THE REVIEW OF THE FLEET. [From the Times, August 12.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 870, 3 December 1853, Page 3

THE REVIEW OF THE FLEET. [From the Times, August 12.]

On July 16, 1845, now just eight years ago* her Majesty Queen Victoria inspected the Experimental Squadron of that day, under the command of Admiral Hyde Parker* The sight attracted an immense concourse from the metropolis and the surrounding country, and well were, they repaid by one of the most splendid spectacles ever beheld. But at one time there were great , fears entertained on shore that the sight-seers would be disappointed. The success of the whole ceremony depended on "the wind," whjch was then the deity beloved or the demon abhorred by Jack," according as it was fair or foul, for he was the exception to the " nobody " to whom an ill wind is inferred to be of some advantage. Many an old sailor turned aside to pucker up his lips into a sly whistle, thinking, after all, there could be no harm in the moribund superstition, and that it might do good to indulge in it, and it was felt that if these little supplicatory expostulations with Providence did not succeed and the wind remained in abeyance, the exhibition might do very well for Vandevelde to paint " a dead calm " from, but would be very uninteres,ti,ng to the Queen and her subjects. No doubt, too, there were thdusanrls of good honest blue jackets who did not like seeing her Majesty in a"smoaker" at all, and would much sooner have beheld the Royal standard floating from one of those gaily ornamented barges, which were fondly believed to be Royal yachts half a century ago by a generation not yet recovered from the reverence for the " Shrewsbury Wonder/ and the " Brighton Ta}ly-ho." But a mightier power than the wind was springing fast into maturity. The youthful giant was in baby clothes. Most people said he would never be fit for fighting, and recommended him to be kept to work on railways or to serve in the mercantile marine ; but now be has grown up, and he has changed the whole tactics of war. Knock away the paddles or the shaft of a steamer of the old school, and you had a very dangerous log on the water, which might scald you to death; and which was deprived of half her broadside by the space taken up by her paddleboxes. Fire a shot into her, and the chances were she became a vast mortar filled with steam and blew the crew out of her. But now we have a perfect man-of-war, with a propelling force working down deep in the water, and secured against most contingencies except that of breakage, with her engines below water-line, and, despite the prejudice of out old " salts/ there is reason to think that- from and after this present time very few ships^will be built indeed which are not provided with that potent auxiliary " the screw." In these eight years a complete revolution has been effected in ouf navy and our system of tactics, and the most striking evidence of the superior merit of the new order of things was to be found- in the proceedings of yesterday, and, above all, in the rapidity with which it has been produced. On the occasion of the Queen's visit to Spithead in 1845, the squadron consisted of the St. Vincent, Trafalgar, Queen, Rodney, Albion, Canopus, Vanguard, Superb, and Rattler.. Of these, one — just one — (the Rattler) was a screvr steamer ! a vessel of 880 tons and 200 horse power, and by do means deserving of her name so far as speed was concerned,, though built by Sir W. Symouds, represented our steam navy, all the rest of the squadron being sailing vessels. Yesterday we saw in a fleet of 2Q men-of-war 13 screw steamers, and these by far the most efficient ships in the whole squadron ; and, as if to admit the fact of their superiority in a tacit sort of way, the vessels of the squadron whiib was iotended to be beaten were composed altogether of sailing vessels and paddlewhee) steamers. It was, in every sense of the word, a national exhibition yesterday, and, as far as might be, iijf spite of the localised nature of the display, a national holiday. Such a day was never seen ml Portsmouth, even when our navy was wont v

