The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-20 00:00:00

Naval and Mil:

tellijence.

The visit of the Lords of the Admiralty has made
a most favourable impression at Pembroke Dock,
and it is expected that a considerable number of
additional hands will shortly be employed. Already
orders have been received to increase the number of
shipwrights and smiths, and an addition to other de-
partments is looked forward to before long. Of the
nine building-slips only three are now occupied.
A private letter received from Monte Video, dated
Aug. 13, says :—" We have in the Bay the English
men-of-war Spiteful and Spider, the American ves-
sels Wasp and Kansas. The latter vessel is parti-
cularly well armed, and, in the event of war, would
astonish our wretched slow and old wooden gun-
boats as effectively as the Prussian needle-gun did
the Austrians. The war here drags on wearily and
slowly. Nearly every day a steamer arrives with
sick and wounded men, and returns with half-
starved mules. The Paraguayans must be a plucky
race of men, as for two years, with the river block-
aded and ell supplies cut off from the coast, they
have kept at bay the whole army that Brazil and the
Banda Oriental and Argentines can send against
them. On the 16th and 18th of July there were
three or four obstinate engagements, and it is be-
lieved the allies were thoroughly beaten in each.
The allied squadron in the river is doing nothing,
waiting for the army, and so matters are likely to
go on for the next two or three years. The Eng-
lish gunboats Dotterel and Gleaner are at Maldo-
nado, and the Linnet at Buenos Ayres. The Triton
is on her way here from Rio Janeiro, and the Nar-
cissus with the Admiral is expected to arrive in
October. The most effective small arm I have seen
out here is the Spencer rifle, a ' seven-shooter,' and
far surpassing tne Prussian needle-gun."
The Scorpion, 4, turret ship, 1,857 tons, 350
horse power, one of the famous Liverpool rams, in
dock and under alterations atPortsmouth, is ordered
to be completed by the end of the present financial
year. The alterations and repairs of the ship will be
rather costly. [Her upper iron and compositedeck is
being replaced with a new underlie iron plating,
covered with six-inch oak planking. The coamings
of all the upper-deck hatchways are being raised,
the engine-room hatch, for instance, being built up
of three-quarter inch plate to a height of four feet
six inches above the level of the deck. An overhead
gangway deck is also ordered to be fitted from her
poop to her forecastle and above the level of the
tops of her turrets, on nearly the same principle as
the gangway deck between the turrets of the Ame-
rican Miantonomah. All bulkheads below have
been cut through to improve the ventilation, and
watertight doors fitted. The arrangements for the
berthing of the officers and crew are also being very
materially improved. The armour-plate pilot-house
might also be removed altogether from the ship, as
it is much too small for the purpose of a protected
look-out place in time of action, and its weight on
the upper deck is a serious consideration. The sub-
stitution of higher hatchway coamings on the upper
deck for the shallow ones originally fitted was a
positive necessity, for the Scorpion, like her sister
vessel the Wivern, at sea and with bulwarks down,
is nothing better than a half-tide rock.
The Royal Sovereign, turret-ship, Capt. Herbert,
is lying alongside Portsmouth dockyard, undergoing
repairs for her after turret, fired at some time since
experimentally from a 12-ton gun mounted on the
broadside of the Bellerophon. The turret plates
have all been taken off, and a goodly number of hands
are now employed in the necessary preparations for
rebuilding the turret. The new turret will be coated
with the same thickness of armour as the old one,
and the general plan will be the same same, except
with the plating covering in the top of the turret,
which will now be made to lap over the top of the
armour-plates so as to hold them in an upright po-
sition when their bolt fastenings are broken by the
impact of shot. This overlap of the plate covering
of the turret will exceed in diameter that of the ring
of armour-plates, and the intervening space will be
filled in with a wood wedging. The cost of the
repairs will be about £1,700.
