The Express.
London, England, 1861-09-21 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY EVPNING, SEPTEMBER 21, 1861.

TRIAL TRIP OF H.M.S. WARRIOR.

capitally handled by her officers and crew, the
Warrior passed through this her first, though corn-
(111011 ocia sescist coaassrorresin.l
partitively slight ordeal, in the most masterly style.
On Thursday, at mid-day, her Majesty's iron- Thoroughly under command, and answering with
plated steam-frigate Warrior slipped her mooriugs the most obliging readiness to her helm, she
at Greenhithe and proceeded to Portsmouth,
where was then and continued to be a model of good
she arrived on Friday morning, after a moat I temper and obedience. From this time she pro
successful and satisfactory voyage. It will be ceeded on her course at something like half speed,
remembered that this, the first ship of the future 1 until about two o'clock, when more steam was got
iron navy of England, was built by the Thames ; up, and she ran witha loose rein, so tospeak, reeking
Iron Company, and that after being launched she 1 excellent way ; and it may be here stated that
was towed down to Greenhithe, where her equip- i during her run down the highest revolution of the
meat in every department was completed, her guns, , engines was 47, and the average speed attained was
ammunition and stores placed on board, her ' about 13 knots. This was done, it must be under.
officers and crew appointed, and everything which stood, under circumstances of disadvantage ; fur,
was necessary for her trial-trip to Portsmouth, apart from the obvious drawbacks and diffi-
where she is to be placed iu dock, brought to culties inseparable from new machinery, a por-
e. conclusion by the day which had been fixed for tion of the cradle on which she was launched—
her leaving the river. On Wednesday a multi- the iron part—had not yet been removed, and it is
tude of workmen were still on board, and a con- believed that her bottom was very foul. Nor should
fusion prevailed which to the eye of the uninitiated the important fact be forgotten that her screw,
was rather ominous of her being iu such a state of powerful as it is, has yet a weight of 12,000 toner
preparation as to enable her to start at the time all told, to drive through the water.
I eppeinted. By Thursday, however, at a very early • 'The progress of the ship then became as un-
hoar, a change was visible, which spoke well for eventful as good fortune. Everything west so shied
! the tact and energy of the officers of the ship , for that there is *lle to rear* which attaehis sb44+l,
by that time she had assumed, as nearly as pee- to a trial trip. Of Sheenier, the Bort Admiral,
Bible, the appearance of a well-ordered mau-of-war, La his yacht, came off, and ranged up snit-
and was in all respects equal to the task which wag ciently near to take a very deliberate survey
immediately before her—namely, that of proceeding of the Warrior, and was saluted with 16
las far down Channel as " the Wight." Although/lguns. At 4 o'clock the pilot expressed a
in point of tonnage, length, and specific mei- ...wish to anchor for the night, being of opinion
surements, nearly the largest ship afloat, so perfect that there would not be sufficient water to take the
is her symmetry that as she lay at her moorings at ship over what are called the "Flats," by the
Greenhithe, sitting as finely and airily ou the water Southern channel, that day. It was, however, con-
ma yacht, she did not strike the eye of the ordivary sidered desirable by Captain Cochrane that she
observer as anything extravagant or unusual iu size. should reach Portsmouth at an early hour on Fri-
But when standing on her flush dock, and looking day morning, when the state of 'the tide would be
from her stern forward, you are able to form some peculiarly advantageous for getting her into
idea of the vastness of this superb specimen of naval dock, and the pilot having declined the re-
architecture ; and certainly so remarkable a coin- i sponsibility, the Captain took it formally
bisuition of beauty and strength has never yet : upon himself, and the ship held on her
been exhibited in the structure of a ship. Built ! course- It became necessary, however, that
almost entirely of iron plates, of enormous thick- is somewhat circuitous course should be taken
nue, as yet believed to be shot-proof, nothing has through. the Northern channel, *passing along what
bees left undone which tan contribute to the fair ,is called the " Swill," outside of the Goodwin
trial of this grand experiment. There was but cue ' Sands, svoiding the Downs, awl almost hugging the
opinion expressed by every person on board of her ICelaireshore. Although adding some miles to the
on the last two days qualified to judge—and there 'length other run this mune wee ill some reseed'
were many experts in all departments of nautical an advantageous one, as it was likely to be clear
