The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-26 00:00:00

FLOATIAG BATTERIES.

At the United Service Institution, a few evening-
since, Captain Fishbourue, R.N., read a paper on float
leg eatteries, for the purpose of -bowing bow unseitat Is
the modern structures of that kind are fir naval war-
fare. Captai, Fishbourne, in the fir,t place, pointed out
the etf,ctive farm of tie recentiy-constructed English
and French floating batteries for sea-going vessels. With
a draught of water of only 8 feet and a breadth of 50
feet, they must neces-arily be unsteady when there was
the least motion in the water beyond a ripp e, and thus
prevent any rre.:ision in firing. Tne heavy iron
casing, he maintained, also increased the unsteerdinesi of
the floating batteries by raising the centre of gravity,
and by placing so much of the we4.lat on the sides. The
defects of this fern of c ,nstructe n, Capt. Fi•hriourie
santerir's ate, hat it communicated a greater rolling
me -
tion to the vessel, owing to its great readth compare..
with the draught ; and he centre of gravity being thus
raised above the level of the water, it has to descend
lower, with acceleratory motion, when the wave that
supported it receded—the velocity of the fall being in-
creased by the heavy' weight at the side. The accelerated
velocity thus acquired t-nded t,r increase the upheaving
of the vessel on the other side, and thus produced a
-roCkieg motion like that of a rocking chair. Capta n
Fisheourne alluded to the floating batteries that wee,
employed by the French and Sp,niards at the siege of
Gitealtar, plans of wine!) have been preserved in the in-
st tution, and were exhibited. In these batteries the
hulls were semicircular, which form, he observed, was
much better adep,ed to obtuto etAbulify for the centre of
gravitybeing .qui-distant from all parts was not raised and
depressed by the action of the waves nearly so much as it
is in a broad flat-bottomed boat. It appeared, from
the section that the draught of water of those floating
batteries must have been as much as 18 feet. The gallant
captain then noticed the actual effect of the floating bat-
teries against the fortress of Kinburn, in the Thack Sea,
and observed that it was very much less than might base
been expected from so many guns of largo calibre di-
rec'.ed against a dilapidated fertress, whilst the number
of men on the floating batteries put hors de combat by
the comparatively small guts of the enemy, only ten of
which could bear on each battery, showed that the iron
bulwark afforded very inadequate protection. The suc-
cess of the attack he attributed more to the effect of
the vertical fire from the gun-boats, and to the rift •men
on hoard the fl rating batteries, than to the guns of the
latter. Capt. Fishbourno then noticed tha plan that had
been proposed of casing chips of war with iron, which
he strongly condemned. The cutting down of a large
ship to convert it into a kind of floating battery would,
' he said, have the effect of diminishing the number of
guns two-thirds, whilst the heavy casing of iron would
increase the rolling of the .chip, thereby greatly lessening
the precision ref the fire, and expo: ug a larger surface,
between wind and water, to the enemy's shot. He also
anticipated that the lain casing would have the effect in
a rough sea of righting the ship so suddenly, after having
been heaved on one side, as ta snap off the waste. Anot: er
disidvan: age would be the exposure of a larger surface to
the enemy's shot ; ler the same number of guns whose fire
is now concentrated in one broadside would be distributed
in three ships of equal length. The kind cf floating
battery which Capt. Fi,hbourne considered most ad-
visubl-, especially I r the defence of harbours, is a raft,
which may be c onstructed at little co-a, and can ire
moored iu shallow water ao as to maintain sufficient
stabil ty fir preci,ion in firing.
Me' RENNIE exhibited two models which ho had con-
quieted, ono r,f which was a fl rating circular one-gun
bart-ry f r coast defences, intended to be propelled by
steam ; and the other, a steam gun-boat of light draught,
inte,ded for the river, in India.

A. AIEMBKR disputed the c,rrectness of some cf Capt
Fi,,,houree's stateinftuts rektive to the effects of the
float,ng t,atteriss employed against Kuburo. He Faid
that he (xstnined one of those natteries the morning af:er
the attack, and he counted the marks of eixty round
sh,,t ..n its sides. 'Tee walls of the I:rtress, he added,
bad been reduced to ruins by the fire of the batteries,
and tie untler,t.iod • hat only two mon had been kilLd
On bokati the h4ttery he ex t,, ine!.
Capt. FISHBOURNE replied i,at he bad obtained his
infer [nation from an officiat Frenci pubilcation.
Thanks were voted to Capt. Fl:hbonrne and Mr.
Renni-, and the meeting adjouriie:.E.

ADMIRAL SIR H. KEPPEL AND THE LIBERALS OF
PORTSMOUTH.—In anticipation of a general election
Admire' Sir H. Keepel met the committees of the
liberal electors of Ports tiouth on Friday evehng to give
an exposition to them of his political views. In answer
to the various questions which were put to him the g.l-
- admiral sta•ed that he was opposed to the ballot. fie
w. old support the extension of the franchise to 101.
householders in counties, and was in favour cf extend-
ing the suffrage to e lucated persons who possessed no
property or household qualification. He would vet
fair the abolition of church-rates as far as dissenters were
concerned, and was in favour of the admision of Jews
into Parliatt ent and the idaynectli endowment. Ad-
miral Kept el r.-plied also to several other subordieate
questions, and the meeting p'edgad itself. in the event
of any future election to endeavour to secure his elec•
tion in conjunethe with that cif Sir Francis Baring, Bart.
VISIT OF A FRENCH WAR STEAMER TO THE BIIIs•
TOL CHANNEL.—Sowe little commotion has been pro-
duce., curing the last week amongst tie residents on
the \Veleh coast, owing to the unusual Occurrence of a
war sfeasze-r, ho• e•• g the fIA,.: of the French Empire,
ieeie
having steamed slowly ep our Channel. She was seen
at cl,ff rent times off Peuzancae,dSfinwadnlyseam,adi:
herway
Bridge-
waterto and Bay, a
dropped P e
anchorua
rtt litno atdh se Cardiff' Bute Deck Pull',, n
where it was ascertained that she is the Pelican, Com-
mander Hamelin, a nephew cf Admiral Hamelin, the
Emperor Napoleon's Minister of Marine, and had on
board a party of French hydrographers. She came iato
Cardiff for the ostensible purpose of takinc,, in Welsh
steam coals ; but there are not wanting those among
the shipping interests of the port who think it pos.thie
that the French Admiralty might he desirous of know-
ing something about the English Channel navigation,
especially as she reigh!, have taken in her coals, bai she
pleased to have done so, at the pert of Swansea, a long
way father down the Channel. An old shipping
master writes t sue about the matter to the Guardian—
the princvl local paper----" I think the m v.merlts of
these French cruisers cannot be too narrowly watched,
and their appe,rance along our coast, together with the
an laity dieplayed 'heir arse•.ale, and the cencentrae
Con, of :30 great a French fLet in t E glide Charnel,
loulss very oininons, and makes us shipmasters rather
uneasy. It is stared that, when seen at the different
points on the coast, the Pelican had not her French
c) ours hoisted, and that she was taken by those who
W her, for a eteauser connected with the Trinity Howe
or the surveyor of the British Admiralty. It is also
Corn olainrd that our costet is left in so naked and defence-
, less a state sty the Government, there not being a eirgle
battery to he i',uud on the log line which i"'el'ene-
between ALlford Haven, at the very tuouth of our
Channel, and Sharpness Point, some miles up the
Severn.