The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-17 00:00:00

TEE CIVIL WAR DI AMERICA,

(From tie 2 iines Correspondent.)
NEW YORK, May 4.
Private despatches in cipher are said to have
been received in this city announcing the com-
mencement of hostilities on the Rapidan at an early

hour yesterday morning. None of the facts, how-
ever, have been made public, and, as the whole story
may be bc:sed upon calculation rather than upon
knowledge, there are as many inclined to disbelieve

as to credit it. It appears to be certain, however,

that General Lee has concentrated a large force at
Orange Court-house to contest the passage of the

Ripidan should General Grant attempt a direct
movement upon Richmond, that both armies have
received heavy reinforcements, and that the greatest
battle of the war is imminent from hour to hour,

if it he not raging at this moment. Far the first

time since Richmond has been the object of Federal

desire, the attacking General has succeeded in keep-

ing to himself the secret of his plans and move-
mements. No babbling secretary or aide-de-camp

knows what he has determined on, and, conse-

quently, no indiscreet wife or daughter of said
secretary or aide has been able to promulgate in
strictest confidence to her dear friend with
" Southern sympathies," of whom there are so many
thousands in Washington, the direction the armies
were to take, or the day the march was to begin.
On previous occasions Richmond has been better in•
formed than New York of every movement that
was about to be made, and in this respect General
Grant has shown himself to be a good strategist,
and virtually doubled the strength of his army until
it shall please him to strike a blow.
Both sides are confident of victory, but it may not
unprofitably be asked whether both are equally
well able to sustain a defeat, and whether, in point
of fact, a signal reverse could not be far better

borne by the South than by the North. However
damaging to the prestige of the Confederate cause
the loss of Richmond and the defeat of Lee's army
might prove, neither event, or both together, would

subjugate the Southern people or lead to that ex-
termination so ardently demanded by such soldiers
as Generals Butler and Sherman, such statesmen as
Mr. Charles Sumner and Mr. Thaddeus Stevens,
and such angels of feminine grace and maidenly
gentleness as Miss Anna Dickenson and the strong

minded sisterhood of the conventicle. On the con-

trary, the Southernlmasses, instead of splitting into

factions hostile to their own Government and cla-

morons for peace and reunion with the Yankees,
would be more likely than ever to forget all minor
differences and disagreements, and unite into one
compact phalanx of unyielding hate, having nothing
to expect from submission but ruin and death, but
everything to hope from prolonged and more des-
perate resistance. On the other hand, a Southern
victory, though it might intensify the animosity of
a large section of the Northern people, and induce
them to call for more men and more mosey to pro•
secute the war to the bitterest extremity of desola-
tion, would be attended with the danger of disrup.
tion in the Northern councils, of popular risings in
the great cities, of an accretion of strength to the
peace party ; of the defeat of Mr. Lincoln's, Mr.
Chase's, Gen. Fremont's, and every other Republi-
can candidate's claim to the Presidency ; and at no
distant date of the transference of supreme power to
a military dictator, in the person of Gen. M'Clellan,
or of some more rigid tyrant of the type of Gen.
Butler, But there are few Americans who look so
far into the future as to-morrow, unless for busi-
ness or personal purposes. In public affairs to-day
is sufficient for itself, and. to day is always bright
and happy. It is the characteristic of the people to
be irrationally hopeful, and never to admit the pos
sibility of evil till it is upon them. At present they
rely wholly upon their superior numbers and their
superior wealth to crush the foe, forgetful that num-
bers in unskilful or unlucky hands may be the source
of weakness rather than of strength, and that money
too lavishly fabricated by the printing press, though
it may pay their armies, may demoralise or disgust
the working classes, lead by its superabundance to
worse evils than those of scarcity, and ultimately
produce that financial crash which will ruin thou-
sands, and bring the pressure of unwonted poverty to
the homes of millions, But none of these things are
new thought of. The " rebellion "isto be crushed
by one blow. Gen. Grant is the master of the situa-
tion. The South is to forget and forgive its humilia-
tion. Like a boy who has been thrashed by a
schoolfellow, it is to bear no malice, ; to join in the
sports of the playground as if nothing had hap.

pened, and to undertake with its late antagonist a
nice little foraging expedition to Mexico for the ex-
pulsion of that impudent French boy who has ven-
tured into a precinct forbidden by pedagogue Mon-
roe. Such is the talk of the hour. All is gay, glorious
and hopeful. Nothing, in fact, is amiss, except that'
troublesome gold, which persists in reaching a pre-
mium of 80 per cent_ over greenbacks and making
things unpleasant in the Treasury Dapartment.

