with new boilers, she was taken out on her trial-trip. Her boilers were unhappily allowed to exhaust themselves, and exploded; and of the engineers and others engaged below deck, seven were killed by the falling machinery, some scalded to death, the flesh peeling off them, and some seriously injured. Altogether eleven were killed and seven wounded. The killed were brought ashore, while some of the survivors were hurried off to the Naval Hospital at Chatham, and the rest placed under medical care at home. Then subsequently the dead were laid out on the wharf near the officers' offices to await the coroner's inquest, and never can the spectacle be forgotten by those who witnessed it, as I did. (A verdict of "Accidental Death" was returned.) On the following Sunday five of the victims of the explosion were buried in the Sheerness Cemetery. Groups of mourners filled the streets while the sad procession-about threequarters of a mile in length-wound its way to the Cemetery, in which the remains of the poor victims were interred with solemn service. Two were buried separately with Masonic honours. The event was the subject of much public comment, and of special discourses in all the local pulpits. On the succeeding day three of the engineers were buried at Chatham with full naval honours, and on Tuesday Mr. Anderson, an engineer student, was also buried there, the whole of the engineer students from Sheerness, and a large number of relatives and friends, following the body to its last restingplace. A Committee was formed and a fund raised for the relief of the widows and orphans bereaved by the calamity; and the Superintendent of the Yard was authorized by the Admiralty to dispense to the families of the sufferers (in addition, of course, to the pensions which would follow) such sums as might be necessary to prevent immediate distress.

The unusual spectacle of what might be termed a double launch (though one was only a "float-out") took place at Sheerness on the 16th November-the very day of the opening of the Suez Canal-when the Briton, screw corvette, and the Vulture, screw gun-vessel, were added to the Navy. During the financial year nine vessels were repaired and refitted at Sheerness, in addition to the repairs, etc., of the Steam Reserve; and eight ships were sold out of the service.

The Extension works at Chatham were proceeding. It had been found necessary, however, to increase the estimates for the same to £1,700,000. It was intended to connect the three Basins with one another, so that vessels might pass from one to the other without difficulty. Large factories were also to be constructed, with every class of workshop, and every appliance necessary for the construction and repair of vessels. of all kinds. When completed, a fleet would be able to find refuge in these Docks; and no vessel would be excluded, from the largest ironclad we possess to the smallest gunboat.

My unofficial engagements in 1869 included a lecture on "The Year" (with musical illustrations) at the Alma Road Institute, and another on the same subject to the Police of the Yard; attendance at the enthronization of Archbishop Tait at Canterbury, and at the soirée of the Old Change Microscopical Society in the City Terminus Hotel, Cannon Street; a visit to the House of Lords, the Royal Academy, and the Crystal Palace; and also a visit to Elihu Burritt and the poet Capern at Birmingham. In August I was elected a member of the Kent Archæological Society.

A magnificent Ball-which is worthy of mention, as it was said to have been the largest ever held at Admiralty House -was given by the Commander-in-Chief on the 26th November. More than 140 invitations were issued to the principal naval and military officers, and the heads of Dockyard departments, with their wives and families, at Sheerness; and also to a large number of friends and gentry in Chatham and its neighbourhood, for whom a special return train was provided by the host. My wife and I were among the invited, and had the pleasure of attending.

The Devastation (intended to carry 12-inch armour* and 35-ton guns)—the first British sea-going mastless ship built, as it was also the first of the Monitor type approved by the Admiralty and the Thunderer and Dreadnought, were laid

* " Assuming that the strength of armour-plates varies about with the squares of their respective thicknesses, the progress of armour since 1862 may be thus represented: Achilles, 20; Bellerophon, 36; Monarch, 49 ; Hercules, 81; Devastation, 144. In seven years the strength of the armour was multiplied sevenfold. It is to this continual, and on the whole, rapid advance of our naval strength that we owe our superiority." -Reed.

VOL. II.

25

down in 1869. These were a great success, and were afterwards pronounced by naval officers "the most formidable of all British warships.'

The year 1869 is termed by Captain Eardley-Wilmot “a period of experiment and innovation."

