The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-02 00:00:00

THE NUMBERS OF EXHIBITORS.

There are about 22,000 exhibitors, of whom about
8,000 are subjects of her Majesty, and 14,000 o:
foreign States.
THE DOG INTRUDER.

Neither narrative nor criticism can exhaust the
subject. There remain upon the eye and upon
the mind scattered impressions which will not
weave into the one and are not subject to the
other. There are touches of the ludicrous that
mingle with the sublime. There was, for in-
stance, the intrusion of a dog—a common, mongrel
dog, young and frisky—into the aisle so carefully
reserved for the return procession—and that at

the height of the ceremonial solemnity. How he
got in will never be explained—still less why he
appeared at that particular moment. His pleasure
in the achievement was evident, but his behaviour
was exemplary. He gave every demonstration of
delight short of barking. He fawned on the gloved
hands stretched out to pat him—he capered round

the feet that tried to kick him—he evaded every
attempt at capture—and when almost in the grip
of a policeman, disappeared beneath the drapery
that was kindly raised to cover his retreat.

THE _FRENCH IRON-PLATED NAVY.

The number of the .Revue Contemporaine which
will appear to-day contains an interesting article on
the origin and progress of the iron-plated navy in
France. It commences at the time when the Ems

peror first resolved to carry out this long cherished
idea by the appointment of a Commission in 1857.
The report of this Commission was soon presented,
sanctioned by the Minister of Marine, and approved
by the Emperor, and no time was lost in giving it
effect. It may be remembered that at that period,
and for some time afterwards, denials were more
than once given to the statements that something
more was going on than mere transformation of
sailing ships into steamers. The following are ex-
tracts from the article, which is written by M. Bain-
villiers, one of the Commission of 1857 :--
" By order of the Emperor a Commission chosen
from the members of the Council of State was ap-
pointed in the year 1857 to examine the report
presented by the Minister of Marble on the trans-
formation of the fleet. The members were very much
struck with the decision with which M. Dupuy de
Lome, lately appointed to the direction of naval
stores, presented bis views as to the possi-
bility of constructing iron-plated ships as
speedy as the fastest wooden ships. He
said that the power of these frigates would be
so great that their superiority over the vessels
hitherto built might be compared to that of a lion
among a flock of sheep. The plans of M. Dupuy
de Lome were adopted, after mature reflection, by
M. Hamlin, the Minister of Marine, and finally by
the Emperor, who, if we are well informed, entered
into the minutest details with that solicitude which
his Majesty feels for everything which may add to
the glory and to the security of France. It may be
added that the Emperor participated in the comple-
tion of the work with that special interest which he
attached to the question of iron-plated ships, of
which he had been already the promoter for many
years. Colonel Faye, of the artillery, one of his
aides-de-camp, was commissioned to attend daily at
the trials made at Vincennes, to test the various
iron shields, in order to arrive at the best mode of
manufacturing them, and to decide upon what
manufactory in France could produce the best. The
Emperor himself attended several times at the trials.
He was particularly pleased with the result of a
heavy discharge against an iron plate forged by
MM. Petin and Gaudet according to the plan defi-
nitively adopted. This proof consisted in firing
shot in succession at a distance of twenty yards
against the pattern plate attached to a wooden
plank representing the side of a ship much weaker
than the projected frigate. The cannon employed
on that occasion were three, one of which was a
5)-pounder on the French model, and the two
others, of 68, of the strongest English model exist-
ing. They were of a smooth bore, throwing round
massive shot. These were preferred because it had
been ascertained that cylindrical shot, thrown from
rifled cannon, are excellent to carry far and true,
and to penetrate wood at a great distance, but that
at a short distance they possess less power than
round shot fired from a smooth-bore with a
large charge of powder. These guns, were,
therefore, fired with the largest charge of

powder they could hear—that is 161 b. for the
French gun and 171 b. for the English guns, The
three shots were fired so simultaneously that only

one report was heard. The Emperor quickly ap-
proached the plate, the subject of the trial, and
found it not the least shaken, but bearing a deep
mark of the three shots and perfectly hot to the
touch from the concussion, but without the smallest
crack.

"It was thus that the plan of our three first iron-
cased frigates was prepared and approved in France
before this arduous problem of naval architecture
had ever been approached in England or elsewhere.
The plan of these frigates received the signature of
the Alinister of Marine for execution on the 20th of
March, 1858, and they were commenced in May
and June following—two at Toulon, under the
names of La Gloire and L'lnvin'cible, and the third
at Cherbourg under the name of La Normandie.
The builder of these frigates devoted himself to
uniting the impenetrability of their sides (even to a
higher degree than our first floating batteries) with
the nautical qualities of our fastest steam vessels .