The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-21 00:00:00

THE ARCHDUKE FREDERICK
OF AUSTRIA.

WrooLwictt, Nov. 17.—At eleven o'clock this
morning his Imperial Highness the Archduke
Frederick of Austria, attended by Baron Lebzeltern,
Counts Karoly, Maronivich, Kohel, and Dumont, and
other members of the suite, accompanied by Captain
Fitzroy, R.N., as Aide-de-Camp and interpreter, with
Captain Boldero, M,P., Clerk of the Ordnance, ar-
rived in two carriages and four at the Royal Arsenal,
Woolwich, and were received by Colonel R. J. J.
Lacy, Colonel Cleaveland, Colonel J. E. Jones, Assis-
tant-Adjutant-General, Royal Artillery • Colonel
Mercer, Royal Marines; Lieut.-Colonel M'Bean,
Major Hardinge, K.H., Major Sandilands, and Bri-
gade Major Cuppage, of the Royal Artillery ; and
Major Sandham, Royal Engineers. Colonel Jona-
than Peel, Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, arrived
shortly afterwards, and accompanied his Imperial
Highness over the various departments.
On the Archduke Frederick of Austria alighting
from his carriage, the guard of the Royal Artillery
presented arms, and a salute was fired from a field
battery stationed on the wharf of the Royal Arsenal.
The first place visited by his Imperial Highness
was the foundry, where he was received and con-
ducted over that department by Lieutenant-Co-
lonel Dundas, C.B. The Archduke examined the
beautiful brass leaves of the Corinthian order cast
for Nelson's monument, and appeared pleased with
their chaste and elegant appearance. From the
foundry his Imperial Highness proceeded to
the boring branch of that department, where a
most complete and perfect set of machinery bores the
solid brass, according to the size of the calibre re-
quired, and turns with the greatest nicety and beauty
the exterior. These works have just been completed
by Napier, and are now in full operation, performed
by steam power, and scarcely requiring any manual
labour, the whole, even the moving of the guns from
one part of the building to the other, being accom-
plished by machinery. A great number of twenty-
four and twelve-pounder guns were in progress of being
finished, and altogether the party seemed much pleased.
In one of the wings large metal gans are bored, and
the operation was witnessed by the Archduke.
From the boring establishment his Imperial High-
ness proceeded to the laboratory department, where
he was received by Col. Cockburn and Lieut.-Col.
Dansey, C.B. On entering the rooms set apart for
making percussion caps, the beauty of the machinery
and the rapidity of the work entirely done by hand,
and mostly by boys, appeared to give great satisfac-
tion. His Imperial Highness remained some time in
this department, and witnessed the whole process,
from the cutting out of the metal in the form of a
Maltese cross, until brought into its finished form and
filled with the igniting composition, and varnished for
preservation until required for service. The building
occupied by boys employed in making blank and ball
cartridges, was also visited, and the rapidity with
which the ivork was accomplished appeared to sur-
prise the visitors. In another building in this de-
partment is a powerful machine, invented by Napier,
and worked by hand, for making musket balls by
compressure, and his Imperial Highness witnessed the
whole process of forming balls with great rapidity
from bars of lead.

From the laboratory the Archduke proceeded to
the carriage department, and witnessed wood-cutting
by circular saws arid forming lance poles, and in an-
other branch of the same department planing immense
planks by Bramah's circular machine, the whole
moved by steam power. His Imperial Highness here
examined two powder cases for magazines either for
land or sea use, and as they are made of a square form,
they are easily moved about, and being capable of
being stowed in less compass to the extent of fully
one• fourth than could be accomplished with the same
quantity packed in barrels.
From the carriage his Imperial Highness walked
across the field, where upwards of 28,000 large guns
of various calibre are arranged, and upwards of
4,000,000 of shells and shot visible almost at one
view, and entered the store department, where accou-
trements are always kept in readiness to supply
10,000 horses at an hour's notice. In one part of this
establishment his Imperial Highness appeared much
pleased with some cavalry saddles, and the complete
manner in which other saddles were fitted with moun-
tain howitzers, and cases for 56 small rockets attached
to each saddle. In the lower part of the extensive
storehouses are always kept ready for use a large
supply of naval instruments, and other articles fbr
sea service.

From the store department the Archduke proceeded
to the proving department, where: he was received by ,
Lieut.-Colonel Chalmer. Previous to entering, his
Imperial Highness examined the three large brass
gulls, about 18ft. long each, sent home from India ,
after the capture of Ghuznee. He also examined a
large gun of the new model, weighing 113 cwt., and
appeared gratified with its beautiful symmetry and
just proportions. In one of the wings of the proving
department the Archduke witnessed the fragments or
rather corroded masses, formed of the guns which
were recovered from the wreck of the Mary Rose, af-
ter having remained in the water about two hundred
years. In the proving department, Lieut.-Colonel
Dundas and Lieutenant-Colonel Chimer showed the
mode by which large guns were fired on the percus-
sion principle ; and in another part his Imperial High-
ness witnessed the operation of a beautiful and supe-
rior invention for measuring the diameter and correct-
ness of the bore of large guns. In the same building
are guages for measuring the correctness of balls and
shells, the operations of which were all exhibited.

