The Press. — London, England, 1855-11-17 00:00:00

NO'VEMBEB 17, 1855. THE BALTIC FLEET. (From our Own Corrupondent.) NAtozw, Nov. 7. NoTHING of interest has occurred since I last wrote. The fleet are just breaking up, and Admiral Baynes with his squadron, from the Gulf of Bothnia, has arrived here to take command of the blockading sivadron when the commander-in-chief leaves, which, however, he appears in no hurry to do ; in deed the old Duke is as well adapted for blockading purposes as any vessel in the fleet. Rumour says that he will leave in ten days. Admiral Seymour, with Exmouth, Colossus, and JameslWatt, left yes terday for Kiel and England. Their stay at the former place will be very short, so that the men will have an opportunity this year to spend their money at their homes, instead of squandering it in dissipa tion at Kiel. The last few days have made a strange alte ration in the appearance of tLe Esthonian shores. Snow now lays a foot deep on the ground, sad the sharp frosts harden it into a mass of pulpy ice. Revel has a most peculiar ap pearance in its wintry garb, and the Island of Nargen is so altered in appearance as hardly to be recognised 6; the same place. Of course all cricket is at an end, and daily we find the time passes in a more monotonous and dreary manner. Thousands and tens of thousands of wild fowl are to be sound on the beach, but the weather is so stormy, and sudden changes so frequent, that it is hardly considered sate to leave our ships. The days are getting very short, it being quite dark at half-past three. The last transport has arrived (the Baron Humboldt), and she is to be cleared immediately, and sent back to England. We bear that several enterprising merchant skippers brag loudly about the manner in which they will do the Britishers now that the fleet are so much reduced. They bad better be warned in time, or they may find their vessels under adjudication of the Admiralty Court before they are aware of it. There is plenty of ice inshore now, and Cronstadt will soon, if the easterly winds last, be blocked up. The Russian vessels of war in Cronstadt are dis masted, and evidently prepared for the winter. In Sweaborg there are this winter no vessels to move, the only line-of-battle ships there being so damaged by our fire during the bombardment that they are perfectly unseaworthy. By the way, there are three or four steamers of war there, but I fancy they will prefer staying where they are. THE FLOATING BATTERIES. THE question of constructing some machine capa ble of resisting alike shot and shell, has been parti ally settled by the use of the French floating bat teries against Kinburn. The subject is exciting a great amount of interest at the present moment, and the Moniteur of Monday last contained an elaborate article upon the topic, informing us that the merit of this invention of floating batteries was due en tirely to the peculiar talent of the Emperor of the French : The reports of Admiral Bruat on the attack of Kinburn have pointed out the powerful effect of the floating batteries. Some journals have already excited public curiosity by describing the particularities of their construction, but they have not made known the inventor of this new arm. It will be heard with pleasure that they are due to the in itiative of the Emperor. When, at the commencement of the war, the formidable fleets of England and France set sail for the Black Sea and the Baltic, persons, little initiated in the elements of naval war, thought that those fleets would in the twinkling of an eye destroy all the Russian fortresses. The Emperor, to whom his studies on gunnery had rendered these questions familiar, was not deceived in the matter, and he felt persuaded that if the Russian fleets, not daring to come out and give battle on the open sea, took refuge behind the fortifications which had been con structed during a time of peace at enormous expense, the allied fleets could scarcely attempt anything against their walls. He even insisted, in a note which he sent to the Minister of Marine, that the admirals should use the greatest prudence in engaging their fine and numerous ships of the line, for, he said, in war the chances should be equal. An 80-gun ship carrying 1,200 men, and the construction of which has cost years of time and millions of money to the State, should not be hazarded against a wall of little value, armed with a few guns, and served by a small number of men. The first campaign confirming these previsions, the Emperor sought for the means of creating what may be called a siege fleet, the ordinary fleet being only made to engage with ships. A line-of battle ship of one hundred guns of large calibre, and a squadron which carries thousands of them, produce very prompt and decisive effects against adversaries of the same nature, but it is not the same against fortifications in ma sonry or in earth, because in that case one of the two com batants is much more vulnerable than the other, being alone exposed to the danger of sinking. The land forts throw balls against ships which pass through their sides, carry away their masts, and scatter about splinters of wood and iron which kill and wound a greater number of men THE PRESS. than the projectiles themselves. Red-hot shot produce different but even more dangerous effects. If they lodge in the sides, they gradually ignite the timber, and, unless prompt attention be paid, occasion a tire which compels the abandonment of the vessel. Some balls of this kind reached one of