The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-10 00:00:00

No. 22,664.

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 10, 1865.

NEW WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX.'
Now ready at all the Libraries, in 1 v 01.,. 10s. 6d.,

CRYSTAL PALACE.-TO-MORROW
(:3ATURDAYI.—CONCER C and AFTERNOON PRO-
MENADE. Vocalists : —Miss Julia Elton, Hr. W. 11. Cum-
mings, Mr. Lewis Thomas, and a select Chorus of 150 'Woes.
Conductur, Mr. Manna Programme includes MendelssAhn's
Cantata, "The First Walpurgis Ni_ ht ;" Overture, Eury-
anthe, Weber; Chorus, "In these delightful groves" (Tue
Libertine), H. Purcell; Chorus, " Hear, holy power" Mas-
saniello), Anber, dze.

Iron Frigates for Italy.

the walls of a fortification. All parts of these embra-
sures are made of the same solidity as the rest of the
broadside—viz., 7-in. iron and 9-in teak, only the
side of this battery looking on to the deck is of 6in.
iron, and this is crenelated for musketry, as in the
case of the rear of the forecastle battery. All the
hatches are closed with iron gratings, and in place
of a centre tower for the captain and officers manag-
ing on the deck, there are two, one one each side
of the ship, which, like massive iron sentry-boxes,
project from the port and starboard bulwarks. This
vessel is to be propelled within twin screws, each of
four blades, placed far below the water line and well
under the counter. Each screw is worked by an in-
dependent set of engines, each of 350 horse power,
nominal, so that when steaming full power her fine
lines and small midships' section will, it is confidently
expected, insure her a rate of 15 knots an hour.
With such a speed, such a defensive coat, and such
an offensive armament, it is likely to be some time
before this new Italian ship will find a rival equal to
her in the Mediterranean, to any part of which she
carries coal enough to steam at full speed. Her in-
ternal arrangements with regard to water tight com-
partments, &c., will be very similar to those of all
other armour ships, though it is undecided whether
she may not differ importantly in having a few loop
holes for musketry drilled in her broadsides. The
destructive powers of her beak, too, are to be fur-
ther utilised by an apparatus which will project tor-
pedoes more than 50ft, beyond the long spur under
water, and by a very simple application of water
power the beak itself is made to assist materially in
turning the ship rapidly as on a pivot. Altogether,
the design of the new vessel reflects high credit on
Captain Albini, and when launched she will prove a
most effective addition to what soon promises to be
the formidable iron navy of King Victor Emmanuel.

CHRISTIAN'S MISTAKE,
By the Author of •"John Halifax, Gentleman."

Few of the European iron navies of the future
have quietly made greater- progress towards the
establishment of an imposing maritime force than
that of the young kingdom of Italy. Without
waiting till either England, 'France, or America has
attained to the perfect ideal of what such ships
should be, the Italian naval administration has
simply contented itself with ordering ships wher-
ever any original principle in construction was
developed which promised, in theory at least, to
be better than others. Thus, at the close of the pre-
sent year Italy will possess no fewer than 14 iron-
clad frigates, a force which cannot fail to add enor-
mous weight to her pretensions as a naval plower
in the Mediterranean. Of these vessels six Save
been built in France, two in Atierica, one is now
nearly finished and another is to be built in England,
and four have been almost completed in Italy.
With a navy drawn from such varied sources, it
naturally follows that nearly all differ much as to
size, plating, steam-power, and armament, though,
as a rule, the general principles of high speed, great
defensive strength, and a few guns of the heaviest
calibre have as much as possible been adhered to.
Those built in France have the French defects of a
week inner framing, but possess all the advantages
which are undoubtedly due to the fastening of the
armour-plates with what are termed " wood screws."
These screws are now almost universally used in the
iron vessels of foreign Powers, and beyond a doubt
this method of fastening 44 superior to our method
of securing the armour with screw bolts. The two
ironclads built in America are the largest belonging
to the Italian navy, and the worst—worst as to
speed, worst as to strength and finish, and worst as
to seaworthiness. Our readers may recollect the
very•narrow escape which the first of these two ves-
sels, the King of Italy, had of foundering in the
Atlantic, and, indeed, for some time she was sup-
posed to have gone down. Strange as it may seem,
however, it is nevertheless strictly true that all
the important parts of these two vessels, such as
the armour, all the heavy forgings, anchors,
cables, &c., were ordered, made, and tested in
France and England before. being sent to
America, and 'that all that Italy has derived
from this unwise contract is the privilege of pay-
ing an advance of almost cent. per cent. in price
on European goods badly made up after the fashion
of American Monitors.

F. om the Times, Feb. 4.—" A more charining story to our
taste has rarely Leen written. Within the compass of a
single volume the writer has hit off a circle of varied characters,
all true to nature, and she has entatigleci them in a story
which keeps us in suspense till its knot is happily an ,
gracefully resolved. Even if tried by the standard of the
Archbishop of York, w. sh uld expect that even he would
pronounce Christian's Mistatte' a novel without a fault."
Hurst and BlaAett, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

Palaciwell warmed and lighted up for Afternoon Prome-
nade.

