The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-19 00:00:00

THE STEAM NAVY OF ENGLAND.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—The distinguished position given to my first
letter upon the above important " arm of our strength'
in your journal of the 10th ult. emboldens me to return
to the subfeet, in the endeavour to prove by a few further
remarks how foolishly the Government have been squan-
dering money upon 'steam-frigate building, and what
useless encumbrances the most expensive war steamers
yet in the navy are at this moment.
In my former remarks upon the " Retribution," I
observed, with regard to the gross miscalculations of her
capabilities to fulfil efficiently any of the purposes for
which she was constructed, that " either the constuctor
should have known his vessel would be ruined and use-
less if such tremendous ;sower (800-horse to 1,600 tons)
were given to her, or the engineer should have known that
his engines were by far too powerful for the vessel, and
protested against the waste of his `strength ofmaterials' by
having them placed in a vessel whose capabilities were net
sufficient for their support." Since these remarks ap-
'peered, I have been informed that the engineer did pro-
test against the injury which would certainly accrue to
his name and work if the Government persisted in their
order of having so much horse-power given to so little
tonnage. That the protest was not attended to is too
obvious to need a declaration of the fact ; and the result
is, that a steamer which cost the country upwards of
91,000/. in construction merely, is now lying in Ports-
mouth harbour a useless log upon the water. Here, then,
is atonce one, and the chief, cause of the failure of our
system of steam-ship building for war purposes. The
aovernment order a vessel to be built without consulting
she engineer upon the subject; they finish the bull, which
-is all perfecden (to them) ; and then in the very limited
space which they leave for their reception, they order the
engineer :o place his engines. He remonstrates, says his
engines cf the required power will not go into, much less
work well in, the space left open for their reception.
The reply is peremptory, " you must make them go
ifi; or we will apply to another engineer who will ;" and
this is the cause why nearly all the steamers which have
latterly been constructed have turned out miserable and
expensive failures. That this short-sighted and discre-
ditable system does not prevail elsewhere than in the
Government contracts is proved by the fact of merchant
-steamers being so vastly superior fur all purposes to
those of Government. Why is this ? Because in the
merchant service the engineer and the shipwright have
something in common ; there they calculate the means
allowed ahem before they begin their work; the engineer,
in short, works with the shipwright; and the result is the
;production of some of the most beautiful and perfect
model models of steam-ship building ever launched. I'S
this beneficial communion between the scientific bodies
were pursed in the Government establishments, we
never shotird see such disgraceful exhibitions as the Re-
tribution and Avenger, " laying np" from sheer inability
to perform any of the duties for which a steam-frigate
is essentially intended.
The Sphynes steam-sloop of 1,056 tons and .500 horse-
power, is another instance of the monstrous overpower-
ing of our steam-vessels, and will, doubtless, prove a
similar failure to the Retribution, from the same cause.
Nor is the Terrible, of 1,847 tons and 800 horse-power,
built by Lang, any more valuable as a war-steamer than
any of the so-called " intuitives." It is true she has a
greater proportion of tonnage in comparison with her
horse-power than her defeated rival, and is, therefore,
upon the face of the performances hitherto recorded, the
greater failure of the two. The cost of building this
huge steamer is officially stated at the enormous sum of
101,351/. !—actually more in amount than the cost of
building a two-decker of 90 guns ! And which would be
the more profitable and serviceable ship to the country
of the two ? lam inclined to think the latter in every
point. Much has been said about the Terrible's
fighting armament, high encomiums having been
written upon her for carrying 16 guns, and being
particularly smart in saluting ; but of what use would
her 16 guns be against any 16-gun sloop in the service,
of one-fourth her tonnage ? Why, the latter would
capture her or sink her. There never was a more
monstrously absurd idea fostered than that broadside
guns can ever be of the slightest effective use in
steamers. No steamer in the world, upon the principle
of those under notice, can ever fight at broadside.
Where, then, can be the utility of the much-vaunted
main-deck armament of the Terrible ? This vessel,
,which cost in construction and fitting for sea more
money than a second-rate line-of-battle ship, and whose
tonnage is more than that of any 74 engaged at the Nile
ar Tra.falgar, or of any ship of that class at present in
the service, is called a " fine sailer," a " good sea-boat,"
" stears easy," and stands up stiff under canvass. Taking
all these hackneyed encomiums for granted, ought she
not to do all these things well, considering the very
" stiff" price she has cost the country ? With her
tubular boilers her captain sass he can work up to
1,100-horse power ! If so, what sea can withstand her
progress, and how will her hull appear after twelve
months' clmenission? But it is not my intention to
occupy your invaluable space by commenting upon the
failure el' our steamers, to much as to point out the
cause of that failure, and thereby suggest an easily
practicable remedy for the evil.

