The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-17 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

VALETTA, March 11.—Her Majesty's iron screw
steam storeship Himalaya, Capt. J. Seecombe,
arrived on the 4th inst. from Plymouth (eight days)
and Gibraltar (three days), en route to Alexandria,
to embsrk at that port the members of the Japanese
Embassy, and convey them to England. She
brought out supernumeraries for the Mediterranean
fleet, and, after undergoing some alterations in her
fittings here, left on the Bth inst. for Alexandria.
The Trident, 3, iron paddlewheel steam vessel,Com-
mander C. T. Balfour, left Malta harbour on the
3d inst. for Corfu. The Supply, 2, iron screw steam
vessel, Master-Commanding W. H. Balliston, which
arrived here some weeks ago with stores from Eng-
land, left on return on the 7th inst., taking with
her as passenger Mr. W. F. Rowe, R.N. Tho
Queen, 86, screw steam line-of-battle ship, Captain
C. Hiflyer, took her departure on the Bth inst. for
Corfu, to replace the Neptune, 89, Capt. Hornby,
which had left that island for Candia or Malta.
The Victor Emmanuel, 89, Capt. Clifford, is also
expected here shortly from Corfu, on her passage
to England. The only line-of-battle ships here at
present are the Marlborough, 131, bearing the flag
of the Commander-in-Chief, and. the Exmouth, 89,
which has just come in from Naples and Messina.
We have also in port the following vessels of war :
—The Hibernia receiving-ship, bearing the flag of
the Admiral-Superintendent; the Medina, 4, and
the Firefly, 4, surveying-ships, and the Hearty tug,
besides the Growler and Boxer, out of commission.
The Simoom iron screw troopship, Acting Cora-
mender Pollard, was paid out of commission at
Portsmouth on Saturday,under the superintendence
of Capt. Grote, of her Majesty's ship Victory. Capt.
Broadhead, commanding the Reserve of the port,on
inspecting the ship prior to payment, complimented
Commander Pollard and his senior Lieut. on her
cleanly state. The appearance and conduct of the men
as they came forward for payment were very credit-
able to themselves and their officers. J. Cooper, cap-
tain of the forcastle ; Samuel Rowe,boatwain's mate;
and Stephen Allen, coxswain of the launch, were
recommended for long service pensions. The
,Simoom's services as a troop and hospital ship since
her commission in 1856 by the late Commander J.
M. Cooke, have been very important. In February,
1857, she sailed from Kingstown with the 33d Regi-
ment for the Mauritius, whence, after disem-
barking the 33d, she sailed with the sth Fusileers
far China. On her arrival at Singapore Lord Elgin
diverted the Simoom's course from China, and sent
her on to India. The Simoom was the first ship
there with troops after the outbreak of the mutiny.
She continued two years and a half in India, carry-
ing during that time about 7,000 troops, and re-
turned to England with invalids, but was imme-
diately on arrival ordered to refit for service in
China, still under Commander Cooke's command,
and sailed from England with the Military Train
on board. On arrival at Hongkong she was fitted
up as a transporting hospital ship, for which pur-
pose she was admirably adapted, and on which
duty she remained during the whole of the subse-
quent operations. Commander Cooke died on
board shortly before she sailed with the Rifles for
England. He was an officer greatly respected both
by his brother officers and those of the army. The
vacancy was filled by Flag Lieut. E. J. Pollard, of
Her Majesty's ship Chesapeake, who has brought
the ship home with acting rank. Of 24 officers who
joined the Simoom in 1856, only four have returned
in her to England,--Lieut. H. Kent, Mr. C. Gabble,
Assistant Paymaster ; and Messrs. Taplin and Fil-
cher, engineers.
The Duncan screw liner is fitting at Portsmouth
for commission, and is ordered to receive her four
40-pounder Armstrong guns. She is intended for
a flagship, is one of the fastest and handiest liners
under steam in the navy, but is very weak in point
of construction abaft, and, it is feared, would never
be able to keep to sea for any length of time with-
out being damaged.
The Tribune, 23, screw frigate, Capt. Viscount
Gilford, commissioned at Portsmouth, is expected
to proceed to the Pacific. Viscount Gilford is in
receipt of a pension for wounds.
The half-boiler trials of speed of the Defence, 18,
screw iron frigate, Capt. R. A. Powell, C. 8., took
place at the measured mile in Stokes Bay on Satur-
day, under the superintendence of Capt. H. Broad-
head, commanding the Reserve at Portsmouth, and
Messrs. Murdoch and Miller, inspector of machinery
afloat, and assistant-engineer of her Majesty's dock-
yard. Six runs were made over the trial ground,
the average of which gave the ship a mean speed
of nine knots. This trial concludes the testing of
her speed, and the ship now lies at Spithead await-
ing orders from the Admiralty on the subject of
her Channel cruise.
