The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-25 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

Tae trial of the Black Prince, 40, ircea screw fri-
Capt. Wainwright, took place at Portsmouth
on Friday, and was concluded at a late hour. Capt.
Broadhead superintended the trial with his staff—
Mr. J, Ward, assist.-engineer of the dockyard ; Mr.
Eames, acting inspector of machinery afloat, &c.
Mr. Matthews and Mr. Holliday represented the
makers of the engines, Messrs. Penn and Son. Six
runs were made with full boiler power at the mea-
sured mile, the mean speed of the six runs being
13.501 knots. The revolutions of the engines were,
maximum, 541, and the mean 53i. The load on the
safety valve was2slb, and the indicated horse power
5,309, The draught of water was 26ft forward and
27ft aft. The propeller was a Griffith's of 24ft 6in
diameter, 28ft 6in pitch, and 4ft 10in length. Two
runs were next made at half boiler power —six
boilers, the mean speed of which was 12-221 knots,
the revolutions of the engines being 47. The trials
of speed having been concluded the ship was next
tried in making circles under full steam. With a
starboard helm the full circle was made in 10min
3sec, the half circle in smin 20sec, the angle of the
rudder being 18 degrees, with two terns of the
wheel, and the revolutions of the engines 48, having
been 54 previously to commencing the circle. With
a port helm the full circle was made in 10min 25sec,
the half in smin 32sec ; the angle of the rudder was
221 degrees, the turns of the wheel 24, and the re-
volutions of the engines 48. There were in both
instances 12 men at the wheel. The speed attained
by the ship was about one-tenth of a knot less than
on her last trial. The time occupied in making the ,
circles exceeds the average of our ships of war; but
the Black Prince is a long ship, and the steering
power she possesses is not at all in proportion to
her length. She is steered by a screw over her
rudder head, but the lever arms of the screw are so
confined in to the rudder head that the greater the
angle is made with the rudder the less the power of
the steering screw becomes. It will be seen by
what we have said that, in consequence of this
defective power of steering, the Black Prince
could not, however urgent the case might be, turn
quickly in narrow wat-rs. _ _

The bottom of the iron screw yacht Fairy, in
dock, at Portsmouth, has been surveyed and re-
ported upon. The vessel has been coated with the
_Winne!) protective and anti-fouling compositions,
and men are now engaged in scraping the plates.
The iron is in good condition, perfectly sound in
every part, and without corrosion. This is one of
the most successful results that have attended the
application of copper compositions to the bottoms of
iron ships at Portsmouth.
Mr. James Stansfeld, the Junior Lord of
the Admiralty, did not return to London with his
colleagues on Friday evening. He remained at
Portsmouth and was actively employed on Satur-
day in continuing his visit of inspection of the va-
rious departments of the dockyard connected with
the Admiralty, accompanied by the Commander-in-
Chief, Sir M. Seymour, and Rear-Admiral G.
Elliott, Admiral Superintendent.
The screw steam frigate Emerald, 35, Capt. A.
Cumming, steamed into Portsmouth harbour from
Spithead on Saturday, and will be placed in No.
10 dock to-day to ship another screw propeller for
farther experimental trials.
The Megsera, screw troopship, Commander Mad-
den, will sail from Portsmouth for Jamaica this
morning, and will take out only 15 men to join
their regiment. She will, on arrival there, be
employed in removing troops from and to different
stations in the West Indies and the West Coast of
Africa, and will probably be absent about 12 or 18
months from England.
The Caragco, screw steam frigate, Capt. Sir Wm.
Wiseman, will also sail from Spithead to-day for
the Australian station, where Sir William will as-
sume the position of Commodore. The Curagoa will
take out with her a mail for Madeira, the Cape of
Good Hope, and Australia.
The Albacore, screw gun vessel, made an official
trial of her machinery at Plymouth on Saturday,
under the superintendence of Commander Miller
and Mr.Eames, acting inspector of machinery afloat
The trial gave very satisfactory results.
By the Cape Argus of the 28th March we learn
that the screw steam transport Himalaya, Captain
Edward Lacy, left Simon's Bay on the 28th March,
with the 96th Regiment, for East London, to re-
lieve the 13th Light Infantry, then at Bing Wil-
liam's Town. The 13th was under orders to go in
the Himalaya to the Mauritius. She would then
convey the sth Fusileers to Natal, and return to
England with the 85th, their term of foreign service
having expired. The 2d battalion of the 11th will
continue in garrison at Cape Town. Assistant Com-
missary-General Eichbaum, acting at the Cape as
military accountant to the War Department, is
under orders to proceed to China, having been re

lieved byAssistant Commissary-General M'Clin tack,
who went out in the Himalaya.
The screw steamship Sanspareil, 70, Capt. George
Le G. Bowyear, from the East Indies and China,
bringing supernumeraries and in validsfrom the fleets
there, is expected in Plymouth in about ten days.

The screw steam storeship Supply, 2, Master
Commander W. H. Balliston, from the eastward,
will touch at Plymouth to receive stores, before pro-

ceeding to the Mediterranean.

The screw steam frigate Leander, 39, Capt. Har-
vey, from Spitbead, arrived in Plymouth Sound on
Saturday. There is some defect below, and divers
have been down to discover the extent of it. The
Leander may be placed in dock after the report of
the divers has been received.

The Cossack, 20, 250-horse power, Capt. W. R.
Rolland, got up the steam at the Nore on Saturday
to test her engines, which were found to work very
satisfactorily. It was announced at Chatham yes=

terday that she will join the squadron in the Me-

diterranean.

The paddlewheel steamer Otter, tender to the
Chatram steam reserve, has been found on examine-

tion to be so defective, both in her hull and machi-
nery, that it is expected she will be broken up. A
report is to be made by the dockyard officials to the
Admiralty whether an iron ship for a tender to the
steam reserve is to be preferred over a wooden
steamer to replace the Otter.