The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-13 00:00:00

rial increase in its existing strength it was to the '
mercantile marine that it must look for the neces-
sary supply of seamen, and the quality of these men
must in no small degree depend on the officers who
had commanded them. This institution, therefore,
having for its object the training of the officers of
the mercantile marine, must command the sympa-
thy of those who had the responsibility of the main-
tenance of our naval power. But, independent of
that, there was another connecting link. We had
now a Royal Naval Reserve, and the officers of that
reserve held commissions similar to those held by the
officers of the Royal Navy, and, in the event of
war, would be called upon to share the duties and
responsibilities of those officers. No douLt one day
many of those he was addressing would belong to
that Reserve, and it was important that they should
receive such a naval education as he was happy to
learn they did receive on board this ship, qualifying
them to discharge the responsible duties they might
be called upon to undertake in Her Majesty's navy.
But there was yet a more intimate bond of union
between the Conway and the navy. He understood
that this institution was mainly established by the
Mercan tile Marine Service Association, consisting
of 900 merchant captains trading from the port of
Liverpool, but that those gentlemen, independent of
their own service, provided for the education onboard
the ship of cadets intended for Her Majesty's navy.
That was an additional reason why he and his col-
leagues should take an interest in the ship. He
could not refer to the preparation given
in this ship for appointments in the Royal
Navy without saying that he was sure the cadets
appreciated as was deserved the generous manner
in which Her Majesty had come forward to
encourage them. (Cheers.) It had been usual for
the First Lord of the Admiralty to place a naval
cadetship of the first class at the disposal of the com-
mittee ; but as this year the successful competitor
had reached an age which disqualified him, he (Mr.
Corry) had conferred upon him a cadetship of the
second class, and through the kindness of his friend
and colleague, Sir Sidney nacres, he had been able
to place a second cadetship in the hands of the
committee. (Cheers.) Alluding further to the in-
timate connexion which existed between the navy
and the mercantile marine, he said he was reminded
that no vessel could be better appropriated for this
double training than the Conway; for an early friend
of his own named Fair entered the mercantile ser-
vice, volunteered thence into the Royal Navy, and
after a distinguished career died when in command
of the frigate Conway on the Cape station. (Cheers.)
He would wish to impress upon their minds that
however great might be the knowledge they acquired
oa board this ship, it would be of no avail unless
accompanied by those high moral qualities which
were most requisite in those who were destined to
command. (Hear.) It would be presumptuous almost
in him to endeavour to instil this lesson into their
minds, for nothing could be more beautiful than the
language in which her Majesty had impressed the same
lesson upon them. He might be permitted to say that
it was one of the most necessary qualities of a sailor
that he should be strictly sober, since a single act of
intemperance, whether when in command of a ship or
of a watch, might lead to the loss of a ship and of
many valuable lives. (Hear.) He was happy to know
that the instruction given to them on board the Con-
way was well calculated to qualify them in all these
moral and intellectual respects. (Cheers.) The
distribution of prizes was then proceeded with.
Her Majesty's gold medal for general proficiency and
the possession of fearless and manly qualities was
awarded to William Cowley, and the Admi-
ralty nomination to a naval cadetship, together with
her Majesty's prize of a binocular glass and £35, to
J. F. Marshall, and the second Admiralty cadetship
to G. F. Daley. Mr. Horsfall, M.P., Mr. Laird,
M.P., and other gentlemen afterwards addressed the
assembly, and votes of thanks were addressed to the
Lords of the Admiralty, the donors of prizes, the
mayor, and the chairman.

