The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-19 00:00:00

6 ,‘,.444jiee„, EIS'S PAPER
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THE NAVY.
The target shipeimerica, at Portsmouth, slaving
a number of iron plats bolted on her sides, for trial
and experimental flriog, which will furnish very
interesting data, from their varying thicknesses,
and especially so if fired at with spherical steel shot
or shell. The Mersey Ironworks send a sf-inch
plate for the Agincourt; Messrs. Beale, of
Parkgate Works, near Sheffield, send one of 53.
inches for the Lord Clyde; .Messrs. John Brown
and Co., of the Atlas Steel and Iron Works, Shef-
field, send two for the Lord 'Warden of 41- inches
and 51 inches, and also a 41 inch for the Roy el
Alfred. Messrs. Conmell and Co., of Sheffield,
send in their first selected plate, one of 51 inchee,
for the Lord Clyde, which has been sent round to
Portsmouth from Pembroke dockyard, after having
been sent to the latter place from Sheffield. The
Milwull Company furnish a plate of 6 inches in
thickness for the Bellerophon, weighing 6 tons 16
cwt. 2 qrs., and there is also a small bent plate for
the Royal Alfred's pilothouse. The fitieg will teke
place in Porcheeter creek about Tueedey :next.
Her Maiesty'e paddle-pelt Victoria and Albert
is having her boilers taken out elongs:de Portsmouth
dockyard, and will be supplied with a new set
which have been constructed for her in the boiler
department of the steam factory.
The Osborne, Royal paddle yacht, is undergoing
a partial refit in No. 7 docl.
The Royal Alfred, converted screw frigate, to be
ironcased in the northern building slip cef Ports-
mouth dockyard, has three gangs of shipwrights
employed on her, completing the riveting of her
upper deck plating, fitting the comings of her
hatchways, &c., preparatory to fitting her deck
planking. At present she is lying with her ways
and cradle in position for launching, for which,
however, no date has yet been fixed. The abip will
be launched without any of her armour, and will be
then placed in the lock now occupied by the Royal
Sovereign, where she will be plated. The Royal
Alfred is a sister vessel to the Royal Oak and Prince
Consort—a 'Wooden ship wholly cased with armour-
plates, but without the inner iron skin possessed by
iron-built iron-clads.
The following appointments and promotions have
been made at the Admiralty :—Lient. E. St. 1.
Garforth, to the Princess Royal, for service in the
Penguin; Sub-Lient. Thomas E. Miller, to the
Princess Royal; Gordon Glennie and Edward
C. Moore, naval cadets, to the Princess Royal;
Charles F. Gulliver, second master, to the Princess
Royal, for the Penguin; Robert E. Acklow ;
master's assistant, to the Princess Royal, for the
Penguin; C. Moreton, engineer, to the Indus, as
supernumerary ; Thomas Robert Warren, Thomas
Henry Taylor, Croft G. Symons, and James Thom-
son, assistant-surgeons, promoted to be surgeons ;
Capt. F. B. P. Symons, to the Royal Adelaide, vice
Caldwell ; Sub-Lient. Richard B. Croft, to the
Duncan ; Lionel Fanshawe, midshipman, to the
Princess Royal; W. Stables, acting aseistesurg.,
additional to the Princess Rc.yal, for the Penguin ;
James Torkington, assist.-engineer, to the Hector ;
John Elder, assist.-engineer, to the Euryalus ; and
Edward W. Newenham, clerk, additional to the
Princess Royal, for the Penguin.

THE ARMY.

Since the promulgation at Chatham of the order
from the Horse Guards inviting volunteers from the
depot and other companies of Royal Engineers for
the works department in India the names of nearly
300 volunteers have been received at headquarters,
Brompton, or about 100 more volunteers than are
required by the terms of the Horse Guards' order.
The list of the candidates has been forwarded to the
Deputy-Adjutant-General, to be submitted to the
Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief for his ap-
proval. Thu Royal Engineers selected will not
proceed to India until the mouth of July next, and
in the meantime they will go through an estendcd
course of instruction at the Topographical and Sur-
veying Schools, mast of the pon•commissioned offi-
cers and men who have volunteered having already
completed their course of fi,:qdwork instruction on
the Royal Engineers' practising ground at
Chatham.

