The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-14 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

Mr. J. Stansfeld, M.P., Junior Lord of the Admiralty,
continues his investigation of the dockyard accounts at
Sheerness.

VALETTA, Nov. B.—Her Majesty's despatch-vessel
Psyche, 2, Lieut.-Corn. Sterne, arrived on Thursday after-
noon with the latest dates from the Pirtrus, which port she
left at 5 p.m. on Tuesday,ues the 3d inst. On Wednesday the
R
Psyche passed the corvette Sokol, which left Malta
on Tuesday for the Pireeauns. The
Sokol had arrived here on
the Sunday previous frorath e
westward, The Psyche passed
through a very heavy thunderstorm at S a.m. on Thursday
when about 80 miles from Malta, with hail and rain, the
the
wind changing from all parts of compass, Another se-
vere thunderstorm was experienced the previous night. At
the Piraeus the weather was fine. On the arrival of the
young King of the Hellenes Admiral Smart, it is said,
and of-
fered him the use of the launches, pinnaces, other boats
of the squadron ; but he declined the offerlesthis new
i n stating
sub-
jects should take umbrage. All accounts agree
that the new King has succeeded in making a very
favour-
able first impression. A lamentable accident occurred d
ing the preparations for his reception. A store of fireworks-
at the Piraeus blew up, killing and wounding five persons.
It is not known when the Commander-in-Chief will return
to Malta, as Admiral Smart is awaiting orders from the Fo-
reign-office. The Marlborough will, in any case, shortly
come down here for the purpose of giving the men leave,
and she is expected before the 20th inst. Should the Com-
mander-in-Chief be detained in Greece, he will probably
hoist his flag temporarily on the Psyche, or the Gibraltar,
81, Captain Prevost, which arrived yesterday from Eng-
land, on her way to Greece. Her Majesty's corvette
Pelican, 17, left the Piteous early in the morning of the
31st ultimo, for the coast of Syria, Commander Comber
having joined her, and Lieutenant Boger returned to his
duty as flag-lieutenant. The Queen, 76, Captain C. F.
Hillyar, sailed on the same day at 7 a.m. for Corfu,
Malta, and England, and has just come in. The Trafalgar,
70, Captain T. Mason, it was reported, would await her
orders from England; but the Meeanee, 80, Capt. Wode-
house, St. George, 86, Capt. the Hon. F. Egerton, and the
Orlando, 46, Capt. Randolph, would leave in a few days for
Malta. The following is a list of the ships of war at Athens
on the 2d inst.:—English.—Marlborough, 129 (flag of the
commander-in-chief), Revenge, 73 (flag of Rear-Admiral
Yelverton, C. 8.), Trafalgar, 70, Foxhound, 4, and Trident,
3 (inside the Piraeus) ; the Meeanee, 80, the St. George, 86,
and the Orlando, 46, in Salamis Bay, French—The Ma-
gicienne, frigate (bearing the flag of Admiral Abbeville) ;
the Mouette and Tangier, sloop, paddle ; and the Algeciras,
liner (bearing the flag of Admiral Bouet Willamuez), who
accompanied the King of the Greeks. Austrian—The
Frederich (bearing the broad pendant of Commodore Tege-
toff), the Dandolo, 31 guns, and the Wall and the Seahund,
gunboats. Prussian—The Basilisk and the Blitz, gunboats.
Italian—The Tancredi, paddle-sloop. Turkish The
Brousa, sloop, 17, Hessen Bey, Captain, There was no
Russian ship with the Royal cortege, Several Greek gun-
boats and a Greek merchant steamer joined them on this
side of St. Angelo. These Greek merchant steamers fly a
pendant, and are Government vessels. The Liffey, 35, Capt.
George Parker, the Wanderer, 4, Commander M. C. Sey-
mour, the Surprise, 4, Commander W. H. Whyte, and the
Firefly, surveying vessel, Commander A. Mansell, are at
Corfu and different points on the west coast of Greece. Her
Majesty's ship Chanticleer, 17, Commander C. Sterling,
left Malta on the 31st ult. for the Pirwus, and the Ma-
gicienne, 16, Capt. W. Armytage, returned thence on the
3d inst. Lieut. Oliver, 22d Regiment, was a passenger on
board the latter vessel, which has come down to load stores
and provisions for the fleet. The Supply, 2, iron screw
storeship, Master-Commander Bowden, arrived from Torbay
and Gibraltar on the 2d inst., with stores for the garrison
and fleet. The Hydra, 6, paddlewheel, surveying-vessel,
Lieut.-Commander Wilkinson (temporary), arrived on the
sth inst. from Plymouth and Gibraltar. This vessel has
been specially fitted for the surveying service, and has a
spacious chart-room on deck. She is very much superior
both as regards speed and accommodation, to the old Medina,
which she is about to replace. The Growler, tender, Staff-
Commander Stokes, went out on the 4th inst. to continue
the local survey in the neighbourhood of Ooze, and returned
on the 7th. Her next trip will be to examine the new
island reported to have been thrown up on the Cherki
Rocks, near Tunis. The following military officers have
arrived during the week : —Lieut.-Col. Mattei, R.M.F.A.;
Capt. De Laney, A.D.C.; Capt. Sir W. Fairfax, A.D.C.;
Col. Dunn, Major Brumell, Capt. Hutchinson, and Assist.-
Surg. Adcock, Ist battalion 22d Regiment. The following
have left :—Capt. Deane, 22d Regiment, for Marseilles, and
Major Drew, for Southampton. The telegraphic lines in
Sicily have been interrupted for some days, owing to the
heavy rains. Communication was re-established on Thurs-
day last, and now messages are transmitted as usual. Her
Majesty's ships in port are—The Hibernia, receiving ship
(flag of Rear-Admiral Austin, C. 8.) ; the Gibraltar, 81;
the Queen, 76 ; the Phoebe, 35 ; the Magicienne, 16; the
Icarus, 4; the Hydra, 6; the Growler, 2; the Medina;
the Psyche, 2 and the Supply, 2."
