The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-25 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

• The Black Eagle paddle yacht, Staff Commander
Whiffler, steamed out of Portsmouth harbour to
Spithead on Thursday, and made a couple of hours
trial under steam to test the working her paddle-
wheels after repairs. The trial was satisfactory, and
the Black Eagle afterwardS returned into Ports-
mouth harbour to complete her refit.
The screw iron troopship Simoom,.Capt. Thos. B.
Lethbridge, was taken out of Portsmouth harbour
yesterday morning under steam to make an official
trial of her engine=, capstans, anchors, chains, &C.,
after a refit on return to England from a round of
foreign troop service. The trials were highly satTs-
factory: The engines of this ship were constructed
for her in the steam factory of Portsmouth dock-
yard, from the ebsigns and under the superintend-
ence of Hr. A. Mumty, the:iuperintenlent engineer
of her Majesty's navy at Portsmouth. They were
supplied for her last voyage, and from the time of
the ship leaving Spithead, at the comanneernent of
the voyage, until her return ';o the same anchorage
at its completion they were kept constantly work-
ing. During the whole of this time they worked per-
fectly and without the slightest accident or want of
repair to affect their working, and drove the ship a
total distance of 38,746

To-day being appointed for the celebration of her
Majesty's birthday, the dockyard and other public
establishments at Portsmouth and Chatham were
closed. On Southsea Common the troops will pa-
rade at noon and fire a feu de joie, the ships of war
in the harbour and at Spithead, in commission, with
the saluting batteries of the land fortifications at the
same time firing Royal salutes froni their ordnance.
Capt. Bertelli and the officers of his Italian Ma-
jesty's ship Eurydice, now -anchored at Spithead,
paid a visit to Portsmouth dockyard on Thursday,
and in the evening were entertained at dinner by
;fir.._ L. A. Vandenburgh at the Consulate. The
Eurydice will sail' from Spithead this mOrnino. for
Cherbourg.
The sailing Indiaman the Sir Jamsetjee Family,
Capt. Wilson, belonging *to Bombay, arrived at
Spithead on Thursday afternoon from Bombay,
bringing the following invalided troops from her
Majesty's regiments serving in the Presidency, who
were disembarked from her yesterday morning and
conveyed to the Royal Victoria Military Hospital at
Netley :-166 non-commissioned officers and men,
13 women and 31 children, accompanied by Lieut.
W. Stirke, 14th Brigade Royal Artillery ; Lieut.
Power, 6th (Inniskillen) Dragoons ; Lieut. Blair,
102 d Regiment ; Lieut. Isaacson, Ist Royals ;
Assist.-Sorg. Kilroy, 14th Brigade Royal Artillery,
and Mrs. Kilroy. The ship sailed from Bombay on
the 2d February, and passed St. Helena April 5.
The armoured iron frigate Warrior, after having
satisfactorily tested the working of her engines on
Wednesday off Spithead, anchored there for the
night, and ou Thursday was partially manned with
men lent from the Minotaur, who were engaged on
board during the day in testing the working of the
ship's capstans, anchors, chains, &c. She has re-
turned into Portsmouth harbour from Spithead to
complete her outfit for commission.
The work of constructing the steel boat, ordered
to be built at Chatham Dockyard, to be used by the
exploring party about -to be despatched from this
country to search along the rivers and lakes in
the interior of Africa for traces of Dr. Living-
stone is being hurried forward at that establish-
ment. A few days will now suffice for its com-
pletion, when it will be taken to pieces and de-
spatched from the dockyard in readiness for ship-
ment on board the mail steamer leaving on the 9th
proximo, which also takes out the exploring party.
The designs for the boat, furnished by Mr. E. J.
Reed, the Chief Constructor of the Navy, con-
templated its being made of prepared steel plates,
put together in half sections by screws and bolts.
Owing, however, to the delay in procuring a supply
of the requisite steel plates, the Admiralty decided
on having the boat constructed of the best charcoal
iron pieces; but a sufficiant quantity of the steel
plates having been furnished in the meantime by Mr.
E. Deans, of Arthur-street, east, the patentee, the
