The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-06 00:00:00

THE NAVY.
The iron steam floating factory ship Chasseur, 543 tons,
attached to the steam reserve squadron in the Medway, is
ordered to be removed to Chatham harbour, where its ser-
vices are required.
Instructions have been received at Chatham for the iron
frigate Achilles, 1,250 horse power, to be brought forward
with all despatch, and fitted for the first division of the
steam reserve, in readiness for immediate commission.
A. serious accident occurred on board the iron frigate
Achilles, at Chatham, on Monday evening, by which a me-
chanic employed on board that vessel named Simon Sher-
wood was killed, and another man seriously injured. Since
the Achilles has been removed from Chatham dockyard
down the harbour it has been customary for the workmen
employed on board to be conveyed from the vessel to the
dockyard every evening in three vessels employed exclu-
sively in that duty. On Monday evening at dusk the work-
men were preparing to leave the vessel, and were covering
over the openings from the upper deck into the hold with
tarpaulin and planks, when from some cause which does
not appear easy of explanation one of the heavy planks was
improperly secured, and before the men had left the vessel
it fell from the deck to the bottom of the frigate, striking in
its descent the deceased and a negro named Campbell, also
employed on board, both of whom were preparing to leave
work. The plank also slightly injured some of the other
workmen, who were crowding up from below, but the chief
injuries were inflicted on Sherwood and Campbell. Both of
the sufferers were immediately placed on board a steamer
and conveyed to the dockyard, from which they were con-
veyed to Melville Hospital, but Sherwood died almost imme-
diately after his admission, his head having been seriously
injured. The wounds sustained by Campbell were a com-
pound fracture of one of the legs, which yesterday rendered
an amputation of the limb necessary. A day or two previ
ausly a fatal accident occurred on board the same vessel to a
workmen named Monk, who overbalanced himself as he was

in the act of taking off his coat to commence work, and was
precipitated to the bottom of the vessel. A third accident
betel a lad named Caddy, working on board, on Monday,
who received concussion of the brain frtur a fall, and is not
expected to survive.
Capt. G W. Preedy, C. 8., whose last commands were
her Majesty's ships Agamemnon and Liff -y, is spoken of as
the officer selected by the Admiralty to command the iron
frigate Hector, at Portsmouth, ordered for immediate com-
mission. Commander Thompson, lately serving as senior
lieutenant on board the iron frigate Defence, is named as
her commander. Yesterday the shipwrights removed their
tool chests, &c., from the Hector to the dockyard jetty, in
order to clear the ship up for commission and enable the
officials to obtain her present exact draught of water, &c.
It is believed that on her final trial of speed, when commis-
sioned, the ship's ventilation below will be found of a less
unsatisfactory nature than was experienced on her two days
trials on the 23cl and 24th of December. On those days
there was a large number of shipwrights and other mecha-
nics employed on board, and some of the hatchways may
have been partially covered with their gratings and the
men's tools. If this was the case it must of course have
produced unfavourable results upon the ventilation of 'the
ship's compartments below. With the sh►p in commission
none of these drawbacks will be allowed to exist, and there-
fore during the forthcoming final trial of the ship at the
" mile" the temperature of the engine room and stokehole
will be taken under what must be considered the most fa-
vourable circumstances. The weight of the ship was un-
dergoing alteration.
The Lyra, 9 gun screw sloop, of 60 horse power, Comman-
der Robert A. Parr, was swung yesterday in Portsmouth
harbour, preparatory to going out to Spithead and complet-
ing stores and ammunition for foreign service. Mr. Henry
J. Ray, from the office of the commander in-chief at Ports-
mouth, has joined the Lyra as paymaster.
The Orontes, screw troopship, of 500 horse power, Capt.
H. W. Hire, refitting at Portsmouth, is ordered to be ready
for sea by the 19th inst. Her first service will, it is said, be
in the Mediterranean and West Indies.
The Adventure, screw troopship, of 400-horse power,
Commander C. T. Curme, is nearly complete in her repairs
in the Warrior dock at Portsmouth. When ready for sea
she will be despatched to the Mediterranean.
Her Majesty's screw yacht Fairy was undocked from No.
1 dock at Portsmouth yesterday, after making good some
defects in one of her bottom plates.
The Octavia, screw frigate, one of three converted sailing
frigates fitted with machinery built by three different makers
to fulfil certain peculiar conditions, is rapidly proceeding in
her outfit by the master shipwright's department in No. 4
dock at Portsmouth, and will be shortly taken in hand by
he other departments of the yard to carry out their share of
he work.
The Sparrowhawk, screw gun vessel,of 676 tons and 200-

