The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-28 00:00:00

Guns for our Ironclads.

The ne scheme for the reorganisation of the
armament of the ironclad ships of her Majesty's
navy, prepared by the late Board of Admiralty,
with the assistance of Captain A. C. Key, C. 8.,
commanding her Majesty's gunnery ship Excellent,
and the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth, has
thrown such a pressure of work upon one depart-
ment of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, in the pre-
paration of the necessary iron carriages and slides
for the new guns, that it has been determined to
take advantage of other available means outside the

Arsenal gates for the completion of the carriages
and slides required for such ships as are now but
waiting their armament to be at once in commis-
sion. It may appear somewhat late to arrive at
such a determination when it is remembered that the
ironclad Bellerophon has been in commission, with
her full complement of officers and men on board,
since the 22d of March last, and has not one gun-
carriage or slide out of the 14 which are to form her
complement yet on board. The explanation of this
extraordinary circumstance is very simple. The navy
of this country possesses no Ordinary Bureau of its
own. The guns and their complete equipment are
supplied to our ships of war by the military, or
" War Department," and officers of the Royal Arl
tillery, Engineers, or infantry—nay, even in some
instances cavalry officers have been taken into grave
consultation—have decided hitherto upon what is
or what is not to be the proper armament of her
Majesty's ships. In no other country in the world
possessing claims to any position as a maritime
Power could such a monstrous anomaly have
found existence. Here, however, it does exist ; but
our knowledge of so serious an evil should afford

the means for its removal. The Admiralty Order
dated the Bth of June, 1866, for the reorgani-
sation of the armament of the iron-armoured
ships of her Majesty's navy is probably the
wow LUZLL NY 111 uebtruy Majesty's
uaLlacl auu. cp.,ax,ca,
and give to the navy what its officers have so long
and so vainly asked for—its own Ordnance Bureau,
administered independently from that of the army.
The first step towards this direction has been taken
in the adoption of means available outside Wool-
wich Arsenal for the supply of carriages and slides
to two of the iron-clad ships ordered for immediate
commission. These ships are, the Minotaur, iron
frigate, wholly armour-plated, 6,621 tons, 1,350-
horse power, and the Royal Alfred, wooden frigate,
partially armour-plated, 4,068 tons, 800-horse power.
The Minotaur is supposed to be now intended to
supersede the screw three-decker Victoria as the
flagship of Lord Clarence Paget in the Mediterra-
nean. She was intended some months back for the
flagship of the Commander-in-Chief of the Channel
fleet for the present year; but, we believe, Rear-
Admiral Yelverton preferred flying his flag on board
the Caledonia, armour-plated wooden frigate. The
Minotaur's armament under the new, organization
will be, on the main deck, four 12-ton 9-inch muzzle-
loading rifle-guns and 18 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-load-
ing rifle-guns on iron carriages and slides ; on the
upper deck, four 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle-
guns, as chase guns..

- The Royal Alfred is, like the Minotaur, fitting
out as a flagship, under the supervision of her future
captain, Edward W. Tumour, and it is not improb-
able she may be sent as flagship to the North Ame-
rica and West India station. She is fitted with all
the necessary cabins and poop aft as a flagship, and
has an admirably arranged ship's company's " sick-
bay" under a roomy topgallant-forecastle on the
French plan. Her iron-clad bows and running
bowsprit will enable her, like the Minotaur, to obey
with celerity the now well-known signal in the
Channel fleet, " Prepare to ram," when foretop-
masts are sent down, bowsprits run in, and the
ships of the fleet made ready for " a butt all
round." The armament of the Royal Alfred
will be very considerably heavier than that of
any other iron-coated converted wooden ship yet
sent afloat by any nation, comprising, as it
will, on the main deck, ten 12-ton 9-inch and
four 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, on iron
carriages and slides like those of the Minotaur ; on
the upper deck, four 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading
guns, as chase guns.

