The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-19 00:00:00

SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 19, 1863

THE

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

The Powerful target-ship is receiving alongside Portsmouth dock-
yard another supply of armour-plates for testing at the practice
moorings in Porchester creek. They include five plates from the
Thames Iron Works Company, one of five inches thickness of metal
for the Ocean, and four others experimental, one 15-feet rolled plate
is fromßlgbyand Beerdmore, of Glasgow. The Mersey Company,

.
Clare, Horsfall, and Co., send 12 plates of a somewhat novel charac-
ter both as regards their size and the way in which they will be
bolted on the ship's side for firing at. Each of these plates are 6 feet
long by only one foot wide, and are two and a-half inches through
the metal. Six of them will he bolted on the ship's side in a longi-
tudinal position, and close to each other, forming a layer of iron
planking of two and a-half inch iron, six feet square. Over this layer
will he laid and bolted the remaining six plates of planks, but in a
vertical position ; the whole thus forming a square of iron planking
five inches in thickness, but divided in the centre, and laid at right
angles. Two other plates have been fixed on the Powerful's side,
for trial at the same time, and the result is watched with conside-
rable interest. This is purely a Government experiment. A Royal
Alfred Plate was directed to be taken from the stock in the dock-
yard, cut through the centre, and the two parts then bent four-and-
a-half inches, the thickness of the plate, from a straight line, one
part to be heated and then bent to the required' curve in the wedge
press, and the other half to be bent cold in the hydraulic press—the
object sought being to ascertain whether any or what difference ex-
isted consequent upon the two systems of bending as would be shown
when struck by shot. The plate to be bent cold was first taken in
hand, but owing to the opening of the metal, the plate was not bent
beyond two-and-a-half inches, instead of four-and-a-half inches, as
ordered. The remaining portion of the plate was therefore bent in
the wedge press only to the same extent. It has,heell contended
by many that iron armour plates can be bent cold with the same
facility that they can when heated, but, so far as is known by
experience in the Government yards at present, this cannot be
done, nor can plates over three -inches in thickness be bent' at any
time cold and with the hydraulic press in safety. This opinion is
borne out also by that of more than one firm engaged in the manu-
facture of armour plates. More is known of the results attending
the bending of rolled than hammered plates, and while it is said that
the cracks in the latter caused by the bending are more destructive
than is the case wills the former, enough is known of the results to
the rolled plate to enable a tolerably safe prediction to be formed of
the nature and extent of the openings in the metal, however excel-
lent may be the plate's quality. The reason of this is simple enough.
If in bending a plate its inner circle could be made to submit to its
due share of compression, and thus reduce itself and ease the outer
circle in its expansion, it would throw the neutral axis in the centre
of the plate, and there would be less risk of cracks or opening of the
metal in a direction with the fibre. The inner edge or surface of the
plate does not, however, when cold undergo any important compres-
sion, and the whole force is tensional and greatest on the outer edge.
The pressure with the single ram hydraulic presses in use in her
Majesty's dockyards is also local, instead of being diffused over the
entire surface, and thus with a hammered plate risks the breaking
of the metal, and with a rolled plate, the strain being thrown across
the fibre of the metal, the risk is an opening of the plate's outer sur-
face in the direction of the fibre. This plate is the first which it has
been attempted to any extent of curve, cold, by the hydraulic press
at Portsmouth. With a different application of the hydraulic power
to the single vertical ram at present in use to a plate's surface, the
plate being heated in the furnace to a black heat, it is thought that
plates may yet be bent with a certain degree of safety to any curva-
ture. This would probably be accomplished by six or eight rams
placed horizontally, part bearing on the outer and part on the inner
surface of the plate, bywhich means the tremendous pressure brought
into service by the hydraulic press would be diffused over the plate's
entire surface, which it is believed would render a good plate secure
from any serious injury. Perhaps the safest and most economical
plan would be to let the manufacturers of the plates bend them
at the time of manufacture to moulds furnished them from the yard
in which the ship for whom the armour is destined is being con-
structed. It cannot be doubted that not only the manufacture of
armour plates, but also the preparation which they have to undergo
after they are manufactured, is at the present moment a subject of
the greatest interest, not only to iron-workers and scientific men,
but to the public generally. In the Naval Estimates for 1663-64, iron
and armour plates for iron-cased ships building at Chatham figures
15,0001., and iron for armour plates for wooden ships for 160,0001.
The Curacoa, 24, screw frigate, in the basin at Portsmouth, has
n a
b andou t stays.
h her
decks A
a swarm
twork of t
o ship_
re-
ceived her lower masts, has got her tops on, her topmasts pointed,
wanrdigihsts, joiners, gettingeeurs, ah
up herd caulkers
erriggig s
are
com-
plete her for the pennant.

