The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-14 00:00:00

711 E AAVIc

VALETTA, Nov. B.—Her Majesty's ship Algiers,
89, Capt. E. B. Rice, and Neptune, 86, Capt. G. T.

B. Hornby, have left Malta for England to be paid
off, the former on the 4th, and the latter on the 6th

inst.' The Algiers. took as.passengers Mr. H. Hen-
wood, R.N., Mr. R. M. Curry, R.N., Lieut. Smyth,

9th Regiment, Lieut. Leigh, 22d Regiment, 22
naval invalids, 2 marines, 47 invalids of several

regimen is, 23 women, and 28 children. There will

be several other ships going home shortly, which
will proceed to England in the order they arrive
here, viz., the London, 86, Capt. H. A. Chads ; the

Doris, 32, Capt. Sir F. L. M'Clintock ; Scylla, 22,
Capt. R. Lambert ; and Gannet, Com. the Hon. M.

Nelson. Besides the Trafalgar, 89, St. George, 89,
Defence, 18 (iron), Phcebe, 17, and Chanticleer, 17,
mentioned in a former letter as ordered to the Medi-
terranean to replace those vessels taken off the sta-

tion, we also expect here the Challenger, 22, Capt.
J. J. Kennedy, and the despatch boats Psyche and
Caradoc, the former having been commissioned by
Lieut.-Com. Stern. Her Majesty's corvette Malacca,
17, Capt. J. Napier, arrived here on the sth inst.

- - from Gibraltar, having been relieved there by the
Liffey, 51, Capt. G. Parker, which has been recently

recommissioned for the Mediterranean. We have

also at Malta just new the Edgar, 90, Capt. the Hon.
F. A. Foley (bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral
Dacres, C. 8.), lately arrived from Gibraltar, and
the Alacrity, 4, Commander J. Baird. These vessels

are awaiting the arrival of the Commander-in-Chief,
Sir W. F. Martin, 1CC.8., who is expected here

about the end of next week, should no unexpected
events occur to delay his return. The Marlborough,

bearing his flag, entered the Pirreus on the 29th ult.,
and after reinaining there a abort time left for
Smyrna and Malfa. The Queen, 76, Captain F. C.
Hillyar, and the Pelican 17, Commander P. Brock,
were at the Piraeus by the last accounts ; and the
Shannon, 35, Capt. 0.1 Jones, was at Patras. A
court-martial assembl: d this morning on board her
Majesty's ship Hibernia, in Malta harbour, consist-
ing of Rear-Admiral Dacres, C. 8., presidebt, Capt.
the Hon. F. A. Foley, Commander J. Baird, Com-
mander Deni, and' Coniniander R. B. Harvey, Mr.

G. Love, officiating judge-advocate, to try Assist.
Surg. J. T. R. Torrance, of her Majesty's ship Ma-
lacca, on a charge -of drunkenness at Gibraltar,
when accompanying an armed boat's crew, which,
at the request of the captain of the port, was pro-
Gooding to arrcbt the second officer of the Confe-
derate steamer Sumter,_ accused of murdering the
first officer of that'vessel. _The prisoner pleaded in
his defence that he mixed a glass of sherry and gin,

mistaking the latter for water, and did not discover
his mistake till he had drunk off the mixture. The
Court found him guilty, and sentenced him to be
dismissed the ship and placed at the bottom of the
list of assistant-surgeons.

The Himalaya, screw troopship, Capt. E. Lacy,
has been again placed in the large dock at Ports-
mouth to complete her repairs for further service,
the dock having been again rendered vacant by the
removal of the Resistance, 16, iron ram, after mak-
ing good defects of one of her Kingston valves.
The Sharpshooter, iron screw corvette, in No. 2
dock at Portsmouth,is ordered to have the iron plates
of her bottom and other defects thoroughly repaired
for further service, and at the same time to have
her bow fitted with a rudder on the plan patented
by Commander Warren, RN., and tested a-short
time since at Portstnouth under the supervision of

Capt. Broadhead, commanding the reserve at the
port. On that occasion the rudder was temporarily
fitted at the bow of the Princess Royal, a small
steamer (paddlewheel) belonging to the Portsmouth
and Ryde United Steam Packet Company.

An order has also been given by the Admiralty
to fit Mr. Lumley's patent jointed rudder to the
Flying-fish, screw gunvessel, Commander Anderson,
which arrived at Portsmouth on the 6th inst. from
the West Coast of Africa, and which sailed again
yesterday morning for Sheerness, after having had
her boilers temporarily patched to enable her to make
the voyage round from Spithead to the Nore. It is
is expected that the officers and crew will be paid
off from the Flying-fish and the ship receive new
boilers before making her trial with Mr. Lumley's
rudder. The decided and extraordinary success of
the Flora, double screw steamer, in her power of
turning in a small space, as shown during her trial
trip on the Thames on the 7th inst., will, however,.
prove to be the first step in the adoption of a new
system of applying steering power to ships under
steam. On that occasion the Flora, with her screw
working opposite ways, made three complete turns
of a circle, the diameter of which was exactly her
own length, both ends of the ship moving alike,
and her midship part being the pivot upon which
she turned round the circle. With a ship of war
possessing this power of turning, revolving towers
and shields in them would be scarcely necessary,

-- -
the hull of the ship having the required moving
power.
The Eclipse, 4, screw guuvessel, commander
Mayne, sailed from Portsmouth at 4 p.m. yesterday
for the Australian station.
In accordance with Admiralty instructions re-
ceived at Chatham, the stern and quarter boats of
all new vessels are in future to be fitted with the
necessary hooks and appliances for the use of Ely-
naston's patent boat-lowering apparatus, which is
also to be fitted to the boats of the following vessels
attached to the several divisions of the steam re-
serve in the'Medway—viz., the Leander, 50, 500-
horse power ; the Racoon, 22, 400-horse power ; the
Columbine, 4, 150-horse power; the Lily, 4, 200-
horse power ; Osprey, 4, 200 horse power ; and the
iron and iron-plated screw frigates Caledonia, 50,
800-horse power; the Royal Oak, 50, 1,000-horse
power; and the Tamar, 3, 600-horse power.
The paddlewheel steamer African, employed as a
tender to the steam reserve in the Medway, has
been found to be so defective that definite orders
have been received from the Admiralty for her to
be broken up. The officers and crew are turned
over to the Thistle, gunboat, which will be used as
a tender to the steam reserve until some other vessel
has been selected to take the place of the African.
The
line-of-battle screw steamer Hero, 89, 500-
horse power, has been found to leak considerably
since her arrival at the sore, caused, there is little
doubt, from the vessel having been on shore. She
is to be carefully surveyed by the dockyard officials,
and a report of her condition-forwarded to the Ad-
miralty. The crew are busily
employed in returning
stores to the dockyard preparatory to the vessel
being put out of commission
I
and placed in the sham
reserve.
' The screw corvette Pylades, 21, 350-horse powers