The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-03 00:00:00

THE BELGIAN VOLUNTEERS.

The following extract from a letter of Captain
Seedy, of her Majesty's ship Serapis, has been furnished
to us by the Admiralty authorities :
" The Belgian volunteers, numbering about 1,000, were
disembarked by noon of the tiril inst. On that evening
myself and officers were entertained at a magnificent ban-
quet given by Colonel Gregoire and the officers of the
Garde Civique, where nothing could exceed the euthusidui
and the heartiness of the welcome. Carriages were sent to
the landing-place for us, from whence we proceeded in
procession to the hotel where the banquet was held. The
speeches in connexion with their reception in England and
the great ovation at their departure were couched in the
strongest terms of gratitude, not only to the British people
in general, but to Colonel Loyd Lindsay and the Dish
volunteers in particular. The Belgians appeared unable
to express what they felt on the subject or to
do sufficient for us. On Wednesday evening, the
24th, myself and officers were entertained by the
Societe Royale d'Harmonie d'Anvers in their beau-
tiful grounds, at a concert, on entering which we were re-
ceived by the president nod eoniniittee of the society and
the elite of the city, the band playing the English national
anthem, on which the company evinced the greatest en-
thuliaam towards her Majesty and the British cation. On
Thursday, the 2.5 th, at the special request of Colonel Gre-
goire, I proceeded to Brussels in company with the senior
lieutenant, the Hon. Montolin F. Murray, to pay my re-
spects to his Majesty the King of the Belgians. On reach-
ing the capital I found that his Majesty was at OstmeL
The foreign secretary, M. Rosier, who granted me a re-
ception, expressed moat strongly his desire that I should
see the king. I accordingly proceeded to Ostend, where I
found his Majesty had appointed to receive me at 5 o'clock,
at which hour, accompanied by the senior lieute-
nant, I bad the honour of an interview, being
presented by Colonel van Loo. His Majesty was
most gracious and condescending, and expressed the
greatest satisfaction at the style in which his subjects had
been received in England, and was further pleased to
thank me personally for the manner in which they had
been conveyed to and fro on board the Serapis. His
Majesty remarked upon the report be had received of the
size and magnificence of the ship. I deemed it my duty to
o.fer to anchor the ship off Ostend, in order to give his
Majesty an opportunity of visiting the Seraphs, but he
generously declined, in consideration of the detention it
would cause, at the same time expressing a hope of being
able to visit the Serapis at Portsmouth on some future
occasion. I may mention here that the ship was thrown
open to the public as soon as she arrived, and at least
7,000 persons visited her on Thursday. In the evening the
officers visited the Zoological Gardens where they met with a
most astonishing reception ; as they entered the band
played ' God save the Queen.' Amongst the thousands
present every head was uncovered, while ladies waved
their handkerchiefs, and vied with the male portion of the
people in the warmness of the greeting. The crowd opened
on each side to allow them to pass ; at every step the
cheers were deafening, and continued the whole One
without intermission, except when the band pleyed God
save the Queen,' or the Brabanconne.' The officers
felt they were having such a reception as should only be
accorded to royalty. In consequence of the 'manage to
Antwerp having been made so as to save the tide up, the
dinner prepared for the Belgians for that day was not re-
quired, so, at the suggestion of the paymaster (aftev
serving a certain quantity to each mess of the crew), he,
with my approval, communicated with the administration
of the chanties, who sent an officer on board, and re-
ceived 800 lbs. of bread, 80U lbs. of beef, and GOO lbs. of
mutton.—l have Ore honour to be, air, your moot obedient
servant, J. CLARY SOMA, Captain."

THE LOSS OP HER .VAJESTY'S SHN' OSPREY.

PORTSMOUTH, Arouse, 2.
The court-martial which assembled on board her
Majesty's ship Victory on Wednesday last, under the pre-
sidency of Bear-Admiral Frederick Warden, commander-
in-chief of the Channel fleet, to inquire into the loss of
the Osprey, and the culpability of her officers and crew,
brought its sittings to a close to-day. The prisoners were
Commander W. Menzies and Lieutenant F. B. Chtiatian,
and the charge against them was of having negligently, or
by their default, mimed the stranding or loss of the Osprey,
on the 30th of May, off Cape St. Francis. on the south-east
coast of Africa. Evidence for the prosecution was given
on Wednesday and Thursday morning, after which the
court adjourned until to-day, to mishits the prisoners to pre-
pare their defence. Both of them attributed the keit
of the ship to the influence of a current unknown to
the navigating officers, and urged that everything was
done that seamanship and prudence could suggest for the
safety of the vessel after she took the ground. A number
of witnesses were called for the defence, and certificates
were handed in, and the court occupied two hours and a
half in deliberating upon its judgment. The finding was
that the charge against the prisoners had been proved,
inass•uch as they were guilty of negligence in not using
the lead, and in not making an attempt to get soundings
when approaching the land ; or in not wearing the ship off
the land during the night if it were considered dangerous
to sound. But, in consequence of the character for great
carefulness which Commander Menzies had received, the
court was of opinion that such negligence was the result of
error of judgment, and they adjudged him to forfeit four
years of his seniority in her Majesty's service and to be
severely reprimanded. After taking into consideration the
very high testimonials Lieutenant Christian had received,
the court only adjudged hint to forfeit two years'
seniority and to be severely reprimanded. The court weld
not separate without expressing its regret that the Osprey
was not supplied with the edition of ltifes of " The African
Pilot."