The carriages and slides for the guns of both the
Minotaur and Royal Alfred, in their present state of
construction, are ordered to be forwarded from
Woolwich to Portsmouth dockyard steam factory,
where they will be completed under the supervision
of Capt. A. C. Key and Mr. A. Murray, the engi-
neer and chief of the establishment. The slides and
carriages for the guns of the Bellerophon, it is said,
will be completed at Woolwich.
The entire arrangement for the armament of the
armoured ships of her Majesty's navy, now in com-
mission, built or building, is, by the order referred
to as issued by the late Board of Admiralty, as fol-
lows :

IN COMMISSION.
1. Prince Albert, turret ship, four 12-ton 9-inch muzzle-
loading rifle guns.
2. Royal Sovereign, turret ship, five 12-ton 9-inch muzzle-
loading rifle guns.
3. Wyvorn, turret ship, four 12-ton 9-in
ing rifle guns. 9-inch muzzle-load-
4. Achilles—Main deck, four 12-ton 9-inch, and 18
6-ton 7-inch !nuzzle-loading rifle guns; upper deck, four
6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle revolving guns.
5. Black Prince—Main deck, four 9-ton 8-inch and 22
up
6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns; per deck, six
6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, four as chase and
two as side guns.
G. Hector—Main deck, two 9-ton 8-inch and 12 C-ton
7 inch muzzle-loading rifle guns; upper deck-, four 6-ton
as chase guns.
7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns,

7. Defence—Main deck, two 9-ton 8-inch and ten 6-ton
7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns ; upper deck, four 6-ton
7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, as chase guns.
8. Resistance—Main deck, two 9-ton 8-inch, and ten G-
ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns; upper deck, four 6-
ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, as chase guns.
9. Caledonia.—Main deck, four 9-ton 8-inch and 16 6-
ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns ; upper deck, four 6-
ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, as chase guns.
10.—Prince Consort.—Main deck, four 9-ton 8-inch and
16 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns ; upper deck,
four 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, as chase guns.
11. Bellerophon—Main deck, ten 12-ton 9-inch and four
6-ton 7-inch 'muzzle-loading rifle guns; main deck, two

NEWSPAPER
110-pounders and two 40-poun tk--
Tt‘;',w. '
guns for chase.
12. Pallas—Main deck, four 9 ••••
ing guns and two 64-pounder m 1
as chase guns, on rear chock carriag , App
40-pounder rifled breech-loading guns, Orb
ti common carriages.
13. Favorite--Upper deck, eight G-ton 7-inch muzzle-
loading rifle guns and two 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifle
guns, revolving.
14. Enterprise—Upper deck, four 6-ton 7-inch guns.
15. Research—Main deck, four 6-ton 7-inch muzzle,.
loading rifle guns.
16. Royal Oak—Main chick, four 9-ton 8-inch and 16
G-ton 7-inch 'nuzzle-loading rifle guns ; upper deck, four
G-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, for chase.
17. Lord Clyde -Main deck, four 9-ton 8-inch and 16
6-ton 7-inch 'nuzzle-loading rifle guns; upper deck, four
6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, for chase.
NOT IN COMMISSION, RUT RIGGED AND STORED, RIGGING
AND STORING, REPAIRING OR REFITTING, BY THE STEAM
FACTORIES AND RESERVES OF THE SEVERAL PORTS.
1. Scorpion, turret ship, repairing in dock, four 12-too
9-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns.
2. Warrior, repairing and refitting —Main deck, four 9-
ton 8-inch and 22 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns;
upper deck, six 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns,
four as chase, and two as side guns.
3. Agincourt —Main deck, four 12-ton 9-inch and 18 6-
ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns; upper deck, four 6-
ton 7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, for chase.
4. Minotaur—As given.
5. Northumberland—Main deck, four 12-ton 9-inch and
18 9-ton 8-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns ; upper deck,
four 9-ton 8-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns, for chase.
6. Valiant—Main deck, two 9-ton 8-inch and 12 6-ton
7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns ; upper deck, four 6-ton
7-inch guns, for chase.
7. Ocean—Main deck, four 9-ton 8-inch and 16 6-ten
7-inch muzzle-loading rifle guns; upper deck, four 6-ton
7-inch guns, for chase.
8. Royal Alfred—As given.
9. Lord Warden—Main deck, 16 9-ton 8-inch muz.zle-
load.ng rifle guns; upper deck, four 6-ton 7-inch muzzle_
loading rifle guns, for chase.
10. Zealous—Main deck, 16 6-ton 7-inch muzzle-loading
rifle guns ; upper deck, four 6-ton 7-inch guns, for.chase.
11. Viper, double screw; upper deck, two 6.:ton
guns.
12. Vixen, double screw ; upper deck, two 6-ton 7-inch
guns.
13. Waterwitch, propu/sion ; upper deck, two' 6-ton 7-inch guns.
ORDERED TO 33E BUILT AND BUILDING.
1. Monarch, turret ship; four 22-ton guns, in•two tur-
rets ; two 6-ton 7-inch guns, as revolving chase guns.
2. Hercules—Main deck, eight 18-ton guns and two 12-
ton 9-inch guns; upper deck, two 64-pounder revolving
chase guns.
3. Penelope, double screw.—Main deck, eight 1.2-ton 9-
inch guns and one 40-pounder breech-loading revolving
gun; upper deck, two 40-pounder breech-luadingrevolving
guns.