No effrnent steam-vessel will ever be turned ont of
the Government docky-ards until there is a more solid
combination of the scientific elements used in their con- •
struction 'titan nt present exists—a more stable co-opera-
tiontetweentha shipwright and the engineer. To this
er.d, then, should the fiiitu're orders of the Government
respecting the brkilding ok War steamers be directed ;
and when •hat •:.,r,at desideratum is obtained, there will
be no, rapetiti;,ns of the bl.)nders which have been so
cema-;picunus in the build awl armatnentof all the steamer-,
or nearly all hitherto placisd upon the Bi itish navy list.
To what end steamers can be best applied as " war

steamers," and what duty alone they carievcr be calcu-
lated upon to:per;Orna %lith credit and certainty, I must
resMA for Ole stihj(-,ct of another letter, having tres-
pay.ied so much upon your space by this.
Nov. 14. NAUTICUS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir.—There is one point in the letter of " Nautieus,"
publist:ed in the Times of .this day, which, coming from
so esteemed an authority. will tend in my opinion to
mislead. I allude to his complaint of the excessive
.power of cur war.. steamers. Sir, the error has been
all the other way ; an 1 I wish to show that. by proper
apPEcation of it great power is most advantageous and

Let nt; take the tiarchant stPamers, which '`Nauticus"
ailrnire3. The Liverpool to Glasgow, the Cork and
Ilondon, the AhiTth.en, have the same proportion as the
-11;ttrihution, are worked' at higher pressures and in con-
stant service ; blew high hiow low, they make their
passage and do not break down.
The Ajax has one horse power to two tons. Er r
(owners are building the Minerva, of 700 tons and 415-
borse powe- being an increase upon the above. The
Ajax will Ake her passage in 25 hours to Plymouth
with a I,.;!avy cargo ; no Government vessel would be
near her.

The City of London will reach Aberdeen in 40 horse.
The Princess 11.0y41. will in 14 hours land her passengersat Glasgow from Liverpool. Surely, if this speed is at-
tainable in !ea-going cargo-carrying vessels, and main-
tained with regularity, there is virtue in large cylindern

and plenty of steam.
Compare with these the Driver, Cyclops, Gorgon,
&c., of large tonnage, less room, and smaller power.
Why, after a succession of failures, Sir W. Symonds
or his draughtsman is permitted to build another vessel;
I leave otters to say: in a merchant's yard he would
have launched one, and no more. Without being more
harsh than truth demands, it is not too much to say
that his opportunities for learning by practice have been
immense, and that he -seems to be a slow scholar. Be-
sides, the nation should not be charged so high for his
education.

" Nauticus" alludes to the Retribution as a complete
failure. I know, Sir, that her captain, on trying to
steam her head to wind in bad weather, bore up fur
fear of foundering. Now, reduce the effective power, as
it is reduced in a heavy sea, and this surely is enough.
I think Nauticus" hard on the Terrible, for from what
her performances have been it is early yet to judge
of her merits.
The Sphinx I saw on her trial in the river; her im-
mersion was absurd. I understand her floats have been
since reefed; but on looking at our merchantS' steamers
I do not find such doctoring necessary. All merchantable
engines now work up to 90 per cent. above nominal
power, the lighter boats far more; yet they work and
last and do their duty, though pushed as no Government
boats ar,. The truth is, all the surveyor's snips have a
tendency to sink ; no execs calculation appears possible
of filo load water lino with him. As to the stowage,
&e., I btlii-ve it is equally bad, but it is foreign to my
question. . _ _

- I go heartily with .*Nauticus" in his recommendation
that, in or out of the Government yards, builders and
engineers should work together. Times are changed.
The India ships of Greet, a7,(1 others are as line vessels
and ssil better than men of-war; our merchant steam
navy is the finest exh.ting.
Let Mr. Ditchhurn, Mr. 0. Lang, Mr. Napier, of
Glasgow, Mr. Laird, of Liverpool, and others build as
they design, with their own chosen engineers, steamers
of war, to be taken if successful, to be left on their
bands if Mures; and I am sorry tbr you, Sir William,
but you miust do better, much better, or they will beat
you oat of the field. A CI VILIAN.

MANSLAUGHTER FRO3I RECKLESS DRIVING.—Last
night an inquest, adjourned from Thursday last, was
resumed before W. Payne, Esq., at Guy's Hospital, on
the body of Thomas Roberts, who was killed through the
reckless driving of a man named Thomas Henry Lank-
ford. It appeared that on Monday, the 9th instant, the
deceased was standing in the roadway near the railway
terminus, Greenwich, between eleven and twelve o'clock
at night, when a cart belonging to Mr. Thomas Henry
Lankford, an egg-merchant in the Borough, passed along
at a' rapid raw, knocking the deceased, and another
peison w} was with him, down. An effort was made
to stop the tart, but the driver was enabled to get off. A
day or two after the cart was seen in the neighbourhood
of Deptford and identified as the one which caused the
accident, and Mr. Lankford also identified as having
been at Greenwich and Woolwich on the same day with
the vehicle. The deceased, who at the time was the
waioerciia for liquor, was brought to the hospital, where he
he next day from fracture of the skull, The jury
returned
t
a verdict of •`Manslaughter against Thomas
II lir) _Lankford," who was committed to Newgate for
trial.

We are requested to state from authority, that
unagr an order of her Ms' -
superseded and that the
of Wolverhampton hate bjeentYs in Council, the peculiar
whole jurisetietionfpas merged in, the ?Ai. In future,
probates of wi?l's and letters of whniuisrs
marriage licenses, will be granted by thoir„Y,'' "(1 also
of Lichfield, instead of the peculiar . op'4 Court
as heretofore.—
Wolverhampton Chronicle.
GRAY'S INN, Nov. 18.—T. Augustine Sargood,
Esq., and Robert Rouiere Pearce, Esq., were this day
called to the degree of barrister-at-law by the non.
(Society of Gray's Inn.