science—and that opinion was, that so admirable are `of craft in the night, and therefore the speed of the
the workmanship and material which have been put ‘ship meld be kept up, and her capabilities of
into her by the contractors, that the most critical speed pretty adequately tested. Towards evening,
and experienced eye is unable to detect a fault or a the wind being favourable, some of her fore and aft
failing. As if to bring the good faith and the skill canvass, trysails, jib, and spanker were set ; and
of the builders to a crucial test, the government towards morning her foresail and fore topsail were
workmen have been employed to erect on the upper got upon her. The night was as beautiful as the
deck of the ship a shot-proof tower, which is to be day bad been, a bright moonshine, and the breeze
used by riflemen, and loop-holed for the purpose. light, but sure ; and the ship stood stead-
In itself it is an unsightly excrescence, and, iu the featly on, showing as many of the.qualities of
opinion of many, of very doubtful. advantage. • first-class sea boat as it was possible
as regards the purpose for which it is intended ; per- to show under early circumstances. About four
haps it has only been placed in the Warrior because o'clock on Friday morning the wind freshened, and
a similar erection encumbers the deck of La Gloire. there WWI something more than • ripple on the see ;
It is in reality a vilely-executed piece of work ; yet although a brig, which soon after daylight was
I
fearfully and wonderfully rough and ugly. Con- overtaken and passed as if she were at anchor,
treated with the minutely delicate manipulation. seemed to be pitching "a few," there was no
and rivetting of the plates, the painting, and deco- perceptible motion in the Warrior, and no one
ration of the rest of the ship, it is positively hideous. seemed to expect that there would be any.
The engines, of 1,200 horse power, the work Just after sunrise the atmosphere became
of Messrs. Penn, are regarded as the perfec- overcast, and a thick haze, accompanied by small
tion of mechanism ; and their working on this their rain, arose— so much so, that as the ship was they
first real trial was such as to leave nothing to be within two hours' sail of Portsmouth, it was thought
desired. At present the armament of the War- necemary to signal for a pilot to take her into Spit-
rior consists of two pivot 100-pounder, two 40- head. The weather, however, cleared off rather
pounder, and two 2.5-pounder Armstrong guns on suddenly, and this aid was not resorted to.
her upper deck ; and forty 68-pounders on her Some delay was, however, caused, and ulti-
main deck, which will be her principal fighting mately the ship anchored at Spithead exactly at
deck. This formidable battery is pronounced by 9 o'clock on Friday morning, having made a run
the Captain of the Warrior to be the finest and of 210 miles since noon on Thursday. It was pro-
meat effective in her Majesty's navy ; but it is posed to lift her powder out where she lay, and to
believed it will hereafter be replaced by Armstrong take her into dock at half-past 11 o'clock ; but the
guns. As is well known, the ship is not Port-Admiral signalled that she was not to come
armour-plated at her head and stern ; but into harbour until 1 o'clock, and to come in with
so skilfully has this portion iu her strut- her powder on board. It is understood that she will
ture been dealt with externally, that there is be in dock about a fortnight, after which she will
no possibility of discovering where the difference be fitted for sea, and will be sent out on an expo- I
begins or ends. In short, it may be confidently rimeutal cruise, which it is hoped by all those who
said, that whatever may be the worth of the design are interested in her success—and who iu these
of the Warrior as a fighting ship, the plan on isles is not I—will suffice to prove her substantial
which it was determined that she should be built qualities more accurately and more severely than
has been carried out with a perfection of fiuisla the fair-weather excursion from the river to Ports-
creditable to the resources and skill of the coutrac- mouth ; in which much was learned of her
ton, and that they have produced, so far as their virtues, but little, indeed no opportunity oc-
work is concerned, the finest ship in the world, ac- curred for bringing out any defects or weak
cording to the universal verdict which was passed points, if she has any. One trifling exam-
upon her after she anchored at Spithead. tion may be made to this statement, and that
It need hardly be said that much interest and no is, that at present the engine-room is not on a par
little anxiety was felt by all coueerned in the with the rest of the ship, which, as regards venti-
nascent fortunes of the ship, when the time arrived lation generally, is as nearly perfect as possible.
