The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-08 00:00:00

7HE NAVI'.

A division of men from the'lndus, in Hamoaze,
will assist in navigating the Severn, 51, from Sheer-
ness to Plymouth.

The crew of the screw steam frigate Liffey, 51,
Capt. S. W. Preedy, C. 8., were inspected on Friday
by Port Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, K.C.8., and
on Saturday the vessel left Plymouth Sound for
Hamoaze, where she will be dismantled and placed
in the third division of the steam reserve.

The French Imperial steam yacht Prince Jerome,
with Prince Napoleon on board, arrived at Spithead
yesterday morning from the Thames, and after
steaming through the Channel Fleet anchored at the
eastern part of the anchorage. The Prince declined
to land, and the yacht, after a stay of two hours,
weighed her anchor, and after again steaming round
the Channel Fleet, left for Cherbourg.
Her Majesty's paddle yacht Victoria and Albert,
Capt. G. H. Seymour, C. 8., went out of Portsmouth
harbour yesterday, and anchored off Osborne, in
readiness to embark to-day their Royal Highnesses
the Prince Louis and Princess Alice of Hesse, and
suite, for conveyance to Antwerp.
Capt. Aldersparre, of the Swedish frigate Norr-
koping, anchored at Spithead, was yesterday intro-
duced officially to the military and naval authorities
of the port and garrison by the Chevalier Vanden-
bergh, the Swedish and Norwegian Vice-Consul at
Portsmouth. To-day the officers of the Norrkoping
will visit the dockyard and other public establish-
ments at Portsmouth.

The last timber of the new stern being given at
Portsmouth dockyard to the Royal Sovereign shield
ship was placed in position yesterday. In our for-
mer notices of the progress of the conversion of this
ship from a 131-gun three-decker to a 10-gun shield
ship, doubts have been expressed as to the capa-
bilities of this huge ship to carry her five shield-
towers when completed, owing to her having been
cut down to her lower deck planking. This would
necessitate the placing of one of the shield-towers
on the fore stokehole hatchway, and another on
the engine-room hatchway. It appears that
our fears in this respect have been verified,
for it Is now intended to give the ship only four
shield towers,instead of the five originally proposed.
A court-martial assembled yesterday, on board
H.M.S. Victory, at Portsmouth, to try Henry
M'Coy, a seaman belonging to H.M.S. Rapid, on a
charge of striking and biting George Bird, quarter-
master of the same ship, on the 28th ult. The
charge was found proved, and the prisoner was sen-
tenced to receive 48 lashes, to be imprisoned in
Lewes Gaol for six months with hard labour, and
at the expiration of the imprisonment to be dis-
missed from her Majesty's service with disgrace.l
Yesterday a number of mechanics presented them-
selves at Chatham Dockyard for entry at that esta-
blishment to supply the places of those now on
strike, it being now definitely understood that under
no circumstances will any of the turnouts be again
employed. The applicants for work were all in-
spected by the master shipbuilder, and several were
at once entered and placed on the Achilles. There ,
is no doubt whatever that the entire number of
hands required to succeed the men on strike will be
soon obtained, notwithstanding the attempts of the
turnouts, aided by the emissarieslof the trades' so-
ciety, to prevent the Admiralty from obtaining
workmen. Since the strike the shipwrights placed
on the Achilles have been employed as riveters and
platers—branches of the trade in which it was never
intended to employ them had it not been for the
attempted coercion of the hired mechanics. As it is,
the new hands are making very satisfactory pro- 1
gress, considering the work is altogether new to
them, and the officials engaged in superintending
the building of the iron frigate state confidently
that in a very short time the work done by the
shipwrights will not be in the slightest degree in -
ferior to that of the trade mechanics. Yesterday
the second of the large machines to be used in bend-
ing the armour plates of the Royal Oak and Achilles,
while hot, was completed at the factory under the
superintendence of Mr. Armstrong, the machine
being: Precisely the same as that used in preparing
1: e
armour plates for the Warrior. There are also
dock
ry powerful hydraulic machines used in the
Baillie
y,d,
anamanufactured by Messrs. Westward,
The 300- Co.,
for bending the armour plates cold.
proof with %rear-Armstrong gun, which, since its
yeartPeodwde:, has been in a danger-
ous state, was
a vorttiaourange of 200 yards. The 1
ness against iron piatresai again used at Shoebury-
War:ior, bat them.
which
hthe side of the new
target represented
armour Minotaur be-
class of steam frigates to
In these frigates the
our i 1
reduced
longs-
,kaisngi n
itshethick,
thickness
from lean. to
The inner skin and iron framing are the
tiara 9in.
oinfsttheeadteoafk4lbinac.
the Warrior. . For the first three trials thee as
in
t
was of cast iron, and the charge was wile.,
as
usual. No. 1 struck and pierced the centre plate,
damaging through the inn '
damaging but not passing inner skin
and framing. No. 2 struck the upper plate, and
went completely through armour, timber, and skin.
No. 3 was directed against the lower plate, and,
like No. 2, passed quite through the target. The
fourth shot was of wrought iron, and the charge
was 501 b., as before. At this round, however, the
gun gave way, the breech being blown backwards to
a distance of 30 or 40 yards. The gun did not break
into fragments, and no one was hurt. The experi-
ence gained by these extreme tests will doubtless be
made available in the construction of the new gun
of this description now nearly ready for service.
The following ships have been chartered by the
a Ron. Council for India for the conveyance of trooPs