The Swallow, steam sloop, 9 guns, 486 tons, 60
horse power, Master Commander E. Wilds, arrived
at Sheerness on Sunday morning from China. On
Monday she was taken into the large basin of the
dockyard, where she was yesterday morning inspected
by Capt. D. M'L. Mackenzie, captain of the For-
midable, flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir B. W. Walker,
K.C.8., Commander-in-Chief at the Nore, previ-
ously to being dismantled and paid out of commis-
sion. During the last four years the Swallow has
been engaged on a surveying expedition to the China
station. She left England in April, 1862, and arrived
at Hongkong in Sept. of the same year. During the
passage from Singapore to Hongkong she experi-
enced a heavy typhoon, during which her quarter
boats were washed away, and much damage was
done to the sails and rigging. The vessel left Hong-
kong for England on March 10, 1866, surveyed the
Scarborough reef from the 13th to the 18th March,
and called at Manilla, Singapore, and Batavia. In
the Java sea two important dangers were discovered
and their positions determined—viz., the Sharp-
shooter's Rock at the entrance to Gaspar Straits,
and a ledge with 23ft. in it called the Swallow Rock.
She passed Anjer on May 10, and had a tolerably
fine passage until off Point Hood, on the African
coast, where for seven days a severe gale was expe-
rienced, amounting sometimes to the force of a hur-
ricane. Considering that three vessels, one twice as
large, and another three times as large as the Swal-
low, foundered near her; those onboard had cause to
congratulate themselves on escaping without damage.
They were, besides, enabled to save the lives of some
of the passengers of one of the foundered ships, the
Stalwart. The Swallow left Simon's Bay July 22,
called at St. Helena Aug. 3, and arrived at Portland
Sept. 12. During her commission she has sailed and
steamed upwards of 15,000 miles. Several harbours
have been surveyed, and about 3,000 miles of coast
line; besides which the ship has sounded the whole
of the China and Yellow Seas. The health of the
officers has been very good, but on account of the
bad accommodation the seamen have suffered consi-
derably. Nearly every seaman who left England in
the ship had been invalided home before she left
China, but only four deaths occurred.
Every exertion is being made by the officials con-
nected with the civil engineering department at
Chatham Dockyard to repair the injuries sustained
by the works at the entrance of No. 3 dock by the
giving way of the outer row of piles used in the for-
mation of the cofferdam for the enlargement of the
dock. In order to make good the damage relays of
workmen arc employed night and day, and should
the present fine weather continue it is anticipated
that this portion of the works will be completed by
the end of next week. The whole of the piles for
the cofferdam have been drawn, and are now being
redriven, while the inner supports are increased and
strengthened so as to prevent a recurrence of the
untoward accident which has delayed the commence-
ment the Monarch turret ship in the dock in-
tended.
bfor her by some weeks. The works for the
enlargement of the dock were originally carried out
y one of the Admiralty contractors, but, in conse-
quence of the Admiralty being dissatisfied with the
progress made, they were ordered to be completed
by the dockyard workmen.
The screw sloop corvette Reindeer, 7, 200-horse
WaDttoonek,
power, Mr. C.
ymaarsdtefr in charge, fitting
alongside Chatham
been inspected by the or commission, has
officials connected with the
War Department, for the Purpose of having the
necessary alterations made in her Itf
curbing to enable her to carry the altered
platforms and
armament
she is intended to mount. The Admiralty h • having
decided on increasing the size of her guns by giving
her a couple extra of the 9-ton guns, her • nu ship
hatchways will require to be altered to allow for the
proper training of her guns at the broadside. A
portion of her gun-carriages has arrived from Wool-
wich, but her armament will not be ready for some
weeks to come. With the exception of a small
amount of work, chiefly in the way of fittings, still
remaining to be effected on board, the Reindeer is
ready for the pennant.
