The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-12-31 00:00:00

THE HULL AND . E FORM OF RIG.

The shell of the Warrio. built entirely of wrought
scrap iron. The keel, or p. tion to which the ribs arc
bolted,. is formed of immense Jabs, 3 feet 6 inches deep,
and 11 inch thick; the ;- ,s which spring from this
are wrought iron T shaped lams, made in joints of 5
feet in length by 2 feet in .)th. They are placed 3
feet 8 inches apart, except a distance of 10 feet on
each side of the keel, where .!y are bolted at half this
distance apart. The main an) upper decks are of iron,
covered with timber, and ti s glop deck is of timber.
Tho decks are supported by wrought iron girders
of enormous strength. Ah 'he entire length of the
vessel, from stem to stern: 'sere are solid wrought
iron beams placed at in: !s of 5 feet inside the
ribs, and these again :. strengthened by cross
girders. The bows and stem the ship are divided into
twenty-seven water-tight cc rtments, and arc shut off
from the engine-room and .ting part of the ship by
wrought iron transverse bill ads. As the armour is not
intended to cover the whole. . the ship, these compact-
ment_q will afford increased s, rity. They may be riddled
with shot in every direction itliout wet:clog bet ttarucy-
-nay, even were the bows : td stern shot clean away, the
centre would still remain floating battery, 210 ft. in
length, 27ft. in depth, and t. wide. The armour of the
frigate consists of plates oft ,mered iron four inches and
a half thick. The tests ap ed to the plates famished
by the builders of the Wv :or were of the most trying
character; as shown by le effects on the Sirius.
Some plates were fired a' th 6S-pounders, at 200 yards
distance, and were liten:' ;gut in half by balls fired one
after another on a line sn on the surface, each ball
striking immediately be' is predecessor. Upon some
other plates the ball mad. circular indentation nearly
as deep as the plates, exo.,. • of the form of the projec-
tile, and as though a m d bad been taken of it in
some soft and yielding stance. It was only after
repeated trials that it WitS led that the plates should
be of annealed scrap ire aly one row of the plates
has yet been fixed on >el's side; it is the lowest
tier, and on a level n . water-line. The weight
of the whole of the p' 'uld have been little short
of 1,000 tons, and it msidered advisable not to
add this weight to ip before launching, lest
it might strain the on the "ways." In the
design and build of a nor there are some points
which are open to gi etion. For the purpose of
obtaining a high rati led, the bottom of the ship
has been made nu: :mils the keelson, instead of
having an even floor, ;: he case of the Great Eastern,
and there is a very gets Incurrence of opinion among
practical men that th, of this will be to give a de-
cided pitching motion . ship when under way. In
the fore part, too, t is a vast amount of useless
material in the shape -erhanging bows, figure-head,
bowsprit, and other ors. The length of the ship
being some 400 feet, Las 200 feet fore and aft, which
acts as a leverage c. . its midship, and every foot
and every ton weight innecessarily added at the ex-
tremity of bows mii-! .xereise •a prejudicial influence
on the sea-going our. .2s of the vessel. In the case
of " the Gloire" the: ,• so figure-head, and her bows
form an obtuse ang a the level of the water, similar
to our own smaller • 'oats. No doubt a handsome
figurehead and fir. :led bows tend to improve the
appearance of a s' this pleasing exterior is bought
too dearly when tres from eighty to a hundred
tons of extra b', be placed at what may be re-
garded as the mad of the lever of a steelyard.
It was origins ed to give the Warrior the heavy
rig of an eight . tip, but upon a re-consideration
of the subject en decided to follow in this respect
the baque-like .1 "the Gloire," the cross-jack and
mizenyards :pensed with. If this rumour be
correct, the eha)-- one decidedly for the better.
TIIE DIMENF S OF THE ARMOUR PLATES.
The Warrior ~ throughout an iron steamship of most
extraordinary ,Irength, formed of plates -2 of an inch in
thickness. The plates at the bottom or keelson, are 11
inch in thickness. Her length ever all is 420 feet, abgnt

