The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-19 00:00:00

Her Majesty's Ship Pallas.

Following upon the contractor's trial of her ma-
chinery on the 11th inst., and in accordance with the
arrangements of the Controller of the Navy, the
armoured screw corvette Pallas 6 guns, 2,372 tons,

600-horse power, Capt.MatthewConnolly, made her
trials of speed with full and half-boiler power, at
her sea-going draught of water, over the measured
mile in Stokes Bay, near Portsmouth, yesterday,

the results being satisfactory in the highest degree
as regards the machinery of the ship, but not quite
so satisfactory in relation to the ship herself, if the
rate of speed she attained with full-boiler power is
considered simply
in conjunction with the extraor-
dinary power developed by her engines and the im-
mersed area of her midship section or displacement.
The Pallas is 225 ft. in length between perpendicu-
lars, with an extreme breadth of 50ft. On leaving
Spithead for Stokes Bay yesterday morning her
draught of water was—forward 18ft. 3in., and aft
24ft. lin. The height of her gun deck from the
water-line was, at the bow port till, 10ft. ;at central

battery port culls, Bft. ; at after port till in the
captain's cabin, Bft. sin.
The propelling power of the ship consists of a pair
of engines, manufactured by Messrs. Humphreys
and 'Tennant, of the collective nominal power of COO
horses. The specifications of the Admiralty in their
contract for these engines, as also for those ordered
at the same time for the Bellerophon, Lord Clyde,
and Lord Warden, stipulated that they should
exert six times their nominal power with boilers of

he size usually employed by the Admiralty—viz.,
9ft. of heating surface and 7-10ths of a square fool

of fire-bar to the nominal power. The boilers of the
Pallas, therefore, have 11.400 square feet of heating
surface, and 420 square feet of fire-bar. As the
source of power in all engines is the coal burnt, and
as all boilers`supplied to the Admiralty are as nearly
alike in their proportions as possible, it follows that
the quantity of coal burnt will be in direct propor-
tion to the size of the furnaces—i.e., to the area of
fire-bar—and hence the perfection of the engines
of the four ships must be measured by their de-
velopment of power, if all other things can be ren-
dered equal. The engines of the Pallas are built
on the system known as " Woolf's," each engine
having two cylinders—the smaller one, into which
the steam first enters from the, boilers, being 51in. in
diameter, and the large cylinder, into which the
steam expands from the smaller one, having a dia-
meter of 102 in. The length of stroke with both is
3ft. 3in., and the contract speed is 75 revolutions
per minute. The surface condensers arc of the kind
introduced by the late Mr. Samuel Hall in 1830,
and are of sufficiently ample dimensions to condense
all the steam generated by the boilers, and without
the aid of injection water. The engines drive a
two-bladed Griffith screw with a diameter of 18ft.

6in., and a stroke of 181 t. The weather was beau-
tifully fine and favourable for the occasion, the
wind being very light and variable in direction, with
the sea as smooth as a glass mirror. The officials
and others on board comprised Rear-Admiral G. G.

