The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-17 00:00:00

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host still impends over the northern frontier of Vir-
ginia, and even if it be true that his numbers are
diminished by the subtraction of General Sumner's
corps, there yet remains a mighty army which will
continue to engage the attention of General Lee.
Upon the coast of North Carolina a Federal force
estimated at 48,000 men is gathered at Newbern,
and threatens Wilmington, while as large a force is
likely to descend from Suffolk and co-operate with
the force from Newbern. In Hampton Roads
another large flotilla, the destination of which is
unknown, threatens the whole Southern coast,
while General Banks, with the forces lately carried
by him into New Orleans, is likely to ascend the
Mississippi and co-operate with the descending
flotilla, commanded by Flag Officer Porter. If
the energy of the Federal forces in the field
equalled the energy which their authorities display
i❑ again and again marshalling their hosts, and
sending them forth to fight, it would have been im-
possible for the Confederates, hampered by blockade
and destitute of almost everything that is requisite
for either army or navy, to have resisted for nearly
two years these übiquitous onslaughts. But, what-
ever may be the qualms of an unrestricted looker
on, never was the spirit of the Confederate authori-
ties more cheerful or confident; never was their
conviction that this last and mightiest effort of
their antagonists will be as futile as its predecessors
more firmly entertained, or more unflinchingly
acted on.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

-.

THE NAVY.