The military situation, though the fate of the
Republic may hang upon it, does not just now
excite half the interest of the Presidential canvass.
Grant's success might scatter to the wind in a
moment the claims of every rival; but the rivals,
if not in their own persons, in those of the friends
who hope to attain wealth, position, or place by
their promotion, are busily at work in all directions
to preeuee nominations by regular conventions of
their party. That section of the Republican organi-
sation which still believes that Mr. Lincoln ought,
a 3 a matter of convenience, if nothing more, to be re-
elected, has determined to hold a convention at Bal-
timore on the 7th of June. The friends of General
Fremont, the favourite of the Dutch (as the Ger-
mans are called in America), and of such influen-
tial members of the Republican party as believe that
Mr. Lincoln is neither earnest enough, wise enough,
nor honest enough to be,entrusted any longer with
the destinies of the nation, have called a convention
at Clef eland, in Ohio, for the 27th of May. They
hope to forestall the action of the other branch of
the party at Baltimore, and nominate their candi-
date under such auspices and with such eclat as
shall render it hopeless for any one on the same

side to compete with him. The friends of General
3l'Clellan, who bids fair, provided General Grant
gain no victory in the interval, to receive the un-
divided support of the Democratic party, aro to
meet in convention in Chicago in June, so that the
whole conntry,if General Lee will allow the leisure,
will be involved in the preliminary operations of
President• making in less than a month, and Mr.
Lincoln, even if so disposed, will have no time to
interfere with military movements.
Meanwhile, to clear the way for a struggle be-
tween himself and the lesser athletes—whom he
can more easily throw than the heavier ones—Mr.
Lincoln has been urged to reappoint his two most
influential rivals to military command—to send
General Fremont to Florida, with a force insufficient
to add to his military renown, if not scanty enough
to lead him into peril ; nod to send General
M'Clellaa to Louisiana to replace General Banks,
with the same amiable object. But, as General
Grant is Commander-in. Chief, and has been pro-
mised that no interference in military matters shall
take place without previous consultation with
him, there are difficulties in the way of these
arrangements which Mr. Lincoln, even if disposed,
might find it damaging to attempt, or impossible to
surmount. Of the three other rivals whose names
are bi fore the public--Gen. Banks, Gen. Butier, and
Mr. Cause—the first is already disposed of by his
defeat in Louisiana. The second has, it seems, placed
himself in the power of the Government by his
over-hastiness to grow rich, and will be called bebre
an investigating committee of Congress to answer a
variety of charges both at Now Orleans and in his
present command. 'Whether the charges be true or
false, the investigation can scarcely be other than
damaging. In a country like this, when: a public
functionary is supposed to be corrupt, merely be-
cause he is a public functionary, and where it is im-
passible to be placed in a situation where a fortune
can be made illicitly without being suspected of
making it, the charges are certain to be believed by
a class of people sufficiently large to weaken, if not
to destroy, his chance of a nomination by any con-
vention of his party. Mr. Chase, a much more
formidable candidate, though nominally withdrawn
from the contest, has been placed in a similar pre-
dicamen t. General Frank Blair, speaking for the
Lincoln brAneb. of the Repubtima party, hasi

cused him of personal corruption, with the object
of preventing him from attaining the object of his
ambition; and this charge has been " endorsed"
by the War Democrats in Congress, not,
perhaps, because it is believed, but because by
keeping the Secretary out of the field, the pros-
spects of General M'Clellan may b,. improved.
The charges are that he has used the public funds
for his own electioneering purposes; that he has
put illegal facilities of money-making in the way
of his nephew, a banker, and of his son-in-law, a
rich manufacturer and member of the Senate;
that he has for political purposes appointed im-
proper persons to office in the Treasury Depart-
ment ; that such persons have been guilty of pecu-
lation and over issues of postage or fractional cur-
rency ; and, moreover, that the female clerks in the
establishment introduced by his patronage have by
their immoral conduct scandalised the whole ser-
vice. These charges—exceeding in shamelessness,
if they be false, the usual bitterness of party warfare
_ . _ _