His Imperial Highness then entered his carriage
and drove to the Marshes, where he witnessed
spherical shell practice, by the B and D field batteries,
under the command of Colonel Cleaveland. From
the Marshes the Archduke and suite proceeded to the
garrison, and after shortly examining the barracks of
the men, entered the splendid mess-room of the Royal
Artillery, where he partook of an elegant dejeuner
prepared for the occasion. During the time his Im-
perial Highness and suite were at the mess-room,
the band of the Royal Artillery played several excel-
lent tunes in front of the colonnade, and a guard of
honour attended, under the command of Capt. Weller.
The Rotunda was afterwards visited, and the im-
mense variety of arms of all periods of history, and
objects of interest in this national repository, appeared
to give great delight to the party.
. .

At three o'clock the Royal horse Artillery assem-
bled on the common, under Colonel Dyneley, C. 8.,
and went through their evolutions, notwithstanding
the wetness of the ground, in an admirableC manner;
and his Imperial Highness expressed to Col. Dyneley
his approbation of their manoeuvres. The Royal
Horse Artillery then marched to the -upper part of
the common and fired a salute as his Imperial High-
ness returned to town by the Blackheath-road.

WOOLWICH, Nov. 18.—The Firefly steam-vessel,
at present in dock being repaired and coppered, has
been ordered to be fitted with rotatory engines, of the

The Acheron steam-vessel sailed for Sheerness on
Wednesday, the 16th.
The Mastiff surveying vessel, Master Commander
Thomas, and the Woodlark, her tender, arrived on
Wednesday, the 16th inst., from the Orkney Islands,
and will remain at Woolwich during the winter season.
The Lightning steam-vessel, Lieut. Commander
William IVinniett, returned from Walmer Castle to
Woolwich on Wednesday, the 16th.
The Falmouth, which sailed from Woolwich for
Portsmouth last week, was under the necessity of
putting back to land her sailing master, Mr. Everson,
who was taken dangerously ill on the passage. The
Falmouth sailed again almost immediately after land-
ing the master, and has been obliged to put back a
second time, having run foul of a brig.
The Magician, an iron steam vessel of 360 tons,
built by Messrs. Ditchburn and Marc, proceeded
down the river on Wednesday, the 16th, under the
command of Captain Sir Francis Collier, Knt., C.B.
and K.C.13., superintendent of her Majesty's dock-
yard, Woolwich, to try engines of 110 horse power,
which had been fitted in her by Penn and Son, and
the speed attained is said to have been 15 knots per
hour.

APPOINTMENTS TO THE MEGMRA.-Mr. E. S. F.
Cheeseman, Clerk in charge; Mr. T. C. Pullen,
Second Master ; Mr. W. J. Pollard, Mate; Mr. R
Brenan, Assistant-surgeon.
Mr. Thomas Lloyd, assistant to chief engineer, in
the Woolwich dockyard, has been, appointed chief en-
gineer, in the room of Mr. Peter Ewartf recently
deceased from injuries he received by the breaking of
a chain employed in placing boilers on board one of
the steam vessels in the basin of the dockyard.

LOSS OF THE RELIANCE EAST
INDIAMAN.

F. H., a shipmaster, has addressed a letter to a
Contemporary respecting the Reliance, in which he
thus satisfactorily, we think, accounts for her loss :
" The light on Dungeness and that on Cape Gris-
nez, on the French coast, are only 23 miles distant,
and nearly opposite ; they, are so similar as to be
easily mistaken, especially in hazy weather, and their
relative positions are such that the mere difference of
one point and a quarter in steering will direct a ship
to either light in coming up Channel. For example,
a ship bound up Channel is on the fair way track,
abreast of Beachy-head ; the course (magnetic) east
by north would take her to a fair berth off Dungeness,
and east a quarter south would take her to Cape
Grisnez on the opposite shore. Now, Sir, it too fre-
quently occurs that sufficient attention is not paid to
steering in these critical situations, and we will sup-
pose a case that I have known to occur :—the helms-
man " yaws " the ship about, and alters the course
half or three quarters of a point to the eastward, and
the consequence is that the Dungeness light has not
been observed (in hazy weather very probable), and
shortly afterwards the light on Cape Grisnez is seen
right ahead, or a little on the starboard bow ; the
commander imagines this to be Dungeness light and
hauls his ship more to the eastward to go clear of the
English land; when, in point of fact, he has directed
her right upon the French coast. This, Sir, I am
persuaded has tended to the loss of ships, and perhaps
in the present instance ; an alteration to sufficiently
distinguish the two lights would do away with the
danger.
" In conclusion, I beg to state, that masters of East
India ships are more lihely to fall into the error to
which I have alluded than others ; their ships are
generally taken to Spithead by pilots, where they
join them outward bound, and therefore have not so
many opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of the
Channel above the Isle of Wight: