The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-07 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

VALETTA, Aug. I.—Her Majesty's paddlewheel
despatch vessel Psyche, 2, Commander A. R. Blane,
arrived hem the squadron at Patras on Sunday
morning, the 29th of July ; she left Patras on the
2Gth. The Royal Oak, 35, ironclad, had gone to
Zante, in order to give the crew leave on shore.
The Racer, 11, was
4, ironclad, was at
night after the arrival of thejMl‘alreusrerilalyie:ga r d 2, (-ft' n -
la,trieCs`toerfu,Tabndlt‘lrie Enterprise,
had arrived
abtoalt,,aLtriaesutf.r-eChlom
Commandenlrand r P. ' b
Malta.e rilie. Assurance, 4, gun-
vessel,July to resume Pym, left Malta on Monday
coastoin
go f
to Sicily.
the
despatches for the Commander-in-Chief at Patras.
Her Majesty's paddlewheelsurveying-vessel Hydra,
left Malta harbour on the 31st of
toinaey severallosvfui t
phopf l y ,
Hospital, `.these
hydrographical operations on the
illness. Lieutenant Deen
heat of . the weather and the un-
healthinessßoyal Navalopoefratthieoneseasarteabtetinhgiscsaerarsioedn
laudable energy and accuracy.
2, Staff
leave port on the 4theirn
inthoest
calling at Gibraltar. lletll
surveying staff have suffered from
rew
buthas ibseennewreimuovaedfatior
Prince Consort, 31,.
recovery.
orders to leave Malta aoiMajesty'snesty,
returnsi ri
ro enn
t_soecirae:
England,v
frigatestore-
ship
Commander C. Bowden, will
Ginibrthaletar, .
the 9th. In consequence Capt. Inglefield, is also under
cattlet for Patras on the 4th inst.,
Capt. Coote, will le 81, screw line-of-battle ship,
tahv of a telegramreceived from
e for the same destination on
Tunis, to the effect
vicinity
a diseaseisprevalent among
andtheity of Bizerta, the officer admi-
nistering the government
t having heard the opinion
of the Board of health,
of has directed that the impor-
tationcattle from Tu •
ms and its vicinity be pro-
hibited until further orders. On July 27, informa-
tion having been received by telegraph of the exist-
ence of Asiatic cholera
at Southampton, a quaran-
tine of 15 full days was established here against ar-
rivals from that port. Subsequent
information hav-
ing reached the island that the disease also existed
in London and other parts of England, the above
period of quarantine
coming
was extended on the 31st ult.
to all vessels corai
from any port of Great Britain.
arrivals The quarantine on from Leghorn has been
removed, and the
that authorities
being in possession of
official information Tuscany was free from
cholera or any epidemic disease whatever. A period
of quarantine of 15 full
from
days is, however, still en-
forced on vessels Marseilles,arriving on account
1 of the continued prevalence of cholera in that city.
The present members of the Board of Admiralty
arrived at Chatham yesterday f
_or the purpose of
making their first official inspection of the dockyard
and the several naval establishments at the port.
The Lords Commissioners reached Chatham
Chatham by the
morning express train, and drove
at once to the
dockyard, at the entrance-gates of vi •
inch they were
received by the heads of departments, including
Captain IV. 11. Stewart, C. 8., superintendent of
the dockyard ; Commander R. Stokes, master-at-
tendant ; Major Pasley, Royal Engineers, principal
superintendent of Admiralty k' wor s Chatham ; Mr.
Thornton, principal master shipwright, and his
assistants ; Mr. T. Baker, chief
engineer and inspec-
tor of machinery ; Mr. Astley Cooper, naval store-
keeper ; Mr. Chatworthy, account
ant ; Mr. Church-
ward, cashier ; Mr. River's, principal clerk of works;
Alr. Bernans, superintendent of the ex •
tension works;
Mr. Mallalieu, Superintendent Strength, and other
officials. The members of the Board present in-
eluded Sir John Pakington, Al.p ~First Lord ; Vice-
Admiral Sir A. Milne, K.C.B
•, First Sea Lord ;
Rear Admiral Sir John C. D. Hay, and Mr. C.
Ducane, M. P. ; Lord H. G. C. G. Lennox, • "
M P •
First Secretary ; Rear-Admiral K. S. Robinson,
Controller of the Navy ; Major A. Clarke, Royal
E
Engineers, Director of Admiralty - Engineering
Works; Col. Langley, Deputy Adjutant-General;
'
and Mr. Pakington, Private Secretary to the First
Lord. On entering the dockyard a guard of honour
of the Royal Marines Light Infantry, under the
command of Capt. P. M. C. Crok er, with
the band
and colours, received their lordships wi •
th the accus-
tomed honours. Before proceeding on their tour
of inspection their lordships went direct to the office
of Captain-Superintendent Stewart, where they
were occupied in the transaction of official business,
the chief matters under consideration
relating to the
proposed works intended to be carried out at Chat-

