The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-30 00:00:00

tant question of rifled artillery against iron-cased
ships ; it is impossible to say whether the offensive
power of the gun or the defensive power of the ar-
mour will ultimately prevail, although kincline to
think the gun will in the end prove the victor. The
strong point in favour of the iron plates is, that no
hollow projectile will bear the impact against them
without breaking in pieces, and they are
therefore
an effectual protection against all explosive and in-
cendiary missiles. Iron-clad ships must consequently
be attacked with solid shot alone, and it is. not by
merely punching a few small clean holes In their
sides that we can hope to make any serious impres-
sion upon them. If they can be destroyed by artil-
lery, it must be done by hurling against them such
ponderous masses as will crush in their sides ; and
Ito effect this will require much larger guns than are
yet in the service. It will be my duty to endeavour
to produce such guns, and I leave it to others to act
for the defence as best they can. As for timber ships,
I believe they will utterly collapse under the fire of
modern artillery. I can conceive nothing so calcu-
lated to gratify the organ of destructiveness as firing
100-pounder percussion shells at a three-decker
crowded with men. If we must have timber ships
for distant service, at all events let them be as unlike
three-deckers as possible. Nothing can be worse
adapted to resist modern projectiles than those float-
ing castles of wood. It remains for me to say a few
words respecting the cost of the Armstrong gun,
because, although you may not all be practical gun-
makers you are at any rate taxpayers, and the subject
will therefore be interesting to every one. You are
probably already aware that the contract price for the
different natures of these guns—that is, the price
at which they are delivered from the Elswick Ord-
nance Works, is £l2O for the 12-pounder, £195 for
the 25-pounder, and £285 for the 40-pounder. The
price of the 100-pounder, I believe, has not yet been
definitively settled. It has been said that if we take
the entire sum voted by Parliament and divide it by
the number of guns produced, the result will show
a cost enormously larger, and it may therefore be
worth while to show how this matter stands. The
total sum voted by Parliament last session for the
supply of every species of warlike stores during the
financial year now on the point of expiring was
£2,300.000, and the portion of this amount which
was allotted to the Armstrong armament was
£867,785. Of this sum only £405,000 was appro-
priated to the manufacture of guns alone, the re-
mainder being required for providing, first, the shot,
shell, and fuses ; second, the carriages, ammunition
waggons, and all the articles of battery equipment;
and third, the cartridges and powder. Now, we
have made about 780 guns during the year, and if
we divide this sum of £405,000 by this number of
guns, and take into account the value of the very
large number of guns now in a state of progress and
partially paid for, the result shows an average cost
of about £350 per gun. This covers the expense of
all experiments and alterations unavoidable in the
commencement of a new and difficult species of ma-
nufacture, and I think you will admit that it is not
an unfavourable result, and that it presents no in-
consistency with the contract prices. I have seldom
an opportunity of communicating information re-
lating to my guns, and I will therefore, at the risk
of being tedious, briefly advert to some misconcep-
tions respecting them. It has become a common
idea that one of the great difficulties incident to the
lead covered form of projectile is to give sufficient
adhesion to the lead. I may therefore state that
no such difficulty exists. Any amount of adhesion
may be given ; but there is a risk of giving too
much, because if the lead were to stick too firmly
to the iron it would not separate from it and break
into distinct pieces on the bursting of the
shell. At present the premature separation of
the lead is a matter of rare occurrence, and I do not
think it would be expedient to guard more effectu-
ally against it at the risk of lessening the efficiency
of the shell. With regard to the 100-pounder guns,
the experiments with them and with the shells and
fuses I have provided for them are proceeding satis-
factorily. The destructive power of these large
shells, which contain from 81b to 91b of powder, is
very great, and such as ought, I think to settle the
question of timber ships. I may mention that the
copper ring, which in all the previous guns had
been applied at the breech to resist the erosive
action of the gas, was at first dispensed with in the
100-pounders, as I had reason to expect that by
using expanding cups to prevent the escape of the
gas, the copper rings would not be required. I
found, however, on trying one of these guns at
Shoeburyness, that it would be necessary to resume
the use of the copper for the preservation of the
gun at the breech, and it was consequently returned
to Woolwich to have the ring inserted. This has
given rise to the foolish story that the gun was a
complete failure. I fear the wish was in:this case
father to the thought ; but such misrepresentations
are not worthy notice, except in this casual manner.
I rest in quiet confidence that, with the valuable aid
I receive both from civilians and military men, I
shall be enabled to complete the work I have begun,
and I am content to be judged by the ultimate re-
sult.

