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

DOMESDAY BOOK.

The publication of the part of Domesday Book
relating to Cornwall has now been before the public
for some time, and, as is stated in the introductory
remarks to this volume, the prosecution of the pub-
lication, county by county, must depend more upon
the wishes of the public than upon the Govern-
ment.

The publication of the part relating to Cornwall
was permitted by the Government as an experiment
to test the value of the art of photozincography for
producing facsimiles of our ancient records, and
was intrusted to Colonel Sir Henry James, the di-
rector of the Ordnance Survey, the original being of
such inestimable value that it could not be allowed
to pass into the hands of any private person, even
supposing any private person was capable of copying
it by this new art.
The art of photozincography has, in the hands of
the officers of the Ordnance Survey, been greatly
improved since the publication of the part of
Domesday relating to Cornwall, and perfect as this
copy appears to be, and in reality is, still, by slight
modifications in the details of the process, the copies
now produced have a sharpness and clearness in the
outline not before attained. _ _

That authentic copies of the part of Domesday re-
lating to each county must be highly interesting to
the inhabitants, and especially to the landed pro-
prietors, cannot be doubted ; but, on the other hand,
it cannot be expected that Government should pro-
ceed with the publication of the whole work with-
out knowing by some practical test that the publi-
cation is desired by the public. Some of the gen-
tlemen of Cheshire, who are desirous of having the
part relating to their county published, therefore
propose to guarantee the purchase of 50 copies, at a
cost not exceeding 10s. a copy, and if this example
should be followed in other counties there would be
no longer any question about proceeding with the
publication of the whole work, as this sum from each
county would cover the cost of its production, and
the Government will have performed its duty in
permitting the copies to be taken. If, therefore,
the gentlemen of other parts of England are desi-
rous of having facsimiles of the parts relating to
their counties copied, they should follow the course
adopted by the gentlemen of Cheshire, and commu-
nicate with Sir H. James at Southampton, who will
publish the several parts in the order in which he
receives the guarantees from the counties.

DEATH FROM VIOLENCE.—On Saturday, Mr.
Hcrford, city coroner, held an inquest on the body of a man
named John Barrett, aged 23, who resided in a court in
George Leigh-street. It appeared from the evidence that
about a fortnight ago the deceased was present when a row
was going on in the neighbourhood where he lived. The
next morning he told his mother that he had been struck in
the chest with a poker, in mistake, by a man named Mark
Hines, as he was leading home another man who had been
concerned in the row. He compl .fined much of a pain at his
chest, and ultimately died from pneumonia and peritonitis
caused by a broken rib. Just before his death his deposition
was taken by Mr. Le Court, assistant magistrates' clerk,
and ho repeated his statement about Hines having struck
him with the poker. Hines was acclrdingly taken into cus-
tody by Inspector Taylor, and was present at the inquest in
charge of the police. He said he had never used a poker
during the disturbance, and that he never saw the deceased.
Michael Higgins, the man whom the deceased said he was
taking home when he received the injury, also said he did
not see the deceased at all ; and as there was no evidence to
corroborate the unfortunate man's statement about his
having been struck by Hines, the jury returned an open
verdict.

THROWING STONE,, AT RAIL 1174 1-

TRAIIVS.