Mr. Lavington Fletcher, C.E., secretary to the
Manchester Association for the Prevention of Steam
Boiler Explosions, has, in accordance with instruc-
tionst to that effect received by him from the Admi-
-1 Y, been engaged
at Chatham Dockyard in insti-
tight g
examination of the portions of the boiler

which recently exploded at that es
the circumstances already detailed
the officials of the dockyard, who renderedati every
slr)yy
Fletcher was assisted during his investi,c
service in their power to enable him to prosecute his
inquiries
inspected
boiler eradjoining
D u
During
that
v
which exploded, and from the result of the exami-
nationit A Mr. Fletcher t a
as to its condition made by the officials since
the occurrence it is understood that it will at once
be broken. The results of Mr. Fletcher's investiga-
tion will be embodied in a report to be made to the
Board of Admiralty, when their Lordships will
decide as to the ulterior proceedings to be adopted.
The screwsteam surveying vessel Nassau, 5, Capt.
R. C. Mayne, left Plymouth on Tuesday, for the
south-east coast of South America.
Steam was got up on Monday on board the screw
steam corvette Satellite, 17, in the basin at Keyham-
yard, and on Tuesday she proceeded, in charge of
the officers of that establishment, outside Plymouth
breakwater. The weather was too thick to try her
speed at the measured mile, but the engines were
sufficiently tested to prove that they were in a satis-
factory condition—revolutions 26, vacuum 26, steam
gauge 171 b.
The Fire Queen, paddle yacht, Staff-Commander
Paul, has been taken into dock at Portsmouth to
repair the damage she sustained to her bottom by
striking on a rock during her recent cruise among
the Channel Islands, with Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas
Pasley, K.C.8., on board, on his annual tour of in-
spection of the islands. The damage is but trifling
compared to what it is supposed to have been.
The remains of the hull of the old sailing sloop
Champion which did such a long course of duty on
the mud lands of Portsmouth upper harbour, as a
shell practice vessel to the gunnery ship Excellent,
are being brought down the harbour piecemeal and
landed at the dockyard for breaking up by the ship-
wrights and labourers of the foreman afloat's de-
partment. According to present appearances, the
cost of breaking up must exceed the value of the
material. If the old wreckage had been sold as it
lay to some private contractor for breaking up and
removal, under the usual conditions, the Admiralty
would certainly have saved the expenditure now
being incurred by them.
The massive metal racers on which will be mounted
the 6I and 12k-tons on the decks of the Minotaur,
the Warrior, and other ironclad ships, are being
finished off in readiness for laying down in the steam
factory department of Portsmouth-yard. An iron
gun-carriage and slide for one of the 12k-ton guns
that are to form the main deck battery of the Royal
Alfred has also been received at the same factory
from Woolwich Arsenal, and is being fitted with its
compressor gear and gun running in and out chains,
is being executed with the greatest care. The run-
ning in and out chains are made with square links,
on the plan advocated by Commander Scott, of her
Majesty's ship Research, every pin-hole being
drilled through the link-plates, and every pin turned
true on the lathe.
The armour-plated screw steamship Zealous, 20,
which was put in commission by Capt. H. Dawkins,
on Tuesday, has been since inspected by Admiral
Drummond, the Superintendent at Devonport
Dockyard.
The paddlewheel despatch vessel Helicon, Com-
mander Morgan Singer, from Portland, with invalids
for the Naval Hospital, arrived on Tuesday even-
ing at Devonport, and was appointed to return to
the Channel squadron yesterday evening.
The hired steam Transport Thames, laden with
a heavy cargo of war stores and passengers for
Quebec and Montreal, under orders to sail from
Woolwich, as we stated yesterday, was detained
until this morning, on account of an additional
amount of ammunition to be shipped at Gravesend,
and an enlargement of her magazine having been
found necessary for that purpose. Her boiler fires
were consequently banked up last night, and the
ship was ordered to be detained at Woolwich until
this morning, to sail by the five o'clock tide, when
she will ship at Gravesend about 100 tons of ammu-
nition, and sail direct for Canada. The Thames
sailed from Woolwich last year, on October 29,
with a somewhat similar freight, and reached her
destination after a passage of less than 14 days.
The sister ship, St. Lawrence, is embarking in the
Victoria dock a cargo of stores for the same desti-
nation, and is under orders to sail on October 19.
