§ MR. C. BERKELEYsaid, he rose to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, If there is any objection to give further information relative to the alterations published in the Navy List with regard to the sloop Enterprise, building at Deptford; is she to be wholly cased with iron-plates of an uniform thickness, and, if so, how thick will those plates be; is she intended for sea-going purposes, or for harbour service only; is the stated increase of her tonnage caused by adding to her length or to her breadth; when will she be launched, and how soon afterwards will she be ready for trial; what will her armament be; and will her guns be protected by the cupola; in the event of the experiment being successful, how many sloops or corvettes are there which could be converted in a similar manner?
§ LORD CLARENCE PAGETsaid, that the Enterprise was a vessel which it had been intended to call the Circassian. She had not been enlarged, as his hon. Friend seemed to think; but as she was being constructed under the superintendence of Mr. Reed, the Secretary of the Institute of Naval Architects, and was of a very novel construction, the Admiralty thought the name Enterprise would be more appropriate than the name originally intended for her. With regard to the other details asked for by his hon. Friend, he was afraid he could not say more than that she was to be partially iron-plated, and was to be a sea-going vessel.