The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-16 00:00:00

LONDON GAZE rTE.—Last Evening.

The Queen has been pleased to approve of M. Julius
IlieLunkde Dasu kCeo onfsuolladtelinbounrggk.ong for his Royal Highness the
His Royal Highness the Prince of 'Wales has appointed.
tho Eail of Mount Edgcumbe to be an extra Lord of the
Bedchamber to his Royal Highness.
'WAR OFFICE;-.A.Tik 15.
Corps of Royal Engineers—Captain George Reid Lam-
p iere, from the Supernumerary List, to be Captain, vice
E. Bridge, deceased ; Second Captain John Edward
Second
Cores,
Ca on the Supernumerary List, to be Captain ;
Captain Alexander De Courcy Scott to be Cap-
tain, vice A. B. Fyers, seconded • Lieutenant Robert
Barton, to be Second Captain, vice 'Scott.

COURSE OF EXCHANGE—Last Evening.

Amsterdam Short. 11 14 11 15
Ditto 3 Months. 11 191 11 19f
Rotterdam
Antwerp — 25 50 25 55
Brussels
Hamburg
Short 25 10 25 12f
Paris
...... _

Ditto 3 Months. 25 42} 25 50
Marseilles
Frankfort on the Maine 118 119
Vienna — 14 20 14 60
Trieste — 14 20 14 60
Petersburgn - 24 24i
Berlin
Madrid — 45 451
Cadiz
Leghorn
Milan
Genoa
30 50 32 0

Naples

Liverpool Cotton Market--(This Day.)

Market opens quiet. Sales probably 5,000 or
6,000 bales.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. —Ths Day.

~---

LONDON, June N.—Wind this day at noon—South-
Westerly ; moderate breeze, and fine weather, but rather
cloudy.
PORTSMOTITH, Juno 15.—Wind S.W.—Arrived—Her
Majesty's ship Dee, from Plymouth.

PLYMOUTH, June 15. —Wind S.W.—Arrived—Roman,
screw steamer, from the Cape of Good Hope.

PYLMOUTH, June 15.—Wind N.W.—Arrived—Betty,
'rem Rio Janeiro.

CLYDE, Juno 15. Wind S.W.—Arrived—Margaret,
:ram St. John's, Newfoundland.

LEY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.I
GRAVESEND, Saturday Morning.
Arrived, June 15—First Fruit, from Harbour Grace ;
Zwalen, from Gothenburg.
Arrived, June IG—Eider, from Hamburg ; Hope On and
Anemone, from Windau ; Garibaldi, from Jamaica ; Caro-
line, from New York.

Sailed—Holland, for Ostend; Rhine, screw steamer, for
Boulogne ; Beta, for Oporto ; Cervantes, screw steamer,
for Bilboa.

- DzAL, Sainrday Morning.
Passed—Delavrarr, from London, for Sydney ; Vesper,
from London, for Demerara ; Alfred Habrey, from Lon-
don, for Moreton Bay ; Lineelles, from London, for
Calcutta.

Johannes, bark, from New York, for Bremen, was off
Beach), Head onathe 14th.

Anchored—Penelope of Teignmouth, from West, for
North ; Elizabeth of Falmouth, from West, for North.
Sailed—The whole of the outward-bound.

DEATH OF SIR BELLINGHAM GRAHAM.---We
regret to announce the demise of the above baronet, which
took place at half-past eight o'clock last evening at the
family residence iu Park-street, Grosvenor-square. The
deceased was son of the sixth baronet, born in 1789 ;
married in 1810 the third daughter of the late George
Clark, Esq., of West Hatch, Essex ; secondly, in 1831,
daughter of the late Rev. Robert Cottam. He was deputy
lieutenant of Yorkshire, and is succeeded in the title by
his s. n, Reginald rn in 1835, was appointed cap-.
tain ointheß Henry,Heny,
ifleßrigadre-in
1856,
and served with the 14th.

Foot during the Crimean war.
ATROCIOUS CIIILD MURDER. —0 la Thursday night
a young man, 28 years of age, named William James
Turner, of 41, Nottingham-street, Sheffield, cut the throat
of his infant child, only nine weeks old, with a razor, in a
fit of drunken rage, and then called a cab, had himself
driven to the town-hall, and surrendered on the charge of

committing the crime.
SECOND MEMBER FOR DUNDEE.—TAKING TIIIE
BY THE FORELOCK.—Mr. Henry W. Scott, who dates from

Brookes's Club, London, announces by advertisement in
the Dundee papers his intention to place his services at

the disposal of the constituency as their second member, "in
anticipation of the Government Reform Bill passing at no

distant period." The hon. gentleman is one of the sons of
Sir William Scott, Bart., of Ancrum, the member for the
county of Roxburgh.--Edinburgh Courant.

