The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 26, 1855.

was, however, occasionally compelled to address the
house to defend the acts of his administration, and i.
whenever tried he has acquitted himself with suc-
cess. When we have integrity of principle, sound
sense, the power of addressing an assembly if not
in a brilliant, at least in a satisfactory manner,
what more can be expected from a man to whom as I
yet the higher opportunities of distinction have
been denied ? Iu these days every man will think
for himself, the principle of authority is weakened,
and happily so in political affairs, so that mere
elo-
quence carries few votes. A modern statesman is
powerful in the house and popular in the country
in so far as he represents the opinions of the majo-
rity, or at least of a large section of the commu-
nity. Lord Palmerston at the present moment is
the representative of our determination to continue
the war with Russia until terms are obtained which
shall preclude the necessity of appealing to arms
again, for similar reasons, at least, until another
generation has passed away. Hence the popularity
of his Administration. With such a cause, and
with the full weight of opinion out of doors at
his back, the Premier seems inclined to oppose
plain common sense to the attacks of the regular
gladiators of the House. Mr. Baines has, as he
declares in his address, accepted office with the full
determination of lending the whole strength of his
ability to this cause, and, with so good a brief in
his hand, he will, we trust, hold his own against
the oratorical ability upon the other side.

(From the Morning Advertiser of this day.).

The anniversary of the Polish Revolution of
1830 is near at hand ; let us hope that imposing
manifestations will be made throughout the coun-
try on that memorable November 29. Already we
are glad to hear of popular gatherings which are to
take place, not only in this metropolis, but also in
many trading and manufacturing towns of the
United Kingdom. Besides London, there are
Glasgow and Liverpool, and other communities in
the field ; and if we are rightly informed, the gene-
ral sense of the resolutions everywhere will not be
a mere expression of sympathy with the cause of
Polish freedom, but a formal memorialisation of
Government—" To take such steps as may conduce
to the establishment of the independence of Poland,
by which means the enthralled people of that na-
tion would be detached from the strength of the
enemy, and the power of Russia so crippled, as to
force her to sue for a peace which would be alike
permanent and honourable to our country."
Such, at least, are the words of a number of bur-
gesses and inhabitants of Liverpool in their address
to the Mayor of the town. A similar spirit, we
trust, will pervade the popular meeting which is to
be held in St. Martin's Hall on Thursday next. If
ever there was a time in which the necessity of
bringing the Polish element into this contest could
be understood by men of all ranks and classes, that
time is surely the present. After two years of exer-
tion we have now before us the failure of succes-
sive Baltic campaigns, the false dealing neutrality
and growing insolence of German dynasties, the
suspicious hesitation of the Swedish Court, the
protraction of the struggle in the Black Sea, the
insufficiency of a purely maritime blockade, an in-
creased drain on our financial, naval, and military
resources, and—last, but not least—a pretty pro-
spect, not of peace, but of the expanding influence,
in Russia, of the Grand Duke Constantine, who,
if to-morrow he became Sovereign, would tax all
the strength of his empire and employ all the chi-
canery of his Pan-Sclavistic schemes in order to
restore the political balance in favour of absolute
Muscovite supremacy. With such a position be-
fore us it would be suicidal on our part still to re-
frain from appealing to Polish co-operation.
We demand Polish co-operation from the point
of view of our own national interests ; and to those
who question the propriety of this policy, we only
address the following questions :—Have we, or
have we not, an intention of making an end to
Russian rule in the Baltic regions ? If we have—
why, it i 3 necessary to our own interest that we
create a diversion in the rear of the Livonian,
Curish, and Esthouian garrisons of Russia; and
this rear is Poland ! Are we, or are we not, re-
solved to destroy the treacherous connection be-
tween the Autocrat and the territory of the German
Princes ? If we are, no other means are left to us
than to drive in a wedge by means of a Polish in-
surrection. Do we, or do we not, intend to
strengthen the hands of the Swedish and Norwegian
nations, and to enable them to overpower the
philo-Russian leanings of the Court ? 'lf we do,
we must prove to the Scandinavians that our wish
of weakening Russia is a real one ; how could we
better show this than by adopting " Poland" as
the watchword of our war policy I Is it, or is it
not, our desire to drive the Czar's army from the
Crimea, and to secure the liberty of the Danube
by operations in Bessarabia I If it is, we cannot
better serve our purpose than by occupying the at-
tention of the Government of St. Petersburg on a
point in its immediate neighbourhood ; and who
can doubt that this point is Poland ? Would we,
or would we not, forge a chain of blockade which
shall effectively prevent Russia from the contact
with the commerce of Europe ? If this is our de-
cision, if we would not pay a costly farce of block-
ade with our tax-wrung gold, if we would not be
mocked by Russian trade making its egress through
Memel, Pillau, and Myslowitz, over Prussian and.
Austrian territory—why, then, we must hermeti-
cally close also the land frontier of the Czar's do-
minions ; and this land frontier consists of Polish
provinces. All our commercial and military in-
terests, all our interests of national honour and
prestige in the present war centre here ; it is a
folly, therefore, to talk of the Polish question as if
we were to engage in some Quixotic affair of senti-
mental romance.
Without the participation of Poland in this
struggle, we can neither hope to conquer a
" speedy," nor an " honourable," nor a " lasting"
peace. Not a speedy peace—because Russia never
will give in so long as she concentrates almost her
whole strength on one or two outlying points. Not
an honourable peace—because no peace can be ho-
nourable to England till the stain on her honour is
removed which successive Governments have caused
by their treachery and connivance with Russia in
regard to Poland. • Not a lasting peace—because
it is idle to believe that the real strength of Russia
can be destroyed by the demolition of Sebastopol
or Cronstadt, the secret of her sway over Central,
Northern, and Southern Europe being contained
in the projecting territorial position she occupies
between the dominions of Austria and Prussia. It
is this contiguity with the empires of the Haps-
burgs and Hohenzollerns, it is this commanding
station of Russia on the Vistula, Prosna, and
Vartha, that makes her the arbiter of German
affairs, and the Lord Protector, so to speak, of the
whole Sclavonian race. Take away from her the
rule over this Polish territory, and she sinks back
into the dimensions of a barbarous but powerless
Asiatic Khanate.

