The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-29 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

r The Duke of Somerset and the Junior Lords of
the Admiralty, with Lord Clarence Paget, the Sec-
retary, and. Sir Baldwin Walker, are expected to
leave town to-morrow on their annual visit of in-
spation to Portsmouth; After a thorough inspec-
tion of that extensive naval establishment the First
Lord and colleagues will visit the Channel Islands,
and then further pursue their tour of inspection to
De.vonporti and' afterwards proceed to Ireland.
The Pioneer,' 6, screw, Commander Hugh A.
Reilly, and the Gorgon, 6, paddle, Commander Bed-
ford..C. Pim, both sailed from Spithead for the
westward on Saturday.
Pe Russian screw corvette Baian, 16, Captain
Istomin, left the Motherbank early yesterday
morning for the Baltic. The ships now remaining
in attendance on. his Imperial Highness the Grand
Duke Constantine are, the General-Admiral and
the Svetlan. It is stated by the officers of these
vessels that it is the intention of the Grand Duke
to reduce the number of guns on board the General-
Admiral to 50, and to substitute for those she has
on board 60-pounders, 71 in. bore—guns of a much
heavier calibre. The officers of the sluadron render
unqualified praise to the Mersey's appearance as a
war frigate.
The members of the National Defence Commis-
sion arrived at the George Hotel, Portsmouth, on
Friday last. On Saturday the commissioners em-
barked on board the Fire' Queen, Master-Comman-
der Paul, and proceeded to the Solent to inspect
the western approaches to Spithead.
The screw steamship. Edgar, 91, Neptune, 91, and
Imperieuse, 51, returned to Portland harbour last
Friday evening.
The lighter Aid, Grundy master, sailed from
Plymouth on Friday with stores-
The paddlewheel steamsloop Hydra, 6, Comman-
der R. V. Hamilton, has been overhauled at Devon-
port ; several of
,her timbers have been found rotten.
The Turkish line-of-battle ship Shadia, 90, got
up steam in Keyhambasin, on Friday, and pro-
ceeded into Hamoaze, alongside the sheerhulk,
where she receives her mainmast.

The gunboat Biter (tender to the Blenheith), from
Portland, arrived at Plymouth on Saturday evening.
The' paddlewheel steam 'iTthif; 'Gorgon, 6, Com-
mander B. C. T. Pim, from the eastward, arrived
in Plymouth yesterday morning.
The Grand Duchess?' Maria of Russia and her
husband visited Devonport dockyard on Friday.
The paddlewheel steam sloop Firebrand, 6, Corn.
Denman, having had defects made good, steamed
from Hamoaze into Plymouth Sound on Saturday..
The crew of the screw steamship Donegal, 101,
Capt. Glanville, were paid advance of wages at
Plymouth on Friday, and on Saturday she left the
Sound for Liverpool to enter men, of whom she is
considerably deficient.
All ships in commission at Plymouth were dressed
in flags on Friday, in honour of Prince Albert's
birthday. The customary salutes were fired.
The Trinity steam yacht Argus arrived at Ilan
wich from London about half-past 9 p.m. on Satur-
day, and had on board an experimental model of
Maillard's patent mechanical compass for steering
ships without needles or magnets. The instrument
was merely lashed in the rudest manner to the after
part of the paddle-box, and, notwithstanding the
great disturbing force thrown and acting on the
steering shaft of the instrument, which is immersed
in the water, it worked and gave the ship's course
with sufficient accuracy to establish the entire suc-
cess of the principle on which the compass is con-
structed, and to justify the inventor's guaranteeing
the perfect efficiency of his invention. These instru-
ments are meant to be used in the stern of the
vessel, and to stand on the deck, where the ordi-
nary compass stands at present ; but the inventor
selected the position in which his compass was
placed on board the Argus in order to put it to the
severest test, and to see it in operation under every
imaginable disadvantage. This compass can be used
on land, and bids fair to supersede the magnetised
needle wherever true bearings are required.

Mr. J. Flanagan was on Saturday appointed ad
ditional surgeon to the Victory ; and Mr. G. P.
Rickcord, paymaster, as secretary to Rear• Admiral
Elliott.