Our iron-clad fleet, therefore, consists of 16 yes-
Eels now in commission, 14 vessels built and pre-
paring for commission, and three vessels building.
For the armament of this fleet we require 4 guns
of 22 tons weight each, 8 guns of 18 tons each,
59 of 12 tons each, 82 of 9 tons each, and 341 of
6 tons each, giving a grand total of 494 muzzle-
loading rifled guns, irrespective of 64-pounder
rifled muzzle-loaders and breech-loading shell guns,
apportioned as shell guns for service on the ships'
upper decks.
There is a sufficient work marked out here in the
supply of these guns to the navy to tax by its exe-
cution, within a reasonable time, all the available
energies of the Government establishment at Wool-
wich, the Armstrong establishment at Elswick, and
the Whitworth establishment at Manchester. It is
somewhat alarming, however, to be told just at this
precise juncture that the supply of guns to the
Navy has been restricted by the War Department
to the Woolwich and Elswick establishments, and
that the 12-ton 9-inch gun—the armour-plate
piercing gun par excellence of the British Navy
cannot be depended upon for endurance. The recent
bursting of specimens of this gun appears to con-
firm this opinion most decisively, and yet, if it really
prove correct, what a position shall we find our-
selves in at this moment ! We know for a certainty
that the 7-inch Whitworth gun, with hollow pro-
jectile of compressed steel, propelled by a 201 b.
powder charge, will inflict much more damage upon
an armour-plated target at short range than will
the Woolwich or Elswick 7-inch gun with a solid
steel projectile of similar weight propelled by a
powder charge of 301 b., or one-third greater weight.
This imnimtnnt for titan hann •nrnwarl.l-...
caretuiiy-conducted experiment, and must be duly
weighed at its actual value. The broad fact above
all others that most affects the public mind is the feel-
ing that the few ironclad ships England already pos-
sesses are virtually unarmed until the order of the
late Board of Aamiralty, dated June 1, 1866, has
been fully carried into effect. There are other ques-
tions which must also be considered, and one of the
most important of all is the question, " Have we
not already gone too far in our worship of big
guns ?" If we can effect all we want against the
hull of an enemy's ironclad with a gun having a
9in. or 10in. diameter of bore, then that ought to
be the soundest of reasons against burdening our
ships with guns of 15in. or 20in. diameter. The
larger the gun built, the greater the difficulty in
turning it out of hand perfect. We hear daily of
our 9 and 13-inch guns bursting under proof ; we
know of 22-ton guns of 13 inches that are unreliable
for a single round with a full charge, and we are
aware that the turret ship of the future has the
22-ton 13-inch rifled gun fixed upon as its minimum
weight of gun; but turret ships will have to engage
iron-cased marine ports and port-protecting shore
batteries, and must, therefore, carry ordnance of
exceptional weight, and we can therefore afford here
to put the turret question aside with the remark
that, while we are finding the guns for our iron-
coated ships at present in existence, the turret and
broadside questions may be discussed with advan-
tage, and also with a certainty that the freer and
the more impartial the discussion the sooner and
and more satisfactorily the argument will be con-
cluded, and both broadside and turret ships settle
down to their proper level in the iron-clad navy of
England.

