The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-31 00:00:00

12 subs.

Mr. T. Stevens' Yellow Rose, 3 yrs, Est 91b (Pritchard:
Mr. Thompson's Broadlands, 4 yrs, Bst 71b ..(Aldcreft;
Mr. Mellish's Minster, 3 yrs, Est 91b
Mr. J. Osborne's Vivace, 3 yrs, Est 91b

Betting-7 to 4on Yellow Rose. Minster led and held
a long lead to the straight, where the lot closed up, and
just below the distance Yellow Rose and Broadlands came
on together, the mare winning by a length; bad third.
Delapre Handicap of 5 sous each, with 30 added. The
winner to be sold for £lOO. Winners extra. Althorp
Park Stakes Course. 12 subs.
Mr. Gulliver's Macbeth, 2 yrs, sst 101 b (Grimshaw) 1
Lord W. Powlett's Delusion, 5 pa, Bst 71b.. (S. Rogers) 2
Mr. Barnard's Homer, 3 yrs, 7st 21b (Swift) 3
Lord Clifden's Dejanira, 4 yrs, Bst (T. Fordham) 4
Betting—Even agst Delusion, 6 to 4 agst Macbeth. Won
by a length ; bad third.

BETTING ON THE COURSE.
CHESTER CUP.

20 to 1 agst Bevis
26 to 1 agst Rara Avis
25 to 1 agst Herne
40 to 1 agst Wilton
60 to 1 agst Lifeboat
DERBY.

15 to 1 agst Gamester
40 to 1 agst Schuloff
50 to 1 agst Newcastle.

The meeting opened amidst the most propitious weather,
and closed in a snowstorm. The course was in conse-
quence slippery and holding. Still a more successful
meeting was never held at Northampton, and " Marshall
and Son" carried out their arrangements in a straightfor-
ward business-like manner, which was generally appre-
-dated.