boat is being built as originally ordered. Its length
is 30ft., and breadth, from gunwale to gunwale, Bft.,
the weight being rattier more than one wn. 'rue
plan of construction adopted by Mr. Ree I will enable
the boat to be taken to pieces in a very short time,
and packed for conveyance across the country by
the negroes who will be engaged for that purpose.
The principal advantages obtained by constructing
the boat of steel plates is iu its possessing a maxi-
mum amount of strength with a minimum of weight,
while the steel plates, which are 1-14th of an inch
in thickness, are so exceedingly ductile that they
may be bent almost to any shape, without fear of
injury. Although steel plates for ships and boats
have been largely used by other Governments, we
believe this to be the first instance in which the Ad-
miralty have adopted that material for the construc-
tion of a boat. Should, however, the results follow
which the patentee claims for the steel plates there
is no doubt they will hereafter take a prominent part
for ship and boat building purposes. Mr. Young,
one of the warrant officers attached to the Royal
yacht, who formerly spent a considerable time with
Dr. Livingstone in his African explorations, will
have charge of the expedition ; he is in constant at-
tendance at Chatham dockyard, superintending the
construction of the boat, in order to obtain a coin-
plete knowledge of the manner in which it is fitted
together and taken to pieces.
A number of shipwrights and other workmen at
Chatham dockyard are employed in laying
down the
launching-ways, and making preparations for the
launch of the screw gun vessel Myrmidons, 4, 200
horse power (nominal). It is ordered to be launche I
on the sth of June. The Myrmidon has the whole
of her engines and machinery fitted on board.
The Lords of the Admiralty have awarded the
annual gratuity of £5O to Mr. G. Penny, one of
the foremen of shipbuilders at ChathAm dockyard,
in appreciation of his services in expediting the
construction of the ironclad turret ship Monarch
and the other vessels he has superintended building
in that dockyard.
The Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief has
approved the following alterations and appointments
at Chatham garrison :—Capt. W. M. Frobisher,
31th Regiment, to be attached to the depot of that
corps; Capt. N. Kirkland, 106th Bombay Light In-
fantry, to be held in readiness to proceed from
Chatham to Calcutta, to join the head-quarters of
that Regiment; Capt. A. W. Ducat, to join the
depot,compauies of the 106 th i.t.tgiment at Chatham ;
Lieut. Wiliam Louis, Ist baitalion of the Bth Regi-
ment, to be held in readiness to *embark .for Malta,
to join head-quarters. •
An order has been received at Chatham garrison
directing the following detachments to ba held in
readiness for embarkation for Canada and Nova
Scotia to reinforce the troops serving in British
North America :-70 non-commissioned officers and
men of the 20th Regiment, 91 non-commissioned
officers and men of the Ist battalion of the 22d
Regiment, and 71 non-commissioned officers and
men of the Ist battalion of the 15th Regiment ;
four officers are also placed under orders to embark
with the above detachments.
A review of the whole of the military forces in
and around Chatham will be held at Chatham lines
at 12 o'clock to-day, by General Freeman Murray,
in honour of her Majesty's birthday.
The 12t.h Co upany of itoyal Eagineere, now an
passage home from the Cape of Gool
chartered troep3hip Akbar, on their arrivall-lope in tbhee
attached Cork he
• any is 80 non -
Chatham. e strength of the company he id-quarters of tho corps at
commissioned officers and met'.
T•Gu, second
•
The following appointments were m
nsonadeyesterday
at the Admiralty :—lierbert
master, to the Juinna ; W.
Iditian il, for service
master, to the St. Vincent, a W. 13rowne, second
t. Master
the Pallas; R. S. S. Ross-Lewin, ass s y
in the Martin; A. N. Innes, assist.-paymaster, to
to the Royal Adelaide,
as supernumerary ; G. F.
Bell, engineer, to the Crocodile ; and Win Irwin,
acting second-class
assist.-eugineer, additional, to
the Cameleon.

THE CATTLE PLAGuE.----The official return for
last week reports two fresh outbl-eaks, : Tower Ham_
lets 8, and Finsbury 25; total, 33 cases; of those, one ani-
mal diva, and 32 woo acillcd to proyout coutagion,