the French line-of-battle ships, at the time of the cannonade of Odessa, and did considerable damage. It must also be added that the fire of cannon on shore placed on solid platforms must be more just than on board a vessel agitated by the sea ; that the line-of-battle ship presents a large target for the fire of the battery, and that her draught of water will not generally allow her to place herself in whatever position may be wished. The writer then proceeded to explain the force of various kinds of shot, and to demonstrate the terrible effects of the Paixhan.shell guns, which throw con cussion shells horizontally against a ship's side : But what has rendered the artillery of forts still more formidable is the invention which has rendered illustrious the name of General Paixhans, and which consists in throwing horizontally, and with as much precision as solid shot, hollow projectiles of large calibre, one of which only, in lodging in the side of the vessel, just between wino. and water, may, in bursting, produce a leak which it will be found impossible to close : one of these projectiles may, therefore, be sufficient to sink a line-of-battle ship. The same effect is not produced by an ordinary cannon-ball passing through the side ; the fibres of the wood again close, and only leave an opening for the water, which can be readily plugged. Before this discovery of General Paixhans these shells were only thrown vertically, and, although they might by falling on a vessel make their way through the decks, yet the uncertaintyof their fire rendered them in reality not very formidable. The principal object which the Emperor had in view was to find a means of constructing vessels at a less expense, which could be built with greater expedition than a large vessel, draw less water, and consequent" approach nearer the shore ; and, having their sides covered with a thick coat of iron, the hollow shot fired at them from the Paixhans guns would break like glass against them. The original idea, therefore, was, not to render a vessel invulnerable, but to counteract the effects of the invention of General Paixhans. Impressed with this idea, the Emperor ordered experiments to be made, which were tried in his presence at Vincennes. Panels of wood, representing a section of the side of a ship, were erected, and covered with plates of iron of different thicknesses. Guns of large calibre were placed at a short distance, and the effect of their fire allowed a calculation to be made as to the thickness of the iron sheathing required, which, without encumbering the vessel too much by its weight, would protect her sides against these hollow shot. The experiments showed that the iron sheathing also resisted more solid shot than would be likely to strike it during a long engagement. This fact being determined, the Emperor commenced the planning of a special vessel according to the following programme : one tier of guns, light draught of water, not very high above the water-line, and effectual protection against every kind of projectile. Sailing qualities were obliged to be sacrificed to the parti cular object in view, and the Emperor gave to this new engine of war the name of "floating battery," in order to show that it was not a vessel made like any other, to pursue or to avoid the enemy, but a real siege battery, to energetically and for a long time contend against fortifica tions considered by the enemy as unattackable by sea. On the French naval engineers being consulted, they readily comprehended the proposed plan, which was promptly de cided on. The floating battery could only be masted in such a way that the masts could be entirely lowered before going into action, and a steam-screw would allow of its taking up its proper position without other assistance. The article then explained the details of the various experiments made, the result attained, and concluded with ascribing the merit of the invention, and ',for • getting the Russian artillery) also of heavy field artillery, to the French Emperor : As soon as the first experiments of the firing had con• firmed the ideas on which this new invention was based, and even before the plan was fully decided on, the Emperor eagerly communicated his views to our faithful and great ally. Competent persons, men of knowledge and experience, at first felt some surprise, for the question was regarded is one that could not be solved ; but, experiments on the effect of the fire having been made, they full confirmed the results which had been obtained in France. The two Governments then agreed to build a certain number of these floating batteries, which have just made their first trial at Kinhurn. The projectiles which struck them, not withstanding their size, could neither pass through nor damage their sides, and they soon opened practicable breaches in the stone walls. Thus, not only have the floating batteries, as the Emperor wished, neutralised the formidable properties of the Paixhans shot, which produced such disastrous effects at Sinope, but the experience of war, like the experiments at Vincennes, have proved that they can resist round-shot. Our navy and that of our allies, who now are acquainted with the properties of these war like machines, will know how to turn them to good ac count. The Emperor had before that furnished France with a description of artillery which performed a very material part in the victories of the Alma, of Inkermann, and of Tractir; he has now endowed the navy with an arm which has only just made its appearance, and of which the future career will prove the power. THE HANOVERIAN ELECTORAL COLLEGES were con voked on the 3rd inst. According to the Constitution of 1840, the definitive elections must be concluded within six weeks after the publication of the royal ordinance. The Constitutional party rely on pre senting itself en masse at the elections, and they think they shall obtain an imposing minority iu the Second Chamber. The period for the States General to meet is not yet fired. 