whose non-progress excites more wide-spread inte-
rest than those in connection with the new bridge
at Westminster. It may be that the public, looking'
to the condition of the ruin over which the
traffic is still continued, are keenly alive to the
truth of the adage that delays are dangerous ; but
whether arising from this or other causes, the
anxiety to see the new structure complete and opened
is undoubted and increasing day by day. Never
was a new bridge more wanted than at Westminster,'
and never has such a long succession of unfortunate
and almost unavoidable delays occurred to mar its
progress. According to the least sanguine of cal-
culations the western half of the bridge, should have
been opened for traffic last January, yet April be-
holds the ironwork of the new arches still unfixed.
Great part of this long delay, however, arose out of
the first contract with Mr. Mare, to which-we need
not further allude save to add that in this respect
the loss of time was totally unavoidable. The delay
which has since then taken place may be in part
assigned to the dilatoriness of the late Board of
Works and the mal-arrangement of the contracts into
which they entered for the supply of materials, espe-
cially with regard to the ironwork. In no one case
is the delay attributable to the eminent engineer
intrusted with the construction of the bridge—Mr.
Page, whose work has always been completed
months before the contractors were prepajred-to fulfil
theirs. Though to unprofessional eyes but little
has been done since the commencementbf last win-
ter, yet a brief survey of the works slictsys that not
only has everything been placed in readiness for
axing the iron-arches, but that a greitt portion of
the piers for the eastern half of the bridge, which
were not to be begun till the old structure was re-
moved, are not only considerably advanced but in
some cases entirely completed. This progress,
though making little very visible alteration in the
works just now, will save a large amount of time
and money when the old bridge comes to be pulled
down and the eastern half erected in its stead. As
possibly some of our readers may not recollect the
plan on which the bridge is being constructed, and
it may sound curious to hear that half of the bridge
is to be built at once and the rest hereafter, we will
as briefly as possible explain the plan which is in-
tended to be pursued. The new bridge, then, will
be more than double the width of the present
mass 'of stone Whieh now obstructs the traffic
whether by land or water, and almost the whole of
this additional width is gained on the western side,
next the Houses of Parliament. As it was impera-
tively necessary that the traffic should not be
stopped while the works were in progress, and the
expense of a temporary wooden bridge was equally
out of the question, Mr. Page proposed to build the
western half first, open it for traffic, take down the
old bridge, and build the eastern side in place of it.
This plan, as the quickest and most economical,
was adopted, and all the piers and abutments for
the -western side are now, and have been for some
time past, complete and ready for the ironwork.
Some unexplained cause of delay, however, has
arisen in connection with the delivery of the wrought
and cast iron arches, which as yet has prevented
their being fixed. Mr. Page has taken advantage
of this interval of time to push forward the piers
for the eastern side, where the openings in the
arches of the old bridge permitted. Some of them
are perfectly finished, and ready for the bed
plates of the iron arches, while others are so
far advanced that a few weeks more will see
them entirely completed. The researches of
some of the divers, while fastening the wrought
iron tie rods of these piers, show that the new struc-
ture has not been commenced a moment too soon.
Two or three of the piers of the old bridge have their
caissons so completely worn away by the scour of
the tide that the divers can enter the caverns which
are worn underneath them to a depth of three or
four feet. The marvel is how the old bridge could
ever sustain such an advanced stage of decay, espe-
cially when we remember the very disadvantageous
circumstances under which it was built. Yet in the
repair of this miserable obstacle nearly £300,000
sterling has literally been flung into the Thames.
All the doubtful arches have now been most care-
fully stayed with timber, and the additional sup-
port given to the foudations by the presence of the
new piers prevents any chalice of further subsidence.
The greater part of the iron arches for the western
side have been erected and carefully fitted together
at Messrs. Cochrane's works, near Battersea. From
these the symmetry and noble proportions of the
new bridge can be seen at a glance, though of
course not as they will appear when spanning the
river, and with massive granite columns as but-
tresses between. The spring of these new arches
will commence at two feet above highwater mark.
Owing to the peculiarly graceful and almost ellip-
tical curve of the arches, and consequently their
very thin crowns, it has been necessary to provide
for the security and stiffness of the structure in
such a manner as would avoid the use of cast iron
in the central parts of the arches where the traffic
subjects them to constant vibration and frequent
percussion from moving loads. The arches have,
therefore, been designed with crowns or central
ribs of wrought iron boiler plate, of immense
strength and stiffness, whether regarded as ribs or
girders. These central ribs vary in span with that
of the arch. In the centre they are 52 feet long
by 28 inches deep. At either end in the three
arches they are only 42 feet long by 22 inches
deep. Each of these spans is of rolled iron 14 inch
thick, and all are considerably stronger than is re-
quisite to meet any weight which the ordinary run
of London traffic can ever throw upon them. The
full load strain of the arches is at the rate of three
tons the square inch, but all the wrought iron por-
tions of the crown are tested with a compressive
and percussive strain of more than 12 tons to the
square inch, or nearly 2,000 tons to the square foot.
Each wrought iron girder is calculated to sup-
port 100 tons, and as there are 15 in each the
strength of the whole mass is made equal to about
30 times the amount of strain which the ordinary
run of metropolitan traffic can ever put upon it.
Expansion between the joinings of the arches is
provided for by pads of vulcanised India-rubber
placed between. A change in the temperature of
50 degrees would increase the length of the centre
arch half an inch, an amount of expansion which,
unless provided against, would be quite sufficient
to unsettle the strongest bridge in the world. The
span between the crown of each and the roadway
will not exceed a foot. Already the removal
of the iron arches from Battersea to Westminster
has commenced, and their erection will be pro-
ceeded with without loss of time. From their
having been carefully fitted in all parts previously,
the work of bolting them together will occupy but
a small portion of time, so that by October next the
west side will be ready for public traffic. The
roadway, as in the case of new Chelsea-bridge, will
be formed of " buckle" plates of wrought iron,
over which, in lieu of wood, the usual granite
paving will be laid. One of the most striking
advantages which the new bridge will afford over
its ruinous predecessor will be found in its width,
and therefore ample accommodation for the most
extensive carriage or passenger traffic. As we
have said, the extreme width will be nearly double
the width of the present structure—viz., 85 feet.
The entire width of London-bridge is 54 feet ;
Blackfriars, 42; Waterloo, 43; and Vauxhall, 36.
Southwark is very nearly the same as Waterloo.
The increased space afforded by the new struc-
ture will be divided into two footways, each 15
feet wide (more than double the width of the foot-
paths at London-bridge), and two carriage-ways,
each 26 feet wide. The carriage-ways will be
divided by a centre kerb, separating the going and
coming traffic, and each will have a distinct granite
tramway of seven feet for the very heavy traffic, as
on London-bridge. Some of the granite abutments,
from behind which the iron arches will spring,
have already been erected in order to judge of their
effect in the works on the Surrey side of the river.
It is difficult to imagine anything more simple and
striking in their noble proportions than these
columns. The cornices and mouldings are just suffi-
cient to give effect to the whole mass, for less orna-
mentation would have given them a cold aspect,,
while more florid work would certainly have
detracted from their massive simplicity. The
granite blocks which compose these abutments
are all from the well-known Cheesewring Quarries
in Cornwall, and are among the largest
and finest blocks which have ever been turned out
even from those works. Many of them are 14 feet
high and 8 feet thick, and before being partly
hollowed from behind in order to lessen the diffi-
culties of transit weighed upwards of 30 tons. The
neatness and finish with which these ponderous
masses have been fitted together in the abutments
more resembles cabinet work than the masonry for
one of the strongest bridges across the Thames.
Portions of the outer ornamental arches of the
bridge, with a fac simile of the parapet, have also
been erected on the Surrey side. From these parts
also the visitor is enabled to appreciate to a certain
extent the effect which will be produced by the
who e. The spandrils of the arches are filled with
ligh Gothic tracery; the open work being charged

