The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-21 00:00:00

Rear-Admiral Sir T. S. Pasley. They are a fine
seamanlike set of fellows,and were sober and orderly.
The Marines were marched to their barracks, headed
by a band. „
The gunboats Biter and Sheldrake were taken out
of No. 2 dock at Keyham on Thursday and placed
in the basin.

The Firebrand, 6, paddle, Commander James M.
Bruce, has sailed from Portsmouth to Guernsey to
bring over the head-quarters of the 10th Brigade
Royal Artillery. _ . ,
The -Flying Fish, 6,. screw, Commander C. W.
Hope, arrived at Spithead yesterday morning from
Devonport, with supernumeraries.
The Victoria, 121, screw, was undocked yester-
day at Portsmouth froth No. 7 dock, and berthed in
the steam basin.
The Forte. 51,,serew, flagship of Rear-Admiral
Hon. Sii H. Ke-ppell, was yesterday placed in the
steam basin at Portimouth, and Will gia into No. 7
dock today, to remedy the leak in her stern.
The Bacehaute's detachment of Royal Marines
ornbaxked at Portsmouth yeSterday.._

A second disturbance took place with the Marines
on board her Majesty's ship Edgar, at Spithead, on
Thursday evening. A number of them were sent
prisoners to the flag-ship yesterday morning.
The. Decoy 'and Blazer gunboats were yesterday •
launched from -the gunboat yard and slipway at
Hasler, at high watea'and two -other gunboats, the
Angler and fancy, afterwards hauled up and placed
beneath the eactuit -sheds. The time occupied in. -
removing each boat frOm its shed with its cradle,
placing *
it on the transporting platform, transferrine.
Ann to the launching cradle, thence to the water,
and finally returning the vessel's cradle to the shed
whence it was originally taken, was 69 'minutes ;
bat this must not be taken as a fair tcst of the time
it would take to launch any of the boats which
might be required for service, as the two boats in
the present instance were already taken off their
•bhicks and set up on 'their cradles, in readiness for •
be operation. To select any. one of.thc 47 boats—
say, one.at either end of the line—could occupy
nearly four_ hours, instead of only 69minutes al.yes-
terday. The plara'dn'ilie•Whole,is good ;'but a small
outlay would greatly simplify the present method
Of w orking,'and afford a 'great saving in tithe. At
this time there are 44 gunboats, beside mortar ves-
sels, hauled up at Haslar yard: Twenty-two of
these vessels have been repaired at a great cost and
with the exception of coppering, are ready fer
launching. Nine vessels are under repair: Four- -
teen are waiting examination and repairs, five of
which are uncoppered, the remainder being cop-
pored. The remaining two vessels are the Fancy
and the Angler, hauled up yesterday. This yard
was formed at the conclusion of the Russian war,
for the storing and preservation of the gunboats
which had been built by contract by various pri-
vate builders during that war. The first boat was
hauled up, we believe, on the Ist of January, 1857.
Shortly afterwards more vessels were added, the
boats were stripped of their copper, and it was
supposed that this was the most sensible plan which
could havebeen taken for their preservation. It was
not long, however, before it was discovered that the
vessels required repairs,and in some instances they
were rather extensive. It was at the time stated
that this decay in the vessels arose from the fact of
their being stripped of their copper, and being set
up high and dry on the blocks, and thus exposing •
the planking of their bottoms to the action of the
air-draughts underneath the sheds. This necessi-
tated the employment of a number of shipwrights,
V:a., under an experienced officer, for their repairs,
which have been carried on, and, as before stated,
22 vessels have been rendered fit for service, with
the exceptien of coppering. Late investigations
he e, however, pointed to another source as the
cause of the decay of the vessels. Sonic of the cop-
pered gunboats which had been kept afloat having
been hauled up had on examination been found far
mare defective than these were Which had been
stored beneath the sheds, and the only conclusion
which can be arrived at is that the whole of our
gunboats afloat ere unfit for service. Of- the nine
vessels now under repair not one but bears the
marks of having been constructed with the most
reckless disregard to quality of material. Take two
of them, two of the coppered class, which have been
kept afloat, as an' illustration of what may be exs
pected from the 40, or thereabouts, which yet re-
main to be examined at Portsmouth alone, They
stand on their blocks stripped of their planking,
and scarcely a sound piece of wood can be seen about
them, every part bearing the marks of " sap," and
some of their ribs are completely enveloped with it;
the pressure of the hand upon their frame crumbles
it into dust. The white fungus matter grows over
all, and nothing remains but decay. Tile contract
price of these vessels is said to have amounted to
about £5,000 for each hull alone, and, if so, the cost
of repairing each of the two vessels we have named
must amount to about £3,500. Taking one of the
completed boats as a medium of the repairs of the
boats which have been hauled up for preservation,
it Will be found that in her case labour and material •
amount to about £1,400. The copper bolts, too, in
one of the boats, which ought to have gone clean
through and been clinched on each side, were found
to have been changed into:short ends, of about two
inches, driven in on each side. In the midst of all
this decay there are two boats, which have' been
examined and repaired, which are declared by the
authorities to have been constructed in a manner
creditable to their bUilder, both as regards Latour
and material ; but it is said the doing so nearly en-
tailed their builder's ruin. They are. named re-
spectively the. Earnest and the Escort. One con-
soling reflection is left—the machinery of all the
boats is believed to be in good condition. In an-
other
port of Haslar yard eight iron and.l2 wooden
mortar boats are in position on blocks underneath
temporary sheds, and it must naturally be expected
that the latter will prove to be as defective as the
gunboats have.
• ReareAdmiral Sir T. S. Pasley, Superintendent
of Devouort Dockyard, accompanied by Com-
mander Brown, master attendant, and Commander
Paul, assistant, were conveyed from Hamoaze, on
Thursday, in the paddle-wheel steam tug Confiance
to Mount Batten to witness the second attempt to
float the stranded transport Havering from the
rocks. 'lbis attempt was also unsuccessful, although
she had in addition to the four old gun brigs a Go
vernment mooring lighter attached to her stern and
another to her bow, both of which were hauled
down until the water covered the 'fore part of their
docks. Four hundred seamen were in attendance.
A strong easterly wind continues to cut the tide,
and the brigs, which are almost empty, instead of
lifting the ship, cant over till they immerse their
topsides, which are leaky. A Board of Trade
inquiry was opened on Thursday before Major
Templar and Colonel Langmead, county magis-
trates, at Stonehouw ; Capt. Harris assisted, and Mr.
O'Dowd, solicitor, was in attendance. Capt.ltickaby
deposed that the Havering had three bower anchors
of about 3 cwt. each. The chain cables were la
inch, and 125 fathoms long. In October, 1858, she
rode, out a very heavy gale on the Goodwin Sands
with the same anchors and cables, the port one only
being down, when there were 600 troops on board
and 500 tons of cargo. A ship of war of 720 tons
has a 'chain cable of 13-- inch ; 913 tons, la inch,
and 1,082 tons the same size as the Havering, which
registered 906 tons. Mr. Mulley, district surveyor
to Lloyds, stated that by Lloyds' rules the cables
were of ie proper size ;in his opinion a law should
be passed which would make the testing. a ship's
cables compulsory. The Court adjourned until
yesterday. One of the old brigs, the r:xpress, went
down alongside the Havering on Thursday night..
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Thomas •Bowen, master,
additional, to ° the Chesapeake ; George B. F.
Swain, master, to the Chesapeake ; James Kiddie,
master, to the Algiers ; Benjamin - J. Hooper,
master,- additional, to the Forte ; and Henry Col-
lis, master's assistant, to the Forte.