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Leader (1850-1860), 24th November 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1125, Untitled Article

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      November 24 , 1855 . ] THE LEAPER . 1125

      Untitled Article

      board the "Virgin , which also carried the passengers and specie from California , with the intention of capturing San Carlos . The occupants of the fort fired upon the steamer with cannon , and the expedition was abandoned , Colonel Fry-being unwilling to risk the lives of the passengers . On the 23 d , the steamer conveying the outward-bound California passengera by the Star of the West was fired upon from the fort . A 321 b . shot struck the boat , killing a lady and a child , and seriously injuring the machinery . Pre ^ vious to this , an attack was made upon the returning Californians at Virgin Bay by the Government forces , when four persons were killed and eight others seriously wounded . From , four to five thousand men have been ordered by the Mexican Government to the northern frontiers to repel the Texan rangers ; and Vidaurri , the Commander-in-Cbief on the Rio Grande , is at issue with the National Guards of Matamoras about the latter i - L i : r i s I • ' i i .

      disarming . The financial troubles continue in the New York stock-market , where nearly every description of stock is being forced at reduced rate 3 . The money market is still very tight .

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      NAVAL AND MILITARY NEWS . General Wihdham . —A special general meeting of the subscribers to the Windham Testimonial fund was held on Saturday last at the Shire Hall Norwich , the Earl of Leicester in the chah \ Upwards of j £ 800 , it was announced , had been subscribed . Finally , it was agreed that a commilt « e should be formed for carrying out the wishes of the subscribers , and the members were chosen out of the subscribers then present . The Russian "VicTourA" a Prize . —On Sunday , the Russian schooner Victoria , of the burden of 220 tons ( new vessel ) , laden with timber and firewood , arrived at Sheerness in chai-ge of Second master Mr . Frederick William Rea , of the Nile , ninety-one guns , screw steamship , Captain George R . Muiidy , to which

      ship the Victoria is a prize . She was taken in Rumpi Bay , Island of Biskopo , by the boats of the Nile , on the 20 th of September ( the anniversary of the battle of Alma ) . Her crew had abandoned her for some tune before she was taken . She parted company with the Nile on the 22 nd of October at Nargen . She arrived at Faro Sound on the 25 th of October , and Elsinore on the second of November ; left Elsinore on the 4 th insfc ., passed the Scaw on the 5 th , with a heavy galo of wind , she was compelled to run for shelter into a small harbour , near Lilleeand , on the coast of Norway , where she remained until the 13 th , from stress of weather , on which day she left ; with the wind E . S . E . and during the next twenty-four hours ahe ran 210 miles . She proved herself a firstclass vessel in every respect , either close-hauled , lying to , or running before the wind .

      The Martello Tower , off the Spit Isle of Grain , erected by Messrs . Kirk and Parry , of Sleaford , Lincolnshire , is completed , and was on Saturday officially given up to the Ordnance authority at Sheerness . This tower has been nearly two years in erection , and is completed within the time specified by the Board of Ordnance . The peculiar construction of this tower gives it tho facility of firing the guns ( which are to be of the largest calibre ) on traversing centre pivots , so as to do execution in the fair-way of the rivers Thames and Medway . With the latter river , this tower forms a cross-fire with the Sheerness battery guna , sufficient to sink any ships attempting to pass . The tower is struck from seven different centres , in order to give stability to the assailable parts thereof . The average thickness of the solid masonry is twelve foot . The outer dimensions underneath

      are sixty-three feet by soventy-one feot ; is a barrack-room capable of accommodating thirty gunner * , and an officer ' s private room . The basement story contains tho following rooms : —viz ., ordnance store , provision store , barrack atore , regimental store , and magazine , the lattor being encased with an entire coat of asphalte . The whole of this basemont is lined with nine-inch brickwork , all being within a twelvefeet wall of masoniy . "Iho estimated cost of this tower ia about £ 14 , 000 exclusive of itf > foundation of f > ueB , which support solid balks of timber , with York ancunpp , being filled in to the depth of nix feet with , cement . Tho extreme hoight of the tower ia fortyone feet six inches . From tho exposed situation of the tower , which is subject to the sea aind weather , great difficulties woro experienced during tho winter months in proceeding with the work .