The very wish of securing Turkey for ever against
this
empire through attacks must
for
rt
the
eus t o re-establish
equal pace with the
Ot-
toman weakeninglreßaanaseianaggre
ss
aggression
no f
has tb e
kept
ggual encroachment of the
Czars upon the independence
Peter I. pursued his
before the Polish Republic projectsliad
of the Polish race.
been
the Porte
It is known that he entirely failed leenCa°
tvbeeritiltilreolvln. :
on the contrary, proceeded to attack the Turkish
empire after the independence of Poland had been
impaired by the first partition. It is known that
Bong,
nie
her schemes succeeded ! It is. a curious historical
fact, that all the
conquests of Russia along the
Dnieper,rong the Blackl .Bg and Pruth, all her ad-
vances a
Sea and in the Caucasus,
have been subsequent to theti first Polish partition,
and that ever since that
encroached upon European and
she has gradually
This circumstance alone ought to Asiatic
teach Turkey. us that the
true security of the Ottoman empiref lies in the re-
construction of the independence e
in fact, if Turkish statesmen had been e Polandlf ; and,
them-
selves in 1853 and 1854, there is no
.1
left to
oubt they
would have pursued a policy conducive to this
effect.
The mere proclamation, on the part of the °
Allies, that they are ready to avail themselves f
into
the sympathies of Poland, would strike terror • to
the heart of Russia, disconcert her plans, throw
the germs of dissolution into her armies, which to
a great extent consist of Polish natives, and threaten
the Muscovite empire altogether with a complete
exhaustion of its resources. "It is not," a Polish
writer justly exclaims, "it is notßothnia, Finland,
Archangel, the Caspian, or European Tartary, nor
is it the fortifications of Cronstadt or Sebastopol
which furnish the Czar with his most powerful
means of domination and perpetual menace. These
means are supplied by the populous and fertile
Western districts, all torn from Poland. Does not
the grain of those provinces pay for the luxuries of
the whole empire in time of peace, and fill the
magazines
in time of war? Is it not with their
horses
ito that the Autocrat mounts his cavalry ? Is
with their cattle and leather that he feeds
and equips feeds
and hemp, his soldiers ? Where does he find wood,
Poland. wit; for his fleets ? In the north-east of
squad-
rons ? etre does he take his regular From
wool does h© esouth of Poland. With what
I his battalions ? clothe,l with what iron does he arm
1 the iron of Upper itliii, the wool of the Lower, and '
1 from the population of
But above all, it is
fills up his quick' .0 the Polish plains lie
quickly-thinned
he could not raise a
sufficient force from the
population of Great Russia without ruieie,
the domains of the Crown, and exasper • at ,
mg the
nobles, he has only to send his press-gang- towards
the West to find what he requires—while
he knows, moreover, that he will only b—e
1e
ruin-
ing rebels, favouring the rest of his empire, and

obtaining the high approbation of neighbouring
despots."
Let these " rebels" but learn that the allies have
raised up a standard around which the sons of
Poland are to gather ; let but the Western Powers
effect a lodgment on the southern coast of the Fin-
nish Gulf, and proclaim the arrival of the great
struggle for Polish independence—and the ranks of
the Autocrat's army, already thinned by the losses
of Crimean warfare, will suddenly melt away by
desertion into mere skeleton legions ; the war of
national independence will spread from Samogitia
and Lithuania to the Ukraine ; and Great Britain
will not only have the glory of playing the noble
part of a champion of Liberty, but have also pro-
vided in the most efficient way for her own na-
tional, financial, and military advantage. We
cannot better conclude than with the words of an
eloquent and learned speaker at the recent war
meeting at Glasgow—" In mercy to Europe, pro-
nounce the word Poland

THE WAR IN ASIA.

