The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-25 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

VALETTA, Jan. 17.—Her Majesty's screw line-of-battle
ship Trafalgar, 72, Capt. Mason, arrived on the 16th inst.,
in three days from Corfu, and by her intelligence has been
received that the dismantling of the fortifications had been
completed, and that preparations were being made for blow-
ing them up. The storeship Supply was expected there
from England to embark stores. The Trafalgar brought
with her military prisoners and naval supernumeraries.
She will leave for England and Gibraltar on Monday or
Tuesday, after embarking military and naval invalids, 50 old
guns, and 700 bags of biscuit for the Channel squadron.
The Chanticleer, 17, Commander J. E. F. Risk, left
yesterday for Beyrout. She will replace the Pelican, 17,
Commander Comber, which had been ordered to return
to Malta, calling on her way at Suda Bay and the Pumas.
The Icarus, 11, Acting Commander Lieut. Boger, left the
same day for the Piraeus, to relieve the Surprise, 4, Com-
mander W. 11. Whyte, on the western coast of Greece.
The latter ship has been ordered to Malta. Instructions
were issued five or six months ago for the Icarus to proceed
home, but were cancelled on account of the unsettled state
of affairs in Greece. She has now exceeded the usual term
of commission by upwards of a year, and considerable dis-
appointment has consequently been caused on board by the
absence of fresh orders of recall. The Meannee, 60, Cept.
G. Wodehouse, which was to have left the Piraeus some
time since for Malta, has been detained there, as the Am-
bassador did not wish to diminish the strength of the squa-
dron. It is rumoured, however, that she will be permitted
to leave soon for this island. Rear-Admiral Yelverton has
made a short cruise to Pores, where ho wasmet by the Fox-
hound, 4, Cora. W. H. Anderson, but has since returned to
the Pireaus. The Foxhound afterwards sailed for Nauplia
and Z ante for a few days' cruise. No change had token
place of late in the foreign ships stationed at Athens. The
Turkish corvette Broussa had been on a trip to Syra, with
the Turkish Minister, but with what particular object had
not transpired. The Austrian screw corvette Conte Dan-
dolo, Capt. Barone S. Dewdan Olewaky, arrived on the 14th
inst. from Alexandria and Suda Bay, and awaits orders
here. By her we learn that her Majesty's ships Racoon,
22, Capt. Count Gleichen, and the Psyche, 2, despatch-
vessel, Lieut. Cont. R. Sterne, were still at Alexandria on
the Bth inst., awaiting the arrival of the Countess of Elgin.
Her brother, the Earl of Durham, has passed through
Malta to meet her on her way through Egypt. News has
been received from Gibraltar that her Majesty's ship Magi-
eienne, 16, Capt. W. Armytage, had returned from convey-
ing Sir Moses Montefiore to Saffi, and was at G ibraltar on
the 6th inst., where she was to remain a fortnight. It was
expected that by that time Sir Moses Montefiore would
have completed his benevolent mission. She was then to
return to Malts. Her Majesty's ships in port are the Marl-
borough, 121 (bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral R. Smart,
K.H.) ; the Hibernia receiving ship (bearing the flag of
Rear -Admiral H. T. Austin, C. 8.) ; the Trafalgar, 72, the
Resistance, 16, ironclad ; the Pheebe, 35 ; the Cossack, 20 ;
the Hydra and Firefly, surveying ship; and the Growler,
gunboat. An accident has occurred to the Malta and
Alexandria electric cable, and some more communication is
interrupted. The injury is supposed to exist not far from
Bengazi and to be mechanical, as the stoppage was quite
sudden, and took place without any previous deterioration
or fluctuation of electric force while a message was being sent
through the line to Alexandria. Every effort is being made to
discover the exact locality of the damage,which it is considered
very likely to have been caused by some ship's anchor drag-
ging during the late violent storm on the coast. An officer
from the station at Bengazi, attended by a proper escort
from the Caimacan, has been despatched with instructions
to proceed along the shore to see if signs existed of any ves-
sel having been driven on the coast, and if necessary to
prosecute his researches 100 miles to the eastward. Admiral
Smart has been most ready in offering any assistance in
his power; but men of war, from obvious reasons, are ill
adapted for work of this kind, and it is feared nothing can
be done till the arrival from England of a vessel fitted with
all the necessary appliances for the purpose. On the 13th
inst., an hour before the interruption of communication,
very bad weather was announced at Alexandria. The
message added that a violent gale seemed imminent. Here,

at Malta, indeed in most parts of the Mediterranean from
which accounts have reached us, such a long continuance
of stormy weatker has been almost unprecedented. The
unusually low temperature and constant rains have been
very unfavourable for invalids. A telegram just received
from Lengazi states that the expedition had been obliged
to return to that place in consequence of the state of the
weather.

The America, old wooden sailing frigate, having super.
Boded the Monarch as target ship at Portsmouth, is now
having armour-plates from Messrs. John Brown and Co., of
Sheffield, and other firms bolted on her sides for testing
in the usual manner with the 68-pounder and cast-iron
shot, and possibly for experimental practice with spherical
steel shot and sheel. Recent experiments at Shoeburyness
and Portsmouth have proved that sphericalsteel shot fired
from any smooth-bore gun at short range against armour
plates of 6 inches in thickness are so destructive that our
present armour plating must be worse than useless at close
quarters. The spherical steel shot may, however, be fired
from a simply rifled gun, and its effect when so fired from
this description of weapon upon armour plates has yet to be
ascertained. The great success which has attended the use
of steel is probably quietly affecting a revolution in the great
iron-clad question which the united talent of our numerous
great gun makers has hitherto been totally capable of_ac-
complishing.
The following appointments were made on Saturday at
the Admiralty :—Cornelius H. Ward, acting assist.-surg.
to the Merender ; Edward J. Butler, assist.-surg., to the
Royal Adelaide ; Wm. Anderson (b), assist,-surg., to the
Hector; Arthur M'Kenna, assist.-surg., to the Prince Con-
sort ; George F. Elliott, aasist.-surg., to the Hogue; James
Ambler, engineer in the Orontes, promoted,