The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-05 00:00:00

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The Channel squadron now at Spithead, under
the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Sydney C. Dacres,
K.C.8., weighed their anchors yesterday morning
from the off-shore positions they have held during
the stay of the Imperial squadron, and re-anchored
in a double line in a more in-shore position, and in
nearer communication with Portsmouth harbour.
Among the many acts of courtesy extended by our
naval officers to those of the French navy during the

PRICE 4d.
STAMPED sd.'

is well nigh over, although we have not gone far
into the new crop, yet we fear it is very inferior to
last year in quantity and quality." Saturday was
a very hot day—thermometer up to 74 degrees in
the shade at midday, wind N.W., barometer 30.15
inches—and much work would be completed, and
as the farmers have had five good working days
they have pushed on fast, perhaps too much so in
the early part of the week to secure condition, but
from the middle to the end the work has been well
done, and the stacks required to be pulled to pieces
to prevent heating have been abundant, and this
process will probably have the desired effect, whilst
many must remain untouched till next spring, and
the fear is that then much now burnt wheat will be
brought to market.—Mark-lane Express.

past week at Portsmouth the engineers of her Ma-
jesty's navy entertained the engineer officers of the
hailsh
Thsoeof of
Lttheiive lmperial
Liverpool,
Nrpaovoall, s3, Engineers'oaod dr nc
frigate,
ai
put
eno, ersrtesirenea the largeapt
.
R. Lambert, was detached (temporarily) from the
Channel squadron, and sailed westward from Spit-
head on Sunday.
The Mersey, wooden frigate, 40 guns, 1,000-horse
power, in the steam basin at Portsmouth, where she
is completing her refit in hull and machinery for
recommission, has received her lower masts, and is
being otherwise brought forward as rapidly as cir-
cumstances will permit. This frigate has a mea-
sured builder's capacity of 3,733 tons, possesses the
highest rate of speed when driven with full boiler-
power of any ship (wooden) in her Majesty's navy,
has possibly nearly twice the space between her guns
as compared with the ships of our friends and allies,
whose ships have but just left Spithead for the coast
of France, and yet this splendid frigate has but a
soft timber skin, and is therefore unable to maintain
successfully any combat with an enemy carrying a
coating of iron, even if the guns of the latter be
very inferior in smashing or penetrating power to
those of the Mersey,

The Cattle Disease.

The Warrior, iron frigate, has received her lower
masts in the steam basin at Portsmouth, in process
of repair and refit for commission. She will not be
ready for the pennant, however, before the close of
the current year.

