The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.
Mr. James S tansfeld, M.P., junior Lord of the Admiralty,
paid a visit to Sheerness dockyard yesterday, in further
prosecution of his inquiry into the system of dockyard
book-keeping. The different officers of the dockyard were
examined by Mr. Stansfeld, in the Captain Superinten-
dent's office.

VV
The armour-plated ship Caledonia, launched from Wool-
with dockyard, and afterwards placed in the Victoria Docks,
on account of the delay occasioned to the works at the en-
trance of the basins at Woolwich, was yesterday undocked
and towed down to Sheerness to be completed for sea. The
whole of the supernumerary seamen on board the Fisgard

at Woolwich, 85 in number, navigated the Caledonia down
to Sheerness for transfer to the guardship of steam reserve

Cumberland, for distribution. On the return of the working
party from Victoria dock to 'Woolwich a fatal accident hap-
pened to John Smith, aged 40, a leading stoker attached to
the Fisgard, and recently paid off from the Ardent sloop. It

appears that the steamtug Bustler had been sent up to

Blackwall pier from Woolwich, to bring back the men who
had been employed on the Caledonia, Smith was playing

with his comrades when he fell between the pier and the
vessel, and was drowned, the tide flowing rapidly in at the
time. Immediate search was made for the body, but without
success. The Caledonia was taken out of the dry dock at
Woolwich on Sept. 28, and has since that period received the
whole of her engines and boilers of 1000-horse power, and
weighing 850 tons, from Messrs. Maudslay's works. In
consequence of her draught of water, which is about 32ft,
she could not be received in the dockyard basins at Deptford
or Sheerness, she being of greater draught than the basins

would admit. The Caledonia is of the same class as the

Royal Oak, the only eifference being that the engines of the
Caledonia are of 200-horse power more than those of the
Royal Oak, and the build of the Caledonia is of much
greater strength. The backing of the armour plates of the
Caledonia is composed of 8 inches of teak planking, which
also forms the external planking of the ship. The backing
is firmly bolted to the usual frame timbers, 121 in. square,
near the ports, and is composed of English oak. The clamps
or internal planking of the ship, are also of teak 8 in. thick,
Great care has been taken in the Caledonia to give unusual
strength to the fabric, and several new and useful mechani-
cal arrangements have been perfected by Messrs. Turner
and Thornton, the principal shipwright officers of Woolwich
yard. Among others may be enumerated the diagonal iron
riders, which are placed on the outside of the frame timbers
instead of in the inside, the better to resist the impact of
shot on the armour. The space between the shelf pieces
and water ways, generally a source of weakness, has been
filled in solidly, and secured to the beams and frame tim-
bers. Great additional strength has also been given to the
ship by means of an iron deck secured to the beams of the
upper deck, underneath the usual wood deck of 4 inches
thick. The main deck beams are of oak, 161 inches square,
with deck planks of Dantsic oak 41 inches in thickness.
The upper deck beams are of the Butteily Company's bulb
iron. The port-lids are of iron secured with wrought iron
hinges and bars with screw bolts and nuts. The ship is to
be rigged with three masts, the lower masts to be of iron;
the foremast 77 feet above the deck, and 36 inches in
diameter ; the foretopmast 78 feet in length and 11 inches

in diameter. The fore and main yards are 91 feet long and
22 inches in diameter, and the other masts and yards in
proportion. bhe will be fitted with double topsail yards,
together with the usual topgallant yards. The boats of the
Caledonian will be armed with the usual Armstrong 20.
pounders. They will consist of two launches, each 42 feet
in length; two pinnaces, 32 feet in length; two cutters,
30 feet in length; one gig, 30 feet; one jolly boat, 16 feet;
and one dingy, 14 feet long. The armour plates which

have proved to be of excelent quality, were supplied by
►hree different manufactories, and at various rates, from
£3O to ,0 per ton, some of the plates being hammered
and others rolled. Messrs. Brown and Co., of the Atlas
Works, Sheffield, and Messrs. Beale, of Rotherham, were
the manufacturers of the hammered plates. It is stated
that in working the plates the workmen at the dockyards
have found the hammered plates to bo of the best quality

of iron. The rolled plates were generally found to be of
much softer texture. The Caledonia has been fitted with
two towers on her upper deck for the officer of the watch
and the captain and master to stand in during the time of
action. These are considered to be preferable to the single
tower with which the Warrior was supplied, as they are

clear of the masts and tunnels, which obstruct the view
from the single tower. These towers are to be plated with
iron casing 41 inches thick, and are accessible through a

