, 1865-11-03

Letter from Il. r. 1AhcFsyooI, Esq, Con.
cerDInE the Trial OF the Two vc.sels.

GxstnAI lssrzc1on'e oFrcE STEAM MAc1nx- J
Enx, &C., Q. $. n, No. as cAsAL STREET, !
NEW foNK, Oct 30, 1863.
To The Editor Of the New York Times:
SIR: enclose you communication for
publication In answer to one from 3Ir. Forbes.
| trust you Will publish this as matter OF
simple Justice, both 10 nc and the public. l
cannot be deceived In the matter, bnt the
latter can be easily, aud It is due to them to
have the whole truth.
Your obedient servant,
B. +. 1suzKwooD.
NEW YoRK. Monday, Oct. 80, 1865,
TO the Editor Of the Nc,Y York Times.
In your issue Of yesterday, under the head
Of " The Naval Trial, is letter from Mr. r.
s. Forbes, the contractor for the machinery
Of the Algonquin, in which he refuses to con-
t3nue Its competitive trial ut the wharf with
the machinery Of the Wlnooski. As he al
legcs no reason for this refusal, It can only
be considered as an admission of defeat. The
fncts Of the case are simply ns follows: air.
Forbes, at his earnest solicitation, obtained
from the Navy Department contract for
t.'double-ender" vessel, which should equal In
amount OF power developed and Ia economy
Of fuel the machinery for the duplicate vessels
constructed by the Bureau of Steam Engineer
ing; the TACT Of such equality to be ascertain
Department. That these conditions are the
contract Is not denied by Mr.. Forbes, but, on
the contrary, have been expressly admitted
In his numerous letters on tho subject pub
llshed In the Times. When the AlEonqaln's
machinery was completed, It was offered for
the contract trial, and the Navy Department
appointed a board OF civilian experts of the
highest reputation as steam engineers, and
wholly unconnectcd with the nary, to ar
range = programme for the trial. The board
consists Of Msssts. Everett, Copeland, Baird,
thus far have been conducted In exact con-
formity With the directions Of the board, aud
Of course Mr. Forbes complaints lie against
them, If against any, and not asainss the Navy
Department. Tue first trial was abortITe,
owing TO the fact that the machinery Of the
Algonquin possessed 50 little durability that
It's designer, Mr.. z. n. Dfckerson, had to break
down its feed apparatus after lity-tour hours
running, as m excuse for continuing the trfal;
the rcal cause being that the machinery
would not ouly have been badly beaten, but
completely ruined in few hours more. As
1t was, three weeks were occupied in co1n-
p'etIng the repairs, with 81 tho facilities OF
the New York shops. With much trouble.
the AIconquin's machinery was once more
brought to the Surfing post, and In seventy
hours was asnin stopped BY Mr.. Dickersoa to
avLid total defeat and its destruction,
Which would assurcdly hnve taken place In d
few hours longer. As 4 proof Of this, Mr..
foFlcb nas Cmpl05cu LIE o!Q@G5AA Iron VOTES
to retube the boilers, which were utterly
ruined, and to maks the other necessary re-
pairs, Mr. Forbes refusal to continue the
trial is really because his machinery cannot
make ngle revolution with less thnn
two weeks Of repairs. One part Of his
letter Is little amusing, Aftcr abusing
the Navy Department tor building slow
steamers, and c1torting contract to build
fast one, as IN example OF wha! he could do.
If the Department would buy bis patented
machinery be proposes to compete with q,
navy vessel, the Winooska, whose speed Is
notoriously from 1251 to 131f knots per hour,
at speed Of knots per hour. He thinks
H. Alg9O9u1in 2 In %onld keep ~ VIZ the
than two.thfrds Of her speed. To those who
have read the 1etters of Messrs. Forbes and
DIckerson,. published Id the Times, In relation
to what was to be the wonderful performance
Of the Algonquin, how she was to beat the
Winooski In few hours out ofsfRht, how abe
was to tow her back and acroes the river in u
for speed of s knots per hour, must indeed
seem Hken =.
"Most lame and Impotent conclusion"
add the following letter to Admiral Greg
ory from Mr.. Everett, the President Of the
Board OF Civilian Experts. From 1t will be
seen that the stoppnge Of the A1gonquin's
engine Oh the late trial by Mr. Dickenson,
" BE HuUily uuHA[IAulEU1 Auu LQut LlE bQ&FQ
ordered the next trial, which IL the one Mr..
Forbes now refuses 10 make. The truth Is,
and every engineer In the country knows It,
that the machinery Of, the Algonquin Is IN
utter failure, and must be removed from the
vessel.
LETTER FROM Mr. EVERETT.
OFE1cE OF Tia NOVELTY InoS Woaxs,}
NEW YoRK, Oct. q, 1865.
Rear Admiral F. Il. lrrgory:
SIR: Your letter Of the 26th inst. has been
submitted to the Board Of Experts, and am
directed to reply that they do not consider
that there was any proper reason for not
completing the economical trial; but as It
has been terminated by the stopping Of
the A1gonqufn's engine, that the trial for
maximum power be next made, without de-
lay, and that the designers Of each machin-
cry shall have entire charge OF the opera
tion Of their machinery; also, In caae there
should be uny disadvantage IN the relative To-
cation Of either vessel, that the full power
trial shall be repeated after exchange Of loca-
tion, md that the wheels Of the W1noosE
shall be repaired to conform to the dimen-
sions before tho Incident.
Very respectfully. etc,