The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-28 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIatNCE.
THE MINX STEAM-VESSEL.---In an amplified Wool-
' wich report of another trial of the Minx, with the 10-
horse high pressure disc engine, when she is said to
have made 4,659 knots, we find the following :
" The Minx is a vessel of 301 tons, originally built
from a design by Captain Sir William Symonds for
engines of 100-horse power, ten times the horse power
of the disc engine cf Bishop's patent tried to
slay." It
is due to the ex-Surveyorof the Navy to state.that the
Minx was not designed by bi:n, liut like the notorious
half-dozen batch—the Harpy,Lzsrd, Torch, Myr-
midon, Bloodhound, and Jackal—most of which are
now for sale ; like the Antelope, Oberon, and Triton,
built for the lonian Government, but repudiated by
them on account of their inferiority—the Minx was
designed by Mr. John Edye, the sole professional ad-
viser of the late Suraeyor of the Navy, and the first
Resistant to the present Surveyor ofthe Navy. The Fairy
royal yacht, Mare and Co. (then Ditchburn and Mare),
having p'eased Sir G. Cockburn both in respect of.
her lines and speed, the "deputy surveyor" was
foolishly permitted (notwithstanding the failure of
the " half dozen") to, try his hand at a couple of
screw steamers to possess, as gun-vessels,. something
approximating to the qualities of the Fairy. The
result was, that the Tenzer and Minx were con-
structed, the one of wood and the other of it n,
with engines of 100-horse power in each : they were
launched about three years since and tried, when, in
consequence of the usual gross errors in calculation,
the vessels were so deep that one (Teazel.) attained a
' rate of speed averaging about 61 knots, and the
other (Minx) averaged about a knot faster. This
would not do, and it was determined that the en-
gines should be taken out and others of lesser
weights should be substitutei. Accordingly 50-
horse engines replaced the 100 in the Tenzer,
and she was sent to the coast of Africe, arid the
Minx has been kept for various experiments in rudders
and high-pressure engines. So thoroughly ashamed
was Sir Charles Adam of these vessels, that be deter-
ii in d to stop the building of any more of them, and
ordered the Boxer and Biter, which, as usual, had
ben commenced before their "pattern" models had
been trie.l to be taken off the stook; at Chatham, and
not to he proceeded with. Sir William S;monis has
enouk to answer for with respect to the construes
tion of bad, ship:. for the Royel navy, without burden-
ing his conscience with the worse blunders of his
shipwright adviser • and it is only fair that he should
be absolved from the public reproach that attaches to
the Teazer and .Minx, and some score of failures from
the 'Hermes, alias the Gulnare, down to those vessels.
It sheuld be remarked that the pressure of the 10-
horse engine was .55lbs. to the square inch ; with the
ordinary mar.ne engines the pressure, most proba-
bly, did not exceed 7lbs. or albs.—lireralds
PORTSMOUTU, TUESDAY. The Fairy Royal
yacht, Commander Crispin, embarked their Royal
Highnesses the Princess Royal sal Princess Alfred
at 12 25 P.M. to-day, at the Clarence-varcl, and con-
veyed them, under the usual Royal &slates and cere-
monies, to Osborne, to join the Royal circle.
The Constance, 50, Captain Courtenay, was towed
out to Spitheed this morning by the tug, and sailed
immediately for Devonport to be paid off.
The freight ship IVaverley will leave Deptford on
the 291 inst. for this port, to embark draughts of the
44th and 69th Regiments, from Cowes, for Malta.
The freight ship Essex will embark draughts of the
16th, 36th, and 76th Regiments to morrow, at Cowes,
for Corfu.