The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-31 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The Lords of the Admiralty landed yesterday
morning shortly after 10 o'clock at the Devonport
dockyard, where they were received by Port-Ad-
miral W. F. Martin, K.C.8., Admiral-Superinten-
dent T. R. Drummond, C. 8., Capt. G. C. Willes,
Steam Reserve ; Captain the Hon. F. A. C. Foley
(Cambridge), Capt. W. N. Rolland (Lord Warden),
Capt. J. C. Burgoyne, V.C. (Wivern), Capt. F. S.
Freemantle (Impregnable), Mr. Moore, Master
Shipwright, and the officials of the dockyard. Their
lordships proceeded to the office of the Admiral-
Superintendent, where there were assembled the
Hon. T. L. Corry, First Lord of the Admiralty
Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, K.C.8., First
Sea Lord; Admiral G. 11. Seymour, C. 8.; Major
Clark, Chief Inspector of the Engineering Depart-
ment; Admiral R. S. Robinson, Controller of the
Navy ; and Capt. Brandreth, Lord H. Lennox, and
Mr. C. Du Cane. Their lordship's continued on
duty in the office until half-past 12. After luncheon
they would commence their inspection by proceed-
ing through the Devonport dockyard and Keyham
steamyard. In the evening they dine at Mount
Wise with the Port Admiral, after which they go to
the ball at St. George's-hall, Stonehouse, in favour
of the Royal Female Orphan Asylum.
The paddle-wheel steam frigate Valorous, 16,
Captain Charles C. Forsyth, which arrived in Ply-
mouth Sound yesterday morning, left the Cape of
Good Hope on the 4th of July ; touched at St.
Helena on the 19th of July; at Ascension on the 25th,
and at St. Vincent on the Bth of August. She spoke
July 8, an English bark showing the third distin-
guishing pendant 8239, from Algoa Bay for Lon-
don ; on the 15th, the P. Bouverie, 71 days from
Bombay, for Liverpool ; and the Clara, 59 days
from Madras, for London ; on the 17th, an English
ship showing first distinguishing pendant 0275, 67
days from Calcutta, for London ; August 1, the
English ship Inventory, and August 29, the ship
Essex. The Valorous brings the following officers
invalided from the West Coast of Africa :—Mr.
Thurston Stringer,master ; Mr. Jeremiah Donovan,
assist.-surg. ; and Mr. Henry J. Morgan, midship-
man. The Valorous was put into commission on
the 15th of April, 1863. She will be inspected to-
day preparatory to proceeding into Hamoaze, when
her crew will be p aid off.
The indicator diagrams taken on the last trial of
the Waterwitch hydraulic propelled gun vessel over
the measured mile iu Stoke's Bay, near Ports-
mouth,on the 27th inst., gives the following figures:
—At full-boiler power—lndicated horse power
800.85; mean pressure of steam in the cylinders,
25.9991 b. At half-boiler power—lndicated horse
power, 271.23 ; mean pressure of steam in the cylin-
ders, 12.9741 b. It is somewhat remarkable that on
the present trial the Waterwitch with a greater
exerted power of her engines should have obtained
a less rate of speed, as compared with her previous
trial on the 9th inst., as shown by the subjoined
figures :—August 9.—lndicated horse power, at full
power, 777.13 ; at half power, 226.02 ; mean pres-
sure of steam in the cylinders—at full boiler power,
26.727 ;at half boiler power, 11.645. The loss
in the ship's speed on the 27th can only be
ascribed to the fouling of her bottom, which may
have taken place during the 23 days she had been
out of dock, and to the alteration in her trim from
her former trial, her trim having been 10in. by the
stern on her trial on the 9th inst., and but 4in. on
her last trial. The only fact learnt from this last
trial of the ship corroborates the remarks made in
The Sun a few days since, that the Waterwitch
needed no further trial, the only vessel of the three
—the Viper, Vixen, and Waterwitch—that it was
necessary to give another trial to, so as to stamp
the competitive series at their proper value, being
the Viper at the trim she was designed to steam at
—l2in. by the stem. The Waterwitch was tested on
her last trial at the same mean draught of water as
the Viper. Mean draughts do not, however, re-
present equal conditions unless the vessels have the
same trim. The Viper was trimmed 23 inches by
the stern, but the Waterwitch was only trimmed by
the stern six inches. With this difference the form
of the hole each made in the water was very diffe-
rent, and all conditions of equality were destroyed.
It has always been understood that theWaterwitch,
the Viper, and the Vixen were specially built to test
the comparative value of the hydraulic wheel and
the screw, and that with the Waterwitch trimmed
at an even keel and the others each 12 inches by
the stern the displacement in both measurement and
form would be as nearly as possible alike with all
three vessels. If this be the case, it is evident that
all trials made under other conditions are entirely
valueless.

The Government screw storeship Hesper, Staff-
Commander James G. H. Thain, arrived at Spithead
yesterday morning from China. In addition to her
cargo of stores she brought home a number of naval
invalids and 30 invalided soldiers, accompanied by
Lieut. Dunn, 2d battalion 29th Regiment, in mili-

tary charge, and Assist.-Surg. Hensman, 2d batta-
lion 20th Regiment, in medical charge.
To-day will be observed as a holiday in Ports-
mouth dockyard, by permission of the Lords of the
Admiralty, given on the occasion of their recent

visit of inspection to that establishment.
The unarmoured screw frigate Forte, 29, 2,364
tons, 400-horse power (nominal), attached to the
third division of the steam reserve squadron in the
Medway, has been placed in dock, where she is
undergoing a thorough overhaul and refit previously
to being placed in the first-class steam reserve, in

readiness for commission. The Forto will require

some heavy repairs, which will detain her in the
shipwright's hands for some time.
A number of hands are employed in the steam
sawing-mills at Chatham Dockyard preparing the

imbers and cutting out the frames for anew

unarmoured screw corvette, to be named the Wood-
lark, which is to be at once commenced at Chatham,
from the designs of the Chief Constructor of the

Navy. The Woodlark is to be one of a new do-

scription of improved screw corvettes designed by Mr.
Reed, between the Blanche and the old type of
screw corvettes, of which the Rattlesnake was the
last constructed at Chatham. She will be of 1,450
tons burden, with engine power of 400 horses, and
will mount an armament of six heavy guns. The
vessels of this class will be constructed on the

U-shaped principle, with broad midship sections,
which will give ample accommodation for the officers

and crew, besides allowing them to carry more

powerful machinery than usually fitted to vessels of

their tonnage.

In consequence of the whole arrangements con-
nected with the proposed siege operations at
Chatham, which were to have taken place, as con-
templated, on Monday next, not being completed,
the review and engineering operations have been

Postponed by the authorities until a future occasion.
The under-mentioned officers of the 2d battalion