The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-01 00:00:00

23 2
2694

23 9
3104

18 391

58 4
24 g
376•)

By whom designed.—(l) Sir F. Slade.
(2) Sir William Rule.
(3) The late Mr. Oliver Lang.
(4) A fter the Caledonia, with increased beam.
(5) Surveyorof the Navy (Sir Baldwin Walker)
(6) Ditto.
•
(7) Ditto.

By this table it will be seen that we are now building,
one-deckers of 500 tons more harden than the three-
deckers of the last century ; and. instead of steamers of
no armament whatever, and of but about 300 tons bur-
den, and 80 hOrse-power (a wonder for the age in which
they first paddled the water), we now construct vessels
to carry 130 guns, of 4,000 tons burden, and 800-horse
power.; and even this latter monster is but a pigmy con-
trasted with the mammoth mercantile hull at Millwall,
whose tonnage is published as 22,000 !
Her Majesty remained some moments contemplating
the Marlborough in her unexpected "fix," but, finding
there appeared no prospect of her moving further, she
left the scene, accompanied by the Court, in four of the
iCoyal carriages, and escorted by Sir Thomas Cochrane,
for the Admiralty-house, to a dejeuner, and the multi-
tude of spectators soon followed. A guard of the 80th
Regiment and 200 of the Royal Dockyard Brigade, un-
der Lieutenant and Adjutant Long, formed an avenue
for the passage of the Royal cortege, which, on arriving
at the Admiralty-house, was received by a guard of
honour of Royal Marines drawn un in front of the man-
sion, commanded by Lieutenant-Calonel Hunt, Captain
Boyle, First-Lieutenant Wharton. Second-Lieutenant
St. John, and Lieutenant and Adjutant Holland ; the
scholars of the Seamen and Marines Orphan Schools were
also drawn up next the house, and an avenue was
formed thence to the dockyard gates by seamen from
her Majesty's ship Illustrious, and a party of the South
Linc.ilnshire Militia.

The following comprised the guests of Lady ant Sir
Thomas Cochrane:—The Queen, Prince Albert, the
Prince of Wales, Princess Royal, Prince Alfred, the
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz, the Viscountess
Canning, the Hon. Mary Seymour, the Hon. Miss Hild-
yard, Major-General Rouverie' Colonel Biddulph, Col.
Seymour, Mr. Gibbs, Captain Gordon, of her Majesty's
ship Victory ; Captain Eyres, C. 8., of bet Majesty's
ship St. George ; Captain Hutton, of her Majesty's ship
Neptune ; Captain Sir Thomas Maitland, C. 8., of her
Majesty's ship Excellent ; Captain the Hon. Joseph
Denman, commanding the Royal yachts ; Capt. Harris,
of her Majesty's ship Illustrious ; Captain Elliot, C. 8.,
of her Majesty's ship St. Vincent ; Captain S. C. Dacres,
C.B , of the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar, &c. ; Cap-
tain Farquhar, of her Majesty's ship Malacca.; Mr.
Drummond, Mr. and Mrs. B. Cochrane, Mr. and Mrs.
Lumley, Lord Granby, Rear-Admiral and Mrs. Martin,
Major-General Sir Frederick Smith, K.H., R.E., and
Lady Smith ; Major-General and Miss Breton,Rear-
A,'niiral Eden. Rear-Admiral the Hon. H. D. and Miss
Byng, the Earl and Countess of Mayo, Captain
Mane, R.N.

The Admiral's band, stationed in the garden, played
during the dejeuner.
The arrangements made by Lieutenant Hall, the
Director of the Dockyard Police were excellent. •

HER MAJESTY'S VISIT TO THE MILITARY
GENERAL HOSPITAL AT PORTSEA.

