The Sun.
London, England, 1852-02-21 00:00:00

FEBRUARY 21, 1852.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
Another steam-frigate, the finest and most powerful
in the world, the Arrogant, 46, Captain Robinson, ex-
pected at Lisbon from the West Indies, is also ordered
to follow Commodore Martin to Cork, and such of tho
squadron as require refitting are to come to a dockyard
port:- _

- The Superb, 80, Captain Purcell, is also ordered from
the Mediterranean to Portsmouth, not to increase the
Channel force, Nit to be paid off.
Commander W. S. Pullen (1850), who encountered ail
the hardships and privations of the North American beat,
expedition—privations which no other Arctic officer
suffered, and who was passed over in the late promo-
tions, has been appointed to commission the North Star,
to form one of the new Aretic searebine• squadron. Thu
North Star will be stationed at Beecheyisland as a depot
and ree-clEzvoits.
Sir Edward Belcher's two sailing-ships and two screw-
tenders will have 182 officers and men, 61 each in the
Assistance and Resolute, and 30 each in the tenders:
They have now about 90 on their books, including
marine's.
The Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir Thomas
Briggs, is expected back from leave, at Portsmouth, on
Tuesday next.
We understand that Admiral H. Prescott delivered
the prizes yesterday to the Upper School of Apprentices
in Portsmouth Dockyard, to the following scholars:—
Pond, Warder, Kerby, 011 is, Harris, Jessop, and Hay.
The prizes consist of valuable mathematical instruments
and works on ship-building, &c.
DE VONPORT DOCKYARD.—A joiner, named Hooper,
in carrying a plank to the Sans Pareil, filling alongside
the jetty in the dockyard, was blown down by a gust of
wind taking the timber, and,., falling on his head on the '
stones, was so severely injured by the fall as to be obliged
to be taken to the hospital, where he expired a few
hours after the accident.

PORTSMOUTH, FRIDAY.—The Arethusa, 50, Captain
Symonds, arrived at Spithead this morning, from Ply-
mouth. She saluted the flag of Admiral Prescott, off
the Nab, at 8.30, A.M.; but the wind being from the
northward, her guns were not heard, and the Victory
did not return it till eleven o'clock. The Arethusa has
come up to Portsmouth to be docked. She requires
caulking, and the knee of the head is supposed to be de-
fective. A lighter has gone out to receive her shells, and
in the afternoon she will discharge her powder ready
for coming into harbour te-Morrow morning.
The Blenheim, 60 (screw), Captain W. H. Henderson
C. 8., was docked to-day to have her bottom and under-
water steam pipes examined.
Captain H. D. Chad', C. 8., of the Excellent and the
Royal Naval College, gave a brilliant reunion in the
latter establishment last night to all the dignitaries of
the port and garrison and a large circle of fashionables
to the number of upwards of 200.
APPOINTMENTS.

WOOLWICH, FEB. 20.—Lieutenants George F. Mee-
cham (1849), to be First-Lieutenant of the Resolute
discovery-ship, at Woolwich; Walter May (1851), to
the Assistance discovery-ship, at Woolwich; both Lieu-
tenants Meecham and May served in Captain Austin's
Arctic Expedition.
Master George F. M`Dongall (1851), to the Resolute.
_ _ _

Mr. M'Dougalr served as Second-Master in Captain
Austin's Arctic Expedition, and was borne on the
books of the Fisgard flag-ship, at Woolwich, for two
months after the Arctic vessels were paid off to coin-
_

plete the charts of the discoveries during the search in
the Arctic regions.
The Merlin, paddle-wheel steam-vessel, of 312-horse
power, Lieutenant Commander James H. Turner, ar-
rived on Wednesday from the Mediterranean station, to
be paid off at this port. She went down the river a
short distance on the same day, that an opportunity
might be afforded to report on the state of her engines.
The Cormorant steam-sloop, Commander Chamber-
lain, having been reported as requiring repairs to her
boilers, which will occupy some time, is ordered to be
paid off at this port on Wednesday next.
The Fairlie convict-ship, Surgeon-Superintendent
Edward Nolloth, M.D., is to take out a convict guard of
enrolled pensioners who intend settling in Australia.

ROYAL MARINES.
Lieutenant-Colonel Pratt, Royal Marines, and Mrs.
Pratt embarked to-day on board the Oriental and Penin-
sular Company's steam-packet Ripon, Captain Moresby,
at Southampton, for a passage to join Rear-Admiral J.
W. D. Dandas, C. 8., Commander-in-Chief of the Medi-