—could not be treated with contempt, and it has been
found absolutely necessary to appoint a committee
of investigation. The committee has already com-
menced its sittings, and Mr. Chase, who had made
up his mind to resign office, as soon as the Presi-
dent rewarded his denouncer, has reconsidered his
determination, and will hold his place till its report
be rendered. It is not considered probable that
Mr. Chase has been guilty of the grave offences im-
puted to him, or that any stain will rest on his per-
sonal honour, though it may perhaps be found that
in nepotism and favouritism he may have lain him-
self open to unfriendly criticism, if not to serious
blame. His great offence in the eyes of General
Blair and all who are intriguing for the re-election
of Mr. Lincoln is that he has been indiscreet enough,
not once, but many times, to speak contemptuously
of the intellect and manners of the President, while
in that of the Democratic party, his offence is that
he is a member of Mr. Lincoln's Government and
the soundest intellect of his party. Thus he stands
in the uncomfortable position of being attacked by
both parties, his fiercest assailants being those of
his own political household. The supposition is
that if the report of the Investigation Committee be
favourable, as almost everybody believes, he will
throw up the Secretaryship of the Treasury, and
enter the lists as an independent candidate for the
Presidency. Such a course of proceeding will set
him personally right with Mr. Lincoln and the
Cabinet, and perhaps be the means of producing
other Ministerial changes, which Mr. Lincoln, if he
could foresee them, would be the first to deprecate.
The House of Representatives, without a dissen-
tient voice, has increased the pay of the army at
an estimated cost to the Treasury of 40 millions of
dollars. It has raised the rates per month for pri-
vate soldiers from 13 to 16 dollars, and of all the
superior grades in like proportion. In this advance
the coloured soldiers are to participate. The Fede-
ral Government could not in honour act otherwise.
Expediency, if no higher motive, compelled it to do
justice to them. There are, it appears, 130,000
black troops in the service, all of whom were dis-
contented at receiving only ten dollars a month,
while white men received 13. They have for months
protested against the wrong, and in some instances
have mutinied to enforce a demand which they
believes to be otherwise unattainable. A black
sergeant, a man of considerable attainments and
high character, was recently shot for mutiny, for
insisting upon the full amount of the wages pro-
mised to him on enlistment, for which act of severity
Mr. Lincoln was publicly denounced by an ultra-
Abolitionist weekly journal of this city as a shedder
of innocent blood, and the enemy of the negro race.
Since that time the urgent need of black soldiers in
default of white ones has induced the Government
to reflect upon the impolicy, to call it by no
stronger name, of making invidious distinctions
between the two portions of its armies. Accord-
ingly, the Senate, under the leadership of Mr.
Charles Sumner, voted an amendment to the Army
Appropriation Bill in which this wrong was reme-
died ; and on Saturday last the Lower House was
asked to concur and to decree that from and after
the first day of January last the uniform, arms,
equipment, rations, medical attendance, and pay of
white and black soldiers should be the same. After
a debate that threatened to become personal, the
House agreed to the propositicn by a majority of 81
against 49. It is expected that one result of this
measure will be that the future negro recruitment
will be carried on more successfully, and that an
additional 100,000 blacks, who could not otherwise
have been induced to enter the service, will join the
ranks. There is still, however, the question of re-
taliation to be dccided before the blacks will bo
thoroughly satisfied. The Federal Government has
solemnly declired to its Southern enemy and to the
civilized world that its uniform shall protect its
soldier, whatever his colour, and that for every
black man taken prisoner and afterwards put to
death, because he is a negro or because he may have
formerly been a slave on a Southern plantation, it
will execute a white Confederate prisoner. It re-
mains to be seen whether it will carry the threat
iato execution. Mr. Lincoln pledged himself at
Baltimore to exact " retribution" for the massacre
of coloured soldiers at Fort Pillow, if on investiga-
tion the current reports should prove to be correct.
A committee appointed for the purpose by the House
of Representatives has just returned from the West,
reports, not only that the rumours were true, but
that they under rather than over stated the cruelties
that were perpetrated. Under these circumstances,

it becomes interesting both to the blacks and the
whites to know whether by " retribution" Mr. Lin-
coln meant " retaliation ;" and in what way he is

to exact the one cr effect the other. As the bl•icks
promise for the future to be the main military prop
of Federal power, the question is one of no slight
imiylrtance to them, as well as to the civilized
world ; and much curiosity is already excited to
know what steps Mr. Lincoln will take in the mat-
ter. Probably, he will make his mind known in a
" Proclamation"--his usual mode of extricating
himself from a difficulty.

