More Talk About the Navy.

Manawatu Herald, 4 June 1896, Page 2

More Talk About the Navy.

According to the Navy Litt, Hit Majesty's Dockyard Establishments are as follows :— -In England, Chat* bam. Devonport (including Key* bam), Portsmouth and gheerneie ; in Wales, Pembroke; in Ireland, Haul bowline ; in the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and Malta; in the New World, Halifax, Bermuda, and !■• quiraalt ; in tha Atlantic, ▲tcenoion ; in the Gait, Trincomalee, Hong Kong, Bombay and Calcutta; in Africa, Capetown ; and in Australasia, Sydney. Counting double and treble docks ai single on«s, there are in the Brit* isb Idles 41, aud elsewhere 32 docks which may bt said to be specially ai the service ef the British Navy. At however, the dooking accommodation has not kept pace with increased growth of our men-of-war, in war time very serious consequenoes may arise unless the want is remedied. Taking only into account vessels that have been built sinoe 1889 we find there are 77 ships ranged into 12 sizes. The shortest ship is 800 feet long, the narrowest 48 feet broad, and the lightest draws 16} ; feet of water. Unless therefore, a : dock be of more than theße dirndl* sions by some six feet it will be useless so far as our modern battleships and cruisers of the first and seoond class are concerned. Judging the docks on theße line? 26 out of tha 78 dock* disappear. There are only six docks capable of taking ships of the Powerful class, and only two are in the Government yards of Great Britain and Ireland. *. * * Portsmouth is " the mo3t considerable haven for uo*n of war, and most strongly fortified place in England." The dock, arsenal, and storehouses were established in the reign of Henry Vlli. Long before this the port had received visits from the freetraders of the seas, the Danes. Leland, the antiquary, visited tht town in 1540, and described it as " walled with mud, armed with timber, whereon be great pieces of iron and brass ordnance " — and as having " a great dock for ships." Towers were built at the harbour's mouth by Edward IV,; were improved or enlarged by Richard IIL, and were extended to what was then reckoned a complete oondition by Henry VII. One of the towers, called the Bound Tower, was specially mentioned by Leland ; and in an enlarged and much altered state is still standing. Another tower stood on the opposite side of the harbour, and between them was drawn what Leland oalls "a mightie chayne of yron " to intercept any hostile ship or fleet which might at* tempt to enter. The fortification of the present day are very different*

Tha harbour enters from the Spithead anchoring ground, and at ite narrowest part is less than a quarter of a mile wide ; it expands into » noble basin oapable of holding a large fleet; passes Portsmouth Portsea with a width of aboafc three quarters of a mile; spreads northwards to a breadth of from 2 to 4$ miles. Is so landlocked ai to gire perfeot shelter during even violent storms. The harbour is swept by ebb-tide much more strongly than by flood tide, io as to be leapt free from any serious aocummalations of sand at the entrance ; had naturally a de'pth'of only 12J feet in low water apring-tidea at the mouth but has these been deepened and otherwise improved. Undergoes a tidal rite of 18 feet in spring- tides.

There art 18 docks at Portsmouth. The largest being 466 feet long, 82 feet broad and 42$ feet deep on the sill. The next deepest docks are also at Portsmouth there being six others over 33 feet deep. The Sydney dock is only 82 feet "deep.

McKee and Gamble, Photo-Engtftv«ra and Lithographers, Wellington. Send for quotfttioa.