Wellesley, Mr. E. J. 'feed, Chief Constructor of
the Navy ; Commander Brett, of her Majesty's ship
Asia, Steam Reserve officer in charge of trial; Capt.
Herbert of her Majesty's ship Royal Sovereign ;
Messrs. Murray and Ward, steam factory depart-
ment ; Mr. Murdoch, Steam Reserve department ;
Mr. Brain, assistant-master shipwright ; Mr. H.
E. Humphreys, master of the ship's engines, &c.
Six runs were first made with full boiler power
with the following results :—speed of the ship, knots.
—lst, 14.220; 2d, 11.465; 3d, 15.000; 4th, 10.942;
sth, 15.254 ; 6th, 10.778. Ship's mean speed,
4eB, 320, 441, 3177 438.
Ful6
13.057. Steam pressure, 311 b. ; average vacuum,
27n. Reilu
; runs
pert per minute, 81, 81,81,
2I
3n:ginoller power gave the 8, i
801 ,r 8
o vo
witho run,n sof
half
3e
follow-
ing figures :—Speed of ship, knots.—lst, 12.457 ;
2d, 9.917 ; 3d, 11.880 ; 4th, 10.778. 'Ship's mean
speed, 11.077 knots. , Indicated horse-power of
engines, 3,768.
The rudder, with the ship motionless, can be put
over to an angle of 35 deg. each way.
The engines worked in a most astonishingly even
and satisfactory atisfactor manner during the whole of the 10
runs, maintaining
their SO revolutions' speed and up-
wards throughout the full-power runs in a manner
never before excelled. Some little delay took place
at the commencement of the trial from the boilers
unexpectedly priming, which, however, was soon got
over, and all went smoothly enough afterwards.
The height of the bow waves, as compared with those
raised by the ship's submerged beak on the 11th inst.,
was about lft. less, and none of the bow watermade
entry, as on the previous occasion, by the vessel's
hawsepipe. This difference in height and volume of
bow water was owing to the fact of there being no
movement of the sea yesterday, whereas on the for-
mer trial there was movement. The ship carries two
distinct waves, it may be said, in front of her mid-
ship section, one being the great bow wave thrown
up by her beak, and the other rising under the after
part of the fore channels, a chasm of .water separat-
ing the two. At half-boiler power these waves were
I reduced to one-fourth of their size as exhibited with
full-boiler power. The shipsteered remarkably easy,
half a spoke of the wheel throwing her instantly off
in the direction -desired.
A careful and impartial analysis of the trialfigures
will bring out the following important inferences :
1. The indicated horse-Power and revolutions of

speed due to her engine power from her displacement.
3. The loss on her estimated original rate is ()win,/
to the alterations made in her hull, displacement'
and rig since she was first designed, and on the Tate
due from her engine power to her displacement to
the speed-destroying qualities of her ram bow.
The Pallas is one of the earliest vessels designed
by Mr. Reed for the navy. She, in common also, to
some extent, with the Bellerophon, has been con-
structed with the long submerged " ram" bow, bor-
rowed from the French theory as exemplified by
M. upuy de Lilme, in the partially-plated ships
Magenta and Solferino. This ram theory Mr. Reed
claims to have considered altogether apart from his
U shaped bow system, the one being given to
assure striking power, and the other to insure buoy-
ancy and speed ; and it is, therefore, necessary this
not unimportant distinction should be borne in
mind in forming any judgment of the steaming
powers of the Pallas. It is "this long, submerged
_ .

prow, or ram, which creates such immense waves
under the bows of the Pallas and Bellerophon, the

first-named ship creating the greaterwaves from her
greater prow, but this peculiarity is also certainly

shared, although in a much less degree than theto3
ships named, by other vessels designed and set afloat
as yet by Mr. Reed, but which cannot be placed on
the same level as rams with the Pallas and Belle-

rophon, having been constructed with his U floor
and bluff bow lines, but not with the projecting

ram bow of the French. There is, however, an un-

doubted affinity of form between Mr. Reed's U
lines and M. Dupuy de Lome's ram, the latter being
apparently but an exaggerated prolongation of the
former. Possibly the Constructor of the French
navy was the original promoter of the ram scheme,
for there are indications that our own Chief Con-

structor does not place such implicit faith in the
principle as many persons may suppose. In the
Pallas as a " ram," he has given the double plough-
coulter shaped projection to her bow in its full de-
velopment, but with the Bellerophon the principle
is very much modified, in the Hercules it has under-
gone a still further modification, and in the new
fore body of the Danae, now setting up in Ports-
mouth yard, the " ram" form is not to be found,
even with the Amazon outline, but instead the U
lines of Mr. Reed's fore-body are blended near the

vessel's stein With the V formed entrance as under.