scuttle from the main deck. The utmost care has been
taken to make the Caledonia one of the strongest ships
in the British navy, and the officers are of opinion
that a gale as violent as that in which the Prince Consort
suffered so severely would not affect the Caledouia under
similar circumstances. To prevent the oxidation of the
lower tier of armour plates from the galvanic action of the
Muntz's metal two strakes of teak wood lining have been
fitted, so that the lower edge of the plates is nearly 2 feet
front the upper edge of the metal.
Considerable disaffection prevails on board her Majesty's
screw steam-frigate Liverpool, 39, Capt. Rowley Lambert,
now in Plymouth Sound, which after her return from duty
in the Mersey was taken to Devcnport and refitted. There
is some difficulty in ascertaining the facts. It is stated that
on Saturday last the ceew were employed in receiving coal.
On Sunday afternoon, when their wives and families were
below, the bugle sounded for ordinary duty, but the men
did not answer the call. The officers went below, but could
not succeed in inducing them to obey. On the contrary,
some missiles were thrown at them. The captain then sent
the marines below. On their appearance the crew went on
deck, when they were asked to name their grievances if they
had any. The petty officers were also asked to do so, but no
distinct complaints were made. Subsequently, an anony-
mous letter was received by the captain complaining of in-
sufficient leave. When the men were called up all denied
the authorship of the letter. A deputation of one man from
every mess informed the captain that shortness of leave was
the chief cause of the discontent. Ultimately, some four or
five of the ringleaders were selected and placed in irons, and
they are to be tried by court-martial. Port-Admiral Sir
Chas. Fremantle, K.C.8., visited the ship on Wednesday.
The sailing ship Gladiator yesterday commenced shipping
140 tons of ammunition in quarter barrels at the powder
buoy, off Woolwich Arsenal, for the use of the Colonial
Government and the troops in New Zealand.
The Warrior, iron frigate, Capt. the Hon. A. A. Cochrane,
C. 8., was docked at high water in the Warrior dock at
Portsmouth yesterday. To-day, on the dock being freed of
water, the condition of the composition (preservative and
anti-fouling), and the experimental vitreous sheathing, with
which she was coated when last in dock, will be examined
nd officially reported upon by the dockyard officials.
The King Arthur, sailing iron transport, Capt. Marshall,
with the headquarters of the 55th Regiment on board, sailed
from Spithead for Madras at 8 a.m. yesterday, with a fine
northerly wind, The ship could not sail on the previous
day as intended, in consequence of a strong S.E. gale.
Her Majesty's ship Nile, with Vice-Admiral Sir A.
Milne on board, was appointed to sail from Halifax to-day,
the 12th inst., for Bermuda and the West Indies, to make
her official round of visits prior to leaving for England. The
Pylades was daily expected, on the 28th ult., to arrive at
Halifax from the south,
In consequence of the excessive rolling when at sea of
her Majesty's screw steam frigate Emerald, 35, lately paid
out of commission at Sheerness, orders have been received
by the officials of that dockyard that she is to be fitted with
bilge pieces on each side. She is now in the basin dismasted,
and the necessary fittings will be completed before she is
taken to her moorings in the harbour.
Instructions have been received at Sheerness from the
Admiralty stating that Messrs. Williams and Co, have pur-
chased the Amphion, 36, screw steam frigate, 1,474 tons,
30e horse power, belonging to the 3d division of the Sheer-
ness steam reserve, for the purpose of breaking her up. The
purchase includes the fixtures and copper sheathing, en-
gines and boilers,
A survey has recently been made of the fleet of mortar
vessels laid up at Chatham, and two more of their number,
viz., Nos. 104 and 108, have been selected to be sold out of
the service.

THE ARMY.

The fullowing general order has been issued :

" Horse Guards, Nov. 6.
" With reference to paragraph 5 of the Staff College Re-
gulations, published with the general order No. 831, dated
25th August, 1863, officers of the army are hereby informed
that the examination in July, 1864, of candidates for ad-
mission to the Staff College will comprise the following por-
tions of military history and geography, viz.
" Military Ristory_Campaign of Wellington, 1813, con-
cluding with the battle of Vittoria. Campaign of Napoleon,
1800, concluding with the battle of Marengo. Campaign
of the Archduke Charles, 1796.
" Military Geography—Northern frontier of Spain, and
basin of the Ebro ; basin of the Po, and theatre of war in
Sardinia ; theatre of war in Southern and Western Ger-
many.

" Candidates will be expected to acquaint themselves
with, and to be prepared to reason upon, the circumstances
by which the issue of the campaigns were mainly influenced;
for which purpose they should compare for themselves, to
the fullest extent possible, the accounts of both sides.
" The examination will be principally directed to elicit
this knowledge rather than a ,mere narrative of facts."
A revised and corrected list of regulations relative to the
admission, education, and military training of gentlemen
cadets at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst has been
issued from the Horse Guards by Major• Gen. W. Forster,
Military Secretary to Field-Marshal the Duke of Cam-
bridge, Commanding•in-Chief, dated the Ist inst., to be
substituted for those now in force: which bear date the Ist

of May last. The alterations made are so trivial and un-
important that it is quite unnecessary to give them in
detail, for all the chief regulations for the examinations
remain the same.

The Adjutant-General, Sir James Yorke Scarlett, has
recently issued a circular memorandum, addressed to the
army at home and abroad, in reference to musketry re•
gulations, wherein the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-
Chief is pleased to desire that on home stations the annual
course of musketry instruction shall henceforth commence
on the 12th of March in each year, the non. commissioned
officers being trained during the previous month, in the
prescribed manner, for the purpose of assisting in the in-
struction of their respective companies.
The Marquis of Hartingt( n and Sir Edward Lugard,
K.C.8., Under-Secretaries of State for War, accompanied
by Capt. Galion, R.E., Assistant Under Secretary of State,
and Capt. Caffin, R.N., C. 8., Director of Stores, yesterday
paid an official visit to the Military Store Department in
the Tower, through which they were conducted by the
military store officer in charge at the station.

The hired sailing transport Empress, with military train
and artillery on board for New Zealand, under the command
of Col. B. O'Brien, 4th Battalion, Military Train, arrived at
Spithead on Wednesday, in tow of her Majesty's steamer
Medusa, having put in on her way down Channel to repair
damages, caused by a collision with an unknown vessel at
9.50 p.m. on the previous day off Hastings. The repairs,
which ara being carried out. by the dockyard authorities,
will, it is expected, be completed this evening. The Em-
press will then resume her voyage in tow of the Medusa,
which is ordered to convey the transport clear of the
Channel.