JURIDICAL SOCIETY.—A meeting was held on
Wednesday, Mr. Droop in the chair. A. letter was read from
Lord Westbury, accepting the office of president, and inti-
mating an intention shortly to take part in the meetings of
the society. Mr. C. H. Hopwood addressed the societyupon
the bill brought.in by the Attorney-General for the abolition
of forfeiture in felony and treason. The Chairman, Mr.
Massey, Mr. Stebbing, and Mr. V. Thompson took part in
the discussion which followed.
The annual prize offered by her Royal Highness
the Princess of Wales to female members of institutions in

union with the Metropolitan Adult Education Association,
has been awarded to Ellen Louisa Woolard, a domestic ser-
vant, of the Lambeth evening classes, who has passed
a satisfactory examination in needlework and elementary
knowledge. The annual gathering of institutions, &c.,
will take place at the Crystal Palace on Monday next,
under the patronage of the Prince of Wales, the Duke of
Edinburgh, and other distinguished persons. The arrange..
ments for the fete aro most extensive.
SUSPICIOUS DEATH.— On Friday last Mr. Bernard
time,
Hughes, a cotton salesman in the employ of Messrs.
Curry and Co., Liverpool, left his lodgings in Upper Baker-
street, and proceeded to the residence of Capt. Reid, who
resides in the neighbourhood, where he spent some
me
to l
and ultimately left for his lodgings, about 20
minutes
entrancemo nen Saturdaysa
w tto
oe
thedeceasedh morning.ous
e lying v
ihAboutere2 partlyh o'clocke
insidehad tw
apartments. Mr.
Roberts, the landlord, at once recognised the deceased. Mr.
ffo s' who
died was
about notutthfoeunr dead, was carried into the par-
lour,hours after he was taken into
ugh
b eut he
the house. The result of a
Ir))ost-mortem examination
showed that death was caused
tem-
poral and parietal bones, the by .the fracture of the tem-
result of great external vio-
lence. The surgeon was of opinion that the injuries were
caused by a blow from
seen alive he was some blunt instrument. Vs hen last
jury found that the deceasedperfectlysober. At an inquest held the
died from injuries, but how
they were inflicted there was
DECLINE IN WHi
sKywt
Isßnmo evidence to show.
Of a falling off in the foreign evadedemand --In
for n
s cons
tole u e na
dc e
whisky, it has been arranged by afew of the leading Scotch-m.
distillers to close their establishments for a longer or shorter
period as circumstances may determine. Cambridge dis-
tillery, which can produce 50,000 gallons weekly, and em-
ploys nearly 100 hands, is expected to be closed for two
months.—Dunfermline Press.
During the last few days there has been very
little animation exhibited in the foreign and colonial
produce markets, the present state of commercial
affairs having checked all speculative operations.
,Sugar, however, has remained at steady rates, while
coffee has been neglected, and but few operations
have been entered into in tea. Rice has been iu
good demand at previous rates, and there has been
a fair amount of business in tallow at prices show-
ing a slight advance.

Her Majesty's Ship Royal Sovereign.

