The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-21 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The Royal Sovereign turret-ship, Captain F. H.
Herbert, is lying alongside the ship jetties of Ports-
mouth dockyard, where the present appearance of
her after turret, at the points where struck by the
steel shot from the 9-inch 12-ton gun on the recent
trial, is being photographed for the Admiralty. The
ship since the trial has, during dockyard visiting
hours, had a constant succession of visitors, among
whom the military and naval element has naturally
enough largely predominated. Great surprise has
been expressed by many officers who witnessed the
firing at the turret, and also by others who did not
witness the firing, but who have since visited the
ship, at the apparently small amount of damage done
by any of the three shots fired. The actual injury
done to the turret plates is certainly far from being
equivalent to the power of the gun, if judged only
by ordinary target practice. It is, however, capable
of very satisfactory explanation, as not owing to the
want of any power of the gun, but to the form of
projectile used and to the angles at which they were
fired. The form of projectile we remarked upon
sufficiently in The Sun of Monday. The angles
at which the shots were fired was the fault of none
who had the arrangement and charge of the pro-
ceedings. The Lords of the Admiralty were, in
fact, two hours late, and the experiment was delayed
for them. When the last shot was fired at the
Royal Sovereign the tide had changed, and was
taking off both the ships, and the turret was only
struck at an angle of about 30 deg., with the gun
on board the Bellerophon at extreme training aim,
by the exercise of great skill and judgment. Enough,
however, was done to prove the soundness of the
principle on which the turrets are mounted, and to
exhibit various defects in several of the fittings,
which must be remedied in the promised Monarch
and other turret-ships that are to be built. Cer-
tainly, no point-blank shot was fired to exhibit the
true power of the gun, nor, indeed, do we believe
this could have been developed by any number of
shots against the curved surface of the Royal
Sovereign's turret, unless with one of Mr. Whit-
worth's favourite " flat-heads."

The Amazon, 4, unarmoured screw sloop, Com-
mander Hunter, from the westward, has joined the
Pallas and Terrible at Spithead.
The Royal Alfred, 14, armoured frigate, Capt.
E. Tumour, is fast progressing in her outfit for
commission in the steam basin of Portsmouth dock-
yard. The ship is now rigged as a bark, but the
alteration of her mizenmast from a fore and aft to
a square rig, as has already been done with her
sister ship, the Caledonia, at Devonport, is desirable
for several reasons. The ship would then gain the
propelling power under sail she now evidently wants
on her quarters. She would possess the requisite
means for drilling the midshipmen and naval cadets
aloft which she does not now possess, and the
appearance of the ship altogether would be very
much improved.
The officers of the select committee and the Royal
gun factories of Woolwich arsenal have been en-
gaged for some weeks past in testing the advantages
of a cheap material for the manufacture of the ser-
vice guns introduced by Mr. Fraser, director of the
Royal gun factories. Two guns made on the new
principle, the one a 9-inch 12-ton gun, with wrought-
iron tube, burst at the 370th round, after firing
charges of 441 b. of powder and 2501 b. shots and
451 b. of powder and 2601 b. shots. The second gun,
a 64-pounder, fired 2,000 rounds without exhibiting
any signs of weakness or injury. The charges were
81b. of powder and a 641 b. shot. After comparing
these tests with that to which the gun at Shoebury-
ness was subjected, and which burst at the 402 d
round with charges of 391 b. of powder and 2171 b.
shots, the committee pronounced the reputation of
the economical principle to be in a fair way of being
speedily established. The respective costs of the
two guns of equal calibre were £1,490 and £5OO.
The saving, therefore, will be enormous, if
thoroughly realised.
An official report of the result of Mr. Richardson's
experiments in burning petroleum and other oils as
a fuel for marine and locomotive engines was yes-
terday forwarded from Woolwich to the Board of
Admiralty, and it is stated that the report was ex-
ceedingly favourable. It is now suggested that a
couple of boilers, one fed with ordinary fuel, and
the other fitted up internally according to any
method which Mr. Richardson may direct, should be
tried competitively, and an announcement of the re-
sult should be drown up and laid before their lord-
ships.

