The daily union., 1852-05-07

epfsa
prog essng in their building with much speed as % h
depce Dictates watching strictly the interest The eoysr
ment and the owners which Interests think
will thank you early day appoint nny.i oaa
sneto TO sapefnend their construction in conformity -
the law. #e.s NUa#.1s. .l1t I.1s. .u -
You're, very respectfully,
To Hon. ]. Y. Mason 'iNo'
Secretary Of the Navy. Washington
NOD. .l
NAVY DEPARTMENT February IA lsas d
SIR Your letter of the 10Th instant, with the enco,ns
has been received. and Captain VIM Skiddy, Of Na',
York. has been appointed naval constructor for he
of uperntendng the of the steamers babO
under the act of Congress OF March 3. 16i7.
am, respectfully, your obedient servant, a
To E. X COLLINS esq, New York '"'oS'
The contract referred to in the first Of these letters
contains the following: FF f1a .aa.~"
That the said Collins and his associates subml,
Domin eighteen hundred and foysx proposals to carrv
he United States mail between New York and Liverpool
month during the months for the sum Of
three hundred and eighty thousand dollars per annum
build Ave steamships Of not less than two thousand oa
measnremrn and of one thousand horsepower each 10
be built for great speed and sufficiently strong for pur
Schedule A states the "intended size of said steam
ships about 1900 TONS" h
In,his connexion will introduce the following
Abstract of letters written by Commodore Perry and Cap
tain William Skiddy, in reference to the Collins line Of
steamships, to the Secretaries of the Navy. Eal9l
Comuodore Perry. in his letter. dated February ls,h
1852, addressed to the Hon. William A. Graham Secre.
tary OF the Navy, says: a@
"Thas the following named Atlantic steamship ps NAV he
converted by slight alterations into warsteamers of m
cass-of Collins line. The Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, and
Baltic. iff* &.a a -+sh
According my calculations, the of tho conversion
OF either of the before mentioned vessels exclusive
maens repair OF machinery, &c, would not certainly
ought for each steamer $40 oO and could
ai a.
arInanen,s am clearly OF hs opinion ,ia. the first elias,
Paxhan guns pivots forward and aft, Of the
weight OF those in the Mississippi and s-inci PAX.
han the sides, and this armament would notn
ths vessels and the weight less than the
which is usually iory tons slowed away In mass
Commodore Perry continues, and says: ta
"Tbat in the general operations of maritime war they
would render good service and especially would they bs
useful from their great speed despatch vessels and for
the transportation OF troops, always capable Of attack and
defence, and OF overhanling escaping from enemy
built, Inspected and received by the Navy Department
Commodore Perry adds to this letter nole and says
THAT ocean steamer of 900 tons is of the maxi
mum dimensions for safety and efficiency. whether for
And this is the precise measurement Of the Collins
steamships
In another note he says
That the best practical relative power engines 70 tom
mage for nominal horse power every
three of tonnage, custom -hoase measurement" "
And this is the precise ratio of power used in the Col
lins steamships. dH
Commodore Perry, in his letter to the Hon. John Y
Mason, Secretary OF the Navy, dated JanuarD 30, lsls
In accordance with my instructions from the depart
ment, have carefully examined the vessels (Aanto and
~ presen, anaer eonsuc.on ana sna
few deyatons The contract OF f. r. Collins and his ssso-
ciaes In progress Of completion Two ships the Atlantic
and Pacihc nearly ready quite ready Tor annch
ng and their engines and boilers sufficiently advanced
for commencing the work Of putting Them on board
particular vessel guide for model OF
suuction OF his ships he has awaited himself Of the best
material at command, and OF his well-known judgment
and experience in shiP-buding, and in producing TWO
very superior sea steamer" " Ng
Commodore Perry says, according TO the statement Of
ened than was contracted for and adds:
The several contracts provide that alI Of these
shall be constructed be easily converted into war
steamers should the exercise the right OF taking
them into their public service ..#
"Seamers easily armed than sail vessels inai-
much as they have greater space on deck for
possessing as they do greater facilities OF mooo and COM
sequent choice of poson, and very ue time would be
required In arnng and equpping them for war servlce
Commodore Perry concludes this official statement as
follows;
..The undertaking is one OF great magnitude Cor ndi
vdus enterprise, and Of momenous charscer the com
.nercia Interests of the countryan undertaking alike
credtable TO liberal views OF the government and tho
public spirit OF the contractors and reectlng honor snd
credit upon both contracting parties.
They (the seamships) wil all have the merit OF pos.
sessng the great essentials Of capacity, buogancy and
aeeness, and capabiliy OF carrying effective armament,
and IL taken for their estimated worth the time of the
transfer, the government VIII be the ganer at period oil
rgent want for such vessels
Captain William Skiddy writes to " Commodore Perry,
general experimenting agent Tor The United States
mail steamers on the 21st OF January, 1s4o. fol-
lows;
g" have received your communication OF the 18Th inst,
requesting information respecting tho construction and
pment Of the United States mail steamers built and
building In this port (New York; under my inspection
Mr. e. X. Collins's spec cauons and agreements with
the call for much less than has been executed
double, crossing each Other at right angles aud well
bolted rmbers and rveed together; also the filing IN
has been extended the whole length OF the ships
with many other additions
These ships have great buoyspcy fiat broad Aoor er
tended well oysrd and AFT with sharp epd and are con
sidered beautiful models They have spacious deck room,
aud could guns of the largest cslbre on the gun OF
middle deck.
These ships can ALL in case OF emergency be converted
into They would by law be received ~
their original cost and their eihlencys
to strength and materials the necessary alteration included
would the government much essperhaps one han o.
the required to build purchase for the occasion
strength the United States that could be con-
verIed into war steamers"
Commodore Perry, April Q, 1850, writes to The Hon.
w b Preston, Secretary OF the Navy, hus:
The models of ocean mail steamers. built under me
OF Congress- whether for the navy or ra ser
vice, may bc considered ms excellent
"Experence has shown that the best general proporohs
for war sea mer with side-vhees are six times the
breadth for the length and twotbIds the breadth LOT w
depth" [By singular coincidence this IL the ehac'
sizs Of the Collins steamships
The highest probable speed that with known M ms
chinory be given commercial steamers Of l5OO ons
carrying fourteen days fuel and embracing ssgregss
voyages across the Atlantic, perhaps ioa knots per hou
The aggregate OF voyages across the Atlantic by ne
Collins steamships show that IL os per hour has been W.