The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-27 00:00:00

Naval and Military

Intelligence.

VALETTA, Sept. 22.—Her Majesty's :surveying
steamer Firefly, Commander G. R. Wilkinson, re,
turned on the evening of the 11th inst., after an
absence of more than two months. She left Malta
on the Bth of July, and called at Mazzara, but could
not communicate, owing to the strict quarantine re-
gulations. She then proceeded to Cagliari, where
she arrived on the 12th of July, and was detained
seven days in quarantine, the surgeon having to
report daily the state of health of the ship's com-
pany. She then went in search of the reputed Fox
Rock. After an elaborate survey no indications of
shallow water were found, the least depth being over
60 fathoms, with a coral bottom, on which about 50
boats bre employed fishing for coral in the summer
months. The Firefly then returned to Sicily, and
resumed her survey of last year, completing the
coast from Castellamare, midway between Trapam
and Palermo, to Cape St. Marco, east of Mazzara,
including the islands Maritimo, Favignana, and Le-
vanzo. The new charts, when published, will show
many important alterations, and it is highly credit-
able to the surveying officers of this ship to have ac-
complished such an amount of work in the short
period in which they have been engaged on this im-
portant survey, the necessity for which had been re-
peatedly pointed out in The San. The Firefly leaves
to-day to complete the:survey of the coast of Tunis,
between Soussa, Sfax, and Jerbah. It is much de-
sired when this is accomplished that attention should
be again turned to Sicily. The whole island re-
quires re-surveying. The inaccuracies of the present
charts are constantly being forced into notice, owing
to the increasing Italian trade,'and consequent more
frequent navigation of these waters. It has only
lately been discovered that Cape Granitola, the
first land made by the Peninsular and Oriental
steam packets leaving Malta for Marseilles, is
placed on the charts now in use three miles west of
its true position, and Cape St. Vito two miles and a
half to the northward and eastward of whereitreally
lies. Judging from these inaccuracies, which are
being corrected, it may be fairly concluded that
others of a similar kind exist on other parts of the
coast. We know that till the visit of her Majesty's
ship Marlborough in August, 1864, a very serious
error existed in the plan of the Bay of Palermo, and
gross errors are also known to have been made in
the neighbourhoods of Licata, Cape Passaro, and
Syracuse. The reason why more shipwrecks have
not happened is doubtless owing to the general bold-
ness of the Sicilian coast. For the honour of Eng-
lish hydrography these errors, or rather blunders,
should not be allowed to remain uncorrected ; for
our surveys of Sicily are daily sneered at by Italian
navigators, who say they are obliged to depend more
upon the correctness of their eyesight than the Eng-
lish charts. Some time ago a story was published
in the Patrie of an alleged act of vandalism on the
part of some officers of the Firefly, in one of their
late visits to the coast of Tunis. As might have
been anticipated, this story turns out to be untrue.
It was not at all probable that officers of a survey-
ing ship would wilfully destroy or deface any object
of antiquarian interest they might meet with in their
researches. The true circumstances which gave rise
to the charge are stated to me to have been as
follows, and some importance is attached to them,
as they have been, I understand, the subject
of a diplomatic correspondence between M. Drouyn
de Lhuys, Lord Cowley, and Lord Russell.
About the 20th of June an Arab named Gahbish,
of Bab-el-Arabi, Soussa, coast of Barbary, met Mr.
Gray, acting master of her Majesty's ship Firefly,
then surveying on the coast, and offered to take
him to the Arab's grounds and excavate some
Roman tombs. Mr. Gray consented, and spoke
to Mr. Carpenter, the acting chief engineer, as
he had to go on duty in the country. Next
morning Mr. Carpenter asked the surgeon of the
ship to accompany him, which he did. They were
taken about a quarter of a mile from the town on
the main road, a few yards from which was a small
tumulus on a kind of common, and unenclosed.
This the Arab opened with the assistance of his two
labourers. On the floor a mosaic representing se-
veral descriptions of fish was shown to them. This
was then washed, and would- have been carried away