The hired storeship Ariel yesterday sailed from
lVoolwich for Berniuda, laden with hutting mate-
rials, &e.; and the Sir George Seymour, laden with
Tower, victualling, and naval stores, also for Ber-
muda, is now in course of lading, and is expected
to sail on Saturday.

The right wing of the 80th Regiment, which ar-
rived at • Plymouth on Tuesday in the transport
Durham, from Calcutta, was under orders to land
yesterday at Devonport. The depot of the regiment
is quartered at present in Tregantle Fort, Cornwall.
A court-martial assembled yesterday, on board
the Royal Adelaide, in Hamoaze, for the purpose of
trying Philip Hare O'Brien Dessard, First Lieut.,
Royal Marines, charged with absenting himself for
24 hours without le.ave from her Majesty's ship Lord
Clyde. The prisoner obtained leave from the Bth
to the 9th of June, but did not return until the 10th.
The court consisted of Capt. Napier, Canopus, pre-
sideitt ; Capt.. W. E. Rolland, Phcebe ; Capt. the
Hon. T. A. C. Foley, Caledonia ; Capt. 11. T. Bur-
goyne, Wivern ; Capt. A. Will nshurst, Prince Albert;
and Capt. T. S. Tremlek, Impregnable. The pri-
soner having pleaded guilty, was sentenced to for-
feit two days' pay, to be placed at the foot of the
list for two years, and to be dismissed from the Lord
Clyde.

The screw steam sloop •Petrel, 3, in Plymouth
Sound, is under orders to proceed to the Cape of
Good Hope.

The armour-plated screw steamship Prince Con-
sort, 31, Capt. George 0. .B , was removed
yesterday from the Prince's.d Willes,Lek .in Devonport
Dockyard, and plaeedalo e the hulk in Hamoaze.
The iron armour-plated ship Defence, 18, Capt.
Augustus Phillimore, was
syesterday (Wed-
nesday) in No. 1 Dock, DeyP haemd yard, for the
tsceead: np
Capt.
d ;le c o a t e d .
purpose of having her bottom cleansed
The iron turret-ship Wivern
Burgoyne, now in the dockyard at Devonport, will
wTill.
North- probably be prepared for service on the
Ame-
rican Station.
The depot of the 35th Regiment (head-cin„tero
and the depot of the 94th Regiment (head-quarters)
have arrived at the camp at Colchester, and have
been attached, the former to the 4th, and the latter
to the Bth depot battalions. The depot 38th Regi-
ment is held in readiness to move from Colchester
to Parkhurst, Isle of Wight, to-morrow, and will be
relieved by the depot 2d Battalion, 18th Royal Irish.
__Capt. G. A. Eliot, Capt. Crosier, Capt. W. A. Le
Aattialle, and Ensigns Skinner and Powell are expected
with
ethedlBth depot, and Capts. Gaynor, Stansfield,
and al ecot, Lieuts. Skey and Sinclair, and Ensign
Connor are the officers leaving Colchester with the
depot 38th Regiment.
The depot companiesnumbering of the 50th (Queen's Own)
Regiment,
seven officers, ten sergeants,
and 111 rank and me together with 23 women and
children, have arrived atc Chatham from Parkhurst,
and have been attached to the depot battalion at the
garrison. The following officers
depot :—Major J. Thompson auinitnand), Capt.
tr
i(ei arrived with the
F. Falkner, Lieut. C. R. King,
Richmond, Ensign
Van-
der-Meulen, Lieut. R. 0.
Robinson, and Ensign C. L. W. Reade. depot
E. J.
of the 34th Regiment has also arrived at
Chatham
a.tham
from Colchester, for the purpose of augmenting the
strength of the garrison ; the 34th depot numbers
six officers, seven sergeants, three drummers, and
151 rank and file, with 33 women and children.
The officers who accompanied the 34th are Captain
J. L. Moore, Capt. J. F. Wyse, Lieut. L. Jordan,
Lieut. C. M. Fox, Ensign H. W. Phillips, and En-
sign M. W. R. Rushton.
Yesterday a numerous body of shipwrights were
employed at Chatham dockyard in preparing the
blocks for laying down the keel of the ironclad ship
Hercules, 12, 5,226 tons, 1,200-horse power, which
is to be built in No. 2 dock, in which the Achilles
and the Bellerophon, iron ships, were constructed.
The delay which has taken place in laying down the