The Lords of the Admiral', accompanied by the
chairman of the Dock Board, and Mr. John Laird,
M.P., Mr. Horsfall, M.P., and the principal guests,
then proceeded on board the Alert, and made an
inspecti)n of H.M.S. Donegal. On returning to the
Alert they steamed past the transports England,
Queen, Kangaroo, and Peruvian, which were taking
in stores for the Abyssinian expedition. The Eng-
land was ready for sea, and it was expected would
sail in the course of the afternoon, accompanied by
the Peruvian, if she could be got ready in time. The
Alert next steamed round by the Liverpool and
Birkenhead docks, giving their lordships an oppor-
tunity of glancing at the splendid dock resources of
Liverpool, and the great facilities for accommodat-
ing the immense trade of the port. The steel and
iron works and the various shipbuilding yards were
also visited ; and at the shipbuilding yard of Messrs.
Laird Brothers, Woodside, Birkenhead, they had
the means of witnessing the progress which has been
made in the construction of the various vessels which
are being constructed there for her Majesty's service.
The great object of interest is her Majesty's twin
screw turret ship Captain, of 4,272 tons, and 900
horse power, now in course of construction, from the
joint design of Captain C. Coles, R.N., C. 8., and
Messrs. Laird Brothers. This ship combines the
acknowledged power of the turret system for carry-
ing guns of the largest size, with the qualities of a
seagoing cruiser of the first class. She will have splen-
did quarters below for officers and men, as well as a
poop and forecastle, and an upper deck for exercise,
or manoeuvring of sails. Her dimensions are, length,
320 ft; breadth, 53ft 2 in; tonnage, 4,272 tons; draught
of water abaft, 23ft 6in ; forward, 22ft 6in. The
engines are to be two separate pairs of 900 collec-
tive horse power, driving twin screws, and are in-
tended to drive the vessel at the speed of 14 knots
an hour when all complete and ready for sea. Her
armament is to consist of six guns, four of which
are carried in the turrets and two on the upper deck.
The guns in the turrets are to be 600 pounder 25
ton guns, which are the largest ever made up to this
time, and those on the upper deck at the fore and
after end are to be chase guns of large size. The
ship will be wholly protected by armour from sft.
below the water line to the main deck gunwale,
right fore and aft, thus affording complete protec-
tion, not only to the midship part of the ship where
the machinery and turrets are placed, but also to
the quarters for officers and men. The thickness of
the armour plating opposite the turrets will be Bin.,
which is more than on the broadside of any ship
afloat, and on the remainder of the midship portion
of the vessel to be 7in., slightly reduced towards
the ends. These plates rest on a backing of East
India teak, 12in. thick, through which they are
bolted to the skin of the ship formed of two thick-
nesses of three-quarter plates, the whole supported
by massive framework 10in. deep. The main deck
at the level of the upper part of the armour will be
covered with iron liin. and lin. thick, supported
by very strong beams, and again covered with oak
plank Bin. thick. The turrets, of which there are
two, each carrying 2,600 pounder 25 ton guns, pro-
ject through the main deck, and the upper part,
where exposed to shot, is covered with armour plates
10in. thick, the lower part and all the gearing being
protected by the Bin. armour on the sides. The

_ - -
height
.of the centre of metal of the guns in the
turrets will -be about 1l ft. above the water line,
which will enable them to be fought at sea in
very heavy weather, and they will have an arc of
training from the foremost turret of 134 degrees,
and from the after turret of 156 degrees. The ad-
vantages of a poop and forecastle for a sea-going
ship, as adding to the comfort when steaming head
to wind, and affording a certain amount of
additional accommodation for officers and crew are
obvious, and they have therefore been adopted in
this ship, as by using the guns of the after turret
for extreme training forward and the guns of the
forward turret for extreme training aft they do not
materially interfere with the extreme training of
the guns, which is the only objection to them. This
poop and forecastle are connected by a centre spar
deck, 24ft. wide, which runs over the turrets, giving
free communication from one end of the ship to
the other in the heaviest weather, and the area of
this deck will be sufficient to admit of the whole
working and manoeuvring of the ship -without going
on the main or turret deck. The hatchways round
the funnel and amidships are carried up of iron,
forming at once a support to the spar deck and a
system of ventilation permanently runked up to
the level of the spar deck, at a heig it of about 20t,