Lord Clarence Paget, Secretary to the Board of
Admiralty, arrived at Portsmouth from town on
Saturday, and visited the Royal Sovereign, con-
verting to a turret ship in the dockyard, under the
direction of Capt. C. P. Coles, R.N. As we stated
last week, there are about 100 hands altogether
employed upon the ship. Six of her armour plates,
three on each side, are being bolted on, and, so far
as the external work of the ship's conversion is con-
cerned, she is now ready to receive the whole of her
armour plating from below her water line to her
topsides. To receive this part of her armour the
ship has been strengthened outside with two layers
of diagonal teak planking, the inner layer being of
three and the outer of four inch. This diagonal
strengthening extends lift. 9in. below the part of
her topsides to which she was originally cut down.
The lower ends of this diagonal planking rest in
worked rabbits of longitudinal planking added to
the original bottom of the ship, which project suffi-
ciently far beyond the level of the diagonal ends to
form a shelf on which will rest the lower edges of
the lower tier of armour plates. The lowest part of
this longitudinal planking is 14ft. 10in. from the
point to which the ship was originally cut down.
The ship was cut with a sheer forward and aft„
which Capt. Coles afterwards disapproved. The
result was that the ship's topsides were filled in and
raised, the greatest extent being amidships, where
it was about 18in. Standing upon the upper-deck
beams of the vessel, their form at once attracted
attention. Sloping downwards from the centre in
all directions, to allow of the required depression of
the guns in the turrets, the appearance of the
Royal Sovereign's upper deck, when complete,
will be as nearly as possible like the under part
of a butcher's tray, thus forming the glacis
of the gun towere or turrets. The work of the
ship, such as is in hand, or has been in hand, is being
carried out in the most substantial manner. Thus
it is almost impossible to create in the position any-
thing more massive and stable than the deck beams
and supports of the upper deck. Where the towers
stand, or rather are to stand, the original wooden
beams have, of course, been removed, and their
places taken by short rolled iron beams from the
Butterly Works, which extend from the ship's side
to the crown of the glacis at its junction with the
tower. Where the removal of the original beams
has not been necessitated by the fitting of the towers
they have been retained, and to give the necessary
slope outwards to the deck they have been doubled
over by other beams. As 1n instance of the size of
and distance between the beams thus doubled over
we may mention that the beams forward of the fore-
most turret and abaft the aftermost one are 25ft. 2in.
in depth and lft. Sin. in width, of solid timber. Six
of these double beams, in addition to massive inner
strengthenings, are between the vessel's stern and
forward turret,the distance between each beam being
üb,)ut 241't, 4in. Amidships the beams are even closer
and are alternated with rolled iron beams secured to
longitudinal iron beams, clear of the turrets amid-
ships, where not extending right across the deck,
by stout U-shaped knees. The height of the origi-
nal wooden beams from the deck below is exactly
6ft., but where the old wooden beams have been re-
moved altogether and short iron ones substituted, as
in the make of the turrets, an additional height is
gained of 18in. at the combings of the hatchways
and 14in. at the ship's side. The Royal Sovereign,
as a turret ship will, without doubt, be very different
from the American turret vessels, and when com-
pleted and fit for sea service there is no earthly rea- 1
son apparent at present why she should not go as
far to sea as her coals will carry her. She has not
been built expressly for a turret ship, and there-
fore, when tried, allowances must be made for
certain qualifications which she will possess and
which she would have done much better without.
The Admiralty have also decided that she is
not to be masted, and consequently she will be
unable to steady herself at any time by her
canvas. With all the faults which can possibly
be summed up against her, however, the Royal
Sovereign will solve the problem as to whether guns
of much heavier calibre can be worked better on
the central than on the broadside principle,—in
fact, whether a gun of 20 tons cannot be worked
more efficiently and with greater ease from a turret
than a gun of seven or eight tons can ever be ex-
pected to be worked through a broadside port. The
greater the facilities afforded to the crew of a gun
for its working by its position on a ship's deck at
sea the greater must be the efficiency of the ship
the guns of which are fitted on such a principle ;
and herein lies the interest attached to the trial of
the Royal Sovereign. It is a somewhat remarkable
fact that although a good deal has appeared relative
to the behaviour of the iron ships of Rear-Admira.
Smart's squadron off Lisbon recently in heavy
weather, and on which occasion they have been
declared to have proved themselves fit to go any-
where, nothing has been said about casting their
95cwt. maindeck guns loose and working them in
moderately rough weather. If ships cannot do this
their guns can be of but little use to them at sea.
The Emerald, 34, screw frigate, Capt. Cumming,
has gone into Portsmouth harbour, from Spithead,
to be placed in dock and prepared for her trials of
screw propellers.
Her Majesty's steam sloop Alecto, Commander
Blake, was yesterday inspected in the river by the
Commodore-Superintendent of Woolwich dockyard,
preparatory to her departure for service on the
south-east coast of America. Sixty second-class
lads for the Implacable and Impregnable, at Devon-
port, took passage on board to go through the usual
course of training. The Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty have rescinded the order recently
issued to the effect that the boats of all ships in
commission should be fitted exclusively with the
late Capt. Kynaston's boat detaching hooks, on a
special request being made by the commander the
hooks were removed from the Alecto, and four of,
the boats were fitted with Clifford's loweringtogear,
three of the Kynaston hooks beingr retained
un-
dergo an official trial for their lohi
of our iron-clad
p's satisfaction.
The sea-going qualities of
tone dafrigates has been very correctly
,t6eBs7t de. The screw 1
tons, Captain
steamship London, 86 gu , 2
Chads, had left Gibraltar on her recent return to
Plymouth to be paid off, and was about 100 miles
south-east of Cape St. Vincent; her screw was up
and she was under close-reefed topsails ; the wind
Iwas south-east and blowing t moderate gale. So
situated she was lying seven points from the wind,
and going about four knots through the water. The
iron sorew steamship Defence, 16
guns, 3,720 tons,
Capt. A. Phillimore,
which left Gibraltar after the
London, overtook her in this situation. The Defence
was working her screw, with fore and aft canvas
just drawing, she lay within four points of the wind
and appeared to be making five knots ;hrough the
sea, which was running heavily and at times break-
ing right over all as far aft as the ship's foremast.
Letters received a t Plymouth from the Pacific
state that the screw steam frigate:Bacchante' 39,
Capt. D. M. L. Mackenzie, was at Callao on Jan.
13. and would leave about the 201 h for Panama,
where Rear-Admiral Sir T. Maitland, K.C.8., the
retiring Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific, would
land, and cross the Isthmus for the purpose of re- '
turning to England. The screw steamgeorvette
Charybdis, 21, Capt. the Hon. G. D. Keane, was
also at Callao, but was to leave about Jan. 30 for
1
the rendezvous, Valparaiso, where she would wait
the arrival of the newly-appointed Commander-in-
Chief, Rear-Admiral John liingcombe, who left .