The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-09 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

Mr. John Anderson, F.R.S., inspector of machi-
nery to the War Department in Woolwich Arsenal,
was yesterday appointed assistant-engineer of rifled
ordnance, to carry out, in conjunction with Sir W.
Armstrong, the manufacture of his guns for distri-
bution to the Royal Artillery. Mr. Anderson,
whose scientific direction of the machinery depart-
ment of the Royal Arsenal was marked by various
productions for which he was most liberally re-
warded by Government grants and otherwise, was
a short time ago presented with a compensation of
£3,000 by the Council of the Board of India for his
invention in the manufacture of leaden bullets.
More civilian appointments are also spoken of as
about to take place in the Laboratory and the other
manufacturing departments of the Arsenal, which
will considerably promote the well-being of the
establishment and tend materially towards the ad-
vancement and economy of the Government service.
Major-General Sir W. F. Williams, Commandant
of Woolwich Garrison, was yesterday announced in
orders to have been granted leave of absence, and to
have delivered over the temporary command of
the garrison to Colonel Bloomfield, second com-
mandant, during his absence on Parliamentary duty.
The garrison order likewise announced that the
promotion of non-commissioned officers should be
proceeded with for the formation of the 12 new
batteries—viz., 12 sergeants to quartermaster
sergeants; 36 corporals to sergeants; 72 bombardiers
to corporals, and 108 acting bombardiers to bom-
bardiers.

NAVIGATION OF THE .RIVERS OF

INDIA.

AN INTERESTING EVENT IN THE TYNE.

An interesting event took place on Saturday, in
the launch, from the building yard of Messrs. C.
Mitchell and Co., at Low Walker, of a large paddle
steamer, of peculiar construction, destined for
inland Indian navigation. Messrs. Mitchell and
Co., in conjunction with Messrs. R. Stephen-
son and Co., of this town, were recently com-
missioned to construct a powerful steam flotilla
for the East Indian Railway Company, and
from the peculiarity of the service required,
and the conflicting elements necessarily embraced
in the design, it has been deemed a wise economy
to complete and equip a model steamer, in order to
test both vessel and machinery, under all circum-
stances corresponding with the actual service in-
tended, The obvious advantage of such a determi-
nation is that all faults, if any, are discovered and
rectified, the whole arrangement perfected, and all
doubt regarding the result removed; so that in the
re-erection of the vessels in India there may be no
impediment to their immediate and effective work-
ing. The fleet of steamers of which this is the type,
will be employed on the river Ganges, for the sole
purpose of transporting the materials required by
the East Indian Railway Company in the formation
of their line. Such is the scarcity of regular and
expeditious conveyance on the Ganges, and other
Indian rivers, that the railway company have been
compelled to construct these steamers for their own
special use ; and some notion of the importance and
value of such property at the psesent time may be
gathered from the fact that the company feel con-
fident of more than realising the entire money
value of their flotilla during their temporary
employment while making their line of railway.
The steamers are 225 feet long, 30 feet beam,
and about 7 feet deep. Light draught of water
being the essential feature of the traffic, the
efforts of the constructors have been chiefly directed
to combining in the best proportions the maximum
of strength with the minimum of weight, and that
has been principally accomplished by the extensive
use of steel instead of iron in the construction of
the hull. --This material is known as " puddled
steel," is manufactured by the Mersey Steel and
Iron Company, and its principal advantage con-
sists in its strength being double that of the iron
usually employed for shipbuilding purposes ; con-
sequently plates about half the usual thickness only
need be employed. The natural longitudinal weak-
ness of so long and shallow a vessel has been com-
pensated for by the introduction of web girders
upwards of 10 feet deep, and extending the entire
length of the vessel. These form the sides of the
engine-room, and are connected with the top,
bottom, and ether important parts 'of the vessel,
and are, as it were, the back-bone and main die•
meat of strength in the fabric.
The machinery is nominally of 170 Worse-power,
but the actual working will be at least 650 horse-
power. In the construction, steel has, as far as
practicable, taken the place of and no expense
has been spared to produce engines of the highest
excellence, Both vessels and machinery have been
designed and constructed under the superintend-
ence of the company's engineers, Messrs. M. and
G. Rendel of London, and the execution of the
work has been under the inspection of their repre-
sentative, Mr. E. Briscoe.
A number of scientific gentlemen were present at
the launch, and seemed to be deeply interested in
examining the peculiar features of the strange
vessel, a class of vessels that seem destined to com-
pletely revolutionise the navigation of, every large
river in the world. As the vessel floated on the
waters of the Tyne, and without her enginie, she
looked as buoyant as a person may notice a basin
in a skeel of water carried on the head of some pit
lassie from the well. We understand when the
engines are put into the vessel, the principal direc-
tors of the East Indian Company and other scientific
gentlemen will come down to the north, to be pre-
sent at the trial trip.
The readers of Mr. Oliphant's book on Russia and
the Black Sea will remember_his interesting account
of the navigation of the Volga, and the manner by
which produce is brought down that river in the
strange country craft. Tyne skill will be shortly re-
presented on that river, as Messrs. Mitchell and
Co. arc building four iron steam vessels that have
to be sent out to the Volga, and which will in every
particular upset the ancient ideas of navigating
that river. Messs. Mitchell and Co. have also on
hand two iron vessels for the Black Sea.