hood by all ordinary shipbuilders. The introduc•
on of bluff submerged bows in the lines of iron•

clad steamships was; somewhat bold measure, but
it promised to give a ship of moderate length the
necessary buoyancy to carry her guns and
armour-plating at a certain line of flotation, and

for this reason alone it .was defensible as an ex-
periment in common with all other building of
ironclad ships of war. But arguments were put for-
ward in support of the plough bow, which were of
so wildly theoretical a character, so entirely opposed
to all recognised and natural laws, that they natu-
rally provoked considerable discussion. Shortly
stated, they are to the effect that a certain amount
of water lies in front of a ship's midship section,
which must be got rid of, and the sooner this is done li
the better for the ship's speed. The plough bow
breaks up this water, and rolls it up in immense
waves under the vessel's bows, which, says M.
Dupuy de Lome and friends, " cannot obstruct the
ship in her progress through the water, as they are
travelling in the same direction as the ship." All
ships built with the French " ram" bow, whether
from the designs of Mr. Reed or others, as in the
case of the turret rain Arminius, built by Mr.
Samuda, threw up enormous waves round their bows
when under full steam power, as the action of the
ram in ploughing the water up in double curved
furrows, and therefore required no apologetic theory
for what was their certain and natural action. But

a " ram" bow is decidedly not the form of bow to
be given to any vessel intended to obtain the highest
rate of speed due from her hull displacement to her
engines developed power. The Pallas's trials fur-
nish convincing proofs of this. In all the trials off
the Maplin Sands, in the engineer's trial of the
Wight on the 11th instant, and the speed trials in
Stokes'-hay yesterday, the permanent height of the
waves thrown up in curves round round her bows,
with their foam covering of hissing waters, which
leapt and tumbled round the ship's head, was some-
thing wonderful to behold. Any one competent to
form an opinion on the subject and who witnessed
the trial of the Pallas yesterday and the tempest of
water under her bows could not but admit that all
this water could not be ploughed and beaten up in
such, a manner with a less force than one-fifth of
the indicated power of the ship's engines. To a
" ram" proper such an absorption of power may
be correct. To a vessel not built for a " ram"
such an absorption of power would be its utter
waste without a grain of benefit in return. So
conclusively, indeed, have the trials of the Pallas
proved the unsuitableness of the ram bow
for speed that it is not probable its serious advocacy
for our ships of war will ever be renewed in England,
or that the Pallas's form 'of bow will ever be repro-
duced in the bows of any- other ship laid down in
future for her Majesty's navy. Apart from the ram
question, however, the expressed great aim of Mr.
Reed since he has held the office of Chief Con-
structor of the Navy has been to introduce a class of
vessel that should, by her moderate length and
im-
provedtype of engine, possess the maximum amount
of manoeuvring power obtainable with the single
screw, and at the same time approximate closely in
speed with that of our longest, and certainly most
unhandy ships. In turning or manoeuvring. power
Mr. Reed has already demonstrated his successwith
the Belleiophon and Pallas, but he has yet to make
good his promise with regard to the speed of his
ships. At present he appears to have clung too
closely in all his vessels, always supposing that the
Bellerophon and Pallas are simply " rams," to the
round French bow to get the rate of speed he wants,
and to have also rushed from the extreme of length
over beam to beam over length, although in all this
he has been but the servant of the Admiralty, em-
bodying their wishes and ideas in a certain desired
form. If the course now being pursued with the
altered fore body of the Danae is pursued by Mr.
Reed in designing his new ships, he may yet obtain
his desire, and by cramming a ship of the propor-
tionate length to beam of the Bellerophon with extra
engine power may give her a rate of speed which,
combined with her superior handiness, shall render
her a far more valuable ship than a vessel of greater
length and slightly superior in speed. To attain
this extent of excellence he must lengthen his bows
and blend his U floor plan with the sharp V bow
form, both of which courseshe has pursued now with
the Danae.
As the' Pallas lies at anchor at Spithead, she has,
externally, not one redeeming point of beauty to
counteract the general ugliness of appearance given
to her hull by her round bows, conical stern, and
indented side's, notwithstanding that her projecting
beak is hidden above the water by a false head. She
carries a good broad belt of armour round the water-
line, and from this belt, centrally, rises her square
armour-cased battery 40ft. in length by 50ft. in
width. This battery is pierced with two gun ports
on each side, and by indenting the ship's side at each
end of the battery a kind of inner sponson is formed
of part of the vessel's main deck, which gives a line
of fire from the forward and after end ports of the
battery clear of the- ship's sides at about 20 deg. out
of line with the ship's keel. The arrangements of
the ship inboard and the amount of space available
for the officers and crew, as well as for the stowagee
of stores of all kinds, is really
admirable, while the
evident been turned
' care with which the ship had _
out of hand, even down to the minutest particulars
of her equipment, -furnishes- ample -evidence that
neither cost nor time had been spared
Tto render
everything as perfect of its kind as possible. he upper

