The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-24 00:00:00

NAVAL AND MILITARY IN7ELLIGENCE.

After a rough trial off the Maplin Sands, and a
couple of runs over the Admiralty standard measured
in Stokes Bay, off Portsmouth, on Thursday, the
screw corvette (unarmoured wooden) Blanche, six
gus, 1,268 tons, 350-horse power, Captain J. E.
Montgomerie, was put through her crucial trial of
speed at her deepest load draught over the Stokes
Bay course on Friday, under the superintendence
of Captain W. C. Chamberlain, commanding her
Majesty's ship Asia and the steam reserve at Ports-
mouth. The officers on Capt. Chamberlain's staff
who conducted the trial were Chief Engi-
neers W. G. Wratten and J. 'Deal, of
the Reserves, and Assistant-Inspector of Machi-
nery W. H. Steil. Mr. James Steil, inspecting
officer of machinery to the Engineer in Chief
of the Navy, and Mr. J. B. Crossland, assis-
tant constructor, were present from Whitehall.
The rough trial of the ship on the Maplin Sands
mile gave her a mean speed of 13.05 knots, but Mr.
Ravenhill, of the firm of Ravenhill and Hodgson,
the manufacturers of the engines, being convinced
that the engines had more power in them than had
been even then developed, and as increased power
of the machinery simply meant increased speed to
the ship, the latter was ordered to make her final
trial over the standard mile in Stokes Bay, on her
way down Channel. Mr. Ravenbill's anticipations
have been fully confirmed by the results of Friday's
trial, foreshadowed as the latter was by the two
runs made over the mile on the previous day,
which then gave the ship an increase of a
quarter of a knot per hour over the rate
attained on the Maplin Sands mile. On Fri-
day morning on weighing her anchor from Spit-
head to enter upon her trial, the Blanche drew 13ft.
4in. of water forward, and 16ft. Bin. aft. All the
yards were aloft on the three masts of the ship to
royals, and all sails were bent. Two hundred and
seventy tons of coals were on board, all other stores
were complete to six months, and the ship was in
all respects ready to proceed to sea from the trial
ground. In accordance with Admiralty regulations,
the machinery of the ship was, during the time of
the trial, in charge of Messrs. Ravenhill and Hodg-
son, who were both present, under the conditions
imposed by the Admiralty circular. The ship's en-
gines are of the present accepted type for the navy,
fitted with surface condensers and superheating ap-
paratus, of 350 horse power (nominal), and similar
in their general arrangements to those supplied by
the same makers to the Nymphe, Daphne, and other
vessels of the same class. The cylinders have a
diameter of 631 in., with a length of stroke of 33in.
They drive a " Mangin" screw of 14ft. 7in. diameter,
having a pitch, leading, of 15ft. 7in., and following
of 17ft. ; a mean length of 12in., and an immersion
of the upper edges of 7in. The weather was very
favourable for the trial, the wind being from about
N.W., and the water quite smooth over the mile.
The Blanche entered upon her first mile by
running to the westward over the first of the east-
going tides. The general results, as will be de-
monstrated by the subjoined figures, proved to be
most satisfactory. Measured mile, full-boiler
power, six runs.—Speed of ship each run, in knots,
13.383, 13.953, 13.235, 14.462, 13.187, and 14.118.
Revolutions of the engines per mile, 394, 382,
402, 377, 403, and 379. Revolutions of the en-
gines per minute 87.88, 88.83, 88.68, 88.37, 88.57,
and 89.17. Mean steam pressure in boilers, 331 b. ;
in epgine room, 30Ib. Mean vacuum, 27 inches.
Mean speed of the ship under full boiler power,
13.631 knots per hour. Half-boiler power, four

runs. Speed of ship each run, in knots, 11.111,
12.996, 10.435, and 12.903. Mean speed of the
ship under half-boiler powar, 11.788 knots per
hour. The foregoing rates of speed place the
Blanche considerable above the Danae, the only
other vessel of precisely similar tonnage and nomi-
nal engine power that has passed the test of the
measured mile under both full and half-boiler
power ; and as both the Danae and the Blanche
have been built from the same set of drawings, this

excess in speed by the Blanche over the Danae is
undoubtedly a great credit to Messrs. Ravenhill and
Hodgson, whose engines ran throughout yester-
day's trials without a check or trouble of the
slightest kind.
The iron screw steamship Megrera, 4, having
shipped stores at Plymouth, left on Saturday after-
noon for Ascension and Rio Janeiro.
The hydraulic armour-plated gunboat Water-
witch, Commander Philip R. Sharpe, from Ports-
mouth, on an experimental cruise, arrived at Ply-
mouth on Friday afternoon. Her crew complain Of
her deficiency as a seagoing boat.
The chartered troopship Isabella, taken up by the
Government for the conveyance of troops belonging
to various corps to Bermuda, on board which the
smallpox broke out immediately after the embarka-
tion of the troops, has been inspected by the officials
from Chatham, and declared free from infection.
The troops from Chatham garrison, including rein-
forcements for the Royal Artillery, Royal Engi'
neers, Commissariat Staff Corps, Army Hospital
Corps, and the 61st Regiment, are accordingly
ordered to re-embark at Gravesend.
The troopships Accrington and Cleopatra have
been taken up by the Government for the convey-
ance of troops of various corps to Ladia, and are
ordered to be ind readiness to embark their detach"
ments at Gravesend.
The following officers, who have been gazetted to
commissions in the corps of Royal Engineers, tlro
ordered to do duty at headquarters, Chatham :""
Lieut. W. P. S. Dunlop, Lieut. F. J. Day, Lieetl
F. J. Brown, Lieut. D. A. Johnston, Lieut.
Gardiner, Lieut. J. F. Hewson, Lieut. J. Bare'
Lieut. R. F. Moore, Lieut. W. A. Nugent-, Lieu
t•
Darby, Lieut. G. Henry, and Lieut. C. ffu
Bagot. 16th
A draught of the depot of the 2d battalion,
Regiment, consisting of two officers and 93 Della'
commissioned officers and men, for Barbadoes,
a draught of three officers and 103 non-tom
sioned officers and men of- the depot of the
Regiment, for Jamaica, will leave the camp at L'uof
Chester and proceed to the service companies
their regiments about tire 26th inst.

PRESENTATION TO STAMEN.—The United State°
Consul at Liverpool has beon instructed by his Gol'ernilci
ment to pay to John Williams, a pilot at Duffryn,
James Al‘Cartuey, one of the crew of the Liverpool ste3`::
tug Reliance, the sum of $lOO each, as a reward for the",
noble conduct on the•occasion of he wreck of they tae
rican ship F. J. Southard, near Duffryn, on the h°,
December last, when at great peril to 'themselves th.%
managed to get the end of a line ashore and estahlif
communication with the vessel, and thus were InsiDl9 313
strumental in saving the lives of the crew.