Odpt. H. &haw, Royal Eugineers, who is at the
brad of the Electric Telegraph and Photogre.phic
Schools at Chatham, has proceeded, by order of the
Government, to Corfu, for the purpose of superin-
tending the demolition of the fortifications in
that and the neighbouring islands previously to
their being finally evacuated by the British
forces. A party. of nine officers of the Royal
Engineers, together with a number of non-commis-
sioned officers, have left Chatham with Capt. Schaw
to assist the officers and men of the 29th and
30th Companies, now stati med at Corfu, in de-
stroying the fortifications. During the absence of
Captain Schaw the charge of the schools at Bromp-
ton barracks will devolve on Captain R. M. Par-
sons, who has joined at headquarters for that pur-
pose.

The Boiler Explosion at Aberanian.

ABERDARE, Wednesday .Evening, 5 p.m..

I have just telegraphed you of the terrible exylo.
Edon which took place this afternoon at Aberaman
Works, and now send you such particulars of the
catastrophe as I have been able to collect from a
hurried visit to the spot.
Aberaman Ironworks are the property of Mr. C.
Bailey, M.P., who is also the proprietor of large
works of a similar kind at Beaufort and Nan-
tyglo, in Monmouthshire. They are situated
at the mouth of a small valley about a mile
from the town of Aberdare, and give employment to
the dense population of the long straggling village of
Aberaman, and they are connected with the Taff
Vale Railway by a branch line which effects a junc-
tion with the former near Treamon-station. This
afternoon the works were proceeding as usual, and
there was nothing apparently to apprehend from
any portion of it, when of a sudden a loud crash
and hissing of steam was heard, and at the same in-
stant the whole of the boilers and engine-house of
the blast.engine were enveloped with vapour. The
startled workmen, at a safe distance, turned towards
iron
the scene, and were appalled at the eight of two
huge tubular boilers, elevated to the height of a 100
feet and more, rushing with fearful velocity over the
rtnooetnf ofd etsheeenpduedddlwinigth fduirrenaecffese,ntu, crushing
gch one
thof
roof as though it were pasteboard, smashing two
puddling furnaces, destroying about GO yards of the
roof, and involving everything ::utrieereimon ruin.
The other monster pursued its se
minute before it was fastened asand fell at a
distance of 100 yards from the bed in which one
stonefti lOnecoul de bindn d
of it.
the
eTnhgei
ing of stone, four stories
atoms, and the roof, de engine house,
itlsmiovrtabruai build-
ing Consequences
the magnificent engine high, was knocked to
and hot water from the
support, came down •
deprived of more than half its
With tremendous violence on
the force of
except the more • massive beams to pieces. The steam
bbeoloilwer,sbwatetreerisongatetveererydthwiintgh
•
whirlwind, and heavy pieces of iron
sent flying
about in immense quantities, striking
men and children down in great numbers. But the
merciless steam and boiling water did moat mischief
in the way of destroying life. Some of the
poor fellows who were working immediately
beneath the engine house and boilers were
scalded frightfully, and one ipoor Irishman
named Patrick Castelloe was literally buried in a
mass of hot ashes saturated with boiling water;
his limbs were contorted in the most awful manner,
and when he was dragged out from the ruins ilia
charred body presented few marks of humanity about
it. Another man named Mereditcli was standing e;
the further side of the puddling furnaces when_tnhe
boiler fell on the roof, killing him instantly. 0
of hi. feet was severed from the leg. A
folding and
named Thomas Lewis was killed from
wer of debris
the, additional injury inflicted by ams
eh?
Henry
wii.
falling upon him. A little boy neon
ad
piece of metal
liams was playing in the yard Wh
lit his head so com-
pletely open that the brains au p
The engineman
ground when he was picked
It is Est
not been recovered when o I
I t
mated that the damage sustained exceede £lO,OOO.
f_theelentghein secehn oeu. se, and had
was buried in the ruins
Many bodies it is said aro yet 11:1113b1I3g.