The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-04 00:00:00

THE TRANSPORT SERVICE.

as }laving
been
sea-going
hospital-ship. She is owned by Messrs. J. Baines and Co., of
The Great Tasmania sailing transport, Capt. Crowe, Lieut.
fircsbtasreterrveicie' havi
R. W. Clarke, Admiralty agent, was towed into Portsmouth
harbour yesterday morning to prepare for the reception of
troops this day for the Crimea. She is of 2,163 tons, has
tt
fthkr three fuulpl dbeyc kt
hse, andv
e .this
m eis n
t h
Liverpool. She is intended to run between Scutari and home.
She has cabin accommodation of the first-class for 40 passen-
gers, and is fitted in every way most completely for the com-
fortable accommodation of about 500 sick. She is American
n andei.
built, and . was intended to be one of the Liveipool.and Aus-
trali-n (Black Ball) line of packets. Her troops or invalids
will be berthed on the lower and middle decks, which are
ventilated by shafts so admirably constructed that they cariy
a y tile confined air of those decks clear to the upper deck,
without allowing any escape to the decks through which they
pass. Besides this, the decks are ventilated through the
sides by ports and scuppers, making the atmosphere between
decks very cool and salutary. She has provisions on board
for four months for 1,200 troops ; also provisions for the
same time for 509 invalids (to • return with), the greater ,por-
tion of which is preserved fresh meat. The ship was visited
'vest rday by numbers of naval and military officers all of
whom (especially the dockyard officials) pronounced her the best fitted ship for the war transport service yet seen at
Portsmouth. Her state cabin fittings rival oriental cones ma,,,,rnifi-
in some of their details, and the height between decks
all below is nearly 8 feet.
The Lancashire Witch sailing transport was towed into
Portsmouth harbour yesterday morning to prepare for the
reception of remounts of cavalry horses for the Crimea. The
Panama sailing transport left Portsmouth yesterday for the
Crimea, with about 800 tons of victualling supplies from the
Royal Clarence yard, Gosport. The Royal Clarence d
is in full work, and every officer and man doing kis beYstalt.o
meet the demands upofrit. .-. • •

ALARM OF FIRE ON BOARD THE DAUNTLESS.
At 11.30 p.m., on the 20th ult., all hands were turned
up on board the Dauntless (off Sebastopol), for the purpose
of taking their turn at\ firing on the batteries. The steam
was up, and she got under way, and gradually advanced
in along the shore till within 700 yards, her guns being
loaded with shell. She fired a broadside. The Russians in
reply let fly almut 100 shells, which burst around the ship,
one shell passing through the forestays. Another broadside
was immediately fired from the steamer, when an explosion
took place. The cry of " fire !" was raised, and she was
steamed out as quickly as possible. The fire was extinguished
in five minutes, and as soon as the smoke permitted it was
discovered that the gun in the captain's cabin had burst,
wounding four men and a boy, blowing away the beams, and
part of the upper and main decks. The muzzle cf the gun
was blown out of the port; the' rest flew around in huge
pieces, smashing the cabin and everything in it. The master,
clerk, and signal silidshipman were thrown off the hridg° on