The Megmra, screw troopship, Commander L. H. Henderson, em-
barked the right wing of the 61st Regiment this morning at Ports-
mouth for conveyance to the Channel Islands, returning with a wing
of the 2d battalion 18th (Royal Irish), under orders for New Zealand
The Esk, 17, screw corvette, 1,162 tons and 250-horse power, was
floated out of No. 5 dock yesterday at Portsmouth, where she has
been undergoing very heavy repairs to her hull, having been, in fact,
almost rebuilt, in consequence of her very defective condition. In
the last week of the old year but part of the ship's frame was stand-
ing in the dock, owing to She removal of the decayed and weak por-
tions, both bows being entirely swept away as far aft as the fore
channels, a great number of her timbers taken out and other parts
of her framing removed, and planking and lining partially stripped.
Since then she has been taken in hand conjointly with the Curacoa,
and shipwrights crowded upon her as thick as they could conve-
niently use their tools to give her a thorough repair, yesterday
being the exact time then fixed for bringing her to her present state
of progress, and floating her out of dock; and, greatly to the credit
of the shipwright department, the programme has been faith-
fully adhered to, the prescribed amount of work done, and the ship
undocked on the day originally named when commencing the work.
There is, it is asserted, no record of an equal amount of work in the
repair of a ship having been done in the same time on any other
occasion in any of the dockyards. It cannot be forgotten, however,
that to execute this work the workmen were almost entirely with-
drawn from the iron-cased ships Royal Sovereign and Royal Alfred
Indeed, at present there are not more than two men and a boy em-
ployed upon the Royal Alfred. A representative of this class of
vessels will, however, be ready for commission, as stated by Lord
Clarence Paget, on the 19th of March next. The Esk was built by
contract in a private yard at Millwall, in 1853-4, and was a very
unfavourable specimen of such work, judging by the official reports
concerning her. Her frame was weak, and the materials not of the
best description. In carrying out her present repairs it has been
found necessary to strengthen her main-deck beams by 16 additional
knees. Several of her lower-deck beams have also been strengthened
in a similar manner, and other parts proportionately. The ship is,
without doubt, much stronger now in every respect than she was
when first off the stocks. The repairs have been made under the
direction and supervision of the same foreman, Mr. Loney, to whom
was assigned the outfit of the Warrior and Black Prince. The 2d of
April is the date named when the Esk is to be out of the hands of the
dockyard authorities and ready to hoist the pennant.

The royal paddle yacht Osborne, Master-Commander G. K. Bower
sailed from Portsmouth yesterday at 4 p.m. for Antwerp, to convey
to England her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Prussia.
Intelligence has been received at Plymouth, announcing that
cholera has entirely left the screw steam frigate Euryalus, 35,
Capt. J. S. Josling, flag of the Commander-in-Chief on the East
India and China station, and that the crew are now in good health.
She continued at Hongkong. About 30 invalids from the frigate are
coming home in the screw steamship Sanspareil, 70, Capt. George
L. S. Bower. It is reported at Plymouth that, in consequence of the
state of his health, Rear-Admiral L. Kuper is about to le ave his
command. _