tow in whole fleets to tettify to its prowess. Many a strange tale has been told ere this of the dreadful shift to which > visitors were put on Wednesday, in order ( to find a resting place — the hotels were filled with people, who roamed all night in hopes of some one being driven out of his room by an electric telegraph, a ifire, or insanity, and who, failingin their expectations, lay ddwn in boles^and corners wonderful to 'think of, and it is to be feared that many a respectable man with a well filled purse had no Setter-resting place-then his house dog was enjoying in the -back ytrd at home. "The trains •swallowed up thousands, only to leave more thousands behind, and then delivered them over to hungry watermen with the keenest thirst of •gold ever .known, or to innkeepers, seized with equally acute manifestations of a similar appetite. The note of preparation sounded all through the night, and soon after daybreak 1 the whole -world of Portsmouth, Gosport, and Soutbsea rushed down to the beach to find the fleet quietly at its moorings with scarcely a sign *f life on board except the steam blowing off from the boilers. Thousands repaired to the dockyard in • order to get on board the men-of-war, for which they had orders-; and so great was the anxiety to be in time that the yachts from Cowes and about the island ran over and anchored during the night in the shingle off Sotuhsea beach, in order to get a good start of wind for the Nab in the morning, andstood off at an early hour for the point of action indicated in the programme which was published in yesterday's paper. The sky gave promise of a fine day — regular "Queen's weather" —and the day fulfilled the pledge. The wind was E.N.E., and though there was not enough of it for the sailing vessels to work with, and to -pnff the smoke away it would have been uncharitable and ungallamt to have asked for more, when so -many ladies were preparing to brave some amount t)f snffering in trusting'themselves even to the tame and gentle Neptune of the Solent; . Soft white clouds floated placidly through the blue sky, and the sun shone oat brightly, the only consequence of his appearance being the adoption and use of an extensive crop of •' uglies," and ~the production of a good deal of refraction along the water, which interfered with the full scope of the telescope. As the morning wore on the crowds of course increased along the shore. Every landing place was a centre of attraction, end men-of-war and shore boats laden with .parties of ladies and gentlemen, and portly hampers of provender, crossed to and fro, coming and going in all directions, the sun's ray 3 flashing -brightly back all the while from the blaze of gold in the officers' uniforms as they sat in state and dignity in their trim gigs. Hour after hour .passed cheerfully away, for there was plenty to -see and remark upon in the ever changing panorama which lay before one frtm Soutbsea beach to the -opposite shore, where the Isl« of Wight, licb in all its natural beauties, formed a graceful 'background to the scene. Soon after ten o'clock some long sighted reaple declared the "Hag was down at Oshorne," «nd, indeed, it soon turned out they had- reason to be proud of their eyesight or of their imagination, for the Royal standard not long after was transferred to the main of the Victoria and Albert, which lay off shore in the Gowes roads. The yacht in a few minutes afterwards left her moorings and steamed towards -Spithead, threading her way with care and difficulty amid the innumerable craft that crowded the course. As she passed along, the dense masses of people who darkened tvery eminence on'the -beach, and swarmed on the platform and ramparts, cheered again and again, until the sound, echoed from point to point along the Solent, rose like distant thunder. Precisely at 10.45, the -Victoria and Albert was seen advancing from Cowes road between the leeward ships of the fleet, passing first between the Vesuvius and Terrible, and then proceeding straight down the line towards the Duke of Wellington at the weather extremity. Snddenly three little balls are run op to the Admiral's fore, -where they burst out into' tiny flags, flutter for an instant, and are hauled down again. Away go as rainy balls to the "fore of every vessel in the *fleet and repeat the same process; and then those ponderous dead bulls, so silent, so desertedlooking, so gloomy, spurt out lightning?, sraok?, -and thunder from their grim ports. The royal -salute, as rendered yesterday by 20 powerful men-of-war, was startlingly grand. In its terrific force and vehemence it appealed to nearly every' sense, and woke that dread instinct of war which rnastbe-ioherent in man. The roar so like to the mighty voice of the heavens in their anger, the quick crrows of fire running along the batteries and piercing through the sheet of smoke, and the graceful whirls of the wreath -of aerified gunpowder exercise a powerful influence over the fancy, and reason, in spite of itself, submits to the power which it cannot analyse. As the Royal yacht passedup the line, she was followed by the Vivid wi Elfin, by the Fairy with the members of the Russian Royal family on board ; by the Banshee (Lieutenant Hoskins) with General Simpson, Governor of Portsmouth, and several other distinguished officers; by the Black Eagle, Bull Dog and Hecla, laden with the Lords and friends of the Admiralty; by the Stromboli and Gorgon, bearing on their decks both houses of Parliament ; by the Lizard, Fly, and several other vessels, carrying pendants and freighted with persons who had been