The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-06 00:00:00

DEVONPORT DOCKYARD.
(From the Herald.)
The proposers of the uncalled-for and extravagant
conversion of the new works at the Devonport yard
r have endeavoured to persuade the Board of Admiralty
that a small open basin, to be at once a basin for
ships and boats, would be at that establishment far
preferable to a closed capacious basin of the ordi-
nary kind, such as that at Portsmouth, 'Woolwich.
and Sheerness. Let us, however, see how this ques-
tion rests, and what are the grounds for such an
assumption. We have in former articles shown that
there is a lamentable want of efficient dock accommoda-
tion at Devonport ; that the depth of water at the
jetties does not admit even of a first-class frigate
lying near them at dead low-water spring tides, with
all stores on board; to which may be added, that
the fitting out of ships at a distance from the shore
is much impeded in bad m eather, and is liable to
serious inconvenience. The Devonport Dockyard be it
observed, in further treating this question, is decidedly
on a lee shore; is situate at the mouth of a large and
powerful river, whose waters bring from the distant hills
very large quantities of alluvial deposit, so much so that,
during the heavy rains of winter, the whole surface is oc-
casionally discoloured with it. Now the entrance to the
basin,at spring-tides, liesimmediately exposed to the wash
of between three and four miles of these troubled waters,
which, during the heavy westerly gales, set directly into iL
Every tide brings in its deposit, so that in fact, as we
have before observed, such a basin would be little
better than a mud pond. It would, as a matter
of necessity, be continually filling up ; and there
would be no means of clearance, except by dredg-
ing, both in the basin and at the entrance, the
excavations being carried far below low water; thus
entailing an everlasting expense. Moreover, the short
sea, which would frequently wash into the basin, would
be extremely inconvenient. According to the new pro-
position, this open basin is to be 260tw0
s
fheeipts,wiodnee, by
n
about 300 feet long. To contain w
either side, with an intervening accommodation
for
boats, and a very deep dock immediately
oppo-
site the entrance. But let us for.
tion. Supposing the two ships in the -
in-
stant look at this clumsy, ill-imagined an
propost
basin, as
f t beam and lying
's leaves about 128 feet clear
10 feet clear of the walls,—this and of 56 fee shown in Mr. Edye's plan,
ing stages 40 feet long by 30 wide.
boats, lis'arbopur launches
in the centre. Here we are to place,
Ghac,rsgens uoup ofina
floating
stages! We are to have pitch
with hawsers, boats with working g
boats of all kinds, all intervening
and the entrance, and constituting with
I obetweenr eforges
and
the working
dock
the
ships a mass of confusion
quite inconsistent
with the main object for which the
intended. If this basin is to be subservient to the
purpose of the dock and the accommodation of
ships, it will be quite necessary to construct a boat
basin in some other part of the yard, for no ship
can possibly be docked without a general clearance,
ot only of the boats, but probably of one of the
ships also. It, on the contrary, this basin be con-
structed principally
with a view to the accommo-
dation3woeo ,
havet)o(
;los lof the
gut
hop gone
env
,fsa.dockyardan
rek such
outa,l,l,ooogfbobject.
eo
tboats,enh rre.then
rTway
in must
expending
some
300,0001.
It
restorewould
hbee
previouslyfar better
to ars
existing walls, leaving the invert as it is, and there
would be nearly sixtecn feet of water over it at low
water. We should then save a large expenditure,
and have quite as good a practical accommodation
as would arise out of this new"
scheme, which is only
to be characterised as being" some such thing to no
such purpose •; for any attempt to make a small open
basin subservient to the purposes of ships and boats,
and the free use of a dock, is a manifest ab-
surdity and an intslerable waste of the public money.
A closed basin, as originally intended, calculated fur the
fitting out expeditiously at the wharves four sail of the'
line, with all stores, and embracing beside two first class
docks, available twice in every 24 hours, is, on th, con-
trary, an intelligible proposition, and not liable to
the many contingencies and inconveniences we have
enumerated. The deposit would be greatly prevented
by the tido being shut out, and would hence be small
and only at certain times far apart ; the basin would be
sheltered, and, if required, could after a run of years be
pumped dry and cleared. There would be also
the capital advantage of keeping the entrance
outside clear, by means of large sluicies occasion-
ally laid open fru:a within, at dead low-water
spring tides. The convenience of such a basin
is almost incalculable, and could not but prove highly
beneficial to our naval power. The case is so
plain, that it is really quite surprising how so stupid
a proposition as the conversion of it into a contracted
open pond, scarcely giving room for two large-class
frigates, and very ill adapted for boats, should have
been entertained for a moment. But, say the advo-
cates of this conversion, it is doubtful if any large
ship can pass over the invert, which is on the old
plan, " without scraping her copper." They call
it the "stupidly-planned invert," and say that " as
error previously committed was in this repeated."
We suppose all this is by way of compliment to the
late Colonel Brandretb, and many eminent engineers
and writers of former times, such men as Smeaton and
Hutton, for example, who of course cannot pretend to
i rank in ability with, the master shipwright at Devon-
port. But we would respectfully submit to the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty, that this " stupidly.
planned invert " is moat ample, and well adapted to the
required purpose. It is seventy-four feet wide at
the top, and fully sixty-six feet wide at the lowest
point of tide at which such a ship as t Q
60 feet beam—one of the widest ships inh e the of
nav, ueen,
y—
could be taken in with all stores ; so that there would
be full three feet clearance all round at the water
line. At high-water spring tides the width is
70 feet nearly, when there would be nearly five feet clearance. At high-water neap tides the width
is nearly 68 feet, with nearly four feet clear.
ance ; and this is for the widest ship ever built.
With others of our first-rates and two-deck ships there
would be from five to seven feet clearance. Now we do
not hesitate to say that any dockyard officer responsible
for this branch of duty, who allowed the least damage to
be done to " a large ship's " copper in taking her
into the basin with from three to seven feet clearance and
the aid of temporary fenders and other means, would
deserve to be dismissed from her Majesty's service;
and we cannot but regard the assumption to the con-
trary as a remarkable specimen of what in ordinary
life is sometimes called " modest assurance."
return for the capacities of the docks In the
ye
states that Nu. 4 dock will receive ", Mr. Ed
s
largest class." Yes, he can take a ship of 55 feet
wide at the entrance hips of the
5 inches beam into a dock only 56 feet 2 inches
, where would be . posi-
tively not five inches clearance ;thereut he cannot take
the same ship into the basin having from more than
five to seven feet clearance " without scraping the
copper." We beg to call their Lordships especial
attention to this specimen of a new inductive
philosophy. We feel, hoe ever,_disposed to believe, that,
after all, the great question with the Government is
the money question. There are many extremely intel-
ligent and thinking men connected with the Admiralty,
such as Sir Baldwin Walker, Colonel Irvine, and others,
who really must know that all these pretended objec-
tions to the original design are " weak inventions."
They have plans of this invert; and may, therefore, by
placing a midship-section of the Queen to the same
scale on other ships, in the centre of the plan, iume-
ict'or
seeint,l)eartt,thearte ias ncootstcheofsligfrhotme s t2reason4
lisattuerlYbin pgeretheii
advanced, such as the " nehcaessisni y
by
30,000 L, on this acconut. All
.tthefoorthedronokbijnegctieonnds
torch•light;"
bringing ships into. the .
.lit
of removing the
CaISOOD, except at the .
___(whys)— the "impossibility of
spring tides," &c.;
caohnlet.actlwt iiteh,
the jetty heads," &c., are equally
' which alone remains to
the danger of " ships being damaged
therefore, the money question gedunbtyen
be exposed, an
undertake to prove upon fair
future occasion; and we
that
and this we hope effectually to do on a
so far from any saving
and reasonable grounds,heew scheme, there would be a
being effected by
texpenditure, and the Government
a heartless
would have to pay 350,0001. probably from
l work. We have only to add
rguriena t
of increase
ag r
e
with respect .
inches water
at low "
there are
tides • terat there 1 C feet 8
to the invert—that are .., e
over it at low water spring tidetcand 20 feet
neapnoa-ft o n
tides. At high water Spring tides
from 30 to 3 feet, and at high water neap
from 28 to 30 feet. So that any ship of the navy
may come in on an average upon two or four hours
flood, with all stores, twice each day; at a light draught
much sooner—small frigates at almost any time. fight
officer, appeal to the honest conviction of any shipwright
officer, well acquainted with the service at the Devon-
port-yard, whether that is not ample—nay more than
ample] accommodation—and that the late Mr. Hawkes
well knew when he agreed to this " stupidly-planned".
basin. The assumption that a pressing necessity may
arise for docking a ship precisely at dead low-water
spring tides is a perfect delusion—so evanescent in quan-
tity that no one would have thought of making it enter
in the least degree into the original calculation for this
basin. But any one who would dream of breaking up
and ruining the whole work, when far advanced, in pur-
suit of such a shadow, and sacrifice some 50,000/. to gra-
tify such an irrational piece of caprice, should really be
consigned to the care of his physician, and be put under
mild but wholesome official restraint.