two-thirds of the length of the Great Eastern. Her
length between perpendiculars is 380 feet ; extreme
Og feet;, extreme depth, 42 feet. • Her tonnage
'5.(3',15.7 tons, and she will .hove screw engines of 1,250
horse tWer ,s',antk there; With her Wilms and armaments,
will give . a total YYekfl,7't of: eOusid &ably more than
10,000 tons. The hues' r,?ch' Vlach this frigate is
built are exceedingly fine, both 1011 d. alfti and it
is antidipated that she will make..l4 knots an hour;
so that, assuming the perform:me° of the Gleire has
been correctly reported, and that, she really made 13
knots, and not miles, the Warrior will still be a
faster resset The port holes of the Warrior are 9 feet
abOe'clice
,ifiter thief those of the Gloire being, it is
said, eill) ma in' it rotag,:h sea could not be
worked. This is n'sei'Y ihipbitant &attire in favour of
our frigates. Add to AM. the fiabt that in' the Warrior
and the Black Prince there tillf ii‘.4 tfouble• with
respect to unseasoned or unsound timberi airthe effect
of the shot will not tell upon •them so severely as it the
case of the plated wooden ships of the French. An
oxen/illation lately made.of the Trusty, one of our iron-
plated' froatin:i,butteries; upon which experiments were
tried, has heir timbal have been very much
injured by • the severe .I:ll'ffreg, she underwent from
the concussion of the shot from thb Armstrong gune
The Sirius also, upon the sides of 4Weit some plate
were fixed for the purpose of experiment, *dor! finally
deciding upon the form to be given to those tit the
Warrior, affords unmistakeable evidence of the shock to*
her timbers. The plates fixed on to the Sirius were fired
at saith oki 08-pound shot, and at a short distance; the
plates stood shoch well, and many persons supposed
that a shilicakd- sf?th' fhle would have 'been perfectly,
protected against the Ore of MC bealiest sea
,ordnance.
A close:., of the' i;nt odor, fiat-fever, has
thormighlf anbh notion's W.Theias the
shot penetrated, did it.osS'ed thiongli iron plate
as well as the vessel's side, file IrfAY ant' has been
actually less than when the penetration trot so
complete. In those where the plates have successfully
resisted the shot, the timbers behind are riven into lath-
wood, the bolts are drawn, and the massive timber knees
of the vessel were, by the chock on the plate, destroyed.
So complete has been the destruction of the timber work
that the vessel could not be repaired except in a dock,
and ifirqi thoroughly repaired a ship so struck would
leak like a sites% .afft.l tiqiidly sink. The outer covering
being,d iron it cottlia!t impossible to repair her
outs_ c; *bile it ,would he' hope s 4 to attempt to patch
up her shatteited tinitieii: Vesicle;
THE tAVNOFi o S'ATUR'DAt•
The weather on Saturday td& got -iedyikipitihn's for
the launch of the largest man-of-war In the Wald; nor
was it of a kind calculated toinduce many peraot4 to
take a trip to the bleak and uncomfortable promises at
the Thames Iron Works, at Blackwell. Despite the
frost and the cutting wind, however, several thousands
were present oft the occasion, and among them a con-
siderable !Mintier of ladles: Sir John Lawrence from
India'. Was there, General Peel;
.tile Minister of War under
Lord Deri*s Govern'inerit, With Ijs Colleague, Sir John
Pakingtott, /Ira Doi'd or the AdrOralty, who ordered
the first batch of irOulllatedishilA, fhb Persian Aruba .
sadors and their suite looking eitrernefy dOld sadly
mystified, and somewhat timid ; Sir Geo'rg'e
Lords of the
Admiralty is irreverently termed; Mr. Peter Rolt, I,(r.
Samuda, Mr. Woolaston Blake, of the firm of Watt and
Co.; Mr. Penn, and many.other persons well known in
various scientific and engineering professions. A plat-
form was erected tinder the bows of the ship for the
Lords of the Admiralf' Oki the friends of the contrac-
tors, and a shed near the stern fa theascicommoclation of
several hundred persons. The sides of the•ereek and
every part of the yard and adjoining premises from
which the hull could be seen was occupied by spectator's.
The band of the Royal Artillery was in attendance, and
played several popular tunes during the time that the
necessary preparations were being made. Shortly after
two o'clock tl;d arrangements had been so far.
advanced as to leave bin trio or three supporting
blocks at the bows to he coat allay. At about
half-past two o'clock Sir John Pakington adiainced to
the front of the platform and performed the amid
tismal ceremony of breaking a bottle of wine on the ship's.
bows, wishing, as he did so, "Success to the 'Warrior."
This is the first time within our knowledge that a ship
has been launched Without receiving the Christening wine
from the hand of ono of the fair sex, and having the wish.
for its success expressed by a lady's lira: We hope the
future of the 'Warrior will not be affected If these unpre-
cedented circumstances. *Whether it was an Oct of
courtesy on the part of the Lords of the Admiralty
to permit the late First Lord to perform the ceremony,
or whether they wished to show that the Warrior was
none of theirs, and declined all responsibility for
its success, was not stated. At all events, it was fitting
that Sir John Pakington, who had, among other
things, distinguished his tenure of office by the recon-
struction of the navy, by the application of screws to
timber ships, should assist at the commencement of a
second 'reconstruction, which promises to render value-
less all that has already been done. For sonic moments
the 'Warrior remained immovable, the hydraulic pumps.
were worked with vigour, till the cylinders were nearly
bursting, hundreds of hammers were wielded at the
" chocks" of timber and wedges, ropes were strained,
and blocks and pulleys urged the monster forward, and
at length it moved, but most reluctantly. The grease
on the " ways" was hardened by the cold ; the ship's
cradles were frozen to their timbers, and, .after some
four or five inches had been passed over, the ship came
to a stand, and there were not a few present who remem-
bered-the launch of another great iron ship, and feared
that there was to be a repetition of the same lingering,
tedious process as that of the Great Eastern. The tide
had nearly reached its highest point; in a few minutes it
would be too late for that day. Accordingly a powerful
steam-tug picked up a hawser from the stern, and with
full steam tugged at the unyielding hull. Still there
was no movement; a gun was fired from the deck in
the hope that the concussion caused in the air would
have some effect, the men on hoard the ship ran along
the deck towards the bows ; the Artillery band even
played a lively tune—but all in vain. At last the tug-
steamer was itself taken in tow by two others, and the
three tugs at last dragged the mass of 5,000 tons cf iron
a few inches down the incline. Slow and cautious