Hercules has been turned to good account by the
mechanics employed in the factory, wLere a keel
has been some time in progress, the p'ates being
prepared and ready for fitting in the dock, so that
no unnecessary delay has been allowed to elapse.

Railway Intelligence.

SOUTH-EASTERN.

A Wharncliffe meeting of this company was held
yesterday at the Bridge-house Hotel, London-
bridge ; Mr. E. W. Watkin, M.P., in the chair.
Mr. Smiles, the secretary, having read the notice
convening the meeting,'
The CHAIRMAN said there were four bills to sub-
mit for their approval. He proposed to submit the
two of least importance first, and then to submit
those upon which discussion would probably arise.
He then moved a formal resolution approving the
New Romney Railway Bill, which was seconded and
agreed to.

The next was a bill for conferring further powers
on the South Eastern Railway Company for the con-
struction of works in connexion with their under-
taking. 'The capital was £272,000 for obligations
they had already undertaken.

The Hon. J. BYNG seconded the motion approving
the bill, and it was carried.
The CHAIRNAN then moved a formal resolution
approving a bill for authorising the South Eastern
and London, Chatham, and Dover Railway com-
panies to make a railway from Beckenham to Lewes
and Brighton. The opposition to the bill had been
so persistent, every delay having been interposed to
its progress by the London and Brighton Company,
that it was kept before the committee of the House
of Commons for twenty days, being about three
times as long as the usual time occupied by contested
bills in Parliamentary Committees. He was glad to
say that, notwithstanding the opposition, the pream-
ble was proved. He explained that every effort had
been made by him and other members of the board
to come to an equitable arrangement with the
Brighton Company for the accommodation of the
district, but without effect. The Brighton Com-
pany had promoted a new line to Hastings, and were
about to spend £300,000 on it. This line was pro-
jected in opposition to the South Eastern Company
in violation of certain agreements between the two
companies. The Brighton had been offered the
use of the stations at Cannon-street and Charing_
cross, and to take part in making the proposed
new line to Brighton, all matters in dispute to be
settled by arbitration, but this proposal was rejected.
The South-Eastern Company had about 600 of their
shareholders who were also shareholders in the
Brighton Company, and some of them had been
exerting their influence against their brother share-
holders in the South-Eastern in favour of the Brigh-
ton
Company. When the capitals of the Greenwich
and Reading lines were added to that of the South-
Eastern, it would amount to £20,000,000, and of
that amount only £7,400,000 consisted of ordinary
stock. He found that the largest amount of that
stock ever represented as voting on questions at
meetings of 'the company was £4,219,000. It was
the holders of ordinary stock only that had the right
of voting on any question affecting the interests of
the company, and therefore about £2,500,000 of that
stock had the controlling power. The minority
against the bill did not amount to 2 per cent, of the
whole. He contended that the public had a right
to expect the user of the Cannon-street and Charing-
cross stations in connexion with a line to and from
Brighton. They would, he had no doubt, get the
bill for making the line to Brighton, which would
be of great advantage to the public and utilize the
stations he had mentioned, and about 9 miles of the
South-Eastern Company's lines in and near London,
upon which they had already expended a very large
amount of capital. The new line would bring them
a considerable traffic and be remunerative to the
proprietors. He then adverted to the way in which
the opposition to the bill had been got:up, seven
shareholders having been recently introduced by
£9O stock each being transferred to them. It
had been admitted by their opponents that the
traffic on the new line would yield 2 per cent. on
the estimated cost. The manager of the Brighton
had stated before a Parliamentary Committee that
it was physically impossible for the Brighton Com-
pany to use the Charing-cross station. 'The chair-
man believed that the new line to Brighton was a
necessity, and that, sooner or later, it would be
made. When they looked back a few years to the
state of the traffic, they could see how it had in-
creased up to the present time ; and considering the
great progress now going on, the increase of popu-
lation, and the natural development of traffic, they
might easily estimate what the traffic to and from
Brighton would be at the end of five years from the
-present time, when the new line would probably be
open for traffic. The Bill had been strenuously
opposed by the Brighton Company at every stage,.
and the opposition had been completely defeated.
He trusted that the South-Eastern shareholders who
had no interest in the Brighton would unanimously
approve the bill. _ _

