The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-16 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

The Duke of Somerset, Sir Fredk. Gray, Admi-
ral Eden, Capt. the Hon. James R. Drummond,
C. 8., Lord C. Paget, and other officials connected
with the Admiralty, leave town to-morrow for
Shoeburyness for the purpose of witnessing some
experiments with heavy artillery.
VALETTA, March 10.—Her Majesty's screw line-
of-battle ship Queen, 74, Clpt. C. F. Hillyar, ar-
rived from Corfu on the 4th inst., which island she
lett on the 28th ult. She was inspected by Rear-
Admiral Dacres, C.B„ on the 25th ult., and has
come here to be caulked. She has brought the fol-
lowing supernumeraries :—tieut. Royd, of her Ma-
jesty's ship Marlborough ; 3 seamen for Malta hos-
pital ; 8 seamen and 1 marine, invalided ; 9 seamen
en route to England, and 1 marine ditto. The Aus-
trian frigate Frederick, 22, arrived at Corfu on the
23d ult. from Calamata, and left on the 26th for
Patras and Missolonghi. The Turkish screw tran-
sport Funa touched at Corfu on the 23d, and left on
the following day for Antivari, having on board
Gen. Abdi Kerim Pasha and suite, to assume the
command of the Turkish troops in that district.
Her Majesty's paddlewheel frigate Magicienne, 16,
Lieut. E. White, returned from Corfu on the 9th
inst., whither she bad conveyed Supernumeraries
for the ships at that station. She left Corfu on the
7th inst., leaving at anchor there her Majesty's
screw line-of-battle ship Edgar, 89, Capt. the Hon.
F, A. Foley (bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral S. C.
Dacres, C. 8.), and the screw line-of-battle ship Tra-
falgar, 70, Capt. the Hon. T. Bailie. The Magici-
enne brought down Commander R. Reid, of the
Trafalgar, sick, for Naval Hospital, and Lieut.
Brady, 6th Regiment. The Magicienne is to be held
in readiness to convey Prince Alfred to Marseilles,
as soon as the deputy-inspector considers his Royal
Highness is well enough to leave the hospital. Dr.
Armstrong will accompany the Prince to Eng-
land. Her Serene Highness the Princess of
Leiningen visited his Royal Highness yesterday.
We learn from Corfu that the screw frigate Shan-
non, 35, Capt. 0. J. Jones, left that island on the 3d
inst. for Patras, to relieve the screw sloop Chanti-
cleer, Commander C. Stirling. Her Majesty's pad-
dlewheel frigate Firebrand, 6, Commander S. B.
Piers, left Malta on the 6th inst. for England, to be
paid off. She has on board as passengers Captain
Richardson, Lieut. Steworth, Major Saul, Mr. R.
Matthew, Mr. A. Arthur, and 29 non-commissioned
officers and men of the Royal Artillery, and re-
turned stores. The screw sloop Icarus, 11, Cora-
mender N. Salmon, V.C., left on the following day
for Naples with supernumeraries for the screw line-
of-battle ship Meeanee, 60, Capt. G. Wodehouse.
The St. George, 84, screw line-of-battle ship, Capt.
the Hon, F. Egerton, now in Malta harbour, will
return to Naples shortly, when the Meeanee will re-
turn to Malta. The screw frigate Liffey, 39, Capt.
G. Parker, left Malta harbour on the morning of
the 9th inst. for the Piraeus. She conveys orders
for the screw frigate Phoebe, 35, Capt. T. D. A.
Fortescue, to leave the Pintas for Corfu. The
Trident, 6, iron paddlewheel sloop, Commander C.
J. Balfour, is to proceed to Gibraltar, to remain for
the present on that station in place of the Firebrand,
gone on. The Supply, 2, iron screw storeship,
Master-Commander W. H. Balliston, will leave this
week for Corfu, and on return proceed to England.
The Marlborough, 131, screw line-of-battle ship,
Capt. W. A. Stewart, C.B. (bearing the flag of the
Vice-Admiral Commander in Chief), is to sail in a
few days for a cruise, and will visit some of the
lonian Islands. In her absence Vice-Admiral Sir
W. F. Martin's flag will probably be transferred to
the Queen, which on her return will be sent back to
the Piraeus. The remainder of the Mediterranean
fleet are distributed as follows ;—'Malacca, 17, E crew
sloop, Cap-. G. N. Napier; Alacrity, 4, screw gun-
boat, Commander J. Baird; and the Wanderer, 4,
screw gunboat, Commander M. C. Seymour, coast
of Syria. The last mentioned vessel has been
ordered to Malta. The Weser, 6, iron
paddle vessel, Commander A. H. Johnstone,
and the Cockatrice, 2, screw gunboat, Lieut.
Commander R. M. Gillson, at the mouth of'
the Danube. The Psyche, 2, paddlewheel despatch
vessel,Lieut.-Commander Sterne, at Constantinople
the Caradoc, 2, despatch vessel, on her way to the
Mediterranean from England ; the Pelican, 17,
screw sloop, Commander P. Brock, and the Fox-
hound, 4, screw gunboat, Commander the Hon. A.
Hobart, to the Levant. The Hibernia, receiving
ship Commander R. B. Harvey (bearing the flag of
Rear-Admiral H. J. Codrington, C. 8.), with her
tenders, Boxer and Growler; the Medina, 4, sur-
veying vessel,Capt. T. A. B. Spratt, C.B. ; the Fire-
fly, 5, surveying vessel, Commander A. Mansell ;
and the Surprise, 4, screw gunboat, Commander
W. H. White, at Malta. Brigadier-Gen. Bates,
who commands the 2d Brigade at Malta, has pro-
ceeded home, to take the command, it is understood,
of the 2d Brigade of Infantry at Aldershott. Col.
Atherly, of the 92d Highlanders, will,it is reported,
succeed Gen. Bate in the command of the 2d
lirigade-in this garrison.
The screw steamship Warrior, 40, Capt. the Hon.
Arthur A. Cochrane, and the Defence, 18, Capt. A.
Cowell, C. 8., both from the eastward, arrived in
Plymouth Sound on Saturday morning.
The War Department steam transport Lord
Panmure, H. T. Moore commanding, has left the
arsenal at Woolwich, and has been docked in Messrs
Simpson's yard at Millwall. Her engines and
boilers have been removed, and a complete survey
has been made of every compartment with a view to
a thorough renovation. The woodwork was found
to be decayed and the boilers corroded by bilge
water. After being repaired the boilers will be re-
placed in a thick coating of. Day's impermeable
cement, now used in all iron ships of the service
with good effect, and from the bilge upwards she
will receive a double coating of Peacock's composi-
tion. The repairs are expected to be completed
about the end of April.
Her Majesty's sloop Spiteful, Commander Wil-
son, was on Saturday put out of commission and
paid off at Woolwich for repairs.
The steam storeship Industry, Master Comman-
der Youel, sailed yesterday from Greenhithe, after
the adjustment of compasses, laden with a cargo of
victualling and dockyard stores from Deptford and
Woolwich, for Ascension, calling at Madeira and
St. Vincent.