Admission, Half-a-Crown ; or by Guinea Season Tickets
free, Numbered Reserved Seats, Half-a-Crown extra, on
sale at No. 6, Exeter Hall, and at the Palace.
OTE.—" A more agreeable means of passing a winter
afternoon can hardly be imagined than is nowprovided every
Saturday at the Crystal Pal ce."—Vide Newspapers.

The vessel building in England at the Millwall
works, and now nearly finished, is very far from
being regarded here as a specimen of what a good
ironclad should be; but all her merits and defects are
due entirely to her Italian designers, and all that is
done in this country is to give the best work pos-
sible for the specification. This ship is the Affron-
datore, or the Sinker, and, as her name implies, she
is a " ram," though only in a very subdued degree,
having a small and blunted submarine beak.
Herlength
depth
s p2th9s2f .f t
over all, her breadth ex-
treme,4O and tonnage in builder's
measurement about 2,500. She is to have a single
two-bladed screw with engines of 700-horse power,
f t. ,
nominal. With such power, and a small midships'
section, in comparison with length, the speed of the
Sinker is guaranteed at not less than 15 knots, a rate
of steaming at which she could use her beak with
fearful effect if it were better designed for offence.
This portion of the vessel, however, only projects
Bft.- beyond the bows, and is, besides, of such weight
in proportion to its displacement that it acts rather
as a check upon her progress than otherwise. She
is coated from end to end, and to a depth of 5 feet
below the water line, with 4fin. armour-plate rest-
ing on a 9in. teak backing and a fin. inner skin of
iron. Longitudinal stringers of wrought iron two
feet apart are placed between the teak beams, with
their edges abutting on the plates to keep them up to
their work. Inside all these defences and within the
inner skin come the framing ribs, which are of
wrought iron 12in. deep and only 18in. apart. Like
most of our ironclads, she has no outer keel, but
bilge plates instead, and, unlike all other ironclads,
in the world, she has a ponderous upper deck, 2in.
thick, which is being laid on in two distinct plates of

tin. each. This vessel is intended for two 600-
pounders, placed in cupolas amidships—one forward
and one aft. The cupolas are to be plain cylinders,
grated at the top, and worked from the main deck
below with the usual machinery. Their plating will
be siin. of iron, with 6in. of teak backing.
This ship, though much inferior to the average of
our English ironclads, must by no means be taken as a
standard of what the new Italian navy is likely to be,
as it is, in fact, very much behind the vessels which
the Italians themselves have lately designed. One
of these improved Rs, desiwith models and „
specifi-
cations, by Captain Albini, of the Italian navy, is just
now being forwarded to the Italian Government, and
after their formal approval the vessel, we believe,
will be at once commenced in this country. It is
not speaking too highly of this proposed frigate to
say that, judged even by the superlative standard
of our own Warriors, she will still be a model vessel
and one of the most formidable afloat, no matter
whether opposed to two-deckers, like the Solferino
and Magenta, to American Monitors, like the Dic-
tator, or to the so-called invulnerable ships of our
own navy—those from the cupolas of which such
tremendous results are still expected. No name has
yet been chosen for this intended craft, though if
ever one deserved the terrible appellation of the
" Sinker" it would be this, as in defensive strength,
offensive armament, and high speed there will be
nothing in the Mediterranean to compare with it.
The length of this ship between the perpendicu-
lars is 280 ft. ; breadth, 43ft. ; depth, 25ft., with a
burden according to builders' measurement of
about 2,500 tons. The external appearance of the
ship is only that of a light steam corvette, with
three small masts and one funnel, with a poop-deck
and a high topgallant forecastle. Under water,
however, she is fitted with one of the most formid-
able beaks that a vessel ever went to sea with. It
is made of enormous strength and projects no less
than 48ft. under water in advance of the apparent
bow. Notwithstanding its strength the displace-
ment of this submarine prow is so great that it acts
like an air-tight caisson and gives immensebuoyancy
to the fore part of the vessel, where it is most needed.
This ship is to be coated from end to end and to a
depth of sft. below the water-line with armour
plates of no less than 7in. thickness, backed with
2in. of teak and lined with an inner skin half-an-
inch thick, which abuts upon the massive wrought-
ing of the ribs. No vessel yet built either
or America carries such a casing of solid
ironirinonEurope framasthis. The armament is to be all on the upper
deck, and will consist of one 606-pounder forward
and three 600-pounders aft. The plan for fighting
h
is admirable. The high topgallant fore-
castleese guns
'we
have spoken of is simply a large semicir-
culart shield of iron Bft. high, and of the same enor-
mous solidity as the sides of the vessel. This in its
rear towards the foremast is closed in by a 6-inch
screen of iron, loopholed for musketry, and with
one small port through which a field-piece can fire
and sweep the decks in case of an enemy boarding.
This forecastle is roofed. in with inch iron, and in it