M. Guizot was in the House of Lords last evening
during the debate upon Lord Stanley's motion relating
to the correspondence between Lord Palmerston, Mr.
Bulwer, and the Duke of Sotomayor. The ex-minister
stood the entire time by the great candelabrum adjoin-
ing the Bishops' bench, between it and the Prince of
Wales's chair, and seemed deeply interested in the de-
bate. Many Noble Lords from time to time went up,
shook hands, and conversed with him. The Earl of
Aberdeen held a lorg, and apparently earnest, conver-
sation with him towards the aloe of the proceedings.

_
2
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7 i
/
gn-boat, andthe Admiralty barge, were taken tittow by nne of the launches, and after passing under
Blackfriar's-bridge returned to Somerset-housr. The
result of the experiment of towing was most eati tctory,
and showed that similar launches would be a I.l'‘at ac-
quisition to ships of war, and most serviceable for towing
gun-boats into action, at the same time allowing the
crews to remain under arms "instead of having from teE
to sixteen men employed in rowing each gun. boat. The
water was rough during the'experiment, the wind blow.
iing strong from the east, mar ale swell in the river from
the numerous large steam. vessels fully tested the merits
of the launches, and showed that they cuuld surmount
greater obstacles than will be presented to them in the
smooth waters betwixt the icebergs of the Arctic regicns.
The Enterprise, Captain Sir James Clarke Ross, and
the Investigator, Captain Bird, will receive eight boats
each vessel, all built by Mr. Thomson, who has been
indefatigable in endeavouring by working day and night
to have them finished in time—one steam launch, tvi*
boats of 25 feet each, one gig, 22 feet, one dingy, and
three whale boats to each vessel.