The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-08 00:00:00

Naval am

The Duncan, 81-gun screw line-of-battle ship, of 3,716
tons, and with an engine power of 800 horses, was commis-
sioned yesterday at Portsmouth by Capt. Robert Gibson
(1863) as the flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Red Sir James
Hope, K.C.8., appointed to succeed Sir Alexander Milne,
K.C.8., as Commander-in-Chief of the British squadrons
on the North American and West India stations. The
Duncan will make her maiden cruize under Sir Jas. Hope's
flag. In her various trials under steam since she has been
launched she has maintained a state of speed which for its
excellence and uniformity has been unequalled by any
other liner of equ tl power. Her first trial took place on
7th of August, 1860, with a G riffiths' screw, the wind
being at a force of from 4 to 5, at a draught of water of
18ft forward, and 21ft 2in aft. On that occasion she at-
tained a mean rate of speed of 13 388 knots, the in-
dicated horse-power of the engines being 3,3410. On
the 29th April, 1861, she made a second trial at a draught
of 18ft 3in forward and 21ft sin aft, but with the Griffiths'
screw changed for one of three blades on the common
pattern with the leading corners uncut, the weather being
nearly a calm, With this screw she realised a mean speed
of 13'322 knots, the engines exhibiting an indicated power
of 3,167 3 horse. Her third trial was at the same draught
of water, and under the same conditions of weather, but
with a two-bladed screw on the Maudslay-Griffiths
ple—that is to say, with the Mandalay shifting pitch. With
this she attained a mean rate of speed of 13.162 knots, the
engines giving an indicated power of 3,3203. In a subse-
quent trial on the 29th of the szme month, again at the same
draught of water, and with the weather nearly a calm, but
with a three-bladed common screw with its leading corners
cut, she attained a mean speed of 13.289 knots, with an in-
dicated engine power of 3,217.5. The engines were built
by the Messrs. Penn on their horizontal trunk principle.
The manning of the Duncan will absorb every seaman avail-
able to the authorities in the port.
Thememorandum issued from the Admiralty, dated Dec•
28, 1863, relative to the introduction of distinctive colours
to be worn with the gold lace stripes on the sleeves of naval
officers' uniform coats, is causing some difficulty, owing to
the manner in which it is worded. The opening paragraph
states that "her Majesty has been pleased to sanction the
introduction of distinctive colours between the gold lace
stripes," &c. ; and lower down the memorandum, in award-
ing the respective colours to the different branches, directs
them to wear alternate stripes, &t: Messrs. Galt, Gieve,
and Co., naval outfitters, of Portsmouth, have submitted to
the inspection of our correspondent at that port patterns of
sleeves which have been altered they say in accordance with
the Admiralty intentions. In these the distinctive colour
is confined to between the stripes of gold lace, but the colour
is shown with the curl or loop of the upper stripe. If, for
instance, this is the correct reading of the circular a staff
commander would receive on his coat cuffs, in addition to
his three gold-lace stripes and loop two stripes of Crimean
blue velvet between his three gold-laced stripes.
We understand that her Majesty has expressed a strong
opinion against any important change being made again in
the uniform of the Royal Navy.
An official announcement was issued some weeks ago at
Woolwich, by order of the Board of Admiralty, that a num-•
ber of shipwrights were required to be entered on the tem-
porary list of the dockyard establishment. By reason of
the demand for experienced mechanics of that class by
private firms at higher wages than those given in the Royal
dockyards, very few hands have applied at Woolwich in
answer to the demand, and the works in hand are, subject
to much inconvenient delay.
Her Majesty's 6 'gun paddlewheal sloop Hecate, Capt,
George H. Richards, on surveying service in the Pacific,
and ordered home in February last, made fast at the buoy
at Greenhithe yesterday afternoon. A telegram was after-
wards received at Woolwich dockyard announcing her
arrival there, and the captain's intention not to swing until
this morning, when he will proceed to Woolwich to make
preparations for being paid out of commission. Captain
Richards entered on the command of the Hecate in Septem
ber, 1860.
The freight-ship Emily, in the service of the War De-
partment, laden with general stores for Malta, has com-
menced filling in her magazines at the powder-buoy off
Woolwich Arsenal with 2,000 barrels of prepared ammu-
nition.
The iron-cased screw steamship Royal Oak, 35, Capt. F.
A. Campbell, was removed yesterday (TharsdW from
11 amoaze into Plymouth Sound. The Royal Oak shipped
her powder in the afternoon, and will shortly be ready for
sea.
The paddlewheel steamsloop Salamander, 6, Commander
the Hon. J. Carnegie, from Sheerness and Portsmouth,
arrived at Plymouth yesterday (Thursday) morning. She
is bound to Cape York, Australia, and will take out marine
artizans to clear the country of trees, &c., for the purpose
of founding a colony.