Through the medium of the hydraulic cranes and
the other facilities afforded at the T pier in Wool-
wich Arsenal, the cargo of the Thames was hoisted
on board and carefully stowed in the hold at the
rate of nearly 400 tons per day. The hydraulic
lifting apparatus is now in course of being fitted
with auxiliary cylinders, so as to ship, without risk
of danger, the heavy guns about to be issued for
the fleet, namely, the new class 12k- ton gun shipped
only by means hitherto of the shears in the lower
part of the Arsenal.
The Ordnance transport Thames, Mr. Hornsey,
master, yesterday shipped at Woolwich, among
other cargo, an Bin. (new calibre) Whitworth gun
and a quantity of 1201 b. shot, for experimental
trial at Shoeburyness. The gun weighs 9 tons.
The War Department steamship Lord Panmure,
Mr. Spriddel commander, sailed yesterday from
Woolwich, laden with a general cargo of war ma-
terial, consisting of 20 7in. guns, slides, and plat-
forms, and 9in. wrought iron carriages, for the
Bellerophon and other ships at Portsmouth and
Devonport. The Alma, in the same service, Mr.
Mountfield master, yesterday left Woolwich for
Dublin, with stores, calling at Purfleet to embark
powder and ammunition.
An Admiralty order was yesterday received at
Woolwich Dockyard renewing the instructions re-
cently suspended for the entry of lads between the
ages of 14i and 16 years for reception on board of
her Majesty's training ships of the Royal Navy.
Col. Wodehouse, C. 8., commanding the depot
Brigade Horse Artillery, yesterday inspected divi-
sions of the depot on the parade at headquarters,
Woolwich, in readiness for their being despatched
to winter quarters at Warley and Sheerness. In
consequence of these and other previous reliefs to
India and elsewhere, the barrack quarters at Wool-
wich are reduced to about 2,000 below its ordinary
strength.
Ensign Cavagnari, of the 9th Regiment, is under
orders to proceed from Colchester to the service
companies of his corps, in Bengal. Two sergeants
and three
under ordesc°tor frothmethleosOetrhvicße
corporals of
of Regiment mt
been
depott a r e
companies.r
His Excellency Ma*
jor-Gencral Cuppage
or ,
Lieut.-
Governor of Jersey, embarked
at Gey Harbour
On Saturday last on board her • lajesty's steamer
Dasher, Commander Bushnell, R N
• ~ and left for
St. Malo on a short Continental tour. D •
During the
gallant General's absence from Jersey Col. Mac_
irdy, 69th Regt., will act as Lieut.-Governor.
The Dart, 4, screw gun vessel, 428 tons, 80 horse
power, Commander Lowther, left Spithead yester-
day under steam for the Channel, en route to her
destination, the West Coast of Africa. Wind in the
Channel south-westerly, strong, with squalls. •
The steam transport Thames, Captain Pickering,
belonging to the firm of Templey, Parke, and Co.,
of London, has completed shipping a heavy cargo
of war stores, &c., for Quebec, making a total of
1,576 tons measurement, and will sail from Wool-
wich-pier by the four o'clock tide this afternoon.
Her cargo consists of 24 field battery 9-pounder
guns; 8 24-pounder howitzers; 10 20-pounder guns ;
1 light battery of 6-pounders for the Artillery
Militia, and 5 carronades for the bastion walls ; 700
sets of harness and various appointments for cavalry;
4,000 boxes of shell, a large amount of 2 oz. shot in
tin cases, known as case shot ; and a number of bale
goods from the Tower. She has also 9 cabin pas-
sengers—namely 6 adults, 2 children, and 1 servant.
Notwithstanding the
hoped that the passage may be still sufficiently free
from ice to ad •
mit of the Thames making her voyage
in safety.
Much additional and auxiliary
machinery received
from Leeds has been
erected during the weeks in the Royalpast few
gun factories and the laboratory
departments of Woolwich Arsenal, for th of facilitating the boring e purpose
and completion of a stipu-
lated number of 12i ton guns during the present
financial year, ending in March next, and also for
the preparation of the Boxer/ear&
ridgesu. The con-
sequent employment of a Urge number of available