The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-31 00:00:00

DR: PARIS AND THE TAMPING.BAR.

In the obituary 'Of Dr. Pais (the Lancet, Jan.' 3d), it
is inadvertently stated that he gave to the miners of Pen-
zance the bOon of the tamping-bar.. The'contett, which
describes the invention as having
.saved' more lives: than
many heroes have destroyed, at once points out the error
referred to, since it was the practice of sheathing the
tamping-bar with copper that Dr. Paris.4l4introduced
in the above-mentioned neighbourhood,) We have neen
favoured by Dr, Moore of Plimouth, with some addi.
tional information, which will prOve of interest to our.
readers. • • •••

The use or •purpose of the tamping.haris to bore
through' apiece Of wadding that covers the charge of
eunlaowdef in blasting operations. In the hole so made
the fuse for ignition is inserted, and to bore it gome force
is frequently required, The tanopyg-rod• formerly
employed.was cdiron, and, if driven mains“he rock,
occasionally produced a spark that prematurely ignited
the charge, with-most frightful results_..
During one of the recent blasting-operations, in the
construction of the new docks of Holyhead, a mass
of rock weighing 120,000 tons was blasted by one charge
of less than 15 -cwts. of powder. It may easily be con-
ceived what would have been the efFekit of *an inadver-
tent spark'on this charge, Ind hoW great a debt is due
to the man who first suggested the expedient==iiiiiple
as the egg puzzle of ClilumbtiaL-Vsheathing the tam p-
ing'bar. with copper. Dr..koore informs us•that it was
"at the auggekion of Mr. JohUfjWillianis' Dr. Paris
had it. shod with an alloy of eiipper— and zinc
(86 parts 14),. which did not ,excite
ignition ;.he . also recommended .that
..the neele,
or needle, should be of the same composition, and more-
over invented *copper shifting 'cartridge tube, to 'econo-
mise the powder and' facilitate its introduction into the
blast-hole: It is to be regretted that tbese'valuable
modifitatiens are not now 'acted on to the • extent they
should ,be, as the cost of the materials has oaasioned an
almOst; universal return tp the Use- Of the cheaper,.
though more cli;mgerous substance, iron."-Lancet.

HAYMARKET•THEATEL—Wednesday, Feb. 4, will be
the 1000th consecutive night of Vie season at this estab-
lishment,.the theatre not having been Closed on any one
occasienexcept on Ash Wednesaay, on a Fast Day, and
in Passion week, an event unparalleled in theatrical

•
TEE-MONROE - DOCTRINE.-MR. CAN-
-IVING.-THE 'g EDINBURGH REVIEW."

The following correspondence between Mr. A.
G. Stapleton, secretary to George Canning, the
most distinguished statesman of the present 'cen-
tury, and the editor of the Edinburgh Review, has
been forwarded to us for publioettiou.

No: I.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE EDINBURGH REVIEW.
Kensington, Nov. 20, 1856.
Sir,—ln the October number (1856) of your Re-
view t here appears, in page 590, the following pam-
sagii :—Mr. Buchanan " is one of the strenuous
supporters of that fambus Monroe' doctrine,
which having been originally suggested by Mr.
Canning, as a btilwark against the interference of
the Holy Alliance in American affairs, has been
concocted into a menace against all the Poweis
whose territories fringe the States of the American
Union."

Now', so far from its being true that this doctrine
was " originally suggested by Mr. Canning," he
twice publicly entered his protest against it. First
—in Parliament, at the opening of the session of
1821, when President Monroe's Message, in which
it was first propounded, was': much eulogised by
Mr. Brougham, Mr. Canning thought it necessary
to declare that "he was clearly of opinion, with
the President pf the United States, that no foreign
State had a right to interfere betiveen the colonies
and the mother country ; but he was as strongly
of opinion that the mother country had a right to
attempt to recover her colonies if she thought pro-
per."—Bansard, vol. 140, Feb. 3,1824.
Second : in 1827, when, in the negotiations with
the United States for the continuance of a certain
convention, the American Plenipotentiary reas-
serted the " Monroe doctrine," viz., that no part
of the :American continent was henceforth to be
open to colonisation froth Europe, the British Ple-
nipotentiaries, acting under Mr. Canning's instruc-
tions, not only utterly denied the truth and justice
of this doctrine, but took care to record their denial
in the protocol of the same conference in which the
principle had been insisted On by the United States.
The characters of departed statesmen belong to
their country. I trust, therefore, to your sense of
justice and fairness to correct in your next number
a misrepresentation which, , however inadvertent
on the part of the writer, is calculated to injure
Mr. Canning's memory.—l am, sir, your obedr.
servant, . .
A, G. STAPLETON,
Formerly Private Secretary to Mr. Canning.

No. 11.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE EDINBITRGH REVIEW.

Kensington, Jan. 23, 1857.

Sir,—l find, with much regret, that in the num-
ber of your lieview, just published, you have not
corrected the error which I pointed out to you in
your Oct. number, in which you stated that " the
famous" Monroe "doctrine was originallysuggested
by Mr. Canning." Had I called upon you to con-
tradict this unfounded assertion merely on my own
authority, you might perhaps have been at liberty to
leave unnoticed my contradiction ; but when I
designated to you two several public occasions on
which Mr. canning protested against this very
doctrine,. which you assert that he " suggeste.!,'
and when I referred you to existing documents for
proof, I think it must appear to every fair judging
man that you were not at liberty to disregard such
a communication.

I must, therefore, beg the favour of you to in-
form me whether your sense of justice will induce
you to take any, and what step, for correcting this
mischievous error, which you have so extensi►ely
circulated.

Nothing but the strongest sense of duty to the
memory of a departed statesman (to whom I was
bound by the ties of gratitude and affection) would
have impelled me, at the moment when I addressed
you, to make' to you on the subject any remon-
strance: I still feel bound to make every effort
in my power to do away with the effects of this
erroneous assertion—an assertion not less in-
jurious to the fair fame of Mr. Canning
than to the best interests of this country. For it
would, of course, go far to justify the Presidents
of the United States in putting forth, and main-
taining by acts, this doctrine, alike offensive to the
honour and incompatible with the rights of Great
Britain, could they succeed, through your means,
in fastening its " original suggestion" on one of
the most distinguished of British statesmen.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
A. G. STAPLETON.
Henry Reeves, Esq., Council Office.