The great duel between the 121 ton 9-inch rifled
naval service gun, with its enormous steel bolt and
powder charge, and the after (single gun) turret of
the Royal Sovereign came off yesterday.
To demonstrate clearly to the mind of the general
and non-professional reader the object and the real
value of the results of this important experiment it
is requisite here to premise any notice of yesterday's
proceedings by a description of the method of con-
struction pursued with the turrets of the Royal
Sovereign, together with their mounting and means
of rotation, and also to refer briefly to the broad
differences existing between Capt.Coles's system, as
carried out in the Royal Sovereign and other Eng-
lish turret ships, and the system of Mr. Ericsson, as
applied to the turret ships of the American navy.
The three single and the one double gun turret of
the Royal Sovereign are all constructed on the same
plan, but we will here speak only of the one fired at
yesterday. It is simply a hollow composite cylinder
standing on a circular wooden turntable of great
strength over a double ring of conical metal wheels
which travel over metal roadways, the cylinder with
its table being pivoted on a centrally-fixed hollow
iron cylinder, and the whole resting on a bed of oak
balks, and further supported by iron stanchions
springing up from the keelson of the ship. Com-
mencing with our description of the whole from the
very bottom of the ship, for the sake of clearness,
eight iron stanchions are fixed on the keelson of the
ship and support the deck overhead : on this deck
are fixed the oak balks which form the foundation,
next to the iron stanchions, for the bed of the turret.
It is formed of logs of teak 20in. square, laid over a
space of 80ft. in circumference, and on this masa of
teak is laid the bed of the turret, with its turntable
and machinery. This.bed is in appearance a gigantic
wheel laid down on its nave, 26ft. in diameter. The
periphery of the wheel is formed of banded strips of
American oak, the spokes and nave being of Eng-
lish oak. The periphery measures 24in. by 12in.,
and the spokes each 18in. by 12in. An axle to this
monsterwheel, which is held down in its dismounted
position by bolts of great size, is provided in a hollow
iron cylinder, which gives access to the magazine in
the hold below from the turntable of the turret.
This axle or pivot is formed of two armour-plates,
of 41in. thickness, bent and welded together at their
sides. It is 26in. in diameter, 7ft. bin. in length,
and weighs nearly 3 tons. It is fixed upright through
the nave of the great wheel, its under teak logs,
and also the turntable of the turret, and is held in
position on each side of the lower deck by two im-
mense cast-iron collars. The upper part of this
cylinder projects upwards of 2ft. above the nave of
the prostrate wheel, and thus becomes the central
pivot round which the turntable and turret revolves.
From a brass collar which encircles this cylindrical
pivot radiate outwards from 24 brass conical wheels
the same number of iron circular bars, on the outer
ends of which are fixed conical iron wheels 18in. in
diameter and 19in. broad, set in a circular wrought
iron framing, and travelling over a metal roadway
as the turret revolves. The turret thus rotates on
a far more immovable axis than can possibly the
paddlewheel of a steamship or the fiy-wheel of a
beam engine, while it has the great additional
advantage derived from the outer bearings given
by its circular frame of large conical wheels.
The turret itself is built up on its turntable
on a circle of iron frames, the lower portion
of the frames being left open as forming the
submerged portion of the turret, and the upper
filled in with iron and wood, and coated with
armour plating as the exposed portion of the turret
projecting through and above the ship's upper
deck. This upper portion of the turret is filled in
and covered in the following manner :—lnner lining
of the turret, of two half-inch boiler plates, from
which project outwards 1--i-shaned iron ribs 10in.
in depth and 20in. apart, placed vertically, the
spaces between these ribs being filled in solid with
teak. Over these combinations of iron and teak is
worked a crossed diagonal banding, or trellis work,
of flinch iron by about Sin. broad. Next to this
trellis work comes Sin, of teak, and over that the
outer coating of 51in. rolled armour plates, the area
of surface exposed to shot round the gunport being