Why is it that we demand Parliamentary Re-
form P Is it because we have any abstract objection
either to the nature of the suffrage, or even the
distribution of the representation? Is it not
rather because the details by which it is worked
have failed their of legitimate object—do not pro-
tect the voter from bribery, treating, intimidation,
undue influence ; the candidate from illegitimate
expense ; the borough or the county from the pre-
ponderating power of one or two men, where the
theory of the Constitution delegated the choice to a
number, on terms of perfect equality ; because qua-
lified persons are left out, and unqualified persons
are let in ; because the dead and absent are perso-
nated without check, and the intention and purpose
of the Reform Act have been completely frustrated
by abuses in its practical application ?
The very essence of a Reform Bill lurks in its de-
tails. Even the existing act is far too complex ; and
in its complexity lies most of its defects. The
political rights of the citizen ought to be so plain
and simple that he who runs may read. If they
are to be conferred upon the poor, they should be
so expressed that he shall have no difficulty in
understanding them, so clear that nobody should
be able to pervert them. There are 470
distinct genera of qualifications for the county, and
not a few involved particulars even in regard to
those of the boroughs. Registrations, elections, are
a war of lawyers, registration secretaries, elec-
tioneering agents, the pettifogging of election peti•
tioners. The Gulliver of the Constitution awakes
to find himself tied to the earth by the infinite
packthreads of statutory forms, and to be driven to
the conclusion that the rights to be attained are not
worth the trouble of the exertion of coming at them.
First, claims to be rated, then to be registered,
then attendance at the Registration Court; objec-
tions, perhaps, on some technical point, when the
voter is confronted by an opponent; the danger of
costs, the contingency of some technical omission
by the overseers, even typographical errors by the
printer, and then at last a long journey, and lost
time, to the poll, with, perhaps, some dodge of a
dexterous electioneerer there. These are only a few
of the many irksome technicalities with which the
stupidity of our Constitution coblers has encom-
passed and perplexed the electoral function. On the
other side there is the whole strategy of objections,
surrounded with traps and pitfalls, the records of
which fill many volumes of the Common Pleas Re-
ports already ; there is personation, bribery, treat-
ing, intimidation ; there are the endless shapes
assumed by pettifoggers in election petitions, who
have managed, by the help of the thick stupidity of
committees of the House of Commons, to convert
the representation of the people into a mere case ut
nisi prius, and to obscure the broad and open day
of the Constitution by the pale twilight and disas-
trous eclipse of attorneys' brief-bags, and the cauli-
flower wigs of Parliamentary lawyers.
We have said' that the diligence of registration
agents have hunted up no fewer than 470 different
forms of county qualification. Nobody but a lawyer
can understand them, nobody bat a conveyancer
can adjudicate upon them, while lawyers are
sedulously excluded from the Registration Courts.
By the vigilant activity of astute attorney-
ship the register for any given county may at
any time be certainly doubled. The owners
of many thousand qualifications are at this mo-
ment totally unaware that they confer a vote. A
whole great class of county qualifications within
borough, were casually excavated by a sharp prac-
titioner in the shape of copyholds and leaseholds,
each of which was too small to confer a borough
vote, but all were, when put together, competent to
enfranchise for the county. The suffrages of county
voters are made a matter of skill in conveyancing
—the helpless public being delivered over, bound
hand and foot, to the tender mercies of special
pleaders, and equity draughtsmen. These are only
a few of the utterly intolerable nuisances engrafted
on our representative system by the existing Re-
form Act, and the folly of election committees, of
which Lord John Russell is so enamoured, because
Liskeard was once represented by Charles Buller,
and a 40s. freeholder told him that he drew his
title by regular descent from the reign of William
the Conqueror ; albeit 40s. worth of land at that
era would represent about £2,000 or £3,000 a-year
now.