      turning up is nearly exhausted . She had a miscellaneous cargo , which , with the ship , was insured for a large amount . Blown out to Sba . —The Rival , Captain Norriu , ¦ from Maderia , arrived in the river , off the Customhouse , on Saturday , with the master , Mr . Ching , and two men on board , late of the schooner Diamond , o | Swansea , which foundered off the Scilly Isles during the recent gale . The men give most shocking details of the sufferings they endured in an open boat , which was blown two hundred miles off the hind , without the least food , for four days and nights . The Diamond was a small schooner , aud was on her way from Swansea to Southampton , when on the 29 th of last month , off the Scilly Isles , the wind blowing a strong gale from the E . N . E ., with a heavy tempestuous sea running , the vessel sprang a leak , and all efforts failed in keeping the water down . All that night , the poor fellows worked at the pumps . On the following day , the weather was , if possible , more violent ; the sea kept sweeping over the vessel , and the water reached -up to the cabin floor , flooding the provision chests . It being observed that the schooner was fast sinking , the crew , consisting of the master , Mr . Ching , Davis , the mate , Hughes , a seamen , and an apprentice boy named Perry , took to the boat , and left her some five miles to the westward of Scilly on the afternoon of 30 th ult . They were unable to placo the least food or water in the boat , and some clothing , which they had managed to scramble up , and take with them , they were compelled to throw out of the boat to lighten her , and prevent her from sinking , the fearful sea which was raging every now and then filling her . The schooner foundered shortly after she was abandoned , and the men , with three oars , pulled the boat ' s head to the sea , so as to avoid getting athwart and being capsized . The gale had the effect of blowing them off the land , out into the Western Ocean . The same Btormy weather prevailed all that night ; and the next day , the 31 st . ult ., not a sail could be discerned , and the boat was being drifted further out . Cold and hunger now began to tell upon them , and the apprentice boy , through drinking salt water , became delirious . Night again set in , with do moderation in the weather . The men kept to the oars , but their strength was fast failing them . A bark was observed some distance off , but she did not see them , and kept on her course . On the 1 st of November , there was still the strong N . E . gale , with heavy sea ; not a sail was near , and the men were prepared for the worst fate . They were gradually sinking , and , in the evening , death put an end to the sufferings of the lad . Night brought no difference in the weather , the poor fellowa getting exhausted fell asleep at their oars , which were washed , away by tho sea which was running . On the 2 nd , the gale and sea had somewhat abated , but the lengthened exposure of the unfortunate men and the want of nourishment had already had its effect , and they were weak and delirious . Providentially , however , about two o ' clock in the afternoon the Dutch East Indiamcra Noorwarts , Captain Buo , from Amsterdam to Calcutta , saw the boat and immediately bore down to it . Lines were then secured round the exhausted men , and they were hauled up on board the ship , where they received the greatest kindness . The body of the apprentice was also got on board , and , being secured in the usual way , was committed to tho deep . On the 6 th the Rival , which had been short of provisions and bore towards the Dutch bark for relief , was fallen in with , when the three men , with a bountiful supply of meat , biscuit , vegetables , water , and even spirits , were put on board for conveyance to England . The boat was picked up two hundred miles to the westward of Soilly . The men expressed themselves in terms of deep gratitude for tLe humane treat niont which they received on board tho Dutchman . The Lanp Transport Corps . —Several of tho disorderly members of tho Land Transport Corps have beon tried at Horfield-barrackB , near Bristol , and sentenced to various terms of punishment . On Friday week , a private named Reid , convicted of desertion and insubordination , suffered hia sentence of fifty lashes , in presence of all the men at the barracks . A strong picket ia now sent ni g htly to tho Bristol central police-3 tatiou to aid the civil authorities in maintaining order ainoug tho men who are billeted in the city . . , Failure ov an Experimental Ovn . —Ah it had become known that an experimental gun of very peculiar construction wns tobo proved at the Royal Arsenal butt at Woolwich , on Monday morning , a number of scientific gentlemen connected with metal fouudneu , and others interested in tho result of the experimout , wore in attendance at one P . M . The proof wub conducted by Colouol Wilmot , Superintendent of Royal Gun Factories ; Captain Vandoleur , Instructor of Artillery ; and Homo officers of the proof and other departments . Tho gun was a » ixty-oight pmmdor , made of cast steel , and manufactured by Messrs . Krunp . of Essen , in Prussia , for Captain Creuso Royali Engineers , whoao brother was likewise present at the trial . It was supposed to bo the largest pwco of coat stool ovor manufacture 1 , and weighs between