It will be remembered that in 1860* Captain Hall, of Cincinnati, led an expedition to the North in search of the missing members of Sir John Franklin's party, and for the solution of certain problems which yet remained unsolved in relation to their enterprise. He had returned in 1862, but had gone back in 1864, and remained till the present year, living among the Esquimaux all this time in pursuit of his inquiries. But, after all, he seems to have succeeded only in bringing back the bones of one of Franklin's party, together with some additional relics.

* See p. 261.

O

CHAPTER XXVI.

CHANGE UPON CHANGE.
THE DECADE 1861-70.

N the very first day of January, 1870, the attention of the public, and especially of commercial men, was called to the importance (almost, as it would seem, unknown) of Sheerness as a commercial port. It was stated that the delay and expense incurred by ships passing up the Thames would be entirely avoided by the establishment of Sheerness as a commercial port, lying as it did in one of the finest harbours of our eastern seaboard for safety, extent, and depth of water; and that there was abundant available space for the construction of large docks and basins.t Attention was also called in the same paper to the merits of the Isle of Sheppey-" the future Ostend of England "-as a bathing-place and pleasure resort; and still more particularly to its value as a resort for consumptive patients.

The inhabitants themselves continued to respond to the call made upon them for exertion, and were supported and encouraged by the local, and even by the London, press.‡

In the Investors Guardian and Joint Stock Companies Review. "The Lapwell is a piece of land or saltings, comprising upwards of 150 acres, at present of no commercial use. On this site docks and warehouses might be constructed at a comparatively small outlay. It is now covered by the waters of the Medway, except at low tides; but an embankment along its outer face would have ample depth of water alongside for the largest ships of commerce, and the enclosed space would constitute a natural basin or basins for docks of immense extent. The London, Chatham, and Dover Railway runs close alongside the whole length of the Lapwell, and the Sheerness terminus immediately adjoins it. Sidings might be laid easily to provide for the speedy despatch of goods to the Metropolis and all parts of England.”—A. W. Marks, in the above newspaper, the editor of which observes that "dock accommodation at the mouth of the river has long been a desideratum."

The Builder observed: "Sheerness now possesses a railway terminus, is two hours' journey from the Metropolis, and is available from all the

The new Public Rooms were inaugurated in January by a public banquet, to which many distinguished persons were invited. A "Guide to Sheerness" was published. It was purposed to establish a fleet of sailing-boats for the use of visitors, who might thus enjoy an excursion to sea at moderate cost. The reductions in the Yard left many artificers and labourers unoccupied; and it was proposed to employ them in works for the improvement of the towns, including the erection of a new pier. A small park, entitled Montague Park, had already been made; trees had been planted between the drawbridge and the Dockyard Chapel; and other arrangements were under consideration. The establishment of a Marine Aquarium, for which a most suitable site was available, was also proposed.

Early in the year the Storekeeper of the Yard was superannuated. His salary, as we have seen,* was £600 per annum (with a fine official residence). The Admiralty directed me (through the Captain Superintendent) to take over this Officer's duties, appointing me on the 6th March Storekeeper and Cashier. All the naval stores, as well as the money business, of the Yard, together with the Storekeeper's staff of officers, clerks, and men, were now, therefore, placed in my charge. It was certainly a mark of their Lordships' confidence, but was unaccompanied by any increase to my salary as Cashier. The double duty was an extremely heavy one, especially as I knew little of Store business, and felt that it would be excessively difficult for me to discharge it to my own satisfaction. I addressed myself to the task, however, and resolved to do the best in my power.

The Estimates for 1870-71 for wages to Established Men of Sheerness Yard (927) amounted to £60,039; for Hired Men (523) to £26,267 (the men of the Steam Factory [523] large Kentish towns and cities. The pier is used at any height of the tide by steam-packets plying daily up and down the Thames and Medway. We agree with those who think it somewhat strange that while English capitalists are actively engaged in developing the attractions and conveniences of various foreign watering-places, only available by English visitors of large means, their attention should not have been turned before now to a position lying so close to the Metropolis, immediately on the water-highway of the world's traffic, and thus to be reached by thousands whose moderate means preclude indulgence in long and expensive journeys in search of pleasure or health.”

* See p. 22.