The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-12 00:00:00

211 E NAVY.

The report of the effects of the experiments re-
cently made on the Trusty, 14, floating battery,
with the new description of shot fired from the
Armstrong guns at Shoeburyness having been laid
before the Admiralty, orders have been received at
Chatham for the floating battery to be thoroughly
repaired, and the whole of the thick iron plates
which were cracked and broken by, the shot to be
replaced by wrought iron plates of a corresponding
thickness. Mr. G. Cotsell, the master blacksmith,
has received orders to prepare the plates, which are
to be made under his superintendence.

The cost of repairing the brig Coquette, run into
by the Vulcan, has been estimated at about £230,
and the Admiralty have instructed the Admiral
Superintendent at Devonport to have the repairs
executed by contract at some merchant shipbuild-
ing yard.
The paddlewheel steam storeship Dee, 4, Master
Commander T. C. Pullen, from Woolwich, arrived
on Friday at Plymouth, with boilers for the Jason.
The steam tender Sprightly, G. Allen, master,from
Portsmouth, arrived on Friday at Plymouth, with
seamen gunners for the Conqueror and Centurion.
On Saturday she embarked supernumeraries, and
sailed for Portsmouth.

The screw steamship Revenge. 91, was taken out
of No. 3 dock at Keyham, at Plymouth, on Friday,
and placed alongside the sheer hulk; she is cop-
pered to the deepwaterline.

On Friday, while under tow of a steam-tug, and
in charge of a pilot, the ship Albuera, belonging to
Messrs. Dunbar, of London, ran foul of his Nether-
lands Majesty's screw steam corvette Citadel Van
Antwerp, at anchor in Plymouth Sound. Part of
the Albuera's channels was carried away, and she
lost her main and foretop gallant masts. The cor-
vette's flying jibboom and foretopsailyard were car-
ried away, and her catheads injured: The defects
of the Citadel Van Antwerp were made good imme-
diately, and she sailed on Saturday for her destina-
tion.

The Urgent, screw troopship, Commander H. W.
Hire, tested her new boilers in the steam basin on
Saturday, and the result was perfectly satisfactory.
The engines of the vessel are in excellent condition,
and she is now fit to perform any service. On
Monday (this day) she goes to the trial ground in
Stokes Bay to try her speed, and will afterwards
return into harbour to complete for service at the.
Cape of Good Hope and China. This vessel, in 15
days after her steaming into the basin, has had her
old boilers taken out, her new ones with their mount-
ings, coal boxes, &c., took in and fitted, and steam
up for testing them. Great credit is due to the offi-
cials of the department for their energetic exertions
at a time when the ship's services are so much
needed.

'rho Bacchante, screw frigate in the steam basin
at Portsmouth, got up steam on Friday for the test-
ing of her new machinery by the officers of the
steam department. lier machinery is of 600-horso
power, nominal, by Messrs. Maudslay, Sons, and,
Field, and she is the first vessel tested under the
recent Admiralty order "to try all boilers, pipes,
and all the parts of engines under water pressure,,
up to double the amount of working pressure." The
Bacchante was accordingly tried under a pressure
of 401 b. to the square inch, and every part stood the
test in a most satisfactory manner.
Mr. G. Grandidier, Paymaster R.N., attached to
the office of the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral
W. Bowles, C. 8., at Portsmouth, has received the
appointment of Secretary to Rear-Admiral Elliot,
commander of the Channel Fleet.

The Powerful, steam vessel, commanded by Cap-
tain Richards, in addition to a general cargo of
war stores, has received, at the Royal Arsenal, two
heavy siege train batteries of 68-pounder guns,
with the usual siege train equipments, and will
leave for China on Wednesday next. The Thunder,
steam vessel, has left for Hong Kong, with a cargo
of war and commissariat stores, and he Mauritius,
No. 3, stoatn vozocl, taken up by the War Depart-
ment, is ordered to ship a similar cargo for the
same destination. The Ist and 2d batteries of the
4th Brigade Royal Artillery, having undergone a
course of training with the Armstrong gun, will
embark for China during the present month. Much
activity now prevails in the royal carriage depart-
ment, in the manufacture of mortar-beds, it being
intended to ma some of the mortar-boats for service
in China.
The authorities of Woolwich ArAnal have been
apprised by the Secretary of State for War that
their suggestion relative to their observance of a
general holiday in the establishment from 10 a.m.
on the Saturday preceding Christmas day until the
following Wednesday morning has been approved,
consequently the establishment will be closed during
that period. The Commodore Superintendent of
Woolwich Dockyard has notified, for the informa-
tion of the artisans of the yard, that, with a view
of remedying the inconvenience otherwise sustained,
no one will be permitted to quit the service of the
yard without giving 48 hours' clear notice, except
under special circumstances or previous permission.