ham during the ensuing year, the estimates of which
are now in course of preparation. The plans for
the-various new works and alterations in the existing
buildings, docks, &c., were all laid before their
Lordships, who at the outset expressed their wish
that ony those absolutely requisite to promote the
efficiency of the service should be submitted to them.
After carefully going through the various proposals
by the different heads of departments, only a por-
tion of the number were approved, with the view to
their being carried into effect, their lordships subse-
quently satisfying thernselvesby a personal inspection
of the several localities that the improvements and
alterations were imperatively called for. After spend-
ing some time in this portion of their duties, the mem-
bers of the Board quitted the office, and proceeded
on a visit to the various vessels building and fit-
ting, the large ironclad frigate Hercules, recently
commenced in No. 2 graving-dock, claiming their
first attention. During the short interval which has
elapsed since the keel of this vessel was laid down
she has made the most rapid progress, and although
the first piece of iron for her construction was lowered
into the dock so recently as the 21st of June last,
the vessel is now almost entirely in frame, and a
considerable portion of her double cellular-bottom
is already completed—a rate of progress, it was re-
marked, which was without a parallel in iron ship-
building. The Hercules is being built on the broad-
side principle, while her designs, as produced by
Mr. Reed, show that she will surpass every other
vessel of her class in the elements of strength and
offensive and defensive powers. She is to be con-
structed of Bin. of exterior armour-plates, laid on a
backing of l2in. of teak, behind which will be worked
plating of liin. in thickness over 26in. of teak and
the ordinary tin. inner iron skin. Some idea of the
enormous strength may be formed by a' comparison
of the Hercules and the Warrior, the latter having
a maximum weight of 4271 b. per square foot ; while
the weight of the former will be 7371 b. per square
foot. It is intended that the Hercules, which will
probably be the last of that class of ships the
present Admiralty will sanction the construction of,
shall be ready for sea within a couple of years. The
dock adjoining that in which the Hercules is under
construction was intended, several months since, for
the new double turret-ship Monarch, to be laid
down and built from Mr. Reed's designs, but up to
the present time nothing has been done in the way
of building that vessel, the unavoidable delay hav-
ing arisen in consequence of the nature of the works
required to be undertaken in order to obtain the
requisite additional length of dock. There is now,
however, every probability of the works which
have engaged the engineering staff of the dock-
yard several months being completed, and in order
that no unnecessary delay might arise it was explained
to their Lordships that the keel of the Monarch is
being constructed alongside the dock ready for
lowering into its place as soon as the dock is ready
for its reception. The only wooden unarmoured
vessel now building at Chatham is the Blanche, one
of a class of vessels of the Amazon type, designed by
Mr. E. J. Reed, the Chief Constructor of the Navy,
but already it would appear that the Admiralty have
decided on making some important alterations in her
character and form, conspicuous among which will
be the dispensing with the low underwater protrud-
ing stem, by which it is anticipated that additional
fineness will be imparted to her bow, which, from
her appearance yesterday, will still present the bluff-
shaped stem, receding inboard. After spending some
short time in inspecting the Blanche and conferring
with the master-shipwright as to the character of
the deviations from the original designs of this
vessel, their Lordships next visited the slip on which

