The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-16 00:00:00

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N.EWSPAPER
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DESTRUCTION OF OLD RGO 441. . vti - 1'.4
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The experiments which are being per okled ifithisQ
city by the corps of Royal Sappers and MMris fV'the''''
destructionwas blown
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uoco.tfupori le.e
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eRs than h
Rochester-bridge et
successive
-bridge were continued this
afternoon,. on which occasion a still larger portion of the
cedsessivtreoybDiadstos on Tuesday ngeusndpaiy,
gunpowder
in the presence of General Sir Charles W. Pasley, K.C.8.,
General Sir Harry D. Jones, K.C.8., General T.' Blatt-
shard, C. 8., General P. Yule, Royal Engineers, and a
larsgieneneu mTubeesrdeafyoatE ccareful. inspection of the large pier
by the troops of the 'loyal
rs'loansbbeen that dr:Y 2"by
Colonel H.
SeTiabt amoll'icslti--
hilEeancnitg Buoyed
o: Engineers
a
ofe the Royal
number 0 Engineers'fot
her
Engineer
office
ascertlined the results of the etperiment to be very
satisfactory, and the object for which they werere, who Lave
under-
taken fully realised, the 'large mass of masonry compos-
ing the pier, which was 45 feet long, 21 feet in depth,
and 18 feet in width, having been shivered in pieces, and
the Inge block: of stone loosened from their position, .
and rendered wpable of being easily removed. The pier.
was built on piles, millet] were driven int) the bed of this
river, and so far as the state of the tide has permitted
an exemtnation to be made it is evident that the force
of the, gunpowder has bad as great an effect in loosen-
ing the foundations as it has had .upon the superstruc-
ture. The quantity of eunpowder uarel on Tuesday after-
noon was 3001 b. weight, divided into six charges, and
some surprise .was expressed by the scientific persons
present that such a cumparatively
small' quantityonly should have been used in the destruction' of such a
iarge portion of the structure ; but the objeet'of the en-
giueers was not so much the blowing up and scatter-
ing the materials of which the tier was compared as
it was to shake the fabric to its foundation, and
loosen the pier so that the materials might be readily
detached without filling up she bed of the river—a m-
aul.; which -vas meet successfully an romplished.
The portibn of the bridge destroyed by the troops this
afternoon was very large; and consisted of the pier and
abutment on which the large arch on the Strood side
rested, and was calculated to contain several thousand
tons of masonry.. The weight of powder used in the
explosions wins nearly 1,0001 h., and was divided into the
same number of charges as in the previous expetimenten
Since Nov. last the Sappers and Miners have been en-
gaged in sinking two shafts in this portion of the bridge,
which were excavated to the respective depths of 24 and
21 feet ; one shaft having been sunk in the pier. and the
other in the abutment, tole portion of the undertaking
being conducted from • the commencement by Capt. H.
Scbaiv, RE. At the bate of each shaft sprang two gal-
leries, each 9 feet in 1, ngtb, and in these were deposited
the Charges of pi'lwder used in the destruction of the works.
The powder was contained in tin waterproef cases, which
were enclosed iu wooden boxes, 500 lb. weight being re-
quired for blowing up the pier and arch, and 3001 b weight
in destroying the abutment. The keystones of the arch
were removed by means of smaller blasts. Theßoyal Eu-
gineertroops were engaged last night and this morning,
under the command of Captain Schaw, in making the
requisite preparations for the explosions, and at an early
hour this morning the four charges of gunpowder were
deposited in the galleries, when the operation of " tamp-
ing" was proceeded with, and the whide of the ap•
proaches to the galleries carefully stopped un. The
voltaic battery was worked as before by Captain E. C.
Cumberland, Royal Engineers.
In order to prevent accidents Colonel Saedham issued
the following notice :
"On Thursday, the 15th 'Met., after the blasts in the
key-stones of the arch shall have been fired, the two
charges in the pier, each of 2501 b., will be exploded, and
then, after a shert interval of time, the two in the abut:
moms, each cf 150 lb. C.spt. H. Schasy, Royal Engineers,
who has conducted the whole of the mining operations,
and Captain O. E. Cumberland,. who has made the ar-
rangements for firing by the voltaic battery, will fire
each set of mines at the sound of the bugle ' to fire,'
after the sound of ` the preparative' has been given as
a warning. The wires will be led from the charges to
the voltaic battery, which will be placed in the office of
Mr. Wright, the engineer of the bridge.
As soon as the arrange:Dents had been completed Col.
Sandhain ordered the bugle to be sounded, as a warning
to those present to remove friar the places of clanger,
and immediately afterwards the bugler sounded "to fire."
The charges in the arch were first, exploded, followed
by those in the pier. Tice etlect w.,s very striking,
tee gromid 4or some distance reverberating as if front
the effects of an earthquake, while .the pier crumbled in
lances and disappeared The charges in the galleries on
the pier atm, intuit were afterwards fired, and that por-
tion of the bridge destroyed. Too large arch of the
bridge was blown into the river, and the abutment on
the Strood side entirely removed, the sight of the massive
st:neworlt of the arcii being blown high into the air
being very grand. Nearly' one-naif of the bridge has
now been destroyed, and the remaining portion will be
demoiished as speedily as peseiblet
The abide uedereaking was censidered perfectly sails-
factor3 by Colonel Sandbam and the general and other
officers present, and reflereed inner 'Credit orneaptain s
Schaw and Cumberland, under whose arrangements the
explosions took place:
Nctwithstaudieg a very heavy rain an immense num-
ber of persons were present to witness the operations,
and the troops of the-Royal Engineers and the provi-
sintial le ; italien v,i.T6ClTftwii up on the_beulef the river
and on he new ir,)n bridge.
The whole of the operations of this day *and Taaiday
passed off without the slightest accident.

MR. COBDEN, -11. P., AND TRE ROUES

OF LABOUR.

Mr. Canden, M.P., has received an invitation to be
present at the iort&coming soirds of the Bradford Early
Closing Aeseciation. The hon. gentleman, in reply, after
expressing his regret that, owing t other etigaeemente,
it will not be iu Lli3 power fo pay Bradford a visit on the
occasion of the approaching demonstration in favour of
the early closes of business, wrote as follows ;
" sympathies are all in favour of moderate hours of
labour, because I am anxious to see those engaged in busi-
ness enjoying leisure sufficient to the due cultivation of
the highs" and nobler purposes of existence. In all my
public efforts, whether for cheapening the means of exist-
ence, or lightening the burden of taxation by a reduction
of Government expenditure, I have always pursued a po-
licy which was calculated to place in the hands of the toil-
ing millions the power of lessening the hours of labour
without a corresponding curtailment of the necessaries and
comforts of lift. lam afraid, however, that the policy of
our Government for the last three years—a policy which
has not been without some share of popularity with the
masses—has not been favourable to .the object you have
in view. The greater amount expended by Government in
war, or preparation for war, the heavier must be the toil
of the people, for it is from their labour alone that our
rulers can draw the means for supporting flsets and armies.
I wish that cause and effect were mere logically kept
in view in the discussion of these matters. If I had been
present at your meeting I should not have abstained from
uu allusion to some of those vainglorious theories of which
we have heard so much of late, asserting it to be the duty
of this country to set the whole world right whenever and
wherever it may be `out of joint;' and I would have en-
deavoured to show the incompatibility of such a doctrine
(if seriously carried out) with any other result than the
brutish degradation of our population from overwork, and.
the want of leisure for the education of themselves or their
offspring. It is a subject, however, which I will not at-
tempt to discuss in a letter, Let me therefore wish you
all possible 811:4988 in your movement."