THE ARMY.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, the
General Commanding in Chief, has left town for a
few weeks' tour in Germany.
A telegram received by the authorities at Ports-
mouth late on Friday evening conveyed the intima-
tion of her Majesty's gracious intention to inspect
the headquarters of the 32d Regiment-in the dock-
yard at Portsmouth, on Saturday, at 11 a.m., on
their landing from the Albuera transport, and prior
to their proceeding to their destination—the camp
at Shorncliffe. The troops were conveyed ashore by
steam tug soon after breakfast, and preparations
made to receive her Majesty by the military and
naval authorities. ' A dais had been hurriedly pre-
pared for her Majesty on the ground between the
Ropery and Middle Storehouse, and thence to the
King's Stairs, where her Majesty and his Royal
Highness the Prince Consort were to land, the path-
way was covered with red cloth. In front of the
dais the 32d were drawn up in line with their band
and colours—the latter having emblazoned on their
silk the glorious names of Roleia, Vimiera, Corunna,
Salanianca, Pyrenees, NiVelle, Nive, Orthes, Penin-
sula, Waterloo, Punjab, Mooltom, Goojerat, and
Lucknow.
Her Majesty, his Royal Highness the Prince
Consort, with the Princess Alice, and Prince Arthur,
attended by Viscount Sydney, and the ladies and
gentlemen of the Royal suite, shortly afterwards
arrived in the Fairy screw yacht, amid the cus-
tomary salutes from the ships and garrison, and
were received on landing by Major-Gen. Sir J. Y.
Scarlett, K.C.8., Admirals W. Bowles, C. 8., Hon.
C. Grey, and their respective staffs. Her Majesty
immediately proceeded to the ground where the
troops were drawn upin line, passing down in front
and rear, after which the troops marched past in
quarter distance column, and afterwards again re-
formed in line opposite to her Majesty, who desired
thiit the Lucknow men should be called to the font,
and expressed her wish to see Dr. Boyd, w'ho was
accordingly presented to her Majesty by Col. Bell,
commanding- the regiment. Her Majesty expressed
her gratification at seeing Dr. Boyd again returned
to England from India, and also at the appearance
of the men in general. Her Majesty and his Royal
Highness the Prince Consort, having taken leave
of Colonel Bell and the officers of the regiment,
returned to the King's Stairs under a Royal salute
from the troops, the band playing the National
Anthem. Her Majesty immediately embarked for
Osborne on board the Fairy, and left the harbour
under the customary salutes and the cheering of the
crews of the different vessels who had manned the
yards. The East Kent Militia furnished the guard
of honour for the occasion. At the close of the in-
spection the 32d were marched to the railway
station, and left by special train for Shorncliffe.
We are authorised to state that the First Lord of
the Admiralty will hold a levee on Friday next, the
2d of September, at the Commander-in •Chief's
office, Admiralty House, Portsmouth Dockyard.
Any officer who may be desirous of attending must
leave his name, rank, and seniority at the office ofi
the Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, by 3 p.m.
of Wednesday, the 31st inst.
General Napier, from Bermuda, has succeeded,
as head of the Cemmissiarat Department in the
Camp at C3lchester, Mr. J. M. Lindsay, appointed
to a similar office in Sierra Leone. There is some
idea of camping out the troops for two or three
days before the summer closes.
The encampment on the North Denes at Great
Yarmouth, formed by the battery .of Royal Artil-
leryi under the command of Major Braudling, as
stated in The Sun of Wednesday, was broken up
on Friday, and the troops returned in the evening
q that day to Norwich under the command of
Ca pt. Strangways, son of the gallant general who
fell in the Crimean campaign.
