The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-26 00:00:00

The Compasses of Iron Ships.

lu the course of last autumn a correspondence
took place between the Hydrographic Department
of the Admiralty, the President of the Royal So-
ciety, and the Board of Trade on the subject of the
variation of the compasses of iron ships. This
correspondence was towards the close of the year
forwarded to the Committee of Lloyd's Register,
and has just been printed and circulated under
their auspices among the owners of that Class of
vessels. It opens with a letter from Staff-Com-
mander F. J. Evans, R.N., Chief Naval Assistant

in charge of the Magnetic Department under the
Hydrographer of the Admiralty, in which,- after
briefly adverting to the defective character of the
compasses employed in the Royal Navy previous
to 1837, and the appointment of a committee of
officers conversant with magnetic instruments to
inquire into a state of things which had been found
to be so pregnant with mischief, he points out that
the result of the investigation had been not only the
improvement of the compass itself, but the esta-
blishment on board men-of-war of a system of
compass adjustment which ccutinued in opera-
tion up to the present time, and which proved
to be very advantageous. The principal features
of this system he describes as being the having
in each ship a standard compass distinct from
the steering compass, fixed in a position se-
lected, not for the convenience of the helms-
man, but because of the moderate and uniform
amount of Ihe deviation observable, and the requir-
ing each ship to be swung and to be navigated by a
table of errors. To the neglect of the use of a
standard compass he attributes many of the dis-
asters which have overtaken merchant vessels,
and therefore strongly recommends that the em-
ployment of an instrument so simple in itself and
in practice so secure should, as far as possible, be
enforced. Assuming that some such system will
eventually be adopted in the merchant service,
Commander Evans, in an appendix to his letter,
offers certain suggestions which he thinks might be
found to be of considerable practical utility. He
would have, so far as the requirements of a ship
would permit, special arrangements made in the
course of her construction to provide a suitable place
for the compass, which should be fixed at such a
height as to command a clear view of the horizon
above the bulwarks, and to be out of the way of the
sails, while care should be taken that at least ten feet
should intervene between it and any elongated mass
of iron. He also recommends that every iron ship after
being launched should, to as great an extent as was
practicable, be kept in a position opposite to that
which she occupiedwhile on the building slip, observ-
ing that when arrangements are made forplacing the
compass in the after part of a vessel, building her
with her head to the north would produce exaggerated
errors, both when upright and heeling. For many
years, it appears, the formation of a table of errors
by the process of swinging a ship—a place to fix the
standard compass having in the first instance been
duly selected—was found to answer the purposes of
the Admiralty in those cases in which the deviations
happened to be moderate in amount. In several of
theiron vessels which havebeen recently constructed,
however, the extent of deviation has been so great
that magnets had to be employed with a view to its
redaction. This mode of correction—perfect though
it may be—has not at the same time been allowed
to supersede in our navy the system of obtaining a
table of errors, and navigating the ship by that table.
The benefits which on the score of safety have ac-
crued to the navy in consequence of the adoption by
the Admiralty of the plan which he thus sketches
Commander Evans thinks cannot be over estimated,
and he points out, in proof of its efficiency, that the
"Admiralty standard compass," which has with but
little modification stood the test of 25 years' use, has
been copied in every country where attention has
been directed to the subject with which his letterdeals.
He adds that in-th 6 manufacture of compasses for
the mercantile marine much expense is at present in-
curred for purposes of mere ornament, and is of
opinion that considerable advantage would be the
• result if a model compass of sufficient delicacy and
accuracy could be fixed upon and furnished at amo-
aerate price. That being done it would, of course,
be necessary to secure the services of a sufficient
number of persons competent to perform the work
of adjustment, and also to determine the line at
which the adjustment should be examined. In deal-
ing with these points Commander Evans observes
that several persons were to‘ be found at some of our
great mercantile ports who, without having any clear
knowledge of the principles of magnetism, were yet,
from constant practice, skilful adjustors of com-
passes, and suggests that the registration of the
names of such men might be desirable as a prelimi-
nary step. As to the periods for examining the ad-
justments, he is of opinion that the following re-
commendation of the Liverpool compass committee
fully meets the difficulties of the case :
" There appears sufficient reason for requiring that
a new sailing ship or steamer should be swung im-
mediately before each of the first two or three
voyages ; that all iron vessels should be swung im-
mediately before the first voyage, following any
considerable amount of repair, whenever a change
has been made in the position of the standard com-
pass, whenever there is a change of captain, unless
the new captain had charge of the vessel during the
preceding voyage as chief. cfficer."
Commander Evans concludes by remarking that
the present state and prospects of the science and
practice of the correction of the compass render it
impossible to offer with confidence any complete set
of suggestions as to the system to be adopted in the
mercantile marine.
The latter is dated the 11th of September, 1865,
and in the month of November following the Pre-
sident of the Royal Society, in replying to a com-
munication on the subject which he had received
some time previously from the Board of Trade, gives
expression to his own disappointment and that of
the Council at learning that the Board of Trade
was not prepared to give effect to the recommenda-
tion that a system which had been found to work
so successfully iu the Royal Navy should be ex-
tended to the mercantile marine, seeing that in
several instances of recent occurrence the loss of iron
steamers had, in all probability, been occasioned by
errors of the compass. In answer to this commu-
nication Mr. Farrel., the Secretary to the Board of
Trade, after remarking that the department which
he serves does not yield to the President and Coun-
cil of the Royal Society in its anxiety to prevent
losses at sea, expresses the regret of the Board that
the opinion which they felt it to be their duty to
form should be at variance with that of so distin-
guished a body. He then goes on to say that a
wide difference exists between the relations in
which the Admiralty stands to the Royal Navy and
the position occupied by the Board of Trade
in reference to the Mercantile Marine, inasmuch
as the Admiralty are the owners, designers, and
generally the builders of the ships of the nation,
and as such are bound to use every means in their
power to construct them in the best manner, to pro-
vide them with the best equipments, and to dictate
to those engaged in building, equipping, or navigat-
ing them such arrangements as science and experi-
ence suggest, while the Board of Trade are not the
owners or designers of merchant ; ships and if they
were to take upon themselves the responsibility of
regulating the construction of every such ship, and
requiring that she should be providedelrvithw hat the
Board might deem necessary and prop
equipments,
they would be usurping a power which they do not
they
ought and with which, as ame Board,
atterofpzir. Irer
l ic,
Fa
ought not to be intrusted. The
adds, do not deem it desirable that they should take
upon themselves the discharge of a function which
properly belongs to shipowner, and which it is his
interest, as well as his duty, to perform efficiently.
The interference of Government, as proposed, would,
they feel satisfied, be. injurious to trade, while it
would in the end be no less prejudicial to the safety
of the public and the advancement of science. But,
altogether independent of such considerations, the
subject of the deviation of the compass is, in its pre-
sent state, peculiarly unfit for administrative inter-
ference, because of the number and dissimilarity of
the causes and effects of the deviation, varying, as
they do, according to the build of a ship, the nature
and quality of the material of which she happens to
be built, the direction of the line of her keel while
in course of construction, the quantity and stowage
of her cargo, her position for the time being, and

