The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-21 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The steamship Great Eastern, which left Sheer-
ness on her important expedition of laying down
the Atlantic Cable on the 24th of June last, but
which anchored about four miles before the Nore
light till the 15th of July before finally leaving for
Valentia, arrived at Sheerness yesterday at 1 p.m.
Thousands of spectators were assembled on the
beach to witness her entrance of the port, and the
band of Sir Charles Talbot, K.C.8., Commander-
in-Chief, greeted the majestic vessel with " Cheer,
boys, cheer," as she passed the flagship Formidable.
Her anchors were safely cast at 1 30 p.m., not the
slightest accident haVing happened in her passage
through the numerous vessels which lie in the har-
bour. _ _ _ _

Her Majesty's screw ironclad vessel Research, 4
guns, Capt. Arthur Wilmshurst, arrived in Port-
land Roads from Cherbourg on Friday morning
last. The stormy weather which has prevailed in
the Channel for the past few days is now.subsiding,
and, with a gradually rising barometer, finer
weather is anticipated.
The British naval force on the South-East Coast
of America in commission at the present time con-
sists of eight vessels, mounting in the aggregate 60
guns, with a complement of 1,060 officers and men,
of 1,280-horse power, and 5,565 tons. Rear-Admi-
ral the Hon. C. G. J. B. Elliot, C. 8., is the com-
mander-in-chief, and has his flag in the Narcissus.
The Satellite, 21, screw corvette, Capt. S. S. L.
Crofton, sailed from Rio de Janeiro for England,
July 24, to be paid off.
The flagship Fisgard, Commodore Hugh Dunlop,
at Woolwich, has undergone thorough repair in her
interior accommodation. She has also been'masted
and rigged anew. The lower deck, appropriated for
the men's mess quarters, has been ventilated with
port and starboard scuttles, so as to introduce ana-
tural light during the.day, in the place of candles,
with which the deck was formerlylighted, andmany
other improvements have been substituted for the
old system, with manifest advantage. ller sides are
now being scraped down, and caulking has com-
menced. Notwithstanding her length of service
afloat,' and as flagship at Woolwich, many of her
timbers are still in excellent and durable condition.

ller Majesty's iron screw troopship Dromedary,
Master Commander Allard, at Woolwich, is ordered
to ship stores for transport to the West Coast of
Africa, to supply the naval stations there.
The steam storeship Fox, 1,131 tons, at Woolwich,
last week under Went a special survey by the ship-
wright department, and was bored and sounded for
the purposes of ascertaining her condition as to her
fitness for further service.

The paddlewheel steam tugvessel Bustler, now in
the fitting basin at Woolwich, is ordered to undergo
a complete overhaul, and defects to be made good.
Her Majesty's iron screw storeship Supply, Staff-
Commander C. Bowden, at Woolwich, is ordered to
be fitted with a steam-engine on board for the pur-
pose of shipping, unshipping, and working the cargo.
The Vivid, paddle yacht, Staff-Commander T.
W. Sullivan, and the Dee, paddle storevessel,
Master Commander G. Raymond, both sailed for
the Thames on Saturday from Portsmouth.
The Constance, 35, screw wooden frigate, Capt.
E. Barnard, is under orders to sail from Spithead
for Plymouth on Tuesday. It is understood that
she will complete stores and fittings at Plymouth
for foreign service.

The Urgent, screw troopship, Capt. S. H. Hen-
derson, which returned to Portsmouth on Friday
last from Cherbourg with naval and military offi-
cers and civilians, visitors to the Napoleon fetes, will
embark this morning alongside Portsmouth dock-
yard detachments of troops, and sail this evening or
early to-morrow for Halifax and Bermuda.
His Belgian Majesty's paddle despatch vessel
Belgique, Commander Hoed, arrived at Portsmouth
on Saturday from Cherbourg. The Belgique has
24 officers of the Belgian army and navy on board,
sent by their Government on a visit to the French
and English ironclad squadrons recently at Cher-
bourg, and also to the chief English and French
naval establishments on either side of the Channel.
Soon after the vessel's arrival Commander Hoed
paid the usual formal visit to the Admiral and
Lieut.-Gen. commanding the port and garrison, ac-
companied by the Belgian Vice-Consul, the Cheva-
lier Van den Bergh. Commander Hoed and the
officers from the Belgique afterwards visited the
dockyard and several of the ships fitting for active
service. The Belgique sails from Portsmouth on
Tuesday for Ostend.
The screw frigate Bristol, 39, 600 horse power,
whieh has been fitted for the first division of the
Chatham Steam Reserve, will succeed the Rattle-
snake, 21, 400 horse power, as the flagship on the
west coast of Africa.
Dr. Armstrong, R.N., recently appointed De-
puty-Inspector-Gen. of Melville Royal Hospital and
the Chatham Division of Marines, arrived at Chat-
ham on Saturday, assumed the charge of the hospi-
tal, and subsequently made a general inspection of
the establishment in all its departments.
In oreer to test the quality of the steel plates
which have been sent into Chatham Dockyard, as
supplied by the Cammell Company, Sheffield, who
who have taken the contract from the Admiralty, a
certain number were selected, at hazard, from the
stock now in store, and, with the consent of the
authorities, tested at the Government rifle range at
Milton, where the troops from Chatham garrison
undergo their course of ball practice, the ranges at
which the plates were fired at varying from 50 to
300 yards. Each plate was struck by about 100
balls, mid they have now been returned to the dock-
yard for the purpose of enabling an examination to
be made of the effects of the shot upon each plate.
Taking one of the +-in. steel plates, of the same
kind as those which form the upper deck of the
ironclad frigate Bellerophon, the marks of about
80 shots are visible on its surface, a label show-
ing the range at which each was fired. In the
Majority of cases so excellent is the steel that
the effects of each shot are mere " splashes,"
while in only some few cases have the minutest
indentations been made, the opposite side of
the plate being in the same state as before the