The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-09 00:00:00

FATAL ACCIDENT TO A SURGEON.

Yesterday evening Mr. Wm. Payne, City coroner,
held an inquiry at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, re-
specting the death of Mr. George Mullins, aged
72 years, who lost his life under the following cir-
cumstances :
Mr. J. W. Key, 18, Westmoreland-place, said
that deceased was a surgeon, and resided at No. 5,
Holland-street, Brixton. On Sunday afternoon he
came to dine with witness. He only drank two
glasses of ale at dinner and he was quite sober. He
was very deaf. Witness saw him into an omnibus
for London-bridge, and he no doubt got out of it in
Holborn to get a Kennington omnibus.
Alfred Skidder Slater said that he saw deceased
standing in the roadway of Holborn-hill. A cab
drove up, and though the driver called out, de-
ceased never moved. The shaft of the cab struck
him in the temple and knocked him under the
wheel, which, however, did not go over him. When
lifted up he said, " Oh, my poor head." He was re-
moved to the hospital.
An other witness said that deceased stood in the
carriage-way
Mr. B. Smith,
" as if mesmerised."
Monday morning
house
fracturet
of
deceased
esPired on
the
Billutihteireom the fall. The shaft had struck him right
Accidental Death.
alYeet_'
Ver

livLeAnr,
avtnrattas-mac—h.
I.IT
ag-
gravated and ace
perfectly eurabicebler
Arabia Food, -1--Consumption I
complaints,b Ilia every'a all nervous,
ated
Viroure qeudoatfet retdrsf
tehweef. oaures,
enbillyioagus.
ouseaaalth restoring Revalenta
as Y Du BYyar,sghs of every description, but
been considered huPpteTred by thousands
alibiasnsdLoMe,alllB yheoarpesseotßfsaf,•
pulmonary consumption, Ivier
trecov
u erY from ra
exhaustion, spitting of blood, rearful
emaciated to a skeleton.
healthy, blooming, fleshy girl.— ....c aesdeisc
awl hral cehh
hh
aa
dd
Cure No. 62,914.
cough,
the last stage of
She
ipeerpirarionsh,
heoxlpectoration,
riiw, thank Godlow cheeks.
Police. Cure, No. 48,270. mr, James Co a
apse: fire c t I y
Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lunc, oberts of le •e de
bs, elpittin runley
derangement. and partial deafness.—Cure, lig of blood,liver
Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness,°. 47'121' Miss
gatherings, lotv' spirits, and nervous f ancis.—
indigeatton,
54,816. The Rev. James T. Campbell, Fakenh CuisTre'rilio•
of indigestion and torpidity of the liver, which had °resisted°ik'
all medical treatment. In tins, 11b, 2s 9d; 21b, 48 6d. SV,
118; 121 b, 225; 241 b, 40s. Barry du Barry and Co., No. -77
Regent-street, London ; also Fortnum and Mason ; and all
grocers and chemists in every town of the -United Kingdom.

HIGH SPEED IN THE NAVY.

