The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-14 00:00:00

her dangerous but important mission. These con-
stituted the personnel and material of the great Tor-
pedo Expedition. The object being to paralyse the
garrison, and as far as practicable destroy the
enemy's works, it became a matter of great impor-
tance to explode the vessel as near the shore as pos-
sible. A reconnaissance was accordingly made by
Mr. Bedford, attached to the United States Coast
Survey, and the fact ascertained that a vessel draw-
ing not over seven feet could with safety be placed
immediately on the outer edge of the beach and
directly in front of the embrasures of the fort, the
lower or southernmost bastion of which at this point
reaches down within a short distance of the water's
edge. Shortly after 10 p.m. of the 23d, the powder
boat, in tow of the steamer Wilderness, started for
the shore. When the fleet could be plainly distin-
guished the Wilderness cast off, and the Louisiana
proceeded alone to her position, which, despite the
very great danger she ran of being discovered by
some of the garrison in the fort, she is reported to
have gained without molestation. The boat was
then securely anchored, and the fuses and other
appliances for exploding the magazine adjusted and
lighted. This accomplished', Rind and his daring
associates jumped into a small boat, which was
quickly rowed to the steamer, laying astern of the
powder ship. This vessel immediately put off to sea,
and in a short time the party were safely back to the
fleet. Before leaving, however, a fire was made and
lit in the stern of the Louisiana, sufficiently near
the powder magazine to insure its ignition in case of
any defect in the fuse.
The fuses were lighted and the ship abandoned at
15 minutes before 11 o'clock. The explosion took
place precisely at 1.40 o'clock, and was witnessed
by a large number in the fleet. The pyrotechnic
display was very impressive. Notwithstanding the
bright moonlight which shone at that hour the
horizon was lit up for miles along the shore as by
an immense bonfire, while the bags, barrels, and
other packages containing the powder with which
the magazine was charged, thrown high in the air
by the violence of the explosion, fell in brilliant
coruscations all around, lighting up the grim forti-
fications, and filling up a picture not unlike that re-
presented by travellers and writers in an eruption
of Vesuvius. The shock which followed, though
sufficiently astounding, was less impressive. Twelve
miles out at sea the effect was such as might have
been expected from the firing of a 64-pounder near
by, though the report was not so sharp or distinct.
It sounded rather like the roll of distant thunder.
Beyond the breaking of a few window panes, and
the somewhat sudden and unceremonious resurrec-
tion from still life of a few blue jackets, no conse-
quence worth mentioning resulted to the fleet.
Some of the troops belonging to a North Carolina
regiment, taken prisoners by our men in the second
day's engagement, who arrived in Wilmington from
before Richmond, just as the explosion took place,
state that it was heard there, while others affirm
that it was heard at Beaufort, a distance of over 50
miles. The last assertion, however, seems scarcely
credible. Major J. Lincoln Casey, United States
Engineer Corps, who was specially ordered by the
War Department to accompany the expedition, has
drawn up an elaborate- report upon this explosion,
which will be submitted to the Secretary of War at
an early clay. If approved by him, it will forth-
with be published, and if so, will prove a valuable
addition to what is already known in this interest-
ng department of modern. arfare.

The Abandonment of San Domingo by
Spain.

MADRID, Jan. 7.

The following is the text of the bill presented to
the Cortes by Marshal Narvaez, abolishing the
Decree of the 19th of May, 1861, declaring the
territory of the Dominican Republic re-incorporated
into the Spanish Monarchy :