The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-08 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence,

Her Majesty's paddle sloop Basilisfr, 6, 1,031 tons and
400 horse power, built at 'Woolwich in 1846, to carry out the

contest for superiority between the paddle and the screw in
competition with the sister screwship Niger, was yesterday
received in basin at Woolwich, to be supplied with her
engines. The Basilisk has undergone a thorough repair at
Deptford yard, at a cost of, it is said, about £lO,OOO. She
was built at the same time as the Niger in Woolwich
Dockyard, after the designs and under the superin
tendence of Mr Oliver Lang, the master shipwright of
the yard at the time. After receiving her engines at
Woolwich she will be despatched to Sheerness to be refitted

for sea.

The War Department steamship Bilaklava, Pellatt
commander, has arrived at Woolwich Arsenal from Cork)
laden with condemned war stores, and commenced dis-
charging yesterday,

The Lord Panmure, War Department steamer, Mr
Moore commander, has sailed from Woolwich Arsenal
for Portsmouth and Devonport, laden with guns, shot,
shell, and other war materials, and will reload from Devon-
port, on her return to Woolwich with condemned ord-
nance, &c.

Major.-Gen. E. C. Warde, C. 8., Commandant at Wool-
wich, yesterday commenced his half-yearly visitation of the
garrison troops. The whole of the 4th Division Depot
Brigade and the 4th Brigade Royal Artillery mustered on
Woolwich-common at 10 a.m., in marching order, and un-
derwent a most careful examination, it being the General's
first general inspection since his recent appointment in suc-
cession to Gen. Sir Richard Dacres, K.C.8., the late Com-
mandant. This morning the General will inspect three
batteries of the Royal Horse Artillery, in command of Col,
the Hon. E. T. Gage, Major D. S. Greene, and Major L.
G. Paget. The troops will assemble in mounted order at
10 this morning. The General will be accompluied by
Brigade Major Hay, Captain Nangle, De,;,aty-Assist.•
Quartermaster-General ; Capt. Williams Aide-de-camp,
and other officers.

In addition to the 100• pounder str.oothbore 6/-ton wrought
iron guns with which the iror,clads Northumberland, 26,
6,621 tons, 1,350 horse powe'z ; the Agincourt, 26, 6,621 tons,
1,350 horse power : and *.he Minotaur, 26, 6,621 tons, 1,350
horse power, are to b'a armed, a notification has been re-
ceived at the Ordnance establishment, Chatham, that each
of the above vessels will also carry four of the 300 pounder
12-ton rifled Armstrong guns, and the necessary gun plates
and curbiv.ig are now being prepared for this description of
guns at the Royal Gun Factory. The armament for the
sister ironclad frigate Achilles, 20, 6,126 tons, 1,250 horse
power, will, according to existing arrangenients, consist ex-
clusively of the 110-pcunder Armstrongs and the 100-
pounder smoothbore; no arrangements having been made
on board for supplying her with any of the 300-pounder
guns.

The works which have been in progress at Chatham for
the last two years for the extension of the Royal Marine
establishments at that port will, when completed, furnish
accommodation for nearly double the number of officers
and men for whom quarters are now furnished, and at the
same time prevent the great inconvenience which has so
long been felt of quartering several hundred of the non-

commissioned officers and men in the infantry barracks at
Chatham with the troops of the line. The extension build-
ings, which are now under construction, include an addi-
tional south wing to the existing Royal Marine barracks,
together with an enlargement to about, double their present
size of the main or centre barracks. The latter buildings
extend to a length of 253 ft by '..)Oft in depth, and contain 38
additional barrack-rooms, rsach 46ft in length by 21ft 6in.
wide and 10ft high, ar,a as the ordinary number of men to
be placed in each r'Jom is 17, the amount of space appor-
tioned to each he 600 cubic feet. This number of men to
be quarteref, in each room can, however, at any time be in-
creased -without anything approaching to overcrowding
beinr, the result, the several rooms being capable of afford-
ir,g ample accommodation for 25 men should occasion re-
quire it. This portion of the barracks also provides Tier-
' tern for 16 non-commissioned officers. The south wing
contains 12 blocks or rooms, of the same dimensions as
those in the other part of the building ; but, in addition,
this portion of the barracks will bo furnished with a colon-
nade, running its entire length, and of sufficient width and
dimensions to allow of its being used by the men quartered
in the rooms for purposes of exercise during unfavourable
weather. The various offices cotlnected with the command-
ant's, adjutant's quartermr,.ster's, barrackmaster's, pay-
master's, and other depPAments, will be placed in the new
blocks of buildings, which are fitted with the necessary
requirements e.-.)nnected with each of those branches of
the Royal I Amine servios. In order, at the same time,
to aur;atent the area of the existing parade-ground, the
praent offices at the entrance gates, together with the
grand division offices, field-officers' quarters, and sub-
alterns' quarters will all be demolished, and the parade-
ground lengthened by 160 feet. Under this arrangement
will be necessary to erect additional buildings for both
officers and subalters, and accordingly the Admiralty have
sanctioned the taking in of a portion of the dockyard, on
which will be placed a handsome and commodious block of
buildings for both the field and junior officers, together with
a suitable drillshed, fencing rooms, &c. The proposed
quarters will occupy the site of the house hitherto appro-
priated as the residence of the master ropemaker, which is
now in course of demolition, and a suitable house for that
official will be erected in another part of the dockyard, near
the entrance gates. The range of buildings now occupied
by the Royal Marine officers at the opposite end of the bar-
racks will also be very considerably enlarged and improved.
The whole ut the extensive worki and alterations are being
effected under the superintendence el Mr Davis, the Admi-
ralty clerk of Works, from the designs of Mr W. Scamp,
the Deputy-Director of Admiralty Works, the execution of
the undertaking being under the immediate superintendence
of Mr Rivers, the resident official at Chatham Dockyard.

MISSING SHIP.—The Gartoraig, from London
for Quebec, arrived in the Downs on the 2d of April, end
has not since been Loud of. •
BARON ROTHSCHILD'S POLITE SARCASM.—The
following story is going the round of Paris :—A
small German baron had occasion, as it seems, to see Baron
Rothschild, of Frankfort. The great financier was writing
away for very lifo when Baron X. was announced. He
did not even lift his eyes, but said Take a chair, sir." The
baron, with true German touchiness about titles, said " Sir,
indeed. I think M. le Baron did not hear my name. lam
a baron also—the Baron X." "Ah ! a thousand pardons,"
said
"you are a baron—take two
chairs, the banker, still writing;
airs, then, if you will be so kind, and wait till I have
thiehecl this letter,"