The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

THE WARRIOR.

The Warrior, 40, iron-plated screw frigate, Capt.
the Hon. Arthur A. Cochrane, C. 8., was safely
docked on Saturday for the purpose of coating her
with Hay's composition, and for removing the
launching cleats from her bottom. A large num-
ber of shipwrights and joiners from the dockyard
at Portsmouth have been sent on board to complete
the fittings of the ship under the superintendence
of Mr. Thornton, of Woolwich Dockyard, who was
sent round in the Warrior from Greenhithe to point
out the works which were not completed by the
contractors and dockyard when the ship left the
Thames. Three hundred and twenty workmen,
from Woolwich Dockyard, have been employed at
Greenhithe since the Bth of August, assisting the
contractors' workmen, or the Warrior would not
have been ready for sea for some considerable time.
Our contemporary, the Times, has fallen into a
great error in the account of the trial trip of this
ship in stating that the rifle tower on the quarter-
deck was the workmanship of the Woolwich Dock-
yard, and drawing invidious comparisons as to the
quality of the workmanship performed by the con-
tractors' and the dockyard men. The fact is that
the armour-plates of the rifle tower were manufac-.
tured and bent to the shape, the edges planed, and
the holes drilled by the Thames Iron Company, the
builders of the ship; the dockyard people merely
put up the wood backing, and provided the bolts
for fixing the plates. The tower also is stated to
be completed. Such is not the case, as it will not be
finished for the next ten days ; the plates were
merely put up in their places, in order that the
amount of deviation of the compasses might be ob-
tained on the passage round to Spithead, Mr.
Evans, R N., superintendent of the compass depart-
ment, being on board for that purpose. It is pro-
posed to fit the Warrior with a small steam engine
for working the capstan, hoisting the screw, and
other heavy work ; also a drying-room for the sea-
men's wet clothes, and with an apparatus for manu-
facturing gas for lighting the ship on the Hon.
Major Fitsmaurice's plan. The committee on ven-
tilation of the navy are ordered to inspect the
Warrior and report as to the working of the fans
now on board, and to submit any improvements
which may occur to them, so as to reduce the pre-
sent high temperature of the engine-room when the
ship is under steam.

MURDER OF TWO ENGLISHMEN IN

BRAZIL.

We ( Itanchester Guardian) have been favoured
with the following extract from a letter received
by a gentleman in this city, from a relative in
Brazil :

" A very sad affair occurred on the works of the
Pernambuco Railway, on Friday, Aug. 16. Satur-
day the 17th was the day for the fortnightly pay,
and on Friday the money required for this purpose
was sent up from the town of Escada—the furthest
point inland to which the line is open—in charge
of two Englishmen, named Hedley and
Isaac Popham, a Brazilian being employed to
carry it. The party was afterwards increased by
another Englishman, named James Boyle,
a carpenter, who had just completed his two
years' service, and was going up country
for a trip previous to his return to England by
the September steamer. They proceeded in safety
for about 18 miles, and left portions of the money
at the different stations on their way ; but in pass-
ing through a wood, at a place called Aramaragl,
having still about £2,800 in their possession, they
were suddenly attacked by five men, armed with
heavy sticks and knives; one of them having also
a gun. The whole party were at once dragged froth
their horses, Hedley receiving a blow on the head
which stunned him ; Popham was shot in the knee,
thrown down in the mud, and beaten about the
head in a most murderous manner, and killed on
the spot; and poor Royle was stabbed through
the right side, the knife being left in the wound,
and died immediately. The Brazilian, after re-
ceiving a few blows, delivered up the money,
and the thieves made off; but the alarm was
soon given, and in less than an hour upwards
of a thousand of the workmen employed on the
line were scouring the country in all directions.
The authorities also acted with great energy, a
considerable force of cavalry and police being de-
spatched to the scene of the murder, and in the
course of Saturday and Sunday the whole of the
gang were captured, and about £2,500 recovered.
Royle and Popham were interred near the spot
where they fell, and a stone is to be erected to their
memory.

A similar attack was made about six months
ago, when Hedley was severely wounded in the
neck by a gunshot, but on that occasion also the
thieves were captured and the money recovered.
Very great blame attaches to some one for allow-
ing such a. large sum of money to be sent in
charge of only three men, without an armed escort.
After the first attempt, a party of soldiers were
sent each fortnight for three or four months, but for
some reason or other, as yet unexplained, this had
been discontinued. Messrs. Waring Bros. of Lon-
don are the contractors.