The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-20 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The preliminary operations connected with the
contract works for the enlargement and extension of
Chatham dockyard have been completed by Mr.
Gabrielli, who has undertaken the first portion of
the contract—that for the construction of the re-
pairing basin and two docks. Several hundred hands
have been taken on during the past fortnight, and
in a short time as many as 2,000 workmen, exclu-
sive of about 1,000 convicts, will bo employed on
the works. The recent visit of Mr. Corry, the First
Lord of the Admiralty, and his colleagues in Chat-
ham has given an impetus to the prosecution of that
portion of the undertaking which the previous Board
of Admiralty decided should be proceeded with in
the first instance, and the inspection of the works, so
far as they have been carried out, has convinced
their lordships of the advantage of constructing the
first of the three basins, together with two of the
docks, within the earliest possible period. The origi-
nal designs for the enlargement of Chatham dock-
yard, as prepared from the reports and recomtnen-
dations of Major Andrew Clark, Royal Engineers,
the Director of Admiralty Works, contemplated the
taking in of the whole of the swamp at the eastern
extremity of the existing naval establishments at
Chatham, known as St. Mary's Island, covering an
area of little less than 400 acres, and it is on them
that the present undertaking proceeds. The dock-
yard at Chatham, with its docks, building slips,
factories, and other buildings covers at present an
area of barely 100 acres, but the addition decided
on will increase it to nearly five times its present
extent, or, in other words, will enlarge its size to
about two-thirds of the area of the city of London.
Up to the present time work connected with the ex-
tension of the dockyard has been performed almost en-
tirely by convicts, some thousands of whom have been
daily employed on the island for the past three
years, during which an embankment along the har-
bour has been made for a distance of about two
miles. A solid breakwater and wall have been
formed, the dock and basin entrances have been
completed, and a solid brick wall, carried some dis-
tance below the river, has been constructed for
about 1,500 yards. In addition to this several mil-
lions of bricks have been manufactured and stacked
by the convicts, the whole of which have been used
in the work already completed. The slow pro-
gress of the works, however, which, in the opi-
nion of Major Clark, appears to be inseparable
from their execution by convict labour, and
the necessity for early providing an establish-
ment secure from hostile attacks, where our
ironclad ships can be built and repaired with
the greatest expedition, have led the Govern-
ment to decide on supplementing the convict work
by skilled labour to a larger extent than has hitherto
been the case, and hence the determination to have
the remaining portion of the undertaking carried
out by contract. The three large basins, forming
the principal feature in the extension works, will
occupy the site of St. Mary's Creek, formerly in-
tersecting the island, the creek being to this extent
utilized, and a considerable amount of excavation
thereby avoided. The largest of the three basins,
the site of which is already marked out, is placed at
the extreme east of the island, communicating with
the Medway by means of locks at Gillingham Reach.
This basin, which is intended to be used as a basin,
in which the largest vessels of war may be
fitted, equipped, provided with the whole of
their guns and stores, and despatched direct
to their destination, will cover an area of 33
acres, with a depth of water of 30ft. at neap tides.
The width will be 800 ft., and it will contain a wharf-
age frontage of 5,800 f. Communicating with the
fitting-out basin by means of a caisson will be the
second, or factory, basin, with an area of 20 acres,
a depth of water of 30ft., and a 'wharfage space of
3,750 ft. Along the northern site of this basin,
forming a special feature in the original project,
it is intended to construct a camber, with berths in
connexion, on which iron vessels of between 3,000
and 4,000 tons can be placed, out of the water, for
examination and repairs, to avoid the delay and in-
convenience of docking. On the southern side of
the factory basin a large factory is now in course of
erection, covering an area of about 14 acres. Up to
the present time the building of the factory has been
performed solely by convicts, who have completed
the foundations and raised the walls of the structure
to a certain height. As, however, the further pro-
gress of this particular work has been suspended, it
is probable that its completion will form a portion of
the contract for the construction of the factory basin
and slips. The last of the three basins, the contract
for the execution of which, together with the adja-
cent docks, has just been taken by Mr. Gabrielli for
the sum of £750,000, will cover an area of 21 acres,
with 3,500 ft. of wharfage, and a depth of water of
30ft. Along the southern side of this basin, which
communicates direct with Chatham harbour, nearly
opposite Upnor Castle, the site has been marked out
for four large graving docks, each 420 ft. in length,
and 130 ft. in breadth, with a depth of water of
28ft. Gin. over the dock sill at high-water neaps.
Between the docks will be erected three.workshops
or factories for the workmen employed on the ves-
sels under repair or fitting. Only two of the four
docks are to be completed in the first instance, the
contract for the execution of the works connected
with which is included in that for the formation of
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works connected with the enlargement of Chatham
dockyard was a million and a quarter sterling, but
the additional buildings and other undertakings de-
cided upon, as well as those in contemplation, will
increase that estimate by about another quarter of a
million. At the present rate of progress, however,
at least ten years must elapse before they are com-
pleted. A separate contract has been taken by an-
other firm for the construction, on the part of the
Admiralty, at an outlay of £40,000, of a public
wharf at Gillingham, adjoining the dockyard, inlieu
of the wharf to be removed to make way for the en-
largement of Chatham dockyard. The works con-
nected with the formation of the new work have been
commenced, and will be completed in about two
years.. _

The unarmoured screw corvette Blanche, 6, 2,268
tons, 350-horse power, preparing for launching at
Chatham dockyard, is ordered to have additional
ports constructed for the increase of her armament
by two 64-pounder muzzle-loading guns. This al-
teration in her armament will also necessitate an
increase in the size of her magazine for receiving her
additional shot, shell, and cases of powder.
The ship Norwood, chartered by the Government
to convey convicts from Chatham, Portsmouth, and
Portland, sailed from the latter port on Thursday
last, at 6 p.m. She had put back a week pre-
viously, after sailing from Portland on account of a
case of measles having broken out on board. When
the Norwood put back she was anchored at the
eastward end of the Breakwater in quarantine, and
when all danger from the epidemic spreading
throughout the vessel bad subsided she was allowed
to proceed on her voyage to Western Australia. A
light south-east wind blew with fine weather, as the
Norwood left her anchorage.
The urgent demand fora supply of the new Palliser
shot to furnish the home and foreign stations has
necessitated the working of the shell foundry at
Woolwich night and day for some time past, and a
weekly supply of about 4,500 has been successively
kept up. The manufacture is now somewhat re-
duced in order to admit of the chills and other por-
tions of the plant being put under a course of new