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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
(4) That the qualities necessary in an armour plate are softness combined 
with toughness, or better expressed by the word ductility. Apparently the 
purer and better the iron is, the more this quality is perceptible; any 
impurity or alloy appears to harden the metal, and produce brittleness, 
the presence of either sulphur or phosphorus in the fuel is specially to be 
guarded against as productive of red shortness and cold shortness in the 
iron. The presence of more than O'2 per cent, of carbon in armour plates 
also appears highly prejudicial. 
The opinion of all the witnesses examined appeared to be in favour of 
cold blast iron, to the entire exclusion of that produced by hot blast, 
apparently however not from any objection to the hot blast itself, but 
because by this process iron could be produced from the old cinder heaps 
and the inferior ores, and therefore offered a great temptation to some 
manufacturers to use the bad iron cheaply produced by this process instead 
of the better description produced by cold blast. 
The great difficulty which now exists of obtaining a large forging homo¬ 
geneous, will no doubt in a great measure be overcome when efficient 
machinery is employed; at present the manufacture of these large plates is 
being carried on (except in very few cases) with machinery never intended 
for forgings of one-half the weight, and few firms are prepared to sink the 
necessary amount of capital in “ plant ” to enable them to turn out sound 
forgings of great weight, unless larger inducements are offered to them. 
Government would no doubt effect a very considerable saving by becoming 
their own manufacturers, and thus render the government inspectors at the 
different works unnecessary. It would also enable them to obtain a standard 
for sound and good plates. 
The question of the best means of applying the armour to ships is one of 
very great difficulty. It seems at first sight nearly hopeless to attempt to 
produce a structure sufficiently strong to resist the modern artillery, and at 
the same time sufficiently buoyant to float; it is indeed doubtful, if a ship 
will ever be built so strong as to be quite invulnerable; but there is no 
doubt that ships will be constructed which may be said, for all practical 
purposes to be so*, and (what is in reality of far more importance) proof 
against decay. We may therefore look forward to some future time when 
we shall not have the dissatisfaction of seeing £500,000 yearly voted for 
repairs of the fleet, much of which is expended on ships which have never 
been in commission; to obtain this the fleet must be constructed wholly of 
iron, and experiments are now in progress to ascertain if sufficient strength 
can be obtained without the wood backing. No doubt if the wood is 
dispensed with, the effect of the shot will be considerably less on the armour 
plate itself, but it is yet an undecided question whether the vibration 
produced by the blow of the shot will not break the fastenings and 
start the rivet heads. 
The question of the durability of iron ships when moderately cared for was 
proved by the state of the Peninsular and Oriental steam-ship “ Pipon,” after 
16 years constant use, with no other protection to the iron than an occasional 
coating of red lead: the plates of this ship when taken off were found 
to be in perfect order, apparently not having suffered in the smallest degree 
* This paper was in the Press prior to the experiments of 8th April, with the 300-pr. gun. 