her distance from the magnetic equator. The ques.
tion is one, moreover, on which the highest autho-
rities arc not agreed, inasmuch as, while the Royal
Society approved the system employed by the Admi-
ralty, the totally different principle acted upon in the
Mercantile Marine received the support of no less
an authority than the Astronomer-Royal. " For
these reasons," Mr. Farrer concludes by say-
ing, " the Board of Trade, while prepared to pro-
cure the best scientific help in investigations into
wrecks, are not willing to assume the responsibility
which would be involved in appointing an officer
or officers whose duty it would be to superintend
the compasses of merchant ships, and to enforce
upon shipowners and navigators compliance with
what such officers may believe to be the latest re-
quirements of science. In coming to this conclusion,
the Board of Trade believe that they are doing what
is most calculated to promote the free and healthy
development of scientific results as applied to the ,
Mercantile Marine as well as to further what are
their own proper objects—the benefit of trade and
the public safety."
It only remains to state that of the determination
thus announced by Mr. Farrer, on behalf of the
Board of Trade, the Committee of Lloyd's Register
have, while calling the attention of the Mercantile
Marine to the importance of the subject, signified
their entire approval.
- -
Naval and Military Intelligence.

- -0. --

Our Malta correspondent, under date of Valetta,
January 10, announces the return to Malta, on the
Bth inst., of Her Majesty's gunvessel Surprise, 4,
Commander G. Tryon, having in tow the English
bark Energy, J. Jones master, which had gone
ashore on the sand near Pozzallo, and for the re-
covery of which the Surprise had been despatched
by Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Smart, at the request
for assistance made to him by the agent for the
Liverpool under-writers. Her Majesty's frigate
Arethusa, 35, Capt. R.-J. J: G. Macdonald, left
Malta harbour on the Bth inst. for Corfu, conveying
a general mail for that island. She is to relieve the
Terrible and send her to Malta. The Assurance, 4,
Commander H. B. Woollcombe, left on the follow-
ing day for Patras, to relieve the Chanticleer, and
send her to Malta. The Meeanee, 60, Capt. G.
Wodehouse, was under orders to be paid off, and be
put out of commission. It was expected she would
leave about the 18th of January for England. No
news had been received of the Telegraph Expedition
for the repair of the Alexandria and Benghazi sec-
tion of the cable, and it was supposed it had been
detained by bad weather.

Yesterday a general order, signed by Lord W.
Paulet, K.C.8., Adjutant-General, and issued by
command of Field-Marshal the Duke of Cambridge,
was promulgated to the officers at Chatham gar-
rison, announcing the finding and sentence of the
general court-martial which assembled some time
back for the :trial of Quartermaster Malcolm Keir,
of the Military Train. The prisoner was arraigned
on charges of having, when stationed at the Cur-
ragh Camp, in the years of 1863, 1864, 1865, re-
ceived pecuniary gratuities in several instances from
Messrs. W. and B. Wright, of Clonmel, the con-
tractors for supplying the Military Train with
forage, the total amount so received being £125,
and of endeavouring to obtain from the same firm
a loan of £2O, promising that he would be useful to
them. The Court found the prisoner " Guilty"
on both charges, and sentenced him to be
cashiered. In accordance with the directions of
the Duke of Cambridge, the charges preferred
against him, with the finding and sentence of the
Court, and her Majesty's confirmation of them, were
entered in the general order-book, and read at the
head of every regiment in her Majesty's service. The
Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief trusts that the
example which has been made in this case will put
an end to the pernicious system of receiving money
as a bonus from the contractors for forage and other
articles supplied to her Majesty's troops, which,
there is too much reason to believe, has prevailed to
a considerable extent.