Last winter the French steam frigate Vauban left Vera Cruz with
military invalids for France. When off Cape Hatteras she lost her
mainmast, which, in falling, injured several of the crew. Shortly
after she was exposed to a heavy gale, and bore up for Bermida
where it was discovered that the head of the rudder and the pintles
were seriously damaged, thus rendering her arrival 'at the island a
Hth.eGGelasyseent, %Ten.
subject of twofold congratulation. In the absence of Admiral Milne,
resourcesCa P t'
F navallftle
establishmentsoffice officer
tint charge, a r
commandge ,placed f theth
the
captain of the Vauban, whose disabled alio was immediately handed
over to the officers of the Royal Arsenal there. All the worst cases
of disease among the crew and many of the soldiers wounded in the
Mexican war were sent to the Naval Hospital in Ireland Island,
where they were placed under the care of Deputy-Inspector-General
R. E. Smart, M.D., and Dr. W. G. Doraville, of the flagship Nile.
On the 6th of January the Vice-Consul for France, who resides at
Hamilton, void an official visit to the Naval Hospital at Ireland
Island, and was much gratified. at witnessing the comfort and
order which prevailed, and on learning from the afflicted inmates
themselves how much they felt indebted to their physicians for the
benefit they had derived. The utmost cordiality exists between the
officers of the Vauban and the residents at Bermuda. Her repairs
were not completed up to the middle of January.
The paddlewheel ateamvessel Caradoc, 2, Lieut.-Commander Wil-
kinson, having embarked supernumeraries, left Plymouth on Tues-
day for the Mediterranean.
During the past six months several hundred of the convicts at-
tached
to the convict establishment at Chatham have been engaged
in preparing the materials, manufacturing the bricks, and iu various
preparations to build the additional docks and basins at Chatham
for the reception of a class of vessels considerably larger than any
now afloat belonging to the British navy. The whole of the land
required for the proposed undertaking has now been obtained Pos-
session of by the Admiralty, the various corporations, public bodies,
and other parties interested having had their claims satisfied. The
total cost of the construction of the proposed basins, docks, and locks
at Chatham, including the embankment of a-considerable portion of
the Medway, which is to be deepened from Chatham harbour to the
Nore, so as to form a channel 600 ft. wide and 27ft. deep at half tides,
which will give sift. at neaps and 35ft. at springs, is close upon
1,000,0001. sterling, the Admiralty
estimate of the work being 943,8761.
Of this sum 68,0001. has been already voted for the work. The Navy
Estimates published on Tuesday show that only 20,0001. will be asked
for by the Admiralty to carry on the works this year, so that no
very extensive operations will be commenced in the proposed un-
dertakings for several months to come. In addition to the docks
already existing at Chatham it is intended to construct five other
docks, each of which will be very nearly double the length of the
largest dock at that yard. The three centre docks of the intended
number will be each 500 ft. in length at the clear, with two smaller
docks of 400 ft. in length. Each of the new docks will communicate
on the south side wilh a large basin 22 acres in extent, with a depth
of 30ft. at the neap, thus enabling vessels of the Warrior and Achilles
class to float alongside the wharf with all their guns, stores, &c., on
board. There will also be two other basins at Chatham, the largest
of which will be 31 acres in extent' by upwards of 2,000 ft. at its
greatest length, and 700 ft. in breadth, with the same depth of water
as in the adjoining dock. Between the two large docks will be a re-
pairing basin of somewhat lesser extent, this being intended to have
an area of about seven acres, its length being 700 ft. by 400 ft. in
breadth. The total basin area at Chatham will thus be ex-
actly 60 acres, which will be about half as much again as the whole
of the basin accommodation at all the royal dockyards, the total ex-
tent of which is only 41 acres, including the basins at Woolwich and
Deptford, which are totally inaccessible to large ships. The new
docks and basins intended to be formed at Chatham will occupy the
south side of• St. Mary's Island, the portion of which bordering on
Chatham
harbour for a distance of about two miles having been
ready embanked by the convicts, who have been employed on the
work for several years past. Two locks, each of 500 feet in length
and sufficiently wide
to receive the largest class of iron vessels, will
communicate between the largest of the three basins and the river.
Permission has been already granted by the corporation of Rochester,
who are the owners of the Medway as far as the Nore, for the Admi-
ralty to dredge the bed of the river, whi•.ll .contains a valuable earth
for the manufacture of cement to be used in constructing the new
docks. and basins. The other works in progress at Chatham, for
which a vote will be required this year, include a new caisson for
the dock in which the Achilles, 50, is under construction, foundations
for new machinery, the enlargement of the plumber's shop, clearing
the harbour of mud, and for new machinery, the total estimate for
the whole of the above being 21,6001. A further sum of 67,0401. will
also be required to be voted for engines and machinery for the
vessels under construction at Chatham and already ordered, in-
cluding the machinery for the iron frigate Achilles. The exact
cost of the latter vessel cannot be ascertained from the esti-
mates, but it is confidently t will be consider-
ablystated that I
less than that of iron vessels built by private firms.
The amount required
her, beyond the 1 for armour-plates and iron to com-
plete
at Chatham, is large stores of that material already accumu-
latedsum will be taken in the votes in the estimates to be 15,0001., which
Navy Estimates for 1863-4 is 1,055,2731.
this year. The net decrease in the
The following appointmen;ssB,273s.
ralty :—Capt. F. A. Campbell,
additional,
made yesterday at the Admi-
in the Royal Oak ; W. G. Wratten nal, to the Fisgard, for service
Marl-
borough ; Peter Steil, chief engineer, chief engineer, to the Marl-
Atlas ; Robert J. Hay, chief engineer, too the Cumberland, for the
Bristol ; J. F. Chanson, engineer, to the
Indus,
Cumberland, for the
and Thomas Rose, Ist class assistant engineer,
us, as supernumerary ;
, to the Indus, for the
Fervent.