A BACKWARD COWRIDE.—Daring the Rev()lu.
tionary War, when a corps of the American army
was encamped near the borcugh of Elizabeth town, New
Jersey, an officer, who, by the way, was more of a devotee
of Venus than of Mars, paid his addresses to a lady of dis-
tinction, whom he was in the habit of visiting nightly. On
a discovery of the repeated absence of the officer, and of the
Place where interviews with his Dulcinea were had, some
waggish friends resolved to play off a handsome trick at his
expense, which should deter him from a repetition of his
visits. The officer, it appears, rode a very smalf horse of the
pony kind, which he left untied with the bridle reins over
his neck, near the door, in order to ride off without delay,
when the business of courting and kissing was over, and
the horse alwa3 s remained till backed by the owner,
with-
out attempting to change his position. On a certain dark
and gloomy night, when the officer, as usual, had gone to
pay his devotions to the object of his dearest affection, and
was enjoying the approving smiles of the lovely fair one,
his waggish companions wont privately to the door of the
house where the officer was, took his bridle and saddle from
the horse, which they sent away, placed the bridle on the
tail and the saddle on the back, and the crupper over the
horns of a quiet old cow, who stood peacefully chewing her
cud near the spot. Immediately thereafter they retired some
distance from the house, and separating, raised the loud
cry of alarm, that the enemy had landed and were march-
ing into the village. Our hero, on hearing this, took coun-
sel from his fears, and snatching a hasty kiss, he shot out
of the door with the velocity of a musket ball and mounted
into the saddle, with his back towards the head on the cow,
and plunging his sharp spurs keenly into her sides, caused
her to bawl out with excessive pain, and she darted with
her best gallop towards the camp. The officer still plying
his spurs with all his wine on board—finding himself hut ry-
efforts
torturedrts to ad advance,
anding rapidlyhearing
the backward,
repeatedna übgra we lonif gusll
ofhl his
the
imagined that ho was carried off by magic,
agic,and roaring out
ryn ce that
centre
ofthee devil
camp.ha T
d go t him—wash
sentinels,
th u s carriedhearing
moatinto
thewer
e fired,noise,thedischargeddrums
to .
p e caersm. asn, d
the
fled,
0, andffi eer
se a
remf
tghu ne
i rs
qluuarngtse, sorsladniedrscrisetdar ‘
started fromturnout7thwelitrhsalelelptheasstriefnagthhoosftthheaidr
disturbed their dreams, and the whole body, runningnaked, as quick as possible, in gallant '
deshabille, prepared half
to repel the terrible invader. When lo I the ludicrous sight
soon presented itself to their eyes of the gallant officer
o mounted on a cow, with his face towards her tail, her tongue
hanging out, her aides gory withithe gouging of the spurs,
and he himself almost deprived of reason and half petrified
' with horror. A loud burst of laughter burst from the
' assembled band at the rider and his steed—the whole corps
I gave him three times three cheers as he bolted into camp.
He was carried to his quarters in triumph, there to dream
of lovers' metamorphoses, backward rides, sternway ad-
vances, and alarms of invasions, and thereby garnish his
mind with materials for writing a splendid treatise on the
novel AdventUrci 14 a c9Wricki•-•477ifriOn paper,

