The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-08 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

Vice-Admiral Sir M. Seymour, G.C.8., Port Ad-
miral and Naval Commander-in• Chief at Ports-
mouth, on Saturday entertained the heads of the
military and naval departments of the port and gar-
rison at a fail dress dinner at the Admiralty-house,
in celebration of her Majesty's birthday.

Mr. E. J. Reed, the chief constructor of the navy,
was engaged the whole of Friday in his first official
visit to Chatham dockyard. His visit was closely
connected with the arrangements which are now
under the consideration of the Admiralty for effect-
ing an alteration in the present system of iron ship
building. It would be premature at present to give
publicity to the plans and modifications which Mr.
Reed, in conjunction with Admiral Robinson, the
principal surveyor of the navy, have prepared and
laid before the Admiralty, until they have received
the final approval of the Board ; but, from the im-
portant improvements proposed, there is little doubt
they will be at once taken up and acted upon by the
Admiralty. Mr. Reed, with Mr. Moore, principal
assist.-master shipbuilder at Chatham, paid length-
ened visits of inspection to all the iron and other
ships now in progress, as well as those standing
idle on the stocks. The chief interest, however, was
centered in the iron frigate Achilles, and the
wooden frigate Belvidere, the latter of which is
destined to be shortly metamorphosed into an
armour clad vessel on Mr. Reed's plan, and to be re-
christened with a more appropriate name. Every
portion of the Achilles was minutely inspected, that
vessel just now presenting a spectacle not to be wit-
nessed in any other of her Majesty's dockyards—
that of 1,300 hands employed in the construction of
one iron vessel, while the work is being performed
by ordinary shipwrights, who are in no way infe-
rior in this respect to skilled mechanics. Already
such progress has been made in the construction of
the Achilles that her period of undoeking may now
be reckoned by weeks, and arrangements are being
made for commencing another iron vessel, from Mr.
Reed's designs, in the same dock, the drawings and
plans for which are now in progress. With the ex-
ception of the Belvidere, the other vessels inspected
called for no remarks, as all of them are of the ordi-
nary class of wooden screws, most of which have
been on the stocks for years, and are destined to re-
main in their present condition for years, if, indeed,
they are ever to be completed at all. The re-
mainder of the day was devoted by Mr. Reed, in
conjunction with the Rev. Dr. Woolley, to an exa-
mination of the apprentices' school in the dockyard,
in connection, it is understood, with an intention of
the Admiralty to introduce a new department into
our dockyard schools, by the establishment of a
school of naval architecture, in which the most pro-
mising and intelligent of the dockyard apprentices
will undergo a course of study to fit them to become
designers of vessels of war. After transacting offi-
cial business with Captain-Superintendent Fan-
shawe, Mr. Reed returned to the Admiralty in the
evening. He will shortly re-visit Chatham dockyard.
The Orlando, 46, 1,000 horse power, Capt. Ran-
dolph, having completed her repairs at Chatham
dockyard, has commenced re- shipping her heavy
stores, guns, &c., which were taken out to allow her
to pass over the sill of the dock. She awaits orders
from the Admiralty as to her future movements.
The iron steamvessel City of London, built by
Messrs. James Ash and Co., of Millwall, went down
the Thames to the Nore and back, on her trial trip
on Saturday, and also to test the superiority of
Lumley's improved rudder. It is the first iron vessel
fitted with this invention. On Saturday the City of
London, starting from Blackwall pier, with her
head up the river and her helm a few degrees to
starboard, described a half circle to bring her head
down the river in 53 seconds. During her passage
she gave perfect satisfaction to the various scientific
men who accompanied her. She accomplished the
measured mile at the rate of 131 section miles per
hour, and thus proved an exceedingly fast vessel.
The engines are by Mr. J. Stewart, of Millwall ;
and the vessel is fitted with patent floats, steam
windlass, Graham's patent tiller, and other modern
improvements.
Her Majesty's steam storeship Rhadamanthus,
Master-Commander Raymond, under the shears in
the river at Woolwich, having been examined, is
found defective in boilers and machinery, and is or-
dered to be docked for repairs. The officers and crew
will be transferred to the Dee for service during the
repairs of the Rhadamanthus.
The steam sloop Hydra, at Woolwich, about to
take the place of the surveying ship Medina, Capt.
Spratt, Q. 8., in the Mediterranean, has been un-
docked, and will be shortly out of the shipwrights'
hands, when she will be given over to the superin-
tendence of Lieut. Wilkinson for the fitment of the
new charthouse and other peculiar arrangements
necessary on board.
Private letters received from her Majesty's screw
troopship Adventure,Commander T. P. Lethbridge,
dated from Barbadoes on the 7th of May, state
that she was about to sail for Sierra Leone, with
a portion of the 3d West India Regiment on
board, and expected to be back at Barbadoes,
en route for England, in the commencement of
August. Daring the six months' absence of the
ship from England she had gone upwards of 20,000
miles in transporting troops between the West
Indies and the Coast of Africa. It was expected at
the time the letters were written that the Adven-
ture would anchor at Spithead, on her return from
West Indian and Coast of Africa service, about the
20th of September next.