The exploits of the Florida and Alabama convey too im-
portant a lesson to be lightly passed over. They affora an
example &era which much may be learned, much gained, if
we please to profit by the information which their career—
almost unexampled in the history of maritime warfare--
supplies to the nation and the eroveiiiinitt. We have here
two steamers of small site, with light guns, unprotected by
armour, and with crews of, perhaps, at most 200 men each,
doing an unparalleled amount of injury to an enemy's com-
merce and trade, burning and destroying wherever they
please, and setting at defiance the whole Federal navy;
fighting when so disposed, flying when occasion requires ;
intangible, vanishing from the grasp of the destroyer only
to destroy. The characteristics of the Alabama are
well known. The Florida is described as a " screw
steamer of extraordinary swiftness ; her hull long and
low ; no external traces visible of her real strength and
power." It is stated on evidence, which we see at pre-
sent no reason to doubt, that this little vessel had
destroyed not less than 9,700,000 dole. worth of Federal pro-
perty, up to the 11th of last May, and, most suggestive fact
of all, she has managed to elude 13 Federal cruisers sent spe-
cially in pursuit of her. Even if we take these statements
cunt grano salis, the mere fact of the Florida and Alabama
being still in existence proves how difficult it is for regular
men .of-war to capture or destroy vessels whose great speed
permits them to act the part of guerillas, the rapidity of
whose movements prevents the acquirement of accurate
knowledge of their whereabouts. The history of naval war-
fare shows unmistakably that heavy freights and ships of
the line are totally unfitted to pursue and capture privateers;
answenpnahoaeri
possible,
warfare—
half.
iaerybeewl—kei
own
againsth af
savage, men whohisadf
exposes
thatrxr
athsefhlcupaeei
the best
pre
___ahstr carry
sao
production
eothhhni
those
predatory,opportunity
moments
aotmeotdsenahant
sfge
ohrerearwl
just as regular troops usually fail in operations undertaken
oafmh-rsesahlakli yeti :haul sgegi
seoa
ll
h,ef
ifocwrahem continueamagnificentr
performingoba
probably
tolhf
iyeedeawetdveediofgtihert
weightier
operationspooareluffnaslrdtphneeoi dnsi invariablyhesgrei:bfaiiael
vesselsreicsdtfeytwaao
here-
after
to the long list ofyvisshuesdaciuPetinisbteoacewndttles in which England has
been victorious. But we state without hesitation that these
are not the vessels to cope with such craft as the Alabama
and Florida. The Warrior could not waste her time in look-
ing for such ships. True, she might happily fall foul of one
of them now and then, sink, burn, and destroy ; but we ima-
gine ships of the Alabama case would take particular care
to keep at that safe distance which prudence dictated from
our heavy frigates ; and very little examination or inquiry
is necessary to show that we have at present no other steam-
ships, built or building, really competent to undertake the
destruction of such dangerous fees to commerce. It is folly
to propose the despatch of a frigate costing over half a
million sterling in pursuit of a craft not worth the tenth
part of the sum ; we may rest assured that recourse
will never be had to such an expedient while it remains
possible to avoid it. What the exact amount of destruction
to our commerce may be which would render it impossible,
we can form no idea; that it would be very considerable we
have no doubt. Thus, in 1812, an American war brig, the
Argus, at one time took up her station off the south coast of
Ireland, cruising between the Tuskar and the Saltees, about
the Ist of August. "The West India fleet now began to
return, the ships of war leaving them at the chops of the
Channel and proceeding to Portsmouth. Now began the
Argus's destruction of the homeward-bounds. For several
days and nights captures were made, and with their rich
and valuable cargoes consigned to the flames, which were
seen blazing and smoking as they drifted by. No large ship
of war could be spared at the time for the Cork station."
After doing an incalculable amount of mischief, the Argus
was destroyed by the Pelican. sloop of war sent specially in
pursuit of her. We are not a whit better prepared for such
foes now than we were in 1812. It is not with gun-brigs
we would have to deal in the event of a modern war, but
with steamers whose speed would enable them to laugh our
ships to scorn ; and it is therefore well that the attention of
those in power should be drawn to the necessity of providing
a fleet of small steamers, specially constructed to encounter
the privateers—for so we will term them—which a hostile
Government would launch by the hundred againstour mer-
cantile marine.

The construction of such a fleet would entail little expense.
Half-a .dozen serviceable war-steamers might be built, en-
gined, and fitted for the price of the Warrior ; but to be
efficient, they wouldrequira to be extremely unlike any of the
small sloops or despatch vessels we have now afloat. The
first consideration must be speed. On tfiis their powers of
attack, their capabilities for making reprisals, and the
facility for escaping when threatened by an overwhelming
force, would entirely depend. Length would be necessary
to ensure velocity; light draught of water to enable them to
pursue, or fly into shallows—a qualification which would
seem to dictate a recourse to the twin• screw principle, or
something analogous.

