Hobarton Mercury (Tas. : 1854 - 1857), Wednesday 5 July 1854, page 3


ENGLISH NEWS.

A New Engine of Destruction.-A change has come over the spirit of our dream of war and conquest during the week. A nameless and mysterious dread has crept amongst the boldest, and the tone of mocking jib and rash defiance is altered in our sal mc for that of dread and dismay-the loud sarcasm at the operatic boastings of the Czar changed into whispered suspicions of their appro-aching justification. The French journals are silent altogether upon the subject which concerns us most, and it is there- fore, from mouth to mouth that the rumor has spread which has filled us with scorn and indignation. The news which has had this effect is at present based upon strong supposition only, but which once grown into certainty, would turn this con-ventional courtesy with which we have all this while been acting towards the Em-peror Nicholas, into burning indignation and contempt of so base and trecherous an enemy. It appears that however great the astonishment created here by the suddenness, and above all the com-pleteness of the destruction of the Turkish vessels at Sinope, the wonder experienced by those now gathered on the spot, and who have witnessed the frightful havoc created by the attack of the Russians, has been great still. So unaccountable, indeed, did the sudden result appear to the awestruck Turks, that in their terror they declared that the Russians must be in possession of the Greek fire, or some potent secret of witchcraft where by their vessels were consumed without warning and without hope of escape. This asser-tion was, of course, laughed at until the late visit of a certain French engineer to Sinope, who, upon examining some of the wrecks, gave it as his opinion that

the missiles used in the destruction of the Turkish vessels were novel invention and unlike anything hitherto used in war-fare. Some of the spars from the dis-mantled ships were despatched by him to the French Commander, to be duly examined by persons of experience in matters of this nature. Among those present was the captain of one of the fri-gates who had, under Louis Phil-ippe, formed part of the Conccil of the Marine. At sight of the frag-ments sent for examination by the engineer, he was struck with the remem-brance of an invention offered to the min-ister while he was in the Bureaux of the

Marine, and which was rejected at the time, as its employment in war would be contrary to the laws of humanity and honorable warfare. The invention was due to the chemical researches of M. Fortier, who calls it in his programme, the boulet asphyxiant, and was discovered in the year 1839. Upon Fortier's offer to communicate the secret to the Minister of Marine, he refused to accept it, alleg-ing the great number of means for the destruction of human life already existing, and there it seems, the matter ended. In 1842 another proposals was made of the same invention registered in the archives of the marine, as Fortier's "boulet asphyxiant" ,no longer, however, made by the inventor, but a M. Champion, an individual well known in the annals of of Paris life who had lost an[d] won many fortuness-who had been fermier des jeux, speculato on the Bourse, an efante de la ball."-in short one of those who

deem all means of gain lawful where till have equal chance. The offer was again refused upon the same protext as before, and nothing more was heard of the

affair until it became known that M

Champion had repaired his broken for-

tunes in Russia. Captain B -, who had seen the specimens which Fortier deposited at the marine in 1839, declares the effect to have been precisely the same as that visible upon the shattered spars of Sinop. The programme of Fortier's in vention describes it as livid fire burning under water, and destroying life by suffo-cation in all who happen to be within a certain distance of its explosion. The observation made by Captain B-at the end of the report which has been sent home, is this:-" If the Emperor of Russia is really in possesion of this dea-dly element of destruction, the combined navies of the whole universe would be

powerless against him." The report of this affair has given rise to great researc-hes amongst our men of science, and the dossier containing the frontier affair has been ransacked during the last few days in order that experiments may be made to ascertain if, from the few hints thrown out in the inventor's official description a result could be arrived at whereby some kind of judgement might be formed of the deadly importance of the weapon. Meanwhile the initiated are awaiting in moody alarm every sort of news from the east founding their fears upon the ap-parently insane confidence of the Emperor Nicholas, and the experience of the fear-ful consequence of the only naval encoun-ter which has taken place as yet.--Paris Correspondent of the Atlas.

A " Fast" Clergyman.-The Bishop of Lyons being at breakfast, the Abbe de - paid him a visit. The bishop in-vited him to partake of the meal; the abbe refused - the prelate insisted. " My lord," said the abbe, " I have breakfas-ted twice already; and besides, this is Fast day,"-Mirabeau's Letters.

Things never to be found when

wanted - The right fare for the cabman, when you're in a dreadful hurry ; the words to express yourself, when you are returning thanks ; the courage to take the last fig, whilst some one is looking at you ; the knives and forks, when you go out to a pic-nic ; the fire-escape, when there's a fire raging ; and a policeman,

when there's a disturbance. - Punch.

The Vacant Bishopric of Salis-bury.- The diocese of Salisbury, which has become vacant by the death of the Right Rev. Dr.Edwards Denison, com-prises part of Wiltshire and Berkshire, and the whole of Dosetshire, containing a population, according to the census of 1851, of 379,296. It contains 442 bene- fices, about 60 of which are in the gift

of the diocesan.

Last Words of Mr. Justice Tal- fourd.--After referring to the heavines[s] of the calendar, the late Judge was pro-ceeding to call the attention of the grand jury to the prominent part which drunk-enness bore in producing crime, and the last words that fell from his lips were-"No doubt that the exciting cause in the far larger number of these cases - the exciting cause that every judge has to deplore in every county in this land is that justly called, in the discourse to whi[ch] listened yesterday, from the sheriff''s [cha]plain, ' the great-est English vice,' which makes a byeword and a reproach amongst nations who in other respects are inferior to us, and have not the same noble principles of Christianity to guide and direct them -I mean the vice of drunkenness. One great evil of this circumstance is, I think you will find, looking at the depositions one after the other, that it is a mere re-petition of the same story over again - of some man who has gone from public-house to public-house, spending and exhibiting his money, and is marked out by those who observe him, as the fitting object for plunder when his senses are obscured, and who is made the subject of an attack under those circumstances which enable the parties to escape from the consequences, be-cause, although the story may be per-fectly true which the prosecutor in this case tells - although it may be vividly felt by him, yet he is obliged to confess" - Here his Lordship fell from his seat. The sequel has been made known to our

readers.

The Telegraph in America.-Th[e] length of the telegraph lines in the United States exceeded 15,000 miles in 1852, and has since then considerably

increased.