      three and four tons . A chemise , or outward covering of cast-iron , had been made for it by Messrs . Walker , which brought its weight up to nine tons . The proof charge was twenty-five pounds of gunpowder , one wad , and one of the projectiles made by the inventors , and intended for service with the gun . Thi 3 shot was jfcof a conical shape , about two feet in length , weighing 1 two hunred weight , one quarter , and seven pounds . j The quantity of powder used was less than the proofj charge of an ordinary sixty-eight pounder by three I pounds . At the first discharge , the gun burst , scattering the fragments high into the air , large pieces flying in various directions , the muzzle portion going forward with the shot several yards ; the shot took the proper direction , and was embedded ia the sand butt . The Bensation at the result was very great , as some supposed it capable of resisting any amount of powder . Its declared value was £ 1 , 500 . Drumming out Three Officers . —The three officers of the German Legion who recently deserted , and one of whom has been charged with embezzlement , hare been " drummed out " with all the usual marks of indignity . Aldershott . — The wet weather of autumn has converted the ground of this camp into a perfect bog ; but huge ditches are being dug to carry off the water , and large quantities of gravel nave been thrown down . A writer in the Times gives the following account of the present appearance of the camp : — "It can no longer be disguised that Aldershott is a military town , improvised with public money for a population of 20 , 000 soldiers , built in the first instance like a Californian city of very flimsy materials , but destined , when occasiou serves , to assume a more fixed and solid form . The North and South Camps have each their chapels and regimental schools . Separate quarters are provided , not only for the General in command , but for the Commander-in-Chief , the Minister for War , and the Queen . Her Majesty ' s hut palace is prettily situated on an eminence at some distance from the camp , but overlooking it , and the arrangements comprise stables , coach-houses , kitchen , and , in fact , every convenience for a continued residence on the spot . _ The culinary department derives an especial prominence from a stately chimney and a dexterous tunnel communicating with the royal apartments , so that participation in camp life may involve no unnecessary hardships . In the permanent barracks which are to be erected , the married men are to have separate quarters from the single . There are to be day-rooms , libraries , and lavatories , covered spaces for drill in wet weather , and , we understand , a good general hospital , which is a great desideratum now . In noticing the existing state of Aldershott , we must not forget to mention the excellent club-house erected for the accommodation of the officers by Mr . Stapleton , the wellknown wine-merchant .

      The Guiding Star . —The last advices from Melbourne , up to tho 30 th of August , briutf no tidings of the arrival of tho Ouiding Star , which loft Liverpool for that port on the 9 th of January last . She had , including officers and crew , nearly five hundred persons on board—men , women , and children . She was spoken by the Boston bark Kate , Captain Hastings , in lat . 16 . 0 S ., long- 33 . 48 W ., and has never since boon heard of , and there is reason to apprehend that she has foundered with-every soul on board . The Guiding Star is now posted at Lloyd ' s as a mining ship , a oourso not adopted until all hope of a vessel

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      THE PARIS EXHIBITION . The Montieur of Saturday publishes nn Imperial decree containing the nominations in the Legion of Honour of the following British exhibitors : — "Commander of the Order . "Mr . Faraday ( London)—for eminent services rendered to Bcience . " Knights of the Order . " Logan , President of the Geological Committee of Canada—for his remarkable geological map of that country , and the perils he encountered in the interest of science . " Lawes ( Rothamstead)— for important works on

      manure . _ ,. " William Fairbairn ( London ) , Corresponding Member of the French Institute , great builder—for employing Bheot iron in public works . " Platt , Hon ., ( Oldham)—constructor of remarkable machinery for spinning cotton . » Lord RoBse , Director of the Observatory of Ireland for hia astronomical works . " Airoy , Director of the Greenwich Observatory— - for his remarkable workB on geometry , natural philosophy , and astronomy . " Brett ( London)—for establishing tho eubmarine telegraph . , . . . " Tenant ( Glasgow ) , director of the most important manufactory of chymical productions in England— - for the discovery of the application of chlorate ol lime A

      . _ . . . . -. * __ . "Dr . Niol Arnott ( London ) , phynician to her Majesty tho Queen of England—for scientific works and tlie invention of apparatus for warming apartments ana ventilation . , . , .,, " Robert Napier ( London)—eminent Blnp l ) uildeii . Stephonson ( London ) , engineer—for groat worxs of pviblio utility . ,, rj i-flnt << Brunei ( London ) , chief engineer of tl ° gioat Western Railway-fop great works of pubho utility « Samuel Jackson ( Sheffield ) , of the «™ ^ pew and JuokBon-for his superiority in manufacturing ^ B&tajlai . ( Birming ham ) , an . mlmmt n »»^ arb »» r ^ f hia gilt and silvered bronww , and tho application of a now syatom of gilding . - - — -

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 24, 1855, page 1125, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2116/page/9/