(Prom the Examiner. )

The difficult nature of the prolonged struggle before
Sebastopol must explain and account for the otherwise
inconceivable neglect shown to the defence of Turkey on
the side of Armenia. Among the Russian plans for the
conquest of.the Ottoman empire and the reduction of its
capital, that of a march through the central valleys of
Asia Minor had long been considered the most feasible
and sure, and the least liable to interruption from the
maritime powers. The condition of such advance was
that it should be gradual, not precipitate, until a point
was reached from which the Bosphorus and Constanti-
nople might be menaced in not many days. Already mas-
ters of Akhalzikh, Gumri, and Erivan, Kars and Erze-
roum are stations on the way up the great valley of Arme-
nia to Kesaviek. We have seen with what boldness the
Russians, after a few partial advantages in the open field
won over the irregular forces forming the Turkish army,
marched to surprise Erzeroum,aud invest and assault Kars.
And joyfully we have learned how the skill and courage
of English officers guiding and encouraging the noble
bravery of Turkish soldiers renewed at Kara the success-
ful heroism of Silistria.
Notwithstanding this it is painful to think that the
Russians would never have dared to employ their chief
force south of the Kour, had the Turks kept even a
moderate army at Batoum. The war was begun in that
quarter most gallantly by the capture of Fort St Nicho-
las. Since then, the British fleet has afforded puissant
aid by demonstrations which compelled the enemy to
abandon the whole of the Circassian coast ; and the
Turks or Allies ought long since to have occupied those
provinces at the foot of the Caucasus which touch
the Black Sea, are easily invaded from it, and are so
difficult to defend. The neck of the Caucasian isthmus
is here cut by two rivers, which rising on different
sides of the same mountain, run east and west,
one into the Caspian, the other into the Black Sea. The
river and the valley entering the latter are short ; the
other river, the Kour, with its valley, is longer and
wider. It constitutes Georgia Proper, and contains
Tiflis. To be master of the more western of these rivers
is to menace the other ; so that if the Turks had occu-
nied and held Imeretia and Mingrelia, the Russians
dared not have stirred from Tiflis, while the Turks, if
they had only been in force and commanded by an able
general, might at any convenient time have made an at-
tack upon it. For which enterprise they could have
counted on the powerful aid of Schamyl and the Cir-
cassian mountaineers.

All those opportunities, too long neglected OT thrown
away, are now grasped at. Omer Pasha sailed from the
Crimea, followed by some of his best troops, and landed
at Soukum-Kaleh • and as the Russians still hold the
rivers and their valleys, as well as their connection with
the sea, the first efforts of Omer were of course directed
to drive them from these positions. For this purpose he
attacked their entrenched position south of the Ingour,
a stream that runs obliquely and in a south-west direc-
tion from the mountains. It was the best line of defence
the Russians could have chosen. So strong indeed was
it that Omer Pasha was blamed by many for not landing
south of it, and,.so turning the Ingour. The Turkish
commander, however, knew what he was about. He
passed the river in front of the enemy, and marched to
the attack of his entrenchments, as if to prove (which was
denied him at Sebastopol) that Turkish soldiers were
good for attack as well as defence, and could storm tho
batteries of the enemy, as well as repel him from their
own.

_
The immediate aim of Omer Pacha's advance is no
doubt Kutais, from whence there are roads, either east-
ward to Tiflis, or southward to Akhalzikh. The valley
of the ancient Phasis was, we need scarcely inform
our readers, one of the great channels of commerce ;
and the country is rich enough of itself to afford mate-
rials of trade, which would become of first-rate import-
ance were the Russians di iven from Georgia altogether.
There is no man more capable of effecting this than
Omar Pasha. But it must not be concealed that were
the declared object to be any ultimate making over of
the province to the Porte, serious obstacles would at
once arise, of which the greatest would be the aversion
of a large Christian population to be given up to a Mos-
sulman Sovereign. Jews and Armenians form the prin-
cipal inhabitants of Kutais ; and Tiflis of course has
even larger elements of a Christian population. Such
strength as Russia possessed in these countries has no
doubt lain in the belief that she is essentially a Chris-
tian, and a fanatically Christian power; and for the
allies to march against them in an exclusively Natio-
rnetan cause could only tend to render Georgia❑ resist-
anco religious as well as national. These difficulties are
obviated in a great degree, however, by the existence of
a native prince in the province now entered by Omer's
army ; and if a final conquest of the province could Le
achieved, even without the reduction of Georgia, a hos-
podarate might be established there under the joint pro-
tection of England, France, and Turkey, winch would
effectually exclude the Russians from any communica-
tion with the Black Sea, or from possessing any port or
territory on its eastern stores. This is one of the desi-
derata to be obtained by the present war and Omer
Pasha's expedition mast be regarded as leading directly
to its achievement.

