The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-07-06

IL was the express ntesIion OF the then Secretary
nr. Spencer, that the best possible sailing model
should be adopted and steam used as an auxiliary
and whether the place was a judieious one or not
i was the duty ofthose who were allowed to eontro
he construction 20 hsyo carried his intentions int,
execution. Had the measure been carried out, ant
Jhe steam power faded ,ftho machinery could hav,
been landed, and the government been still in pos
session of seryieeable vessels, Your own sdmis
SION, that the Jefferson and LegaIe construct
cd forty feet longer than requisite for sailing
sells, or that the beam was four feet less than de-
sirable for that object sustains me in my position.
do not pretend TO dispute the fact that a steamer
requires length IN proportion TO the beam, than
sailing vessel; but do most unhesitatingy assert
hat no vessel having less than one-6fth Of the length
tn beam, and but httle hold Of the water, can be
expected 10 work TO windwafd in seaway.
ltls true, that Lieut. Mclaughlin, in his letter
appended with your own 10 the House document
alluded to, bears testimony 10 the contrary; but
will ask any practical seaman, Jwhether the asser-
don, that the steamer Hunter, or even the best sail
ing vessel, hove to, under a foresail in heavy
northsr in the Gulf Of Mexico and current setting
TO leeward, made one and halfk knots to wndward,
must not be mistake That under the circum-
stances, she should have made the same amount Of
lee-drift is much more reasonable.
In your nth argument, you again quote me as
saying that 1.-THE security OF the propeller against
ahot is Of minor importance, as its adoption must
Necessarily be at the expense.of speed" The quo
tation would, IL taken entire, have expressed my
views little differently. | will give IL ain con-
ciusion, would repeat the conviction, that, long
Is the boiler, ssa"pps, &C. are exposed, the secur
" Of the propeller, or wheel, is Of but minor inn
Portance, particularly its adoption must necessa-
ily be at the expense Of speed" And this requires
no argument TO sustain IT,, when IL is known that
the top Of the boiler and the upper deck are nearly
~ contact, as well In the Jefferson and Legare
in those constructed by Lieut. Hupter; and that the
hnla aAs.A hst-
~, &c, occupying the whole main body of the
vessel, receives no other protection than that de-
rived from the outside plating Of the vessel which
70 three-eighths ofan inch in thickness.
Again, at page SO. you remark relative to the trial
Of the Jefferson These defects omissions in the
records OF the experiment, are the more striking,
because Captain Fraser has thought it necessary to
select from the table some particular ups in order
70 exhibit speed Of 9.0l miles per hour, although
unable TO show at what expenditure of fuel it was
accomplished" at win be Just observes Captain
Praser) to computs the speed, with throttle open,
from trips 5th 9Th 7th and 9Th, the blowing engine
being then in order" w ould il not also have been
just to have taken an account of the increased con-
sumption Of fuel attending the additional 1915
revolutions per minute Of the engine
The best reason can DO given why the con-
sumption Of fuel was not noticed during a
few of the trips. The engineer, by some
neglect or mistake, while repairing the blowing
CINE, failed to keep an accurate account. But It
you had taken the trouble to refer to the return
passage from Kingston to Oswego, you would have
had all the information desired, as 1t is clearly eX
hbted that with lbs pressure and so revolutions,
the consumption Of fuel was $50 lbs. per hour, eX
hibitng the increased consumption Of fuel attending
the additional revolutions of the engine to be but IA
lbs. per hour.
Again, you quote my remarks, but particularly
relative TO the selection Of particular trips, for the
purpose Of exhibiting the maximum rather than the
Iulya tba hla fpa al,
eye two lines farther than where you find 9 OIL miles
per hour, you will perceive that the average speed
IS given at 80 miles per hour OF, If that had been
neglected. you have the mean Of the different times
pressure Of seam and revolutions to make the cal
cnlation from yourself.
With reference to the trial with the Great West
ern, it would have been well had you noticed the
fact that on leaving port the Great Western was
deeply laden, and her wheels deeply immersed, OPP
Grating very materially against her, and that her
speed at such times is rarely more than I miles
per hour But will suppose that the two yes
sells had been kept in company until, by the con-
sumption of fuel, the wheels Of the Great Western
had attained their proper immersion, and the pro
peer Of the Legare had, by the operation, been
brought nearer TO the surface, what, | would ask,
would have been the probable result Iii true that
the trial could not have lasted long enough to have
been very satisfactory for under the pressure
of steam as carried from New York to Sandy Hook,
more than sufficient fuel for five days could not have
been carried on board Of the Legare. In referring
to that trial. and the trial of the Princeton, you
guilty Of much greater neglect than that laid to my
charge in neither do you give either the pressure
of steam, or consumption of fuel.
have it from the engineers who were on board
of the Legare-which may, in the absence of better
be taken as pretty good authoritythat the pressure
Of steam during that trial ranged from sixty to
eighty pounds, and that the consumption OF fuel was
enormous. .2'
! T., oil ,,,, ronort. \ conf,ed NV renarks eycIu-
svely to the vessels of the revenue marine but as
YOU in your letter introduce the Princeton as an
evidence Of the into which have fallen 1t Is
but fair that should use the same vessel to sustain
myself. For, although that vessel possesses speed,
and the machinery is below the water line, still, in
another point of view, she may be regarded
failure; and ] will bring to your notice few facts,
which, perhaps, were never intended for the public
dye, or, at least, which have never been presented
to it. What sacrifices have been made for the secu-
rity of the machinery, and the attainment of speed
The draught Of water of the British steam frgates
Trident and Medea, is, according to your own &C
COUNT 10 Il. in. and IA Il. in. respectively; that
Of the Princeton, by the pilots account on leaving
port was 90 n in; while the tonnage of the latter
vessel is fifty per cent less than that OF the former
Ones excluding her from many important harbors
UPON the coast and rendering her passage into the
best during the prevalence of an easterly gale and
at low water, hazardous experiment.
Let mo ask, if the Princeton should be caught in
shore of superior force, any where to the south
ward of Cape Henry, where would she find refuge
short Of Key Vest
This appears to me a most important matter,
when our war steamers are, as is alleged, intended
for coast defence. ,....
On the coast of Great Britain and at many Of
their colonial possessions upon this continent, the
harbors unobsructed by bars, and they have
the advantage Of extraordinary tides.
Reduce the draught Of the Princeton to the ordl-
nary standard of vessels Of her class and tonnage,
and render the harbors accessible at all timesthe
consequence is proporionate reduction in the diam
eter Of the propeller, the protection given to the
machinery is lost, and the boosted speed vanishes.
regret the necessity which compels this reply.
have done 80 in the best possible feeling and with
the greatest Difference your superior abilities, but
with the conviction that simple practical observa-
tons are more satisfactory than the most elaborate
theories. $780,
ri have touched upon any subject not connected
with my own immediate service, the remarks
have been drawn from me by yourself. My chief
interest is in the service Of which | am member,
and which has suffered much oaum from the inlu-
dicious experiments of those who can have no in