The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-30 00:00:00

only a few days ago, in consequence of an attempt
by the authorities to cut off a portion of eight months'
arrears of pay which was due to them. Objecting
to this measure, they raised a general riot, and., as
I mentioned before, annihilated one small Man.clarin
pour encourager les autres. The measure Was per-
fectly successful, impelling the authorities to extra_
taxative exertions, which enabled them in a few days
to satisfy their claims. A Shanghai paper says Han-
kow was recently the scene of a duel, which it would
require the pen of a Marryatt properly to describe.
Two drunken rowdies, far too gentlemanly to resort
to the usual weapons of their class for the purpose of
settling a dispute, arranged through the medium of
seconds, a meeting with fowling-pieces—distance
ten paces. The seconds, more sober or more sensible
than their principals, loaded the guns with rags, but
at the short distance these proved sufficiently de-
structive to blow out the eye of one of the com-
batants, who forthwith fired his piece at his second
in the blindness of his rage. With a gross lack of
appreciation of the chivalrous feeling evidenced, her
Majesty's Consul deported the gentlemen to Shang-
hai, where they will no doubt be received with open
arms by congenial comrades.

The reinforcements which came down from the
interior of the province en route to Amoy have left,
to the number, I believe, of some 8,000 or 10,000.
Their departure was hastened by news which arrived
overland of a severe defeat experienced by the• Im-
perialist force, at present besieging Changchow, in
an attempted assault.
Trade is duller, if possible, than ever, in conse-
quence of telegrams received by the last mail re-
porting the fall of Wilmington and Charleston.
The opening of the Kurrachee and Persian Gulf
line brings us within less than a month of England,
and enables us to receive news two mails in advance.

The silk market is almost nominal, except in
reference to Japan, whence 750 bales arrived by the
last Peninsular and Oriental steamer, nearly all of
which goes forward by the present mail. Only bales
of Chinese have been settled during the past fort-
night, and the stocks on hand are estimated at 150
bales only against some 3,500 at this time last year.
Cotton is down to 413 50 taels per picul. Ex-
change is at Cs. nd. for banks bills, and Cs. 31d.
for private paper.
Naval and Military Intelligence.

The Charybdis, 21, screw corvette, 1,506 tons
and 400-horse power, Capt. Edward W. Tumour,
arrived at Spithead yesterday afternoon from the
Pacific, and on entering the roadstead saluted the
flag of the Port-Admiral and Naval Commander-in-
Chief, Sir Michael Seymour, G.C.8., which was re-
turned by the three-decked training ship St. Vin-
cent, flagship pro tem., during the refit of the Vic-
tory, the permanentflagship of the port. The Charyb-
dis sailed from Vancouver Dec. 14, from Valparaiso
March 2, and from Rio de Janeiro April 11, and has
brought to England two warrant officers, one naval
engineer, 80 naval supernumeraries, and five pri-
soners from her Majesty's fleets on the Pacific and
Brazil stations. The Charybdis made the passage
round Cape Horn, the weather being unfavourable
for going through the Straits of Magellan. On the
21st of May she passed the Aiores, strong westerly
winds prevailing at the time. On the 26th, when
north of Cape Finisterre, she encountered a hurri-
cane from S. to W.S.W., which lasted ten hours—
seven of which the ship lay nearly on her beam ends.
The ship has been in commission since November,
1860, and will require heavy repairs before she can
be again pronounced fit for foreign service. She
will be immediately dismantled and paid out of
commission, probably at an eastern port.
Yesterday the workmen at Chatham Dockyard
commenced the slip from which the iron-plated fri-
gate Lord Warden was launched on Saturday, to
prepare for laying down the keel of the Blanch,
4, 1,081 tons,3oo-horse power (nominal), one of the
new class of Alabama frigates, designed by Mr.
Reed, which is to be constructed at that establish-
mentwith as much rapidity as possible. The follow-
ing are to be her principal dimensions—Length be-
tween perpendiculars, 187 ft. ; length of keel for
tonnage, 158 ft. 3M. ; extreme breadth, 36ft. ; breadth
moulded, 35ft. 2in. ; breadth for tonnage, 35ft. 10in. ;
depth in hold, 19ft. 4in.; burden, 1,081 16-94 tons;
launching draught forward, 6ft. 3in. ; do. aft, 12ft.
The screw corvette Reindeer, 17, 250 horse power,
laid down on No. 2 slip at Chatham Dockyard five
years ago, and partially completed, was yesterday
again taken in hand by a party of shipwrights, in
accordance with instructions from the Admiralty
directing her to be forthwith completed according
to the amended drawing and plans received at the
master-shipwright's department from Whitehall.
According to these the Reindeer is to be slightly
lengthened aft, and to be fitted with a poop as well
as with a topgallant forecastle, the plan of complet-
ing her as a small ironclad having been abandoned,
as her frame would not be sufficiently strong to
support the armour she would be required to carry.
The instructions from the Admiralty direct her to
be completed and launched before the close of the
present year. _ _