"We need not enlarge on its advantages. It will be
an especial service to the Porte to render its Armenian
frontier secure against future aggression, and this would
be accomplished by the establishment of an independent
state in Imeretia, if not in Georgia. Its immediate
effect would not only give peace to Kurdistan and
eastern Turkey, but deprive the Persian court of all those
incentives to treachery, or excuses for extortion, which
it delights to act upon. Nor, even apart from his great
military genius, could any commander be found better
fitted for executing these delicate tasks than Omer Pasha,
w'io is a strong stickler for Mussulman dignity, without
being a fanatic for the religion he has adopted. The
choice of an English agent is equally commendable, that
post being filled by Mr. Longworth, known long since
for his adventures in Circassia, and grounded in oriental
policy and habits by long residence in the east.
Effective co-operation from the Allies may also now
be expected. Their attention has at last been particularly
drawn to the many benefits derivable from their now un-
disputed possession of the east coast of the Black Sea.
Their naval forces can be seconded not only immedi-
ately south of the Caucasus, but north of it by the Cir.
cassians, who can molest Russia as much on the Kouban
as upon the Kour ; and hence a station for our vessels
nearer to the eastern shores of the Black Sea than Ba-
laklava or Kamiesch is now seen to be desirable. The
shores themselves have no convenient harbour, nor does
the coast of Asia Minor afford one. Neither Kertch
ncr Yenikale give the security or facilities required.
But there is Kaffa, too long neglected.
It is the best port in the Black Sea, or at all events in
the Crimea. It is open at all seasons, and presents a
shelter not to be found off Kertch or Balaklava. In its
vicinity, too. the original Tartar population is still to be
found, and the Russians are there detested as much for
their degradation and devastation of Kaffa, as for their
oppression of the Crimea. From Kaffa is the shortest
sail to any of the ports around the north-eastern corner
of the Euxine. From Kaffa it is but a short distance to
.Arabat, and not more than thirty miles to Karasoubazar,
on that high road from over the Putrid Sea to Sim-
pheropol by which the Russians there and above Sebas-
topol are chiefly supplied. Expeditions from Kaffa for
cutting off such supplies would inflict far more mischief
on the Russians than has been effected by those from
Eupatoria. Indeed the cavalry sorties from Eupatoria,
though ably led and handled by General d'Allonville,
have not ended' in a single capture of importance in
the way of provisions. Let us hope that our admirals
and generals, therefore, are not likely to leave Kaffa
in the power of the Russians this winter. Such a con-
quest joined to that of Kinbourn, and attended by that
of Mingrelia by that of Omer Pacha, would render the
year indeed glorious to the arms and encouraging to the
prospects of the Allies in Asia.

THE POPE AND THE EMPEROR.

(Prom the Examiner.)

Those who have found hitherto but " little to blame "
in the conduct of the young Emperor of Austria, natu-
rally express surpriee no less than disgust at the terms
of the Concondat he hat just concluded. To us, on the
other hand, who have seen in his policy from the com-
mencement of his ill-omened reign so much that deserved
the most severe reprehension, the last act of the drama
is but a natural and not unforeseen conclusion.
The intrigue which brought about the deposition of
the Emperor Ferdinand 1., on his refusal to break the
oath he had taken as constitutional King of Hungary,
was, as is well known, directed by the Archduchess So•
phia, the mother of the present Emperor. She belongs
to the House of Bavaria, the most bigoted among the
reigning families of Germany ; and such influence as the
Jesuits still possess in Austria (reported to be not incon-
siderable) was, we believe, exerted to secure the irregular
accession of her son, during the lifetime of her husband.
Wag it not to be expected, then, that one day she would
be called upon to repay the obligation thus contracted ?
Not that mere motives of gratitude are to be under-
stood as in any degree likely to sway the coucils of Aus-
tria. But neither is the rule of his Imperial and Apostolic
Majesty exempt from the law which dooms governments
to destruction that have no hold on the respect or on the
affections of their subjects. As a much more sagacious
Emperor has lately declared, every government ulti-
mately rests on opinion. Even the Czar of all
the
could not maintain himself on his throne, if
he were not
Yussias
an object of veneration and regard at least
a
to his thirty millions of Muscovite subjects. But where
shall Francis Joseph find this necessary, this indispens•
able basis of authority ? In the Grand Duchy of Aus-
tria and the German Tyrol ? Austrian power is an
inverted pyramid if it reposes on so small an area. In
Bohemia ? The reserved Slavonic population of that
country looks with no goodwill on anything German.

In Hungary, which saved Austria from dismemberment
in the days of Maria, Theresa ? The magnates of that
country (half-Au,trianised as they once were) stand
with averted eyes in presence of the ruler
whose hand is red with the blood of a Batthyanyi.
The peas nts sigh for the return of Kossuth, to
whom' they owe their delivery from the detested
Robot. Tho Hungarian soldiery, once no less loyal than
brave, wait with ill-suppressed impatience for the
hour when they can avenge those generals who led
them so often to victory, and who perished miserably by
command of Francis Joseph on the gallows of Arad.
The Hungarian Protestant sees in perspective a renewal
of those religious persecutions, which obliged his ances-
tors so often to implore the protection of the Ottoman
against the Catholic fervour of Francis Joseph's ances-
tors. Even with the Croatians the policy of dividing for
the sake of oppressing, which was practised in 1848, has
become a stale trick, and cannot be tried again. To
whom, then, shall the Emperor appeal for support To
the Poles ? Their hopes are fixed on France, on Sweden,
and on England. To the Lombards ! The proposition
could only be made in irony. But at the elbow of the
bewildered monarch there stand other ever-watchful
Italians who promise assistance, not merely from earth
hint from Heaven, at the price of subscribing a roll of
parchment.
What wonder that this Concordat was concluded, then,
even at the expense of surrendering the entiro control
of the Austrian Church into the hands of the Pope ? The
Emperor was not in a state to make conditions. It may
bo a straw which he catches at, but it is the only assist-
ance within his grasp. When Metternich said "apres
moi le deluge," he used the language not of selfishness,
as many have supposed, but of foresight. He saw that
none of those who were likely to succeed him know in
what consisted the vitality of Austria ; and that by seek-
ing to Germanise and centralise (the course pursued at
Vienna since his time no leas by liberals than by abso-
lutists), they would accomplish the ruin of the empire.
The Concordat is a necessary corollary and sequence to
this policy ; and accordingly we do not hear that Dr.
Bach or Count Buol remonstrated against it, any more
than Cardinal Prince Schwarizenberg.
The Emperor can now boast that he has at last en-
listed some active and zealous partisans. The Domini-
cans and Jesuits will strain every nerve to save a mo.
narch who promises them that free scope for religious
action which they are denied in every other State of
Europe. It is another step towards the precipice, but
n th; meantime there is something besides the sword to
Lean u

