The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-21 00:00:00

SURREY SESSIONS.-11lay 20.

Samuel Copping, 43, an ex-sergeant of the P
division, and Adam Saunders, 52, a retired summon-
ing officer of the Lambeth Police-court, surrendered
to receive judgment, they having been convicted
at the sessions on the 21st of last March for assault-
ing Charles Percival.

-The circumstances relative to this case may be
fresh in the memory of some of our readers. The
complainant had lodgings with a tradesman of the
name of Hopgood, in Walworth, and in the same
house a Mrs Clarke, the wife of a licensed victualler,
resided. It was suspected by the husband that they
were living together in an immoral way, and to ob-
tain evidence for the Divorce Court the prisoners
were employed, and at an early hour in the morning
they gained an entrance to the house and forcibly
entered Mr. Percival's apartments, assaulting him
in the meantime. The prisoners were tried on the
20th and 21st of March, and found guilty of the
common assault, when the Court ordered them to
come up to receive judgment this day. They were
accordingly placed in the dock, when Mr. Laxton,
for the prosecution, called upon the Court to pass
sentence. They had been guilty of a very serious
offence, breaking into a man's apartments and
attacking him without any warrant or authority
whatever. They had no excuse for their unlawful
conduct, inasmuch asiboth had been many years ac-
tive officers of the Metropolitan Police force.
Mr. 'Alley, for Copping, said that it would be
impossible for him to contradict the assertions of his
learned friend, as it had been proved that a common
assault had been committed. Copping, however,
bore a good character, and he was well known at
this court for many years as a clever and upright
constable. He had also a doctor's certificate to show
that if a long imprisonment was passed on him the
consequences might prove serious to him. There
was no animus or malice on the part of Copping
towards the prosecutor, but merely an error of
judgment. He (the learned counsel) therefore
hoped that a small fine would be sufficient.
Mr. Oppenheim addressed the bench on behalf of
the prisoner Saunders, when

The Chairman observed that it was his painful
duty to pass sentence on two retired constables, one
of whom had been known to the Court some years
for his meritorious conduct, and the other, Saunders,
had borne a good character for past services at the
police-court at Lambeth. They had, however, been
guilty of a very serious offence—that of forcing
themselves into a man's residence without any
semblance of authority. They must have known
that, as being old and experienced constables they
had every opportunity of being acquainted with the
law. It was disgraceful on their part, and on those
who employed them to get evidence for the Divorce
Court in such an unlawful manner. The law and
the constitution of the country made every English-
man's home his castle, and it was of the greatest
importance to him that his house should be sacred
to him in his lawful position: He had no doubt
that the defendants must have well known that they
were acting in an unlawful and outrageous manner,
and had it not been for their previous good charac-
ters the Court would have felt bound to have sen-
tenced them to hard labour, and that for a very long
period. He should therefore sentence each of them
to
silmtprisonment in the county gaol,
and bound to say that if any case of
one
the mont
Courth'fe
a similar nature should ever come before them
again the highest punishment would be inflicted.
The prisoners, who seemed much surprised at
the decision, were then removed in custody to un-
dergo the sentence.

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THE NONSTER AMERICAN 15-INCII CANNO.Y.

The new principle of casting large guns—hollow instead
of solid—by means of a current of water introduced into the
core which forms the mould of the bore, thus cooling from
interior, has been successfully applied to the manufacture
of a monster cannon at the Fort Fitt Foundry, Pittsburg,
in the United States. A new era in the casting of iron
cannon has commenced; and we now proceed to describe
the last great practical result of this new and highly inge-
nious process. The monster gun, better perhaps known by
the name of the 15-inch gun, has the following dimensions :
Its total length is 15 feet 10 inches; greater exterior dia-
meter 4 feet across the breech, fining down to 25 inches at
the muzzle. The thickness of metal behind the ellip-
soidal chamber is 25 inches, and 161 inches at the junction
of the bore with the chamber, fining down to 5 inches at
the muzzle. The weight of this piece of ordnance is nearly
22tons. The solid 68 pounder, the heaviest cast-iron gun of
our own service, weighs about 4 tons 15 cwt. The 15-inch
gun is mounted at Fort Monroe upon an iron centre-pintla
carriage, running up and recoiling in the usual manner;
and fires shells of two classes. The first, to be used where
the greatest possible explosive effect is wanted, of the mini-
mum thickness (21 inches) admissible to endure the shock
of the charge, is about 3051 b weight, containing about 181 b. of
powder. The second, for battering purposes, has a wall of
5 inches thickness, and weighs 4101 b. There is also a solid
shot of the enormous weight of 42.51 b, but for the reasons
already mentioned connected with solid castings of largo
masses, it is very doubtful if it is practicable to cast a satis-
factory solid shot of this diameter. The windage allowed is
one-tenth of an inch. Major Barnard, of the American En-
gineers, who has published an account of this cannon, gives
us the following summary of the practice carried on with it
in the experimental trials. In five trials, at 2,000 yards, with
351 b of powder, the lateral deviations were confined within
five yards on either side of the target. The vertical devia-
tions, probably due to varying initial velocities, or perhaps
to some difference in the weight of the shells, ranged 17
yards each way short and over. With 401 b. of large
grained powder, the initial velocity was found to be 1,328
feet per second. The greatest range attained, with maxi-
mum elevation of 28 deg. 35 min., was 5,730 yards, with a
time of flight of 27 seconds. Such immense charges, how-
ever, produce far less strain on the gun than might be sup-
posed, owing to the nature of the powder used, and described
in the official reports as "largo grained," and as " Rodman's
perforated cake powder." It will be interesting at this
point to notice the performance of the English monster
gun, better known as the Horsfall gun, mounted near South-
sea Castle, Portsmouth ; this being the largest piece of
ordnance hitherto made in this country. The weight of
this gun is about 22 tons, and it throws a solid shot of
about 3601b5. weight ; 130 rounds have been fired, with.
charges of 401 b. and 501 b. of powder ; and with 18 deg. of
elevation a range of little over 5,000 yards was obtained.
But that the cannon was unable to stand these proof
charges, comparatively moderate for its calibre, was known
to be strongly suspected by the Director-General of Artil-
lery, and this opinion was confirmed by the discovery of a
crack of over three inches in length in the chamber, when
searched and examined lately by Captain Freeth, assistant
inspector of artillery. It is probable that it will be again
subjected to proof at an early date. The American 15-inch
cannon had, up to the date of the latest reports, fired 350
rounds with full charges ; and at the 330th round, when
the last search was made, the most delicate tests applied to
the bore failed to indicate the slightest enlargement or de-
terioration of any kind,—.Army and Navy Gazette.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

COLCHESTER-MAY 18.

A good supply of wheat, for which the trade was rather
slow, at prices the turn lower. Barley saleable at prices
much the same as of late. Beans were rather dearer.
Peas scarcely a sample.
Wheat, white 6os to 66s Beans, Mazagan..364 to 42s
red 44s to 60s Middle & small 42s to 483
Barley —s to —s White peas 44 to 48s
Oats —s to —s prey.. 38s to 44e