further strengthened there by 41in. armour plating
at the back of the 51in., thus giving 10in. of iron
in two plates immediately round the port. In ad-
dition to the plates being secured in the usual
manner by through bolts driven through the sides
of the turret, they are further secured by being
bolted, or " married," according to the technical
term, to an immense wrought-iron ring let into the
teak at the back of the upper edge of the armour
plates. This ring is 14in. in depth, by 24in. in
thickness. The top of the turret is covered in with
heavy angle iron and boiler plating. The total
weight of the single gun turret is 116 tons 7ewt.,
its area of surface exposed to shot being 84 square
feet, and its area of gunport 6 square feet. We
have now the turret, its turntable, the conical wheels
by which they rotate, the oak and teak bed, and,
lastly, the iron columns extending upwards from
the ship's keelson to the under part of the oak and
teak bed, all in a complete form, and with the
armoured portion of the turret (as the reader must
have gathered from our attempted description)
standing above the central line of the ship's upper
deck, being, in fact, a half sunken circular iron-
clothed fort, having the sides and the deck of the
ship at its glacis, and this glacis therefore protect-
ing the sunken base of the turret, its turntable, and
the frames of conical wheels by which it revolves.
The sides of the ship are about 6ft. out of the
water, and carry sAin. rolled armour plating to aft.
below-the water line. This plating is laid on a
crozzed diagonal wooden planking, which was added
to the original sides of the f;hip on her conversion.
This arrangement gives the side armour a backing
of 3ft. of solid timber, strengthened internally with
diagonal crossed iron tic bandings and the ends of
the numerous iron and wooden beams which span
the deck, and which are secured to the inner sides
of the ship by heavy forged iron knees and angle
irons, the beams beim-, alternately of woodand
in all spaces iron
clear of the turrets, and placed closely
together throughout. From. the sides of the. ship
the upper deck has a slightn se to its centre, or in
general the line of turrets, the
plano of the deck for-
mation being a Gin. and gin.
wooden planking laid
on a lin. iron deck, supported on closely
and wooden beams, and pierced aced iron
longitudinally with
four apertures, or wells, in which stand the turrets
with their base resting on the deck below,
described thus the deck has an excessively Weak anSimplyd
soft appearance when considered as part of the
glacis protecting the turret's base and its revolving
machinery, and it is only by an examination of it
in detail that its real strength is ascertained, more
especially in the parts immediately surrounding each
turret. Thus examining the deck in detail it is
found that each circular aperture in which the tur-
rets stand is fitted round its edge with a wrought-
iron well-ring of great strength, weighing six and a
quarter tons, and from this well-ring there radiate
rolled-iron beams, which are connected, where
running transversely, with the ship's sides, and
where running at any angle longitudinally, with the
longer iron beams
betbetween
ee
o whicht:span the ship's deck from
side to side
turret apertures. Over
these beams next comesetlh_eiron deck one inch iu
thickness, laid down iennL) plates about 12ft. long by
30in. in width,
plates being fastened together wEitidhezhootf"i all
r these
plates
through over straps of iron 4in. wide 4 n.
all other 'n
thickness. Around all the turret apeartnudrelsin. in
the
hatchways, funnel gratings, and
ings in the deck, the thickness of this • (:).. en-
iron eck
latine• is
' doubled, and a double
line of
" stringer " plates i.e., two lengths of platec,
doubled, run forward and aft at equi-distance
tween the line of turrets and the sides of the ship.
The iron well-ring, framing the turret aperture, is
next supplemented in its strengthening of the deck
round the aperture by a collar of tapered armour-
plating, termed the " glacis plate," of 3in. in thick-
ness next the well-ring, and tapering to an edge at
about 30 in. outwards. Over this glacis plate is
laid teak planking Bin. in thickness, which is car-
ried fore and aft as a central band of deck wooden
planking, and exceeds in width the diameter of the
turret aperture by several planks on each side. A
collar of in. rolled iron plate, by about 30in. wide,
is finally added over tl/ :,tplanking round the turret,

