§ THE EARL OF HARDWICKE,after presenting a petition respecting a steam postal service with the Australian Colonies, said, he wished to address a few words to their Lordships upon a subject of which he had not given notice, but he trusted that in doing so he should not be considered as unnecessarily or presumptuously trespassing on their attention. At this moment there was assembled at Spithead a very large naval force, consisting of all descriptions of vessels of war, from the largest three-decker down to the smallest gunboat. All these vessels were propelled by steam, and he understood that they were assembled for the purpose of a great naval review. Now, he was not going to make any comments upon naval reviews; he was not going to say that of all the sights he had ever seen a naval review was the most useless and the most expensive; because the Government had, no doubt, their reasons for what they proposed to do, and therefore he would not enter upon that. There was one point connected with the subject, however, that was of vast importance to the country and well deserving the consideration of the Government. It was this; that having collected these vessels of various sizes and construction, provided with steam engines of all sorts, and gun-boats of peculiar form plated with iron, an excellent opportunity was thereby presented for making practical experiments with regard to the best form of floating-body propelled by steam for the purposes 628 of speedy navigation; also as to the form and construction of the various steam engines.—One of the most useful measures to the country at this particular juncture would undoubtedly be a classification of steam engines in the same manner as the; masts, sails and other stores of vessels used formerly to be classed. By this means whenever a steam engine required, say a new piston-rod, it could at once be supplied with another of precisely the same size and class, whereas, as at present arranged, if a vessel of war happened to break her piston-rod the greatest difficulty was experienced in fitting a new one, because there was no classification of size. Experiments might also be made with the view of ascertaining whether the floating batteries, plated with iron, were really suitable to the purpose for which they were designed; and whether the new steam gun-boats were really fit to go to sea with all their guns on board. Upon the last-mentioned point he confessed that he entertained very great, I doubt. His impression was, indeed, that I they would be unable to maintain them selves against a heavy sea, and that, if forced, they would go down head foremost. Further, he doubted whether the iron plates with which they were covered were capable of resisting shot; his idea was, that a thirty-two pounder would go right through them. Such an opportunity for making these experiments might not occur again, and he trusted the Government would not let it pass by without availing themselves of it for that purpose.