The Sea Fight near Heligoland,

The subjoined description of this naval -action,
written by an officer of the Preussiseher Adler, will
be found to be a more detailed narrative of the
event than has hitherto appeared It appears that
n the 6th instant the allied squadron was on the
look-out for the Danes, and having heard that they
were still before the Elbe, sail was made in that
direction. The Schwarzenberg got aground on this
day, and remained firm for a short time. About 4
a.m. on Saturday, the 7th inst., a large vessel was
seen steering for the north. The stranger was
chased by the squadron, all the vessels comprising
which were distanced by the Schwarzenberg, with
which none could keep up, although flumes issued
from the chimney of the Adler, owing to the great
heat of the furnaces. The vessel was made out to be
the Aurora, sent out by the English Government to
maintain the neutrality of the water around Heli-
goland ; and about eleven o'clock the allies re-
turned in order of battle to their former cruising
ground. On Sunday the Prussian gunboats Blitz
and Basilisk were sent towards the Elbe and Weser
to gain information of the movements of the Danes,
and the Preussischer Adler was sent towards Heli-
goland with the same mission, while the frigates
sailed seawards with their fires banked up, and
their screws lifted. No news could be learned
from the island, although the governor was very
kind, and, hearing that the squadron was not over
well found in provisions, he sent a joint of roast
meat to the commander. In the afternoon the
vessels steered towards the Elbe, and in the evening
anchored inside the lightship, in order to wait fcr
the morning's tide on which to proceed to Cux-
haven. The proceedings of the eventful day,
Monday last, are thus described :
" Wind east, but nearly a calm ; weather fine, but
not so cold as on the preceding day. At 9.15 a,m.
we proceeded under steam, and had already neared
the innermost lightship, near Cuxhaven, when at
10.45 the admiral made signal to follow his move-
ments. A boat bearing the Austrian flag and a
small steamer from Cuxhaven had been alongside
his vessel for somo time. It appeared that news had
been received, for we turned about and steered sea-
wards. As it was anticipated that the Danes
would soon be met with the necessary pre-
liminary preparations were made, and at 12,45,
when the outer lightship of the Elbe had been
passed, it was announced that three frigates, appa-
rently Danish, were in sight to the eastward of
Heligoland. These vessels were then apparently
about 15 miles distant—so far off, indeed, that their
hulls were not visible, nor could their flags be made
out. Another frigate, which lay under Heligoland,
in a north-westerly direction, caused some anxiety,
as it could not be made out whether she was the
Aurora or a Danish vessel. About one o'clock the
drums beat to quarters, when we steered northwards
in line of battle, following this order—Schwarzen-
berg, Radetzky, Adler, Basilisk, Blitz. The Danes
now approached us, steering southwards. As both
lines neared, and when the first Danish vessel was
about 2,000 yards distant, the Schwarzenberg fired
the first shot, which was quickly replied to by the
Danes, and a general cannonade began. This was
about two o'clock. In a moment nothing was to be
seen but flashes and smoke,and the fire of the bombs
crashing in the air, while the pieces struck near
the vessels and ploughed up the water all around.
After about an hour and a half the Danish vessels
steered a more westerly course, and thus obtained
the mastery over the Elbe; then steered northward,
and we to the south. so that both squadrons
were eventually in tha same line as at the cora•
mencement of the action, but in reversed order,
The Schwarzenberg and Radetzky then approached
600 yards nearer to the Danish vessels, a move-
ment which might have been very critical, con-
sidering the brief time during which the crew had
been in training. About 2.45 the foremast of the
Schwarzenberg was suddenly seen to be in flames.
The fire first broke out at the end of the fore-top-
sail, and soon the whole of the rigging of the fore-
mast was in flames, while smoke curled upwards
from the fore deck. It was clear that we had got
into a terrible position. The Schwarzenberg now
steamed to leeward in order to keep the smoke and
flames to the fore-part of the vessel, and it possible
o save the ship. The red glare which was visible

a various parts,:and spread more and more, offered

a fearful but brilliant sight even in the clear and
golden sunlight, and there was no cessation to the
cannonade. The rest of the squadron soon followed
i❑ the direction of the Heligoland ; and about four
o'clock, the fight having lasted two hours, the last
shot was fired, and all was still as death. Some
minutes afterwards the entire of the burning fore-
top fell, and inflicted terrible injuries on the crew.
About 5.15 we lay at anchor behind the Dune, and
to the eastward. '['he Schwarzenberg was now
obliged to steam about, and always so to manoeuvre
as to keep the wind on the side or at the stern. All
the boats were sent towards her with pumps and
hose, and our surgeons repaired on board of her and
the Radetzky to render help, and they afterwards
gave us a terrible description of the scene they wit-
nessed on board. The lower part of the Schwar-
zenburg's mast burned till ten at night, as on ac-
count of the great height the fire coull not be ex-
tinguished, and it was only at this time that they
succeeded in cutting it away and getting it over-
board. Early in the morning the entire squadron
was again under steam, and at half-past four ace
came to anchor at Cuxhaven. The Schwarzenberg
looks more like a wrack than anything else,
for her bowsprit and rigging hang and float around
her. She bas 31 killed, 44 badly wounded, and
about 50 slightly. The Ridelzky has five killed,
eight badly wounded, and some with loss serious in-
juries. We have no losses, which is to be ac-

counted for chiefly by the fact that the Danes kept
up a well-directed concentrated fire fore and aft on
the Austrians, and it was only as they steered north-
wards that we, with the gunboats, received their
entire broadside. The gunboats had the luck to
manoeuvre in a calm sea. They behaved very well,
and made good practice with their rifled guns."
Great numbers of si ounded were subsequently
conveyed to Altona in the Adler.
On the 14th instant 160 Austrian seamen passed
through Prussia from Vienna on their way to rein-
force the crews of the Sclawarzenberg and Itadatzky.

