The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-17 00:00:00

SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1870.

TURRET SHIPS.

The interest in the great turret-ship controversy
seems to be enhanced rather than diminished by the
loss of the Captain. So far from Captain Coles's
favourite design being abandoned in consequence of
his melancholy fates public attention appears to be

directed to its improvement and enlargement. Nava

officers and others interested in the matter sen

numerous suggestions as to the origin of the disaster.
" A Naval Officer" writes to the Standard that he
believes all our ironclad ships are too heavily masted,

and from this defect are unsafe at sea in excep.
tionally heavy weather. No ironclad vessel should,
he thinks, be permitted to carry her square sails when
they cause her to heel over more than ten degrees.
Another correspondent thinks the low freeboard had
little to do with the Captain's loss, which he attri-
butes to two causes, first, . a defective mode of hull,
and next a bad system of misting. With a hull like
hers it was madness to put masts into her like those
of a sailing line-of-battle ship or a Yankee tea
clipper. The masts were iron, and the lower masts
being tripods could not give way. This settled
her fate. Captain Bedford Pim, in the Telegraph,
can only attribute the loss of the Captain to want of
seamanship in her management, and the same fate
would, he is certain, have overtaken any ship
in the squadron handled in a similar man-

unions, relieved more •northern • tier, for when once an iron-clad is on her beam 300 ' the
central, 750 ; and the southern, which embraces the
ends nothing can save her. "A Sailor" asks in the metropolitan parts of Surrey and Kent, 300 more. The
Daily News whether the Captain had her steam three contiguous unions of St. Pancras, Islington, and
power ready for the moment of danger, and says it Hackney, are still among the greatest offenders on the
appears that at the time of her loss in face of the weekly table. St. Pancras relieved in the first week of the
falling of her barometer, the captain had all her current month 1,050
more paupersthati.n the firsatenwkeeek
" top hamper" aloft. The bowsprit broken in half
September,o3fsomore Tl 1e
out; Is-dooringto6oo more
relief scandal in; andthe last-namedy
convinces him that she was taken flat aback by a
squall striking her from starboard, and the snip
place will be fresh in the memory of our readers. A man
and his wife had, by representing themselves as destitute,
being rid of her lofty leverage of danger, lay help- during four years or so defrauded the guardians of weekly
less under steam. Mr. Searle considers the origin of sums which were stated upon their trial for the offence to
the disaster may be found in the hurricane decks. have amounted on the whole to £lOO. They might, and
Almost all critics, it may be noticed, give part of
probably
ithwotuheild; neighbours, who' in have been cheating still,ret only they guar-
aliation exposed
return of the Channel fleet from the voyage on t
the blame to the topsails not being set. The
relied
heir systematic swindling. The ratepayers of Hackney,
in the absence of protection from their own officers, are
which it set forth so hopefully, has been a very indebted to their immunity from the continuance of the
sad one. The greater part of the vessels have arrived felony to the vicarious interference of irresponsible
in Portland, where they were visited by immense gossips. Carrying our view of the outdoor pauperism of the
mlet.ropotlis backnder ttohilsB:l73izzeh:avhei -eve: nearly 10,000 more
numbers of persons anxious to hear particulars of
the disaster. Nothing was to be beard throughout
shortcaim claimants
ago. Could the outdoor relief be simul-
ree
taneously fleet but mourning for the lost, and amusements taneously purged of fraudulent recipients of every kind,
of every kind were dispensed with. The Admiral of men and women who notoriously leave the union pay-
asked the men if they would give a day's pay for the table to go to the beershop or the gin-palace,
families of the lost, to which they gladly acceded. or otherwise cheat the guardians, we have little
It is believed they will give three. hesitation in saying that the excess over 1867 would
A FRENCH CAMP. soon disappear. But the wholesale frauds practised
by the outdoor paupers must be met. by a well organised
A medical officer who has been to Paris, describes system of detection. Recent disclosures shew that it
the appearance of the encampment on the Champ must be operative beyond the routine and too often pre-
de Mars. If the account he furnishes the news- functory visit of the relieving officer.
I'As previously
papers with"be correct, the French soldiery must be
hinted,
hands think the
by resortinggi:lartolanSs shouldstrengthend-yard.
They
in a hopeless state of disorganisation, and wholly
have some precedent for seeking aid there in the
incapable of taking the field except to die. In a camp th e
fi
police supervision of the union casual wards. The scrutiny
ccnsisting of between 8,000 and 10,000 men the most to be thoroughly effective, should be, so far as possible,
complete disorder was everywhere observable. The , simultaneous throughout the metropolitan area. Surely
majorityof the force was composed of lads, andall were this is a work quite within the competence and strength of
, toth
ep
benefitlan and t
nr rightly ly set in motion.
would
making feeble efforts to acquire the elementary Mr.i. Goshclhenex
knowledge of the military art. In point of fact the 1 'secsutateffd
bel sroomugethrno., but the deserving poor ratepayerswhen winnowed
camp seems to have determined its form, and leader-
frem the rogues would reap the great good.—Pall Mall
ship was conspicuous by its absence. Says the medical Gazette.