pon.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

Her Majesty's steam-transport Urgent, Commander
Phillips, left Portsmouth harbour for Spithead on Sa-
turday evening, and awaits orders.
The steam transport Niagara, Capt. Shannon, arrived
at Portsmouth on Friday night with the Westmeath Re-
giment of embodied Militia, under the command of
Major the E of.Granard. They are now quartered
in Cambridge Barracks, Portsmouth. It is a rifle regi-
ment, about 400 strong.
The Vixen and Lizard steam tenders left Portsmouth
on Saturday afternoon for the eastward.
The bark Mohawk, with a general cargo of provisions
from the Royal William Victualling-yard, Plymouth,
sailed for Ba'aklava on Saturday. The bark Lady
Wharncliffe, the brig Alfred, and the bark Ameoda, are
being laden for the same destination. In consequence of
the great demand, instructions have been received at this
yara from the Admiralty to roast coffee day and night
until further orders. Two French engineers visited the
mill, bakeliouse, and engine-house on Friday, and took
sketches of the most important portions of the machinery
in this department.
We understand that her Majesty's Government have,
in c oisideration of the distinguished and meritorious
services of the late Colonel Balfour Ogilvy, who died at
Balaklava on the 12th of July last, granted a colonel's
widow's pension to his widow. Lord Panmure has
written to Mrs. Balfour Ogilvy intimating the grant, and
took that opportunity of expressing his regret at the loss
to her Majesty of the services of so valuable life as that
of her late husband. Col. B. Ogilvy joined Omer Pacha
in the field in March 1854, and from that period up to
the time of his death had on different occasions greatly
distinguished himself. His gallantry and presence of
mind at critical moments had gained for him the entire
confidence of Omer Paeha, with whom he was a special
favourite. Lord Harding° has, without any solicitation,
given CA. Balfour Ogilvy's second son an ensigncy,
without purchase, in the 34th Regiment.
The 12th Regiment, 2d Battalion, from the Cape of
Good Hope, and the 54th and 6Gth, from Gibraltar, will
shortly embark for the Crimea. These corps consist
principally of old soldiers. They will be relieved by
Militia egiments.
By the decease of General Sir John Brown the
colonelcy of the Bth Hussars has become vacant. He was
tar many years commandant of the Cavalry Riding
Establishment at Maidstone. His probable successor in
the colonelcy will be Sir Henry Somerset.
Her Majesty's steam troop-ship Transit, Commander
Johnson, refitting in the steam basin, Portsmouth dock-
yard, gut up steam t) try her machinery on Saturday,
but broke down three time;„ She will take out a large
force of the Land Transport Corps to the East.
The Fire Queen steam-yacht,bilaster-Commander Paul,
went to Spithead on Saturday, and trans-shipped the re-
mains of the late Colonel the Hon. N.Manle, of the 41st
Foot (brother of Lord Pam:lmre), from the steam-trans -
port Emperor, and disembarked them at the Royal
Clarence Victualling-yard, Gosport, where they were
taken charge of by Mr. Davis, Master Attendant, R.N.,
and transferred to the undertakers for conveyance to
London. The body was interred in Bulgaria 13 mouths
ago, and is now brought to Thglaud to be deposited in
the family vault.
The Sampson, 6, steam-frigate, Captain Hand, and
the Polyphemus steam-sloop, Commander Warreu, will
leave Portsmouth for the Black Sea fleet when ready.
The Mars, 80, new screw steam-ship, was towed from
Chatham on Saturday, and moored at the docking buoy
ready for bring taken into the fitting basin, Sheerness,
to receive her boilers and machinery, which are ready
for her.

The satire ship's company of the Cressy, 80 guns,
screw steam-3hip, Capt. Richard L. Warren, were paid
wages on Suturday, at Sheerness, and all, with the ex-
ception of the relief of guard for duty, are gone on leave
until the 15th of December next.

