The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-26 00:00:00

THE WAR.

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.
The Royal Albert will be put out on Monday next at
high water, and in consequence of the lateness of the tide
serving, her trial of engines will take place on Tuesday
next. An official survey of her feed pipes, cocks, &c.,
through her bottom, has taken place by Mr. Rumble, her
chief engineer ; Mr. George Blaxland, civil engineer ; and
Mr. Nation, managing engineer here from Messrs. Penn's
factory, the engines having been set up under his imme-
diate and personal superintendence.
The Caledonian, 120, is ordered to be fitted with all
despatch as a prison ship at Plymouth.

The Boscawen, 70. which carried away the bits of her
mainstays and experienced heavy weather in the Channel,
was expected to have her repairs completed last night, pre-
paratory to her sailing again for the West Indies.

The Ph too, 50-gnu frigate, was taken into the fitting
basin yesterday, to be fitted for commission. The clearing
of the fitting basin of mud deposited therein was completed
yesterday, and at high water the caisson was again put
into place, after some defects had been made good, at the
lower part of the entrance groove, by the dockyard diver,
Mr. Parish, leading man of the stonemasons.

The ludeEtigable, 50, Captain Hope, is at Leith, filling
up her complement, if she can, for the Brazils station.

The ➢ieauder, 44, Captain Baillie, arrived at Carrigabolt,
couuty Limerick, on Sunday last. It is stated that she is
to take away the Royal naval coast volunteers lately en-
rolled along the Shannon.

The Inconstant, 3d, having been masted on Thursday, is
now placed in the new basin in the Devonpert Dockyard
to be jury-rigged with all despacth.
Yesterday, at four p•m., the commander-in-chief at
Sheerness, Vice!Adniiral Gordon, returned from inspect-
ing the Malacca, 15, screw, CAptain Farquhar. The crew
were put through their vaiious evolutions in the long and
short gun exercise, (tc. There is no doubt but that she will
leave Sheerness harbour this day. We understand
she is bound to the westward, most likely to Ports-
mouth, where'she will receive her final orders. The Black
Sea, however, it is generally understood, will be her ulti-
mate destination. Ict consequence of the quantity of extra
ballast and coals this screw-vessel has shipped, she will
doubtless be found not to be so crank in the water ; at all
events, she appears now in much better trim for sailing,
as she swims considerably deeper than she was when she
left Chatham, and took the trial trip round the Nore and
up the Thames.

The Swallow, 8, screw, Commander Crawford, Ports-
mouth, has shipped her masts. She is ordered to be for-
warded with all despatch.
The Spy, 3, brigantine,
Lieut.-Commander the Hon. R.
Boyle, sailed from Sheerness on Thursday morning, bound
to the westward. We are happy to report that the greatest
possible harmony seems to prevail on board. The destina-
tion of the Spy is the south-east coast of America station.
The Vivid, Master Comurinder Allen, arrived at Ports-
mouth on Thursd evening from the Channel Islands, with
Rear-Admiral Berkeley. Yesterday the admiral inspected
the Arrow alongside the dock Jetty.

THE SCREW DESPATCH AND SCREW GUN- 1.

BOATS.
The sixth of the new screw despatch vessels, and the first
of the half-dozen screw gun-boats, will be launched this
day, the former from Mr. Mare's establishment at Black-
well, and the latter from Mr. Pitcher's establishment at
North fleet.

Of the first class (the despatch men-of-war), one, the
Arrow, has already been tried; the second, the Wrangler,
is ready for sea, and the third, the Beagle, has received
armament, and is progressing fast in her equipment.
in the annals of ship-build.
xe remarked,lnet
c i
übs t
euui
dnl built
ea
undeniable
idga trbfihel
fitted
that
twl
ne
nri
oti
undertaking
cyn
odwuenri
machineryttthar
ykwhichiinngt hii
nes
t7whn
wonderful,
-Anrs
n:esciine'v(Yricefeoesusuhul ltaaisvnsehehi
eabtarvevii efsneo
unprecedentedgb.eee
so short a period ; and it indicates in the most satis-
factory manner the vast resources of Great Britain. From
haveonly t bwuoi pr
ifv:utre shipship-buildingthese
s e sr n 2(
asb—o vA le
a rleB 0a 0n dt
oCnos ) , who
Messrs. Green, who have built two—and three private en-
gineering establishments—viz., Penn and Co., Maudslays
and Field, and Humphreys and Co.—the Admiralty have
managed in the short space of four months to construct
one of the fastest and most powerful little squadrons of
men-of-war that have ever been turned out, and have
added to the navy-list a class of vessels that reflects
of h
the
e
Navy
Admiralty
greatestt
rfcredito the i r
do c
ot ne
sitaglarner,ydepartmentaswouth i
etls or of
thoseth
firms selected by
e Surveyor
enterprise.e
We have stated that one of the six despatch-boats has
already been tried, and we may remark that the trial of
the Arrow, although made under the most unfavourable
circumstances—the vessel having been anchored across the
tide-way at the Needles, and thus exposed to the uneasy
motion, that a"rae" is sure to produce_—we say,
under
the most unfavourable circumstances, the Arrow has proved
her capabilities to bear with ease and efficiency the heavy
e
armament she was designed to carry—a, armament that
no one ever before attempted to place in a ship of so small
a tonnage, and that ship too designed to run as well as to
fight. The Arrow, although of comparativelyefine lines,
and, with her machinery, possessing great powers of speed,
is, nevertheless, stiff enough and strong enough to take two
of those heavy Lancaster guns, which, although weighing
about 12 tons, including their carriages, can be fired not
only from her how and stern, but can be trained so as to
be fired amidships from the broadside with ease and effec-
tiveness. The immense range of these guns has been
proved, accuracy of fire will as surely be obtained, and
we feel convinced that when complete in all her equip-
ments, and handled by experienced men, officers as well
as crew—commanders as well as subordinates sea-
men as well as gunners —there will bo no smarter or
more dashing men of war in any navy. Everything about
them looks well and shapely ; and there is a style in their
build and equipment that is different to all other vessels
that bear the Royal pendant. Although coming from the
Thames they may startle old memories of Cadiz and
Flushing gun-boats, yet they so mark the advance of the
age, and the improvements of modern science in ship-
building, engineering, and armament, that, commanded by
young, dashing, and competent officers (vessels of this
class require men fully up to their work) they will form
the most efficient engines of war that have ever been pro-
, dnoed.

SALE OF RUSSIAN PRIZES.
Its;cliy waotlm sitl• 01 Eutil.4 Prim took Al, gi