To cover such vessele with armour plates would be simply
to render them useless. As a rule, they would have to con-
tend only with ships as unprotected as themselves. They
would no more attempt to encounter a modern frigate than
one of our 10. gun brigs of 50 years ago would a 120-gun
ship. It might, probably, be found advantageous to fit them
with a single strake of armour plates between wind and
water; even this is doubtful, and should only be done after
mature consideration. The question of armament is not one
difficult of solution. A single 100113. rifled gun on Whit-
worth's, or some other principle equally good, and a couple
of 681 b. muzzle-loaders, would, we conceive, be amply suffi-
cient. Did we possess any large guns perfectly trust-
worthy, they could find no place more suitable for the exer-
cise of their own powers than on the upper decks of such
ships. The evils attending the discharge of the heaviest
ordnance between decks, in comparatively confined situa-
tions, are well understood. In the open air, however, and
with plenty of room to work them, their use would quickly
become as habitual to the sailor as the carronade or the long
08; but, unfortunately, the success of any gun throwing
shot over 1001 b, weight is too exceptional to enable us to
calculate with certainty on their capabilities.
Masts and sails would, we conceive, be out of place in
the ships we speak of. Depending wholly on their engines
for the excessive speed which would really be the measure of
their efficiency, spars would be of little service ; and, being
liable to be shot away, might foul the screw at the most
critical moment. They are inimical to the attainment of
speed, unless when going dead before the wind, or nearly so.
It is very well understood that the top hamper of our steam
frigates isa principal cause why they do not attain the speed
of our merchant vessels ; and ships intended to steam seven-
teen or eighteen knots an hour could not tolerate their re-
tarding influence. It is generally considered that a steamer
without spars would be powerless if her engines broke down.
Perhaps ; but there is no reason whatever that when placed
in such a predicament she should not resort to the same ex-
pedient as a sailing vessel which had lost her masts—no-
thing would be easier than to stow jury masts, &c., so that
they could be rendered available when occasion required.
The absence of masts and top hamper would render a steamer
burning Welch coal almost invisible at the distance of a few
miles; one of the most desirable objects„in the kind of war-
fare we are speaking of.

When we remember how light the armament necessary to
these vessels would be, it is easy to understand that great
size would be out of place. The real measure of their carry-
ing capacity would depend on the size of their engines and
the quantity of coals stowed. 17 to 18 knots could be got in
fair weather from vessels propelled by engines of some 3,000
effective horse-power. 800 horee-power has been developed
ere now by a 35 ton locomotive ; and there is no reason that
marine engines should be much heavier proportionately to
their power. Screw engines and boilers, with water, of 3,000
horse-power might, by a liberal use of steel, and wrought
iron instead of cast, be so constructed as not to weigh more
than 200 tons. Making every allowance, 70 tons of coals in
the 24 hours would supply the engines with steam ; and a
cruise of eight days, nearly at full speed, would thus come
within the power of the ship. The mere fact, however, of a
ship being able to steam 17 cr 18 knots an hour, is no rea-
son whatever that she should always run at that speed.
The consumption of fuel increases as the cube of the velo-
city, and a very slight reduction in the number of knots
steamed per hour would enable coal to be reserved for those
moments when the engines would be exerted to the utmost.
A powerful blower, arranged suitably, would double the
evaporative power of the boiler at such a time. The me-
te
rt
er uracetliyn
gtrusentgwinoersth;
chanical engineer would experience no difficulty in
whilecon-
.hicAhlthon
gh veryru n light,
occasionally w o uld beat e
thex-
high speed for which they should be specially designed,
their ordinary rate would be moderate, consequently repairs
would not be heavy; and not only the engines but the ships
could be refitted in almost any port on our coasts, as their
moderate size would place them within the powers of any
private shipbuilding establishment or engineering firm.
These war vessels would be admirably adapted, as well to
afford a secondary protection to our own commerce as to de-
stroy that of the enemy, while their comparatively trifling
cost would deprive the loss of one or two, now and then, of
any very serious consequences. We have not at present a
single ship of the kind. The old steam frigates of the Bull-
dog and Cyclops class are fast disappearing, their slow
speed rendering them utterly worthless. The all-absorbing
subject of iron-plating has thrown every other question
connected with the navy or the protection of our commerce
comparatively into the shade, and our naval establishment
will soon be composed of nothing but costly first-rates.
That the construction of heavy war ships is of importance
importance
great enough to
admit—but that it is of an
we
banish all other considerations we deny. A Florida or an
Alabama may play havoc with our commerce to-morrow,
and we feel pretty certain that our
iron-
plated frigates will
m. The be far too busily engaged to prevent
the
Govern-
ment may, perhaps, contemplate taking
up
and arming
our merchant steamers iu the event of a war. The evidence
given before the House of Commons some 14 or 15 years
ago, was scarcely sufficiently encouraging- even then to war-
rants
uch a
any great reliance on the aid to be derived from
force—there is not a ship of the kind which would not re-
quire immense strengthening before she could be considered
fit to carry one or two 68-pounders, and war might be half
over before they could be qualified to take any part in it.
To be at peace, let us be prepared for every description of
naval attack and defence. A few hundred thousand pounds,
properly laid out now, may possibly prevent the less of
Viliona hereafter; and our readers may rest assured that
e question we have placed before them is one of vital im-
portance, well worthy the careful t of thinking men
y
Mechanics' ittagazin;.