terranean squadron at Malta.
Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C. 8., Commander-in-
Chief of the Arctic Expedition, having made a request
for four bombardiers of the Marine Artillery, one for
each of the vessels now in commission, his wishes were
immediately complied with, and four fine healthy bom-
bardiers were stinted from the companies at Ports-
mouth, and sent round yesterday, and they embarked
with the other Royal Marines of the Woolwich division
in the Resistance and Resolute to-day.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
HERALD.—Whatever the House of Commoas may
say to the contrary—the transactions between, the Go-
vernment and Mr. Birch are of a nature to weaken the
aulthority of the Executive, and to reflect greet
di-.credit on the administration of public affairs:
The speech of 'Lord Naas on Thursday, in opening
his ease to the House of 'Ceettnens, was temperate, able,
and lucid. A crowded assembly listened to tee itatrmnet
of the • Noble Lord with the dc:cpe:.t. tentien; and the
effect produced by his iminape.sioneddelim at;on of sirep,e
am-1 ittemewerablefects, was such that the Premix r felt hi m -
self called npon immediate!„ to respond to the Calf appeal
of the Noble Member for.KiLlare,
in the, old strain of
Whirmery when in offi el. The matter was male per-
sone% and heel its end, so far as the votes of th 4 House
of Commons, solicited by the First Minister of the
Crown, could terminate the affair. The opinion of the,
nation has yet, horrever, el be eaten upon the adminis-
tration in Ireland of Lord Clarendon. The culpability
of Mr.'Birch appears to us to have been amply abet.ed
or partaken -of by his more diitingtaished collubwitteurs.
TIME!§.—We regret to say that the display:of vir-
tuous indignatien- on Thursday was 'not' on giallo so
magnificent a stale rur the public had been given to ex-
pect. Instead of three hundred political Mawworms,
who, with well starched cravats and straight combed
hair, were to testify against Lord Clarendon's enor-
mities. Only 137 felt inwardly moved to vote,
and were accordingly beaten nearly two to one.
What was wanting in numbers, indeed, was made
up by the perfect discipline of this immaculate phalanx.
They had rubbed up their consciences,' pipeclayed their
purity, and polished their rebukes, with all the zeal of
the newest holyday -troops, and a Strieger might have
supposed that in Ireland at least patriotism is some-
thing more than the reciprocal of promotion and
place. Nothing could exceed the conscientious
pains taken to separate the question of Lord
Clarendon's guilt from the vulgar trifles with which it
had been confounded. One and all, the company of
preachers entreated us to put aside the consideration of
his Excellency's motives, of his success, of the extraordi-
nary circumstances of the crisis, of the ordinary standard
of administrations, and every; other consideration, and
to answer this question, and this only—Was it right to
pay Birch for supporting law and order ? That,
with some slight variety of expression, was the wind-up
of half a dozen speeches, in which mediocrity of talent
and community of purpose had naturally produced very
similar results. Is it right to subsidize the press? Is it
right to bribe the press? Ought Government to suborn
public writers? Should the public money be given to hire-
ling authors? It availed not that Lord J. Russell had ad-
mitted the impropriety of such a proceeding, and parti-
cularly the error of coming to a compromise with such a
fellow as Birch, for the rejoinder was, " Oh! then you
ought to vote for our resolution." In the case of two .of
these high-minded men—Lord Naas and Lord C. Ha-
milton—their public spirit is enhanced by the circum-
stance that it is exhibited at the sacrifice of the warmest
regard and the highest admiration for Lord Claren-
don. They know him and love him—they recog-
nize his great services and success—they can make
allowances for the difficulties of his position—they can
do all that friendship or common sense require, but
nevertheless they wish to see him stigmatised as a mis-
appropriator of' the public funds, and the suborner
of a disreputable journal. Lord Naas has made a
still larger sacrifice, of his personal feeling. An im-
perious sense of duty—for it could have been nothing
less—has compelled him to describe Lord Clarendon in
the witness-box, and to record that he is the first
Viceroy that ever condescended to that ignominious po-
sition. With his Lordship's " deepest regard for the
great personal qualities, the talents, and private worth "
of Lord Clarendon, what a pang it must have cost to add
this necessary aggravation of the indictment! It is,
however, a comfort to think that the private distress
of the noble prosecutor and his colleagues, and the
generous sympathy they could not help betraying
for the unfortunate Viceroy, may possibly have had
their weight in the House. Perhaps it was to spare the
private feelings of the accusers that the House at once
acquitted the accused. We are not going to claim the
result as a victory either for the Government or for Lord
Clarendon, or for the cause of corruption, or anything else
that may have been assailed, because the result is simply
to leave things very much as they were. Unquestionably
Lord Clarendon ought not to have had any dealings
with such a man as Birch. Unquestionably it is far
better that a man in Lord Clarendon's high position
should not have a newspaper in pay on any terms or in
any form. Unquestionably, too, as Lord Clarendon
himself found, on consulting his colleagues, this
was not a proper employment of public funds,
even of those which are expressly assigned
for secret purposes. We say this, because in
such a country as ours it is an almost oonetitutional
necessity that the press should be perfectly pure, and
should look to the public, not to the Government. We
all profess to be organs of public opinion, and if we enter
into any binding relation with the Government, we
become traitors to the public, who believe us to be en-
tirely theirs. This is thoroughly understood and uni-
versally admitted in this country. So far, we have
no alternative but to condemn Lord Clarendon's
dealings with Birch. But we really think there is no
occasion to protest against them with the outrageous
virtue of his present accusers. We cannot connive at
them, but that is all that is required of us.
No rational person believes the press of this
metropolis to be in anybody's pay, so there
is no reason to take occasion of Lord Cla-
rendon's mistakes to trumpet our own purity. On
the contrary, we can afford to take a generous and con-
siderate view of the matter. We can remember that
an Irish rebellion, after all, is no ordinary or easy crisis,
and that the man who had, singlehanded, to suppress
that rebellion, and pacify eight million poor misguided
simpletons, as well 1113 he could, may be excused if, in
the general confusion, treachery, and desertion, ho ac-
cidentally stumbled on a bad tool and burnt his own
fingers. The interests of political purity have been suf-
ficiently vindicated in the frightful amount of pillage and
other annoyance Lord Clarendon has already suffered.

THE WRECK OF THE AMAZON.
SOUTHAMPTON, FRIDAY NIGHT.—It is believed the
news received here last evening from Dorchester, rela-
tive to the safety of two more of the crew of the Amazon
will turn out to be the artful manoeuvre of two im-
postors. who have adopted this ruse to impose upon the
charitable. A telegraphic message was forwarded to
Dorchester early to-day, requesting the men might be
sent to Southampton immediately; but on inquiry at the
house where they had been staying, they could not be
found, nor had they been heard. of since the morning.
The story was not credited hero from the first, and there
is little doubt that it will turn out as before stated.