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Leader (1850-1860), 4th August 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 5, NEW WAR PROJECTILES. The ill reception w...

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      War Miscellanea. Tite Price Op Defending...

      committed by the Allied fleets in Finland , in Esthonia jmd upon tiie coasts of the White Sea . The allegations relate chiefly to the capture of little barques belonging to fishermen and peasantry , seized -while on their way from one point of the coast to another , and to landings noon unfortified spots , and the committal there of imnecessary deeds of destruction . Some of the statements are outrageously opposed to the character of our seamen . ~~ Daily News . Sabihwan R einforcements . — The Corriere , Mer-• cantile , of the 25 th ult ., states that a reinforcement of 8000 Piedraontese will leave Genoa for the Crimea about the middle of August . LXBUTKKANT- CocoNEX Campbell . —This officer , conceiving that his services at the capture of the Quarries have been neglected , has brought the matter before the attention of the Commander-in-Chief ; and General Simpson , writing to Lord Panmure on July 17 th , says thatthc credit of holding the Quarries through the night , in defiance of repeated attacks of the enemy , is due to Lieut .-Colonel Campbell , as he had " a separate and detached command from that of Colonel Shirley . " Thb Naval , Brigade before Sebastopol conceives that it has been , unjustly neglected . Since the 17 th of October , no promotions have been made , though the services , dangers , and fatigues of the sailors and their officers have been very great . A Russian Lady on tice Wab . —The Times Correspondent communicates portions of a letter from a young Russian lady to her sister , which fell into his hands in a deserted village about twelve miles from Balaklava . It is dated May 26 th ( June 7 th ) , and the writer speaks very contemptuously of the Allies . " At Arabat , " she writes , " there was a battle , in which we were victorious . They even say that q Russian army is marching on to Paris . . . - To-day , the enemy bombarded heavily , but did nothing but bombard , and will do nothing ; they can do nothing at all against us . " On the very day on which this was -written , the Mamelon Vert and the Quarries were taken by the Allies . The writer adds : —" They say that tie seat of war will soon be transferred to the Danube . It is time that these gentlemen should leave us , and let us have a little rest . As soon as they go , the town of Sebastopol will be built where the Chersonese was , and what is now Sebastopol will be entirely a fortress . " An Italian Legion . —Government has resolved on the formation of an Italian Legion , to be raised in Sardinia . The command is to be held by Colonel the Hon . H . Manners Percy , of the Grenadier Guards , and the officers are to be Italian , or Englishmen who understand the Italian language . General . Mouravieff , writing under date of June 26 th ( July 8 th ) , gives an account of the seizure and destruction of a large amount of Turkish provisions in Asia Minor . The Turks , it is said , retreated before their enemy , and the Russians lost ( of course ) only one Cossack . Several of the Kurdish tribes , it is added , have made their submission , and offered their services to Russia . £ The English Attack on Frkderickshamm . — Admiral TDundas encloses a note for Captain Yelverton , detailing % ts attack on the Russian troops assembled for the defence of Frederickshamm . Some of the enemy ' s guns havin ^ -tt 6 en dismounted , they were abandoned , and several men were carried away wounded . Orders had been given to Captain Yelverton to fire on the fort only , but one part of the town burst into flames , and was destroyed . Mr . Hall , mate , and hia crew in the Ruby gunboat , are mentioned with great praise for the way in which they fought their long gun . A Turkish Reverse , —The Russian troops ( says a letter from Trebizond ) which arrived at Molaschulcitnan , twenty-seven leagues to the east of Erzeroum , met , near the convent of Urich Kilissa , between 500 and 600 Turkish cavalry who were effecting a reconnaissance , and made them prisoners . Mo . Commissary-General Filoer , sa 3 'a a recent despatch from General Simpson , has been obliged to relinquish tlic command of his department , and will have to return to Kngland upon the recommendation of a medical board . Sir Stephen Lusiiington , K . C . B ., having been raised from the rank of captuin to that of admiral , haa been succeeded in the command of the Naval Brigade before Scbtistopol by Captain the Hon . Henry Koppol . Major-General Markham arrived nt Balaklava on the 19 th wit ., and , in accordance with instructions from JUml Panmure , was appointed by General Simpson to the command of the Second Division . The Rumsian Sohtiks against the French . — General Pelinsier Iuib written homo to his Government detailed account of the RusHian sorties on the nights Of the 15 th nnd 10 th of July . The uttack on the ilrst of these occasions wah uguinst the French loft , and ia described by General Pelissior as having boon signally defeated with considerable loss to the enemy ; the attack < ta the 16 th consisted of a feint against the left , nnd a W « l assault on the right , which was repeated three times , but ineffectually . The French loss was 2 fl killed nd 77 wounded .