deck bulwarks are somewhat remarkable, as being
very much lower than usual, but this gives good
command of view around the ship, and at the same
time is quite high enough for all practical use.
The deck gives ample room for working the ship
under sail. The main deck is divided into three
portions—after deck, central, and forward. The
after deck contains abaft all the captain's roomy
suite of cabins, the after one containing an Arm-
strong 110-pounder breechloader mounted and
peering over the ship's sternpost. Next the cap-
tain's suite of cabins come, on the starboard and
port sides of the deck, officer's cabins—the senior
lieutenant and the master, with offices for the pay-
master and the clerks. Forward of these are spaces
set apart with tables as reading and recreation
rooms for the seamen and marines. The central
portion of the deck comes next' to the recreation
rooms, and consists of the ship's square-armoured
battery. In this are mounted four 6f-ton wrought-
iron rifled muzzle-loading guns, mounted on wooden
carriages and slides fitted with eccentric rollers on
Capt. Key's plan, and unencumbered with special
training gear. Round the walls of the battery are
tastefully disposed rifles, revwoiltvherssh,
obot,arde:pgtypsihk3esil:
cks round the base of the
cauntdlafsuslles,shaenldl
rt oa
nmgae hd a
inw krsa,
walls. The fore-deck carries one 110-pounder
breech-loading Armstrong for chasing, and at the
sides are abins and a mess-room 'for 'tire warrant
officers, a sick bay, seamen's, stoker's, and engineers,
lavatories and baths, cooking galley, &c., with large
space amidships, given by the vessel's broad bows,
available for working the cables in weighing anchor.
On the lower deck the .wardroom holds the usual
position at the after end, somewhat dark, bute
very
capacious. Succeeding to the ward-room is th
gun-
room, or midshipmen's berth, engineers' berth,
stewards' pantries, &c., and forward of these the
general lower deck. This latter is of unusual space
for a vessel of the Pallas's tonnage, only half of it,
indeed, being occupied by the crew of the ship, with
nine mess-tables on each side, leaving room forward
of these for six or eight more tables on each side,
all the fittings for which are on board, should they
ever be required. The ship's hold is equally capa-
cious with the lower deck, possessing excellent stow-
age capacity. The crew of the Pallas, officers and
men, all told, is 250, amply sufficient to work her
six guns under any circumstances, but totally in-
sufficient to handle and work the ship under steam
or sail in all the conditions in which she may be
placed when on active service.
Power developed on the trial trips of the follow-
ing ships, each being 1,000 tons nominal :

Caledonia 4,092 1 Prince Regent 4,234
Howe 3,951 I Victoria... 4,293
Mersey 4,045
Ocean 4,244
Average-4,1
Average power of Pall

Total 24,859
L 43 indicated.
las-3,768-horse power.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