The whole of the i-inch plates received at Wool-
wich dockyard, and intended for casing the inner
face of the 4-gun sloop Enterprise, building at
Deptford, have been returned to the contractors,
having been found unfit for use. The defects con-
sisted of blisters, puffed patches, and imperfect
manufacture, detected in numerous spots on each
plate. The interior fittings of the Enterprise are
now nearly complete. The iron upper works are
progressing rapidly and well under the united
efforts of the shipwrights and smiths, who vie with
each other in the efficiency of their labour. The
moulds for the armour-plates were last week
despatched to the Atlas works, Sheffield. The
Favourite, 8-gun iron-cased corvette, building on
the adjoining slip at Deptford, has had her frame
completed, and is nearly ready to receive the
planking.

A 9 inc`i muzzle-loading gun, on Mr. Lynal
Thomas's system, and of the largest dimensions yet
manufactured in Woolwich Arsenal, will be proved
at Shoeburyness to-morrow. The weight of the
gun is 16 tons. It is built up on the coil principle,
having a solid piece of metal
solid-sided—namely,
at each end of the chase.

The Hector, 32, iron frigate, of 4,063 tons and 800;
horse power, arrived et Spithead yesterday morning
from the Clyde, where she has been built for the
Admiralty by Messrs. Napier and Sons, Glasgow.
She is an iron built ship of intermediate size, be
tween the Warrior and Resistance class, and is thei
first ship afloat carrying armour round her bows