The screw steam-ship Exmouth, 91, Capt. W. Hall,
with the flag of Rear-Admiral Sir M. Seymour, K.C.B ,
having disaarged her powder and shell in Plymouth
So ind, steamed int) Hainoaza on Friday afternoon, and
is appointed to go into dock on Wednesday for re-
pairs. It is reported that her crew will be transferred
to the Conqueror, 100, which, having completed the re-
ception of her machinery, was taken out of dock at Key-
hole on Saturday and placed alongside the Vigo hulk at
Harnoaze to be fitted for commission.
The sailing-sloop Arachne, 18, Commander Inoglefield,
having had repairs made good at Devonport, was taken
out of dock, towed into the Sound, and placed along-
side the Egeria hulk on Saturday, preparatory to the
transference of her crew.
The steam-vessel Avon, having been fitted with boilers
at Keybain, was taken out of dock on Friday.
The transport Diligence left Plymouth on Saturday
for Pembroke.
The Admiralty barge Ant, Edward Witts master
sailed on Saturday morning from Woolwich for Sheer-
ness with 70 tons of machinery for the Mers. The Fly,
another of the Admiralty barges, was at the same time
taken into the basin, and was immediately got ready to
be laden with the remaining portion of the machinery
and funnels intended to complete the fittings of the
Mars, with which she is to sail on Wednesday next.
The Castle Eden convict transport, having shipped 100
convicts from Woolwich-50 fiom the Warrior, off the
dockyard, and. an equal number from the Royal Arsenal,
woe on Saturday morning towed down the river by the
steam-tug Copeland fo. her destination, Bermuda. The
number of convicts there is now considei ably reduced,
as, in addition to the Castle Eden's freight, 52 were last
week discharged, the term of their seatence having ex-
pired. As a number of these men have latterly succeeded
in effecting their escape by mixing with the crowds of
labourers, and, thereby passing the gates unnoticed, it
has been suggested that the workmen should be provided
with come kind of uniform which would render an escape
by that means much more difficult, if not impossible.
The frigate building on the slip in Pembroke dock-
yard lately occupied by the Sutlej is of 50 guns, and,
being one of the newly improved fifties, her length is
very great-140 feet-60 feet longer than her predeces-
sor on the stocks. This fact will show the increased size
which le now given t) our present vessels of war.
Additional shipwrights, sawyers, and mechanics have
been added to the dockyard strength at Pembroke, and
great exertions are to be made fur the spring.
The Observatory telegraph at Milford Haven is near
completion. This is to be the link between the forts of
Thorn Island, the Point Battery at Dale, the marten()
on the Stack-rock, and the dockyard, so that a rapid
communication beta een all the defences of the Haven
can at 01.C3 be secured.
It is understood that Government have in contempla-
tion the erection of large and commodious permanent
barracks, to accommodate at least 5,000 men ; and they
are to be constructed near the present fortified barrack
on Llanryth•bill. A large building has for some time
been merked on the plans, and the want of accommoda-
tion is much felt.
The following appointments were made on Saturday
at the Admiralty:—Samuel S. D. Wells, surgeon, to the
Royal William ; Thos. J. Breen, surgeon, to the Perse-
verance ; Henry P. Houghton, acting clerk, to the Hecla.
Lieut.-Col. Richard C. Moody, RE., is to succeed
Major-General Gordon as the Commanding Engineer iu
the North Britain district.
A court-martial, of which Capt. Sir Thos. Maitland,
C.B ,of her Majesty's ship Excellent, was president,
assembled on board the flag-ship Victory in Portsmmith
harbour on Saturday morning to try Mr. Jas. Driver,
Acting-Assistart-Engineer R.N., of the first class, serv-
ing on board her Majesty's steam gun-boat Ilinde, for
having, on the 10th of Oct., disobeyed orders and be-
haved with disrespect to his senior officer, Lieut. Ward,
and being absent without leave. The Court, hav-
ing heard the evidence in support of the charge,
and what the prisoner had to allege in defence,
was of opinion that the charge, so far as related
to disobedience of orders and disrespect to his com•
mending officer, had been proved ; but the remainder of
the charge, which alleged that the prisoner lral absented
himself without leave, was frivolous; and in consequence
of the prisoner's length of service and good certificates
the Ceuri; oral adjudged him to be dismissed his ship, to
be reduced to the second class of Assistaut-Engineers,
and not to be promoted for two years.
The average weekly number of recruits joining at
Chatham is 50. About 4,000 young men, after com-
pleting their drill, are annually sent from Chatham-
-2,500 to India and the colonies, 700 volunteers to diffe-
rent corps, the regiments coming home taking the re-
mainder. _ _ _

The iledical Staff Corps (says the United Service Oa-

zette) will consist, when complete, of nine companies,
each of which is calculated for attendance in an hospital
for 500 patients. In each company there are a steward
and four assistant stewards, who rank respectively as
serjeant-major and serjeants ; a wardmaster and eight
assistants, who rank, the former as a colour•serjeant and
the latter as corporals. Then there are issuers, washer-
s men, and assistant cooks, barbers, and orderlies, who
rank as privates ; and a cook, who takes rank as ser-
jeant. The pay is very good. About 100 young men
have joined the medical staff corps during the month.
Captain Carpenter, late 41st Regiment, who was se-
' verely wounded at the battle of the Alma, ha 4, by the
dechiion of the Court of Chancery on Thursday last,
come into possession of 60,0001.