horse power, is lying in the adjoining dock waiting similar
preparations for commission, and the Bulldog, 6, paddle, of
1,124 tons and 500-horse, is all but completed by the re-
spective departments in the steam basin. She is still,how-
ever, in the hands of the shipwright department, owing to
an oversight (to use a mild term) on the part of some depart-
ment at Portsmouth or at the Admiralty. During-the past
two or three years a good deal has been said and written
relative to national and private dockyards. It is admitted
that evils do exist in our public yards, as, indeed, is certain
to be the case in a greater or less degree in ail suck large
establishments whether they be public or private—but the
apologists of our present public establishments maintain
that the evils existing in them have been unjustly exagge-
rated, and that private yards do not possess that degree of
superiority either in system or workmanship over our pub-
lic yard that it is to the interest of many persons to lead the
public to suppose really exists. For any one to assert that
the work done in private yards is superior in finish and
value to that turned out of hand in public yards would be
simply putting forward a statement that probably very few
impartial persons would agree with. When it is stated,
however, that the " system" of one is very much supe-
rior to the other, then it will be met with general
belief, and the three vessels named—the Octavia,
the Sparrowhawk, and Bulldog are instances in point. The
repairs of the two first named are taken in hand by the
shipwright department, which has a certain amount of
work to perform, bat this work is not done conjointly with
the other "departments," each working independently of
the other. The result is that the " gunnery," or any other
department which may follow the shipwrights', undoes a
portion of the work already done, so that in fact the work
on board each ship is done over and over again at increased
cost and waste each time. The Bulldog exhibits a fault in
the system for which most probably the Admiralty are
responsible. In the early part of November last application
was made for as official order to alter her torecastle gun-
ports for the Armstrong pivot gun, with which she was
ordered to be fitted. No order was received for some time,
and the shipwrights therefore completed the ports on the
old-fashioned enlarged style. An order has now been re-
ceived, and the ports are now being "contracted" to
the Armstrong size. When these three vessels are com-
pleted and commissioned their captains will then have the
power to commence any alterations their fancies may create,
and more money will be expended. The most simple remedy
for such a state of things would be to centralize the power
over each of these dockyard " departments" in the Admiral
or Captain-Superintendent of the yard, giving him a second
superintendent, for one must devote his time to the desk
alone. This would be investing the Superintendent with a
power in his own dockyard nearly similar to that possessed
in general by the French Minister of Marine; but to effect
such an improvementin our dockyards a Minister of Marine
must preside at the Admiralty. The Admiral and Captain-
Superintendents in charge of cur dockyards have no power
whatever invested in them to restore or create order out of
the existing chaos.
A letter received at Plymouth from the iron screw steam •
ship Black Prince, 41, Capt. James F. B. Wainwright,
states that she left the Sound at 4 p.m. on the 15th of
December, and after a splendid run out under squared
yards, using steam only on departure and arrival, they
anchored at Funchal roads about 4 p.m. on the Tuesday
following—the 22d. Having at that time scarlatina on
board, the Black Prince was seat again to sea, and went 20
miles south of the island, and there remained. The two
slight cases they had soon became convalescent, and the
ship returned on the 26th to Funchal, but did not receive
pratique immediately. The Edgar, Warrior, Black Prince,
and other ships attached to the Channel squadiun ex•
petted to leave Madeira on We..ntsaey, the 3eth, tor
Teneriffe.
The paddlewheel steam surveying sl u p -Urea'e, 6, cap:.
Richards, just returuett itt,ul statiuu,
woutu yesterday morning Sur W• v. wich, where her crew
will be pair off

The screw :toAmsbip Royal George,7B, was Tar:.
terdos- from the• acCotad diri ian of the 4tl.lra tuery