The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-07-15

Persous leaving home for the virginia
prings and other Summer retreats, can have
the Daily Dispatch mailed to them for any
length Of time they may want Il.
BRITISH NAVAL ARCHITECTURE.
Chamber Journal has m interesting arti
Gle on the growth Of naval architecture in
Great Britain from the ooraclc Of the ancient
Brtons Of 1000 years ago, to the gigantic
three decker, the Duke of Wellington The
coracle is described ~ species of boat COM
posed Of hides stretched over frame of
wicker-work, and it is said to be still in dai.
ly use in the Welsh rivers. The Britons pos
sessed no vessels fit to brave the open sea.
From the Danish invaders they are said to
have derived their adventurous maritime spi.
nit, and to Alfred the Great, whose vessels vi.
sited the Mediterranean, from which quarter
he introduced galleys Of sixty oars, is assigned
the honor of forming the nucleus of Navy.
Nome impulse to ship building was given by
the Crusades, but the grand stimulus to naval
imn-., 'sment was the discovery of the mari
1ass. Int the next century after this
her cohi rs were built in ENGLAND of 500
gu. one of 900 tons. The discove-
80 of 80. no, e a new impetus to ship
tu;,d;.. ,sraer sndh alter ships being requir
ID for ,Ss d;stsnt VOYAGE In Isla,Henry VIII
built ship of 1900 tons bul uen' Dat AIS inooei
was bad, and like our great anna !"
proved of no use, except as g. e@' SNOW
1877 was memorable for the voyage :" oiake'
who, in that year sailed from Plymo. u'i' WIN
five small vessels, and returned in abou Z 'aIee
years, having circumnavigated the 'oae
The defeat of the Spanish armada gave ant fN
or impetus to the naval spirit of e. Britain
such as it had never received before. hoeeu'
from the reign of the virgin queen may De
datedthe beginning ofthose brilliant trlumphs
which have given birth to the boast that
Z Britannia rules the waves The So0ereagn
of The Seas, of 1000 guns and 1861 tons, was
built in 1857 The Journal from which we
have cleaned these facts, states that this ship
was Indirectly one ofthe causes ofthe civilwar
for King Charles demanded the ap-"'o"ey,
(which Hampden and others refused to payJ
mainly to build it. Ii is curious fact that |
not until the reign of Charles Ii, were ships
constructed of suffi cient size sndconvenience
to carry several months provisicn' on board, |
and previously every large ship wass attend
cd by small one which carried the provi- |
sions, thus exposing the crew of the large |
vessel to starvation, in case the small one was |
lost or parted company! Navigation, since
the discovery of the compass, was still far
Their facilitated by the invention of Gunters
scale, in 1920; the quadrant improved by
Hadley, in 1871, and the chronometer to reck-
on the longitude by Harrison, in l774. Until
a late period, both the French and Americans,
according to the admission of Chambers,
have been far superior ship builders to the
English. The opinion is expressed by the
editor, that in all future all British ships of.
war will be supplied with screw propelers.
The Duke Of Wellington, the largest ship
of war in the world, was launched on the 14th
of September, 1852. She was originally nam
ed the Windsor Castle but the Iron Duke
dying about that time, the name was changed
as tribute to his memory. The chief d.
mansions of this monster of naval architec.
ture are given as follows: Extreme length,
27s feet inches; length between perpendi-
culars, 240 feet inches extreme breadth, 80
feet; height from keel to taffrail, IS feet; bur-
den 1883 tons, old measurement or 3l55 new
measurement. The mere weight of her
hull is reckoned to be nearly 5000 tons; and
her weight, when thoroughly fitted out and
in commission, above $500 tons; her draught
of water is twenty five feet which still left
the. lower ports seven feet clear Of the sur
face-a fact that of itself gives one a vivid
idea of the stupendous magnitude of the hull.
The engines are of $50 horsepower, and the
propeller itself weighs three tons. She can
stear at the rate of upwards of IL miles per
hour, Independent of her sails. She carries
coal for only FIVE days consumption, at full
power of the steam, and this coal is slowed
to the thickness of twelve feet on each side
of her engine room, so that it is considered
impossible for cannon ball to penetrate
through to the machinery Time will show.
Her complement of men is HOO. Her arma.
ment is truly tremendous" 1877 cannon, 6s
and 81 Founders, frown from her rugged
sides. The opinion is expressed that single
close broadside from that awful battery,
would send an old fashioned seventy four
sheer to the bottom!
. What stupendOus and suggestive contrast
\ this enormous floating castle, to the tinv
wickerwork boat covered with hides. of in
Illus Caesars time!