“Sir,—Referring to your letter of the 3rd ultimo, I have to request, in pursuance of the directions of the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty, that you will be so obliging as to state what you would consider the most practicable method for obtaining a supply of a few logs of the descriptions of woods approved of, from the Seychelles.
“I have also, in compliance with your request contained in your letter above referred to, to transmit on the other side hereof a copy of a report, dated the 23rd ultimo, from Mr. Luke, of the department of the Surveyor of the Navy, on the ship ‘Thomas Blyth.’—I am, Sir, your humble servant,
“R. Dundas,
“Storekeeper-General of the Navy.”
“To J. L. M’Leod, Esq.”
“Admiralty, 23rd May, 1859.
“Having inspected the ship ‘Thomas Blyth,’ lying afloat in the West India Docks, I beg to state that the timber and planking of which she was built at the Seychelles in 1837 appear to be, at the present time, in sound and good condition.
“This wood is of a chocolate colour, close, hard, and somewhat stringy in its texture, and free from shakes.
“The degree of natural curvature in the growth of the frame timbers could not be ascertained, the vessel being ceiled.
“The scantlings of this vessel are small, the timber squaring from nine to twelve inches, and the lengths of her beams and shifts of planking about twenty-six feet.