The Portland daily press., 1864-02-12

owing to their great draught of water; and
| having this great draught a large propelle
can be used, will be deeply Immersed, and can
be made more efficient than that OF light
ter draught This is the opinion Of engineers
and has been confirmed by experience.
The following table gives the speed of our
| new steam sloops OF about 1867 tons, and with
the very light average draught of about four
teen feet OF water:-
Sacramento ........... 1867 l2.5
Adirondack .....-..................l 1857 II
Shenandoah. h........................l 1866 12.25
ilcohuefaso, .-.-.-.. ..s.-......' lou l-9
The above speed was made at sea, and as
their officers say under the usual condition
OF cruising ships" We can all see that at the
measured mile trial (aiter'the manner our En-
| glish friends have of getting the maximum
| speeds, a much higher one could be obtained.
Their machinery is much like the well tried
English plan, having the same valve gearing,
| but with surface or fresh-water condensers, /.
and much higher steam can be.carried.by using
| fresh water in the boilers also many other
advantages are gai ned by the use OF u
Surface condenser" And it seems that the
''Sewall condenser now in use on our naval
| steamers, is all that can be desired; at least
the best in use.
Mr. sherwood advocates the use of small
Ter cylinder and higher steam, and is opposed
to complicated machinery, made TO expand
the steam to its fullest extent, believing the
end docs not justify the means, and that it is
safer and lust as @econofnicai~in the end to
employ simple and always reliable vale ma
chinery. The success OF the English machi-
merry is entirely due to extreme simplicity
and strength. After the painful experience
with the complicated machinery Of the Pensa-
cola and Richmond, it does seem that MIR.
lsherwood is right in his views. We are q
fast people,and want everything we have to do
with TO be fast. Our naval steamers are fast
yet they must 90 faster, even if they breke
down in so doing. This is the way the public
feel in this matter, and the performances OF
the Alabama and her consorts have made US
all crazy in matters of speed. 1t is one thing,
10 see them at sea, then to overtake them,
afterwards to capture them. i do not think
any Of these priyateers steam thirteen knots
and believe they will yet be captured by our
new sloops.
hope our navy will be efficient, as it al
ways has done its duty, and desire that the
best talent in the land shall be at the helm,
but do not see that others can do any better
than our present chiefs of bureaus have done !;
that our ships and machinery are failures or
or that Mr.. sherwood is incompetent because
he does not agree in all points with those as
sailing him.
The Nypsic gunboat came TO the navy yard
at Boston from Portsmouth, and her officers
said "she made eleven knots under steam,n
aud has since been very efficient on the block
adc. The Pequot, 4 gunboat of the same
class, has just returned from trial trip,
which, from all that can learn, has not been
entirely satisfactory, aud did not give the
speed of the Nypsic. Also, the Saco, of the
same class, now fitting out at the Boston yard
has, like the Pequot, new and peculiar ma
chinery, in both cases experiments. men
ton this TO show that private establishments
are engineering for the navy, and without Mr.
Isherwoods success.
In writing the above have been influenced
by patriotic motives. never have, neither do
expect TO receive any favors from Mr.. Isher-
wood or the Navy Department, but think he
has been abused by men not his equal, and
who cannot show equal success under equal cir
cumstances. i have been a close observer Of
motive steam machinery, both at home and
abroad and look at this matter from a practi-
cal point of view aud desire to see fair play
and am confirmed in the above opinion after
hearing the view Of both sides.
did intend TO make my views known
through the public press, but have concluded
to adopt this method, of writing to influential
persons, believing 1t to be more eflectual.
The English are most happy to catch at the
word failure when used in connection with
our naval vessels, and are only too glad when
our officials are abused | know this from
experience with them; and / think the au-
thors of such wholesale abuse and untruthful
assertions concerning our chiefs of bureaus
and Others in authority in the Navy Depart
ment, should be punished and made an exam
pie of. Admitting the Department have made
some mistakes, land what engineer, shipbuild-
er or manufacturer has not p yet on the whole
they have turned out the finest naval steam
ers of their class in the world; and it is with
feelings of intense pride that | see there is a
prospect OF our assuming our proper position
as llrst-class naval power. l have repeated
ly stated that we can only be respected abroad
by having powerful Navy, and If this had
been the case when the rebellion was nstdut-
ed, the neutrality laws would have been better
understood by England and France.
We are now building in our dock wards a
. class of wooden cruising ships that in my
opinion, after careful examination, will ex-
eel in speed and sea-goingqual any steam
ers ever produced by any nation. | would
guaranty the above statement to be correct,
and believe (haying built over one hundred
sail OF square-rigged sailing ships | have
constructed the fastest sailing vessels ever
built, and am prepared to say that the large
cruising ships now building in our dock yards
can hardly be bettered, and we ought at once
TO lay the keels Of fifty such ships, from one
thousand five hundred tons upwards, and the
machinery known as "Isherwood's" ought to
be used TO propel them.
! Excuse this long epistle. 1t is intended to
do good, and if it will add strength to the
Navy Department, then my earnest wishes
will be gratfed.
have always been considered as very un-
friendly to the Navy Department, and in a
professional point of view do not agree with
all their plans, but at the same time do hope
that nothing will be done 10 embarrass off,