The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-29 00:00:00

and in rejecting all :that it is presumed should be
rejected. As most people are aware, the London,
Chatham, and Dover Railway has been in operation

some years, and the process of ship rcjection, insti-
tuted from the first, has been, it is believed, vigo-

rously and faithfully carried on. The early and
later boat 3 of the company may with truth be said
to mark the satisfactory progress of ship construe.
tion science. When first required to produce ships
of great stability and speed for the London, Chat-
ham, and DJver Railway, shipbuilders and engi

veers doing their very utmost could in a compara-
tive sense accomplish very little, In a relative
sense, that is, compared with the results of the pre-
sent day, there was nothing worthy of being de-
signated as speed, and of stability there was none.
Foul and heavy weather rendered a passage prac-
tically impossible, or if possible it was under an

oppression of shaking about and misery, nct to
speak of time, that was sickening even to the oldest
salts. Going to Calais from Dover, or to Dover from
Calais, was only to be thought of if the weather was

calm, if the water was smootb, and if the barometer

was assuring. The state of things was intolerable.
New boats were ordered, and the previous ones

withdrawn, and got rid of in some way. But great
as was the improvement of the new boats on the
old there were still grumblers. The public were
put to trouble by the great depth of water of the
boats, that depth of water being given iu the hope

of securing the steadiness of ship which all desire,
and the outcry against trans-shipment into small
boats was long and loud. Equal to the occasion, the
London, Chatham, and Daver Railway Company
set to work agew, and the Prince Imperial tried
yesterday is the fruit of the experience, in the gross,
of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Com-
pany—the point which shipbuilding and engineer-
ing seLnee has at the present time attained.
The builders'of the Prince Imperial and the other
new ships are Messrs. James Ash and Co., Cabitt
Town, Poplar, and the engineers, Messrs John Penn
and San, of Greenwich. Of Messrs John Penn and
Son it is unnecessary to say a word. Their fame
as engineers is world wide, and seldom has fame
b,.en better earned. In the employment of Messrs

John nn and Sea the Loudon, Cht:t!lain, and
Dover R ilway Company may fairly claim the ut-
most confidence of the public. There will be no
breakdowns, and once steam is set on it will not be
shut off until the ships are tied up in harbour. So,
equally, in the employment of Messrs James Ash
and Co. Mr. Ash, although not an old man, pro-
bably occupies the enviable position of one of the
first naval architects in England. With few null-
tions all the best merchant ships afloat aro from his
designs ; they are his handywork. The highest
position attainable by a naval architect in the Eng-
lish private service was for years held by him. Mr
Ash was the naval architect of the Thames Iron
Works and Steam Shipbuilding Company; the
greatest shipbuilding establishment, public or pri-
vate, in Europe or trig word. For some three years
past he has built a fair share of the fastest ships that
have run the blockade, and some months ago he
constructed the Eothen yacht for Mr Anderson, the
chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Company.
Mr Ash's partner, a young man also, is a practical
engineer, favourably known as the son of Mr John
Stewart, of the Blackwall Iron Works. Thus in
the firm of Messrs James Ash and Co. there is a
combination that is rare ; excellence in the
art of designing ships, and practical skill in the
fitting of engines. That the London, Chatham,
and Dover Railway Company should place their
latest ships in the hands of Messrs James Ash
and Co. is a high compliment to the profes-
sional ability of the firm; and that the trust has
been worthily bestowed will to some extent be
obvious from the performance of the Prince Imperial
yesterday on the measured mile. But yesterday
only brought out the fair weather qualities of the
ship, as she has chiefly been constructed to face the
worst weather blowing in the English Channel.
That trial has yet to take place when the Prince
Imperial is put upon the Calais station—but the
result is not involved in doubt. Daring the heavy
gales which prevailed ten days ago the preliminary
trial of the Prince Imperial took place en the
Maplin Sands, and the behaviour of the ship was
held to justify the impression which prevailed on
board, that once the Prince Imperial is put upon
the station there will be few passengers who will
care to patronise the older boats. The preliminary
trial showed that experience has not been thrown
away on the officers of the London, Chatham, and
Dover Railway Company, and that the Prince
Imperial and the sister ships will be a satisfactory
approximation to all that can be wished.
In the fittings of the Prince Imperial there are
some novelties. On deck there is a fine state saloon
suitable for a monarch, or a princely bride and
bridegroom. Engagements for the state deck saloon
will necessarily require to be effected in advance.
On deck also, and in the centre of the ship, there
two other less commodious, and slightly less aristo.
°retie, but still princely state saloons. Such are
deck innovations. Between decks there are three
more state saloons of the same class. The chief
saloon or cabin is elaborately, chastely, and con-
veniently fitted in white and gold with morocco
stuffing. In the centre there are the usual tables,
and around the tables the usual cushion seat but with
arms at intervals, which will contribute greatly to
the general comfort. Above the usual cushion seat,
but receding from it, is a circular sofa round the
ship, upon which the weary may rest their
limbs
and be out of other people's way, To the ladies'
saloon there is a separate staircase from the deck, end
all the lying down accommodation that is ever
is much
to be required. Here again the fittings are in mo-
rocco. Forward, in the second class, there much
the same comfort and arrangement that is to he
found at present in the first class of the old boats,
with rather more lying down space. Second class
passengers, as they should be, arethe
second
eintehned hiPerainche
Im-
p rial well cared for. From h
the
captain's state room is detached—a circumstance
which, better than any other thing, shows the spirit
in which bo London, Chatham, and Dover railway