provided with tickets for the day. Nearly every yacht club was presented in every form, from the clipper schooner of 200 tons down to the Thames cutter of 10, clothed iv their snow ..white canvass, big jibs and gaff-topsails set, and, flitting over the water in every* direction, they, formed the most beautiful coup d'eeil that could be conceived, stretching away for miles, tacking to and fro, running out of every creek along the isle, and 'firing their tiny armament with wonderful zeal and tolerable regularity. The dusky forms of numerous steamers, struggling under the enormous loads of living creatnres who swarmed from stem tostern, on paddle box, deck, rigging, yards contrasted with the livelier hues of sailing vessels and relieved their monotony. It is to be regretted, however, that in some cases the captains were more anxious to give their passengers' an opportunity of demonstrating their loyalty than of consulting the convenience of those whom they intended to complimeDt — occasionally running their vessels so near as to interfere somewhat with the motions of the Royal yacht, or when to windward, favouring those on board with a taste of their quality in the production of smoke. As the Royal yacht advanced head turned, the smoke was soon blown away, and her stately march between the

ranks of the squadron, was plainly visibleto the i many .thousands afloat and ashore., At 11 o'clock, the Royal yacht was astern of the Duke anil her , speed was slackened. She then slowly went on ahead till she took a position on the starboard bow of the Duke.. Her Majesty, Prince Albert, and the-Royr.l children, attended by a numerous suite, were seen on the dec.k admiring the- giant man of war. The Prussiau frigate (Ge/o»)aod sloop manned yards in excellent style as her Majesty passed, but the squadron did not follow their •example, for it has been almost decided ,npt to continue this practice in steamers, on account of the injury done to the men's clothes by the soot on the yards arid rigging. .The Fairy now ranged up with the -Russian Archduchesses r and severaj officers in uniform yon board. The Stromlfoli rolling, about beneath the veigbt of the, House of Peers, lay still further astern of the Royal yacht', and Lord Palmerston might be seen chatting with one of the sailors Justus he*would,Bpeak,to a diplomate or an Islington deputationist. The Black Eagle, with the " foul anchor" of the Admiralty flying at the main, was close at hand, and a crowd of yachts and steamers were at greater distances to leeward. At 11.30 the Prince of Prussia, the Crown Princess of Wurtemburg, and the Duchess of Leuchtenberg proceeded in a barge from the Fairy lo the Royal yacht, where they were received by her Majesty. The boats of the -Victoria and Albert were then lowered, and her Majesty, the Prince, and the foreign visitors proceeded on board the Duke of Wellington, followed by a brilliant staff. At 11.55 her Majesty appeared at the stern gallery with her guests, the Duke oi Cambridge a'prSir T. Cochrane, the Admiral of the port and of the day, and remained for nearly 10 minutes gazing with the greatest interest on the wonderful scene which hy before her, Her Majesty was greeted ,in the most enthusiastic manner by the passengers in the comme'rcfal steamers which happened to be near enough to see her. At 12.5 the Queen returned to her yacht,' Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Sir Baldwin L Walker came on board the Banshee at the same time, arid it was soon evident that the proceedings of the day were about to begin. In a few minutes more the signal was given to weigh, and as the vessels had been " hove short" since 8 o'clock, ancrhad only one anchor down, they were all off in a few minutes, proceeding in the order of the published programme. The spectacle presented by the two columni of steamers following each other with much regularity, < considering the difference in their relative speed, was splendid. At 1.30 o'clock the " enemy" were seen in the distance, beating outwards towards the eastward, six or seven miles beyond theNab Light, and at 1.45 the signal was given to form line of battle, while the drums beat to quarters on board the squadron, and the ports were triced up and guns rnn out. " The enemy" consisting of the Prince Regent, 92 ; Queen, 113; London, 90; Amphion, 34; Barracouta, and Driver were on the port tack — the sailing vessels with all the canvas they could set, the steamers standing away to windward of them. It was soon very evident that with all the advantages of their position wind must yield to steam, and that they could not escape the "screw." Ai 2.5 the enemy tacked and stretched away towards the English coast, while the squadron formed the line of battle, the ships moving in succession irom their position astern of each other, till they were in a line abreast — the' two admirals in the