The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-26 00:00:00

it was specially convened—namely, " To consider the pro-
priety of inserting an arbitration clause in the specification
for the works for the embankment of the northern shore of
the river Thames between Waterloo-bridge and the eastern
end of the Inner Temple."
Mr. MILLER called attention to the power given to the
engineer by a clause in the specification for the Ist section
of the Thames embankment of determining all questions
arising between the contractor and the board, and contended
that so great a power should not he placed in his hands.
Under that clause the engineer might excuse the contractor
from doing work of the value of £60,000 or £70,000, and
he therefore submitted that the clause should be altered.
He contended that an arbitration clause should be inserted
in the specification, and referred to the practice of the War
Department, and to the specification for the execution of the
Royal Exchange works, in support of his recommendation.
He waved- that in the opinion of the Board an arbitration
clause should be inserted in the specification for works exe-
cuted for the Board, and that the matter be referred to the
Thames Embankment Committee to consider the nature of
the clause to be inserted.

Mr. SAMUDA seconded the motion.
The CHAIRMAN hoped the Board would not agree to
the introduction of a general arbitration clause, or they
would never get through their works, and every
obstruction would be attended with an enormous expense.
He would suppose, for instance, that a contractor sent in
50,000 bricks, and that the engineer having special charge
of the works did not consider them of a proper quality.
The contractor might say that they were. A dispute would
then arise. In that case would the Board say that was to be
a question for arbitration? There would be thousands of
such disputes, and unless the engineer had some control
over the contractors, he could not see his way to the com-
pletion of the works. He cautioned the Board, therefore,
against the introduction of any general arbitration clause.
If there was to be a special clause like that introduced in
the contract for the Royal ,Exchange, he thought there
would be no objection to it, and if the Board should refer
the subject to a committee they ought to meet as soon as
possible, so that no time might be lost in informing persons
upon what grounds they might send in their tenders. Mr.
D'lffanger opposed any reference to a committee, as no
difficulty whatever had been experienced, and he was
not inclined to alter a system that had worked so
well. He did not know, indeed, why it should be inserted
at all, unless it was to please certain persons who wished to
have it all their own way. The Board had constructed the
northern and southern main drainage works, besides the
outfall works, and they had never heard any complaint
whatever, and they had been carried on without any arbi-
tration clause whatever. If they were to introduce this
arbitration clause it would cast doubt on their own engineer,
who had worked so well up to the present time; and as to
the specifications, there could be no difficulty in getting
plenty of contractors to come forward.
Mr. SAMUDA. supported the motion, contending that in all
large contracts there was an arbitration clause, and that if
there was not a clause of this description contractors would
take some other way of helping themselves. Contractors
were in the habit of putting down from £20,000 to £30,000
to cover any loss to which they might be subject, and the
consequence was that the Board had to pay many thou-
sands of pounds more than they ought for the work that
was done.

Mr. NEWTON urged that if the insertion of this arbitra-

tion clause would save a contractor £30,000, it would be
the same as putting that amount into his pocket, and any
one,;obtaining a contract under it would obtain an undue
advantage,
Mr. FREEMAN did not believe there could be any influ-
ence on contractors, as described by Mr. Samuda, in large
sums being added to the tenders to guard them against loss,
inasmuch as the estimates of their own engineer, Mr.
Bazalgette, had always been greater than the amount of the
tenders for their very large works.
Mr. Carpmael, Mr. Phillips, and Mr. Dormer spoke
against, and Mr. Saunders, Mr. Roche, Mr. Savage, and
Mr. Nicholay in favour of the clause.
The Chairman then put the motion, and there appeared—
For the motion.. lO
Against
Majority against the motion —9
The motion was accordingly negatived, and the Board
adjourned.

The Late Thames Embankment Scandal,

DECISION OF THE ME TROPOLI LAN BOARD.