Colonel LEFROY said he felt it right to justify
the Ordnance Select Committee in the coarse
they had adopted. They deemed it necessary to
ascertain what would be the effect produced in
the case of an Armstrong gun being struck by
a round shot, as such an occurrence might be ex-
pected to happen even under the best regulated
arrangements. For convenience, they had fired at
a distance of only 20 yards, but by way of compen-
sation they had used a reduced charge. The brass
gun fired at was certainly quite shut up, and there-
fore there was no disparagement to the Armstrong;
but the result had shown that neither form of gun
would bear the direct impact of a solid shot on its
side without becoming disabled.
A variety of other toasts were proposed and
replied to; and after a pleasant and instructive
evening, and a magnificent banquet, the company
separated, delighted with the brilliant hospitality
of the ancient and useful Company of Gunmakers.

THE LATE WAR WITH CHINA.

(From the _London Gazette.)
INDIA-OFFICE, March 27.

The Secretary of State for India has received a
general order by his Excellency the Governor-
General of India, and a despatch accompanying it,
from Lieutenant-General Sir J. Hope:Grant, G.C.8.,
commanding her Majesty's forces in China, of which
the following are copies :

GENERAL ORDER BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE
GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA.

Camp, Jubbulpore, Jan. 17, 1861.

His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-Ge-
neral of India has much satisfaction in publishing,
for general information, tbe subjoined letter, dated
the 21st of November, 1860, from Lieut.-General
Sir J. Hope Grant, G.C.8., commander of the forees
in China, bringing to notice the services, during
the campaign in that country, of the native troops
of all arms which proceeded to China from Bengal,
Madras, and Bombay.
The Governor-General congratulates the troops
on the high testimony which they have earned for
themselves from their distinguished commander, by
their exemplary conduct in camp and garrison, and
by their valour in the field. And it is an additional
source of gratification to the Governor-General, and
a matter of which the troops may justly be proud,
that their brilliant conduct in the field excited the
admiration not only of their British comrades, but
also of the French troops which served in the same
campaign.
It will be the grateful task of the Governor-
General to make known to her Majesty's Govern-
ment the report of Lieut.-General Sir Hope Grant,
and to bring particularly to notice the officers spe-
cially mentioned by him.

TO THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL CANNING, G.C.8., &C.
_ad(e4.ueaertherasv,inTgienhteseinn, Novein2dle,dlBw6oit.h
My Lord! pa
amany
being be
the native
a concluded
about op
itnh itshceouexnptreyd, andy
itiOn rforce tro s serving
toeurretEurn
India, it becomes my duty to bring o
lency's notice the services of the regiments andxcteh--
corps of her Majesty's Indian army which havee
been serving during the campaign.
The Ist Sikh Irregular Cavalry, under Major
Probyn, and Fane's Horse, under Capt. Fanc, have
performed their duty admirably.
On more than ono occasion these regiments have
been opposed to and have successfully charged a
vastly superior force of the enemy's cavalry, and
their conduct in the field has excited the admiration
of the French a 3 well as of the English troops. It
is not only on the field of battle that their services
have been so important during the recent campaign,
but in performing the numerous other duties re-
quired of them, of an infinitely more harassing na-
ture, patrols, escorts, and reconnoissances, as well
as the task of carrying letters almost daily between
Tientsin and Pekin (a distance of 75 miles) for up-
wards of a month, during which they were fre-
quently fired upon ; their services have been of the
utmost value to the expedition.
I beg to recommend Major Probyn and Captain
Fane to your Excellency's most favourable notice.
The two companies of Madras Artillery, under
Capt. Hicks, and two companies of Madras Sappers,
under Capt. Shaw Stewart, rendered good and use-
ful services in the operations which preceded and
led to the fall of the Taku forts. The latter corps
was most energetic in working without relief at
the construction of the batteries, and have always
shown themselves to be cheerful and willing work-
men. A detachment of the former corps, under
Capt. Maclntyre, was summoned from its station
at Chusan to the assistance of Shanghai, and was
fortunate enough to reach that city on the day lc