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      New War Projectiles. The Ill Reception W...

      NEW WAR PROJECTILES . The ill reception which the proposals of Lord Dundonald have met with from the Legislature has not altogether checked the activity of projectors . New plans continue to be hatched , for the sudden and utter destruction of the enemy , for the blasting of his fortifications , and the withering into ashes and cinders of his fleets ; -and on Monday one of these inventions was brought to a practical test in the grounds adjoining Chelsea Hospital . Captain Disney is the originator of the new destructive agent , -which consists of a shell containing a bursting charge of powder { contained in a metal cylinder , the rest of the space being filled with a highly combustible fluid , which upon exposure to the air ignites everything with which it is brought into contact . This fluid does not act upon the substance of the shell , is not in itself explosive , and , being prevented from leaking by a nicely-fitted brass screw-plug , enables the missile to be carried about without risk . Directed against ships , or houses , or masses of troops , the new projectile would have all the destructive properties of the rocket , without its uncertainty of aim . Water only temporarily extinguishes its combustible power , which is so great as to make even woollen materials burn -with a quick flame . Captain Disney states that by a similar use of another chemical fluid he can cause blindness for several hours to all troops coming within a quarter of a mile of its operation ; but this portion of his experiments was , of course , omitted . The first of these agents having been thrown against a wall and the glass grenade in which it was contained being thus broken , a furious flame burst forth , which spread with great rapidity ; and some subsequent experiments were attended with equal success .. A reference to our Parliamentary columns will snow that Captain Disney'B plan is under the consideration of Government , and that other schemes have been proposed and tested . An " Infernal Machine" in the shape of a balloon charged with shells , to be fired by an electric wire at the moment of descent , is to be tried at Vincennes .

      Farewell Dinne R To Viscount Canning. On...

      FAREWELL DINNE R TO VISCOUNT CANNING . On Wednesday evening , the East India Company gave a farewell dinner to Viscount Canning , at the London Tavern . In returning thanks for his health being drunk , Lord Canning said : — " I hardly know whether there is any feature of our Government , any portions of our institutions upon which Englishmen may look with more honest exultation than those two noble branches of our Indian service . The men of those branches have done much for the advancement of India , and have sent forth from their ranks men who were efficient in war and peace , in numbers of which any monarchy in Europe might be proud , and who have rescued their countrymen from charges formerly , and not unjustly , levelled against them of dealing sometimes too harshly -with those whom they were bound to succour and protect . " He then alluded to the present peaceful condition of India , -which , however , might at any time be disturbed , so that incessant watchfulness is necessary . Still , he hoped to be able to bend all his energies to the improvement of the domestic resources of Tndia ; and to this end he was determined to devote his utmost endeavours .

      Mr, Mechi At Tiptree Farm. Mr. Mechi's A...

      MR , MECHI AT TIPTREE FARM . Mr . Mechi ' s annual gathering at Tiptrce Farm took place on Saturday , when the wonders of the model establishment were inspected by a large party of gentlemen , who afterwards partook of a hospitable dinner . A writer hi the Times says : — " Practical men now listen to Mr . Mechi attentively , and respect , if they do not always approve , what he tells them . He , in his turn , becomes less of an adventurous experimentalist , and more of the man of business , intent upon n pecuniary profit . He declares that he made 700 / . of clear return from Tiptree last year , and that hia balance-sheet can no longer bo considered unsatisfactory . To do him justice , there were fair indications on Saturday that his management is becoming more decidedly economical . Stock , which is at present unprofitable to feed , is not kept by him Jin any great quantity . Several of hie largest sheds « ro empty—pigs and bullocks in diminished numbers , and the sheep in the fields . " A machine for steam drainage , by Lord Dundonald , and some reaping and threshing machines were exhibited in the course of the day .

      The Police Inquiry. The Policemen More E...