The transport ship
s of Londonderry,
which hasbe
wafora ,
i Kingston considerable time, and. at
heavy
expense,
ton harbour sailed
on Friday with troopsllonao Kong.
towed out of the harbour and f
one of the tug vessels, the wind
easterly.rbesiong te distance
by
Orders were on Saturday issued from the Horse
Gnards to the officers commanding the depots of
the East India regiments at Chatham and the other
military stations directing the reinforcements se-
lected to embark for India to proceed to the follow-
ing places—viz., for Calcutta.-2d (the Queen's)
Dragoon Guards, 65 men ; 7th Hussars, 91 men ;
sth Fusileers, Ist battalion, 89 men; 6th Regiment,
7 men ; 35th
Ist battalion, 248 men ; 20th Regiment, lst batta-
lion. 71 wen ; 34th Regiment, (Royal
Sussex) Regiment, 78 men ; 37th Regiment, 200
men ; 42d Royal Highlanders, 123 men ; 43d Light
Infantry, 77 men ; 48th Regiment, 169 men ; 60th
Royal Rifles, 2d battalion, 251 men; 67th Regi-
ment, 217 men ; 71st Highland Light Infantry, 82
men ; 73d Regiment, 114 men ; 77th Regiment, 424
men ; 80th Regiment, 99 men ; 88th Connaught
Rangers, 46 men ; 90th Light Infantry, 173 men ;
97th. (Earl of Ulster's) Regiment, 2 tnen ; 99th
Regiment, 89 men ; and Royal Artillery, 152 men-
The above reinforcements are to embark in the
King Philip, 'Merchantman, Allred, Walmer Castle,
Minden, Octavia, Algiers, Surrey, and Hanover,
the vessels chartered by the Hon. Council for India.
The following detachments are to embark for Boni-
, bay :-3d (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards, 13
men ; 6th Dragoon Guards, 95 men ; Bth Hussars,
19 men ; 17th, Lancers, 70 men ; 4th King's Owen,
Ist battalion, 281 men ; 28th Regiment, 153 men ;
31st Regiment, 120 men ; 56th Regiment, 67 men ;
ti7th Regiment, 91 men; 83d Regiment, 6 men;
80th Regiment, 1 man ; 95th Regiment, 11 men ;

Royal Artillery, 65 men ; and Royal Engineers, 15
men, the whole of whom proceed to Bombay in the
Akbar, Brunelle, and Tiptree. The reinforcements
that embark in the Hougomont, Barham, and Gos-
forth, for Madras, are-Ist (the King's) Dragoon
Guards, 62 men ; 12th Lancers, 64 men ; Ist batta-
lion, Ist Royals, 6 men ; 44th Regiment, 7 men ;
68th Light Infantry, 1 man ; 69th Regiment, 78
men ; 91st Regiment, 88 men ; and Royal Artillery,
62 men. The Earl Balcarras will embark the fol-
lowing troops for Kurrachee—viz., 49 men of the
7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards • 182 men
of the 46th ; 4 men of the 51st Light Infantry ; 28
men of the 70th Regiment ; 103 men of the 79th
Highlanders • two men of the 81st Regiment ; six
men of the 94th Regiment ; and 71 men of the
98th Regiment.
Some further trials were made at Chatham garri-
son on Saturday last, by direction of Major-Gen.
Eyre, for the purpose of ascertaining the time re-
quired in pitching and striking the tents invented
by Major Rhodes, and also those in use by the
troops at Chatham. The trials took place, as be-
fore, in the grounds attached to the garrison hos-
pital, where a number of tents have been pitched,
including some invented by Major Rhodes, all of
which are occupied by
.patients from the hospital,
Dr. A. Maclean, principal medical officer of the
hospital, together with other officers of the staff
and medical department of the army. being pre-
sent. The operations comment :d by 15 soldiers,
all of them unacquainted with tents being ordered
to pitch Major Rhodes's large hospital tent, which
is 30 feet in length, 15 feet wide, and 10 feet high.
This the troops accomplished in exactly 34
minutes, or about one-half the-. time occupied
in pitching the tent at the - last trial. The
same men were then ordered to pitch the Govern
ment hospital marquee, which is about the same
size as Rhodes's hospital tent, being 30 feet by
141 foet, and 14 feet in height. In this operation
they were engaged a few minutes over an hour, or
double the time taken to pitch Rhodes's tent. It
should, however, be remarked that the tent was so
badly put up that a pertion of it had to be taken
down in order to refit it perfectly, The troops
were then directed to strike Major Rhodes's hospi-
tal tent, which they completed in seven minutes,
the Government hospital marquee requiring the
same men 12 minutes to strike it. From the result
of these trials, the officers present were perfectly
satisfied that not only are the tents invented by
Major Rhodes superior to those of the Government
in comfort and accommodation for the troops, but
that they can be pitched and struck in considerably
less time and with a smaller number of men.

