The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-13 00:00:00

SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

The arrival of the new governor, Sir Dominick
Daly, and the departure of his predecessor Were the
chief events in South Australia in the month ending
March 26. The Register of that date says:—
The comparative failure of the harvest and the
low price of grain, following upon the unsatisfactory
results of agricultural operations for the last three
years, have dealt a heavy blow to the farming inte-
rest, and rendered things in that direction very
uncertain for the fu lure. Hitherto we have been able
to find a market for the chief portion of our surplus
produce in the neighbouring colony of Victoria ; that
market is now, however, all but closed to us by the
increased production of our neighbours, and prices
have fallen below a remunerative point. By a re-
duction in the price of labour, by the employment of
machinery, and by resorting to better modes of farm-
' ing, it is possible that wheat may be grown at a price
that will enable us regularly to export it to the
English market at a profit, If so, the agricultural
interest might be largely extended here. But if not,
then agriculturists will have to turn their attention
to other pursuits, as a very small proportion of our
farming power will be sufficient to produce all the
wheat we require for home consumption. Looking
at the wheat averages in Great Britain for the last
twenty or thirty years, we are sanguine as to the
result of exporting our breadstuffs thence.
Messrs. Hughes and Co.'s Wallaroo and Moonta
Mines on Yorke's Peninsula are turning out large
quanties of ore ; and the Cornwall Mining Com-
pany's claims are becoming very productive. The
Bremer Mine, in the Mount Barker District, is also
looking well. Some of the new discoveries in the
north are said to show large quantities of surface
ore, but we are not in a position to give any special
information respecting them. The Burra Burra
and Kapunda Mines are working as usual. At the
former, however, the number of hands has been
considerably reduced, in consequence of the large
demand for mining at Wallaroo, and from the deter-
mination of the directors to dispense with all un-
necessary expenditure. We hope, by the end of
the year, the export of copper and copper ore will
show a large increase upon that of any previous
, year in the history of the colony.

The armour which will be
of Mr. Reed's vessels will be of
ness, and will be backed up with a_ inges
of solid timber, so it will be equal to that which has
hitherto been employed in the iron-cased ships of
the royal navy. In designing the Enterprise a
moderate speed only has been secured ; Mr. Reed
having considered that where the speed must neces-
sarily be limited to about nine or ten knots an hour
(as it must be in plated vessels of the Enterprise's
dimensions), it would be imprudent to sacrifice
the protection of any vital portion of the ship
for the mere sake of a mile an hour, or there-
abouts. We are informed that her Majesty's steamer
Enterprise, which has been commenced during
the present week at Deptford Dockyard under
Mr. R, s,uperintendence, is the embodiment
of
an entirely new system of naval construction, and
is even a more remarkable vessel then the Anicr.cli
Monitor, of which the world boo lately heard so
much. Like the latter vase!, the Enterprise has
been made extremely strong in tee mighbeutheod
oi the water line and Las also an elevatNi battery
of gnus standiug up above this low shot-proof hull.
But, unlike the Monitor, the Enterprise has been
provided with upper works, within which arnpio
and healthful accommodation is afforded for officers;
and men, and by means of which the ship has been
made thoroughly seaworthy, so that she may be
sent to any part of the world. The armament
which the English vessel will carry will
likewise be much more powerful than the
Monitor's, and each gun will have a range
of fire greatly exceeding all that has ever before
been obtained with ordinary broadside guns, and
scarcely inferior to that which the Monitor's turret,
or Captain Coles's cupola secures ; while all the
difficulty and danger that attend the employment
of immense revolving towers in rigged sea-going
ships, are got rid of. The system of construction
which Mr. Reed, the designer of the Enterprise, has
developed, is applicable to ships of all sizes and
classes, and while it is the first system that has
rendered the construction of comparatively small
sea-going fleets practicable, it is also the first
which has rendered the application of extremely
thick and heavy armour to our larger ships pos-
sible. It is said, on good authority, that it is
perfectly practicable to build ships upon this sys-
tem which shall carry armour plates of ten inches
or even a foot thick, and shall at the same time be
armed even with the 300-pounder Armstrong guns,
if Sir W. Armstrong can supply them. If fact, we
can see no mechanical limit either to the offensive
or defensive powers which may be given, not to our
coast defence vessels only, but even to our sea-going
ships, if Mr. Reed's method of applying the armour
where it is indispensable, and there alone, bo found
practicable and fully carried out. As the tendency
at present undoubtedly is to increase both the thick-
ness of our armour and the power of our guns, we
may consider ourselves fortunate in having had this
new system of naval construction produced just at
this present crisis. It is no less gratifying to know
that the new vessels will cost no more than our old-
fashioned wooden vessels, excepting the mere price
of the armour plates put upon them.—Mechantes'
Magazine.