The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1882-04-18 00:00:00

THE CHANNEL FLEET.

Our contemporary. the Hants TdearapA, says:—
The Channel +quadron Is, at leot, t . be made smoo-
thing respectable in p int of di-, hates I ol being any
longer permitted to wander at'ent in such so
attenuated form that it might Judi), have been known
as the Chopin I skeleton A week or two hence
Admiral Carr Glyn will arrive at Portland with his
three ship., 'DI wIl here await the airant of the
other flagship, Minot.ar, and the Sulian. which hoe
been ordered to be commissioned on the 18th inst., by
Captain HunkGrubbe. I hoar, too, that the offi or. '
of the Channel Squadron ships are to have the
advactage of such special instruction in torpedo
warfare silt afforded by the Reels, as their L irdahipe
are of opinion that she h.is been long enough at the
(Second of the Mediterranean &rear n, and that she
might do good service nearer home. As she WU
commissioned in September, 1878, it I. intended to
pay her off and re-commission her at once, and I
believe that the command will remain in the bands
of Catrain Willem. In speaking of the augmentation
of the Sqn,dron, It I. worth while to remember that
the Agioceurt can pot in c onto sloe si I iog
July, 1877, and her paying off cannot be much longer
delayed.
Orders bare just been tamed to the Commander-in'
Chief on the Mediterranean stat on to mend the Elects
home. She is ti Silica at -4pithead thud g the
peened week in May, and wil then be paid and
re commiseloned for temporary sarvite with the
Channel Squadron.
The Minotaur, which was commis4oned at Ports-
mouth on Tuesday last by Commander John it E.
Pattisson, as ft agship of the C m,nau let-in-Chief of the
Channel Squedron, after having un lergone nth ineigh
overhaul said ,41111 repaired at a cost of £lO,OOO, will
be warmly welcomed by the rest of the +quadric, and
ahould her •orrounrlings In this commiveion prove 1114
pleasant as thorns in the poet, there will be ample
ground for congratulation. The many and successful
theatricals, dinner p.rties, children's partiee,
and a hod of other entertainments, given by Captain
Raw. in and her officer., at the various porta at which
she touched, will long be remembered, and it mooing
to be seen whether the prestige than gained will be
maintained. It hat been said that shiest of the Mini.
tame clam are obsolete, and useless as fi /Ming vessels,
but there are many who hold a totally different opinion,
and believe that they are still useful for sea-golog or
ocean warier*. Although not so for idable as the
more modern elms of war ship., they are sail caciable
of giving a good account of them.elves, particularly
when armed, a. they shortly will b., with breech.
loading gun.; when their engines will be compounded,
No
as to give them an increase of speed and coal
carrying capacity; and when their upier decks are
bereft of all riggirg, anti nothing remains hut ti e
lower wits, which could be a utilised with derricks
enabling six first-class torpedo boats to be stowed on
deck. It vaunt always be remembered, ton, that
these ship., from their peonliar construction, are capa-
ble of carrying an immense number of troops, and
might be advantageously employed as transports,
should the neoes.ity arise.