NEWMARKET SPRING MEETING.—WEDNESDAY.
A day of rest and thankfulness after the uproar and
confusion of the previous one, with a quiet attendance and
quiet racing, in which there was nothing to greatly excite
one. Mr. Pitt met the Two Thousand horse Janitor in the
£lOl Plate over the Rowley mile, and defeated him cleverly,
coming into notice for the Chester Cup both before and
after the race. Some interest was excited by the meeting
of The Duko and Breadalbane in a sweepstakes over the
T.Y.C., and a close race was expected, but Lord Hastings's
horse won with ease, Breadalbane never being able to ex-
tend him. The Two-Year-old Plate brought out a good
field of 17 runners, of which Lady Hester and Hippia wore
alone backed, Baron Rothschild's filly winning with ex-
treme ease. The Baron is rather celebrated for carrying
off this plate, having won it in previous years with
Tomato and Evelina. Tho fielders at length got a turn in
the Handicap Plate with Hopvine, an outsider little
fancied, at 100 to 8, who won cleverly three-quarters of a
length from Ethelred.
Renewal of the Sweepstakes of 50 sous each, for 3-yr-old
colts and fillies. 1 mile 2 furlongs 73 yards. 4 subs.
Mr. Watt's Strathconan, (41b), Bst Glb (J. Snowden) 1
Baron Rothschild's Tomahawk, Bst 101 b (Wells) 2
Betting-8 to lon Strathconan, who held a slight lead
of Tomahawk to the whore he came away,
and won easily by a length and a half.
Match. Last half of Rowley mile. 100; h ft.
Mr. 11. Chaplin'sßutterflyfilly, 2 yrs, 7st 6lb (S. Adams) 1
Admiral Rous's Dot, 3 yrs, Bst 101 b
Bet ting-6 to 4 on Dot, who led into the " dip," whore
the Butterfly filly joined her, and, after a good race, won
by half a length.
Plate of £lOO, for 3-yr-olds ; colts, Bst 101 b ; and fillies,
Bst 71b ; winners 41b extra. One mile 17 yards.
Duke of Beaufort's Mr. Pitt, 9st (inc. 41b ex.)...(Cannon 1
Count Batthyany's Mazeppa, 9st (including 41b extra
(J. Daley 2
Baron Rothschild's Janitor, 9st (including 11b extra
(Wells 3
Mr. Savile's The Corsair, Bst 101 b (Doyle 4
Sir W. Booth's Emigrant, Bst 101 b (E. Sharp 5
Betting.-9 to 4on Mr. Pitt, 7to 2 agst Janitor, and 10
to 1 bar two.

Mazeppa made play for about half a mile, when Janitor
went on with the running, closely attended by Mr. Pitt
and Mazeppa to the Bushes-hill, where Janitor dropped
away beaten, as also did the Corsair and Emigrant, and
Mr. Pitt and Mazeppa joining issue half-way up the cords,
a good race ended in favour of Mr. Pitt by a neck ; bad
third.

Sweepstakes of 50 soya each, h ft., for 3-yr-old colts and
fillies. 7 furlongs 210 yards. 3 subs.
Mr. J. Pardoe's Lass o' Gowrie (31b), Bst 31b (Loates) 1
Mr. J. IL C. Wyndham's The Masson (31b), Bst 31b
(T. Challoner) 2
Betting-11 to 8 on Lass o' Gowrie, who made play
throughout and won easily by a length.
Sweepstakes of 50 Boys each, h ft, for 3-yr-old colts and
fillies. 7 furlongs 210 yards. 3 subs.
Lord Coventry's Cotillon (31b), Bst 31b Adams) w.o.
Sweepstakes of 10 soya each, for 2-yr-old; 7st ; 3-yr-olds,
3st ; fillies allowed 31b. The winner to be sold for 300
SOTS if demanded, &c.; if entered to be sold for 200 soya
allowed 51b. 9 subs. 5 furlongs 140 yards.
Mr. Chaplin's Goodfellow, 2 yrs (X 200), Est 91b
(Murray) 1
Count F. de Lagrange's Raven, 3 yrs (£300) 9st
(H. Grimshaw) 2
Baron Rothschild's Molly filly, 2 yrs (Z 200), Est 61b 3
Lord Canterbury's Gas, 2 yrs (.£200), Est 61b...(Lnyon 4
The following also ran :—Hopvine, Amazon filly, and
F-ortunatus.
Betting-12 to 10 agst Goodfellow, 3to 1 agst Raven, 6
to 1 agst Gas, and 10 to 1 agst any other.
After two or three failures the lot were sent away from
the post in good order. Raven held a slight lead of Good-
fellow, Gas, and the Molly filly to half-way up the cords,
where Goodfellow and Raven closed, and an exciting race
ended in favour of Goodfellow by a head; three lengths be-
tween second and third; a head the third andfourth. Hop-
vine was fifth, Fortunatus sixth, and the Amazon filly last.
Count Lagrange claimed Goodfellow, and Baron Rothschild
Raven. •

