The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-15 00:00:00

TILE NAM'.

The Lords of the Admiralty proceeded yesterday
from Hamoaze to Stonehonse, where they inspected
the Royal Marines. The Controller of the Navy,
accompanied by Admiral Superintendent Sir Thos.
Pasley, transacted business on board the yacht-Os-
borne, and then went to the frigate Liffey,
which
is being coppered in No. 1 dock at the Devonport
Dockyard. A lieutenant in the Prussian navy was
at the Devonport Dockyard yesterday, and will be
there again to-day. It is supposed his visit is in
connexion with the proposed purchase by his Go-
vernment of some ships in the British navy. After
landing on Wednesday fromtheir yacht the Osborne,
and visiting the new jetty, constructed with iron
piles at Devonport Dockyard, his Grace the Duke
of Somerset and the other Lords of the Admiralty
proceeded to inspect the progress making on the
only ship in course of building in that arsenal, viz.,
the Ocean, which is sufficiently advanced and would
have been launched at the time originally designed,
October, but for a deficiency of iron beams. It ap-
pears that the three sister ships building at Ports-
mouth, Chatham, and Pembroke, require, like the
Ocean, 46 beams each, but as there was a delay in
the supply from the foundry, the authorities pru-
dently determined not to postpone the launching of
the ships through this delay, In consequence of
this the Ocean has received 11 only, eight of which
are fitted. She may, however, be launched in No-
vember. Workmen are caulking her bottom, and
the launching frame is in progress. The fitting of
the iron beams, the funnel hatches, store rooms, and
other iron work is done by shipwrights. They cut
the carlines with their cold chisels and saws, and fit
and rivet the iron knees. Much of this work was
formerly done by blacksmiths only. The stem is to
be plated with three-inch iron; the mast will be
stepped in the hold with iron heels, open so that
the screw shaft can pass through them. The Ocean
was, like the others, designed originally to carry
101 guns. She will now have but 34 in all
—viz., on the main deck 24 68-pounders, and
eight Armstrong 110-pounders, and on the
upper deck only two pivot Armstrongs of 1101 b. ;
the ports of this deck will be closed. She will also
have for boat service two Armstrong 201 b., one of
121 b., and another of 91b., besides a brass 6-pounder.
Their lordships went on board the Ocean, and from
her proceeded to the Robust, 101, which belongs to
the same class as the Donegal, St. Jean D'Acre,
and Conqueror; she is nearly planked. If iron-
plated, she must be cut in two, like the Ocean. After
inspecting the Robust the members of the Board
visited slip No. 2, now vacant, and, returning by
the same route, went to the chain-cable store and
South Smithery, and then to the office of the Ad-
miral Superintendent. After a short stay at the
office, their lordships, while the men were at dinner,
visited the new dock forming on the site of the ori-
ginal docks, Nos. 2 and 3, one of which was inside
the other. Five-sixths of the work of the new
dock is completed, and the whole may be finished
by December. It will be fit for the reception of
ships of the Warrior class, or larger, being 437 ft.
over all, with a floor about 290 ft. long. The depth
from coping to till is 10ft. ; the sides are very steep;
if they fell off a large portion of the yard would be
sacrificed. Outside this dock, and communicating
with gates, there will be a lock 28ft. long, having
a caisson facing Hamoaze. For this work the Go-
vernment supply the Portland stone, which they
send from the island. The contractors, Messrs. J.
and A. Kitt, supply the granite, which is obtained
from the Haytor Granite Company. Mr. Hopper,
clerk of the works, superintends the operations for
the Admiralty. Their lordships next visited the
screw steam corvette Rattlesnake, 21, which is
alongside the jetty, fitting with a poop and fore-
castle, to carry the flag of the new Commodore on
the West Coast of Africa. The only ships on the
stocks in the Devonport dockyard, besides the Ocean
and Robust, are later, 36, just in frame, which is
scarcely strong enough to bear iron-plating ; and the
Bittern, 4. There is some talk of adapting one or
both of these ships to Mr. Reed's plan. In No. 1
dock is the screw steam frigate Liffey, 51, Capt.
G. W. Preedy, C. 8., recently returned from the
North American station ; she has lost the two
forepieces of her false keel, which were probably
carried away the last time she entered Halifax har-
bour. Her copper is removed for fresh caulking.
The repairs will be completed about the 28th inst.
After a short visit to the town of Devonport the
Duke of Somerset, Vice-Admiral Sir W. F. Grey,
Admiral Eden, Mr. Whitbread, Lord Clarence
Paget, Capt. Moore, Admiral Robinson, Mr.
Richards, and Col. Greene, returned to the arsenal,
and, embarking in the Admiral's yacht, proceeded
to Keyham steam-yard, where they were received
by Commander Biddlecombe, Mr. Townsend, and
the other officers. They went first to the proposed
site for seamen's barracks. Tenders for construct-
ing the buildings are in the hands of the authorities.
After a short consultation in the Admiral's-office,
their lordships next examined the progress of Mr.
Drew's contract for lengthening No. 1, or the
Queen's dock, 100 feet, so as to receive the Warrior.
The work was commenced early in June, and is
progressing satisfactorily. The granite forming
the elliptical head of the dock has been nearly all
removed, and the hard slate rock has been cut down
to near the level of the broad alter. Steps will be
formed in the rock, and the cost of worked granite
will for the present be postponed. The new head
will be more circular than the one removing. The
next duty consisted in inspecting Mr. Hubbard's
contract for lengthening the sea entrance sufficiently
to float ships of the Warrior class. His work is
confined to carrying the depth of the lock (37ft.)
into the basin by a tronc 100 ft. long, so as to ex-
tend the deep water from, say, 250 ft. to 350 ft.
part of the bow end of the stonework of the lock
has been removed, and some progress has been
made in excavating the basin to the length and
depth
required. The basin has an area of 8 acres,
and the
bottom is covered with silt and rubble to a
dept of 12 inches, more or less ; this will, of course,
be removed, Before the basin was emptied several
vessels requiring repairs, which would probably
occupl as much time
as the contract work, were
placed in the docks. No-1 has an iron caisson and the
paddlewheel steamer g
td
No. 2, the paddle-
wheel steamer Valorous; and
No. 3 iron
, the paddle-
wheel steamer Triton.
Some interest attaches to
this vessel in consequence of
the employment of
rau these gement which
shipwrights on the ironwork, an. Arran
has given satisfaction ; 12of
Inferior t‘olltr sovmolun-
teers, were set to work.
pen-
tors in the ready shop but
appliances of the smiths''r
superior to them the best
' they are said to haee
in their knowledge ot
mode of handling a ship, meth,
Swifter progress in unrivetting the plates by
sboringl
off from the sides of the dock to have somethieg
solid to strike against. When fixing plates, and;
the use of a forge is necessary for butt pieces, taper-
ing, LS:c ,it is done by the smiths. Where the cold
chisel can do it they perform the work theruselve!.
In some of the Triton's old plates the pure iron ;s
said to be no thicker than an ordinary sheet
of
e
paper. On each side of dock No. 2 substantial
tramways have been fixed, with travelling steam
cranes, for the purpose of iron plating the Ocean,
now nearly ready for launching in the Devonport
yard. In the great covered quadrangle furnaces
and machinery for forming the plates are construct-
ing ; they were examined most minutely by their
lordships before their departure. The Duke of
Somerset dined in the evening with Port-Admiral
Sir Houston Stewart, at Government-house, Mount
Wise, whence his grace proceeded with his col-
leagues to St. George's-hall, Stonehouse, to patro-
nise a ball in aid of the British Orphan Female
School. When coming down Channel from Port-
land the Osborne a short paid
visit to Dartmouth.
Besides the Lords of the Admiralty, the yacht took
to Plymouth some members of the Defence Commis-
Fiore and the Secretary to his Royal Highness the
Duke of Cambridge, the Commander-in-Chief of the
land forces. The - Secretary of State for War, Sir G.
C. Lewis ; General Streesh
aro, Inspector. General of
Royal Marines ' • Drum
, Mr- Drummond and the Lord Chan-
cellor, Lord Westbury, are 'also at Plymouth.
The Board of Admiralty has full •
. approved the
model of an improved armour-plated-copula
vessel,
invented by Mr. Turner, master shipwright, at
Woolwich Dockyard, and one of these vessels Is or-
dered to be constructed.. The.iron Cupola,
fixed instead of moveable, 200 ft. long, 50 ft,

