The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-05 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

The paddlewheel steamer Monkey, taken up by
the wheelwright department at Woolwich on the
7th of November, 1862, has been completed, and
handed over to recommence harbour service, as for-
merly. She may now be considered a thoroughly
new vessel, having only a very few of her old tim-
bers remaining, and is fitted with all the modern
improvements; so as to render her one of the most
efficient and powerful tug vessels in the service.
Her paddle-boxes are placed lift. Gin. further aft
than in the old vessel, which it is expected will in-
crease her speed at least ono knot. Her draught of
water is 10ft. aft and 9ft. forward, while that of the
old vessel was 10ft. forward and 9ft. 4in. aft. She
is under orders to coal to•morrow and go down the
river on the following day, on a trial of her speed
and machinery.

The lengthening of the building slip at Woolwich,
for the construction of Mr. Reed's experimental
iron-cased corvette Pallas, has been completed, and
the first portion of her keel was yesterday laid on
the blocks. The work is to be pushed forward
with the greatest despatch. A large number of
shipwrights will be transferred for that purpose
from the Caledonia on Tuesday, on her leaving the
Victoria Docks for Sheerness.
The Wolverene, one of the old class of wooden
corvettes, launched from the slip on which the
Pallas is now being built, at Woolwich, is in a for-
ward state, and has received the whole of her ma-
chinery, supplied by Messrs. Ravenhill and Co.
By a special order, issuing from the Controller's
Department, relative to all ships of that class, a
poop and forecastle are being erected for the ac-
commodation of the officers and crew, on the upper
deck. Although many objections have been raised
against this interference with the quarter deck by
naval officers, who prefer an entire "flush" from stem
to stern, there is no doubt that the shelter thus afforded
to the ship's company on the otherwise open deck
will be acknowledged as one of the modern im-
provements now introduced for the benefit of the
service.

Her Majesty's gun vessel Ranger, Commander
Wratislaw, from the West Coast of Africa, has com-
menced stripping and returning stores at Wool-
wich, and is ordered to pay out of commission on
Tuesday next. Her boilers, it has been ascertained,
are most defective, in consequence of which on her
arrival in the Downs the vessel had to beat up to
Gravesend under sail. The Ranger did considerable
service off Cape Coast Castle in assisting to suppress
the insurrection among the Ashantees, for which
purpose Commander Wratislaw despatched a gun-
ner and 27 of his crew on shore to aid the authori-
rities. The ship hasbeen exceedingly healthy during
the whole of the commission, the only deaths which
have taken place being those of Mr. Somerville and
Mr. Warren, the assist.•paymaster and the second
master.

Instructions were yesterday received at Chatham
dockyard, from the Admiralty, directing Mr. A.
Moore, principal master shipbuilder at that estab-
lishment, to proceed forthwith to Kingston for the
purpose of making a survey, in conjunction with
some other cfricers from the Royal dockyards, of the
iron-cased ship Prince Consort, in order to report
to the Admiralty the extent of the damage she has
sustained in her encounter with the gale in the
Irish Sea.

The target ordered to be constructed on a new
principle, and with armour-plates of increased
thickness to those at present in use, in order to en-
able the officials of the Admiralty to decide on the
size of the plates with which the new iron frigate
Bellerophon, which has been commenced at Chat-
ham, shall be coated, is to be erected at Shoebury-
ness, under the superintendence of Mr. Baskcomb,
one of the officials from Chatham dockyard. The
principal object in having the target built
is to test the strength of the timber back-
ing and plates on the plan on which it is pro-
posed to construct the sides of the Bellerophon. To
effect this the foundation of the target will consist
of iron frames ten inches in thickness and about two
feet apart, covered first with iron plates two inches
in thickness, and aftTheesix-irwar nch armour-ds with a backing of teak
one foot thick. plates will be
laid ou the teak planking, the whole thus forming
a target of immense strength. From the calculations
already made it is expected that this construction
of side for the Bellerophon will surpass in shot-re-
sisting strength every other system hitherto adopted
in this country, and should the trials prove satisfac-
tory the Bellerophon will be formed in this way
from stem to stern. The mechanics employed in
the smithery at Chatham dockyard are now
- engaged
in making the heavy forgings for the Bellerophon,
in readiness for laying down the keel of that vessel
in No. 2 dock, the Achilles, which now occupies that
dock,
having been ordered to be re a floating
out by the 26th December. as.y for

The iron paddlewheel steamer Recruit, 6, 150
horse power, having had her bottom scraped and
cleansed in one of the dry docks at Chatham, and the
whole of the compositions formerly placed on the
hull removed, is to be again operated upon, in order
to still further test the merits of the several anti-
corrosive and exfoliating compositions for prevent-
ing the accumulations on the bottoms of iron ships.
The port side of the hull of the Recruit is to be paid
over with the composition invented by Mr. Hay,
the Admiralty chymist, and a portion of the
.star-
board side is to be coated with the anti-fouling.Bn3Z,
ture submitted to the Admiralty by Mr.
while the remaining part of the starboardlted
to the
will be coated with a composition submitted
compositions
bottomr P
mpositions
Admiralty by Mr. Willis. The several
under the im-
are to be mixed and put on the
arise as to the pro-
mediate superintendence of thre'ri;entor3, in order
I that no question may hereafter
per mixing of the in
The iron screw friggatr
Admiralty by the Thames
eedaliant, 34, 4,063 tons, 800
horse power, built for thered
to proceed to Chatham
Iron Company, is
ordered
be surveyed by the officials
where
dockyard,
and fitted for sea.
belonging to thats.rba:ititayblishment, before being taken
over by the Admiralty
_pointments were made yesterday
V. Russell, master, to the
The following
at the Adinirassym:ePs
Long, surgeon, to the Tamar ; '
Jackal ', pijr.C. Smith, second master, to the Dasher;
Edmond H.
E. Charlton, assist ..P e
assist.-paymaster, to the Formidabl •
assist.-surgeon, to the , .
Lunar
Thos. E. Georges,
Thos. WY:triune and Peter Fowls, of the Scout, to
be first-class assist.-euigincert; ; Geo. Rigby, first-
class engineer, to the Pclorus ; and Sohn Edward
meryoe, nominated to a naval cadetship.