The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-29 00:00:00

ship (and, I may add, of greater beam than foreign
frigates) ; they have, therefore, ample room for one
continuous battery on the upper deck.
The disadvantages in cutting in two the frame
of a heavy ship arL, the following:—lt considerably
weakens her, and carrying the guns at the extremi-
ties causes her to pitch heavily in a sea, and thus
tends to break her back.
We lose (without any saving in expense) the force
of 10 guns, and that in the part of the upper deck
where they are most available, as there only are the
muzzles of the guns clear of the fore, main, and miieri
riggen ; arid, last of all, the beauty and symmetry of
a ship is destroyed.
For these reasons, the French, Americans, and
other nations have discontinued a practice only desir-
able or rather unavoidable under the old system of
naval architecture. It is difficult to account far the
Government designers having omitted this accompa-
niment of the improvements of the new system.
Tee French and American ships have now one un-
broken bulwark and battery on the upper deck, from
•tern to stern. From the breadth of the new ships
the main tack is now hauled aboard halfway amid-
ships on the deck, the hauling part as well as the
block is toggled to a strap or shackle, clenched to
the deck beam ; therefore the tack is no longer
a lumber to the deck, and does not interfere with
the fighting of the gun-, and moreover gives a
clear lead to run aft with the tack. They also stow
their spare spars entirely amidships, with two large
boats—one on each side. Thus have they re-
moved all the former objections to a perfect bat-
tery on the upper deck, and have a ship of 100
or of GO guns where we have one of 90 or 50. And
be it remembered that if you would produce a given
force, it is efficient and economical in proportion as it
is concentrated. Thus, if you would send to sea a
force of 1,000 guns and 10,000 men, in ten ships, it
is more powerful and more economical than if you
produce a similar number of guns and men in eleven
ships. _ _

I must add, that the time is fast approaching when
the screw will be appliei
to every ship of war, of
which I shall speak presently. It would, therefore,
be prudent and economical never to construct another
sailing ship of war without a view to her some day
having a screw, and being available for steam tactics,
if I may use the expression. To this end I should
recommend that two -decked ships and frigates should
have no waiste (id. est , a perfect upper-deck bat-
tery), and no poop. What a noble and magnificent
sight would the upper deck of a 100-gun ship then
Is?,—ships of the Rodney and Albion class would
carry 100 guns—but the more substantial advantages
of having no poop are, that, having one unbroken
deck, you have a clear run of the ropes, the men at
the atter part of the ship can lend their power to
the braces and halliards as they come aft ; the men
would not have to leave their guns and run up a
ladder to trim the sails; the ship is more available
altogether for warlike purposes, and much top-hamper
is saved. In close action, also, men stationed on the
poop are terribly exposed to grape and musketry ' - the
only disadvantage is that some accommodation is lost,
but this will be snore than compensated by the advan-
tages for warlike purposes. And, moreover, there is
clearly a growing opinion in the navy that all
commissioned officers should mess together, in which
case room should be gained, and, by a re-arrange
ment of the cockpit exactly double the accom-
modation could be found there. For instance, let a
wing or shot-plug passage run round the entire orlop
deck. We might then have a double tier of cabins
where we now have a single ; one set of cabins could
open into the wing, and another into the cockpit.
With reference to applying the steam-screw, a method
has been discovered by which it can be applied to
sailing-ships of any size at a twentieth part of the ex-
penses we have hitherto gone to, and that without
weakening or touching the frame or dead wood.
Thus it appears that steam is destined to make more
rapid strides than it has hitherto done, and it would be
well fur us to keep our eyes open and neglect no
modern improvement in our dockyards. I write this
letter with a hearty desire to render service to the
naval profession. Hoping I have not conveyed cen-
sure on any, _ .

.
I remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
London, March 25, 1850. JASON.

EXPORTS AND IMPORTS IN 1848.
According to a return of exports and imports
during the year 1848, which has just been issued, the
total declared value of our exports to the British
West India colonies in that year amounted to
1,546,862/. The chief items furnishing this total are
—cotton manufactures and yarn, 401,2341.; apparel
slops and haberdashery, 145,655/. ; linen manufac-
tures and yarn, 128,733/. ; soap and candles,
112,701/. ; wrought and unwrought leather, 74,654/. ;
wrought and unwrought iron and steel, 69,2341.;
butter and cheese, 62,2841. ; coals, cinders, and cultn,
53,5531.; machinery and mill-work, 18,1681. Our
principal imports from our West India colonies
were coffee, of which 5,075,1281 b. were imported,
and .5,704,3991b._ entered for home cunsump-

