The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-17 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence,

The Royal paddle yacht Osborne, Commander Geo. K.
Bower, arrived in Portsmouth harbour yesterday at 10 a.m.
from Plymouth and Portland, with the Lords of the Admi-
ralty on board, on their annual tour of inspection. The
party consisted of the Duke of Somerset, Vice-Admiral Sir
F. Grey, Rear-Admiral the Hon. J. R. Drummond, and Mr
Childers, M.P., accompanied by the First Secretary, Lord
C. Paget, M.P., Capt. Hall, Private Secretary to the Duke
of Somerset; Rear-Admiral Robinson, Controller of the
Navy; Major Clarke, Director of Works, and Sir Richard
Mayne, Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Their Lordships landed at the King's stairs in the dockyard
soon after their arrival, and were received by the Admiral
in command, and the Captain of the Steam Reserve, with
the other naval officers in command of her Majesty's ships
at the port and the heads of the different departments of the
yard• They first proceeded to the office of the Admiral-
Superintendent, Rear-Admiral George Elliot, where they
remained until nearly 1 p.m., when they commenced the
usual inspection of the dockyard, commencing with No. 2
dock, in which the Erebus iron floating battery is lying.
Her bottom plates are in very good condition, with the ex-
ception of one tier, but her timber shelf-piece, on which
rests her armour-plates, is eaten away, and will have to be
replaced with new work. Her tier of plating next below
the shelf-piece is also very faulty in parts, aLd will require
extensive repairs. She is said to be intended for temporary
duty on the Sturbridge shoal. Their lordships next crossed
the caissons of the ship, basin, docks, giving a short notice
to each of the latter, in which are lying the Thunderer line-
of-battle ship, about to be cut down and fitted as a floating
platform for target butts; the Octavia screw frigate, and
Sparrowhawk despatch gun vessel, the latter almost entirely
reconstructed. Leaving the ship basin docks their lord-
ships next passed by the Victoria three decked screw, of
1,000 horse-power, fitting as the flagship of the future
Admiral commanding in the Mediterranean, but very likely
to be superseded in such duty when made ready for it by
some iron frigate. The new railway jetty was next reached,
where their lordships had an opportunity of observing one
of the earliest and still handsomest of the now almost use-
less three-deckers on their Navy List, the Duke of Welling-
ton, which was lying moored alongside the jetty. The dock
in which the Royal Sovereign is lying was reached next,
and a cursory notice was given to the hand of teak sheath-
ing which she is receiving at the water-line, but their
lordships did not go on board. This teak band is now
being affixed to the Royal Sovereign's sides as rapidly
as possible, relays of workmen being engaged upon it day
and night. A few minutes were next spent looking into the
empty No. 7 dock, and then a short walk past the mill-
wrights' shop and timber.sheds brought their Lordships to
the residence of the Admiral Superintendent, where they and
the naval officers accompanying them partook of luncheon.
After a half-hour's interval the walk round the yard was
resumed, the party being still under the guidance of Rear-
Admiral Elliot, and accompanied by Vice-Admiral Sir
Michael Seymour. After visiting the iron foundry, their
Lordships passed through the smithery, where every fur-
nace appeared to be in full blast, and to the ground north of
the smithery, where two dining-rooms are being erected for
the use of the smiths. Their Lordships next, passing be-
tween stacks of 41 inch armour-plates for the Royal Alfred,
went .on board that ship in the ehipway, where she lies
waiting her orders for launching, and remained on board
some 20 minutes. No. 11 Dock, constructing at the north
angle of the steam basin by George Smith and Co., was next
visited, after which their Lordships proceeded to view the
ground about to be taken into the dockyard boundary. Mr
Woods, civil engineer, pointed out and explained, by the aid
of plans, the bearings of the mud lands which it is intended
to convert into basins and docks, and their Lordships left
the dockyard by the N.E. gate for the proposed site for the
naval barracks and the new timber ground, where the main
timber stores are now being formed. Befsre leaving the
yard the large number of tested armour plates stored near
the convict prison attracted some attention, and among them
some specimens of wrought !ron forgings in that shape from
the rolling mills of John Brown and Co., of Sheffield. The
first point of importance reached by their Lordships outside
the dockyard was the intended site for the Naval Barracks,
in one part of which a number of convicts are employed in
levelling the old fortifications, and in another a patent brick
making machine is at work turning out bricks at the
rate of 24 per minute. From the site for the Seamen's
Barracks the Board next visited the new timber ground,
and wade a circuit of the ground there which inter-
venes between the dockyard and Landport, and which is
about to be incorporated with the dockyard. They completed
their circuit by returning to the dockyard by the shore line
of the new ground. Their lordahips afterwards embarked
on board the Osborne, moored off the dockyard, where they
dined and slept.