On leaving the Admiralty-house at 2 o'clock her Ma-
jesty ano the Prince Consort, the Royal Family, the
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and the suite pro.
needed to the Military Hospital at Portsea. Sir Thomas
Cochrane, Sir Frederick and Lady Smith, Major-Gene-
ral Breton, &c., accompanied them. The progress through
the town f Portsea was a very quiet one, the route taken
being through the most unfrequented streets. On ar-
riving at the hospital her Majesty was received by the
medical staff, comprising Dr. Odell, Dr. Burgess, Dr.
Leech, Dr. Lawson, Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Sharpe, and
escorted by the Lieut.-Governor of the garrision, and Sir
F. Smith over the establishment. Her Majesty was first
greeted on her arrival by about 300 convalescents, or-
dered up from the various barracks and temporary sick
quarter-=, and who were inspected minutely by the Qeeen.
tier Majesty went through the wet parade regardless of
personal comfort. She then entered the hospital, and in-
spected those of the inmates who were well enough to be
paraded in the verandahs, asking almost every man some
question, and reading the card supplied to each, stating
his name, grade, the nature of his wound, on what oc-
casion it was received, and the number of the regiment.
Many of the cards so perused by the Queen in her
round through the building were handed by her Ma-
jesty to the Prince, to take away with them. Hav-
ing inspected . those in the verandahs, her Majesty
proceeded to the wards, and went to the bedside of
each helpless patient, questioning him in a most kind
and feeling manner, which elicted from one gallant fel-
low the spontaneous expressions of " God bless her" as
she passed to the next bed. Among the serious cases
in this hospital her Majesty took special notice of seve-
ral sergeants suffering from Severe wounds received be-
fore Sebastopol. Her Majesty inquired with marked
feeling respecting the death of Lieut.-Colonel Lowtb, of
the 38th, which we mentioned in the report of the ar-
rival of the Hansa on Monday. Her Majesty also made
inquiries into the ventilation of the building and the
general treatment and comfort of the sick and wounded. -
The Prince Consort examined, in addition, the various
out-buildings and the improvements in
.progress under
the superintendence of the Royal Engineer Depart-
nt. On concluding her humsne visit, which occu-
pied an hour and a-half, the Queen expressed her
satisfaction with the state of the hospital and
the progress of the inmates, and returned by
the same route as on her arrival to the dock-
yard, off the new stairs of which the Fairy was
awaiting her embarkation. Captain the Hon. Joseph
Denman received her Majesty in the Royal barge, and,
having again embarked the Court, the Fairy steamed up
to the shed where the Marlborough lay half launched,
and took another survey of her unfortunate and critical
position, remaining near the spot half an hour watching
the efforts made by the dockyard staff at the capstans on
board the ship and by the steam-tugs to release her from
her perilous position: The cause of the catastrophe is
supposed to be is the piles on which the ways are laid
out into the harbour having given way. Her Majesty
returned to Osborne by 5 o'clock.

A. telegraphic despatoh from a correspondent, dated
9 o'clock p.m., says :
" I have just been to take another look at the ship.
Her stern is in the harbour, but her bows remain high
and dry under the building•shed. She is shored up well
at the bows by spars, and buoyed underneath on either
side by casks, &c. The whole shipwright strength of
the dockyard is employed upon her, and hopes are
entertained that she may be extricated from her difficulty
at the next tide, which will flow at half-pat 1 to-morrow
morning, and which is one of the highest spring tides
this moon. It is supposed that the harbour end of the
slip has given out and sunk a little, the ground there-
abouts being entirely new, and no launch having taken
place from the slip before. lam happy to add, the only
accidents I have heard of are two. Russell, a foreman
of shipwrights, and a shipwright have sustained injuries
by falling into the slip in the discharge of their duties,
and have been carried home. The ship has moved two
feet six inches only since she brought up in the attempt
to launch her."

A subsequent telegraphic despatch from a corre-
spondent, dated half-past 12, states :
" The Marlborough, through the united and energetic
exertions of 2,000 men, was safely got off, amid the en-
thusiastic cheers of those engaged, about midnight, and
now lies afloat and safely secured io the harbour."

(From the Times of this day.)
Yesterday was a great day at Portsmouth. Her Ma-
jesty and the Court Caine across the waters of the Solent
one Of our grandest national ceremonials. Even an
Englishman longs for the sublime and beautiful, and he
finds it occasionally in the construction of enormous
vessels, larger, and fleeter, and more terrib'y armed than
any vessels ever were before. When tl.e vast pile is at
last complete and ready to take to its element, it is ne-
cessary to give it some sort of sanction, some pious in-
auguration, some act which shall express in the highest
possible degree the auspices and destinies of the majestic
work. The vessel which was to have been launched
yesterday was of the same class as the Duke of Welling-
ton and the Royal Albert, which are, we believe, about
twice as large, twice as heavily armed, and, with the aid
of steam, much more swift and infinitely more manage-
able, than any ship in Nelson's fleet. The mishaps of a
naval career begin very early, and many a fine vessel
has been ruined before it reached the sea, or even touched
the water. These difficulties increase with our ambition,
and if we choose to pile Pelion upon Ossa we must have
competentge Yesterday,
vessel as happened last
yearat p Pembroke,
mb
rok e machinery.the
huge
ominously and dis-
loyally refused to quit the shore. It stuck fast in the
ways, whence it was only dislodged at midnight, with
some chance, we fear, of requiring repair after this first
step in her course. We will take what some people
will think an unfair advantage of this mischance to con-
sider whether the nation will lose very much by the
accident, and whether we really want one more monster
of the deep on this costly scale.
We are throwing out ships of this sort, we know not
how frequently, for we know not how many such mon-
sters are still in their vertebras and their ribs in some one
of her Majesty's dockyards. When the race of naval
Anakim will be finished no one can say, but the spectacle
will then be awful indeed ;—something unapproachable,
and, within its own sphere, irresistible in power. It is