The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-27 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

A part of the Channel fleet, consisting of the
Royal Albert, 131, screw, bearing the flag of Rear-
Admiral of the Red Sir Chas. H. Fremantle, K. C.B. ;
the Algiers, 91, screw, Capt. G. W. D. O'Callag-
han ; the James Watt, 91, screw, Capt. Ed ward
Codd ; the Hero, 91, screw, Capt. G. H. Seymour ;
the Emerald, 51, screw, Capt. A. Cumming ; the
Pioneer, 6, screw, Commander C. H. May ; and the
Flying Fish, 6, screw, Charles W. Hope, hove in
sight under canvas at 9.30 a.m. yesterday off the
east end of the Wight ; and at 11.30 the leading
ship Royal Albert hauled up round the Nab light-
ship for Spithead under all plain sail. The Emerald,
with two of the liners, had to shorten canvas to keep
in their proper position astern of the Admiral. By
4.15 p.m. the whole of the ships had taken up their
berths at Spithead, where the fleet comprises, in
addition to the ships above named, the Edgar, 91,
screw, Capt. Baton, carrying the flag of Rear-
Admiral of the Blue John E. Erskine, second in
command of the fleet, the Neptune, 91, screw, Capt.
Sir W. Hoste, Bart. ; the Mersey, 40, screw, Capt.
H. Caldwell, C.B. ; and the naval apprentice brig
Rolla, Lieut.-Com. Nelson—these latter vessels fly-
ing the blue ensign under Rear-Admiral Erskine.
The Russian frigate Polkan is also at Spithead.
The Neptune, 91, screw, Capt. Sir W. Hoste,
Bart., made her official trial of speed at the mea-
sured mile in Stokes Bay on Monday evening, un-
der the supervision of Commander Gardner, of the
Steam Reserve, Mr. Murray, of the steam factory,
and Mr. J. Downie, Acting-Inspector of machinery
afloat. The machinery gave the greatest satisfac-
tion in its working. The result of the trial gave
mean of six runs, 10.905 knots. Draught of water
—aft, 26ft. 3in. ; ditto, forward, 25t. 4in. Revolu-
tions of engines—maximum, 63,4; mean, 631. Pres-
sure of steam. 201 b. Vacuum—forward engine, 24 ;
after ditto, 25. Pitch of screw, 19ft. 9in. ; diame-
ter of screw, 20ft. The Neptune swung compasses
at Spithead yesterday.
The Imperieuse, 51, screw, Capt. R. Maguire, has
moved her berth from alongside the Malabar coal
depot in Portsmouth harbour to alongside the Prince
Regent hulk, preparatory to proceeding to Spithead.
The Hood, the Queen, the Mars, and the Amphioa
are being fitted in the basin at Sheerness. The Clio
is in No. 3 dry dock at Sheerness, all of which ships
are progressing rapidly in their equipment for sea.
The Cossack, 21 guns, at Sheerness, has hauled
into the stream. Her complement is now nearly
complete, but a few vacancies remain unfilled.
Lieut. Hatchard has taken up his commission and
joined as First Lieutenant.
The screw steam-gunboat Jackdaw, tender to the
Hogue, Coastguard-ship, left Plymouth on Satur-
day evening for Greenock.
The crew of the steam sloop Gladiator, 6, Com-
mander Hickley, were paid advance of wages at
Plymouth on Monday.
It was expected at Plymouth that the screw
steam-frigate Diadem, 32, Capt. W. Moorsom, C. 8.,
would leave the Sound yesterday for Spithead.
The U.S. sloop-of-war Plymouth, Capt. Craven,
left Plymouth Sound on Monday evening for Brest.
The paddlewheel steam-sloop Virago, 6, Com-
mander Dunn, from Portsmouth and Portland, ar"
rived at Plymouth on Sunday with Mr. Paul and 6
party of seamen. She made a short trip outside the
breakwater on Monday to test some parts of her
machinery, supposed to be defective.
Mr. W. H. Ward, of Auburn, United States of
America, yesterday exhibited in Woolwich dock-
yard, by permission of the Lords of the Admiralty,
his patent invention for transmitting messages and
carrying on correspondence of any length from sill?,
to ship, becalmed, or sailing within telescopic sight
of each other on the ocean, with equal facility tc).
that of the electric telegraph on land. The exhibi-
tion was witnessed by Commodore the Hon. J.
Drummond, C. 8., aide-de-camp to the Queen, in his
official capacity as superintendent, attended by the
entire body of officers representing the various de-
partments of the yard. One of the instruments Was
erected at either end of a long enclosed lobby ad-
joining the dockyard factory, when a length-
ened test of messages and replies was satisfac-
torily carried out. The experiment was extremely
f
interesting and conclusive as to the merits of
the apparatus, the result of which was prompt.bi
transmitted to Lord Clarence Paget by specia
direction of the Commodore to that effect, the in-
vention having been pronounced one of the most
important of the kind hitherto produced, and likely
to be productive of immense benefit to the entire,
naval and merchant service afloat. The weight 01
the instrument, which is of the simplest construe'
tion, does not appear to exceed 141 b. It represents
the form of a cross, exhibiting five alplaabetically
marked lamps. which are worked by a process re'
sembling the keys or notes of a piano slowly &-
pressed, and at the termination of each sentence the
lights are clouded. As regards the working of the
instrument, the principal officers of the Fisgard,
who yesterday attended the experiments affirmed
without any hesitation that any boy of her Majes-
ty's fleet could obtain a perfect mastery of the sys-
tem by a couple of evenings' study.
Commander W. R. G. Palliser has been appointed
Inspecting Commander of the Coastguard, TiCe
Commander De Vere.