At the Croydon Police-court, on Saturday last,
before Mr. T. Byron and other magistrates, Wil-
liam Woodman, aboy about nine years of age, was
charged with having, on the sth of September inst.,
wilfully and maliciously thrown a stone at a down
train, travelling on the London, Brighton, and
South-Coast Company's line, in the hamlet of Pen ge,
near the Crystal Palace. The evidence of the en-
gine-driver proved that on Thursday, the sth inst.,
he had charge of the engine attached to the 2 30
p m. train, express from London to Ramsgate, and
that in passing Annerley-bridge he received a vio-
lent blow on the head from a stone. He imme-
diately looked up and saw a boy on the bridge, but
as the train was going at the rate of 25 miles an
hour, and as he felt very much stunned, it was
totally cut of his power to swear to the boy. The
cap which he (the driver) wore at the time had a
broad thick leather band on it. Notwithstanding
that the stone cut completely through the leather
and struck his temple so violently that a serious
wound was inflicted thereon, and the blood flowed
freely. He suffered eight or nine days afterwards
with pain in the head. The train was stopped at
Norwood, where he reported the circumstance. The
station-clerk at that station, John Deacon, imme-
diately proceeded to the Annerley-bridge, and
there found two boys, one of whom was the pri-
soner. On taxing them with having thrown the
stone at the train, the prisoner at once admitted
that he had done so, and bad hit the engine-driver
on the arm. He then picked up a stone rather
larger than a walnut, which he said was the size of
the one he threw at the train. The magistrates
then charged the second boy William George
Privett, with aiding and abetting Wood, but as the
evidence appeared feeble he was ultimately die-
missed with a serious admonition. The chairman,
in addressing the prisoner Woodman, who was
accompanied into court by his father, said,—"Wood-
man, the Bench have considered your case, and,
although they do not consider you intended to
injure the engine-driver, yet it is necessary for us
to pass a heavy punishment upon you in order to
protect the lives of railway passengers. It is a pity,
I think, that there is no Act of Parliament which
would authorise the police to drive boys off railway
bridges with a stick. We shall applaud all police-
men who do so, as that will be the only means to
prevent them from continuing this highly danger-
ous and increasing practice among boys. It is
always a reluctant duty of the Bench to send boys
of such tender years to prison, and we shall avoid
doing so now if possible. The railway company
has chosen to proceed against you under their
mildest Act ; otherwise; there is an Act of Parlia-
ment which treats an offence of this kind 'with its
due gravity, and punishes the offender by empower-
ing the magistrates to send him for trial to the
county assizes, and, if a prima facie case were made
out, he would either be transported or sen-
tenced to penal servitude for a very long
period. The result in the present instance
might have been very serious indeed ; the stone
might have cut the males eye out, or, what
is more probable, he.. might have been killed on
the spot. We shall now adjudge you to pay—
or, at least, your father must pay for you—the
mitigated penalty of £3 and 13s. cost. In default
there will be no alternative but to send the boy to
prison, say for 14 days, after which imprisonment
we should send him to a reformatory for two years,
as before he can enter such an establishment he
must have been in prison for a short time at least."
The prisoner's father promised to pay the £3 13s.
in three weeks' time, the magistrates having agreed
to allow him that period. Mr. John Carpenter,
superintendent of the police in the service of the
Brighton Company, informed the bench that the
practice among boys of throwing missiles at rail-
way trains was becoming very serious, as it was
more than ever prevalent. Only recently seven
or eight carriage windows had been broken at
Annerley-bridge, and an engine-driver on another
part of the line had been severely hurt by a stone
thrown at him ; but the perpetrators had not been
discovered. The magistrates expressed a hope
that this case might be published in the leading
newspapers.

THE SQUARES IN PARIS AND LONDON.

The Constituttonnel contains the following re-
marks on the new squares in Paris, as compared
with those in London :—" The municipal authori-
ties of Paris have established squares in every place
where large masses of people threatened to render
the atmosphere heavy—in all the quarters too far
distant from the Tuileries, Luxembourg, and Bois
de Boulogne, for the inhabitants to be able to reach
them easily. In London, on the contrary, with some
few exceptions, there does not exist a square worthy
of mention except in the rich and airy quarters.
The finest and largest gardens are at the West-end,
in Belgravia, and Brompton—that is to say, at the
gate of Hyde-yark. With us, trees have been planted
with a hygienic object; squares have been formed
more particularly in quarters where the air stood
most in need of being purified, and for that purpose
trees of a special kind, and especially absorbent, have
been chosen. Fountains also have been erected,
which impart that salutary freshness to the air which
is so necessary for the workman after being cooped
up for the whole day in the heavy atmosphere of
the workshop. In London the principal object
thought of appears to be the health of the trees,
and there has been chosen for them a mild and
wholesome climate and a clear air in the neighbour-
hood of the parks, in order that they might not
suffer too much from nostalgia. We do not mean
to say that the city and other parts of London are
completely void of squares, but only that they are
so paltry that they might be said to have been
blown there by the wind. But the general quar-
ters of poverty—those masses of close and un-
healthy houses, and the networks of dark and nar-
row alleys—in a word, every part which stands in
need of pure air and of the light of day have been
forgotten, or rather neglected in this partition of
life and health. In Paris the squares are open to
every one ; in London they are locked up, sur-
rounded with high iron railings, and planted with
shrubs, which prevent any one from seeing what is
going on in the inside. On payment of a sum
which generally amounts to £1 sterling, each oc-
cupier of the houses which form the four sides of
the square is entitled to a key by which admission
is obtained to the garden. For a poor person,
therefore, to have the power of taking his family
into one of those enclosures he must in the first
place inhabit one of those houses, of which the rent
is exceedingly high, and then pay 25t. a year
towards the expense of the garden. It will be,
perhaps, said that this excites emulation, and is an
encouragement to the endeavour to become rich.
In London the squares are private property, with
which the State has no concern. In :France, on
the contrary, the initiative of these municipal im-
provements belongs to the Government, and it is to
the city that we are indebted for their execution.
The square of St. Jacques-de-la-Boucherie alone
cost upwards of 2,000,000 f. The Imperial concep-
tions have yet reached only the commencement of
execution ; we have already the Bois de Bou•
logne, the Bois de Vincennes, and the transformed
Champs-Elysees, and we shall soon have public
promenades in other parts. Before long Paris will
be an immense garden. One need only walk in the
middle of the day in the neighbourhood of the
squares of the capital to see with what eagerness
and delight the working classes avail themselves of
them. To mention only one example, it is almost
impossible to get into the square of the Arts et
Metiers after 4 o'clock, so great is the crowd of per-
sons assembled there. An objection was formerly
made that the establishment of a public garden is
an idea very practicable in London, but not feasible
in Paris, where the turbulent and destructive people
would soon break down the trees and tear up the
flowers and shrubs. Experience has shown how
ill-founded was that opinion. On the inauguration
of the park at Monceaux all the gates were opened
to the crowd, and no surveillance was exercised
over the 5Q,000 persons who thronged the walks
and alleys. At the end of the day the daitage
amounted to only 45f. for the turf trampled down
along the edges. This example appears to us to be
conclusive. The squares have, moreover, been
already for some time open to the public, and it has
been found that the greatest decency and good order
are observed. This is because the people compre-
hend that they are at home, and that the gardens
have been formed for them. They feel that by
breaking a flower they injure their own property,
and they besides feel a respectful gratitude for the
hand which has given it to them."