The Osborne, Royal. yacht, Commander J. D'Arcy,
and the Black Eagle yacht, Staff-Commander J.
H. Whiffler, both sailed from Portsmouth on
Sunday for Woolwich.
Yesterday the War Department transports Bo-
marsund and Henry landed at the Ordnance- wharf,
Chatham, the whole of the guns, shot, shell, and
other War-office stores from the floating battery
_Etna, 16, 200 horse-power, now in dock at Sheer-
ness. The Etna was one of the floating batteries
built at Chatham Dockyard during the height of
the Russian war, since which she has been lying
idle in Chatham harbour, off Upnor Castle, for the
nominal protection of that structure, and subse-
quently was moored off Thornmeade for the defence
of the Thames during the reconstruction of the
land batteries. She is now in dock at Sheerness,
where she is undergoing some important alterations
and repairs, and having the whole of her machinery,
boilers, &c., removed, in order that she may be
fitted as quarters for the dockyard police, taking up
a position between the town pier and the dockyard.
The mechanics and workmen employed in the
erection of the shot-proof reconnoitring tower on
the upper fighting deck of the iron-plated frigate
Bellerophon, as well as those engaged on other parts
of that frigate, yesterday commenced working until
10 o'clock at night, in order to expedite the work
on which they are engaged, and to complete the
vessel by the date fixed by the Admiralty—the 18th
inst. The tower, upon which a number of me-
chanics are now engaged, is so far advanced that a
fair idea may be formed of the appearance it will
present when entirely completed. Already several
of the 8-inch iron plates, rolled at the Cammell
Company's works, have been fitted to the place they
will occupy on the port and starboard sides, the fore
and aft plates being two inches less in thickness,
and the entire structure is expected to be com-
pleted during the present week. Already the
position of the tower, as well as the structure it-
self, has been subjected to an unusual amount of
criticism from the numerous scientific, nautical, and
other visitors to the Bellerophon, while the criti-
cisms themselves of those whose opinions are entitled
to respect have been of an adverse character. Of the
structure itself the opinion is unanimous that no
modern gun yet invented, fired at a distance of not
less than 1,000 yards, will make a serious impression
on such a ponderous erection in the way of penetra -
tion ; while, on the other hand, should the fire of a
single powerful gun be concentrated upon it the
tower itself would in all probability be torn up from
the deck. But the most serious objection raised is
that relating to the position of the tower, which is
placed a short distance abaft of the mainmast, and
immediately adjoining the main hatchway of the
engine-room and machinery. Such a position is
obviously one of the worst—if not the very worst—
which could have been selected, it being clear that
every shot aimed at the tower will, on striking the
armour covering, rebound at an angle, and fall
among the machinery below—the hatchway appear-
ing to be conveniently placed to facilitate such an
occurrence. This singularly unfortunate position of
the tower has been on more than one occasion
pointed out in The Sun, and the attention of the
Admiralty directed to it from other quarters, but no
steps have been taken to remove it to a spot on the
deck where its presence would be free from the ob-
jections urged against its present situation. The
engines for the screw steam launch, which is now
being constructed at Chatham for the Bellerophon,
arrived from Messrs. John Penn and Sons' estab-
lishment, Greenwich, where they have been manu-
factured, yesterday, and during the day were landed
at the dockyard. They are on the double screw
principle, and are similar in design and construction
to those supplied to the screw launch for the Bom-
bay, and lost with that vessel. In the new engines,
however, several improvements have been effected,
the machinery itself occupying a much smaller
space. The engines, complete, weigh about three
uithreedm.
is
sThthe me ost important tons, and they can easily be lifted in and out of the
employmentrtallt of featurethe
cl aounnncehe
tewdh e nw
irtzi
double screw, each screw being driven by its
own independent shafting, which thus enables either
to be worked in contrary directions. The engines
are on the high-pressure principle, which allows of
their being worked up to about ten times their
nominal horse-power, The screws are each four-
bladed, with a diameter of 2 ft., each being set at a
pitch of aft. 4in. The number of revolutions at
which they can be driven is rather more than 200
per minute. The Bellerophonis fitted with a four-
bladed screw, on the Mangin principle, the same as
supplied to the Achilles, and the work of fitting of
it has been completed. The entire weight of the
propellor is 22 tons, the " boss " weighing rather
more than 5 tons 10 cwt., and each of the four
blades averaging in weight 3 tons 16 cwt. 3 qrs.
The screw is set at a pitch of 22 ft.

The whole of the hut cottages in rear of the
General Hospital at Woolwich, occupied by staff
surgeons and their families, were yesterday va-
cated, and were given over to the Royal Engi-
neer department to be cleared, for the erection 012
their site of the stables and other offices suitable
for the Military Train Corps, whose head-quarters
will be established in the hospital, about to be
converted into barracks on the completion of the
lnaetwte:leesrtbaebrtlisHhmosepnitt:alneTwliiithdsbtarnodiokn-egoimtamon.
many Thdise.
acodvanetaogfesbefionrgthfeurhnis
habitation of
th ein:e-aclieptins now
in
pa-
tients from the old hospital. The War Department
ships Thames and Inkerman have been engaged in
conveying upwards of 500 tons of hospital furni-
ture from the stores at the Tower and Sheerness,
and the transfer of the patients will take place in a
few weeks. The authorities are, therefore, un-
doubtedly disposed to forego the many disadvan-
htaagveesb
eebeen opposed
stat e
dt o
initas usefOrm: ainmninlb
fierrmoafT4ewshiiienh.
An estimate has been entered into with a view of
ascertaining the additional amount of expenditure
required for its conversion as a military barrack,
which it is stated would entail an outlay of up-
wards of £50,000. This it appears at once de-
cided its fate in favour of the original intention of
aupde anp
we ith theeu t
de
exFaeyili
mitsendteissigonrderesredanthd,bweeellntoerreidll

SERIOUS EXPLOSION AT BIRKENHEAD.—It is re-
ported that a serious explosion of gas took place yesterday
afternoon in the Birkenhead docks in a vessel laden with
coals. And it is said that two or three lives were sacrificed.