New-York daily tribune., 1861-08-15
IPON-PLATED WAR.VESSELS.

As commission has been authorized by Congress to
inquire into the expediency Of building ronpa'ed war
yesels il becomes interesting to note the progress
which has been made in this direction by European
governments. France has two very large and power
iu orl-cased chips afoat, besides @ class of vsseb
called ron-cased frigaes of which she has four Sue
has aso four floating batteries aud five gunbOats par.
tally cased in Spain is building iron-cased
fgates Russia is about TO build an ron-cased gate,
and Italy has one either ahoat ehorty to be 30 In
one Of the ports of the Mediterranean. England has
two iron-cased vessels, the Warrior and the Black
Prince each Of 5000 tuns another vessel OF the
same class the stocks besides two rgates which are
entirely covered with plates, and several frgates ON
which iron plates are being placed.
All that we know with regard to this new class Of
war-yessels is from the performances OF La Goire.
When the results Of ronplang vessels were unde.
termined it was objected by many people that they
would be failures even if speed cond be got out
OF them, they wouldnot be seaworhy. But La Gloire
has proved that she has great speed and also that she
Is ssaworhy. On the last visit Of tie freuch Empe-
ror 70 Algeria the squadron which accompanied him
consisted OF the tastes; and finest ships Of the French
navy. When the Emperor entered the port OF Agieu
in is yacht, which is very fact vessel La Glore was
the only ship Of the squadron in his company; the rest
wero not even in sight. Her seaworthness was
proved on the return-voyaee during very heavy gale
of wind in the Gulf Of Lyons. merctant-captain
who in company with the squadron during that
gale says that be remembered being IN heav.
Ter gale in bis life When La Glore arrived at Tou-
Ion few days afterward she certainly none the
worse for the voyage. The French Government al.
lows nothing in regard to her performances to TO
the public eye, but it is building more like her.
La Gloire is bull. of wood ard completely cased
with inch she is scbconerrigged, with three
masss and consequently relies mainly on her steam
powsr for locomoon. Her sowage is Of course very
much confined both to provisions and to Goals. a.
she has to bear up 30 much weight Of amor.
Tie English iron-plated vessels very different
While la Glore is Of the size Of ordinary neof.
batle-ship Of about 1900 tun. the Warrior is vessel
Of 5000 tuns La Gioire is built Of WOOD the Warrior
of iron; La Goire is cased throughout, the Warrior
Only partially, both ends being left uncased and only
about half the length of the vessel being projected
Under the 4,nch plates, which Is feet by 4, is
thickness twenty inches of teak The rivets are IL
inch and extend through the teak into the iron skin OF
the vessel. She has also sort Of batterDg-ram IN
'front.' which intended TO crush any vessel over which
che may desire to pnss Her armament is composed OF
thirty-sx 6s.pcnnders, with two lOOpound Armstrong
pivot.suns and four 50pOund Armstrong guns. The
Warrior and the Black Prince have cost each million
and BALI Of dollars. The two smaller vessels the Re-
sstance aud tie Advance are of about $500 tuns with
a double skin like the Great Eastern, and carrying
thry-two guns fourteen OF which defended by ar
NOR, which extends along about bali the length Of tho
vessel. They have the rig of line-of.battle-shp.
The French sysem is undoubtedly the cheaper "a
the vessel is only bali large in the English sys-
TEN. The French ships, however, are built Of wood,
and behind these iron plates il is said that consdera-
bic decay mus, necessarily take place. But tie Eng
lish vessel has one great advantage. IL is now GER
tain that inches thickness Of iron armor Will not re-
sst the large red cannon now in use, and there no
doubt that we-directed round shot from the l5inch
smootl-bore Union gun at Fortress Monroe would
crush its way through any iron arnor which has yet
been applied to the casing of vessels. If The 2O-pound
projectile from the Armstrong gun skaters 4s-nch
plate what will be the result when we como to batter
such plate with 400pound projecile from such
rifed cannon as the l5-inch gun which has recently
been sent to Fortress Monroe II may soon be found
necessary TO double the thickness of the plates This
can be done on the Warrior but it cannot be done on
| La Gloire.
For vessels which are to be employed on our own
coasts as our Navy designed to be capacity Of very
large amounts of provisions and Goals is not necessary
Being near supplies Of COAL our vessels SCENT need
nothing more than the jury schooner-msis which inc
French yeseels have. The question wbe;herthey shau
be cased entirely or not, Is very difficult one to deter
mne The English say that ships built for great sfeea
must have very sharp ends and that if at the same
time these ends are armed with heavy plates, speed
cannot be obtained I. a heavy sea. The French on
the contrary, declare that the unprotected bow ana
stern of the English vessels can easily DC knocked
away. This the English attempt to remedy oy htuns
the ends with water-ight bulkheads. As to whe'her
the vessel should be built Of wood or ron there Is no
doub, but that we should construct them Of WOOD a
we have few facilities for building iron vessels, and IN
The Gulf of Mexico they would in two or three months
become 30 completely covered with scaweed as to 10
s,eered with difficulty if ut all. The English Govern
men appears to have become convinced Of the superb
ory of the French system, since the last vessels or
ered arc to be completely eased in iron, and Of about
1900 tuns burden.
But we must not forget that there is q strong parry
in England, headed by no less naval authority tnan
Sir Howard Douglas, who stoutly maintain tha' rOn'
cased vessels are and must be failures.
iments with the Armstrong gun at Shoeourynes'
which we recently gave some account, prove 'na' nv
even m S.neh plate is proof against the I"P'uH~'~