tion, at a duty of 4 1-sd. per lb.; cocoa, of which
2,602,3091 b. were imported, and 2,715,5601 b. en-
tered for home consumption, at a duty of 1 1-203. per
lb. ; rum, of which 5,653,867 gallons were imported,
the quantity entered for home consumption being
2,623,109 gallons of West India rum, and 147,321 of
East and West India ratted together, at a duty, up to
July 19, of Bs. 7d. for England, 4s. 5,1. for Scotlind,
and 3s. sd. for Ireland, which was subsequently
reduced respectively to Bs. 21 , 4i., and 3'. ; un-
refined sugar, of which 2,794,987 cwt. were im-
ported, and 2,770,830 cwt. admitted for home con-
sumption, at a duty which, up to July 12, was 16s.
41., when equal to white clayed, arid 14s. other-
wise, and was reduced subsequently to 155. 2d. and
134.; molasses, of whieh 385,484 cwt. were imported,
and 402,276 cwt. entered for home consumption, at a
duty of ss. 3i. per cwt. up to July 12, and 43. 101.
subsequently ; mahogany, of which 22,618 tons were
imported from Honduras, and 282 from other parts.
Our exports to the East India Company's territories
and Ceylon amounted in declared value to a total of
5,077,1461., the principal items being 2,344,763/ for
cotton manufactures,693,loB/. for cotton yarn, 326,8081.
for brass and copper manufactures, 234,812/. for arms
and ammunition, 219,0361. for woollen manufactures
and yarn, 212,042/. for iron and steel wrought and
unwrought, 137,351/. for ale and beer, 92,435/. for
hardware and cutlery, 30,4631. for coals, rl/4.c., and
26,9771. for machinery and mill-work. Oar princi-
pal imports front those territories were coffee, of
which 30,851,4651 b. were imported, and 24,440,7751 b.
entered for home consumption at a duty of 4 1-51.
per lb. ; cotton manufactures of which 114,306
pieces were imported, the declared value of the
quantity entered being 1201. for made-up goods,
and 2181. for those not made up, at a duty for
the latter of 5 per cent. when from British pos-
sessions ; indigo, of which 6,393,0891 b. were im-
ported ; undressed hemp and other substances of
the same nature, the imports of which amounted
to 258,238 cwt. ; pepper, 7,487,33116. of which
were imported, and 3,058,0311 b. entered for borne
consumption at a duty of 6 3-16 d. per lb.; silk
handkerchiefs, of which 298,458 pieces were im-
ported, and 147,260 entered for home consumption at
a duty of 5 per cent. ad valorem; unsweetened
spirits, of which 882,483 gallons were imported, and
205,816 (exclusive of quantities vatted with West
India rum), entered for home consumption ; sugar,
unrefined, of which 1,332,745 cwt. were imported,
and 1,352,004 cwt. entered for home consumption ;
cotton wool imported to the amount of 84,101,9611 b.,
and lamb's and sheep's wool to the amount of
3,997,4351 b. The total declared value of exports to
China amounted to 1,445,9591. The principal items
are cotton manufactures to the amount of 808,822/. ;
cotton yarn, 142,4231; woollen manufactures,379,9l2/ ;
iron and steel wrought and unwrought, 19,520/. ;
linen manufactures, 24,5021. Our imports from
China consisted chiefly in tea, of which 47,346,8171 b.
were imported, and 48,301,9431 b. entered for home
consumption at a duty of 24. 21d. per lb.; raw silk
imported to the amount of 2,200,1821 b.; thrown silk
to the amount of 40,8291 b.; and nankeen cloths, of
which 64,463 pieces were imported. The total de-
clared value of exports to the Mauritius amounted to
169,3081. The principal articles were cotton manu-
factures to the amount of 63,7621.; wrought and un-
wrought iron and steel, 9,220/. ; beer and ale, 9,261/. ;
hardwares and cutlery, 8,273/. ; brass and copper ma-
nufactures, 6,6241.; woollen manufactures, 6,030/. The
chief imports from the Mauritius were unrefined sugar,
of which 886,282 cwt. were imported, and 813,199
entered for home consumption; rum imported to the
amount of 114,807 gallons, the quantity entered for
home consumption being 9,642 gallons ; and pepper,
of which 154,9601 b. were imported, and 20,10516. en-
tered for home consumption. The total declared value
of exports to the British North American colonies
was 1,990,659/., the chief items being cotton manu-
factures and yarn, 394,8381. ; woollen manufactures
and yarn, 355,5911.; apparel, slops, and haberdashery,
211,889/. ; wrought and unwrought iron and steel,
206,7721.; hardwares and cutlery, 95,9671.; linen
manufactures, 80,094/. ; silk manufactures, 54,9551.;
leather, wrought and un wrought, 58,619/. ; coals, cin-
ders, and culm, 34,467/. ; cordage, 42,067/. ; refined
sugar, 48,220/. The principal imports from these colo-
nies were—wheat, 27,120 qrs.; wheat flour, 554,475
cwt.; train oil and spermacetti, 11,237 tuns; un-
dressed skins and furs of various kinds, 1,079,078 ;
timber, not sawn or split, of which 695,235 loads
were imported, and 598,327 entered for home con-
sumption at a duty of Is. 0 3 51. per load; deals and
split or sawn timber, of which 496,081 loads were
imported, and 486,103 entered for home consumption,
at 2s. 1 1-sd. duty ; and staves, 30,340 loads. The
total declared value of exports to New South Wales
and the Australian colonies amounted to 1,463,8371.
The chief articles were, apparel, &c., 308,7651.;
woollen manufactures and yarn, 142,7451. ; cot-
ton manufactures, 140,4871.; wrought and un-
wrought iron and steel, 89,8791.; beer and
ale, 77,691/, ; linen manufactures, 62,5471.