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

their perfect satisfaction with the accommodation
and all the arrangements made on board the Nor-
man for th 3 troops, and with the attention and
kindness shown by Capt. Johns and the ship's corns
pany generally.

On Saturday there was Munched from Mr Chas.
Langley's Commercial Dock, Rotherhithe, an
Alabama-rigged patent combination ship, classed
A 1 at Lloyd's for fifteen years, belonging to Messrs
Smith, Heming, and Co., merchants end ship
owners, of 18, Leadonhall•street. She is of 650 tons
burden, and is intended foe the East India and China
trade. She was built from the design and under the
superintendence of Messrs S. H. Harrington and Co.
naval architects, of 27, Leadenhall•street, and in
consequence of the novel mode of construction has
excited much interest. She has been visited by Lord
Clarence Paget, Mr Reed, the chief constructor; and
Admiral Robinson, Comptroller of the Navy. The
result has been that the Admiralty have contracted
with Mr. Langley to build an ironclad vessel of
war on the same principle. They are about to adopt
it in the construction of their new 4,000 tons troop
ships, the estimates for which have already been
passed. The mods of construction is this :—The
frames of the vessels are, in the first place, con-
structed entirely of angle iron of the same weight as
that used in building iron ships of a similar tonnage.
Each frame is then riveted to a horizontal keel, stem
and stern plate broad enough to fasten the garboard
to. A middle line keel is then riveted between the
upper and lower horizontal keel plates, by means of
angle irons running longitudinally the whole length
of the ship, forming therewith a strong girder of a
similar construction to those used in railway bridges.
The half-floor plates are riveted to the middle line
keelson between doubling clips of angle iron, and
carried up in the usual way to the turn of the bilge,
and the reversed frames are rivited on across the
floor heads and carried up to the stringer plates.
Ball iron beams are then fixed, which makes the
whole frame rigid and ready to receive the planking,
the first coating of which consists wholly of teak,
and is fastened to the frames by galvanising nut and
screw-bolts from keel to gunwale. The wood keel is
also brought on the iron horizontal keel plate, and
fastened/ to it by means of iron screw-bolts from
inside. The garboards are then rabated in and
fastened through the iron keel-plate with galvanised
iron nut and screw bolts. This first skin is 2tin.
thick, and the seams are fitted close, and double-
fastened to the frames throughout Diagonal steps
of iron 4 by tin. are then let in, and on this
skin, crossed in squares of about 6ft., fastened
through frames when they cross, and carried from
keel to gunwale. A suitable composition of chunam
is then used, and the outer skin of 21in. rock
elm brought on to the turn:of the bilge. Thence
upwards 21in, teak is used. Each plank is fitted
to overlap the inner seams (rendering it impossible
for the vessel to leak), and then fastened with yel-
low metal clench bolts to the inner skin, all the
holes being carefully bored free of iron frames or
straps. By this means the planking of the vessels
is tied together vertically as well as longitudinally;
no copper bolts or metal sheathing are in contact
with iron, and the vessel is felted and sheathed
with copper in the ordinary way. The obvious ad-1
vantage of this system is that there are no through
seams, no risk of galvanic action, great longitu-
dinal strength, increased buoyancy, and capacity
over vessels built wholly of iron. As vessels of
war, they will be able to go to any part of the
world, where there are no facilities for docking—
which is an absolute necessity to our Channel fleet
three or four times in the year. These vessels also
afford a greater security to life in the event of ship•
wreck, as they cannot break up so readily as iron
ships.

To-day and to-morrow the troops of the 18th
Hussars, at present stationed at Norwich, Ipswich,
and Northampton, will leave those towns en route
for India. The barracks of Ipswich will shortly be
occupied by two troops of the 16th Lancers, while
the remaining troops of that regiment, with the
headquarters, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel
Dickson, will be stationed in the new cavalry bar•
racks at Colchester. The old system of dividing a
cavalry regiment between Norwich, Ipswich, and
Northampton appears to be aband.)ned.