The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-07 00:00:00

THE A. 72311

-
A series of very successful entertainments to the
troops is in progress at Woolwich, nude': the sanc-
tion of Major-Gen. Sir R. Dacres, LC. 13., comman-
dant. They are made instructive to the men by the
introduction of magic lantern figures I nd diagrams,
furnished under the direction of the Council of
Military Education. Judging from the large num-
ber of men who attend it is quite evident that there
is sufficient attraction to suit the soldiers' tastes and
obtain the main object for which they were planned,
that of diverting their attention from the public-

•••,,•••••••- _
400 and 200 yards. First-class shots are those who,
having made 12 points in the second class (20 rounds
at,400, 500, 550, and 600 yards—five rounds each),
are admitted to fire at 650, 700, 800, and 900 yards.
It is worthy of notice that, notwithstanding the
general average of officers is higher than the gene-
ral average of soldiers, the greatest number of
points obtained by an individual at the several dis-
tances was in favour of the latter at the 200, 250,
700, 800, and 900 yards distances, while at each of
the other distances the greatest number was the
same with officers and men. In the third and first
classes, also, the greatest number of points obtained
by an individual was in favour of the soldiers. In
the second class officers and men were equal in the
highest number. The greatest average points ob-
tained by a single "party" in the several classes
was—ln the third class, officers 21.18, soldiers,
23.77 ; in the second class, officers 1476, soldiers
10.86 ; in the first class, officers 7.96, men 7.51.
The conclusion is that individual soldiers and the
" parties" of soldiers have the advantage over
officers at from 150 to 300 yards ; that, while indi-
vidual officers and men are equal at 400 to 600
yards, parties of officers have a great superiority
over parties of men at those distances ; and that
while individual men take a sensible advantage
over individual officers at from 650 to 900 yards,
the officers in parties have superiority of less than
a half per cent. over the soldiers.

houses.
Some fresh light has been thrown on the recent
commotion at the Royg.l Military Academy at Wool-
wich by the announcement of the grievances to
which the cadets consider themselves to have been
subjected. One ground of complaint is the unjust
manner in which they consider the "special class"
to have been promoted. This class consists of 29
gentlemen draughted from Addiscombe, who, al-
though 13 of them failed to pass the requisite exa-
mination for admission to the practical class, were
put up in a body over the heads of a number of
cadets who were senior to them, and had qualified
for the step. Again, the mode of dividing the
classes lately introduced by the Governor, without
the knowledge of the Council of Military Education,
and his refusal to forward any remonstrance on the
subject, gives general dissatisfaction. The chief point
at issue, however, is the general tone of the regula-
tions and their unfitness to the present age of the
cadets: Some instances are necessary to illustrate
this. The average age of cadets is 19, and the regula-
tion punishment for the use of tobacco is " dismissal
or discharge," coupled with a notice that such punish-
ment will prevent the offender for entering any
branch of the public service. Although this rule is
not practically carried out instances have occurred
of gentlemen of 21 years of age being subjected to
solitary confinement, on bread and water, for smok-
ing a pipe of tobacco. No cadet is allowed to have
in his possession a greater sum than £2, unless he
hold the rank of corporal, in which case he may
possess £3. Again, in summer and winter, cadets
are obliged to undress and go to bed in the dark,
any violation of this rule being visited with severe
punishment. The inferior quality of the rations
has been the subject of frequent complaints for some
time, but without effect, until the demonstration of
the 23d which was immediately followed by a
marked improvement. With regard to the distur-
bances, the damage done to the Governor's windows,
Col. Wilford states, may very possibly not have
been committed by the cadets. The cadets main-
tain that they would never have resorted to extreme
measures had it been possible to obtain redress
through any legitimate channel, and that they have
repeatedly attempted to direct the attention of the
authorities to several of their grievances, but with"-

out success.
The select committee of officers in Woolwich
Arsenal have beeen engaged for some days past in
carrying out experiments in ricochet firing with
the Armstrong guns, and in each ens° the result has
been exceedingly satisfactory.

GENERAL BAY'S ANNUAL REPORT

THE GREAT ROBBERY OF SILK.

ON 111USKETBI:

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY CEVENING, NakNIBtR 7, 1861.

Woolrych, who could elicit nothing of importance
from him.
Mr. J. P. Mumford, superintendent of the St.
Katherine Dock Police, said—l have had a conver-
sation with the prisoner this day in the clerk's
office here. He said, " I have had nothing to do
with this transaction. I can challenge the world,
and have told Mr. Leech to say so. No one can
say anything against my character." The prisoner
also said, " I was a fool to go down to Derby.
Barker saw me there, and came up and shook hands
with me, and said I knew his father." Since the
robbery was committed and the stolen silk dis-
covered, I have sought everywhere for Hunter. A
reward has been offered for his apprehension, and
large posting bills have been issued.
By Mr. Leech—The rewards offered by the Dock
Company were £2O for Agg, £2O for Hunter, and
£2O for another matter connected with the affair.
Mr. Humphreys, jun.—l now ask for a remand,
sir. I have further evidence to produce against the
prisoner at a future time.
Mr. Leech had no objection to a remand, and his
client, Mr. Hunter, courted the fullest inquiry. He
submitted the prisoner ought to be bailed, for three
reasons. First, it was the prisoner's own free will
and desire—his anxious wish—to surrender ; se-
condly, there was no case against him up to the
present time ; if any case, it was of the very weakest
character; and thirdly, the prisoner was an inn-
keeper of unspotted reputation, keeping a ;largo
and respectable house, and was also a liveryman of
London. The prisoner had hitherto maintained an
unspotted reputation, and had left his wife and
family to meet this charge. He hoped his friend,
Mr. Humphreys, jun., would not oppose the appli-
cation, or allow the prisoner to be incarcerated for
one moment. Gentlemen of property and fortune
are ready to bail the prisoner for more than the
value of the silk.
Mr. Woolrych—Did the prisoner surrender?
Mr. Humphreys, jun.—Yes, he certainly did,
and gave me notice he would do so.
Mr. Woolrych—l will take bail for the prisoner
to appear on Wednesday next, himself in £5OO, and
two sureties in £250 each. I must have good bail.
A host of persons tendered themselves as bail.
Two were accepted, and the prisoner was liberated.