The authorities at the Horse Guards have just issued
another memorandum relating to instruction in mus-
lietry, in addition to the memorandum laying down re-
gulations for the organisation of the corps of instructors
in musketry, issued a short time ago. The memoran-
dum details various rules which the Commander-in-Chief
directs to be strictly observed with a view to efficient
instruction in the use of the rifle. The course of instruc-
tion is to commence in every battalion or depot on or
before the 15th of March in each year, so that it may be
finished by the time the autumn half-yearly inspection
takes place.
Captain Twysden, 55th Regiment, is under orders to
leave Ilythe fur the Crimea, to assist Col. Kennedy at
the School of Musketry about to be established there.
The Uni!ed Service Gazette states that it is the inten-
tion of the Government to resort at last to the ballot,
and that it is to be carried into effect, without reference
to rank, from the age of 18 to 40. The term of service
is to bo for five years, aad it is considered that the man-
ner of raising conscripts for the French array will be
adopted. The fine of 5L for not serving will be paid to
the Government, who will provide substitutes for those
who decline to enter the force.

On Thursday the] depot of the 59th Regiment, for
some time past stationed in Belfast, took their departure
for Derry. The remainder of the.depot, which was eta-
tionel at Newry-150 men—arrived, at Belfast on Thurs-
day evens g. They are replaced by the Royal Cheshire
Infantry from Stockport. The total strength of this
regiment is 1.100, four companies of which were left in
Newry, and the remainder, six companies, are to be sta-
tioned in Belfast.

LAUNCH OF THE SCREW-FRIGATE
SHANNON.

PORTSMOUTH, SaturJay..

A superb frigate, of larger proportions than any fri-
gate afloat, was added to the British fleet to-day, to
further per petuate the name of her who, 42 years ago,
earned for herself such world-wide fame in her glorious
action with the Chesapeake. The old Shannon has been
for many years doing duty at Sheerness as a receiving
hulk, under the name of the St. Lawrence. The new
Shannon is a; far superior to the old one as she was to
the most primitive product of the shipbuilders' art, and
her entirely different character and enlarged proportions
will be seen at once by the following comparative table
of her dimensions, viz.

Measurement.

New Shannon, Old Shannon,
screw, Railing,
51 guns. _46 ;ans.
. _

Feet. India. Feet:lnail&
Length between the perpendiculars .. 235 0 .. 150 2
Length of keel fur t0nnage.......... 203 5 .. 125 6
Breadth, extreme
Breakh for tonnage
Breadth, moulted „.
_ .

Depth in hold . 18 4 .. 13 0
Tons. Tons.
Burden 2,V1 .. 1,066

ARMAMENTS.
New Shannon. Old Shannon,
Weight
No. each. ' Calibre. No. Calibre.
sla'n deck ..30 65 cwt. 8-inch. Upper deck —2B 18-pounders
Upper deck [2O 68 cwt. 32-pounders. Quarterdeck
18 pounders
1 95 cwt. 68-pounders. 1k fozecastl

The old Shannon was a sailing frizate ; the new one
will have engines by Penn and Sun, on their patent
trunk principle, similar to those supplied to her Ma-
jesty's ships Agamemnon and St. Jean d'Acre by the
same firm :

Nominal horse-power GOO
Diameter of cylinders equal to 70 inches.
Length of stroke 42 inches.
Diameter of screw lB feet.
Pitch of screw 25 feet.
Length of screw 3 feet (3 inches
Number of revolutions to pro-
duce

GO per minute.

The Shannon, launched to-day, was designed by the
Surveyor of the Navy, Sir Baldwin Walker, and only
about 12 months have been employed in building her ;
she has been hurried, owing to her interfering with the
progress of the work of the great dock adjoining the
slip on which she has been built. She presents a most
beautiful and bold outline. Her figurehead is a hand-
somely carved bust of the late Captain Sir Philip Bowes
Vere Broke, by Mr. Hellyer, Admiralty carver, from a
design by Mr. Poets, of Portsmouth, and the likeness
of the gallant vict'r in the famous action is said to be
very correct. The ceremony of naming her was per-
formed by Lady 'Maitland in the presence of a vast con-
course of spectators. Her machinery is all made for
her ; she will be fitted forthwith ; and it is reported that
Captain Yelverton and the officers and crew of the Arro-
gant will be the first to commission her. In her action
with the Chesapeake the old Shannon had a crew of 306
men and threw a broadside of 5381 b ; the present Shan-
non will have at least 550 men, the benefit of full steam
power, and will throw a broadside of 1,2001 b. This
broadside is also 1 cwt. heavier than Nelson's old ship,
the Victory, ever discharged.