One would have supposed that the very first
work of any Reformer of the Act of 1832 would
have been to simplify the franchise—to make it in-
telligible—easy of attainment by the unlearned to
be admitted for the first time within the pale of the
Constitution—disembarrassed from the forms and
technicalities which perplex the existing economy
of registration. It might especially have been an-
ticipated that the urgent recommendation of the
special committee which sat upon the subject, to
appoint a paid registrar in every county and borough,
to construct, perfect, and daily keep up a register of
the qualified, and to discover and put in the way of
registration all qualified persons, would at once
meet with the attention of the framers of a new
Reform Act. It is notorious that few unprofessional,
indeed not many professional, persons can even fill
up the blanks of a county claim in a way to escape
objection before the revising barrister. What does
the new bill do for these and the many defects of
the existing act ? Why continue them all, and
add many more. Indeed, we never saw a mea-
sure more ingeniously contrived for tumbling
the whole suffrages of the people into
the brief bag of jobbing attorneyship. Could
we believe in the possibility of such a measure
being entertained by Parliament, we should stand
aghast at the stupendous pile of forms and techni•
calities under which it would absolutely crush and
smother the representative economy of this country.
That such a system could work we hold to be
utterly impossible, except through an army of soli-
citors, who would ultimately conjure the very
House of Commons into their charter chests, and
have the constituencies entirely under their thumbs.
They have to ferret out and make claims for all