to protect the effect from the gun's discharge, the
muzzle of the gun being necessarily but a few inches
above the deck when fired at is greatest angle of de-
pression. The remainder of the deck is covered
with Gin. oak planking laid down on each side of
the central teak line.

When it was first known that the Admiralty had
decided upon making this experiment it was evident
that two, if not four, serious contingencies were
likely to occur with the Royal Sovereign as a con-
verted ship, and a ship coated with bent armour
plates on her turret that were manufactured and
placed there at a time when we knew much less
about such matters than we do at this present time.
The turret might possibly be penetrated, and the
ship's deck would most likely be so, as two of the
contingencies, while there still remained the chances
of a shot on the face of the turret, disabling the
machinery below, or of a shot on the deck close to
the turret, driving in the well-ring against the
turret's sides, in both instances stopping the rotary
motion of the turret, and virtually disabling it if in
action. On the other hand, it was just as evident
that the shock from any blow struck on the outer
face of the turret would be the first taken up by the
central hollow pivot on which the turret revolves,
and any damage to the frame of conical wheels
possibly prevented by the rigidity of this pivot, and
by the area over which the wheels are spread ex-
ceeding the circumferences of the turret itself.
Any blow struck on the deck and close to the welt
aperture, in an endeavour to break in the well-ring
and jam it against the side of the turret, would first
have to pierce the eight inches of teak planking,
then the glacis plate encircling the ring, next the
2-inch iron deck surrounding the turret aperture,
and lastly bulge downwards or break away the sup-
porting beams. As the turret system was cer-
tainly to a great extent placed on its trial by this
firing at the Royal Sovereign's turret and deck, it
was imperative that note should be taken of any
unfair advantages which appeared to be impressed
view-1
upon it. From this point of , The turret
built in a converted ship to resist the ordnance of
1862 was about to be tested by the ordnance of
1866, the armour on the turrets of the Monarch now
commenced building at Chatham being twice the
thickness of that of the Royal Sovereign ; 2, the
original clear space existing between the sides of the
Royal Sovereign's turret and the iron well-ring has
been very considerably reduced lately by iron fit-
tings carrying pauls to facilitate the working of the
guns, and, therefore, increased the chances of
c, jamming" the turret against the well-ring when
struck by shot; 3, the gun being removed from the
tnrret left the port open for a shot to enter from
glancing, or other causes, when the shot would in-
evitably pass through the inner skin of the turret on
the opposite side and bulge the armour plating out-
wards against the well-ring ; and 4, the large
conical rollers on which the Royal Sovereign's tur-
rets rotate are of cast-iron, and therefore likely to
break from concussion ; whereas on the Monarch
they will be of malleable iron. The experiment on
the Royal Sovereign has been made in consequence
of the recommendation of the Turret-ship Com-
mittee, in their report to the Admiralty, dated the
28th of June, 1865, combined with the desire of the
Admiralty to obtain reliable data for their guid-
ance in the construction of the Monarch and other
turret-ships in the future. There was no other
field from which they could obtain such data. We
know all that the Americans have done, but it
would be folly to accept their experience as our
guide when the conditions are so opposite. The
turrets of the American ships are exposed to an
enemy's shot from base to summit above the level
of the upper deck, working on a long central spindle
on a limited bearing, something akin to the spike of
a schoolboy's pegtop when spun. We expose but a
portion of the turret to the enemy's shot, and pro-
tect the base by the vessel's side armour, deck, and
glacis plate, and also pivot them over a larger area
than is contained in the circumference of their base.
To this essential difference in the system of mount-
ing the turrets in the vessels of the two countries
may possibly be ascribed the disabling of the turrets
of the American vessels Paissac, Nantucket, Wee-
hawken, and Nahant before Charleston, their tur-
rets having become jammed—unable to rotate
either by blows from shot on the face of the turret
bending the central spindle, by the breaking of the
deck or composition ring at their base, or by broken
pieces of iron or nut and bolt ends falling between
their base and the deck.

These remarks were written previously to a shot
being fired at the Royal Sovereign yesterday, and
it is now time to record the facts of the trial as they

occurred.

No exact programme was laid down for the firing
beyond the provision of four steel shot and six cast
iron shells, the disposition of which rested with the
Admiralty Lords ; but it was understood to be
their intention to have a steel shot fired on each
side of the gunport of the turret, and also at the
deck, close to its junction with the well ring, the
object in both cases being to jam the turret, and
prevent its rotating if possible. The firing was
conducted solely under the superintendence of
Captain A. C. Key, C. 8., of her Majesty's ship
Excellent.

Between 1 and 2 p.m. the Stork gimboat left Ports-
mouth harbour, with Capt. Key and his staff on
board, and other naval officers, including Rear-
Admiral Scott, C. 8., Capt. Chamberlain, her Ma-
jesty's steamship Asia and Steam Reserve ; Capt.
Luard, her Majesty's ship Ilector, Sze. The Royal
Sovereign was seen lying well off from Spithead on
the south-east edge of the Dean Shoal, with the
Bellerophon iu close company, the weather being
squally with a south-west breeze, and the water
moderately smooth. Both vessels were anchored at
200 yards' distance, the Bellerophon, with her 12i -
ton gun peeping out of the central port on her port
broadside, and the Royal Sovereign lying in a
parallel line with her, with bulwarks down and her
after-turret marked in three parts of its face as
target marks for the shot. Inside the turret crossed
wooden battens were fixed to mark any compression
or movement of its sides when struck by the shot,
and vessels filled with water were placed on the
floor for a similar purpose.

It was past 3 p.m. before the Royal yacht Osborne,
with the Lords of the Admiralty on board, joined
company with the Bellerophon and Royal Sove-
reign, and by that time a large fleet of yachts of
every rig, with Government and private steamers,
were cruising on the windward side of the turret-
ship and the Bellerophon, the Black Eagle, and
Fire Queen, with large parties on board following
in the wake of the Osborne. On the Osborne join-
ing company with the turret-ship and the Bellero-
phon oft the Dean Shoal, the Lords of the Admi-
ralty boarded the Royal Sovereign and minutely
inspected her turret prepared for the experimental
firing.

