The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-23 00:00:00

ItlA+

''7177-17
-5-**Owsss::?•.\
to perform their • duty, it is of thatmnit
quence that,the.7 should be protected from. risk, and.
so be encouraged to tippron.ch without apprehenslom
any vessel that may require their assistance.
I forward the certificate of the Master of the
Stirlingshire, herewith.—l Ow, &c.,
JAMES TRAILL.
We concur. H. HARRIS, }
NauOcal assessors..
ROBT. SCOTT,
The Lords of the Committee of Privy Council

for Trade.

PROPOSED FORT BEHIND PLYMOUT,
BREAKWAIER.

The Defence CoMmissinners' report to the &ere.
tars of State for War,
w.tr, reference to the lye-
posed fort behind Plymouth 13tgakwater, IS as iol
lows :
"In compliance with the instructions contain(d
in your letter of the sth inst., we have earef.:l4,
considered whether it is advisable to proceed 1•7"
the construction of a fort inside Plymouth Brea;.:,'
water as recommended in our report of Feb. 7,1860'
" The question referred to embraces two conside-
tions—lst. The necessity of placing a fort on or near
the breakwater for the defence of the anchorage.

2d. The position in which such a work should be
placed.
" With regard to the fiot point, we would t
Picklecombe, ob-
serve that although the works t;
Stad-
don, Drake's Island, and the citaLfel bring a heavy
fire to bear upon the channels leading' to Plymouth
Sound and Hamoaze, and commands cert`,Qin portion
of the Sound, a great pert of that anchorag-e is not
covered by the fire of those works, except at long
ranges. A. fort either on or near the breakwater
will to a great 6: tent supply this deficiency, whilst
at the same time it bring a fire to bear on any
ships that might take op- a poSition outside the
breakwater for the purpcse of bombarding the dock-
yard, or firing into vessels at :li.chor in the Sound.
A fort so placed would also be in the best position
for supporting floating defences, and for affording
protection to any of our sea-going fleet Peeking re-
fuge under its guns.
" With respect to the second consideration, the
choice seems to be limited to three positions-Ist. A
fort might be placed on each end of the breakwater.
2d. It might be erected on the breakwater near its
centre. 3d. It might be placed in a suitable position

inside the breakwater.
" Each of these plans has been already carefully
considered. The first has much to recommend it.
Forts on each end of the breakwater wou,'d bring a
closer fire to bear on each channel leading to the
Sound, and would command a large portion the
anchorage by a cross fire.
"It will be seen from the report of Messrs.
Walker, Burges, and Cooper, engineers of Plymouth
breakwater, addressed to the Under Secretary of
State for War, and dated June 21, 1861, that before
the recommendation of this commissioned was acted
upon this proposal was fully inves,ig
"It appears that it would be na'essary to lay
the foundation of the eastern fort at low water neap
at.
tides, and that of the western fort at half ti,ie
spreading them considerably to dim tribute the
weight of the superstructure over a large area of
the breakwater, and, in some places, extending
the base below low-water mark. Moreover, the
heavy seas which set in during southerly gales
would break with great force against the wails
of the forts, and thus produce increased ac-
tion upon the existing foreshores' by the
recoil of the waves, rendeiling it necessary
to secure the foot of the present payed slope by a
buttress work of granite masonry dovetailed
together vertically and horizontally. 'rho expense
of constructing foundations in the sea would,
there-
fore, not be avoided by adopting this propOsell
whilst the lower tier of guns in the works wound
lose muck of their efficiency, even in moderate
weather, owing to the wash of the sea up the gentle
slope of the exterior side of the breakwater, the top
of which is very little above the level of high water
spring tides. But the great objection to placing
forts on the break water is, that the lizuestone rabble,
of which it is chiefly composed, cannot be depended
upon as a durable foundation for a supertructure
of far greater weight than it was originally calcu-
lated to bear. This is shown by the subsidence
which has actually occurred to the works of Cher-
bourg breakwater. These objections to the erection
of a smaller fort at each end apply with greater
force to placing a fort on the centre of the break-
water, its breadth being insufficient to receive the
whole of the foundation, which would therefore be
partly on the rock inside and partly on the break-
water ; the difficulty of construction would thus be
much increased, as the same mode would not be tile
most efficient for both portions, and the danger of
subsidence of that part on the breakwater would

