The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-06 00:00:00

Naval an'

.Iligence,

The Duke of Cambridge, Field Marshal Cum-
mantling-in-Chief of the Army, yesterday drove to
Woolwich, attended by his aide-de-camp in waiting,
Brevet-Gel. R. W. P. Curzon, C. 8., late Grenadier
G earde, and reviewed the troops in garrisou there.
They were drawn out in marching order on Wools
wich-common at half-past nine o'clock, according
to orders transmitted from the Horse Guards on the
preceding evening. There were present on the
ground one battalion of Royal Marines, in command
of Lt.-Col. Marriott ; two troops of Horse Artillery,
in command of Cal. the Hon. E. T. Gage and
Major D. S. Greene ; two batteries of the Depot
Brigade, and two 40-pounder batteries, in come
mend of Col. J. H. Smyth, C. 8., commanding the
23 division of the Depot. Tee firing of 2i guns
in rapid succession and the hoisting of the
national standard at the Greenhill battery an-
nounced the Duke's arrival in the garrison shortly
before ten o'clock a.m. General Warde, C. 8., the
Commandant, attended by a numerous) staff of
officers, received his Royal Highness in the centre
of the parade and accompanied him to the review
ground, where the troops immediately performed the
usual salute, the bands playing "God save the
Queen." The operations were intended to illustrate
the attack of an advancing foe, who was represented
as having already gained a position in the north-
east corner of the common. Notwithstanding the
extreme heat of the weather the whole proceedings
went off admirably. His Royal Highness was then
accompanied by General
Warde and the attendant
Staff to the Royal Artillery mess quarters, where he
was entertained at luncheon. About 50 superior
officers in
the garrison were present. The enter-
tainment lasted an hour, during which time the
band of the regiment, conducted by Mr Smythe,
performed a ehoice selection of music. The Duke
left Woolwich for town soon after one p.m., amid
the booming of the battery guns.
A general order has been issued from the Horse
Claude, by command of the Duke of Cambridge,
and promulgated at Chatham garrison, announcing
that in future every recruit on first joining the
head•qaarters of his depot or regiment, is to be
asked whether he is a Roman Catholic, Episcopa-
lian, Presbyterian, or belonging to any other sect,
and that the answer be recorded in the man's
pocket ledger, duly attested by his signature, and
witnessed.
On Tuesday night the Lords of the Admiralty
arrived at New Milford by special train, and on
Wednesday the usual inspection of the dockyard,
forts, &0., took place. After the inspection their
lordships left in her Majesty's yacht Osborne for
Ireland.
The delays which have taken place in the pro-
gress of the iron-clad frigate Bellerophon, 14, 4,246
tons, now building at Chatham Dockyard, in conse-
quence of the non-suppiyof angle and plate iron from
the contractors, are likely to be effectually remedied,
arrangements having been completed by which at
least 100 tons of iron will be sent into the docks
yard weekly by Messrs Cheyney and Co., who have
the contract for supplying that description of iron
for the vessel. Notwithstanding, however, the de.
lcys which have taken place in the construction of
the Bellerophon, which are attributable solely to the
nen-delivery of the requisite materials by the con-
tractors, the most marked progress has been made
In the construction of the frigate, which will not
occupy one half the time in building that was con-
sumed in the construction of the Achilles, built at
the same dockyard. The works connected with the
Bellerophon are watched with the keenest interest
by some of the most eminent shipbuilders in this
and other countries, several of whom have inspected
the frigate since she has been in frame. Now that
the works are sufficiently advanced to enable an
opinion to be formed of the class of ves-
sel the Bellerophon is intended to prove,
it is impossible to fail observing that a totally
new and highly economical mode of iron
shipbuilding has been introduced by her de-
eitgners. The great improvement already observable
is the enormous reduction effected in the amount of
expensive smiths' work. The extent to which com-
plicated and costly forge work has been insisted
upon in all previous iron-cased ships has afforded
incessant grounds of complaint by the contractors
'who built the Black Prince, Warrior, Hector, De-
fence,and other similar ships, arid it appears pretty
certain the qualify of work of this kind which was
actually performed in the Achillee at Chatham Dock
yard has tended to make her a very costly vessel.
Hitherto it would seem the designers of our ironclad
squadron of vessels have considered any material re-
duction in work of this kind altogether incompatible
with the great strength required in ships of war,
but Mr Reed, the present chief constructor of the
navy, is cbviously of a very different opinion, and
in designing the Bellerophon has boldly swept
away the preconceived notions as to what was
deemed indispensable to the construction of an
iron vessel of war. An inspection of the Bellerophon
as she now lies in frame will make it appear evident
that not only has this been done without sacrificing
strength, but with a positive-increaee of that impor-
tant quality. With this iecceaee of strength is as-
sociated at the same time a still more important
feature—unexampled security. Hitherto the great
defect in all iron ships has been the local weakness
of their bottoms, which has usually rendered com-
paratively trifling mishaps fatal to them, wisile
wooden ships, meeting with the same casualties, fre-
er:rend.; escape with but temporary, and more often
trifling, injury. The usual mode of correcting
this defect is by the introduction of water-tight
bulkheads across the ship. This plan may have
proved useful in the mercantile marine, but it in-
terferes so seriousiy with the accommodation and
ventilation of ships of war as to be an unsatisfac-
tory remedy for the defect alluded to. In the
Bellerophon the evil has been boldly met by the
introduction of a complete double bottom, somewhat
resembling in principle that of the Great Eastern,
but far more- complete and perfect in its arrange-
meat. The system of longitudinal girders, found
to answer so well in the latter ship, has also been
adopted in the Bellerophon, bat while the longitu-
dinal frames conetinited the sole, or nearly sole,

