The Sun.
London, England, 1828-12-12 00:00:00

STEAM NAVIGATION.

Yesterday being the County Day, there was a
very full attendance of Magistrates ; F. CoNsT, Esq.
in the Chair.

In the course of the morning several paltry cases
of assault were tried, and some of their 'Worships
complained bitterly that the committing Magistrates
had not taken advantage of the new Act, which per-
mitted them to dispose of such cases summarily at
the Police-office, instead of sending them to the
Sessions.

Mrs. Eleanor Bow, a stout, spirited dame, of
some standing in St. Giles's, and who delivered her
" ex-trumpery" oration from the bar of the Court,
with her arms folded on her bosom, d la Buonaparte,
was charged by one of the beadles of the above
parish with committing an assault on his person at
St. Giles's workhouse.

The beadle said that this woman's conduct in the
parish towards the officera was so outrageous and
unbearable, that the Vestry were resolved to endea-
vour to check her violence by prosecuting. this in-
dictment.

The defendant delivered an elaborate oration in
her defence, which occupied the time of the Court
for twenty minutes, during which her gesticulations
were vehement, and her language so high-flown and
original, and so comic withal, that the Court was
convulsed with laughter. " Inter alia (she assured
the Bench) that this was a foul conspiracy to ruin
her professional reputation in the eyes of the public.
As there was a God above, that man, that beadle,
that villain (pointing to one of the parish officers,
who kept his head in a reclining position), that fel-
low with his head hanging down, that man, I say,
who is ashamed to look in my face (much laughter),
keeps four or five young men to swear falSe' against
the ladies (paupers) of the parish, whom he has a
grudge against, and—(the oratrix, pointing to an
old officer with a heavy bobbed nailed parish shoe,
which she had just taken off her feet to show her
ragged stockings to the Court), and that old body-
snatcher, your Worship, took me away naked to the
Magistrate without a rag to corer my nakedness?'
(Roars of laughter.) Here the defendant seemed
to swing her great shoe with such awful vehemence
in the direction of the parish officers, that they, and
the persons near them, instinctively raised their
bands to guard their heads from the fearful missile
of the inspired Amazon.
After a further display in a similar strain, the pri-
goner's oratory proved ineffectual. The Jury found
her Guilty of the assault, and the Court sentenced
her to two months' imprisonment in the House of
Correction.

Some details of business were then gone into,
bet none of any particular moment. The Court
then adjourned.

WINTER•HOME CIRCUIT.

CHELMSFORD, Dec. 10.

The Assizes for the county of Essex commenced
this day. After the conclusion of the business at
Hertford, Mr. Justice Burrough and Mr. Baron.
Vaughan crossed from that town to Chelmsford.
The calendar contains the names of no less than
105 prisoners, some of NI, 'lobe offences appeared to
be of an aggravated character. It is anticipated,
that in consequence of this great amount of business,
and the necessity that their Lordships should be at
Maidstone on Monday, a third Court before some
other person included in the Commission will be
held for the trial of prisoners. ,

DHCE2III3I3A 11.
John 111TaPey was indicted for burglariously
breaking and entering the dwelling-house of John
Phillips, with intent to steal.—Acquitted.
Robert Oades, a man of muscular appearance, was
placed at the bar on the charge of stealing a gelding
at Chigwell, in Essex, the property of Wm. Wigley.
The Jury convicted hire.
Mr. Justice BURROUGII, in passing sentence of
Death, told the prisoner that there was no chance
of his life being spared.

The Earl of Belmore, the newly-appointed
Governor of Jamaica, and Sir R. H. Inglis, one of the
Carnatic Commissioners, transacted business yesterday at
the Colonial-office, Downing-street.

CIRENCESTER.—This town is at length likely
to be much improved. A considerable number of old and
ill-fashioned houses, most inconveniently situated in the
very centre of the town, are about to be removed, and
some handsome h.2ildings to be erected in their stead, which
will he so arranged as not only to be more convenient to
the occupiers, and more pleasing to the eye, but will also
render the streets more commodious and safe to the tra•
velteroar.Chdtenhcon Chrohick,

(From a Correspondent of the Tin/es.)
Within these few days a series of exreritnents have
been made with the view of carrying into effect some
important improvements of the machinery used in
steam navigation. They were performed on an old
vessel in the river, near Woolwich, and Mr. Laing,
of the Dock-yard, attended officially by orders of
Government, to witness them, and to report on the
practicability of the principal improvements aimed
at. Sir John Doyle, the Secretary of the French
Legation, and a number of gentlemen and men of
science who felt interested in the experiments, at-
tended from time to time to witness them. The
chief desideratum in steam navigation is to avoid the
effect of the back-water, or, in other words, the loss
cif power which is occasioned by the wheel on its
return when it is at a certain speed, or when it is
immersed below a certain depth, having to lift a large
proportion of water. It is this circumstance which,
with wheels of ordinary construction, and, indeed,
with all others yet tried, at present puts a limit to
the speed of steam-vessels, and occasions an enor-
mous loss of power. The plan tried in this inatance
was of feathering the paddles, which were fixed to
a new description of wheel, which, though extremely
simple, could not be easily described, except by means
of drawings. It differs, however, from the commen
paddle-wheels, in allowing each paddle so to move
on an axle placed in the centre as to play freely be-
tween the arms and the .periphery of the wheel, he-
tween which it (the paddle) is restrained by shobl-
ders or projecting portions of it. The wheels used
were by no means complete, and were fastened to
the vessel (Sons of Commerce) in a temporary and
very imperfect manner. The result of the trial was,
however, to the extent it was made, very favourable,
being to the extent of two minutes per mile. This
was ascertained by lashing the paddles so as to fix
them in a radical position like the old paddles, when
the vessel's mean time was llf minutes per mile.
On cutting the lashings away, and allowing the
paddles to feather, her mean time was 9f mi-
nutes per mile. It was stated, that had there
been room for more paddle surface, and
for the paddles to be still further immersed,
there would have been much more gained. These
paddles the inventor (Lieut. Andrew Skene, R. N..
ose of the companions of Captain Ross and Captain
Parry, in their north-west voyages) stated would
have the advantage of working best when immersed
one-third of the wheel in water, which would neces-
sarily reduce the size of the paddle boxes, and cons
sequently the resistance of the vessel to the wind.
They were likewise capable of being removed or
applied as occasion required, enabling the vessel to
take advantage of fair winds when at sea on long
voyages; and they might also be applied in the in-
terior of a vessel for the purpose of war. He sug-
gested their application for the purpose of canal-na-
vigation, as they possessed the advantage (which was
to a considerable extent manifested in the present
experiment) of agitating the water much less than
the old paddles. The new ones did not pass it off
in the same degree to the shore on each side; but
caused it to expand chiefly in the wake of the vessel.
The men of science present appeared to be well sa-
tisfied with the success of all they saw, and no doubt
was entertained that the principle of the new wheel
would be put into practical operation.
MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, DEC. 11..