Yesterday the Metropolitan Board of Works, after sitting
in committee three days upon the subject of the disclosures
and a scandal which have taken place in reference to the
recent contract for the Thames embankment, and the en-
gagement of Mr Bazalgette, the chief engineer, with the
successful contractor, Mr George Furness, in reference to
certain works being carried out by the latter at Odessa,
gave their decision on these matters. Mr Thwaites, the
chairman of the board, presided, and the committee was a
committee of the whole board.
After a minute investigation, in the course of which it
was proved that although the contract of Mr G. Furness
at £520,000 was so much higher than those of Mr Kidley,
Messrs Baker and Co., and Mr Moxon, and was accepted, it
was by no means through the influence of the chief engineer
that that tender was accepted. On the contrary, the fact
was established that throughout the engineer was in favour
of the Messrs Baker having the contract. This was consi-
dered a great point in the engineer's favour, as showing
there was no collusion between him and the contractor
whose contract had been accepted, although the fact could
not be disputed of Mr Bazalgette having committed a breach
of his engagement with the Metropolitan Board in carry-
ing out other works without their sanction or knowledge.
At the conclusion of this very painful investigation a reso-
lution was proposed, to the effect that the committee re-
gretted to find that the engineer in chief of the Metropoli-
tan Board had entered into monetary arrangements with
one of the contractors, but at the same time expressing their
conviction that there had been no collusion between Mr
Bazalgette and the contractor for the Thames Embankment
works. This, in the opinion of the board, was rather too
mild, and an amendment was proposed by the members for
St. Pancras, Messrs S. Taylor and F. Healey, stating that
the committee, having considered the matter, report to the
board that they found that, although the terms of the chief
engineer's agreement with the board were that his whole
time and attention should be devoted to their service, he
had, in the committee's opinion, unadvisedly entered into
certain arrangements with one of the contractors, whereby
he was to receive certain large sums of money in the shape
of commission, which the committee condemn, but from the
evidence distinctly showing it was his wish that the con-
tract should be given to Messrs. Baker, felt that no
collusion existed between Mr. Bazalgette and Mr. Furness
with respect to that contract. They recommend the board
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amendment, the motion was carried by 11 to 9.

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The variety of iron-clad frigates which we are pro-
mised will hereafter form a curious chapter for the
historian of our navy. They must apparently differ
not less in speed than in size, not less in outward
form than iu the thickness of their armour-plating.
Though all have the same object in view, nearly
every one is built on a different plan. According
to Mr. Reed's theory, the size of the class of War-
riors at present afloat is a radical and dangerous
error, and the Admiralty reply to this by building
still larger ones, but leave themselves a loophole of
escape by at the same time constructing one on Mr.
Reed's size and plan, which is utterly opposed to
their own. The experience of La Gloire and the
wooden armour-plated ships of the French navy is
considered by scientific men both here and there to
be conclusive against that method of construction.
So we are building them rather extensively, though
the trip of the Prince Consort points ominously to
the result we may expect. Capt. Cowper Coles says
virtually that all but cupola ships are wrong, and that
his will knock Mr. Reed's "into a cocked hat." So
cupola ships are being built also. Now it is being
said that the ironclads built by Mr. Laird in the
Mersey—vessels of only 1,800 tons, but carrying 4in.
armour plates—are the real things, after all, and
that their form and build are the models which the
Admiralty ought to adopt if they hope to prosper.
Here, therefore, we have clearly six systems, with
scarcely any single point of resemblance between
the competitors, beyond that each agrees to decry
the other as a costly and almost worthless sham.
Of these six systems three have never 'been tried,
and it says nothing for or against them to add that
the partisans of each predict the utter failure of
the other. Of the three that remain the War-
rior class has been tried and found nearly per-
fect ; the wooden-coated ships have been partially
tried, and the resulthas been much the same as has
been experienced in the French vessels, and only
the new Warriors remain to be experimented upon
at sea. Three of these new
Warriors are now build-
ing and nearly built,—one, the Northumberland, at
the Millwall Iron Works, one, the Minotaur, at the
Thames Iron Works, and one, the Agincourt, at
Mr. Laird's yard on the Mersey. Of these three the
Minotaur will be launched very shortly, but both
the other ships are well advanced, and the principles
on which they are constructed may be better seen
in them than in the beautifully smooth hull of the
Minotaur, where all is nearly finished.
The plan on which the first Warriors were built
may be roughly described as that of a square iron-
box, armour-plated at the sides and each end, and
having as it were a stem and stern not plated fitted
on to this. These vessels have, to say the least,
fully realised all that was expected of them. Their
armour has been proved to be practically invulner-
able to any artillery which we possess, their speed
is higher than that of any other vessels, their buoy-
ancy is great, their motion in a seaway easy, and,
above all, they have proved watertight. As far,
therefore, as our own experience and those of other
nations yet go, our Warriors are regarded as models,
and the new class of Warriors, the names of which
we have just mentioned, only contain those altera-
tions which there is every reason to believe will be
improvements also. _ _

