The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-07 00:00:00

THE LEVIATHAN.

Saturday was the worst day with regard to the
progress of the ship which has occurred since she
first commenced her tedious journey towards the
water. The men were all at work by eight :n the
morning, and with the first pressure the Leviathan
slipped some eight or ten inches, but beyond this,
for sgrne unaccountable reason, it was impossible
to move her. All the screw jacks and all the
hydraulic machines were worked simultaneously
and strained to the very utmost, and every expe-
dient which could induce a start resorted to, but
in vain. The ship remained as immovable as a
mountain throughout the entire day, and notwith-
standing the tremendous pressure applied along
the entire surface of both her cradles, it was past 4
o'clock before another slip took place. This hitch
doubtless arose from two sources—first, that the
fore part of the vessel had descended many inches
further than stern, and so twisted the cradles in
the ways as to require double the amount of pres-
sure to overcome their friction, and, secondly, that
the vessel itself is now at least GO feet from the
strongest of the hydraulic rams, and this distance
necessitates so many joints in the beams which
push from them to her that the force of the ma-
chines is either lost in the compression of the
wood, or, when that is overcome, that the beams
themselves give way laterally. The latter occurred
often on Saturday, and in the delay occasioned in
refixing the beams the greater part of the thy was
lost. This contretemps was the more to be re-
gretted as there was an unusual number of scienti-
fic and distinguished visitors in the yard on Satur-
day, and dining the early part of the day Mr.
Brunel and Mr. Yates had the honour of receiving
no lets illustrious a visitor than the Princess Royal
herself. Her Royal Highness, attended by the
Duchess of Atholl, Mr. Ormsby Gore, and an
Equerry in Waiting, went over the entire yard,
and all the pondrous apparatus for lowering the
largest mass and greatest weight that has ever yet
been moved were duly pointed out, and their action
explained. Her Royal Highness seemed much
struck by the immensity of the drums and breaks,
and the hundreds of tons of massive chain cables
which were wound around them. The enormous
solidity and strength of the basis required to resist
the backward strain of the hydraulic presses seemed
also to amaze her Royal Highness, who examined
and inquired into every detail, inspecting the
hydraulic machines, the construction of the
cradles, and the double purchases, which, working
from the land to the moored barges, drag the
vessel towards the river. As we have said,
while the Princess remained it was unfortunately
impossible to move the vessel ; but this loss was
almost compensated by all the apparatus for moving
her being quite at rest, and so enabling her to ap-
proach it nearly, which, of course, had it been in
action, and with a full strain upon all its great
system of beams and chains, neither Mr. Yates nor
Mr. Brunel would have allowed for fear of danger.
He.z Royal Highness quitted the yard shortly
before 1 o'clock.

As we have said, it was past 4 before any move-
ment was male upon the ship, when the pressure
applied was so great that the "yield" c )uld be
distinctly felt upon the whole series of timbers
which support the rams. After this she moved
with more or leas difficulty in short slips and
with rather tedious intervals between, EO that at
dusk the signal boards only showed a progress of
88 inches forward and 72 inches alt, her mean being
6 feet 8 incheQ.

During yesterday no attempts were made, but in
order that no further loss of time might be occa-
sioned the rams were advanced nearor to the ship.
The efforts will be resumed to-day, and-with all the
Advantages which the change of machines will
afford great progress is likely to be made. Trot-
man's anchors appear to have got hold of the centre
(f gravity ; for, in spite of the severe strain upon
them,
,up to the present they hive not yielded an
inch.

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

On Saturday the first draught of the new cavalry
levy, in the service of the East India Company,
marched from Warley barracks to Brentwood, and
thence proceeded to Ti bury and embarked oa board
the screw steamship Gertrude, for Calcutta. The
number of rank and file who embarked was 450,
with five officers. On Saturday next the second
draught of cavalry recruits will be despatched to the
same destination. When this body (500 strong) has
left the barracks, recruiting for the East India Com-
pany's cavalry, which has been suspended in conse-
quence of Warley barracks not affording accommo-
dation for a large number of men will recommence.

The Bth company of Royal Sappers and Miners,
under the command of Captain W. F. Lambert,
Royal Engineers, is under orders to leave head-
quarters, Chatham, and embark for China, the order
tor its embarkation for India having been counter-
manded. The Bth company has been augmented
to its full number, and is now 120 strong, including
non comm;ssioned officers and wen.