still remain.
" The site that has, therefore, been chosen for the
erection of the work is on a portion of the Shovel
Rock, inside and a little to the westward of thei
centre of the breakwater, and as close to its inner
slope as practicable. The rock is comparatively
level at this spot, and is covered with a thin deposita
of fine silt. It has been carefully exami:ied in
_y
diving bell, and it has been found to be la
were
respect suitable for the foundation.
60
less than half an
.
interfere with
"The outside of the fort will be within y
of the breakwater, its area will be ardS
acre, and from its position it will not
On this point we
the anchorage of a single shoip.
f Commander Aylen,
have obtained the ev
i
rdeninceaster Plymouth, who
sththetes that@uee e o un
P's h athe • ships of war, being so close
to the breakwater that
a it would be unsafe to
Place a
ship in such position that she would swing
s irtb
over it. rop
the anchorage of osed is not available for
a it also appears in his evidence that a portion of
the north
de front of the fort may be made available as
a coaling pot, in which case one at leant of the
coal hulks now moored in the Sound might be die-•
pen,ed with, and the moorings
she occupies be iv"
propriated to one of the ships of the fleet.
The expense of the foundation of a work in the
position we have recommended will be less than
that of the two on the
ends of the breakwater, and,
all danger of subsidence •
will be avoided ; from its
position it will be protected from the wash of the
sea; so that the lower tier of guns may be placed.
AS low as the top of the breakwater will allow ; and.
and communication with it will be practicable in all
weathers.
" On consideration, therefore, of all the circum.
stances, we are of opinion that a work behind Ply...
mouth breakwater is necessary for the defence of tho
Sound, and that the site on which it is proposed to
erect it is the best that could be selected.
it We have &c,,
HARRY D. JONES, Lieut.:General, ) .
GEO. ELLIOT, Rear-Admiral, I Membero
F. ABBOTT, Major-General, of the
A. COOPER KEY, Capt., R.N., r 11ion•
J. H. LEFROY, Colonel,
ILA. Conunoo
JAS. FERGITSSON,
RICH. COLLINSON, Capt. R.N. Associated
J. ST. GEORGE, OlOnel, R.A., Aferaber4o
WM. S. WISEMAN, Capt. R.N...
H. D. linnavEss, Colonel, 11. L' Col. R.E.I
Wm. F. DRUMMOND JEUVOIS,
and Assist. I.G.F. Seer
its

-s°lrrepared with respect to
are disclosed in some statisticsdi
pusertPot Hull. In 1861 the
PROGRESS OF HuLL.
°wilt 841109.000, and this year it is esti.,
the progress of the
population was returned.
73. 1636 it was only 65,000, the in-
mated at 110,800, esting resu_
i2",04 "d in 1836 £176,559, showing
while
in
45,800. The property rate-
In IS6O the tonnage of the shipping
' f £61,94`)' o
an increase o
port
was 83,4,633 tons, as compared v, lilt
entei Dug thee
i 1836 i and the clearances outwards were,
490,044 tons
in
1860, against 421,938 tens in 1836, showing
798,217 ton
f 376,279 tens. In 1860 the tonnage of thevesseld
c:illrleasint y2e6arYewaarfs, £?0 ~ ,
an increase o
subjected to
tons, showing to dock dues was 1,215,203 tons, and in 1837 it
was 012 o
an increase of 680,181 tons,
or 133 per cont. In is 36 the er:,:i of the docks waS
235. Or. 33p., while now the area of dock aecomodation is
40a, sr. 2Sp. ; and the area of the proposed new West
Dock is 17a., and the increase lo the Victoria Dock 6a.
In 1860 the number of steam-vessels entering inwards was
1,182, with a total tonnage of 250,932 tons, as comparel
with a total of 716 steamers of an aggregate bur.derrino,
225,110 tons in 1855 ; and the number of stcatnerosfci_
,293
outwards in 1860,:was 1,191, of a total burden 364
burden of
tons, as compared with 772 of an aggregate;
0,, the
212,986 toes in 1855. The sanitary condition 1
popu-
lation has materially improved of loates.
A Parliamentary return w
ar
were killed by dogs within the that 8,897 sheep
1862. cusoahyst,ahuho y districts in Ire
land in the year ending Ist Jan-,