THE NEW IRON MORTAR-BOATS.—The iron mortar.
vessel launched from the building yard of Mr. John
Laird, at the south end of the docks, the other day, is so
constructed that when she has mortar, shell, crew, and
every necessary appliance on board, she will only draw
three feet of water. She will present very little bulk
above the surface, and as she will be painted sea-green,
it will be impossible for the enemy to distinguish her from
their batteries, even when within range of their guns,
except by the occasional puffs of smoke from each shell.
She is of 100 tons' measurement, and is made of the best
iron plates manufactured the Mersey Forge. The ex-
pedition with which she was constructed is, we believe,
unprecedented. The order was received by Mr. Laird
on the 23d of October, the keel was laid down on the
25th of the same month, and on the 13th of November,
just three weeks from the date of the order being received,
she was launched in the River Mersey, all complete,
with mortar-bed, masts, rigging, anchors, cable, sails,
shell.roorn, accommodation for crew, &c. She left Liver-
pool for Portsmouth, in tow of the steamer Uncle Sam,
on the day after she was launched, and arrived at Ports-
mouth on Thursday, having been delayed by being
obliged to put into three ports, owing to the severity of
the easterly winds. The vessel is strongly built of iron,
with wooden decks ; and the complicated nature of the
work would have precluded the possibility of her comple-
tion in this short time, had not Mr. Laird had relays of
men working night and day. The iron plates, &c., were
ordered from the Mersey Forge, from time to time, as re-
quired, and were generally delivered within 12 hours
from the time of specifications being sent in. The con-
struction of this mortar-boat shows the rapidity with
which work can be completed in the Mersey, when
all the facilities are properly applied. This is the
first English mortar-boat built of iron; and, if the ex-
periments immediately to be tried upon her answer
the anticipations of the Admiralty officials, we may ex-
pect to hear of a large order being given for the con-
struction of more upon the same principle. Mr. Laird
is also constructing 14 wooden steam screw gun-boats, of
240 tons each, and about 8 horse power. She will be
similar in size and armament to the Lynx, Arrow, Viper,
Snake, Beagle, and other boats which have become
famous in the history of the naval operations of this
war. Mr. Laird is building seven of these boats at his
yard on the margin of the Great Float, at Birkenhead,
and seven on the Liverpool side. Although the order
for them was only received from the Admiralty six
weeks ago, already about 1,000 feet of building sheds
have been erected at these yards and fitted with gas, so
that the men can work at the vessels night and day.
Four of the boats are well advanced in frame, and the
whole are to be ready for sea by March next.
[ADVERTISEMENT.]-11olloway's Pills a prompt and
certain cure for Bilious and Liver Complaints.—Mrs.
Mary Cook, of Mayling's Green, near Romford, had
been suffering some years from bile, sick headaches, and
a severe liver complaint, for which she tried almost every
medicine usually taken for such complaints, but could
obtain no relief whatever; she had then recourse to Hol-
loway's pills, and so wonderful was the effect of this in-
estimabie medicine that in a very short time she has
been completely cured by their use, and now enjoys bet-
ter health than ever. Mr. Yull, druggist, Romford, can
testify to the truth of this statement.—Sold by all ven-
dors of medicine, and at Professor Holloway's establish-
ments, 244, Strand, London, and 80, Maiden-lane, New
York ; by A. Stampa, Constantinople ; A. Guidicy,
Smyrna; and H. Hoods, Malta.

•
[ADVERTISEMENT.' SIG lir AND uSAßlNG.—Dsassnies AND
DEFECTIVE VI6ION RELIEVED.— Messrs. S. and B. Solomon,
opticians, 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly. Observe—oppo-
site the York lElotol. Deafness—New Discovery.—The
Organic Vibrator, an extraordinary powerful, small, newly-
invented instrument for deafness, entirely different from all
others, to surpass anything of the kind that has been, or
probably ever can be, produced. Being of the same colour
as the skin, is not perceptible ; it enables deaf persons to
hear distinctly at church and at public assemblies ; the un-
pleasant sensation of singing noises in the cars is entirely re.
moved; and it affords all the assistance that possibly could
be desired.—Newly-constructed Spectacle Lenses of the great-
est transparent power. The valuable advantage derive('
from this invention is, that vision becoming impaired is
preserved and strengthened, and very aged persons are
enabled to employ their sight at the most minute occu-
pation—can see with these lenses of a much less magnify.
ing power—and they do not require the frequent .changes
to the dangerous effects of further powerful assistance.
By kor Majesty's Royal Letters Patent for valuable and
extraordinary improvements in the most powerful and
brilliant Telescopes, Camp, Racecourse, Opera, and Per-
spective Glasses, to know the distances of objects viewed
through them—of great importance to the army, navy,
and others. These telescopes possess such extraordinary
powers that some three and a-half inches, with an extra eye-
piece, still show distinctly Jupiter's moons, Saturn's ring,
and the double stars ; with the same telescope can be
seen a person's countenance three miles and a half distant,
and an object from 16 to 20 miles. They are of larger and all
sizes, with increasing powers accordingly ; while their vary.
ing from 4 to 6 inches enable us to discover more than the
above, and the Georgian, with his 6 satellites, &c.—The Royal
Exhibition, 1851.—Valuable, newly-invented, very small,
powerful waistcoat-pocket glass,the size of a walnut, by which
a person can be seen and known 1 miles distant ; they answer
every purpose on the race-course, and at the opera househ,
country scenery, and ships are clearly seen at 8 to 10 miles.
They are invaluable for shooting, deer-stalking, yachting, to
sportsmen, gentlemen, gamekeepers, and tourists. Opera,
race-course, camp, and perspective glasses, with wonderful
power.-39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly. Observe—opposite
tho York Hotel.