The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-27 00:00:00

SHIPS OF WAR AT CI VITA
VECCHIA.

On the 15th inst. the Vanguard of the British
squadron arrived at Civita Vecchia, composed of
the Centaur, steam paddle wheel frigate, Capt. W.
C. Clifford, C. 8., 6 guns and 200 men ; and the
Osprey, despatch gunboat, Capt. H. J. Blomfield,
4 guns and 100 men. These vessels left the port
of Ajaccio on the 14th, and are to remain at Civita
Vecchia until further orders.
Captains Clifford and Blomfield, with several of
their officers, left Civita Vecchia on the 15th inst.,
in the evening, and arrived in Rome next morning,
to take a hasty glance at the Eternal City before
procee ding on their Neapolitan mission. Non-
combatant foreigners aria also beginning to flock
in. No fewer than 17 diligences arrived from
Civita Vecchia last night full of passengers by the
Mediterranean steamers.

It may be easily imagined that the British flag in
a Papal port is an eyesore to the ecclesiastical autho-
rities, and Monsignor Delegate of Civita Vecchia
will certainly not share the admiration of the French
naval commandant on the station, who pronounced
the proportions of the Osprey to be perfectly
delicious."

OCT. 18.
Captain Clifford, and twelve officers of the Cen-
taur and Osprey, are still at the Hotel d'Angle-
terre in this city, but their passports are wisps for
Civita Vecchia, to which port they expect to return
this evening or to-morrow morning. They profess
to be ignorant of the exact motive of their visit to
tlle Papal shores; but as Captain Clifford is in
*hourly expectation of despatches, it is probable that
Civita Vecchia forms a convenient centre of com-
munication between the squadron at Ajaccio and
the government at home, for orders received at
Rome, by electric telegraph, might be sent down
by estafette to Civita Vecchia in four or five hours,
and forwarded to Admiral Dundas by the des-
patch gunboat Osprey in six or seven hours more.
Should these orders require the presence of the
fleets in the waters of Naples, the Centaur would
be within a short distance of the scene of
action, and would probably receive on board
the members of the British embassy ion the
suspension of diplomatic relations with Naples.
The result of the ultimatum is now anxiously
looked for, as it depends upon that whether Aus-
tria is to assume the merit of whatever conces-
sions may be obtained, and to cast her soporific
influence over the more energetic line of action
adopted by Great Britain, or whether, on the
other hand, King Botnba will actually be so rash
as to risk having his warlike sobriquet come into
effect on his own stronghold.
The excitement here is unbounded meanwhile,
and the sensation produced by British naval uni-
forms amongst the astonished Romans and disgusted
priests is not easy to be described. It is curious
enough that the Government pretends to ignore
the -whole occurrence, and the official paper, which
goes into the minutest details whilst giving us
intelligence from China, Madagascar, or California,
never once hints at events so near home as the
arrival of a couple of British ships of war in the
port of Civita Vecchia.

Om. 20.
Captain Clifford, and the officers who accom-
panied him on his flying visit to the Eternal City,
left Rome on Saturday evening, and arrived at
Civita Vecchia again yesterday morning. The
despatches which are to regulate their further
movements not having been received up to yester-
day afternoon, the Centaur and Osprey continue
to enjoy the hospitality of his Holiness's port; but
their stay is not anticipated to be very long, espe-
cially as we have telegraphic intelligence this
morning of the French fleet preparing to leave
Toulon. At Civita Vecchia Capt. Clifford will be
able to receive telegraphic information either from
London or Naples iu a few hours. He thus occu-
pies a central position ou the base of a triangle
of which Admiral Dundas's squadron at Ajaccio
occupies the apex, enabling him to keep up a rapid
and complete system of communication.

THE HAULING-OP SLIP AT HASLAR.

The hauling-up slip at Haslar for screw gun-boats is a
new and peculiar adaptation of mechanical art to mari-
time matters. These boats, instead of, as on the old
plan with men of war, being laid up in ordinary up Port-
chester Lake, &c., will be laid up in ordinary on dry
ground, and under sheltering roofs of corrugated iron,
on a spacious site, surrounded by a well-built brick wall.
That site is a little above Haslar•bridge, and directly
opposite the houses at the extreme upper end of High-
street, Gosport. The works are of a very considerable
magnitude, and no less than five contractors, each
amongst the most eminent in their respective branches
of trade, are engaged upon them. Thus the excavation
of land and brickwork is entrusted to Messrs. Rigby, of
London ; the iron roofing to Messrs. Grissell, of Lon-
don ; the supply of iron rails for the lines of railways
required to traverse the boats along, to Messrs. Fox and
Henderson ; the removal of tha mad at tha approaahaa
to the slip in Haslar Lake is being done by Messrs. E.
Smith and Co.; and the construction of the cradles on
which the vessels are to be conveyed from the water to
their berths or resting places is confided to the well-
known Mr. White, jun., of Portsmouth, who has
made himself so very distinguished in the construc-
tion of slipways. In addition to all these firms Go-
vernment has contributed its share to the works
by supplying the sleepers on which the rails rest ;
they consist of the old timbers of men-of-war re-
cently broken up. Colonel Greene, Admiralty, direc-
tor of works, and Mr. Scamp, deputy-director, are the
originators and designers of this slipway, and Mr. Mac-
donnell is the resident engineer. On visiting the slipway
a few days since we were struck with the extent of the
work and the great progress made within the short
period of time that has elapsed since we intimated that
it was in contemplation. Running from low water
mark in Haslar Lake, there has been constructed a
treble line of railway, about 130 feet in length. It pro-
ceeds from the water that distance in a straight line, and
then reaches, at right angles, a "traversing" line of
rails, of which there are seven separate lines. The
" traversing" line is 120 feet wide and, at present, 1,400
feet long; but it may be extended to as great a length as
may he requisite. Running down to this traversing line
are the berths in which the gunboats are to be placed.
At present 45 of these berths are being constructed ; but
this is only an instalment of the full number. The
length of each berth is 115 feet by 30 feet. They are all
covered by corrugated iron roofs, which are supported
by iron columns and stanchions of the height of 13 feet.
The columns are hollow, and by them the rain that may
collect on the roofs will be drained off. Every ten of
these berths are separated from the remainder by a stout
brick wall, in order that in the event of fireit may not
involve the whole fleet in destruction. A line of rails is
laid down in each berth, on which to draw the vessel on
its "cradle" up, but as soon as they are up they will
be supported in a pocition io a way that will aflow of the
cradle being removed for further use. The more diffi-
cult part now remains of explaining the mole by which
the boats are to be drawn up to their berths. On the
short line, which is on an incline, running from the water,
will be a cradle, and upon this a second one, and at high
ater they will be lowered together under the gunboat,
and thus, when everything is secure, the whole will be
drawn up by steam-power to the " traversing" line of
rails. Here will be another cradle lying across and
running on the whole seven lines of rails ; upon this
cradle the boat will be drawn, still fixed to the upper of
the two first-named cradles—then cradle No. 3 will be
propelled by
.a locomotive up the seven lines of rails,
going broadside en, till it arrives at the berth de,ttned
for the boat it carries. By means of wit)dlasses the boat
not yet released from cradle No. 2, will be drawn into
its berth, and then when the vessel has been fixed in
that manner, the last named cradle will be removed
and
the same process will begin again with another boat.
The drawing up of the first boat will take place on the
17th of November, and will be an interesting event.