support of the bottom plating of the great ship, a
strong and rigid system' of transverse frames has

been brou ;ht to its suppot t in the Bellerophon, thus

rendering her bo';toni stronijor and more secure from

injury tha a that of any oth 1r iron iron ship afloat.

Reverting to the subject dy notice.din The
Sun—the advE.mtage of woricitio all she heavy de-
scription of guns on board ship 'ay- means of machi-
nery, it is a atisTaotory to find that rho Lords of the

Adnairalty.kavo decided that each of tho ten 12-ton

3JO-pounder s with which the Bellerovhon will be
armed are to be worked by an ingetioualy con•
trived, but at the same trine simple riahanical
arrangement, the invention of Mr. Reed,
and a notil:cation to that eff,,et has Rh' eady been

received at Cuatham Mckyard. By this arrange-
ment each of tiAe monster gun's will be daily tz,‘kined
and handled by three or four men, and each g:ln,
kept upon the enemy throng7.l the aro of a circle of
more than 60 deg., as perfecriy, in fact, as theguns
are now trained on boa-rd CApt. Co!ea's turret ship,
the Royal Sovereign. Too much importance cannot
b© attached to the ad vantage which will be pos-
sessed in this respect t•y the Bellerophon, the power
of " keeping the ene my on" and following him
about with your gun being c‘f immense advantage.
The Clio, 22, 400-horse wer,
po Capt. N. E. B.
Tumour, which was under orders to leave the Nero
yesterday afternoon for the Pat:iac, takes out, in
tow, a small steam tug, of about 70 tons burden,
named ibe Tartie, w3it.ll has rue:nifty
ch been put.- ~,ed by the Aimiralty to be stationed at the
hilud of A6ceulion, and to be used for towing,
purposes.

fhe chartered transport Acadia sailed from
Woolwich yesterday for Jamaica,afte=r shipping
naval and war stores off •the Arsenal. The Albert
William also sailed for Atic;ztand yesterday, laden
with shells, combustibles, ball cartridges, Szc. ; and
the Egmont, for the same destination, with a cargo
of guns and other War stores, s upped in the London
docks.

Yesterday par ty of Swedish, Prussian, and Bel-
gian officers visited Chatham garrison for the pur-
pose of witnessing so, ne trials which are now in

progress at the Royal Engineer establishment, for
the purpose of testing the respective merits of the