the giant hull crept on; gradually, as if gaining con-
fidence, it moved less slowly, the timbers and ropes
creaked beneath the enormous load and strain upon
them; the speed grew every instant, till the sole piece
first touched water, and then the hitherto inert Warrior
rushed with a resistless bound from its birth-place to its
future home, dashing the water into foam around and
on either side, and appearing intent upon its own des-
truction as well as of everything which stood in the•way
of its progress. A dozen hempen cables, seine of them
a yard in circumference, run out at the bows and made
fast to massive timber, sufficed to restrain the ship
within bounds, land to bring it up before it had run its
slender-looking sternpost on to the opposite bank. When
these enormous cables swayed high in the air as the ship
passed out of the yeti, and then, when they slackened
fell heavily into the broken water, throwing up foun-
tains of white foam, one could not fail to he struck with
the tremendous force in motion, and the enormous power
required for its control. Stout yarns, which had lashed

the cable at the port-holes to the sides of the ship, parted
like burnt thread; the huge.hawsers, let loose, seemed as
though they would carry with them every pile of timber
that stood so near to the sides of the hull. As the
Warrior passed down the. " ways" the bind played the
National Anthem, and the spectators cheered lustily, not
less on account of the success of the launch than of the
opportunity which it afforded them of quitting the cold
and cheerless positions which they hes° long, so uncoa-
fortably, but so patiently occupied. So far as we could
learn, the whole proceedings pissed off without a casualty
of any kind. There was a large attendance of police
present. under the direction of Superintendent Howie,
of the K division.