By the system proposed in the Government bill
no person claiming to be registered in the first
instance is required to substantiate his title. That
is assumed to be complete by the mere act of his
assertingit. " Aince provost, aye my lord." Once on
the register, the overseers have no discretion but to
continue the name year after year. The claimant
may never have had a qualification—he may have
lost it—who knoWs ? By some extraordinary oier-
sight in the tilt even -tenants on the list may be
continued, although they are not rated to the relief
of the poor, so that neither overseers nor objectors
have any check whatever upon fictitious claims or
qualifications that have ceased to exist. As if this
were not enough, it is provided by the act that the
revising barristers may fine objectors, who are
really Attorney-Generals in the public, interest, £5
in costs in each unsuccessful case. Observe—no
means are provided by the act whereby it may be
known whether a claimant or voter has the qualifi-
cation for, which he claims, except in the single case
of occupiers, whose names must appear in the rate-
books at least in the first instance. An objector
cannot, before serving his objection, call upon a
claimant or registered voter to exhibit proofs of his
I qualification. It may be entirely fictitious—who
can tell except the party himself ?—and he won't.
Should an objection be ventured upon, however,
and prove unsuccessful, the objector is at once
mulcted in £5 costs, and driven entirely from all
further attempts to purge the register of the endless
impurities with which it is even now encumbered,
and which the proposed bill of Government would
increase at least tenfold. Who can tell whether a
man ever had or still has a freehold, copyhold, or
leasehold; whether he be a lodger, and really pays
£2O a year ; whether a graduate, a clergyman, a
dissenting minister, a barrister, or solicitor (if he
has not taken out his license), a medical man, a cer-
tificated schoolmaster ? Even were he what he
professes, how can it be known whether he has held
it for the statutory period ? Not one of these is
bound to show his colours or prove his case. He
has only to claim once, except in the case of a
lodger, and his, name must be continued on the
register. How is it possible to object to such voters
with a fine of £5 hanging overhead in every case
of failure, and no preliminary test required either
of original right, or continued qualification ?
Is it necessary to dilate on the contingent
effects of the system of voting papers ? of enabling
out-voters to poll at any polling place they please ?
Will not the voting-paper be filled up by the social
dictator of the elector, and carried away in his
pocket ? Will not the pushing election agent
" work" the business of voting-papers so as to se-
cure every available vote, and crush, by expense,
the poorer candidate who cannot afford to pay for
the machinery? Will not forgery and personation
become universal ? With a franchise so widely
extended as is proposed, unlimited choice of polling
places to out-voters provided, and voting papers to
perpetuate the safety of anonymity, where is there
provided any effectual check upon the most flag-
rant fraud and imposture ?
We do not hesitate for an instant in the convic-
tion that even the :present vicious system of regis-
tration and election is to be preferred to that offered
to us by the Government. " Bad's the best," doubt-
less. A simple residential suffrage would cure half
the evils of the existing mechanism. Why should
we legislate in the lottery of faction before full in-
quiry and ample deliberation. The opponents of
Reform urge haste and inconsideration—they know
the people to be irresistible. But that very fact
should fortify us in the policy of delay and delibe-
ration. Rather ponder over a thorough measure
for years, than enact in haste to repent at leisure.—
Dispatch.

EXPLOSION AT TILE HOUNSLOW:
POWDER MILLS.

Yesterday morning, at a quarter to 11 o'clock,
one of those fearful catastrophes—against which the
utmost caution seems impossible to provide—oc-
curred at the above extensive works, awakening
the most painful consternation, not only in the im-
mediate neighbourhood but for many miles round.
The first explosion took place in one of the corning-
houses, in which at the time many men were em-
ployed, and in which a large quantity of powder in
an unfinished state was stored. In a few seconds
another explosion in an adjoining building took
place, resulting in the death of seven men and
wounding many others, some it is feared mortally.
It is stated that as many as three hundred and
twenty hands, including men, women and children,
were engaged in the various departments at the
time of the accident, and the alarm and terror that
seized upon them, as they rushed frantically about,
it is impossible to describe. Messrs. Curtis, the pro-
prietors of the mills, were not on the premises, but
Mr. Ashby, the manager, who lives in a villa ad-
joining, was promptly on the spot, and gave direc-
tions with a view to prevent further accidents and
to allay as much as possible the sufferings of those
injured. Messengers were instantly despatched to
the various surgeons ; but they were met on the
road hastening to the scene of the disaster. In the
erection of the corning-houses, from the known
danger that exists in the peculiar process the powder
undergoes in this stage of its manufacture, every
precaution is taken. They consist of extensive
wooden buildings; fastened with copper bolts and
copper nails ; not a vestige of iron being allowed.
The men employed in them are under the most
stringent regulations, and wear dresses and shoes of
a particular make and material, to provide, if pos-
sible, against accidents ; and how the dreadful
calamity occurred that has snatched from life seven
unfortunate men is a mystery, and possibly will
ever remain so. Mr. May, the foreman, was so
seriously injured, that it was stated he had died
upon being removed to his house. Of the other
men killed, their bodies were hurled into frag-
ments and scattered with the debris of the build-
ings over many acres of ground. It was also reported
that two more persons were missing, and the gene-
ral opinion seemed to be that they had been lite-
rally blown to atoms. The most active search is
being made for a considerable distance from the
spot. A river that runs through the grounds, in
which large quantities of wood has been thrown,
was being dragged, with a view, if possible, to
ascertain the fate of these two poor fellows. The
repert of the explosion was heard for many miles
round, and some idea of the effect of its violence
may be formed from the fact of 109 panes of glass
being broken at Fortescue-house, Twickenham, a
distance of three miles.