Her Majesty's armour-plated ship Caledonia, 25, 4,125
tons, 1,000 horse power, recently launched at Woolwich
dockyard, arrived at the Great Nero yesterday evening.
She will be taken into the harbour of Sheerness at flood-
tide this day, as her great draught of water renders it im-
possible to take her into the harbour at any other time.
Orders have been received at Sheerness that the Caledonia
is not to be taken to Chatham dockyard, which was t
e is to be taken into the large basin
at Sheerness dockyard,to
original intention.
Sh
be fitted and brought forward for
commission.
A day's firing at armour-plates took place yesterday at
Portsmouth, under the superintendence of Captain Astley
Key, C,8., commanding her Majesty's gunnery ship Excel-
lent, and resulted in a most decided triumph for the plates
over the gun. The plates were bolted on the sides of the
Monarch target ship in the ordinary manner, with 2-inch
bolts, and were fired at with the 95cwt. 68 -pounder gun, at a
distance of 200 yards. There were four plates, comprising one
41-inch plate from the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding
Company for the Minotaur, one 41-inch plate from Messrs.
John Brown and Co., of the Atlas Works, Sheffield, for the
Ocean, and one 51-inch plate from the same firm as an ex-
perimental plate, being made from Arcadian charcoal iron;
one 51-inch plate, and one 41-inch plate from Messrs. Cana-
mell and Co., of the Cyclops Works, Sheffield. Messrs,
Brown's Arcadian iron plate received nine shots, one of
which struck the right lower corner, and broke a piece off
16 inches in length by 15 inches in width. There were three
other slight cracks, but the plate was not materially injured
except in its broken corner, and this damage was solely due
to the shot striking at the extreme corner, and where the
backing also was afterwards found to be deficient. The
metal, however, with which Messrs. Brown
themanufacture
their own plates is undoubtedly superior to
tried yesterday, the latter being apparently too hard for the
manufacture of armour plates of the first cl ' Arcadian
a s• The Ocean's
plate, from Mesars.Brown, for a 41-inch plate, could not well,
with our present knowledge of armour-plate manufacture, be
surpassed. It is almost unnecessary to state that both these
were rolled plates, as none others are manufactured at
the Atlas Works. The Thames Company's plate for the
Minotaur, hammered, was the smallest of the four, but
was undoubtedly one of superior manufacture and metal.
Like Messrs. Brown's Arcadian plate, it was severely da-
maged on one of its corners by shot, and, the iron being
there unsupported, necessarily The two plates
sent in as test plates by Messrs. gavers.Ca way.mmeli of Sheffield were
rolled, and gained for their manufacturers a position never
before surpassed by any other plates on their first trial as
test plates. The 51-inch plate indeed in its left centre, re -
ceived six shots in a space ,measuring
inches horizontally
and 2 feet 10 inches vertically. Over this space and through
the indents of the shot marks there was nothing beyond
three slight surface cracks. The plate received 11 shots in
all- The 41-inch received eight shots, and was possibly one
shade inferior in quality to the 51-inch. rho metal of these
two plates, as well as that of Messrs. Brown's 4S-inch, was
beautifully fibrous. At the conclusion of the trials of thefo4u;
plates several shots were fired at a French manufacturedtwith
inch plate that was bolted on to the target ship'ssi e
French
Arcadian iron bolts. One of these shots struck the
enc: rated
plate in a comparatively uninjured part,
clear through into the ship's side, presentiatgare shot by thea strongP con-
trast to the stubborn resistance offered to the
two English 41-inch plates that had but just
ebneetenatthproeurtgeh.
their trial. The last twelvemonths'xp
mouth have satisfactorily shown the gradual progress being
made in the excellence of their manufacture by English
armour-plate makers. These latter, however, complain that
yof the plates they serve in to the
as they improve the qual"
Admiralty the latter raise their testing standard. This is,
Bs it should be, if by so doing the Admiralty earlhewever,
insure the best possible armour for our ships of .war, and the
manufacturer is satisfied with the price he obtaiusi for his