The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-21 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

Mr. 0. W. Lang, the newly appointed master
' shipwright at Chatham dockyard, has taken up his
appointment and commenced his duties at that
establishment yesterday.
The line-of-battle sailing ship Trafalgar, 120, has
a great number of shipwrights employed on her in
Chatham dockyard, in order that she may be con-
verted into a 90-gun screw steamer with all speed.
The line-of-battle screw steamer Hood, 91, is to
be brought forward for launching at Chatham be-
fore the close of the year.
Further experiments to test the iron-side ship
Theory as proof against the fire of shot are being
made by the gunnery establishment of her Ma-
jesty's ship Excellent at Portsmouth. We re-
ported the last trials, in which the iron plate four
inches thick resisted effectually the missiles di-
rected against it from the gun-boat employed to
fire them ; but it seems the 50-gun frigate Alfred
has not established a result sufficiently reliable on
which to found a reason for building, just yet, a
fleet of " iron-sides" for offensive war purpose; the
frigate has accordingly been withdrawn, and a boil
fide iron steam battery, the Erebus, of 16 guns (one
of the four built at the end of the late war with
Russia) has been towed upon into her place to re-
ceive a similar cannonade. The experiment is
watched with much anxiety.
The Euryalus, 51, screw-frigate, Capt. Tarleton,
C. 8., was taken into dock at Portsmouth on Tues-
day to have her copper'examined, having touched
the ground when at Torbay, on her way round to
Spithcad. It was found very little damaged, and
a few streaks of copper soon remedied the defect,
after which she was taken out of dock and is
ready to go to Spithead. It is expected Prince
Alfred and suite will embark for his voyage of in-
struction in a few days.
The Britannia, 120, sailing ship, being nearly
equipped. as the future training depot for newly
entered young officers for the navy, the Illustrious,
72, Capt. It. Harris, at present doing duty, is being
dismantled in Portsmouth harbour, and preparing to
transfer her establishment to the former ship.
Preparations were making yesterday on board
the Victory.in Portsmouth harbour for garlanding
and otherwise decorating in festive gear that time-
honoured old ship this morning, in commemoration
of the battle of Trafalgar, to-day being the 53d an-
niversary of that eventful action.
On the 19th inst., the Cressy, screw guard ship,
Capt. E. P. Halsted, at Sheerness, proceeded down
river to test her engines, machinery, boilers, &c.
On her return, near the Great Nore, at about four
p.m., she grounded on the Patch, to the southward
of the Nore light-vessel, and remained there for
some time. She was afterwards on the flowing tide
got off, by nearly all her ship's company being sent
forward and out on her bowsprit, jibboom, &c., to
lighten her aft. She arrived at her moorings be-
tween 8 and 9 o'clock p.m. the same day.
Yesterday orders were issued that after the launch
of the Edgar, on Saturday, another 91 gunship, to
be called the Anson, of jrecisely the same propor-
tions, is to be laid down in the same slip. The Ed-
gar, after launching, will be removed to Sheerness
to be completed. Some interesting experiments
with two of Peake's lifeboats will take place at the
time of the launch.

The committee of officers appointed to report
on the fuel used in the Royal steam navy, and
more especially as to the .relative merits of
the Welsh and north country coals have
just sent in their report to the Admiralty. The
result of their inquiries is, that north country coal
is superior to the Welsh. It can be burnt without
smoke, and less detriment to the boiler tubes than
takes place from the use of Welsh coal, and conse-
quently they are of opinion that it is more desirable
to be furnished for the use of the steam navy.
Yesterday the Admiralty took up the Ehzabeth
Ann for the conveyance of a large quantity of
stores (military and naval) to Hobart Town. Yes-
terday the new tonnage regulation with respect to
transport ships taken up by the Admiralty came
into operation. All kinds of Government stores
are now laid down at a fixed rate of tonnage and
measurement.

Yesterdly orders were issued to dock the Turkish
line-of-battle ship Shadia, at Devonport dockyard,
in order to fit her with a screw propeller. The
Turkish frigate Tithil still remains in Devonport
harbour. The Said, iron screw steam yacht, built
by Jones, of Liverpool, for the Pasha of Egypt, at
a cost of £BO,OOO, is ordered to be taken to Alexan-
dria by Capt. Campbell, formerly of the Cunard ser-
vice.

H.M.S. Cesar, 91, screw, Capt. Frederick, is be-
ing prepared for foreign service at Devonport. It
is probable she will be ordered to reinforce the
Mediterranean squadron.
Yesterday orders were received at the Royal
Naval Rendezvous, Tower-hill, that no more stokers
or boys were to be entered for service in the Royal
navy until further orders. Petty officers, first-class
ordinary and. able seamen, and artificers, however,
are to be entered:for ten years' continuous service.
Instructions were also forwarded from the Admi-
ralty that continuous service men were not to be ap-
pointed to cooks' stewards' or ships' stewards'
ratings. All men so placed in ships on foreign sta-
tions will have their time reckoned as continuous
service.

The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :
Navel Cadets—J. E. Miller, to the Centurion ;
H. C. Kane, to the Brunswick; H. W. Dowding, to
the Centurion ; W. A. Huddleston, to the Renown;
A. B. Mansell, to the Conqueror ; P. N. Tyrwhitt,
to the Conqueror ; R. B. Wilkinson, to the Prin-
cess Royal ; C., Laprunandaye, to ditto ; W. R.
Walpole, to the Brunswick, in lieu of a midship-
man ; Neville H. Ward, to the Royal Albert ;
Charles J. Scholefield, to the Princess Royal ; Geo.
W. Hill, to the Orion ; Richard B. Trollope,
to the Brunswick; Henry Studdy, to the Royal
Albert ; C. B. Walcott, to the Victor Emanuel ;
Robert W. Evans, to the Renown ; J. B. Haye, to
the Conqueror ; H. P. Harney, to the Brunswick ;
Thomas H. Fraser, to the Royal Albert ; Geo. H.
Jervis, to the Royal Albert; Hon. E. E. Ellis,
to the Conqueror ; G. R. Beadon, to the Princess
Royal ; Robt. W. Stopford, to the Marlborough ;
James H. Batt, to the Centurion ; Herbert F.
Gye, to the Orion ; Charles J. C. St. Clair, to the
Orion ; Edward J. Bourke to the Royal Albert.