The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-14 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

Our Malta correspondent, under date of the sth
inst., announces the departure from that island, on
the 31st ult., of her Majesty's iron screw store ship
Himalaya, Captain J. Seccombe, for Marseilles.
Her Majesty's steam surveying vessel Firefly,
Commander A. L, Mansell, left Malta on the Ist
inst. for Alexandria, in order to resume her survey-
ing duties on the coast of Syria, Her Majesty's
screw steam line-of-battle ship Marlborough, 131,
Capt. W. H. Stewart, C. 8,, which had gone out
for a cruise to exercise her crew at gunnery and
sailing evolutions, returned into Malta harbour on
the 2d inst., and resumed the flag of the Comman-
der-in-Chief, which had been temporarily hoisted on
board the Neptune.
Fears are entertained with respect to the safety of

the screw steamer Wisbeach, which sailed early in
the year with Government stores for Canada. A
month has elapsed without any tidings having come
to hand respecting the steamer, and therefore, unless

the letters distributed to-day bring some intelligence
respecting her, it will be only too probable that
she has met with some serious disaster. The steamer

is the property of Mr. R. Young, the Mayor of
Wisbeach.

The Royal Sovereign, converting to a shield-ship

from a three-decker at Portsmouth, is expected Co
be placed in dock on Wednesday, where she will
remain until her conversion at the hands of the
shipwrights is completed. She has now 250 ship-
wrights employed upon her, besides coppersmiths,
blacksmiths, and about 60 labourers. The ship's
outer planking has been removed to the port-sills
of her middle deck, which, when her conversion is
completed, will become her upper deck, or the glacis
covering her towers and shields. The greater part
of the ship's internal fittings and tanks have been
taken out, her poop has entirely disappeared, her
upper deck beams are all out, and by the time she
goes into dock but little will be left to remove above
the line to which she is at present ordered to be cut
down. She has been lightened to 20 feet draught
of water.

The Sealark, boys' training brig, at Portsmouth,
has been taken into dock to clean copper, &c., pre-
paratory to commencing her summer's cruising, for
which sails have been bent and all necessary prepa-
rations made.

The Rolla, training brig, arrived at Spithead on
Saturday, from off Osborne, where she has been
stationed to give his Royal Highness Prince Alfred
practice on board, under the supervision of Lieut.-
Commander C. G. Nelson. The Rolla returns to
her anchorage off Osborne to-day.
Mr. Cunningham, the inventor of the system of
reefing sails from the deck, has brought out a plan
for protecting the screw propeller from fouling, a
danger to which all ships of war carrying sail
power are liable in action when losing masts or
spars, from their floating alongside. Mr. Cunning-
ham has fitted a small screw vessel on the plan, and
has applied to the Lords of the Admiralty to fit one
of her Majesty's ships to test the principle:
The screw steamship Revenge, 73, Capt. Charles
Fellowes, which arrived at Plymouth from Ports-
mouth on Tuesday, sent supernumeraries on board
the Royal Adelaide, and went on Friday afternoon
from the Sound into Hamoaze, to have some slight ,
defects in her machinery made good. Rear-Admi-
ral Robert Smart, K.H., has not yet re-hoisted his
flag on board, and it is uncertain whether he will
do so now or after her arrival at Queenstown.
The hired sailing transport Robinson commenced
shipping 3,000 Armstrong shells and other war
stores on Saturday from 'Woolwich Arsenal for
Malta.

The Prairie Flower, for Newfoundland, with
powder and other war stores, has sailed from Wool-
wich for her destination.
Five hundred mechanics and labourers were dis-
charged on Saturday from the manufacturing de-
partments of Woolwich Arsenal, being a portion of
the 3,000 ordered to be reduced to meet the estimates
granted for the financial year commenced on the

Ist inst. In addition to the above-named perma-
nent discharges, the boring and rifling and other
branches of the Royal gun factories have totally
suspended operations since the commencement of
the month, awaiting the issue of orders from the
War Department ; consequently large numbers of
the select artisans to be retained on the establish-
ment are also out of work.

The iron frigate Resistance, 18, 600-horse power,
was completed, so far as the authorities at Chatham
are concerned, on Saturday afternoon, and this
morning will proceed to Sheerness, where she will
be rigged and prepared for the steam reserve, the
Admiralty having decided that she shall not pass
another spring tide in Chatham harbour, where,
from the position which she occupied, she has
grounded several times ; she has not, however, done
so to the extent of the Defence, although the latter
vessel occupied the same berth alongside the sheer-
hulk. The whole of the hired carpenters, smiths,
joiners, and other mechanics employed on the Re-
sistance, not required for the service of the yard,
received their discharge on Saturday afternoon,
several of the hands discharged being first-class
workmen. The Resistance will be navigated to
Sheerness by a party of A. B.'s from the Formi-
dable, 84, flagship at the Nore. Although ordered
to be placed in the" first•class steam reserve, it is
probable that the Resistance will hoist the pennant
as soon as she is completed.
Orders were on Saturday received at
directing the Zebra, 17, 200-horse power,
-
for service on the West Coast of Africa,
rtn-o. be furstrone,s,
nished with:two of the long 40-pounder
A
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furnished
Vice-Admi-
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the Nore, from
which she is expected to sail t
The following
ter, to the Imaum ; Robert oe
day at the Admiralty aP P°
t mWeßinl istacm T. reg
of the Imperieuse,
made i
d no,
m Fri
confirmed as second-class assist.-engineer; and J.
cPloss assist.-engineer.wright,of the
li‘egxra, confirmed as second-
la
The following appointments Were made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty
:"—Commander Charles Bal-
four, additional to the Victory, for temporary ser-
vice in the Eagle ; Lieut. D'Arcy Denny, to the
Coquette; Samuel Winnecott, master, to the Fie-
gard, for the Adventure ; John J. Brown, master,
to the Cumberland, for the Resistance; Charles