Viscount Grey de Wilton, M.P., has just retired
from the army. His lordship was senior Lieute-
nant in the Ist Regiment of Life Guards.
The East Essex Militia Rifles, under command
of Col. the Hon. H. C. Maynard, will assemble for
their annual drill at Colchester; and the West
Essex, under Col. R. Brise, at Chelmsford, on the
21st Sept. next.

SCREW PROPELLERS AND THEIR

PRO VEMENT.

There is no mechanical question of such impor-
tance as regards improving the efficiency of a steam
fleet, nor one which has been so completely over-
looked by our scientific naval men, as that of ascer-
taining the precise form and pitch of a screw, with
which the highest results as to speed and diminu-
tion of vibration are attainable. When first the
screw propeller was introduced into the Royal
navy it was quite as often used with three fans as
with two, the " pitches" or turns of both descrip-
tions varying considerably. Indeed, it was only
after a rather long time, and the complete establish-
ment of a negative proof that no greater results
were obtainable with the additional fan than with
two, that the latter form was at last generally
adopted, and slowly came into use throughout the
English navy. Beyond this change. which scarcely
deserves the name of an improvement, and some
trifling experiments which were made in 1853 on
board her Majesty's yacht Paley, to which we shall
presently refer, no public attempt seems to have
been made either to improve the form of the screw
or even to ascertain if it was capable of improve-
ment. This all-important point seems to have been
allowed to fall into the usual order of routine, and
the two fan-shaped blades having generally what is
called a uniform pitch or turn became, like the
anchor, the " established" screw of the navy.
Fortunately, however, for the Admiralty, and
for the efficiency of our steam liners, a matter of
such vital interest as the form of the propeller
could not be long overlooked. Sir Howard Douglas,
who, though in the highest rank of the military
profession, is nevertheless one of the ablest scienti-
fic authorities on the tactics of steam warfare and
naval gunnery now alive, took the matter up some
two years back, and began a series of experiments
with a view of ascertaining practically whether the
Admiraly screw was the best (about which the gal-
lant General entertained strong misgivings), and, if
not, in what way its form could be improved. The
main object was, of course, to ascertain the shape of
a propeller which would diminish vibration while
exerting increased power, and, therefore, obtaining
increased speed. There are very few of our readers
who will require to be reminded of the unpleasant
effect produced by the constant tremulous vibration
in the stern of a ship while the screw is in motion.
But Sir Howard Douglas shows that this effect is
more than unpleasant—it is even dangerous, and
the injury done to the stern by the constant shake
of the screw may produce results to be dreaded.
Of course, whenever there is great vibration there
is loss of power somewhere, and the force that should
here be exerted to propel the ship is lost in shaking
her frame to the very centre. This most unprofit-
able result Sir Howard Douglas's experiments
showed conclusively :was due to the angular fan-
shaped' form of the Admiralty screw, and caused by
the sudden and violent reaction of the disturbed
water in the screw frame as the propeller entered
and emerged from it. The rectilinear edges are in
this respect highly disadvantageous, since the whole
of an edge enters and leaves the water at once on
each side of the aperture of the screw-frame, within
which aperture the water is comparatively in a
quiescent state as regards propulsion. This led.