the two-decker line-of-battle screw steamer Bulwark
has been lying for a great number of years, about
one-third completed. One of the last acts of the
late Board of Admiralty was to direct plans, draw-
ings, and estimates to be prepared for converting
this vessel into an armour-plated ship. As this,
however, will make it necessary to remove at least
one of her decks and to cut her down, while after
all she will, if completed, be nothing more than a
makeshift for an ironclad, it is not prob4able that her
alteration, at least in the form originally contemplated,
will be carried into effect. The small gun vessel Myrmi-
don, also lying idle on the stocks, was next visited
by their Lordships, who also went on board the
screw corvette Reindeer, 200 horse-power, one of
the latest and most improved forms of the corvette
class of steamers. She is now rapidly approach-
ing completion for her first commission, and will
be ready for undocking at the end of the present
month. The new system of working iron in con-
siderable quantities into a wooden vessel has been
adopted to
.a considerable extent in the case of this
vessel, with the most satisfactory results. After
leaving the Reindeer the members of the board pro-
ceeded through the smithery, and inspected the new
machinery and additional ponderous steam ham-
mers recently erected, to be used in the preparation
of the iron required in the construction of the new
ironclad ships now building, as well as those con-
templated. The latest addition to this department
of the dockyard includes a large steam hammer of a
size considerably greater than any hitherto in use at
either of the Royal dockyards. Completing their
inspection of the smiths' shops, their lordships re-
turned through the yard to the official residence of
Capt.-Superintendent Stewart, where they lunched.
In the afternoon they left the dockyard for the
Royal Marine Barracks, when the whole of the
officers and men of the division were drawn up on
the parade-ground, under the command of Colonel
Commandant J. 0. Travers, C. 8., with the divi-
sional and Queen's colours and the band. On the
arrival of their Lordships, who were received by
General Stransham, the parade gave the usual salute
with the colours in front, the band playing " Rule
Britannia." After witnessing the officers and men
execute a few manoeuvres, and visiting a portion of
the barrack quarters, they proceeded to inspect the
men's quarters, mess-room, and the new range of
buildings just completed adjoinining the Marine
Barracks, and intended as quarters for the officers
of the corps. The buildings occupy a portion of
the dockyard appropriated by the Admiralty for
that purpose, and they are exceedingly commodious
and handsome, the whole, when completed
and the intervening buildings removed, forming
a continuation of the present barracks. Their Lord-
ships next visited the Royal Naval Hospital at Mel-
ville, where they were joined by the Naval Com-
mander-in-Chief, Vice-Admiral Sir Baldwin W.
Walker, and having spent a short time at that es-
tablishment they proceeded to the gun-shed battery,
where they witnessed the officers and gunners of the
Royal Marines exercise at the great gun drill, in

working and manoeuvring the great ship guns, with
which the battery is furnished. At the close of the
day's inspection, which was prolonged until late in
the afternoon, their lordships returned to the dock-
yard, where Admiral Sir John Hay inspected the
storehouses and some other departments. In the
evening their lordships entertained a select party at
dinner on board their steam yacht Enchantress, in
Chatham-harbour, sleeping on board last night.
They will resume and bring to a close their inspec-
tion at Chatham to-day, proceeding afterwards in
the Enchantress to Sheerness, to visit the naval es-
tablishments at that station.
The Chartered transports Norma, Harlequin, and
Sir John Moore, with heavy guns, wrought-iron
carriages, shot, shell, rockets, sadlery, &c., have
sailed from Woolwich Arsenal for Quebec, Mon-
treal, and llalifax, and the G. E. Putman, at the
Arsenal pier, is expected to sail during the week.
The latter vessel, having lost her captain and a ship's
lad from cholera, has been fumigated and her cabins
painted anew.
At a regimental parade of the Woolwich division
of Royal Marines, ou the 3d inst., a letter was read
expressing the thanks of Lieut.-General Peel, Secre-
tary of State for War, to the officers and men of
the Royal Marines who were engaged in the sup-
pression of the fire rhich broke out in the Royal

her Majesty's surveying ship Nassau, commis-
sioned at Woolwich by Capt. Richard C. Mayne,
yesterday received over her crew, and a detachment
consisting of one corporal and seven privates Royal
Marine Light Infantry, in readiness for sea.
A letter received yesterday at Woolwich by Col.
Maxwell, commanding the Royal Marines, acquaints
the division that the director of education for the
Admiralty has recommended that the attendance of
non-commissioned officers at school after they have
obtained a second-class certificate, should not be
made compulsory, and that privates obtaining a
second-class certificate should be excused from school
in
case unless they may volunteer to
attend. o f
out this proposal quarterly exa-
minations for certificates will in future be held, at
which men, whether they have attended school or not,
' are to be encouraged to attend, a report being made
to the director of education of the numbers of non-
commissioned officers and privatta *Ow will present
themselves for examination morder that t questions
in arithmetic and the papers for dictation may be
sent down by Dr. Woolley, to whom the presenta-
tion books are to be sent for examination, the read-
ing being estimated by the chaplain or other officer
selected by the candidate.