J 843.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



217 



and heard in defence ; we therefore direct special attention to all the 

 penal clauses, for the purpose of correction. 



We must also direct attention to the subject of notices, which in 

 many cases it says shall be served upon the owners; now, who is 

 to determine the owner, and if he is known and residing 200 miles 

 from the metropolis or in the country, how is a notice to be served ? 

 We consider that,*if the notice be served upon the occupier, or the 

 receiver of the rents if residing in London, it should be quite suffi- 

 cient. 



There are many other most objectionable clauses compelling occu- 

 piers to do repairs, &c, how they are to be done by many poor in- 

 habitants who cannot raise sufficient to buy a loaf, we cannot tell ; it is 

 true that they can deduct the amount from their rent, but many of the 

 repairs and other works requisite to be done must be done instanter 

 on the occasion, subject to heavy penalties — besides, where will they 

 find builders that will undertake to do the repairs, &c. for these p oor 

 tenants, without first having the money paid down. 



We must now direct attention to the fees to be claimed by the 

 district surveyors, which are more than double those allowed by the 

 present act, which are now maximum fees. 



New Buildings. 

 £ . s. d. 



First Rate 7 7 



Second " 6 6 



Third " 5 5 



Fourth " 4 4 



Fifth " 2 2 



Sixth " 6 6 



Seventh" 10 6 



And for every alteration or addition one half the above fees — and 

 also if any addition, although carried up at the same time as the main 

 building, is to be separately rated, according to the heights, and a fee 

 paid upon it. 



These fees must be reduced to one half, or the amount of the pre- 

 sent fees inserted. 



We have already directed attention to the fees for eighth rate 

 buildings. 



There is one other evil attendant upon this bill — which is, that 

 should a party lose a cause, he is to be mulcted in double costs of 

 suits, in one case treble costs — this is a denial of justice ; it is quite 

 sufficient to deter parties from bringing actions vexatiously to amerce 

 them in the payment of single costs of suits, which are rarely less 

 than £ 100, if not double that amount on both sides if he loses ; we 

 must therefore urge that these inflictions of double and treble costs 

 be omitted; besides, who is to be entitled to these additional costs? 

 are the lawyers the parties to benefit ? 



We have now directed the attention of our readers to the principal 

 clauses in this Bill, and pointed out many serious objections ; there 

 are others which we cannot now find space for, but we shall consider 

 it our duty to submit a copy of the Bill, with our remarks and proposed 

 amendments, to the Noble Lord who has charge of it in the House 

 of Commons, and we must urge upon the profession, to come forward 

 and remove the objectionable parts, or it will be a stigma upon the 

 profession, with whom it is said to have originated. 



STEAM NAVIGATION. 



HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL STEAM YACHT "VICTORIA Si ALBERT." 



The launch of this singularly beautiful and magnificent steam vessel took 

 place at Pembroke, on Wednesday, 26th April. The following are the prin- 

 cipal dimension: — 



Feet, inches. 

 Length, extreme . . . . . . . . 225 



Length on the deck . . . . . . . . 205 



Length hetween perpendiculars .. .. .. 200 



Length of keel for tonnage .. .. .. 181 2 



Breadth outside paddle boxes .. .. .. 59 



Breadth for tonnage .. .. .. .. 33 



Breadth moulded .. .. .'. ., 31 11 



Depth in hold .. .. .. . .' ..' 22 



Burthen in tons, 1,049. She is divided into five water-tight compartments, 

 and her engines by Messrs. Maudslays & Field, are of 450 horse power. 



Her construction is entirely novel, and according to designs prepared by 

 the Surveyor of the Navy ; she is considered by competent judges to be su- 

 perior, in point of beauty, buoyancy, and strength, to any other description 

 of steam vessel ever produced in this country. Some idea may be formed of 

 the novel and peculiar style of her construction, as well as of her great 

 strength, when it is stated that she is built only with plank •, the first two 



layers being of oak 1 \ inches thick, placed across each- other diagonally at 

 an angle of 45 degrees, the outside plank being of larch three inches thick, 

 lying longitudinally or with the sheer of the ship, and the whole being bound 

 up with vertical and diagonal iron bands. Between each layer of plank the? 

 surface is covered with thick tarred felt; the vessel therefore cannot leak, 

 nor be in the least degree damp inside ; and being divided into five compart- 

 ments by four water-tight bulkheads extending as high as the state deck, it 

 is impossible for the body ever to sink, although it might be bilged in any 

 part from accident. Her keel was laid on the 9th of November, 1842, the 

 anniversary of the birth of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, by Mr. 