The following appointments to the Staff of the
Indian depot battalions at Chatham hive been
male by the Duke of Cambridg.: :—Capt. L. Side-
bottom, Adjutant, to the Ist Battalion; Captain T.
J. Grant, late of the 58th Regiment, Inspector of
Musketry, to the 3d Battalion.
During the whole of yesterday and also on Satur-
day large gangs of shipwrights and labourers were
busily engaged in efforts to rai.e her Majesty's
steamer Cuckoo from the position in which she sank
off Chatham dockyard. Several of the largest
lighters employed in the service have been sent to
Chatham to be used in floating her, but they have
but partially succeeded. On Saturday the large
force were employed in removing the sunken
steamer from her former position and placing her
stem more towards the dockyard, whereby she was
considerably eased of the immense strain to which
she had been formerly snbjected. Yesterday re-
newed attempts were made to lift her, and a num-
ber of additional chains were passed beneath her
keel and made fast to six large lighters. As the tide
rose last evening it was found that the steamer was
being lifted and hopes were entertained of being
able to remove her at high tide last night.
A party of 120 men have left °Aches' er Camp
for Great Clacton, to relieve a similar number of
recruits who have been stationed at that place for
rifle practice. Considerable numbers of recruits
continue to arrive in the camp, the command of
which has been as Alined by Major.-Gen. Shade.
Recruiting is actively going on at lin:oln for
the Royal Artillery, Ist Royal Dragoons, 91st
Foot, and 10th Foot.

We have good authoiity for stating that a forth-
coming Gazette will announce the apppirittnent of
an Admiral of the Fleet, and that Sir Chas. Ogle,
Bart., the Senior Admiral of the Red will be the
recipient of this honour. Sir Charles's father, Sir
ChaHoner Ogle, Bart., died Senior Admiral of the
Navy in 1816, and his grandfather died Admiral of
the Fleet in 1751.

The screw steamer Balaklava, from Woolwich,
arrived at Southampton on Saturday, with stores
for the Abeona steamship, about to sail with troops
for India.

The Hannibal, 91, screw line-of-battle-ship, hav-
ing been refitted at Portsmouth, has been removed
from dock, and take❑ out of harbour for the work-
ing of her engine'.

the trial of the Diadem, 32, Captain Moorsom,
C. 8., having proved so satisfactory under the in-
fluence of Griffith's improved screw and pitch,
Admiral Sir G. Seymour, Commander in-Chief,
took a cruise in her on Saturday to observe the
working.
The Cnrogoa, 31, Captain Mason, was undoeked
at Portsmouth on Saturday, and removed into the
fitting basin to be masted and rigged.
The newly instituted quarterly examination of
nominees for entry into the navy concluded at the
Royal Naval College, Portsmouth, on Saturday,
when the following passed and received certificates:
—For Naval Cadets—H. Studdy, C. A. Blake, J.
Bradford, J. A. Dashwood, C. B. Walcot-, 0.
Churchill, J. T. Kilgour, E. Wickham, W. A.
Hudlestone, R. W. Evans, A. W. Whisb, F. Gar-
nault, E. Hicks, J. B. Haye, W. B. Inman, E. A.
Bolitho, H. P. Karney, T. H. Fraser, C. King,
G. H. Jervis, the Hon. H. E. Ellis, G. R.
Beadon (the above were between 14 and 15
years of age), J. C. Higginson, R. W. Stopford,
G. H. Rainier, A. H. B. Bradshaw, H. L. Ryder,
H. E. Maclean, F. Gaskell, J. H. Butt, 0. P. Tu-
dor, S. C. Holland, N. F. Gye, G. V. Story, G. M.
Lock, S. L. Osborne, C. J. C. St. Clair, G. E.
Somerset, T. W. Ilaweis (these were between 13
and 14 years of ag!). For Masters' Assistants—J.
C. Boultun and B. P. Dickemon, fi oin Greenwich
school. 16 of the cadets passed from the preparatory
naval establishment of Mr. T. Eastman, R.N.,
Sett thsea

The Persian, 12 guns, sloop, CommlndPr J. 11.
Chads, sailed from Sheerness yesterday at 9 35
a.m. She is under orders to stop at Plymouth pre-
vious to her departure for the West Coast of Africa.

The new screw steamship Renown, 91 gunn,
Capt. A. Forbes, in the fitting basin at Sheerness,
is masted and tops are over the masthead. Exer-
tion is being made to expedite her fitment. The
following officers have taken up their commissions
and appointments and joined her :—Commander
T. B. Lethbridge, Lieuts. S. F. Douglas, R. Sterne,
and the Hoe. F. W. Charteris; Mr. J. R. Andrews,
paymaster ; Mr. W. W. Thompson, assist Int-sur-
geon ; Mr. C. Osborne, naval instructor; Mr. C.
M'Kern, clerk; Mr. P. W. Govett, assistant-sur-
geon ; and Mr. F. B. Williams, assistant-clerk.
A commission dated Dec. 3, 1857, will be laid be-
fore the Queen, appointing the following named
gentleman cadet to be second lieutenant in the
corps of Royal Marines—viz., Gentleman Cadet H.