The flowers in Covent-garden surpass those of every other
'
country; for the reason that every improvement in their
culture
magnetic
instantly adopted. From the same cause Her-
ring'sla, etie brushes and combs surpas i every other means
11-
forrestoring grey hair to its original colour, and curing the
most inveterate cases ofneuralgia and nervous headache. They
ideoittshaisrewbiethingalmmoadste. Offices,undeviatin3g2,cßeratsainingtria. Nst.rl3e.—Counter-
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TILE STRENGTH OF GUNS.

----~-~,1._,,._---~

It has been lately stated that the Ordnance Select Com-
mittee of Woolwich Arsenal, being anxious "to prove the
extreme power of resistance" of one of the 100-pounder
Armstrong guns, have tested one with much severity and
with the following results :—The gun has undergone 100
rounds of filing, with charges of 141 b of powder, and pro-
jectiles increasing in weight from 1001 b to I,ooolb. The
I,ooolb projectile was of such length as to extend nearly
two feet beyond the muzzle. Ten rounds were fired with
these enormous bolts, and the gun is reported to be totally
uninjured. The recoil of the gun was very violent. it is
understood to be the unanimous decision of the select com-
mittee that no further attempt should be made to burst it,
as its strength is deemed abundantly sufficient for all prac-
tical purposes." To those who know little of guns this may
seem a severe test indeed ; but those better informed will be
aware that it is hardly, if at all greater than a good cast-
iron gun of the same weight (70 cwt.) ought to withstand.
The 1001 b gun is not far from 6fin. bore, the 801 b Arm-
strong having a bore of 6in., the weight being 63 cwt. Let
us see, therefore, what has been done by cast-iron guns of
weights and sizes approaching those of the 100-pounder ex-
perimented upon. Colonel Eardley Wilmot has stated, in.
the Institution of Civil Engineers, that a 681 b cast-iron gun
had been subjected to the following tests at Woolwich.
With charges of 161 b of powder, or 21b more than those used
in the "extreme test" of the Armstrong gun, ten rounds
were fired with a cylinder weighing 681 b, ten rounds with
one weighing 1361 b, ten with 2041 b, ten with 2721 b, ten with
3401 b, ten with 4081 b, ten with 4761 b, and six with 5441 b,
when the gun burst. A Spanish 321 b cast-iron gun, weigh-
ing 45 cwt., had withstood the following rounds :-21113 of
powder, 641 b of shots and two wads, then 91b of powder, 641 b
shots and three wads, the last charge being repeated and fired
827 times without injury ; with 91b powder, 961 b shot and
two wads ; then with 91b powder, 1281 b shots and two wads ;
and then successively with 91b of powder at each round, with
1601 b, 1921 b, 2241 b, 2561 b, 2831 b, 3201 b, 3521 b, and 3841 b
shots when the gun was fall to the muzzle. After this the
gun was fired with 121 b powder and 3201 b shots, 151 b powder
and 2881 b shots, 181 b powder and 2561 b shots, 211 b powder
and 1241 b shots, 241 b powder and 1921 b shots ; and finally
with 271 b powder and 1601 b shots, when the gun, fall to
the muzzle, burst. It thus took to burst the gun an aggre-
gate of 3 tons 13 cwt of powder, 25 tons 8 cwt of shot, and
2 tons 19 cwt of wads. An American 9-in cast-iron gun,
weighing 814 cwt, had, Col. Wilmot added, been fired with
the following charges :—Two rounds with 151 b powder and
a 901 b shot, then 1,506 consecutive rounds with 101 b powder
and a 721 b shell, then five rounds with 151 b powder and one
901 b shot, then five rounds with 151 b powder and 1801 b of
shots, then two rounds with 151 b of powder and 2701 b of
shots, then three rounds with 15,b of powder and 2801 b of
shells, then seven rounds each with 201 b of powder and
shot shell weighing respectively, at each round, 3421 b, 4681 b,
6121 b, 6301 b, 7201 b, 8101 b, and 9001 b, when at the last
charge the gun burst. Taking into account the great com-
plication and cost of the Armstrong guns and the compara-
tively low extreme test to which they have been subjected,
for a few seconds only, they cannot be considered to show
any remarkable superiority.—Engineer.