centre. This manoeuvre was executed -in about twenty minutes, but the Duke and Agamemnon had to wait same time for the blocksbips to come into line, and when there the latter could not keep their position, though they did much better than they had done when in column. The approach of the two fleets was one of the most beautiful sights of the day, and the manoeuvres of the. squadron of Ad* miral Fanshawe, being for the most part executed under canvas, formed the most attractive portion of it, the London being conspicuous for the ease with which she was handled, her superior sailing qualities (she spared the others royals) and the facility of her steering. At 2.40 signal was given "to chase." At the same time the Prince Regent tacked, and was followed Ly the rest of Admiral Fanshawe's squadron, and at 2.45 the enemy formed line of battle, beat to -quarters, and prepared for action, as it was quite evident nothing else could be done. The Admiral fired a gun now and then as a signal to his beleaguered force. Nearer and nearer the hostile forces came, and every motion was watched with the greatest excitement by every one, from those on board ihe yacht down to the sailors in the fleet. At 3.30 the squadrons were within a quarter of a mile of each other, and suddenly .the action commenced ! The broadside of the Prince Regent was tremendous, for regularity and rapidity she could not be excelled. She was followed by her consorts with an effective fire, but all the roar of their guns was drowned in the crashing cannonade of the Duke, the Agememnon and the screw fleets, which vomited forth the fire of their batteries with uninterrupted energy for nearly a quarter of an hour, when the firing ceased*, and the enemy, maimed and wounded and crippled, was understood to bedefeated. The Amphion and the Admiral imitated the effects of an action most admirably by letting sheets and tacks fly, hauling their yards out of trim, and letting down the yards on the caps, the former contributing to the picturesque effect, with remarkable skill. The while fleet then steered south-east till 4.25, when a race homewards took place, in which the Duke of Wellington and Agamemnon greatly distinguished themselves, and gave the Royal yacht as much as she could do to diminish her distaoce from them. The quiet smoothness and celerity with which the Duke moved through the water astonished every beholder, but in the ,end she was passed by the Agamemnon. At 4.45 Bembridge Light was passed, and the fleet proceeded in order to tbeir former moorings, after which the review was terminated by the boat attack. At half-past 6 o'clock, the Admiral made signal for the boats of the squadron to attack an enemy to leeward. The hostile force was represented by the Magicienne and the Vulture steamers", which , took up a position, within a mile of the Southsea beach. They lay " broadside on" to the shore, and as soon as the boats were hoisted .over the side they prepared their batteries to give them a warm ieception. ; s a - The utmost activity prevailed among, the ves^ sels of the attacking squadrons, which were now anchored at the moorings they had left in the morning, in a line from Spithead all along the coast of the Isle of Wight. The rapidity with which the huge launches were cleared away,

raised ,oyejMhe ( side, »nd.lpvsMed f into I wa^er 1 | must, have surprised, those wjib had not before' witnessed! the admirable" perfection '/d' which s the'ljoat service of our navy has been brought. In a, few minutes, each vessel had its boat floating" by its side, a carronade (a short serviceable gun of heavy metal) on Us slide in the bow, and then poured ; into , her its stream of s'earaen/.marines, and marine artillery. With 24'oars,' double-flanked, the marines seated aft, the officer in command standing bolt up in, the stern sheets with the yoke "lines in his band, and the jack floating from /the tail flagstaff in the stern,, each boat was a beautiful object in itself, and formed an engine of war, so to speak, by no means despicable, haying all.thejapp.liances of attack, defence, and retreat concentrated, in a, very shot t cpmpass, ,A few minutes more and the words • 'Give' way" seni from the sides of the J squadron a flotilla of enormous force and. power. The boats might be seen advancing with great y'elochy. from ,tl)3 line v of H ships, swept, along,by the long powerful pull of the stalwart oarsmen, and converging^ as they advanced in two, divisions — one for each, of 'the devoted, enemy. The Royal yacht moved slowly up towards the steamers, all the immense (multitude of yachts and tenders, wherries, steam vessels,, great and small, swarmed astern of her, or dpdged about here and there to find an opening. in the thronged masses of hull and spar and rigging, through-whjch< this exciting portion of .