It was impossible in the confusion that prevailed
to ascertain the names of all the persons who fell
victims to this calamity, but among the bodies
which were identified were those of George Lucocks,
Crompton, Davis, and Thomas Allborn, who
were engaged at the moment in the premises where
the explosion took place. The bodies, when disco-
vered, although much injured by the action of the
fire, were still capable of being recognised. It may
be remembered that in the melancholy catastrophe
which occurred on the same premises 19 years ago,
and more recently eight years since, the bodies
were so terribly mutilated that in many instances
identification was impossible.
It is a noteworthy circumstance in connection
with this melancholy occurrence that the poor fel-
low Compton, who has lost his life, was one of the
sufferers by the explosion which took place in 1852.
His mother and sister reside at Acton, some six
miles from the mills. Even there the report was
heard and windows shaken. Compton's mother,
who would seem to have had a presentiment of the
calamity, immediately exclaimed, " Oh, that is the
mill ; my son is dead !" Her daughter immedi-
ately took the train, where she met her unfortunate
brother's wife, who had just returned from the
mills, where she had ascertained the fate of her
husband.

A full investigation will take place before the
coroner, and a Government inquiry is also ex-
pected.

The depots of the 10th Regiment, 32d Light In-
fantry, and 84th (York and Lancaster) Regiment,
were separately inspected at Chatham by the Duke
of Cambridge, after the review on Tuesday after-
noon. Each of these depots is unusually strong,
owing to no reinforcements having been forwarded
to India for some time, in consequence of
the regiments having been ordered home.
The 32d depot numbers about 600 men of all ranks,
and contains a large number of men who have served
with this distinguished corps at Lucknow and,
Cawnpore. The head-quarters of the 10th Regi-
ment embarked for India in 1842, the 32d Light
Infantry in 1846, and the 84th Regiment in 1842.
Each of these regiments will probably return to
England in the course of the present year.
The new rifled Ordnance Department, in the
course of organisation in Woolwich Arsenal for
manufacturing Sir W. Armstrong's guns, under the
superintendence of Mr. J. Anderson, recently 'ap-
pointed Assistant-Engineer to the War Depart-
ment for that purpose, according to existing ar-
rangements, will commence operations early in the
month of May. Sir W. Armstrong, it is said, has
expended upwards of £7,000 on the initiatory ex-
periments to test the efficiency of his invention.
No. 10 field battery of Royal Artillery, composed of
18-pounder guns and loaded ammunition waggons,
&c., complete for immediate service, yesterday left
Woolwich Arsenal for Brighton.
The question of adapting Sir Wm. Armstrong's
gun for naval service is now under the consideration
of a committee, consisting of Admiral Sir Thomas
Hastings, Chairman ; Capt. Caffin, C. 8., Secretary ;
Sir John Burgoyne, G.C.8., Inspector-General of
Fortifications ; and General Sir Howard Douglas.
The result of various experiments fully proves that
by means of an improved description of carriage or
platform, the gun can be so arranged on ship-board
as to be fired with the utmost accuracy; and it is
believed that the committee will recommend the
a,

doption of the weapon as an auxiliary to the con-
templated improvements with respect to the arma-
ment of the fleet. The committee has conferred
with the Ordnance Select Committee at Wool-
wich, of which Major-General Cator, C. 8., Royal
Artillery, is President ; and Colonel Tulloh, Super-
intendent of the Royal Carriage Department,
is now engaged in directing the construction
of various specimens of gun-carriages, which will
be tested with a view to enhance the efficiency of
Sir W. Armstrong's invention for the military and
naval services.