DREADFUL RAILWAY CA TA sT.Ropja
IN AMERICA.

The following additional account of the terrible disaster
on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad is furnished to
the St. Louis Republican:—

The catastrophe occurred at Little Platte river bridge,
nine miles east of St Joseph. The bridge was a substan-
tial work of 100 feat span and 35 feet above the river. The
binders of the bridge had been burned underneath the track
until they would sustain but little more than their own
weight, and the fire was then extinguished, leaving the
bridge a mere shell. The train, bringing from 85 to 100
passengers, including women and children, reached the
river at eleven o'clock at night, and the bridge
looking secure, passed on ; but no sooner had the locomotive
measured its length upon the bridge than some 40 or 50
yards of the structure gave way, precipitating the entire
train into the abyss below. All the seats in the passenger
coaches were torn and shoved in front, carrying men, women,
and children in promiscuous heap down the declivity, and
and burying them beneath the crushed timber, or throwing
them out of the cars through the broken sides. Some were
mangled by the machinery tearing through the timbers ;
several were caught between planks pressing together like e
vice; others were struck by parts of the roof as it came down
with mighty force; and others were cut with pieces of glass,
while wounds and blood and agony prevailed all over the
frightful scene, and shrieks of pain were mingled with cries
of terror. In this manner the two last cars of the train went
down, pitching the passengers into the wreck or throwing
them into water, which at this point is about a foot and
half in depth.

Only three persons, J. W. Parker, superintendent of the
United States Express, Mr. Mars, mail agent, and Mr•
Hager, were able to afford assistance to the suffering, the
remainder of those who were not killed outright being 8°
disabled as to be helpless. After doing all that was pos-
sible for those requiring immediate attention, Mr. Hager
at midnight left the wreck to go to St. Joseph for medics)
and other assistance. He walked five miles of the way,
when he found a hand car, upon which he proceeded the
remainder of the journey. Two hundred yards west of the
bridge he discovered a heavy oak railroad tie stronglY
strapped across the track, and two miles further on he found
the trestle work over a small stream on fire, which, however,
had not as yet been so badly burned that trains could not
pass over or could not be easily extinguished.
Arriving at St. Joseph the alarm was soon spread,
throughout the city, and although it was 1 o'clock at night,
75 men, including all the physicians in the neighbourhood,
volunteered their service, and at half-past 3 o'clock a train
fully equipped, supplied with medical stores and other u
cessaries, was at the scene of the disaster.

The wounded had emerged from the wreck and were lying
on the banks and upon a sand bar in the river. Seventeen-
dead bodies were recovered, and it is believed this number
embraces all who were killed up to that time. Two were
so badly mangled that it was not expected they would sur-
vive till morning, while many others were dangerousl/
wounded, and would have to be well taken care of to re-
cover. Many who will escape with their lives will be
maimed and crippled.