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Feb. 7,1352.] gEftg VLeaiiet. 125
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NATIONAL DEFENCES. There is no abatement...
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INTRAMURAL INTERMENTS. A deputation wait...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Continental Notes. From Berlin We Learn ...
- , , . mr Trova . Minister of Public Instruction , ^ been ^ onSed President ^ of theCpunciL h InSy was talked of , but this would seem a ^ cia 1 h-improbable , from the fact that Filangien SeSioned as the new Chief Minister . ¦ ™ T hereditary prince " being now turned sixteen , " ^ tewamea Grand Constable of the Order of St . £ Snd ^ taken his seat in the Council of State . Sappy kingdom * o be so easily governed ! At Ancona the guillotine is in preparation ( says thP correspondent of the Daily News ) , so that the Shabitante apprehend that they will soon have to witness some sanguinary work . All the moderate party in La Marca are now alienated from the Papal / 3 . QY 0 rnniGiit « Mr Sheppard has entered into a contract with the municipality of Rome for lighting the city with gas . He is to have the monopoly of manufacturing gas for private houses and shops for twenty-five years .
of the work . The question of Papal railways is still in suspense . . _ . There has been a rather animated debate in the Prussian Chambers on the relations of Prussia to the Frankfort Diet . A resolution had been moved to the effect that the independence of Prussia was inconsistent with the pretensions of the Central Diet , in which Austria was generally opposed , and always preponderant . The Government mqyed the order of the day by a negative to the resolution , which was said to refer to " relations beyond the competence of the Chambers . " In . the course of the debate M . Manteuffel spoke disparagingly of Parliamentary government . Exceptions were taken to his words , and the Ministers explained that he did not allude to the Parliamentary system generally , but to its
exaggeration . . The bill re-imposing the stamp duties on the press in Prussia has been printed . A duty is imposed on foreign newspapers by the following clause : — " Whoever takes a newspaper or periodical published out of the state of Prussia , has to pay a tax of twentyfive per cent , of the subscription price -of the-said periodical , exclusive of the postage , at the place of publication , or , at the least , two thalers a year for each periodical . " _
The number and siz 6 of political periodicals have so increased ( writes the correspondent of the Times ) that most of the Berlin daily papers will have to pay an average of four thalers a year for every subscribed copy ; one journal alone will pay more than a third of the amount of the whole revenue from this source , before 1848 , throughout the monarchy . More than one will have to pay forty thousand thalers a year—by the German standardan immense sum . It may even inspire the
, Government with a little respect for jour nalism , at present suspected , fettered , confiscated , and liable to illtreatment of all descriptions , when it finds that one paper alone , from its little obscure offices , pays the yearly official salary of half the Ministers of State . The Kreu Zeitung declares the tax exorbitant , as it will absorb nearly three-fifths of its gross revenue—an amount of taxation imposed on no other enterprise in which large capital is embarked .
The King of Denmark is to publish a manifesto relating to the future governments of Schleawig and Holstein , which is expected to settle finally the whole question . The Austrian troops will then be withdrawn from Holstein , and , it is hoped , from Hamburg also , as there could be no plea for their remaining . The exportation of grain is prohibited throughout the Russian empire . The Austrian provinces shew strong signs of disaffection towards the " paternal " government . In Dalmatia there have been desperate outbreaks of smugglers , on the attempt to introduce the Austrian customs , regulations , and taxes .
In Croatia the discontent is aggravated by the recent ordinances ( of the 31 st of December ) abolishing their long enjoyed political privileges , as a reward for their fidelity to the royal house . ' 1 'he sentence ( says the Vienna correspondent of the limes ) p assed on the youth for not taking off his hat when the Emperor passed , is thus mentioned in the Wiener Zeitung of yesterday : — " Louis Danzmayer , shopman , twenty stripes with a rod , and eight days ' arreat in a military prison , for inflammatory demonstrations in a public place ! " You may suppose what indignation the wording of this sentence has occasioned . It is unsafe for any stranger to whom the august proaence of the beardless Nero is unknown , to walk tho streets of Vienna .
^ he birth of a royal child seqms to bo a very important event in Spain . The Gazette of Madrid announces that , in order to pe rpetuate the recollection of the birth of tho Infanta " j '" . to tho throne , the Ayuntamiento had decided , w tll < 3 approbation of the Queen , that the children of «™« - i e * SeB » born on tho Ba" > e . day aB her Iloyal Highness , ini ? 1 , the ? wer 0 the legitimate children of artisans , abourers , and retired military men , Whose , pension did r , « H « XC ° ^ d ? ix roal 8 daily > nnd who Possessed no other A . existence , should eaoh receive C 000 reals . Tho A yumtamiento further decreed that the children born on
th « « 7 tho christening of the PrinoesB , and placed in mnVLT " dltiona ° s the first , should receive each l « Wi 1 X hoB 0 BumB aro t 0 b 0 «« po » itod in the Sinking them ««?? ' ^ itl 1 the Aooumul'ited interests , to bo paid «> cm on tUo day they shall become of agu .
ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THE QUEEN OF SPAIN . The Morning Chronicle ! yesterday published the following telegraphic despatch . " Ma . dk . id , February 2 . —An attempt has just been made on the life of Queen Isabella II . At present the wound does hot seem da . ngerous / , ' . . . The Constitution adds : — " The 2 nd of February was the day on which * he was to take her first , airing , and go to the Church of Atocha , to be churched . "
Feb. 7,1352.] Geftg Vleaiiet. 125
Feb 7 , 1352 . ] gEftg VLeaiiet . 125
National Defences. There Is No Abatement...
NATIONAL DEFENCES . There is no abatement in public feeling on this topic . A body of influential gentleman at the West End have for the last few days been busily engaged in forming an association , having for its object the establishment of rifle clubs in the various districts of London . A numerous meeting was held on Thursday week , attheThatched-house Tavern , St . James ' sstreet , when several resolutions were unanimously carried , and a committee formed for the purpose of developing its plans . It is the intention of the committee to raise subscriptions for the purpose of procuring rifles for the use of such members as may be unable or indisposed to purchase them . Among the first subscriptions received for carrying but this object was one of £ 5 from Mrs . Alfred Tennyson , and another of the same amount from the Poet Laureate himself . The inhabitants of Winchcombe and its neighbourhood , headed by Lord Ellenborough and a few other residents of the district , are exerting themselves to get up a local rifle corps , and a public meeting on the subject is to be held on Saturday . Government proposes to call out the militia .
Meanwhile we have heard enow of officers opinions on the state of the army . A few remarks from " privates" are apropos and acceptable . The Times of Tuesday contained the following letter , signed William Seamore , and adding the respectable Seamore ' s address : — - " I address you respectfully . Three of us pensioners almost always read your paper . My father was a gamer keeper . Before I enlisted I was brought up to that too , and although I was not drilled and I lived irregularly , I could walk twice as far , and carry more weight of game —because I was not hampered with straps _ and buckles and a-stiff stock—than ever I could after I was a soldier .
Many officers are sportmen , and could ten the Commander-in-Chief that there ought to be a new undress , a sort of dark mixture cloth madejinto a short ' waggoner , ' fastened round the waist with a belt , and round the wrists and neck with a button , made loose , because it would not show a man hiding half as much as the tight edge of a coatee . The stock is enough to break your neck when you jump down three or four feet , so there should be an indiarubber one , or cloth . There should be a good cap , like a huntsman ' s ; and all the boots are made a bad shape—if they were made as well as officers' shooting boots , they would not beat the men on the line of march as often as they do . The clothes I
mean would do for undress and fatigue at home , and would be the best for fighting ; and the full dress mightbe kept , stock , shako and all , for parade , and teaching recuits to look soldierlike and tidy , and for officers ' parties . The firelock is nearly twice too heavy , and kicks hard , and the lock too stiff . There is twice too much leather in all the belts , and they ou « j ; ht to be coloured mouse colour , like I often did officers' hunting breeches . If there were inquiries made from three or four officers in every regiment in the service , and all they said put togetherthey would soon find out the right uniform and
, accoutrements for fighting . I don ' t know the new invention of guns ; but the cartouche-box is too heavy , and placed wrong . When we are in a hurry , and firing quick , we always pull it round , and it ought to be made to come round easier ; I mean to the front . The knapsack ought not to be stiff and square , but made to buckle up small ; and let more things be taken out of it for long marches , and hot polished ; then , like the tight clothes , it would not be seen lying down . This is a bad letter from an old man , but if your / honour puts it in I can tell you more another time . "
From another quarter complaints of a different nature are published in the leading journal of Thursday A " Private Marine " is the writer . " Well , Sir , I commence my career with the shilling of the r ecruiting sergeant , and after undergoing the usual allowance of bully ing from all ranks , from a lancecorporal up to an adjutant , and hearing tho Queen s English mutilated by certain drill sergeants , who fance that the chief part of their duty consiuts in making a noise , I am at length ' passed for duty '—that is , I havy been taught to keep my head up , to step in time , & call very good things in their way . I have a stiff stock put round my throat , almost producing strangulation ; 1 am imprisoned in a tight-fitting coat ; I have a thing that I am told is a muakot put into my hand ; and there is no dnnbt but if I keep my boots marked " , my buckles and
belts propdrly clean , spend all my pay in buying new trousers ancl canteen covers , and keeping a very awkwardly constructed knapsack nicely , varnished , not forKettintr to march into the field , when required , with a Strictly regulated pace , I shall bo a credit to the country and become a great wurrior . So far so goou . But the wiso gentlemen who have taken such pains to teach mo to do everything in a certain number of motions , and in strict time , have quite forgotten to explain to mo the uses of the weapon I am armed with . 1 have no means of knowing the range of my raiwket ; I do »< jt know whether it curries ittt ball high or low ; whether it divenros to tho right or left . 1 do not know the weight or inouauru of « , charge of powder , should ready-made
cartridges fail , and could scarcely cast a ball even if I had a mould . Now , sir , it is all very well for me to assist my comrades to deliver a volley in excellent time . I can load and fire on the same principle as a parrot learns A , B , C , but I want some instruction in the properties of the weapon . If I were placed in a situation ( among the Kafirs , for instance ) , where every shot ought to be of service , I might as well be armed with a tobacco pipe . I know that I must fire at an-object , but I also ought to be able to strike it ; but as I am at present taught , I should not know whether an enerny were within my reach or not , nor how to aim with a reasonable chance of hitting him . If I were to apply to the drill sergeant for any information of this kind , he would most probably call it ' pertinence , ' and put me in the guard-room ; or , perhaps , say , ' It ' s no business of yourn ; I likes to see
a man do wot he s told , and ask no questions . ' "My remarks will apply just as well to naval actions , for certainly regular volleys would be of little avail against the bulkheads of a ship ; all the service must be done . individual shots and independent firing . Now , Sir , there are hundreds of my comrades as ignorant as I am of the uses and properties of a musket , and perhaps many thousands in the service are in the same predicament . With all due deference , do you not think that , instead of worrying and harrassing men with such trifling non-essentials as canteen covers , buckles , & c , it would be more to the credit of our rulers were proper means taken to render the men efficient by thoroughly explaining and pointing out the uses of the weapons they are armed with , and allowing every man to practise individually and learn the trim of the article he has to defend his life with ?"
