Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-12-22
MISCELLANEOUS.

TRIAL. OF COM. CARPENDER.-The
examination o. Commander Carpenter, before
Court OF Inquiry, al Norfolk, relative 10 the loss
Of The TruX,on, is progressing. On MONDAY,
saws the Norfolk Beacon, tne only witness under
examination was Midshipnan Simeon >. Basselt
VINO. after giving his testimony as to the loss ara
surrender Of The Truxlon, was cfoss-examlned
by The Court and Commander carpenter. Lieut.
Hunter. Passed Mdshipman baDAhead, anc
Purser Cuuer, have been examined by The court
GIN COTTON.-We learn that the Board
of Ordnance have had The subject Of The new ex-
plosive under consideration and after series OF
experiments have come 10 The conclusion to re-
lee. the proposal for its use in the British army
The weishties reasons which have induced the
BOARD (who are all men of the greatest expert
ence) 10 come TO this decision, are-lst It's ex-
nlosiou a, much lower temperature than gun
powder. any Of The qualities explo ling al heat
considerably below redness, and some even al The
heat of boiling water This is a serious obec.
lion where number Of charges have 10 be fired
in succession, as The heat caused by The explosion
soon raises the metal of the gun above that poin;
Al which il is hot enough 10 cause the charge 10
explode spontaneously, thus rendering its use
highly dangerous 2nd The greater facility with
which il explodes even when not perfectly dried,
would render lis manufacture more hazardous;
and its preservation in bulk, which must OF neces-
s;,y be in a compressed Stale, would be attended
with great risk, as il is highly probable that II
would have a tendency 10 spontaneous combu>-
ton. and that magazine OF gun Cotton would be
far more dangerous that powder magazine
3rd. A very considerable quantity OF steam is
prodaced by the explosion OF gun colt n, 50 much,
in fact as 10 render the inside OF The gun Quc
;wet,-lhe Inconvenience OF which is obvious.
On the whole, therefore, i, appears that this We
~ curious discovery is not likely 10 prove 50 i'm
2or,ani as we al first anticipated; and il IS evil
dent thai The gun cotton, though an agent OF very
great power, is too dangerous and unmanageabe
for most military purposes.
Wilmer & Sn.uhs Times.
A letter from New YORK, dated al 5 o'clock
Friday afternoon, says;
"The arrival of The steamers news has unsei.
tied the markets Tor produce as The private letters
have mol We, been received The published &C
counts are considered favorable, but are not fully
depended upon. The -four market was tirmer be-
lore the news, at Yesterdays prices; but on
Change holders were al loss u know what 10
ask; and but few buyers appear al any advance.
One holder reported That he had refused 50 o0
fu! 900 bbls Genesee. The sales, as far as J
could learn, did no, exceed 1000 bcls. Michigan
and Genesee al so, Tor home U.s.. The marker
will probably settle tomorrow al >onc tticc.
"In wheat nothing was done. Holders OF Ge-
nesse were rather disposed 10 advance their views
but nothing was done 10 indicate what Inc mar
ket really was Corn is held more firmly, and
old would probably bring something over ~ els.
Sales OF 1900 bushels old Southern, weaviy, al
&C cents, and 1000 to 5000 bushels new Northern
at 63 IS cts Tor dislling. Rye is scarce, and
held in the slip, without sales, a! 50 cents \
cargo Of oats sold al 40 cents, which is better
Sales of 1000 bushels lair barley al % cents
Al Philadelphia, Saturday morning, the le'e'
graph reports that ,he news had caused IA an , a.
vance in The -four market. A sale ot 900 bbls
fresh ground PENNSYLVANIA brands was made I'M
der The news at IS per bbl.-hoders firm-and
some asking more. The grain market is without
change. Prime red wheat is held al lOs lO4 9.
new corn al So SIS CTS.