The following officers and troops at Chatham
have been placed under orders to proceed from that
garrison to embark for the stations named : —Lieut.
William Nangle, two sergeants, and 85 rank and
file of the 2d Battalion 15th Regiment, for Gib-
raltar ; Lieut. F. B. Sandys, Lieut. J. W. G. Telfer,
and 50 non-commissioned officers and men of the
2i Battalion 4th (King's Own) Regiment; Capt.
J. N. Bamford, Lieut. J. Tennyson, Ensign J. W.
Bazalgette, 63 non-commissioned officers and men,
and one armourer-sergeant of the 29th Regiment,
for Malta ; Capt. A. N. Adams, Ensign J. 11. Ford,
one sergeant, and five men of the 2d Battalion 20th
Regiment, for China; total, eight officers and 211
non-commissioned officers and men.

The brigades and batteries of the Royal Artillery
now on garrison duty were yesterday drawn out on
parade in front of their barrack quarters at Wool-
wich to witness the presentation of medals and gra-
tuities for good conduct and long service in the re-
giment conferred by the Field-Marshal Command-
ing-in-Chief of the Army. Some of the recipients,
whoSe term.
,of service exceeded 21 years, received
gratuities of £l5 each ; and others, of minor periods,
£lO and £5 each. Their names are as follows :--
Sergt.-Major. Osborne, Sergt. Grooves, Quarter-
master-Sergt. M. M'Gregor, and Sergt. J. Newton,
all of the Coast Brigade ; and Sergeant Little
of the Depot Brigade. The whole of the re-
wards were presented by Major-General E.
C. Warde, C. 8., wain-landing the district, who, ad-
dressed a lengthened discourse applicable to the
juniors who were present, e3couraging them topursue
a similar career, which would obtain for them simi-
lar mark's of the Sovereign's bounty and their coun-
try's. admiration. The general afterwards handed
over various other medals and gratuities to officers
commanding brigades, with instructions to present
or forward .then to the non-commissioned officers
and men whose names were appended, and who
were entitled to them by their exemplary characters
and length of service.

The War Department steam storeship Lord Pan-
mure, from the western yards, yesterday completed
discharging her cargo at Woolwich Arsenal. She is
under orders to be docked at some private yard,
under contract about tobe issued. She is to be fitted
with new boilers and to undergo the necessary re-
pairs to ship and machinery.

- The chartered ship Arcadia yesterday completed
loading a cargo, consisting of about 700 tons of hut-
ting stores, from Woolwich Arsenal, for Bermuda,
and sailed this morning. The Investigator, also hired
and taken up for the shipment of hutting materials
for Bermuda, went down to Woolwich yesterday,
and hauled alongside the T pier.
Her Majesty's 17 gun screw sloop Zebra, 951
tons, and 2001orse power, recentlypaid out of com-
mission on being ordered home from the West Coast
of Africa, was yesterday towed up to Woolwich
dockyard by the Otter and Wildfire, to be docked
and to undergo a thorough refit for service. The
Otter and Wildfire, together with the steam-tug
Bustler, afterwards embarked a large number of
seamen and lads berthed on board the flagship Fis-
gard, ordered to be removed to the naval barracks
' at Sheerness, and proceeded to that port.
The Minotauriron frigate, Capt. G. Herbert (pro
tem.), with Capt. A. C. Key, of the Excellent gun-
nery ship, left her anchorage at Spithead yesterday
morning to commence her series of trials. She pro-
ceeded as far as St. Alban's Head without any ap-
pearance of being 'able to accomplish the object.
The weather was beautifully fine, with a calm sea,
consequently it was deemed advisable to return to
Spithead, where she again anchored, and will remain
until a favourable opportunity presents itself.
The screw steam corvette Rattlesnake, 21, Capt.
Arthur P. Eardley-Wilmot, went on Monday af-
e from Plymouth Sound to the dockyard
r jettyil
'Tuesdayoo in ll
Ilamoaze, where she was inspected on
morning by Port Admiral Sir Charles 11.
Fremantle, K.C.B.
The screw steam frigate Topaze, 31, vacated No.
2 dock at Devonport on Tuesday, and was placed
slciraernwosatzeea.
at her'Themcroeowrionfgsthien
-frigate Galatea, 26,
Capt. Rochfort Maguire, were paid off on Tuesday
morning alongside the dockyard at Devonport.
The Commander-in-Chief has approved Ensign
Crockett, of the 84th Regiment, exchanging from
the service to the depot companies with Ensign
Hamilton. Mr. D. Lamont, who has for some time