broad, and 10 ft deep. Guns will be placed round
the vessel from fore to aft, and will be able to
sweep the water at such a depression that no gun
vessel can approach. She will be fitted with a
ram, 3 ft. under the surface of the wafer,'B ft. long,
and her rudder, tiller, and propeller will be under
the water. The ship will carry 23 guns, and her
dimensions will be as follows :-330 ft. long, 64 ft.
broad, 25 ft. draught, and 8,700 tons displacement.
The Shannon, 34, screw, Capt. Oliver J. Jones,
steamed into Portsmouth Harbour from Spithead
yesterday to receive her Admiralty pattern screw,
and fill up provisions and stores for foreign service.
The Ironsides convict ship, Capt. Vault, arrived
at Spithead from London yesterday, to embark con-
victs for Gibralter.
The Isabella sailing transport sailed from Spit-
head yesterday with detachments of troops for
Ceylon.
The following appointments have been made in
the Royal Naval Reserve :—To be Lieuts—Edward
Jones, John Henry Taylor, George Tickell ;
,to be
Hon. Lieut.—Robert Deas ; to be Sub.-Lieut.—
Frederick De Carteret.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Thomas Lewis, in the Ranger,
promoted to acting chief-engineer; Fredk. T. Fitz-
maurice, assist.-paymaster, to the Cumberland ;
Henry E. Kitchen, assist.-paymaster, to the Sup-
ply ; and E. A. M. Chaffers, assist.-paymaster, to
I the Fisgard, as supernumerary.