The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-23 00:00:00

MISCELLANEOUS.

Rear-Admiral Plumridge hoisted his flag yesterday,
and assumed the duties of superintendent of Devonport
dockyard.
A. court-martial assembled on board.the Impregnable,
guard-ship, yesterday morning, for the trial of Captain
Story, of the Harrier, for running his ship ashore.
It is rumoured at the professional clubs that Captain
Beauchamp Seymour is to command one of the floating
batteries now in course of construction.

A portion of the Naval Coast Volunteers are to be
called out and embodied ; they are to receive largo
bounties to induce them to join her Majesty's service,
in order to man the fleet of gun-boats, mortar vessels,
and floating batteries for the spring campaign in the
Baltic.

An Ordnance survey has been male of the east coast
of Scotland, with a ♦iew to the more exposed places
being put into a state of defence. Batteries are t• be
erected at Aberdeen and Peterhead, and small forts are
to be manned at some other points on the coast line.
We hear that among the candidates for the vacant
situation of the superinteident of the mail packets at
Southampton are Sir Edward Belcher, who fully in-
tended to discover the North-Western passage, and
Captain Dacres, who should, and who undoubtedly in-
tended to, have kept order in the crowded little port of
Balaklava. We believe that Captain Dacres is likely to
be the favourite.

The Telegraph hired steam-transport, No. 184, left
Portsmouth harbour yesterday morning for the Crimea,
with coffee and other victualling stores and bale good;
for the troops. Assistant Staff Surgeon Peacock went
in her to take charge of the car drivers. Major-Ceneral
Simpson declined a passage in this vessel, the state of
which we have before reported.
A Russian prize (the ship Rapide, 441 tons register)
seized in the Mersey two months since, under simulated
papers, was sold at Liverpool yesterday, by public auc-
tion by Messrs. Curry and Co. The first hid was 8001.,
and she was ultimately knocked down to a Norwegian
gentleman, named Bertimshaw, for 1,3251. Her dimen-
sions are—length, 109 feet ; breadth, 26 feet ; and depth,
19 feet. She was built at Jacobstad.t in the year 1840.

THE FLXET OFF SEBASTOPOL.
The following is an extract from a letter from an officer
in the fleet off Sebastopol, Feb. 5 :—" Princess Royal
just arrived from England ; blowing strong ; not safe to
communicate with each other by boat. The St. Jean
d'Acre and Princess Royal add much to the fighting
look of the off squadron, and the big Albert looks ♦ery
knock•me-downish. Report is busy again, and the last
yarn is that Sir Edmund will have a hammer at the forts,
if it is only to create a little diversion. From the Rus-
sian outworks, xow all their best gunners (mostly sailors)
are in the advance earthworks, the ships drawing off
will recall many of these men, and cause a it of a ner-
♦ous sensation to Mr. Osten Sacken besides. The Snake
arrived yesterday from Kertch, where she had he'll o❑
a reconnoitring expedition. She grounded under the
forts, and bad a smart ire on her for two hours, but her
Lancaster gni, with the whistling shell, did good work,
and caused the firing from the shore to become wild, and
eventually, when she came off, the forts had ceased to
return the fire. The Snake bad towed a Dutch ship from
under the point the day before, the captain of which ship
was left behind at Kertch. He was allowed to come off
after the Snake left, and reports that her shell killed 50
Russians. This is the Russian report. •
"The Kertch people seemed to think the Snake would
be an easy prize, for they manned several large boats,
and push-ed eft to take possession, previous to their hear-
ing the music of the Lancaster shells. One shell (a can-
non round one) unmanned the boats in a marvellously
short time, killing 17 men. These vessels i❑ smooth
water are wicked craft. The Wrangler is gone to
Odessa ; the Viper to Eupatoria. Tho rest of the fleet,
except the Leopard, in the straits of Kertch, are with
the admiral, and quite ready and willing to begin to do
some gunnery. Weather bitterly cold."

The French exchanges continue with a firm appear-
ance, and there is no demand for gold for transmission
from this side,