The Omaha Republican says the project of esta-
Ommisahhinagraiafsastt.
jf roesiegphht
isp a packet liner
con n sbiedtewr Zino ne hwiitalr evaenryd
probability that it will be established and very, soon put in
operation. The enterprise is in the hands of gentlemen of
abundant ability and large means, who seem to be deter-
mined to make the undertaking a success, and the leading
ones among them are said to be now in Chicago engaged
in perfecting the arrangements for the enterprise. It is
the intention of the projectors of this new means of eastern
communication to make it prompt and reliable, and they
expect to be able by it to greatly facilitate the transmis-
sion of goods and at much reduced rates of transportation.
A railroad meeting was held at Valparaiso, In-
diana, on Monday evening last, July 2d, to consider the
feasibility of railroad connection with the timber lands of
Michigan, and lake navigation. Mayor Merrifield presided,
and the Hon. F. Church was chosen Secretary. The ob-
ject of the meeting was presented by the Chairman. It
was stated that the chief prospect was in building a road
snceofgradedtwe
from La Crosse, on the New Albany and Salem Railroad,
one-fourth
oaulprtabramisiol,es. to LTabkee
roadStation,bed was already nty
and
half
a distance
of the distance, and to grade the remainder would cost
little over $4OO per mile, as nearly the whole way was
level. This would secure direct communication with the
timber and stone regions of Chicago,
raDsn.edtariolint,ervlndo Indianapolis,
and of cars.
ge, are only ag-
sa t
onf ClDroaCa
et :
zi :IC:
ni
al Cincinnati,
Eti
gray accelerated by drugs of ever
liver complaints, 1
A rpersibeolosa ypeouoradb, laesbpy
proved
dB Barry's health resytodrei
841 every aft
description, ipßteivOna
I, e
nbut
ythousands of cases which had
been considered hopeless ; such as indigestion (dyspepsia),
h
cough, asthma, Consumption.'
abceltuelaolrrehoneisdtir
livertlon deetirmr: hem, all gastric derangements, b
plaints, flatulency, ne
diphtheria, caf:Zecaolds
Lead and
ddi
ears,h biliousness'influenza noises fevers
i,
la sorethe
rheumatism,' gout, impuiities, eruptions,
hysteria, neuralgia, irritability, sleeplessness,deiitd acidity, pal-
pitation, heartburn,
slumsnk in pyr ,e g e reoepesyy, ,
erereatmepeas:
g fits, bronchitis, scrofula, tightness of the chest,
pains in the pit of the stomach and between the shoulders,
&c. We quote a few.—Cure, No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts
timber merchant, of Fero ley Surrey, of thirty years' diseased
lungs, spitting of blood, liver derangement, and partial dert-
ness.—Cure, No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme
nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, low spirits, and nervous
fancies.—Cure, No. 1,771. Lord Stuart de Denies, Lord-Lieu-
tenant of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia.—No.49,B32.
Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness,
asthma, cough, const patio% flatulency, spasms. sickness, and
vomiting—Maria Jolly.- Cure No. 54,816. The Rev. James I'.
Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, of indigestion and torpidity
of the liver, which had resisted all medical treatment
In tins, lib, 2s 9d; 21b, 45 6d; 51b, Ils ; 121 b, 225; 241 b.
40s.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London;
also Phillips, tea dealers, 8, King William-street ; likewise
at Si, Grace:church-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 49, Bishopsgate-
street Within ; 63, 150, and 298, Oxford-street ; 830, Strand;
Harvey, Notting-hill . Close
54, Upper Baker-street; 103, Tottenham-court-road; 90,
Upper-street, Islington, N.; ,
Brothers, 65, High-street ; and Stubbs, Queen's-terraoe. St.
John's-wood, London ; and all respectable grocers and clie.
mists.—Beware of spurious imitations.

BENSON'S STEAM FACTORY, Ludgate-hill.

rr Ty AA-r n m-•R S T r.nNin (INT VIRTT)G-Fl.

THIS DAY.—Morning, 2h. 28m.—Afternoon, 2h. 50m,
ORILOw.-31orD g, 3h. Bm.—Afternoon, 31.26 w,

easy to determine, but it is not in the nature of tlings
that the ultimate rule of the Berlin Go vernment
will be as firm and settled as its conquest has been
brilliant. It is sometimes easier to win a cam-
paign than to retain the trophies it affords,
and there is no likelihood that Prussia will
remain for ever in the ascendant. If any
unforeseen circumstance and accident were
to remove Herr BISMARCK from the services of the
KING it would not be easy to replace him, and even
if he is enabled for a very long time to maintain his
present position, he will find his work one of
supererogation. A. man cannot always rule at the
point of the sword, and even the Prussians them-
selves will become weary of their self-imposed task.
A deputation from Frankfort has arrived in Berlin
and had an interview with the Minister, Baron
VON DElt lIEYDT, but it is said that no result
can be obtained therefrom, because the re-
duction of the war contribution demanded
can only take place by the exercise of the Royal
prerogative. It is almost too absurd to be credited
that the writers in any journal can use such lan-
guage as the Nord-Deutsche Allegemeine Zeitung
has done, when it declares that the affair of the
Frankfort contribution is everywhere interpreted in
a manner most invidious to Prussia, and that thew
unwillingness of Frankfort to contribute to the
" enormous burden borne by the Prussian people
for the cause of Germany" can only be accounted
for by the fact that a constant agitation is kept
up in that town against Prussia. It is certainly
impossible to reason with people who use such argu-
ments as th6e.