SHIPPING

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2341, 4 October 1881, Page 2

SHIPPING

PORT OF l-YTTELTON Wjathhb Bbfobt—October 4. 9 a.m.—Weather, overcast and gloomy. Wind, 8.W., freßh breeze. Ba-omeier, 29.77,; thermometer, 50. Hign Watei— To-Morrow. Horning, 00 50 ; evening. 1.1(5 4. Wild Wave, schooner, 39 tons, Oxner, from Wanganui. Master, agent. Arawata, s.s , 622 tons, Sinclair, from Auckland, via East Coast ports. Pnsßengera—Misa Elliot. Mesdames Packer, Wallace and child, Plummer, Nicoll and child, Lord, Abbott, AHcock and servant, Hon. John Hall, Messrs Parker, Scott, Dehallgar, Wall, Hamilton, Shag, Stubbs, Plummer, Snowden, Nicol, McGregor, Firth. Union Steamship Company, agents. Cleared—October 4 Mage'lan <.;loud, brigantine, 9j tons, McDonald, for Kaipara. Mister, agent. Celestia, barque, 225 tons, Veale, for Westport. Cuff and Graham, agents. Kxaminer, barque. 266 tons, Clarkaon, for Greymonth. C W. Turner, agent. Thames, ketch, 23 tons, Jenaon, for Pelorus Sound. Master, agent. Sailed—October 4. Cleopatra, briganti.no, 88 tons, Keeble, for Greymouth. C. W. Turner, ageat Annie, ketch, 42 tons, Cameron, for Waitapu Master, agent. Hally Bayley. brigantine. 113 tons, Crone, for Auckland. Cuff and Graham, agents. H.M.S. NELSON. The London correspondent of the "S.A. Registor" gives the following description of H.M.S. ironclad Nekon, which is to replace the Wolverene on the Australian station:—"The Admiralty have docided to send an ironclad, as flagship on the Australian station, and the Nelson is selected for the service. As nn ' all round' fighting vessel, she is eminently adapted for employment in southern seas, being a swift cruiser and powerful in both means of offence and defence. Her designer, the Director of Naval Construction at the Admiralty, has spoken of the Nelson and her sißter ship, the Northampton, as his ' ideal of cruising fighting ships.' The novelty of design consists in the system of armoring, by which the vital parts of the vessel are protected at the expensai.of the exposed parts, which may be pretty well totally destroyed without the vessel being rendered unsafe. To accomplish this obj-ct armor-plates Sin. thick, upon lOin. of teak backing, protect the hull from 4ft. above the waterline to sft below it. The lower de*k is composed throughout of 2in plates, forming a covering to the machinery, boilers, &c , and for about 57ft at the fore end there is an armored deck 2in thick, terminating in the ram. whilst a similar deok eztonds aft to the stern. These submerged decks are intended to protect the lower part of tfae ship before and abaft the armored bulkheads, and especially the auxiliary steering gear provided for emergencies. The ends of the vessel above them are entirely unprotected. This horizontal armor is a peculiar feature of the ship, and beneath it there ia sufficient power of flotation to ensure the vessel from foundering from any of the ordinary risks of modern warfare, with the exception, perhaps, of torpedoes. Internally the Nelson is divided into ninety water-tight compartmanta, and every conceivable precaution has been taken to provide against destruction, by rams and torpedoes. Her longitudinal frames are made of steel, so as to combine lightness with strength; and as this principle has been observed throughout she is able to carry a heavy armament, consisting of four 18 ton guns and eight 12-ton guns, besides half a dozen small guns on the upper or spar deck for use against torpedo boats. These guna are broadside mounted, and it is a matter for regret that the number has not been reduced so as to increase the calibre. In spite of accumulated proof of the falsity of the notion, the officials at the Admiralty persist in acting on the theory that two shots from a 12-ton gun are equivalent in effect to one shot from a 25 ton gun. The ram of the Nelson i 3 a heavy plate, triangular in shape, set vertically, and terminating iu a sharp point about lift in aivance of the »tem. Her coal carrying capacity is sufficient for a long voyage acd for cruising in distant aeas. The Nelson was built on the Clyde by Messrs Elder and Co. The Northampton, her sister ship, is flagship on the North American station."