The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-04 00:00:00

INSTITUTION OF CIVIL
ENGINEERS.

JUNE I.—Sir John Rennie, President, in the chair.
The paper read was an account of the iron barque
Josephine, of Liverpool, by Captain Masters, who
commanded her in the voyages she has made.
The subject of iron vessels is one of great
importance, and the nse of that material in naval
architecture has been steadily progressing since it
was introduced for sea-going vessels by Mr. Manby
in the steamer named after him, in 1821, and which was
the only vessel that ever conveyed a cargo direct between
London and Paris without trans-shipment. Sanguine
hopes had been entertained of introducing iron vessels
of war, but it appears from the partial accounts that
have been made public of the results of the experiments
at Woolwich and elsewhere, that the effects of cannon
shot on iron vessels is more destructive than upon
timber.
The paper read was a plain and somewhat dry specifi-
cation of the construction of the vessel, which will
however, when printed in extenso in the minutes of pro-
ceedings, be extremely useful. The main dimensions of
the barque Josephine are :—Length over all, 99 feet 6
inches ; extreme breadth. 24 feet 6 inches ; depth of
hold, 9 feet 9 inches. Register tonnage, 168 tons ;
by old measurement, 221 tons. She was of a pe-
culiar build, differing from almost any other mer-
chant ship, being intended for service in the Mexican
trade, and calculated to cross the bar of
.Tampico, and
other impediments. She was entirely of iron, even to
the bulwarks; and as she lay low in the water, draw-
ing 9 feet aft, and eight feet 8 inches forward, her
ports were hung on hinges forward, so that they
should act as valves, and allow the water to escape
from the deck, and yet shut of themselves when she
heeled over deep on her side. Her general rate
of sailing was from 111 to 12 knots per hour ;
she was very buoyant and very . dry ; rising well
to the sea. There was great capacity for stowing the
cargo, owing to the absence of large prjecting timbers.
She was somewhat damp forward and aft, but was very
dry in the main hold. There was not found to be any
difference in the health of the crew from that of wooden
vessels ; she was a little cooler than other ships, owing
to her being so deep in the water, and the thin aterial
did not retain the heat like wood.

Iron ships have generally been found to get very foul.
The Josephine wat, however, paid with various compo-
sitions as experiments, that which succeede4 best was 1
barrel of varnish, 21. cwts. of best tallow, 40 lbs. black
lead, 7 lbs. brimstone, 70 lbs. arsenic. This being ap-
plied hot, the iron having been previously warmed and
paid with boiled linseed oil, appeared to have prevented
foulness, as after her voyages there WAS little weed or
grass, and scarcely any barnacle; but very slight oxida-
tion took place. and that only where the composition had
been rubhed off
They were as much annoyed by rats as in a timber
ship, nor c9uld they be citstroyed by any of the means
adopted.
The principal feature of the paper was that which
treated of the local attraction of the co epasses, which
can scarcely be in an abridged form. It appeared
that as long as the ship was on an even keel and
perfectly upright, the compasses acted correctly, but
an proportion to the listing over so was the derange-
ment of the magnet, for the local attraction being
changed by the sie frames and deck beams falling into
new positions, this caused great variation in the ship's
course, and it led to a conjecture whether this may not
have been the cause of the loss of the Great Britain, as
if her compasses were acted upon as much as those of the
Josephine, a deviation of six miles and a half from her
course might easily have occurred.

Captain—Master; suggested the hanging the binnacles
complete in gin Ales like the compass, in order to their
always remaining vertical, and also in adjusting the
compasses that they should be trig-d in every position,
a table of variation being made out for every degree of
listing over. The paper was illustrated by drawings of
the vessel and of her rigE,ing, which possessed peculi-
arities, and also by several tables for the corrections of
the compasses.
The paper announced to be read at the next meeting
was "On the Expansion of Steam," by J. M. Ileppel,
Grad. Inst. C.E.

At the monthly ballot the following gentlemen were
elected:—Messrs. J. B. Clacy, J. Phillips, W. Sayce, and
Captain J. L. A. Simmons, associate.

THE ARMY SERVICE BILL.

PROTEST OF THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY, G.C.B.

Dissentient-1. Because an attempt to introduce
limited service was first proposed in 1713. The system
or plan lasted two years, and was abandoned from its
total failure. It was tried, however, again in 1775,
and continued to the end of the war, but was unsuc-
cessful in its operations during the American war.
In later periods--.in 1806—it was resorted to in
another form of periods of limited service ; but
signally and completely disappointed the expecta-
tions that were formed of the measure to obtain more
recruits and a better class of men ; and in the midst of
the war in the Peninsula much inconvenience and dis-
order might have arisen but for the foresight and
precaution of the Great Commander—the limited ser-
vice men being then his best troops, who had served
seven or eight years, and who had a right to their
discharge ; and had not very large bounties b: en given
they might have been lost to the army, and their loss
would have been most fatal.
2. Because, while it is most desirable to adopt every
possible measure for improving the comforts and the
social and moral condition of our soldiers, it is highly
injudicious and inexpi client to attempt experiments
(which are avowed as such), and which experiments may
tend to shake the good feelings now existing, and the
discipline hitherto prevailing in the British army, which
never at any moment in history stood higher for its
warlike achievements and admirable conduct.

3. Because, while it is admitted from the very highest
authority, that the old soldiers of the British army give
to it all its perfection and matchless excellence, it is
manifest that t:-.e present Army •,ervice Bill presentF. a
risk, and offers an occasion of losing the very men who,
after their service of ten years, become the most vein -
able, and who may still be in the prime of life (from 30
to 40) for all purpos-s of hard fatigue and military s-r.
vice. It is, thi-refore, highly impolitic to naz ad this
experiment, and far more jadicious to retain the pres,n;
regu'ations, which allow all sol !jars, under a most libe-
ral plan and with g.od ch.ract,r,, to receive their dis-
charge by the IN-commendation of their officers, and tne
decision of the Command
4. Because, as has been clearly and unanswerably
shown, great inconvenience must result to our colonial
service from the plan now proposed, and especially in
the minutiae of every regimental arrangement. If men
had six or eight months to serve, and were ordered out
to India, that circumstance might occasion a degree of
discontent among them. The army in the Rist, as has
been ably shown, presents many further obstructions to
the eligibility of this measure; and it will be necessary,
when it sball be in full operation, and one-tenth annu-
ally of 72,000 men (our average f,rce serving in the
colonies), shall be entitled to da,harge, and must be
brought home, to make frequent reliefs of corps at great
difficulty and inconvenience.
Finally, because the Government must either have a
most extraordinary confidence in themselves, or expect
an unlimited confidence from others, if they imagine
that a measure of such magnitude, sanctioning changes
so hazardous and on such fanciful theories, and, above
all, against the opinion of nine-tenths of the British
army, can be carried into effect without stronger and
more cogent reasons than have hitherto been advanced
by them for these new experiments, under their Army
service Bill, on the British army.

WEATHER AND CROPS IN AYR.