by the party, but the hour was late, and the place
was left uncovered. The officers intended to return
next day, but on the following morning they heard
that a French engineer, M. Daux, had the Bey's
exclusive permission to excavate in that part of the
regency. Mr. Carpenter immediately sent and had
the spot covered in and everything replaced as before.
This was done by the same Arab and his labourers,
and the expense Mr. Carpenter paid. Before leaving
Soussa, Mr. Levi, the Acting British Vice-Consul,
assured the officers that he had settled the affair,
and they were much surprised to read the unwar-
ranted charge in the letter published in the French
newspaper. Her Majesty's screw corvette Pelican,
Commander R. P. Cator, arrived on the 15th inst.
from Spezzia. The screw gun-vessel Surprise, 4,
Commander G. Tryon, left port on the same day,
with a mail and despatches for the Commander-in-
Chief, calling at Leghorn. The despatch vessel
Caradoc, Lieut. E. Wilkinson, arrived on the 11th
inst.., from Constantinople, and left on the 18th for
Trieste. Two Prussian ships of war, the Nympher,
17, and the Delphine, 3 guns, arrived on the 17th
inst. from Gibraltar and Algiers, and left the fol-
lowing day for Athens and Constantinople. The
Tunisian steam corvette Mansour, which had been
undergoing extensive repairs in this port for some
time past, left on the 14th inst. for Tunis. Yesterday
the Italian mail brought letters from the squadron
at Leghorn and Castellmare (Bay of Naples), the
Commander-in-Chief, with the wooden ships, being
at the former place, Rear-Admiral Yelverton, with
the Caledonian and the iron-clads, at the latter.
- The Victoria (flagship of Vice-Admiral Smart), Gib-
raltar, Orlando, and Chanticleer arrived at Leghorn
on Sept. 13, the Psyche having passed them on their
way from Spezzia, which port they left on Tuesday
morning, the 12th inst. They expected to remain at
Leghorn about a week, and then proceed to Castella-
mare to join the iron squadron. A notice was issued
in the squadron on the 14th that letters for the Vic-
toria, Gibraltar, Orlando, and Psyche leaving London
after the 19th inst. should until further orders be di-
rected to Castellamare. The works in course of con-
struction at Spezzia are very extensive. A large
dockyard is being built, and the approach to it
dredged, and the work appears to be pushed on with
energy. Many of our naval officers were preparing
for excursions to Pisa and Florence. The Resistance
left Spezzia on the Ist inst. for Genoa. Capt. Cham-
berlain joined her on the Bth, on which day she was
to sail for Castellamare. The Royal Oak left Spezzia
for Castellamare on the 7th, and both vessels arrived
at Naples on the 12th. The Magicienne joined the
Commander-in-Chief at Spezzia on the 4th, and
after remaining a week for pratique was to leave on
the 13th for cute
T
Genoa on Aug. 13 oar' The Racoon arrived at
Pnrtemouth, and was to
have received Prince Alfred
some alteration in his Royal ounigbilard,s movements,
but owing to
,
eft
she left on his return to Portemouth, called at
Spezzia on the 6th,
taking home
invalids
Gibraltar,
. on
the 13th she passed through the Straits of
and communicated with the Fortress by a —fglial, in-
tending to call at Tangier for provisions. Mr. R.M.
Le Geyt, naval cadet of the Gibraltar, deserted from
joining
her; ship on the 6th inst., three days after
nothing had since been heard of him. The Racer
arrived at Leghorn from Malta on the 14th, and
had a week's quarantine to perform. Three courts-
martial were held on board the Gibraltar at Spezzia
on the sth inst. Capt. Coote was president of the
first two, and Capt. Dickson of the third ; Mr. F.
J. Fegen, secretary to the Commander-in-Chief,
officiating Judge-Advocate. Mr. W. Flowers, act-
ing gunner of the Chanticleer, for drunkenness,
was sentenced to forfeit all seniority and to be dis-
missed his ship ; John Weaver, boy, first class, of
of the Pelican, for stabbing T. Beach, able seaman,
to 48 lashes and nine months' imprisonment, with
hard labour ; and T. Wall, ordinary seaman of the
Gibraltar, for desertion, to only three months' hard
labour, being a man of previous good character.
The following appointments have been made by the
Commander-in-Chief from the flagship :—Lieut.
W. G. Le Cocq to the Royal Oak ; Mr. F. N. Howe,
clerk, to the Hibernia ; Mr. H. Howell, assist.-clerk,
to the Gibraltar; Mr. C. E. Goulsbary, assist.-clerk,
to the Chanticleer ; Mr. G. W. Russell, mid ship-
n • I h. ip-