THE PATTERN FOR THE NAVY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume II, Issue 484, 1 June 1865, Page 4

THE PATTERN FOR THE NAVY.

\V E extinct the following fro,n , f J,'r Raillie, in the Home of Common*. (March 3rd> on his motion for an inquiry into the oorditicn o£ IJ&vfll . . lie would state first what were the private account and thru icfer to the official returns from Admiral Kiiper l'v -huh tl.cfoiTnerVa.nc™ corroborated ( biv.to letters of oilicers which had I con piirlcd, and wbic perfectly authentic, etate.l : "On 11.0 wed clay no >hell fitted «,th bo ' T ,illnr-fii7D' went more: than 300 j ard», most In s. in tho gun, a,d nearly all the shot '; <«P^ c poire as much as £00 jards to the lclt. fatvcrai th<- proven woiu cut halt-way down the gun. Of the ICO-pounder pivot, one breech blew out, and one from the broadside gun, which split and struck inside, knocked dewn the gunner :» did no damage Ml'-d no one). In ii»thc: pi. rai d eon.moil shell burstpr< maturely ev eiy tin e, taking live inches i" length of the lilling out. of the gun amidships right lound. and K oin ß half an inch into the metal of tho gun. Every fl>ot hred after 1 his ' stripped.' "

A "?I eav the Arn-etrong did not iinppe us as being sueh u jir t l-rat« gun; ... fact, all, to a co.tain extent, feiU-,1. A burst m our*, and cut up the lining a good deal,—knocked holes in it lhe Phpll with concussion luzef, which are brought from tho shell-room and put into the pun without being touched, all burst at the muzzle of the gun. Jhe practice also appears to have been worse with the Armstrong than with (he nnoolh-bori>.

Here wns another: — »'JIiU 110-rouiHlcr mis-oil eight tim.s; on one occasion Ihev wero 28 mim.tea under hre before they could cot it oil", another time 20 nunutis. Thcfcwf re private letters of officers engaged in he notion. 5.:.rt wwion hie hon. and g" V'.l fngml tho „ mberfor Tcksbirc moved for Admn-al Kuper s report n<. to the gunKustll iitKngcsmia. Ihe report had not Leon Reduced, but tho reports of ofhcer» rcmmnnrliriK the ships in tho action had lici n published giving ofcouit.- no opinions and Mily bare fuels. Six ships wore engaged, .Hid of those t»-u Pearl, 2i, had no Armstrong jam. Of the (,u guns of the <>Iher live ships, viz., Emynhu, 35 ; I'ewus, 17, -Argus, r>; Kacehono, 4; and Coquette, 4■; 21, or in r< mid mnibeis rne-third wore Armstrongs. Of tho 13 in tho Kuiyahis--the icturn to Pnrlianipn roconlcd M iicfidcnts i'n 14-1 rounds, nbo.it tbetnmo Tin.portion as occuirod in tho triiils ns,ahwt the Trusty. Of tho five in tho IVlsous, all 40-plunders, fhrr.*"accidents aro refolded in 111 rounds. 01 the | nO-poimdcr in tho Aruiis four accidrnts ww. fa- , ,-oidtd in 22 lomids, licMdos the bicrch " coiinmially jninniinp, a soiious diuvvbacU *■:' liunt,'- Ot 'tho ll(>-«oiir.der in tic '■ Vqufitto but one accident wns lerordiid in 07 Wuir.ds. but it wns conlinuous, " cMisinr delay after every lound in haviiH' to wpdirc "the I>iccch out." Ol the UO-poiinder in tiiti liaoohorsc foui- accident's were recorded in 51 v-iindc, "all aiusii.fr Jtr«at delay at A time when it was of K n'at. inijiortauee we should ! Irtvp up a ri.pid lire, iind'wh.-n the Miiooth-holo guns, which vcic. being iired undor tho eiuho ud\ijrso circumstances, kept up a continuous and rapid fire. _ Tho a"jrrc«ate was 20 accidents.to SI guns in .i6u lounds from livo ships, or.fi rietiti of ono ac<-i.lcnt per !•! round?. Thia -a ; s' mii analysis of the oilicial ! reroi-t" prc-r-nU-a to the House. ' (lie action at j K:i<rosi;<i. : i thi-r<> l-.ad bcpn another at Simonosaki, as J : :r, iiiich there liad bcLii no oilicial rrpoil, but he was I infoinsi-d thi'.t the tuna hud shownniuch worsorotults i than »t Kiijrosima. This was :in extract from a prii vatfi letter published fr<:m an c.fliccr- ■•— I '• One vent piece (i ■-~ brVech), wrought iron, split I li'.hl tl.rouKh w< , . s-Vuck in the gun, and it took our ! engineer hrtivly threo-qunrtcrs of an hour to ciear it. Ti"> gfatesi dnncer i'O -X-evo in was from our own ships' Ai-mstronf- slwt as they fned across us when ! we pfcsscd 1 etween tliein and the battery, and several ' Gripped (tl.iir lead jackets) and \i-"i)bblcd (/. .-., ! di-il.-cted, as at KayoMiim, where it was noted ol some j snipped shot that' , they went a? much us (500 yards !to the 1e1t. , ) 'Ibeboals IrviiiK <° lirp Ami-trongi j woumie.l t»-oiiiiiriiics. ! who v.-cro M-ouiihton t.oiird of us. 1 held 'o:io poor lol'ows I hand" whiie tin- doctors cut the ' s- yiiifiit' out of hi- ! -c", and tied it iqi : to Lu cut oil' when tVciv was a I quiet place to do it in. This day we split our other I two 110-pmnr.Ur \ cut piece.-, (i <:, breeches), wrought ! iron—(!ii-ee in two days. .How does Ariiisti-ong ' fetl r