is placed exactly amidships one 600-pounder, which
works on a pivot, so that without its weight being
shifted from the centre of the vessel it can fire from
three ports, either straight ahead or on either bow,
may require. In the
as
after exipoopgewnecies of
have tshpeokceanse
of,
and just abaft the
mizenmast, is the main battery, which, though at
present only designed to carry two 600-pounders,
will no doubt be increased to three guns of this
calibre. These guns, like that in the bows, are
placed'amid.shiPs, and will work on pivots, so as to
fire, according as they may be wanted, out of the
broadside ports Al Other side. To enable the
muzzles of these guns to clear the port sills without
shifting the ordnance from the centre of the vessel,
the ports themselves are " recessed," or indented in
I the side of the &lip, precisely like the embrasures in

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subject, said he thought the Court ought to pause before they
committed the corporation to an expensive and which might
prove to be a perfectly unnecessary parliamentary litigation.
A committee had already been obtained by Lord Robert
Montagu to consider the subject, and, with a dissolution
before them, he did not think the Parliament was likely to
adopt the plan prepared by the Metropolitan Board of
Works, or any other, at the present moment. He did not
agree with those who thought that the sewage was worth so
many millions as had been represented, but still the ques-
tiion was no doubt one of very great importance to the pub-
lic, and as a member of the Metropolitan Board of Works
he could state that it was their most anxious desire, now
that the main drainage works of the metropolis were nearly
completed, to adopt the best plan for utilising the sewage,
and to benefit the ratepayers.

Some further discussion ensued, in the course of which
the COMMON SER.TEANT, who was appealed to, said he had
no doubt that while the subject was under the consideration
of a select committee of the House of Commons, the Essex
Reclamation Scheme would be postponed.
The motion of Mr. Lawley was then agreed to. _

Mr. T. PARKER, the Chairman of the Law and Parlia-
mentary Committee, brought up a report having reference
to the projected new law courts, and he congratulated the
Corporation that the Government had consented to the in-
troduction of a clause which would tend to preserve the
right of the City to try causes within their own jurisdiction
as heretofore. He also brought up a report recommending
that the committee should be empowered to oppose the bill
at present before Parliament for the Abolition of Brokers'
Bonds and Rents.

Both reports were agreed to.
THE DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

An application was made from the Secretary to the Dub-
lin International Exhibition, praying the Court would allow
certain pictures and other works of art, belonging to the
Corporation, to be placed in the Exhibition.

The application was referred to the City Lands Commit-
tee, and the Court shortly afterwards adjourned.

Railway and other Companies.

LONDON AND BLACKWALL,

The.directors of this company state in their report that
the gross revenue for the half-year ending Dec. 31, with a
balance of £362 for the previous account, amounted to
£70,131, and the expenditure to £23,126, leaving a net profit
of £47,005, from which the interest on debentures, amount-
ing to X 10,055 had to be deducted, leaving £36,952 available
for dividend. With this balance the directors were enabled
to provide for the dividend on the preference stock, amount-
ing to £5,626, and to recommend the payment of a dividend
on the ordinary stock at the rate of £4 2s. 6d. per cent. per
annum, leaving a balance of .£1,233 to the credit of the
current half-year. The dividendfor the year 1864 amounted
to £3 17s. 6d. per cent., as compared with £3 15s. per cent.
in 1863. The amount of capital expended during the past
half-year had been £11,228, making the total expenditure
£2,168,261. The total receipts amounted to £2,165,656,
leaving a debit balance of £2,606. With regard to a pro-
posal for leasing the company's railway to the Great
Eastern Railway Company, the report states that arrange-
ments have been made with the Great Eastern Railway direc-
tors that, subject to the approval of the preprietors the Great
Eastern Railway company should take a lease of the under-
taking for the term of 999 years, at the net annual rent of
£4 10s. per cent on the capital stock of the company, with-
out any deduction whatever, excepting for property or in-
come-tax. In pursuance of those arrangements a bill had
been introduced in Parliament to enable the company to
grant, and the Great Eastern Company to accept, a lease of
the London and Blackwall Railway on the above terms.
Acting in concert with the Great Eastern Railway Com-
pany the directors had renewed their application to Parlia-
ment for powers to construct a railway in the Isle of Dogs.
During the past ten years the rate of dividend on the ordi-
nary stock of this company was as follows :—ln the year
1855, £2 14s. 10d. ; in 1856, £2 17s. ; in 1857, £2 14s. 10d. ;
in 1858, £2 18s. 6d. ; in 1859, £3 7s. 6d. ; in 1860, £3 10s. ;
in 1861, £3 2s. 6d.; in 1862, £3 lls 5d ; in 1863, £3 15s ;
and in 1864, £3 17s. 6d. per cent.