Sweepstakes of 60 sous each, h ft, for 3-yr-old; 7st 91b ;
4-yr-olds, Bst 111 b ; 6-yr-olds and upwards, 9st 11b. 5
furlongs 140 yards. 5 subs.
Marquis of Hastings's The Duke, 4 yrs, Bst 111b(Cannon 1
Mr. Chaplin's Breadalbane, 4 yrs, Bst 111 b (T. Challoner) 2
Lord Glasgow's Sis. to Ascham, 4 yrs,Bstlllb(J.Osborne 3
Betting-3 to lon The Duke, who waited till half-way
up the cords, where he came away and won easily by a
length and a half ; bad third.
The Newmarket Two-Year-Old Plate of 200 sous ; colts,
Bst 101 b ; fillies, Bst 81b ; a winner of a plate or
wilesweep-
stakes to carry 51b ex. Last 5 furlongs of Rowleyea_
s_ .
Baron Rothichild's Hippia, Bst 81b .................. Or !.1 j
.:'2-
Mr. Brewtey's Hatty, Bst 81b ...................... ._mainTl 3
Duke of Beaufort's Lady Hester, Bst 81b ............... D
Argenta,
The following also ran :—Rus in Grben,
Cross Knight, Mavourneen, Problem, Ni
to King horn,
Verity, Ingratitude, Atalanto, Sisterßt,nt,s
e dam colt.
Clairvoyance dam colt, and Firmaesier,
3 to 1 agst liippia,
Nine
Einine7 colt, Red
Betting-2 to 1 agst Lady Hest and and Sis. to Kin horn
8 to 1 each agst Problem,
and when
or three slight failures pros
in
lad
ribe actual
cut out the work, the
the signal Wag given line across the course to the Bushes,
and 20 to 1 each agst HattcyAeda:dtE_ieedCrossettnt,ight. Two
Baron's filly
others stretching-oil:
had always occupied a prominent po-
wher6 liiP,Pi centre of the course, came out, attended Ly
niefe_tlevre, andup
the cords, and won
salon in t" Problem, but the -
quitted Them ha y.cleverly by a
of length between -
three-quarters a the second and
length ; _
third; Problem was fourth, the Verona colt fifth, Verity
Batty, Lady
six-th, Atalanto seventh, Sister to liinghorti
.eighth ; and
the last three were Ruth, Red Cross Knight, and Argentel.
Handicap Plato of £5O, for 3-yr-olds and upwards. Six
furlongs. •
Mr. Jackson's Hopvine, 3 yrs, sst 71b - ((Butler) 1
Mr. Bevill's Ethelred, 5 yrs, let 131 b ' (Morris) 2
Mr. J. Dawsoh'sGrapeshot, 4 yrs, 6st 121b...(H. Covey) 3
The following also ran :—Audax, Menace, Whitby, Lady
Valentine, Flutter filly, • Tilt, Celerrima, William _Pitt,
sweet Anne,_ Blackthorn,' A3ienume colt, , Denmark, and
Helen Ragan colt.
Betting-5 to 2 agst William Pitt, 4to 1 agst Denmark,