He would uhk also how (lid British sailers fei-1 when S3nt to light with such guns us those? Hut it was not only in J'tpun (hut these guns hml proveil tUut thev wii-i! uniit to bo used on bo:>.r4 U'.-r Majesty's ships. He would go nov.- to tin: (. iinnnc-l tquadron. on board of which tlivru had usually Ijui.ii on an nvorasi- 70 or HC A'-mstrong guns. 1" two \ CUTS 0!' of these ijtiiiH lied ieen disabled. I.:ist YvT.v thu Clmnnol siiu.'idron was g. Nt to tins Downs fur iiinneiiiiitu pcrvii-e in the Ifnltk. Of course it was ncco.-sary to examine tiu> f,-uii.«, mi'l it was foitmi that there was not a. tinglo ship which lv.nl not doubled Avinstrohg guns on l> ard Ihu case of the Warrior '-'\is the worst of all. Sin; onvrierl !> ' smooth bores, ' u "l ill 110-povui'l'ir Armstrong μ-iuis. 'When the ■Warrior v.r.i Oi-dc-red to the Donna, it was found that c> e:y one i>f hur Armstrong guns was ili?abii-il. Shr went into Devonport and there *(."'•< iu ten stroiis; guns. She then failed for the Downs, r.ucl by the time she arrived tii.re, out ofthe iic-w A mist ong puns ha.! failed, thj ■■jpirun ho supposed, having thought it nerefsarv to try them on the passage. Of eour«.> I'c ...'nt. the disabled gun in a'.d got a new Olio. Sut what would have t>.-en the position of the War rior onf>rri"ii tervieti? pappose shehad to go into nrti.iii. It 'woulil have involved tlu> lots of the ship to rwnrtaintv. And now In; v.-ould u*k who wjs to b>; heldr.-.-poiuiblß forsi-nijintr inipL-tfecliy cor.i-lrueled ■juris, insuiliciently tried, on board JJnr :Ui\ii'jty's fleet r