The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-17 00:00:00

Naval and. Military Intelligence.

The Field-Marshal commanding the forces yes-
terday rode down to Woolwich unattended, and was
met in the Royal Arsenal by Major-Gen. Warde,
C. 8., Commandant of the garrison ; Major Hay,
Brigade Major, Royal Artillery ; Major-General

St. George, C.B„ Director of Ordnance ; Colo-

nel Gambier, C. 8., Deputy-Adjutant-General,
of the Royal Artillery, and the heads of de-
partments. The Duke commenced his inspection
of the various branches of the establishment by
visiting, first, the Select Committee-office, where he
held a conference with Capt. 'layman, secretary,
and the members present, in order to ascertain the
cause of the delay in bringing out the new experi-
mental guns made in the Royal gun factories, and
which are awaiting their decision as to the system
,of rifling with which they are to be supplied before
being submitted to proof.— On leaving the Select
Committee-office the Duke and attendant officers
passed through the machinery room of the Royal
Laboratory, in which a number of the new shrapnel
shells were exposed for his inspection. They thence
proceeded to the smitheries of the Royal carriage
department, and examined the new species of
wrought-iron gun carriages and platforms in course
of construction for " Big Will," and the powerful
armaments now ready for sea service. Passing down
the wharf, they inspected the four 300-pounder guns

intended for her Majesty's ship Scorpion, fitting out
at Birkenhead, and examined carefully the piles of
perforated slabs of iron targets which have been re-

,turned from Shoeburyness, after the various experi-
ments, and which have since been objects of much

curiosity to visitors. Some of these slabs, 9in. in

thickness, are cut through like pieces of cardboard.

The Duke and party next visited the gun stores and
reserve sheds in the Marsh, in which a number of

40-pounder and other batteries are stored in perfect
readiness for immediate issue. His Royal Highness,
whose object in visiting the arsenal appears to be to
acquaint himself fully with details previous to the
meeting of Parliament in February next, spent some
time in the Royal gun factories, and at 2 o'clock,
taking leave of the officers present, he again mounted
and rode back to London. The inspection occupied
-upwards of three hours.

Major Palliser's gun, fitted under his improved
system of strengthening the old ordnance by the
insertion of an inner tube, yesterday fired 100
proof charges at the Woolwich butt, and has
mow got through 800 rounds most successfully.
The" Jest Swill be resumed on Wednesday and
Friday,:when_iti is; intended to fire:the remaining
200 rounds, and complete the severe proof to which
the gun was ordered to be subjected for the satis-
faction of the Select Committee—namely 1,000
rounds, with charges of 161 b. of powder and shot

•
weighing 100 lb. each. The gun was fired in one o:
the cells built up for that purpose, and was sus.

pended on a principle introduced by Mr. M'Kinlay,
the proof-master, which affords many advantages.

The gun was slung pendulum fashion on two iron

bars. At the back of the cell, which is bomb-proof,
was a stride rope stretched across, having two
weights weighing 1 tons each attached, in order to
restrain the recoil of the gun. The gun in its for-
ward motion is also held back by two check-ropes
or hack-gyes attached to the weights before men-

tioned, and which operate in bringing it back
speedily to a position for being reloaded. Another
advantage of the system is that in the event of the
gun bursting no carriages are destroyed nor mate-
rial of any kind injured beyond the gun itself.
We understand that Major-Gen. Lord William
Paulet, C. 8., will retain the Lieutenant-Governor-
ship of Portsmouth, and the command of the South-
West Military District, until July next, when he
will succeed Sir James Yorke Scarlett, C. 8., in the
duties of the Adjutant-General's-office at the Horse
Guards.