1091 tortign pt,orrtspoithatt. FRANKFORT, NOY. 13. [T is most injurious to the reputation, as also to the interests, of England that the Times should persist pertinaciously in its abuse of the Liberal and Anglo- Gotha party in Germany, mote especially of that section which has the Prince Royal of Prussia for its rallying point. The approaching visit of the King of Sardinia has been seized upon by the Times to draw a comparison betwixt the frank and hearty friendship of Victor Emanuel and the more cautious amity, according to that authority, of the young Prince Frederick William of Prussia. This is shame fully unjust, and, so far from reflecting discredit on the object of attack, challenges an investigation of character, certain to elicit the real deserts of the accused, but not fruitful of the same advantage to the accuser. To personal comeliness the Prince adds those manlier graces and acquirements that are particularly valued amongst Englishmen, and they are joined to an affitbiiity of deportment and kindliness of disposition that have gained him the high estimation of all those by whom he has hitherto been surrounded. Subtracting the prestige of his elevated rank and placing him in any society, he would bear the distinguishing mark of a highly-bred gentleman ; and if to these external merits be added those of a careful education, with an early predilection, acquired by parental teaching and example, for England and the English, it may be said without incurring the charge of adula tion that he is eminently suited for the exalted and happy destiny that it is supposed awaits him. Let it be admitted that no sovereign deserves heartier welcome at the hands of England than the King of Sardinia—but even he and his warmest adherent.. would blame those unwise panegyrists who would laud him at the expense of one whose good offices may be of more avail to him hereafter than the vain sycophancy of the Whigs of England. To the difficulty of finding a Secretary of the Colo nies, it would appear, is added the amusing refusal of the Duke of Argyll, a Minister, and chairman of a public dinner at Glasgow, to propose the toast of " The Allied Armies." It has had a disparaging effect on the Continent. These derogatory admis sions of Ministerial weakness and disunion at a crisis so pregnant of event tend to degrade the character of the English Ministry, and to depreciate the vaunted attributes of representative government. Damaged by Whig subordinates, and coupled to Whig incapables, any Minister must stagnate unless the Augean stable be thoroughly cleansed from Whig impurities. The hpes of Austria have had their rise and fall in propor• Lion to the ascendancy or decadency of the Whig faction. The December treaty by which the Anglo-Frank allies became bound to an inanimate and corrupt adjunct, was applauded and supported by the Whigs ; the occupation of the principalities, an act ostensibly hostile, but covertly favorable to Russia, and really advantageous to Austria in a sense adverse to Turkey and the allies, met with Whig approval. Lord John Russell, in his mission to Vienna, became the sorry victim of Austrian policy, by whose Minis ters and Emperor he was humored, cajoled, and ridiculed. The sibilant marks of disapprobation at the Mansion-house banquet have destroyed the little prestige he may have had in Vienna, for the false are ever the first to join in the cry of " haraud sur le bandet." And it is during this process of Whig servility towards Austria that the English chaplain at Vienna has been officially insulted and imprisoned. The British Consul at Cologne, also, has been condemned for acts improper or not, but in obedience to the behests of his Government. The Whigs have been systematic in their defence of Austria, and egregiously abusive of the Liberal party in Germany. Become audacious from an immunity of punishment, the Vienna Cabinet now seeks to wrest the Danubian principalities from Turkey by an endeavour to create Prince Stirb), the hereditary opponent of the Porte, Hospodar of Wallachia and Moldavia for life, under an Austrian protectorate. Virtually, this would be a dismemberment of the Turkish empire, with a future appropriation of Bosnia and Servia by like means. There is an evident stir in the Scandinavian king doms. Not less certain is it that a prurient uneasi ness affects the German sovereigns, and these causes combined sufficiently accounted for the presence of MM. Prokesch Osten, De Beust, and Von der Pfordten at Paris, and for the mission of General Canrobert to Stockholm. To assert with official gravity that the object of the German Ministers in their visit to the French capital was nothing but a curiosity to see the Exhibition, and that the journey of the French general was solely to convey to his Majesty of Sweden the insignia of the Legion of Honour, is a diplomatic absurdity, totally inopera tive with those who occupy themselves seriously with the passing events of this momentous day. Germany, as well as Italy, is impatient of Austrian i 1