This preliminary investigation concluded, the
firing programme was arranged and carried into
effect as follows :
Gun-121-ton wrought iron, coil built, 9in. rifle ;
No. 1 shot, colloidal headed, steel shot, 2461 b. ,
431 b. ; distance from gun to target,
powder charge,
200 yards ;
target mark, a black ball on
napolvirte
ground close to and on the right of the
The shot struck the edge of the plating next the
in.
piece, 12in. diameter,
guuport, broke away a
from the outer or sin. armour-plate, bent back and
fractured the inner, or
7iin.plate, bulged in the
wooden backing and inner skin, and passed into the
turret, smashing the wooden skeleton 'gun (mounted
in lieu of the turret's gun which had been removed)
into a thousand splinters, but falling on the floor of
the turret two-thirds broken up, and without doing
any interior damage to the turret. Three nuts and
bolt ends were broken off the massive " marriage',
ring which runs round the turret's top,
and to which
the plates are bolted, by the shock of the shot's im-
pact. None of the cross battens were disturbed, nor
Was any of the water spilt out of the seamen's mess
basins, placed on the turret floor—thus proving the
turret was immovable under the tremendous shock
to which it had been subjected. After the turret had
been thoroughly examined the winch handles were
manned to ascertain if any of the machinery was
disarranged, when it was found that three men could
rotate the turret as freely in every respect as before
it was fired at.
No. 2 shot, colloidal headed ste3' shot, 2501 b. •
powder charge, 431 b. ; distance from gun to target:

200 yards; target mark on the quarter circle face of
the turret away from thegunport, where the armour-
plating was confined to the si-in. plate alone, in a
line with the winches which revolved the turret, and
decidedly on the turret's weakest part.
This shot struck at the junction of two plates and
drove in the broken pieces 12 inches into the back-
ing, about 12 inches from the upper edge of the plate
and turret. Here the shot turned upward and re-
mained lodged in the wooden backing, the bead of
the shot showing itself at the upper edge of the tur-
ret in the wood backing behind the armour-plate.
Seven more bolt ends and nuts were broken off the
marriage rings by the impact of this shot, and seve-
ral smaller nuts in other parts of the inner skin of
the turret were also broken off. The plate next to
the one struck was started outwards Bin. ; in fact, all
the plates the upper fastenings of which were
loosened by the flying off of their bolt tails and nuts
were started more or less. The winches were again
manned, and the turret again found to move as
freely as ever.

No 3 shot.—Conoidal headed steel shot, 2501 b.,
powder charge 431 b. ; distance 160 yards ; target
mark on the ship's deck, Bft. from the side of the
turret, the angle of fire being nearly horizontal.
A magnificent shot, striking on the chalk mark.
This shot merely scored the deck and upper collar
plating up to the face of the turret where it
" gouged" out a piece of the armour-plating, 17in.
long by 9in. wide, and 31in. in depth. No other
damage was done, and the turret still revolved as
freely as on the first day it was fitted. This con-
cluded the experiments.
The important fact, therefore, now remains as the
result of this somewhat costly trial that, drawing an
inference from yesterday's trial, no amount of
pounding from shot could possibly disturb the equi-
librium of the Royal Sovereign's turret's 15ase, and
that if the whole exposed portion had been shot
away the base with its turntable and revolving ma-
chinery would still remain absolutely perfect. There
are errors of construction in the Royal Sovereign
which may be remedied in future with other turret-
ships, such, for instance, as the want of a tie collar,
or ring of metal, round the outer face of the turret
at the upper edge, to prevent the plates falling out-
wards when their fastenings are loosened, as also
leaving the bolt-tails and nuts without any over-
lining, and thus turning them into grape shot when
the turret is struck by heavy missiles.
The success of the turret of the Royal Sovereign
over the 12k-ton gun is immense in its importance
for many reasons, and it also proves conclusively by
the deck shot the value of curved or deflective sur-
faces in warding off shot blows from wood or from
iron. All honour, therefore, to Captain Coles for
his persistent advocacy of a system of mounting
ordnance on board a ship that will, at any rate, add
a power to our fleet of ironclads equivalent in nature
and force to the siege artillery of an army before
the famous Venetian Quadrilateral !

Several members of the Board of Admiralty ex-
pressed their admiration at the excellent practice
made on the turret with the gun from the Belle-
rophon. The captain of the gun was Gunner's Mate
Bowing, of her Majesty's ship Fxcellent.