The construction of the two proposed inner Spit-
head Marine Forts, in support of the two ad-
vanced forts on the Noman and Horse shoals,
has been definitely decided on. They are to be im-
mediately erected in accordance with the recom-
mendations contained in the report of the special
committee appointed to consider and report on the
subject by the Secretary of State for War in July of
last year, and Mr. Hawkshaw, the eminent engineer,

is now engaged in preparing the plans for the con-
struction of their foundations. This Commission
was appointed in consequence of the preli-
minary borings in the Sturbridge Bank, off Ityde,
having satisfied the authorities that no foundations
for a fort on that shoal could be constructed except
at an enormous cost. The works recommended by
-the Commission will be erected, one on the edge of

the Ryde Sand, about 1,200 yards to the southward
of the Sturbridge Shoal, and the other on the Spit
Bank, about 600 yards to the south-west of the point
on which it was originally proposed by the Defence
Commission to erect a fort, and about midway be-
tween the powerful batteries now constructing at
Southsea Castle point and a central line drawn
through Spithead anchorage. The committee in their
report stated that a work thus placed on the Spit
Bank would, in conjunction with the batteries at
Fort Monckton, bear immediately upon the anchor-
age at Spithead, and would also co-operate with the
forts on the Horse Sand and Noman's Land shoals,
and with the Blockhouse Point and Southsea batte-
ries, in the defence respectively of the outer channel
to Spithead, and of the inner channel to Portsmouth
harbour. Thefort on the Ryde Sand the Commission
recommended should be erected to meet the contin-
gency of an enemy's ships having succeeded in pass-
ing the advanced forts on the Horse and Noman,
and entering Spithead, hugging the island shore out
of effective range of the guns on the Spitbank or the
mainland. With this arrangement it was considered
there would be three advanced works to the north-
ward and two to the southward of the anchorage at
Spithead—viz., Fort Monckton, with its auxiliary
batteries on the point of land forming the eastern
extremity of Stokes Bay, the marine forts on the
Spit, and Horsebanks to the northward ; those on
the Noman Shoal and the Ryde Sand to the south-
ward. The work to be erected on the Spit-bank will
be circular, like the forts on the Horse and Noman,
but it will not be quite so extensive as those
works. The work on the Ryde Sand will most pro-
bably be semicircular and open to the rear. The
distances between these works, to which will be con-
signed the main defence of Spithead, will be as fol-
lows :—Horse Sand and Noman—the two outer
forts, and between which lies the entrance channel
to Spithead from the sea, round the east end of the
Isle of Wight, 2,000 yards ; Noman and Spitbank,
Spitbank and Hyde Sand, 4,200 yds. ;
3,200 yards ;
Ryde Sand and Fort Monckton, 3,800 yards. The
distances between these defensive works and the
centre Of Portsmouth dockyard will be, as nearly as
possible, as follows :—To the Noman, 8,000 yards ;
to the Horse, 7,000 yards ; to the Ryde Sand, 7,500
yards ; to the Spitbank, 3,700 yards ; and to the
Monckton fort and batteries, 4,500 yards. Eminent
military and' naval officers, who have been through-
out advocates for the construction of marine forts
for the protection of Spithead and Portsmouth har-
boar ' "h
--aye persistently urged the necessity of con-
structing a third outer
fort on the Warner Shoal,
which, they say, would thus trebly lock the front
a triangle of fire, through
Spithead from the sea, and give
,through which no enemy's ship
~„.in
could pass and „
Warner position is not,
however, included in the The
of Spithead and presentpo. scheme for the de-
fencemth harbour, and is
perhaps left over for future consideration.
at one of the Admiralty charts f A glance
approaches from the sea will show Spithead and its
v
crowning the Warner rock with a t,,importance of
then become the apex of a triangle and which would
Which
most probably form the strongest of existing would
marine
defensive works.
The Aurora screw frigate, Capt. Sir L. AP Clintock
steamed out of Portsmouth harbour yesterday on
the completion. of her refit for foreign service, and
anchored at Spithead to take in her powder and
shell and await sailing orders.
The Edgar, screw line-of-of-battle ship, Capt. G.
P. Hornby, flagship of Rear-Admiral J. C. Dacres,
C. 8., remains quietly at,her moorings in Portsmouth
harbour. Rumour says that she is not likely to leave
Portsmouth harbour againas flag-ship of the Chan-
nel squadron, if ever 'she again goes out on active
service of any kind during her present term of com-
mission. It is stated that Rear-Admiral Dacres
will shortly join the Board of Admiralty.