Wednesday afternoon, there was to have been launched, from the iron ship-building yard of the Kiangnan Arsenal, the first ironclad vessel built by the Chinese Government; but there was a slight hitch in the arrangements, and the vessel stopped in her descent before reaching the water. A steam-tug was obtained, and tried to tow her off, but as the tide had already fallen 18 inches the attempt was ineffectual, Subsequent attempts have been equally futile, and there for the present the vessel is jammed.
Although insignificant when compared with our present enormous iron-clads in Europe, this vessel is still calculated to render very effective service in carrying out
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.