at Netley Hospital during the first week in the ensuing month, im-
mediately after which the entire invalid depot at St. Mary's Barracks
will also move to the same establishment. As soon as the new ar-
rangements are completed Chatham will cease to be the station to
which troops will be forwarded from all parts of the world for the
purpose of being discharged. Under the new system the vessels ar-
riving from abroad with troops will lie in Southampton Water, near
Netley, where the time-expired men and invalids will be landed,
when those not requiring medical or surgical treatment will be at
once sent inland to their depots or forwarded to their homes, while
the sick and wounded only will be detained in the hospital, the plan
of keeping up what is termed an invalid depot, as at Chatham, being
discontinued. The intention to convert Fort Pitt into barracks for the
reception of officers and troops has, it is understood, been abandoned,
and the building will still be retained for a hospital, for which its
excellent site eminently fits it. According to present arrangements,
it is intended to make Fort Pitt the central hospital for the whole
garrison, thus doing away with the necessity of separate hospitals
for the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and the Line, as is the case
under. existing arrangements. The officers of the Staff already
named as selected for the new hospital at Netley are Col. R. Wilbra-
ham, C. 8., Governor ; Major J. M. Kennedy, Paymaster ; and Capt.
W. Hawtree, Captain of Orderlies.

entrapped into fellowship with those who represented the
principles of human slavery, and were themselves traf-
fickers in the sinews and the souls of their fellowmen.
He contrasted the conduct of the corporation in decreeing
busts of Granville Sharp and Clarkson, and said that the
city of London would lie under a stigma which he be-
lieved it did not deserve until its citizens met in Common
Council to resent the insult which the present Lord Mayor
had put upon it in welcoming Mr. Mason. He concluded
by moving—

"That the Lord Mayor, by inviting and receiving at the
Mansion-house Mr. Mason, the author of the iniquitous
Fugitive Slave Law, as the representative of those Southern
Confederate States in America whose independence the Bri-
tish Government has hitherto refused to recognise, has
offered a wanton insult to the Government, to the citizens of
London, and to the whole British nation, and has disgraced
the annals of a Corporation not more renowned fcr its anti -
quity than for its great and continued services in the cause
of freedom, aad the honours it has rejoiced and been proud
to render to men distinguished by their Christain and
philanthropic labours and sacrifices for the liberties and
welfare of mankind."

Mr. ,T . CUNNINGHAM seconded the motion, which was
supported with much energy by Mr. Washington Wilks,
and carried, like the first, with entire unanimity.
The proceedings terminated shortly before 11 o'clock,
with a collection.