POLICE INIELLIriENC4 Nov. 6.

MARYLEBONE.—Long before the hour for
commencing the business of the court, a large crowd
had assembled to witness the arrival of the two men
who were remanded on the charge of assaulting Mrs
Sarah Green, a lady of independent property, re-
siding at 5, Fulham-place, Paddington, with intent
to murder her ; also with stealing a gold watch and
a quantity of plate.
Shortly before one o'clock the two prisoners,
William West, hairdresser, of 42, King street,
Borough, and James Barker, hawker, of 3, Wal-
worth-gardens, Walworth, were placed in the dock
to answer the charge.
Mr. Lewis, jun., of Ely-place, appeared for the
prisoners.
Inspector Steer, of the D division, said that he
wished for a remand for another week, as he ex-
pected to have two other men in custody before long
for being concerned with these men.
Mr. Lewis submitted that there was not sufficient
evidence to keep the prisoners in custody, and they
ought to be at once discharged. It was a question
of identity, and the servant Askew only thought
the prisoner West was the man. She cannot swear
positively
This witness having been recalled and further
examined on the point,
Mr. Mansfield said—l do not think there is evi-
dence sufficient to convict either of the prisoners,
and therefore they are discharged.

" The Secretary of the

and from their conjoint statements it appeared they
had been called upon by the prisoner, who had put
questions to them which elicited whether they had
friends or relatives abroad, and in what part ; he
then claimed relationship, and so successful was he
in doing so, that to a female named Williams, re-
siding at 104, Royal Mint-street, Whitechapel, he
had passed himself off as her step-son, her husband,
to whom she had been married 18 years, having
recently died, thus rendering it impossible to con-
tradict his assertion, although she admitted that
her husband, who was a widower at the time of
their marriage, had never made her acquainted with
the fact of having a son at sea. The prisoner then
represented himself as the first mate of a ship, and
succeeded, in the course of a few days he stopped
at the house, in borrowing a sum of £2 2s. 6d. at
different times, and also possessing himself of two
Indian war medals, which were shown him as
having belonged to his supposed late father. These
medals were found in his possession, together with
other articles, including a handsome porte-monnaie,
with an engraving on pearl of the Great Eastern
steam-ship, at the time he was taken into-custody,
while attempting a similar fraud at Greenwich. In
a second case he had called upon George Thompson,
a tailor, residing at 2, Carrington-street, Knights-
bridge, and having ascertained that he had a sister
and son in America, represented himself as the
brother of the husband of the sister, adding they
were all doing well, and that he had brought some
presents from them. Having received a cordial
welcome, the prisoner inquired the price of certain
articles of clothing, and was quickly supplied with
coat, waistcoat, &c., and calling on his (Mr, Thomp-
son's) daughter-in-law, obtained 2s. from her, under
pretence that he was going to his ship to bring the
presents ashore. When apprehended the prisoner
was wearing the clothes thus obtained, notwith-
standing which he impudently denied having before
seen the witness in the case.
Several other charges were also gone into against
the prisoner, where he had succeeded in getting
sums of money from poor persons having sons or
brothers at sea, one of which resolved itself into
a case of felony, in carrying off a fancy pipe, and
which was found upon him.
The prisoner having pleaded guilty to this latter
charge, Mr. Maude said, although he could not help
expressing [surprise at the credulity displayed by
some of the witnesses examined, yet this was no
excuse for the prisoner, who was as consummate a
rogue as had ever stood in the dock at that court.
He regretted he had not the power to award him
a punishment adequate to his offences, but for steal-
' ing the pipe he would be imprisoned and kept to
hard labour for six calendar months.
The prisoner was then removed, his worship
directing that all property found in his possession,
and for which owners had been discovered, should
be delivered up to them, an order which deprived
the prisoner of the coat he was wearing, and
of which he was speedily divested by the gaoler.

THE LA7'.E ACCIDENT ON TEE LON
DON AND BRIGIITON RAILWAY.

PREVENTION OF COLLISIONS ON RAILWAYS.
The following is a copy of a circular lately issued by the
Board of Trade to the Edifferent railway companies; and
appended are extracts from Captain Tyler's report on the
terrible collision in the Clayton Tunnel of the London and
Brighton Railway, in August last :
" Sir,—l am directed by the Lords of tho Committee of
Privy Council for Trade to request you to state to the
directors of Railway Company that their lord-
ships' inspecting officer, Captain Tyler, R.E., in his report
upon the circumstances attending the collision that occurred
on the 25th of August last, in the Clayton Tunnel of the
London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway, having dis-
cussed at some length the question of collisions on railways,
and the means that may be adopted for their prevention,
especially with reference to the use that may be made of
the electric telegraph, and having made some suggestions
of a general character, which my lords think may usefully
be brought under the notice of all persons concerned in the
management of railways, I am directed by their lordships to
forward to you an extract from that report, and to request
hat it may be submitted for the careful consideration of the
Railway Company.—l am, &c.
" JAMES BOOTH.
Railway Company."