 William Edye, the master shipwright of the Royal Dockyard at Pembroke ; 

 and the greatest praise is due to Captain Superintendent Sir W. O. Pell, an 

 officer of distinguished service and merit, and to the respective authorities, 

 for the skilful arrangements and extraordinary exertions made in building 

 tlvs ship in the winter months in the short period of only 23 weeks. She 

 would, however, have been completed in much less time, and been ready for 

 launching by the 1st of March, but for the loss of a vessel with stores for her 

 completion, in her passage round from the eastward, and the unavoidable 

 detention of other vessels by the tempestuous weather in their voyage from 

 the eastern dockyards to this port. She was brought round from Pembroke 

 to the river Thames, and towed up the river to the East India Docks, Black- 

 wall, on the 8th ult. and is now being fitted with her engines. 



The Screw Propeller.— The Mermaid, (lately fitted with Messrs. Rennie's 

 Stern Propeller, and by the same firm, with engines and boilers,) has made 

 several experimental trips down the river, in order to ascertain her speed 

 which was found (at the measured mile Long Reach) to be equal to 12j miles 

 per hour through the water; after trying her at the measured mile, she was 

 put alongside the Red Rarer, (Heme Bay Steamer) which is said to go 1325 

 miles through the water, but in running her from Long Reach Tavern to 

 Gravesend (about 10 miles), the Mermaid gained about 300 yards on her op- 

 ponent. These experiments fully prove that the "Screw" is nearly equal, 

 if not quite, to the paddle-wheels. The engines of the Mermaid are of the 

 nominal power of 45 horses each, her immersed midship section about 48 ft. 

 We may observe that the lines of the vessel are not what they should be, for 

 going 12j"miles per hour; in fact, when she was built (4 years since), she 

 was not considered a fine form for speed. 



The "Peiki Tijaret."' — (The Precursor of Trade.)— This fine vessel, built 

 for the Ottoman Steam Navigation Company, for the conveyance of the 

 mail and passengers between Constantinople and Trebison, made an experi- 

 mental trip down the River Thames, from Blackwall to Gravesend, on Mon- 

 day the 29th ult. There were present! the Turkish Ambassador and Consul, 

 the Egyptian Consul, and numerous distinguished foreigners, and a party of 

 scientific gentlemen. She is the seventh vessel built in England for this 

 spirited company. The vessel was constructed from the designs of Messrs. 

 Ritherdon and Carr, by Mr Fletcher, and fitted with engines by the cele- 

 brated firm of Messrs. Miller, Ravenshill, and Co. Her dimensions are, 

 length between perpendicular. 168 ft., beam 26 ft. 6 in., depth of hold 16 

 ft. 6 in., and draft 10 ft. 6 in. ; burthen 568 tons o.M. She has a pair of beam 

 engines of 90 horse power each; and are a beautiful specimen of Messrs. 

 Miller and Go's superior workmanship ; they worked with remarkable ease, 

 and gave great satisfaction, as well as the build of the vessel, to all parties 

 on board. Her performance at the " Measured mile " was equal to U§ 

 miles through the water; considering her immersed section, this was an 

 excellent performance. On the return of the vessel to Blackwall, the Com- 

 pany retired to the "Brunswick" where a sumptuous entertainment was 

 provided, which was attended by his Excellency the Turkish Ambassador, and 

 the Consuls and other parties who were on board. 



The Screw-Propeller. — We see by the Lverpool paper, that Messrs. 

 Mather, Dixon, and Grantham, have been very successful with an iron vessel, 

 the " Liverpool Screw " fitted with their patent improvements. The screw is 

 worked direct without the intervention of spur wheels by the aid of a steam 

 engine and boiler on the. locomotive principle, consisting of two cylinders 

 13 in. diameter, and 18 in. stroke, and when light the screw makes about 

 85 revolutions per minute, the pressure of the steam in the boiler is about 

 501bs., and is used expansively. The vessel is 65 ft. long, 12 ft. 6 in. beam, 

 and draft 3ft. 9 in., the trials of her power in comparison with other vessels 

 is said to be most satisfactory. 



MISCELLANEA 



Payne's Patent for preserving timber from the ravages of the dry rot, 

 insects, &c, is now likely to b; brought into extensive operation ; the process 

 consists of impregnating timber with a solution of the sulphate of iron, 

 and afterwards with the muriate of lime, which combines with the iron, and 

 forms an insoluble chemical preservative, and byjthe process adopted, impreg- 

 nates the timber to the very centre: this is effected by placing the timber 

 in large iron tanks with the solutions, and then first exhausting the air, and 

 afterwards readmitting it, and then using a force-pump, with a pressure of 

 2001bs. on the square inch, to force the solution into the heart of the wood, 

 which it does very effectively. Iron, as a preservative to timber, has long 

 been known, and it is now, through the ingenious process adopted by Mr. 

 Payne, likely to become very extensively adopted. The Company is now 

 preparing the timber to be used at Claremont, for the royal stables, by com- 

 mand of the government. 



A Congregational Chapel, at Derby, was opened on Wednesday, April 

 12th, designed by Mr. Stevens, architect, of Derby. The general plan is an 

 oblong parallelogram, with a Tetrastyle Corinthian Portico at the entrance 



