liked
by the miners. Gun-cotton would probably in the
future play a much more important part in these
operations than it seemed likely to do a few years
ago. Some important improvements had been intro..
duced into its preparation by the Austrian Artilkry
Department (and those improvements were bow
being thoroughly tried, and the material tested, by
Mr. Abel, at Woolwich), rendering it more useful
and safe than it was formerly. It was now manu-
factured into a kind of rope and should be cut to
the exact lengths wanted by miners ; and if it
turned out that it would bear keeping in a damp
atmosphere better than gunpowder, it would come
into use iu mining far more largely than it hitherto
had done. With regard to these three explosives h. 6
couldstate an interesting fact which had been brought
within his own knowledge. In the North Wales date
districts enormous quantities of explosive mate-
rial were employed ; and it was the practice
in bargaining with the workmen to allow them
to select whichever explosive they preferred from
the stores of the employers. It was found that
although the majority of miners preferred gunpow-
der over gun-cotton and nitro-glycerine, although
they were well acquainted with the conveniences of
the one and the enormous force of the other, the
most careful of the men were fast taking to nitro-
glycerine, which they had hitherto managed without
the slightest accident, and with the most profitable
results in respect to the work done. Nitro-glyce-
rine had ten times the force of ordinary gunpowder,
and if it could be used with the same amount of
security, it needed no argument to show how advan-
tageous it would be in mining. It certainly was much
easier and simpler in its mode of application. Thus in-
stead of the " tamping" required when gunpowder
was used, and the adjuncts required by gun-cotton,
all that was necessary was to fill the hole with water
and pour the nitro-glycerine in. It sank to thebottom
by its own specific gravity, and the fuse being
lighted the explosion took place with a force and
effect far greater than anything produced by powder
or gun-cotton. He had lately been invited to wit-
ness at Llanberris a series of experiments on a
newly-invented explosive. It was the discovery of
111. Nobel', of Hamburg, who was the inventor also
of nitro-glycerine. It was a powder, and if proved
capable of safe removal from place to place would
no doubt also be much used. There was, however, a
peculiarity about it which also belonged to nitro-
glycerine. When a train of it was laid ou a board
it could be fired by a match with no more noise or
effect than so much gunpowder ; but if it were ex-
ploded by the percussion of a sadden Wow it went
off with a force and report that were tremendous.
It. exerted a kind of force which was exactly that
which wail required in mining, and ho looked for-
ward to the time when it and nitro-glycerine would
become auxiliaries of the greatest importance to the
work of the miner.

I