-the spectacle could be witnessed. Meanwhile the launches drew rapidly ahead, and as soon as the leading boat had cleared the vessels of the spectators a flash fromthe t bows of. the Vulture followed by a. gush of white smoke, showed that the fight had commenced. In an instant more the line of boats vomited forth a flood of fire and smoke. The carrpnades of the launches served with great quickness, sounded a rolling bass of thunder to the smart sharp rattle of the muskehy.; aud the irregular nature of the firing, at one time bursting into a;siraultaneous roar as the , metal of boats and , ships spoke in awful unison together ; and now subsiding into the discharge,of a single gun, diversified the tumult of the uproar. And now one could understand the formidable character of a boat attack, for as the flotilla drew pear the broadsides of the men of war and got into range, they divided and steered away, . so that one division made for the bows and the others for the sterns of the ships at bay, thus escaping to a great extent the fire of the strongest portion of their batteries, and assailing them in their weakast points. The smoke blew away to leeward in advance of the boats, but as they drew nearer to the steamer it.became so dense that , they became altogether enveloped in it, and, nothing could be seen but the wreaths of the snowy .vapour rising in pile on pile, . and hiding from view the animated work which it seemed as if anxious to conceal. The heavier metal of the frigates was heard at frequent inter- j vals through the din of the carronades and fire- [ locks, and at length the rapid rattling volleys of the marines on board, delivering their fire as ihe launches drew up alongside to board, were dis- j tinctly audible. Still more launches kept coming from the fleet, and opened fire as they, formed their division, the marines all loading and firing' as if for life, and the sailors pulling with t! c regularity of machinery, 'till a loud ringing cneer — sucn a joyous burst of exultation that one might imagine the gallant fellows had won a new Trafalgar — proclaiming their victory over the enemy, and the firing was over. As the wind slowly-rolled the clouds to leeward of the flotilla, bringing into view boat after boat and the hulls of the steamers, the-coup cTceil was one which nolanguage can convey, for it was instinct with motion, teeming with -energetic life. The boats were returning to their respective 'ships, from which the signal of recall had been hoisted, or with oars aloft were lying-to off the , late " enemy ;" on the white beach at Scuthsea, as far as the eye could reach, thousands of people were gathered in full enjoyment of the spectacle ; every mound — every hillock — the ramparts of the fortifications, the tops of .houses — any, and every place, in fact, ftom which a view of Spithead could be had, was black with a swarm of human beings. On the other side,, with the aid of a glass, it could be perceived that the whole population had poured down to the shores of the Isle of Wight, and the pier at Ryde and the hills toward the seaside were covered with ,men, women, and children. Everything that could float and move by sail or o*r — and wonderful it was to see occasionally what feats, contrary to all appearances, were performed in this way — collected from all parts of the neighbouring shores, was on the waters flitting about, so as to shut out the face of the waves, beneath a shifting veil of rope and wood and canvas. The Royal Yacht, beset with theralike.a queen-bee by its loving subjects, floated tranquiKy, the centre of innumerable lorguettes and prying *yes. At intervals some very dirty and very loyal steamer came waddling along close to the Victoria and (Albert, and discharged a volly of hearty <jheers-from its living cargo as the. well-known form of their Sovereign^ was seen on the deck of her floating palace ; and gentlemanly yachts vailed thfcir, .topsails as they came near, and ungentlemanly ones stood too close in and became objects of uni>versal abhorrence, for the time being, to many \ thousands of people. Far away to the, east a thick black background of coaLsmoke, left behind by the seamers, rested on the horizon, and j brought out ia fine relief the snowy canvass of the hundreds of yachts which were stealing up to their moorings. The slower steamers and men-of-war, with company on board, came hustling through them, each with a long. dark tail in the airbehind.it, and, in the centre of the picture, Admiral Fa'nshaw's squadron, with every stitch of canvas that could be set, except studding sails, bore down majestically in line betw.een the ; port and starboard divisions of its late assailants, towering above the , pigmy, craft as the pillars of some ruined Eastern temple: over, the Arab tents at their .base. No other country ever exhibited a spectacle so grand and so impressive. „ It was a-great-PeaceGongress, headed .by the Queen.