Sir Howard to see that if the leading corners of a
screw blade were curved, " they would slide ob-
liquely and. continuously through the water like a
screw formed with an entire feather, so that at no
moment would there be any shock or discon-
tinuity of action." The result of this im-
portant discovery Sir Howard privately communi-
cated to one or two of our leading engineers, and
the Admiralty will probably find an excuse for
their own supineness in the matter in the fact that
three engineers, whom we need not name, were
against the proposed improvement, and considered
that to cut off the " leading corners" of the Admi-
ralty screw would be to deprive it of half its pro-
pelling force. Confident, however, in the truth of
his discovery, and in the scientific principles on
which it was based, Sir Howard, nothing daunted,
took out a protective patent for his improvement
last year. In taking this step the gallant General
only wished to put beyond question his claim to
having originated the idea. Any thought of profit-
ing by it in a pecuniary point of view he, of course,
considered tar beneath his character and position in
the army. His improvement is registered as con-
sisting, first, in a modifidation in 'the forni..of the
blades, so that the advance or leading edges of the
propeller blades shall receive less shock in cutting
through the water, and therefore produce a more
equable action of the propeller, resulting in less
tremulous motion in the stern of the ship when
under way, and also steadying and equalising the
propelling force. For this purpose the advance
edge of the screw blades is of a convex curved form
so that the curve of this edge of the blade at the
extreme end is in rear, as regards its position in the
screw, of the inner termination of the curve, or that
next the centre. The leading edges of the screw, in
fact, when looked at in profile, resemble a wave line
similar to Hogarth's line of grace and beauty, the
two curves meeting in the centre at the boss or axis
of the screw. By this form of the advanced edges
the transition in entering and leaving the opening
in the dead wood or screw-frameof the ship is easy
and gradual ; vibration in the stern-frame is reduced
to its lowest point, and the whole force of the screw
employed to propel the vessel. A full detail of this
improvement, and value to the service was published
last year by Sir Reward Douglas in his work on
" Naval Warfare with Steam." This admirable
cork, which has since been translated into French,
and has become among French officers almost a
textbook on all matters relating to steam warfare,
was duly presented by the author to the heads of
the Admiralty departments, and as duly acknow-
ledged with thanks. Nothing, however, was done
towards cutting off the "leading corners" of the
screws, as Sir Howard had recommended, and the
suggestion apparently shared the fate of all pro-
posed improvements in the navy—that of being for-
gotten as soon as made. It was not, however, quite
overlooked in this instance, for about two months
ago her Majesty's frigate Doris was ordered to
Spsitchreews, ad,tio)lt makeilnore especially
certaintrials
of withthe
comparativekind kinds
or
merits of Griffiths's screw and the common Ad-
miralty screw, with its leadinr, corners cut off. The
result of these trials, which occupied some time and
excited much interest among engineers, showed
that When competing with three of Griffiths's best
screws (which were the bast of all sets of improve-
ments tried) the Admiralty screw, with its leading
corners cut off, as Sir Howard had recommended,
was far better than two of the three, and very little
inferior to the best of all. The value of the im-
provement was therefore pat beyond a doubt, for
the trial naturally created the impression that had
a screw been specially made on Sir Howard's plan,

instead of having its leading COiners'itiiighly cut
off for the occasion, it would have distanced all
competitors, both as regards increased speed of the
vessel and diminished vibration at the stern. This
was a great victory for. Sir Howard's principles,
and accordingly he received congratulations from
all but the Admiralty, which alone made no sign.
Upon this, after a decent lapse of time, Sir Howard
wrote to the Admiralty at Somerset-house, point-
ing out how he was the originator of the improve-
ment, and how he had himself directed their
attention to the subject, and so induced the trials
with his screw which had terminated so satisfac-
torily. He expressed himself delighted that his
improvement had proved of such value and import-
ance, and the only reward he wished for or would
ever take was the free and just acknowledment that
to him, and him alone, was due the merit of what
we may almost term the discovery. After a time
the Admiralty replied most blandly. They were
delighted to forward him an abstract of the experi-
ments made on board her Majesty's ship Doris, and
would be the last to attempt to rob Sir Howard of
any credit which he thought due to his improve-
ments. In the present instance they intimated that
there was but little chance of doing so unfair an
act, inasmuch as Sir Howard's improvements of
1858 had been tried previously by the Admiralty
on board her Majesty's yacht Fairy in 1853. Now,
this latter assertion is very far from being correct.
