The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-17 00:00:00

TEE NAVY•

The launch of the line-of-battle ship Anson took
place on Saturday
from
hthaemsilal 13
the
achclamations of
on wich she was
constructed at NVoo. ,•-cLong
before the appointed
some 10,000 persons•
public the gates were
of the
time for the admissionn
ee that a thoroughfare had
thronged to such a deg'
the police so as to render
to be formed by two lines o.
• furnished with tickets
who were
a passage for those were ad-
in and .
those only
in any manner attainable,
mitted who were so provided until 20 minutes before
1 o'clock, at which time the great gates were throwri
open to the general public. A literal torrent of
hunnan beings then rushed headlong f orward towards
the great square, at the northern side of which the
building shed of the Anson is situated. The reserved
seats were already well filled, and about 600 well-
dressed persons of both sexes had mounted to the
ship's deck by special tickets. The flagship Fisgard,
together with the Vivid, Princess Alice, and other
ships in the offing, had each their allotment of
visitors, and a number of river steamers, crowded
with passengers, had taken up their berths in
available positions. The ships were all decked
*out with coloured bunting, and the Fisgard
and the Venus (training ship of the Marine
Society) were ornamented from stem to stern,
and from the mainmasthead to the water's
edge. The Royal Marine band, together with
that of the Dockyard Artillery, played
agreeably
during the interval preceding the launch, and by
the admirable arrangements of the police force the
most perfect order was preserved throughout. At
20 minutes after one Lady Sydney, who had con-
sented to perform the important ceremony of chris-
tening (by the unavoidable absence of H.R.H. the
Princess Mary of Cambridge), dashed the bottle of
champagne with successful force against the bows
of the ship, giving her a good " God speed," which
was announced to the vast crowd by a shout of
voices from those of the immediate spectators. A
few minutes afterwards a crack betokened her being
about to move. The cry of " she's off" immediately
followed, when the huzzas for a moment completely
drowned the sounds of the two bands, which had
simultaneously struck up the National Anthem,
followed by " Rule Britannia," and the right noble
Anson glided slowly and majestically down her
well greased ways, taking the water in a most satis-
factory and splendid style, clearing herself of every
stick of her cradle to perfection. Making her way
up the river stern foremost, ropes were thrown out
to the powerful steamtugs Monkey, Bustler, and
Widgeon, by which means she was brought down
and moored alongside the Hebe hulk. This morning
at noon she will be taken in tow as above named,
and will be conveyed to Sheerness in charge of Mr.
Hall, commanding the steam reserve branch at
Woolwich, to be fitted out for service. During the
proceedings a number of the light-fingered gentry
from London were found plying their avocations on
the pockets of the unwary spectators. A body of
the police in plain clothes under the superinten-
dence of Chief Inspector Forbes, having been dis-
tributed in every direction, no less than ten young
fellows, averaging about 22 years of age, and who
were caught in the very act of rifling pockets by
the detectives and others, were marched in irons to
the town cells. To the credit and vigilance of the
police it should be stated that not a single com-
plaint of any loss was reported beyond the disco-
very of watches and money found in the hands of
those who were secured. After the launch the dock-
yard brigade of artillery marched in a body to
Welling, and partook of refreshments provided by
the officersnf the corps.
The Duke of Somerset held a levee at the Admi-
ralty-house, in Portsmouth dockyard, on Saturday.
The Lords of the Admiralty afterwards returned
to London. The men in the dockyard were granted
on Saturday the usual half-holiday allowed on the
occasions of their lordships' annual inspection.
The gun and mortar vessels which are lying in
Yantlet Creek, adjoining Chatham Dockyard, are
undergoing examination by a party of shipwrights
from that establishment, in order that any defects
may be made good. The further, however, the
survey of the vessels is carried the more rotten they
are ascertained to be. In order to arrest the
decay of the timbers the exterior planking of
most of the boats has been removed, to admit
of the beams and timbers being ventilated, but a
very cursory inspection of the numerous vessels
under examination leaves no doubt whatever
that even in their present condition few, if any,
of them will ever be fit for the service sfor
which they were built at such great cost. In
several the timbers of which they are constructed
may be picked with the nail, leaving no doubt what-
ever that faulty timber was used in the construc-
tion. The shipwrights have received instructions
to make good any defects that may be discovered
during the examination.
The Bulwark, 91, and the Undaunted, 51, screw
steamers, building at Chatham, are progressing very
fast, and all efforts are making to have both those
vessels completed and launched early in the ensuing
year.

The following vessels are now fitting at Chatham
for the second division of the steam reserve at that
port :—The Orpheus, 21, 400 horse-power ; the
Racehorse, 4,200 horsepower ; the Cormorant, 4,
200 horse-power ; the Linnet, 2, 60 horse-power,
and the Pigeon, 2, 60 horse-power.
The screw steamship St. George, 91, Capt. the
Hon. Francis Egerton, left Plymouth Sound on
Saturday, under steam, for Spithead.
The St. George, 91, screw, Capt. Hon. Francis
Egerton, arrived at Spithead yesterday from the
westward, and exchanged salutes with the Victory,
flagship of the Commander-in-Chief.
The Avon, paddle, sailed from Portsmouth yes-
terday morning for Devonport.
The screw line-of-battle ship Donegal, 101, Capt.
Henry Broadhead, from the Channel fleet, arrived
at Plymouth under steam on Saturday, with her
steering apparatus damaged.
The screw steam line•of-battle ship Mars, 80,
Capt. J. L. Strange, from the Channel fleet, arrived
in Plymouth Sound on Friday evening, and on
Saturday morning saluted the flag of the Com-
mander-in-Chief, Sir A. Fanshawe, K.C.8., which
was acknowledged by the Impregnable. The de-
fects of the Mars are to be made good, and she is
to be provisioned and stored for foreign service in
the Mediterranean.
The gunboat Trinculo, built under contract by
me. Joseph Banks, at Queen Anne's-yard, Ply-
mouth, was launched on Saturday evening. Her
construction was superintended by Mr. Godfrey, of
the Devonport Royal dockyard. Dimengions_
Length between
perpendiculars, 120 ft ; ditto over
all, 126 ft ; ditto keel for tonnage, 105 ft; breadth
for ditto, 21ft 10in; ditto, extreme, 22ft ; depth,
9ft bin ; 268 tons; 60-horse power; draught of
water, 7ft gin.
The Government establishments at Plymouth
were closed on Saturday afternoon, and the artisans
and labourers granted a half-holiday according to
Admiralty order.