The Hon. J. BYIG seconded the motion.

Mr. C. BELL contended that the estimated capital
would not be sufficient to complete the line, and that
the South-Eastern proprietors would, in fact, have
to provide the whole of the capital, about £3,000,000,
for making the new line. It was a fearful time to
undertake such a responsibility with money at 10
per cent., and when those liabilities came upon the
shareholders he hoped they would remember that he
had warned them against passing that unnecessary
and wicked bill. (Hear.)
Mr. NORTON, a new director, who was opposed to
extensions, expressed his regret that the Brighton
Board did not meet them in a conciliatory spirit,and
under the circumstances he believed the South-
Eastern had no other course than to proceed with
the bill.

Mr. G. SMITH, as an old shareholder in the com-
pany, hoped the proprietors would come to a unani-
mous decision in supporting the efforts of the direc-
tors to protect their property and develope its
resources.

Mr. ADAMS said if they went to Brighton by
means of that Bill he expected next year to see a
project of the Brighton Company for going to
Dover or Folkestone. There were already three
lines almost completed to Brighton, and this would
be the fourth line. They would have to pay 6 per
cent. on £2,250,000 capital for the new line before
they could get their working expenses, which he
contended would amount to more than the probable
receipts they would receive from their share of the
traffic.

Mr. TEULON explained from his experience that
it would be cheaper for the company to make the
line than to reject it. Their line from Lewisham to
Tunbridge was being constructed for a sum consi-
derably under the estimate of the engineer, and he.
had no doubt whatever that the estimates for the
new line to Brighton would be sufficient.
The CHAIRMAN explained that the Brighton Com-
pany had brought this contest upon themselves by
introducing the Surrey and Sussex line into the dis-
trict of the South-Eastern Company to deprive them
of a portion of their traffic. He held proxies re-
presenting £3,000,000, in favour of the bill, and
itwoulc. be carried.
he had no doubt

....
On a show of hands a large number washe
heldchair-
man upi
in favour of the bill, and 22 against it. T
man declared the resolution carried, and stated thatr-
the poll would be open till 4 o'clock that day, and
from 10 to 11 o'clock to-morrow (this day), and
soon after this they would declare the result. Mr.
Champness and Mr. G. Smith were elected scruti-
neers.
On the motion of the CHAIRMAN, a bill for autho-
rising arrangements between the London and North
\S'estern and Charing-cross Railway Company and
the Lon don and North Western Railway Company
and theSouth-Eastern Railway Company was una-
nimouslyf yoapproved,of thanks
andte thethe proceedings
chairman.
With a vote

LONDON, CHATHAM, AND DOVER.
Yesterday a Wharncliffe meeting of this company
was held at the Victoria terminus ; Lord Sondes
presided.
Mr. W. E. Johnson (the secretary) having read
the notice convening the meeting,
The CHAIRMAN said the first bill he had to sub-
mit was a bill to authorise the London, Chatham,
and Dover Railway Company to execute works in