The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-08-01
EXECUTION In KANAGAWA IL

The correspondent of the New York Tribune,
writing from the above place, gives the following
description OF poor fellow who was executed for
arson
The criminal, dressed in loose white cotton
robe, and bound hand and foot, was placed on
horseback and paraded through the principal
streets of the native quarter He was escorted by
large posse of police, soldiers and officials In
scrbed on banner, carried directly in front Of
him, were particulars of his history, his crime and
its punishment. The poor fellow, reduced to
skeleton by long confinement, aud bearing the
marks of harsh treatment, VS. az abject an object
as one might see, Passing out of the town, he was
conducted to a hill in the open country, a lovely
spot overlooking fair fields, gardens innumerabie,
ana tla placid pay, where space of half acres
extent was enclosed by ropes, within which the
stake, the isggots and the fire awaited their vic
tim. Shortly before reaching this spot the pro-
cession halted in a shady lane br an old deserted
temple, where, with mock humanity, the prisoner
was fed with better viands than he had tasted for
many day, and piled beautifully with rice whis-
key.
On reaching the incosed space of the execution
ground-in sight OF thousands of spectators Who
tramped down roods of ripening grain in their
eagerness-the criminal was ashed to the stake
with straw cords. which, in turn, were pastered
with mud to prevent their burning prematurely
While his head was thus being secured bv cords
passed around his neck, 1t was evident that the
little lie remaining in his emaciated form was
mercluliv strang ed into insensibiIity. Dur
ing all these preparations the victim exhibited no
emotion, no interest in what was going on. The
officials appointed to superntend the execution sat
looking on in true Japanese stocism.
"Wc are very short, let us stand in front" said
two black-eethed women to the pressing crowd
who, however, yielded not. Yet the demeanor Of
the throng was free from rudeness; there seemed
to be no evity or jbes at the poor prisoper's fate
at is an ugly sight" they sad and looked on in
silence.
Bundles of long, well-dried rush were now
heaped about and above the man till he was cover
| lndh ont Of ptrht ~,
ly in several places, and in moment the flames
leaped hot and fierce into the air, and death must
have been instantaneous AS under the headsman's
axe-more so than in the hangsman's rope. With
IN two minutes the rushes had burned awsy and
the scorched, ifeless form of the man alone re-
NAMED. Lighted faggots were then applied to
mouth and nostrilS, to make assurance sure The
head executioner, kneeling before the seated Off
clals, reported the deed accomplished, and while
executoners, officers and spectators filed awav the
olackened corpse left standing for three davs
| public spectacle and warning.
[From the London TfmesI
The following has been handed to us as an accu-
rate report OF the late experimental firing with Arm
strong guns, at Shoeburyness. upon the iron pates
forged under the steam hammer in the smiths sbop
at Portsmouth Dockyard. The trials took place by
order of the Lords of the Admiralty and in the pre-
sence of the lron-plate Committee 1t isimportant
TO state that each plate when fired at was placed in
vertice position against wooden framework but
without any backing such as the plates received
which Fave been bolted to a ships side as in the
instance of the Trusty and Sirius and others The
plates were forged from scrap iron, and the chief
interest in the experiments consisted in the results
assisting greatly solve the problem as to the su-
periorty OF forged or rolled armour plates for iron
clad ships. The first plate tried was n 615 inch
feet in length by in breadth, and weighing
| 49 cwt. Or The weapon used az ainst it was the
Armstrong shuDt gun, with l26 pound proiectile
The range was 400 yards. The first shot discharp-
ed made indentation of two inches with slip ht
fracture. ;pda
| about SIX inches from the preceding shot and
fractured the plate on its reverse. The third and
fourth shots cut pieces out of the plates edge and
the fifth struck the plate about two feet from its
lower edge. and broke it where it had been fractur
ed by the second shot. The next plate put up was
4I2nch, of the same length and breadth as the
| 90 inch, and weighing S5 cwt. 2 qrs. The first
shot discharged from 100 FOUNDER at range of
400 yards partially imbsdded tse in the plate and
remained there. The succeeding shots at this plate
were made with the l26-pound proiectiIe which
| from the centre.
| Three-inch plates were also tested by 40-pound
guns at 100 yards range, and were not penetrated.
| ~ inch plates withstood Is pound shot at 100
yards range, but were penetra ed by 40-pound shot
at the same range. Two inch plates were fractured
by shots from l2pounder, and penetrated By a
| shot from a 40-pounder.
If our information be correct-that the officers
| ON the ground declared the plates in the present
instance to be the best Piles of iron for armour
plates that have been as yet tested at Shoebury.
ness-there cannot be very much doubt as to the
superiority offorged over rolled iron as armour for
iron-cased ships The trials of plates, forged in
| Portsmouth dockyard when such tests first began
| on the sides of the Alfred target figae led many
| to expect the results which have been obtained y;
while others, seeing the extraordinary resist.
ance offered to spherical shot by Beae's plate
| atey at Portsmouth, thought even forged plates
| could not excel that instance.
DEsERTIoN OF THE WATERING PLACEs.-Jef Davis,
says the New York Herald, has played havoc with
the fashionable watering places. Poverty and des-
ututlnn are described as reigning there supreme
| AT Sharon, which was last year so crowded that
numbers could not get accommodation there are
| not as many vsiters as would pay the servants
| wages. Even the OLD equity and rheumatic habtues,
who have never before been known to miss a season
are absent Newport, Saratoga, Cape Nav and
Nahant present the same vacuous and dreary ASPECT
| The huge barracks of hotels which fashionable
caprice has help to build up are full only of the
| echoes made by a few unemployed walters. 1t has
been stated that the cottages at New port are almost
all occupied but, the fact of there being so does
| not help the hotels. They occupied by families
that either own them or that find an economy in
hiring them for the season, thus reducing the ex-
| pense OF their costly town establishments
GUN CoTToN.-During some experiments lately
made in Vienna, it was ascertained that the guns
used by the Austrian infantry could be discharged
ftty-hve times in nine minutes and half with gun
cotton y, Ihe cartridge was put into the barrel
this class OF gun are said to have been highly satis-
| factory.
| The French creditors OF Spain, after long nego-
tiations, have renounced the interest on her debt
| to them Of one hundred million francs and con.
sented to take the principal, payable in instameuts
! within four years.
| EXPENSES OF THE WAR.-How is it that the war
| 10 suppress rebellion has already cost between
Sl5o 100000 and S2OO.0O0,OO0, when the whole
Srimean war cost England scarcely so much? Who
accountable for the prodigious outlays that have
oesn made, with such eompsr atiyely am ALI reaulis