CORN-WALL, May 13.—Two or three rather
im-
portant Whitson cattle fairs have been held in the
county during the week, and ccnsiderable business has been
transacted. At Bodmin, on Wednesday, the second and
principal day of the fair, there was a good supply of cattle
of all descriptions, and nearly all the animals changed
owners. Fat cattle averaged from 60s to 633 per cwt ; store
cattle, 40s to 4'2a; cows and calves, 553; steers, £lO to 116
each ; oxen, £3O to £3l per pair. Callington Fair on Thurs-
day was not largely supplied, but the quality of nearly all
stock was good, and prices ranged as at Bodmin on the
previous day. The pastures in Cornwall are in capital
condition.

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Naval and Military Intelligence,

THE ARMY.

The screw steamship Black Prince, 41, Capt. James F.
B. Wainwright, which was navigated on Sunday from Ply-
mouth Sound into lianmaze, was placed yesterday after-
noon in the Prince's dock, in Devonport yard. Her draught
forward is 25ft Sin, and aft about 26ft 6in,
The Edgar, 71, Capt. G. T. P. Hamby, flag of Rear-
Admiral S. C. Micros, was navigated yesterday morning
into llamoaze, and will be placed in No. 1 dock at Keyham
steamyard as soon as the blocks are prepared for her recep-

tion.
The Prince Consort, 35, Capt. G. 0. Willes, C. 8., having
during the morning discharged her powder and shell, was
navigated in the afternoon from the Sound into Hamoazo.
She will be placed in No. 2 dock at Keyham, after it has
been examined ; this dock has been occupied by the Ocean,
which was displaced yesterday forenoon. The Prince Con-
sort draws 25ft Din forward and 271 t 7in aft.
It was the intention of the authorities at Devonport yes-
terday to place the Warrior, 40, in Keyham basin in the
afternoon, and put her in dock N 0.3 to-day, and to put the
Defence in No. 1 dock at Devonport yesterday afternoon.
Her Majesty's despatch vessel Salamis, built at Chatham,
and commissioned for service by Commander Suttie, having
damaged her machinery in her trial trip, went up to Wool-
wich yesterday for repairs.
Her Majesty's steam storeship Fox, Staff-Commander
Pullen,with stores and passengers from the lonian Islands,
arrived yesterday in the river and was signalled at Wool-
wich. The Viandra and Mardias sailing transports, with
military stores from the demolished fortress at Corfu, also
arrived yesterday. The Morning Star, Britain's Pride, and
Melina aro alongside Woolwich pier discharging cargoes
also from Corfu.
In consequence of the regulations now in contemplation
for the abolition of the superannuation allowance to the fac-
tory men in the royal dockyards, 15 men yesterday received
notice of dismissal at Woolwich. They consist of engineers,
boilermakers, patternmakers, trimmers, and labourers, some
of whom had been employed in the establishment from 15
to 24 years. The men are to be dismissed on the 31st inst.,
and fear that they will be totally unaided by Government,
notwithstanding that the best portion of their lives has been
spent in the factory, where some of them have been maimed
and rendered unfit for future work.
Mahmoud Khan, tho Persiaa Minister in London, went
down to Woolwich yesterday for the purpose of inspecting
the naval and military establishment. Accompanied by his
secretary and five Persian attendants, he arrived at 2 o'clock
and proceeded to the Royal Arsenal, where the visitors
were received by the heads of departments. These were Col.
Campbell and Mr. Anderson, superintendents of the royal
gun factories ; Capt. Gordon, C. 8., principal superintendent
of military stores; Lieut.-Col. Clerk and Lieut.-Col. Shaw,
superintendents of the royal carriage department; and Capt.
Fraser, assistant superintendent of the laboratory. The in-
spection of the arsenal (each department of which appeared
to interest the visitors exceedingly) occupied more than three
hours. The explanation of the various works was given
principally in French by Col. Shaw. It was interpreted to
the Ambassador in Persian by his secretary. An Admiralty
order had been despatched to the dockyard for his excellency's
admission to that establishment also ; but on account of the
time occupied in seeing the Arsenal, the visit to the dock-
yard was again deferred.
The following appointments have been made in the Royal
Naval Reserve—To be Lieut., Benjamin Lodwiek ; to be
Sub.-Lieut., Walter Hamilton Bisset.