In the Northumberland, building at Millwall,
these changes can be plainly seen, In the first
place, all the new ships are longer, broader, and
deeper, so as to make them of nearly 7,000
tons burden, and by this increase of size and
a slightly flatter floor giving them greater dis-
placement they are enabled to carry armour-coat-
ing over all from end to end. Their length

is no less than 400 ft. ; their breadth, 59ft.
; their depth, 41ft. 6in. Their internal method
of construction is most massive, yet not so massive
but that comparative lightness is made an important
consideration. Having no outer keel, the inner keel-
son is of unusual strength. It is a huge wrought-
iron girder, 3ft. 41in. deep, which runs throughout
the vessel from end to end, a rigid bolt, the back-
bone of the whole structure. To this the jointed
ribs are rivetted. These ribs are placed very closely

--s0 closely, indeed, that there are only alternate
intervals of lft. 1 lin. and 2ft. 4in. between each,
and looking at where the ribs of the Northumber-
land are still in some places left uncovered she seems
an almost solid iron shir. These ribs vary in length
from 10ft. long and 3ft. deep, to 4ft. long by 18in.
deep—that is to say, they are made of wrought iron
in these lengths to allow of their being rivetted to

the longitudinals which run from end to end of the
vessel, and which by intersecting the ribs at the in-

tervals we have stated divide the whole bottom

framework into a series of small square cellular com-
partments of great depth, thickness, and unyielding
strength. Looking only at the ribs, however, with-
out these intersections, they form an immense
wrought iron bow, 4ft. thick at their widest part
near the keel, and tapering off to 18in. thick at the
wales or widest part of the midship section, where
they are bent in, so as to form a ledge of 15in. deep,
on which the teak backing and armour plates rest,
sft. below the water line.

Strong and closely packed, however, as these ribs
are, they are not so strong or so important to the
framework as the longitudinals which are placed
five on each side of the keelson, and form single
massive girders, so to speak, running from end to
end of the ship, curving
upper deckwro of ht
all i iron,
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oo
ff
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er
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in the bows and stern, and
and all converging
making, in fact, one solid piece
frame. The cross beams which carry the deck are
a on the lower decks 15in. deep,
beneath the upper deck 12in., wnehitloe bkeenepeaothuttheoak
also
of wrought
shells.
Thus every part and portion of the vessel is made
aa
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it,
ats girders, rivets, and
and the vibration
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pieces is reduced to
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deck too
~
from
beams is 21ft from
e t e
fio wooden o
ra to framed ai
m h
looh
wriks lower h
deck to main deck 9ft. 2in., and from main
deck to upper 7ft. 2in. clear.
Outside the ribs we have described, but inside the
armour, is the skin of the ship of wrought-iron
plates, and outside all is the armour, composed of
9in. of solid teak beams and 51in. of rolled plates
L. main deck,
,knd the height of the run what are called
fastened through in the usual manner with bolts to
the inner skin. Along both sides of the ship, almost
fromg the
p as
afiaogo
er
er 3 theft all
.
decks with which they correspond. These wing
passages are shut oiffrom the body of the vessel by
wrought iron bulkheads, inside which, and below
the waterline, the magazines will be formed. Trans-
verse webs communicating one with another by man-
holes, which can easily be shut, divide these wings
into a series of watertight cmpartments, and their
use is to enable men to get aot a leak, in case of a shot
entering, or, in case of a fractured plate, to confine
the leakage of the compartment in which it originates.
The iron sides of the Northumberland have a
apparentra bows above.
The stern is quite round, and at both bows and
projecting under
slope inward of 2ft., an incline of about one
foot in ten. The bows are formed in outline like
the curve of a swan's breast, the breast, or beak
of
water t he
61 ft.
tobebyeonud thsedaes a
stern the armour plates are gradually lessened off
from 51in. to 41in. in thickness. This reduction of
their solidity is partly to lighten the stem and stern
as much as possible, and is partly necessitated by
the extreme difficulty of bending 52in. plates to the
peculiar forms required at these portions of the hull.
The fine points to which both bows and stern are
carried offer such facilities for shots to glance off,
that 41in. is generally thought to be the maximum
requisite here, The inner and outer stern parts of
the Northumberland are gigantic specimens of forg-
---. being 20in. by 10in., and 18in. by 10in. re-
nnd each is 44ft. long. The beak or bow
r.wiTing, and weighs 31 tons.
48 of the heaviest

ink-
speetiyely
Piece alsO is a aingiu
The Northumberland is to our p