Add to these , letters almost daily from Sir Charles Napier—bitter , trenchant , and alarming ; descriptions of needle guns and Minie rifles , and inefficient heavy ship guns ; and you , dear reader , safe at home , may form some notion of the chances of your excellency ' s repose being disturbed some bright morning by the crack of foreign fire-arms . " Here is a description of the Swiss rifle—the rival of the fatal Minie : — " This weapon weighs only 9 £ lb . The bore is very small . The ball weighs only 255 grains—hardly onethirdas much as that jof the Minie rifle ; and in form it is not unlike a piece of tobacco pipe , tapering to a point , and nearly an inch in length . As for the range of this
Swiss rifle , we = aeed only mention that , at a distance of 1000 paces , 100 balls ( fired from a rest ) struck a target of eight feet six inches square , and penetrated three planks of deal placed one inch asunder , besides pa 8 sing ~ hajf through a fourth . At this range , the extreme height of the trajectory—the patch of the ball in the air—was thirty-three feet six inches ; whilst , at a range of 500 yards , it was only eight feet six inches . Consequently , if fired at a mark 500 yards off , the ball could scarcely fail to strike any soldiers , cavalry or infantry , who might be between the gun and the object . Owing to the lightness of the ball , a soldier armed with this rifle can carry 150 rounds of ball cartridge , whilst he can only carry forty rounds on the Minie system . There its
are minor advantages claimed for this weapon over competitor , in loading and firing , one of which is so singular that we will mention it . jThe Minie ball is furnished with an iron thimble , fitting into a hollow in its lower extremity , into which the explosion of the powder drives it , so as to force the lead into the grooves of the rifle and to prevent windage . Now , if this hollow is not shaped with great care and exactness , the explosion will sometimes drive the thimble completely throug h the bullet , leaving the latter jammed in the grooves of the rifle , in the shape of a long cylinder , and of course completely destroying the efficiency of the weapon . Few sportsmen , we suspect , were prepared to hear of so extraordinary an instance of leading . On the other hand , the Swiss projectile , being solid , is subject to no such mishaps . "
Tiie same journal , the Morning Chronicle , suggests tho addition of a bayonet to the rifles of the volunteer corps . 1-
Intramural Interments. A Deputation Wait...
INTRAMURAL INTERMENTS . A deputation waited on Lord John llussell on Saturday , from the parishes of Marylebone and St . Pancras , to lay before his lordship the views of the parishioners on intramural interments , and to present a memorial praying that the parochial authorities might be authorized to purchase sites for extramural interments under local control . Lord John llussell , in reply , spoke as follows : — " Gentlemen , ! can only state to you , in reply , that the matter has been for some time under the consideration of the Government ; that the general principle of the measure to be produced has been agreed upon , and that Lord Seymour has been charged by me with the duty of preparing the measure and carrying out its details . I believe that we are all agreed on the general principles , and these only I shall touch upon at present . In the
first place , we are agreed that there is a great desire , und I think a very just desire , that interments should not go on within the metropolis . In . crowded / streets it is not fit that there should be bu ' riajgrounds , and where tho number dying is very large the result must be very injurious to the public health . In tho next p lace I should Bay that I entirely agree thai anything that can be dono by the parochial authorities would be better dono by them than by tho Government , or by a board appointed by tho Government . In tho tliird place , that it is a matter of no little difficulty to accomplish tho object in such a town as this is , considering the vast size of tho metropolis . I am told that such things are arranged differently in other townu , nnd I can conceive it ; but in this town we have to consider that if the burialgraundH to be provided aro to be froo from buildii » K » » * hby must bo at a coneidcrublo diBtanco . If wo go to tit . Pancras , wo find
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 7, 1852, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07021852/page/9/
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