The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-31 00:00:00

WHO LIVE IN GLASS f! 0 USES SHOULD

NOT THRO TV STONES.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sin,—Captain Rodman, of the United States Navy, casts
cannon ready bored by the act of casting, in the same
manner as my patented plan; he, moreover, cools his can-
non from within—this is an improvement on my patent.
The " Scientific American" describes the construction of
the Ericcson, a steel-clad floating battery for the defence of
the harbour of New York. The sides of Aiis battery could
not be pierced by shot fired from any cannon in our service;
but a shot fired from the 15-inch bore gun cast on the
Rodman principle would crush in the side of our steel-clad
Warrior, when fired at the distance that Nelson loved to
pour in his broadsides. How would Brighton, with its
princely buildings, look after a few rounds of Rodman
shells, thrown into it from a distance of five miles P
Dublin is in the same danger, as well as many other-towns
on the coasts of England, Ireland, and Scotland. Shells
can now be charged with liquid fire (phosphorus dissolved
in bisulphide of carbon), the most a naufragious" fire stuff
ever invented by the ingenuity of man. Captain Halsted,
R.N., one of our very best authorities on naval armaments,
has clearly stated that one shell charged with liquid fire is
sufficient to destroy the largest line-of-battle ship.—l am,
yours obediently, J. NORTON,
iLate Captain, 34th Regt.
Howard's Hotel, Kingstown, Dublin, Dec. 24.

DEATH OF PRINCE DOM JOAO 01
PORTUGAL, DUES DE BETA.

We have received by electric telegraph the sad
intelligence of the death of another brother of the
King of Portugal, heir presumptive to the throne,
King Luis I. being as yet unmarried. The Prince
died of typhoid fever at Lisbon on Sunday, at the
early age of 20.
Prince Dom Joao Maria Fernando Pedro d'Alcan-
tara Miguel Raphael Gabriel Leopoldo Carlos An-
tonio Gregorio Francisco d'Assise Borja Gonzaga
Felix de Braganca-Borbon, Duke de Beja, Duke of
Saxony, was born March 16, 1842, and was the
third son of Queen Maria da Gloria, by Prince Fer-
dinand Augustus Antony Francis of Saxe Coburg,
first cousin of the late Prince Consort of England,
and brother of the Prince Augustus, who married a
daughter of King Louis Philippe and Queen Marie
Amelie of France. The late Duke of Beja received
a military education, and at the time of his death
was colonel of the 4th Regiment of Cavalry. He
was, it may be remembered, on a visit to England
and France when he was summoned with his
brother, the present King of Portugal (then Duke
of Oporto), to the deathbed of King Dom Pedro V.,
who, however, unfortunately expired before their
arrival.

The heir presumptive to the throne of Portugal
is the only surviving male issue of the late Queen,
the young Dom Augusto Maria Fernando Carlos
Miguel Gabriel Raphael Agricola Francis d'Assise
Gonzaga Pedro d'Alcantara Loyola de Braganca-
Borbon, Duke of Saxony, born November 4, 1847.
This is the young Prince who has been very seri-
ously ill of gastric fever since the death of his
brother the King, and was given up by his phy-
sicians until a day or two ago, when it first became
pcssible that his life might be spared.