for her to start from Oreenhithe on Thursday. This, it is stated, can be easily remedied, and Cap-
Everything was in readiness shortly before twelve Min Cochrane has already a plan in contemplation
o'clock, about which time Admiral Sir Frederick which will do away with any complaint on that
Grey, the first Sea Lord of the Admiralty, and score. The chief engineer, a man of great expe-
Lady Grey ; Admiral Elliott ; and Mr. Watts, of rienoe, notwithstanding the trial to which his
the Admiralty, the designer of the ship, came on temper was put by the high state of the atmosphere
board. There bad been previously assembled in his department, is among the most decided
there Mr. Bolt and Captain Ford, directors of the approvers of the vessel, which he declares to be as
Thames Iron Company, the contractors, end yet incomparable, whether as a " motive" or a fight-
several other gentlemen and officials of the tug ship. It may be well to add that the accom-
company ; Mr. Penn, the constructor of the en- modation which she affords to her officers and crew

gives, and some members of Lis efficient staff,
Ike. The fact of the departure of the ship from the
river was not known, or had not attracted public
notice, and there was no particular demonstration
either on shore or on the water ; in fact, there were
no spectators at Greenbithe, except the dockyard
men on board the Rube hulk, which had been
moored alongside the ship fur the last few weeks
during the process of fitting her out. The day
was sunny and bright, with only just a breeze blow-
ing, but nothing that rose to the dignity of wind,
and as soon as the Warrior was under weigh the
Alp began to slip through the water with delightful
ease, her machinery working with the utmostsmooth-
sees. For a short time she was accompanied by two
steam-tugs, but after she had passed Greenhithe
Reach these were cast off, and she proceeded,
" having it all her own way," as was said by ous
of her officers. Owing to the state of the tide
there were a great many craft on the
river, straggling and floundering about, as their
manner is, and the first test of the quality of the
ship was afforded by the stolid indisposition of the
" Nautilus, of Shields " to take any trouble to get
out of her course ; and both her machinery and her
helm were decidedly brought into play, in order to
avoid so untoward a commencement of her career
as running down a collier. As is well known,
Gravesend Roach is a troublesome course for a long
ship to steer, and there was some little anxiety
with regard to the manner in which the Warrior
would behave at the critical points. The most
watchful judges gave it as their unhesitating opi-
nion, that, admirably guided by a skilful pilot, and

is of the very first class, her height between decks
and her vast expanse affording unusualconvenience
and comfort. It is simple justice to the Admiralty
to note that the ship is admirably officered. Her
captain is a son of the Lord Dunnowstn—blood-
royal of the British navy i—but he bears& character
of his own as a practical as well as an experi-
mental officer of mark ; and certainly the manner
ip which he carries on the work of his ship is
such an example of zeal, activity, and self-possessed,
quiet firmness, as to create confidence on • very brief
observation. Bin visitors on this occasion have
more than sufficient reason to bear testimony to
his constant and unwearied courtesy and hos-
pitality, at • time when his duties were
necessarily of so anxious and absorbing a
nature. There seems something like poetical
and political justice in the fact that • Comas:re
should have been chosen to com in and the pioneer ship
of the new navy of England. All the other officers,
of every rank, appear to have been picked for the
duties they have to perform. As for the ship's
company, it must be confessed, neither physically
nor in the way they set about their work, did they
strike the casual observer as British seamen of the
first class. At present there are 660 men on board,
but it is believed that that number will be increased
by an addition of 100 before the Warrior goes to sea.
The complement of Marines belongs entirely to the
artillery branch of that service, none of the infantry
division being on board. As we have already said,
this trial trip of the Warrior has been singularly
free from incident. That it has tended to elicit
practical and skilled opinion with regard to the