Two additional batteries of Armstrong guns were
on Friday proved at the Arsenal butt, Woolwich,
by firing two rounds of heavy charges of powder
and double shot, with perfect satisfaction as to the
durability and character of the guns; and two
other batteries underwent the same ordeal on Sa-
turday, with the same result. They were subse-
quently removed in cases to the military store de-
partment, to be packed for immediate transmission
by the overland route to China. The total number
now ready for the expedition, and which will be
despatched during the present week, amount to 30.
Since the adoption of Sir W. Armstrong's inven-
tion by the Government, numerous competitors
have entered the field, and the War Department has
sanctioned the carrying out of experiments with
various specimens of breech-loading rifled'ordnance,
which are stated to possess great advantages over
the Armstrong gun. On Friday last, a moel gun,
constructed upon principles invented by the head of
a large engineering firm at Lambeth, was received
at the Royal Arsenal, for examination, by the Ord-
nance Select Committee ; and a rifled gun, invented
by Mr. Jeffery, of Stepney, which was forwarded to
Woolwich about three months since, has been tested
at Shoeburyness, and is said to have proved the
most extraordinary weapon, in point of range and
efficiency, vet introduced. Mr. Gosling, of
Woolwich, also requests permission to test an in-
vention which, he states, will much enhance the
efficiency of the Armstrong gun.
A number of heavy guns have recently been for-
warded from tho Royal Arsenal for the coast de-
fences, and others, including rifled ordnance, are to,
be prepared for the same purpose. In addition to
the extensive new works now in progress for the
fortification of Dover, three new batteries are to be
provided at Ramsgate, one of which will command
the mouth of the harbour..

On Saturday Mr. J. Large, the Assistant-Sur-
veyor to the Navy, visited Chatham dockyard to
make an inspection of those ships which are now in
course of construction at that establishment..

The assistant-surveyor, after transacting some
official business with several Of the heads of depart-
ments connected with the dockyard, proceeded with
Mr. 0. W. Lang, the master-shipwright, and other
officers of the yard, to inspect some of the ships on
the stocks,—viz., the Atlas, 91, the Bulwark, 91,
the Undaunted, 50, the Rattlesnake, 21, and the
Orpheus, 21, all of which are to be fitted as screw
steamers. He also visited the Rodney, 91, and the
Severn, 51, both of which are in dock being con-
verted into screw steamers; and afterwards in-
spected the slips on which the Royal Oak and the
Belvedere, two 91-gun line-of-battle screw steamers
recently ordered by the Admiralty to be built at
this dockyard, are to be constructed. After spend-
ing some time at the dockyard,, the assistant-sur-
veyor, accompanied by, Mr. Lang, was rowed out
to the screw-frigate Ariadne, 26, Captain B. W.
Vansittart, lying at Folly Point, which has been
fitted at this dockyard. Mr. Large spent some time
in making a thorough inspection of that vessel, the
result of Aich was in the highest degree satisfac-
tory, the assistant-surveyor expressing his unquali-
fied approbation of the manner in which all her fit-
ments have been completed at this dockyard, and
giving his opinion that she is not surpassed by any
other frigate of her size and tonnage in the world.
Several hundred shipwrights are now employed
on board the Atlas, 91, the Rodney, 91, the Un-
daunted, 51, and the Severn, 51, at Chatham, in
order that those vessels may be completed with the
utmost despatch.
The following appointments were made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty :—J. W. Lowe, master, to be
agent on board the Melbourne transport ; Edward
Eckersley, second-class assistant-engineer of Vie