The official trial of the engines of the screw steam
frigate Aurora, 51, took place outside Plymouth
Breakwater on Friday last. This ship was laid
down several years since at Pembroke as a sailing
frigate, but subsequently altered for the reception
of a screw. She was launched June 22, 1861, and
is sister to the Forte and the Chesapeake, which
are the only other vessels of this class. The Aurora
measures 2,558 tons, and her dimensions are as
follows :—Length between perpendiculars, 227 ft. ;
length for tonnage, 196 ft. Bin. ; breadth, extreme,
50ft. ; ditto, for tonnage, 49ft. 6in. ; ditto, moulded,
48ft. Bin. ; depth of hold, 16ft. 9in. Her engines
are horizontal, direct acting, of 400 horse power
nominal, by Messrs. Maudslay, Sons, and Field,
contracted for in 1854. They are fitted with double-
ported slides, like those in the Defiance and Gibral-
tar. The screw shaft, which is 94 feet 6 inches long
by 123 inches diameter, is in four pieces. The
Aurora has been fitted with the late Mr. Joseph
Maudslay's patent propeller with feathering blades.
The only other ship of war which has this patent
is the gunboat Stork, Lieut. E. Poulden, tender to
the Excellent, at Portsmouth. It permits of the
pitch of the propeller being changed while the en-
gines are in motion. The diameter of the screw is
17ft. The finest pitch is 17ft 6in., from which posi-
tion the blades can be turned till they are parallel
with the keel, fore and aft, or in a line with what
is called the " dead wood," where, while motion-
less,
it will not affect the direction or retard the
movement of the ship or the action of the rud-
der. The regulating power is fitted on the quarter-
deck, at the head of the screw well, where a move-
able winch acts on a perpendicular rod which places
the blades of the screw in any required position.
Before the trial of speed at the measured mile the
pitch of the screw was altered by two men with
great facility on three several occasions, while the
engines were going Tull speed. On the present oc-
casion the screw was set at 22 feet 6 inches, and so
continued. In the trial Capt. Key and Mr. Steil, of
the Steam Reserve, and Mr. Ward, from Keyham-
yard, represented the Admiralty; Mr. Telford Field
a7"n,dMr.Warrior were on board for the contractors.
, A-"rora draws 16 feet 9 inches forward and 19
feet 7
inches aft, and as she is prepared only for the
third division of the steam reserve, is deficient in
masts, guns, and stores. The wind was from the
eastward, with a force of 4 to 5. The mean rate at-
tained in four
, we under full speed, was 11.55
knots pee' .hour; and of
eig ht knots. In th fi •
two runs, under halfeboiler
power, e rst trial the revolutions
per minute, the
averaged 61
pressure of steam was
01b., and the vacuum 21 inches. I
the revolutions' averaged 45, then the second trial
pressure of steam
she vacuum 25 inchwas 201 b., and
satisfactory to the Inspectors.
es, This result
laced the same eveninz in the
appeared to be v. uY
The Aurora was rt'P
rd w
Keyham steamya rhere she will -
ably, be ad-
class in the Steam Reserve,
The to the second
at
The paddlewheel st lain frigate Magieienne, le.
Plymouth, was p ommission on Saturday
pelt in
Cspt. his Serene Highnes s of smis:igen,
the Prince le
officers and men.
with a complement of 235
Petrel, 11, Commander
The screw steam sloop
for the West
Watson, left Plymouth olndies. n Saturday
The sailing transport Edward Thornhill, from
Trincomalee, luien with returned war stores of an
obsolete pattern, has arrived at Woolwich pier to
discharge cargo. ,
The steam transport Tartar commenced shippieg
"°-Pounder Armstro vg guns, shot, and carriages,
on Saturday, from Wo c'lwich Arsenal for Gibraltar.
She has also on board sytsores for Corfu.
Notices are affixed, at the entrance of 'Woolwich
dockyard, requiring .1% numplaer of shipwrights for a

short period, stated to be for the repair of the
Rochester, forwarded for that purpose :from
Chatham. Fifty experienced additional hands are
ordered to be hired for the job, in order that no
delay may occur to the ordinary work of the yard.
The:Resistance, 18, 600 horse power, iron frigate,
will be undocked at Chatham this afternoon, and
to-morrow will be taken out of the harbour to the
Nore, to try her rate of speed at the measured mile,
Maplin Sands. She will afterwards return to
Chatham to have her iron masts put on board and
to complete fitting for sea. In order to prevent her
grounding when lashed alongside the floating
shears, as was the case with the Defence during the
time she was lying in the harbour, the steam dred-
ging machine has been for some days past deepen-
ing the river where the Resistance will be moored,
and clearing away the rubbish which had accumu-
lated, in order to provide a clear berth for hor.
The following appointments were made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty :—J. E. T. Forbes, surgeon,
to the Magicienne ; J. Halpin, assist.-surg., to the
St. George ; J. Dows, confirmed second-class assist--
engineer, in the Virago ; and W. M. Stirling, assist.
clerk, additional, to the Euryalus.