      THE POLICE INQUIRY . The policemen more especially charged with misconduct by the previous witnesses have been examined < luring tho past week by the Commissioners . They all denied , with more or less snveepingntw , tho allegations of brutal violence ; but some admitted huving struck with tho trunchion . One constable confessed to striking a man after ho was handcuffed ; but bo added that bo did it in " nclf-defence , " as the man had aimed a blow nt him . Others denied that they used their staves at all . Policeman Davey said that where he was

      stationed the crowd " behaved pretty well . " Another constable , who had been charged by one of the witnesses , asserted that he was on duty at the House of Lords on the first of July ; and his statement was confirmed by a lodger in his house . None of the witnesses for the police speak of any very serious rioting . The disturbances , it would seem , consisted chiefly of shouting , running up and down , and " chaffing" the police , with the occasional flinging of a stone . It is admitted that at least a portion of the crowd consisted of what is called the " respectable " portion of society , though these -were mingled with " roughs" and thieves . Mr . Lefroy , a barrister , says he " did not see any of the police struck during the day , nor any of the crowd . " Mr . Fitzhardinge Berkeley testifies that " the police had not the slightest difficulty in dispersing the crowds . " Mr . Hawes relates that he saw a policeman throw a refractory man over the rails . —Policeman Leech acknowledged having struck a boy on the temple . The lad had taken his truncheon from him , and aimed a blow with , it ; upon which , the constable wrenched a stick from some one , and hit the boy . All these witnesses , however , were of opinion that the mob was a dangerous one , and that the police behaved with great forbearance . Mr . Superintendent Hughes was examined on Tuesday , and denied the charges of excitement and brutality , but admitted that , " as the people were very obstinate , he waved his whip over Ms horse's head towards the crowd , in the manner commonly known as the fifth , sixth , and seventh cuts . He did not strike any one , however . He also admitted having used the expression " D—n your blood ! " to his men , upon their not keeping line .

      Our Civilisation. Assize Cases. Wife Mur...

      OUR CIVILISATION . ASSIZE CASES . Wife Murder by a Maniac . —George Henry Smith was indicted at Maidstone for the murder of his wife . The prisoner , who is a gentleman of considerable intellectual attainments , and who was recently postmaster at Jersey , and before that had been connected with the London press , exhibited symptoms of insanity some years ago , and was at two separate periods confined in asylums . In the course of last August , he and his wife were lodging in a house at Rochester ; early one morning he shot her through the head , and afterwards spoke to the landlady , directing her to fetch a policeman and a surgeon . He prefaced his communication to the landlady by the -words , " Don't drop down dead , " and , without specifically mentioning what he had done , said repeatedly that his wife " was an angel . " It was shown that he had been extravagantly kind to her ; and , evidence of his insanity being produced , he was acquitted , and ordered to be kept in safe custody . His state of mind after the deed was such that it was found impossible to try him until now ; and during the whole of the investigation he kept his face buried in his hands . Alfred Hills has been acquitted , at the Maidstone Assizes , of the charge of endeavouring to induce some soldiers of the Foreign Legion to desert . Child Murder . —Mary Ann Hawton was found guilty at the Bodmin Assizes of the murder of her infant child . She had been staying for some days at the house of a labourer who had taken compassion on her , but suddenly departed , leaving the child behind her . Being overtaken , the infant was forced back upon her , and some time after its dead body was found in a river , on a bridge over which the mother had been previously seen with the child on the parapet . She was sentenced to transportation for life . Mary Louisa Sawyer St . Vincent , the female swindler , has been sent to the House of Correction for six months .

      The Robbery At Messrs. Dearie And Co.'S....

      The Robbery at Messrs . Dearie and Co . 's . —Two cases connected with the recent robbery of jewels , & c , at Messrs . Deane nud Co , 's , of King William-street , City were heard at the Mansion House on Tuesday . David Barnett and David Polack were remanded on a charge of having robbed those premises ; and Thomas William Bealo was also remanded on a charge of possessing a large quantity of the watches , gems , and jewellery stolen from the shop of Mr . Barber . In the house of this latter prisoner several articles were found which had been abstracted from the premises of tno Messrs . Deane . xr The Poisoning Case near Darlington . —Mr . Wooler ( the death of whose wife under mysterious circumstances was detailed in the Leader last week ) has been apprehended at the instance of bis brother-in-law , and has been remanded . ,,. « r « l A Policeman Mi-kdkked nibau Godalming . —Several " navvies" got drunk in a bcerrfiop at ** » l * ??> ™ £ Godalming , in the cuuivse of last Sat ^ ' ***? " % & so riotous that the landlord sent for the policj . l ™ inspector of the district , with two or ^" ^ "S arrived , and were immediately ^^\ ^^^ l In a very short time , the uwpooto ; VJ 'JJ £ ^ cal while be was being attended too t < H > £ . Y man , the ruffians rocommo . « j « l their a-J ^ ^ 6 ^ savngoness , und tho inspector Uiou * K ? wi ^^ man '

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 4, 1855, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04081855/page/5/