The work of taking to pieces two of the un-
armoured wooden vessels in frame at Chatham
Dockyard—the Belvidera, 51, 500-horse power, and
the Menai, 22, 400-horse power—on which no
hands have been employed for several years past,
will be commenced this week. A number of ship-
wrights and labourers were detailed yesterday for
taking asunder the frames of both these vessels, the
timbers of which are to be used in the general ser-
vice of the yard. There will be thus only one wooden
vessel standing in frame at Chatham D ockyard—
the screw two-decker Bulwark, 91, 800-horse power,
laid down between six and seven years since, and
rather less than half completed. '

The military and naval invalids brought to Eng-
land in the Racoon, 22, screw, Capt. Count Gleichen,
from the Mediterranean, as reported in The Sun of
yesterday, were disembarked from the corvette at
Spithead by means of a Government steam tender,
e depots of the Military Hospitals at
allnaddarsenatndtoNetthieey,Naanvdaltoanthd
respec-
tive regiments, &c. The Racoon remains at Spit-
head.

The Maori, hired sailing transport, which arrived
at Spithead on Saturday from New Zealand with
military invalids, time-expired men, and a few mili-
tary pensioners, discharged her troops yesterday
into a -Government steam tender for conveyance to
the Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley and the re-
spective regimental depots.
The screw steamship Revenge, 73, recently paid
off at Devonport, is preparing for Coastguard ser-
vice, to relieve the Blenheim, 60, at Pembroke,
ordered to be broken up.
The screw steamship Hawke, 60, formerly in the
Coastguard service, will be broken up at Devonport,
where a dock is ready for her reception.
Painters are busily occupied on the iron-cased
screw steamship Zealous, 20, in the basin at Key-
ham Steamyard, and she will soon be ready to be
placed in the stream in Hamoaze.

The crank shafting of the screw steam gun-vessel
Serpent, 4, Commander J. Bullock, has been taken
out and tested at Devonport. She will probably be
ready to proceed to sea to-morrow. _ _ _

The lighter Hamoaze, J. Patton, master, left Ply-
mouth yesterday, with stores for Portsmouth Dock-
yard.
The artisans of the Devonport Dockyard are
making progress with the old sailing ship Ganges,
84, which is to be converted for the training of boys
at Falmouth.

The Austrian steam rain Kaiser Max, which left
Plymouth on Saturday for Ferrol, put•back to the
Sound, in consequence of encountering strong wes-
terly winds.

The 87th Regiment (Fusileers) were yesterday
officially inspected 'on the Southsea-common by
Major-Gen. Lord W. Paulett, K.C.8., command-
ing the South-West Military District, preparatory
to the regiment leaving Portsmouth garrison for the
camp at Aldershott.

The local pensioners belonging to the Chatham
district, having completed their annual period of
training under Col. R. Jenkins, were yesterday
inspected on Chatham Lines by Major-Gen. Sir R.
Walpole, K.C.8., commanding the forces in the
district. The entire body of pensioners, forming six
companies, and numbering about 400 men of all
ranks, assembled in front of the Casemate barracks,
St. Mary's, and were marched, headed by their