COLLISION ON THE GREENWICH

RAILWAY.

On Saturday morning a collision took place on the
line of the London and Greenwich Railway, between
the "London markets train " and what is termed a
"light engine," about 150 yards on the London side of
the Greenwich station. The train in question is the
first up train at this season of the year, and leaves the
Greenwich terminus for London at 725 a.m. At the
spot indicated there are points leading both to the up
and down platform of the station. The up train,
which contained but few passengers, chiefly traders for
Billingsgate Fish Market, had just left the station, and
was proceeding at the rate of about four miles an hour,
when, in consequence of the fog, and the difficulty of
observing the signals, it came into collision with
the down " light engine," which had started from
the Bricklayers' Arms station to bring up the
,second
train from Greenwich, when in the act of crossing at
the points referred to. Although it is stated that
the engine was proceeding very slowly towards the
station, the offoot of the collision was to knock off the
buffer plank of the engine of the up-train, and inflict
similar damage on the buffer plank of the tender of
the "light engine." Some of the passengers are said to
have been a little shaken, and some two or three to
have received cuts and contusions, but very slight. J.
Varney, the guard, was standing in front of his break at
the time of the shock, and at the moment the handle of
the break swung round and struck him a blow on the
chest. He was much bruised. One of the engine-
drivers injured his back, but the other driver and the
two stokers continued their work throughout the, day.
Neither engine. was displaced from the line, and after
the collision they both ran up to town and were placed
in the locomotive shed for repairs. Although the occur-
rence .created considerable alarm amongst the passengers
no one, as we were assured, was in any way seriously
injured. The statement of the accident in the evening
papers of Saturday night, "both the drivers and stokers
narrowly escaped with their lives, the force of the col-
lision almost completely doubling up the engiiies and
rendering them altogether unfit for service," is au exag-
geration.

The royal mail steamer America; which sailed from
Liverpool on Saturday, fur Halifax- and Boston, took
,£162,603 in specie.

• LIVERPOOL ROYAL INFIRM.% RY.—Return for week
endimr, December 29; 1860. Admitted : in-patients, 33 ;
out-patients, 29; surgical casualties, 42. Discharged :
cured, 11 ; relieved, and at own request, 5.; made out-
patients, 0 ; irregular, 0 ; dead. 6. Remain in the
house, 176. Visitors : Messrs. IV. Ratlibone, jun., and
Richard Brooke. Physician, Dr. Inman; surgeon, Mr.
Long ; house 'surgeon, Mr. R. Harrison ; junior
house surgeon, Mr. 11. G. Rawdon; chaplain, Rev.
Edward Poole; treasurer, Mr.-Charles Wilson.
Lisr OF PASSENGERS l'Elt S.S. CANADIAN, PROM
PORTLAND.—Mr. G. White and lady, Mr. Alex. Thom,
Mr. Robert Thom, Mr. W. D. Hamilton, Mr. L. L.
Vigor, Mr. Genereux, Mr. John - White, Miss Isabella
Drummond, Mr. J. Leishman, Mr. William Brown, Mr.
J. D. Howell, Captain W. P. Serocold, lady, and child,
Mr. William _Ross, Mr. B. Brennan, Mr. R. Smith,
Mr. A. Crawford, Mr. Vivian and lady, Mr. G. V.
Gerard, Mr. A. Lanter, and 24 steerage passengers.
A variety of rumours having circulated as to the
probable successor to the arduous and responsible duties
so long and so ably performed by Sir William jollitie,
we are authorised to state that the vacancy will be filled
by Colonel Taylor, who will be assisted by 11104. Whit-
more, M.P., and Mr. Gerard Noel,. M.P. for Rutland-
shire. It is almost needless to say that the appointment
has received the unanimous approbation of the party.—
.Eferald,