Yesterday the mechanics at Chatham dockyard com-
menced cutting out the frames and making the necessary
preparation for the construction of the Lord Warden target
which the Lords of the Admiralty have ordered ,to be made
at Chatham, in order that it may be subjected to a variety
of tests of its strength at Shoeburyness. It will exactly re-
semble a section of the midships side of the Lord Warden
above the load water-line. The construction will differ in
several very important particulars from that of the Royal
Oak and the other wooden armour-plated frigates already
completed, the effect of which will be to render her very
little inferior in strength and solidity and shot-resisting
power to the most recently-constructed of our fleet of iron-
clads. In the squadron of armour-plated vessels recently
built the ft inch armour plates aro bolted to 18 inches of
teak planking, fastened to the oak timbers, which are in
turn held together by the longitudinals and tie -irons which
traverse the ship from stem to stern. This construction is
objectionable on several grounds, not the least of which
arises from the absence of a resisting medium between
the teak planking and the interior of the vessel to prevent
the flying off of splinters, which experience has shown are
invariably more disastrous in their effects on shipboard
than the passage of either a shot or shell through the
ship's aides. This important fact has not been lost sight
of in the construction of the Lord Warden, and it is ac-
cordingly intended to place an iron skin, formed of plates
an inch and a half in thickness, between her timber ribs and
teak planking, on which again will be placed her 59 inch
and ft-inch t rmour plates. The target now in hand at
Chatham will be put together exactly on this principle, and
its trial at Shoeburyness is looked forward to ecith some in-
terest, and its form of construction is believed to combine
the greatest strength with the greatest shot-resisting power.
Yesterday the after portion of the keel was got in its place
on the blocks beneath the shed where the Lord Warden is
building, but, in consequence of the greater number of the
dockyard mechanics being employed on the Achilles, only
a comparatively small number are at work on the new fri-
gate. In a short time, however, at least 1,000 workmen
will be transferred to the Lord Warden, in the completion
of which every exertion will be used. Some alterations have
been made in the size of the vessel since the order for her
construction was received from the Admiralty, atid the fol-
lowing will be her exact dimensions :—Length between
perpendiculars, 280 ft ; length of keel for tonnage, 233 ft
lltin ; extreme breadth, 58ft 9in ; breadth for tonnage, 57ft
2in; breadth moulded, 56ft 4in ; depth in hold, 20ft in;
burden, 4,067 26-91ths tons.
By ,direction of the Admiralty a new iron caisson is to be
fitted at the entrance to No. 2 basin at Chatham dockyard,
instead of the wooden caisson recently removed, to allow of
the Achilles being undocked. The new caisson is now being
manufactured at the establishment of Messrs, Westwood,
Baillee, and Campbell, London ; but some delay has taken
place in its completion, in consequence of a misunderstand-
ing having arisen in respect of the exact size it is to be
made to allow of its being fitted into the granite sides of
the dock. The old caisson has been floated up the harbour
to the Anchor-wharf, where it is being taken to pieces by a
party of workmen.
In order to expedite the work connected with the prepa •
ration of the iron blooms for the new frigate Bellerophon,
at Chatham, the mechanics employed in the smithy have
commenced woaking at night,
The following appointments were made yesterday at the
Admiralty :—The Rev. W. IL Holman to be chaplain of
the Colossus, vice Fox, whose period of home service has
expired ; the Hon. Evelyn H. Ellis, midshipman, to the
Geyser; Edmond H. C. Smith, second master, to the Dun-
can ; Charles W. Baillie, W. M. Savage, Bever Van Hom-
righ, and John M. Ross, master's assistants, to the Duncan.

THE ARMY.
The Marquis of Hartington, M.P., and Sir Edward
Lugard, Under-Secretaries of State for War, Capt. Galton,
Assistant-Under-Secretary; Brigadier-General St. George,
C. 8., Director of Ordnance, and Mr. Whitton,
Assistant to the Accountant-General, yesterday continued
their official inspection of the ninaufacturing branches of
Woolwich Arsenal in order to prepare the returns for the
Financial Committee. They were engiged the whole of the
day in the inspection of the various factories of the Royal
carriage department, in which they were assisted by Lieut.-
Col. Clerk and Lieut.-Col. Shaw, R.A., Superintendent and
Assistant-Superintendent of the department and their sub-
ordinate officers. The whole of the stores and army equip-
ments, in charge of Capt. Gordon, C. 8., principal military
storekeeper of the Arsenal, as well as the Royal gun facto-
ries, were inspected on two former visits.

TEE SWANS IN THE TUILERIES.—Much difficulty
was experienced at the commencement of the frost in rescu-
ing from the basin in the Tuileries the two swans which are
usually seen there. Being imprisoned by the ice, they had
retired to a small circle of water which remained unfrozen
around the central fountain.