The trials made on board the Fairy six years ago
were with screws of a peculiar form, cut down into
any or almost no form whatever. The screws, too,
were utterly different in•principle and pitch from
the Admiralty screw whieh. Sir Howard proposed
to improve, while the trials themselves may be
regarded as conspicuous failures, inasmuch as they
resulted in nothing, and left the old fan-shaped
Admiralty screw precisely as it was, and as it has
remained till the present improvement of Sir
Howard. The gallant veteran has replied to the
Admiralty, calmly persisting in his claim to the
merit of having originated the improvement, and
hinting strongly that the attempt of the authorities
to refer back the improvement to the meaning-
less trials of 1853 with totally different screws
looks very like trying to rob him of the hon-
our due to his skill and perseverance in
having been the first to see and the first to
work out this important modification of the
screw propeller principle. So the matter remains
at present. Whether the Admiralty will even-
tually give the merit where the merit is due we
know not; but in the cause of truth, and in the
cause of all our earnest, thoughtful men, who so
wearily and nearly always so thanklessly labour
to promote the efficiency of both services, it is right
that the truth should be known, and that the merit
of introducing this' most important improvement
in the form of the screw propeller belongs to Gen.
Sir H. Douglas, and to him alone.
While we are upon the subject of Sir H. Douglas's
improvement of the screw we may refer to one
which, though very simple, is hardly less import-
ant in degree than that we have mentioned, and
one which it is certain the Admiralty must gladly
adopt. We mean, of course, that improvement
which is to prevent a ship's screw being fuuled by
rigging or hawsers. In the last great naval war
with France our victories were as much gained by
the skill with which we out-manoeuvred our adver-
saries as from any other cause. This led the French
to prefer always firing at the spars and rigging,
while as constantly the Englisji aimed at the hull,
These have become the traditional modes of attack
with both navies, and the result to be achieved
by firing at the rigging now' would be almost iden-
tical with what was accomplished when ships ma-
noeuvred under sail alone. A screw liner having a
mast shot away would now.have her screw fouled
by the wreck of the rigging drifting into her wake
astern within three minutes after the spar fell over.
The greater the "way" on the vessel the more cer-
tainly would such an accident occur, and in a naval
engagement with a mast shot away, and her screw
jammed, any vessel would be so completely at the
mercy of her antagonist that further resistance would
be hopeless. There are many, and some most fatal
instances, already on record of the hopeless condition
to which a screw vessel is reduced when once her
propeller is fouled. Look at the loss of the Prince.
Yet in the whole of her Majesty's navy not a single
vessel is provided with any appliance to ward off
this most obvious and most serious disaster. In Sir
Howard Douglas's improved form of screw the
curved edges have, besides the advantage of readily
throwing off any floating materials that may come
in contact with them, that of not being so liable to
be broken by their oblique collision with large
spars. The angular parts of the common screw are
far more likely to be hitched by ropes than the
rounded extremities of the form which Sir Howard
has now, we hope introduced to the navy. These
curved edges, he also suggests, should be fitted with
sharp gun or other hard metal edges, so that as the
screw revolved in the water its power would divide
any rope or spar like a powerful circular saw. But
his main recommendation as a remedy for this great
evil is a contrivance that will enable the propeller
to clear itself of any floating wreck of riggibg which
may hitch upon the screw in its rotation, and which,
being drawn down to the root of the blade, would
be wound up on the boss so tightly as to disable
the propeller or break the screw-shaft, if the en ignes
were not instantly stopped. For this manner of
clearing the screw Sir Howard proposes to employ
powerful and sharp knife-edges, firmly fixed to the
metal trunk in which the screw works, and close to
both edges of the blade, in such a manner that any
rope that may have hitched on the boss would be
acted upon during the revolution of the screw as a
body revolving in a turning lathe is acted upon by
a chisel. Thus, revolving with a force derived from
the power of the engines, the rope must be drawn
into and
,along the knife-edges, causing them to
exert a drawing cut sufficient to sever any rope,
whatever its strength or thickness, and so clear the
screw at once of what would otherwise be the most
dangerous and perhaps fatal entanglements. This
simple but most efficacious plan we trust soon to see
generally introduced into both the Royal and mer-
chant navies, and hope that the Admiralty will
make no attempt to purloin the merit of originating
this idea as well as that of the form of the screw.
How can any inventor look for success at the Ad.
miralty when even Sir Howard Douglas, with all
his claims upon the consideration of the authorities,
cannot get them to acknowledge gracefully that the
improvement they get for nothing is an importan
one, and is his ?-7lnies.