The Admiralty yacht Enchantress, Staff Commander
Petley, arrived at Portsmouth yesterday afternoon from
Portland and the Needle fortifications, with Earl do Grey
and Ripon on board. His lordship joined the Board of
Admiralty on the Osborne on their return from their day's
inspection ashore.
The Urgent screw troopship, Capt S. Henderson, sailed
from Portsmouth last evening for Canada (Quebec), with
the following detachments on board :—Royal Artiltery—
Col Pipon, Lieuts Brown and Saunders, and eight men ;
30th Regiment—Capt Clarkson and Lieut Brain and 117
men ; 4th battalion 60th Rifles—Lieut-Col Ward, Ensign
Turner, and 17 men ; Rifle Brigade—Commandant Pullen
and 83 men; Royal Canadian Rifles—Lieut-Col Walker
and eight men; 110th Regiment—Six men; let battalion
15th Regiment—Capt Causse, Assist Surg O'Loughlane
Deputy Purveyor Maskell, six officers' wives, 16 children
and four female servants, 12 soldiers' wives and 28 children.
The War Department steamveesel Balaklava, 11IrPellatt
commander, sailed last night from Woolwich Arsenal, laden
with guns, shot, carriages, powder, and other war stores for
Devonport and Cork. Among the stores is the first of the
70 pounder Armstrong guns, reduced to a 46 pounder, for
experiments on board the gunnery ship Cambridge, Capt L.
Heath, C. 8., at Devonport.
The following troopships, now under fitment in the East
and West India Docks, have been chartered by the Lords
of the Admiralty to embark a regiment of the lino from
Dublin for the Cape of Good hope :—The Copenhagen, the
Rosalyn Castle, and the Nary Shepherd. The regiment
consists of 39 officers, 912 non-commissioned officers and
rank and file, and 152 women and children. After landing
the troops at the Cape the regiment stationed there will
embark in the saute ships and proceed to Calcutta. The
embarkation from Dublin is expected to take place early
next month.

Mr Brain, acting assistant master shipwright at 'Wool-
wich, has been appointed assistant master shipwright at

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Devonport Dockyard, and is succeeded .4,1411.14440T-Itrdi
Henwood, who will take up his appointme -t4ftii'i7u4- g—•-•Ve`N)
On account of the unsatisfactory rate of emo nicp.ientgivT..,. .
by the Admiralty, and the proposed reduction oaf Zpertfit
nuation, a number of the ekilled mechanics have lett the •
department at "Woolwich, and the authorities are unable to
replace them. A notification to the effect that a number of
shipwrights is required has been posted outsiee the dock-
yard gates for some weeks past, and although many appli-
cations have been made for the vacant bertha only a few
have been filled. The general reply of the applicants ap-
pears to be, "'We can obtain double the dockyard pay from
any of the private firms, as well as an equal amount of
privilege."

One of Capt. Biakeley's 4i-inch guns, weighing 35 cwt.,
and manufactured for the Portuguese Government, was
yesterday proved at the Woolwich but; and tired two rounds
satisfactorily.

Orders have been received at Chatham garrison
a detachment of the 43d (Light infantry) Re&,-iment,unUr
the command of Major T. Huhues and three subalterns,
to be held in readiness to embark for New Zealand, to re-
inforce the service companies of the regiment. The troops
will embark at Gravesend as soon as tho necessary amount
of tonnage has been taken up for them by the War Depart-
ment.

The Lord Vvrarden target, which recently underwent such
a severe battering during the late trials of ordnance at
Shoeburyness, was landed at the Anchor-wharf, Chatham
Dockyard, yesterday from the naval transport Dove. Since
the trials the target has been taken to pieces by a party of
mechanics sent from the dockyard, and the two 41-inch
iron plates as well as the inch and a half inner plates
and the teak backing have all been returned to the yard.
A careful examination cf the armour plates was made by
the officials of the department yesterday, in order to as-
certain the quality of the iron of which they are formed,
upwards of 1,000 tone of exactly the same kind of plates
having been received at the dockyard to be bolted to the
sides of the Lord Warden and the Bellerophon iron-clad
frigates now in progress. The plates,
they now lie on
the wharf, exhibit the extraordinary effects of the shot and
as
shell upon each. Twenty shots appear to have struck the
two plates, one of them receiving eleven of that number.
Of these, eight appear to have passed completely through
the target, the remaining three causing only indentations.
It is, however with the quality of the iron that the offi-
cials are more particularly concerned, and in both
plates, which were taken promiscuously from a stack of
several hundreds of the same description, sent in frcm the
Milwall Iron Company's Works, the iron was found
to be as nearly as possible perfect in quality, which
proves in a marked degree the rapid advance made by
our principal iron companies during the last fem years in
producing serviceable plates. As already observed, the plate
to which most attention was directed yesterday received no
less than 11 shots, nearly all of which passed completely
through it. Notwithstanding the concussion to which the
plate must have been subjected not a crack beyond a couple
of inches, and that close to the apertures made by the shot,
can be detected throughout its surface, while the closeness
of the grain, as shown in the openings through which the
projectiles made their way, proves the iron to be of an un-
usually excellent quality. The plates were of rolled iron,
and for some distance along the edges of each the thickness
of the various folds of metal can be easily determined by
openings of greater or less extent. It is as yet undecided
what course will be adopted with the damaged plates, there
being no machinery at Chatham dockyard with which they
can be manufactured.

The Arethusa, 35, 500 horse power, Mr V. F. Johnson,
master in charge, attached to the steam reserve in the Med-
way, is ordered to be taken into No. 3 dock at Chatham, in
order to be brought forward for commission.
The Amethyst, 26, attached to the sailing reserve squad-
ron in Chatham harbour, has been lent by the Admiralty to
the Atlantic Telegraph Company, to be used in shipping the
Atlantic cable on board the Great Eastern. The Iris, 20,
which was originally lent for this service, was subsequently
found not to adapted for the duty.
Owing to the excessive heat which prevails the roof of
the masthouse in Devonport dockyard became ignited on
Monday last, but the fire having been discovered promptly
it was soon extinguished, or a serious conflagration might
have occurred.

A clerical error occurred in our military intelligence last
Thursday. It was the 61st, and not the 69th, Regiment
which embarked at Portsmouth for irelond in the Tamar.
The 69th is quartered at Gosport, under the command of
Colonel Mackirdy, and has been very successful in obtain.
ing recruits in Hampshire since its arrival from India two
months ago.